Chapter 38. It keeps getting tangled.
Chapter 38. It keeps getting tangled.
Choi Yeon-ju felt puzzled seeing Byeong-jin bustling about busily since the morning. That man wasn't usually this busy at this hour.
She couldn't help but ask.
"Why are you fidgeting like a dog that needs to take a shit?"
"Am I a dog?"
"I apologize to the dog."
"......."
His mouth hanging open blankly was funny. But she didn't laugh. Because if she laughed here, that man would feel a sense of intimacy and start some half-assed flirting.
"Look at this."
Byeong-jin fumbled to take out his phone and shoved the screen in front of Choi Yeon-ju's eyes.
[What are you doing? Didn't you say today was the day you're going to the Gate? If it's okay, do you want to go together?]
That was what was written on the screen.
"Is it Im Da-eun?"
"Yeah. I absolutely have to go to this."
"Even if you go, training her is impossible."
"I know that! But the more rapport you build, the better, right?"
"That goes without saying. It seems you've misinterpreted my words. I was just telling you to wake up from your dreams if you were going with those kinds of expectations."
Byeong-jin frowned at Choi Yeon-ju's words.
"I didn't even have expectations in the first place. You bad bitch."
"That's a relief. If you went with expectations and nothing happened, the frustration would be huge."
"....You really..."
"Then you'd just come to me and whine again, wouldn't you."
Choi Yeon-ju said that, shrugged her shoulders, and got into the elevator to head to work. She heard muttering behind her, but didn't bother reacting. She was thinking about something else instead.
'Im Da-eun must be the second Physical Enhancement Ability User of the Lee Si-woo Crew that I didn't see back then.'
She remembered when she stopped by to get the corpses of the Orc and the Swamp Blue Frog. Lee Si-woo had definitely said so. That there was one more Physical Enhancement Ability User who couldn't come here. He had said she was in the Gate, warming up. Hearing Byeong-jin's explanation, it seemed she wasn't warming up, but trying to earn money a bit harder thanks to a tight budget.
'We seem to be getting tangled up more than I thought.'
It didn't particularly matter if she got tangled up with Lee Si-woo. Choi Yeon-ju had the influence and power to overturn all those relationships and start anew. But Byeong-jin was a bit ambiguous. It might not matter for him either. He was, after all, an Ability-less person. Even if he got a little close to Im Da-eun, there was absolutely no reason for Lee Si-woo to know of Byeong-jin's existence and be wary of him.
'But if by any chance Im Da-eun enters training, the story could change. Because there are two more people I need to pull out of the Lee Si-woo Crew.'
Im Da-eun, as she heard from Lee Si-woo, was ultimately a 'meat shield.' She was born with a stronger ability than others, but she couldn't fight properly because her senses were dulled. In fact, it wasn't a position that suited crew activities very well. Reflecting on the conversation with Byeong-jin, that was true. She was an ability user who had no choice but to handle her equipment roughly, to the point of sneaking into the Gate because she was struggling with equipment repair costs. It might not matter to pull Im Da-eun out first right now, but touching Im Da-eun first, before taking action regarding Kang Ji-hye and Seong Ha-na, had a non-zero chance of planting unnecessary wariness in Lee Si-woo.
Choi Yeon-ju went down to the underground parking lot, got in her car, and exited the parking lot. The road to the Association was, as always, wide open. That was because not many people visited the Association itself.
Even while doing that, Choi Yeon-ju didn't stop thinking.
Im Da-eun's ability is excellent, but the restrictions are just as severe. Unless it's a special case, the only way for her to earn money through the Gate is to make a living by catching Goblins that can be hunted without using equipment. That alone might earn her a higher annual salary than an average large corporation employee, but the fact that her limits are clear would obviously lead her to mannerism.
Because people originally gain motivation from the desire for advancement.
Choi Yeon-ju thought. They had to form a crew anyway. And among the people she had marked, she hadn't yet decided on a vanguard with physical enhancement abilities.
Suddenly, the breast monster in Lee Si-woo's crew, Han Hye-mi, came to mind, but Choi Yeon-ju shook her head. She certainly had the visuals that would attract Byeong-jin, but her ability was that of an ordinary Physical Enhancement Ability User. Since there were many Physical Enhancement Ability Users with outstanding looks without any special abilities, there was absolutely no reason to prioritize Han Hye-mi, who was already in the Lee Si-woo Crew, as a training target.
It seemed best to watch for now. It would be good if there was a Physical Enhancement Ability User with better abilities than Im Da-eun, but if there wasn't anyone particularly attractive, she thought it would be better to choose Im Da-eun.
Sensory Dulling wasn't particularly worrying. Lim Seo-yoon was in training, and if she was hit with Lim Seo-yoon's Sensory Amplification, the Sensory Dulling penalty would be as good as non-existent. Besides, there was Byeong-jin. The pre-cum coming from his dick was Goblin fluid. It had the effect of increasing sexual sensitivity. Sexual sensitivity is also a sense, after all. That sexual sensitivity is amplified means it's no different from the senses becoming sensitive. There are research results that ticklishness is deeply related to pleasure. Classifying sexual sensitivity and senses separately in the first place was a foolish judgment.
