Chapter 115

[Hehehe, haha, okay, so you said that and then there was no contact after that?]

“Yeah, that’s right.”

After returning home, I was on the phone with Seolhyang.

I didn’t want to burden her since she’s busy, but not telling her about the Alters situation would have been even more troublesome.

[I wish our Ha-chan would treat others like this too.]

She said, sounding a bit annoyed.

“…No, I treat everyone the same?”

Whether it was my first meeting with Ayu, Seolhyang, or even Eun-namu, I’ve always kept my guard up.

It’s just that they all broke through, that’s the problem.

[That’s true? But it’s too familiar for that.]

“Familiar? What do you mean?”

Somehow, I could hear her tapping something soft on the other end of the line.

The weight of the sound made me freeze.

[It’s too natural for someone who says they like men.]

“…Sorry, it’s a physiological reaction.”

Honestly, I think Seolhyang’s charm is cheating.

Even if I were a woman, my gaze would have been stolen.

[Yoo Woo-jung, Yoo Woo-jung. Got it. I’ll look into her too.]

“Is that okay? You’re busy.”

[I’ll just tell someone else to handle it. And about the Alters issue, yeah, I should talk more with the Spirit Lord. We’re also extracting knowledge from Giraseong.]

What’s happening in the basement of the World Returner Association?

It’s probably better not to know the details.

[I’ll personally talk to Ha Si-ho. It would be good if you told her, but since you’d probably agree to any request, you’d feel burdened too, right?]

“You’re really the only one.”

[Hohoho, think of it as having a good childhood friend.]

It really seemed like I had the best one in the world.

Then she playfully added one last thing.

[And you can think of it as having a good future wife too.]

With that, she embarrassingly hung up.

The last thing I heard left me frozen, holding my phone.

This made me realize why I could put up such an extreme wall against Yoo Woo-jung.

Compared to the people around me, her obvious advances were just too shallow.

‘…The people around me are just too strong.’

When Level 99 people are coming at you, how can Level 1 advances even catch your eye?

—

A few weeks had passed since Yoo Woo-jung joined our team.

It was already mid-November.

I acted as if the incident on the first day never happened.

Watching Yoo Woo-jung’s continuous advances, I found myself deep in thought.

“Ha-chan, I brought some macarons I made. Try them.”

“I’m not good with sweets.”

“I got a hotel buffet ticket. How about it? The food is great, there’s a pool, and the night view is beautiful.”

“Ji-eun and Si-ho would like that. But I’m scared of water. Let’s just go to the buffet together, the four of us.”

“I’ve been learning massage recently. Are your shoulders stiff? Let me rub them.”

“I prefer patches.”

Honestly, I thought Yoo Woo-jung would get tired and leave after a few tries.

According to Seolhyang’s investigation, she really is an S-class Hunter.

Camilla Agatha.

A Hunter from Brazil who climbed from the bottom to the top, the queen of the slums.

That’s what they called her.

Seeing her now, throwing away all her pride and flirting with me in every way possible, was just strange.

Contrary to my expectation that she’d leave after the first day, she was much more persistent than I thought.

Even Ji-eun and Si-ho, seeing my iron wall, looked at Yoo Woo-jung with a bit of pity.

But she didn’t stop approaching me.

“What is she thinking?”

On the company rooftop terrace, I muttered to myself, holding a paper cup of coffee.

I had escaped there because Yoo Woo-jung had been following me around the company all day, trying to win me over.

Even the team leader told me, “Ha-chan, just accept Yoo Woo-jung. It’s pitiful to watch.”

“Is my ultimate move not working anymore?”

Do I need to research something else?

As I pondered, Baeksan, sitting on the railing, opened his mouth as if asking what I was so worried about.

“Kang Ha-chan, do you know what the characteristic of people who rise from the bottom is?”

“What is it?”

“Once they catch fire, they cling on desperately until the wick burns out.”

I could understand, having been through that phase myself.

“So Yoo Woo-jung is on fire now?”

“Yeah, I just realized it too. That woman is the type who gets more persistent the more you push her away. She’s the type who keeps going until she fills the wound in her pride.”

“Wow, that’s terrifying.”

“Tch, if I had known, I would have told you to just let it go.”

Baeksan also didn’t expect Yoo Woo-jung to be this persistent.

The more you push her away, the more she clings.

There really are all kinds of people.

“So what should I do? Yoo Woo-jung isn’t doing this because she likes me.”

Her reason for approaching me was because of the Alters situation.

Of course, recently, as Baeksan said, it seems like she’s doing it out of frustration because I keep rejecting her, determined to win me over.

From my perspective, it was just as troublesome.

If she showed hostility, it would be one thing, but since she’s only showing goodwill, rejecting her makes me look bad to the people around me.

The company’s opinion is leaning in Yoo Woo-jung’s favor.

At this rate, my image in the company will be ruined.

“Just beat her up. She’ll back off then.”

“That’s a brilliant idea.”

I gave Baeksan a thumbs up for suggesting to just beat someone up, then sighed.

Did I underestimate Yoo Woo-jung too much?

