Chapter 129

“Are you going to do it?”

Yoo Woo-jung asked me while looking at me.

“After listening.”

“Then let’s have sex.”

“Damn, it wasn’t even worth listening to!”

It really wasn’t worth listening to.

At that moment, Yoo Woo-jung disappeared.

As I slowly lowered my head, I saw Si-ho reaching out to the spot where she had been.

There was no light in Si-ho’s eyes.

“…Si-ho, where did you send Yoo Woo-jung?”

“I don’t need a woman like that.”

Yoo Woo-jung’s treatment is getting worse day by day.

Meanwhile, Si-ho tightly hugged my waist.

“…I only do that with Si-ho.”

I didn’t ask what she meant.

Instead, I calmed Si-ho down and made her bring Yoo Woo-jung back.

After a while, when Yoo Woo-jung returned, she looked startled and glanced around.

Her hair and clothes were covered in snow.

“Where did you go?”

“…It was a mountain with nothing but snow. The sky was so close. The air was thin.”

For a brief moment, the image of the highest mountain in the world flashed through my mind, but I quietly buried it.

“Stop talking nonsense and tell me what you want again.”

“Nonsense? I’m being serious.”

“Shall I make it so you can never talk nonsense again?”

As Si-ho, who was still hugging me, glared at her, Yoo Woo-jung hesitated and then let out a fake cough.

“Then go on one more date with me.”

“A date?”

“The last one ended so abruptly. I had prepared a lot of things too.”

Hearing that, I thought it wouldn’t be so bad.

“Si-ho will come too.”

Just as I was about to answer, Si-ho suddenly spoke up.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t really hung out with Si-ho personally before.

Since Si-ho and I had been through a lot together, I patted her head and said,

“Okay. Si-ho, let’s go together later.”

At my answer, Si-ho smiled happily.

“…I was the one who asked for the date, so why are you two going on a date?”

Yoo Woo-jung looked at us with a resentful expression.

“I’ll go with you too.”

“That sounds so reluctant.”

“Then don’t go.”

“Ahh! You’re so mean to me! But I like that! It’s true that the person who falls in love first loses.”

She grumbled, regardless of Si-ho’s glare.

I don’t know why she clings to me like that when she’s so straightforward.

With her abilities and looks, she could easily find someone else.

“So, what’s the plan?”

Thinking that she had gone through a lot just to ask for a plan, I asked, and she put both hands on her hips.

“Well, you see…”

And surprisingly, the plan she suggested was quite convincing to me.

2

A white breath flowed from my mouth in front of the café.

As I watched the clouds drift by, a familiar figure began to appear in the distance.

Seeing her, I smiled slightly.

Her yellow-dyed hair swayed gently.

Among the swaying hair, I caught a glimpse of a piercing mark.

“Oppa!”

Ji-eun, who had just finished school, ran towards me, waving her hands energetically, still in her school uniform.

“Why are you here in the cold? Isn’t your hand cold?”

As she ran to me, she grabbed my hand and blew on it.

Watching her for a moment, Ji-eun glanced around and tilted her head.

“But where are Si-ho and Woo-jung unnie?”

“Ji-eun, can we talk alone today?”

Hearing my words, Ji-eun looked up at me.

She’s always been quick-witted.

She probably had a vague idea of what I was going to say.

Ji-eun let go of my hand and gently held the hem of her skirt.

“…Is it something important?”

“Yes.”

Hearing my answer, she hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

“It’s cold. Let’s go inside first.”

Hearing my words, she quietly followed me.

After ordering drinks and sitting down, we remained silent until the drinks arrived.

Where should I start?

I tapped the table for a while and then looked at Ji-eun.

“Ji-eun.”

“Yes, oppa.”

When I called her, she looked at me.

Her eyes were slightly filled with anxiety.

Looking at her, I slowly opened my mouth.

“First, let me tell you about what’s been happening to me recently.”

All the things I had been hiding from Ji-eun.

I had hidden them because I thought she didn’t need to know since she was just a regular hunter.

But I realized that wasn’t considerate.

By doing so, I had been excluding her.

I slowly unraveled the story of the past.

Ji-eun, who had been silently listening to my story, looked at my hand.

My hand, which had various scars from recent training and other events.

So, she seemed to understand why I had been coming back injured every day.

“…I thought it was strange. No matter how much you awakened as a hunter, I didn’t think your abilities would go out of control like that.”

“I’m sorry. I hid it because I was afraid you’d get involved. It wasn’t considerate.”

“It’s okay. You did what you thought was best, oppa. I’m a little disappointed, but I understand.”

Ji-eun handled it more maturely than I did.

She had already been ostracized at school.

She had confided everything in me, but I had hidden things from her.

She could have scolded me, and I wouldn’t have had anything to say.

“What’s the reason for telling me this today?”

Hearing that question, I clasped my hands.

“Ji-eun, as I said earlier, you understand that Si-ho and Yoo Woo-jung are S-rank, right?”

“Yes, I didn’t know much about Woo-jung unnie, but I always thought Si-ho wasn’t A-rank.”

Ji-eun, who answered like that, fiddled with her hot chocolate cup for a moment and then looked at me.

“Do I have to leave the team?”

At the same time, her eyes began to well up with tears.

