Ch.9797. Crisis Approaches

I don’t know why Ariel is over at the lower class section.

No, with her personality, questioning that would be meaningless. Rather, her timing couldn’t be better.

“Are you two fighting?”

“Ariel… Why are you here?”

Yu Deokmin steps back in surprise.

“How should I know.”

But even to me, a third party, Ariel’s attitude was ice cold.

“Jong-hyun Doo, come with me for a moment.”

“Me? Why?”

Just as Ariel grabbed my hand and tried to forcibly drag me out.

“Ariel!”

I hear Yu Deokmin’s angry voice from behind. Ariel doesn’t answer.

Of course, that’s just her personality.

Normally, Deokmin would have backed down. But this time was different.

“Hey, Ariel. Read the room!”

Surprisingly, Yu Deokmin was exploding with anger.

“What do you think you’re doing, barging in here?”

“I’m taking Jong-hyun Doo with me?”

“Can’t you see what’s happening? Are you ignoring me?”

“And what if I am ignoring you?”

At this quintessentially Ariel response, Yu Deokmin was gritting his teeth.

This self-centered princess turned my body around.

“Fine. I’ll give you one minute. Hurry up and finish your business.”

“What? One minute? Are you kidding me?”

“If you don’t need it, I’ll just leave?”

“Hey! Ariel!”

In the end, Yu Deokmin’s fury was echoing throughout the lower class cabin.

The expression I saw on Ariel’s face then was filled with a killing intent I’d never seen before.

Not enough to actually kill someone, but enough to make the angry Yu Deokmin instinctively back away.

Ariel shouted while suppressing her anger:

“What business? Weren’t you two about to fight? It looked like that just now. You called me for something so trivial? Yu… um. What’s your name again?”

Is she mocking him?

Looking closely at Ariel’s expression, she genuinely seemed perplexed.

Unable to stand it anymore, Yu Deokmin began shouting in excitement.

“It’s Yu Deokmin!”

“Ah, right. Yu Deokmin. Anyway, shouldn’t you be thanking me for preventing violence? But you’re getting angry? You really don’t understand the situation.”

Ariel shook her head repeatedly, then grabbed my hand again.

“Let’s go then. Besides, Jong-hyun Doo doesn’t even have a summoning spirit. If you fought in that state, you’d obviously win. Do you really want to confirm that? You must have quite an impoverished mind.”

Wow… Ariel was verbally slicing Yu Deokmin like a thorn piercing flesh.

What’s more unfortunate is that Yu Deokmin couldn’t dare say anything back.

And right in front of the other kids, no less.

For me, I’m already known as someone without a summoning spirit, so it doesn’t really affect me.

We left Yu Deokmin behind and went outside. Ariel stood me in the corridor and looked me up and down.

“What?”

“Those clothes… They’re the ones Yoo-hwa Seol bought you in Sindorim, right? What happened to the ones I bought you? Are you planning to wear them tomorrow?”

“Those? They’re at home.”

At that moment, I felt a different kind of killing intent from before.

Ariel’s red eyes began to glare at me.

“I bought them for you to wear! So why aren’t you wearing them? Why are you wearing what Yoo-hwa Seol bought?”

“The ones you bought are really expensive, so I’m saving them.”

“Shouldn’t you at least show me how they look on you? Hm? Jong-hyun Doo. Don’t you have any sense?”

I see now. She’s upset because there’s no trace of her clothes in my casual outfit?

“Alright, fine. I’ll send you a photo when I get back.”

“You should have done that from the start… No! Why didn’t you bring them? What was the point of me picking them out!”

“Sorry. You’re right, that was thoughtless. It was my mistake. I’ll definitely send you a photo next time.”

“Good. By the way, you don’t seem to be getting along with the others?”

“Ah, there’s been a lot going on lately. Don’t you know?”

“I knew the second-years’ attitude toward you was bad, but I didn’t know it was the same within the lower class. Oh my~ How sad.”

Ariel put her hand to her mouth, laughed, and turned around.

“Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

“No! Do you have time tomorrow?”

Do I have time? Of course, I have plenty.

“Are you asking me out? Of course I have time. This will be my first date in Jeju.”

“You’re getting cocky. Originally, I was only doing this because I had no choice but to see the clothes I bought you… But I did need to get you out of that atmosphere. Anyway, just know that.”

Huh? So Ariel deliberately pulled me out of that fight?

I was slightly touched by this unexpected consideration.

“Ariel, thank you. Thanks to you, I escaped a crisis where I might have been beaten up.”

“If you’re grateful, then make sure you treat me well.”

“But I didn’t know you could read the room.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, stupid Jong-hyun!”

“I’m joking, just joking. Thanks. I’ll check my free time tomorrow and contact you through my smartwatch.”

She’s better at looking after people than I thought. It’s quite different from how she appears from a distance.

Cute. She’s cute.

When I returned to the lower class cabin, the atmosphere was just gloomy.

Part of it was because we were about to fight earlier, but a bigger factor was probably Yu Deokmin’s particularly bad mood.

Min Gangsu looked at me.

“Must be nice having the upper class looking after you. You’re different from us.”

“Don’t mock me. If friends are just talking to each other, why do you have to see it that way?”

“I can’t even say anything. Good for you. Good for you. We’ll just stick with our own kind.”

The atmosphere was darkening again.

*

It takes about 10 hours from Incheon Port to Jeju Island. That’s with a good ship; with an old one, it could take 13-14 hours more.

