Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: The Blind Date
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Time flew by.
His days were primarily spent mopping up the remaining monsters.
Since most of them had been wiped out during the Red Orc operation, his job now was to find and eliminate any that were left hiding.
"Huh? Chief, come take a look at this! See this? It's a Tauros corpse, but there's nothing on it. No horns, no sinews, nothing."
Occasionally, they would find monster carcasses completely empty, with nothing worth salvaging as loot.
Of course, this was all Do-jae's doing.
Thanks to his existing 'Wolf Slayer' title and the newly acquired 'Orc Slayer' title, all the loot from these creatures was automatically stored in his subspace without him having to lift a finger.
While it allowed him to make a tidy profit, Do-jae felt a pang of guilt and would occasionally use the money to buy his squad members drinks.
And yet, for some reason, his bank balance never seemed to grow.
"That'll be 32 servings of pork belly, 15 bowls of rice, 29 bottles of soju, and 41 bottles of beer. You had 3 soft drinks, but I'll make those complimentary."
How could his savings possibly increase at this rate?
As expected of able-bodied young men, they ate heartily and drank like fish.
It wasn't as if a mere squad chief in the Suppression Corps would have a corporate card.
No matter how many mana stones he had stashed away deep in his subspace, it reached a point where just looking at the receipt was enough to bring a tear to his eye.
Speaking of mana stones, it was time to talk about the golems.
"Squad Chief Lee… we are getting all our mana stones back, right? We are, aren't we? It's a shame about the ones that were destroyed, but those were the golems made from your mana stones. Weren't they?"
The six golems lost during the war.
Unit Commander Song Hoon had written off all six as golems made from Do-jae's mana stones.
Do-jae thought that if he had known this would happen, he should have at least numbered them, but what could he do about it now?
Besides, Song Hoon was practically begging him. In the end, Do-jae decided to take the loss.
In return, he made sure to get Song Hoon's promise to help him out, no questions asked, should anything happen in the future.
"Are you heading out today?"
"Yeah. Going to see my little brother."
"Oh, is that so? You should bring him by sometime. I'd like to meet your brother."
"I'll try."
As things became less hectic, he found himself going down to Seoul more often.
On his days off, he would spend the entire day with his brother, and on weekdays, he would leave work early to take care of things.
With his brother's discharge from the hospital approaching, he had to look into schools and academies, and he spent entire evenings wandering through stationery stores buying everything from a new backpack to notebooks and writing utensils.
Not only that, but he also had to take his brother out to buy him clothes and just have fun.
Dropping his brother off late at night was tiring, but it made him happy.
And so, he spent his days in peaceful routine, until one day.
*Ring—.*
A phone call came.
***
*Swoosh—.*
The curtain of the bed was drawn open.
Inside, Do-jae stood ramrod straight.
"No, no. This isn't it."
"He's right. Chief, that's really not it."
Song Ji-yoon and Kang Eun-taek shook their heads as they spoke.
It wasn't just the two of them; Yook Hyun-jae, Park Jin-ho, and Lee Seung-han, who were also in the barracks, wore expressions of clear disapproval.
"Why? What's not it?"
Do-jae asked confidently.
As far as he was concerned, there was nothing wrong.
"You're really asking because you don't know?"
"Chief… what kind of life have you been living…?"
At Kang Eun-taek's words, the other three burst into laughter.
Song Ji-yoon, her face scrunched up in a deep frown, finally spoke in a stern voice as if she couldn't take it anymore.
"Chief, lay out all the clothes you own on the bed."
"It's a hassle. This is good enough."
"No, it's not! Hurry up and lay them out."
"Hah. Fine."
Unable to resist Song Ji-yoon's nagging, Do-jae began to take out his clothes one by one.
Three sets of Suppression Corps uniforms, three dress shirts, one white round-neck t-shirt, one black round-neck t-shirt, one hoodie, one pair of cotton pants, one pair of jeans, and three sets of tracksuits.
"Is this for real? This is really all you have?"
