Chapter 311: Are You Awake? (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 311: Are You Awake? (1)
With final exams and summer break just around the corner, Korea University was once again thrown into an uproar.
Just three months after Kim Do-jin passed the B-rank Hunter exam, a massive wave of successful candidates had emerged.
If they had been fourth-year students about to graduate, it wouldn't have been so surprising.
The problem was that they were all second-years, and one was a third-year who had only transferred a year ago.
On top of that, the fact that all the successful candidates were from the same team left everyone stunned.
Thanks to this, they were the talk of the campus no matter where you went.
“So… everyone on Kim Do-jin's team is a Hunter now?”
“That's right.”
“Fuck… does that even make sense?”
“It doesn't. That's why they're saying it's the first time this has happened since Korea University was founded.”
Kim Do-jin, who had been distinguishing himself at an astonishing pace since his special admission, had passed the exam.
And Son Seo-yeon passing wasn't really that surprising either.
“You could say Son Seo-yeon is just built different, genetically speaking… but what about the others?”
The truly shocking part came next.
Shin Yu-jeong, Elena, and Im Na-eun.
They had certainly boasted enough skill to maintain top-tier grades until the last midterms, but if you asked whether they were skilled enough to pass the Hunter qualification exam, it was enough to make you scratch your head.
All of them had obtained their C-rank licenses, and not just barely—they had passed with high scores.
The results were so hard to believe that rumors even began to circulate.
“You don't think Kim Do-jin bribed the Association, do you?”
A theory that Kim Do-jin had pulled some strings to get his teammates to pass.
However, that rumor quickly died down.
“Hey, does that make any sense? Do you know what the Association is like?”
The Hunter Association.
Since it was an organization run by people, it wasn't completely free of corruption.
In fact, scandals of corruption would surface just often enough to tarnish their reputation.
But even for an organization stained by various scandals, there was one area that remained untainted.
“True… I don't know about other things, but they run the qualification exam cleanly.”
It was the Hunter qualification exam, held every quarter.
A Hunter was not just a personal profession but also a part of the nation's military strength.
In the current society where superhumans were rampant, it was their job to both cause and resolve problems.
That was why the Hunter qualification exam was administered by the Association but overseen by the state.
In other words, any clumsy attempt at corruption would get you buried.
In the end, the conversation came back to square one.
“Then that means their skills must have skyrocketed in a short amount of time.”
“Right.”
“How was that even possible?”
How could they have become strong enough to pass the qualification exam?
The answer to the question on everyone's mind was simple.
“Kim Do-jin?”
Perhaps Kim Do-jin, the leader of the team that had just passed, was the answer itself.
The moment these rumors began to spread like wildfire, a storm once again began to brew at the 'Waving the License' club, the hideout for Kim Do-jin and his teammates.
“Please, let me join the club!”
“I'll do anything if you just let me in!”
“I'll even bark like a dog if you tell me to! Woof, woof!”
“…”
The club he presided over was swamped with people trying to join.
It was even more intense than before.
“I don't think there was anyone willing to bark like a dog last time…”
“I know, right?”
A faint smile appeared on the faces of the team, who were now stuck in their club room, unable to move.
It was annoying.
But more than that, it felt good.
Because they had become so exceptional that all the brilliant students at Korea University now looked up to them.
Looking at their newly issued Hunter licenses, each of them was steeling their resolve.
“Hehe… Now I can stay by Master's… no, Do-jin's side forever.”
Im Na-eun soothed her anxious heart, which had been worried about what would happen if she were separated from her master.
“All that's left now is to make money…!”
Elena was filled with thoughts of earning a fortune to support her family back home.
And Shin Yu-jeong, who also held a license just like them…
“…”
…her gaze wasn't on her own license, but on someone else.
“Do-jin, can you explain this to me?”
“What is it?”
“It's a video of my dad. This part here is bothering me.”
“Ah, this is…”
At the end of her gaze, Kim Do-jin and Son Seo-yeon were sitting closely together, talking.
What's with them being so close?
The atmosphere between them had changed.
Just a few days ago, both of them had clearly felt a distance between each other.
They suddenly got closer.
Now, that distance was nowhere to be found.
It was as if a wall that had kept them from approaching each other had crumbled overnight.
She didn't have to look far to find the reason.
The amusement park…
Son Seo-yeon had used the wish ticket she'd earned from the qualification exam to ask Kim Do-jin to go to an amusement park with her.
And last weekend, the two of them had spent the entire day together before coming home.
