Chapter 327: Cheon Jihee’s Preference (2)

After half-forcing Cheon Jihee Sunbae to stop and entering the 3rd-floor company cafe, I turned back to her at the counter and asked.

“I’ll have a hot Americano, Sunbae. What will you have?”

“…Why are you asking? We’re paying separately anyway.”

“I stopped you from leaving work and called you out, so you should at least let me buy you this much.”

“…A caramel macchiato. Make it hot.”

Judging by your appearance, you seemed like someone who’d enjoy something like green tea or espresso, but surprisingly, do you like sweet drinks like this?

Well, sugar is essential in many ways to keep going, so it wasn’t particularly strange.

Besides, whatever Cheon Jihee Sunbae drinks is a matter of personal preference.

More importantly, her coffee preference wasn’t what was important right now.

『Lust Fetish: Kang Hye-eun, Homosexuality, Dependency, Unrequited Love, Jealousy』

Nothing was more important than meticulously examining the detailed information about the Lust Fetishes one by one in the system window that popped up next to Cheon Jihee Sunbae’s face.

I had to figure out exactly what emotions Cheon Jihee Sunbae held towards Hye-eun first.

It would be fortunate if Sunbae continued to hide her feelings for Hye-eun instead of revealing them, just like she has until now, but…

Depending on that extent, her attitude towards Hye-eun could change, potentially causing a crack in the party called the Sky Blue Shield.

Sowing discord within the party out of jealousy for Hye-eun’s relationship with me, or perhaps conflicting emotions clashing in the wrong direction between Cheon Jihee Sunbae and Hye-eun.

I had to prevent such a crack from forming, somehow.

No matter the reason, the very act of a crack forming within the existing party was something I wasn’t keen on.

And objectively speaking, Cheon Jihee Sunbae was quite a capable colleague, so it would be a shame in many ways if she were to leave the party.

“When your order is ready, we’ll notify you with the pager.”

After taking the pager the company cafe employee handed over, Sunbae and I found a suitable empty seat and sat down.

As I sat down, I naturally checked the detailed information for the 『Kang Hye-eun』 entry among the 5 Lust Fetishes that popped up on her right side system window.

After all, I figured I had to check this entry first to decide the order in which to read the others.

Cheon Jihee’s Lust Fetish entry 『Kang Hye-eun』 opened, and a new system window appeared with detailed information and a long text.

『Cheon Jihee possesses a strong Lust Fetish regarding Kang Hye-eun. This means that for Cheon Jihee, it would be difficult to gain satisfaction even if she were to have relations with anyone other than Kang Hye-eun.

Two years ago, after having her life saved by Kang Hye-eun in the B-rank dungeon, the Barren Desert, Cheon Jihee began to feel affection for her, and as their hunter activities continued, her feelings gradually turned into love.

For Cheon Jihee, Kang Hye-eun’s existence is irreplaceable, and if for any reason she cannot win Kang Hye-eun’s love, Cheon Jihee will give up on love itself.

However, conversely, if Cheon Jihee’s love is conveyed to Kang Hye-eun in any form, she will feel deep satisfaction and profound happiness.』

…This is pretty intense.

Right from the first entry, the heavy love story felt like it was crushing my chest, making me feel unnecessarily apologetic towards her.

Regarding love that starts from having one’s life saved, I guess I had experienced precedents a few times myself, so I had a certain understanding of its weight as well.

Furthermore, after reading that she would give up on love itself if she couldn’t win Kang Hye-eun’s love, the feeling was truly complex.

For starters, even if I said something like, ‘Hye-eun is my woman, so Cheon Jihee Sunbaenim, please give up,’ I had a feeling she wouldn’t back down easily.

I never imagined such a major, unexpected landmine would be hidden within the Sky Blue Shield.

“…So.”

“Yes?”

“What was this story about Hye-eun that you wanted to tell me?”

“Ah, that.”

To be honest, it was closer to a spontaneous excuse I’d come up with to stop Cheon Jihee Sunbae from leaving work, but…

While taking the elevator and moving to the company cafe, I relayed the excuse I’d concocted to her sitting across from me.

“It’s a trivial matter. Hye-eun suggested that next time in the Crystal Spider Cave, instead of using fire magic, we try defeating the White Crystal Spiders in a different way, and during that conversation, your name, Cheon Jihee Sunbaenim, also came up.”

“…Hye-eun talked about me?”

“Yes. Anyway, Hye-eun’s proposed new strategy is…”

To capture Cheon Jihee Sunbae’s attention, I vaguely mentioned the conversation I’d had with Hye-eun earlier, while in the back of my mind, I pondered as much as I could about how to handle her feelings for Hye-eun.

To start with the conclusion: I will not hand Hye-eun over.

Besides, it’s ridiculous to even talk about handing over Hye-eun, who isn’t an object, but…

Even if the other party were a woman, I couldn’t let her be taken away.

That, in particular, was something I could never tolerate.

Therefore, you can be sure that at the very least, I will never sever my relationship with Hye-eun or make it distant by my own hand.

Unless, perhaps, Hye-eun decides to abandon me and leave on her own, saying so herself.

Of course, I already knew that wouldn’t happen better than anyone.

