Lee Jihye

"Have a seat, for now."

"I, I…."

Her face was caught in an awkward, uncertain grimace.

She still hadn’t fully calmed down; her shoulders kept trembling, and the way she kept wiping at her tears made her look almost childlike.

She was only twenty-one, after all.

It was hardly strange that she looked this way after being forced through a situation like this in a place such as this — something most people would never even experience once in a lifetime.

I couldn’t say I understood her feelings exactly, but she seemed not even to grasp what had just happened, much less the situation she’d been thrown into.

"S-sorry… hic…. I’m sorry."

"I’m not sure what you’re apologizing for."

"But I… hic… I…."

"You haven’t done anything wrong, Miss Hayan. Of course, I didn’t see the full circumstances myself, but… could you explain what happened, slowly?"

"I, I really wasn’t trying to do that for that kind of reason, I wasn’t. I, it was just…."

"I understand. You can tell me however you’re comfortable."

When I smiled faintly and spoke to her, she slowly began her story.

In truth, I already knew the gist of it. It was the kind of story you could mostly predict anyway.

The problem was that I could barely make sense of what she was saying.

Her tearful, rambling complaints were genuinely hard to follow.

According to the system, her intelligence stat wasn’t low, so it probably wasn’t being measured by simple reasoning ability alone.

"A-and then all of a sudden Seokwoo started…."

"Yes… yes… I see."

"He grabbed my hand and shouted."

"Ah…."

But whether I could fully understand her or not wasn’t the important part.

What mattered more was empathy.

More than sorting out who was right or wrong, it was more important to listen to why she was crying, why she felt wronged.

I wasn’t saying, I’m on your side.

But she was probably hearing exactly that anyway.

"A-and then it ended up like that… but then suddenly Deokgu came and… he hit that man, and Jihye went hic…."

"I see."

"A-and then Kiyoung came over there…."

"Yes."

The problem was that this lament went on for quite a while.

In the end, only after several more minutes did her long-winded explanation finally wind down.

"That must have been rough."

"N-no, it’s okay. I, I feel a little better now."

She really did seem calmer.

The shoulders that had been quivering intermittently had settled, and the face that had been on the verge of tears was slowly turning into one with a faint trace of a smile.

She had found a little breathing room.

"Thank you, Kiyoung."

"There’s no need to thank me. I was just trying to understand the circumstances…."

"N-no, that’s not it. Earlier, you said you believed me…."

"Ah…."

"Ever since we first met, I’ve only received help from you. I, I don’t feel like I’ve done anything for you at all…."

"Don’t worry about that."

"C-can I ask why you’re being so good to me?"

It was hard to figure out the point of the question.

I couldn’t tell whether she felt affection for me or whether she was wary of me.

I figured it was probably the latter.

Yoo Seokwoo had likely approached her in a similar way to mine.

A reasonable answer.

"I simply did what I thought was right, but if you really want a reason…."

"Yes?"

"I have a younger sister at home. When I see you, somehow she comes to mind."

To be honest, she doesn’t.

Yulha’s personality is completely different from the girl in front of me, and aside from their age, they have little in common.

Still, I decided this was the correct answer.

"Ah…."

"She’s probably about the same age as you."

"S-sorry. I must have asked something pointless…."

"And Miss Hayan…."

"I-I have two older sisters, but… it’s been a long time since I’ve had any contact with them…."

Her expression darkened. I decided this wasn’t something I needed to pry into.

"Your parents…."

"Th-they’re gone."

"We have something in common, then."

"Kiyoung too?"

"Yes."

Her face brightened strangely.

"Y-you’re a little like me."

"Yes, I suppose so."

Having something in common was a good thing.

Watching her quietly clasp both hands together, I felt the corners of my mouth lift.

I considered whether I should press closer or pull back here, but unfortunately there was no obvious correct answer.

After sorting through my thoughts for a moment, I continued from where I’d left off.

"If you wouldn’t find it too burdensome."

"Y-yes?"

"I’d like you to be a little more comfortable around me. It’s entirely selfish of me, of course…."

"Huh? Huh? Yes! U-um, how?"

"Let’s start by speaking casually."

"Huh? Y-yes… if that’s okay…."

"I’ll speak casually too."

"Y-yes… no, okay. I-I understand, o-oppa."

She looked thoroughly embarrassed.

It was another reminder of how awkward Jung Hayan was when it came to human relationships.

Quietly meeting her gaze, I used Mind's Eye to look through her and called up her overall abilities.

Her strength had gone up by one and her stamina by two compared to the last time I checked. Apparently she’d really been piling up the walls lately.

What was still strange, of course, was that her mana stat was ten.

Unlike me, who obtained mana only after becoming a mage, she had possessed it from the moment she was summoned here.

She still couldn’t feel it, but if I helped her, there might be a way to make something happen.

I was just considering whether to bring up mana and magic when—

"U-um, Kiyoung oppa… c-could I talk to you for a moment?"

It wasn’t Jung Hayan’s voice.

The owner of the voice from behind was Lee Jihye.

I could see Jung Hayan’s anxious face in my peripheral vision.

Honestly, I had expected Lee Jihye to come looking for me sooner or later.

Only, she was a little quicker than I’d expected.

So she really is sharp when it comes to things like this.

Is she going to cling to this side?

Which side held the higher position had already been decided, more or less, by what had just happened.

