Chapter 164: K-Hero (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 164: K-Hero (2)
Silence hung heavy in the hallway. The footsteps of two people and the heartbeat of one echoed softly.
Click, clack.
Only when Kang Geomma's door finally came into view did a warning light flash in Saki's head.
'How did things end up like this?'
It had taken far too long for her to pull herself together.
Why, of all things, did she suddenly blurt out that she wanted to eat kimchi jjigae?
Was it because she had watched too many Neotube videos about Kang Geomma lately? Because her feed was constantly flooded with thumbnails stamped with a giant 'K'? Was that why the word "kimchi" had suddenly slipped out?
What was even worse was that she hadn't said it completely unconsciously.
It was a line spoken right on the border of consciousness and subconsciousness. That made it all the more confusing.
Besides, when they entered the dormitory building earlier, the dormitory matron had given them a very strange look.
Saki had wanted to protest, but the matron had quickly shut her eyes as if she hadn't seen a thing. That look still haunted her.
'No! They say you have to listen to Korean until the very end! Why does everyone always jump to their own conclusions!'
In the first place, the Academy rules clearly stated "NO DATING," didn't they?
Yet, it was ridiculous that boys and girls could freely visit each other's dorms.
No matter how much they guaranteed the cadets' freedom, shouldn't there be at least some basic rules?
'Even though I'm complaining, in the end, I...'
Sigh. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Saki let out a long sigh.
Yes, she had come this far. She might as well be honest with herself.
She was nervous because this was the first time in her life she was visiting a guy's room.
Think about it. Kang Geomma was completely dense. Except for the rare occasions when he went crazy over 'rewards,' he was strangely devoid of desire for a teenager.
The probability of anything happening between them? Practically zero.
It was a bit of a blow to her pride, but still...
Following quietly behind him, Saki suddenly looked at Kang Geomma's back.
'I don't think Kang Geomma has ever personally treated anyone to a meal... and there's no way he's ever let anyone into his room before.'
A spark of electricity flashed through Saki's mind. If so, she would be his first for all of these things. A soft smile spread across her lips.
Just then, Kang Geomma stopped. Snapping out of her thoughts, Saki also came to a sudden halt.
"We're here. This is it."
"Ah. Uh, yeah."
Just before turning the doorknob, Kang Geomma turned to her.
"It's probably a lot smaller than your dorm. Do you want to just go out and eat instead? We still can."
Saki shook her head vigorously in refusal.
"It's fine. Besides, our dorm is just unnecessarily huge. It's weird for a student dorm to be that big in the first place."
"If you're fine with it."
Creak—
The doorknob turned the rest of the way. Saki patted her chest to calm her racing heart.
Stepping into the room, Saki reflexively looked around. As he had said, the room could by no means be called large.
It was barely 180 square feet. But because it was so well-organized, it felt much larger than that.
The pillows, bedsheets, training gear, and textbooks were all perfectly aligned with military precision.
She had imagined a typical guy's room—socks scattered on the floor and a musty bachelor smell.
Look at this mess! You need to clean up a bit! She had planned to lightly tease him and then help him tidy up.
That had been her plan, but...
Saki gasped inwardly. This place was far cleaner than her own room.
There wasn't a single speck of dust, nor any smell. It was a completely spotless, odorless room.
This was because Kang Geomma worked in a kitchen, the front line of cleanliness. Moreover, wasn't he someone who had dedicated three years of military service to his country? The habits ingrained over those years had carried over into this life.
As Saki looked around like a curious meerkat, Kang Geomma gestured toward the bed with his chin.
"Have a seat over there."
"...Is it okay if I sit on the bed?"
"There's a chair, but it's too hard, so I rarely use it. By the way, I just washed the sheets yesterday, so they're nice and fresh."
"No... that's not what I meant... But thanks..."
Sitting gently on the edge of the bed, Saki quietly turned her gaze toward the kitchen area.
