Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Y-Yeah! This is just fandom!
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Lazy afternoon sunlight filtered through the living room window, shining down on the worn-out sofa.
Jo Ayoung sprawled across the sofa, staring blankly at the dust motes floating in the air.
'So peaceful...'
The house was so quiet that her ears were ringing.
She couldn't even remember the last time she'd lived like this with her siblings—full bellies and warm backs.
It had probably been since her parents died in that car accident.
Her life up until now had been a war.
To feed her two blob-like little siblings, Jinyoung and Gayoung, Jo Ayoung had ground her youth into dust.
Her parents' inheritance?
There wasn't much left after her relatives eyed her minor's assets like hawks.
Being the head of the household as a girl was far heavier and crueler than she'd imagined.
So she'd steeled herself.
She needed a stable job, one with a steady paycheck.
While others enjoyed the romance of college life, she juggled part-time jobs and studied like a demon.
And finally, she'd become the civil servant she'd dreamed of.
But the joy of passing lasted only a moment. Reality was unforgiving.
—Hey! What a waste of taxes! My taxes! You get paid with my money and handle things like this?
—Miss, you're so pretty. Wanna grab a drink with me? Big bro'll treat you to something yummy.
Working the complaints desk was hell every single day.
She had to smile through the irate customers' curses and sexual harassment.
It felt like the world was shoving her toward the edge of a cliff.
'I don't wanna live anymore...'
That's when, in a half-resigned state, she'd applied for a department transfer.
[Field Division: Hunter Management Bureau, Awakener Specialist Team]
It was a hellhole even among civil servants—a dumping ground for dealing with rough, dangerous hunters.
But she'd thought simply.
'If I could raise my disobedient little siblings, how bad could hunters be? They're just big kids with too much power.'
Plus, she'd awakened a late-blooming physical enhancement ability herself.
She couldn't be a hunter, but maybe this would work—and the bureau seemed to welcome awakeners.
They even offered 7th-grade treatment.
No reason not to.
And so, she'd joined the Awakener Management Specialist Team.
'I can do this!'
But nope. Her first assignment? An ordinary guy who was somehow off: Kim Woojin.
From their first meeting, he ordered her to fetch jajangmyeon delivery, treated her like an errand girl even though she was a civil servant.
Honestly, what the hell was this?
It felt like babysitting a particularly stubborn complaint filer.
Jo Ayoung's lips curved up slyly.
'Back then, I really thought I'd stepped in shit...'
A big grin leaked out before she knew it.
Her bank account now showed numbers she'd never dreamed of touching.
Daily wages and fat bonuses from Woojin.
—P-President! I'm a civil servant; I can't take this. It's bribery! I'll get disciplined!
When she'd freaked out and waved her hands, Woojin had scoffed.
—What nonsense. I already cleared it with Director Jeong. Think of me as your backup.
—B-but...
—If you get fired, I'll tell them I'm not cooperating with the government anymore. So just take it. Buy the kids something tasty, and get yourself some pretty clothes.
Backup... In her past life, had anyone ever had her back besides her parents?
No one.
That one rough but warm sentence from him.
That day, Jo Ayoung's world changed.
Why was this man so good to her? Did he just need a reliable porter who did her job well?
Or did he pity the poor girl head of household?
It didn't matter why.
What mattered was that he'd pulled her back from the cliff's edge onto solid ground.
Jo Ayoung felt a fuzzy tickle in her chest.
Her heartbeat quickened.
—Jo Hulk! Get over here and lift this! Time to work the frail president to the bone!
—Y-yes! Coming!
—Having a strong employee is the best. Kahaha.
"Ugh..."
She shook her head hard and slapped her cheeks.
"You're crazy, Jo Ayoung... Snap out of it. What do you think you're..."
Me with President Woojin? She tried to face reality coldly.
Think of the people around him.
Yoo Jihyun, the youngest daughter of DH Group—ranked second in Korea's corporate world—and an S-rank hunter.
Eilene, heir to America's strongest Benedict family.
Both were perfect women—beauty, talent, background, nothing lacking. Untouchable.
They stood beside Woojin without a hint of mismatch, like shining stars.
And her? Just a middling C-rank with some strength.
A lowly 7th-grade civil servant who could get axed anytime.
An orphan with a string of siblings, a dirt-poor girl head of household.
"We're in different leagues... totally different."
Miserable, but she had to admit it.
Cinderella stories only happened in dramas. Not real life.
She wasn't the heroine of this flashy hero epic. She was 'supporting character #1' at best.
No, probably #26 or something...
