Chapter 40: Agreement (3)
Chapter 40: Agreement (3)
As the front door opened, Han Shin walked out to greet the two women.
"Welcome back. You were faster than I expected."
"Yeah. It’s not great to stay out too long, so we bought everything as quickly as possible and came straight back."
"Han Shin-nim, I have returned."
Han Shin nodded at Kang Yujin’s words.
‘I suppose that’s why they both went out disguised like that...’
Grace, seemingly feeling stifled, took off the hat she had pulled down low.
Her platinum-blonde hair cascaded down, and the sight of her undoing the tie at the back of her head captured Han Shin’s gaze. It was a simple action, but when performed by a woman of Grace’s beauty, it looked like a scene from a high-end commercial.
Kang Yujin’s eyes narrowed slightly at Han Shin’s reaction before returning to normal as she took off her own hat.
Yujin was also a beautiful woman with a charm that rivaled Grace’s. However, Han Shin was already used to seeing her in such outfits, and since her hair hadn't been hidden away only to unfurl like Grace's, it didn't catch his attention in the same way.
Yujin was already feeling a bit disgruntled. From her earlier conversation with Grace, she had learned that Han Shin had slept with the other woman—and not only that, he had given her an internal ejaculation and they had gone at it seven times.
Seeing him fixate on Grace like that made her blood boil.
‘Ugh... Shin-a. Just you wait.’
Naturally having no way of knowing what was going on inside Yujin’s head, Han Shin said with a smile, "I’ve sliced some fruit, so go wash your hands and let’s eat together."
Her heart was truly as fickle as a reed. The moment Han Shin looked back and forth between her and Grace and mentioned he had prepared fruit for them, Yujin’s dissatisfaction melted away instantly.
"Okay, Shin-a. Noona will be right back after a quick wash."
Yujin scurried off to her room to do exactly as Han Shin said.
"Understood, Han Shin-nim."
Grace also replied and followed behind Yujin.
A short while later, Han Shin found himself in a very awkward predicament.
Since there was only one long sofa in his house, the three of them had to sit side-by-side to eat in the living room. Naturally, Han Shin ended up in the middle, between Kang Yujin and Grace.
For Han Shin, it was like sitting on a bed of needles.
‘Why didn’t I think of this... I should have had us eat at the dining table...’
He belatedly regretted his lack of foresight.
"Shin-a, here. Eat this."
Sitting tightly against Han Shin’s left side, Kang Yujin picked up a slice of peach with a fork and brought it to his lips. Han Shin obediently accepted it. It was a high-sugar peach, and its sweet juice flooded his mouth.
It was definitely delicious, but... he couldn't fully enjoy the taste.
"Han Shin-nim. Mine as well..."
There was no way Grace would stay still after seeing Yujin’s behavior. While she wasn't as overt as Yujin—who was currently clinging to Han Shin’s arm and leaning her head on his shoulder—Grace had also scooted in close to his other side.
Sitting upright with her legs together, Grace offered him a slice of peach. Her face was almost expressionless, but Han Shin knew she was doing this because she liked him and was jealous of Yujin’s actions. Now that he knew she had feelings for him, there was no way she would be indifferent to such things.
‘Ugh... this is so uncomfortable.’
Han Shin felt the pressure of the situation. Consequently, he couldn't refuse the fruit the two women were taking turns feeding him and kept eating. It was obvious what kind of reaction he’d get if he rejected one of them.
Because of this, Han Shin found his own breakthrough.
"Noona, Grace, you guys should eat some fruit too. Don't just keep feeding me. Here."
He spoke to Grace first to take her fork, and with a fork in each hand, he offered a slice of peach to both of them.
Both Kang Yujin and Grace looked happy as they immediately accepted the fruit. Even though their rival was receiving the same treatment right across from them, receiving such a gesture from the man they loved couldn't possibly feel bad.
In that manner, the rest of the fruit was consumed with Han Shin feeding the two of them.
"I’ll go wash these dishes quickly. You two just relax."
Wanting to escape the situation as fast as possible, Han Shin grabbed the plate and forks and practically fled into the kitchen.
His movements were so swift that the two women found his behavior amusing, and smiles naturally formed on their faces. Then, their eyes met. Feeling awkward, they both quickly looked away.
★ ★ ★
The Association held a meeting with the Clan Leaders on the last day of every month.
