Episode 33: Why won't you acknowledge me?
Episode 33: Why won't you acknowledge me?
"W-what the hell was that?"
On the way home.
Lee Hye-ri bit her lip, recalling what Kim Si-woo had done to her earlier.
The way he'd suddenly told her to take off her clothes, calling it a shame test, and then the way he'd groped her body like a pervert the moment she did.
It was full of things she couldn't understand.
'Did Ara have to go through this too?'
If she really had to go through this...
'It's practically sexual harassment.'
Stripping a woman's body as he pleased.
'Taking it off was my own choice, though... but he was the one who told me to.'
He'd touched her as he pleased. He'd even taken off the last of her underwear and molested her body.
Of course, it hadn't gone as far as the actual act.
He'd seemed uninterested in that sort of thing, too.
"Unbelievable."
That, in turn, scratched Lee Hye-ri's pride.
She'd thought she was fairly confident in her body and looks, so the fact that he hadn't done anything in that situation was strangely annoying.
And it was funny how he'd given her a solution that was secretly serious.
"Was that really his method?"
Seeing how he raised Yoo Ara, it didn't seem like he lacked ability.
It was hard to acknowledge.
It was only natural.
He'd stripped her right off and done this and that.
"Ugh... don't get swayed. That guy is a total mess."
That must be it.
Raising Yoo Ara must have been luck.
Maybe their wavelengths just matched well, and that's why it worked.
"Yeah. That's it."
But still.
-I saw the potential in you that even your oppa couldn't see. If you don't want to take it, don't. I'm not forcing you to learn. There's no need to.
Kim Si-woo's words before she left that house kept lingering in her head.
'The potential that even my oppa couldn't see...'
Is there really a quality of a tanker in me, just like he said?
Everyone told her to be a dealer.
They didn't understand why she was so insistent on being a tanker when she had an S-rank dealing skill and dealer-type stats.
Right.
It was true that her S-rank skill, Mobile Strike, wasn't an ordinary skill.
But she had dreamed of it for a long time.
To become a tanker like her oppa.
She remembered the sturdy shield that was the only thing protecting her in that hell swarming with monsters that killed their parents.
That massive shield had dug deep into Lee Hye-ri's heart and changed her life.
She wanted to lighten the burden for her oppa, who endured pain for the sake of others.
-You're meant to be a dealer. Don't go out of your way to walk a difficult path.
Her oppa, Lee Kang-san, who was 13 years older than her.
That was what he'd said to her after returning from clearing an S-class Gate.
He knew her will, but he said she wasn't a tanker.
-I was the only one who recognized it. Your potential.
Kim Si-woo's voice echoed in her ears again.
"No..."
Oppa will recognize it too.
Because she had taken 1st place in this final exam as well.
Because the overall 1st place for the first semester was Lee Hye-ri herself.
He would know.
That she had talent as a tanker.
Lee Hye-ri picked up her smartphone.
Then, she dialed Lee Kang-san's number, who was overseas.
Ring, ring.
Not long after the signal went through.
-Oh, Hye-ri. What's up?
Lee Kang-san's heavy, hearty voice could be heard.
Lee Kang-san, her pillar and her shield.
Her heart settled at the sound of her reliable older brother's voice.
"Oppa."
-I heard vacation started. Are you coming to the States for a bit?
"It's not that... I have something I want to ask."
-What is it?
"You heard I got 1st place this time, right?"
-I heard. That's my sister. I believed you would get 1st place, Hye-ri.
At Lee Kang-san's acknowledgment, the corners of Lee Hye-ri's mouth twitched.
"Yeah, I got 1st place as a tanker, just like you said."
-......What?
"You said it last time. That if I got 1st place as a tanker, you'd think about it."
-You still haven't given up on that obsession?
Lee Kang-san's voice turned cold.
-Hye-ri. I've told you time and time again. You're suited to be a dealer, not a tanker. Your stats are.......
He was a stubborn oppa.
An oppa like an iron wall who never changed his mind once it was set.
