Chapter 43: Housewarming (2)

The reason Kim Seongyeong’s family moved was none other than the girl’s retaliation.

Just because he picked a fight in chat, she’d dug up not only his parents’ names but their address too.

For those on the receiving end, it was natural to be terrified, feeling like they’d received death threats.

But.

“Ah, I see.”

Whether Kim Seongyeong glared at her or not.

Who is that? Does Kim Seongyeong know them?

The girl just nodded vaguely, seemingly without feeling any guilt.

I’m not interested in what the enemy has to say!

More importantly, she was curious about the man’s identity right now.

Though she couldn’t ask because he disappeared as soon as their eyes met.

Judging by the occasional glances she felt, he clearly hadn’t gone far.

Could it be… someone who needs help?

“Hey! What are you looking at when someone’s talking to you!”

Kim Seongyeong also turned to look behind the buildings, following the girl’s gaze.

But all he could see were the tall walls separating the houses.

“Wow… aren’t you even sorry?”

He hadn’t expected an apology from someone with a personality as haughty as her looks, but.

He thought he’d at least hear something like ‘Let’s forget the past and get along from now on!’

“Why should I be?”

But the girl was confident, and.

Kim Seongyeong felt his insides turn.

“Argh!”

He remembered how much his parents had scolded him after that incident.

Even Instructor Yang Joya had given him a stern warning not to pick fights with friends.

Just recalling the situation made Kim Seongyeong scratch his chest vigorously, unable to bring himself to curse.

No, why is this my fault?

Isn’t this how everyone becomes friends, by cursing and fighting?

Wasn’t it your fault for setting your nickname as ‘Sinner’ in the first place?

You drew so much attention, and you’re saying it’s not your fault?

Kim Seongyeong watched the back of the girl’s head as she walked ahead and asked.

“Do you know my father’s bodyguards almost got fired because of you?”

This time, even the girl who always acted nice would surely feel guilty.

He thought he’d get an apology for this incident and then they could slowly become friends.

But the girl was confident!

“Huh? I don’t know.”

You’re asking if I know they almost got fired?

How would I know that…?

You should always make eye contact when talking to someone, right?

The girl, who had been walking ahead, slightly turned her head to look at Kim Seongyeong.

He flinched at her innocent look that genuinely seemed to know nothing.

Wow, how can even her eyes be so pretty?

Like jewels…

No!

“Hey! That’s not what I asked!”

Kim Seongyeong gritted his teeth.

He couldn’t let himself be captivated by her face just because she was a little pretty!

“You almost made innocent people lose their jobs!”

Now she must be feeling guilty and not know what to do!

Kim Seongyeong felt triumphant for a moment, but…

“Huh? How is that my fault?”

The girl tilted her head.

She answered in a refreshing voice that matched her blue hair flowing gently.

“When you hit someone, you should be prepared to get hit back. You attacked me first, so isn’t the cause with you?”

Her words made perfect sense.

Whether the bodyguards almost got fired or they had to move.

In the end, none of this would have happened if Kim Seongyeong hadn’t picked a fight with the girl.

“…Wow, how do you never back down?”

Kim Seongyeong shook his head.

Alright, I’ve lost.

Well, I guess this level of challenge is fitting for someone who’ll be a future S-class Awakened like me.

Whoosh-!

Using his acceleration ability, Kim Seongyeong overtook the girl in the blink of an eye and naturally held out his hand. Though it wasn’t common for friends to hold hands while walking around, the girl with her lack of common sense wouldn’t know that.

“Huh?”

“Take it. You’ll get lost if you keep walking ahead like that by yourself.”

Heh. Did I look cool just now?

The girl took Kim Seongyeong’s hand without much thought.

Unlike Mia’s soft hands, his palm was quite rough.

Come to think of it, are all men’s hands this rough, like the Guild Master’s?

Hmm…

I don’t know since my hands were cut off before I grew up.

Would I have had hands like this if they’d stayed intact until I was fully grown?

Poke, poke.

As the girl touched their joined hands, Kim Seongyeong’s face turned bright red.

Wh-what does this mean?

She took my hand so easily, and now she’s touching it. Does this mean she’s interested in me?

Hehehe, I bet she thought my acceleration ability looked cool!

“Ahem, this is all the result of hard work.”

It was his way of boasting, trying to get the girl to acknowledge his ability.

But since it came out of nowhere, for the girl listening…

Aha!

So you need to work hard to get rough hands!

Then I should try not to work too hard so Mia’s pretty hands don’t get ruined!

She misunderstood and nodded slightly.

Despite these various misunderstandings, Kim Seongyeong continued his efforts to improve his relationship with the girl.

“You’re moving here too, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Th-then, do you want to come over to my place sometime?”

