Why on earth is Isia here?
Just at the most exquisite moment, right before the horny Guild Master was about to pounce on Yoonjeong, Shia appeared as if she had been patiently waiting. Yoonjeong still couldn’t quite grasp the situation.
The Sanwool Guild’s Guild Master may be a trashy scumbag with no shred of humanity, but he’s not called a Guild Master for nothing. He started his Hunter life as a guild member under the Mountain Association in China, and his skills were recognized enough to establish the Sanwool Guild in Korea, serving as a bridge between the Chinese and Korean branches.
Even though he hadn’t received a hunter’s title from the government, he must have been A-level in skill, so Yoonjeong couldn’t help but feel tense, especially since he had been thrown somewhere without even having time to react.
“Shi… Shia… no, Unnie… what on earth have you done?”
With a slightly stiff face, Yoonjeong stared quietly at Shia beyond the window.
From Yoonjeong’s perspective, this was nothing short of a horror movie scenario. The Guild Master had been dragged away like some extra in a terrifying film and had vanished.
And Yoonjeong wasn’t an idiot.
She understood that when the Guild Master was about to pounce on her, Shia saved her.
The problem was why.
And how did she know to save her?
Had she been following her from the beginning?
What happened to the Guild Master?
Could it be that he killed someone because of her?
Yoonjeong looked up at Shia with a confused expression, countless thoughts colliding in her head.
Meanwhile, Shia flashed a smile and reached out her hand.
“… Wh-what’s happening?”
The way she cheerfully offered her hand seemed to say not to worry at all.
It had only been a short time since they met, so why was she acting like this?
Did she do this with other people too?
“Dinner.”
“Huh? Dinner?”
“Have you eaten dinner?”
“…”
Being gathered by the Guild Master for a collective scolding meant they had long since missed dinner time.
“If you haven’t eaten, let’s eat together.”
“… Wh-what did you just say?”
Wait, what kind of nonsense was this?
Did she just leisurely propose dinner after laying waste to someone?!
“What are you talking about right now! The Guild Master is…!”
“Nothing happened.”
What?
“Are you telling me to believe that right now?!”
“There really was nothing.”
“Let go of this… Huh?!”
With Shia’s hand leading the bewildered Yoonjeong out of the car, she could see the Guild Master sprawled comfortably on the roof.
Something definitely got crushed, broken, and the sound of flesh being torn apart like meat being slaughtered echoed clearly in her ears.
Despite her limited experience, Yoonjeong couldn’t mistake the sound of a human being ripped apart because she had been through it herself.
“Looks like he was tired? He seems to be sleeping peacefully in this quiet place.”
As Shia said, the Guild Master wore a serene expression and was snoring lightly, leaving Yoonjeong feeling a bizarre dissonance.
“Don’t worry.”
“…”
“There really was nothing.”
Is that true? The question hovered at the back of her throat, but Yoonjeong couldn’t voice it.
Watching Yoonjeong, Shia gestured to cover her lips with her finger.
“He won’t remember anything.”
Who? What?
Yoonjeong wasn’t foolish enough to wonder what Shia referred to as “he.”
“Let’s go.”
And reassuringly, Shia’s warm hand grasped Yoonjeong’s.
Being the Mangja Seongnyeo, her hand should usually be cold… but today, it was surprisingly warm.
—
Being pulled away by Shia, Yoonjeong initially thought she might not be able to endure the atmosphere.
Thinking objectively, Yoonjeong and Shia had only known each other for a day.
And it certainly hadn’t been an exceptionally good encounter.
There hadn’t been enough time for bonding, nor had there been any significant connection.
They simply exchanged brief conversations.
Unless they lived next door and had known each other from the start, the fact that Shia had rescued Yoonjeong from what could have been a perilous situation was sudden enough; now, they found themselves facing each other in a food stall. That alone was quite the ordeal.
“……”
“……”
And as nobody felt bold enough to speak, the silence continued until Yoonjeong couldn’t hold in her frustration any longer and called over the food stall lady, breaking the seemingly eternal quiet.
