Chapter 47
I’ll translate the full chapter into the required HTML format, keeping dialogue separated cleanly and using styled blocks only where the text is truly in-universe UI or status content.CHAPTER_TITLE: A Sudden Visitor
What the hell.
The moment I opened the door and saw Jin Yeonhui standing there, my brain seemed to short out for a second.
Why was she here? Was this a dream? It could have been. Maybe even Ye Jiram being in my room had been a dream.
Right, that made more sense than anything else. I nodded to myself and started to ease the door shut.
Click.
“……”
“……”
Jin Yeonhui caught the closing door and stopped it with her hand.
“Why are you closing it?”
“I don’t know, I just—”
“……”
“……”
Seriously, what was going on? I couldn’t make sense of it at all. Just as my head was failing me completely—
“What? Who’s there? Oh?”
Ye Jiram’s eyes widened when she saw Jin Yeonhui.
“Isn’t that our Lightning Empress? What brings you here?”
She spoke with a chicken bone clenched between her teeth, and Jin Yeonhui’s nose wrinkled a little.
“……I had business here.”
“With who? Me?”
“No.”
“I figured. This is our baby’s place, after all.”
“……Our baby?”
At that, Jin Yeonhui looked at me again, as if to ask what kind of ridiculous nickname that was.
“……It’s not one I came up with.”
Who was supposed to hear that and be happy about it? Even so, I didn’t really have anything to say.
“So, um. You said you had business with me?”
“……”
Jin Yeonhui nodded.
“……Then, do you want to come in first?”
“Yes.”
Without the slightest hesitation, she stepped inside at my invitation.
And just like that, the most random gathering imaginable got underway.
* * *
The three of us crowded around the table. There was only one chicken, but thankfully there were still more cans of beer left.
In the middle of the awkward silence, the first to break it was, thankfully, Ye Jiram.
“Didn’t think I’d be seeing our Lightning Empress like this. Long time no see?”
“Yes. It has been a while.”
Jin Yeonhui nodded in response. It looked like the two of them knew each other at least somewhat.
“This is the first time we’ve seen each other properly since that commercial, right? Has it been about half a year?”
“……That’s right.”
Commercial?
Oh, I remembered.
Something flickered through my mind. I thought Ye Jiram and Jin Yeonhui had filmed some kind of cosmetics ad together. I remembered seeing it on TV.
“Still, what brings you out at this hour? Barging into a man’s place this late at night and all.”
“……”
At that, Jin Yeonhui gave Ye Jiram a strange look, as if to say it was a little odd for you to say that.
“What? Me? That’s the kind of image I have, isn’t it? Doesn’t really hurt me.”
……Her self-awareness was terrifyingly perfect. She clearly knew exactly what kind of wild character she was.
Then, with a chicken bone pointed in Jin Yeonhui’s direction, she went on,
“But you’re different. You’ve got this whole mysterious, pure image going on. Is this really okay?”
Mysterious and pure?
That was unexpected.
At Ye Jiram’s remark, Jin Yeonhui’s eyelids trembled.
“……I just came because I had business here.”
“Exactly, and your business was important enough to bring you here in the middle of the night?”
“……I had a reason. Besides, what about you, Jiram? What are you doing here at this hour?”
“I’m different.”
Ye Jiram let out a small snort.
“We’ve got plenty of inner closeness, and plenty of outer closeness too.”
“What are you talking about?”
This time I cut in. Since when had that been the case?
At my words, Ye Jiram put on a strangely hurt expression.
“What’s with that look? Baby, we’re close.”
“……We are?”
“We crossed the line together, didn’t we? That makes us close, doesn’t it?”
So one trip through the labyrinth was enough to make that happen?
I couldn’t have been more bewildered.
“I can sort of get the inner closeness part. What’s the outer part?”
“We went, uh, body-to-body in a Gate together, ate chicken together, drank beer together. That counts.”
“You really are a menace.”
“What, you punk?”
“Ah—sorry, that slipped out.”
I clamped my mouth shut after the words came out before I could stop them. Seeing that, Ye Jiram turned to Jin Yeonhui and said,
“See? I told you we’re close.”
