Chapter 15. Resolve (2)
The sudden question—Has Hae-bin been found out?—left me more impressed than anything. Her instincts are sharp as ever...
Muttering that to myself inwardly, I asked Seo Yeon-hee outright.
"How did you figure it out so quickly?"
Who knows? Just a hunch?
A rather cryptic response. Yoo Hae-bin, standing beside me, murmured softly.
"The boss is smiling..."
Huh? Oh, I always smile like this. Isn't it cute when my little cutie is around?
She wasn't wrong. Seo Yeon-hee, known as the Mist Witch, was said to have an ice-cold personality, but when dealing with me, she always wore a relaxed smile, her voice gentle and laced with playfulness.
I gave her a concise rundown of today's events.
"There was some kind of ruin inside Silver Demon Mountain. Things got a bit complicated, and that's how we found out. By the way, why keep it secret from me?"
A gentle rebuke tinged with a hint of resentment. Seo Yeon-hee must have known from the start. She'd probably seen Yoo Hae-bin's past through our wish contract and realized she was a woman. If I'd known earlier, that comment, the suggestion to share a room, and yesterday's blunder never would have happened.
Yoo Hae-bin was the one who answered.
"It's just better to have fewer people in the know... So I wanted to keep it hidden. But I wasn't planning to make it a permanent secret. I was going to tell you at the right time—"
And it came out at the right time?
"No... It wasn't what I had in mind..."
Oh dear, what a shame. Anyway, I respected Hae-bin's wishes. It didn't seem to affect our operations much, and it felt more like a personal privacy matter.
With the topic shifting appropriately, I seized the moment to tell Seo Yeon-hee.
"About that privacy thing."
Why? What's up?
"It's not great to discuss at length here. I'll fill you in on Friday back in Seoul. I have a report to compile and deliver all at once, plus a few questions from my end."
Judging by your face, this isn't some minor issue.
"It's pretty big."
The easygoing atmosphere grew noticeably heavier. Partly my fault, but the pressure radiating from Seo Yeon-hee had shifted entirely as well. Something graver than Phantom's activity plans. She seemed to intuit from my tone alone that it involved the traitors.
She couldn't know the specifics—the murals I'd seen in Silver Demon Mountain, tied to the Rabbit Mask—but still.
I get what the report's about, and your questions... something about 'privacy'?
"..."
Her insight pierced straight through both Yoo Hae-bin's and my situations. Astonishing situational awareness. Filled with admiration, I asked her.
"Seriously, how are you so quick on the uptake?"
Who knows? Because it's about my little cutie?
"...Yeah, yeah. I get it. Truly touching."
Don't be so curt; you know I'm sincere, right?
"That's why I'm reacting like this."
Because you're embarrassed?
"..."
"............"
Yoo Hae-bin stared blankly at me and Seo Yeon-hee's hologram, her eyes unfocused. With her watching from the side like that, my embarrassment deepened, so I wrapped up the conversation quickly.
"See you Friday. Note that it'll run late."
Got it. Rest well then—Hae-bin should sleep easier than last night?
"Yeah... I think so. Thanks so much for everything, Boss."
What're you thanking me for? You're one of my precious members; I have to look after your relationships and mental health as much as I can. If Dojin keeps giving you trouble, tell me right away? I'll scold him for you.
"...Sure."
Alright, don't chat too late. See you in Seoul.
With that, the hologram vanished.
I was the one who'd brought Yoo Hae-bin into Phantom, yet somehow Seo Yeon-hee seemed to care for her far more than I did. She'd taken a liking to her from the start, but had it grown that much? Feeling a twinge of self-reflection, I turned to Yoo Hae-bin.
"Be honest with me here—no lies, just the straight truth."
"...About what?"
Her tone came off snippier than before. She'd been all "Professor this, Professor that," following me devotedly, but had she already fallen for Seo Yeon-hee's kindness? A flicker of hurt crossed my mind as I asked cautiously.
"Do I come off as treating you too roughly?"
"Huh...?"
"Like, am I a jerk of a senior? Too cold in speech and actions, hard to approach?"
"..."
Yoo Hae-bin looked up at me silently. It felt like pity, or maybe suppressed frustration. No way, I thought, but had she really been bottling up resentment toward me? Come to think of it, I'd beaten her up, made her say embarrassing things, and put her in an awful spot yesterday. Looking back, my tone and behavior could have been warmer—I saw that now, too late.
A dozen seconds of silence. With a heavy sigh, Yoo Hae-bin finally spoke.
"-- ---."
"Huh?"
Unintelligible words. Probably dragon tongue. I asked her.
"What was that just now?"
"Oh, doesn't matter. You wouldn't get it anyway."
"That sounded like cursing. The vibe was spot on."
"Could be, could not be. Even I don't know."
"You said it—how don't you know? Even if I can't understand, cursing at me for that?"
