Chapter 117 – The First Encounter (3)

The heroes and police arrested all the smugglers who caused a scene at Disneyland. Tomorrow’s headline would read something like, Failed Negotiation Leads to Smugglers’ Infighting. Jin Sahyuk’s party, the real cause behind much of the mess, disappeared before the authorities arrived. Kim Suho and Chae Nayun also recovered thanks to my potions.

“…”

Kim Suho sat between pieces of destroyed asphalt as I walked up behind him and placed my hand on his head. His hair felt quite soft. He turned around and smiled at me. I smiled back and sat next to him.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, thanks to you. I’ll pay you back for the potion.”

“Don’t mind it. So how are you related to that girl from before?”

I already knew, but asked anyways. Kim Suho looked into the horizon and murmured.

“She’s just someone I know.”

“I see.”

I didn’t ask any further as we stared at the night sky for a while.

“Hajin.”

Kim Suho suddenly called my name.

“Yeah?”

I spoke as softly as I could. He faced me with complicated emotions in his eyes. I understood what he felt, yet didn’t at the same time. I could empathize with his sense of loneliness from losing his home, but Kim Suho had no hopes of returning.

“Never mind.”

“That’s lame.”

I laughed to brighten the mood. Kim Suho faintly smiled.

“By the way, you’re the one who suppressed her, right?”

“No, she suppressed herself.”

“What does that mean?”

I stood up and placed my hand on his shoulder.

“It means she underestimated me.”

“…”

Kim Suho looked up at me. He had several charms like his bright and reliable personality, but he seemed quite melancholy now.

“I’m leaving. I don’t know who she is to you, but don’t feel so down.”

“I’m not down.”

Kim Suho bashfully lied. I ruffled his hair.

“A-Ah! W-What are you doing?”

“I’m leaving for real now.”

“What? Hey!”

Kim Suho glared at me with his hair puffed up like a lamb. I returned to the hotel.

***

Yoo Yeonha deeply contemplated in a 2 person luxury hotel room.

“I couldn’t tell him.”

She murmured to herself. She had resolved to tell Kim Hajin the truth, but missed her chance while hesitating.

— You don’t have to say it.

Yoo Yeonha still recalled his words. However, he didn’t know what she would confess. Even without his words, Yoo Yeonha felt like she wouldn’t have confessed. She feared he would point his gun at her when he found out the truth. Her first ally would become her greatest threat. It brought her fear and sadness.

“Ah, that felt great.”

Chae Nayun came out of the shower and interrupted her somber thoughts. Yoo Yeonha looked at her putting on her underwear. Then she asked, “Does it hurt anywhere?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s fine. The emergency treatment went well.”

Her internal injuries quickly healed thanks to the immediate consumption of a potion and her body’s natural toughness.

“Whew.”

Chae Nayun sat on the edge of the bed with nothing but her underwear. It featured a cartoon cat, but she didn’t look childish with her excellent figure. Chae Nayun picked up her smartwatch instead of putting on some clothes. She typed on the holographic keyboard as Yoo Yeonha asked her.

“What are you doing?”

“Hm? Oh, I’m texting Kim Hajin. I thought I should thank him.”

“…”

Yoo Yeonha silently watched her. Chae Nayun respected her grandfather, Chae Joochul, but he had played an even greater role than Yoo Jinwoong in Kim Hajin’s suffering. Of course, Chae Joochul wouldn’t have shown his ugliness to his granddaughter. However, the longer Chae Joochul remained a good grandfather, the more Chae Nayun would feel betrayed when she learned the truth.

Should I tell her about Kim Hajin’s past? That the one who killed Kim Hajin’s parents and forced him to live in solitude was Chae Joochul, who she admired most. Or should I just remain silent?

Yoo Yeonha spoke her name.

“Nayun.”

“Yeah?”

Chae Nayun didn’t know anything about Kim Hajin’s tangled past. If possible, Yoo Yeonha wanted to keep it that way. Chae Nayun would undoubtedly feel worse than Yoo Yeonha since she knew the pain of losing one’s family.

“Who was that person?”

“What do you mean?”

“The person who attacked you.”

“Oh, I don’t know.”

“You didn’t tell the police?”

“Yeah, I was too lazy.”

Chae Nayun didn’t tell the police since she feared her father would find out and cause a mess. Tap, tap, tap. Her eyes and fingers only focused on the smartwatch screen. Yoo Yeonha stared at her before adding.

“Be nice.”

“Hm?”

“Be nice when you text him. Don’t be snarky.”

“What?”

“Just listen to me so you won’t regret it later.”

“What? Do you have a screw loose?”

Chae Nayun looked dumbfoundedly at her before crawling into the bed. Then she frowned at the reply from Kim Hajin.

[Sleep.]

***

I returned to Cube two days later at 11:00 A.M. with Evandel and Hayang. Cube’s dorm felt cramped now compared to the presidential suite and Seoul apartment we enjoyed over the weekend. Thankfully, I would be assigned a bigger room next year. I could always move out and commute to school.

