Chapter 179

Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 179

Chapter Title: Honey Trap (1)

Recently, Seo Yu-ju's face had noticeably brightened.

It was to the point where, even in her absence, clan members were whispering about how much she'd changed.

Those with keen eyes had picked up on the progress between her and me.

No one in the clan was unaware of her steady expressions of affection toward me, so it was only natural.

"Oppa, Unnie's like that because of you, right?"

"..."

"You just gonna keep staying silent?"

"...You already know everything, so why bother."

Yu-rim giggled at my response.

"Congrats. Honestly, I was wondering when you'd finally get together. It was frustrating to watch from the sidelines."

'...If only it were a normal kind of "getting together," I'd be relieved.'

The problem was that my relationships with women were tangled beyond repair.

And for some ominous reason, it felt like Seo Yu-ju and Wi Ho-yeon were just the beginning.

Oblivious to my inner turmoil, Hyun-jin joined in the congratulations after Yu-rim.

"Hyung-nim, heh heh, congrats. Ugh... I'm so jealous, hyung-nim."

"...What's with that tone, man."

"Aw, come on. Honestly, how do you even meet someone like Yu-ju noona? Only someone like you could pull it off."

'Fuck, if you were in my shoes, you wouldn't be jealous at all.'

Hyun-jin was innocent, but I still wanted to smack him.

"I mean, her looks go without saying, her personality's super devoted, and when she's swinging that spear? Total charisma. As a guy, you've really hit the jackpot."

'He's not wrong, but...'

"Guess people really do need good looks. If I were as handsome as you, hyung-nim... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ugh..."

"Hyun-jin oppa, you never know. They might have plastic surgery here too..."

Hyun-jin looked hurt at Yu-rim's words.

"Hey, that's too much. Plastic surgery?"

Yu-rim was probably just teasing. Hyun-jin wasn't bad-looking anyway.

"Cheer up, Hyun-jin oppa. There might be someone in the clan who clicks with you. Like... Ha-eun unnie?"

"Hey, hey, don't say ridiculous stuff."

"Why? You don't like Ha-eun unnie?"

"It's not that. Lately, Ha-eun's been all over Jae-hyo."

"Oh... yeah, she has."

"You can tell she's into him. Especially after he saved her in the Swamp of Oblivion and lost an eye doing it."

Just as Hyun-jin said, Song Ha-eun and Lee Jae-hyo had been inseparable lately.

She probably felt guilty about his lost eye, but even to me, it looked like Ha-eun had feelings for him.

Jae-hyo didn't seem to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind her attention either. If things kept going like this, they'd end up together.

Hyun-jin clutched his face with both hands and wailed.

"Ugh! Why am I the only one alone?!"

"...Hang in there, Hyun-jin."

With a desperate look, Hyun-jin grabbed my hand and pleaded.

"Yun-seong hyung-nim! You've gotta have tons of girls around you, right? Hook me up with someone, please?"

'What the hell is this guy's deal?'

A dude suddenly grabbing my hand felt awkward as hell.

"...Is this Earth or what?"

"Please, hyung-nim! Save this pathetic soul!"

His face was so desperate I couldn't flat-out refuse.

'Me, introduce him to a girl? I'm on the verge of pulling my hair out over my own girl problems...'

And the women I knew? Weirdly, they were all anything but normal.

Sharis, Yoon Yeon, Yanagiya Riki, Ha Yu-ri, Lady Tiera, and so on.

Not just the status gap, but they all had tempers that were far from ordinary.

I'd bet anything: introduce them to Hyun-jin, and he'd be dazzled by their looks at first, then freak out and bolt later.

'Fuck, thinking about it, why are all the women around me like this?'

Absurdly, the most "normal" ones were Yoon Yeon, and now Wi Ho-yeon and Seo Yu-ju, who I was involved with.

"Uh... Hyun-jin, I don't have anyone to introduce you to. Sorry."

"Hyung-nim! How could you do this to me?! Don't lie! There's no way you don't have girls around!"

"...Hyun-jin oppa, you're being super ugly right now."

"Arrrgh!"

...Hyun-jin just threw a tantrum at Yu-rim's words.

As he rampaged, I spotted Kang I-seo coming down to the first floor.

"I-seo unnie, hi."

"Oh, noona."

She looked like she'd just finished training and showered.

"Hey, yeah. What are you guys do—"

Kang I-seo cut off mid-sentence upon spotting me, her mouth clamping shut.

'What's that about?'

Her face stiffened the moment she saw me, putting me in an awkward spot.

Not wanting to just sit there, I spoke to her first.

"Hey, good to see you. How's training ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠going lately?"

"...Fine."

"What's with the reaction? Something up?"

Kang I-seo sat without answering, ignoring the weird tension in the air.

Everyone seemed flustered by her sharp vibe.

