Chapter 84: The Approaching Ones (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 84: The Approaching Ones (7)
I acted nonchalant as I tore through the barrier and stepped out, but inside, I was anything but.
“Shit…”
I had expected something like this to happen sooner or later, but not this soon.
This was way too fast…
“Where did the information leak from?”
The fact that they appeared before me meant they’d picked up information about me from somewhere.
So, where was the source?
Right now, the university was the most likely culprit… but there are way too many people there.
“Zodiac, huh…”
I’d never heard the name before.
The way they said they didn’t know if they were villains or what seemed to imply they hadn’t started their activities in earnest yet.
And yet, they possessed a knock-off technology that was remarkably similar to a barrier…?
“They must be a very thorough bunch.”
They were clearly dead serious about laying the groundwork.
To have that kind of technology and to send a scout with considerable skill before even going public…
“K…”
He introduced himself as K.
The amount of mana flowing around him was at least A-rank.
Using a Hunter of the highest rank—excluding the S-ranks who are extremely rare in any country—as a mere scout either meant their organization was incredibly powerful, or they held me in very high regard.
“Maybe I should have talked to them a bit.”
They had trapped me in a fake barrier, but they didn’t seem dangerous.
At least, not yet.
If I had just talked to them for a moment…
“Nah, forget it.”
What’s the point of asking a shady bastard with a black heart what his purpose is? He’s not going to answer.
The kindest response I could have expected would have been something like, “Join our organization, and we’ll tell you.”
“The real problem is what comes next.”
Zodiac isn’t a huge issue right now.
Judging by what that K guy said, they don’t seem like an organization that will make any drastic moves immediately.
The problem is what follows.
The number of people targeting me, like Zodiac, is only going to increase.
It would be nice if all of them stayed within certain lines like that guy just did, but there are always exceptions.
It wouldn’t be the least bit strange if one or two of them came charging at me, hell-bent on killing me.
They’re called villains for a reason.
“Damn, and I wanted to live a more relaxed life.”
Unfortunately, there’s no way to escape the threat.
To do that, I’d either have to die, or I’d have to hunt down every last villain and kill them or throw them in prison.
I don’t want the former, and the latter is impossible.
However, there is a way to survive without dying.
Getting stronger.
I just have to become so strong that no threat feels like a threat at all.
That’s how I was able to become an S-rank Hunter in the first place.
To avoid death, to protect the people precious to me, I had to get stronger no matter what.
It’s the same now.
My body might be different, but the need to survive remains.
Which means my days are about to get a lot more hectic…
“Welcome home. You must be hungry. Let’s have dinner once the stew is ready.”
“Can I eat something else before dinner?”
“Hmm? If you snack before a meal, you’ll lose your appetite…”
“No, it’ll be fine.”
“What on earth do you want to eat… Kyaa!”
“You, Ajumma.”
“Ahhhng…!”
Well, what can you do?
If I want to protect my Ajumma, I have to endure at least that much.
* * *
While Kim Do-jin was getting his fill from both sides, Shin Yu-jeong was meeting a friend.
“Yu-jeong! It’s been so long!”
Her friend’s name was Jo Yun-kyung.
She was one of the three girls Yu-jeong had spent all three years of high school with.
Originally, she had planned to meet all three of them.
But one was busy banging someone, and the other was busy at a club, picking out a guy to bang.
The two of them entered a quiet bar.
After taking a seat, Shin Yu-jeong asked Jo Yun-kyung, who sat across from her.
“The other girls said they were too busy with guys to come out. How’d you manage to make it?”
Yun-kyung smiled and replied.
“I’m all about quality over quantity.”
“Ah, is that so.”
Of course she is.
After ordering some simple snacks and soju, Shin Yu-jeong immediately started downing the shots that arrived first.
A startled Jo Yun-kyung snatched the bottle away from her.
“What’s wrong? Did something bad happen?”
“……”
Shin Yu-jeong’s expression crumpled.
The image of Kim Do-jin, who had just made her beg and plead, flashed in her mind again.
A complex tangle of emotions swirled within her.
She was angry, disappointed, and even humiliated.
But what pissed her off the most was his attitude, as if he were watching to see how she would respond.
The memory was still vivid.
The look on his face when she had wracked her brain and finally succeeded in her appeal.
“That bastard…”
It was unmistakably a look of pride.
Like a parent or a teacher, surprised by the growth of a child they had raised.
Was she pissed off because of that?
Yes.
But the problem was, that wasn’t all.
‘Fuck, fuck…!’
The moment she saw his satisfied expression, she felt it.
It was just for a fleeting moment, an instant, but before the anger came a sense of fulfillment.
That made her even angrier.
Not just at Kim Do-jin, but at herself for feeling a moment of joy over something so pathetic.
‘This can’t be happening.’
She had never experienced anything like this before.
Being swayed back and forth by someone else—that wasn’t a look that suited her.
Especially not in the relationship between her and Kim Do-jin.
‘I have to get him back under control.’
She had to rein him in again.
That was the only thought circling in her mind.
“Yu-jeong, I asked what’s wrong.”
