Chapter 115 – The First Encounter (1)

I carefully observed them to find out who was the final boss. They spoke to each other while pointing at me. I could hear them with my gift.

— Sahyuk, what do you think about him?

The man called the girl Sahyuk. Then her last name should be Jin. Jin Sahyuk. I couldn’t help but sigh as I pressed the temple of my forehead. She had the same name as the final boss. I held up my smartwatch, but no alerts popped up.

— Is he really looking at us?

Jin Sahyuk glared at me and asked.

— Of course, our eyes met.

— He doesn’t look strong though.

I had designed Jin Sahyuk as a growing final boss with the same, or perhaps even higher potential than Kim Suho. She would grow faster than Kim Suho and become the final boss in the end. She served as Kim Suho’s true rival. Her fate shouldn’t have changed despite the gender swap. I wouldn’t hesitate to kill her even if it took all my SP and the bullet made from Misteltein’s leaf.

— Sahyuk, you must train your discernment. Someone who could observe us from that distance with the courage to glare back at you couldn’t possibly be average.

My eyesight was special. One’s perception stat needed to be at least 15 to match mine.

— And look at that beard. He looks quite strong.

I rubbed my beard. I had left it alone since I gained SP from just walking around Cube with it. I should get rid of it now.

— Didn’t you tell me not to judge a book by its cover?

Jin Sahyuk glared at the man. However, he only laughed in response. I grew more curious about his identity. In the original story, Jin Sahyuk only had lackeys around.

“Sigh, never mind.”

This world was already different. I needed to stop crying about diverging from the original story.

— Cough, that’s because I have good discernment and you don’t. Listen brat, stop glaring at him. Are you trying to pick a fight?

— He glared at me first! He’s still glaring!

— I’m sure he’s just attracted to you. Why don’t you wink at him instead? Show off your beauty.

— What about a death wink? I can shoot a beam of magic power at him.

I flinched. This crazy bitch…Thankfully, the man reacted sensibly and stopped her. Then he waved and they walked away. I watched them leave to an unknown destination. They caught me off guard, but I had confirmed the girl’s identity. I still wondered about the man. Who could possibly stand beside her as an equal or even a superior?

“Hajin, can Hayang and I go swimming?”

Evandel’s cheerful voice rang out.

“Hm?”

I turned around and saw her swinging her legs inside the indoor swimming pool while Hayang happily swam around.

“Sure, but do you know how to swim?”

“Of course, of course!”

Evandel jumped into the pool. She didn’t need to change since her clothes were made from magic.

“Hayang, Hayang. Let’s race!”

Hayang swam to the starting point and I could see the cat was growing smarter.

“It will be ready, start, then go. Okay? Ready…”

Evandel dragged out her word as she observed Hayang’s posture. Then suddenly…

“Start!”

She shouted and got a head start. Her cheap tactic surprised Hayang as the cat quickly chased after her. I smiled as I watched them. Is this how it feels to have a daughter? Of course, Evandel was a one-of-a-kind child.

***

We went to the new apartment I purchased instead of returning to Cube on Saturday morning. It was located in Seoul’s Seocho District and each room was about 160 square meters. I realized that my financial power wasn’t anything special yet. This apartment cost half of my savings even after I became a multi-billionaire through the stock market. Of course, the cost of the land always remained high since Korea was a tiny country despite being a superpower.

“Hajin, Hajin, where is this? It’s so big!”

“It’s our new house. We’ll be staying here from time to time. You can think of it as… a villa.”

“Aha.”

Evandel ran to the couch like usual as Hayang looked around for something to climb.

“I should have brought the nightingales.”

Evandel murmured as she rolled around on the couch. She referred to all the birds she created as nightingales. They all looked different, but we started calling them that.

“Evandel, play here with Hayang, okay? We have Legos, dolls, video games, and a TV. The fridge also has some food and snacks. Uncle is going out for a bit.”

“Un!”

“Meow.”

Evandel and Hayang happily agreed since I played with them all day yesterday. I raced through the roads on Agusta as its engine quietly hummed. Soon, I arrived at the Seoul portal station at 8 P.M. I came an hour earlier than scheduled and waited on a bench after parking my bike. Oh Hanhyun arrived first, and my early appearance clearly surprised him.

“You’re already here, Hajin?”