“… Hey, miss! Bring me some soju and beer!”
What? No food and going straight for the drinks?
Shocked by Yoonjeong’s sudden move, Shia’s face expressed surprise, but having lost her patience earlier, Yoonjeong continued her order without hesitation.
“How many should I get? Brand doesn’t matter? No side dishes?”
“Ah, just bring me four bottles of anything!”
The moment the food stall lady brought out the beer and soju, Yoonjeong skillfully popped the caps off and started pouring the drinks into a glass at exactly a 1:1 ratio.
And down it went in one shot.
Gulp, gulp…!
“Ugh, damn it~ Kyaaa…”
From that moment on, the subtle awkwardness and distance between the two of them must have vanished in an instant.
“Haah, damn. The taste is terrible…”
Just earlier, she had seemed tense and hesitant, but now she looked like she could down several bottles of raw soju at once.
Gulp, gulp… Kyaaa…
“Eugh…”
“Damn, I can’t stand this scumbag… that Guild Master scumbag. Their damn parents are all scumbags too…”
Though she was acting foolishly now, Yoonjeong was drinking quickly.
Yoonjeong’s figure reminded Shia of how she had downed over 200 cocktails at the cocktail bar with Yeonhwa not long ago.
“… Slow down.”
“Hehehe, but it feels wrong to say just drop dead…! Even if it’s a pain in the ass, they’re still human. Even if they’re bad, they’re still parents… gulp … I don’t want to turn into a damn whore so damn badly, ugh… gulp gulp…”
Never did Shia think she’d witness someone like this.
“… Phew! Miss! Add some grilled skewers and oden soup!”
“Sure!”
“……..”
Shia stared at Yoonjeong, who surprisingly adapted to the atmosphere much faster and was even ordering more side dishes.
“What’s with that look? I told you from the start, the older sister is treating you! And now you’re worried about my wallet?!”
Feeling Shia’s gaze, Yoonjeong shouted back out of frustration.
Of course, she didn’t mind spending money.
“No, it’s not that… Hey, didn’t you say you were 19?”
“Damn it, the age of the body is less important than the age of the heart!”
The, right… I can agree with that too…
It certainly wasn’t wrong that Yoonjeong was saying.
Feeling the weight of the situation, Shia found herself unconsciously nodding along.
Although Shia was said to be 85 years old, she had been rated to have a mental age of 21.
“Anyway, I don’t have much time until my birthday, so it doesn’t matter if I eat!”
Yet Yoonjeong, who definitely appeared much younger and weaker, felt strangely more assertive and forceful than Shia.
After all, when faced with alcohol and food, was there even a sense of awkwardness or distance?
“Anyway… krrgh… I’m going with it~ Cheers!”
Let’s drink well…
Above all, where did she even hear the expression “wet my throat”?
“Whatcha talking about? Are you going to leave me all alone after you’ve seduced me here? That’s lonely, you know?”
“No. Let’s eat together.”
Even if mixing soju and beer wasn’t her taste, she thought it was okay to drink as her mood carried her along.
Cheers!
With the sound of their clear glass bottles clinking together, both took a drink.
Yeah, it was a drink. Both of them, indeed.
Gulp.
Gulp.
Gulp.
It really was bitter.
The first taste was harsh, contrary to commercial alcohol, but the aftertaste was a touch sweet.
Of course, that wasn’t enough to align with Shia’s preferences.
This was not something to casually drink a lot of.
For some time, Yoonjeong and Shia quietly drank as they downed the skewered grilled meat and oden soup set before them.
Decreasing the distance that had originally been there with alcohol, of course.
Yet with the amount of skewers they had originally ordered being insufficient to fill Shia’s stomach, it wasn’t until they ordered approximately 15 portions more that Yoonjeong finally opened her mouth again.
Gulp…
“Heh… Heh… Hah… you see, this is my first time drinking. I always wondered what adults saw in this stuff. I was curious, don’t you know?”
