Chapter 57: I Never Let the Fish in My Tank Go
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 57: I Never Let the Fish in My Tank Go
'What is that?'
At first, Melanie thought they were filming a hidden camera prank or something.
Even if she overlooked Kim Min-su’s bizarre fashion, she couldn't understand why a man would suddenly start wailing just because he was on the phone.
Was it possible that Baek Tae-yang and Kim Min-su had teamed up to mess with her?
Melanie figured that was the more likely scenario.
But as she continued to watch, she realized that wasn't the case. There was no reason to commit this hard to a prank.
Besides, Kim Min-su looked like he was truly crying. It wasn't acting; he was sobbing as if his very soul were being scorched. It was enough to make anyone watching feel a pang of sorrow…
'…Actually, no.'
He looked far too pathetic for that.
Rather than showing concern, the people on the street were actively avoiding him. Of course, their reasons differed from Melanie’s. It was never a good idea to mess with an Awakened when their emotions were volatile—even if it was Kim Min-su, a man famous for his good character.
'The timing is so difficult.'
Pulling the limousine up right next to Kim Min-su had been natural enough. They were right in front of the main entrance of Bogeumjari Mall, so it didn't look out of place.
The problem was that as soon as they saw the vehicle, Bogeumjari employees started rushing out. It was a given that the more attention this drew, the harder it would be to settle the matter quietly.
Coming in a limousine had been a mistake from the start. If she had known it would be like this, she would have brought a van and shoved Kim Min-su inside quickly.
"Miss, Cadet Kim Min-su’s call has ended."
"I suppose I should be the one to get him up, right?"
"...It would seem so."
Melanie twirled her drill hair around her finger.
Kim Min-su couldn't even lift his head, completely blocking the path in front of the mall's main entrance. The employees were out there trying to reassure the customers because of him.
A few of them were waiting near the limousine; they clearly knew the manual for dealing with Awakened. There was nothing to be gained for non-Awakened by dragging this out.
Melanie steeled herself to dive into that horrific disaster and stepped out of the limousine.
"Cadet Kim Min-su, you’re being a nuisance to others by staying here. Get up."
She didn't even want to offer words of comfort.
Looking around, she saw reporters already pointing their cameras and firing off flashes. If an article came out saying she was close to Kim Min-su, things could get weirdly complicated.
'I should frame this as... a rescue? I need to project an image of someone resolving a public complaint.'
She couldn't let the Kaivan name be tarnished. The worst-case scenario was Kim Min-su’s image plummeting so far that he could no longer serve as a model. She had to prevent that at all costs.
"Cadet Kim Min-su!"
She used his title as much as possible, using her entire body language to signal that they weren't close.
But regardless of her efforts, Kim Min-su didn't budge. Judging by the occasional tremors running through his body, he was definitely still crying. Since she didn't know exactly what was happening, it was hard to handle the situation properly.
Ring... Ring... Ring...
To resolve this as quickly as possible, she called Baek Tae-yang. It was a hundred times better than standing here feeling anxious.
In the meantime, she asked the employees for their cooperation and pushed the reporters back. It was only because Driver Kim was assisting her so much that she could do all of this at once.
"Settled? What do you mean... What on earth did you do? He won't move from the middle of the street."
She wanted to scream. She wanted to yell at him.
But there were too many eyes on her, so she had to keep her voice down as much as possible.
"How can you say something so irresponsible—"
"...Are you watching this right now?"
Even if their first meeting had been in a limousine, the way he said it was too natural. Melanie didn't miss that small slip. Baek Tae-yang had spoken under the assumption that Melanie was in a limousine. Furthermore, mentioning "putting out the fire" meant he knew exactly how the situation was unfolding.
In other words, Baek Tae-yang was watching this scene from somewhere.
Click.
"Hello? Mr. Baek Tae-yang? Hello?"
He hung up.
Melanie managed to dramatically suppress the surge of rage. It was infuriating that he was watching this situation from afar like it was some comedy show.
What angered her most was being in a position of absolute weakness. Melanie had never been the underdog in her life.
"...Driver Kim, please move Cadet Kim Min-su to the limousine."
"Yes, understood."
Whether it was a blessing or a curse, Kim Min-su offered no resistance. Whether he was exhausted or just broken, he was simply staring blankly at his dark phone screen, panting softly. It was a bit eerie how he just stared at the black screen without responding to anything.