“……”
“So, if you don’t have anything to say, maybe come back later, okay?”
“……I do have something to say. I came because I had business.”
“Really? Then go on.”
When Ye Jiram said it like she was genuinely prepared to listen, Jin Yeonhui bit her lip before answering.
“It’s not something I can say if you’re here.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Ye Jiram smiled brightly at that.
“Then I guess it’ll have to wait. I’ve already got plans tonight. Out you go, come back tomorrow. Tonight, he’s mine.”
Ye Jiram pointed at me. I reacted with a look of utter disgust.
“Since when do you get to decide that? I belong to myself.”
“Aw, can’t you just humor me a little? This kid has no give. You’re not popular, are you?”
“……”
Why was she jabbing me right in the sore spot?
“Ah, sorry. You really weren’t popular, huh?”
“Get out.”
“Hey, if I’m leaving, I’m leaving after I’ve finished eating.”
She burst out laughing, loud and clear.
“Man, this is fun. Now that I think about it, you two are close, aren’t you?”
“Us?”
“Would she have come here if you weren’t close?”
As for whether I was close with Jin Yeonhui—
Well.
I don’t think so.
Unless it was Gyeongbeom, I hadn’t really spoken to Jin Yeonhui in years.
Maybe that had been true in the past, but now we were just people who knew each other. Which was exactly why her showing up at my place felt so strange.
“Not close? Why not? Aren’t our Yeonhui and Yu Jin close?”
I flinched. The moment Yu Jin’s name came up, Jin Yeonhui’s shoulders gave a slight tremor.
“……Why is that person being brought up here?”
There was clear displeasure in her voice.
“You two looked like you knew each other. Don’t you? Baby, you don’t know Yu Jin?”
“……I know him. But, do you know him too, Ye Jiram?”
“I’m not exactly unfamiliar with him.”
It sounded a little too much like a lie, but there was no particular reason for the Black Night Witch to be close to Yu Jin either.
“Hm. Judging from the vibe, maybe Yu Jin gets bullied?”
“Bullied……?”
“Be careful. If you ostracize a monster like that, he might cut you all to ribbons later.”
“What, do you think I’m crazy enough to do that?”
Why would anyone bully an SS-class superhuman? Yu Jin was, in name and reality, Korea’s strongest.
“If not, then fine. It’s not that important anyway.”
Gulp. After saying that, Ye Jiram downed the rest of her beer in one shot and stood up.
“Jokes are over, so I’m heading out. Stay any longer and I’ll end up like a rotisserie chicken.”
“You’re leaving? I thought you said you had something to say.”
“I do, but I don’t think tonight’s the night. Why? Want me to stay longer?”
“Take care on your way out.”
“Seriously, you’ve got zero charm……?”
Tsking under her breath, Ye Jiram moved toward the door.
“Anyway. Have a good time~”
She stepped outside, and just like that, Ye Jiram disappeared after doing nothing but devour the chicken and beer.
“……”
“……”
An unbearably awkward air began to fill the room.
* * *
Thud.
Once the door closed, Ye Jiram looked at it and grinned.
‘What a funny situation.’
It was strange. That was the thought she’d had when she saw Jin Yeonhui.
‘The great Lightning Empress, of all people.’
She never would have expected her to show her feelings so openly, to the point that anyone could tell. The first time she’d seen her, she’d thought the woman was made of ice.
‘What’s going on between those two?’
It almost looked like the kids had somehow stumbled into a stretch of youth together, but even that didn’t seem quite right.
All she had to do was look at Lee Jinwoo’s face.
The amusing baby actually showed a fair amount in his expressions.
I should’ve asked while I was in there.
She had come to settle the matter that had brought her here in the first place, but then Jin Yeonhui had turned up too.
With this thing prodding at me outside, I can’t even do anything.
She couldn’t stay any longer, not with that constant sensation prickling at her throat.
“Haa.”
Ye Jiram climbed up onto the railing and leapt.
Whoosh.
With the cloak that suddenly spread out behind her, she glided down and landed in a park not far from the officetel.
