Chapter 92: Why Melanie Is in a Bad Mood
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 92: Why Melanie Is in a Bad Mood
"..."
Melanie hadn't been in a particularly good mood since yesterday.
To be precise, it started right after she sent a text to Baek Tae-yang.
"Why isn't he replying to me?"
Normally, she wouldn't have felt the need to wait like this, but this time was different.
Since it involved a very significant matter regarding his housing, Baek Tae-yang absolutely had to give her an answer.
He’s obviously moving somewhere near our place, right?
No way.
Melanie scoffed at the thought, staring intently at her phone.
From a logical standpoint, any other outcome simply didn't make sense.
Baek Tae-yang had cleared the Gate spectacularly after she asked for his help.
Baek Tae-yang was the one who told her to dress up and wait before he entered the Gate.
Baek Tae-yang was the one who performed brilliantly because she provided him with the Kaivan First Series.
He told me to dress up and wait after clearing the Gate, and he used all the weapons I gave him... yet he’s ignoring my messages?
She found the logic completely absurd.
Usually, after all that, shouldn't he at least send a single message?
Based on the social "big data" Melanie had accumulated over the years, it was only natural.
Yet, for some reason, this man, Baek Tae-yang, hadn't even glanced at her message, even though she was the one who reached out first.
Of course, he could be busy or have some circumstances, but what could possibly be so pressing immediately after finishing a Gate?
"My Lady, perhaps Hunter Baek Tae-yang is enjoying a sweet nap?"
"A nap? Him? Considering what happened last time, he’s probably with... with another woman doing... doing...!"
"Pardon?"
"It’s nothing."
Melanie still couldn't forget that moment.
The sound of a woman’s moans she heard when she called him, wondering what he was planning in front of Bogeumjari Mall.
I thought people only did that kind of thing at night...
Baek Tae-yang was the kind of man who did such things without a second thought, even with the sun high in the sky.
He was also the man who had perfectly seen through and bypassed the "honey trap" she had carefully prepared.
But a nap? That was unthinkable for a man like him.
He’s probably doing... that... with another woman instead...
But why did she feel so uneasy?
Melanie felt an indescribable emotion take root in her chest.
Ding!
Just as she was agonizing over these unknown feelings, a notification sounded.
She usually kept her phone on silent, but she had specifically turned the sound on this time just for Baek Tae-yang.
"I knew he’d message me right away."
Melanie thought, Of course he would.
However, the bright expression on Melanie's face crumpled the moment she checked the message window.
(Kim Min-su)
< Mel-hi (Short for Melanie Hi)
< What u up to?? lol
< I just met a super weird person, wanna hear about it? This is a total banger of a story [1]
< I was just minding my own business when suddenly someone just burst through the door. He was a total freak lol. What did he call me again? Anyway, he was rambling about being the chosen Devil Chaos Ultra King or whatever. So I told him straight. I said, 'If you don't want to die, leave right now. I'm on the verge of getting angry. This. Is. A. Warning.' I said it so sternly that he got scared and couldn't do anything. I wasn't even slightly convinced by whatever he was saying [1]
"Ugh."
For the first time, Melanie felt a deep sense of loathing toward a human being.
She had kept an eye on Kim Min-su for the sole reason that he possessed the highest potential among Innate Awakeners.
Because of that, she had once intentionally approached him to make him the Kaivan model for Korea.
Just because she had been slightly kind to him back then, Kim Min-su had closed the distance between them at an alarming rate.
If the feeling were mutual, there wouldn't be a problem, but the issue was that it was entirely one-sided.
Contacting her at all hours was the baseline.
He didn't hesitate to send links to videos only he found funny or photos of his daily outfits.
Despite all this, she couldn't cut him off because the consensus was that Kim Min-su was "still" useful.
Because he was "still" Kim Min-su.
Due to this damn public opinion, Melanie was enduring mental torture while maintaining contact with him.
But.
The timing right now was terrible.
(Kim Min-su)
< Are you eating? Is that why you can't see the chat? Enjoy your meal! hehe
< If you're not eating
< Oh? You read it.
< I was going to say, if you haven't eaten yet, let's grab food together hehe.
< What do you think???
I will contact you later, so absolutely do not message me first until then.
< Ah, ah, I see what's going on lol. Okey-dokey, got it~~
"Sigh..."
"Was that Cadet Kim Min-su?"
"Butler Lee, how did you know?!"
"It was the same expression and sigh you always have when communicating with Cadet Kim Min-su. It might be presumptuous of me, but I thought I'd mention it."
"Exactly. Why is it that the person who should be calling doesn't, and only weirdos reach out at times like this? Are all men like this?"