“Yep.”

Kim Suho arrived next and also reacted the same. He dragged along a half-asleep Yi Yeonghan.

“Hajin? Why are you here so early?”

“No reason. I guess I’m just looking forward to it.”

“Ah, I get it. Kuku, that’s cute.”

Kim Suho laughed. Then he suddenly recalled something and spoke to Oh Hanhyun.

“Oh right. Yoo Yeonha says she’ll come later tonight. She’s not feeling well.”

“What?”

That surprised me. Why wasn’t she feeling well? Nothing should’ve happened to make her sick.

“Do you know why?”

“She was hospitalized.”

“What? Hospitalized?”

My surprise turned into shock. Yi Yeonghan replied as he yawned.

“I think it was gastritis caused by stress? You know, she’s kind of sensitive. Chae Nayun went to visit her yesterday.”

Speak of the devil, Chae Nayun just arrived.

“Yo.”

She waved with a bright smile and ran up to us. She surprised me too. Chae Nayun wasn’t the type to smile so joyfully when her friend was sick.

“I heard Yoo Yeonha’s sick.”

“Oh, Yeonha? She’s fine now thanks to me staying up with her all night. Her complexion doesn’t seem pale anymore, so she told me to go ahead.”

“Did she?”

She must’ve just eaten something bad. After all, Yoo Yeonha liked to secretly eat junk food.

“Alright everyone, let’s go!”

Oh Hanhyun smiled and led us through the portal. It only took ten steps to travel from Seoul to Busan. The scenery came into view as we left the portal station. It deserved to be called the second capital of Korea. A variety of shops lined the streets. People of all nationalities walked by, but everyone spoke in Korean.

“We’ll take a street tour today. Busan is full of street shops with clothes, miscellaneous stuff, weapons, antiques, and more. It’s my hometown, so just follow me.” Oh Hanhyun confidently guided us.

“Busan, Busan. Busan seagulls.”

Chae Nayun happily hummed and came next to me. “Hey, have you been to Busan?”

“Yeah, obviously.”

“I see. Oh look, that must be Busan’s road with street shops.”

Chae Nayun nudged my arm and pointed to the street vendors. We walked together and looked at the displays of clothes, weapons, scrolls, books, etc. Then Chae Nayun disappeared and came back after around 5 minutes.

“Hey, try this.”

She brought a hat from somewhere.

“What’s this?”

“Try it on.”

She put the hat on my head before I could say anything and glanced at me from top to bottom.

“Oh, not bad. Do you want me to buy it for you?”

“No, I’m good.”

“I already bought it though, so just keep it on.”

Then she disappeared again. I looked at the price tag. What kind of hat cost 350,000 won? I kept it on since it was a gift and continued browsing the shops. I wanted to find a proper antique shop to score some valuables. Chae Nayun appeared once again with a hot dog this time.

“Hey, eat this.”

“Where did you…”

She stuffed the hot dog into my mouth before I could finish.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

“I’ll get sick if I do.”

Chae Nayun giggled at me eating the hot dog. I silently stared at her. She seemed cheerful and energetic. Her bright attitude tired me out. Is she acting like this because Chae Jinyoon's condition improved? Or was it because she… Suddenly, I felt my stomach churn. A fundamental question rose in my head. Am I allowed to be this friendly with her? An uncomfortable acquaintance. Wasn’t that supposed to be the extent of our relationship?

“…”

However, feelings couldn’t be controlled so easily. A dark thought emerged inside me that it would be okay as long as she never found out.

“Hey, try this on. It’ll get cold soon.”

Chae Nayun placed a scarf around my neck.

“Where do you keep getting these things. Take it off.”

“Ah! It’ll get cold soon. Hey, Kim Hajin! Where are you going?”

I ran away as quickly as I could.

***

I felt exhausted. It became evening as we spent the day having fun. The sun set fairly early since it was autumn.

“Today’s final course is… Busan Disneyland!”

We stood in front of our last destination for the day. Smugglers should be secretly conducting a trade inside. Their conflict would soon turn into chaos and Kim Suho would run into Jin Sahyuk while suppressing them.

Chae Nayun raised her hand after checking her smartwatch. “Ah, Yeonha says she’s here now.”

A limousine stopped in front of the entrance as Yoo Yeonha stepped out. Chae Nayun hopped towards her.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah.”

