Chapter 62

14

And so, a few days passed at the academy.

After the incident that night, Eun-namu treated me as usual, as if nothing had happened.

Except, the next day, there were band-aids and ointment for wounds placed on my bed, but she acted the same.

So, I treated her as usual too, and we got along without any issues.

Occasionally, she would look at me with a strange gaze, but it was fleeting, disappearing as soon as I looked back.

But aside from that, I had another problem.

It was none other than the fact that I had a stalker.

Well, actually, calling her a stalker might be a stretch.

Because the stalker was Josia, who would run away whenever she saw me after asking if I liked Seo-ho.

Despite that, I couldn’t understand why she kept following me around.

“She’s probably worried you’ll tell Ha Seo-ho.”

“Ah, I see.”

I hadn’t thought of that.

Nodding, I agreed it made sense.

“So, what should I do?”

“Make her like that incontinent girl.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Two Yekaterinas would be too much.

“How should I know? Figure it out yourself.”

Even the all-powerful Returner seemed useless in this situation.

‘I want to talk to her somehow.’

Since Josia is also an S-class Hunter, even if I tried to catch her, she would escape at full power, making it impossible.

So, we were at a stalemate, with her not coming to me and me unable to catch her, leaving me pondering over various things.

“Manager, I’m here.”

Si-ho, who had finished breakfast, arrived after sending a text.

Today was Sunday.

The academy had training scheduled up to Saturday, so Sunday was the only day off.

Si-ho had heard about it from me and came accordingly.

“Long time no see.”

“It hasn’t been that long since you came, has it?”

“Even if I see you every day, it feels like a long time.”

I chuckled at Si-ho’s words and offered her a chair.

As I sat in the chair opposite her, Si-ho began to stare at me intently.

Seeing Si-ho, I suddenly remembered what Eun-namu had said.

That she might like me.

I thought about asking directly, but even so, it felt awkward to ask such a thing myself.

If it turned out not to be true, I wouldn’t be able to face Si-ho anymore.

‘Ji-eun was easy to figure out.’

If only everyone in the world were as straightforward as Ji-eun, things would be easier.

“Si-ho.”

“Yes, why?”

She answered with a smile, seemingly happy just to be called by me.

Indeed, Si-ho had changed a lot from our first impression.

“Do you know Josia?”

Thinking it better to ask something else first, I posed the question, and Si-ho tilted her head.

“The one who likes Ha Seo-ho, right?”

Si-ho had known about it for a while.

Hearing her answer, I scratched my head.

“That Josia is at the academy now.”

“She must have followed Ha Seo-ho.”

“That’s about right.”

Si-ho’s expression showed she had expected as much.

“But why her?”

“Seo-ho came to the academy because of me. So, she found out and seems to have taken an interest in me. You know my situation, right?”

“Yes, it’s related to the Returners.”

Since Eun-namu was out of the room, Si-ho answered easily.

She knew well that discussing Returners was sensitive and hard to explain.

“So, Eun-namu suggested I tell Josia that I’m your boyfriend to keep her away.”

“Really?!”

At that moment, Si-ho suddenly stood up from her chair.

She grabbed my knees, her eyes sparkling, and I froze for a moment, looking at her.

Then, Si-ho, seeming to notice my gaze, quickly removed her hands from my knees and looked around.

“So, what did you do, Manager?”

“Sorry, I just went along with it. Thanks to that, Josia seemed to accept it.”

As I said this, I observed Si-ho’s actions.

Her feet, now back on the chair, were slightly swaying up and down, as if excited.

Normally, being treated as an old man’s boyfriend would be unpleasant, but why was Si-ho so excited?

‘Because she likes me.’

Damn, after hearing that from Eun-namu, I couldn’t stop thinking that way.

If Si-ho really likes me, then having two minors like me is even more absurd.

I tried to calm down as much as possible.

“Anyway, so Josia is following me around, worried I might tell Seo-ho she likes him.”

Hearing this, Si-ho seemed to think deeply for a moment, then looked at me.

“So, you just need to get rid of her, right?”

“It’s uncomfortable, so some advice would be nice.”

Si-ho, hearing my words, seemed to make a decision and placed her small fist on her knee.

“Manager, did you know Ha Seo-ho doesn’t really like women?”

“Was that so?”

“Yes, I don’t understand it, but all the girls like Ha Seo-ho. He even has stalkers coming to his house, so he’s a bit wary.”

That made sense.

If I were a girl and saw Seo-ho’s face, I might unconsciously follow him too.

“But recently, there was that incident.”

That incident must be the one with Gwak Sa-yeon.

From Seo-ho’s perspective, it was an incident that could make him completely dislike women.

“Because of that, I’m worried about Ha Seo-ho. He might end up disliking women altogether and push everyone away.”

“That could happen.”

It was a convincing story.

Even from a younger sibling’s perspective, seeing your older brother like that would be worrying.

“So, before Ha Seo-ho gets worse, what if Josia unnie gets along well with him?”

Both are S-class Hunters, high school classmates, and Seo-ho, while finding her annoying, doesn’t seem to dislike her.

It wasn’t a bad suggestion for Seo-ho’s sake.

“That sounds good.”

“So, Manager and I can give her advice.”