She watched Kang Geomma unpack the ingredients they had bought together at the grocery store, inspecting them carefully.
"The expiration dates and freshness look good."
Having finished his inspection, Kang Geomma rolled up his sleeves. Revealing his toned forearm muscles, he gripped his sashimi knife.
Saki watched the scene, utterly captivated.
It was a small, humble space. Yet, a deep sense of warmth and satisfaction filled her chest.
It was completely different from her family home, which was ridiculously massive yet suffocatingly oppressive.
'Home...'
During the break when she hadn't returned to Japan, her family hadn't contacted her once.
They probably didn't even care whether their daughter came home or not.
It was actually more comfortable now that she was completely out of her father's mind. It was a cycle of conflict that had been twisted from the very beginning.
When Saki was thirteen, her father had stroked her head and said:
— In this world, if you are not the best, you are forgotten by history. Look at me. Even though I am the head of a nation, I am overshadowed whenever I am with my senior, the Sword Emperor. I do not want to pass that humiliation down to my children. At least my child must rise to the top. That said, I have no intention of forcing my unfulfilled dreams onto you. Even if your talent is lacking, at least show me the potential to rise to the Seven Stars. If even that is impossible, it will be difficult for me to embrace you as my child. This father does not have the luxury of time to waste, my third.
Her father had never once called her by her name. When she was young, she had thought it was simply because he was strict.
But as time passed, she couldn't help but realize his true intentions.
Saki Kojima did not call a child he deemed worthless by their name.
Kang Geomma quietly watched Saki's troubled expression. Then, he called her by her name.
"Ryozo, since you can't handle spicy food, I'll make the kimchi jjigae a bit milder than the one at the festival."
Ryozo nodded silently, quickly turning her head toward the window.
The sky was dark. The faint moonlight shining from its center bathed her cheek in a soft glow.
The rhythmic sound of the knife hitting the cutting board reached her ears. It was incredibly soothing.
Ryozo wished this sound would never end.
* * *
My kimchi jjigae had Ryozo scraping the bottom of the earthenware pot with her spoon.
Toning down the spiciness and adding a bit of sugar for sweetness seemed to have suited her taste perfectly.
I chuckled silently. When we first met, Ryozo wouldn't touch anything other than sweet red bean jelly.
But seeing her scrape the pot clean made it hard to hold back a smile.
Another amusing thing was that I was serving Korean food to a Japanese person.
In my past life, I ran a Japanese restaurant catering to Koreans, so this was the exact opposite.
It felt incredibly novel. I felt like I was contributing to the globalization of Korean cuisine. Was this what patriotism felt like?
I seriously contemplated whether I should open a Korean restaurant once everything was over.
......
I rubbed my face hard. Yes, this kind of pride was fine. Up to this point, it was a healthy level of patriotism.
But any further, and it would cross into toxic nationalism. From there, it would get out of hand. I felt a sudden sense of crisis.
I didn't know what Korea's status was back on Earth, but in this world, it was already more than enough. It was overflowing.
As I've mentioned before, it was the second-greatest power in the world and the home of Joaquin Academy.
But on top of that, they were packaging me with it.
Korean + Joaquin Cadet + □□□
The impact of that combination was far too powerful.
The thumbnails stitched together with that combination, and the comment sections constantly calling for the tavern keeper to pour another round. That lethal dose of nationalistic pride was sheer madness.
'This is driving me crazy.'
Because of this, I was suffering without even being able to resist. I could easily slice through the magic of the Corps Commanders, yet I was completely helpless before these videos. I wished I could slice them up like magic too.
'...Could I actually cut them, though?'
If I could cut and slice anything, wouldn't a Neotube video be possible too?
I had already sliced through Fear to give an ogre a heart attack. It wouldn't hurt to try.
Slap!
I slapped my own cheek. Slicing a Neotube video with a sashimi knife? I was clearly so distracted that I was coming up with the most ridiculous ideas.
