Chapter 133: How to Tame Her (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 133: How to Tame Her (4)
Time heals all wounds, they say.
That short phrase can’t cure all the world’s pain, but there are certainly moments when it proves effective.
Like right now.
“Hey, the buzz is starting to wear off. Aren’t you sad?”
Shin Yu-jeong, walking beside me, taunted me with a thoroughly smug look on her face.
The “buzz” she was talking about was the public’s attention.
Countless people crave the spotlight, and just as many new issues pop up every day.
Eventually, old news is forgotten, becoming nothing more than a past glory.
Of course, if I had done something when the issue was at its peak, the heat might have lasted a bit longer. But since I maintained a policy of no response from start to finish, it cooled down much faster.
“I actually prefer it.”
That was the honest truth.
There were times I benefited from the popularity, but other than that, it was nothing but inconvenient downsides.
After living like that for over twenty years, I found it so refreshing when people on the street just walked past me without a second glance, going about their own business.
“Things are just right at this level.”
The general public’s interest had almost completely faded.
The only ones interested in me now were a few members of some ridiculous fan club, guild scouts, and my university classmates and seniors.
At this level, I could reap the practical benefits while only dealing with a manageable amount of hassle.
“On that note, one picture.”
I raised my smartphone and snapped a selfie at a decent angle.
I recently started using social media.
Why social media all of a sudden, you ask?
Some obsessive fans came all the way to the university, claiming they didn’t have enough photos for their fandom activities because I wasn’t on social media. They started openly taking pictures of me—a sort of not-so-secret candid photography.
I got tired of dealing with them one by one, so I decided to start an account.
I upload a photo about once a week, and each time I post, I warn them that if they show up again, I’ll stop uploading pictures altogether. That seemed to quiet them down.
…If there’s a slight side effect, it’s the jerks sending ridiculous confessions or photos through direct messages, or DMs. But I can just easily ignore those.
“Oh right, you started social media, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. They kept showing up, so I figured it would be easier to just serve it to them on a platter.”
“Who are you mutuals with?”
Her burning gaze heated the side of my face.
“No one yet.”
“Hmph… is that so?”
As soon as she heard my answer, her mood brightened, and she pulled out her smartphone.
“Let’s follow each other.”
“Sure, why not.”
I searched for her ID, followed her, and then briefly scrolled through her uploaded photos.
Pictures of her working out, photos taken after clearing a dungeon, normal daily life pictures, and so on.
“You… really put a lot of effort into your social media, huh?”
“This is all an investment in my future.”
Ah.
Now that I thought about it, she said her dream was to be like Son Si-woo.
It seemed she was trying to build a foundation by consistently posting on social media since her trainee days.
I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for her.
Of all the Hunters out there, she had to pick Son Si-woo as her role model.
He’s all show and no substance…
“Hey, you’re surprisingly good at taking pictures.”
Shin Yu-jeong, who was looking at my photos as well, gave me a surprised look.
“They complain if I just snap them carelessly. So I learned a little about camera angles.”
“Where?”
“Where else but…”
“The damn internet, I bet.”
“…Correct.”
The internet—a convenient excuse for a former shut-in.
Of course, there was another, real reason.
As I said before, I’ve spent over twenty years living in the public eye.
My activities during that time naturally included social media, and they had forced me to learn how to take decent-looking photos, nagging that it would reduce the number of humiliating pictures or “dark history” moments circulating online, even though I hated it.
She squinted at me, then blurted out in a displeased tone.
“You’re a surprisingly multi-talented bastard.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“You’re annoying.”
“Wow, such high praise.”
When I took all her jabs without taking any damage, she grew indifferent and turned to leave.
“I’m going to work out.”
“Yeah, work hard.”
Lately, Shin Yu-jeong’s workout sessions had gotten even longer.
She said it was special training after special training until she could match Elena’s stamina, but I wasn’t sure if it was possible.
Shin Yu-jeong had incredible stamina herself, but Elena was a monster, the likes of which were hard to find among their peers.
Even Elena’s training regimen was immense; I doubted she could catch up through training alone.
“Ah.”
I suddenly remembered that I had an elixir that could boost her stamina.
“Right, I still have the Hundred-Year Evening Primrose.”
I’d forgotten that I still had petals left from the Hundred-Year Evening Primrose that restored Jeong-hee’s youth.
If she ate this, it would invigorate her physical functions and be a great help in increasing her stamina.
“It’s about time I gave it to her.”
We’d spent a passionate night together, and our relationship had deepened because of it.
I think we were close enough now that I could give her a few petals of the evening primrose.
I should call her up to the rooftop soon and brew her some tea.
Lost in thought, I was leaving the main gate when I saw a familiar face and a sedan a short distance away.
It was the old man, Hwang In-guk, who had shown up unannounced a week ago and taken me to the Magic Tower.
When our eyes met, he approached with formal steps and gave a slight bow.
“Good day, Mr. Kim Do-jin.”
“Ah, yes.”
The old man, who only said what was necessary, immediately reached into his coat and handed me an item.
“The Tower Lord has ordered me to deliver this to you, Mr. Kim Do-jin.”
The object I took, slightly bewildered, was none other than a black envelope sealed with red wax.
It felt quite luxurious to the touch. I wondered what was inside.
“What is this?”
The old man just smiled amiably and shook his head.
“Well, I was only ordered to deliver it. I do not know what its contents are.”
“…I see.”
