012 – Nymph Inoi #12
I wasn’t the type to enjoy eavesdropping on others’ conversations.
To be honest, I was more afraid of it.
The reason was clear.
I had been greatly disappointed after eavesdropping on women’s conversations before.
Thanks to that experience, I tried to avoid listening in on others’ personal stories whenever possible.
After all, an arrow shot without aiming at me could still pierce my heart.
For this reason, when I heard voices coming from Yu Ara’s lounge, I considered turning around for a moment. I believed I shouldn’t eavesdrop if they were having a private conversation.
━ Just give me 5 minutes! I’ll pay you!
━ Hey. It’s not about the money; I’m off at 6. I have plans, you know?
━ Just cancel! What could be more important than meeting me?
What should I do in this case?
If they were arguing inside?
As I pondered for a moment, I heard a loud crash from inside the lounge.
I also heard a woman scream.
Without thinking any further, I opened the lounge door.
Creeeak-.
As I opened the door, I saw a man holding Yu Ara’s wrist while she was wearing a white gown.
“…senpai?”
Yu Ara’s eyes widened when she spotted me. Soon, the man—Lee Joon-Hun—let go of Yu Ara’s wrist and frowned, saying, “Who are you? This is a private space.”
I was shocked.
Lee Joon-Hun.
Had he forgotten me?
We had gone into a rift together, and I had backed him up before!
But I could understand why he might have.
Lee Joon-Hun was a third-generation chaebol.
He was one of the three S-Rank awakened ones in Korea.
Having fallen to D-Rank less than a year ago, it was no surprise that he might forget my face and name. He was an incredibly busy person.
He must have met hundreds, if not thousands, of people each year, exchanging greetings and conversations; how could he remember my face?
Just then—
Yu Ara shrugged off Joon-Hun and came over to me.
“Senpai, did you wait long? I had a bit of a problem… but it’s all sorted now, so let’s go. You like pork belly, right? I know a great place!”
Without hesitation, Yu Ara linked her arm with mine.
As I was flustered by the fact that a woman had linked her arm with mine, Yu Ara leaned in closer and whispered in a voice only I could hear, “Just pretend to play along for a bit.”
I decided to play along since I considered myself somewhat of a sensible person. The fragrance of apples and perfume from Yu Ara was rather nice, after all.
Was it perfume?
Regardless, it smelled good.
Being a promising B-Rank healthcare professional, she must have made a decent amount of money, so it was probably expensive perfume. I thought I should take it all in while I had the chance as we exited the building.
Yu Ara didn’t release her arm around mine until we made it out into a deserted alley.
Having a woman in a white gown on my arm attracted more attention than I had expected, and I felt slightly embarrassed.
“Is this far enough?”
When I asked in the quiet alley, Yu Ara looked around. Letting out a sigh, she stepped away from me.
With her large eyes looking a little teary, she clasped her hands in front of me.
“I’m sorry. Did that surprise you? Lee Joon-Hun barged into the lounge and wouldn’t back down… Thanks to him, I managed to escape. It could have gotten troublesome.”
Yu Ara took a breath, clearly trying to calm her flustered demeanor. Out of sheer curiosity, I asked.
“I guess you two have been in contact before? Were you two close all along? From what I remember, you and Joon-Hun didn’t have any particular connection…”
I recalled past memories.
Yu Ara was a rather shy high school girl, while Joon-Hun was the popular guy even back then.
A shy high school girl and a third-generation chaebol, who probably had everything he ever wanted.
Aside from being in the same squad, all they had in common was their good looks.
But still…
When I was stuck at D-Rank while they both thrived and rose to B and C-Rank, they probably had a lot of interactions then.
Of course, Yu Ara panicked.
“I’m not close to Lee Joon-Hun! Don’t get the wrong idea! I don’t even have a boyfriend! I can’t stand a guy like him!”
“Oh really? I wasn’t asking if you were dating or anything; I was just wondering if you two exchanged messages or something. So why would the most famous guy in Korea bother you…?”
