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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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I also bent down to help pick up the fallen stationery.
“Thank you, In-wook.” Ha-rin thanked me in a small voice.
“In-wook. You know…”
Ha-rin seemed to have something to say but couldn’t continue due to the homeroom teacher’s words.
“Ji-eun, go sit in any empty seat you want. Let’s start class.”
“Okay!”
Ji-eun glanced around the classroom once and walked towards us.
To my right was Ha-rin. To my left was another male student, but for some reason, he was nowhere to be seen today.
Naturally, Ji-eun sat to my left.
“Ms. Ji-eun. This seat belongs to another student.”
I told her.
“Really?”
Ji-eun suddenly raised her hand and asked the homeroom teacher in a loud voice.
“Teacher! Does this seat belong to another student?”
“If it’s an empty seat, you can just sit there.”
“Teacher, this is Taehyung’s seat…!”
Just as I was about to tell the teacher it was another student’s seat.
A male student’s voice was heard from behind.
“I’m over here?”
What. Shin Taehyung. Why are you there?
Taehyung was originally sitting diagonally behind me in what used to be an empty seat.
“What is this? Are you still making a fuss about seats? We need to start class now, so everyone focus!”
Ji-eun sat next to me and listened to the lecture with round eyes.
I couldn’t concentrate on the lecture content.
How can I get rid of Ji-eun?
Only this question kept circling in my head.
I had no ill feelings towards her, but it was problematic for her to keep acting like this.
I could see Ha-rin’s complexion getting even worse right next to me.
It was obvious how Si-hwa or Ye-na would react if they saw Ji-eun clinging to my side.
Especially if Si-hwa found out… I didn’t even want to imagine it.
She definitely wouldn’t let it slide.
The class passed by in a daze, and lunchtime arrived before I knew it.
“In-wook!”
Ji-eun turned her head to look at me and smiled brightly.
“I heard you’re going to show me around the academy! Thank you so much!”
I nodded with a reluctant expression.
“Do you want to show me around right now? Actually, I don’t even know where the cafeteria is.”
“…Okay. You’re 20 years old, right Ji-eun? Let’s talk comfortably.”
“Ah~ I’m actually quite shy, so I’ll switch to informal speech once I get a bit more comfortable with you. That’s okay, right?”
…I’ve never heard of a shy person winking.
“You can talk comfortably, In-wook! I don’t mind!”
“Then I’ll do that. Shall we go?”
If I had to inevitably show her around, it was best to get it over with quickly.
“Um… Ji-eun? Right?”
Ha-rin, who had been sitting and listening to our conversation without getting up, called Ji-eun’s name.
“Yes!”
“Hello. I’m Yoon Ha-rin. I’m In-wook’s partner.”
“Ah~ I see~ Nice to meet you~”
For a moment, Ji-eun’s eyes glowed even redder.
“Wow… In-wook. Isn’t your partner pretty much the strongest in the academy?”
I couldn’t help but smile wryly at her words.
“Well, we made it to the finals of the 1st-year pair tournament, so I guess we’re candidates.”
In the end, the finals were invalidated, so it was difficult to answer confidently.
“Huh? Then does that mean there’s a hunter strong enough to rival In-wook among the 1st-years?”
Yes. There is. Someone far stronger than me right now.
“There is. Someone like that.”
“Um… Ji-eun!”
Ha-rin smiled and briefly stopped us as we were about to leave.
“I’d like to get to know you better. Would it be okay if I also help show you around?”
Ji-eun seemed to think for a moment before nodding.
“Well… I guess it’s better to build a relationship with the partner of the one who will be my teacher, right?”
She glanced up at me.
“Teacher?”
Ha-rin tilted her head.
“Don’t mind it, Ha-rin.”
I tried to brush it off, waving my hand.
“In-wook, you agreed to be my teacher if the conditions are met, right?”
“Let’s talk about that separately later. For now, just receive the guidance obediently.”
I didn’t want to speak harshly to her, but I had to block her from constantly creating room for controversy.
Thus, Ha-rin, Ji-eun, and I went down to the cafeteria together.
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Ji-eun was much more talkative than I had thought.
As if she had a motor in her mouth, she kept talking non-stop.
“Hmm~ The food seemed tastier at Sehwa Academy where i’m from! If I were to give it a rating, 3.8 points!”
