.｡.:✧ Chapter 9 ✧:.｡.

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The head’s words were true.

The pretty new student really existed in this club. She wasn’t some kind of imaginary animal.

But who would have thought she would be one of my ex-wives…

Even though I inwardly hoped for a new face, when I found out Ye-na was in this club, my satisfaction with the club increased even more.

Being able to observe Ye-na’s young appearance right next to me was something impossible in my previous life.

She was kinder and more understanding than any other wife.

It was natural to be curious about her younger self.

And now, I… hadn’t done anything wrong to her yet.

The terrible mistakes I made to her in my previous life came to mind again.

Of course, it was clearly my fault for searching for Si-hwa and Ha-rin’s names on SNS, but there were unavoidable parts to unconsciously calling Ye-na by my other wives’ names.

That’s because I… didn’t divorce Si-hwa and Ha-rin because I disliked or hated them.

I left Ha-rin for her happy life, and I was abandoned by Si-hwa as a price for lying to her.

But there was never a time when I wasn’t sincere in all those marriages.

I loved them with all my heart, but the huge wall of infertility separated us.

Until I met Ye-na, they were part of my life. No, they were a part of me, and I missed them terribly.

And I constantly blamed myself for being infertile.

If I weren’t infertile… there would have been no reason to lose Ha-rin, and the same goes for Si-hwa.

Perhaps I wouldn’t have even gotten involved with Si-hwa.

Although I fell in love with Ye-na after meeting her, I was stained with the traces of yearning accumulated over several years.

But now it was different.

My body was healthy, and I didn’t have a divorce history that would make Ye-na uneasy.

If I succeeded in approaching Ye-na now, Ye-na could become my first love in this life.

But did Ye-na dislike me?

I couldn’t shake off the feeling that I was being hated even though I hadn’t done anything significant yet.

Ye-na, who glanced at me, responded to the head’s greeting.

“Senior. Didn’t you say one new student was enough for you?”

She spoke in a tone that suggested she didn’t want additional new students joining.

“Hey, hey. It was just a figure of speech. If we don’t accept new members, the club will be disbanded and we won’t get funding. Do you know how grateful I am right now?”

So there was such a backstory.

I thought he welcomed me so much because he liked me, but the truth was always cruel.

“Sigh… It’s fine. It’s a club that doesn’t do proper activities anyway, so it won’t matter much.”

“Ye-na… You have to draw for us! Otherwise, we won’t have any results to submit for the festival…!”

Is it okay for the head to rely on a new student to this extent…?

Suddenly, I began to fear that I would also be on his list of tools before long.

“That’s not my concern.”

Ye-na said bluntly.

“Eh~ Don’t be like that! Come on, hurry up and greet him! Choi In-wook, who will be eating from the same pot as us starting today! In-wook! You come here and say hello before you go.”

Gulp.

The sound of my swallowing was loud as I faced Ye-na head-on.

“Ah… Hi? I think we briefly saw each other at the bookstore before… Haha…”

I felt my confidence gradually fading in the face of her cold expression.

“I’m Ha Ye-na. I’m a new student like you and I’m in Class 1. I’m greeting you because the senior said so, but I’ll pass on excessive interest.”

Her self-introduction was as cold as it could be.

“Yeah… Got it. I’m Choi In-wook. I’m in Class 7. I’m not good at drawing, but please take care of me.”

My words “please take care of me” felt ambiguous.

Even though I was aware that this life was different from my previous life, it was difficult to shake off the guilt.

“Why did you accept someone who can’t even draw, senior?”

It seemed that was the end of the conversation with me, as Ye-na blatantly raised a complaint to the head.

“Come on. How many people in this club can draw properly besides you?”

The head, who had crawled back into the blanket, retorted to Ye-na in a tone that said why she was nitpicking such things.

It really seemed to be a carefree and free club.

“Senior. You should draw too so we can at least hold an exhibition.”

“I’ll use the drawings from last year again. I don’t know.”

It was a feast of irresponsible remarks.

Ye-na seemed to want to say something more, but the head buried his face in the blanket and refused to have a conversation.

When Ye-na turned her head and our eyes met, her gaze seemed to say, “Why aren’t you leaving quickly, what are you doing?”

I wasn’t sure if that’s how it seemed or if that’s what she actually meant, but I left the club room saying I would come again.

* * *

The morning after completing the body-crushing physical training.

Arriving at the academy a little earlier than usual, I first stopped by the student council room.

Judging by the locked door, it seemed no one had arrived yet.

I hoped there would be no one, but it was even better that there was no one at all.

Entering the password and opening the door, I sat not at my desk but at the senior’s seat who was in charge of dungeon management.

Somewhere among these neatly organized folders, there must be a dungeon list…

Where is it… Come out quickly…

While rummaging through, a blue folder caught my eye.

This is it!

[List of Dungeons Available for Academy Student Application]

The academy had a system that allowed dungeon entry to accumulate practical experience for prospective hunters.

