Chapter 13
Chapter 13
You Don’t Need to Know
Her pure white martial robe tried desperately to conceal it, but it failed to fully hide Yeonhwa’s ample chest.
Her slender waist and the curve of her rising hips completed her graceful figure.
Just looking at her breathtakingly seductive body was enough to make someone lose their mind.
Before I realized it, I had already forgotten my dignity and reached my hand toward her.
Just as I thought it would at least be fortunate if I didn’t start drooling, her body moved toward my hand before it could even reach her.
Having noticed my desire first, she adjusted her posture to make it easier for my hand to roam across her body.
Why was someone so fantastically beautiful this devoted to me?
I wondered if I should ask Yeonhwa that question, but in the end, fear swallowed my words before they could leave my mouth.
“I’m asking if it was because of me. Why can’t you answer?”
The situation was so absurd that Jihoon could only be left speechless.
“I don’t know what method an E-rank Hunter like you used to make Changhoon end up like that, but if it’s for the reason I’m thinking of, then go apologize right now—”
“What reason are you thinking of?”
“...What?”
“I asked what reason you’re thinking of.”
Yoojung, who had suddenly approached Jihoon and thrown those words at him, had no idea how to handle this confusing situation.
She had already felt it when they met in the library before, but Jihoon kept displaying unpredictable sides of himself.
Every word out of his mouth kept catching her off guard.
This was the same person who used to secretly watch her from afar because he liked her, the same person who lowered his head because he was too shy to even greet her.
“W-Well... because you... you...”
“Me what?”
Jihoon’s face was filled with amusement.
The relaxed gaze in his eyes stared directly into Yoojung’s.
No, rather than staring, it felt as though he were scanning her with mockery and ridicule.
For some reason, Yoojung found it difficult to properly meet his eyes.
Soon, as though trying to hide her reddening cheeks, she lowered her head toward the ground and continued speaking.
“You... know what I mean too...”
“Me? Yoojung, what relationship would there be between you and Jihoon’s right leg? If you don’t explain it, how would I know?”
“Wha... What are you even...”
“No seriously, Yoojung... Tell me what you mean. At least tell me what you’re curious about.”
“Did you hurt Changhoon because you like me?!”
With both fists clenched tightly and her gaze fixed on the ground, she barely managed to shout the words before biting down on her lips.
Sunhee, who stood beside them, was shocked seeing this side of Yoojung for the first time.
The Yoojung she knew had always been confident, bold, and never intimidated in front of men.
“Hahaha!!! Puhahaha!!”
Jihoon suddenly burst into roaring laughter loud enough to shake the world.
Holding his stomach and laughing like a madman, he showed no signs of stopping.
Other cadets who had been approaching the vending machine for drinks and those leaving after finishing their training all began gathering one by one, curious about what was happening.
“W-Why... why are you laughing? That’s obviously it...”
“Hah... huff... hehe... Ah sorry, sorry... But seriously, why are you so funny?”
Yoojung’s cheeks and ears, already reddish before, turned as red as apples at Jihoon’s words.
After laughing for quite a while longer, Jihoon finally faced Yoojung again.
“You think I cut off Changhoon’s leg because I like you? Why would I? Does Changhoon like you too?”
Hearing Jihoon speak as though he genuinely knew nothing about it made Yoojung feel as if her heart had dropped.
Something had gone wrong.
“Ah, so that’s it! Changhoon likes you too, right?”
Jihoon cheered as though he had just solved an entertaining quiz.
By then, Yoojung’s soul had already long since left her body.
Jihoon continued questioning the speechless Yoojung.
“But how did you know Changhoon’s leg ended up like that?”
“I-I treated him...”
“Huh? You’re a healer type?”
Yoojung wanted to protest against Jihoon acting like he knew absolutely nothing about her.
Why are you pretending not to know?
You’ve been following me around saying you liked me for three years, so how could you not even know that?
But after already making a fool of herself once, Yoojung had no choice but to swallow her words.
“...Yeah. Healer type...”
“Oho... B-rank? A-rank?”
“...B-rank.”
“Is your skill B-rank too? Did the leg attach properly in one go?”
“The leg... was reattached properly... Now answer my question.”
Yoojung regained her focus and once again demanded an answer from Jihoon, who only kept asking things he himself was curious about.
“Of course not. It’s true I liked you a lot when we were younger, but I’m not some crazy bastard who cuts off people’s legs for your sake... huff.”
Yoojung carefully watched Jihoon’s playful expression as he answered.