“Sure.”

Yes!

Kim Seongyeong clenched his fist, inwardly cheering.

She accepted the invitation, so she must not be upset anymore, right?

And so, Kim Seongyeong started introducing the neighborhood he’d learned about while researching internet cafe locations.

“That’s a comprehensive fitness center. It has a gym, Pilates, swimming, tennis, table tennis. You can do pretty much any sport there.”

Befitting one of Korea’s wealthiest neighborhoods, the surrounding facilities were luxurious.

A fitness center as large as a soccer stadium.

“That’s the medical building. They even have plastic surgery clinics there.”

A medical building including an emergency trauma center capable of urgent surgeries.

“That’s the restaurant district. They have pretty much every franchise you can think of.”

And finally, the much-anticipated restaurant district.

The girl, who had been responding with unenthusiastic “Ah, I see” and such until now,

“Is there tanghulu here too?”

For the first time, her eyes lit up as she started looking around.

Royal Court Tteokbokki, Yum Yum Fruit Juice, Two Birds Fried Chicken…

Just like when she visited the Chungseong Guild headquarters, there was an incredible variety of restaurants, enough to make her eyes spin.

But for some reason, she couldn’t see any tanghulu!

The girl quickly became dejected.

She’d wanted to buy tanghulu as a gift for the monks too…

Kim Seongyeong didn’t miss this opportunity.

Aha! So she likes tanghulu!

The restaurant district in this wealthy area wasn’t the kind of place where seasonal vendors selling things like tanghulu could easily set up shop.

But there was a specialty dessert shop that sold snacks similar to tanghulu.

“Wait here for a moment!”

We shared the snacks I bought at the cafe, so.

This time, I’ll definitely score some points!

Motivated, Kim Seongyeong left the girl alone and disappeared in a flash using his acceleration ability.

He was going to buy tanghulu from a nearby dessert shop.

However, the girl left alone…

“I just have to wait here?”

She asked belatedly, but of course, there was no answer.

He said to wait here, so I shouldn’t move, right?

She stood still in the middle of the sidewalk, basking in the autumn sunlight, waiting for Kim Seongyeong to return.

Her blue hair fluttered in the breeze.

She maintained her upright posture without wavering, seemingly unbothered.

“…Did she get lost?”

Her appearance was already eye-catching, and since the area was quiet, people started to notice her standing still for several minutes.

The part-time worker cleaning a restaurant.

The truck driver delivering beverages.

The chef making hand-pulled noodles visible through the glass window.

Though they differed in age, gender, and occupation, they all had similar thoughts as they looked at the motionless girl.

Judging by how she looks and the fact that she’s living in this neighborhood, she must be from an incredibly wealthy family.

So let’s not pay attention to her.

Not all rich people are bad, but as the saying goes, a few bad fish can muddy the whole pond.

The restaurant district staff had encountered their fair share of troublesome customers.

Some of them would get angry, saying things like “How dare you greasy, low-class people speak to me first?”

Some would even point at the staff in front of their children, saying, “If you don’t want to end up like them, listen to Mom and Dad.”

Everyone pretended not to see.

Just as they were turning their heads away from the girl standing blankly on the road,

Taking advantage of the empty street and the fact that even the nearby restaurant staff were ignoring her,

A man who had been secretly glancing at the girl from afar slowly approached.

“…Little girl.”

Dark circles under his eyes.

Unkempt, dark stubble and messy hair.

Though his appearance didn’t fit the luxurious surroundings, the girl wasn’t particularly wary.

Many of the people who came to the underground were even worse than him.

He seemed to want something, given how he’d been staring at her for a while.

She couldn’t ignore his gloomy appearance, which was clearly full of misfortune at a glance.

It was natural to serve with the abilities given by the Almighty God.

“Can I help you?”

The man slowly nodded at the girl’s response.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop… but I’ll buy you something tasty if you listen to my story…?”

Deep despair and hidden anger.

The girl smiled brightly and answered.

“Then I’d like lemonade!”

Lemonade is always right!

“…Alright.”

The man led the way out of the restaurant district.

Even though it was a wealthy area, it wasn’t a completely isolated space with castle-like high walls, so they soon blended into the normal city.

The girl followed, taking in the surroundings without any worry.

They walked along winding roads, gradually entering narrower alleys.

Going around in circles several times to make it hard to remember the way back.

“Go in.”

The man finally stopped in front of a run-down building.

“Why are all the windows painted black here?”

The man silently pushed the girl’s shoulder in response to her question.

Without using her Awakened ability, her small frame couldn’t resist an adult man’s strength.

“Oof!”

The pushed girl suddenly found herself inside the building.

All this happened in the brief moment Kim Seongyeong was gone.

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