So, although it would be unfortunate for Cheon Jihee Sunbae, it’s highly likely her love will go unrequited.

And honestly, I don’t think the love I hold for Hye-eun is any smaller in scale compared to the love Cheon Jihee Sunbae holds for Hye-eun.

Even if they built a friendship over the past two years working as hunters together, I knew much more about Hye-eun’s daily life and intimate moments.

If anything, the period I’d harbored romantic feelings for her was overwhelmingly longer.

Hye-eun and I have known each other as childhood friends for over 15 years already.

Of course, love isn’t something that can simply be substituted by having liked someone for a longer period, making it ‘greater’, but…

…at least in terms of the time spent together, I overwhelmingly surpass Cheon Jihee Sunbae.

And in other aspects as well, I didn’t feel like I’d lose at all.

Especially when it came to Hye-eun’s affection towards me.

After all, just as Cheon Jihee Sunbae’s top Lust Fetish was listed as 『Kang Hye-eun』, Hye-eun’s top Lust Fetish was written as 『Sung Taekyung』, referring to me.

The feelings Cheon Jihee Sunbae has for Hye-eun must be on the same level as the feelings Hye-eun has for me.

In that case, well, it’s an impossible love.

I have absolutely no intention of letting Hye-eun go.

Even if I were to lose the eldest sister and a good frontline member of the Sky Blue Shield as a result, I couldn’t compromise on this.

…The phrase ‘in whatever form’ at the end was bothersome in many ways, but for now, there were many other things to check, so let’s move on.

“…And so, in the end, either Cheon Jihee Sunbae or I find the White Crystal Spider’s weakness, concluding the plan.”

“…So, is that the end of the story?”

“…Ah, and also. There was one more thing Hye-eun said recently…”

Zzzzzzzzing.

“Ah, the drinks are ready. I’ll go get them, so you can continue the rest…”

“Never mind. I’ll go get them.”

“…If you insist.”

As I watched Cheon Jihee Sunbae’s back rise, holding the cafe pager that rang just at the perfect timing, I desperately thought of another topic of conversation to keep her here.

Must Scheherazade from One Thousand and One Nights have felt this way?

Weaving stories to keep someone else tied down was quite a tough job.

Moreover, having to tell a story while thinking about something else in my head was exhausting in many ways.

Still, to understand Cheon Jihee Sunbae, I had to stall for a little more time.

“……”

“Ah, you’re back?”

“Yeah.”

Clink. With the sound, a tray with two drinks was placed on the round table.

My throat was parched from talking so much, so I brought the Americano closer and took a sip.

“So, what was it that Hye-eun said recently?”

“Well, it was something we talked about after returning from our second party expedition, on the way home…”

While fabricating a story that was almost half lies, I tried to pique Cheon Jihee Sunbae’s interest somehow.

I’d just have to ask Hye-eun later to play along.

Once I decided to do that, my mouth automatically started babbling away, mixing truth and lies as I began to spin a tale.

Separately, my gaze remained fixed on the system window that popped up next to Cheon Jihee’s face as I proceeded to the next entry.

…After Kang Hye-eun, the main entry I needed to check first would surely be the 『Jealousy』 section.

While the other entries’ meanings could be sufficiently understood just by reading their content, this last one, 『Jealousy』, needed to be checked once before moving on.

Who she felt jealousy towards, and what exactly this entry labeled ‘Jealousy’ meant emotionally.

And fundamentally, I needed to understand why jealousy itself could surface as a component of Lust Fetish.

Focusing on the fifth entry from Cheon Jihee Sunbae’s Lust Fetish list, I checked the detailed information.

Soon, the information regarding the entry she possessed called jealousy appeared before my eyes along with a new system window.

『Cheon Jihee is developing negative emotions stemming from jealousy towards Sung Taekyung into love-hate, a phenomenon occurring as her circumstances and perception of Sung Taekyung change.

Cheon Jihee is jealous of Sung Taekyung, who took away the person she loves, but at the same time, she feels gratitude for Sung Taekyung helping her recently, and is fully aware that Sung Taekyung’s abilities are beneficial to the Sky Blue Shield and Kang Hye-eun.

Furthermore, Cheon Jihee fears losing her relationship with Kang Hye-eun due to her jealousy. She understands that Kang Hye-eun truly loves Sung Taekyung, and that she cannot replace Sung Taekyung. Considering various factors, she is fully aware that Sung Taekyung is a necessary figure for Kang Hye-eun.

For Kang Hye-eun’s sake, he is essential, yet he blocks her from winning her love. The love-hate feelings towards the person named Sung Taekyung manifest as a Lust Fetish called jealousy. If Cheon Jihee can be assured that Sung Taekyung is not an obstacle to winning her love, then her love-hate and jealousy towards him could develop into another form of affection.』

The entry named 『Jealousy』 that Cheon Jihee Sunbae holds towards me flashed through my mind the moment I confirmed it.

If Cheon Jihee Sunbae’s feelings for Hye-eun, my love-hate towards her under the name of jealousy, and Hye-eun’s slightly unusual Lust Fetish could somehow align perfectly.

…Perhaps, I thought maybe we could create an ending where everyone’s wishes are fulfilled without anyone ending up sad.