Chapter 115: The Women Who Break Through Shields
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 115: The Women Who Break Through Shields
9
[“Pfft, haha! So, you told her that, and you haven’t heard from her since?”]
“Yeah, that’s about right.”
After returning home, I was on the phone with Seol-hyang.
I didn’t want to burden her while she was busy, but not telling her about the Alterz situation would have been an even bigger nuisance.
[“It would’ve been nice if our Ha-chan treated everyone else like that.”]
She said, sounding a little sulky.
“...What are you talking about? I treat everyone the same way.”
It was true for my first meeting with Ahyu, with Seol-hyang, and even with Eunnamu.
Believe it or not, I always put up a fence.
The problem was that they all just smashed right through it.
[“I guess that’s true. But for someone who says that, you sure do look.”]
“Look? At what?”
For some reason, I could hear the sound of her tapping something soft over the phone.
The sound had a certain weight to it, even through the receiver, and my body tensed.
[“For someone who claims to like men, your eyes seem to wander quite naturally.”]
“...Sorry. It’s a biological reflex.”
Honestly, I thought what Seol-hyang had was just unfair.
Even if I were a woman, my eyes would have been drawn to them.
[“Yu U-jeong, you say. Got it. I’ll look into her on my end.”]
“Are you sure? You’re busy.”
[“I can just have someone else handle it. As for the Alterz problem… yes, it would be best to discuss it more with Ryeongju. We were in the middle of extracting information on Girasung anyway.”]
I wondered what was happening in the basement of the World Returnee Association.
Probably better not to know the details.
[“I’ll speak to Ms. Ha Si-ho personally. It would be good if you told her, Ha-chan, but she’d try to grant any request you make, no matter what. That must weigh on you, right?”]
“You’re seriously the best.”
[“Hehehe, just think of it as having a great childhood friend.”]
She really was the best in the world.
Then, she added one last playful comment.
[“And you can also think of it as having a great future wife.”]
With that, she hung up as if embarrassed.
Her final words left me frozen, phone still in hand.
Standing here like this, I finally understood how I’d been able to put up such an extreme wall against Yu U-jeong.
Compared to the people around me, Yu U-jeong’s obviously intentional advances were laughably amateur.
...The people around me are just too strong.
When level 99 players are making a move on you, how could a level 1 advance even register?
10
Several weeks passed after Yu U-jeong joined our team.
It was now early to mid-November.
Despite being so thoroughly shut down on the first day, she acted as if nothing had happened.
Watching Yu U-jeong’s relentless offensive, I found myself lost in thought.
“Ha-chan, I made some macarons. Please have one.”
“I’m not a big fan of sweets.”
“I got a ticket for a hotel buffet. What do you think? The food is amazing. It has a pool, and the night view is supposed to be beautiful.”
“Ji-eun and Si-ho would love that. But I’m afraid of water. I can chip in some money, and the four of us can just go for the buffet.”
“I’ve been learning massage recently. Aren’t your shoulders tense? Let me rub them for you.”
“I’m more of a pain relief patch kind of guy.”
Frankly, I thought Yu U-jeong would get fed up and give up after a few attempts.
According to Seol-hyang’s investigation, she was indeed an S-rank hunter.
Camila Agatha.
A hunter from Brazil who had clawed her way up from the very bottom to reach the pinnacle, earning her the title “Empress of the Gutter.”
That was what they called her.
For her to be casting aside all pride and trying to charm and seduce me was, by any measure, strange.
My prediction that she’d be gone after the first day was wrong; she was far more persistent than I had imagined.
It got to the point where even Ji-eun and Si-ho, after witnessing my iron-clad defense, would look at Yu U-jeong with a hint of pity.
But she paid them no mind and never stopped trying to get close to me.
“What is she thinking?”
I muttered to myself on the company’s rooftop terrace, a paper cup of coffee in my hand.
I had fled up here because Yu U-jeong had been tailing me all day, determined to win me over somehow.
It was so bad that my team leader even said to me, “Ha-chan, just give Ms. Yu a break. It’s getting painful to watch.”
“Is my ultimate move not working anymore?”
Should I research a new one?
As I pondered this, Baeksan, who was sitting on the railing, spoke up as if asking what the big deal was.
“Kang Ha-chan, do you know the defining trait of those who’ve clawed their way up from the bottom?”
“What is it?”
“The moment they catch fire, even once, they’ll cling on relentlessly until the wick burns out completely.”
I couldn’t say I didn’t understand, having been through a similar phase myself.
“So you’re saying Yu U-jeong has caught fire now?”
“Yeah, I’m only just realizing it myself. That woman is the type to get even more persistent the more you push her away. Her pride has been wounded, so she’ll keep charging forward until she makes up for it.”
“Wow, what the hell? That’s terrifying.”
“Tsk, if I’d known, I would have told you to just play along moderately.”
Even Baeksan seemed surprised by how tenacious Yu U-jeong was.
The type to cling harder the more you push her away…
It really made me realize how many different kinds of people there are in the world.
“So what should I do? It’s not like Yu U-jeong is doing this because she actually likes me.”
She was acting this way because of the Alterz business.
Although, as Baeksan said, it seemed like she was now doing it out of sheer frustration because I kept shutting her down, determined to conquer me no matter what.
It was an awkward situation for me, to say the least.
If she showed hostility, I’d know what to do, but she only ever approached me with kindness, which made me conscious of the people around us—not her—when I rejected her.
The office opinion was starting to sway in Yu U-jeong’s favor.
At this rate, my reputation in the company was going to be ruined.
“Just beat her up. She’ll get scared then.”
“What a brilliant idea.”
