03. Another Dungeon.
03. Another Dungeon.
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"...."
"...."
The two women looked at each other with a table between them.
Truly, without a single word.
No matter how you looked at them, they looked like sisters, but one of them was actually the mother.
"I was willing to let the adventurer activities slide."
"You... knew?"
"Did you think I wouldn't know?"
"...."
Yuna lowered her head.
Ever since she was young, this person knew everything she did, down to the last detail. It was as if she were a stalker.
It felt just like a prison; it even made her feel like she was wearing a prison uniform.
That was why she became an adventurer, traveling the world and exploring dungeons, yet she still hadn't managed to escape her grasp.
The woman, Yuna's mother Lee Sonya, took a sip of coffee and calmly continued. At a glance, she didn't seem angry at all, but because she was such a cold, poker-faced person, Yuna couldn't shake off her anxiety.
"Adventurer... it bothers me a bit that it's dangerous, but who am I to say anything when you're living your own life? You're not a child."
"Then...."
"But it's a different story when you're involved in a clearly 'wrong' ideological group."
"Wrong? We're just pointing out the discrimination that clearly exists and trying to solve it!"
"Why is a guild doing that? You should be doing social activism."
"W-we're doing that too, of course."
"...."
Sonya looked at her with a pitiful gaze for a moment.
"Shall I guess? You didn't create an ideological guild to do social activism. You just banded together because you were afraid of meeting and mixing with people who have different ideologies."
"That's not true!"
"Not true? Then why do you only accept women? If it's a guild, shouldn't you accept both men and women to get stronger and gain more interests? Is this mother mistaken?"
"That's because Hannams—."
"Don't use words like that. I never taught you that."
"...."
Coldly cutting off her daughter, Sonya stared at her with a truly icy gaze.
"A correct ideology makes the people who follow it correct as well. If that 'radical feminism' you follow is truly correct and meant for the peace and stability of society, why did you create such words? Who would look at that and think it's right? It was wrong from the start."
"They started it first!"
"They? Who is 'they'?"
"Korean men! They were the ones who started it first, making all sorts of misogynistic terms like 'Kimchi-nyeo' and whatnot, and they were spouting nonsense like 'women need to be beaten three times a day'! So we created ours as a form of mirroring!"
"...."
Sonya thought for a moment at Yuna's harsh words and glanced at the next table.
There were three men and women there, watching the mother and daughter's conversation with interest.
Yu-eun, Sora, and Eun-ju.
Turning her gaze back, she looked at Yuna.
"What do you call that man over there?"
"Hannam..."
"What does that man call you?"
"...Yuna-ssi..."
"Then, have you ever been directly called a 'Kimchi-nyeo' in your life?"
"...."
"What about 'Kim-yeosa'?"
"...."
"You haven't, have you?"
"B-but—."
"But this, but that, others call you Yuna, so why do you go around calling people with such words? If you go around doing that, do you think people will reflect and say, 'Oh, we were wrong!'?"
"...."
Yuna, biting her lip, said nothing.
Watching her, Sonya took out various documents.
Printed on them were the numerous deeds of the 'Spicy Rib Soup' site and the 'Spicy Rib House' guild. None of them were proper.
Reading them one by one, Sonya sighed.
"It's quite a spectacle."
"...."
She realized that the group her daughter was involved in was even worse than she thought.
How could there not be a single proper action?
At her reaction, Yuna hurriedly continued.
"W-women being at a disadvantage is a fact!"
"What is?"
"There's still a glass ceiling in this country, gender discrimination, and misogyny definitely exists!"
"Glass ceiling?"
Sonya raised her head.
"To think you'd say that in front of me."
"Ugh...."
She had certainly succeeded.
And tremendously so.
"That's right. It exists. There have been times I was ignored because I'm a woman, and times I was hindered. But do you know what?"
"W-what?"
"That there are also aspects where I'm successful because I'm a woman. A male lawyer at my level doesn't get much buzz and isn't as well-known. Because I'm a woman, and because I'm a beauty, I get more attention and can achieve more results. Don't you think about that?"
"That's proof of misogyny right there!"
"How so?"
"Because they don't think of women as individuals but only as sexual objects, so they just like them if they're pretty. They're not looking at ability, they're looking at the face and body! They must be committing all sorts of lewd acts in their heads with sinister thoughts!"
"That's your thinking. Have you ever talked to a man?"
"O-of course."
"True. You have colleagues, so you must have. What about dating?"
"...."
