Chapter 149. A Woman's Tears Are...
Chapter 149. A Woman's Tears Are...
Rachel.
She had always thought the world was unfair.
Even as a chaebol's daughter, she was constantly pushed to the sidelines of the family for the sole reason of being a 'woman'.
Her father always said the same thing.
- The company must be inherited by a son. All you have to do is marry the man I arrange for you.
Her grandfather was even more blunt.
- Tsk... You just need to quietly support your future husband at home.
There were times when the ambitious Rachel nearly crumbled, shedding tears.
But the breakdown was only temporary.
'If men rule the world... then all I had to do was rule the men, right?'
She whispered that to herself.
God was remarkably fair.
He had granted her an extraordinary appearance.
She wielded that tool with extreme precision.
'Men were truly simple creatures...'
Education, languages, diplomacy, financial management, psychology—all backed by the family's honor...
She learned everything like a madwoman and turned that knowledge into a weapon.
Countless men fell for her.
Second and third-generation chaebols, sons of politicians, even diplomats.
They all fell for the 'illusion she crafted'.
- This woman genuinely likes me.
- No one understands me like she does.
- She's different from those other fake women...
And eventually, those captivated men would...
make deals favorable to her company,
and propose favorable legislation.
Conscience? Morals?
From the moment her place was stolen, she stopped caring about such trivial things.
And now, leaning against Song Hoon's chest, she was certain.
The meticulously calculated, subtle temptation of a drunken woman.
Even a man said to be the strongest in the world was flustered.
'Whether you're the Unknown Hunter or whatever, in the end, you're just a man.'
As long as you have a heart, body heat, and breath... you couldn't help but grow weak in front of a woman.
Rachel believed that wholeheartedly.
— Click-clack...
'She's here.'
The familiar rhythm of high heels.
She knew all too well that it belonged to Laila.
Why?
Earlier, before stepping away from the table, she had subtly dropped a hint to Laila.
- Hunter Song Hoon... did he go to the restroom? Oh, I suddenly feel the need to go as well...
That single line, seemingly indifferent, was a clear 'signal'.
She mentioned her boyfriend's name, planting a tiny seed of 'suspicion' in his girlfriend's mind.
To make her follow, without fail.
Now, all that remained was Laila's reaction.
Scenario A.
Laila's emotions explode, and she strikes her.
Then, she would say with tears in her eyes,
'He was just holding me because I was stumbling around, drunk'...
framing Laila as a petty woman.
Scenario B.
Laila was disappointed in Song Hoon and turns away without a word.
If that happened?
That was even better.
The trust between the two would crack, and it would be her turn to seep into that rift.
'Now then, what would you do...?'
A slow smile crept onto her lips as she cautiously turned her head to look at Laila.
But Laila did neither of the two things.
Her expression was cold, but... anger and jealousy.
Neither of those emotions was visible.
'What...?'
This was Rachel, who had come between couples before.
Laila was an existence completely different from any woman she had ever encountered.
---
Laila had been dozing off, leaning against her chair.
At some point, she felt the warmth that should have been beside her disappear.
"Ah..."
Her boyfriend, Song Hoon, had definitely said he was going to the restroom.
Her flushed cheeks, a smile creeping in with the alcohol.
'Hehe... I should tempt him to go buy ice cream with me...'
The perfect plan: suggest getting some fresh air and handing him a Choco-Emon milk drink.
'Come to think of it, I've never been to a motel with him...'
Indulging in cheeky fantasies, she rose from her seat.
She headed for the hallway, turned the corner toward the restroom, and that was the moment.
— Thud.
Her footsteps halted.
Her gaze landed on her boyfriend, unmistakably there.
But in his arms, far too naturally nestled, was a thieving wench.
'...?'
The alcohol hadn't been flushed out of her system, but her mind alone turned ice-cold.
She thought to herself.
The Hero who, more than anyone else, looked only at her,
who would never have easily approached her if she hadn't reached out first,
that gentle and innocent Hero...
— Pfft...
A laugh escaped her.
'Unbelievable.'
The thieving wench.
Rachel.
The psychological warfare that had been going on since the alumni reunion.
And now this scene.
Like an audience member watching a staged play, she quietly retraced the situation.
Feigning drunkenness.
Feigning needing support.
This trap, disguised as a pure accident before a kind man.
But Laila knew everything.
'If you really wanted to fool me, you should have hidden your 'presence' as well.'
She tried to hide herself using such a low-grade manipulation of mana?
It was so ridiculous it was laughable.
'What could I do... our Hero was just too popular...'
It had been the same in the past.
Voluptuous women from noble families, wielding magic.
Those who tried to seduce Song Hoon with all sorts of strategies and tricks.
Compared to them, Rachel was barely taking baby steps.
She moved her feet quietly, but slowly.
It would be a lie to say she felt no emotion inwardly, but...
'Good grief, really... even in this situation...'
Song Hoon's expression wasn't one of panic at being caught, but pure worry for her.
