Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: No Way!
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Three minutes earlier.
As Kim Cheolsu and Catherine stepped out through the sliding door of the raw fish restaurant, Woojin slammed his chopsticks down as if he'd been waiting for this moment and jumped to his feet.
"Hey, let's tail them."
Ailin, who had been sipping some spicy stew broth as a palate cleanser, looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Hm?"
"Something fun to watch just popped up. Can't miss this."
"Fun to watch?"
Woojin nodded toward the two figures vanishing into the darkness outside the window.
"Those two. Doesn't something seem off about them?"
Jihyun Yoo's eyes widened in surprise.
"Huh? The secretaries? Why?"
Woojin clicked his tongue in exasperation.
"Sigh... You guys really have no eye for this. Can't you tell just by looking? Those two are totally flirting right now."
"......What!?"
"......For real?"
Both women's eyes went wide at the same time.
Ailin shook her head in disbelief.
"Catherine? No way. She's only run into Secretary Kim a few times on business."
Jihyun Yoo felt the same.
"I... I didn't pick up on anything like that either."
Woojin wagged his finger smugly at their reactions.
"That's why you two are amateurs. Love always hits out of nowhere, like an isekai truck. Especially in situations like that—sharing the pain of grueling workloads. That's the really scary kind."
He spoke with total confidence, but honestly, Woojin wasn't some perceptive genius either.
If Sangjin hadn't tipped him off, he never would've noticed.
No, he was actually more shocked than anyone.
– Hyung, Secretary Kim hyung and Catherine noona are totally an item.
– What!!!!??? Crazy!? How'd you know? Did Cheolsu hyung say something?
– Do you really need it straight from the horse's mouth...? I saw them at the playground up ahead, sipping coffee with these super lovey-dovey looks.
– Wasn't the coffee just sweet?
– ...Just live and die like that, hyung.
Sangjin's hunches about this stuff were never wrong.
Woojin grabbed his overcoat with a determined look.
"Not coming to watch? I'm going."
The two women's eyes lit up with curiosity in an instant.
Even the world's top hunters couldn't resist the thrill of someone else's love life.
"Let's go! Right now!"
"If we get caught, it'll kill the vibe, so move quietly."
"Don't worry, they won't even notice us."
The three slipped out of the restaurant like sneaky stray cats.
"There they are!"
"Shh! Quiet!"
The chilly night sea air rushed in, but it couldn't cool their burning excitement.
The breakwater was more open than expected, making it tough to hide.
The only spots for cover were way off behind the red lighthouse or near the massive pile of tetrapods.
"Tch, getting closer's gonna be hard. I wanna hear what they're saying..."
That's when Jihyun Yoo stepped up.
"I can read lips. From here, I can only see Secretary Kim's mouth, but..."
An amazing skill.
"...You can do that? Perfect. Then Jihyun, you tell us what he's saying."
"Got it!"
The three ended up crammed together behind the outdoor sign of the distant raw fish restaurant.
The world's number one and two hunters, squatting down just to peep on some secretaries' date—what a sight.
But their faces were more serious than if they were facing a gate boss room.
Because this was turning out to be ridiculously entertaining.
"Ooh... Nice atmosphere."
Far away at the end of the breakwater.
Kim Cheolsu and Catherine stood facing each other under the sparse glow of the streetlamps.
The dark blue night sea crashed and broke at their feet.
They could see Kim Cheolsu pulling something from an old vending machine.
With a clunk, out came two cans of hot coffee.
He handed one to Catherine.
"No vending machine coffee here."
Jihyun Yoo's mouth moved in sync.
"No vending machine coffee here."
The real-time live broadcast had begun.
Ailin flinched in surprise.
"Does that mean she usually drinks vending machine coffee too?!"
"Heh, exactly."
No sound reached them, but the sweetness in the air came through just from their silhouettes and the way they gazed at each other.
"Oh my, oh my. Look at that. Secretary Kim's ears are red. The streetlamp shows it all."
Jihyun Yoo covered her mouth, making a fuss, but Ailin pressed a finger to her lips to shush her.
"Shh. Focus. Could just be the cold. No side commentary—keep up the live feed."
On the breakwater, their conversation continued amid the waves.
"This works too. Nice and warm. Thanks, Cheolsu."
Catherine cradled the hot can coffee preciously in both hands.
The warmth seeping through her fingertips made her forget the cold sea breeze.