Luna Land.
That dangerous place where it was said that even non-existent love could blossom between a man and a woman.
He definitely said nothing happened.
That's what Kim Do-jin had said, but something must have happened.
Otherwise, there was no way a woman who was so painfully awkward at conversation would approach someone so closely and actively try to talk to them.
“Fuck…”
A curse escaped her lips.
Even though she held the Hunter license she had wanted so badly, she didn't feel the slightest bit of joy.
It was because her heart had changed.
Her primary goal of becoming a great Hunter like Son Si-woo had been pushed to the back of her mind.
The name Kim Do-jin had come to occupy far too large a space in her heart.
I can't let this continue.
Seeing them so close sent a wave of alarm through her.
The thought that she might lose him to Son Seo-yeon, or some other woman, was enough to make the hair on her body stand on end.
She gritted her teeth.
…I have to do it.
Shin Yu-jeong finally accepted it.
Kim Do-jin's presence had grown far too large for her to embrace him with her own two hands.
To stay by his side, she needed to change her approach.
In the car on the way home after classes and training.
After a long moment of contemplation in the passenger seat, she finally spoke.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Let's do that.”
Not understanding what "that" referred to, which had been brought up out of the blue, Kim Do-jin asked.
“Do what?”
“…You know, the thing we talked about before.”
A conversation he'd had with her suddenly came to mind.
Kim Do-jin's eyes widened as he asked her back.
“…Are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
A firm answer.
She then continued.
“But… promise me one thing.”
“What is it?”
“If I try it once and I don't like it, we're never doing it again.”
Her tone was so firm and resolute, as if she wouldn't tolerate any argument on the matter, that Kim Do-jin could only nod silently.
*
The weekday morning routine of getting ready for work.
As always, after a light workout and a shower, she stood before her closet, put on a well-ironed suit, and left the house.
“Hmm-hmm-hmm ♬”
She hummed a tune the entire drive.
It continued even while she was working, and her colleagues, noticing her unusually bright expression, bombarded her with questions.
“Ji-an, you look like you're in a great mood today.”
“Ahem… Do I look that way?”
“Yes. I don't think I've ever seen you look this happy before.”
“That's right. Did something good happen?”
“Hmm… Well.”
She answered vaguely, but they were right.
Her mood today was good enough to pierce the heavens.
The reason was simple.
A date, after so long…
She had finally received a message from the man she had been waiting for, asking her on a date.
The images flickered in her mind.
Eating a meal across from him, sharing a drink, strolling through the night streets, and at the end…
“Mmm…!”
She tried to focus on her work, pushing aside the sensual thoughts that were relentlessly invading her mind and heart.
No matter how happy she was, doing a sloppy job was not in her nature.
Despite her excitement, she handled her work as perfectly as ever.
“I'll be heading out now.”
The moment quitting time arrived, she bolted from the Association.
The place she was meeting him was none other than Gangnam.
The newly developed area of Gangnam was so vast that it was quite a distance, but she chose to walk instead of taking her car.
It's a bit inconvenient to drink if I have my car…
Desire swirled in her mind.
I want to have a cozy meal with him.
I want to clink glasses under dim lighting.
Stumbling drunkenly, leaning on each other, we'd enter a hotel.
And there, our heated bodies would… like beasts…!
“Ji-an!”
“Ah…!”
A voice from a distance snapped Yoon Ji-an back to her senses, and she lifted her head.
It seemed she had been a little too lost in her fantasy.
Through her slightly unfocused eyes, she saw him.
His powerful physique was palpable even through the casual slacks and crisp white shirt he wore.
And his gentle face, a complete contrast to his body.
But she knew.
She knew just how wild and sensual that face became in bed.
“Ngh…”
After barely managing to cool her uncontrollably flushed body with a deep breath, she walked toward him.
Just as she was about to start the conversation with a light smile and the cliché question of whether he'd been waiting long…
“Hi, long time no see!”
A blonde girl suddenly popped out from behind him, waving her hand.
Seeing this, Yoon Ji-an's eyes widened.
“Shin Yu-jeong? What are you doing here…?”
Seeing her appear from behind him and greet her as if she'd been waiting, it didn't seem like a coincidence…
She looked at Kim Do-jin, asking what was going on, and he smiled sheepishly as he answered.
“It looks like the three of us will be hanging out today, with Yu-jeong… Is that okay with you?”
“Ah, yes… It's fine.”
Though she said it was fine, her eyes were trembling so violently it was impossible to hide.