Chapter 36: Mini Catfight
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 36: Mini Catfight
Hearing Ji-eun’s question, Si-ho stopped sipping her orange drink through a straw and spoke with her small lips.
“Because it’s comfortable.”
When Si-ho said this so nonchalantly, Ji-eun’s pupils shook violently.
Her expression was like someone who’d just seen a quiet cat be the first to jump onto the kitchen counter.
“You little minx…”
She looked like she was about to tear a handkerchief to shreds.
I glanced over at Si-ho.
I suspected her behavior was a reaction stemming from the trauma with her mother.
After awakening her powers, she had witnessed her mother's death right before her eyes.
The shock of that loss must still linger, and she might be under the delusion that I died because she hesitated, just as she believed happened with her mother.
Even though it’s only natural for a child to hesitate when faced with the choice of erasing their own mother to save someone else.
At least, that’s my guess.
With her already small frame and pretty face, dressed in a school uniform, Si-ho’s actions were drawing even more attention.
I could understand, but I wished she would stop.
“Me too!”
The next moment, Ji-eun sat down on the sofa next to me.
Then she wrapped her arms around mine, hugging it tightly.
Seeing this, Si-ho, who had been watching Ji-eun, also scooted closer, pressing against me.
The people watching us started to pull out their phones.
I’m gonna get sueeeed!
I freaked out and tried to shake the two of them off…
Ah, right. They’re hunters.
Since I’ve only just started learning to control my aura, I can only use either 1% of my strength or 100%. I couldn't possibly break free.
Is this going to end with me getting crushed, reported, and thrown in jail?
Wondering what I was doing caught between two minors, I pinched both of their cheeks at the same time.
“Ngyah?”
“Oow.”
“Stop it. Both of you. Si-ho, don't get competitive over something like this. Seo-ho will worry.”
Si-ho, her cheek still pinched by me, glanced up.
Her eyes were sharp as usual, but today they seemed even more piercing.
“Manager, why do you call Ha Seo-ho just ‘Seo-ho’?”
“Huh?”
“But you call me ‘Si-ho-yang’.” [A polite suffix for a younger girl]
Is that what she’s focused on?
Si-ho’s eyes began to narrow even more.
Seeing her face full of dissatisfaction, I sighed and decided to humor her.
“Alright, I’ll drop the formalities like I do with Seo-ho. I can just call you Si-ho, right?”
“Mhm, that’s better.”
Satisfied, Si-ho leaned her head against me again.
Hey, I told you not to lean on me.
“What’s this, what’s this! Oppa, what did you do with Si-ho! What is it!”
And because of that, Ji-eun started acting up even more.
I don’t even know anymore.
I want to quit.
*
4
After being stuck between the two of them for a long time, I was finally able to escape in the evening.
It was time to get off work, so I had returned to the company.
Was being a hunter’s manager always this draining?
Managing a hunter's condition and mood, reviewing their training, checking on investments—it was never an easy job, but this felt like too much.
Was I too friendly with them?
Since they weren't adults, they seemed to have no sense of social boundaries.
I could see that if things continued like this, a problem would arise sooner or later.
Maybe I need to take some time to properly define our relationship.
Ji-eun was clearly showing interest in me.
She hadn't confessed, but she was blatantly showing it, basically screaming, ‘I like you.’
I may be clueless and have never had a girlfriend, but even I could tell this much.
A kid's love can be blind, after all.
“You idiot. What do you know?”
For some reason, Baeksan chimed in, but I paid him no mind.
“This is a problem.”
Right now, she's acting like this because I'm just a guy who's around and she trusts me.
It's a problem that will naturally resolve itself over time as her social circle widens.
But starting next year, she's going to be assigned to my team as a hunter.
If she gets into a war of nerves with Si-ho like she did today, there's a chance the team will fall apart.
What should I do?
Even at 26, I have no idea what high schoolers are thinking these days.
If she were like Ahyu and just said, "I'm just messing with you," it might be physically tiring, but at least I'd have peace of mind.
Maybe I should ask Ahyu for advice later.
Just then, I ran into a familiar face at the company.
“Ms. Orjia!”
“Ah, Mr. Ha-chan.”
She greeted me with the same faint smile as always.
“I'm glad you're safe.”
“I heard you were injured, Ms. Orjia. Are you alright?”
“Yes, I just sprained my arm a little. It was nothing serious.”
As if to prove it, she rolled up her blouse sleeve and showed me her arm.
That’s a relief.
I was worried something terrible might have happened to her since I was the one who called her.
Seeing my relief, Orjia started to say something but then stopped.
Her gaze shifted to somewhere behind me, and I turned around, curious.
“You called me here, so what are you doing? Domi-oppa.”
It was none other than Ahyu.
I had called her because of the Kwak Sa-yeon incident. Today, she was also wearing a cap, and beneath it, her face was beaming.
“Ah, you're here. I just ran into Ms. Orjia. I was thanking her for her help last time.”
“Ah, right. Thanks, Nun.”
As Ahyu came up beside me and spoke with a grin, Orjia glanced at me for a moment before speaking quietly.
“Mr. Ha-chan, there's an old saying that even if you're bitten by a tiger, you can survive as long as you keep your wits about you.”
“Uh, yes? That's right.”
“In my time, there were many tigers, but I hear you can't see any these days. However, even though the times have changed, it seems you are still surrounded by tigers, Mr. Ha-chan.”
She brought her hands together in a prayer position.
“Please, stay sharp.”
