Chapter 237
Chapter 237
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 237
Chapter Title: 78. Regarding Romantic Feelings (1)
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"Ajusshi."
"Yeah?"
"Um, do I smell or something?"
A smell.
A chemical sensation triggered when specific molecular substances ride air currents to stimulate the olfactory epithelium in the nasal cavity.
So, the scent wafting from Bom was definitely a smell.
"No."
"Then why are you sniffing me?"
"'Cause it smells nice."
"That's a smell."
"A good smell."
Bom pulled back. As she did, Yoo Ji-tae leaned in a little closer.
"Um... this? It's nothing special."
Bom spoke with a tense expression.
"The scent?"
"Yeah. It's just this natural fragrance that pulses in time with a Green Dragon's heartbeat. Super common..."
"I know."
"Then why...?"
"Truth is, something's been bugging me."
"My smell? Is there some other smell?"
"No."
"Then what?"
She had backed up against the headboard; there was nowhere left to retreat. He was much bigger, practically looming over her.
"Gotta get a little closer to figure it out."
"What are you even saying? There's no such thing..."
That close, it was hard to meet her eyes. It made him uneasy. So his gaze drifted down to her nose. He'd never really noticed before, but it was pretty. His eyes dropped lower still. Her red lips made him uneasy again, so they fell to her collarbone and the white skin peeking from her U-neckline—but that wasn't a good place to look. Dropping lower would be even worse. It went against respecting her boundaries. Bom would hate it.
Should he look at her feet? Her stomach? As those thoughts crossed his mind, he realized there was nowhere safe to rest his eyes on this hatchling's body.
He looked back up into her grass-green eyes. Bom was tense. Her eyes drooped a bit, like she was scared. She was always hard to read—was this a forced expression, or genuine? The regressor couldn't tell.
Usually, he'd brush it off. Something must be up with her, he'd think. Daily life was complicated enough.
He was a broken person. He'd always struggled to understand things. But today, he wasn't going to let it slide.
This was a serious matter.
He asked.
"Bom. Are you scared of me?"
She thought for a moment, then nodded slightly.
"Why?"
"'Cause something bigger is coming at me."
"You're a dragon. I'm just a human at best."
"Still."
"Still?"
"Right now, I'm smaller..."
She seemed a little frightened.
Almost glaring, in a way.
Definitely tense.
"You're acting weird."
"Huh?"
"You've always toyed with me. Set the distance however you wanted. Teased me even when you knew it made me uncomfortable."
"Yeah..."
"And now you're scared when I come closer? Doesn't that seem off?"
He thought about it.
Bom's behavior didn't add up somewhere.
He got her laughing at his discomfort to some extent—he'd felt that same glee teasing Winter and Summer.
Even budding feelings made sense. He knew she harbored subtle romantic emotions toward him. Absurdly, he was feeling something strange too.
So why would she fear him?
"I can come close to you just fine."
"Why?"
"'Cause you'd be fine."
"What does 'fine' mean?"
"Like yesterday and the day before."
There it was—her evasive way of talking, trying to muddle things up. But this time, he pressed harder.
"Okay, say that's true. Does that mean I can't come close?"
"Yeah..."
"Weird, right? You said you wanted to monopolize me."
"When did I say that?"
"You did. Said you'd eat the whole cake by yourself."
"Well, um... cake is delicious..."
She seemed to realize how nonsensical that sounded even as she said it. Her lips trembled, then pressed shut. Her gaze dodged his, growing more anxious.
She frowned. That troubled look on her face only stirred his own unease more, though Bom didn't seem to notice.
"You're being weird."
Then Bom spoke up.
"You're the weird one today, Ajusshi."
"Me? Why?"
"You've never been like this with me."
"Like what?"
"Look at you. Like you're gonna eat me alive..."
Yoo Ji-tae reflected.
At some point, the range of his unease had widened. Even without embarrassment. Even without excessive closeness. Even without eye contact. Even without her whispering in his ear.
He got flustered so easily.
By the time he snapped out of it, he'd taken it a step further. He found Bom pretty. He thought about her often. A cute hairpin would remind him of her grass-green hair, and now even seeing other people made him think of her.
This was no longer something he could brush off. He was inexperienced, but not stupid.
He knew it resembled 'romantic feelings.'
The regressor valued logic. He couldn't logically accept these feelings blooming in him. This shouldn't happen. And there hadn't even been a specific trigger, right?
"Why am I like this?"
"Yeah..."
"I don't know either."
Like ice melting, there was no clear starting point. Yoo Ji-tae couldn't trust his own romantic feelings.
He needed certainty.
"So I'm gonna figure it out properly from now on."
"Figure out what? Ah..."
Finishing his words, Yoo Ji-tae cautiously reached out and touched Bom's cheek. When she looked startled, unease surged in him almost to the point of death.
"If you don't like it, just say so."
This 'unease' had kept him fleeing situations until now, preventing him from defining his emotions.
"Ajusshi, wait."
"......"
"What if someone comes in...?"
"Won't happen."
He lowered himself, pressing close to Bom.
The sweet scent tickling his nose grew thicker.
"No... don't..."
