Chapter 85: Little by Little (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 85: Little by Little (1)
Shin Yu-jeong desperately tried to hide her confusion as she confronted her.
“Hey, what kind of nonsense are you spouting? Why would he be afraid of me… okay, fine, I’ll admit he’s afraid of me.”
Judging by Kim Do-jin’s attitude so far, it was true that he had been scared of her.
‘…I guess I was a bit harsh.’
If someone were to ask why… it was obviously because she disliked him.
Her greatest strength and weakness was her honesty about her own feelings.
Some people liked that she didn't act coy, but others were hurt by her excessive frankness.
Kim Do-jin, so to speak, was a victim of the latter.
She had never once hidden her look of distaste whenever she saw him.
It was an expression that made anyone think, ‘Ah, she really hates that guy.’
On top of that, she had her signature cold expression, which even her long-time friends sometimes found scary. It must have been terrifying for the Kim Do-jin of the past, who was quite different from how he was now.
But that was as far as it went.
“Still, isn’t it too much to put me in the same category as Kim Jeong-hun?”
The idea that she was the second scariest person to Kim Do-jin, right after Kim Jeong-hun.
That, she found hard to accept.
No, she couldn’t accept it.
“Did I beat him up? Or did I extort money from him?”
She had become an Awakened being at an early age and had decided to become a Hunter right then.
Even if she was young, an Awakened was an Awakened.
She had a personality that let her act as she pleased, but she knew well enough that her fists were weapons.
Furthermore, what she wanted was to be a Hunter revered by all.
To achieve that, she couldn't have any controversies that would seriously damage her image.
Violence, especially school violence, was the perfect way to send one’s reputation to rock bottom.
How many Hunters had their images shattered by victims coming forward years later?
That was why she had never laid a hand on anyone.
Of course, her temper was so foul that she’d curse a bit when she was in a bad mood, but…
Even Son Si-woo, the man now called the National Hunter, supposedly had a potty mouth in the past. Seeing how gentle he was now, she figured time would eventually sort it out.
As Shin Yu-jeong passionately argued her case, Jo Yun-kyung waved her hands dismissively and replied.
“No, I just figured maybe you beat him up where no one could see…”
“I told you I didn’t!”
“Aish, I get it!”
Jo Yun-kyung raised her glass to shut Shin Yu-jeong’s pouting mouth.
“I get it, so let’s stop talking about that pig and talk about something else. Huh?”
She had said it to change the subject, but the casually spoken word ‘pig’ subtly soured Shin Yu-jeong’s mood.
She wanted to let her friend know.
How much Kim Do-jin had changed.
“Hey, if you saw him now, you’d never be able to call him a pig.”
“Huh? Why?”
“He lost all the weight.”
Jo Yun-kyung’s jaw dropped at Shin Yu-jeong’s answer.
“No way!”
The news was that shocking.
The fat clinging to Kim Do-jin’s body was beyond what could be shed with a little effort.
It was a long battle that required immense mental fortitude and patience.
That was why she had thought Kim Do-jin would never lose weight in his life.
Just by looking at him, it was clear he was far from having a strong mind or patience.
Jo Yun-kyung’s startled expression pleased Shin Yu-jeong.
It felt as if she were proud of his accomplishment herself.
“Hmph… you’d be shocked if you saw him. No, you probably wouldn’t even recognize him.”
“…Is it that bad?”
“Yeah, he’s completely… what’s the word, right, a metamorphosis! It’s practically on that level.”
“If you’re calling it a metamorphosis… he must have gotten handsome?”
“That’s right. He got handsome. His eyes are kind of gentle, his nose is sharp, and his jawline is…”
Shin Yu-jeong began to boast about him like crazy.
Because of that, she didn't see it.
She didn't see Jo Yun-kyung listening to her story, licking her lips in anticipation.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
On the way home, pleasantly drunk.
She’d even heard a way to get Kim Do-jin wrapped around her finger, so she should have been feeling nothing but motivated.
But the story Jo Yun-kyung had casually brought up left a corner of her heart feeling uneasy.
“Ha, seriously. How could she compare me to Kim Jeong-hun?”
Kim Jeong-hun was the ringleader in bullying Kim Do-jin.
Making him a bread shuttle was just the basics; he was the worst of the worst, never hesitating to throw punches if he was displeased, saying Do-jin’s thick flesh made him a good sandbag.
And she was next after a guy like that?
“That’s hilarious, really.”
It was so absurd it was almost infuriating.
Kim Jeong-hun had been a tyrant at the high school she and Kim Do-jin attended.
