Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Wol Family (4)
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After shedding tears for a long while, unsure what to do, Wol Ha-yeon finally pulled herself together and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
Her eyes were puffy, her nose slightly stuffy—an appearance utterly at odds with her usual image. She came right up to my face and asked,
"So... sniff, how did you... get Tide Shackles?"
"Well... that... uhm."
Seeing her like that, I barely suppressed a laugh that threatened to escape and began explaining.
"It was about two weeks ago, right? I happened to run into Student Council President Yoo Ji-an, and we somehow ended up making a deal, and as payment for that deal, I somehow ended up with one of Lee Sung-ha's skills."
"I see... If it's Yoo Tae-min's granddaughter, it wouldn't be strange at all for her to have one of my mother's skills."
"Really? If it's okay, could you explain a bit more?"
I'd been curious ever since I got it, but I'd wondered endlessly how Master Craftsman Yoo Tae-min could possibly duplicate Lee Sung-ha's skill.
Most hunters wouldn't even dream of copying anything B-Rank or higher.
"Explaining it isn't hard, sniff."
Wol Ha-yeon sniffed once and continued.
"My mom got a lot of help from Master Yoo Tae-min back when she was an academy cadet—in all sorts of ways, including skills and traits."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I heard that Yoo Tae-min recognized my mom's talent and practically showered her with skill and trait potions."
"Then yeah, even for an S-Rank skill, it makes sense he'd duplicate one as a way to repay the favor."
All my questions were answered.
I'd been dying of curiosity ever since, but it resolved so simply like this.
I nodded to show I'd fully accepted it and asked once more.
"So... you're okay with it? Can I use your mother's skill from now on?"
Wol Ha-yeon replied loudly without the slightest hesitation.
"Of course! If anything, thanks to you, I got to relive memories of my mom after so long."
"Glad I could help... I'll make sure to grow strong enough never to tarnish Lee Sung-ha—your mother's—name when I use the skill."
After hearing me out, she fell silent for a moment.
She simply gazed quietly at my face.
But that gaze felt strangely prolonged.
In the training hall where the light swayed gently, her moonlit eyes were faintly tinged red.
"......Thank you."
Wol Ha-yeon slowly opened her mouth.
"Really, from the bottom of my heart."
"No, I'm the one who's honored."
"No."
Ha-yeon shook her head.
"If it weren't you... I never would've thought of that skill... or memories of Mom."
She took a step closer.
Her eyes still swollen from crying, her voice thick with a sniffle.
Yet her expression held something deeper than sorrow.
"Hyun-sol."
"......Yeah?"
Wait, something feels seriously off right now...
"You know."
Ha-yeon stood very close.
Close enough to touch if I reached out.
Then, after a slight hesitation, she spoke very quietly.
"No one's ever been this considerate to me before."
Hold on, no, seriously hold on.
"That's... just as a friend—"
"No."
It was firm.
"Not as a friend, because it's you."
Her words made my heart sink.
"When I'm with you, it feels strangely comfortable... Every morning we spar, I keep getting distracted by you, and whenever you're with other girls, my chest feels strangely tight. At first, I had no idea why."
"H-Ha-yeon, wait a sec—"
"But now I think I get it a little."
Ha-yeon took another step toward me.
Now our breaths almost mingled.
"I think... I like you."
Three words.
Those simple three words pierced my eardrums and exploded in my mind.
"......"
My thoughts froze.
No words came out.
"Saying it out loud... makes me a bit embarrassed. But if I didn't say it now, I'd regret it forever."
Her fingertips reached toward my chest.
But faster than that, I instinctively stepped back.
"Th-that's... hold on, uh, what I mean is! Yeah, aren't you just caught up in the mood and a little excited?"
Ha-yeon blinked.
"Why do you think that?"
"Well... because..."
My words tangled.
My heart raced wildly, but my mind was blank.
Worse than when I'd squeezed out every last drop of mana moments ago.
"H-hearing something like that so suddenly... I need a minute to process."
"Then I'll wait until you do."
"That's not it!!"
I flailed my hands in the air, breaking into a cold sweat.
"It's just too sudden! We were talking about skills one second, and then you drop that...!"
Ha-yeon tilted her head slightly.
Tears still lingered in her eyes, but her expression was oddly playful.
"What's wrong with that? What was the problem?"
"Obviously there's a problem! We could've wrapped up the skill talk nicely and parted on a warm note, but then you go and confess... "
"Ahaha!!"
As I fumbled through my excuse or whatever it was, Wol Ha-yeon burst out laughing.
"It wasn't a confession? I just meant I really like you as a friend."
"......Huh?"
She took another step closer.
"Say it again? I wasn't confessing love to you as a woman! I just said I like you as a friend, okay?"