Kim Cheolsu gazed at the pitch-black horizon and spoke softly.
"Isn't it too rural and boring? I'm used to it, but it might not be fun for you, Catherine."
"No. It's nice. The young lady must've loved it too."
"Thanks for saying that, even if it's just polite."
Catherine smiled.
"No, I mean it. Cities are always so noisy and tense. Everyone's desperate to get something out of it. But here it's just..."
Whoosh–
Her blue eyes caught on the dark sea.
"...nothing but these amazing waves."
"You're too kind. Truth is, I really wanted to show you this place. Where I grew up."
"Why?"
Catherine turned to look at him.
Kim Cheolsu hesitated for a moment, then answered in his rough but sincere voice.
"Well... I figured showing you this would say more about who I am than any words could."
Sometimes, seeing once
tells more than a hundred words.
That's what Kim Cheolsu thought, and it touched Catherine's heart to some degree.
At his clumsy confession, Catherine let out a clear laugh.
She took a small step closer to him.
"Thanks to you, I now know you're a man like the waves."
"A man like the waves?"
"Rough and ready to smash anything one moment, then so calm the next that just looking at you feels comforting."
At her words, Kim Cheolsu scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.
"I'm not that cool."
Catherine leaned in, teasing him.
"Oh? So you're saying my judgment's off?"
Kim Cheolsu panicked.
"N-No, that's not what I meant."
Catherine chuckled.
"Hehe, you look cute when you're flustered, Cheolsu."
Close enough that their faces almost touched.
A strange tension flowed between them.
The onlookers held their breath, swallowing hard in unison.
"Hey, hey! They're gonna kiss! They're gonna kiss!"
Woojin pretended to stuff his fist in his mouth, making a huge fuss.
"Kiss angle? Right now? Timing's perfect."
Woojin clenched his fist tight.
But at the crucial moment, Kim Cheolsu hesitated.
Instead of stealing a kiss, he carefully draped his coat over Catherine's shoulders.
"The wind... it's cold. You'll catch a cold."
The romantic mood shifted instantly to practical care.
Woojin slapped the ground in frustration.
"Argh! Even when it's served up, he can't eat it! That frustrating guy! Just go in for the kiss already—why give her your coat!?"
But the women reacted differently. Jihyun Yoo stomped her feet in protest.
"Why?! That's romantic! So considerate! Thinking of her before his own cold!"
Ailin crossed her arms and nodded.
"Hm, yeah. Over a flashy kiss, this progression hits harder right here."
The two women were completely sucked into the secretaries' drama.
No movie-like kiss, but the sight of him wrapping the coat around her as they smiled at each other felt more heart-fluttering and warm than any touch.
It was love between adults sharing warmth, not the fiery passion of twenty-somethings.
That's when it happened.
Woojin's smile vanished in an instant, his expression turning ice-cold.
At the same time, Ailin and Jihyun Yoo whipped their heads around.
The hunters' instincts were blaring alarms.
"!!!"
"You feel it too?"
Ailin narrowed her eyes and nodded at Woojin's low voice.
Her pupils shimmered with blue mana.
"Yeah. Unfamiliar waves... space is warping."
Jihyun Yoo instinctively reached into the air, ready to summon Gale Roll.
"It's a gate. A really close one. Right by the sea!"
All three gazes locked onto the lighthouse where Kim Cheolsu and Catherine stood.
Mixed into the peaceful waves came an unsettling vibration, like space being forcibly torn.
Woooong–
Woooong–!
Kwajik–
Kwajijijijik–!
The air's density shifted.
A fishy mana scent that stung the skin.
Kim Cheolsu and Catherine sensed the ominous aura too, turning with hardened expressions.
"Wh-What is it?"
Secretary Kim instinctively stepped in front of Catherine.
Catherine stared at the phenomenon in horror and shouted.
"It's a gate! We have to get away now!!"
Pajijijik–!
"Ngh!! Catherine!!"
As mana sparked with a threatening aura,
Secretary Kim pulled her into a fierce embrace.
"Cheolsu! It's dangerous! We need to get out...!"
But it was too late.
Pajijijijijik—!
The blue mana danced wildly, finally generating the gate.
And then...
The sudden gate
swallowed the two in an instant.
The screams of the three rushing forward sliced through the night sea.
"Catherine!!!"
"Secretary Kim!!!"
"Damn it!!! No way!!!"