Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: You Like the Team Leader, Right? (4)
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Choi Da-eun had made her decision.
She was going to bring Training Team 4 along to join the "Park Sun-woo and the Dickheads (Temporary)" guild.
Where the hell could she even use these half-baked hunters? It was a total mystery!
But that was a problem for later.
Choi Da-eun didn't seem to have thought it through that deeply either.
Her burning desire to get close to Han So-ra had blinded her, leading her to make a choice she'd probably regret someday.
💬 Messages — Han A-ra You saved the hunters? I pretended to step out to the bathroom and messaged Han A-ra.
She replied faster than expected.
It took less than ten seconds.
'She must've been staring at her phone.'
I quickly thumbs-upped and sent the update.
— Han A-ra So, what you're saying is... — Han A-ra The "Milky Way" Guild collapsed, — Han A-ra their teammates have nowhere to go, — Han A-ra and you're recruiting them into our guild? The machine-gun barrage of messages made me feel like I'd done something wrong.
Should I apologize for deciding on my own right now?
As I pondered that, a very long message arrived.
— Han A-ra I totally get why Sun-woo wants to bring them along. You're a bit of an oddball, but you're not a bad person. You're probably just trying to help them out. But this is business. I really want to grow the "Ara and Friends" guild I created into something huge. I need to prove I can do it without So-ra unnie's help, but honestly, F-Rank hunters won't be much use. Choi Da-eun as a C-Rank is great, but the rest of the team is kinda... — Me Guess there's no helping it then. — Han A-ra Sorry, Sun-woo. But one thing didn't make sense.
— Me Wait, the guild name is "Ara and Friends"? I barely held back from asking if "Park Sun-woo and the Dickheads" wouldn't be better.
— Han A-ra Yeah. I racked my brain, but nothing better came to mind. So I went with this. — Me Didn't you say no help from Han So-ra? — Han A-ra No plans for that. I'll grow the guild with my own strength. You and me, the two of us—we can do it. Just the guild name alone screams trouble.
Maybe I should bail from here.
I seriously considered it.
'Without Han So-ra, it'd have crashed and burned ages ago.'
There was a good reason Han So-ra kept reining Han A-ra in.
— Me Got it for now. No helping it. — Han A-ra Sorry. I want to take in your old teammates, but we're just starting out, so it's tough. I pocketed my smartphone and let out a deep sigh.
It sucked having to pour cold water on the good vibes.
I came back from the bathroom and returned to the table.
Choi Da-eun and Lee Eun-seo were toasting and chatting away.
"Team leader, your tongue's all twisted."
"...No. I'm not drunk."
Choi Da-eun's face was beet red.
She'd been like that for a while.
Anyone could see she was wasted.
Choi Da-eun had already hit her drinking limit.
She was half-gone, you could say.
Her prickly personality was still there, but her slurred voice had a cute whine to it.
"Team leader, read this."
I opened the phone's notes app, typed "Sun-woo Oppa," and showed her.
Choi Da-eun read it letter by letter with her eyes.
"Eek!?"
In that instant, Choi Da-eun shot her arm out.
She grabbed my hair like she was clutching balls.
Not content with that, she immediately started yanking.
"Aaaah, ack!"
"You fucker, wanna die? I said I'm not drunk."
"Okay, okay! I believe you!"
Not drunk.
Choi Da-eun wasn't drunk at all.
I turned off the phone and pocketed it.
I roughly fixed my messed-up hair and sat down.
'...Gotta rip the band-aid off before she gets her hopes up more.'
Better to get scolded early.
Disappointment comes from expectations.
Time to deliver the bad news quick.
"Uh, I have something to say."
I didn't drag it out.
I told them the guild master of the new guild didn't want Training Team 4 transferring over.
"...Yeah, that makes sense."
Training Team 4 took the truth more calmly than expected.
Some even looked like they'd seen it coming.
"Honestly, what guild in their right mind would take on a bunch of F-Rank hunters moving together?"
Harsh reality.
Guilds weren't charities.
Guilds were like companies, existing for profit.
"If I were guild master, I'd turn it down too. Recruiting a whole existing team into a brand-new guild? Sounds insane."
"We were getting our hopes up too much."
"Thanks for checking quick and letting us know. The longer you drag this stuff out, the worse it hurts. Sigh, gotta hustle starting tomorrow."
The party mood dipped a bit.
Being human, they couldn't help but hope a little.
A few hunters looked openly disappointed.
"Alright, heavy talk later."
Lee Eun-seo clapped twice to grab attention.
"We cleared the 10th floor dungeon! No time to mope. Let's drink, drink up!"
Lee Eun-seo's glass rose into the air.
Not telekinesis—just her hand.
