Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Before the Cafe Opens: A Short Holiday (4)
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After deciding to let Choi Yu-ra noona dictate our plans for the day, I asked her where we were headed.
"But where are we going right now?"
"It's getting late. So I figured we'd grab dinner."
I was about to ask where exactly, but then I remembered the message we'd exchanged yesterday, and I kept my mouth shut.
[Leave the date plans to me. This is a woman's job.]
Our dates so far had involved chatting and going wherever we felt like, but this time she'd planned everything. It must be her way of showing off her capabilities.
'A woman who takes the lead must seem attractive to a guy.'
Even in my past life, there'd been that bias—that the man makes the date plans and the woman just follows. Apparently, that prejudice had flipped in this era and stuck around.
'Hmm, dinner, huh. I wonder where a noona possessed by the soul of a rich girl would choose to eat!'
I was curious but held back like a kid on Christmas Eve, clutching a pile of presents he couldn't open yet, anticipation bubbling up.
'Huh? This place...'
The familiar road to a hotel we'd visited on a date once before unfolded outside the window. I'd half-worried she might commandeer a guild plane for some overseas trip, but thankfully, noona hadn't stooped to abusing her power that badly.
"We've been here before, right? New places are nice, but familiar ones are less stressful. With the cafe opening coming up soon, I thought it'd be good to eat somewhere relaxing."
"Thanks for thinking of that. The food was great last time too, so I've been wanting to come back. Sounds perfect."
At my words, the corner of Yu-ra noona's mouth twitched up again.
Truth be told, I barely remembered what we'd eaten that day.
'I got wasted halfway through.'
Wait a sec?
Didn't they have a dress code there? Last time, I'd changed into a suit in the car backseat. The casual clothes I had on now wouldn't fly for entering the hotel, would they?
"Noona? Won't they stop us from going in dressed like this?"
"It's fine. Who'd dare block my Jun-hyuk from going in comfy clothes?"
The hotel guards would.
Reading my expression, noona added more to ease my worries.
"I'll handle everything, so Jun-hyuk, just follow me without a care."
"Got it."
Sure enough, when we arrived at the hotel, the guards stepped up to check our ID and blocked the car.
But the moment she rolled down the window, their faces changed.
"Ch-Choi Yu-ra Hunter?"
Ah, another change in noona—I noticed she wasn't wearing her concealment artifact today. In its place hung a watch made of gold.
Anyway, the guards sent respectful looks toward Yu-ra noona, who wasn't hiding her identity as a hero and the first EX-Rank Hunter. But true to form for staff at Korea's top hotel, they didn't back down and pointed out the dress code issue.
"Choi Yu-ra Hunter, your attire..."
"Is there a problem?"
"Well, the dress code..."
"I just wanted to relax today. Why? Not allowed?"
"N-No, of course not!"
The overwhelming pressure from an EX-Rank Hunter!
Unable to say more, they bowed their heads and let us in. Pointing out the dress code was the peak of their courage.
"......"
It wasn't just a rich girl act.
It was a power-abusing rich girl act!
'Yeah, powerful people are cool.'
But noona, isn't this just straight-up abuse of authority?
Before handing the car off to valet parking, noona turned to me with a smug grin.
Her pride was practically flaring her nostrils—if she weren't such a beauty, it'd look pathetic, but her looks softened it. Still, she came off like a guy in heat.
"Let's go. Reserved the top floor."
Yu-ra noona grabbed my hand first and led me along. Even this showed her intent to take charge today.
The moment we reached the top floor, I couldn't believe my eyes.
"...Noona? This the same place we came to before?"
Last time it had been a private room—spacious enough, sure, but just a two-room setup.
The sight before us now, though...
"Yeah. It is. Private room this time? Nah, open room."
The entire floor was empty.
That vast space held just one table and two chairs, wasting the area like crazy.
"I wanted an open view for dinner today, so I booked out the whole seating area."
"No one else booked anything?"
At my question, Yu-ra noona flashed another triumphant look.
"Nothing's impossible for noona."
"......"
I couldn't even ask what method she'd used.
What popped into my head wasn't curiosity about her trick—it was a sense of crisis that I couldn't let her stay like this.
'I have to change her back before this date ends.'
I'd planned to anyway and knew how, but now it wasn't optional—it was essential.
If I couldn't restore Yu-ra noona today?
The aftermath would be a horrific disaster.
'She might become the ultimate abuser no one can stop.'
Rich, powerful, and superhumanly strong? If noona started abusing that?
It'd be a new calamity descending on Korea.
They say the dog that bites knows meat best—right now, unused to abusing power, she's pulling these minor(?) stunts. But if I let her get comfortable with it?
She'd show everyone what real abuse looks like.
'V-Visions of the future!'
A future where she bullies the government and media alike just to impress me.
[In recognition of Choi Yu-ra Hunter's contributions, we designate today as 'Yoo Jun-hyuk's Birthday.']
[Breaking news: Yoo Jun-hyuk's cafe in Seoul reports a sales drop. All Seoul residents are now required to visit the cafe daily and buy at least one drink.]
Over the top, maybe, but it could really happen.
