Party Preparation is Tough (2)
Thursday afternoon.
Time flew by quickly, and the friendly gathering was only two days away.
Today, I spent time with the Lucy and Rumi twins at a cafe.
I told Baek A-young and the others that I was just going to the party with them, not in a relationship, and poured out my heart.
Still, since I explained it directly to her face, she surprisingly understood right away.
"That really tastes good?"
Lucy said, looking at the green drink I was drinking.
"Yeah. It tastes great."
The drink I ordered was Claire Rose Latte.
A drink that Mun Su-rin likes.
Honestly, it doesn't taste good, but I keep drinking it to maintain the concept.
Soon, it'll become familiar.
"What does it taste like?"
"Um... a blend of the subtle fragrance of roses and the refreshing mint, with a spicy aftertaste."
"... It probably doesn't taste good."
Lucy sucked on her chocolate frappe in front of her.
"Ho-yeon-ssi, try this too."
"Thanks. You should have a bite."
I offered her the Claire Rose Latte as well, after slicing her cake and sharing it with her.
"Uh... I'm fine."
"It's my treat. Drink it."
Honestly, it was a bit much to finish alone, but it worked out well.
"... Okay. Sip. Ugh."
"No need to act so sad."
Rumi closed her eyes tightly like she was eating medicine and sipped the Claire Rose Latte.
It wasn't that bad, but she was acting like it.
"I told you not to bully my sister."
Seeing that, Lucy threatened me with the fork she was using for her cake.
"No. Lucy. This one is pretty good too."
"Yeah. Rumi said it's fine, why are you acting like that."
I was startled and waved my hands vigorously, and Rumi even defended me.
"... What? Again, the two of you are teaming up on me, excluding me?"
Lucy pouted.
Seeing the close relationship between me and Rumi like this, Lucy's jealous side was clearly visible.
"Heh. Sorry, Lucy."
Unlike other heroines, being with the twins made my heart at ease.
Compared to other heroines, this level of jealousy could be laughed off.
I and Rumi worked hard to soothe the pouting Lucy.
"Yes. I also want to participate in the party."
In the student council room of Victoria Academy.
Mun Su-rin's voice echoed in the quiet room.
Mun Su-rin had applied to participate in the postponed party and lay on the chair.
Exhaustion from work was weighing on her entire body.
Originally, she should have been enjoying rest and then finishing work, but there was no time for that.
"Ho-yeon-ah...."
On the smartwatch in her hand, Baek A-young's interview was playing.
Mun Su-rin trembled with unease, biting her nails.
"I should have moved a little faster...!"
Fortunately, they weren't in a relationship, but people have perceptions.
Baek A-young seemed to want to show everyone that she was dating.
But if they weren't actually dating.... It meant the Saint was my competitor.
To not fall behind competitors, I had to make an effort myself.
Mun Su-rin picked up the smartwatch.
In the voice recording file, Mun Su-rin touched the file named "Lee Ho-yeon Love".
This was the result of Ho-yeon secretly recording and editing every time we met.
- Su-rin noona... I love you. Really.
The edited voice file with pitch adjustments was incredibly natural.
"Uhn... Ho-yeon-ah."
Mun Su-rin calmed her heart by listening to Ho-yeon's voice.
Even though the competitor was one step ahead, it was still okay.
Somehow, I could make it up for it. Somehow.
After playing with the Lucy and Rumi twins, I returned to the dorm.
Chicken was the dinner again today, as expected.
"Scarlet."
"Yes, Master?"
I left Liliana, who was enthusiastically eating chicken, and spoke to Scarlet.
"If I ordered you to extract information from the Buyer Guild, what would you do?"
I became curious.
How do people in this industry handle things.
Professor Kang Hyo-rin had been trying to rescue Nam Da-hee, the younger sister of Nam Da-eun, for three days now.
With little time left, and no news, I was considering going tomorrow.
"Um... Last time, the security was extremely tight, so it seemed difficult to break in. In such cases, you need to approach it from a long-term perspective. For example, disguising as a fake employee or pretending to be an original staff member."
"Oh... How long do you think it would take if it were you?"
Scarlet suddenly became smart when talking about work.
"If it were me, it would probably take about a month. It takes that much time to not be suspected in such methods. I don't know how the Korean branch manager would investigate. Since she's better than me, she might do a direct assault, which would shorten the time."
"You don't share information with each other in the same guild?"
Scarlet seemed to have less information than me, even though we were in the same guild.
"If it's not the same department, we often don't know. I didn't even know Professor Kang Hyo-rin was here."
"Hmm, interesting."
I didn't understand, but there were probably rules in the information guild.
Anyway, this was what I was worried about.
Scarlet was quite capable.
But could she handle a job that would take a month in just a week?
