Chapter 103: Party (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 103: Party (4)
“Alright.”
Yu Serin accepted Jung Hae-in’s “three questions” condition.
She’d already been rejected anyway, so she figured this was better than nothing.
Come to think of it, this wasn’t a party just anyone could attend.
It certainly wasn’t a place for a student.
“But… how did you… get into the party?”
She voiced a question that had just occurred to her. Jung Hae-in chuckled softly.
“Is that one of your questions?”
“No! No, absolutely not!”
Yu Serin waved her hands in a hurry.
Normally, she preferred to lead conversations at her own leisurely pace.
That was her way, and it usually worked.
But for some reason, whenever she spoke with Jung Hae-in, her rhythm kept getting thrown off.
He’s just a student…
It wasn’t an exhausting feeling, like she was being worn down.
It was more like being effortlessly pulled in.
“…You’re quite different from what I expected.”
As Yu Serin murmured this, Jung Hae-in tilted his head.
“How so?”
“I had the impression you were a bit sharper, Hae-in.”
Jung Hae-in let out a short laugh at her words.
He shook the can in his hand and said, “Must be the beer.”
“Does beer change a person’s impression?”
“Of course. The beer might not, but the buzz does.”
He took a sip of his beer with a smile.
Yu Serin didn’t smile back. Instead, she narrowed her eyes.
Then she spoke.
“I’ve decided on my first question.”
“Good.”
Jung Hae-in nodded.
Yu Serin took a moment to compose herself.
Then, very carefully, but enunciating every word, she asked, “Why did you reject Lotus?”
There was no hint of teasing or testing in her voice.
She was asking in earnest.
Before joining the Scout Department, Yu Serin had reviewed the records of how Lotus had approached Jung Hae-in.
She hadn’t been there at the time.
But the traces it left behind were disgusting.
It was an utterly typical and despicable method.
She had tried to change that.
She had resolved to at least get rid of such methods, and she had been doing just that.
Of course, as of today, she had been pushed aside again.
So she asked.
“I didn’t like the way Lotus approached me before,” Jung Hae-in began.
Yu Serin briefly lowered her gaze.
So that was the problem.
And yet… for some reason, it didn’t feel like that was the whole story.
Jung Hae-in continued, “But if I just say that, I don’t think you’ll find it very convincing.”
He took a short breath and lifted his head.
His gaze pierced straight through Yu Serin, without a hint of hesitation.
“Do you think a flower can bloom in a trash can?”
Jung Hae-in asked playfully.
Yu Serin unconsciously furrowed her brow.
She felt it instinctively.
The word ‘flower’ didn’t seem to be referring to him.
Jung Hae-in tilted his beer can once.
He didn’t bring it to his lips, just swirled it.
“Wouldn’t most of them die? In that sense, I’m not a flower, and my roots aren’t particularly strong. So… a trash can won’t do.”
Even though he used the blunt term ‘trash can.’
His words were neither brazen nor aggressive.
They just sounded like a calm conviction.
That was how she naturally perceived it.
She wasn’t offended.
If anything, it was refreshing.
Because, in truth, Yu Serin herself already knew.
She let out a small sigh.
“Let’s say Lotus is the trash can. Then who is the trash?”
Jung Hae-in tapped the top of the can with his fingertips.
He gave a short laugh.
Only the corners of his mouth moved; his eyes didn’t smile.
“You already know, don’t you?”
Yu Serin drew in a sharp breath.
She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it.
“…I’m canceling that question.”
“As you wish.”
His tone was placid.
From beginning to end.
Yu Serin watched Jung Hae-in for a moment before speaking again.
It was her second question.
“Then… if you empty the trash, will the trash can become clean?”
At some point, Yu Serin’s questions were no longer about Jung Hae-in.
They were questions she had been asking herself all along.
Answers she had desperately wanted someone to give her.
Jung Hae-in held the half-empty can in his hand, mulling over her question for a long time.
“The trash can probably didn’t know it was going to become a trash can at first.”
“……”
“In the beginning, it was probably a flowerpot for pretty flowers and trees. But then, somehow, a plastic bag got in, then some garbage… and then, at some point.”
Jung Hae-in spoke with a faint smile.
“I wonder if its very essence hasn’t changed.”
He set the can down and continued.
“Even if you empty it, it’s only for a moment. It will be filled with trash again.”
Yu Serin knew.
She knew he wasn’t wrong.
It was a conclusion she herself had reached countless times.
And yet… and yet…
She just… had to ask.
“Why… are you so sure?”
Her voice trembled slightly.
She forced the question out, trying to suppress the emotion welling up inside her.
At her words, Jung Hae-in’s expression turned slightly apologetic.
“…I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”
For a moment, a look of genuine remorse crossed his face.
In a way, he was the one who had designed that version of Lotus to be a trash can.
He felt a sense of debt over it.
Moisture welled in Yu Serin’s eyes.
She wasn’t crying because she wanted to. She was trying not to, but she couldn’t stop it.
It wasn’t just because of their conversation.