Yoo Yeonha walked past Chae Nayun and Kim Suho and stood in front of me.

“…”

She stared at me lifelessly. She seemed weak and fragile, unlike her usual self. Was her food poisoning that bad?

“Does it still hurt?”

Yoo Yeonha shook her head. Then Oh Hanhyun spoke up.

“Oh right, we’ll be traveling in pairs inside Disneyland.”

“You, go with me.”

Yoo Yeonha spoke before Oh Hanhyun could explain how pairs would form.

“Huh? Me?”

“What, what are you doing, Yeonha?”

Chae Nayun gave her an odd look, but Yoo Yeonha grabbed onto my sleeve. I also wondered why she acted like this, but I agreed since it seemed like she had something important to say.

“Sure.”

I paired up with Yoo Yeonha as we entered Disneyland. It felt like we stepped into a fairy tale, but Yoo Yeonha remained silent and occasionally sighed as she glanced at me. I wondered why she seemed so down, so I brought her on a rollercoaster. As expected, Yoo Yeonha panicked as we went up and seemed more energetic by the time the ride ended.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“…”

“If not, we’ll go again.”

“N-N-No, I’m fine. S-So let’s skip t-this and r-ride that.”

Yoo Yeonha pointed at the giant Ferris wheel. I slightly furrowed my brows.

“Isn’t that a couples’ ride? Why would you want to go there?”

“I need to talk to you about something.” Her voice slightly trembled.

“If you say so. What’s it about?”

“…”

Yoo Yeonha didn’t reply as I followed her. Honestly, this would be my first time riding a Ferris wheel. We silently stared at each other inside the slow-moving pod.

“What is it?” I asked out of frustration.

“Oh, is it about the bullet I asked you to refine? Is it too difficult?”

“No… I should be able to give you that by next month. That leaf wasn’t ordinary.”

“Right? Ah, you can use any leftovers for your research.”

“Research?”

“Yeah, for your pharmaceutical company. We’re allies, aren’t we? Or maybe I’m just an investor, haha.”

“…”

Yoo Yeonha clenched her teeth and dropped her head. It was then. KOONG! An explosion rumbled. I looked down from the window before looking back at Yoo Yeonha. To my surprise, she stared at me with a determined look and seemed unconcerned about the chaos below.

“What?”

“Remember what I said? That I had something to talk to you about.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“You see…”

KOONG! The Ferris wheel suddenly shook and stopped. Yoo Yeonha didn’t react at all, but I quickly looked back down. Two people glared at each other where the explosion took place. I focused my sight and hearing on them.

— It really was you. To think you’re having fun with a girl. Should I say it’s to be expected from a kid?

Jin Sahyuk leered at Kim Suho and Chae Nayun.

— You.

Kim Suho glared at her with a stiff face.

— So you recognize me. You would be a fool not to. After all, it’s just you and me.

— Who are you and why are you picking a fight with us?

Chae Nayun frowned and stepped forward. She wore a polar bear hat that she must’ve won from a game.

— Shut your mouth, shit for brains.

— Shi… I dare you to say that again.

Chae Nayun was a headstrong girl in her own right, but Jin Sahyuk took the meaning of crazy to another level. She condensed her magic power into a ball and threw it at Chae Nayun. It burst into a beam that instantly struck Chae Nayun in the stomach and sent her flying a hundred meters. Kim Suho couldn’t even react to the sudden attack.

“Hey, I think we’re going to have to talk later.”

The situation didn’t look good. I didn’t expect her to knock out Chae Nayun in one blow. Jin Sahyuk was supposed to be a growing final boss. Why the hell was she so strong? I quickly opened the pod door and prepared to jump down. However, Yoo Yeonha grabbed my wrist. I looked back at her.

“I don’t think I can do it later. If it’s not now… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to say it again.”

Yoo Yeonha looked like she would cry as she desperately spoke. I froze. Just what could have caused… Ah! A light bulb suddenly went off in my head. The pieces of the puzzle finally came together. A part of the Yoo Yeonha Scandal must’ve occurred already. It would make sense why she suffered from stress-induced gastritis.

“Then you don’t have to say it.”

I’ll always help you. I smiled and tapped her head. Then I jumped down from the Ferris wheel.