074 – Haildo Unleashed a Squirrel Beast into a T-Rank Rift! #4
I had vaguely heard this before.
Foreign women are straightforward, honest, and have clear likes and dislikes.
At the time, I just thought “oh, that’s interesting” and moved on.
But looking at it now, it seems to be true.
“I find Mr. Haildo very interesting!”
She finds me interesting?
What does that even mean?
In my mid-twenties of life, this was the first time I’d ever heard such a thing, so searching my memory provided no useful information.
“Does Mr. Haildo have a girlfriend?”
A girlfriend.
I understood that word too.
It meant a significant other.
Not just a friend who happens to be female, but a girlfriend in that sense.
“No, I don’t.”
“That’s wonderful! Would you like to meet Cash once?”
Does she mean meeting in that romantic sense?
Maybe I’m misunderstanding something here.
What if she just says “I find him interesting as a human being”?
Changing it to “Oh, it was just professional interest!” would break my heart!
So I had to be careful.
But looking at it more, it seemed like what Cash was saying and what I was thinking were lining up.
Could I be a popular type with American women?
Why?
The charm that Koreans value and what Americans value might be different after all.
Maybe that’s what’s happening here.
However…
Yu Ara, who had been observing the situation, furrowed her brows even more.
“Meeting someone you’ve known for only a few days? The culture is different between America and Korea! In Korea, we usually get to know each other better before dating.”
Is that so?
Now that I think about it, it seems right.
Koreans usually have a “Dating Phase” where they get to know each other better before officially dating.
“You mean, we should get to know each other now?”
Cash had a very straightforward personality.
Alright then, we can start getting to know each other now.
Bip-bip!
Just then, the watch on Cash’s wrist started beeping again.
“A trap has been triggered!”
Cash ran off somewhere.
When she disappeared, Yu Ara spoke to me in a subtle voice.
“Senior, what do you plan to do? I heard that in foreign countries, they use something called a ‘honey trap’ to snatch promising awakened individuals from other countries.”
Awakened individuals had become crucial forces for each country.
Each nation tried to prevent their awakened individuals from going to other countries, while also working hard to attract awakened individuals from other countries.
Money.
Status.
And so on.
I had heard that honey traps were one of those methods.
I remember reading a tabloid story about how a B-Rank Russian beauty who approached a B-Rank awakened individual turned out to be a Russian intelligence agency spy.
And truth be told, tabloid stories often turn out to be true.
Still…
“Come on. Even if that’s true, why would anyone try to use a honey trap to take an S-Rank awakened individual like me?”
Isn’t that a bad deal?
And Cash didn’t seem like a devious or dark person who would use a honey trap.
Rather, she seemed like someone who didn’t have an ounce of deception in her.
But Yu Ara jumped in.
“Senior, you don’t understand. You’re currently one of Korea’s top prospects! Your reputation has likely reached America, and they’re targeting you!”
Is that so?
Now that I think about it, it’s not an unreasonable assumption.
I have been getting famous lately.
Still, the idea of Cash being a spy is hard to believe.
Sigh…
Soon, Yu Ara let out a sigh.
“Did she laugh a lot in front of you, Senior? Like, laugh at even your strange jokes, or try to make skin contact?”
…
That hit close to home.
Cash had big reactions, laughed a lot, kept hugging me or grabbing my arm.
Just moments ago, she even gave me a kiss on the cheek!
“It’s all a calculated move, Senior. It’s completely sly behavior! Men might not realize it, but women can spot these tricks. Have you heard what honey trap agents do after they seduce men?”
The fate of men seduced by honey trap agents?
I had never heard about that.
Soon, Yu Ara cleared her throat.
“I know a woman called ‘Madam’. She sometimes seduces men to extract information. She says she completely discards the unusable men!”
“Really?”
“Totally ignores them! Goes into hiding! Changes all her contact info! Actually, her name is a fake. From the man’s perspective, his lover disappears overnight and it drives him crazy.”
That terrible outcome…
Apparently, Yu Ara was saying that Cash would use me and then discard me.
Is that really true?
Soon, Yu Ara spoke to me.
“Senior, let me tell you how to determine if Cash is a honey trap agent or not.”
She leaned in and whispered.
Yu Ara gave me some incredible information.
It made sense and felt very authentic.
“Ari, how do you know all of this? Are you secretly a spy or something?”
“Me? How can you say such things, Senior! That’s too funny!”
Clap-clap!
Ari hit my arm with her palm.
She seemed to find my joke hilarious.
Soon, she said:
“I’ve never dated anyone, whether fake or real.”
“Hmm. Ari, your innocence doesn’t quite fit with the whole spy thing.”
Ari always had a fresh, youthful quality about her.
Plus, she’s too kind and affectionate.
But Ara slightly frowned and puffed out her cheeks in irritation.
“Are you saying I’m not beautiful?”
“Not at all, it’s just…”
…
“Mr. Haildo! Look at this! There’s a sparrow caught! It’s not a squirrel beast, but Korean sparrows are so cute too!”
Chirp-chirp!
A sparrow was struggling in Cash’s two hands.
Chirp-chirp!