Song Ji-yoon clutched her head as if in shock.
What did they expect from a man who had spent his entire life clearing dungeons?
A few sets of tough, durable work clothes had always been enough for him.
"What about shoes?"
Do-jae took out his shoes as well.
A pair of Suppression Corps-issue combat boots, a pair of gray sneakers, and two pairs of slippers. That was it.
"Ha… hahaha… I'm going to lose my mind! Seriously."
With a hollow laugh, Song Ji-yoon began to pace around the bed.
She quickly concluded that there was no way to work with this.
"You, and you. Open your lockers."
"Me?"
"Me?"
"Yes, you two. Get all your clothes out."
Song Ji-yoon pointed at Yook Hyun-jae and Park Jin-ho.
Of all the people there, she had singled out the two who were closest to Do-jae's build.
"We'll go with this for the jacket and pants."
Song Ji-yoon picked out a light beige jacket and pants from Park Jin-ho's clothes.
At that, Park Jin-ho's face fell.
"Those are expensive…"
"Quiet."
She then moved over to Yook Hyun-jae's bed.
From under his bed, she pulled out a pair of white sneakers.
"Chief, what's your shoe size?"
"275."
"Perfect. Hey, the chief's borrowing these, okay?"
Yook Hyun-jae just smiled and nodded.
Having assembled a complete outfit, Song Ji-yoon handed the clothes to Do-jae.
"Try these on. Wear the white t-shirt you have underneath."
"Ahem. Jin-ho, my bad. I'll buy you a new set, exactly the same."
"Sniff. It's alright, sir. It's not that I mind you wearing them, but… please be careful."
Leaving the worried Park Jin-ho behind.
Do-jae changed into the clothes he was given.
It was his first time wearing a suit.
Fortunately, Park Jin-ho's clothes fit him perfectly.
Yook Hyun-jae's shoes weren't too big or too small, either.
*Swoosh—.*
"Is this better?"
*Clap, clap, clap—.*
"You look great, Chief!"
"Now you look like a proper human being."
Seeing the dapper Do-jae, Kang Eun-taek clapped his hands in delight.
Song Ji-yoon also nodded repeatedly, looking satisfied.
"They were a little big on me. But they're a perfect fit for you, Chief. Like they found their rightful owner."
Even Park Jin-ho had to admit it.
Sadly, the clothes looked much better on Do-jae than on him.
"Last thing, your hair!"
Song Ji-yoon went to her bed and returned with a box full of something.
It was a box filled with a comb, a hairdryer, a hair straightener, and hair rollers of various sizes.
"Sit down. The finishing touch to any style is the hair."
"That's enough. My hair is fine."
"Oh, come on. You're going to back out now? After you've done everything else we told you to."
"Ah… alright."
In the end, Do-jae obediently sat on the bed and entrusted his hair to Song Ji-yoon's hands.
"Alright, just trust me."
Following Song Ji-yoon's touch, Do-jae's hair began to gain volume.
Unfamiliar clothes and unfamiliar shoes.
His first-ever hairstyling session.
Everything was new and strange to Do-jae.
"This is not easy."
*Whirrrr—!*
"Huh? What did you say?"
The sound of the hairdryer drowned out Do-jae's mutterings.
Looking back, this whole commotion was Lee Ji-woong's fault.
The previous night, Do-jae had received a phone call.
The content of the call was a bit awkward, so he had stepped out of the barracks to talk quietly outside.
But as luck would have it, he was spotted by Lee Ji-woong, who was just returning from an outing.
Lee Ji-woong had quietly come inside and spread the story to the members of Squad 3.
The moment Do-jae finished his long call and came back in, twenty eyes were fixed on him. Song Ji-yoon asked.
"Chief, are you going on a blind date?"
That's right.
The phone call Do-jae had received was to arrange a blind date.
He hadn't wanted to go, but the person on the other end had been so persistent that he had ended up promising he would.
And so, time passed, the day of the date arrived, and this whole situation unfolded.
