episode_0291

“Wow… ”

The Magic Zoo.

When Lee Hyun left for a moment to buy a ticket.

He couldn’t take his eyes off the pitying glass window and kept letting out curious exclamations.

The eyes that looked at the floating jellyfish-like demons had none of the usual fierceness and arrogance.

For her, who had always dealt with dangerous demons, it was a very different experience.

At first, I was a little worried, but now I’m very satisfied with my judgment in choosing this place as a first date spot.

Moreover, because she had deliberately chosen to wear plain clothes, the sight of her now looking around the zoo was exactly like that of a girl from the outskirts who had just come to the capital.

But beautiful flowers are always surrounded by bugs.

Since she couldn’t hide her shining beauty, she was soon catching everyone’s attention without even realizing it.

Now, she was not the daughter of a prominent family but just an ordinary girl, so the hurdles were even lower.

“Ahem, over there.”

They seemed to be gathering slowly, but eventually two or three men surrounded her and spoke to her.

“Miss, are you alone? Are you with someone?”

Their attitudes, which all look like bad guys, seem to be aimed at teasing a girl who is new to Seoul and is naive about the ways of the world.

They are the common rascals who live at the bottom of the capital.

Even the way he speaks is so clichéd.

“Are you lost?”

“Shall we help you? Yeah?”

And the tongue flickering.

“… ”

Seeing that shameless appearance that didn’t even seem to have any intention of hiding its dark intentions, I couldn’t help but frown as if I was looking at a rotten frog.

He was wagging his fingers in a habitual expression of pity, hiding his disgust with his wide-brimmed hat.

Suddenly, sparks fly from the back of the invisible palm.

I was lost in thought.

Hmm, what should I do?

Should I burn half my face off, or should I just turn every joint in my arm to dust?

Then no, he thought, nodding his head.

But I don’t want to see blood on the first date. Especially since I put so much effort into dressing up.

Then should I just lightly lick that tongue?

“Hehehe, you’re scared. We’re not that bad people.”

“Yeah. You’ll know if you go together, right? Huh?”

The men who misunderstood Yeonminha’s attitude as being scared started to laugh and chatter. One of them even approached her and extended his arm in a friendly manner as if he wanted to put his arm around her.

‘…Let’s just burn it.’

I would rather catch an earthworm with my own hands than give anything to those kinds of things.

Looking at the approaching arms, it was easy to draw a conclusion of compassion.

So, the spark that was flying beyond the palm of your hand was trying to be fanned out.

-Wow!

“Kkaaaak… !”

“… ?”

I opened my eyes wide in pity at the sound of the screams of pain I heard.

The arm that had been extended towards him was dangling with its joints bent in the exact opposite direction.

Hyun Lee, who had returned without notice, quietly muttered while turning the thug’s wrist behind him.

“How dare these bastards… ”

A voice filled with discomfort and anger.

At that attitude, which seemed to claim that something that was his had been invaded, Yeonmin-ha felt a lukewarm warmth on her face.

“You, you, what are you doing… Aah! Wrong, wrong… !”

Those kind of petty men would never dare to be his opponents.

It’s such an obvious fact that it doesn’t even need to be said.

The gangster’s comrades had already fled in a panic and were nowhere to be seen. Only one man, caught in his clutches, was writhing in pain and begging for mercy.

And then Lee Hyun and Yeon Min-ha’s eyes meet, and Yeon Min-ha nods her head slightly.

Lee Hyeon easily understands the meaning without saying a word.

He growled as he roughly slammed the thug who had grabbed his wrist onto the ground.

“Get out now. If I see you again… ”

“Ugh… !”

Well, that won’t happen. Judging from the way he ran away like that before the warning even ended.

As Yeonmin was thinking that way, Hyun, who had turned his hand, finally approached her.

With a pitying, indifferent face, he extended his arm slightly.

“… You worked hard. You just wasted your energy… Huh?!”

But instead of linking arms or holding hands, Lee Hyun stretches out his arm, grabs her opposite shoulder, and roughly pulls her towards him.

I ended up putting half of my compassionate body on him.

And before I could even calm down, I heard his voice, still angry.

“Senior. Where are you hurt?”

“No, no. Do you think I’d lose to those guys? Wait a minute… ”

“Then where did the body touch?”

Kwak.

And a strong hand wrapped around her slender shoulder.

A clearly felt sense of exclusivity and possessiveness.

At this, I swallowed my saliva without realizing it, feeling sorry for him.

Thud, thud, thud.

She opened her mouth, pretending to be calm, trying hard to ignore the pounding of her heart that was pulsing through her body.

“Of course not.”

Only then did Yeonmin feel a sense of regret as his grip slowly loosened.

“That’s fortunate.”

“… Overprotective.”

He spoke in a deliberately refreshing tone, trying to console his regret.

The two entered the zoo side by side as if nothing had happened.

Yeonmin-ha, who remembered something belatedly, looks up at Hyun.

Hyun Lee, who felt her discontented gaze, asked her questioningly.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“… But why do you only call me senior?”

“… ?”

Lee Hyun, who did not understand the meaning of the words, made a bewildered expression. He continued speaking in a voice that seemed to be sympathetic and even resentful.

