Gangwon-do Dating Expert (2)
“Of course! If you need relationship advice, who else would you come to but Park Deokgu?”
Unlike me, who had been momentarily thrown off by the sudden, almost nonsensical turn of events, Park Deokgu was already snorting with anticipation.
I wasn’t even sure whether he was truly the Gangwon-do dating expert, but he looked like a man genuinely delighted to have a consultation request for the first time in a while.
Who is it?
My energy had dipped for a second, but curiosity was a force stronger than fatigue.
Could it be Kim Hyunsung?
The possibility wasn’t zero.
Unlike Deokgu and me, our lovable regressor wasn’t just a textbook handsome man—he was also proper in speech and conduct, and his character was impeccable.
If I’d been a woman, I would’ve chased after him too. And with his abilities, he’d have been absolutely invincible in a fistfight, no question, while also putting up an ironclad defense against all the other girls circling him.
He was more than enough to get entangled in someone’s web.
Or is it one of the trainees?
If there was someone among the trainees she liked, then there’d be no reason for her to keep postponing our guild’s offer.
I was curious in more ways than one, but the answer would come out soon enough. Patience was the natural order of things.
The fact that she hadn’t specifically asked us to step out suggested it wasn’t anything we needed to avoid hearing.
“So,” I said.
“Go on, speak freely.”
“I….”
“Anything’s fine. Really.”
Her voice reached me as she drew in a breath and began to speak.
It was a little unexpected.
“The truth is… I have someone I’m seeing.”
Well, what’s this now?
“Huh?”
“I met him in the Tutorial Dungeon, just like Instructor Lee Kiyoung and Instructor Jung Hayan did….”
“Ah….”
Rather than liking someone from afar, she was already seeing someone, which was a bit surprising.
And yet, strangely enough, it didn’t feel all that odd.
Well…
There wasn’t a man alive who could hate a woman like her. Setting her personality aside, her appearance alone was overwhelming.
Even now, and certainly back in the Tutorial Dungeon, there would have been plenty of men trying to get their hands on her.
“Then you two are already dating, aren’t you? Doesn’t sound like you need much help….”
More than anything, I’d never imagined that Yoo Ahyoung would have a boyfriend at school.
My memory was that she’d always been alone at first.
The other dimwits might not have taken an interest in her, but I had definitely been paying attention.
It had been a little stalker-ish, sure, but it was in order to understand what kind of person she was, and honestly, I could sympathize with her situation.
Though I haven’t seen her lately…
I could say with certainty that there hadn’t been anyone I could call her boyfriend.
She had no friends to speak of, and she was always by herself in some corner.
The only people who had ever approached her before she’d managed to achieve any kind of footing were the sort of lowlife punks who looked like they’d crawled out of a back alley.
Still, I had a vague idea of what was going on.
“No. The situation’s a little complicated.”
“Ahem. I’m afraid I can’t play Cupid for you, but advice is advice. So, what is it—some romantic trouble? If that’s the case, you’ve got Park Deokgu right here!”
“Yes. As I was saying earlier, Oppa and I met in the Tutorial Dungeon. He saved me when I was about to be attacked by monsters by complete chance. We never actually got around to saying, ‘Let’s date,’ and with everything going on there wasn’t really time to do anything particularly couple-like, but….”
“Mm-hm. Right, right. Our older brother and sister were the same way.”
“Th-the Blue Guild Master Kim Hyunsung, did he save the survivors?”
“That’s right. He was incredible.”
“It wasn’t quite that dramatic, but Oppa did something similar. He rescued survivors as best he could, and he didn’t hesitate to take dangerous routes with the others just to find food…. I’m sure he probably couldn’t join the raid because of us. He wasn’t part of the assault team, but he did his first class advancement in the Tutorial Dungeon.”
“Oh!”
“Anyway, the important thing is that I liked Oppa, and Oppa liked me too.”
“Now that’s sweet.”
“I can’t tell you everything that happened in the dungeon, but… ah! There was also this other thing….”
I wanted to hear a little more, but I had already reached my limit.
