075 – Haildo Released the Squirrel Beast in T Rank Crack! #5
“Have you heard that S Rank Cash intends to naturalize in Korea?”
“Wasn’t that just a rumor? Is it true?”
“What’s the point of doing that?”
“Could it be because of tax issues? Even if you’re an S Rank Awakened in America, taxes can be pretty high, so isn’t she naturalizing in Korea?”
The internet was buzzing.
S Rank Awakened Cash had declared in front of reporters, “I want to naturalize in Korea! I will become a resident!”
“What does becoming a resident mean? Why is she acting like this all of a sudden? Does that mean she’s going to marry a Korean?”
“South Korea’s Confucianism is so intimidating that even Americans envy it, and China and Russia fear it.”
“Is she completely out of her mind?”
Seo Ye-rim was angry as she looked at her phone while searching for her name online.
It was because an S Rank Awakened from America was causing such a huge stir.
‘This girl. I thought she wasn’t just sent here for a simple task. Even now, she acts rashly without thinking!’
Seo Ye-rim thought that Cash was the type to take action without much thought.
The nickname “Outlaw” had been created by a series of incidents resulting from that very impulsive behavior.
“But I heard Cash has a guy she likes in Korea. Who do you think it is?”
“Isn’t it Lee Joon-Hun? There’s no other S Rank guy that matches Cash.”
“Which Lee Joon-Hun are you talking about? LOL. It’s probably me.”
“LOL, it’s probably you, huh?”
Cash.
The rumor was that she liked a certain Korean man and expressed her intention to naturalize in Korea.
Buuuum, buuum-.
Right then, Seo Ye-rim’s phone rang loudly.
It was a call from someone of high status.
“Miss Ye-rim. Did you see the news? Miss Cash is the top-tier Awakened ranked 15th. If we succeed in legally naturalizing Miss Cash in Korea…”
“……”
“Miss Ye-rim, didn’t you say you were exhausted from the excessive workload after Joon-Hun’s incident? We must make this naturalization successful, no matter what! Absolutely!”
Push for the naturalization-.
The meaning of those words was clear.
It meant to promote Cash’s marriage to the man she liked.
Seo Ye-rim frowned.
The words echoing from the receiver were very much correct.
S Rank Awakened individuals were the type that every country wanted to recruit.
Seo Ye-rim was well aware of this more than anyone else.
If there were even one more of those individuals in Korea, the burden on her shoulders would ease a little.
From Seo Ye-rim’s perspective as an S Rank Awakened in Korea, she should welcome Cash’s decision to naturalize with both hands raised.
It was such a fantastic story.
However, Seo Ye-rim was extremely annoyed.
It was painfully obvious who that male counterpart Cash mentioned was.
“Haildo! What kind of magic did you use? Huh?”
Haildo must have done something.
That’s why Cash, an S Rank Awakened, was spewing nonsense about naturalizing in Korea.
“Is this guy just wagging his tail or something?”
Seo Ye-rim suspected that Haildo had used some charm strategy.
Perhaps Cha Yura, the president’s daughter, whispered to Haildo to “seduce Cash.”
“No, could that not be it? Anyway!”
This incident had grown in various directions.
Thinking she couldn’t just stand there, Seo Ye-rim got into her car.
# # #
“Hey! What the hell did you do?”
As soon as Seo Ye-rim arrived, she was furious.
The already hot weather felt even more intense at home.
“What did I do?”
“What did you do? You’re making such a fuss! What did you say to Cash that made her suddenly say she wants to naturalize? It’s total chaos right now!”
Of course, I knew the world was in chaos.
I couldn’t be oblivious since the internet and media were buzzing about it nonstop.
I calmly spoke to the excited Seo Ye-rim.
“Cash asked me to date her, and I said I prefer Korea-. In order to date me, she needs to become a resident and naturalize in Korea-. That’s what I said.”
I even told Seo Ye-rim that I thought Cash was trying to extract me for some kind of operation.
Seo Ye-rim frowned.
“Hey. Why would you use an S Rank Awakened as a representative agent?”
