Chapter 96: Date (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 96: Date (1)
Sunday, the day after conquering the dungeon.
Despite wanting to rest, I had a prior engagement today.
A date with none other than Yoon Ji-an.
To be precise, she'd asked me to treat her to a meal to celebrate her successful compensation… but the nuance wasn't bad, so it wouldn't be wrong to call it a date, would it?
“This is an opportunity.”
The relationship between us had changed quite a bit.
Should I say that private feelings had started to mix with our professional ones?
Unlike at the beginning, when she maintained a strictly business-like attitude, the atmosphere between us had grown much warmer.
That's why I called today an opportunity.
It felt like it could be the moment to put a definitive mark on the changing mood between us.
Of course, it would all depend on how I acted today.
Whether we'd remain in a professional relationship like before, or become something where it's hard to separate business from pleasure.
“…I'm getting nervous for no reason.”
Maybe it was because this was the first time I'd ever tried to advance a relationship with a woman through such a standard route.
My relationship with Shin Yu-jeong was twisted in some way, and the one with the ajumma was, well, an affair.
Even with my ex-wife, Han Ju-hee, we became lovers by walking a path quite different from that of an ordinary couple.
Before we were lovers, we were comrades in the same party.
We owed our lives to each other, and that debt built up into affection.
And that built-up affection caught a spark one day and burst into flames.
We did go on normal dates… but by then, our relationship was already as deep as it could get, so we knew what the other liked and wanted. I don't think we ever had to think long about what to do or where to go.
“Well… I should just act normal.”
From what I could tell, Yoon Ji-an had also lived a life far removed from men.
So she probably wasn't expecting anything special.
Wouldn't she be dreaming of a simple, comfortable, yet slightly heart-fluttering date?
“Then again, it might not even be a date.”
Maybe I was the only one who thought of this as a date.
I hoped that wasn't the case.
To calm my gently trembling heart, I took a long, deliberate shower.
Then, I opened my closet, picked out a few outfits that seemed decent enough to wear, and tried them on…
“Huh.”
The thing I was worried about had happened.
My arms and legs had been getting longer little by little, and I was already thinking I'd need to buy new clothes soon.
It seemed I'd passed the deadline.
“…They're short.”
The slacks I'd bought several pairs of now exposed my ankles, and the shirts left my wrists bare.
“How much taller have I gotten?”
I hadn't paid much attention to the height or weight sections when I opened my status window recently. I decided I should check it now.
“Status Window.”
[Status Window]
Name: Kim Do-jin
Sex: Male
Age: 20
Height/Weight: 178CM / 69.1KG
[Strength: 28] [Stamina: 32] [Agility: 28] [Mana: 35]
Trait: One with Aptitude
[Mutual Non-aggression (2022.06.09.~2025.12.31)]
[Disclosure Prohibition (2022.06.09.~2025.12.31.)]
“Wow, I've grown 4 cm.”
My height, which was once in the low 170s, had now shot past the upper range and was nearing 180.
No wonder the air up here had felt a little fresher lately.
“My stats have gone up quite a bit, too.”
The stats that rose again after yesterday's dungeon conquest also stood out.
The one that rose the most was, as expected, Mana.
Looking at my Mana stat, which was now approaching 40, a strange doubt crept in.
“For some reason, it feels like my stats are growing faster and faster…”
Normally, the higher a stat gets, the harder it becomes to raise it, step by step.
But the growth rate for my Mana, which went from 20 to 35, wasn't slowing down.
No, I even had the illusion that it was getting faster.
At this point, it was starting to get scary.
It felt like I'd long since surpassed a level that could be explained away simply as ‘talent.’
Getting stronger was an undeniably good thing, but…
“Things like this always lead to trouble.”
I knew from having lived as an S-rank Hunter once: many things gather around great power.
People gather, money piles up, and fame soars to the heavens.
That part was all well and good… The problem was that incidents and accidents followed suit.
Events you'd rather not have happen to you start occurring nearby, and you get swept up in them.
I once complained about this to a comrade.
And what he said was, it's destiny.
A fate designed to be inescapable precisely because you possess power, because you are strong.
“Back then, I thought it was just bullshit.”
But having lived it, my perspective changed.
I started to think he might have been right.
After all, most incidents and accidents are caused by humans.
And as I said before, people and money gather around great power.
When the desires of those gathered people clash, all sorts of things are bound to happen, aren't they?
“…But what am I even thinking about right now?”
Wasn't I in the middle of changing to go out?
Time was getting tight.