I had a feeling that if I let the two of them keep talking, we’d be here till dawn. Before they could drag this into a pointless anecdote spiral, I cut in, and fortunately, the topic stayed on track.
“May I ask you something? Trainee Yoo Ahyoung?”
“Ah! Yes.”
“This may be a little rude, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you and your boyfriend walking around together. Of course, I understand the circumstances of being a trainee make that difficult… but you always seem to be on your own….”
“Ah… actually, when we first came out of the Tutorial Dungeon and began training, Oppa asked me to keep some distance. He said it was a time when he needed to focus more on training, so I understood. I did feel a little lonely, though….”
Just as I thought.
[Checking the unique quirk of Player Yoo Ahyoung.]
[Abundant Heart]
So he got taken in by a sucker, huh…
The pieces were clicking into place.
Her boyfriend had completed his first class advancement, though he hadn’t been in the assault team. And she was a girlfriend who had nothing to her name.
If I had to put it in a crude analogy without all the details, it was awfully similar to a guy who’d gotten into medical school or passed the civil service exam and was just waiting for life to turn around, only to kick the girl to the curb.
I’m trash like that too, aren’t I…
Know one thing and ten more come into view.
What a Lee Kiyoung bastard.
There was probably a reason he’d dragged Yoo Ahyoung around the Tutorial Dungeon in the first place.
To put it bluntly, maybe he needed someone to satisfy his desires, or someone who could die in his place, someone expendable for emergencies.
“It’s not like we’re in a rut or anything yet. Oppa’s always been a little cold, that’s all… but he’s really warm-hearted on the inside.”
In other words, she had been marked as someone to be thrown away when the time came.
The reason she survived the Tutorial Dungeon was simply that she got lucky. If the time ever came for her to be abandoned, she’d have been discarded without hesitation.
The rest of the story was obvious too. After leaving the Tutorial Dungeon and completing his first class advancement, he must have realized he was pretty talented, and… the girl clinging to his pant leg had probably become a nuisance.
To someone unable to see talent, her virtues would’ve looked like nothing at all.
Of course, it wouldn’t have taken long for him to realize the insurance policy he’d dragged along was actually a jewel.
And that made for a perfect moment to flip the script.
“Now that training is nearly over, Oppa’s been coming back to me like before. I haven’t been recruited into a guild yet, but I’m sure another clan or guild will take me. What I’m worried about is….”
“I’m guessing your boyfriend wants to join the same guild as you. Or maybe he wants you to ask whether you can enter Blue together.”
“Huh. How did you know?”
Because it was painfully obvious.
“Just a hunch. It felt like that.”
“Instructor Lee Kiyoung is right. It might seem a little trivial to you, but it’s important to me…. It’s actually the first time anyone’s really expected anything from me. The reason I was able to work so hard was because of what you told me, Instructor… and I do want to answer your kindness, but Oppa keeps bothering me, so….”
“Why didn’t you ask to have him brought along?”
“Because I know I’d be causing trouble.”
She’s a good one.
If she’d shut her eyes tight and asked to go in together, I might have found some way to make room for him.
She was someone worth treating well.
The reason she hadn’t actually brought it up was probably because she knew saying such a thing would be a burden. Maybe that was exactly what made her so easily taken advantage of….
So she got played, huh… should I make some room?
The man sounded like trash, but if the contract itself was the only thing I needed to secure, he was still usable.
Even if I didn’t put him in the party, he might become useful somewhere else, and as long as he didn’t foam at the mouth and start demanding a higher salary out of greed, trading one piece of garbage for a valuable asset wasn’t a bad deal.
It might be annoying to have someone who could control someone like Yoo Ahyoung, but with the position and power I held now, controlling one trashy man was child’s play.
If he stepped out of line, I could just make him disappear.
I can probably hand him a few gold pieces and call it even.
Of course, there was always the option of giving her honest romantic advice, but in practical terms this was the easiest path by far.
Or maybe…
Maybe it’d be better to just break them apart.
His face looked like that of a man who was obviously a sucker. One little nudge, and he looked like he’d hand over his gall, his coat, and everything else without a second thought. It made me wonder if I ought to start working on him.
