Chapter 202: Waving the License (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 202: Waving the License (4)
The approval to establish our club came in just three days.
I suppose it was passed so quickly because we had already found a professor to act as our advisor, secured the minimum of five members, and had a purpose for the club that was, on the surface, perfectly respectable.
There was about a month left until the Hunter Qualification Exam.
The few students who found out about our reckless challenge began to look at us like we were insane.
“They’re burning an exam attempt for a club activity…?”
“Is that what they call the vigor of youth?”
“No, that’s just plain crazy.”
It wasn’t unusual for students at Korea University to take the Hunter Qualification Exam.
Most students would probably use up their two allotted attempts while enrolled.
The reason we seemed so strange to them was the timing.
Most students take the exam not in the first quarter, but in the third or fourth.
It was only natural.
A student in the spring, with new lessons ahead of them, versus a student in the winter, who has already mastered those lessons.
Isn’t it obvious which one would be stronger?
That’s why, in their eyes, we were the crazy ones.
It must have looked like we were wasting a precious attempt while leaving so much room to grow stronger.
And they were right.
Quarter aside, what kind of lunatics apply for the qualification exam just to get a club room?
“Hah, hah…!”
“Cough, cough!”
“Ugh…!”
Ah.
Of course, I hope they wouldn’t discount our efforts because of that.
These guys were working hard enough to puke up the dinner they’d just eaten every single day.
Just because our motive was frivolous didn’t mean our commitment was.
“I think I’m gonna die, for real…”
The team members trained until they were literally on the verge of collapse.
As the only one among them who was still full of energy, I had one more role to play.
The driver.
“Na-eun, we’re here.”
“Ugh… thanks.”
I was now in the business of lifting my exhausted teammates like luggage, loading them into the car, and driving them home.
And every time, there was one stop that made me tense up.
“…Seo-yeon-sunbae, we’ve arrived.”
“Ah, right. Thanks again for today.”
Every time I went to my former house, I got goosebumps, terrified I might run into Fake Si-woo.
That’s why I only ever dropped her off at the entrance to the neighborhood before making a quick getaway.
I mean, even if we did run into each other, I could just blow him off, but… you never know.
After safely dropping off the team members at their homes scattered across the city, I headed home with Shin Yu-jeong, who was stubbornly planted in the passenger seat, completely passed out.
“Yu-jeong, wake up. You have to go inside.”
“Uuuungh…!”
She didn’t wake up, just turned her body with a groan.
“Sigh.”
In the end, I got out of the driver’s seat, opened the passenger door, and lifted the soundly sleeping girl to carry her up the stairs.
For a moment, I considered just leaving her in the car, but thinking about how hard she’d been working these past few days, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“That damn competitive streak.”
The incarnation of competitiveness.
If I had to describe her in one sentence, nothing would fit better.
…Although these days, she’s promiscuous enough to be called the incarnation of sex.
Anyway.
Shin Yu-jeong has a pathological inability to tolerate being inferior to others.
Especially to a tanker, who shares her position.
And on our team, we have Elena, whose position overlaps with hers.
The existence of Elena the tanker endlessly stimulated Shin Yu-jeong’s already boiling competitive spirit.
Stamina, strength, agility, and so on.
She fought tooth and nail not to fall behind in anything, dragging her exhausted body forward.
“Her tenacity is really something else.”
Watching her train reminded me of my younger self.
On days when we weren’t raiding a dungeon, I focused solely on training, and I saw any Hunter who wielded a sword as a rival.
Back then, and for Yu-jeong now, people would ask the same question.
Do you really have to go that far?
At the time, I honestly didn’t know if my path was the right one, so I just kept my mouth shut. But now, I know.
“You have to. Yep.”
Going that far is the right way.
If you’ve decided to become a Hunter, if you want to live a long life of wealth and glory, there’s ultimately only one path.
To climb to a higher position.
All the guys who asked me that question are either dead or retired due to injury.
And I became an S-rank Hunter that everyone looks up to.
