Ch.202202. Harmony at Home Brings Success in All Things

With Brazil as the epicenter, a sense of impending war hung in the air.

While Do Jonghyun was busy running around Korea handling his romantic affairs and cleaning up loose ends, here, a massive war that would go down in history was about to unfold.

Pico da Neblina. From atop this enormous mountain reaching 3,000 meters in height, the global coalition forces were now watching their enemy.

An entire city had fallen into the clutches of monsters.

And there, Marcus, a human-monster with the form of a devil, looked down upon them from the sky.

Having maintained his dual identity as both a member of the Monster Extermination Corps and a human-monster, he revealed his true colors immediately after Siwujin’s death.

Below him, hundreds of monsters roared, waiting to advance.

This wasn’t the end.

From somewhere, giant locusts and moths were arriving.

Additionally, an ant queen was breaking through the ground to provide support.

It was truly a gathering of South American SS-class monsters and new species.

Dokgo Jun gritted his teeth.

“Finally, the moment has come to end these insufferable creatures. This is where we annihilate them.”

The multinational coalition Jaegers prepared to open fire. They would draw the monsters out through advantageous long-range combat and crush them.

A sufficient battle as outlined in the anti-Jaeger doctrine. As Marcus and the airborne monsters charged all at once, the curtain rose on the great war.

*

Seol Yuhwa came to save me.

“Haha, perfect timing.”

My entire body felt like it was about to break apart, and my arm, though not actually severed, felt paralyzed.

I was in a crisis, but I survived thanks to Yuhwa’s support.

But naturally, I needed to be careful about the next counterattack.

Until now, I had been certain.

Since it was a situation where even that chimera had to appear, I was sure I would be attacked.

“Huh?”

But something unexpected happened. Jiho didn’t attack but instead glared at Seol Yuhwa.

“Why? Why are you doing this? You’re just like me.”

While I was trying to understand what was happening, I heard Seol Yuhwa’s voice.

“That’s right. I thought I was abandoned too. I thought everything was pointless and over.”

“Then why?”

“I decided to try again. If I give up, that’s the end, but now I have another chance.”

From Yuhwa’s words and Jiho’s reaction, I could understand one thing.

Considering Jiho’s situation, it was clear. She felt abandoned and became twisted.

Obviously, being rejected by Eun Serin and told she wasn’t her child.

In Seol Yuhwa’s case, she probably felt that all her vulnerabilities were exposed and that she had lost to Ariel.

They felt a sense of kinship in their mutual state of loss and resignation.

I called out to Eun Jiho.

“Because we’re both alive! We can talk again and change things!”

“What are you saying?”

“Eun Serin is worried about you.”

“!”

Jiho’s expression changed dramatically. At the same time, she clutched her head.

“Liar!”

“She regrets what she did! But she thinks it can’t be undone! Jiho! Don’t you want to talk to Serin again? To share your true feelings?”

I could sense a change in Jiho’s face.

“Do you want to talk again? If we kill each other, we can’t go back to how things were, right?”

“No. It’s too late. Already…”

“You can change it! Yuhwa came back for that very reason.”

Jiho was in agony at that moment.

“Ugh… ugh… lies… it’s already over, and she abandoned me!”

As her magical power surged like it was excited, Jiho stared at me with a face full of confusion.

“Let’s go, it was fun talking together back then, wasn’t it?”

“!”

I reached out my hand to Jiho, hoping desperately that she would take it.

But Jiho ran away. Even though she was in an overwhelmingly advantageous position.

“…She must be extremely confused.”

I should talk to Eun Serin about this again.

Anyway, it was a fortunate situation. Seol Yuhwa and I now faced each other.

“Thank you for saving me, Yuhwa.”

“…I lied to you, Jonghyun. I’m sorry.”

My heart ached seeing her bow her head timidly.

It didn’t matter to me at all.

“Seol Yuhwa! I knew from the beginning! About your family situation.”

“Jonghyun…”

“I won’t say it’s nothing. It must have been important to you. But what about your family? If you give up, then your family…”

That’s right. Family is Seol Yuhwa’s top priority. But she’s giving up on that?

“You worked hard for your family. If you give up, what happens to them?”

“I know. But you… were just as important to me. My goal was completely shattered. I couldn’t just sit still.”

“That’s why it’s not shattered.”

I took Seol Yuhwa’s hand.

“This might sound strange, but I like you, Seol Yuhwa.”

“…!”

Yuhwa’s tear-filled eyes widened.

“…You like me?”

“Yes. I like you too. So don’t give up.”

“But didn’t Ariel confess to you then? Didn’t you two…?”

I could clearly feel the life returning to Yuhwa’s eyes. At the same time, her face was turning red.

But here came the problem.

“No, I am dating Ariel.”

“…?”

“But I want to date you too.”

“??”

I had to put in some effort to explain what came next. While I had taken the initiative with Ariel, this time I was in the position of waiting.

And considering her personality, this seemed like the best approach.

Ariel is self-centered but surprisingly understanding, while Seol Yuhwa is usually calm but tends to harbor resentment inside.

Today’s incident was that resentment bursting out. So I’ll settle it today. Above all, Yuhwa isn’t the type to demand first place like Ariel. She just needs certain conditions to be met.

Slap!

And like magic, a slap landed on my cheek.

“How can you be so self-centered? Haah…”

She sighs.

“When Ariel mentioned something about being second, I wondered what she meant…”

“She gave her permission.”

“How remarkable. You think you’re so great, don’t you?”

