Chapter 123.

“Sorry, I’m in the middle of an exam, so we’ll have to discuss the details later . ”

—Fine . Also, just so you know, it was a typo, not a grammatical error . I was a bit offended by you pointing it out . I was going to fix it… .

By the time I finished consoling Boss and set up an appointment to meet later…

“Kim Hajin, is Kim Hajin here?”

One of the instructors walking around the waiting room called my name .

“Ah, yes . ”

“…You’re here?”

When I ended the call in a hurry and raised my hand, the instructor made a surprised face .

“Kuhum, Rachel is looking for you . Looks like you two got separated during the exam . Tell her not to make such a big deal out of it . This isn’t England, so she can’t order us around… . ”

I bowed .

“I apologize . ”

The instructor clicked his tongue and reported to the higher ups .

“All cadets are accounted for . ”

Then, he quickly left .

Next, I tried to look for Rachel, but I didn’t need to .

She was standing behind the instructor who left .

“… . ”

She was staring at me silently with her eyes glistening with tears .

Feeling like I made her worry for nothing, I felt a bit sorry . I should have looked for her first .

Soon, Rachel opened her mouth .

“I was looking for you . You should have told me you were okay… . ”

“Ah, sorry . There was a matter I had to tend to . ”

Rachel sighed . Then, she murmured in a barely audible whisper .

—Thank goodness .

Her sincerity hit me with quite a bit of damage . Thankfully, it was an indirect attack . Otherwise, my heart would have skipped more than just a beat .

Rachel asked .

“So, what happened in that last stage…?”

“Well, I won . ”

“Eh? Wow, really? Against a member of Dark Moon…”

She suddenly stopped mid-sentence and looked around . She then continued in a softer voice .

“Against a member of Dark Moon Society?”

“Yeah, I beat him up . ”

“Ah!”

To be honest, I barely turned the situation around after suffering several lacerations . But Rachel didn’t have to know that .

“Wow… . ”

Rachel looked awestruck with her mouth half-open and her eyes shining like jewels .

When I shrugged, Rachel nodded, fully accepting the situation .

“From today, I’ll have to call Hajin-ssi Master . ”

“…Yes? Ah, no, you don’t need to do that . ”

I wanted to refuse a master-apprentice relationship that would shatter after a single proper one-on-one fight .

…No, I felt like I could win against her once . Rachel has probably never fought against someone with so many tricks up their sleeve .

“Master . ”

“Please, you don’t have to . ”

I scratched my neck, feeling a bit embarrassed .

“…Cadet Rachel, Cadet Kim Hajin . ”

At that moment, Kim Soohyuk approached us .

“Ah, Instructor Kim . ”

“What’s going on?”

The instructor of Veritas class was trustworthy and honorable, unlike the rude instructor from before .

Rachel and I explained everything that happened in the tower’s final exam room to Kim Soohyuk .

With a serious face, Kim Soohyuk said he would report it to the academy, but Cube’s executives would likely have little reaction to it .

Since Rachel and I were the only witnesses, there were many excuses Cube executives could make .

More than likely, they would say that was how the stage was, or that we misunderstood the instructor’s intention .

“Anyways, well done . ”

Kim Soohyuk pat our shoulders and turned back .

I asked Rachel who was standing next to me .

“…What are you going to do now, Rachel-ssi?”

“Me? I’m going back to England tonight… Master . ”

With a teasing smile, Rachel added the word Master .

I took special care to not look at her smile .

Rachel was the type of person who would change the more she opened up her heart . The way she was changing right now was too fatal for my heart .

I returned a small smile, and feeling my smartwatch vibrate, I looked down .

[Hajin Hajin . ]

[I learned how to text . Hayang helped me . ]

[But when are you coming back, Hajin? I want to see you . ]

Nowadays, Evandel was way too into the smartwatch I got her . She even learned how to look up videos on YouTube . She would probably learn how to order food soon .

‘…Let’s hurry home and eat with Evandel . ’

**

The first week of winter break .

Inside a nameless Dungeon in Baekdu Mountain Range’s Upper Sword Mountain .

“…Whew~ good work, Hajin . ”

I was sprawled on the ground, hearing Kim Suho’s praise .

“Wow, my hands are still shaking . Wasn’t that super fun?”

Although Kim Suho was reflecting on our previous battle with a bright smile, I was too shaken to do anything .

The boss of this Dungeon was a venomous snake called Jǫr .

It was an intermediate-rank grade-1 monster that spat out black venom .

The strategy I came up with was simple .

As a sharpshooter, I would be the support, and as a warrior, Kim Suho would charge in .

Things mostly went according to plan . Kim Suho marched forward, cutting down its venom, and I shot Jǫr’s eyes from the back .

However, the damned monster began to rampage after losing its sight . Shooting its venom everywhere, it attacked without caring for its own safety . If I didn’t have the detox medicinal effect memorized, I would have died in vain .