Worry for her, walking over with a flushed face and slightly unfocused eyes.
"I-I'm sorry... I got drunk and..."
Rachel looked up and spoke, wearing an innocent face.
Laila stopped walking and smiled softly.
"...You say you're drunk?"
And with a smile still on her face, the words that came out of her mouth were.
"But you've been detoxifying yourself with mana for a while now, haven't you? Is the detox not working because your mana control is garbage? Or did you actually think you were hiding it with that trash-like control?"
The 'harsh words' Laila had spoken in front of the Hero.
Rachel's pupils showed a momentary 'flinch'.
But she immediately masked her feelings and asked back with a dreamy look in her eyes.
"What... do you mean by that?"
Laila answered without losing her smile.
"You'll know if you see."
— Sssss...
In that instant, 'killing intent' flowed out around her.
A heavy, sharp, high-purity aura.
An aura that any sensitive Hunter would feel more acutely than anyone else.
— Swish!
Laila's fingertips darted out ever so slightly toward her face.
'Because it wouldn't do if you died...'
"Hup!"
From the moment the killing intent leaked out, mana had seeped into Rachel's muscles.
And she reflexively turned her body.
But she couldn't dodge it completely.
"...!"
A small wound.
A red line drawn on her cheek.
"W-what is the meaning of this!?"
Rachel raised her voice, feigning shock.
Then Laila spoke quietly, but clearly.
"Oh my, I was just trying to help you sober up?"
And tilting her head, she smiled again.
"Was I too harsh? But I guess being a 'Hunter' means you dodge quite well?"
"...!"
Without realizing it, she had instinctively used mana in this situation.
And she had been caught.
"Hoon, would you mind stepping aside for a moment?"
She beamed a smile up at Song Hoon.
"?"
"Please go ahead and take care of our drunk classmates. I'm counting on you."
"...Okay."
Even as Song Hoon left the area, Laila did not lose her smile.
The moment his figure disappeared, she looked at Rachel with a cold expression.
"Really... I don't mind that he's popular... but there are just so many wenches coming around with these weird schemes lately... no, not wenches... should I say some kind of organization?"
Laila thought to herself.
There was no way a woman with no backing had come simply to seduce Song Hoon.
If she were just an ordinary woman, she wouldn't possess the skill Rachel had.
"Uh... well..."
"Things might get dirty here, so shall we move somewhere else?"
"D-dirty? W-what will? W-wait a moment...!!!"
"Don't be scared. It's simple: I'll ask the questions, and you, Rachel, just have to answer."
---
Song Hoon finished paying the bill and sent off his drunk classmates one by one, loading them all into taxis.
Just as he was about to call Laila after seeing everyone off, he spotted her.
"...What about Rachel?"
"The two of us had a good talk. She won't be bothering you anymore, Hoon."
"I see..."
He truly had harbored no ulterior motives, but Song Hoon was anxious because the situation had looked suspicious(?).
Even as they rode in the taxi, he stayed quiet because he didn't know how to bring the subject up.
The two of them got out of the taxi and stood quietly in front of the house.
"Laila, I'm sorry..."
Laila's face was flushed from the alcohol.
"It's okay. I know very well you're not that kind of person, Hoon."
Fortunately, Laila seemed to think nothing much of it.
Song Hoon let out a sigh of relief and nodded...
"Sniffle..."
"...???"
At the sudden sniffle, he turned his head to look at Laila.
Laila was biting her lower lip, tears welling up in her eyes.
It seemed the alcohol had brought a surge of emotions to the surface.
"Uh... uhuh?! You're crying? L-Laila!?"
He panicked.
His only dating experience was with Laila.
He had no idea how to comfort her or how to handle this.
"I was just... feeling upset."
At that one sentence, Song Hoon's mind went blank.
"I-I'm... sorry..."
"Hoon, you didn't do anything wrong... it's just that I got jealous..."
With those words, Laila buried her face in Song Hoon's chest.
Her fingertips lightly clutched his shirt.
"I didn't say anything because I was afraid I'd look so petty... but you being that close to another woman... I hate it. A lot."
She tensed her jaw muscles to keep the corners of her mouth from lifting.
Her jealousy was like a childish complaint, a pure emotion that poured her heart out only for him.
With tears brimming in her eyes, she looked up at him.
"From now on, if you look at another girl... I'm going to kiss you right then and there. Right in front of everyone..."
He had never actually seen her do that, but he just nodded anyway.
Laila, with tears welling up.
Someone once said...
A woman's tears were a weapon.
But what if that woman was someone like Laila?
That wasn't a conventional weapon; it was a tactical nuke.
"Hoon is mine now... you're supposed to look only at me, love only me, and be able to touch only me..."
"...?"
"You're supposed to be able to be held only by me, and be smelled only by me..."
"???"
A dangerous(?) light flickered in Laila's eyes.
It was the innocent, childlike greed of someone who would never let go of what was hers.
"Haa... You're mine forever, Hoon."
Tactical nuclear strike.