This had been a place to sort out the dispute between Yoo Seokwoo and Jung Hayan, yes, but it had also been a place to determine who stood higher between me and Lee Jihye.

Lee Jihye probably understood ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that as well.

No one had explicitly declared ranks or visible positions, but she had indirectly realized that I stood above her.

Disposition: Selfish Ambition.

For women like her — or rather, for people like me — there were two patterns when a new power figure appeared.

Either reject them.

Or cling to them.

I thought she was acting faster than expected.

It wasn’t a bad deal for me, but it was still worth thinking about a little more.

I looked at Jung Hayan rather than Lee Jihye and spoke quietly.

"Could you step aside for a moment? I think I need to talk with Miss Jihye."

"Ah. Yes. Okay. O-oppa."

She put a little extra force into the last word, which meant she was clearly uneasy about something.

In the end, Lee Jihye took the seat Jung Hayan had just vacated. Seeing her keep looking back over her shoulder, I could tell that our earlier conversation had left a strong impression on her.

"What is it?"

"I… um… I wanted to apologize. I’m sorry for causing such a scene."

"No. In truth, Miss Jihye hasn’t done anything wrong."

"No, Kiyoung oppa. This kind of situation was new to me too, so I think I got too worked up and stopped considering what was happening outside. I should’ve thought about the people out there who were struggling… I should have handled it quietly…."

"It’s fine. If I were in your position, I would have been flustered too. If anything, I feel a little sorry that I reacted too sharply."

"No. Oppa was just doing what needed to be done."

She was very youthful-looking, but no matter how young she appeared, I wasn’t used to being called oppa by a woman older than me.

"I…."

"Go ahead."

"About Seokwoo."

"For now, I have no intention of summoning Seokwoo and doing anything to him. Treatment comes first, after all… and I have things I need to handle immediately as well."

"Ah. Then that’s a relief. I felt bad about making you worry about this again and again. I was too flustered earlier to judge the situation properly. If you’ll leave it to me, I’d like to take some kind of action in my own way… could you let me handle this matter?"

I had to think about it a little.

I hadn’t really considered what to do with Yoo Seokwoo yet.

This place had no laws and no police, so there was no established method for punishing him — no set way to decide what sort of sentence he should receive or how to administer it.

"Miss Hayan…."

"Now that I think about it, I may have been too harsh on Miss Hayan too. If you’d let me handle it…."

"Do as you wish. In the first place, it seemed like managing this place is your job anyway… I’m sorry if I presumptuously interfered."

"Ah! No, that’s not what I meant."

"Yes. I understand what you’re saying. I just hope there won’t be any more bothersome matters like before."

The point was that I, too, was acknowledging some part of her authority.

This woman definitely knew what I was implying.

I have no intention of blocking you unnecessarily.

In exchange, don’t do anything that gets on my nerves.

In other words, keep your head down.

When I finished speaking, she quietly reached out and took my hand.

Objectively, Lee Jihye was beautiful. I managed to force my heart to settle, but her leaning in close like this still wasn’t something I was used to.

No, more than that, I was curious why she was approaching me in this way.

"You’ve probably had plenty to deal with outside already… so thank you for worrying about things on this side too."

"It’s nothing."

"If there’s ever anything I can help you with, please let me know anytime. Anything at all."

The way she lightly brushed my thigh was almost laughable.

By this point, I naturally knew exactly what this woman wanted.

"Anything at all?"

"Yes. Anything."

Her unexpectedly aggressive approach left me a little startled.

She might be naive, but she wasn’t stupid. She didn’t think I was an idiot either.

What I could see in her expression was a strange hunger.

Ambition? A lust for power?

Either way, it didn’t matter.

"I do like ambitious men."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

For me, power and ambition were defense mechanisms — tools to protect myself. Of course, Lee Jihye probably didn’t care about things like causes or motives.

What she wanted was the result.

The question was whether getting close to this woman would benefit me.

What she had was only the ability to control this idiotic group.

There were plenty of uses for that, but that was about all it amounted to for now.

She probably knew that too, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠which was why she’d come rubbing up against me in the first place.

I, who had never been particularly attached to groups to begin with, probably wasn’t all that useful to her, but it wouldn’t hurt to have me around.

No, perhaps I might be useful in another way. Maybe in relation to Jung Hayan, for instance….

What should I do….

I thought she probably understood that I wasn’t especially taken with her.

If she couldn’t even realize that much, then she really would be nothing more than a thoughtless idiot.

No, that can’t be right.

A purpose? A simple relationship?

There was quite a lot Lee Jihye could gain. Reconfirming precarious power, securing a thread to someone who might be the second-in-command of this group.

She might even be able to use the rumor that the two of us were on good terms.

Whatever it was, there was no harm in getting closer.

The idea that someone is an ally simply because they aren’t an enemy is a stupid way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to think.

"What do I get out of it?"

"Hmm. Miss Hayan?"

I lifted the corners of my mouth and pressed my body slightly closer to hers.

Lee Jihye’s face, now tinted with a curious mix of excitement and anticipation, came into view.

Not bad.

A sensation I hadn’t felt in a long time.

I gently pressed my lips against hers. At first glance, it could have looked like a romantic scene.

But what each of us was thinking was likely very different.

Let’s use each other.

I smiled faintly and opened my mouth.

"I think we’re a little alike."

"Yes. I think so too."

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