“Is this urn the reward?”

“Yeah, that should be it . That was what Jǫr was protecting, right?”

I forced myself to get up .

“But what is it?”

“I’ll have to appraise it first . ”

When I put my hand out, Kim Suho gave the urn to me without a hint of hesitation .

===

[Jar of Greed]

A jar full of greed .

When you put an item inside, a random greed will adhere to the item .

===

This was one of the randomization items I created .

It was easy to use . You just had to put an item in it and let it sit for about ten days . Although no one knew what crazy effect would be added to the item, with my luck, I wasn’t too worried .

“You can take this one . ”

Kim Suho suddenly spoke up .

“…Mm? What do you mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I took Misteltein, so you should take this one . ”

“But still…”

I knew that this jar could be used twice .

“It’s fine . I’m happy with the combat experience I gained today… . Oh right, if you feel bad about taking it, then let’s go on a trip together . ”

I didn’t reply to Kim Suho . I just lay down and pretended to sleep .

Kim Suho laughed, and time passed by in silence .

Wiing—

The silence was broken by the vibration of a smartwatch .

It wasn’t mine .

Then it should naturally be Kim Suho’s .

I turned my head and saw Kim Suho typing earnestly .

Seeing this, I felt like I knew who the sender was .

“Yun Seung-Ah again?”

“… . ”

Kim Suho flinched .

I couldn’t help but laugh .

Although this wasn’t my intention, Yun Seung-Ah and Kim Suho ended up getting close a lot earlier . In the original story, Yun Seung-Ah couldn’t even text Kim Suho, because Chae Nayun constantly kept a watchful eye .

“You guys going out?”

“Huh? N-No, how could someone like me go out with Senior Seung-Ah . ”

“…If you aren’t worthy, then no one is . ”

Kim Suho’s looks alone were more than enough to make girls fawn over him .

“Anyways, Hajin . ”

“You’re good at changing the subject . ”

“N-No, I’m going back to what we talked about before . About that trip . ”

“…You like going on trips that much?”

“No, it’s just that I’m leaving on the 20th . We won’t see each other for almost 3 months . ”

Kim Suho continued with a serious face .

“And you can also get closer to Nayun . ”

“Also?”

“Yeah, Chae Nayun changed a lot . Now, she’s…”

“No, not that . ”

I changed the subject .

“Huh?”

“If I also get closer to Chae Nayun, that means you, Kim Suho, are getting closer to someone too… and that’s Yun Seung-Ah . ”

“N-No, it’s not like that!”

Kim Suho shot up angrily .

“Haha, it’s also not like that for me . I don’t like Chae Nayun . I never said I did in the first place . ”

“Eh? Really? That’s not good . ”

“Not good how?”

“Uh… nevermind . ”

Kim Suho closed his mouth .

He seemed to have talked to Chae Nayun about me . Should I hack into their smartwatches later?

“Anyways, you take this jar . But you have to come on the trip . ”

I smiled and nodded at Kim Suho’s generous offer .

Since I would have never been able to clear this Dungeon without him, I could at least do that much for him .

**

December 17th .

On a cold winter day, I left for a trip with Kim Suho, Shin Jonghak, Yoo Yeonha, Yi Yeonghan, and Chae Nayun .

Our destination was a luxury resort near Gyeongpodae . Currently, we were heading to Daehyun Group’s 5-star hotel .

To fully enjoy the trip, Chae Nayun suggested that we take a car from Seoul to Gyeongpodae .

But since none of us had a driver’s license, we had to take a limousine .

“Nom, nom . ”

Although everyone was full of energy at first, only Yoo Yeonha remained awake past the 30-minute mark .

“Nom, nom . ”

I watched Yoo Yeonha happily eating chocoballs .

It was one of the snacks Chae Nayun brought to liven up the trip . Although Yoo Yeonha showed no interest in it at first, she practically made a 180 once everyone fell asleep .

The way she savored each chocoball was quite funny .

“… . ”

Suddenly, our eyes met .

Yoo Yeonha looked at me and reluctantly gave me the box of chocoballs .

“Would you like some?”

“No, I’m fine . ”

“…That’s a good choice . It’s not that good . ”

As she said that, she put another chocoball in her mouth .

Thud .

At that moment, the limousine shook, and Chae Nayun’s head fell on my shoulder . Her hair’s fragrant scent tickled my nose .

“…Hm . ”

Yoo Yeonha murmured to herself at the sudden turn of events . I pushed Chae Nayun’s head to the side .

But in two minutes, her head fell on my shoulder again .

She wasn’t awake, right?

When I turned back to the front after deciding to give up, I met eyes with Yoo Yeonha . For some reason, she was looking at us with a sad expression .

