Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Misunderstandings and Reservations
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“I found a good spot.”
A dungeon perfect for training the power of Demon Extermination.
Yun Hayoung reacted with slight surprise.
“……A good place?”
“Yeah.”
Hmph.
“You mean just the two of us?”
“Of course.”
[The character ‘Yun Hayoung’ feels flustered toward you.]
[You acquire 500 points as a reward.]
What? Why is she suddenly flustered?
I glanced at Yun Hayoung, and her pupils were trembling.
Then, her lips, which had been tightly shut, parted heavily.
“……Seonwoo, just in case, I’m saying this.”
“What is it?”
“It’s something that’s been bothering me for a while.”
“Oh, just spit it out already.”
“What I mean is…… the way you’ve been so nice to me……”
Yun Hayoung trailed off.
Suddenly, the air shifted. It got all sweet and sticky, I guess. Not exactly a vibe I liked.
“You don’t have feelings for me or something, do you?”
“......What?”
“If that’s the case, I wouldn’t really know. I’m pretty oblivious to this stuff…… Of course, I know you’d make a good boyfriend……”
Yun Hayoung was rambling incoherently.
I fixed her with a hard stare. What the hell was she saying?
As I kept looking at her, she couldn’t meet my eyes and bowed her head.
“No.”
“……Huh? What?”
Yun Hayoung looked up. Her face was full of confusion. So I said it again.
“No.”
“No?”
“I don’t have any feelings for you. And I won’t in the future either.”
“……Wait. Why does this feel kinda shitty?”
Yun Hayoung narrowed her eyes. The sweet air from earlier was long gone.
“No need to feel bad. I’m just not interested in dating.”
“Then what’s with inviting me alone to a good place?”
“It’s because there’s a dungeon perfect for your training.”
Yun Hayoung’s small mouth fell open slightly.
[The character ‘Yun Hayoung’ feels embarrassed toward you.]
[You acquire 500 points as a reward.]
“I thought it was something else……”
Yun Hayoung let out a sigh of relief. I continued.
“Good thing. I was worried for nothing.”
[You have achieved the ‘Second Base’ achievement.]
[You acquire 2,000 points as a reward.]
Looks like the sweet air was just my imagination.
Still, I racked up 2,000 points from an unexpected achievement.
Second Base achievement. Why does that rub me the wrong way?
After finishing training, I was rolling around on my dorm bed.
Then, my smartphone alarm blared from the desk, and I bolted upright.
[I found that Jo Sung-hoon guy you asked about last time.]
It was a message from Han Seyeon. She’d already tracked down the Jo Sung-hoon I’d asked her to find.
In just one day. Way faster than I expected.
[Thanks for the hard work. Where is Jo Sung-hoon?]
[You free tomorrow? I’d like to meet and talk.]
She wants to meet in person.
[Do you know his exact location first?]
[Yes, and I even know where he’ll be on Sunday.]
“Then no problem.”
[Great. When works for you?]
[7 PM okay?]
As a student, weekends without classes leave me with plenty of free time.
[Yes, that works.]
[Perfect. I’ll reserve a nice restaurant at 7. We’ve never even had a meal together.]
[If it’s a restaurant reserved by someone from the Han family, I can look forward to it, right?]
[Of course. I’ll show you what heavenly flavors are.]
“Pfft.”
Her message oozed confidence.
People with everything really do have that leisure.
“Hmm!”
I set down my smartphone and flopped back onto the bed. I stared blankly, thinking about today and the day after tomorrow.
“……This weekend’s gonna be busy.”
Saturday, meet Han Seyeon. Sunday, deal with Jo Sung-hoon.
Saturday might not seem busy, but I’d need to plan how to handle him the next day, so no slacking.
“Jo Sung-hoon……”
If I successfully take care of Jo Sung-hoon the day after tomorrow, how will the story change?
The terror attack next Wednesday.
It might seem minor, but it was an episode that strengthened bonds between characters.
Yoo Ara and Lee Seojun.
It was a key episode where their ambiguous relationship developed into friendship.
“Sigh, why’d the special elective activity get canceled……”
The future’s looking dicey.
Saturday, 7 PM.
Disguised as Kim Jinwoo, I arrived at Hanso-ok, the upscale Korean restaurant Han Seyeon had told me about.
Hanso-ok was famous enough to appear a few times in the original story. Back then, Lee Seojun nearly passed out after one dish, right?
‘Oh, I’m excited.’
Places like Hanso-ok supposedly take at least three months to reserve, but snagging a spot in one day showed the Han family’s real power.
Following the staff’s guidance, I arrived at a room.
Opening the door revealed a spacious interior blending hanok’s natural harmony and traditional beauty.
“Come on in.”
Han Seyeon stood up from her seat and said.
“Long time no see.”
I sat across from her.
“How’s the restaurant vibe? Like it?”
“Yeah, it’s nice. This place is famous, right?”
“It is. The food’s top-notch too. I guarantee it.”
She hadn’t cooked it herself, but her voice carried pride.
Then Han Seyeon pulled an envelope from her bag and handed it to me.
“Info on Jo Sung-hoon, as requested.”
I opened the envelope and checked the documents. They detailed his recent movements and basic profile.
“As you’ll see in the papers, there’s a social event tomorrow for famous executives and wizards called ‘Pioneer’s Night.’ He’s attending.”