Fizz, fizz.
The streetlights along the road flickered. There were few people around, and the air was cold.
Standing there, Ye Jiram looked around and said, “It’s in the middle of getting fun, so why call me out here?”
At her words, someone responded.
“What are you doing?”
The icy voice came from the trees on her left. When she turned her head, she saw someone leaning against the trunk there.
“What do you mean, what am I doing? I was just making a friend. Why?”
“A friend?”
At that, the figure slowly stepped out from the shadow.
It was Yu Jin.
The only SS-class superhuman in Korea.
Unlike the bright and gentle image the public knew, his eyes were cold, and a cigarette was hanging from his lips.
It was nothing like the rumors, but it was a face Ye Jiram knew better than anyone else.
“You and those kids aren’t exactly the kind of people who should be making friends.”
“Why not? Maybe I can. You’re the one who keeps teasing me about being old—”
Swish.
Something brushed against her throat. Seeing that, Ye Jiram slowly lifted a hand.
“You really do have a bad temper. If you keep that up from when you’re young, you’ll be in big trouble later. You know that?”
“Cut the nonsense and answer properly.”
With a colder gaze, Yu Jin asked, “Did Jin Yeonhui go in there?”
“Ah.”
Only then did Ye Jiram understand why this had happened.
“So that was the problem? That’s what’s bothering our Yu Jin?”
She barely held back the laugh trying to escape. If she let the corners of her mouth lift wrong here, who knew what that vicious bastard would do.
“But why ask me? You saw it all, didn’t you?”
The man could sense everything within the area if he wanted to.
She had wondered why he’d bother asking her something like this, but then—
“Ah, right.”
He couldn’t know everything.
Because Hale Irene is there.
The monster above Yu Jin.
With her there, even he couldn’t do anything.
“So you called me.”
“Why did Jin Yeonhui go there?”
As if Ye Jiram’s words didn’t interest him in the slightest, Yu Jin pushed on with his question.
It was annoying, but Ye Jiram didn’t have much choice.
That damn curse was always causing trouble.
“How would I know? She just showed up saying she had something to say, didn’t she?”
“Something to say? What something?”
“Didn’t you hear me just now? I said I don’t know.”
“……”
“If you’re that curious, go ask her yourself. It’s not like you’re not friends with those babies too. Or are you not?”
The tips of her black-manicured fingers brushed her cheek.
“Those two might be, but maybe not you?”
Spat—!
Blood suddenly sprayed across her cheek.
“Honestly.”
Wiping the blood away, Ye Jiram narrowed her eyes.
“You’ve got the worst temper. I was only teasing you a little.”
She wiped away the shallow cut and continued.
“If you’re curious, go find out yourself. Hanging around here won’t get you anything from me.”
At her words, Yu Jin wore a brief expression of hesitation.
“……Useless.”
He spat out the irritated words, then turned and disappeared.
The oppressive pressure that had been lingering faded away.
[Seed of the curse has calmed down.]
Seeing the system window appear before her, Ye Jiram finally let out the breath she’d been holding.
“Haa.”
What a ridiculous sight she must have made.
She’d gotten tangled up with that brat and ended up doing all this nonsense.
At this rate, the contribution reward she’d earned for getting the information out of him should have been enough to make up for it.
“……Musin, that damned bastard.”
That unidentified bastard called Musin. He had ruined everything.
Ye Jiram bit her lip in resentment.
Just you wait.
If she got the chance, she would make him suffer somehow.
By whatever means she had to.
* * *
“Hah-choo!”
My nose tickled, and I sneezed. Damn it, why was I sneezing all of a sudden?
Is someone talking bad about me?
I wiped my nose with a tissue. After clearing my throat once, I focused back on the person in front of me.
“So…….”
Jin Yeonhui, standing before me.
Looking at her, I asked again, “You’re telling me right now—”
It was because I couldn’t quite understand what I’d just heard.
“—you want me to go to Gwangju?”
“Yes.”
At my words, Jin Yeonhui nodded.
……Gwangju?
What on earth was that supposed to mean all of a sudden?