At Lee Kang-san's words, Lee Hye-ri bit her lip.
She got 1st place.
She beat everyone else and got 1st place as a tanker.
Why won't you acknowledge me?
"Oppa, I got 1st place as a tanker right now. I have the talent too......."
-No, you're just a dealer pretending to be a tanker with a spear.
Lee Kang-san's voice was firm.
"What?"
-I watched the 2nd exam you participated in. The one where you teamed up with Baek Han-beom and that girl I've never seen before.
"You watched it and you're still saying that?"
-I'm saying that because I watched it. You couldn't protect the rear from the villain. If that girl hadn't been able to dodge, the team would have been wiped out by Harold.
"Oppa, I, I......."
-In my eyes, that's not a tanker. A pseudo-tanker, no, a dealer.
"How can you say that? You don't know how hard I've tried."
-You can't change things with just effort. That's the hunter world.
Lee Hye-ri clenched her fist tightly.
Her fingernails dug into her palm, leaving deep wounds.
Blood flowed.
However, she felt no pain.
It didn't hurt.
Lee Kang-san's words hurt more.
She hated her blunt oppa who wouldn't acknowledge her achievements.
For the first time, she thought she hated him.
"I hate you, oppa."
-Hye-ri, now you need to face reality.......
"I don't know. You don't know anything, oppa."
She hung up the phone.
She didn't want to hear any more.
Why.
Why on earth won't you acknowledge me?
I worked hard and achieved it all.
-I was the only one who recognized it. Your potential.
Of all things, that bastard's voice rang in her ears.
"I don't know."
Lee Hye-ri returned home with a face full of anger.
"Phew."
"Oh, Kang-san Lee, what's the matter?"
Lee Kang-san looked at his teammate, Markson, who was trying to communicate in awkward Korean.
Markson Porter, the younger brother of Mr. America, Jackson Porter.
Blonde hair, blue eyes, a massive build over 2 meters tall, and huge muscles. He was a guy with the typical appearance of a Western muscular man.
Unlike his looks, he was a hunter who slaughtered enemies with sharp dual swords.
"Speak in English. Don't waste your time with Korean."
Hearing Lee Kang-san's fluent English, Markson shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't tell me, that sister you sing about every day?"
"Yeah."
"I don't think you've talked in a while, but you don't seem to be in a good mood? You were bragging a lot. Kang-san Lee, weren't you a siscon?"
"Where do you even pick up words like that? It's not like that."
"Oh, sorry. You only brag about your sister, so I thought so. But what's the matter? Is she bringing a boyfriend or something?"
"If it were something like that, I would have gone to Korea immediately. That's not the reason."
"Then?"
Lee Kang-san let out a deep sigh.
"She says she still wants to be a tanker."
"Still?"
"Yeah. I thought she'd given up, but I guess not."
"But in the exam footage, she moved completely like a dealer?"
"She thought that was tanker-style movement herself."
"That's serious....... At that rate, she won't last a week in a real fight."
"I suppose so."
If Lee Hye-ri jumped in as a tanker in her current situation, she would die within a week, just as Markson said.
Of course, Lee Kang-san himself would stop her from doing that.......
He couldn't stop her forever; she had to realize it herself.
"Hmm, should I talk to her?"
"If she were the type to break her stubbornness with that, she would have broken it already."
"True, Kang-san Lee is also incredibly stubborn."
"Shut up."
It was frustrating.
His sister, who didn't understand his heart.
He was worried about his sister, who was too stubborn, just like him.
"So, are you going back to Korea?"
"No. She'll realize it while going through the academy anyway. That she doesn't have the qualities of a tanker."
"But she got 1st place anyway."
"Yeah. She got 1st place as a dealer."
"You really won't acknowledge it."
"If that's a tanker, half the dealers in the world could double as tankers."
"That's true. You must be very worried about your sister."
Lee Kang-san nodded.
He would wait until she realized it.
That was the lesson he could give as an oppa.
If she still didn't change even then.......