“No. I thought Ari said it was true. Ari told me that it would be a sure-fire method to fend off any charm attempts. It didn’t work. It seems it wasn’t a charm attempt.”
“Sigh, Yu Ara, everything she says is a lie.”
“…Really?”
I was also puzzled.
Ari wasn’t someone who would lie.
But if there was even a slight chance that Ari’s words were false, it meant Cash truly liked me and wasn’t working for any operation!
“It seems she genuinely liked me instead of being an operative. Am I perhaps charming to Americans?”
Slick-.
I touched my smooth chin, admiring my own possibilities.
Soon, Oinoui, who had been watching the conversation, spoke up.
“I, Oinoui, feel that when looking at Cash, the virgin goddess Artemis comes to mind…! Artemis is incredibly beautiful, bold, and determined…! She’s also great at hunting!”
I was quite familiar with Artemis as well.
Indeed, Cash was as beautiful and pure as a goddess─ just as I was thinking this, Oinoui added.
“By the way, Artemis was tricked by her brother Apollo and ended up shooting her first love, Orion, with an arrow…!”
“…….”
It suddenly felt very ominous.
At that moment, Seo Ye-rim spoke.
“No. Yu Ara’s words probably aren’t all lies. Perhaps she could really be an operative? The naturalization is obviously a performance. The U.S. wouldn’t just sit back and let this happen. Cash will surely receive a recall order and return to America soon enough. By now─. Look.”
Slick-.
Seo Ye-rim showed me her phone.
There was something written in English.
“It’s in English.”
“It says that the U.S. Congress has summoned S Rank Awakened Cash back to America! Cash is going back to America! She’ll probably try to summon you due to some law issues! There’s a high probability this was all thoroughly calculated!”
It was a pretty plausible story.
Ding-dong-.
At that moment, my phone rang.
“Cash: Il-do, I think I need to rush back to America. I need to persuade everyone. Please wait a little while!”
“Cash really says she has to go back to America?”
“See? Now she’ll probably ask you if you’d like to go back to America with her. If you do, you’ll never set foot on Korean soil again. I guarantee it.”
Ding-dong-.
My phone rang again.
“Cash: I believe everyone will respect my opinion once they meet Il-do. Won’t you come to America with me? Just for three months!”
It was real.
Just as Seo Ye-rim said, the message asked if I wouldn’t go to America together.
I felt tears welling up.
“I thought at least my feelings were somewhat sincere.”
I began to think about where we might go on a date-.
If we were to hold a wedding, how would the family meeting go?
I was enveloped in a sense of great shock.
“Cash. I can’t go to America with you.”
With teary eyes, I sent my reply.
I had so many responsibilities and things to do in Korea that I couldn’t go to America, and that was genuinely how I felt.
A week might be manageable, but three months was too much.
Was this perhaps all part of an operation to lure me away to keep me in America?
Seo Ye-rim sighed deeply.
“Hey. Think about it carefully. A woman who unexpectedly appears from America is planning to give up her nationality because she fell for you at first sight─. Do you really think this could happen in reality? You aren’t some fairy tale prince.”
“…….”
Hearing that made sense.
It was somewhat ridiculous.
“Haildo. I guarantee that you don’t have any charm that makes people fall in love at first sight. Your first impression score barely hits 6.”
Dudung-.
I felt frozen at that extremely cold evaluation.
Seo Ye-rim snickered.
“Of course, there could be some redeeming qualities if they get to know you better. But that’s something only people who have known you for a long time can recognize. And don’t you think Koreans feel it’s cleaner and better to marry other Koreans?”
Koreans should marry other Koreans-.
I’d heard that somewhere before.
“Didn’t women who had their boyfriends taken by elves say that recently?”
“Hey. Those are two different matters, you know? At least I think differently. Anyway, it would be better if you didn’t go to America. And how about looking for a partner a bit closer?”
“No. I really don’t feel like dating or anything.”
I vowed never to expect love again!
From now on, I’d focus all my energy on working hard!