“For someone who claims it’s your first time, you’ve been pretty good at making tornado shots.”
Though I’m not a pro at drinking, that snap of swirling movement doesn’t seem to be a first-time experience…
“Heh, I really am doing this for the first time, Shia… no, Unnie… I’m not lying.”
“Fine… whatever. Still, this is better than you hesitating.”
“Heh heh heh, I just followed the older Hunters from my party whenever we gathered for drinks… Well, I must’ve memorized it just by watching them from over their shoulders.”
“… Sure.”
“If you don’t drink like this, does it taste bad? Alcohol is pretty much all the same anyway. Right? Isn’t that right, Shia?”
“Shia…”
That name felt oddly natural.
“……”
“Oh dear. That’s just my habit. Sorry, Unnie, I must be spilling nonsense because the alcohol hit me.”
With her apologetic tone, Yoonjeong poured herself another drink while Shia could do nothing but remain silent.
There seemed to be so much she wanted to say.
There were so many thoughts prepared, and surely she wanted to ask something… but all she could do was forget in a haze as her head became utterly blank.
“Phew… Unnie, do you know?”
“What?”
At Yoonjeong’s tilted head, Shia seemed to momentarily consider her words.
“Earlier, when you saved me… I really appreciate it. If it weren’t for you… I probably would have wanted to kill myself right now.”
“Don’t mention it. It was only natural.”
“Really? Gulp … then let me ask this, were you following me from the beginning?”
“……”
Could that silence be taken as a yes?
“Then why were you following me? Do I have honey smeared on me? Were we friends from before? Or are you just a habitual bumbling bee who follows anyone around?”
“It’s personal.”
“Oh, you don’t want to say?”
Yoonjeong shrugged at Shia’s response.
She didn’t expect her to spill everything anyway.
“… Unnie, to be honest, my situation is pretty damn messed up. My family situation is even worse.”
“I know.”
“You do?”
“I heard you’re in debt to the Sanwool Guild.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“……..”
“If you don’t want to talk about it, don’t worry about it.”
As if she’d encountered a closed door, Yoonjeong took another swig from her drink.
“Phew! Starting now, I’m going to rant a bit. I want to talk about my unfortunate life, okay?”
It was Unnie who dragged her out and forced her to drink. So, she might as well listen to a bit of empty chatter.
With that, Yoonjeong chuckled and poured herself from the empty bottle again.
“Man, I swear, I was born into hard mode from the start.”
“……”
“First, my house is drowning in debt. I can’t tell where it came from, whether it’s from some loan sharks or what… and my parents are just messed up people, alcoholics who spend their days drinking and ruining the house. Since I was a kid, I was forced to handle everything myself.”
Thanks to that, I had to cook my own meals. Clean, do the dishes, laundry, and even get ready for school all on my own.
When mom and dad got home, they just drank and turned the place into a bigger mess. They didn’t even care if their child starved or died.
“That’s bad… but if it’s all good, I wish they’d pay for the gas. In winter, my hands freeze, and that’s how it is. I can’t even call that a house! But still, I had to do the laundry and dishes myself. If the gas stops, I can’t do anything since the pipes burst too! It’s been happening every year, so I’ve gotten used to it and don’t even get angry anymore, hehe…”
Maybe with the alcohol kicking in, Yoonjeong was becoming more talkative.
“When I was declared an Awakened One, I was thrilled, thinking I’d have a chance to finally level up my hard mode life. But my parents are just drunk every day, and they might be missing for two months if they go to Gangwon Land… sometimes they wouldn’t even come back for a whole year! How can I even enter the Hunter Academy from such a family? Even the tuition is ridiculous! But I ended up collecting money by doing part-time jobs at gas stations or washing dishes… hehehe… gulp”
Yoonjeong swirled her glass filled with her cocktail.
Staring at the bubbly mix, she chuckled.
“My parents must’ve known I was saving for tuition. They’d spent everything on their drinking and gambling the second I stepped out the door.”
