Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: 15. Gaze (3)
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Yeoreum's eyes twitched as she scrolled through the article.
She couldn't comprehend internet culture.
That evening's menu was delivery from a Chinese place.
The pitch-black jjajangmyeon was Gaeul's. The jjampong was Yeoreum's. Two portions of fried rice and tangsuyuk were placed in front of Yoo Ji-tae and Bom.
Mmm—. Gaeul chewed on a huge mouthful of jjajangmyeon.
Bom held Winter in her arms, spoon-feeding the hatchling fried rice. The tiny mouth worked away.
"Yeoreum-ah. How about sticking just to home and the academy district for a while?"
It was Bom's suggestion.
"If tons of people are into you, isn't that great!? I read somewhere that superhumans live off popularity?"
This was Gaeul's take.
Yeoreum hadn't said much up to that point. She just twirled the jjampong noodles around, then scowled and finally spoke up.
"It's annoying as hell. I don't give a shit what people think of me—it's just pissing me off that they keep blocking my way."
It was genuine grumbling.
"And it pisses me off even more that they get off on my trash talk! Like, why the hell do they like it? I'm cursing them to make them feel shitty! Do those freaks actually feel good when they get insulted? They're total psychos."
Gaeul giggled as Yeoreum trembled with rage, but quickly stifled her laugh under Yeoreum's glare.
"Then how about Ajusshi tags along whenever you go out?"
At Bom's words, Yoo Ji-tae nodded.
He'd already started chasing off the reporters swarming Yeoreum since that afternoon.
Up until now, he'd figured she could handle it herself, so he hadn't interfered. But after seeing them mob her every single day lately, he'd changed his mind.
They'd crossed the line.
"But hey."
Then Yeoreum turned to Yoo Ji-tae.
"How'd you do that thing?"
"What thing?"
"Y'know. When you glared at those reporters, they parted like the Red Sea on their own."
Yeoreum recalled that afternoon.
On the way out from the academy district after class, she'd run into reporters while heading to the commercial district for some shopping.
Normally, Yoo Ji-tae would've just stood there with his hands behind his back, but today he stepped forward.
And stared at the reporters.
The next moment, something amazing happened. The approaching reporters froze in their tracks all at once. It was like they'd spotted a ferocious beast—some even collapsed, legs giving out.
"You were threatening them, right?"
"Not exactly threatening."
"Then what?"
"They were annoying, so yeah, it pissed me off."
Right after Yoo Ji-tae walked through, the reporters split apart naturally, like the Red Sea parting.
Recalling that moment, a spark lit up in Yeoreum's eyes.
"That was pretty badass. You didn't even say a word, and they were quaking in their boots? Buncha losers."
"Yeah?"
"Well, if you're my guardian, you gotta pull at least that much."
"......"
"So, can you teach me that?"
"Huh?"
"Y'know, the eye-beam attack. If I learn that, I can scare off all these reporters, right?"
Eye-beam attack, huh.
"Yeah? Teach me."
"It's not that big a deal."
"How'd you do it? There has to be some trick."
"I looked them in the eyes."
"And?"
He hesitated for a moment before answering.
Killing intent was a weapon honed over six regressions as a regressor. He'd genuinely wanted to kill the reporters blocking his path.
Of course, he didn't need to say it straight out.
"......I thought about beating them up."
"That's it?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm."
Yeoreum set down her chopsticks and shot Yoo Ji-tae a look.
Then she glared at him with the fierce, signature Red Dragon scowl.
"How's this? Scary?"
"Eh."
"Not scared?"
To Yoo Ji-tae, it wasn't scary at all.
She switched to glaring at Bom and Gaeul with the same expression. It definitely felt hostile, but without any real killing intent, it wasn't frightening.
"Lame? Yoo Gaeul."
"Yeah? Uh, kinda scary but..."
"Ugh, damn it. Then you try it on me. I don't scare easy anyway, so just think about wanting to hit me."
