episode_0023

“Hey, Jihyuk. How tall are you?”

“Suddenly?”

“Quickly. How many?”

I answered Kim Jun-hyung’s question about my height out of the blue from the morning with doubt.

“82. But why the height? Can you introduce me to someone?”

At “182… . Dark eyes… .”

Then Kim Junhyung looked at his phone and me alternately as if he was checking something… .

“Are you dating Lim A-rin?”

He kept saying strange things.

“What bullshit.”

“No, really… ! You have nothing to do with Lim A-rin? Really?”

I thought it was just nonsense, but Kim Jun-hyung glared at me strangely and kept asking me questions.

The strange sincerity in his eyes did not seem like a joke.

“… What is it?”

He made a strange expression, as if he was truly dumbfounded, then quickly adjusted his phone and showed me a video.

“Midnight date?”

“Take a look.”

What Junhyung Kim showed was a video of Queens appearing on a famous talk show called ‘Midnight Date’.

‘Did you film something like this?’

I silently watched the video while cursing the Cheonhwa guild that runs the queens… .

[Dark eyes, masculine face. He is 182cm tall and looks a bit cold… ]

“… Huh?”

I was surprised when Lim A-rin mentioned her ideal type.

‘Is this me?’

No matter how much I thought about it, it was me.

“Is this you? Right?”

“… well… .”

“You bastard, how can you leave a woman like Lim A-rin…? ! So, why did you introduce a girl to me? This guy is going to be in real trouble!”

Kim Jun-hyung teased me as if it was natural for Lim A-rin and I to date.

“You! I just saw it. If I get caught doing something stupid in the future, I will report everything to Im A-rin!”

“Say something again. Because that’s not the case with him… .”

“It’s not like that! It’s clear that Arin Lim has feelings for you. Otherwise, would you have bothered to contact me?”

“… What do you do?”

I unconsciously narrowed my eyebrows and looked at Kim Junhyung.

He reported that he had received a call from Lim A-rin just a few days ago.

“Arin Lim even sent you a gifticon on purpose to say she was taking care of you.”

It is said that they not only contacted him, but even sent him a bribe.

“What kind of Korean beef set… .”

“Crazy… . No, why say that now! and. Are you taking that and eating it again?”

“Hey, of course I refused at first! Look at this!”

I checked the contents of the message and call records that Kim Jun-hyung showed me.

and… .

“!”

I was shocked by the content, which was more than I expected.

… …

[Queens Lim A-rin: Junhyung, please take good care of Jihyuk! Please! ]

[ Me: Oh, of course! Do not worry! ]

… …

There was nothing special about the overall content.

All I was saying was simply to take good care of me, to tell me if anything special happened, and to tell me anything I needed in the future.

but… .

The real problem was different.

… …

[Queens Lim A-rin: Actually, I was worried because Ji-hyuk was so popular… ㅠㅠ ]

[Queens Lim A-rin: Junhyung, please watch closely from the side… ! ]

… …

The point was that she was talking as if she were my lover.

*

In the past few days, Lim A-rin’s comment about her ideal type has become the hottest topic.

[ Who is the lover of the Archmage of Queens? ]

[ (Exclusive) Testimony of a Cheonhwa Guild official “It must be him“]

[ Did the members of Queens already know? ]

The media attracted attention by forcibly matching people who fit Lim Ah-rin’s ideal type.

Among them, my name as a producer appeared.

“Producer. How tall are you?”

Why the “ key?”

“Uh… . I’m just curious.”

“… It’s 180.”

“Really? Isn’t it bigger?”

“… No.”

Thanks to this, I suffered from the measles out of nowhere, so I had to lie in moderation and block out unnecessary rumors… .

In fact, there was still no conversation with the person who provided the cause.

[Arin: I don’t do anything on Sundays, so maybe I can see you then…? ? ]

I made an appointment by contacting Lim A-rin separately.

I wanted to go see him right away and talk to him, but the timing wasn’t right, and since he was so carefree that he wanted to meet and have a meal, I had no choice but to meet him on the weekend.

‘How can I solve this… .’

Actually, from my point of view, Im A-rin’s likeability was very difficult.

To be exact, the likes of ‘Queens’.

It was a long time ago that I noticed that these girls had a secret crush on me.

I’ve been with the members of Queens for 10 years now, so it’s even more strange that I don’t notice them.

the problem is… .

The point is that I cannot accept their hearts.

My ultimate goal, then and now, is to change the ending of this world.

To achieve that goal, we created the strongest team called ‘Queens’.

Queens is not just a team created by people gathering together, but a team created through thorough calculation.

In line with Seol Joo-hee, who always fought alone in the original work, Hong Yu-ra and Lim A-rin, who were the most suitable and helpful, were brought in as colleagues.

The team that was finally put together was Queens, and all three of them ended up liking me.

Actually, I didn’t particularly dislike them because all three of them were extremely attractive, but… .