Her gaze shifted to Jo Yun-kyung.
The reason she had contacted her friend, whom she rarely reached out to.
It was to come up with a secret plan to capture Kim Do-jin.
“Hey, you said it before, right? That a man is what a woman makes of him.”
“I did…? Oh, wait a minute.”
Jo Yun-kyung’s face filled with shock.
“Don’t tell me you’re in a bad mood because of a guy.”
Shin Yu-jeong let out a deep sigh and reluctantly nodded.
“…You’re right.”
“Oh my god!”
Jo Yun-kyung made a huge fuss.
“What’s gotten into the girl who insisted she had no interest in guys!”
Her reaction was understandable.
Ever since their first year of high school, whenever she had offered to introduce Yu-jeong to a decent guy, Yu-jeong had adamantly refused, claiming she had zero interest. And now, that same Shin Yu-jeong was worrying over a man.
“A-anyway! So… how do you do it? Taming a guy.”
“Hmm, let’s see.”
A playful smile spread across her friend’s lips.
“First, how far have you two gone?”
“G-gone?”
“Yeah. Have you held hands? Or kissed?”
Jo Yun-kyung didn’t have high expectations.
How far could a girl who had built a wall between herself and men since she was young have possibly gone?
But the answer that came back threw her into a pit of shock once again.
“We… had sex, but.”
“What?!”
Jo Yun-kyung slammed the table and shot up from her seat without thinking.
Sensing the eyes of the people around them, she laughed awkwardly and sat back down.
“You had sex, but?”
“Well… we were interrupted, so he only put it in a few times before we had to stop. It just kind of fizzled out.”
“Huh.”
It was a situation she couldn’t quite comprehend.
What kind of interruption could possibly stop sex in the middle of it…
“Ah, anyway, just tell me already.”
“You mean how to tame a guy?”
“Yeah, that.”
Seeing the burning passion for learning in her eyes, Jo Yun-kyung let out a faint smile.
At the same time, she grew curious.
Just what kind of man had made the Shin Yu-jeong so desperate?
Maybe I’ll give her the answer she wants first, then ask about him later.
“You see, with men…”
Jo Yun-kyung began to carefully explain all the know-how she had on taming men.
“Hey, do I really have to go that far?”
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. But if you don’t, that guy will just go to another woman…”
“Ah, okay. Next.”
At first, Yu-jeong would make a slightly disgusted face at the methods she was suggesting, but she would quiet down as soon as the topic of another woman was brought up.
From the halfway point on, she was completely focused, hanging on every word. Watching her, Jo Yun-kyung was struck by a strange feeling.
‘Is this what they mean when they say you never know what life will throw at you?’
The girl who wouldn’t even give them the time of day when they talked about boys in high school was now this focused.
It was truly a case of "live long enough and you'll see everything."
“For now, just try this much. That should be enough to get most guys wrapped around your finger.”
“…I’m really trusting you on this, you know?”
“Yeah, just trust me.”
Shin Yu-jeong’s expression visibly lightened.
Having found a way to get him back under her control, the tightness in her chest seemed to have eased a bit.
From then on, the two drank in a much brighter atmosphere, spicing up the conversation with old stories that are a must for any drinking session.
“By the way, I feel so bad for our poor Jeong-hun.”
“Kim Jeong-hun? Why him?”
“He still likes you, you know.”
“…He does?”
Kim Jeong-hun.
He was one of the boys she knew from high school.
She knew he liked her.
How could she not when he made it so painfully obvious?
‘I thought it was over back then.’
At their high school graduation, Kim Jeong-hun had confessed, saying he wanted to date her seriously.
Shin Yu-jeong, who had no interest in men, had coldly rejected him.
Since then, she thought they were just friends who kept in touch from time to time.
‘He still likes me?’
She had no idea.
She had just assumed the occasional messages were from a friend checking in.
While she was being surprised by this new information…
“Oh, right.”
As Jo Yun-kyung recalled one event after another from high school, she remembered someone she had completely forgotten about.
“Is he still living in the rooftop room of your building?”
The rooftop room.
There was only one rooftop room in her building, and only one person lived there.
“The rooftop room… you mean Kim Do-jin?”
“Was that his name? I always called him ‘pig,’ so I didn’t know. Anyway, him.”
Shin Yu-jeong gave a bitter smile.
Pig.
He had been so overweight back then that they had definitely called him that.
“He used to be super scared of you back then. Does he still tremble when he sees you?”
Jo Yun-kyung’s words made Shin Yu-jeong frown.
“Hey, don’t exaggerate. What do you mean, tremble…”
It wasn’t that bad.
He just stuttered a little and seemed awkward around her.
At least, that’s how she remembered it.
But Jo Yun-kyung’s memory was different.
“Come on, what are you talking about? After Jeong-hun, you were probably the person he was most scared of.”
“…What?”
The energy drained from Shin Yu-jeong’s face.
Kim Jeong-hun was one of the school bullies who had tormented Kim Do-jin the most viciously.
And she was the person he feared right after that vicious bastard…?
A shock, as if someone had smashed the back of her head, washed over her, turning her mind completely white.