"Ahem..."
Butler Lee debated whether it was right to speak truthfully or to defend Kim Min-su.
In truth, he wanted to calmly explain why his lady was so angry in the first place.
Is spring finally coming for our young lady...
She was a lady who had jumped into management herself from a young age and endured all sorts of hardships.
Even while receiving her character education, she had contributed to the company whenever she could, and she had recovered brilliantly despite that incident.
Perhaps because of that, she had yet to experience the various emotions someone her age should enjoy.
Especially friendship, love... that specific bond one shares with peers...
It was like a reaction to her excessive desire for achievement.
Hunter Baek Tae-yang might be the one to truly awaken the young lady...
Of course, based only on the lady's words, he seemed quite promiscuous, but the butler thought that was fine.
They weren't getting married; wouldn't it be enough if he could teach her what it's like to date and what love is?
Besides, the promiscuity was just a guess; his public image was so perfect that even his character was highly praised, so he was more than qualified.
I should give Hunter Baek Tae-yang a little push here.
Having organized his thoughts, Butler Lee spoke.
"Wouldn't it be better to try calling Hunter Baek Tae-yang? He might have missed the text because he was truly busy."
"Then why does Kim Min-su always say he's busy but calls me every single day to talk nonsense?"
"That's... well, I suspect Cadet Kim Min-su has... a bit of a bravado..."
"Bravado?"
"Yes, well... he probably wants to appeal to you as a 'man who is always busy and has a lot to do'... I humbly suggest he's trying to show off that he's contacting you even in the midst of all that."
"...And why is he doing that to me?"
Butler Lee realized his mistake upon hearing Melanie's final response.
The young lady is so clueless!
Despite talking about honey traps and whatnot, she was practically a novice when it came to actual romance.
The lowest rank among beginners!
Since it would be more helpful for her to realize this herself rather than being told directly, Butler Lee chose his words very carefully.
"Well... perhaps... it's a battle of nerves between fellow Always-Active Ability users?"
"Please... sharing cringey humor videos all day? What kind of battle of nerves is that... It's not even funny."
"My Lady, the important person right now isn't Cadet Kim Min-su, but..."
"I get it! I'll call him. And... I wasn't just screaming just now, I was... just."
"Yes, yes. It's quite alright, My Lady."
Melanie had no idea why she had just raised her voice, or why she was feeling so nervous about making a phone call.
She couldn't even begin to guess.
Why am I suddenly so shaky?
She wasn't like this when she called him before. What on earth had changed?
Melanie took a deep breath and picked up her phone.
He's so annoying.
In many ways, Baek Tae-yang made Melanie very angry.
But the biggest reason was...
I mean, if he told me to dress up and I did, shouldn't there be something more?
Thinking back on it after clearing the Gate, she realized he had given her nothing but purely professional compliments.
She told herself she had forgotten about it at the time because she was busy trying to raise the Kaivan Group's profile, but still.
She had dressed up so nicely!
And now I have to be the one to call first? My pride is dying.
But as they say, the thirsty man digs the well. She had no choice.
Melanie finally dialed Baek Tae-yang's number.
Ring... Ring... Ring...
Click.
—Hello? Oh, Melanie. What's up?
"Well... you weren't checking your texts, so I thought maybe..."
—Ah, you called because you missed me?
"As if...! Just...! No, it's because we need to talk about the move quickly!"
—Ah, is that so?
Talking to this man was becoming increasingly irritating.
The way he spoke so slyly, slowly getting under her skin.
She absolutely hated it.
"What do you mean 'is that so'! If you saw the message, please reply! You're obviously coming to the Kaivan side, right?"
—Actually, there was a lot of talk about that, but I think I'm going to go with a place Bogeumjari Mall looked into for me. Thanks for looking out for me though, Melanie.
"Hmph! Looking out for you? I just... I only prepared it because I had to! If you go somewhere strange, it could be very problematic for the Kaivan Group's image!"
—Speaking of Kaivan, that weapon I used last time felt like it was made just for me. Do we need to do more testing?
"That's actually part of the reason I called. It's definitely not because I missed you!"
—Got it. So, what do I need to do?
"First, come over to our place..."
Butler Lee gave a standing ovation in his heart as he watched the young lady smiling brightly while on the phone.
Spring is coming for the young lady.
A sweet late-evening banter continued.
++++++++++++++++++++
"Melanie is so... telling me not to contact her because she's busy thinking about what to eat with me... It's a good thing I'm so quick-witted, otherwise, what would have happened?"
The Indomitable Hero Kim Min-su, completely misinterpreting Melanie's message to not contact her.
He had been fasting for four hours, waiting for Melanie's call.