Ch.52Haven’t I Seen You Before? – 1

Rina Lee was dumbfounded. And Soohyun Kim was still intensely on guard.

I had been anxiously waiting for something major to happen, but surprisingly, it was quiet.

As I observed the two of them carefully, I could understand why Rina was reacting that way.

‘She’s genuinely surprised.’

Who is Rina Lee? She’s counted among the strongest S-rank superpower users in South Korea.

It’s said that even the Elders hesitate to face her head-on.

That’s no lie, considering she has beaten one of the Elders multiple times.

She’s also a woman who does plenty of crazy things.

Not just with villains—if someone displeases her, she immediately forces them into a “conversation.”

This is why everyone trembles and watches their step when Rina appears.

What if they accidentally receive a sincere punch from an S-rank superpower user?

They’d either be counting the steps to heaven or massaging the Grim Reaper’s shoulders.

‘But Soohyun Kim doesn’t seem to care about any of that.’

How is this possible? It’s cognitive dissonance.

It’s like seeing a kitten hissing at a massive monster that even hunters fear.

It’s so absurd, confusing, and unbelievable.

Instead of killing or devouring, the monster unconsciously backs away with an “uh-oh.”

Perhaps the bodyguards have also realized their duty.

As they slowly approach Soohyun Kim, Rina shouts as if wronged.

“Wow, I’m really hurt. What did I do? What did I do! I haven’t done anything yet!”

I should probably intervene.

Rina wouldn’t have come here just because she was bored, so there’s only one reason.

‘Is it me again? What’s going on? First the Elder, now this madwoman.’

I wonder if the Gatekeeper trait includes some kind of pheromone characteristic.

Fortunately, no such trait was visible no matter how many times I looked.

“Ms. Rina. I have dinner plans with student Soohyun Kim today.”

“Dinner? With a girl? What, our handsome Seojin oppa. Weren’t you single?”

How long is this woman going to keep bringing up my single status?

Everything in moderation. Doesn’t she know going past the second verse is going too far?

“…What? She doesn’t seem that special compared to me.”

Rina grumbles while glancing at Soohyun Kim.

Then suddenly she exclaims “Ah!” as if she’s had a revelation.

“Could it be that you prefer this type?”

“What are you trying to say now?”

“I’m not Asian, right? Maybe you believe Koreans should only be with other Koreans?”

“Please don’t say such outdated things in today’s global age.”

What’s scariest is that she’s not joking—she’s serious.

I wonder what kind of thought process leads to such statements.

“Or is it that you don’t want to date me, but you’re fine dating her?”

“Wait. Wait. Your premise is wrong from the start. When did I say anything about dating?”

“Isn’t it over when a man and woman have dinner together? Eating together, going to cafés, watching movies. And if it gets too late, going to a motel. And after that, tasting each other’s bodies…”

Good grief. Please stop talking nonsense.

Before I knew it, I covered Rina’s mouth with my hand.

“Mmph.”

Rina looks at me with a strange gaze.

Receiving that look, I belatedly feel some regret.

To do this to that madwoman of all people.

If she got serious and said “Want me to tear you apart?”, I’d have nothing to say.

I cleared my throat and carefully removed my hand.

Thankfully, she doesn’t lunge at me threatening to kill me. I’m saved.

“Ahem. Um, there are students around, so please refrain from saying strange things. You’re supposed to be Korea’s strongest.”

“Wow! Are you complimenting me right now?”

She interprets my request to maintain dignity in that way.

Amazing. Truly, she’s an amazing woman in many ways.

“So, it’s really just dinner?”

“That’s what I said. Right, Soohyun?”

…Soohyun? Why aren’t you answering? Are you still angry?

I turned my head slightly to see Soohyun Kim’s face flushed bright red.

This isn’t good. If she reaches her critical point, she might go berserk.

“Fine. Then I’ll join you too.”

“…Pardon?”

“You said it’s just a simple dinner, right? Then I want to join too.”

“No. For what reason would you join us, Ms. Rina?”

“I have plenty of reason. I even had a huge fight with an Elder because of Seojin oppa.”

Wait a minute. What is this crazy woman saying now?

She fought with an Elder, but why is the reason because of me?

“I heard some weird guys attacked Seojin oppa. Do you know how angry I was when I heard that?”

“Um, why exactly were you angry about that?”

That’s right, Soohyun! That’s it! I’m curious about that too!

What does getting ambushed by villains have to do with her getting angry?

“Of course I’m angry. He’s someone I’ve already claimed. If he’s going to fight, it should only be with me, and if he’s going to get hurt, it should only be by my hands. Someone else leaving a mark? Absolutely not. I can’t stand seeing that, ever.”

Getting hurt by your hands? What a chilling thing to say.

If I get hurt by your hands, is that just getting hurt? It’s more like being half-killed.

“I can’t stand seeing the Arbiter get hurt.”

