Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Ancient Constellation (2)
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“Ha-eun, wake up. Didn't you say we were going to the Association?”
Oh-jin, who had woken up at the crack of dawn and finished a light training session, shook Ha-eun awake.
“Ugh, mmm. Just a little longer…”
Ha-eun pulled the blanket up, squirming.
“Ahem. Honestly, this girl.”
She’s not a kid.
Oh-jin grinned and reached for her side.
His plan was to tickle her and jolt her awake.
“Oh-jinnn~”
However, his plan was thwarted by her as she sat up, her expression hazy with sleep.
-Whoosh!
“Huh?”
Ha-eun grabbed Oh-jin's arm as it reached for her side and pulled him roughly.
He stumbled.
His body tilted helplessly, and his face was buried in her cleavage, clearly visible in her light pajamas.
A heavy weight pressed fiercely against both his cheeks.
“Uff, ack!”
“Hmph. Stay still.”
She hugged Oh-jin's struggling body with both arms and wrapped one of her smooth legs around his waist.
Clinging to him like a cicada, she dragged him into the blankets like an antlion pulling an ant into its pit.
“Ehehe. My little Oh-jin~ Let's sleep together, okay?”
She called his name in a voice hazy with sleep and tightened her arms around him.
“Seriously, this girl.”
Oh-jin, having barely escaped from between her breasts, looked at Ha-eun lying in bed with a dumbfounded expression.
“Zzz…”
“Ugh.”
Oh-jin was about to shake her awake but swallowed a groan as he watched Ha-eun, who had fallen back asleep with a cute snore.
‘At this rate, it feels wrong to wake her.’
I guess I have no choice.
Oh-jin let out a short sigh and lay down beside her, still in her embrace.
He stared intently at Ha-eun's sleeping face.
“……”
Long eyelashes. A delicate nose and pink lips.
Red hair cascading down her slender jawline.
Radiant like a ruby, she still shone with breathtaking beauty.
“…Ha-eun.”
His heart didn't pound like a boy meeting his first love.
He'd spent far too much time with her for his heart to race just by looking at her sleeping face.
Rather than trembling and excitement.
A quiet happiness spread, like puddles of water after the rain.
“Hehe.”
As if to ripple the tranquil atmosphere.
Ha-eun, still lying down, grinned foolishly with a dazed smile.
Was she having a good dream?
“Oh-jin, you little brat… I told you not to touch there…”
What the, what the.
What kind of dream is she having?
Please tell me, too.
“That’s… not for going in, it’s for coming out…”
?“Ahn. Any more than that is a no-…”
“STOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!! DON'T SAY ANOTHER WORD!!!”
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!”
-Thwack!!!
Ha-eun, still groggy, shot her eyes open and kicked Oh-jin.
Thud! Crash! Bang!
Launched like a cannonball, Oh-jin slammed his head into the ceiling, then tumbled down and landed face-first on the floor.
“You scared me!!!”
“You scared *me* more!!!”
What in the world was this woman dreaming about?
“Ugh. My ears hurt.”
“My whole body hurts.”
Ha-eun rubbed her ear and glared sharply at Oh-jin.
“Anyway, you brat. If you're going to wake me up, do it gently.”
“I tried to wake you up gently.”
It was your mouth that wasn't being gentle.
“What time is it anyway?”
“10:22.”
“Whoa. When did it get so late?”
Tell me about it.
“Tsk… I was having a good dream.”
“……”
Don't imagine it.
You can't imagine it.
‘…If *that's* a good dream.’
“BEGONE, VILE THOUGHTS!!!!!!!!!”
“KYAAAAAAAK!!! Why do you keep screaming at the top of your lungs!!!”
That was close.
I almost pictured a specific image in my head.
“Hurry up, wash your face and get changed.”
“Ugh. Okay.”
Ha-eun staggered out of bed and went into the bathroom.
“Phew.”
It’s not easy to calm down.
[Hmm. Quite a commotion for the morning.]
*Pop.*
Vega emerged from the necklace and settled naturally on his head.
“Ha-eun was being a bit lazy.”
[Tsk, tsk. What a lazy child. My proud child, on the other hand, woke at dawn to complete his rigorous training.]
Sitting on his head, Vega patted his forehead proudly.
Thankfully, it seemed she hadn't heard the sleep-talking just now.
[By the way, my child.]
“Yeah?”
[What is this place that's 'not for going in, but for coming out'?]
“……”
I don't know.
* * *
“Nngh~! It's been a while since I've been to the Association.”
Getting out of the car, Ha-eun stretched and looked around at the Association building.
A row of towering skyscrapers.
“Hey, for an organization that gets looked down on everywhere, this place is pretty flashy, huh?”
“Well, it's still the largest institution related to Awakeners in the country.”
It was like how the police used to be looked down on, but their actual scale was still huge.
“Hehe. I never thought the day would come when I'd belong to the Association.”
“Enough admiring, let's hurry inside.”
“Okie.”
He headed to Department Head Han's office with her, taking the staff-only elevator.
-Click.
“Ah, you've arrived together.”
“We came because we wanted to see you, Department Head.”
“Hahaha. Oh, Mr. Oh-jin. Flattery won't get you a bonus, you know.”
Too bad.
“Hmm… first, here's the contract. Please read through it.”
“Got it.”
Ha-eun took the contract and sat down.
By the way, this girl really doesn't know how to use formal speech.
‘Then again, she even speaks informally to Constellations.’
Still, it could cause problems once she joined the Association, so he planned to talk to her about it later.
