Chapter 238: Exchange (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 238: Exchange (1)
Yu Serin and I headed to our respective showers.
Afterward, feeling fresh and clean, we decided that since fate had brought us together, we might as well have breakfast.
“What do you want to eat?”
“I’m fine with anything.”
…….
Anything, huh…
One of the toughest questions for any Korean.
But I’d heard it so many times from the others that I was used to it.
Come to think of it, I remembered Yu Serin had made me dried pollack soup last time.
Maybe I should cook for her today.
A-rin had given me a place to use nearby.
She’d even gotten it fully furnished with a kitchen so I could cook. All I’d need to do was buy some ingredients and head over.
“Then I’ll cook for you. A home-cooked meal.”
“What? You, Hae-in?”
Yu Serin’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s.
She already had a gentle look, but with her eyes wide like that, she was quite cute.
“I have a place nearby. The kitchen is nice, too.”
“I’d love that… I’ve been doing nothing but training since I went down to Busan, living on energy bars.”
“Energy bars? Weren’t you sent there to rest?”
“I was, but… I figured it was better to train than to just sit around doing nothing.”
I see.
I’m the same way.
If someone told me to just rest, I don’t think I could.
“Then follow me.”
I smiled and led the way.
Yu Serin and I went grocery shopping at a supermarket and then headed to my place.
It was called a lodging, but it was really just a huge studio apartment.
We laid out the groceries on the kitchen island.
I finally got a menu request out of her.
Beef brisket soybean paste stew.
– Chop, chop, chop.
The sound of a knife filled the kitchen.
While I was chopping green onions, onions, and zucchini, a savory aroma began to rise from beside me.
– Sizzle.
Yu Serin was making a rolled omelet.
“I told you, you don’t have to do anything.”
“I don’t want to. I should at least earn my keep.”
She wasn’t the type to use fancy techniques, but she was practical, pressing the omelet down firmly to make it thick and substantial.
I prefer it that way, too.
We worked well together.
I’d prepare the ingredients and pass them to her, and she would stir-fry or tidy up. Even when our paths crossed, we moved around each other as smoothly as flowing water.
It was a sense of stability completely different from that of a certain saintess I know, who clatters around so much in the kitchen that it’s better if she just stays out.
Before long, the soybean paste stew was boiling.
A rich, savory scent filled the air.
I ladled a spoonful of the broth, blew on it to cool it down, and held it out to her.
“Could you taste this for me?”
Yu Serin stopped chopping and came closer.
She approached and lowered her head slightly.
She tucked her short hair behind her ear and carefully brought her lips to the spoon.
“…Huh?”
“What is it?”
What, is it bad?
I tensed up a little. I had faith in the skills I’d honed for decades, but…
Maybe I should have been more liberal with the seasoning.
“…It tastes like something you’d buy at a restaurant. I think it’s even better than my aunt’s.”
“Ah, you surprised me.”
You had me worried.
She took a new spoon and tasted it again.
– Slurp.
Then, as if seriously pondering something, she quietly muttered to herself.
“Hmm, my… Is there anything you can’t do? You’re even a good cook.”
There was a strange glint in her eyes.
It seemed she was done tasting, so that was that.
I dished out the steaming rice and placed it on the table.
Breakfast was ready…
– Beep, beep, beep. Chirp.
And just then, we heard the sound of the electronic lock disengaging.
“?”
“?”
Spoons in hand, Yu Serin and I froze and looked at each other.
Then, we both slowly turned our heads toward the front door.
“Are you done with your workout, Hae-in? I saw the log, you went to the gym today~”
She chattered as she entered the apartment, still out of sight beyond the kitchen wall.
As natural as if she were walking into her own home.
Which, in fact, it was.
“Is that doenjang-jjigae? How did you know it’s my favori—”
And then she rounded the corner.
Her eyes met mine, and Yu Serin’s.
“—ite?”
Her voice trailed off.
Her gaze slowly drifted to the dining table.
A breakfast table clearly set for two.
Kang A-rin stopped dead in her tracks.
“Hmmph…”
She let out a low hum through her nose.
Yu Serin shot me an urgent sideways glance, her hand tapping my leg under the table.
‘Help me!’
Her eyes seemed to plead.
But Kang A-rin’s reaction was not what I expected.
“Dish me up a bowl, too.”
Surprisingly, she approached me with a bright smile.
“Looks delicious.”
She rested her chin on her hand and gave Yu Serin a sweet smile.
“Enjoy your meal, Serin. Hae-in is a great cook.”
“Ah… yes. Thank you.”
Yu Serin gave an awkward nod and sat down.
As I dished out the rice.
“Honey.”
Kang A-rin called out to me.
“?!”
Across the table, Yu Serin’s hand, which had been about to scoop some stew, froze mid-air.
Her pupils trembled violently as she looked back and forth between me, dishing out rice, and Kang A-rin, who was resting her chin on her hand.
“I’m hungry. Hurry up.”
Her red eyes twinkled.