This time Soohyun Kim responds to Rina’s words in a low voice.

Her demeanor is like, how should I put it, an extremely feisty cat.

“You’ve been snippy since earlier. It’s getting annoying, so tone it down.”

“I think you’re being more disrespectful.”

Is this really the same timid Soohyun Kim? Did her personality change when her ability awakened?

The bodyguards also seem very surprised and confused by Soohyun Kim’s sharp response.

…Ah. Maybe they’re surprised not by Soohyun’s change but by how she’s talking to Rina?

“And also. I flipped over several villain organizations to avenge Seojin oppa. Thanks to that, I got my soul thoroughly stripped by my dad and mom.”

“I never asked for that.”

“I did it because I wanted to. Oh, and I’m planning to finish crushing the Jinhan Group too.”

“Why them now?”

“When I talked with those trash last time, that’s where the trail led.”

By “last time,” she must mean the guys who tried to bury me with that sexual harassment case.

But the Jinhan Group? Wasn’t that Yuhyun Jung’s backing? This bastard was really plotting something?

“I already turned them upside down once, but I had to go to Russia so I couldn’t finish the job. I held back because the prosecutors said they’d handle it, but now it seems like they might have been behind this too.”

“Don’t you need, um, actual evidence?”

“Whether there is or not, the fact that they tried to mess with Seojin oppa doesn’t change, so I’m going to crush them.”

She’s not in her right mind. I don’t even understand why she’s so obsessed with me.

Now she’s saying she’ll harm innocent people without even having evidence.

Soohyun Kim would probably find this absurd too.

Though it would be awkward if Rina really got angry…

“…”

But for some reason, this time she doesn’t say anything.

Instead, she’s nodding as if she understands Rina’s words.

“Anyway, with all this, I think I deserve to join you for dinner. After all this trouble I went through.”

I never asked her to go through trouble, and it doesn’t seem like she did anyway.

I have a feeling that if I take her words at face value, things will get even more tiresome.

So I was inwardly struggling with how to respond, when—

“Still, you can’t come.”

Soohyun Kim steps in again quietly.

“You, I told you to stop butting in.”

“It’s really not possible. Right now, the Arbiter, I mean… um, yes. He’s planning to come to my house.”

“Huh?”

“Your house?”

What is she talking about now? Suddenly Soohyun Kim’s house?

Rina slowly turns to look at me, asking with her eyes what this is about.

But how can I answer something I don’t know myself?

Don’t look at me like that, you crazy woman. This is truly news to me too.

“Um, ah. My grandfather! He said he wanted to have dinner together.”

“Your grandfather is…”

“That would be Chairman Minseong Kang.”

When the bodyguard beside us answers, Rina lets out an “Ah” of realization.

Then she mutters, “That old man is a bit tiring for me too.”

“Are you still going to come with us?”

“Ah, damn. Now that I think about it, you’re that old man’s granddaughter. This is really annoying.”

Rina scratches her head irritably.

Then she sighs and shrugs her shoulders.

“I guess it can’t be helped, Seojin oppa. We’ll have dinner another time.”

“What? You’re not going to follow us?”

“I told you. He’s an annoying old man. Why would I go there? Am I crazy?”

Rina, who had been grumbling continuously, slowly approaches me.

Then suddenly she hugs me tightly and whispers in a quiet tone.

“Promise me. Next time, it’s my turn. I worked hard too, so I deserve that much compensation.”

“…I’m not sure if you actually worked hard in the first place.”

“Don’t be so stingy. Just agree. A beauty like me is asking—can’t you do that much? Do I seem like an easy woman to you?”

She’s not an easy woman. That’s right, she’s not an easy woman.

The problem is that she’s just a crazy woman.

“Fine. We’ll definitely have dinner together later.”

“Okay. Deal. Now that we’ve reached an agreement, I’ll be going.”

*

After Rina left, I got into Soohyun Kim’s car again, just like last time.

And just to be sure, I asked once.

“Um, Soohyun. Are we really going to Chairman Minseong Kang?”

“Well… that was just an excuse I came up with on the spot. So I’m a bit worried… but we should go, right?”

“Yes. I think so too. We should go.”

If it comes out that what we just said was a lie, I guarantee Rina won’t let it slide.

Rather than dealing with that headache, we might as well visit the Kang family.

“This actually works out well, miss. The Chairman has mentioned several times that he wanted to thank Arbiter Seojin Baek personally.”

The bodyguard leader I saw before says with a smiling face.

It seems like things have coincidentally fallen into place.

‘Still, I never expected to visit the Kang family.’

I wonder if this is okay. I refused to visit the Matap Clan citing my civil servant status.

But now I’m heading to Minseong Kang’s family, which has an even higher status than most clans.

‘If this causes any problems…’

I don’t know. Hakjun Ma and Minseong Kang will figure something out.