Yuhwa glared at me with half-closed eyes and sighed repeatedly.

“So… you’ll treat us both equally?”

“Of course. If I was going to discriminate, I would have refused from the start.”

“…Alright. Make sure you keep that promise, Jonghyun.”

A smile returned to Yuhwa’s worried face.

I embraced her, and we held each other warmly.

And as we faced each other, for a kiss of happiness…

“Wait! Du Jonghyun. Wait!”

Ariel barged in, perfectly ruining the good mood.

Huh? Wait, wasn’t Ariel supposed to be calling other guilds? Why is she alone?

Ariel cleared her throat and pointed outside.

“The guild members will be here soon. Jonghyun, did you get permission to leave?”

“No.”

“Won’t public opinion get worse if you’re caught?”

That’s true.

“So that’s why you came alone? The guild should be with you.”

“I don’t need many people just to be backstabbed. And… I had something personal to say.”

Ariel and Seol Yuhwa lock eyes.

She probably apologized.

“I should hide again.”

“Yes. And we need to talk about Eun Serin too.”

“Ah.”

Right. Eun Serin was there too? Ariel grinned and only looked at Seol Yuhwa.

“Eun Serin? That instructor? They say she’s being monitored too, why?”

Ariel was inexplicably excited, flapping her mouth, and I got slapped on the cheek once more.

“Ah, serves you right. Come to think of it, I haven’t hit you yet, have I? This is for that too.”

“My head hurts.”

In this aspect, Seol Yuhwa is definitely stricter.

“Really, Jonghyun, I didn’t see you that way.”

“A playboy and a greedy one at that. Honestly, even one is more than you deserve. But what can I do?”

Ariel seems very amused.

“Anyway, that’s it, right? There’s no one else?”

“Of course.”

“Sigh. I feel like I shouldn’t have given permission.”

As Yuhwa rubbed her forehead, Ariel chimed in.

“Then do you want to give up? I’d be grateful.”

“…No. That’s not it. It’s just so unconventional that I’m confused. I’m not refusing.”

Seol Yuhwa stood up and looked at me directly.

Then she approached and caressed my cheek.

“My feelings are still the same. Even with all this.”

“Thank you.”

Yuhwa’s hands wrapped around my neck, and she pressed her lips against mine.

The sweet taste of a kiss is always delicious.

And I could also see Ariel’s expression as she watched this, which was quite entertaining to see her obvious jealousy.

“I’m certain now that I’ll never share a bed with Seol Yuhwa. How annoying.”

“I feel the same way. This is supposed to be our private kiss, but there’s an intruder.”

Seol Yuhwa still retorts sharply, but she didn’t seem as desperate as before.

Yes, this is enough.

I used my last bit of strength to transform into an astral state and escaped.

*

The next evening, having barely recovered, Eun Serin asked me about what happened with Seol Yuhwa, and I told her everything.

“Ariel is actually more tolerant about these things, while someone like Seol Yuhwa is pickier. You’ve overcome a dangerous hurdle. So how far did you go?”

“Just kissing.”

“That’s it?”

“For someone who snuck out, even that much is an achievement. Besides, the mountain collapsed, and the guilds were in chaos.”

Eun Serin seemed a bit disappointed and sighed.

“When you catch the mood, you should take advantage of it. You can’t make the decisive move. You were doing well, why suddenly stop?”

“Well, I couldn’t waste time indefinitely. They’ll check on me here too.”

“No. No. You need to go out, Jonghyun. Let me give you some advice as your lover—you need to go now.”

Eun Serin, who had been comforting me, now urged me to leave again.

“Women think about such big decisions all day. They might suddenly become depressed or have a change of heart the next day. You need to seal the deal.”

“Hmm. But still…”

“Otherwise, I won’t do anything more for you either.”

“Are you really going to be that unfair?”

Stopping in the middle is the worst thing. Eun Serin was teaching me this firsthand.

“Fine. Then…”

“If you’ve made up your mind, go. Ah, but I should finish what we were doing.”

In the end, following Eun Serin’s advice, an hour later I dressed up nicely and used optical camouflage.

As Eun Serin pretended to take out the trash, I faced one problem.

“I don’t have my phone.”

I left my phone behind since it could be tracked.

In other words, I had no means of contact.

“It’s not something I can tell Junhu about…”

Besides, I can’t tell my younger brother that I’m going to sleep with his sister.

Not knowing what to do, I was just waiting near the house protected by the White Dragon Guild.

At this point, I had no choice but to find Seol Yuhwa’s room.

As I looked around, I noticed various surveillance devices installed everywhere.

It was a bit scary.

As I wandered around, surprisingly, as if telepathy worked, Seol Yuhwa was looking around.

Then, she started walking straight in my direction.

As if she knew exactly where I was… wait, does this mean?

I suddenly looked around.

Adult Junhu was already giving me a thumbs up.

That kid. Thanks.

Anyway, with Junhu’s help, I was able to meet Seol Yuhwa.

And needless to say, we greeted each other with a kiss.

“This feels like we’re really lovers. Jonghyun, did you come to see me?”

“It’s not over yet.”

“Huh? W-wait. Here? J-Jonghyun. Even so…”

I led Seol Yuhwa to a more secluded spot.

Ah, since doing something stimulating on the street for the first time seemed a bit much, I just teased her a little and then moved to my currently empty house.

A day at our house, and with a lover. Everything was good.

But the next day, the news that reached me when I returned at dawn was about the devastating damage from the battle in South America.