“What . ”

“…Yes? Ah… um, I just felt bad . Nayun’s head must be heavy . ”

“Mm, I guess you’re right . Her head’s too big . ”

I dissed Chae Nayun to check if she was awake, but there was no reaction .

It seemed she really was asleep .

After another 30 minutes of driving, we arrived at our destination, a resort that made my jaw drop . In fact, even the buildings near the resort were luxurious .

Gangwondo sure lived up to its setting, where its GDP matched that of a small country .

“Follow me!”

Chae Nayun got up as soon as we arrived and guided us with a lively voice .

Our home for the next two days was a huge party room with six bedrooms .

We put our bags in our rooms and met in the living room .

“Our schedule is really tight, so make sure you don’t get lost!”

Chae Nayun shouted as she smiled joyfully . Everyone seemed to be looking forward to what she had planned .

…However, from 12:00 to 9:00, we were forced to participate in a nine-course schedule, consisting of pool, bowling, jet skiing, swimming, hot spring bathing, and other events .

I for one didn’t know whether we were enjoying a trip or training for the Olympics .

**

11:00 P . M .

The final event of the day was a barbeque party . With Gyeongpodae’s scenic view in the background, we enjoyed some of the highest quality meat .

Tssss—

Looking at the meat being cooked on the grill, I felt myself relax .

“Kim Hajin, this is stuck . Give me a hand . ”

Chae Nayun, who was standing next to me, tapped on my shoulder . I turned around and saw a piece of meat stuck on the grill .

“…I can do the grilling alone . ”

“Yeah, no . ”

Everyone else was sitting on the table, but Chae Nayun insisted on helping me grill .

“Oh right, I bought a motorcycle too . ”

“…What? Really?”

“Yep, it’s parked in the parking lot . Want to go on a drive after this?”

“Do you have a motorcycle driver’s license?”

“I do, but you’ll need to take the wheel . I’m still inexperienced . ”

“Oh? What’s this~?”

At that moment, Yi Yeonghan’s teasing voice rang out .

“What are you two doing over there~?”

Chae Nayun frowned and glared at Yi Yeonghan .

“Shut up, Yi Yeonghan . ”

“Ouch, scary . ”

“Why don’t you leave the cooking to one person? There’s no reason for you to help out . ”

Shin Jonghak muttered somewhat annoyed . He still had the meat I gave him stacked up on his plate . It seemed he was too busy paying attention to us to eat .

“Why? It’s nice to see . ”

Kim Suho chimed in .

Shin Jonghak glared at Kim Suho strongly .

“W-What do you mean it’s nice to see? Y-You shut up too, Kim Suho . ”

Chae Nayun stuttered and glanced up at me .

Our eyes met for a brief moment, but we quickly dodged each other’s eyes .

“K-Kuhum . ”

Chae Nayun let out a dry cough with a reddened face .

“Hey, don’t have any strange thoughts . ”

“I won’t . ”

“…Why? Did things go well with Rachel?”

She suddenly pouted and grumbled .

“What are you talking about?”

“Nevermind~”

“Oi, Kim Suho, why don’t we go back to the pool table after this? The loser has to go swim in the ocean . ”

“Sure, I’m down . ”

Shin Jonghak and Kim Suho planned for another match .

On the other hand, Yi Yeonghan was staring at Chae Nayun and me mischievously, and Yoo Yeonha was completely focused on looking for an opportunity to cook ramen .

Seeing them, I laughed silently .

It was the kind of atmosphere that called for soju .

The night sky full of starlight, the fond sound of crashing waves, and the people whom I now felt lonely without .

Standing alongside them, I was deeply moved .

The emotion I thought I would never feel in this world – affection .

If I had a glass of alcohol, I felt like I could really let myself go today .

Tak, tak .

Chae Nayun tapped on my shoulder .

“See, aren’t you glad you came?”

Chae Nayun had a beautiful smile .

I couldn’t deny it .

“It’s not bad . ”

“Heh, I know you love it . ”

Chae Nayun grinned .

At that moment, her smartwatch rang .

“Ah, let me deal with this . Hello?”

She picked up the call and put on earphones .

“Ah, yes, I’m Chae Nayun . ”

I could hear the voice coming from her earphones .

“…Yes?”

She suddenly dropped the tongs she was holding .

As the voice continued to talk, her hands trembled, her breathing sped up, and her eyes widened with shock .

“He… . ”

She stopped there .

—Yes! Patient Chae Jinyoon woke up! Though, he’s currently sleeping…

Chae Nayun seemed to stop breathing .

What I was worried about ended up happening . Chae Jinyoon had woken up before the seed sprouted .

I closed my eyes . I needed some time to think .

But soon, Chae Nayun hung up the call and pulled on my sleeve . ”

“Hey . ”

Looking up at me with tear filled eyes, Chae Nayun pleaded .

“Please give me a ride . ”

11:30 P . M .

Domestic Portals had closed 30 minutes ago .

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