"Jun-hyuk? Something on my face?"
That's why I'll definitely fix her.
"I couldn't help staring— you're so cool, noona."
To do that, I had to play along first.
The higher you climb, the harder you fall.
＊＊＊
Mid-meal, Choi Yu-ra recalled the advice she'd heard recently and smiled inwardly.
'Jun-hyuk really does think I'm cool!'
Feeling threatened by Lee Seo-yeon's involvement and taunts over her position as the main girl, she'd desperately tried to solidify her spot. But as a first-time dater, she had no clue where to start.
She considered online advice but couldn't trust communities after getting burned once. So she turned to the real world.
She sought out a famous hunter from the Millennium Guild for real-life tips.
[What? You want dating advice? From our Choi Yu-ra? You came to the right place!]
Lee Ji-hye, 31 years old.
A B-Rank Hunter more infamous for her personal life than her skills.
No one called her by name—everyone used her nickname 'Lucky Seven.'
[Trust me, the woman who's dated seven men!]
She had more relationship experience than anyone in the Millennium Guild.
Dating even once was tough—seven times made her a hero among the women.
Of course, a moment's thought revealed she'd ended up single every time, casting doubt on her skills. But gossip-loving folks didn't care much.
[Men? Just know these three things.]
And with love's rose-tinted glasses on...
[Wealth, power, brains!]
Choi Yu-ra, new to dating, hadn't considered that.
[Overwhelm with money, show off power, seduce with intellectual sexiness! Nail these three, and any man falls.]
It felt awkward at first. She'd never summoned anyone with cash or abused power, so acting on the advice pricked her conscience.
'Even canceling all the reservations with money made me wonder if this was right.'
She regretted it buying mismatched clothes, accessories, and the car.
But seeing Jun-hyuk genuinely like it, she dove headfirst into the abuse.
'Heh. From his reaction, he thinks I'm amazing.'
Naturally, Jun-hyuk was acting, but she didn't know that.
'Oh, right! Gotta show brains too.'
Choi Yu-ra sipped her white wine. Jun-hyuk's glass held sparkling, not booze.
"Mm, nice. Tannins packed in—California vintage? Vitis vinifera, aged in oak barrels, I'd say. Not bad."
She wasn't one to nitpick wine normally, but she'd asked the hotel ahead and memorized sweet lines to recite now.
Not many chances to flex brains during dinner, but she was satisfied.
"You can tell that just from tasting?"
"Of course. Drink enough, and you pick it up from the flavor and aroma on your tongue."
"As expected of noona. You're incredible! So cool!"
Jun-hyuk's reaction sent Choi Yu-ra's mood soaring.
Lee Seo-yeon, you watching? I'll never lose my spot to you!
'But do I keep this up forever?'
Not a one-off—should she make it a habit? And for how long? The whole relationship?
As Choi Yu-ra pondered, Yoo Jun-hyuk across from her paused eating.
"What's wrong? Food not good? Want me to have them swap it now?"
"No. The food's great. It's delicious, but..."
"Jun-hyuk, tell me if something's bothering you. If noona can fix it—no, she'll fix it somehow!"
"It's just..."
To shatter those thoughts.
"A sudden thought hit me... I don't think I match you, noona."
Yoo Jun-hyuk's plan kicked off.
His words barely ended before Choi Yu-ra's eyes bulged in shock.
"Wh-Why all of a sudden!?"
"I'm ordinary. No power, no wealth, no fancy degree. I worry if I can keep dating someone as amazing as you."
"No! You can, absolutely!"
"But..."
Yoo Jun-hyuk.
Unbeknownst to himself, he had a talent for acting.
"I'm scared of the future. Any gift I give will seem cheap next to what you wear."
Not just talent.
"Even if I plan a little event for you, to someone who rents out a whole floor, it'll mean nothing."
A genius-level talent where he'd debut and become an A-lister in years!
"Even fun chats with you—I'll bore you since you know so much more."
"Absolutely not! That won't..."
"Above all..."
With each word, the ill-fitting armor around Choi Yu-ra peeled away.
His final line drove the nail home.
"The me who spent a month practicing bentos for you feels like an idiot now. You eat food this good—yet I grinned like a fool thinking a plain bento would make you happy."
"Jun-hyuk."
Before she knew it, Choi Yu-ra stood beside him.
An EX-Rank Hunter's physical prowess pushed to the max just to stand by her boyfriend.
"The bento... for real?"
Abuse, whatever.
Wealth, power, brainy babe—none of it mattered.
"Yeah. Pretty silly, right, noona?"
"No."
Some survey on "What do you want from your boyfriend?"
Excluding the naughty stuff, everyday items only—80,000 respondents.
The overwhelming number one...
"I really want to eat it."
[Holding a bento your boyfriend made at work.]
Or as it's read: Holding a bento your boyfriend made at work to brag about it.
"Forget everything today. I'm not like this. A friend said guys like it, so I forced it."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Choi Yu-ra had dreamed of this too.
"You trust noona?"
"Yes."
Choi Yu-ra, who nearly became an EX-Rank disaster.
"Then you'll make me a bento?"
"Of course."
Crumpled by one bento.