My mind had definitely gone soft. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before I was calling for the tavern keeper myself.
"Why are you slapping yourself all of a sudden?"
Ryozo asked, slowly pulling off her rubber gloves. Since I had cooked, she had insisted on doing the dishes, so I let her.
Before replying, I glanced toward the sink. Ah, I'm going to have to wash those again.
Then again, there was no way a girl who was practically a Japanese princess had ever washed dishes in her life. Still, she was better than Chloe, who just broke plates.
"I thought a bug landed on my face."
"It's this cold outside, do you really think there are still bugs? Besides, bugs wouldn't come to a clean room like this anyway. There's nothing for them to eat."
Ryozo naturally sat down next to me, a new crease forming on the bedsheet.
After a brief, breathless silence, she asked an unexpected question.
"Geomma, what do you want most in life?"
I turned to look at Ryozo. Several emotions swirled in her eyes.
Emptiness, sadness, anxiety.
The emotions I read were entirely negative. I didn't know why Ryozo had such a lost, melancholic expression.
But I realized one thing for sure. This was a question she was asking herself, and she was looking to me for guidance.
'What I want...'
Looking back, I had been so consumed by urgency that I hadn't planned for the future at all.
The only thing I had dreamed of at the beginning of the first semester was a 'peaceful, uneventful, and safe' life.
Of course, all of that was out the window now. The reason was obvious—I had kicked it away with my own two feet.
And since the main story had already been twisted like a pretzel, I couldn't just complacently back out now.
In any case, I had intervened in the flow of the narrative, acting as a supporter helping the Hero Leon from the shadows. In fact, I had already done so several times.
...But what about after the Demon King was defeated?
It was as if I had been running while looking only at the next three years of my life.
But I would still be here even after the 2nd Human-Demon War ended.
'What should I do after that?'
Ryozo's casual question had sparked a long train of thought.
"Sorry. That was too sudden, wasn't it? I just felt like you don't really have any greed, Geomma. I was curious if there was anything you wanted."
Ryozo waved her hands to break the sudden silence. I spoke quietly.
"A family."
"......?"
"I don't have parents. But wishing for them won't make them appear. So, literally, it's just something I want."
I meant it. Throughout both my past and present lives, I had never felt the warmth of a family.
What was a given for others was what I longed for more than anything.
Ryozo blinked, her eyes widening. Her face flushed a deep crimson.
Was that too cheesy? Just as I was wondering, she spoke in a barely audible whisper.
"A family... you can just make one..."
"Huh?"
Ryozo scrambled to her feet and bolted toward the door.
"T-That! Let's talk about that again in three years when we're adults!"
With those final words, Ryozo vanished, her sky-blue hair fluttering behind her.
I stared blankly at the empty doorway, then brushed off the bed.
Ding~
At that moment, my phone lit up.
[Manager Seong: Geomma-nim, I've finalized the schedule for your visit to the Association's Korean branch tomorrow. Also, Geomma-nim... a bit of a difficult situation has arisen.]
Tap, tap.
[Me: A difficult situation? Is it that we can't access the Monolith or something like that?]
[Manager Seong: Well... you spoke with the Vice Association President on the phone this afternoon, right?]
[Me: Yes. It was just a cliché remark about wanting to buy me a meal when I visit Korea.]
[Manager Seong: Yes, but after you hung up, the Vice Association President contacted me separately. He said that since you shared a Sword Discussion, he wants to meet a true man as soon as possible.]
I never had a Sword Discussion, though? To that guy, the Spear Saint, is asking to grab a bite equivalent to a verbal sword fight?
[Me: Setting that aside. If he's rushing the schedule, when does he mean exactly?]
[Manager Seong: He is scheduled to arrive in a few hours.]
Ding~
[Manager Seong: On top of that, he even added that he wants to act as your guide during your visit to the Korean Association. I tried my best to stop him, but it was beyond my power. I'm sorry. T_T]
Tap.
[Me: ?]