“… I always call Baek Seo-yeon Yeon.”

“I used to say that it was good that my senior had a unique personality… Ah.”

Only then does Lee Hyeon understand her dissatisfaction and look down at Yeon Min Ha.

“Are you jealous?”

“Jealousy… What do you mean…!”

Yeonmin-ha, whose expression wavered for a moment, shook her head violently and denied it.

She felt aroused by the sight of Lee Hyeon smiling mischievously, unlike herself.

Yeonmin-ha continues speaking in a voice that is almost like making excuses.

“That, that’s what I was talking about usually. Of course, I don’t absolutely hate or dislike the title ‘senior’, but today is a little different. We’re not at the academy, and it’s our first date, so I think we should think a little more about the titles we use for each other… ”

“… ”

Today, the compassionate one spoke unusually long.

Lee Hyun just stared blankly at her.

Somehow, I should say that the intention is obvious.

Well, there is no particular reason why he cannot grant Yeonminha’s wish.

Even more so when I see him craving affection so much.

Lee Hyun, who had made such an easy decision, spoke briefly while looking at Yeon Min-ha, who was still making long excuses.

“Then… Min-ha?”

“Huh, huh… ”

The reaction was immediate.

Suddenly, he stopped saying pitiful words and lowered his head.

The ball felt hot as if it had been burned. It was obvious that he was having difficulty breathing, as he could not exhale properly.

‘True, true…!’

Yeonmin-ha barely suppressed her excitement as she pounded her chest.

Then he coughed in vain and tried to act calm.

“… Well, that’s not bad. It’s worth listening to. Then let’s keep calling it that today… ”

“But… wouldn’t it be boring if only one side was like this?”

“… ?”

And Lee Hyeon asked a question that English couldn’t understand.

This time, Yeonmin-ha frowned slightly as if she didn’t understand.

“What does that mean?”

“If you go by age, I’m your older brother.”

“What…!”

Only then did Yeon Min-ha’s face turn bright red as she realized what Lee Hyeon meant.

It was quite common in the cradle for the juniors to be older than the seniors.

Usually, a wizard’s flowering occurs around the time when puberty ends and the individual establishes their identity, but the timing of this can vary from person to person.

Of course, the hierarchy between seniors and juniors is strictly divided by grade, not age. Naturally, Yeonmin, a second-year student, has long become accustomed to that rule.

Moreover, what kind of bold man would dare to act like an older brother to her, the daughter of one of the five red families?

It was impossible for anyone except the one person in front of him now.

“Hey, how cheeky…! How dare you do that to your junior…!”

“As you said, this isn’t the academy. Didn’t someone just say that?”

Lee Hyun was still smiling mischievously. He didn’t care at all about Yeon Min-ha’s sharp attitude.

“Shouldn’t we treat each other fairly? Surely, ‘Senior’, you’re not going to say two things with one mouth.”

“Ugh… But… !”

Yeonmin-ha, who had fallen for my trick, stamped her feet.

At first, I felt a little bit ashamed.

But to be honest… I don’t feel like I dislike it in any way.

Come to think of it, I’ve tried something similar on my own before.

On the contrary, Lee Hyun’s words just now seemed to have ignited a fire inside her.

“Really… ”

Finally, he took a deep, compassionate breath and muttered, wiggling his fingers.

“… Do you really want to hear that from me?”

“Yeah.”

“Ugh… ”

And the answer comes without a single moment of hesitation.

Now I have no choice. I close my eyes tightly in pity.

And finally, I finally managed to say out loud the words I had only imagined but had not been able to say before.

“Hyeon, Hyun is my brother… ”

“… ”

And even Lee Hyeon, who had been smiling teasingly the whole time, was a little surprised, even though he had not seen the pity.

Lee Hyeon stared blankly at Yeon Min-ha for a moment.

But soon, he changed his expression and whispered, brushing back a few strands of hair that had fallen down Yeonminha’s face as if to straighten them.

“… Good job.”

“Huh, hmph… ”

And then, burr, the body trembles with pity.

Only then did she open her eyes, and lower her head slightly with a shy blush on her cheeks.

“I don’t know… ”

Lee Hyeon, who had been observing such compassion the whole time, added playfully.

“Should I use polite language when speaking to my older brother?”

“John, what are you talking about with respect…!”

Yeonmin-ha looked dumbfounded at the excessive demands and began to argue.

“Hey, do it in moderation…! There’s a line even when playing…!”

“Polite speech.”

“We’re only one year apart, why are you even using formal language… ”

“Polite speech.”

“Sigh… ”

But in the end, it was Yeonmin-ha who lost the momentum.

Even as she held back tears of shame, a strange heat and sense of betrayal surged violently through her heart.

A place that is barely covered by the remaining prestige of a senior.

When you lift that curtain, all that remains is a handful of base and suffocating desires.

After trying hard to ignore it, he realized it too late and gave in to his pitying desire.

“Okay, I understand… Brother.”

Yeonmin-ha bowed her head and said. Lee Hyeon smiled with satisfaction and continued speaking.

“Let’s keep calling it that today.”

“… Yes.”

Yeonminha nodded.

It was a blush that couldn’t be hidden even by a deep-brimmed hat.