“Chicken, chicken, chicken…”

Evandel and Hayang anxiously waited at the kitchen table as I brought 3 roasted chickens.

“Since Hayang only eats legs and wings…”

Evandel gave Hayang two chicken legs and wings. She finally learned how to share after fighting for a long time. I watched them eat with a smile before heading to the bedroom and turning on my laptop.

[You have obtained 433 SP!] [Your luck has been applied. You have received a 22% bonus in SP!]

I gained quite a bit of SP from last night’s incident. The bonus itself was close to 100 SP. It was time to use it now.

“Mmm…”

I typed in a physique I recently came up with.

[Medicinal Memory Physique]

It seemed like I would consume a lot of medicine from now on, so I thought of a physique to make the effects more permanent.

Medicinal Memory — Your body will memorize a portion of medicinal effects when consuming medicine with the same properties. The amount will depend on your luck. Reproduction — Your body will naturally produce medicinal effects that are 100% memorized. The amount will depend on your luck. — Reproduced medicinal effects will have different cooldowns depending on their effects. Adaptation & Growth — The medicinal effect will increase with repeated consumption and reproduction. The amount and frequency will depend on your luck.

[1000 SP will be consumed. Would you like to save?]

“Damn.”

As expected, modifications that permanently increased my stats were extremely expensive. However, it was also worth it. I had more than enough SP thanks to my fights with Asura and Jin Sahyuk.

[The setting has been changed.] [Your luck has been applied. Medicinal Memory Physique’s overall functionality has improved!]

“Hm.”

I tried eating a ginseng pill.

[Your strength, vitality, stamina, and magic power stats will slowly increase.] [Your body has remembered 4% of the ginseng pill’s medicinal effects.]

I would only need to consume 25 pills to reproduce it if the increase was linear.

“That’s not bad at—”

My upper arm suddenly ached. I had been expecting the pain. I quickly took off my shirt and looked at my arm. A new crescent line began to form above the cross-shaped stigma. I clenched my teeth since Evandel and Hayang were outside. I didn’t want them to worry. My consciousness slowly faded from the burning sensation.

***

“Huk!”

I opened my eyes at 11 A.M on Sunday. I promised to meet Rachel today.

“Shit, I’m screwed.”

I went to the living room and found Evandel and Hayang asleep. First, I checked my smartwatch.

[Missed call – 6:34 A.M.]

I had one missed call this morning. Could it be…?

“Argh.”

My arm still hurt, but I quickly raced to the place where we promised to meet. I arrived in five minutes and looked for Rachel from a nearby bush.

“…”

As expected, she had been waiting for me. She sat next to a street cat to pass the time and stroked its back as she looked at the sky. Her mouth slowly moved. One, two, three… it seemed like she was counting the stars.

I felt bad, but checked her wrist for the bracelet first. I couldn’t help her without it. Thankfully, she wore it. I approached her as I scratched my head.

“Um… Rachel?”

She silently dropped her head when she saw me. She didn’t seem too angry for someone who waited five hours without hearing back. However, her lips faintly protruded and her sharp eyes told me she was upset. I couldn’t blame her.

“Sorry, I’m late. Something came up.”

I slowly walked up to her. She greeted me with a faint smile.

“It looks like you just woke up.”

Rachel glanced at my hair. I touched it. Indeed, it puffed up like I just got out of bed.

“That’s okay. I just arrived too.”

“Eh? Ah… cough, sorry.”

She definitely sounded upset. I awkwardly stretched my arms.

“I’ll cut straight to the chase since I came late. Um, you wanted to learn about barrier, right?”

She nodded.

“Before I teach you barrier… why don’t you try following my training method first?”

“Huh?”

“You know, people have different training methods. One of the best ways to overcome a slump is to change your training method. The method I use might be suitable for you too.”

Rachel doubtfully looked at me from my hurried tone.

“Why don’t we take it slow…”

“No, no, just sit like you’re meditating.”

Rachel tilted her head.

“Just sit like me.”

“Ah, yes.”

Rachel sat cross-legged on the ground.

“Next, spread your magic power throughout your body. This is called breaking through acupoints.”

I muttered some words I recalled from martial art novels. Thankfully, Rachel concentrated on controlling her magic power without complaint. A faint blue glow surrounded her body.

“Good, just keep going.”

I encouraged her, so she wouldn’t grow suspicious.

“Next, try moving all that magic power to your left wrist. We’re going to circulate it through your body afterward.”

This useless training method would become the greatest once her magic power activated the bracelet.

“Put some strength into your left wrist like you’re emitting magic power from it.”

Psssssh. The bracelet began to shake from the vibration of magic power. However, the butterfly seedling’s dust showed no signs of releasing. Meanwhile, Rachel’s face turned red like a tomato.

“Harder, like you want to break that bracelet on your wrist.”

Rachel’s trembling grew stronger. Her magic power became so fierce until… Snap! The bracelet broke in half and the butterfly seedling’s dust finally poured out.