The determination of an S-class Hunter is truly terrifying.

“Then just play along.”

“Go along with it?”

“Yeah, she’s doing it out of stubbornness. If you play along, she’ll get tired of it.”

Hearing that, I crossed my arms and fell into thought.

Yoo Woo-jung is definitely doing this because I keep pushing her away.

If I just play along, as Baeksan said, she might stop.

She’ll probably get excited thinking she’s won me over and then quickly get bored.

“Isn’t that bad?”

It seemed like a pretty good idea.

Most importantly, it would be less troublesome.

“But if you’re going to do that, tell the others first.”

“Huh? The others?”

“The ones who like you, dummy.”

The people who like me.

I fell silent at Baeksan’s words.

“…Could Yoo Woo-jung die?”

“Good thing you realized.”

I thought of Si-ho, Ayu, and Seolhyang, making a troubled expression.

I’ve been feeling recently that these three get particularly worked up when it comes to me.

Of course, if I stop them, it’s a bit better, but the intensity is suffocating to witness.

“…I should do that.”

For a moment, I wondered if it was right to talk about this with them since none of them are my girlfriend.

But on the other hand, it seemed like the right thing to do, just in case.

So I immediately called or met with the three of them to have a light conversation.

[I don’t mind? Domi Oppa, you’re strict about drawing lines with people who aren’t yours.]

Ayu said coolly.

Having been with me for five years, she knew my personality well.

[But you’re telling me because you care, right? Domi Oppa, you’re cute. Uwuzu, was Ayu that worried?]

And I hung up immediately.

[Let’s do that.]

Seolhyang, who knew my situation, also answered with a laugh.

[Eun-hyeon is with me anyway. If anything happens, she’ll handle it.]

I quietly hung up on this side too.

“Is Yoo Woo-jung from Alters?”

Si-ho, who I hadn’t told about Yoo Woo-jung’s identity yet, asked with wide eyes.

“Yeah, she’s from Alters. Sorry for not telling you sooner.”

Si-ho had recently been discussing artificial dimensional gates and Alters with Seolhyang.

I was worried Si-ho might overdo it, but it’s Seolhyang, not Giraseong.

She’ll take care of it, and Si-ho agreed to it too, so I was getting updates on the situation.

So I felt bad for not telling Si-ho about Yoo Woo-jung sooner.

“No, it’s okay. I know Manager didn’t tell me because he was worried about me. Si-ho likes it best when Manager thinks about her.”

Si-ho always says such nice things.

“And now I understand.”

“Yoo Woo-jung’s actions, you mean?”

“Yeah, even to Si-ho, her actions towards Manager seemed strange.”

If Ji-eun acted like that towards me, Si-ho would have moved too, but she didn’t react to Yoo Woo-jung’s actions.

“It just feels like a different kind of determination.”

“It is a different determination.”

“And Manager doesn’t seem interested at all.”

Having seen me fend off advances, Si-ho probably thought that.

Then a different thought occurred to me.

So all the people Si-ho has been wary of were those she thought I had feelings for?

“But, Manager.”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you tell Si-ho about this?”

As she said that, Si-ho stepped closer to me, her hands behind her back.

Her fox tail seemed to sway again, like I had seen before.

“Telling Si-ho about this in advance means you don’t want Si-ho to misunderstand, right?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Why don’t you want Si-ho to misunderstand?”

Si-ho took another step closer.

I unconsciously took a step back, only to realize there was a wall behind me.

Did I just teleport?

“Si-ho, in two months, I’ll be an adult.”

At that moment, Si-ho, who had come right up to my chest, smiled brightly.

“Si-ho can get married soon too. Si-ho’s dream is to marry Prince.”

“Si, Si-ho? Miss Si-ho?”

“And Si-ho wants to get married quickly. Si-ho likes big families.”

Si-ho buried her face in my chest as she finished speaking.

“So Prince, please like Si-ho a lot too.”

I couldn’t say anything to that.

But Si-ho didn’t seem to expect an answer, just resting her ear against my chest.

As if listening to my heartbeat made her happy.

Then Si-ho and I made eye contact.

Her eyes sparkled as she suddenly pulled my clothes and stood on her tiptoes.

Then a soft sound came from my cheek.

Si-ho had kissed my cheek again, just like that night.

“Si, Si-ho, you!”

But whether I was flustered or not, Si-ho kissed my cheek three more times before stepping back.

Then she looked up at me and smiled, as if saying she had held back.

“See? It’s different with Yoo Woo-jung, right?”

…Yeah, it was too different.

At least in my heart, Si-ho was really like that.

Because unlike Yoo Woo-jung, I couldn’t push Si-ho away.

I was sure.

No matter what Yoo Woo-jung did, she couldn’t surpass what Si-ho just did.

“Si-ho, I’ll go now.”

As I stood frozen, Si-ho, who seemed to enjoy my reaction, left.

Watching her back, I grabbed my bangs.

What am I doing with a 19-year-old?

Caught off guard by the unexpected, I covered my flushed face with my hands.

This isn’t some teenage Kang Ha-chan. What is this?