From morning through the afternoon.
The emotions that had tormented her had piled up one by one, breaking the dam and breaking her along with it.
Jung Hae-in watched her and said nothing.
He quietly turned his head to look at the night view.
Several minutes passed like that.
The third question still remained.
But Yu Serin didn’t speak.
He didn’t rush her, waiting until she had calmed down.
The beer can he was holding was now empty.
Jung Hae-in, who had been lightly rolling the empty can with his fingertips, finally spoke.
“That’s more like it.”
He placed the can on the table.
“I prefer a beer like this to the party’s wine.”
The moment she heard those words, Yu Serin lifted her head.
For some reason, his words struck a chord.
Because she was the same.
The wine was just for show.
What she really enjoyed was a familiar beer.
Yu Serin watched Jung Hae-in, who was sitting with his chin propped on his hand.
A man gazing at the night sky, chin in hand.
Objectively handsome, with a unique impression that was both gentle and sharp.
But the direction of his eyes, the angle of his body, and even the tapping of his foot.
His entire consciousness was focused on her.
He was paying attention to me the whole time.
Even while saying things that cut her to the core.
He had also been worried about her feelings.
Only now was she starting to see it all.
She hadn’t realized it before, too caught up in her own breakdown.
It was the moment her senses began to function again.
“Pfft.”
A short laugh escaped her lips.
Jung Hae-in turned his head to look at her.
“What is it?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Yu Serin stroked her chin for no reason and said, “Hae-in. You must be popular with the female students, aren’t you?”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Jung Hae-in replied with a slight smile.
Now, it was time for the final question.
Yu Serin mentally pulled out the question she had been holding deep inside.
Then what should I do?
She wanted to ask.
She felt that if it was Jung Hae-in, he would somehow give her an answer.
That he would pretend he couldn’t help it and give her the perfect solution.
But she…
She pushed the surging question back down.
The words rose to her throat, then quietly subsided.
She smiled and lifted her head.
“Jung Hae-in. No, Hae-in.”
The ‘student’ title ended here.
She wasn’t a scout anymore, just a mere sub-guild master.
And they were both adults anyway.
Person to person.
What was stopping them?
“What is your relationship with Vice-Representative Kang A-rin?”
Clatter, clatter.
The empty beer can, released from Jung Hae-in’s fingertips, rolled across the floor.
The can slowly spun as it rolled toward Yu Serin.
His expression hardened slightly.
This was not the question he had expected.
He had thought she would ask, ‘What should I do?’ and he had planned to offer some light advice.
But for her to ask something like this…
The beer can rolled to a stop right in front of her.
Yu Serin stopped the can with her foot and looked at him with a smile.
It was the first time she had flustered him.
“Wh-what relationship?”
Jung Hae-in stammered, and Yu Serin slowly shrugged.
“That is my question~”
Yu Serin was now completely back in her element.
Just then.
Creeak.
The rooftop door, which had been silent, opened.
Click, clack. The familiar sound of high heels.
“Jung Hae-in.”
It was Kang A-rin.
She stepped through the doorway and quickly scanned her surroundings.
Then, her brow furrowed slightly.
“I told you to take a break. Not to abandon your partner.”
She took a short breath and walked toward Jung Hae-in.
“The party’s over. Let’s go.”
“Already?”
Jung Hae-in replied nonchalantly.
Only then did Kang A-rin’s gaze shift to the person sitting next to him.
To Yu Serin, to be exact.
She had tried so hard to prevent this, but they had ended up meeting after all.
She had expected it, but seeing them together still made her stomach churn.
But Yu Serin wasn’t the least bit intimidated.
On the contrary, she smiled brightly, stretched out her legs, and leaned back even more leisurely.
“Vice-Representative~ It’s been a while~”
“Yes.”
Kang A-rin gave a short reply and averted her gaze.
She was the type to get tired of people easily.
She immediately reached for Jung Hae-in’s arm.
Squeeze.
She linked her arm through his with practiced ease, pressing her body close.
“I was worried my ‘partner’ might have disturbed your precious time, Vice-Representative.”
“Not at all~”
Yu Serin beamed.
“I had a wonderful time.”
“Hae-in is just the type to be nice to everyone… so you don’t need to think it was anything special.”
“Is that so?”
Yu Serin smiled with her eyes once more.
Kang A-rin said no more, simply pulling Jung Hae-in’s arm a little tighter.
The two of them left the rooftop.
The rooftop grew quiet.
Only the wind remained.
Yu Serin slipped off her heels and, standing on her tiptoes, looked up at the night sky.
The emotions that had felt on the verge of collapse had finally found their place again.
Yu Serin gazed at the night sky.
“The weather’s nice~”
She murmured to herself, nudging the empty beer can with her foot.
Clatter, clatter.
The can rolled in a similar direction to the one Jung Hae-in had rolled.
“Oh?”
And the can rolled and rolled… until it came to a perfect stop right next to the other one.
“Ahaha!”
Yu Serin laughed out loud.
It was a short but sparkling smile.