Ch.99Episode 20. A Happy Day (End)

Slurp! Slurp!

She was eating the meat enthusiastically, sucking on it without even acknowledging my presence. She had even put on an apron to prevent any broth from splashing onto her clothes.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

While I was quietly watching her skillfully tear into the meat with both hands, Gu Yeonhwa asked with her mouth still on the bone. My gaze must have bothered her.

“You seem to be enjoying it.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“No. It’s making me hungry too. I think you’d be good at making mukbang videos.”

“But I can’t eat that much. My tongue isn’t sensitive enough to be a food critic either.”

Gu Yeonhwa picked up a bone with tongs and placed it on the small plate in front of her.

“For me, just enjoying delicious food is enough! Hehe!”

Pure innocence radiated from her face as she held a potato bone, looking as if she owned the world.

I chuckled and started eating a potato bone from the pot just like her.

“Done!”

Before long, Gu Yeonhwa had neatly finished everything, putting all the bones into the container and wiping her hands with a wet tissue.

“Ahh! That was delicious!”

“Did you enjoy it?”

I asked as I stood up from my chair, and she gave me a thumbs up.

“The best! I’ll definitely remember this chain restaurant!”

Her reaction made treating her even more satisfying.

After handing my card to the employee at the counter to pay, we left the restaurant and headed to the parking lot.

“It feels a bit sad to go back to the academy after playing all day!”

Gu Yeonhwa blurted out after getting into the car and fastening her seatbelt tightly. Her voice was loud and excited, but there was a hint of emptiness in it.

“Is there something else you want to do?”

I asked as I turned on some soft music before starting the car. As a gentle ballad began to tickle our ears, Gu Yeonhwa shook her head.

“No, nothing. Even if there was, I wouldn’t ask because you’d get tired.”

“Well, today isn’t the only day. We can play again later.”

“That’s right! Today isn’t the only day.”

Gu Yeonhwa nodded in agreement. I wonder if she’s already thinking about our next date?

“How was today?”

I asked as I started the car.

“It was fun! I don’t think I’ve ever had such a good time! Of course, I was surprised by your mischievous pranks throughout the day… but I didn’t dislike them! So my rating score is…!”

Oh, she’s even giving it a score?

Thinking that drives with Gu Yeonhwa would never be boring, I changed lanes.

“Out of 100 points, I’d give it about 95!”

She’s assigning scores and convincing herself. I didn’t like the way she was nodding repeatedly with her arms crossed.

“Where did the other 5 points go?”

I asked while stopping at a red light.

“When we were watching the movie, you suddenly… h-held my hand, so I couldn’t properly watch the movie. Now I’ll have to go through the trouble of watching it when it comes out on Netflix.”

“Did you dislike it?”

“Hmm. I could say I did.”

“Really?”

“…I-I understand you want to get even one more point from me, but this kind of score manipulation is bad.”

So she didn’t dislike it. Yet she’s still deducting points?

Ah, I can’t let this slide.

“If you didn’t dislike it, shouldn’t it be 100 points?”

“Well… let’s make it 96 points…”

“You’re stingy. Is there a way to make up for the remaining 4 points?”

“Well…”

Her eyes wander aimlessly. Since she’s not firmly saying no, there must be a way to raise the score.

Since I’m already getting scored, I’d feel better if I got a perfect 100.

“What would make it 100 points?”

“I-I don’t know?”

Her voice rises at the end. Is she teasing me?

As I drove toward the academy, I was pondering how to improve the situation when I suddenly remembered the perfume I’d left in the back seat.

There’s nothing better than a gift to increase likability.

After showing our pass to the security guard, we entered the academy. I parked the car directly in the dormitory parking lot.

“We’ve arrived. So this is how today ends.”

“Yeonhwa.”

She looked at me after unfastening her seatbelt. Her blinking gaze was incredibly innocent. I wonder what she’s expecting me to do with such anticipation in her eyes.

“Take this.”

I turned off the engine and handed her the perfume wrapped in pink paper. Gu Yeonhwa accepted it in a daze.

“What? But… didn’t you say this was a gift for someone?”

“It was for you?”

“What?”

“It’s a gift for spending the day with me. Thank you.”

I smiled and patted her head. Feeling my touch, she looked down at the wrapped gift and shook her head.

“N-no! I should be the one giving you gifts. Today’s d-date was so much fun… thanks to you, I could give my mom a gift, talk with her, and also…”

“I’m giving it to you because I’m grateful. Just accept it.”

I firmly placed the gift in her hands, covering them with mine to emphasize my point.

“Eek! This isn’t right…”

She flinched noticeably when our hands touched, clearly flustered.

Though she was saying no, her expression looked happy. Pretending to dislike it while actually being pleased.

Is this what they call “saying no but being honest with your body”? It’s kind of funny.

“I-I want to buy you a gift too. Let’s go out of the academy right now.”

“Where would you go at this hour? It’s already eight.”

“Then, even a store inside the academy…”

“They’re probably closed.”

“Still… I can’t just keep receiving things today.”

“Then you can give me a gift later. Today isn’t the only day.”

“T-then on our next d-date, I’ll pay for everything. Got it? If you try to spend money then, I’ll really get angry…!”

“Alright. I understand.”

“Good.”

Finally, she calms down. Her satisfied smile suggested she wasn’t the type to just accept favors.

It’s good that she has proper principles, but right now, I wanted her to rely on me completely.

That way, she’d be more likely to follow what I say later.

“Shall we get out then?”

