Chapter 457: Cho Hyejin’s Instruction Manual (2)
It wasn’t just Cho Hyejin.
The bullsh*t made by Park Deokgu would sound too sudden to those in Kim Hyunsung’s harem. I didn’t know exactly how things were going over there, but honestly, it was hard to think that it would be going smoothly.
I could see that much without looking too closely.
The most active of them were Park Yeon-joo of the Black Swan and Kim Ye-ri, our kiddo.
Kim Ye-ri, who was busy practicing the fascinating dance in the corner, was still a kid, so she could be considered irrelevant, but Park Yeon-joo was not.
Even from a few kilometers away, she looked like a charming woman.
However, the ice prince Kim Hyunsung always looked at her as if he was looking at a rock.
I didn’t know if he was insensitive or really just an idiot, but it was undeniable that his wall was solid. Even someone as attractive as Park Yeon-joo was treated the same way, so it was obvious what others were like to him.
Cho Hyejin was the perfect virgin, officially chosen by the unicorn. Kim Ye-ri was the master of the fascinating dance that didn’t even make me snort.
I didn’t know what Charlotte was doing, but she would be similar to the two of them. Anyway, the four women maintained a tight balance.
There was a huge perceptual change in that situation, and it was the appearance of a new character suspected of being Kim Hyunsung’s girlfriend.
At that moment, I realized that it wasn’t just the continent that was drunk in peace.
They were intoxicated with the peace of familiarity, and although they would have stamped a peace treaty to get along in moderation and maintain the current situation, they were unable to come to their senses on how to respond to the sudden invasion.
‘Tsk. You should have prepared it in advance.’
If they had always been in combat in the first place, the sad result wouldn’t have come out.
Cho Hyejin looked at me with a desolated look. She seemed unable to come to her senses. She didn’t know how she should react to the shocking news.
I naturally spoke first. She couldn’t keep pacing outside, after all.
“What do you mean what should we do? It won’t be a big deal, so let’s go in. It’s not good to pace around like this outside. Deokgu’s story is almost nothing but a theory, so you don’t have to worry about it. Nothing is certain yet. To say that he’s dating is absurd.”
“But it’s true that he had an intimate time with an unknown woman.”
“The rumors that are transmitted from mouth to mouth are always inflated. Actually, it wouldn’t have been anything like being intimate. People always like provocative news. And what if Hyunsung had a date? He doesn’t even have a girlfriend. This isn’t something you have to worry about, okay?”
“…”
“…”
“I-I am just worried. There is no particular reason, but I’m worried about the Guild Master…”
“What are you worried about?”
“She could be a woman of poor quality. As the Guild Master’s lieutenant, I consider it a genuine concern. In addition to the direction of the guild’s operation, it can be risky to introduce an outsider suddenly. It’s natural for me to worry.”
“I’m taking care of most of the internal affairs, so you don’t have to worry too much, Hyejin. It hasn’t been decided that she will get in the guild in the first place, and if she has anything different in mind, I can take care of her on my own.”
“But…”
“Don’t worry about what Deokgu said. And Deokgu, you should refrain from saying those kinds of things. It’s not a topic that you can bring out with a smile. As much as we get attention from the public, we should block all the bad rumors as much as possible.”
“Ah…”
“The Blue Guild is no different from a company. And the party members are the faces of that company. I don’t even have to say anything about the Guild Master. Can you understand what I’m talking about?”
“Er… I guess I know what you mean. I-I knew about it too. I also only talked about this with the guild staff … I have never talked about it to an outsider.”
“I’m only saying that we should be a little more careful.”
As I had reacted in such an edgy manner, he began to feel down.
‘This bastard…’
I patted him on the shoulder to let him know not to be bothered when he was about to feel guilty, causing his smile to return.
“I was completely unaware… anyway, thanks for telling me.”
“Ahem… Well, of course. You can leave this kind of news to me. I can bring information that doesn’t even exist.”
‘You can’t bring information that doesn’t exist.’
“Okay. Still, it’s better to keep it a secret about this one. And ask the guild members not to speak about this… In particular, tell Ye-ri to stop paying attention to this until the exact result comes out. Please tell manager Kim Mi-young to make sure that the guild employees won’t talk about this. I will take care of everything from here.”
“Leave it to me.”
It wasn’t easy to react casually. I was pretending to be honorable, clearing things up, and having the world’s highest level, but honestly, my feelings were no different from Cho Hyejin.
‘Fuck…’
Misbehavior eventually caught up with one. It was natural that I thought, ‘I’m glad Kim Hyunsung’s mouth is sealed.’
If I hadn’t told Park Deokgu, Ahn Ki-mo, and Kim Ye-ri to hide information about Lee Kiyeon, things would have been firmly twisted.
Perhaps even at that moment, Kim Hyunsung was walking around the Crack Inn to give the apology letter and the shoes to the young woman. I couldn’t help but feel a little flustered at the thought that things could go wrong with a single slip.
‘I should have wrapped it up more tightly.’
It was clear that he would still feel sorry.