Even in a world overrun by monsters, there were plenty of people who would pick a fight over etiquette.
“Let's see… Not bad. The salary's a bit low, but that's expected since I won't be commuting. Whoa, what's this? Tax exemption??”
“The reason I became the Association's dog.”
“What? Does that make me a bitch?”
No.
Her choice of words is insane.
“Kyahaha!! It was a joke, you punk. Don't look so serious.”
“Don't even joke about things like that.”
“Okay~”
Ugh.
“Hahaha! You two are really close. It's hard for a single guy like me to just watch.”
Department Head Han laughed heartily and took a sip of his coffee.
“If I ever get a partner, I think I'd like a friendly atmosphere like you two have.”
Hmm.
Our department head seems to be misunderstanding something.
“She and I are not lovers.”
“…Pardon?”
Department Head Han's eyes widened.
An expression as if he couldn't even imagine it.
“……”
Ha-eun, who was skimming the contract beside him, flinched and looked at him with trembling eyes.
“Uh… then are you perhaps already… married?”
“No.”
“Then… um. Siblings…”
“Not that either.”
They were too affectionate to be called lovers.
Too precious to be called family.
Not lovers, not siblings, not a married couple.
He had never treated her as if bound by such a faint relationship that could vanish at any moment.
“Then… what is your relationship?”
“I'm not sure.”
He had never thought about it deeply.
Being with her was so natural.
As natural as breathing.
He'd never even thought to define it by tying it to the frame of an established relationship.
Still, if he were to clumsily put his relationship with Ha-eun into words.
“Let's just call it a relationship where being together is a given.”
“……”
“……”
The two of them stared at him with dumbfounded expressions.
“Ha…”
Department Head Han let out a hollow laugh before covering his face with his large palm.
“…I didn't know you were the type to say such embarrassing things so nonchalantly, Mr. Oh-jin.”
He shook his head as if he couldn't bear to listen, feeling second-hand embarrassment.
“O-O-Oh-jin, you…!”
Ha-eun, her cheeks flushing a fiery red, covered her face and stomped on his foot repeatedly.
“There's nothing this boy won't say!!”
“What, why?”
It's not like I said anything wrong.
“Aargh!! F-Forget what I just said!! Got it?! Or else I'm not signing this contract!!”
Ha-eun tore at her hair and yelled at the innocent Department Head Han Jun-man.
“Hahahaha!! It seems I've asked an impertinent question.”
“I-I said forget it!”
“Yes, yes. Understood.”
Han Jun-man grinned and nodded.
“Anyway, Department Head Jun-man. How are things inside the Association these days?”
“About that.”
The department head's gaze shifted slightly toward Ha-eun.
“It's fine, you can speak freely.”
He had already told Ha-eun all about Cheon Woo-seong and the internal factions of the Association anyway.
“Hmm. For now, Cheon Woo-seong has been quiet lately.”
The department head's expression grew heavy.
“…So quiet it's unsettling.”
Hmm.
‘Suspiciously quiet… huh.’
Was it because of Isabella's situation that he didn't have the luxury of paying attention to the Association?
If not that.
‘Is he preparing something else?’
Either way, he couldn't let his guard down.
“Well… the only thing he's done recently is establish a Non-Awakener Security Management Center.”
“A Non-Awakener Security Management Center?”
What's that?
“It's a center that provides support and protection for non-Awakeners living in monster-risk areas. The executives are currently handling everything from planning to management and operations.”
“……”
What? Are these guys trying to copy Isabella's plan?
‘But for something like that.’
Oh-jin narrowed his eyes.
“Are they… not promoting it? Honestly, I've never heard of it.”
“I believe they're not really promoting it, under the pretext that it's for the public good.”
What are these bastards up to?
What are they plotting?
“Well… honestly, we don't have much to say about the center. Even with all the atrocities Cheon Woo-seong has committed, he's never laid a finger on non-Awakeners.”
Never laid a finger on non-Awakeners, huh.
‘Now I get it.’
The Black Star Cult's goal is to annihilate all existing Awakeners.
And to turn the oppressed non-Awakeners into Apostles of the 'Black Star'.
‘Of course he'd implement policies friendly to non-Awakeners.’
Whatever his true intentions are.
Since his superficial goal is based on inferiority and hatred towards Awakeners, it makes sense to take care of the non-Awakeners first.
‘The problem is… what are his true intentions.’
Oh-jin narrowed his eyes.
‘Well, I'll find out eventually.’
Perhaps.
The possibility is slim, but.
‘That ridiculous plan… might actually be his true intention.’
There wasn't enough information yet to guess their true goal.
“We'll be going now.”
“Yes. If there are any other movements from Cheon Woo-seong's side, I'll share them with you, Mr. Oh-jin.”
“Yup.”
He nodded and walked out of the office.
“Hmm. What kind of guy is this Cheon Woo-seong, anyway?”
“Who knows.”
From the fragmented memories, he seemed like a seriously twisted guy.
“I've never met him in person, so I don't really know.”
Just glimpsing a short conversation through Ashad Khan's memories…
…was not enough to figure out what kind of person Cheon Woo-seong was.
‘For now, I need to focus on the quest.’
As he was thinking that and got on the elevator.
“Oh? You're Mr. Oh-jin… right?”
A young man with neatly arranged, pomade-styled hair and a tailored suit as sharp as a knife.
A tall, handsome man with a likable face walked out of the elevator.
“I've been wanting to meet you, and now we finally have.”
He extended his hand with a naive smile, like that of a child.
“A pleasure to meet you. My name is Cheon Woo-seong.”