To become one of only five in South Korea, to be in the top 0.0000001% worldwide, that’s what it takes.
Wouldn’t it be weirder if someone climbed that high without once being called a psycho, a madman, or a tenacious bastard?
“Why do you keep talking to yourself…?”
The girl in my arms, seemingly woken by my muttering, rubbed her half-open eyes.
“If you’re awake, you can walk yourself.”
As I said that and tried to put her down, her arms suddenly shot out and wrapped around my neck.
“No… I don’t have the strength to walk right now.”
“Oh, really now.”
“Heehee, carry me to my room.”
Was she still half-asleep?
Her voice was overflowing with aegyo [cutesy charm].
She was being cute, so I’d let it slide this once.
As I climbed the stairs at a leisurely pace, she kicked her feet up and down, whining playfully.
“Ah~ I wanna have sex.”
What was she thinking, saying that so loudly?
“You said you were too tired.”
Besides, she was the one who’d been rejecting sex lately, not me.
She’d said she was too exhausted and that we should do it after the exam.
She smiled faintly and replied.
“It’s… kind of like this feeling right now.”
“What feeling?”
“Like, my mind really wants to do it, but my body won’t follow.”
I think I knew what she meant.
“You don’t look that tired. Aren’t you thinking about sex?”
“I am, why wouldn’t I be?”
To be honest, my situation was a little better than hers.
I’d done it with Na-eun once before the serious training began, and a few days ago, I’d taken advantage of her being at training to do it with Jeong-hee.
Of course, with my sex drive growing by the day, I was thinking about it now, too, but it wasn’t unbearable.
“Heehee… should I suck you off?”
Shin Yu-jeong opened her mouth wide as if to show off, revealing everything inside.
It’s strange.
A mouth is a mouth, not much different between a man and a woman, so it shouldn’t be arousing…
But seeing her hold it open like that, I felt a sudden urge to shove my dick inside.
“You have enough energy left to use your mouth?”
I asked playfully, and she shook her head with a laugh.
“Heehee, nope. Honestly, I feel like I’ll fall asleep the second I close my eyes.”
“Then what was that all about?”
“Still… if you really want it, I could probably get you off once?”
Honestly, I was tempted.
“It’s fine. We’ll do it after the exam.”
The exam was just around the corner; I couldn’t let her overexert herself.
No matter how low her chances of passing were, I couldn’t let her get a poor score because of bad conditioning, could I?
Then, a meaningful smile spread across her face as she parted her lips.
“Look forward to it after the exam. I’m so fucking pent up right now.”
I snorted at her words and replied.
“You’re the one who should look forward to it. After the exam, I’m going to fuck you until you pass out.”
Her expression hardened slightly.
“Ah, wait a second.”
“What?”
“That just made me a little wet.”
“…Can I check?”
“Fuck no.”
Damn.
* * *
A week before the Hunter Qualification Exam.
Kim Do-jin left the private training room he shared with his teammates and headed to a nearby cafe.
It was because of a text from Yoon Ji-an, asking to meet today, no matter the time.
“What’s this all of a sudden…?”
What could be so important that she had to see him today?
Pondering this, he entered the cafe. Yoon Ji-an, sitting at a table a little way from the entrance, spotted him and waved.
“Do-jin-ssi!”
A bright, smiling face.
But that expression didn’t last long.
As if remembering something she’d forgotten, she made a face that said, oops, and her expression reverted to being stoic.
Seeing this, Kim Do-jin gave a bitter smile.
‘Looks like I did something wrong again.’
She was happy to see him after so long, but she was clearly managing her expression because she was upset with him about something.
‘It’s not because I haven’t been contacting her enough… I don’t think.’
While they still didn’t talk frequently, it was much better than before.
He answered immediately whenever she texted or called first, and he even initiated contact himself sometimes.
‘Then what is it?’
Nothing came to mind.
But he wasn’t too worried.
She wasn’t the type to hide what was bothering her and just act annoyed like other women.