'I'll have to go and teach her myself.'
He just hoped that wouldn't happen.
He looked at the S-class Gate that was still not closing and said.
A giant gate that appeared in California.
It was an S-class Gate that the Daeseong Guild, Korea's #1 guild, and the Saint Guild, America's #1 guild, were allied to clear.
Lee Kang-san, a core member of Saint, sighed as he watched the Daeseong guild members flock toward the gate.
"The idiots are here. Let's get to work."
"Hahaha! Of course."
Why does it feel like controlling my sister is harder than this damn gate?
"What is it?"
"......I told you."
"What?"
"That I was sorry."
"Is that the attitude of someone who's sorry?"
I looked at Lee Hye-ri, who had come back to my house in less than 3 hours.
She'd left so boldly that I thought it would take a few more days, but to think she'd be back in a day, no, 3 hours.
'Should I call it quick action, or a lack of willpower?'
I looked at Lee Hye-ri standing in front of me.
"T-then what should I do?"
"A sincere apology. And a promise that you won't defy your teacher ever again. If you do those two things, my mind might change."
"......But the thing about stripping me......"
"I told you it was my secret technique, didn't I? If you keep complaining, we're really done here."
"......I understand."
Standing there hesitantly, Lee Hye-ri bowed her head toward me.
Because she was wearing a dress with a wide neckline, I could see her large breasts creating a deep cleavage as she bowed.
"I, I'm sorry. For not trusting you, Teacher."
"Yeah. That much shows some sincerity. Listen to me well from now on. Then you'll be practicing tanking even in your sleep."
"Yes. I understand."
Lee Hye-ri, who raised her head, pouted her lips and grumbled.
"Why on earth do I have to apologize."
I heard her muttering quietly, but I didn't bother to retort.
Sometimes, it's necessary to show a teacher's generosity.
"The first lesson is at this time tomorrow. If it's 4 PM, we can have a 2-hour lesson and then go eat dinner. How about that?"
"That's fine."
"We'll start the lessons in earnest tomorrow, so for now, I'll give you a simple orientation and the curriculum for the future."
"Right now?"
"Or do you want to hear it tomorrow?"
"No. I'll hear it now."
"Good."
I handed her the curriculum for the lessons, which I had simply summarized on a single sheet of A4 paper.
"Read it slowly. It's the subject you'll be learning from now on."
Lee Hye-ri's eyebrows twisted as she took the paper.
"W-what is this. Are you serious?"
"Yeah. We're going to do everything written there. The teaching method, subjects, even the punishment method."
"Punishment! That's such an old-fashioned method!"
Lee Hye-ri shouted.
The curriculum for her was simple.
-Introduction to S-Class Tanking.
-Endurance 1.
-Endurance 2.
-Endurance 3.
.......
-Endurance 12.
-Building Grit 1.
.......
-Building Grit 12.
Simple, right?
A tanker is about stamina, endurance, and toughness.
She will build that toughness with me.
Why would she need to learn that if she's an evasion tanker?
Her agility is already complete, so there's nothing to touch.
The academy will teach her about skill usage.
I'm doing what I can do.
And that would be most effective for Lee Hye-ri.
'The status window said to lower her dependency on Lee Kang-san.'
Since she must be relying on her oppa for so many things, that message was written for a reason.
There is only one way to lower dependency.
It's to make her feel that Lee Kang-san isn't needed right away.
I intend to let her know that being with me is more helpful to her.
Fighting fire with fire.
Using a new poison to drive out the evil.
It's going to sting quite a bit.
I smiled as I looked at the punishment list written at the bottom of the A4 paper.
-Punishment List:
Punishment combined with training against strikes.
Punishment combined with training against burns.
Punishment combined with training against lacerations.
Punishment combined with training against weak points.
"What kind of punishment are you planning to do! At least write it in detail......."
"Wouldn't it be more fun if you didn't know?"
Lee Hye-ri looked at me as if I were a crazy person.
I'll make sure that look in her eyes changes.