Though she hated to admit it, he didn’t look like he was lying.
If anything, it seemed more like he was trying not to laugh at her.
‘What do you mean when we were younger? Just recently you still couldn’t even meet my eyes!’
Yoojung hid her frustrated thoughts and continued speaking.
“T-Then why did you do it?”
“Hmm... That’s...”
Jihoon’s expression suddenly turned serious as he thought about what to say.
Watching him, Yoojung felt a strange trembling.
The look in his eyes and the atmosphere surrounding him as he sank into thought suddenly bothered her greatly.
It felt difficult to approach him carelessly.
At that moment, Yoojung felt her heart begin pounding violently.
She had never cared about men enough to accept even one confession despite countless guys, including Changhoon, confessing to her.
Yet right now, she could feel an emotion blooming inside her that she couldn’t properly explain.
As though emerging from his thoughts, Jihoon smiled again.
“That guy made a really pretty girl cry. And that girl asked me to get revenge for her.”
“A girl? Who is that?”
“That’s none of your business.”
Throb.
For some reason, Yoojung couldn’t understand why Jihoon’s casual answer made her chest ache unpleasantly, causing her to snap back at him more sharply than intended.
“So because he made a girl cry, it’s okay to cut off his leg? Don’t you think that’s too much?”
“Nope, not too much.”
“What? How can you possibly—”
“Alright, alright, enough of the nosy interference... That friend Changhoon’s going to keep getting carried in horribly injured from now on, so make sure to heal him properly every time!”
“You’re saying you’ll do it again? Are you even listening to what I’m saying—”
Yoojung suddenly stopped speaking and even held her breath as Jihoon abruptly stepped closer.
Lowering his head to meet her eye level, Jihoon quietly spoke in a low voice.
“It could’ve been his neck instead of his leg. The reason that bastard is still alive... is because I still have unfinished business with him.”
Jihoon was smiling as he spoke, yet the atmosphere surrounding him was so intense that Yoojung couldn’t even think of arguing back.
Just then—
“Huh? Kang Jihoon? Seeing you again? So you use this training center too.”
Han Sojeong, who had been heading into the training center, noticed Jihoon and approached.
“H-Han Sojeong?”
Yoojung recognized her before Jihoon did.
“Han Sojeong, right? Class 2...”
Sojeong briefly glanced at Yoojung, who recognized her, but didn’t answer and instead walked straight toward Jihoon.
As though Yoojung didn’t exist at all, she completely excluded her from the conversation and spoke only to Jihoon.
“How could you run away like that earlier? You were so fast I didn’t even think about chasing you. I wanted to hear you out—”
“Ah, I said no already, so why do you keep bothering me? Go do your guild stuff somewhere else.”
“No, if there’s a condition you want then at least tell me. Hey! Hey! Where are you going now?!”
Jihoon covered both ears as though refusing to hear Sojeong and started walking away, while Sojeong hurriedly ran after him.
Having been ignored by both Jihoon and Sojeong in an instant, Yoojung stood there blankly staring after the two of them as they disappeared.
“Y-Yoojung... are you okay?”
“Huh...? Ah, Sunhee... Yeah, let’s head back too.”
As though bewitched by something, Yoojung dragged her feet while walking away, Sunhee matching her pace beside her.
Several times while walking, Yoojung turned back to look in the direction Jihoon had disappeared.
Only Sunhee could vaguely guess Yoojung’s condition.
A few days later.
“No seriously, why exactly do you hate it so much?”
Sojeong sat before Jihoon with a frustrated expression while Jihoon happily smiled, dipping sundae into spicy tteokbokki sauce before stuffing it into his mouth.
“You’re not eating?”
“You eat all you want.”
“Nice, then I’ll eat everything~”
Jihoon excitedly stabbed three pieces of sundae onto his chopsticks at once, dipped them in salt this time, and shoved them into his mouth.
Watching Jihoon chew and swallow happily made Sojeong’s appetite return, and she finally picked up her chopsticks.
Jihoon stopped her hand.
“I thought you said I should eat it all? You said you weren’t eating.”
“I’m the one paying for this, you know? Are you gonna pay?”
Once Jihoon let go of her hand, Sojeong immediately began eagerly eating the sundae and tteokbokki as well.
“If you hate the idea of joining the guild that much, then at least participate in this Gate subjugation team once as a mercenary. Hm? You’ll earn a ton of money too. Then you can order tteokbokki with extra cheese every time, Jihoon~”
Hearing Sojeong’s playful, teasing tone, Jihoon fell into thought for a moment.