Chapter 903: Awkward Relationship (2)

“…….”

“…….”

My hand, which had been stroking the sleeping head, met Do Yehee’s gaze, and an awkward silence passed between us. We were both wondering what to say to each other.

Objectively speaking, Do Yehee should have been more flustered in this situation than I was. As far as she was concerned, she had just been sleeping quietly in an empty room, and then suddenly I barged in.

I offered a greeting first to the red-haired young lady who was looking at me with a half-asleep expression.

“It’s been a while, Do Yehee.”

“…What? Why are you here?”

“Why am I here? This building is my guild building in the first place.”

“That’s not what I mean… you’re here even though the construction isn’t finished yet.”

“Remodeling construction? I took a quick look earlier, and it seemed almost done.”

“…It’s almost done, but not completely finished.”

Do Yehee looked at me with eyes filled with a strange wariness, even though she had just woken up.

“What do you mean, ‘almost done’?”

“There are still quite a few minor details left. Like the tile finishing in the bathroom not being done, or the window frames being crooked. I need to do a final check on those things. If there’s even a small flaw later, you’ll say something to me, won’t you?”

“No way. I’m already grateful enough for what you’ve done so far.”

“Even if that weren’t the case, leaving things half-finished doesn’t suit my style. Especially with large-scale projects like this, my principle is to finish them thoroughly so there are no complaints later.”

Well, I guess that makes sense. That’s probably why the Dokyung Group has been so successful without any controversy.

Even when the internet was buzzing about construction companies cutting corners on materials due to rising prices, there was never any such controversy surrounding the Dokyung Group’s buildings. They say the soundproofing between floors is much better compared to other apartments too.

It’s certain that Do Yehee’s business acumen played a significant role in surviving in the industry while employing a luxury strategy for large-scale apartment complexes.

“Isn’t remodeling just one guild building really a large-scale project? I thought you’d consider it a bonus contract tied to the large apartment complex deal in District 3 over there.”

“I did think that way at first, but still, if we’re doing it, it’s better to do it thoroughly, right? From what I saw, your guild has quite a promising future. Later, when you grow into a major guild, stories about our company, which renovated the guild building, will likely emerge, so consider this an investment for that time.”

“Is that why you even made that grand nameplate, ‘CEO Sung Taekyung’?”

“…Yeah, well. It’s just that the CEO’s desk looked too empty and felt a bit bare.”

Seeing her slightly embarrassed reaction, Do Yehee seemed strangely indirect. I wonder if all hunters who wield magic are unable to be direct. At least, the mages I’ve met so far generally felt similar. It could just be a coincidence, though.

“Anyway, why did you really come here? Are you here to monitor if I’m doing my job properly?”

“Not really. I just had some business at the Chuncheon City Hall, so I stopped by on my way. Since the end of the year is almost here, I wanted to see how much progress had been made.”

“So you’ve looked around enough. What are your impressions?”

“You’ve really done a great job. I was surprised at how incredibly sophisticated it looks. You have good taste.”

“Of course. Look at who did the work.”

Do Yehee smiled with a proud expression at my compliment. This must be her area of expertise, after all. Come to think of it, when I met her in Indonesia last time, there seemed to be someone else next to her, but she appears to be alone today. At least, I couldn’t detect anyone with my Hunter Radar.

“It seems Ms. Seolhwa isn’t around. Seeing as it’s just you, Do Yehee, sleeping here alone.”

“Huh? Seolhwa? She’s probably right now….”

-Smeol-smeol.

“I am here, Sung Taekyung-nim.”

“…Waaaaaaah?!”

At the voice that suddenly popped out from under my feet at an unexpected moment, I let out a scream like a little boy. And Do Yehee, who witnessed the scene right before her eyes, burst into laughter.

“Pfft, Ahahahahah!”

“…….”

“Kuhuhu, what’s with the ‘Waaaaah’? So you’re the type to get startled too?”

“…How could I not be startled seeing this? A person’s face and voice suddenly popping out from under my feet.”

“I apologize for startling you, but I didn’t pop out from under your feet; I emerged from the shadows, Sung Taekyung-nim.”