"Shall we talk for a moment?"
As the situation seemed to be settling, Melanie caught the reporters who were trying to slip away. She knew that if she didn't catch them now, the story would be all over the internet in an instant. It was an unavoidable choice, as she was the only one who could clean this up.
Baek Tae-yang was clearly going to wash his hands of this. Their call history only showed that they had an appointment. He was probably planning to back out by saying, 'You handled it yourself, didn't you?'
Melanie realized for the first time just how meticulous Baek Tae-yang was. She had thought of him only as aggressive, battle-crazy, and thuggish. But he was a man who knew how to manipulate a situation with cunning and precision.
'The model offer... I'll have to rethink it.'
Baek Tae-yang was a man she absolutely had to catch.
While Driver Kim laid Kim Min-su down neatly in the back seat of the limousine, Melanie finished clearing the street. She couldn't believe she had been tricked into doing this for nothing.
'Kaivan needs Baek Tae-yang.'
Kim Min-su was already an afterthought to Melanie.
+++++++++++++++++
'It's over.'
Looking at the Main Quest window floating before my eyes, I realized I had finally broken off a major branch.
==================================
[Main Quest] Partially Completed!
Congratulations!
You have completely destroyed [Protagonist - Kim Min-su]’s pure love relationship!
You have ground Kim Min-su’s mental state into dust in Baek Tae-yang’s own unique way!
You have taken a massive step toward seizing the protagonist’s seat!
You have currently seized a total of 20.0% of [Protagonist - Kim Min-su]’s share.
==================================
The best part was that my Protagonist Share had shot up instantly.
"Ah... Ahhh... Master... Ah... The glass... is cold... hngh..."
Even after combining everything I got from the emergency quests, I hadn't even broken into the double digits. But with this one incident, I had seized 20% of the position in one go. I realized once again that I couldn't finish the quest within a year by just doing small-time stuff.
The view outside the window was truly a sight to behold. Kim Min-su being loaded powerlessly into the back of the limousine and Melanie busy trying to fix the situation. I found myself laughing as I wondered how I should link these two together.
"Haa... Hehe... Yu-min's pussy feels good...? Is that why you're laughing... ngh... Hah... Ah... Master, it's... too deep..."
"If you're gonna cum, just do it."
As soon as the call ended, Yu-min had lunged at me like a beast in heat. It was as if she had been holding back because of the thought that they were still dating; she moved her body like a starving ghost. After riding me in the cowgirl position just moments ago, she was now rubbing her breasts against the window, begging for it from behind.
Every time I thrust into her pussy, which was already full of my seed, semen would drip onto the floor. Her pink flesh was now so painted in white that it was hard to see its original color.
"Ahhh...! It's emba... rrassing..."
Yu-min’s legs trembled violently as she reached another climax. This was already the fifth time. Her legs finally gave out, and my cock slid out of her. A milky puddle formed between her collapsed thighs.
Of course, it didn't end there. Yu-min giggled and took my dick into her mouth, starting a cleaning blowjob.
[Yoo Su-jin]
Tae-yang, I heard from my dad. Are you okay? I'm so sorry my dad is so overbearing ㅠㅠ...
You're not mad, right? ㅠ... If it's uncomfortable, you don't have to come... No, just don't come...
It's just because I'm not used to this yet. I gave him a piece of my mind ㅠ...
Please don't hate me...
(Emoticon of a small puppy with sparkling eyes)
I checked the messages while filming a video of Yu-min. It was my own little trick to keep her from noticing I was distracted.
[Yoo Su-jin]
< No, it's fine, Noona.
< I was happy to meet your father.
Ah...
Father... Right... That's how it is... Hehe...
< The day after tomorrow is the weekend, right? Should I come over then?
Oh, you're really coming?
< Of course. I was actually happy to be invited.
I had been neglecting Su-jin a bit lately, and there was no harm in getting to know a top-tier Hunter like Yoo Min-hyuk.
'And I can't just stick to one woman.'
My goal was to take all of Kim Min-su’s harem. With a goal like that, being tied down to just one woman? That was out of the question.
'I never let the fish in my tank go.'
Today was a day that made me look forward to the weekend.