Choi Jian (3)
"A-Apex Guild?!"
"...I don't think it's anything to get that shocked about."
"I-Is that the Apex Guild? The one I know?"
"Probably, yes."
"Hieeeek...!"
Choi Jian sucked in a huge breath.
"Th-Then you're an incredibly important person, aren't you?!"
"I'm not that important. And the Apex Guild you know from the old days is probably a lot different from what it is now."
Truth be told, I'd made the offer — but I wasn't sure it was the right call.
I don't even have money to give her right now. Is proposing a contract first even the right move?
Never mind that I'd never had the slightest intention of running a guild until now. The real problem was simpler than that: I had no money to my name.
"...Do you need a lot of money, by any chance?"
"Huh? Ah, well..."
Choi Jian fidgeted for a moment, then finally managed to speak.
"My mother... she used to gamble. She lost a lot of money. My father passed away early, too, so I'm the one who has to pay it back..."
"What."
My brow furrowed on the spot.
"...Why are you the one paying off a gambling debt?"
"Huh? W-Well, because we're family..."
Because we're family. The textbook answer. And at the same time, an answer I couldn't understand at all.
"Besides 'because we're family' — is there any other reason?"
"Uh... no. I don't think so."
"Haaah..."
I didn't bother holding the sigh back. I dragged both hands down my face.
"I-Is there a problem?"
"A problem? Yeah. Plenty."
"What?"
"For starters, I don't have any money."
Better to be honest, at least. I wanted her on board, but I wasn't about to lie to get her there.
"Like I already said, I can't offer much of a signing bonus — or much of a salary, for that matter."
"Ah..."
"What I can offer you, though, is a promise. As many as you want."
A promise that I'd help her fully awaken her talent. A promise that I wouldn't suppress her or pressure her the way everyone around her always had.
"That's all I've got. If you don't like it, you're free to walk away."
Honestly, I wasn't confident. But I had to try.
"...I don't want to go around passing judgment on your family. But I can't help thinking this is anything but normal."
Choi Jian's expression tightened. I regretted it immediately.
Should've kept my mouth shut after all.
I might have just stepped on a landmine. I was about to apologize when—
"I'm sor—"
"You're right, Yeonwoo."
Choi Jian nodded, her voice even.
"We're not... a normal family, are we."
But her face wasn't nearly as even as her voice. A few droplets fell onto the knees of the girl sitting with her head bowed.
"Honestly, I've thought about it myself a few times. No matter how I look at it, we're not a normal family."
"Is that so?"
"We've even fought about it a few times. I'd ask her — it's a debt she ran up gambling, so why do I have to pay all of it back? And every time, Mom... my mother would say..."
She stopped, wiping at the corners of her eyes.
"...You're my daughter. Do you know how much money I've spent on you all these years? You can't even do this one thing for me? You're Awakened now — of course you should. Your dead father would think the same. After everything I went through to quit gambling, the least you can do is this. That's what she said. Every single time."
"That's complete nonsense."
I cut in without hesitation.
"Those are things a normal family would never say."
"I-I guess so, right...?"
Choi Jian hung her head, fidgeting with her hands.
"...It's weird. Normally, even when other people said the same thing, I just couldn't accept it. I'd just think... they don't understand, that's why they're saying that."
"And now it's different?"
Choi Jian gave a small nod.
"I don't know why, but... I think everything up until now was wrong. I think I was the strange one."
"I see."
"I..."
She couldn't finish. Her shoulders trembled, then she startled and rubbed at her eyes.
"I-I'm sorry. I don't know why I suddenly..."
"It's fine."
Her emotions must have come rushing up all at once. After a moment, she finished wiping her tears and looked me straight in the eye.
"I... actually, I don't need that much money. I don't think I will. Instead... please help me."
"Help you with what?"
Choi Jian downed the rest of her beer in one go, then looked at me with a sheepish little laugh.
"If I get that far, money won't really matter, right?"
