Ji-su's Crush (2)
“S-Seong-jun oppa?” Ji-su stared at the man with wide, shocked eyes.
What? Did she know him? At the sound of his voice calling her name, Seong-jun looked at Ji-su and spoke in a voice thick with astonishment.
“Ji-su!!”
Seong-jun strode straight into the office, pulled Ji-su into his arms, and cried out.
“Ji-su!! You were alive! You’re really alive…”
My mood plummeted in an instant. How dare he lay his hands on my woman. Still, I suppose he was simply overjoyed to find an acquaintance alive, so I could understand it. I wasn’t so narrow-minded that I couldn’t allow that much.
But… heh. Just look at those eyes. Why did his gaze toward Ji-su carry such tender longing? I felt the sudden urge to gouge them out. That wasn’t the look of a mere acquaintance. Not even close.
Ji-su seemed startled by Seong-jun’s sudden embrace, but the moment she noticed my expression hardening, she began to panic.
“O-oppa! Wait, please!”
With a sharp shove, Ji-su pushed Seong-jun away. He stumbled back, looking momentarily flustered as he stared at her, then noticed the rest of us standing nearby. He gave a small nod and spoke to Ji-su again.
“Ah… I’m sorry, Ji-su. I was just so happy to see you…”
Seong-jun bowed politely to us before continuing.
“My apologies. I ran into someone I’m very glad to see… Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Jeon Seong-jun, clan master of the Hope Guild. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”
The pleasure isn’t mutual. If you’re that happy, does it give you the right to hug another man’s woman like that? Hope Guild? What kind of childish name is that? Does naming your group something so juvenile give you permission to embrace someone else’s woman?
As I stared at him with a stony face, Daejang-ajeossi read the room and stepped forward with a polite greeting.
“Hello. My name is Kang Yun-su. We were invited by your clan members and came here today. We’ll be in your care.”
“Yes, I’ve already heard the details. You may stay here until the event begins. Our members are using the first-floor offices, so feel free to take any of the empty shops on the upper levels. Our people take turns guarding the entrance, so you shouldn’t run into any trouble.”
“Oh, thank you so much.”
“I should be the one thanking you. Thanks to your group, I was able to reunite with my acquaintance…”
Seong-jun’s eyes returned to Ji-su once more. Those eyes again. Noticing my mood sinking lower and lower, Daejang-ajeossi quickly rose to his feet.
“Well then, we’ll head upstairs and find a suitable space for ourselves. One of our companions isn’t feeling well, so we should let him rest.”
Daejang-ajeossi gestured toward Dong-seok, who stood there with a dazed expression. Seong-jun nodded and stepped aside to let us pass.
“Understood. If anything comes up, I’ll come find you. And…”
Seong-jun looked at Ji-su.
“Ji-su, could we talk for a moment?”
Ji-su flinched and glanced at me before answering in a tiny, shrinking voice.
“T-talk?”
Seong-jun nodded. Ji-su fidgeted anxiously, then spoke again.
“F-for now I need to go upstairs with my companions and decide where we’ll be staying…”
“Yeah, that makes sense. I’ll come up to the upper floor later, then.”
“O-okay…”
Ji-su kept her head down as she hurried out of the office. We followed right behind her.
In the hallway, the fanboy brothers and several unfamiliar male clan members stood waiting.
“Whoa! It’s really Ju Si-eun!”
“She’s insane. So freaking pretty!”
The men whispered excitedly among themselves. I can hear every word, you idiots. But why were the fanboy brothers standing there with such smug, proud expressions? I couldn’t figure it out.
We climbed the stairs to the upper floors. There was no need to go too high, so we claimed the billiard room on the second floor.
Perched on the edge of the billiard table, I asked Ji-su in a soft voice.
“Who is he?”
Ji-su flinched at my question and stammered.
“H-he’s the trainer oppa from the gym I used to attend.”
“Hmm… You know that’s not what I’m really asking, don’t you?”
“T-that’s…”
Ji-su fidgeted, avoiding my eyes. I simply gazed at her steadily without issuing any command. Eventually she bit her lip as if surrendering and spoke.
“H-he’s an oppa I was… quite close with…”
“Say it properly.”