But human hearts don't sort themselves out like slicing with a knife.
Logic screamed 'no way' and 'give up' a thousand times, but her emotions had already tilted toward him.
One compliment made her day; his indifferent face crushed her.
In the end, Jo Ayoung compromised with herself.
'C'mon, liking him isn't a crime, right? I'm not saying I wanna marry the president or date him?'
Just watching from afar.
Cheering when he succeeded, quietly helping when he struggled. That should be fine, yeah?
'Yeah. I'm purely just... hoping President Woojin does well...'
Right, this wasn't love. It was fandom. Like a girl fan gazing at her idol.
"Fandom! It's fandom. Yeah, fandom!"
She tried brainwashing herself, but the bursting shame was unstoppable.
"Uwaaaah! I don't know! Seriously!"
Unable to hold back, Jo Ayoung buried her face in a pillow.
Admitting her feelings brought a flood of embarrassment.
She kicked the blanket wildly and threw high kicks into the air.
That's when it happened.
"What're you doing? Gave you a week off, and you're messing around at home like a bum."
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!!??"
She thought her heart would leap out.
That so-familiar, longed-for voice.
Jo Ayoung jolted up in shock.
Kim Woojin stood there, arms crossed, looking down at her pitifully. When had he come in?
"P-President?! H-how did you... No, since when?!"
"Just now. I know your door code. The kids told me."
So shameless.
"Still, you should've made some noise...!"
"You were too busy daydreaming to notice. What dirty thoughts were you having that you didn't even hear someone come in?"
"D-dirty?!"
Jo Ayoung's face turned tomato-red.
No way he'd seen her freakout just now, right?
As she floundered, soul half-out-of-body, the living room scene came into view.
Her siblings, back from school, were already clinging to Woojin.
"Uncle~ Handsome Woojin Uncle!"
Gayoung hung off his leg like a cicada, acting all cute.
Woojin chuckled and patted her head.
"Good job, Jo Gayoung. Kids gotta be honest and straightforward like that. I'll buy you chicken today."
"Kyaaa!! Uncle's the best! Super awesome!"
Meanwhile, beside her, Jinyoung had her head on the floor, butt up, grunting. The classic mountain bomber pose.
"Jo Jinyoung. Did you do wrong, or not?"
"I-I did wrong... Uncle... ngh..."
Woojin scolded in mock sternness.
"You and Gayoung are twins, but she's strictly the big sis. Born three minutes earlier—that makes her your sky-high sister. And what? You hid her shoes? Where'd you learn to be such a brat."
"Wanna have a little one-on-one with Uncle? Military-style mind training, nice and intense?"
"B-but Uncle, you never went to the army... right...?"
"Oh? So you wanna see blood after all?"
"No sir! I won't do it again! My bad!"
Jinyoung yelled with a tearful face.
The kid who tormented Jo Ayoung at home turned into a lamb before Woojin.
Jo Ayoung stared blankly at the sight.
Woojin's rough but kind way with the kids.
A faint smile spread across her lips before she knew it.
It felt reassuring.
Just having him in the living room made the empty house feel full.
'Sigh... How could I not fall for him?'
She hurriedly straightened her clothes and stood.
"So... why'd you come without warning? To play with the kids?"
For a split second—0.1 seconds—she harbored a vain hope: Maybe he missed me?
Woojin gestured at Jinyoung to "get up and scram," then looked at her indifferently.
"Yeah. Got some business with you today."
"W-with me?"
"Yep. Come with me somewhere."
"Huh? A d-date... I mean, where?"
Ayoung swallowed 'date' and asked.
'No way he heard that? Idiot, why say it out loud?!'
But Woojin looked surprised, as if she was onto something.
"How'd you know? We're going to a gate."
"......Huh?"
Misunderstanding from similar sounds.
"You had a week off, right? Time to work."
Jo Ayoung stared blankly at Woojin for a moment.
"N-no! What kinda work do you do at a gate!? Aren't we an online shop?"
"Yeah, no."
Of course.
Her crush was far from romantic.
But gates were dangerous. The president could get hurt.
"Not going? Better come while I'm asking nicely."
"G-going! Who said no?"
Jo Ayoung put on a reluctant act.
Date or gate, whatever.
If she could be with him, she'd go anywhere.
"Get ready and come out. Waiting outside."
Woojin waved to the kids and left.
Jo Ayoung dashed to her room and stood before the mirror.
"Tint... where's my tint?"
Fixing makeup for a dungeon was ridiculous.
But the girl in the mirror looked happier than ever.
'I'll just like him. That's enough for now.'