"Well. Yeah. Probably."
Whatever the case, it seemed her decision was already made. I finished off the rest of my own beer, stood up from the bench, and offered her my hand.
"I'll get a contract ready and bring it over soon. I'll send it to the number you gave me — let's meet again quickly."
"Uh, about that..."
"Hm?"
But she made no move to take my hand. She just rolled her eyes around, looking thoroughly flustered.
"What's wrong?"
"I-If I go home like this, I think my mother will just sweep me up again..."
Choi Jian looked up at me, fidgeting restlessly.
"I... I don't want to go home..."
"...Then don't go home."
"Then I won't have anywhere to sleep..."
"...?"
Choi Jian's face went red as she looked away.
"C-Could I maybe stay at your place...? Just for tonight..."
"...Excuse me?"
What the hell was this girl even saying. I asked again in disbelief, and Choi Jian scrambled to explain.
"I-I'm not thinking anything weird! Really! You can just let me sleep on the floor!"
"You could just go to a motel."
"I-I don't have any money... I, um, I usually only have enough for transit fare..."
You've got to be kidding me.
"...You're just sleeping. That's it."
"Yes, of course!"
Her face lit up as she hurried after me.
...Wait.
Come to think of it, there was something I'd been wondering.
"Then how did you buy the beer?"
"Huh? Oh, convenience stores take transit cards. So I was thinking I'd have to walk everywhere starting tomorrow... hehe."
"..."
I shouldn't have asked. I instantly felt like the worst kind of scumbag.
"I-It's okay, though! I got a lot of good advice, so...!"
"...Let's grab a few more beers. I'll buy."
"This is my place. It's pretty small, but it's livable enough."
"Whoa..."
Choi Jian looked around the studio with sparkling eyes.
"There's not much to look at, even if you stare. Ah — you can sit over there."
"Ah, okay!"
Small as it was, there was enough floor space for two people to sit. I spread the beer cans and the snacks I'd picked up to go with them across the floor, and we settled down.
"I-I've never done anything like this before. It's kind of exciting."
"Same here."
Never in a million years did I think I'd bring someone else — a woman, no less — back to my place to drink beer.
"Sh-Should I start calling you Guild Master from now on?"
"Not yet. You should be careful about signing a contract."
"Um... even so, I'd really rather do it with you, Yeonwoo."
"Would you?"
"Yes."
Choi Jian nodded without a shred of hesitation.
"SSS-Rank — that wasn't a joke, right?"
"...No, it wasn't."
That was what the status window had said, after all. Though there was a limit to how much I could actually fix for her... wait.
What's this?
I'd opened the status window without thinking, and some interesting text had appeared.
Some Mana Circuits can currently be developed through simple training.
Expected rank increase upon completing training: E → D
Recommended training: Form a cup out of ice, pour beer into it, and drink
"...?"
Could a rank really go up from training like that?
It seems dubious, but the status window has never been wrong so far...
Still, if I just came out and called it training, she'd look at me weird.
"Jian. Can you make a cup out of ice?"
"Huh? Oh, yes. I think I can."
"...It's pretty hot out. Think you could make one for me?"
"That's easy!"
Choi Jian formed a cup of ice without a hint of suspicion and was about to hand it over, then paused.
"...Hold on. If I leave it like this, the handle will be freezing, and it'll melt right away."
She muttered to herself, then closed her eyes and focused, still holding the ice cup. Then she held it out to me again.
"There. You can hold it now!"
"Ah, thanks... it really isn't cold?"
"Hehe. I put a little thought into it."
"Did you, now?"
Even knowing it was made of mana, I couldn't help being impressed.
"Thanks to you, I realized I could use my Trait this way too—"
She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes going wide.
The status window told me why.
A moment later, Choi Jian stared at me with enormous eyes.
"Yeonwoo, I..."
"Yes."
I nodded calmly.
"Congratulations. Looks like you'll need to get your rank reassessed."