“… That’s unfortunate.”
“Well, you don’t have to spare your words. It’s just bullshit! Shit! My parents are just scumbags! Damn! gulp gulp gulp”
At that moment, her vent erupted in violent outbursts, and Yoonjeong downed the drink like a missile.
“Cough… ugh… ugh… what’s that… Since then, I hardly see my Mom or Dad anymore. heh I just wanted to kill them sometimes… but that wouldn’t do…”
Gulp
“Since then, there hasn’t been much else. I couldn’t even get into the Academy. I just ended up joining the Sanwool Guild and borrowing living expenses. I’m drowning in debt… My parents somehow got in contact with the Guild Master and borrowed more in my name… so it’s impossible to leave the Sanwool Guild… hehehe… at least the older guys are a bit rough, but they have some decency, so I’m lucky.”
“Should I help?”
“………”
Shia said it earnestly.
She could help.
If Yoonjeong wanted, she could wipe out her debt. If there were any threats, she could protect…
“Unnie, do you know why I’m saying this?”
However, instead of responding, Yoonjeong turned her face into an annoyed expression.
“I’m not asking for sympathy! Don’t just meddle! I’m not looking for a handout from you! Just take a hint, notice I’m struggling, and mind your own business.”
“… Why?”
“You think I look like I’m doing miserable? I mean, I’ve been living hard. Even if my life is shit, I won’t give up and I’ll work hard… gulp! But if you suddenly jump in and smooth things out, what happens to my struggles? It must be easy for you. You can just waltz in, swiping a card or two and putting me in check, and everyone else wouldn’t complain. But I’ve been fighting through this mess, and if that happens, I’ll just be sitting here whining like, ‘Where have you been, Unnie?’”
Yoonjeong’s point was simple.
Shia’s sympathy would trivialize her hard-fought existence.
“… I’m sorry. I was rambling too much… It’s just like my parents… it’s genuinely embarrassing.”
Having heard even that, Shia couldn’t muster the words “You don’t have to feel burdened. It’s okay, don’t refuse help.”
“Your concern is precious and I appreciate your help, but… my life isn’t so terrible. Being a Hunter, I’ll pay off my debts someday. If the Guild Master crosses the line, I can always sue him with the Association… or else, who knows? Maybe that Guild Master is decent by husband standards, and I could settle down…”
“… Don’t say that.”
At Shia’s reaction, Yoonjeong chuckled and attempted to rise from her seat.
But it was almost as if her limbs had given up on her, and her head felt hazy, her sight spinning around.
The result of too much alcohol in a young body over a short time.
“Ugh, haah… I’ve really drunk too much…”
As Yoonjeong swayed, leaning against her, Shia recalled something she had heard from Yeonju earlier.
—
[To cut to the chase… there is no relation between Park Yoonjeong and Isia.]
“……”
[I went ahead and checked all the family ties in the community registry just in case, but the results remain unchanged. There’s absolutely no connection between Park Yoonjeong’s maternal and paternal sides and Miss Isia by 2024.]
“Is that so…?”
[Yes, they are completely unrelated. Completely strangers. Not a single drop of blood. If we’re talking about genetic spreads, they might share some ancestral lineage, but I know that’s not what you were looking for.]
—
Perfect strangers…
Ah, I see.
Had I been completely off-base?
Had I been chasing after shadows of a nonexistent family?
“… Uheh…”
“Be careful…!”
“Damn it~ I’m getting drunk~ hee…”
I get it now; I understand how much trouble Yeonhwa went through when I got drunk.
With Yoonjeong struggling to keep herself up, Shia carefully whispered into her ear.
“Mom…”
“… Huh, eh…”
“Really, you’re not my mom… are you…?”
Her voice trembled, as if she might break into tears at any moment.
“… No, you crazy girl… I’m not your mother.”
Why, oh why
does your denial feel like a lie?
Why…
Even if I try to give up or accept it… why, at the very end, do you plant false hope within me again?