What would happen if I accepted someone’s heart here?

If you accept Seol Joo-hee’s heart, it will affect Hong Yu-ra and Lim A-rin.

If Hong Yu-ra accepts her heart, it will affect Seol Joo-hee and Lim A-rin.

If you accept Lim A-rin’s heart, it will affect Seol Joo-hee and Hong Yu-ra.

It means that all the teamwork that was built up falls apart just because of love.

However, it is not possible to accept everyone’s feelings.

No matter how close someone is like family, no one wants to share a romantic relationship.

It was truly a situation that could be described as a dilemma, but fortunately, all three did not cross a certain line and were able to come this far.

Of course, now that they are gone, everything has become useless… .

It’s not like I can accept Im Ah-rin’s heart.

“… Producer.”

At that time, Jin Seo-won, who was in the middle of running on the treadmill, approached me and spoke softly.

“… Today, eat at home.”

“Huh?”

“… Rice.”

“Ah.”

When I said something, it was about having a meal at home.

“Yes. Let’s eat home-cooked food today.”

“… Yes.”

I nodded, accepting her request without thinking… .

Fluttering─

Jin Seo-won quietly took a seat next to him and started wiping his sweat.

‘huh? ‘Have we all run already?’

I was curious about her natural movements, so I looked at the empty treadmill in front of me and said something to her.

“… Seowon. Have you all run?”

OK.

“… … .”

Jin Seo-won pretended not to have heard anything and shamelessly began gulping down his drink.

I did it, but it seemed like he was here to do another trick.

“… Should I bring Hannah?”

“… !”

Jin Seo-won did not like training with Bang Han-na.

Because if you’re with this passionate girl, you’ll never be able to be as savvy as you are now.

“I’ll cook you something delicious today, so go ahead and run.”

“… … .”

Jin Seo-won didn’t respond as if he was rebelling, but stood up and walked towards the treadmill, showing his disapproval with his whole body.

‘cute.’

After finishing all the afternoon training.

As usual, after finishing my meal with Jin Seo-won, I left the hotel and drove straight to Itaewon, not home.

“Where was this… .”

In Itaewon, a neighborhood where quite a few foreigners live, there are many places that sell imported or smuggled items.

When there were no item sponsors in Queens, I also purchased overseas items that were known to be cost-effective here.

“found.”

The place I stopped by this time was a small bar in the corner of Itaewon.

I squeezed into the empty seat and went down to the bar entrance leading to the basement.

The end of the stairs was blocked by a bookshelf-shaped wall with bright lights. When I pulled on a book on the wall, the bookshelf-shaped wall began to slide to one side.

Jiiing… …

The interior of the fancy bar is finally revealed.

Although it was decorated with a luxurious interior, it was a place that had a strangely cozy feel.

“Welcome.”

At that time, an employee came up and greeted me as if he had been waiting.

“How many people are you?”

“One person.”

“What position would you like?”

“To the head of the table.”

The staff member glanced at me, nodded as if he understood, and then led me straight to the ‘head table’.

“Have a relaxing time.”

Contrary to its fancy name, the head table at the corner of the counter table did not even have a chair.

It didn’t matter since I didn’t come here to sit in the first place.

“Hello. Customer.”

Next, a bartender quietly approached me and asked a question.

“Is there any alcohol you are looking for?”

“Night cap, cold.”

“What will you do with your master and servant?”

“With wine.”

Cold Nightcap, with Wine.

This is the password to access the black market.

“Let’s go inside.”

As I headed behind the counter following the bartender’s instructions, another staircase leading to the basement appeared.

After going back up the stairs and removing the tent at the end, a fairly large space was revealed to me.

Roaring Roaring── Roaring Roaring──

Itaewon is an underground black market where item auctions are held every day.

‘Quite a lot.’

The reason I came here was to purchase items for Jinseowon.

I came to bid for [Dark Dragon’s Gauntlets], which are evaluated as a D-class item.

‘Because it’s D-class… . ‘You can live without problems, right?’

The Dark Dragon’s Gauntlet is an S-rank item that also appears in the original novel.

It is a low-rated item because it can only provide D-level performance if you do not use proper power, so I bought it because I thought it would be good for Jin Seo-won to use it.

“Let’s see… .”

While I was walking around the black market after receiving a pamphlet to check the order of today’s auctions.

“Huh?”

Someone grabbed me from behind and pretended to know me.

“I didn’t expect to see you here… . It’s been a while?”

As I was looking at the pamphlet, I reflexively looked back.

“… !”

I was startled by the appearance of an unexpected face.

An alluring appearance combined with long purple hair that reaches down to the waist.

Her voluptuous body, wrapped in a sophisticated office look, revealed a lightly understated charm.

“… Hyeri Lee?”

She is the leader of the Sejin Guild and one of her close classmates.

“It’s been a while. How have you been?”

It was Lee Hye-ri.