When I thought of Kim Hyunsung, my head hurt. I knew he would be obsessed with the situation until he made a proper apology.
‘This is bad…’
It was terrible to imagine him returning the shoes to Bitch-erella by going directly to the United Kingdom. I felt like I should ask Lee Jihye to do some more administrative processing.
There was a need to go a little further away and take good care of Ahn Ki-mo and Park Deokgu’s mouths. I could just cover Kim Ye-ri’s mouth using the dance of fascination.
If the lovely returner’s attention on Bitch-erella diminished a little, things would go back to normal, and if Bitch-erella remained as nothing but a good memory, I could say that everything would be perfect.
The problem was his single-minded personality.
If I had some bait that could make Kim Hyunsung’s interest go elsewhere, I could solve the problem a little more easily.
‘It’s not easy…’
No, before that, I wondered if now was the right time to be at ease like what I was doing.
If I had a huge mission like saving the world, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think about whether I should move a little harder.
When I tried to blame him while thinking according to the flow of my consciousness, I realized my thoughts were crazy about the current state of Kim Hyunsung.
‘No. This is bad too. If I think like this, it’s dangerous.’
I was spouting nonsense in my head in such a bad situation, but when I recalled Kim Hyunsung’s schedule, I shook my head.
He had done nothing all day but train.
He would receive reports about work every now and then, but he’d train again after dealing with it. That was his typical daily routine.
Not only did he go around outside alone to prepare for the future of the first round, but there were dozens of tasks he took alone.
Considering that there were many times I was worried when seeing him swinging his sword like crazy, what he needed at that moment wasn’t urgency, but rest. Since Kim Hyunsung couldn’t enjoy even a moment of peace, I should avoid blaming him as much as possible.
He spent decades in the first round and several years in the second round without taking care of himself.
Perhaps the Bitch-erella incident was an obsession created by the unconscious desire to rest.
Why wouldn’t he want to have a sweet date?
He would want to play, to rest, and to enjoy life.
As a young man in his twenties, he was brought to a place he didn’t know anything about. He was forced to go through hardships. Even in his second life, he was living with a great sense of responsibility.
I could safely say that he had reached his limit, both mentally and physically.
When I remembered the guy who laughed happily last night, honestly, I started to feel a little pitiful.
‘Rest. Right. He needs to rest.’
I could find evidence of mental weariness in his behavior.
It could be said that the current situation where he was suspicious of his best friend and brother was evidence. I didn’t know if he was aware of it, but such negative energy was proof that he had been driven into a corner.
If I had been the psychiatrist of the lovely returner, I would have recommended a break.
It was a sudden thought, but I started to agree with it more and more without my knowledge.
If he was more relaxed, he could look at the situation with a broad perspective, and before I even took any action, the negative energy would also disappear.
“Hyejin.”
“Yes?”
“Were there any recent changes to the Guild Master’s schedule?”
“No. It’s been the same. He combines training and work. Other than that, there’s nothing special.”
‘Right… of course.’
It was as expected. I also thought that last night might be an incident that could be called a deviation for him.
Didn’t I also take enough rest that time?
There was no law saying that he shouldn’t take a break. No, it was mandatory for him to do so.
The question was how I could make him do that.
I wanted to recommend him to enjoy a date with Bitch-erella, but he shouldn’t enjoy a date with someone that didn’t exist at all in the first place.
It was a shame, but I felt like I should look for a substitute for that.
There must be other options than dating, though.
‘I think it would be effective to cover women’s problems with a woman…’
This was also the simplest way.
If I had a vague approach, he would be crazy about training and work again, and he would only drive himself even more fatigued.
As I glanced at my right side, Cho Hyejin caught my eyes as she walked in strides.
“Hyejin.”
“Yes?”
“Please, put your hair down for a second.”
“What are you saying…?”
“I have something to check. Just leave put hair down for me.”
“If you say it like that…”
Cho Hyejin frowned at my sudden suggestion. However, she meekly undid her hairstyle.
Her long hair ran down her neck and shoulders as she removed the elastic band that held her ponytail.
Come to think of it. I once went with her to the black market before.
‘She looked pretty good in dresses too…’
She was beautiful enough as well, although she didn’t look like it because she usually dresses like a man.
“It looks pretty.”
“It’s unpleasant, Vice Guild Master.”
“Ah…”
“No, Hayan. Of course our Hayan is prettier.”
‘I almost fucked up.’
“Are you making fun of me right now?”
“No, Hyejin. I’m not.”
‘Fuck.’
I shook my head and desperately fixed the brief crisis that suddenly came, but Cho Hyejin’s face was crumpled as if she stepped on poop.
Of course, Hayan was subtly smiling.
I understood the reason behind her expression. I told her that she was uglier than my girlfriend even though she let her hair down because I asked her to.
It was something that would upset even Cho Hyejin, who wasn’t interested in those kinds of things. However, she looked at me with a sour face only for a moment.
She was startled by my next words.
“Hyejin.”
“Yes?”
“What do you think of Hyunsung?”