As I was having those thoughts, Oinoui spoke.
“I, Oinoui, am fully aware that a woman who matches the master of the house is nearby…! Our Nymphs have always been natural matchmakers…!”
Really?
Is there a woman who matches well with me nearby?
Upon hearing that, Seo Ye-rim shuddered.
“Don’t tell me─.”
“It’s the prospective Core Jin-A…! According to discussions and opinions among my Nymph sisters, no one matches the master of the house better than Jin-A…!”
Lee Jin-A?
Are they saying Lee Jin-A matches me best?
Seo Ye-rim, who was listening to the story, also subtly frowned.
“I can’t just let this go! I’m the number one bride candidate among all the women in this Republic! It doesn’t matter if the counterpart is Haildo or not. I’m the conquering queen of water purifiers. I honestly can’t fathom how Jin-A scores higher than me!”
Seo Ye-rim had a personality that couldn’t stand falling behind others.
She couldn’t tolerate another woman scoring higher than her and finally pointed at me with her finger.
“I’ll show you that I’m the best bride candidate. Haildo. Do you have time tomorrow? You should, right? Then go on a date with me!”
# # #
“I didn’t expect to return so quickly!”
Cash-.
She looked down at the small country of Korea beneath the rising plane.
The woman in sunglasses sitting in front of her said.
“Isn’t it because you caused so much trouble? Did you not plan to lure Lee Joon-Hun? The operation was to approach the fallen Lee Joon-Hun and tempt him to come to America.”
“Was there such an operation!?”
Cash was taken aback.
She genuinely had no idea such an operation existed.
Claire, Cash’s attendant and secretary, sighed in various ways.
“You didn’t read the file I gave you, did you? More importantly, why Haildo of all people? Aside from having a Squirrel Beast or Honey Ant, he didn’t seem particularly special. His background was a little unusual, but still.”
“Korea is small! But Haildo! He’s very big! But Cash, it’s very sad for me because it’s my first heartbreak.”
Sob-.
Cash shed tears.
Seeing that, Claire thought that this child truly wasn’t suited for crafts or charm schemes.
‘She seems to have genuinely fallen for Haildo. To seduce such an innocent girl in just a few days, Haildo is scarier than I heard. His background is also more unusual than expected.’
Slick-.
Claire carefully put the file about Haildo into her bag.
This man would be worth watching from now on.
Slick-.
Sitting across from Claire, Cash clenched her fists as she gazed out the window.
“I, Cash Light! I’m a woman who doesn’t know how to give up! I will soon return to Korea and capture Il-do’s heart! I’ll even catch that male Squirrel!”
Kong-kong-!
In Cash’s hand was a short-tailed Squirrel curled up.
Seeing that, agent Claire said.
“Well, in any case, it’s unlikely you two would have gotten married. Your brother Bron seems pretty intense, right? If you say you’re getting married, Haildo would probably end up with a nice bullet hole courtesy of him. If Haildo had been on this plane, he would have already been shot by Bron at the airport.”
“Hey, my brother is a gentleman!”
‘Cash. To you, he might be.’
Swallowing that thought, Claire envisioned a profile in her mind.
Bron Light.
S Rank 8th Awakened.
Cash’s brother and infamously headstrong.
His conservative and strong sense of family made him especially protective of his sister, Cash.
If Cash’s and Haildo’s relationship had progressed well, it wouldn’t have been surprising for the furious Bron to shoot Haildo.
In fact, news was already circulating that Bron was on his way to the airport to pick up Cash.
In that sense, Haildo had effectively saved his life just by not boarding that plane.
‘Haildo. To steal Cash’s heart and still survive, you’re quite a resilient man in many respects. He must be a lucky fellow, which is why Cash fell for him.’
Slick-.
Claire looked at Cash sitting in front of her.
She had a completely lovey-dovey face like that of a girl in love.
“Family and country are blocking love. It’s just like Romeo and Juliet!”
Cash.
Inside her heart burned a hot flame.
She waited for the day she would once again set foot in the small country of Korea, tightly clenching her hands.