In the past, numerous clans had cropped up, and because they were constantly fighting over interests and refused to yield to one another, these meetings used to take a very long time—sometimes lasting an entire week—especially since there was no established framework in the early days.
However, as time passed and they went through trial and error, the system was refined. The scattered clans were gradually organized and integrated into Large Clans. From the perspective of the Association and the government, this was much easier to manage.
The Large Clans, growing in size and power, were able to secure significant authority and capital. Since Awakeners could lead safer and more comfortable lives under their umbrella compared to working in minor clans, the absorption process was a natural phenomenon.
As a result, there were very few minor clans left today, and most Large Clans were operated like major corporations. This was a common trend in most countries. In Korea, five clans had established themselves as the dominant powers: Yuseong, Geumwa, Hwarang, Goryeo, and Asura.
The era of chaos had passed, and these days, dungeons were viewed less as threats that had to be cleared to stop monsters from pouring out and more as literal gold mines. When a portal appeared, the goal was to be assigned a territory and extract as much profit as possible.
Given this situation, the monthly regular meetings had become little more than a formality. The discussions usually revolved around the Association mediating disputes over portals that appeared on the borders of different clans' territories, or some bickering over the distribution of prospects during the Academy graduation season.
But today was different.
Recently, a phenomenon had been discovered in the central region where portals were being cleared and disappearing at an incredibly rapid pace.
The first to suffer a loss was the Yuseong Clan. At the time, both the Association and the Yuseong Clan took it seriously because the dungeon had been cleared and the portal extinguished in such a short amount of time.
The Association had considered the possibility that the portal had mutated into something new, and they had thoroughly searched the area for a while. The Yuseong Clan assisted in the search while investigating every Awakener who had been in the vicinity at the time to see if anyone had cleared a portal they held the rights to without authorization.
However, the investigation yielded nothing. It was a mystery strange enough to make a ghost weep. Korea was covered in CCTV cameras, and almost every car had a black box, leaving very few blind spots in people's movements. This was especially true considering the portal in question had appeared in a parking lot.
Because of this, the expression of Lee Jeong-jin, the leader of the Yuseong Clan, was not particularly good. He usually had a relaxed, smiling face, but now it was set in a serious grimace.
The other Clan Leaders were the same. Initially, the other clans hadn't paid much attention. It was just a portal estimated to be F-Rank. Most importantly, they weren't the ones who had suffered the loss, so they didn't feel the need to care. In fact, as competitors, they had secretly felt a bit of schadenfreude. Since Yuseong was the top-ranked clan backed by the Yuseong Group, those below them enjoyed seeing them get screwed over.
However, this wasn't a one-time occurrence. The number of incidents where portals disappeared before anyone could even enter them continued to grow. Clans other than Yuseong began to suffer losses as well, and it became everyone's problem.
It was no longer a laughing matter. Although the phenomenon was currently limited to the Chungcheong Province area, the occurrence of such an inexplicable event had to be taken seriously.
The meeting room was arranged with five luxurious desks and chairs in a fan shape facing the Association President. Park Min-woo, the Korean Branch Manager of the Awakener Association who was presiding over the meeting, had a massive headache. Despite the Association putting all its effort into the search, they couldn't find a single trace.
"The Association has combed through all records with the help of the government, but so far, there hasn't been a single Awakener who approached or entered the portals that ended up evaporating."
"What about the possibility of the portals mutating?"
Hyeon Jeong-ah, the leader of the Asura Clan, spoke in a very sharp tone, perhaps because one of their portals had disappeared just yesterday.
"We are researching it... but since nothing has changed in the areas after the portals vanished, we believe that is not the case for now. It’s not like monsters have emerged, nor is there any residual mana causing side effects. They simply disappeared as if they had been cleared, literally."
Park Min-woo explained once more, even though it was already in the materials distributed to everyone.
"Sigh... then what the hell is going on?"
"Does it even make sense for a dungeon to be cleared before anyone can even step inside, no matter how low the rank is?"
That was what everyone was thinking. In the current climate, there was no reason to clear a dungeon that quickly. Doing so wasn't profitable, so there was absolutely no incentive. Furthermore, it made no sense for someone with the ability to clear a dungeon that fast to be wasting their time on low-rank ones.
Even with all their heads together, an answer did not come easily.