Chapter 819: Sihee’s Date (2)

Although I newly learned that Sihee had never even experienced hamburgers other than handmade ones, in retrospect, it wasn’t such a big deal.

After all, this wasn’t the first time Sihee and I had clashed over the differing financial senses of the chaebol and the commoner. Of course, I’m earning enough now to casually spend tens of thousands of won on a single meal, but Sihee, who had never eaten any hamburger other than a handmade one, had a fundamentally different upbringing.

Naturally, a single hamburger wouldn’t cause a dramatic difference in values. Sihee merely nodded upon hearing the explanation that regular hamburgers aren’t served on plates like this, but wrapped in paper, and are meant to be eaten by biting into them rather than using a fork and knife.

I had half-expected a reaction like, ‘Biting into it? How unsanitary!’ like those second-generation chaebol kids you see in the media, but that didn’t happen.

Thinking about it, hamburgers are essentially a type of sandwich. Even if Sihee hadn’t eaten hamburgers other than handmade ones, she must have encountered sandwiches many times, so she didn’t express much discomfort about biting into food.

It was just another day where I learned that what movies and dramas show are exaggerated fantasies.

‘Come to think of it, she didn’t really act like a chaebol heiress on our first date either.’

Sihee was delighted by conversations about music we often heard during park strolls, and even by accessories sold at street stalls. Perhaps it was I who was strange for expecting her to react oddly to eating a hamburger by biting into it.

With those thoughts, we finished our meal and immediately looked for our next date spot after spending the early afternoon.

“Where is the place you’ll introduce next?”

“Hmm, well. We pushed ourselves today, so going back into a dungeon might be a bit tough. I think a place where we can spend some time just the two of us would be nice.”

“As long as I’m with you, Sihee-ssi, I don’t really mind where we go.”

“…Y-you would say that! Still, just in case, I wanted to ask one thing, is that okay?”

“Of course.”

“Do you prefer staying still or being active?”

“…Staying still or being active?”

Is this some kind of quiz with a dirty meaning? Like the difference between missionary and man-on-top?

Probably not, of course. Besides, I had already mentioned that I would handle things tonight, so Sihee wouldn’t need to get involved anyway.

She might have just asked in the purest sense. A ‘stay still’ date could be like the movies, and ‘being active’… maybe table tennis or bowling?

Well, my body is a bit tired, but sitting still isn’t really my style. And the fact that she’s asking this implies Sihee has something prepared, so I was curious about what kind of active date she had planned.

“If you’re asking me, I can only say I definitely prefer the active option.”

“I figured you’d say that, Sungchul-ssi. Now, follow me this way.”

With those words, Sihee grabbed my arm and pulled me along, and I followed her into a large building.

The place Sihee brought me to was an ice rink with a vast expanse of ice.

Since it’s a foundation, it seems they really have all sorts of facilities. It was certain that this was a facility far beyond what could be afforded at a company or guild building.

At this point, I started wondering if they might even have a swimming pool or a hotel within the premises. Curious if that was true, I turned my gaze towards her and asked.

“I didn’t expect there to be an ice rink within the guild. Isn’t the scale quite large for just a recreational facility for hunter welfare?”

“While the facility itself leans towards recreation, an ice rink is, after all, an athletic facility. It’s natural to have it as a place for hunters’ physical improvement and leisure activities.”

“So, you probably have a swimming pool or gym in the foundation building too, right?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Does your company guild not have any athletic facilities?”

“We have an indoor gym, but of course, no swimming pool or ice rink. Besides, we only have one building, so we don’t have the capacity to install such things.”

The gym is probably also vastly different in scale compared to the one run by the foundation. Sihee looked slightly surprised at my answer and asked as if seeking confirmation.

“Just one building? Then how do you handle meals or shopping?”

“We eat at the company cafeteria… And usually, guilds don’t typically have dedicated facilities just for shopping.”

“…That’s a bit shocking. So other guilds, not foundations, are living the hunter life in such poor conditions.”

I don’t quite understand why the absence of a shopping center constitutes ‘poor conditions,’ but that’s how it seems from a chaebol heiress’s perspective. I wonder if there are some criteria for foundation hunters related to their activities that I’m unaware of.

Anyway, it wasn’t a crucial topic, so I cut it short and, upon entering the ice rink, immediately rented skates that fit my foot size.

Since it was a skating rink built within a hunter guild, there were no men’s skates, only women’s, but it didn’t matter much. In this world, women’s skates were generally clunkier than men’s anyway. As long as the size fits, who cares?

Wearing skates tightened to fit my feet, I shuffled onto the ice rink, and a pleasantly cool chill enveloped my body.

