Chapter 231
Chapter 231
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 231
Chapter Title: 76. Transitional Season (7)
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Summer left. Yoo Ji-tae turned to look at Bom.
When their eyes met, he suddenly found her slightly droopy eyes a bit pretty, so he shook off the thought and asked.
"How does it look?"
"Hm..."
Bom thought for a moment before answering.
"I think it's about time now."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Did you notice Summer subtly avoiding Autumn lately?"
Was she? Thinking back, it did seem that way.
For the past few days, Autumn had been learning power control from Bom in the mornings, and today was finally a rest day.
It wasn't obvious. But the subtle avoidance... he could somewhat understand what Bom meant.
Soon, the kids came out to the kitchen.
"Good morning~ Mister. Sis."
"...Hi."
"Yeah. Morning, Winter too? What's for breakfast?"
While the kids chattered and ate, Yoo Ji-tae pondered Summer's situation.
Recalling his once-fuzzy old memories, he could somewhat understand how she felt.
Regressors had no talent.
Weak, even after repeating life countless times.
"......"
He didn't pity or sympathize with Summer.
But he did hope she would be happy.
Having charged ahead so single-mindedly until now, she was probably even more confused. Just like he had been. Vision narrowing. Becoming impatient. Shaken by the smallest things.
Anything else could be overlooked, but narrowing vision had to be avoided. It would break the mind. Just like it had for the regressor.
So it was time to let her get some fresh air, even if just for a bit.
Summer thought.
Lately, everywhere she went, she heard talk of Autumn.
Class. Cafeteria. Lair central training hall... Really, it was Autumn talk no matter where she went.
Once Autumn's videos surpassed her own in views, people started subtly prying into her feelings, pretending otherwise.
Summer's mood was complicated.
After finishing her early morning solo training.
Drenched in sweat, Summer lit a cigarette alone in the back alley and opened her watch.
[1. Jujitae]
Messenger app, top of the contacts.
She started typing to Yoo Ji-tae's number.
[Me: Hey. It's me. After class today, got a sec_]
[Me: Got something to say, got time today_]
[Me: Come out for a bit ㅂ_]
She typed and deleted several times.
Then Summer realized she didn't even know what to say.
What was the point of messaging anyway?
Yell at him? No, that wasn't it. No reason to get mad.
Tell him she was upset? That stung her pride. She wasn't a kid—what was there to be upset about? Upset, my ass.
Then what? Ask him to start training again? But she felt bad about how she'd been acting prickly toward him lately.
Why did I do that...? Probably because seeing Yoo Bom bawling pitifully made her unconsciously empathize. Maybe because they shared the same fated end.
Still, she knew Yoo Ji-tae wasn't the type to swing his dick anywhere. She knew that... but...
"Damn it..."
So she couldn't send the message.
Puff, puff. Only smoke trailed on.
Summer was confused.
The emotions bubbling up were mostly negative.
Summer was a relatively weak hatchling.
Born last from the egg. Even that, nearly a century after her big sister.
She knew it herself. She had no talent.
She'd die if she regressed.
To survive, she had to work hard.
Fortunately, she had the best teacher. A human who, for some reason, knew Red clan combat techniques.
Learning martial arts from him was grueling. Every day, her body ached with muscle pain. Her squeezed heart cried out in agony.
Her whole body bruised and mottled, ugly to look at. During massages from Yoo Ji-tae, it hurt so much she wanted to run.
Among them, training with restraints was even worse. Hard to breathe. Heart crushed tight, felt like dying. Like cramming her body into a tiny room and forcing it down. What if something really happened to her? Summer endured the restraints' torment with such thoughts.
Summer pulled out another cigarette and put it in her mouth. Lit it. Exhaled smoke.
She stared at her own callused hands crusted with scabs.
"I went through all that..."
Yoo Gaeul. She'd gotten pretty strong.
Summer thought. If we fought, would I lose? No. Not now. Blink was impressive, but with knifehand footwork from Kalguakwa style, she could close 60 meters in no time. Magic Arrow's power was great, but its speed wasn't. Easy to dodge. Once close? Teleport had a long cast time. No mana interference, so Gaeul couldn't escape. Then, then...
"......"
...Why am I seriously thinking about this crap?
Confused.
A feeling she'd never had since birth.
In Ascalifa, everything was above her. At the world's lowest point, only things to overcome existed. Overcoming them meant struggling to the death against great beings.
But now? Right beside her, sprinting hard. Something was overtaking her. Effortlessly.
Not desperate like her. No effort. Until recently, giggling over sweets, messing with a chick in her room...
And the world revered it as natural.
Her stingy-with-praise teacher repeated praise so easily.
—Autumn did great. Right, Mister?
—Yeah. She did well.
At the time, Yoo Ji-tae hadn't hesitated at all.
"......"
Thinking back made her feel listless.
Puffing another cigarette strangely made her resent Bom for asking that question and Yoo Ji-tae for answering.
Why say she did well so casually? Did he ever say that to me even once?
What did I even accomplish just to hear one bit of praise?
Summer felt a little wronged.
Only then did she vaguely grasp what this tormenting feeling was.
It was a kind of inferiority complex.
A kind of deprivation.
Summer had never pitied herself since birth. Pitying herself would mean admitting she was that pitiful.
Even if the whole world pitied her, she didn't want to pity herself.
But suddenly, feeling injustice in all this made something surge up from her throat.