“Can I… stay with you, oppa?”

Tears began to fall drop by drop.

But I couldn’t wipe those tears away.

I didn’t have the right to.

“Ji-eun, I’m not telling you to leave the team. Of course, you’ve never been a hindrance.”

“But I’m not S-rank like Si-ho or Woo-jung unnie. I’m only B-rank.”

“Actually, at first, I thought about forming a new team with you.”

Hearing my words, she looked up.

“But I thought you wouldn’t want that either.”

“That’s right. I want to stay on this team. I like Si-ho, Woo-jung unnie, and you, oppa…”

Hearing the last part, I smiled bitterly for a moment.

“Right. We all like you too, Ji-eun. So, I thought of a way.”

“A way?”

As doubt filled Ji-eun’s eyes, I explained what I had heard from Yoo Woo-jung.

Ji-eun, who had been silently listening to the story, looked quite surprised.

“…Can I really do that?”

“I’ve looked into various materials. It might fail at first, but I think it’s possible if you get the hang of it.”

Of course, it’s not easy.

Above all, Ji-eun will have to work hard.

“And not just Yoo Woo-jung, but I also consulted someone I know. They’re skilled in this area and said they’d help.”

I said that and looked at Ji-eun.

“…Do you want to try?”

Everything depends on Ji-eun’s choice.

So, when I asked for her final decision, Ji-eun’s expression was more determined than ever.

“I’ll do it. I’ll try.”

“It’ll be tough. You’ll have to go to Iceland. You’ll have to skip school.”

“Anyway, the college entrance exam is almost over. After that, I can explain the situation and not go to school. No, actually, the teachers didn’t really care in the first place.”

Ji-eun’s future as a hunter was already certain.

Plus, her YouTube channel was doing well, so she didn’t really need the college entrance exam.

So, the school didn’t bother her.

“The kids at school don’t care anymore. They found out I do YouTube and started approaching me. But I don’t need those kids anymore.”

Ji-eun, who said that, looked very firm.

She had been growing up without me realizing it.

Teenagers grow up fast.

There’s still so much to learn and see.

They grow day by day.

Feeling that, I smiled.

“Alright. If you’re willing to do it, I’ll support you with all I’ve got.”

After all, I’m her manager.

“Is that why you wanted to meet alone today?”

At that moment, hearing her words, I hesitated.

What I wanted to say wasn’t just that.

The story I just told was only about Ji-eun’s future.

It wasn’t about resolving things between me and her.

“You know, oppa. I like you, Kang Ha-chan.”

And she brought it up first.

Quick-witted as ever, Ji-eun had already figured out what I was going to say.

“Do you think my feelings for you are just those of a teenage girl?”

I remained silent.

I really did think that, and I believed that as time passed and she saw more of the world, she would find someone better.

“I dream about you every night, oppa. When I lie in bed, I think of you. When I eat, I wonder if you’re eating too. Even at school, I miss you.”

Hearing her honest words, I continued to listen.

“Maybe the reason I fell for you is because you were the best oppa by my side.”

Ji-eun clenched her skirt tightly with both hands.

I could feel how heavy these words were for her.

“But I don’t think anyone will ever come along who I’ll like as much as you, oppa.”

Then Ji-eun looked at me with tear-filled eyes again.

“You’re my first love, oppa.”

They say first love is bittersweet.

Because it’s the first time, there are many mistakes, and thus, many regrets.

“Even if it’s the reckless love of a teenager, it’s still love. I like you, oppa.”

Hearing her honest confession, I slowly bowed my head.

“…Ji-eun, I’m not that great of a person.”

“To me, you’re the best. You’re my one and only first love.”

Then Ji-eun smiled, covering her mouth.

“Ah, of course, there are too many girls around you, oppa. It makes me jealous. I don’t think it was like that when I first saw you. They must all see your good points too.”

She was smiling, but the tears in her eyes didn’t disappear.

She probably knew what I was going to say.

Looking at me like that, Ji-eun said one last thing.

“I like you, oppa. What about you?”

When Ji-eun asked that, I slowly answered her.

“I’m sorry.”

An apology carries many meanings.

Hearing my apology, Ji-eun smiled with tear-filled eyes.

“It’s okay.”

But it couldn’t be okay.

The proof was that her body was trembling.

“Since it’s okay, can I leave first today?”

I nodded.

Seeing me like that, she couldn’t hold back any longer and covered her face with both hands as she left the café.

Unable to stop her, I slowly swept my bangs up and then down.

Just then, I saw Baek-san leaning against the wall outside the window.

Thinking it was about Ji-eun and me, he waited outside without eavesdropping.

I wonder what Ji-eun was like in Baek-san’s world.

Probably had nothing to do with me.

I don’t know, but I quietly pondered how difficult it is to reject someone’s feelings.

At that moment, my phone vibrated softly.

There was a message.

[I will definitely get stronger.]

The message was from none other than Ji-eun.

As I was looking at the message and smiling bitterly, another message came.

[So, after I get stronger, I’ll confess again.]

The following words made me pause.

Ji-eun’s determination was stronger than I thought.

[So, I haven’t given up yet.]

Was that so?

After looking at the message for a while, I put my phone down.

There really are only strong people around me, I thought.