Yu Ara insisted she wasn’t dating, but…
The truth was, she was cute and pure-hearted. While she was a bit chubby in high school, giving her a cute appearance, she was now undeniably beautiful, having matured into a respectable adult. If Seo Ye-rim was urbanely beautiful, then Yu Ara might be seen as her opposite.
Their contrasting styles led to their fandoms being quite different and resulted in fierce battles over them, I recalled.
Soon, Yu Ara said.
“Well, Joon-Hun is somewhat of a celebrity. He sometimes comes by to do tests that shouldn’t get publicized in the media. I guess that’s what he was doing today.”
Was it a drug test or something?
Or maybe… a test for azoospermia?
With my imagination, that was about the only thing that came to mind regarding tests that shouldn’t be publicized.
“Anyway, senpai! Let’s go! By the way, did you drive here?”
Drive?
Yu Ara’s question made me feel a little embarrassed.
She probably thought I had a car, right?
Even though I was 27 and had worked steadily since early on as an Awakened,
I was still living paycheck to paycheck, renting a place.
“I’m a pedestrian.”
Yu Ara was shocked, her body trembling.
Then she said, “You don’t have a car? I don’t have a car either! We’re quite similar!” and laughed playfully.
Of course, the circumstances behind our lack of cars were different.
I couldn’t afford a car, while Yu Ara probably just chose not to have one.
“Aren’t you making a decent amount as a B-Rank Hunter? The healthcare job you’re doing now should be quite lucrative as well. Why didn’t you buy a car?”
“I just don’t really like driving.”
# # #
We caught a taxi and arrived at an alley where company employees often went for dinner. As we walked down the street, a rather shabby meat restaurant came into view, which mainly served offal.
Sizzle-.
Yu Ara was grilling the meat rather skillfully.
It was surreal to see a woman who looked like she should be dining at a fancy place with a wealthy man skillfully grilling offal and getting smoke in her face.
“Should I grill instead?”
“No, I don’t eat meat grilled by others. Do you know how sensitive my five senses became after awakening my mana? I can grill it at the perfect timing to make it taste the best.”
Sizzle-.
Her skill in flipping the meat was impressive.
Only then did I remember that Yu Ara’s special ability was ‘super-sensitivity.’
While Seo Ye-rim could manipulate flames, Yu Ara was the type who relied on her superior physical abilities to navigate situations.
Two different types.
A truly remarkable prospect.
Why had she quit fieldwork to become a healthcare professional?
Had her growth stagnated like mine?
I was curious in many ways, but asking seemed a bit inappropriate.
“Hey, these are all grilled!”
Soon, Yu Ara offered the cooked meat on an empty plate. Overcoming the awkwardness of eating meat grilled by my junior, I dipped it in ssamjang and placed it in my mouth, my eyes widening.
“Wow, this is really well-grilled!”
It wasn’t just polite words towards the person who grilled it; the meat was genuinely deliciously grilled. How could this be?
As I wondered, Yu Ara proudly stated, “Right? I told you I grill well. It doesn’t taste this good if others do it. I’m picky about what I eat because of my sensitivity!”
Anyway.
With this atmosphere, I took more of the grilled meat.
Neither of us liked alcohol, but perhaps due to the hot smoke from the grill, both our faces began to blush as Yu Ara said.
“By the way, senpai! Congratulations on becoming C-Rank! I think I heard you still haven’t given up… So you’ll train more and go into T-Rank rifts now?”
“Yeah, I probably will. But it’s different from before. I don’t really know what the C and B ranks are like now. I wonder how much money I can make….”
Surely I’d be doing more work than at D-Rank, so my unit price should jump as well.
As I was thinking about that, Yu Ara said,
“Personally, I hope you don’t do fieldwork anymore. As you go up, you see a lot of dirty and nasty things. There’s always a reason why jobs that pay well are so.”
“Is that so?”
Yu Ara’s expression was somewhat sad while also looking quite serious. I thought she might not be talking only about herself.
Was her stopping at B-Rank because of how dirty and unpleasant it was?