“Wait.”

I grabbed Gu Yeonhwa’s wrist as she was about to open the door and get out. Her eyes fixed on where I was holding her.

“Y-yes?!”

“So what’s your rating now? Is it 100 points?”

I gave her a gift, so shouldn’t it be 100 points by now?

“…Is, is that important?”

I could feel her arm getting warmer in my grip.

I wasn’t sure if it was my body heat transferring to her or if she was getting excited and her temperature was rising, but these reactions seemed like she was asking to be teased.

“It is important. I won’t accept anything less than 100 points.”

“W-w-wow, you’re a perfectionist. B-but could you let go of me first?”

“Answer first.”

“O-one hundred. It’s 100 points, so please let g-go…!”

“Good.”

“Ugh…! That’s unfair. Manipulating scores with bribes.”

Someone might think I was tampering with academic grades if they heard her.

“Oh, and starting tomorrow, we’re back to being instructor and student. Don’t forget to use proper titles, okay? I’ll also call you Gu Yeonhwa, using your full name.”

“Ah…”

A short sigh.

It seemed Gu Yeonhwa wanted to maintain this form of address. I could tell just by her expression.

Well, I suppose a friendly tone is better than a formal one.

Especially after getting close like this, it probably doesn’t feel good to go back to how things were before the date.

“O-of course I know that.”

“Really?”

“Yes…”

Seeing her deflated with disappointment, I thought about how to comfort her.

“That thing.”

“Yes?”

“Wear the perfume tomorrow. I bought it because I thought it would suit you. Make sure to wear it.”

I took out my key ring from my pocket and showed it to her.

“I’ll attach mine to my car keys too.”

Rather than strictly separating personal and professional matters, I wanted to give her the impression that this was an extension of our date.

She seemed to understand my intention, as her expression brightened considerably.

“Yes, yes. I’ll definitely wear it!”

Her earnest determination made me smile wryly.

“Oh, by the way…”

“Yes?”

“Now, like you said, you’ll think of me every time you wear that perfume?”

“What?!”

Her face turned bright red as she belatedly remembered what she had said at the hamburger restaurant. Even in the darkness, her tomato-red face was clearly visible, making me chuckle.

“Ugh! I-I’m definitely not wearing it!”

“Wear it. I want to smell your scent.”

“Ugh. Do you realize how p-perverted that statement sounds?”

“So what if it’s perverted? Do you dislike it?”

My nonchalant response surprised her, making her eyes widen. It was her turn to be flustered as she averted her gaze and cleared her throat.

“Y-you keep asking if I like or dislike things today.”

“I don’t want to do it if you really dislike it.”

Her eyes darted around. It was amusing to see her struggling to come up with an appropriate response.

“…I don’t dislike it.”

“Then I’ll keep doing this?”

“D-do whatever you want?”

“‘Do whatever you want’ is informal speech.”

I said as I got out of the car. Gu Yeonhwa also got out and closed the door somewhat roughly.

“Are you taking your frustration out on the car?”

“Not really? I’m just a bit annoyed.”

“You’re such a brat.”

“Who are you calling a brat?!”

She protested, hitting my arm. She was clearly holding back her strength to avoid hurting me, suggesting she wasn’t genuinely annoyed.

We walked to the dormitory entrance, bickering like that.

“I had fun today.”

“Me too, I had so much fun!”

“Good. See you tomorrow.”

“G-go inside.”

Gu Yeonhwa said, bowing at the waist. I waved casually and turned around. Just as I was about to enter the dormitory while yawning, my pocket vibrated. It was a call from the Association President.

“Hello?”

[Mr. Yujin.]

“Yes.”

[I have a favor to ask.]

I glanced back slightly. Gu Yeonhwa was no longer visible, presumably having entered the dormitory. Feeling relieved, I continued the conversation.

“What kind of favor?”

[Isn’t it about time you started building up some achievements?]

“…Achievements?”

[Everyone who knows already knows that your skills are S-class. I won’t let you hide your abilities anymore. I want to officially assign you missions.]

“There are plenty of other capable heroes, aren’t there?”

[Why would I use other heroes when I have you, with S-class power and good cost-effectiveness? Do you know how expensive it is to hire even an A-class hero, let alone an S-class one?]

In other words, this person wanted to extract value from me proportional to how much he had helped me so far. This was becoming truly troublesome.

[Don’t think about refusing. I can’t tolerate you playing around while I’m handling a large-scale search operation for you.]

Did he monitor me hanging out with Gu Yeonhwa?

No, he probably didn’t monitor me directly. Most likely, a hero assigned to protect Michelle reported it.

“I’ll handle it once the search is complete.”

[Even so, I’m the one managing the search process. You’re not even paying for it, so I have to get something out of you to make it fair.]

“…Ah, yes. What do I need to do?”

[There are remnants of Jipyeong found on Jeju Island. They’ve infiltrated Akcheon. I’ve heard they’re making some deal with a Chinese villain organization recently. I’d like to ask you to search for and subdue them.]

“Jeju Island? Why so far… Aren’t there heroes there?”

[There are, but I’m specifically asking you. Isn’t anything related to Akcheon something you’d welcome? Think of it as a vacation. We’ll cover the expenses and accommodations.]

How is capturing villains a vacation?

This person clearly had some grudges against me based on my past words and actions.

[I’d like you to handle this until the full search of Gangwon Province is complete.]

Just as I was trying to use him, he was trying to use me.

Either way, I was in no position to refuse, so I could only respond with a sigh.