She lightly tugged at my collar with her fingertips.
"Still, it's worth commemorating since it's the first time I've been this honest with someone... Remember this moment."
"......"
"From that look on your face, you want to run away right now? You can if you want."
Ha-yeon smiled very faintly.
"But later, I'll catch you."
"O-okay, then I'll head out for today. Thanks for the meal, and please pass on my greetings to Master Wol Cheon-mu. Bye!!"
With that, I fled the training hall.
Running down the corridor, my steps stumbled; the moment I burst through the door, cold air slapped my face.
My heart pounded madly.
Breath caught in my throat, mind blank.
Damn it, tsundere Hyun-sol, seriously die already!! How do you even misunderstand like that!!
Embarrassing.
So damn embarrassing.
She had phrased it in a way that could be misunderstood, sure, but breaking it down, it clearly wasn't her saying she liked me romantically.
I'd just jumped to conclusions all on my own, panicked, awkwardly turned her down, and humiliated myself.
Anyway, when I finally calmed down and reached the main gate of the Wol estate, my hands were still trembling faintly.
I turned back to gaze at the training hall.
Inside, there would be a girl who had stood frozen after sadly crying, only to end up laughing.
I stood there for a moment, slowly exhaling.
"......Ha, that was close... I almost got swept up in a second because I let my guard down."
Even after Kang Hyun-sol left, Wol Ha-yeon lingered in the training hall, sensing his presence for a while longer, before going to find her grandfather, who was meditating.
"...Did you see off the guest?"
"Yep~ I prepared a grand spread and sent him off with a full belly."
"...?"
Puzzled by her much brighter voice than usual, he ended his meditation, slightly lifted his eyes, and looked at his granddaughter sitting across from him.
"You seem awfully excited. Did something good happen?"
"Well~ Is it good? It feels like a bit of bright sunlight, like the sun itself, has started shining into my gray life, which had been dull since Mom and Dad died."
"...That boy must have made quite an impression on you."
"Yeah. Honestly, I didn't expect to feel this sincerely about him... I think I need to get a little closer now."
Truth be told, most of what she'd said earlier to tease Kang Hyun-sol had been half-lies.
But reflecting on it now, some of those "lies" turned out to be true.
For example, his strangely numerous and complicated relationships with women, or how he only trained with girls...
Of course, Wol Ha-yeon didn't mind much.
Compared to them, she had nothing to fear.
"Still, if you let him roam too freely, things will get even more tangled."
"...What did you say?"
"Nothing~ Just that there are a lot of formidable rivals around. I'm thinking about how to keep him firmly by my side~"
"......"
Wol Cheon-mu fell silent for a moment.
His hand, about to resume meditating, paused; he slowly rose, flung open the window, and spoke.
"...Those words don't sound like lighthearted jokes."
Wol Ha-yeon tilted her head playfully and smiled.
"Jokes are more fun when half-serious, right?"
"Sigh... Ha-yeon, you can't conquer or control a person's heart however you want. No matter how superior your strength, beauty, or talent, it won't work."
"I know."
"Binding with force will break eventually."
"I know that too."
"So—"
He snapped his fingers lightly, spreading mana around.
The entire family head's chamber resonated like a bell.
"If you want to hold him, to be together forever, he must choose it. Firmly."
"......"
Wol Ha-yeon said nothing in response.
But the smile on her face deepened.
"Mm... I'm already doing that."
"Really?"
"Yes!"
She raised both arms lightly, as if stretching.
"So, a bit slower here. A bit more surely. A bit... closer, until he ultimately chooses me."
"......"
Wol Cheon-mu asked no more.
He could read the expression of his granddaughter, who had already made her decision.
It looked playful, but her eyes were clear.
The eyes of someone resolved.
"...That's so you. Or rather... you take after them. Blood truly runs deep."
Wol Ha-yeon grinned.
"Of course. Whose daughter am I?"
"Right, you're the daughter of my last disciple and that girl who was clumsy but decisive when it counted."
"Exactly. And... if by any chance Hyun-sol looks elsewhere or doesn't choose me, then I'll have to do like Mom did."
"Like your mom? No way...? How do you even know about that, Ha-yeon?"
To her grandfather's question, she flashed a mischievous grin and replied.
"Mom told me directly a while back. Dad had quite the complicated relationships with women, so she had a hard time. In the end, she had no choice but to pull all the women around him into her gravitational field..."
"Stop there... That girl, why tell you even things she didn't have to... Absolutely not. It can't be done that way."
"I'm just preparing for the worst case. I want to end it without violence or blood if possible."
Wol Ha-yeon left the family head's chamber, heading out to properly devise her plan, leaving her grandfather behind with eyes wide in shock.