"Wha—? You said you were reflecting, so why the face? You're such a boomer sometimes, Professor. We're only seven years apart anyway. Wait two years; once I'm twenty, we're basically peers."
Boomer...? Seven years isn't much? Her illogical, unexpected retort threw me off, and she whipped around, diving into bed and pulling up the covers. Coldly, she added.
"Just get me one ice cream. I'm wiped from today—too tired to go out."
"...What flavor."
"Whatever you want to eat, Professor. I'll have that."
"This is the one time I'll let it slide..."
She'd earned it, and it seemed her pent-up frustration from my rough treatment had boiled over. So I fetched her an ice cream as ordered. Red bean, the one I always skip.
"...You like this stuff?"
"Can't get enough."
Ripping open the packaging roughly, Yoo Hae-bin took a big bite.
Around the time Yoo Hae-bin spat "kind trash" in dragon tongue and vowed never to return the borrowed clothes out of sheer annoyance.
In the room one floor above, Jin Yu-ri turned at the sudden gaze she felt.
...What's her deal?
Lee Sea, sharing the room with her, was staring intently. The meaningful look puzzled Jin Yu-ri.
Does she have something to ask me?
The ruin incident had wrapped up smoothly; both she and Lee Sea had gained tremendous opportunities. A massive surge in their total mana reserves.
I'm somewhere between B-rank and A-rank. She's probably hit the A-rank threshold.
Common knowledge held that the more mana one had, the harder it was to increase further. If Jin Yu-ri and Lee Sea had been S-rank awakeners, such dramatic growth would have been impossible. But as novices, they'd absorbed the ruin's mana, achieving years' worth of progress in one go. In the end, the incident had turned out great. Lee Dojin was safe, no one hurt, just gains all around.
Yet Jin Yu-ri couldn't fathom why Lee Sea was eyeing her so gravely. Approaching, she asked.
"Something wrong? My mana boost feels fine—no issues."
That was her only guess: struggling to handle externally acquired mana. Lee Sea outpaced her in fine mana control, so it seemed unlikely, but nothing else fit. If so, she'd gladly help.
But then.
Lee Sea asked in a voice laced with chill.
"What do you think about dating an older guy?"
"Huh?"
The out-of-left-field question made Jin Yu-ri tilt her head. Romance talk? Curiosity piqued, she shot back.
"You got someone you like?"
Lee Sea didn't seem the type to care about that stuff, so why ask about older guys? Even as she asked, Jin Yu-ri doubted Lee Sea had a crush—and sure enough, she denied it.
"Not me. Your thoughts."
"...Older guy?"
Jin Yu-ri flustered. Their relationship had improved lately, but this topic felt awkward. Still, questioned directly, she mumbled an answer.
"Older... isn't bad... I guess?"
As she spoke, an image floated in her mind: the epitome of a cool older guy, in her eyes. That informed her response.
Lee Sea pressed further.
"How big an age gap is okay?"
"Hmm... As long as the first digit matches, probably fine."
In two years, she'd be twenty. The guy in her head would be twenty-seven then. Far more natural than eighteen and twenty-five. Imagining it briefly, a smile tugged at Jin Yu-ri's lips.
Lee Sea's gaze iced over further, but Jin Yu-ri missed it.
And then.
Lee Sea declared point-blank.
"You can respect a teacher who guides you, but anything more... Personally, I'm against it."
"Why? Liking someone is natural... Ah!"
Now Jin Yu-ri caught on.
Wait, does she mean...?
A vague feeling she couldn't quite articulate. Lee Sea had sensed it somehow and probed with those questions.
Jin Yu-ri tried to play it off.
"Huh? Oh, you're totally misunderstanding. You think I like Professor Lee Dojin? No, uh, no way? Age gap and he's a professor—"
"First digit matching is fine. Liking's natural."
"Th-that's general—"
"I asked your thoughts from the start."
"Ah..."
Cornered by airtight logic, Jin Yu-ri denied blindly.
"Anyway, no. Why would I like your brother? Don't get the wrong idea."
"...Suit yourself."
Lee Sea replied curtly and headed to her bed. Lying down silently, she kept staring at Jin Yu-ri. Unable to bear the shrinking feeling, Jin Yu-ri offered what kindness she could.
"...Want me to turn off the light if you're sleeping?"
"No need."
"Okay..."
Their exchange was worlds apart from last year. A spark of irritation flared in Jin Yu-ri, but overwhelming it was a deepening darkness, like the world closing in. She hadn't even tried properly, yet family had shut her down. Don't even dream.
Soon, Lee Sea murmured quietly.
"You know my brother's fiancée?"
"...Han Se-ra?"
Jin Yu-ri knew the name well. The only daughter of Eternal Guild's master, Han Tae-gang. Word was, she was "perfect" in every way.
Lee Sea continued.
"That sister's gorgeous. Unreal. She's studying abroad but graduates next month and comes back to Korea."
"..."
Jin Yu-ri stayed silent, responding only feebly in her heart.
What am I supposed to do about it...?