While I tapped the table and organized my thoughts, it happened.
“I’ve got something to say, Hyung.”
Park Deokgu opened his mouth with a surprisingly serious expression.
“Uh….”
“I’m sorry to say this to you, Ahyoung, but… I think breaking up would be best.”
She looked a little stunned.
Even I found Deokgu’s solemn face a bit unfamiliar.
Of course he’d pay attention to Yoo Ahyoung’s reaction. He was probably worried she might flare up and ask who the hell he thought he was, talking so freely about her relationship with her boyfriend.
“I’ve never seen the man, and I don’t even know his face, but honestly, he doesn’t sound like a good person.”
That’s awfully blunt…
I wondered if he ought to be a little more careful about how he said it, but for some reason his voice carried real weight.
The Gangwon-do Dating Expert, King Deokgu…
“Ah….”
“It does hurt that I can’t bless the two of you as a messenger of love, but Ahyoung, you’re too precious to be stuck with a man like that. I’m not saying this because I’m from Blue, either. Honestly, if it were Hyung, bringing you and that man into the guild together wouldn’t be a problem. Am I wrong, Hyung?”
“Well, no.”
“Of course, our guild doesn’t exactly have endless vacancies, but is a man really a man if he can’t cheer on the woman he loves and push her forward—if all he does instead is cling to her ankle and try to ride on her back? As soon as you came out of the Tutorial Dungeon, he told you to keep your distance, and that makes him sound petty, small-minded, and selfish as hell. Who’s to say he didn’t come back to you only because you’re doing well now?”
“Ah….”
Why the hell is this pig suddenly so sharp?
“Bit sudden, I know, but let me tell you a little story. Back in my neighborhood, there was this old lady named Oh Young-hee. Her husband, so I heard, ran off to Seoul with another woman. Left behind a baby who hadn’t even learned to sit up properly yet. Around the time I’d just become a high school student, that lady’s restaurant became a huge hit, opened a second branch and then a third in other districts and all that… and then that cheating bastard husband came crawling back, asking her to take him in again.”
“Ah….”
“In the end, she had no choice but to take him back because she had the kid with her and all that, but after that lady died of illness, he went off and lived it up with the woman he’d run away with, spending money like water. There are a lot of bad people in this world. I’m saying this because Ahyoung looks like a good person at a glance….”
“Yes….”
“Of course, I’m not old enough to act like I’m wise enough to preach at you. I’m not some old fossil telling you to do what I say… and I’m not speaking from any position of authority either. Ah! But we shared a drink, so now we’re friends, aren’t we? I’m saying this as a friend. This is your choice, Ahyoung. Think about it carefully. Think hard about whether that man is really the person you think he is.”
Why is this pig acting like this all of a sudden?
“If he doesn’t seem like that kind of person, then this messenger of love, Park Deokgu, will cheer on your love with everything he’s got.”
It was short, but not bad.
His voice had real heft behind it, so it was the kind of thing that made you listen a little more closely without meaning to.
If I was reacting that way, then Yoo Ahyoung, who had received that not-quite-advice head-on, was practically guaranteed to be shaken.
She probably knew better than anyone that this wasn’t just some old man talking down to her, nor just a ploy to bring her into Blue.
That’s why she could take the Dating Expert King Deokgu’s advice with more weight.
She was probably thinking about it on her own right now, wondering whether that man really was the person she believed him to be.
The expression on her face kept worsening, as if she’d reached some conclusion of her own.
When the haze of infatuation peeled away, all the things you hadn’t noticed before came rushing in.
If that so-called boyfriend had truly treated Yoo Ahyoung sincerely, then there’d be nothing for him to worry about—but I could say with one hundred percent certainty that the bastard was trash.
“I… I’m not sure.”
She said it like that, but her face was already on the verge of tears, which meant she must have thought of a few things herself.
“If, if what Deokgu Oppa said… is true… then… w-what do I do? What should I do?”
Park Deokgu shot me a sidelong look and spoke.
“Then, of course, our Hyung will take revenge for you!”
Looks like this was going to become a pain in the ass.