“Me? I’ve never even been in a relationship.”

Si-ho seemed to clench her fist tighter for some reason.

“It’s okay. I know Ha Seo-ho well, so I can help.”

If this could solve the problem, Josia wouldn’t have to worry about me telling Seo-ho, and it might even help with Seo-ho’s trauma.

“That’s a good idea. Let’s do it.”

At that moment, Si-ho’s lips curved into a smile.

“So, am I your girlfriend now?”

“Ah, sorry, does it bother you?”

“Not at all. I like it.”

Wait, this is…

“Wow, I never thought I’d see a kid acting like a fox.”

As I glanced at Baeksan, he was looking at Si-ho with an incredulous expression.

So, this is what’s going on?

I looked back at Si-ho.

Her innocent eyes met mine and she smiled brightly.

But for some reason, I felt like a fox’s tail was wagging behind her back.

…If Eun-namu and Baeksan are right, I might start to find Si-ho a bit scary.

‘Forget it. She’s only acting like this in front of Josia, so let’s just move on for now.’

I decided to leave this matter to future me and immediately started looking for Josia with Si-ho.

Actually, finding her wasn’t that hard.

Because as soon as I left the room, she started following me shortly after.

She could pass through walls freely, so sometimes it was hard to know where she was.

But I also have Baeksan, a Returner who can pass through walls.

So, her location was quickly revealed to us.

“There she is.”

As soon as Baeksan pointed her out, I told Si-ho.

“Si-ho, she’s behind the pillar over there.”

“Okay, got it.”

Si-ho grabbed my collar as she answered.

In an instant, our vision changed.

We appeared right next to Josia, who was still looking in the direction we had been.

At the same time, we grabbed her arms from both sides.

It happened so quickly that Josia was caught off guard, but we overlooked one thing.

She could pass through any part of her body if she wanted to.

“Too bad!”

With those words, our arms passed right through her.

If she decided to run at full power, we had no way to catch her.

So, we had to try a different approach.

“Si-ho! Let’s head straight to Seo-ho!”

“Got it!”

As soon as I shouted, Josia screamed and released her ability.

Seeing this, Si-ho and I quickly grabbed her arms again.

Her face showed a look of defeat.

“…Threatening me with Seollsan Iri is too much.”

“If we didn’t do this, you’d just run away again.”

Hearing my words, she gave a bitter smile and looked at Si-ho.

“So, you brought your girlfriend too?”

“Well…”

“Yes. Si-ho is the Manager’s girlfriend.”

Before I could answer, Si-ho cut in with sparkling eyes.

Seeing this, I had no choice but to nod.

We had agreed to this, after all.

“Are you really dating?”

Of course.

Even I wouldn’t believe it.

“Yes, we are. Want proof?”

With that, Si-ho suddenly leaned her face towards me and closed her eyes.

Her small, shy face was visible.

And her slightly protruding pink lips stood out, making it clear what she meant.

“…Sorry, I believe you. Just don’t do that in front of me, okay?”

Josia, unable to bear watching couple behavior, spoke with a slightly disgusted expression.

“Si-ho, she said it’s okay.”

“…”

Si-ho opened her eyes and looked at Josia with dissatisfaction.

“Neither of us will run, so can you let us go?”

As if it was hard to talk like this, Josia waved her hand, and I released her arm.

Si-ho followed suit.

Instead, Si-ho came closer and hugged my arm.

I froze for a moment, but since we were pretending to date, I thought it was natural and stayed still.

For some reason, I felt like Si-ho was taking full advantage of this opportunity, but I pushed the thought away.

“So, why did you catch me?”

“You’ve been following me every day, so I thought I’d give you some advice.”

“…Did you notice I was following you?”

If it weren’t for Baeksan, I wouldn’t have known.

“What kind of advice?”

“How to get Seo-ho’s attention. You like him, right?”

Hearing this, Josia’s face stiffened again.

She whistled and turned her head to the side, but it was obvious.

She clearly liked Seo-ho.

“I, I just want to join the team Ha Seo-ho is forming. It’s not like that.”

“That imaginary team is still valid? There’s no such team.”

“Why lie? It wouldn’t hurt to let me join.”

No, there isn’t one.

“Why do you like Ha Seo-ho?”

Si-ho looked at her with a genuinely puzzled expression.

Well, siblings are like that.

To me, Seo-ho had many charms that women couldn’t resist, but to Si-ho, he was just Seo-ho.

“Why are you dating Kang Ha-chan?”

“He’s my prince.”

“Prince?”

“I like the prince. I like him the most in the world.”

As she said this, Si-ho looked at me.

Seeing her slightly flushed cheeks, I remembered what she had said before.

“Si-ho really likes fairy tale princes.”

“So, lately, I’ve been thinking that the Manager might be a prince.”

Perhaps that was her way of expressing her feelings.

But at the same time, I was confused because we were pretending to date to convince Josia.

Maybe Si-ho was just putting in effort for the act…

“I can hear your stupid brain rolling around from here. Stop overthinking.”

I got scolded by Baeksan.

“So, it’s true…”

Meanwhile, Josia was looking at Si-ho with a surprised expression.

Then she looked at me with a face that seemed to ask ‘how?’

Don’t look at me.

I don’t know either.