I took off the clothes that were now too short and put on a new outfit.
Black slacks and a dark gray shirt.
They were a size larger than the clothes I usually wore.
I'd bought them just in case, and sure enough, they were coming in handy.
After tidying my appearance in front of the mirror, I applied some wax to sweep my bangs up slightly.
It was the style people used to call ‘Si-woo with his hair up.’
“I guess it's ‘Do-jin with his hair up’ now.”
Same style, but this one looked a little better.
Judging objectively, Kim Do-jin's face was more handsome than Son Si-woo's.
It wasn't that Son Si-woo was ugly… but it felt more like he was considered handsome because of his popularity.
“All done.”
I finished getting ready.
My clothes were neat, my hair was styled.
I grabbed my wallet and smartphone, put on my shoes, and stepped out the front door, only to see a familiar car in front of the building.
It was Yoon Ji-an's car, which I'd only ridden in once or twice.
I immediately went down the stairs and headed toward her.
* * *
From Monday, the start of the week, only one word was stuck in her head.
Date.
One that she herself had proposed.
Of course, it wasn't her first.
Countless men had hit on her, and she had even gone on dates with a few of them.
But she never formed a lasting connection with any of them.
‘A waste of time.’
The sweet romance that others were dying to experience just felt like a waste of time to her.
Her friends used to tell her.
That she only thought that way because she hadn't met someone she truly connected with yet.
‘Then, does that mean I… with Kim Do-jin…?’
No, that wasn't it.
She was just… interested.
As a Hunter, and as a man.
The decisive moment she became interested in him as a man was, in the end, that time.
‘Kallashu's Trial…’
Despite its impressive-sounding name, it was a place you could only escape by performing a lewd act, absurdly enough.
That was the first time she had ever seen a man's… thing.
Had she only looked?
Hadn't she touched it with her hands, and in the end, even sucked it with her mouth?
It couldn't be helped.
If she hadn't, she would have been trapped there forever.
She had decided to consider it an unavoidable choice made to conquer the dungeon, and she had even agreed with Kim Do-jin to forget all memories of that time.
‘I can't forget it.’
The problem was that she herself couldn't forget the memory.
It kept coming back to her.
The sensation of her body growing hot, and the sight of him writhing at her touch.
Recalling it brought a strange sense of pleasure.
‘Maybe today…’
She hurriedly shook her head.
“Wh-what am I thinking…”
Tapping her cheeks lightly to snap out of it, she calmly began to get ready to go out.
A black H-line skirt that came to just above her knees, paired with a brown blouse that had a hint of red.
An outfit that felt a little less stuffy than her usual constricting business suits.
She also picked up a small handbag.
As she was about to leave, she made a bold decision and chose heels instead of her usual low-heeled shoes.
“They're a little uncomfortable…”
Her feet were a bit uncomfortable, but she didn't bother changing.
Since it was a date, after all, she wanted to look at least a little different from how she usually dressed.
She went down to the parking garage, got in her car, and set off.
Her destination was the front of Kim Do-jin's house.
It was a consideration for him, as he didn't have a car yet.
Arriving at a reasonable time, she pulled over to the side of the road and steadied her breathing.
“Hoo… why am I so nervous…”
A tension she hadn't felt even during her interview with the Association was gripping her body tightly.
As she was slowly composing herself, Kim Do-jin opened the main gate and came out, a little early.
A gentle smile bloomed on his youthful face.
Seeing his clearly excited face, her mind naturally overlapped with that time.
Suddenly, she wanted to see it again.
The way he had looked back then, helplessly melting in bliss.
“You're here early. Have you been waiting long?”
As Kim Do-jin got into the passenger seat and spoke to her in a relaxed tone, she stared at him blankly and thought.
They say that when a spark ignites between a man and a woman, there's no telling how far they'll go, even if they've only known each other for a day.
And they had already shared an experience.
‘Maybe today…’
Maybe I'll be able to see him like that again.
While she was lost in her wanton thoughts.
“Ms. Ji-an?”
At Kim Do-jin's call, Yoon Ji-an snapped back to her senses.
“Yes? Ah, yes!”
“Should we get going? I think we should get out of this neighborhood, wherever we're headed.”
She remembered.
The sound of his breath, escaping naturally amidst the pleasure that spread through his entire body.
Her face flushing, she fixed her gaze forward.
“Yes, well then… let's get going.”
After her car, carrying the two of them, left the alley.
The woman who had been watching the car from atop the building, holding her breath, also disappeared with listless steps.