Chapter 61: Orientation (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 61: Orientation (3)
Park Jin-woo was quite a skilled speaker.
He captured the audience's attention by weaving in small but pleasant tidbits—like which cafeteria food was good, or where to get cheap, tasty coffee—while delivering key information about how second-semester classes would run and which courses were popular for each job class.
The information, based on his own experiences, would surely be a great help for our future campus life, but none of it registered with me.
My mind was completely focused on Son Seo-yeon.
I just couldn't understand.
Why would the kid who followed her mom into the Magic Tower last year go through the trouble of taking a transfer exam to come here?
“There's no way Han Ju-hee would have just let this happen...”
What was even more puzzling was whether Han Ju-hee had actually allowed it.
She was the type of woman who would roll up her sleeves and jump in, no matter how busy she was, if it concerned her daughter's future.
Though she never said it outright, I always felt she secretly hoped Seo-yeon would grow up and take her place.
Would a woman like that really stand by and meekly watch Seo-yeon leave the Magic Tower to take a transfer exam for Korea University?
“Hmm...”
A picture formed in my mind.
The two of them, screaming and fighting at home.
Han Ju-hee had always been fiery, and while Seo-yeon used to be quiet and gentle like me, as she grew up, it was like her mother's dormant genes awakened, and she became incredibly stubborn.
They either had a huge fight and were now in a cold war, or Han Ju-hee had decided to give in.
One of the two must have happened.
The probability that Fake Si-woo, the one who stole my body, mediated between them?
I can guarantee there's not even a 1% chance of that.
With the weak mind of a shut-in hikikomori, he'd have a hard time just being caught between them, let alone mediating.
Since the house has plenty of rooms, he probably just holed up in a corner somewhere, covered his ears, and waited for the fight to end.
The bastard. Serves him right.
For a moment, I felt a thrill of pleasure thinking of that guy trembling in my body.
“Hey, where do you keep looking?”
Shin Yu-jeong, who was next to me, poked my side and shoved her scowling face toward me, her finger tracing the direction of my gaze.
“Aha... you were looking at that sunbae, weren't you? What was her name? Son... Son...”
“Son Seo-yeon... Ahem!”
The moment I uttered her name, a sharp glare fell upon me.
It was a leading question, wasn't it...
“That sunbae is pretty, right?”
Another obvious leading question.
I can handle this one easily...
“She is. I don't know whose daughter she is, but she grew up very well, yes.”
Shit.
I guess the instincts of a doting father I haven't been able to shake were still in me.
“Heeh... looks like you fell in love at first sight.”
“That's definitely not it.”
Actually, I did fall in love at first sight.
The moment I saw my baby girl, born after a long and painful labor, I vowed I would give my all to make her happy.
“Oh, come on. You've got little hearts popping out of your eyes.”
I countered her teasing tone with a logical argument.
“Yu-jeong... a person's pupils can't turn into hearts.”
At that, her expression twisted even more.
I guess I chose the wrong answer.
She forced the corners of her mouth up into a smile with that twisted face, and a chill ran down my spine.
I'm most scared of women when they act like that.
Han Ju-hee is like that, and so is this one.
I mean, if you're angry, just frown. Why go to the trouble of forcing a smile?
And then when you ask if they're angry, they say they're not.
Saying they're not that petty.
“Are you angry, by any chance?”
“N-o? Why would I be angry? What does it matter to me who you like?”
She's angry. Definitely angry.
Look at her, lying through her gritted teeth that she's not angry.
She's going to grind her teeth down to nothing.
After glaring daggers at me, she suddenly lowered her head and let out a deep sigh.
“Hey, Kim Do-jin.”
“What?”
“I'm telling you this because I'm worried about you, okay? So don't get the wrong idea and listen carefully.”
Whenever someone lays the groundwork like that, it's always for their own sake.
What on earth is she trying to say?
“Do you know who that sunbae's parents are?”
“Uh...”
Should I say I know, or that I don't?
Before I could answer, she continued.
“They're Son Si-woo and Han Ju-hee. Two S-rank Hunters who get treated like state guests in our country.”
“So?”
“You're not in the same league. Not even close.”
So that's what she was getting at.
...She's not entirely wrong.
I was the type to be okay with any man Seo-yeon loved, as long as he wasn't a con artist or a criminal, but Han Ju-hee was different.
She used to say all the time that she'd check every single detail and marry her off to a perfect family.
If that didn't work, she said they should get a capable son-in-law to live with them.
“So what I'm saying is, it's a love that's hard to achieve, so if you have any feelings for her, it'd be best to give up as soon as possible. That's all.”
Then, with half-lidded eyes, she subtly wrapped her arm around my shoulder.
“You know that saying, right? A pine caterpillar should stick to eating pine needles. Instead of Son Seo-yeon-sunbae, take a good look around you. Who knows? You might find a much better match.”
Now she was getting more and more blatant about promoting herself.
A laugh escaped me without my realizing it.
The kid is getting cuter and cuter as time goes on.
It's gotten to the point where I'm barely bothered by my past trauma anymore.
“Alright. I'll take a good look around.”
“Ahem, good.”