"Just eat your food."
"C'mon, why? I'm gonna keep hitting the entertainment district, and you can't babysit me forever. You've got your own stuff. Just do it once. I'll memorize the look perfectly."
She had a point.
Maybe she'd nail it just from watching once. She was a dragon, after all. Convinced, Yoo Ji-tae set down his spoon.
At the same time, Bom covered Winter's eyes.
"......"
The dinner table grew oddly tense.
Yoo Ji-tae met Yeoreum's gaze.
His eyes were hazy, as always.
What? Nothing special. That's what Yeoreum thought. But the next instant, the air grew heavy.
Sounds faded away. And when his hazy gaze pulled her in, the background receded into the distance.
Suddenly, Yeoreum felt her breath catch.
It was like a massive monster's eyes were right in her face. There was raw power in Yoo Ji-tae's stare. She swallowed hard.
Then he looked away.
"Good?"
"......Yeah. Fucking awesome. Nearly pissed myself."
Yeoreum looked at Yoo Ji-tae with excited eyes.
"You were thinking about hitting me just now, right?"
"Something like that."
"Got it."
As if she'd grasped something, Yeoreum smiled faintly.
Opportunity came soon enough.
By then, Yeoreum was going around in sunglasses and a hat.
But she couldn't hide her red hair.
It happened as she left the theater. Reporters who'd heard she frequented the entertainment district were lying in wait and chased after her.
As usual, dumb questions rained down. Mostly rehashing her words and actions, with the occasional fandom query.
"Yoo Yeoreum cadet! Live streaming now! Just one glance this way!"
Some weren't even reporters—they were YouTubers.
And today, Yoo Ji-tae wasn't around.
Yeoreum sighed in frustration and took off her sunglasses. She decided to glare at the reporters just like he'd taught her.
She closed her eyes, recalling Yoo Ji-tae's gaze from the other day. She figured she could mimic it pretty well.
These assholes, I wanna beat the shit outta them.
With that single thought, Yeoreum shot her gaze at the reporters.
Something amazing happened. They tensed up, breaking into cold sweats.
Yeoreum didn't know it, but it stemmed from a dragon's Fear presence. The glare of a superior being laced with anger instinctively terrified humans.
Reading the mood, Yeoreum smugly walked past them.
Then she spotted the YouTuber live-streaming.
"You there. You're live?"
"Uh, uh... Yes! Lots of your fans are here right now."
The YouTuber glanced at the comments on his stream.
The moment Yeoreum stepped closer, comments exploded upward.
The YouTuber opened his mouth to say something, but Yeoreum cut him off.
"Don't care about that crap. More importantly, you know the movie Daystar?"
"Uh, y-yeah... Of course."
The YouTuber forced a nervous smile, shaking off his tension.
Daystar was currently number one at the box office. A film predicted to easily hit ten million viewers in Korea!
But why bring that up out of nowhere...?
"The protagonist's big sis is the final villain."
"Ah, uh... I see."
"And the protagonist dies in this series."
"Ah, ah......!"
"And the girl he thought was his girlfriend? She's actually in the villain's pocket..."
Yeoreum steadfastly spoiled the entire popular movie before finally turning away.
She felt relieved inside.
This oughta make 'em stop following me, right?
But Yeoreum was wrong again.
Today's Superhuman! Yoo Yeoreum.
That evening, articles started popping up.
The dragon Fear was terrifying, but it didn't show in photos.
All that remained, minus the Fear, was Yeoreum's gaze.
Melting Reporters' Hearts with a Deadly Gaze!
So the next day, in Korea's top superhuman paper Superhuman Mecha, a photo of Yeoreum glaring at reporters ran as-is.
The reporters had been tense under her gaze, yet they packaged and posted the captured image.
Dozens of praises calling her beautiful amid it all.
"Ah, these fucking psychos......"
Yeoreum trembled in fury, while Bom and Gaeul giggled at her.