The half-full soju sloshed around.
The F-Rank hunters forced smiles and picked up their glasses.
"Cheers!"
This was a party to enjoy.
If you're gonna sulk over a failed transfer, do it at home—not here.
Thanks to Lee Eun-seo's efforts, the vibe picked back up.
The subdued energy rose to proper drinking levels.
"What about me?"
Then, the quietly seated Choi Da-eun spoke up.
What was she asking?
From context, she was wondering if she'd failed the guild transfer like the F-Rank Training Team 4.
Han A-ra had said Choi Da-eun was okay.
But announcing that here felt awkward.
I could feel the F-Ranks glancing over.
"Team leader..."
"He's calling her team leader. That's that, then."
"Better this way. I was worried I'd be holding Da-eun unnie back again."
The Training Team 4 members looked relieved as they sipped their drinks.
"The guild master said it'd be great to have you. We've met before, and you're C-Rank..."
"Oh?"
Choi Da-eun seemed to like the idea.
A faint smile tugged at her lips as she nodded.
After composing herself briefly, Choi Da-eun held out her smartphone to me.
"Can I get your contact?"
"Here."
I entered the number and handed it back.
Choi Da-eun stared at her phone, then exploded.
"Fuck, not your number, you bastard."
"Oh."
I took her phone back.
Looking closely, my number was already saved.
[Dumbass Fucker]
"Kinda hurt you saved me as 'Dumbass Fucker'."
"Then what? What should I save you as?"
"Sun-woo Bear or something. Our Sun-woo."
"If you weren't team leader, I'd have deleted and blocked you already, dumbass."
Her snarky jabs just hurt for no reason.
I saved Han A-ra's number in Choi Da-eun's phone and gave it back.
I subtly tried to change the saved name, but failed.
Choi Da-eun was watching too closely.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Training Team 4 enjoyed their final party.
With the "Milky Way" Guild disbanded and the team dissolution all but certain, this was likely the last time they'd meet like this.
They started sharing the words they'd been holding back.
Choi Da-eun quietly listened to them all.
As time passed, the empty soju bottles kept piling up.
After round two, they hit a noraebang, and most were out cold.
Except Lee Eun-seo.
'Every damn day like this.'
Lee Eun-seo's limit was twelve bottles.
Even without snacks.
With proper eating, it was bottomless.
She shoved off the subtly flirting Lee Jin-seong and focused on Choi Da-eun.
She was more curious about Choi Da-eun's feelings than the others'.
Bonus: test Park Sun-woo too.
— I'm a romantic kitty~!
Belting out songs in the room.
Alcohol boosted her confidence; she shouted like a pro singer.
After the noraebang third round, the buzz had worn off a bit.
This timing was the most dangerous.
For Lee Eun-seo, it was time to drive the nail home.
"Unnie, last day—let's do fourth round."
Lee Eun-seo linked arms with Choi Da-eun, acting all chummy.
Thinking it was the end softened Choi Da-eun up.
A few had gone home.
"Last" meant both end and beginning.
Some focused on the new start.
They'd cut ties decisively and gone their own way.
Not Lee Eun-seo or Choi Da-eun.
Lee Eun-seo had words that had to be said today.
Words that couldn't wait.
"Unnie, you like someone, right?"
"......"
She was gone.
Choi Da-eun's eyes were off.
Her flushed face hid no expressions, her booze-pickled brain filtered no truths.
Her unruly body needed someone's help.
"Nope."
"No one? Then someone you're into?"
Lee Eun-seo's gaze landed on Park Sun-woo.
Drunk haze? He sat quietly, lips sealed.
Being all meek made him look better.
He's not that bad-looking after all, she realized.
Of course, his eyes were only on Choi Da-eun.
'If you don't like her, it makes no sense. You stuck it out because you do.'
Slapped, stomped, even kicked in the balls.
Yet Park Sun-woo never quit the party.
Not even bound by a "Milky Way" contract.
Choi Da-eun hesitated.
She couldn't answer lightly about someone she was into.
It was the kind of reaction that screamed yes.
No pulling more positives out now.
Not the clear answer she wanted, but best she could get.
For Lee Eun-seo, this distant-relationship paradise conclusion.
"Cheers, let's cheers."
Now she could go home.
Curiosity satisfied—time for bed.
Leave Choi Da-eun to Park Sun-woo.
"Sun-woo oppa."
"...What."
"Da-eun unnie likes the team leader, right?"
"......"
Lee Eun-seo patted Park Sun-woo's back.
Park Sun-woo staggered out, hoisting the dead-drunk Choi Da-eun.
For some reason, lots of motels around...
Lee Eun-seo was Cupid.
Self-proclaimed and acknowledged by all.