It was an adorable sparrow, and maybe because of its energy, Cash giggled and said “It tickles!”
As I watched, I said:
“The sparrow is really strong.”
“Huh?”
Did she not understand what I meant?
Kindly explaining to the foreigner who doesn’t know Korean well, I said:
“Sparrow. Strong’s Korean word is ‘se’. Really strong. Sparrow is really strong.”
At my explanation, Cash’s face finally lit up.
Then she started laughing heartily, as if she found it incredibly amusing.
“Mr. Haildo is a veteran at jokes! It reminds me of my grandfather! How can you tell such funny jokes!”
Is that funny?
But I considered myself a serious man who wasn’t good at jokes.
Even though I dream of being a hero, I aim to be a cool and serious man in the Batman style.
But Cash laughed as if a bomb had exploded at my unfunny jokes.
“Orange you glad it’s been so long since you ate an orange.”
“Wow, so exciting! That’s hilarious!”
Cash laughed as if she had heard the funniest story in the world no matter what I said.
Of course─
It’s exactly as Ari said!
Even for boring jokes, she laughs heartily to boost a man’s ego.
This is the common behavior of female agents when targeting men.
Men are weak to women who laugh at their jokes.
Isn’t that right?
At least, that’s been the case with me.
I like people who laugh at my jokes and try to engage in good conversation.
Anyway.
Cash was acting like my ideal woman.
Perhaps she had done extensive research on who Haildo is and learned all about my preferences.
If only the nymphs were here, they could tell if Cash truly has bad intentions toward me.
Currently, the nymphs are making star-shaped dagornas with Cha Yura.
I have to handle this entirely on my own.
But─
What if it’s real?
What if Cash actually likes me and genuinely finds my jokes funny?
While I was pondering this, Cash released the sparrow with a whoosh and said:
“Mr. Haildo, is something troubling you?”
“Well…”
“Cash’s grandpa had lots of worries. Cash listened to all of them and made him laugh. Mr. Haildo, you can tell me too!”
She keeps trying to have private conversations.
I’ve heard that’s one of the tactics used by agents.
Phrases like “I have something great to tell you. Let’s be alone.” or “I have something great to show you. Want to come to my house? Just the two of us.”
It made me even more suspicious.
But according to Ari, this presents an opportunity to counterattack.
I decided to ask the question I had prepared, which could expose an agent.
“Ms. Cash, what do you think about international marriage?”
“Marriage! Love has no borders or dimensions! I, Cash, grew up in a small town in the American south. It’s a great place to live! I’d love to invite Mr. Haildo!”
Inviting me to America?
Is her plan to take me to America?
“Ms. Cash’s family, we all live close together! A big family! Seeing Mr. Haildo reminds me of my hometown family! My family will surely like Mr. Haildo!”
“…”
I was shocked.
Cash was doing exactly what the agents do – trying to take me to another country.
What is this grand conspiracy?
Lately, I’ve felt my “name value”, for lack of a better term, has grown significantly.
The appropriate action in this situation.
To show some manliness.
“I don’t plan to go to my wife’s country. I love Korea and have strong patriotic pride for it!”
“Very good! Loyalty to one’s country! That’s great! My family also hangs the flag with lots of stars – the American flag – alongside shotguns in every room!”
“Still, let me say this. If you want to marry me, you would have to give up your nationality and come to Korea. Korea has deep-rooted traditions – traditions!”
“Woah, tradition! What is it?”
“It’s called ‘Chuja Oein’ – the wife follows the husband’s family when she marries.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means ‘When a woman leaves her home, she becomes an outsider’ – the idea that a woman should follow her husband and become part of his family. So if you want to be with me, you must be prepared to give up your American citizenship and become Korean.”
What do you think?
Of my Confucian thinking?
Can this 21st century, open-minded American woman really agree with this logic that would even be criticized in Korea?
Soon, Cash clenched her fist and said:
“American women, when they marry, change their last names to follow their husbands! They become part of the husband’s family! I, Cash, love Korea! I can give up my American citizenship!”
Really?
Give up the citizenship of the current world power to come live in a Korean countryside?
Even the kind fairy maiden from the heavens fled without looking back after receiving the wingsuit from the woodcutter.
Yet Cash says she would come to this secluded countryside to be with me?
I…
I’m scared!
What a great actress, pretending to be an innocent American countryside girl with such charm!
This must be a six-tailed fox!
But I’m a veteran too.
Pretending to know nothing, I asked:
“Isn’t it true that a S-Rank awakened individual like you in America, someone at the S level, would face great criticism from the nation and people if they abandoned their country to follow their husband?”
“No problem! America and Korea! Long-time blood allies! My grandpa! He fought in Korea long ago! Korea is like family to us! Americans love Korea!”
Is she real?
Her acting is so good that I’m starting to get confused.
It makes me feel like a villain for doubting her.
Maybe I have some charm I wasn’t aware of?
That’s when it happened.
Soon, the lawless Cash clenched her fist and said:
“Alright! I’ll take Korea’s naturalization test! I hear there are various privileges for S-Rank levels! I’ll also be willing to follow Mr. Haildo as ‘Chuja Oein’!”