I calmed my racing heart as I watched Seolhwa, peeking out only her head from within Do Yehee’s shadow, reply. I hadn’t expected a stealth technique so advanced that it wouldn’t even be detected by the Hunter Lust Management System’s nearby hunter search function.

“Since when were you there…?”

“Since around 7 PM, after accompanying Master to inspect the District 3 construction site, so about two hours. I usually work like this to preemptively block any men from approaching Master, who has androphobia.”

“…Is that true, Do Yehee?”

“Well, yes. If it gets out that I have androphobia, it’ll just expose an unnecessary weakness, won’t it? To prevent that, I have to block any approach from men as much as possible like this.”

“It’s one of the special skills only a Shadowmancer like me can perform. By the way, I get a special allowance for it too, Sung Taekyung-nim.”

“Ah, yes….”

Right, well. Do Yehee is doing that in her own way to overcome her weakness. Still, seeing as she didn’t do this during the duel with Sihee in the dungeon, or the day she stalked me, or the day she was held in my bed with Sihee, it seems she only uses Seolhwa like this in everyday life.

“But you just said that blocking men approaching Do Yehee is Seolhwa’s job, right?”

“Yes, Sung Taekyung-nim.”

“Then why didn’t you stop me when I was stroking your head just now? Do I look like a woman to you, Seolhwa?”

“Ah, regarding Sung Taekyung-nim, Master instructed that it was okay not to block you, so I didn’t.”

“…….”

“I-it’s not like I’m giving you special treatment?! It’s just that you’re not a man scary enough to make me terrified… I-it’s just that you don’t even feel like a man, so I made an exception!”

Although, her blush seemed to deepen a bit more, given what she just said. It was an obvious lie that I could see right through, but I decided to play along. Being dishonest about one’s feelings seemed like a basic trait of mages. I secretly smiled inwardly at the fact that I had become the only man among all those Do Yehee had encountered who could ease her wariness.

“Okay, okay. I’ll take your word for it.”

“It’s not ‘taking my word for it’…!”

“Anyway, thank you. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to go to such lengths. I thought you’d just do some superficial repairs and hand it back, but I didn’t expect you to personally lead and carry out the entire remodeling.”

“…Well, of course. I just told you, didn’t I? I-I don’t want to work in a way that invites complaints later.”

“Right, right. Is there anything you’d like as a reward?”

“…A reward?”

I nodded and answered Do Yehee, who tilted her head.

“Even though it’s linked to the apartment land deal, this guild building remodeling is practically pro bono. But after using such high-caliber personnel for free like this, I feel a bit guilty.”

“It’s true that our Master is high-caliber personnel. It’s undeniable that the Dokyung Group is the leading construction company in the country thanks to Master.”

“…….”

“If there’s something you want, tell me, Do Yehee. If it’s a request I can fulfill, I’ll do my best to grant it.”

Instead of answering my offer, Do Yehee quietly blushed. She’s probably imagining something lewd upon hearing that I can grant her request. In fact, I had made the offer precisely with that in mind. I had already obtained information indicating that Do Yehee had accumulated a certain level of sexual desire based on expected acquisition points. Perhaps Do Yehee herself was somewhat expecting this kind of development in her heart. Of course, she and I weren’t on the same casual terms as Sihee or the other women. With Sihee or Eunbyul, I could probably just say something like, ‘Looks like you’ve built up some desire, wanna do it?’ without any context, and it would lead to intimacy without much issue. However, with Do Yehee, that approach was impossible, so even if it felt like taking a roundabout way, a proper justification and excuse were necessary. Offering a reward for the pro bono remodeling of the guild building was a convenient pretext perfectly suited for this situation.

“P-please don’t think I’m a promiscuous woman just because of what happened in Indonesia last time.”

“Huh?”

“T-that was just a temporary thing because I had some free time, and I was simply curious about you, a man Sihee would fall for. It would be quite problematic if you mistook me for a promiscuous woman who thinks dirty thoughts every time she sees you….”

“Really? I didn’t specifically limit the reward to something sexual, but I guess it sounded that way to you, Do Yehee?”

“……Ah, aah, ah.”

Do Yehee, in her attempt to defend herself by saying she wasn’t a promiscuous woman, ended up expressing her own promiscuity. The red-haired young lady couldn’t even shake her head left and right, her face flushed beet red.