She wasn't pitiful.
She mustn't be.
[Jujitae: Yeoreum-ah]
That was when a message came from Yoo Ji-tae.
[Jujitae: Whatcha doing]
[Jujitae: Morning training done?]
Seeing his messages only confused her heart more.
In this mood, she wasn't sure she could reply without showing weakness.
And not just that?
If he'd been so satisfied teaching Gaeul, how pathetic must he have found her?
Her situation made her want to whine, but if he saw her as pathetic, she might want to die.
It scared her.
So Summer didn't reply.
Amid swirling thoughts and fluctuating moods, she came to and class was over for the day.
Her phone rang several times. More messages came. All from Yoo Ji-tae, but she didn't respond.
To grab dinner out, Summer headed to a restaurant with her teammates. No appetite, so she ordered ramen.
But she hadn't expected this even here.
"Whoa, but you guys saw that too, right? Isn't it fucking awesome?"
"What?"
"Yoo Gaeul's video. That one, total—"
As she went to pick up her ramen set, So Ji-ro muttered but shut up after Kim Ji-in elbowed him.
Kim Ji-in glared at So Ji-ro and glanced at Summer. Summer pretended not to hear and sat down.
"......"
Eating ramen, her hair kept falling annoyingly. Summer tied it back. Maybe because her ears were exposed now. She heard distant whispers.
'Her, surprisingly lame, huh?'
'Yeah. Yoo Gaeul seemed way cooler.'
'But I barely saw Yoo Gaeul in magic classes.'
'Heard she trained a bit briefly.'
'So it's not Yoo Yeoreum who's great, it's the Yoo family? They got some killer curriculum or what?'
'Rumors the Federation's grooming them...'
'Don't care about that. I wanna see them fight.'
'Why?'
'Why what? Curious if Yoo Yeoreum's head gets smashed.'
'Heh, yeah.'
Summer set her chopsticks down.
In the wake of injustice came surging irritation.
Heat rising from deep in her chest. Felt like gouging eyes right then.
Summer stood. Half-eaten ramen in hand.
"Yeoreum?"
"Hey, where you going?"
She heard Kim Ji-in and Sophia's voices. Ignoring them, she approached the cadets chattering.
Wanted to bust their heads.
Turn them around and smash their yapping mouths, shatter every tooth.
But Summer held back. Suppressed the bursting emotions. Maybe her anger management training with Winter helped.
Summer pulled out a chair and sat next to the cadet badmouthing her.
Silence fell over the table. The flustered cadets glanced around.
"Thought someone called me. Nah?"
"...Uh, huh?"
"Might as well eat together since I'm sitting."
In truth, Summer hadn't hit people or flipped tables that often. But rumors made her image worse than reality.
They'd just badmouthed her. No way this redhead girl with no connection would sit here otherwise.
Tense time, hard to breathe. Seconds dragged like minutes. 'We're done eating...' 'Uh, yeah.' The nervous cadets picked up their bowls and stood.
Only then did Summer speak.
"Hey."
The cadets half-rising froze stiff.
"Gonna make me say it? Clueless much?"
"Huh...?"
"Aren't you gonna apologize?"
Finally, they awkwardly laughed and apologized to Summer. Sorry. Misspoke. Mistake... Even ones who hadn't said anything groveled sorry. Smart enough not to mention Gaeul.
Once the cadets scrammed, Summer's anger eased a bit.
But in its wake, confusing feelings lingered again.
Why am I even doing this...
She was alone in the corner, smoking.
A shadow fell over Summer.
Yoo Ji-tae was there, unnoticed until when.
Squatting, Summer looked up at him. No confidence to hold his gaze long, so she averted it. Then curtly said.
"Why."
"Why no reply."
"Just..."
Thick cigarette smoke scattered with her breath.
No words from Summer, so Yoo Ji-tae spoke.
"Skip training today. Skip class tomorrow. Come somewhere with me."
"Why."
"Just do it."
Flat tone, but it felt burdensome today.
Didn't want to show weakness.
Didn't want to depend.
Didn't want to be compared.
Whatever, no mood to talk now.
"...No. Leave me alone. Go away."
"Yoo Yeoreum."
"Why! I get down sometimes too. Just leave me."
"Can't."
"Why? What're you doing. I'm staying put? No running off. No trouble. Just let me think alone for fuck's—"
As she irritably refused him.
Yoo Ji-tae suddenly grabbed her wrist and yanked her up.
Couldn't resist his strength. Summer startled, but he dragged her off by the wrist. She was like a kid before an adult, pulled along staring at his back...
A car waited at the alley's end.
"H-hey, what? What the hell! Let go!"
"Get in."
He opened the door and shoved Summer in. Strength gap too vast, impossible to escape the flow. Somehow, she ended up in the car.
"What the fuck are you doing? Right now! Ignoring me?"
"Told you. Let's go have fun."
"Not in the mood, I said?"
Before she could retort, he floored the accelerator.
As the car suddenly sped off, Summer scowled.
"Heard from your friends on the way. You held back from snapping, huh."
"What?"
"Good job."
Unexpected praise flew from him.
Her bared fangs hid as her mouth shut.
In a smaller voice, Summer asked.
"Where we going?"
"Seatbelt."
"Damn it, seatbelt for a dragon..."
She buckled up slowly anyway, and an astonishing word popped from Yoo Ji-tae's mouth.
"Las Vegas."
Summer's eyes widened.