“The air is nice and cool.”

It had a refreshing quality unlike the merely cold winter air outside. The air was cool and crisp, neither too dry nor too humid. Perhaps because I had just finished a long, messy battle on Storm Island, the contrast felt even more pronounced.

“Come to think of it, Sungchul-ssi, have you ever skated before?”

“I skated a bit back when I attended the Hunter Training School. They had an ice rink among the training facilities.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Awakened individuals related to ice were mostly just frost mages, so it was mainly used as a recreational facility for students. I, eager for an awakening back then, trained for a few days before shifting my focus elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Sihee, who had asked if I could skate, exuded a peculiar confidence, making me feel like I finally understood why she had suggested coming to the ice rink.

“Of course, I only skated for a few days, so I’m naturally unskilled. I learned superficially, so I might have forgotten everything by now.”

“So you’re not proficient. That’s okay. I can teach you the basics of skating.”

“You say that, Sihee-ssi, so you must be quite good at it?”

“I’m average too. But basic sports like this are like essential etiquette. I can at least skate well enough not to be embarrassed in front of others.”

Her strangely confident attitude suggested she had indeed learned ice skating. Besides, Sihee was a physical type, judging by her primary weapon being a bow. It wasn’t surprising that she could skate, given she had proper swimming lessons. And I could understand the psychology of wanting to show off in an area one excels at, especially in front of a man. In my original world, men showing off to women was a basic instinct. In this world, it’s naturally the opposite.

Sihee’s happiness was my happiness. Therefore, to let her bask in her confidence a little longer, I elevated my way of addressing Sihee.

“Since you’re so confident, I guess I can learn while skating today. Please take good care of me, Teacher Sihee.”

“T-Teacher Sihee…?”

“Do you perhaps not like it?”

“N-no! I like it! I’ll teach you everything about what figure skating is, how to skate, Sungchul-ssi, from A to Z!”

The blonde young lady puffed out her chest with a confident expression; just seeing that look from Sihee felt like I had already achieved most of the day’s objectives.

To get straight to the point, Sihee’s bold ambition to teach me everything from A to Z unfortunately couldn’t be realized.

Naturally, I wasn’t as skilled as Sihee, who had learned professionally, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t skate at all. I had mentioned only skating for a few days at the Hunter Training School, but that was purely from my time as a hopeful hunter; it didn’t account for my experiences in my past life, so the result was natural.

Near the high school I attended in my past life, there was a university ice rink, and thanks to that, I often went there with friends around the winter break. Although I never properly learned from a teacher, I could confidently say I skated quite well for a civilian.

“Am I doing it like this, Teacher Sihee?”

“…You seem to have pretty good balance for someone, Sungchul-ssi. People as tall as you usually have a hard time maintaining balance. …Then, bend forward, and push off as if extending your body at a 45-degree angle….”

-Chwaaak!

“Is it like this, Teacher Sihee?”

“…Are you sure you only skated for a few days?”

“It’s because Teacher Sihee is teaching me so well.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

She eyed me suspiciously, seeing how well I followed her instructions, but I couldn’t help but feel pleased by the compliment that she was a good teacher. And besides, we weren’t really competing this time. During our swimming match the other day, the conversation somehow steered that way, but today, I planned to enjoy a relaxed date without any competition.

As I pretended to learn skating from Sihee, holding her hand and embracing her, enjoying our time, I suddenly noticed something amiss that I hadn’t felt before.

“Now that I think about it, the rink is large, but there are hardly any people. Are they all busy with expeditions?”

“That’s not exactly the reason; it’s just usually not crowded. Since it’s a facility within the foundation, only foundation hunters or their families can use it, and as I mentioned earlier, the foundation has many other facilities besides the ice rink.”

In fact, besides Sihee and me, there were only about five or six other people. Their activities clearly showed they were enjoying their hobbies in their own way. One hunter was speed skating, diligently circling the outermost track. Another hunter was using frost magic, creating paths like snowflakes behind them as they danced flamboyantly. And besides them, there were about three or four people casually circling the inner track like us, enjoying a leisurely time.

Occasionally, a few people glanced at me, a male hunter, with curiosity, but they couldn’t recognize me easily due to my scarf and hat. Maybe they thought I wasn’t a hunter but just Sihee’s family.

…While continuing the date, enjoying the pleasant feelings from the natural skinship with Sihee, unfortunately, that joy didn’t last as long as I’d hoped.

“…I thought they looked familiar. Who is it? Isn’t that Sihee, our Nari’s friend?”

It was the moment two uninvited guests appeared, interrupting the enjoyable date between Sihee and me.