At first, I wasn't worried, but with no contact until Thursday night, worry was growing.
"If I leave the job and go check how far it's progressed in the middle, is that being a nuisance?"
"It's not welcome, but... it's not a nuisance. That's the customer's right."
Okay.
I should go tomorrow and nag.
Nam Da-eun was still locked in the dorm, and there was no way to contact her.
All I could do was nag.
Even that, I had to do earnestly.
The Magic Hall where the research labs of the magic professors are gathered.
In the research lab of Lim Sol, who occupies the entire second floor, Baek A-young, Min Yeji, and Lim Sol were having a conversation.
The topic was, of course, Baek A-young.
"You like Lee Ho-yeon, right? Right?"
Min Yeji poked Baek A-young and asked.
Her face was full of a smile that found something amusing.
"...."
Baek A-young lowered her head.
How did she end up doing something like that.
She had been ignoring all incoming contacts on the smartwatch.
Because her face wasn't thick enough to say 'Ah, that's not it' when people would misunderstand if she spoke like that.
And honestly, the misunderstanding wasn't bad, so she left it.
"Sol-ah, you should say something too. Right? It's a big deal!"
Min Yeji patted Lim Sol's arm and shook her head vigorously.
"Ha. A-young-ah. Why did you do that. What if I give this beast a bite to eat."
"Sorry...."
Baek A-young lowered her head as if she was going to bang it on the floor.
Lim Sol clicked her tongue at that.
After seeing the interview, Lim Sol was initially surprised, but thinking slowly, it didn't make sense.
Because she didn't sense that kind of vibe from Ho-yeon when he went to meet Baek A-young yesterday.
Probably, agreeing to be a party partner was real.
But it wasn't a romantic relationship.
Ho-yeon had no special thoughts and just chose a partner for the party.
Baek A-young was aware of that.
Yet, yesterday's interview seemed deliberately intended to create misunderstandings.
That meant Baek A-young really had feelings for Ho-yeon.
At this point, even Lim Sol was curious.
"So, you really like him?"
"...."
Once Lim Sol joined the question, Baek A-young couldn't ignore it anymore.
"Right? You're 28 and trying to date a 20-year-old."
Min Yeji started teasing Baek A-young again, and Baek A-young opened her mouth.
"... The age difference of 8 years is enough to overcome."
"Wow, Sol-ah. Look at what A-young is saying. You're the teacher, and Ho-yeon is your disciple?"
"Teacher Yang is not a professor. She's a staff member."
"Oh my, she's really fallen hard. Big deal."
Finally, Baek A-young admitted it.
For the first time, she confessed her true feelings in front of others.
"Ha... Yeah. That's right. I like Ho-yeon. Now satisfied?"
Instead, by being so direct, the frustration disappeared.
But soon, Min Yeji's next words made Baek A-young's hair stand on end.
"Sol-ah. What do we do. It seems like you've got a competitor."
"C-competitor?"
Baek A-young looked at Lim Sol in surprise.
"It's not a competitor. If A-young reacts to every little thing like this, I keep doing it."
"Sorry...."
Baek A-young glared at the teasing Min Yeji, and Min Yeji apologized.
Seeing that, Lim Sol pondered.
'Ho-yeon....'
To Lim Sol, Ho-yeon was still a cute disciple.
They could communicate magically, and he was one of the few mages who could understand her words.
At the same time, a delicious sugar source.
"A-young-ah. Shall I tell you how to seduce Ho-yeon-ssi for sure?"
Min Yeji looked at Baek A-young with a smile full of amusement.
"... What?"
Baek A-young didn't want to expect from Min Yeji, but asked anyway.
"Get close to him physically. A 20-year-old guy would break immediately?"
"...."
"Oh my, really? It's straight to the point."
Min Yeji said it half-jokingly, half-seriously to Baek A-young, but Baek A-young was indifferent.
'It doesn't work anymore.'
If it had come to physical contact, she wouldn't have gone this far.
Baek A-young was frustrated that she couldn't say 'It's a girl who has sex with Ho-yeon every time we meet' even though she wanted to.
She had confessed her heart, but she didn't want to talk about physical relations yet.
"Sol-ah. A-young doesn't believe my words."
"...."
Lim Sol thought while looking at Baek A-young's serious thoughts about Ho-yeon.
'I can't let A-young find out.'
I can't let her find out that I suck Ho-yeon's dick every time he comes to the lab.
Of course, the reason is a very healthy one: to fill up on sugar for research... but it was too ahead of its time, and others would take 100 years to accept it.
And, well, seeing Baek A-young rolling her feet around was pitiful.
Already, I had a deep relationship with Ho-yeon, and it seemed I was ahead of Baek A-young.
'It's not like a kid, but this feels good.'
Lim Sol shook her head and took a sip of mix coffee.