I watched Shin Yu-jeong turn her head away, her face slightly flushed, before turning my own gaze forward.
I don't have the slightest intention of doing so right now, but if I absolutely had to get married, Shin Yu-jeong would be a pretty good option.
Why?
If I marry her, I get the ajumma too.
Marry one, get two women. How could that be bad?
“Alright, that's it for the official orientation event. Thanks for putting up with the boring talk, everyone.”
“Thank you for your hard work, sunbaenim!”
Huh, is the orientation over already?
“Now, it's time to move on to the unofficial event, right?”
“Yeah!”
Everyone responded to Park Jin-woo's words with a loud cheer.
An unofficial event would mean...
“I've booked a pub in front of the school, so let's all head over there. Like I said, it's an unofficial event, so any students who don't have the time don't have to attend. See you in a bit!”
Waving, Park Jin-woo put down the microphone and was the first to leave the lecture hall.
A sense of déjà vu washed over me, and I remembered what he'd said when he introduced Seo-yeon.
A junior he was personally acquainted with...
“Ah.”
Now I remember.
I thought he looked familiar when I first saw him.
I grabbed the arm of Shin Yu-jeong, who was beaming at the thought of drinking, and asked her.
“Is Park Jin-woo-sunbae's family from the Yuseong Guild?”
“Yeah. But how did you know? That sunbae doesn't usually show it.”
The Yuseong Guild.
The number three ranked Hunter guild in South Korea.
The guild leader is Park Jeong-pal... no, Park Jeong-min.
An A-rank Hunter who's nearly reached S-rank.
He's not only an outstanding Hunter but also a skilled businessman.
Right, how could I have forgotten that face?
He's the spitting image of the old Jeong-pal... I mean, Jeong-min.
I'd seen the kid before.
Several times, in fact.
Was it around the time my daughter recovered her health and started running around?
I had them meet and play together occasionally, wanting to make a friend for her.
I remember joking back then that we should have them marry when they grow up. While Ju-hee and Jeong-pal... Jeong-min, were laughing about it, I was the only one who got pissed off and secretly gave the kid a flick on the forehead.
I remember they met like that when they were young, but grew distant during middle and high school.
I guess they kept in touch with each other.
“I had no idea...”
Then again, what would I know?
She was the kind of kid who'd use dieting as an excuse to get out of eating with her own dad, for whatever reason she was upset about.
“Of course I wouldn't know.”
The more I think about it, the more pissed I get.
“Yu-jeong, Na-eun!”
“What.”
“Huh...?”
“Let's go drinking! Let's drink!”
I need a drink today.
* * *
After the official orientation event ended.
She, Son Seo-yeon, intended to go straight home.
The drinking party after the orientation.
Though it was called an unofficial event, it was basically mandatory.
Because no small number of friendships were forged there.
But to her, it didn't matter.
She had no particular desire to get close to anyone, and she didn't like alcohol itself.
She, who didn't much like being out and about because of a past trauma, tried to head straight home, but was blocked by one person's firm guard.
“Let's just have one quick drink and go. I'll be leaving soon, too.”
“......”
She couldn't refuse.
Because she still owed him a debt of gratitude.
In the end, Son Seo-yeon quietly joined the noisy drinking party, where most of the students from the lecture hall had gathered.
She passed the time by endlessly sipping the glass of beer in front of her.
‘He said he'd be leaving soon...’
Her plan was to disappear like the wind the moment Park Jin-woo got up to leave.
But as time passed, that didn't happen.
Park Jin-woo, who'd said he would leave soon, seemed preoccupied with going from table to table, accepting drinks.
“Haah...”
As she let out a small sigh, a tipsy-looking classmate came over, holding a glass.
“Can I sit here for a sec...”
“No.”
Sobered up by a rejection colder than a midwinter wind, the man's shoulders slumped as he walked away.
After rejecting two classmates and one senior like that, her seat became uncomfortable.
At this rate, she felt she'd be branded not as a friendly newcomer, but as a rude junior.
To get away from their conversations for a moment, she got up and headed outside.
But someone was already there.
A memorable face.
The special admission student from the magic department, who was about her height.
The man she'd found herself staring at during the self-introductions, her eyes drawn to him for some strange reason.
‘Kim Do-jin... was that his name?’
He, who had been sitting with his head bowed, lifted his face.
And then, their eyes met.
The moment their eyes met, Son Seo-yeon was seized by an inexplicable sense of kinship.
Though they had never spoken, the thought that the man before her was somehow similar to her spread strongly through her mind.
Overcome by a sensation she'd never felt before, she opened her mouth without thinking.
“Uh... hi.”
How long had it been?
Since she had been the first to greet someone.
As she clumsily prepared her next words, trying to guess his reply...
an unexpected question came from Kim Do-jin.
“Came out to get some air?”
“...Yeah.”
Before Son Seo-yeon, who had barely managed to reply, could even breathe a sigh of relief, Kim Do-jin stood up and walked past her.
“Well, enjoy your break. I'm done with mine.”
Stunned by his chilly attitude, Son Seo-yeon stared blankly at Kim Do-jin's departing back with wide eyes.