“Senpai, if it’s about money, you should look for another line of work. If you reach C-Rank, I could introduce you to places I know. It’s a pretty good job….”
Yu Ara began rummaging through her bag for her business card.
I stopped her with, “I appreciate your concern. Well, I intend to keep pushing myself as far as I can. Now that I’ve finally reached C-Rank, it’d be a shame to not aim higher. Opportunities should be seized when they arise.”
I was curious about how far I could go.
Moreover, I enjoyed exploring rifts and taking risks.
It felt like being an adventurer venturing into an unfamiliar world.
And the ‘rift’ was, for better or worse, still a ‘danger.’
There was something fulfilling about the act of eliminating such dangers and saving people.
“Still, Yu Ara, you’ve really grown up. That high school girl who would only cry and be scared is now offering to introduce jobs. Time flies so fast in this world.”
I expressed my genuine admiration.
Then Yu Ara covered her mouth with her hand and giggled.
“Of course, I’m an adult now. You know how much of an adult I am─.”
She seemed about to say something when she suddenly paused.
Then she sighed.
About five seconds later, a man appeared inside the offal restaurant.
Dressed neatly in a suit, he stood out awkwardly in this shabby joint.
Lee Joon-Hun pulled the chair at our table and sat down, saying,
“Yu Ara, you said you were busy, yet here you are wasting time in a place like this. That’s truly disappointing. Weren’t we once talking about marriage?”
“Don’t say things that can be misunderstood! That was all just something you all pushed through! And raising a ruckus in a place like this would only embarrass yourselves! Why don’t you leave quietly?”
Yu Ara’s voice was calm, but for some reason, I felt a chill run down my spine. Joon-Hun seemed to sense it too, licking his dry lips nervously and shifting his gaze to me.
He spoke, “I remember you now. You’re Haildo of D-Rank, right? Sorry for interrupting your date, but I just need to borrow this doctor for about 5 minutes. It’ll be quick.”
His demeanor was quite arrogant.
He had acted this way even when I was D-Rank while he was F-Rank.
Now that I was in a position with nothing advantageous over him, it was clear he viewed me entirely as beneath him.
“5 minutes is something you could spare, right?”
“Why are you asking me? You should be asking the person involved.”
“Five minutes is all I need! Yu Ara used to listen to you, didn’t she?”
Joon-Hun raised his voice.
With people’s eyes already directed toward us, it drew even more attention. Was it acceptable for one of the most famous people in Korea to raise his voice in such a public place?
I thought celebrities or famous people would know how to manage their image.
As I contemplated this, Joon-Hun’s face turned red, perhaps from the smoke.
“Cough, it’ll be quick… Five minutes… cough… ah, huh, cough…!”
Joon-Hun clutched his throat, looking as if he was choking on something while coughing painfully.
Then he collapsed to the ground and began to tremble uncontrollably.
As I was baffled and uncertain about what was happening, Yu Ara looked shocked, grabbed Joon-Hun’s neck, and checked his pulse.
“…What is this? It seems like allergic symptoms? Let’s get him to the hospital….”
“Damn, no hospital! Don’t go there…!”
Joon-Hun raged like an angry spirit.
That was the last thing he could manage before he passed out.
I was taken aback, not knowing what was happening, when Yu Ara received a phone call from somewhere.
After listening for about a minute, Yu Ara calmly replied, “Okay, I understand.” Then she turned to me and said,
“Senpai, I’m sorry, but I have to get up first. Senpai, could you help support Joon-Hun? Apparently, a car is waiting outside.”
“Uh.”
I helped support Joon-Hun as we came out of the restaurant. There was a black car outside, and it looked expensive.
Soon, men in black suits came to take Joon-Hun away like they were stuffing him into the car.
Yu Ara also got into the passenger seat of that car.
Vroom-.
The car finally started.
Watching it drive away, I felt a complex mixture of emotions.
What on earth just happened?
Why did he suddenly exhibit allergy symptoms?
━Kkungkkung!
Just then, something jumped out of my pocket.
It was Kkungkkungi with brown fur.
“What? When did you get here!”