“What part was lacking?”
Ha-rin, who was good at listening to others, responded to each of her words.
“First, this meat. It seems to have a slightly stale smell, so that’s a bit disappointing. The vegetables seem fresh overall, though.”
“I can’t really tell. You must be picky about food, Ji-eun.”
Ji-eun nodded as if it was obvious.
“I’m very serious about what I eat!”
“Then let’s go to a delicious restaurant together sometime.”
It was true that having Ha-rin around made me feel like I could take a breather.
If Ji-eun and I had eaten alone, all those responses would have been my responsibility.
“Ah! But you said you’re In-wook’s partner, right Ha-rin?”
“Yes.”
A sly smile appeared on Ji-eun’s lips.
What is she going to ask now? Even though I wasn’t the target of the question, I felt a growing sense of unease.
“In-wook, do you have a girlfriend?”
Ha-rin’s face, who had been smiling and responding to her, suddenly stiffened.
“Girlfriend…? Well… I don’t really know either…”
Ha-rin tried to answer her with a forced smile.
“…Do you?”
When Ha-rin didn’t answer, Ji-eun looked at me this time and asked.
“No. I don’t.”
I answered her indifferently, but her expression brightened instead.
“Really? Why not? It seems like you would have one?”
I couldn’t say I didn’t have a girlfriend but had three divorced wives.
“Ha-rin, do you not like In-wook?”
Ha-rin made a troubled expression at Ji-eun’s question.
“I…”
Both Ha-rin and I knew what the answer was.
“…I like him. In-wook is a good person.”
Ji-eun, who had no way of knowing the inside story, tilted her head.
“Hmm~ Is that just as a friend? In that sense?”
Ha-rin nodded slightly.
Then Ji-eun wiped her forehead as if relieved.
“Phew~ I thought there was already someone!”
“What?”
Bewilderment seeped from Ha-rin’s voice.
“I transferred all the way here just for In-wook~”
Ha-rin’s already large eyes widened even further.
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Well, you see~”
I had clearly let her know during our last meeting that I was reluctant to reveal the workshop incident.
If she uttered one more word here, I had no intention of accepting her forceful behavior any longer, regardless of the principal’s request.
“It’s our little secret!”
Ji-eun winked at me again.
As if saying, ‘I did well, right!’
She did well, but… I could feel the back of my head throbbing.
Sensing that the situation would worsen the longer this meal lasted, I got up from my seat.
“Is everyone done eating? Let’s go.”
“Huh? But I’m not finished yet?”
“I’m going to show you around other places. Before the afternoon class.”
“Ah~ If that’s the case~ It’s unfortunate, but I guess it can’t be helped.”
Fortunately, Ji-eun readily followed my words.
Ha-rin also got up from her seat with us.
“I’ll be right back after going to the restroom!”
After Ji-eun ran to the restroom, silence hung between Ha-rin and me.
Ha-rin seemed to have something she wanted to say.
“…In-wook.”
“Yeah.”
“I remember that girl.”
…She was also on her second chance like me.
The Mado Tool Workshop incident and the missing prodigy Lee Ji-eun.
It wasn’t strange for Ha-rin to remember since it was such a famous incident.
“Did you… save her?”
Now that the incident had reached this point, I thought it was only a matter of time before getting caught.
“…Yeah.”
“Even though your body hasn’t fully recovered…! What did you think was there…!”
Ha-rin, who hadn’t been able to properly talk to me since the finals, spoke as if she was genuinely worried about me.
“…I thought I didn’t want to become a bystander dad.”
At my words, Ha-rin’s eyes trembled.
“Ha-rin. As you know, in this life, I can have a child.”
The moment Ha-rin was about to respond to my words.
Ji-eun popped up beside us.
“What is that! Were you a eunuch in your previous life, In-wook?”
…Although she giggled, I couldn’t laugh at all.
Ha-rin’s face also stiffened, and Ji-eun blinked her eyes, looking back and forth between us.
“Uh… It was just a joke, but why are you both so serious? No. It’s not like you were really a eunuch or anything, right?”
At her confirmation shot, I felt my patience gauge hitting rock bottom.
I had no intention of doing so at all, but I seriously considered taking her as my disciple.
It seemed like the optimal conditions to legally make her work.
I wanted to smack Ji-eun on the head as she shrugged her shoulders.
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