The levels of monsters that appeared in dungeons varied greatly, but the dungeons that were accessible to students were mostly level 1 to 2.

Occasionally, dungeons with level 3 or higher monsters were also included in the list, but in these cases, applications were only possible through accompaniment with established hunters, or entry was allowed only when the levels of the monsters appearing in the dungeon had not been accurately measured yet.

And among these many dungeons, the dungeon I was looking for was the small dungeon in Guryong Mountain located in Seocho-gu.

According to the description, only level 1 monsters appeared, but that wasn’t true.

Inside the Guryong Mountain dungeon, there was a hidden dungeon that opened when certain conditions were met.

And the level of the monster that appeared in the hidden dungeon was a whopping 5.

It was a place where rookies who entered half-heartedly would definitely be killed.

In fact, in my previous life, there were rare cases where academy students who entered to build their achievements disappeared inside the dungeon, and it was much later that the existence of the hidden dungeon was revealed.

Of course, defeating a level 5 monster wasn’t bad as practice to hone real combat senses, but there was something more important.

It was the reward for defeating this monster.

Among the various unrealistic weapons of hunters, it was a sword that boasted overwhelming specs.

Good. For now, I’ll apply for entry here soon…

Creak.

Someone opened the door and entered the student council room.

It was Si-hwa.

Me, who rummaged through someone else’s desk and made a mess.

Si-hwa, who was watching it.

“…Hi?”

I broke the silence.

“What are you doing, Choi In-wook?”

It was a scene that looked suspicious to anyone.

“Ah… that’s…”

As I hurriedly tried to organize the folders, Si-hwa approached me.

“What’s this? It’s a dungeon application form. Are you trying to enter a dungeon?”

Si-hwa looked at me with an expression of incomprehension.

“Ah… I was a bit interested.”

“Where are you trying to go?”

She was overly interested.

I had to make something up.

“I haven’t decided on a specific one, I was just wondering what dungeons there were… Ha… Haha…”

“Is that so?”

Si-hwa, who was staring at me with suspicious eyes, snatched the blue folder I was holding.

“Guryong Mountain Dungeon. It has a moderate difficulty. Are you trying to go here?”

“Ah… Yeah… I was thinking about it.”

I wasn’t sure if she already knew the contents or if she skimmed through it with speed reading, but she returned the folder to me.

“Next time, inquire with the senior in charge. Don’t rummage through someone else’s desk. You’ll be misunderstood.”

“Got it.”

I thought she would be more persistent, but she seemed to coolly pretend not to see it, which was unexpected.

“Shall we go after organizing?”

Feeling guilty for no reason, I nodded at her words and neatly organized the folders in order.

I couldn’t ask why Si-hwa was here so early in the morning, but being mindful of the atmosphere, I chose to leave the student council room rather than continue the conversation.

* * *

“Choi In-wook, hi!”

The male student next to me, Park Ha-min, greeted me as he sat down.

In my previous life, I had zero friendships, only business relationships and Ha-rin, but in this life, I thought about enjoying the pleasure of making friends.

“You’re here, Park Ha-min.”

I was a bit old to call him a friend of the same age, but what did it matter?

No one would suspect my true identity.

“Hey, In-wook. How is it being paired with Ha-rin? I’m so envious… Ah… Why did Kim Da-hye call me… Ahhh…”

Ha-min was paired with a female student named Da-hye at her request, but he seemed unhappy about it.

In my view, Da-hye also looked ordinarily cute, so I wondered why he was acting like that.

“Someone like Da-hye doesn’t seem bad, why are you so disappointed?”

“Eh. Still, Ha-rin is better.”

They say speak of the devil and he shall appear.

I don’t know when she arrived, but Ha-rin was looking at me with a bright smile.

“What? Talking about me? Let me know too.”

Ha-min, feeling awkward, coughed and gave up his seat.

“Hey! In-wook! I’ll go to the school store for a bit.”

“Oh… Oh! Okay! See you later.”

Ha-rin sat facing me in the seat Ha-min had vacated.

“In-wook.”

Ha-rin seemed to have something to say to me.

“Yeah.”

“What are you doing after the academy today?”

“There’s a student council meeting, but it should end quickly.”

“Ah… You joined the student council?”

Her reaction was a bit puzzled.

I’m puzzled too. It’s not like I joined because I wanted to.

“Then, can you see me for a bit after that?”

“Outside?”

“Yeah. Outside the academy.”

“Why?”

Is there something that needs to be discussed in private?

“Well… Since we’re a pair. I thought it would be good to know more about each other, both in terms of combat and other things…”

It wasn’t wrong, but I thought we could talk about it at the academy…

“Are you… busy by any chance?”

“No. Not really.”

“Then come here later!”

What she handed me was the address of a cafe near her house.

I had already said I wasn’t busy, and it was also a request from my pair, so it was hard to refuse.

“Okay. Then around 6 o’clock should work. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, yeah! Whenever is convenient for you, In-wook!”

“Got it. Then.”

Ha-rin said to me with a big smile.

“I’ll be looking forward to it!”

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