Ch.173Let’s Have A Match – 1

“I heard our son-in-law is not only kind-hearted but also a good cook.”

Rina Lee’s parents received their teary birthday meal with deep appreciation.

Well, seeing them enjoy the food so heartily made me feel like I’d done well.

Since it was her birthday, I felt I should do more, so I finished washing the dishes thoroughly.

Her mother seemed deeply moved again and kept patting my back.

Apparently if they left this to Rina, she’d break every single dish.

“No exaggeration, the dishes she’s broken could buy an entire apartment.”

My first thought hearing that? I wished it was a joke.

How many dishes could she possibly have destroyed to equal the value of an apartment?

But as her father brought more dishes, he added:

“Actually, it might be a bit more than that.”

At this point, I wondered why they never stopped this dish destroyer.

To my question, they gave a simple and obvious answer:

“When she insists on doing it herself, how can we stop her?”

Fair point. What parent can break their child’s stubbornness?

Besides, Rina herself earns the money to pay for the broken dishes.

If she breaks them and pays for them herself, there’s not much to say.

Anyway, after finishing all the cleanup and having a cup of tea,

I barely managed to decline their insistence on serving dinner before leaving their home.

It’s her birthday—why should she prepare someone else’s meal? She should enjoy the rest of her day.

“Oh, Seojin, I think you really scored some points today, didn’t you?”

I just stared blankly at Rina as she said this.

Sorry, but I’ve had perfect scores since we first met.

If anything, they were asking why I was with you despite having such high scores.

“What are you going to do now? If you don’t have plans, we could…”

“I’m meeting my team members for dinner.”

As Koreans, we grow closer by sharing meals together.

We’re already close, but dining together will bring us even closer.

Since we’ll be working together going forward, it’s good to strengthen our bonds.

“What? Then Soohyun Kim will be there too, right?”

“Of course. Soohyun is on my team after all.”

“What about me!”

Rina, please, I’m begging you—couldn’t you do some work for the country?

Every time you cause trouble, you cause it so thoroughly that taxpayers have to cover it.

At this rate, you should be working overtime every day.

“I want to join that team too.”

“…What?”

“There’s no rule saying S-rank can’t join a clan, right? So I want to join that… what was it? Matap? Yeah, I want to join there and be on your team.”

The thought that immediately came to mind was—

Two S-ranks on one team? Would the government just sit back and allow that?

It’s not like she was clan-affiliated first, like Jiyoon Han or me.

They wouldn’t move an important talent from national service to clan affiliation.

Moreover, other clans would send tremendous pressure against Matap.

They’re already giving subtle looks because of my existence.

And now to add the overwhelming presence of Rina Lee?

‘I guarantee all competing clans would go crazy trying to check Matap’s power.’

So I was about to flatly refuse her.

A girl who never even thought about clans suddenly wanting to join one?

I was going to add that how could she do clan activities when she ignores Association orders.

“It’s unfair! I want to stay by your side too!”

“Anyone listening would think we’re breaking up! We’re both S-rank so we meet occasionally, and we see each other at the Association! We’re neighbors living so close we could trip and touch noses—what more do you want?”

Soohyun is staying at her family home by the river where Minseong Kang resides.

Conversely, Rina stays in the special residential zone with me.

The distance is so close that it takes only five minutes from Rina’s place to mine.

Despite clan activities and team activities, we don’t do them every day.

We actually spend more time seeing each other at the Academy.

She never complained about that part, so why is she so fixated on joining the team?

“I don’t care! I want to join that team! Even as an honorary member! Just let me in! Let me in!”

“Why are you asking me? Am I the Matap Clan Master?”

“So you’re saying if the Matap Clan Master approves, you’ll accept me as a team member?”

“That’s just a figure of speech, not a promise. Please, just stop.”

Clan Master. I can vividly imagine Hana Kang’s father having a fit.

An S-rank joining a clan? Of course that would be incredibly welcome.

Despite the sharp glares from the government and all the checks from competing clans!

The benefits and social growth would be overwhelming in return.

But if that S-rank is Rina Lee, the issue becomes slightly different.

Even the Association can barely control her through her parents.

And that’s only by her choice—once she loses it, it’s a catastrophe.

The government is barely covering for her as it is.

It would be nearly impossible for a clan to handle such a formidable woman.

Even Matap couldn’t manage Rina’s power.

“I said I’ll be an honorary member! I won’t participate in activities, just be affiliated with the team!”

What a strange way to say you want to play without working.

If she switches to clan affiliation, even the Association that’s been using her well can’t assign her work anymore.

Surely she’s not calculating all this just to become an honorary team member?