I flipped through the documents.
Just as she said, there was a social event tomorrow.
Pioneer’s Night.
A gathering for the elite, mentioned a few times in the original.
Hosted mainly by Han Sejin, it was where several incidents unfolded in the story.
‘......Hold on.’
Come to think of it, something happened at Pioneer’s Night too.
One attendee was murdered.
And the culprit turned out to be Jo Sung-hoon, the terrorist behind the Incheon and Seoul attacks—revealed later.
“Can you get me an invitation?”
“Getting one’s easy. One of the hosts is my brother, after all.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“But I have a condition. Tell me why you’re investigating him.”
Han Seyeon spoke to me in a serious tone.
Hearing her voice, I knew I couldn’t brush it off with “it’s a secret” like usual.
Well, it’s something that’ll come out anyway, so no harm in telling.
“You know the Incheon terror attack recently?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s the culprit.”
“What?”
As rumored, Hanso-ok’s food was otherworldly.
The tender texture and clean flavors melted in my mouth, sparking pure bliss.
Would I ever taste something like this again? That’s how good it was.
“Wow, this is so good.”
“Glad it suits your taste.”
Han Seyeon smiled at me.
“But really, that guy’s the Incheon terror culprit?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“I have my ways.”
“Tch. Same old line.”
Ignoring Han Seyeon’s grumbling, I took another bite.
“So, what’ll you do when you meet him?”
“Make sure he can’t do any more bad shit.”
Han Seyeon gave me a dumbfounded look at my answer.
“What, you some justice crusader? Why not just report him?”
“No evidence. Useless.”
“Hmm…… Yeah, makes sense.”
Han Seyeon nodded as if convinced.
“But you’re not planning to cause a scene at the event, right?”
“I’ve got some tact. Don’t worry about that. I’m going as your plus-one; I won’t embarrass you.”
“Good to know you’ve got manners.”
I grinned at Han Seyeon’s words. Then I noticed her empty plate and said.
“But aren’t you eating? It’s amazing.”
“Nah, I eat here often. You have more.”
“......Oh.”
We finished the blissful meal and stepped outside. The aftertaste lingered so strongly, my mind was still hazy—like waking from a happy dream.
I snapped out of it and said to Han Seyeon.
“Thanks, my taste buds are spoiled.”
“No biggie. About time I treated you.”
Han Seyeon smiled.
Then her gaze swept over me from top to bottom.
“But you got clothes?”
“Clothes for what?”
“For tomorrow’s event. Can’t show up like that.”
Clothes. Huh, good point.
Pioneer’s Night was a formal affair for the elite.
Couldn’t just wear anything.
“No clothes…… Guess I need to get fitted now?”
Han Seyeon sighed and shook her head at my words.
“Forget it. Too late; won’t find anything today. I’ll give you one with a custom-fit spell for tomorrow, so don’t bother.”
“Oh. For real?”
After parting with Kim Jinwoo, Han Seyeon entered one of her private luxury officetels.
She flopped onto the sofa the moment she opened the door.
“……Tired.”
As she closed her eyes, she recalled her conversation with Kim Jinwoo today.
—You know the Incheon terror attack? This guy’s the culprit.
What’s his deal?
Kim Jinwoo was convinced Jo Sung-hoon—someone even he didn’t know—was the perp.
Without a shred of evidence.
But what baffled her more was how she’d bought into his baseless claim without question.
“Sigh.”
Han Seyeon was cautious by nature as a businesswoman.
She didn’t trust easily, and even then, needed solid proof.
But today, she hadn’t been cautious. She’d somehow accepted Kim Jinwoo’s words as absolute truth.
“……What kind of guy is he?”
No answers came no matter how she thought.
He clearly had secrets, but she couldn’t figure them out.
She’d given up digging into Kim Jinwoo’s background.
It was like he’d popped into existence with zero history.
“......Right.”
She needed to get clothes for Kim Jinwoo tomorrow.
Han Seyeon grabbed her smartphone and dialed her assistant.
It was late for work calls, but she paid well, so no issue.
—Yes, miss. Got your call.
“Need a favor. Men’s suit. Gift. By tomorrow morning.”
—Understood. What’s the recipient’s age range?
“20s. Oh, and top quality. Don’t want him embarrassed.”
—Yes, miss. Um…… Is this a gift for a boyfriend?
Han Seyeon’s mouth dropped open.
She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard.
“W-what? No! It’s not like that!”
Afterward, her assistant endured a 30-minute lecture from Han Seyeon.
I sat on the sofa, savoring the meal’s afterglow. It stuck in my head like the food was drugged.
“Ah, wanna eat it again.”
Now I got why Lee Seojun almost collapsed after one plate in the original. Rumor was they used magic in the cooking……
Lost in thought, my student handbook chimed.
[Junior Seonwoo, what’d you do today?]
Sender: Jang Ye.
“What’s her angle? No clue.”
Lately, Jang Ye had been acting overly friendly.
Any other guy would’ve grinned at her message, but I knew she was a demon.
She was definitely approaching me for some purpose.
She made me uncomfortable before, and now her attitude flip feels off.
Gotta deal with her ASAP too.
[Had an appointment, so I popped to Seoul.]
[Ooh, nice. Lol Just checking since you skipped the training room today, Junior Seonwoo.]
“......What.”