"You haven't even had a proper conversation with a man, never dated, never been intimate with anyone, never had a debate, never had a drinking battle. What have you experienced to judge that men are like this? At the very least, have you experienced the glass ceiling? If anyone experienced it, it was me. My mother's generation experienced it. What have you experienced?"
"W-we also—."
"And I'm a lawyer. You think people hire a lawyer based on face and body? Do you think that makes sense? You're the ones looking down on women."
Uncharacteristically quite agitated, she caught her breath and calmly settled her expression.
"Get out. Of that guild."
"I-I can't do that."
"Is that so? Then I'll make you get out."
She pushed the documents in front of Yuna.
"A lawsuit has been filed. Members of the 'Spicy Rib Soup' site have filed a class-action lawsuit against the 'Spicy Rib House' guild."
"What?!"
"A member of the Spicy Rib House guild posted a selfie on the site, and the site members who saw it felt insulted."
"T-that's ridiculous!!"
"The site members are generally shut-ins, right? If people like that see a selfie of a slim guild member, it's understandable they'd feel that way, isn't it? Like, 'They're trying to tease and mock us.'"
"That's just them being steeped in their own persecution complex! Filing a lawsuit over their own psychological issues!"
"Exactly. Their persecution complex is the problem, so why do they go around talking as if society is the problem."
"...!"
Lee Sonya stood up from her seat.
Reflexively, Yuna stood up, and Yu-eun and the others watching from the next table stood up as well.
"If you don't want to come out, that's fine. A guild steeped in such persecution complexes is nothing to dismantle."
She glared at Yuna with cold eyes, then turned her gaze to look at Yu-eun.
"It's almost dinner time, let's eat together."
+++
"...."
"...."
This is a high-end restaurant. A place I haven't had much connection with until now.
And I am facing a stunning beauty one-on-one.
She has features similar to Yuna-ssi, but honestly, she's prettier. Hmm... no, Yuna-ssi might develop(?) further once she starts exuding some maturity, but anyway, this is how it is right now.
"You're Yuna's colleague, I hear."
"Ah... yes."
Her lips parted, and a voice like music playing emerged. As expected, Yuna-ssi is pretty because her mother is this beautiful.
"Are you aware that Yuna is currently involved in a strange guild?"
"I am aware."
"I heard they are calling you by strange words. I'm worried if your feelings were hurt."
She is speaking with an incredibly cold face, yet her tone is full of elegance.
"Haha. I'm used to it now. Actually, Yuna-ssi is... on the better side. She knows how to separate work from personal matters properly."
"I'm glad you think so. She just took a wrong turn for a moment, but she's a good kid at heart, so please don't dislike her too much."
Don't worry, Noona! There's no way I could dislike Yuna-ssi. And you neither.
Perhaps because of how she interpreted my expression, she smiled softly.
Ah... this feeling of the whole place brightening up.
I've decided.
I will definitely, somehow, make her my woman.
But she said she's a lawyer, right? If I mess with her clumsily, I'll get screwed over immediately, right?
Hmm... what should I do?
"Is Yuna doing well? She's a bit of a loner, so her social skills are lacking."
"They are a bit lacking, but she commands well. She did during the tutorial team, and it's not bad now either. Above all, she has ability."
"Hmph. She takes after me, so her ability is great. It would be good if she just didn't have such strange thoughts."
The heart worrying for her daughter is revealed within her cold face.
It would be really nice if I could imprint myself on that face.
"I wonder if she'll be able to get married like that..."
"Ah, you don't need to worry about that."
"Yes? What does that mean?"
"Ah...."
Gasp. I said it without thinking.
"What do you mean no need to worry? By any chance..."
She narrows her eyes and suspects.
Ugh. Should I just say I'm her boyfriend?
Hmm...
It wouldn't matter, right?
It bothers me a bit that there are other women... but Yuna-ssi can't meet other men anyway. Systemically.
"I am, uh... a boyfriend-ish existence."
"...?"
She tilts her head and looks toward Yuna-ssi. Yuna-ssi is looking this way with a worried face again, while Sora-noona and Eun-ju are busy eating food.
"You... are her boyfriend?"
"A boyfriend-ish existence."
"...."
She frowns as if something doesn't please her.
...
As expected of a rich family, am I not good enough for them? This typical Korean drama-like cliché—
"Then you're saying she calls her own boyfriend a Hannam?"
"Yes? Ah... well... I... suppose so?"
"It's more serious than I thought."
Is it that kind of situation? That's a relief, in a way...
"Well, I'll think about that later. So, how far have you gone?"
"Well, of course, we've had s—"
"...."
....
Fuck... this damn tongue....