“He’s the guy I was in the talking stage with…”
At Ji-su’s confession, Ji-yun’s eyes flew wide open and she jumped in.
“The guy you were in the talking stage with? What does that even mean… Then what about Jeong-hyun oppa?”
Jeong-hyun oppa. That was the guy standing next to Chang-su back at the mart. The one who was supposedly Ji-su’s almost-boyfriend.
Ji-su hung her head low and murmured.
“With Jeong-hyun oppa it never quite reached the talking stage… We were just… really close…”
Damn. As expected from Seo Ji-su. So it wasn’t just one. One at school, one at the gym. And even at the PC bang where we worked together, she had been all over Seong-man, flirting nonstop. If I kept digging, who knew how many more would turn up?
While I pondered this, Ji-yun looked utterly shocked and could only babble incoherently. Ji-su continued in a voice barely above a whisper.
“I-it’s not like I was leading them on or anything. It’s just… when I talk to people often and get close, they tend to start seeing me in a special way…”
“Wow. So you’ve been handing out signals left and right? That’s impressive.”
“M-Master…”
Ji-su squirmed, clearly distressed. There was no need for her to be that anxious. I’m a generous man; I don’t cling to past relationships.
I looked at her gently and asked.
“So, what are you going to do?”
“W-what do you mean…?”
“That Seong-jun guy said he wants to talk. My guess is he’s going to ask you to join his guild. Am I wrong?”
“T-that’s…”
“Do you want to go with him?”
“N-no! The place I belong is… right here with you…”
Hmm. That was somewhat commendable. Still, I kept my face indifferent.
“Really? Then how exactly do you plan to turn him down?”
Ji-su hesitated, thinking for a moment before answering.
“C-could I tell him… that you’re my boyfriend?”
“Ooh, so I get to be Ji-su’s boyfriend? You had so many almost-boyfriends but never an actual one, huh?”
At my words Ji-su’s head drooped even lower. Ah, this was getting fun. The urge to tease her more kept growing. Oh… I just had a wonderful idea. Since the bastard was trying to steal my woman, this much was only fair.
I told Ji-su.
“It’s not a bad idea, but simply saying I’m your boyfriend might not convince him. If you suddenly claim you have a new boyfriend when he was your almost-boyfriend until recently, he probably won’t believe it easily. What if it makes him even more obsessed? So let’s try a different approach.”
“What other approach…?”
“Instead of just saying it, we’ll show him with actions. The kind of behavior that screams ‘This man and I are lovers!’ Once he sees that, he’ll have no choice but to accept that we’re the real thing and give up.”
“What do you…”
Seeing Ji-su’s confused expression, I continued excitedly.
“That Seong-jun oppa will come looking for you soon, right? If he walks in while we’re in the middle of lovers’ acts, he’ll have to believe we’re together.”
“....”
I grabbed the hand of a dazed Ji-su and left the billiard room.
“Everyone rest comfortably. Ji-su and I will be resting elsewhere. Ah, if that clan master comes looking for her, tell him we’re busy right now and to come back later.”
I sent a quick telepathic command to Daejang-ajeossi, then shut the door behind us, leaving the group in the billiard room.
I led Ji-su by the hand, opening doors along the hallway one by one in search of a suitable spot, but nothing felt quite right. Eventually we climbed all the way to the third floor.
This looks perfect.
A glass door read “Thai Healing Massage.” I pried it open and pulled Ji-su inside.
I opened one of the several inner doors. In the center of the room lay a large mattress. Just what we needed. I’d have to tell the others later to move here instead of the billiard room.
I switched on a lantern, set it aside, sat down on the mattress, and looked at Ji-su.
“What are you waiting for? Take it off.”
A large café on the first floor held roughly twenty people seated in chairs. They were members of the Hope Guild, along with their clan master, Jeon Seong-jun.
The monster outbreak had begun during an offline gathering for the online game they all played together. Using his class abilities, Seong-jun had successfully led the survivors to safety. Afterward he established a base, grew the guild step by step, and brought them this far. With his strong sense of justice that protected the vulnerable and punished evildoers, combined with exceptional leadership, Seong-jun earned the deep respect of every guild member.