I had forgotten. The old man’s loyalty was blind.
He would likely follow any order from the one he served without a word of complaint.
Even if it were a criminal act whose purpose he couldn’t possibly comprehend.
“Now that I have delivered the item, I shall take my leave.”
“……”
One would think he’d be at least a little curious about what was inside the envelope, but having completed his task, the old man drove off and disappeared without a backward glance.
Left alone, I examined the envelope carefully before my curiosity got the better of me, and I gently picked off the wax seal with my finger.
What I saw through the opening that formed was not a letter.
“A business card…?”
Lying inside the envelope was a single business card.
It was the personal business card of the Tower Lord, Han Ju-hee, splendidly embroidered in gold with the symbol of the Magic Tower—a hexagram magic circle and a long tower that looked as if it would pierce the sky.
“But the color…?”
The card’s color was quite different from the one I knew.
The business card of hers that I knew was white, but the one in my hand was the complete opposite: black.
Did she have new cards made recently?
Wondering if there was anything else different, I checked and saw that the number written on it was also different.
“……”
She uses two smartphones. One for work, the other for personal use.
Normally, her business card should have her work number, but this one had the number for her personal phone.
“Look at this.”
It was a little absurd.
I never knew she even used two different sets of business cards.
A white card and a black card… I wondered what criteria she used to decide which one to give out.
My curiosity piqued, I immediately took out my smartphone and called the number on the card.
A short ringtone.
Before long, her voice came through.
-Who is this?
An indifferent tone, with only the slightest lift at the end of the sentence and almost no change in pitch otherwise.
“It’s Kim Do-jin.”
-Ah, it seems the card has arrived.
I couldn’t stand the curiosity.
Who on earth did she give this card to, and what value did it hold that she would have her right-hand man deliver it?
But I couldn’t ask directly, so I tried to approach it from an angle.
“This business card is incredibly luxurious.”
-Of course. It’s a special card, given only to a select few, not just anyone.
For a moment, I was overcome with emotion and almost argued.
I wanted to ask just who made up this “select few” that even I, her husband, didn’t know about.
But I managed to compose myself and spoke as calmly as I could.
“How honorable of me to receive a card that only a select few get.”
-After studying you for a few days, I realized. You are someone who is more than worthy of it.
“Studying me…”
Well, I figured as much.
She had changed in many ways compared to her younger self.
But there was one thing that hadn’t changed at all: her passion and obsession with magic.
Ever since she was young, whenever she encountered a unique form of magic she’d never conceived of, she would immerse herself in research for days on end to unravel it.
That’s why, back in the day, I would sometimes force her into the childish ultimatum of “Me or magic?”
In the past, she would laugh and choose me right away… but after we got a little older, I stopped asking.
I was afraid I wouldn’t get the answer I wanted, afraid of opening a can of worms.
-I’ll grant you anything within my power. However, there is one condition.
There it was. She took the bait.
Soon, the condition flowed from her lips.
-Once a month, you will participate in my research.
I wondered what the condition would be, and it was about magic research again.
“Research…”
-The topic will be different each time.
Participating in research with a different topic each time…
A sudden, inexplicable chill ran down my spine, and I asked cautiously.
“You’re not planning on… opening up my body, are you?”
-It is the first time in my life I’ve felt an interest in human dissection, but…
“……”
-Unfortunately for you, I am a magician, not a mad scientist.
Right. That was the kind of person she was.
A passionate eccentric who wasn’t satisfied until she had solved every mystery or question in her head through magic.
Once, she even coveted my swordsmanship, tried to magically analyze it to install in a golem she made, and when she failed, she got angry and cut off contact for three whole days.
-One wish per research session. I think it’s a fair deal, don’t you?
I could strongly feel that this was her final offer.
“What if I refuse this offer?”
-Then unfortunately, our deal would be off. The business card you’re holding would burn to ashes.
It wasn’t a bluff to gain an advantage in the negotiation.
Well, it didn’t matter either way.
My “wish” was just a smokescreen I threw out there from the beginning.
What I really needed was a point of contact with her, that’s all.
In other words, just by being offered a regular meeting once a month under the guise of research, I had already gained the best possible outcome.
Suppressing any obvious signs of delight, I accepted her offer in a tone tinged with faint pleasure.
“Hmm… it would be rude of me to only push my own agenda. I accept your offer.”
-Good. Then I look forward to working with you.
“Likewise.”
-Now then, I have a lot of work to catch up on, so goodbye.
The call ended the moment the deal was struck.
“Well, whatever.”
It was a satisfying deal.
She got what she wanted, and I, in my own way, achieved the best possible result.
I gazed down at the black business card in my palm, lost in thought.
“My wife was a woman with many secrets, it seems.”
Finally, one thing became certain.
Unlike me, who lived with everything out in the open, she had been hiding quite a lot from me.
Thanks to that, my objective had changed.
At first, I was just going to focus on winning her over… but now, that wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy me.
“I have to know everything.”
I had to know it all, from A to Z.
What on earth were the secrets she kept hidden even from me, her husband?
Even though our marriage was over… if I didn’t figure this out, this unsettling feeling wouldn’t go away.
At the same time, my intuition whispered to me.
That the reason she became so cold was also hidden within those secrets.
A laugh I couldn’t hold back escaped me.
To think I could now personally uncover the truth of a mystery I thought would never be solved.
“Let’s have some real fun, shall we, darling?”
A motivation more intense than ever before surged within me.