In a way, Im Da-eun was a woman with an ability that really suited them.
'Until I find someone with a much better ability, it would be better to go with Im Da-eun.'
The part about Lee Si-woo bothered her a little, but she didn't think it was enough of a reason to give up on Im Da-eun. Judging from the last conversation, Lee Si-woo didn't seem to feel that Im Da-eun was particularly important.
However, there was one problem.
The fact that it was incredibly difficult for Choi Yeon-ju to be directly involved in training Im Da-eun.
Choi Yeon-ju thought about Byeong-jin for a moment. Then a sigh escaped her automatically. It wasn't that she didn't feel sorry, but Choi Yeon-ju couldn't possibly expect Byeong-jin to be able to seduce Im Da-eun.
If she dared to think such a thing, she felt it would be too unfair to Im Da-eun, whom she hadn't even seen in person yet.
ㅡ
[I'll go in first! It looks a bit weird if we go in together. I'll be wandering around near the Gate, so call me when you go in!]
I was dumbfounded after seeing the text.
What's weird about the picture?
Am I embarrassing?
[Okay! I'll call you from inside!]
But the fact that I can't openly protest that to Im Da-eun is legendary.
I realized my crumbled self-esteem while riding the taxi. Since I've been getting nagged by Choi Yeon-ju every day lately, my already shattered self-esteem felt like it had turned to dust. The problem is that I can't think of any way to raise this self-esteem.
The taxi driver, who should normally be chattering away when someone rides next to him, was quiet, which bothered me.
Does he not even want to talk to me?
He's quiet like that now, but it would be different if a pretty woman got in, right?
No. Stop. My self-esteem is shattered right now, so I'm starting to suspect everyone's actions around me. Couldn't that taxi driver just be a taciturn person? I might be too caught up in paranoia, so I should just not think about anything.
Like that, I headed to the Gate.
The Association staff bastard I saw back then was in that spot again. The fortunate thing was that, perhaps because I've gotten a bit used to it, he quickly vacated the spot after we exchanged greetings and a few simple words. I entered the Gate and shouted in the forest, which I was now a bit used to.
"Da-eun-ssi!"
Because it was a forest, the sound echoed loudly. What if a goblin comes first because of this? I was startled after shouting, but fortunately, what appeared in front of me wasn't a goblin, but Im Da-eun.
"Oh! You're here? You came fast."
"This Gate is a bit close to where I live."
"Really? I'm a bit far, so running is faster than taking a taxi. Well, it's good exercise, so it's fine."
Im Da-eun's outfit wasn't much different from the one I saw last time. She was wearing a super sexy leather jacket, and since her pants were also leather pants, her thighs with a black sheen were incredibly hot. It was an all-black leather outfit overall. Seeing her wear it to the Gate even though it must be incredibly stifling to move in, I wondered if she was someone who loved leather clothes.
Pass.
By the way, running is faster than a taxi...?
Of course, cars have to move along roads, so running in a straight line is impossible, but even so, it should be faster than running...
No matter how much I hear about the physical abilities of a Physical Enhancement Ability User, I can't get used to it.
Im Da-eun is said to have abilities 2-3 times stronger in exchange for having a penalty, so it's not that I can't understand it to some extent, but understanding it and being surprised are completely different things.
"Did you get anything before I arrived?"
"Huh? Not really? Nothing other than beating two goblins to death while walking around. I really couldn't find any herbs."
She talks about beating two goblins to death as if she just went for a walk.
It was just absurd because it was so different from me, who has to be prepared to die even when fighting one goblin.
"More than that. Please take care of me today too? I'll take care of the safety, so just work hard on picking herbs!"
Im Da-eun said with a grin. Honestly, this was a relief. I can't agree with Im Da-eun's words that I'm good at finding herbs because there's no comparison group, but anyway, the fact that I met Im Da-eun before the herb gatherers who wander around sometimes.
If another herb gatherer had met Im Da-eun instead of me, wouldn't she have gone around with that herb gatherer instead of me?
Thinking about that, I was almost proud of my actions back then when I stupidly threw a self-flashbang.
Well, as Choi Yeon-ju said, I don't have the nerve to train Im Da-eun right away today. Choi Yeon-ju wasn't by my side, and unlike Lim Seo-yoon, Im Da-eun was only connected by a coincidental relationship.
If I rashly tried to pull any funny business, I could end up with a hole in my stomach. I still haven't forgotten the scene where the goblin kicked in the stomach by Im Da-eun flew in a straight line and died after hitting a tree.
In the first place, this is inside a Gate, so if one herb gatherer disappears without a trace, it's nearly impossible to find them.
Im Da-eun was a person I had to approach much more leisurely and slowly than Lim Seo-yoon.
Of course, I hadn't found the answer to how to approach her.
Fuck.