“If you keep this up, I’ll have to resort to my last option…”

Rina, who had been chattering away, suddenly closed her mouth and turned her head sharply.

Wondering why she suddenly acted this way, I glanced around but saw nothing unusual.

“…Ah, truly a witch.”

“Huh?”

“She comes like a ghost.”

Almost simultaneously with Rina’s words—

“Arbiter!”

In the distance, I saw Soohyun running toward us at full speed.

Literally running at full speed. In an instant, she was in front of us.

No, more precisely, she quickly squeezed herself between Rina and me.

“Are you finished with your work?!”

“Yes, it went well. But what brings you here suddenly? We’re meeting for dinner anyway.”

“Exactly. We’re meeting for dinner anyway, so why are you bothering Seojin already?”

Rina subtly provoked Soohyun from the side.

But Soohyun ignored her as if a dog—no, a cat—was meowing nearby.

She completely disregarded Rina and grabbed my hand firmly.

“You must have worked hard.”

“What? Hey, I’m the one who caught The Mole, so why are you telling Seojin he worked hard?”

“That’s exactly why he worked hard. Looking after troublemaker Rina must have caused him a lot of stress.”

“No it didn’t!”

Yes it did. You did stress me out, Rina.

“But…”

Soohyun, standing beside me warily watching Rina, suddenly tilted her head.

Then she began circling around me and even started sniffing.

“Soohyun? What’s wrong?”

“…It’s strange.”

“Strange? What’s strange?”

“I keep smelling this woman on you, Arbiter.”

Flinch—

I involuntarily shuddered. I needed to maintain a poker face, damn it.

Someday I’ll tell Soohyun. No secret can be kept forever.

But I judged that now wasn’t the time, that it was premature.

I had just recently been intimate with Soohyun and had dinner with her family.

How could I immediately tell her I’d been with another woman so soon after?

It would be better to mention it later, when Soohyun was in a good mood.

‘If Rina weren’t here, I might have tried to explain somehow.’

To navigate the current situation, I deployed my prepared words.

“That? Today was Rina’s mother’s birthday. We were preparing together, so we were close. That’s probably why.”

“Birthday.”

Soohyun questioned, glancing slightly toward Rina.

“Please convey my congratulations.”

“Huh?”

“To your mother. Congratulations on her birthday.”

“Oh… okay. I’ll tell her. Though it’s a bit sudden.”

It’s her parent’s birthday congratulations, not something else.

Even Rina couldn’t say “I don’t want to” to that.

Anyway, since Soohyun’s reaction wasn’t bad, I felt somewhat relieved and…

“But, Arbiter. Why do you call her ‘Rina’ instead of ‘Rina-ssi’?”

“Huh?”

…Ah. Damn. I slipped up.

*

Rina. It was certain. He definitely said “Rina.”

Not “Rina-ssi” like before, but her name. And in such a familiar way.

Recalling this, Soohyun Kim unconsciously bit her lip.

She wanted to be the only one Seojin Baek treated with familiarity.

She didn’t want to see him acting that way with others. At least not with other women.

Especially not with this woman, Rina Lee, standing right next to her!

“But, Arbiter. Why do you call her ‘Rina’ instead of ‘Rina-ssi’?”

“Huh?”

At Soohyun Kim’s words, Seojin Baek’s expression stiffened.

Blinking his eyes rapidly a few times, he parted his lips as if it were nothing.

“Ah. Well, you see, Soohyun. That…”

“It’s because we agreed to call each other that way from now on.”

The answer came not from Seojin Baek, but from Rina Lee.

“What did you just…”

“Why pretend you didn’t hear? Seojin and I agreed to it. To call each other more comfortably.”

Hearing those words, Soohyun Kim’s expression instantly hardened.

Startled, Seojin Baek hurriedly tried to interject, but—

“Seojin. You should leave. If you don’t want to die.”

Rina cut him off sharply, saying this was between her and Soohyun.

Pushed away by Rina’s expression, he had no choice but to back off.

“…You can’t be serious?”

“What can’t be serious?”

“That you arrived in Korea today. Don’t tell me that was a lie?”

“Yes. Actually, I came back yesterday.”

Rina dropped another massive bombshell.

Ignoring Seojin Baek’s startled reaction, she continued speaking.

“If you came yesterday, why today…”

“Look, why act innocent? You’ve already done it too. You think I just rested after arriving yesterday? What you did with Seojin, I did with him yesterday too.”

“…”

After hearing that, flames ignited in Soohyun Kim’s eyes.

“Rina-ssi.”

Barely restraining herself from adding an expletive after “ssi,”

Soohyun Kim forcibly swallowed her burning anger and said:

“Let’s have a serious match, you and I.”

“That’s what I’ve been waiting for.”