As we all watched her warily, she forced a playful smile and spoke to me.

"...Hey, congrats."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean 'huh.' You and Seo Yu-ju got together, right?"

"Oh... yeah."

I couldn't deny it. I had embraced her, after all.

At my response, Kang I-seo forced out the words.

"Ha... yeah. You two look good together. Fuck, dude, huh? Gonna puff up your shoulders now?"

"What shoulders?"

"Why? Don't guys get a confidence boost with a pretty girl on their arm? Wanna show off and all that?"

"Yu-ju's not some luxury item..."

"Acting all sweet, huh. Save it for the bedroom, asshole."

She tossed it out casually.

"...Yeah, sure."

The issue was her expression soured at my reaction.

"You don't happen to..."

"What?"

"...Never mind. Anyway, treat her right. She's a good woman."

"I'll handle it, don't worry."

"..."

"By the way, you've gotten pretty famous lately, huh? They call you the Hundred-Shot Archer or something."

"..."

"...Kang I-seo?"

Her continued odd reactions naturally sparked a suspicion.

'...No way, she doesn't have feelings for me, does she?'

Her expressions from earlier fit, and the thought had crossed my mind before.

But she'd never shown any signs of affection, and we'd always been chill like buddies, so I'd brushed it off.

'Nah. With her personality, no chance.'

There'd never been any such vibes between us. Honestly, I figured it was just my imagination.

"...Who cares about that fame. When you missed the most important thing."

"Most important?"

"...Something like that."

With that, she stood up.

"Noona?"

"You guys chat. I'm beat, heading up early."

After she left, Hyun-jin scratched his head.

"Uh... did we do something to piss noona off?"

"...Nah."

"Right? Hmm... maybe she's just having an off day?"

"Dunno..."

I hoped it wasn't for the reason I thought.

"Yun-seong!"

"Ah..."

Lately, when Seo Yu-ju and I were alone, she'd call me like this.

Of course, around other clan members, she stuck to formalities. Public and private had to be kept separate.

No hesitation with physical contact anymore. She linked arms with me right away.

"Hehe, free tonight for dinner?"

"...Dinner?"

"Yeah. How about... we grab some drinks?"

"...Won't we end up staying out late if we drink?"

She blushed and whispered in my ear.

"Then... we can just get a room and stay over."

'Fuck... alcohol's not the goal here.'

This had become her pattern lately. Looked like she'd awakened to new possibilities.

"No big schedule these days anyway. Aren't you stressed too, Yun-seong? I heard guys need regular release..."

"No..."

She whispered in a sticky, sultry voice.

"So... why not use me to relieve it?"

'Crazy.'

At her words, my gaze involuntarily drifted to her body.

Her sharp stats meant she caught it immediately.

"Hm... so you have been holding back since then. Not doing it with Ho-yeon?"

Her hand slyly sliding down was a sight.

"No need to hold back. Or we could even do it here..."

Pressing her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠body against mine, she let out a breathy moan that nearly shattered my reason.

If we weren't in the clan house, I probably would've gone through with it.

"Ha, totally turned into a temptress..."

My hands went to her waist and hips, drawing an ecstatic expression from her.

"Ahh... Yun-seong..."

"Seo Yu-ju, this is inside the clan house. Huh? What the hell is our clan master doing in her office right now?"

"Ha... sorryyy..."

'Fuck.'

"I'm not the one who can't hold back—you are."

"Yeah... I can't hold back..."

"...Seo Yu-ju, then wait outside after work."

"Okay..."

As I ended the exchange and tried to pull away—

Clunk!

"Yu-ju noona, just now the clan got..."

The door swung open with Hyun-jin's voice. My reaction was instantaneous.

In one second flat, I separated from Seo Yu-ju and struck a casual pose like nothing happened.

She snapped back to composure just as quickly.

"Uh, yeah? W-what's up, Hyun-jin?"

'Damn...'

The problem: Hyun-jin had already seen everything, judging by his face.

"...I-I think I interrupted you two..."

"No, no! It's fine! What happened?"

"I really don't wanna bother you two, but... it's not something I can handle alone..."

Seemed like something the clan master needed to know about.

"Someone came wanting to join the clan."

'That's new.'

Seo Yu-ju had recruited talent herself before, but someone directly applying? First time since she took real control of Eternity, as far as I knew.

"...Joining?"

"Yes. What do we do? She's at the clan house entrance. Send her up?"

Soon, Hyun-jin brought someone into Seo Yu-ju's office.

'Whoa.'

It was a young woman.

A priestess type, around my age. With striking looks and figure.

"Hi! I'm Woo Seo-hyun!"

Light brown bob haircut, innocent face, but a body so voluptuous it felt out of place for a priestess.

Seo Yu-ju handled the interview herself. I just observed from the side.

Of course, checking her status window was a given.

'...What the hell is this woman?'