She also didn’t hold grudges, so a peaceful resolution was always possible.
Having sorted his thoughts, he sat down across from her and greeted her.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“No. I just arrived.”
He was curious.
He wanted to know why she had asked to see him.
But asking for her reason right off the bat would be incredibly rude.
It could make it seem like he wouldn’t meet her unless she had a specific purpose.
“I missed you, Ji-an-ssi.”
“Ahem… I, I missed you, too.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy with the start of the semester that I couldn’t see you.”
A preemptive strike is the best defense.
The best strategy was to bring up anything she could possibly hold against him and apologize for it first.
“I understand. Although, I must admit, my heart yearns to see you more often.”
Yoon Ji-an smiled gently, carefully revealing her feelings.
The light pink blush dusting her cheeks, which sat atop her otherwise stoic and businesslike demeanor, showed that she wasn’t in a bad mood.
It seemed the strategy was working.
Now, it was time to get to the point.
“So, what was the reason you had to see me today? Did something bad happen?”
“Ah, no. It’s not that… I have something to deliver to you.”
Her expression, which had been quite pleasant just a moment ago, darkened once more.
‘Damn.’
It seemed there was still something bothering her.
She rummaged through her bag, pulled out a file folder, and pushed it across the table toward Kim Do-jin.
Taking it, Kim Do-jin asked.
“What’s this?”
“That is…”
Yoon Ji-an trailed off.
He understood instantly.
The thing that kept unsettling her was this folder.
To be precise, the contents within it.
Yoon Ji-an glanced around with a dark expression before forcing her lips to move.
“It’s the list of tasks that will be on the upcoming Hunter Qualification Exam… and the scoring sheet.”
“Uh, um.”
Kim Do-jin looked down at the folder in his hand, his gaze filled with bewilderment.
The list of tasks and the scoring sheet.
It was surprising enough to know the list of tasks, which were supposed to be chosen randomly for each exam, but what truly stunned him was the next part.
‘The scoring sheet…’
The scoring sheet would detail exactly what actions earned points and what led to deductions.
If he just memorized this and acted accordingly, getting a high score would be a piece of cake.
In other words, it was no different from walking into a written exam with a cheat sheet that could never be discovered.
Kim Do-jin looked at Yoon Ji-an with calm, steady eyes.
She had neither the position nor the personality to leak such a document.
There was only one person with the authority to leak such confidential material and who would do him such a favor.
“Did Deputy Chief Kim Seong-tae give you this?”
“…Yes.”
Just as he thought.
There was no one else who could have provided something like this.
The pieces of the puzzle clicked into place in his mind.
“That makes sense.”
If there was anyone who would be more thrilled than Kim Do-jin himself about him passing, it would undoubtedly be Kim Seong-tae.
He was currently a rising star, supported by the younger generation through social media.
The initial hype had died down a bit, but what would happen if he suddenly passed the Hunter Qualification Exam?
‘All hell would break loose.’
A prodigy among prodigies, passing the Hunter exam as a university sophomore.
Moreover, Deputy Chief Kim Seong-tae, who had recognized and sponsored this prodigy in advance, would see his own standing within the Association rise significantly.
It was, in every sense, a win-win situation.
As he stared intently at the folder, he felt a blatant gaze from across the table.
Lifting his head to meet her eyes, Kim Do-jin realized it at once.
‘She wants me not to look at this.’
She didn’t want him to commit this dishonest act.
When it came down to it, she was a person of integrity.
She wouldn’t want the man she was interested in to commit an act of fraud, especially one so illegal.
In that case.
“I won’t be taking this.”
“Ah…!”
The moment he put the folder down, her face brightened.
Infinite trust poured from her eyes.
It was as if she were saying, ‘I knew you would make that decision!’
In response, Kim Do-jin gave a bitter smile and threw cold water on her blossoming emotions.
“Don’t misunderstand, Ji-an-ssi.”
“Yes…? What do you mean…”
“I’m not the just and honest person you think I am.”
Her emotions plunged back into the gutter.