Bom didn't say 'I hate it.'
Not even when her scared expression bordered on tears.
......The start of this absurd situation traced back a few days.
It was the morning after returning from Las Vegas.
Yoo Ji-tae and Bom had gone out early and brought back takeout. Today's menu: jjajangmyeon and sweet-and-sour pork—for Gaeul's favorite. Since Yeoreum loved spicy food, they'd ordered mildly spicy jjambbong too.
The morning in 301 was thick with tension.
"......"
"......"
Yeoreum, who usually avoided Gaeul, had come out for breakfast. Yeoreum was silent. Gaeul, sensing Yeoreum's awareness, was silent too.
Winter glanced at Bom.
Bom patted Winter's head—no big deal?—so Winter focused on her jjajangmyeon.
Meanwhile, Bom glanced at Yoo Ji-tae.
He shook his head faintly. Don't worry.
That was when Yeoreum broke the silence.
"Yoo Gaeul."
"Y-Yeah?"
"You passed that Transcendent Cadet thing or whatever, right?"
"Oh. Uh-huh..."
Actually, Gaeul had technically failed the exam. She'd come in 17 seconds late, which was quite delayed among the passers.
But her exam performance had been shockingly unconventional. Her name was still trending online, mentioned hundreds of thousands of times a day. Thanks to that, Lair authorities had invoked special rules to count her as a Transcendent Cadet. Gaeul was now one of Ha-seok-mu's five elite cadets.
Still, Gaeul didn't seem particularly thrilled.
"Good job."
"Th-Thanks..."
"Good job. But if you think that means you can compete with your unni, you're dead."
"Huh...?"
"You might feel that way. Same grade, same military training, both dragons. What's stopping you from rubbing up against me, right?"
Yeoreum pointed her chopsticks at Gaeul like a dagger.
"Dead serious."
Gaeul waved her hands frantically.
"Ugh, no...! As if I could compete? Unni could snap all my limbs just flexing?"
"Hm. True..."
"Why would we fight? Um, we could, uh, go save people together...!"
Silence fell over the table.
Though unspoken, Yeoreum seemed somewhat satisfied.
Which meant she was wary of Gaeul to that extent.
"And you. Don't go showing off just 'cause your output's decent."
"Huh?"
"You can't control it at all. Doesn't your chest feel empty after one spell? Your fingertips tremble like burns?"
"Oh, yeah..."
"That's a problem. Pouring mana like your body can't handle it. Shooting prematurely like that, you'll be fucking useless when we actually go save people later. Got it?"
"Yeah... Thanks for the advice."
In that sense, Gaeul seemed to accept Yeoreum's advice readily.
The hierarchy remained unchanged.
Then the situation flipped a bit. The issue was the sweet-and-sour pork in the center—Gaeul and Yeoreum reached for it simultaneously. Gaeul smiled slyly and eased her chopsticks back. Yeoreum, hierarchy confirmed, took it casually.
But then Gaeul swept up the few remaining pieces into a small bowl.
"Hey. What're you hogging them for?"
As Yeoreum tried to snag one—
Gaeul blocked with her chopsticks.
Oh? Yeoreum applied pressure.
Then the unexpected happened. For a split second, a glint sharpened in Gaeul's eyes as they met—then vanished.
Yeoreum glared; Gaeul startled, chuckled, and scratched her head.
She set the bowl by her side. Where a giant chick sat. Ppiyu pecked at the sweet-and-sour pork Gaeul offered.
"Goddamn. Just say you're giving it from the start."
"S-Sorry..."
Gaeul grinned obsequiously.
After breakfast, Bom met Yeoreum and Gaeul separately.
Her role was to foster subtle rivalry between them without letting it turn to outright conflict.
To do that, she needed private talks.
"Does Yoo Gaeul feel like a rival? Nah? I don't care. Our positions are different anyway. She's just started learning magic—honestly, trying to compete with me is kinda shameless."
That was Yeoreum's answer when Bom asked.
"Summer unni? Ugh, as if I could compete? Unni's obviously the best! I could never beat her. She's so hardworking. And... um, no reason to fight, right?"
Gaeul answered the opposite.
"Hm... Hey."
"Yeah."
"I'm more martial arts than magic, so I don't know much... Ah, don't misunderstand. Just super curious. Is her talent that insane?"
"Yup."
"...But if we fought, I wouldn't lose?"
Yeoreum asked that.
"But, unni."
"Yeah."
"Um, I've never heard Mom say I'm good at magic either, so I'm kinda doubtful... Am I really a genius? Don't other dragons do this well too?"
"Yup."
"Then..., not that I wanna fight, but... could I maybe beat Summer unni...?"
Gaeul posed that question.
So Bom, after some thought, smiled and replied to both.
"Who knows? Until you actually clash."
That was when subtle tension began sprouting in 301.
A message pinged on Bom's watch. Startled, she rushed to find Yoo Ji-tae. He was on the sofa, gaming with Winter.
"Ajusshi."
"Yeah?"
"I placed in the contest...!"
Bom looked uncharacteristically thrilled.
Placed?
Yoo Ji-tae checked the message on Bom's watch.