With his superior physique came excellent fighting skills, and on top of that, a wealthy family. He was someone even the teachers couldn't easily touch.
She was the only one who could put a stop to some of his antics.
So, sometimes, when he crossed the line, she would even step in.
…Of course, it wasn’t because she was worried about Kim Do-jin, but because of her own mother, who would be stomping her feet in distress after seeing him beaten to a pulp.
“Agh, shit.”
Even after spitting out various excuses that should have brought relief, the uneasy feeling didn't get better.
In truth, whether she was next after Kim Jeong-hun or not didn't matter.
The lingering unease in her heart, to be precise, stemmed from her current relationship with Kim Do-jin.
Considering the cause and effect built up layer by layer from the past, her relationship with him was indescribably complex and strange.
And it was all her fault.
“…I was so fucking hasty.”
Just because he had awakened, and as a Mage class at that, she had rushed in so recklessly.
When a person who was once an object of fear suddenly started acting friendly and clinging to him.
What kind of feelings and thoughts must Kim Do-jin have had as he looked at her?
“A disgusting bitch? Or… a gold digger?”
Or maybe both?
She didn't know which it was, but it certainly wouldn't have been a good feeling.
In fact, an unexplainable unease had been settling in a corner of her heart even before this.
She’d even had sex with him and felt like they had become physically as close as possible, yet it felt strange to call him her boyfriend. She had wondered why.
Now, she thought she vaguely understood the reason.
“…Unresolved feelings.”
Between her and Kim Do-jin.
It was because of the old, unresolved feelings that filled both their hearts.
And she realized that unless they cleared the air, they could never get emotionally closer, even if they built the Great Wall together.
“Ha… fuck.”
Her face instantly turned beet red.
She was starting to feel ashamed of everything she had done to him over the past few months.
Before her flushed face could cool down, Shin Yu-jeong arrived home.
What greeted her was none other than a terrifying barrage of nagging from Seo Jeong-hee.
“Oh my, look at her flushed face. Just how much did you drink to get like this? Huh?!”
“Ah, this isn’t from drinking!”
“Then what is it from?”
“That’s…!”
As she was at a loss for words, Seo Jeong-hee became even more triumphant.
“This girl lies every time she opens her mouth these days. This won’t do, you, get over here!”
A slap on the back that even an Awakened being would find hard to endure.
Smack—!
“Aaargh! That really huuurts!”
“I’m hitting you to make it hurt, of course it’s going to hurt!”
After being manhandled for a while because of her red face, she was finally able to enter her room.
“Haaa…”
The thoughts she had briefly forgotten during the commotion came rushing back.
She didn't know.
She knew she had to get rid of all these feelings piled up in her heart to get truly close to him, but…
“…Do I really have to?”
In the first place, her goal was his ability.
If so, wouldn't it be fine to just leave things as they are?
Thinking about it rationally, that was the right answer… but why did her heart keep pounding so unpleasantly?
As if it were scolding her, telling her she shouldn't.
“This is driving me crazy…”
She had to decide on a course of action.
What kind of relationship did she want to have with Kim Do-jin?
Colleagues who occasionally have sex? Or… something stronger, a bond where they truly think about and care for each other?
At that thought, the image of Kim Do-jin in her heart began to grow larger.
Her face flushed red again.
A new worry began to push out all the others.
She covered her face with both hands and muttered softly.
“Ah… how am I supposed to face Kim Do-jin now…”
More than anything else, she was worried about how she would face him starting tomorrow.
*
Lunchtime, after the morning classes were over.
As always, I sat down for lunch with Im Na-eun and Shin Yu-jeong, and then we gathered at a café.
The reason was to choose team members to work with for the rest of the semester, but…
Shin Yu-jeong was acting strange today.
Very strange.
“You’re acting a little strange today.”
“…What is.”
“Well, you’re quieter than usual and you’re not making eye contact with me… oh, see? You just looked away the second our eyes met.”
Caught you.
Caught red-handed, Shin Yu-jeong shouted as if struggling.
“No, I didn’t! Why would I not be able to look you in the eye? Here, see? I can look at you just, just fine!”
Her forceful gaze turned toward me.
She managed to make eye contact somehow, but I could tell just by looking at her pupils, which were shaking so violently it was like there was an earthquake.
She was finding it extremely difficult to meet my eyes right now.
“Stop talking nonsense and let’s just pick our team members.”
And with that, Shin Yu-jeong’s eyes darted away again.
I was curious.
Just why was she acting like that?