That same Seong-jun now addressed his seated companions with a deeply apologetic expression.
“…So I’d like to recruit Ji-su into our guild. Would that be all right?”
Not a single person looked at him with discomfort. They were all loyal followers who trusted Seong-jun completely. Yena spoke on behalf of the group.
“Oppa, of course it’s fine. After everything you’ve done for us? Honestly, is there anyone here who hasn’t owed you their life at least once? You’re the leader of this guild. No one will complain no matter who you decide to recruit. Right, everyone?”
The guild members all nodded. Seong-jun’s expression grew even more remorseful.
“No. I promise I will never make decisions unilaterally again. But just this once… I’m asking for your understanding.”
The members gazed at their bowed leader with warm eyes. He possessed enough power to rule over them all, yet he never tried to place himself above anyone. Seong-jun had always discussed even the smallest matters with the entire group before making choices.
Jin-su, one of the fanboy brothers, spoke up excitedly.
“Seong-jun hyung! What about Si-eun noona? Shouldn’t we invite her to join our guild too?”
“Whoa, that would be amazing! If Si-eun noona joined us!!!”
When even Dae-gwang chimed in with equal enthusiasm, Seong-jun calmed them down and continued.
“Inviting Ji-su is already something I feel very guilty about toward her current group. I don’t even know what role she plays there, yet I’m trying to take her simply because she’s an acquaintance. Unless they express interest in joining us first, I don’t think we should be the ones extending the offer.”
Yena immediately scolded the fanboy brothers.
“Seriously. The moment your favorite idol appears, your brains shut off… Think before you speak. Don’t just blurt out whatever pops into your head!”
“Hey, it’s not like we always do that… Anyway, we just wait for them to ask about joining first, right? Then we should keep talking up how great our guild is around Si-eun noona. She’ll start thinking, ‘That guild seems pretty good,’ won’t she?”
Yena gave the giggling brothers a pitying look before turning back to Seong-jun.
“Oppa, when are you planning to talk to her?”
“I was thinking of going right now. I waited until we could all gather because I thought it was only right to discuss it with everyone first.”
“Oppa looks really happy. Your face is practically glowing.”
Seong-jun scratched his head awkwardly.
“Don’t tease me too much. It’s embarrassing.”
“Oppa, doesn’t it feel like a movie? In this ruined world, two people who missed each other finally reunite! It’s pure destiny, isn’t it?”
“Ah, no. We’re not exactly lovers… Just… Anyway, thank you all. Nothing’s decided yet, though. I haven’t even spoken with her. They have their own circumstances to consider…”
“Hmm… Their group’s atmosphere did seem a bit off… They must be comrades who’ve survived this harsh world together…”
At Yena’s worried remark, another female guild member spoke up.
“Come on, who would turn down oppa’s offer? We’re a huge guild full of powerful members.”
“Well…”
Seong-jun smiled and nodded, but a thread of anxiety lingered in his heart. It was because of Ji-su’s earlier reaction. Even with so many people watching, she had pushed him away when he hugged her out of joy. The gesture had felt strangely distant.
And then there was the man who had stood to the side, staring at him without blinking. That man’s gaze and Ji-su’s response kept nagging at him.
No. She must have been embarrassed. It had been a long time… Once we talk properly, she’ll go back to the warm, kind Ji-su I remember.
Seong-jun forcefully pushed his unease aside and stood.
“I’ll head up now and talk with Ji-su.”
“Have a good talk, oppa. We’re expecting good news!”
With the guild members’ encouragement behind him, Seong-jun left the café and walked toward the stairs leading to the second floor.
I wonder which floor they chose. Looks like I’ll have to check each one.
When he reached the second floor, he could hear multiple voices and the presence of several people coming from inside the billiard room. Seong-jun was about to head that way when a faint sound from somewhere else made him freeze.
It was quiet enough that an ordinary person might have missed it entirely, but with his high stats, Seong-jun couldn’t possibly overlook it. He looked up toward the third floor and muttered.
“…Are they planning to use both the second and third floors?”
Seong-jun tilted his head, then decided to check the nearby billiard room first. The moment he opened the door, his face hardened. The two people he was most concerned about were nowhere to be seen.