"Ugh. Well, I'm heading out…"
Do-jae said in a gloomy voice.
The members of Squad 3 saw him off with cheerful voices.
"Good luck!"
"Chief… you have to succeed!"
Not long after Do-jae left, Song Ji-yoon started putting on her coat.
Yook Hyun-jae looked at her and asked.
"Why are you putting on your coat?"
"And what are you doing?"
"Huh?"
"Get dressed, quickly!"
"Huh? Why?"
"Tsk. Get dressed if you don't want to die."
"…Alright."
As Song Ji-yoon clenched her fist, Yook Hyun-jae resigned himself and changed his clothes.
Then, cautiously and secretly, they began to follow Do-jae.
***
A street in Seoul.
An alley lined with charming cafes.
Song Ji-yoon turned and pressed her face right up against a glass window.
"Damn it, why does he look so scared?"
"Really? He looks the same as usual to me."
"What do you mean, the same? It's painfully obvious how nervous he is."
"You think so?"
Yook Hyun-jae replied nonchalantly, sipping his hot chocolate.
He had a habit of taking whatever Song Ji-yoon did in stride.
"When is she going to get here? There's not much time left until the meeting."
*Nibble, nibble—.*
Song Ji-yoon bit her nails as she looked at her watch.
The current time was 3:58 PM.
The meeting was at 4:00, but no one had shown up yet.
"Ji-yoon, why are you the one who's so nervous?"
"How can I not be? He said this is his first blind date."
"What's that got to do with you?"
"Damn it, don't you have any camaraderie? He's our chief. Of course, we should be concerned."
"I don't think the chief likes it very much…"
As Song Ji-yoon glared at him, Yook Hyun-jae went back to sipping his hot chocolate.
To explain their relationship briefly.
They had joined the Suppression Corps on the same day and had spent a long time together.
They were also the same age, lived close to each other, and had similar tastes, so they had become best friends.
However, their personalities were complete opposites—one was like fire, the other like water. Yet, sometimes these opposing traits blended well, leading to a good compromise.
Though, it was usually Yook Hyun-jae who ended up accommodating Song Ji-yoon's temper.
"Hey, what time is it?"
"4:05."
*Thump—.*
"Unbelievable. She's late? If it were me, I would've been here at least thirty minutes early."
"Ji-yoon, keep it down."
The eyes of the other customers turned towards them.
The cafe employee's gaze was particularly unfriendly.
*Nod—.*
Yook Hyun-jae smiled and gave a slight bow to the employee, then picked up a napkin and wiped the window.
He was cleaning off the conspicuous sweat and handprints Song Ji-yoon had left behind.
"Calm down and have a drink. You ordered it but haven't taken a single sip."
"Hah. Alright."
Song Ji-yoon gulped down her iced chocolate.
She finished it in a single, mighty gulp.
After downing her drink, she clenched her fist.
"If anything happens to make the chief's expression change, I swear I'll…"
"Hey, Ji-yoon."
"Yeah?"
"By any chance… do you like the chief?"
"What? Are you crazy? *Cough, cough*."
At Yook Hyun-jae's question, Song Ji-yoon waved her hands dismissively.
She even let out a dry cough as if she had choked.
"Why would I like the chief? A guy who's that stoic and boring."
"The chief is pretty handsome, though. And he's kind. I'll admit he's not fun, but he's a good person."
"Whatever. I told you I like funny guys. Like, who was it, right, Yoo Jae-dong! He's funny and smart!"
Yook Hyun-jae noticed that the tips of her ears had turned red.
She could hide her expression as much as she wanted, but she couldn't do anything about her ears.
"You mean the guy who looks like a grasshopper? Oh? She's here."
Yook Hyun-jae had been thinking of the nation's top MC and comedian.
Just then, his eyes caught a woman stopping in front of Do-jae.
Instantly, Song Ji-yoon turned and began scanning her through the window.
And the first words out of her mouth were.
"Holy crap… she's gorgeous."