She was dressed in office attire, but in that moment, she truly looked like a nun.
As if praying for salvation to befall the lowly servant before her.
“Tigers, my ass! Shoo, shoo! Get away, you fake! Namu Amitabha!”
As Ahyu suddenly started growling like a mad dog, Orjia gave us a pitying look, bowed her head, and left.
Watching her leave, I raised my fist and brought it down on Ahyu’s head to knock some manners into her.
“Kyaaang!”
“What kind of attitude is that towards Ms. Orjia? So rude.”
“Ugh, n-no! That nun keeps getting in the way!”
“What do you mean, ‘getting in the way’? Show some respect next time you see her. She may look like that, but in Earth years, she's lived for several centuries. I didn't raise you to be like this.”
Ahyu's body trembled before she started smacking my back repeatedly.
She's run out of things to say, so she's resorting to violence.
“I'm against violence! Absolutely against it!”
“Seriously! Because! Of! You! Domi! Oppa! I'm! Going to! Die! Young!”
I'm going to die at this rate.
Before I was beaten to death, I grabbed both of Ahyu's wrists.
“Oh? Grabbing me now?”
Huffing and puffing, Ahyu struggled for a moment, then looked back and forth between her captured wrists and my face. Her struggling gradually subsided.
She's finally calmed down.
“Ahyu.”
“Heek!”
“W-what.”
When I called her name, her face turned bright red for some reason, and she averted her eyes, fidgeting.
Thankfully, I could feel the strength slowly draining from her hands.
This is my chance.
“I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat first.”
And for that, I had to take another hit.
"You deserved to get hit."
I even had to listen to Baeksan's cursing.
I don't know why everyone hates me.
*
5
After a tumultuous dinner, Ahyu and I were heading to the Korean branch of the World Returnee Association.
At my request, Ahyu had asked the Association beforehand if I could come along, and thankfully, they had readily agreed.
“That Iron-Blooded woman, seriously.”
But for some reason, Ahyu seemed quite displeased about it.
I don't know why she's acting like this when they agreed because of her request.
Anyway, she's always been a brat.
“Stop sulking. I'll play games with you when we get home.”
“I'm going to play all night.”
“I have work tomorrow.”
“So?”
Oh.
I didn't answer and just opened the door to the Returnee Association and stepped inside.
The Association's lobby came into view.
I was once again amazed by the lobby, which was so large and dazzling it was hard to take in all at once.
As expected of the World Returnee Association, they were loaded.
As I approached the counter, the woman standing there immediately smiled.
“Yes, welcome. You must be Cheon Hong-ryeon-nim.”
Is she a returnee too?
I wasn't sure, but I was glad Ahyu was with me.
If I had come alone, they probably wouldn't have recognized me and I would have been kicked out.
“And Kang Ha-chan-nim.”
She recognized me too, probably because Ahyu had told them I was coming.
But for some reason, the look in her eyes was unusual, and I hesitated slightly.
What's with her?
“Someone will be here to guide you. If you'll wait just a moment, your escort will arrive from that elevator.”
Just as she finished speaking kindly, an elevator stopped with a ding.
A tall woman in a suit stepped out.
I'm not short by any means, but I had to look up to see her.
She must be around 190cm.
She had a strange aura about her. As she brushed back her grayish-white bangs, I saw she was wearing an eyepatch over her right eye.
She looked at Ahyu and me, the corners of her mouth twisting into a smile.
“A pleasure to meet you. My name is Eunhyeon, and I will be your guide.”
“Silver Fox, why are you the guide?”
“It's been a while, Heavenly Demon.”
“I told you not to call me Heavenly Demon.”
“And yet you still call me Silver Fox, do you not?”
It seemed the two knew each other; their expressions were familiar.
Then, as if something occurred to her, Ahyu's face scrunched up in a frown.
“Don't tell me that Iron-Blooded Empress woman assigned you to this?”
“I have no comment.”
“Tsk.”
Ahyu clicked her tongue with a look of utter confusion.
“What's with that woman, always getting involved with Domi-oppa…”
Ahyu, about to say something more, glanced at me, then took off her cap and ruffled her hair in frustration.
“Why, when, and where did you even get involved with her?”
Then, as if to vent her frustration, she started poking me in the side repeatedly.
Why is she taking it out on me?
I didn't know the reason, but I knew Ahyu and Ms. Baek Seol-hyang didn't get along at all, so I decided to just let her be.
Seeing me, Ahyu shook her head as if to say "forget it" and turned back to Ms. Eunhyeon.
“Fine. Just lead the way.”
“You've become much calmer than before.”
As she said this, Ms. Eunhyeon glanced my way.
“Though I'm not quite sure who we have to thank for that.”
This is her being calm?
I thought of the always-mischievous Ahyu from the game and made a serious face.
Just what kind of person was Ahyu in the past?
If she was even more of a handful than this, I don't think I could've handled her.
“Domi-oppa, I don't know why, but I get the feeling you're thinking something rude right now.”
“Oh, you're right. Since she said this is you being 'calm,' I was just wondering how bad you must have been before.”
“You leave me no choice! I'll have to show you myself.”
Ahyu pretended to spit on her hands and started cracking her knuckles, so I raised my hand and shouted to Ms. Eunhyeon.
“Please lead the way!”
“Oh? Trying to run away, are we? Just you wait until I catch you. I'll make you say, 'Ahyu-nim, p-p-please go out with me!'”
Why does she get embarrassed saying it herself?