Do we just wait on the ship all day? No. Around lunchtime, we ate our boxed lunches and took turns filling the deck.

“So those are the Jaegers operating at sea?”

We could see the Jeju Maritime Guard that we were going to tour.

They were either summoning spirits related to water or escort ships guarding us.

Instructors began explaining here and there.

Since it’s a 30-minute explanation, let me, who knows the future, summarize: the Maritime Guard is state-certified, different from mercenary-concept guilds.

The pay is less but more stable. In exchange, they must respond to every national disaster and are called first.

They mainly use high-speed boats for maritime patrol, and sidekicks provide support on escort or patrol ships.

Basically, these people are tested for diving skills and given diving equipment considering their underwater movement.

The mini-submarine they’re showing us is the same.

It’s one of the special products made for monsters, serving as a mobile rest area, a base for rotating Jaegers without underwater abilities.

“Looking at it now, it’s amazing. It looks small, but it can fit 15 people?”

The fascinating mini-submarine with bathrooms and cooking equipment appeared.

Everyone around us cheered like children.

“I’ve seen that! When I went on a submarine for my grandmother’s 60th birthday, it passed by!”

They shared experiences and more.

The guard manipulated water to welcome us with a letter show.

They even surfed on artificially created waves.

“Can the waves be maintained continuously?”

“That’s impressive.”

I kept applauding these people who rivaled mermaids underwater.

Fascinating is fascinating, after all.

Anyway, we watched the guard’s intermission show to pass the time.

After spending time without getting bored, we finally arrived at our accommodation, Bates Hotel, at 7 PM.

The instructors were announcing our room assignments.

“Six people per group. Everyone go to your rooms and get checked.”

Room assignments began, but no one stayed put.

As soon as we were checked by the instructors, room swapping began.

“Hey, let’s switch rooms.”

People were exchanging members to be with their friends.

Negotiations were necessary here.

“Our room is a bit bigger, you know? Move to our side, and in exchange, you can hang out with Ilseong.”

Fierce trading was taking place, with people persuading others with room size and food.

As for me, I’ve already agreed with my training camp members.

It’s the norm to gather with close friends.

We took out the board games and hwatu cards we had brought.

“When else would we do this?”

It’s different from playing online games normally.

So we gathered and chose a board game first. The first grand game was Seotda.

“Let’s bet 100 won each.”

“Isn’t this gambling?”

“Who’s going to catch us? You’re being too scared. Junseok, just play.”

Now we entered a real battle of wits. We put down our cards and created a pot with the exchanged coins.

My first hand was 3 points. The worst of the worst. But I know how to win here.

“I’ll raise and double.”

“Man, did you get something good?”

Usually, it’s easy to give up in a low-stakes first round.

Kids who were cautiously watching folded one by one. I easily claimed victory and collected the 100 won coins.

“But how many points did you have?”

“It’s hard to explain in words.”

When I casually showed my hand, I was immediately grabbed by the collar.

“Running with 3 points, you trash! I had an Ali (1,2)!”

“If you’re upset, you should have won. This is all about psychology!”

The game that started next wasn’t Burumable but Monopoly.

And at 11:30 PM, we were still fighting, having avoided the instructor’s roll call.

“When will this end?”

“It really takes a long time.”

“I can survive, but in the end, I’ll lose everything, so what’s the point…”

Cheongi was already in the lead, having monopolized the key elements.

Someone once said that Monopoly was designed to teach the evils of monopoly.

Except for Cheongi, we were all just being drained.

Moreover, while we somehow managed to get money and hang on, only Cheongi was getting richer.

In the end, Monopoly never seemed to end, so everyone quit midway.

“What are you going to do during free time tomorrow? Is there anywhere to play around here?”

“There should be plenty if we go downtown.”

While chatting, I mentioned my appointment with Ariel.

“But I’m meeting someone in the afternoon.”

“Ariel?”

“Are you two really dating? You’re seen together a lot.”

“Would you believe me if I said we’re friends…?”

With their skeptical looks, these guys shake their heads.

“No, you’ve been like this since the first semester.”

“We just happened to get entangled and became like friends. Besides, with her personality, if she were my girlfriend, I’d be going crazy.”

“Still, I’m jealous. She’s pretty. That’s how relationships start, from nothing!”

Envious gazes pour in. Well, at our age, interest in girls is inevitable.

“Come on, there are plenty of girls. Don’t you guys have many opportunities to date?”

“We don’t.”

“But still…”

“We don’t.”

I couldn’t say more in response to their sad answers.

“Anyway, just so you know. Then on the third day, we’re free until the afternoon before departure, so we can play again in the morning.”

“Got it. Have fun. Let us know if you start dating there.”

“What’s the point of telling you?”

The probability is low, but if Ariel asked me out, I’d be happy, though she’s definitely not the type to say that herself.

“What are you guys going to do?”

“Is there a PC bang?”

A PC bang in Jeju? That’s so unromantic.

“Why not at least do some sightseeing? It’s quick if you take a car.”

“Ah, I want to get a driver’s license.”

All sorts of talk could be heard before sleeping.

“Are there any local specialties here? I’d like to go around eating those too.”

“Didn’t you say you’re meeting Ariel? What food tour? You don’t know how to date.”

Minhyuk chimes in.

“Do you know?”

“I don’t either.”

I was speechless at his boldness. Well, with Ariel’s personality, a food tour is out of the question.

Still, I want to give her something meaningful as thanks for all her help.

As I was falling asleep imagining various things.

Suddenly, an alarm started blaring.