I gave a thumbs-up to Baeksan for suggesting I just beat someone up, then let out a sigh.
Had I underestimated Yu U-jeong?
The tenacity of an S-rank hunter was truly fearsome.
“Then just play along with her a bit.”
“You want me to give in?”
“Yeah. She’s doing it out of stubbornness, so if you play along, she’ll cool down on her own.”
Hearing that, I crossed my arms and fell into thought.
Yu U-jeong was definitely acting this way because I was pushing her away so hard.
As Baeksan said, if I played along a little, she might actually stop.
She’d probably be happy that I’d "fallen for her" and then get bored quickly.
“That might not be a bad idea.”
It sounded like a pretty good plan.
Most importantly, it seemed like less of a hassle.
“But if you’re going to do that, you’d better tell the ones around you first.”
“Huh? The ones around me?”
“The ones who like you, you idiot.”
The people who like me.
I fell silent at Baeksan’s words.
“...Could Yu U-jeong die?”
“Good that you realize it.”
I pictured Si-ho, Ahyu, and Seol-hyang, my expression turning troubled.
I had been keenly feeling lately that those three, in particular, lose their minds whenever something involves me.
Of course, they’d hold back a little if I stopped them, but the sheer murderous aura they gave off was suffocating to witness firsthand.
“...I should do that.”
For a moment, I wondered if it was right to tell them about this when none of them were my girlfriend.
But on the other hand, I felt it was necessary, just in case.
So, I immediately called or met with the three of them to have a quick chat.
[“I don’t mind. Domi-oppa, you always draw a clear line with people who aren’t yours.”]
Ahyu was surprisingly cool about it.
Having known me for five years, she understood my personality well.
[“Still, you told me because you were worried about me? You’re cute, Domi-oppa. Aww, were you that worried about little ol’ Ahyu?”]
I immediately hung up.
[“Go ahead.”]
Seol-hyang, who knew my entire situation, also answered with a smile.
[“Eunhyeon is with you anyway. She’ll take care of it if anything happens.”]
I quietly ended that call as well.
“Is Yu U-jeong unni with Alterz?”
I hadn’t told Si-ho about Yu U-jeong’s identity yet, so she asked with wide, round eyes.
“Yeah, she’s from Alterz. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner.”
Si-ho had recently been discussing the artificial dimension gate with Seol-hyang in relation to Alterz.
I was worried about her overexerting herself, but this was Seol-hyang, not Girasung.
I was sure she would take good care of Si-ho.
Besides, Si-ho had wanted to do it, so the matter was proceeding slowly while I received progress reports.
Because of that, not being able to tell Si-ho about Yu U-jeong had been weighing on my mind.
“It’s okay. I know you didn’t say anything because you were worried about me. I love it most when you’re thinking of me, Manager.”
Si-ho always had such a pretty way with words.
“And now it makes sense.”
“You mean Yu U-jeong’s behavior?”
“Yeah. Even to me, the way she was acting toward you seemed strange.”
The proof was that Si-ho, who would have immediately made a move if Ji-eun had acted that way toward me, had shown no reaction to Yu U-jeong’s actions.
“I just sensed a different kind of obsession from her.”
“It is a different kind of obsession.”
“And you didn’t seem interested in her at all, Manager.”
Having watched me bash her with my shield from the sidelines, that was probably why she said that.
Then, a different thought occurred to me.
Did that mean all the people Si-ho had been wary of until now were people she judged I had feelings for?
“But, Manager.”
“Yeah?”
“Why did you tell me this?”
Si-ho placed her hands behind her back and took a step closer to me.
I felt like I could see the faint image of her fox tail swaying again, just like that one time.
“The reason you’re telling me this beforehand is because you don’t want me to misunderstand, right?”
“R-Right?”
“Why don’t you want me to misunderstand?”
Si-ho took another step closer.
When I instinctively took a step back, I realized there was a wall behind me.
Did I just get teleported?
“Si-ho will be an adult in two months.”
At that moment, Si-ho, who was now right below my chest, smiled sweetly.
“Si-ho will be old enough to get married soon, too. And Si-ho’s dream is to marry her prince.”
“S-Si-ho? Ms. Si-ho?”
“And Si-ho wants to get married quickly. Because Si-ho likes having a big family.”
As she finished speaking, Si-ho buried her face in my chest.
“So I hope my prince will like Si-ho a lot, too.”
I couldn’t say a word.
But Si-ho didn’t seem to be expecting an answer, simply keeping her ear pressed against my chest.
As if she enjoyed listening to my heartbeat.
Then, our eyes met.
Her eyes sparkled as she suddenly tugged on my shirt and stood on her tiptoes.
A soft smack echoed by my cheek.
Just like that night, Si-ho had kissed my cheek again.
“S-Si-ho, you!”
But regardless of my flustered state, Si-ho kissed my cheek three more times before lowering herself from her tiptoes.
Then, as if she had been holding back, she stepped away, looked up at me, and smiled.
“See? It’s completely different from how it is with Yu U-jeong unni, isn’t it?”
...Yeah, it was different. Way too different.
At least, for me, Si-ho truly was.
Because unlike with Yu U-jeong, I couldn’t push Si-ho away.
I was certain.
No matter what Yu U-jeong did, she would never be able to surpass what Si-ho had just done.
“I’ll be going now, Si-ho.”
Seeing my frozen state, Si-ho spoke cheerfully and left. As I watched her go, I grabbed my bangs.
What am I doing with a 19-year-old?
Hit by an unexpected fastball, I covered my blushing face with my hands.
I’m not some blushing schoolgirl, Kang Ha-chan. What is this…