I’d wondered why she was acting so calm.
It seems she was confident.
There’s nothing like that going on with me and Yu Serin.
With a bitter smile, I placed a heaping bowl of rice in front of Kang A-rin.
“Eat up.”
“Mhm~”
Then I stroked her head.
Kang A-rin narrowed her eyes and nuzzled against my hand.
I turned my gaze to Yu Serin, who was frozen like a statue.
“You enjoy your meal too, Serin.”
“Ah, yes… I will.”
She finally brought a spoonful of rice to her mouth.
As for me…
“Say ‘ah~’.”
I ate the spoonful of rice Kang A-rin offered me.
I ate my breakfast, looking back and forth between the two of them.
After that suffocating meal was over,
“I should get going!”
Yu Serin left in a hurry, like a frightened rabbit.
We had planned to part ways after eating, but…
She definitely wasn’t leaving early because of Kang A-rin.
Probably.
– Click.
The electronic lock engaged.
Once again, it was just me and Kang A-rin left in the apartment.
I started gathering my things.
“…I should get going, too. I have school tomorrow… and I need to prepare….”
– Clack.
“?”
The door was double-locked.
I stiffly turned my head.
Kang A-rin was standing at the door, taking her hand off the lock she had just engaged, looking at me.
“Where are you going?”
“To… school.”
“School is tomorrow.”
Kang A-rin slowly approached me.
“You’re going somewhere else today.”
“……”
– Drag…
My futile resistance was meaningless.
I was dragged straight to the bedroom.
That evening, until the moon rose.
Kang A-rin drained every last bit of the Fragment of Harmony’s energy from me.
The bedroom door did not open once.
*
The next morning, at Gaon.
“Ugh.”
I’m dead tired.
I may be a hero, but…
the women I’m dealing with are heroes, too.
S-Class-level heroes, at that.
I thought I’d be better off if I wore the ring Rin gave me.
Truth is, I haven’t even been able to put it on yet.
With one incident after another, I haven’t had a chance to even try it.
“I’ll put it on today for sure.”
I walked into the classroom, looking haggard.
I could have just skipped class, but there was a reason I came to school today.
Each semester, Gaon holds an exchange program with other prestigious academies and special institutions from around the world.
The purpose is to broaden students’ horizons by exchanging students and sharing curricula.
The first semester’s exchange was with the Magic Noble House Carlos.
From there, we managed to snag an irreplaceable asset named Yoon Chae-ha.
I’m nurturing her very well under my wing.
It was safe to say she was a gold mine.
Today was the day.
The day the 2nd Semester exchange partner would be announced.
The decision had probably already been made, and the students would be arriving at the academy right away.
I figured I’d just watch… and if I saw any promising kids, I’d buy low and nurture their potential.
In the original story, it was completely random.
It could be some unknown academy from the frontier, or an elite institution from the USA or the UK.
This time, I was hoping for something related to curses or magic.
Cheon Yeo-wool and Yoon Chae-ha have magic and holy methods covered, but we’re a bit weak when it comes to curses or spirits.
That kind of utility is crucial for controlling tricky enemies, but…
it’s also a field that’s quite difficult to specialize in, so I wasn’t getting my hopes up.
If we get someone, great. If not, oh well.
Since the exchange announcement was today, we had no morning classes and headed straight for the main auditorium.
Amidst the buzz of several thousand students, I found Cheon Yeo-wool sitting next to me.
She had a faint scent of milk.
“Which academy are you hoping for?” she asked me.
“Anywhere is fine.”
It wasn’t just an empty phrase; I really didn’t care.
After all, you can find undervalued prospects anywhere.
Though, of course, sometimes there are none at all.
The auditorium filled up, and the Chairman stood before us.
“Ahem… For the development of our academy…”
As always, a boring speech droned on…
just as students’ heads began to nod off one by one,
the time for the announcement finally came.
“Now, I will introduce our partner for this semester.”
A screen lit up behind the Chairman.
And words began to appear.
[Kyoto Spiritual Arts Academy]
My brow furrowed.
Kyoto Spiritual Arts Academy?
I’ve never heard of it. Seriously.
In that case…
‘The chances of finding anyone are slim.’
What a shame.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
The odds were low for a place I’d never even heard of.
“Now, please welcome the exchange students who have come from so far away with a round of applause.”
My interest had already waned, and I was looking up the academy on my smartwatch when it happened.
“……Huh?”
Beside me, Cheon Yeo-wool let out a slightly irritated sound.
I looked up.
The students from Japan began to file in. A perfunctory round of applause echoed through the auditorium.
I watched the procession without much expectation.
“Huh?”
At the very front of the line.
The moment the girl with neat black hair, who appeared to be the student representative, walked in.
My eyes widened.
There she was…
Kisaragi Rin.
Standing on the stage, dressed not in her shrine maiden outfit, but in a neat school uniform.
‘I will see you soon.’
Her final words to me at the airport echoed in my ears like a phantom.
