Chapter 71 – GOY 71
#71
“What do you want to eat?”
“Huh?”
“You said you were hungry.”
“Are you… really going? Don’t you have training?”
Despite how he seemed, Joo Seung-hyuk did his best as an Esper. He had never made a single mistake during a Gate Raid.
Of course, he had attacked other Espers along the way, but the raids themselves were handled without a hitch.
Since this was his favorite type of training and he was already dressed in his training gear, I thought there was no way he would skip class. That was why I had come at this specific time.
And yet…
“Lee Yeon-soo is hungry; is training really an issue right now?”
“What…?”
“Let’s go. What do you want to eat?”
Aren’t you going to train?
I was flustered by how readily he agreed.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go… But I couldn’t back down now.
“‘Lambert’ at the Shinjung Hotel.”
‘Lambert’ at the Shinjung Hotel was the French restaurant the original Lee Yeon-soo loved most. It had opened five years ago, and it was said to be so expensive that it had reset the price standards for all hotel restaurants in South Korea at the time.
Lee Yeon-soo loved this place and would try to drag Joo Seung-hyuk there by force. But Joo Seung-hyuk had been disgusted every single time. He would be the same this time.
While I was lost in thought, Joo Seung-hyuk, who had been staring at me, spoke.
“Sure. Let’s go.”
He’s actually going? Ah, no, he can’t…
His reaction was completely different from my expectations.
“A-actually, on second thought, I’m fine. You’ve already changed into your training clothes, so I don’t think it’s right to insist on eating now.”
“Forget it. I’ve become hungry too.”
“No! I’ll just wait a bit longer.”
I truly had no intention of making Joo Seung-hyuk skip his training. My plan was simply to act like a nuisance to make him lose interest in me; if I actually crossed the line and became too annoying, I might end up being ‘dealt with’ by him.
But if things turn out like this…
“It’s fine, just come here for a moment.”
While my mind was clouded with panic at the unexpected situation, Joo Seung-hyuk took my hand and led me somewhere. It was the restroom right next to the classroom.
“Wash your hands.”
“Huh?”
“I said wash your hands. Some other bastard touched them.”
Touched? It wasn’t even Guiding; we just shook hands. It wasn’t something to react to so sensitively.
But if Joo Seung-hyuk hated it, I guess I had to wash them… Now he won’t even let me shake hands.
As I grumbled inwardly and prepared to wash my hands, I suddenly snapped back to my senses.
No, this is exactly like before! I’ll never get dumped at this rate!
I shot Joo Seung-hyuk a bold look.
“Wash them for me.”
“What did you say?”
“If you hate it so much, then you wash them.”
“Lee Yeon-soo, did you eat something wrong by any chance?”
Joo Seung-hyuk began to doubt my state of mind. I was relieved that he seemed to be losing interest in me, but it was also terrifying.
“If you don’t want to, then don’t. I’m leaving.”
I turned around, pretending to be annoyed.
If I kept acting up, my wrist might actually get snapped.
I should call it a day and go back.
I need to be a nuisance enough to get dumped, but I shouldn’t annoy the Obsessive Madman too much.
Just as I hurried away, my hand was caught.
Joo Seung-hyuk turned on the water and wet my hands. Then, he applied liquid soap to every corner of my fingers.
“Now I even have to wash our baby’s hands.”
“…….”
“Can you wash the other parts by yourself?”
This isn’t right… Feeling a sudden chill, I quickly nodded.
“Yeah. I can wash by myself.”
“How could you clean your body when you can’t even wash your hands? I’ll wash you from now on.”
“N-no!”
I tried to pull my hand away in haste, but Joo Seung-hyuk held on tight and wouldn’t let go.
“We have to wash thoroughly. To get rid of the filth.”
“…….”
Joo Seung-hyuk’s fingers traced each of my joints, creating soap bubbles.
“Did you really come because you missed me?”
“…Yeah.”
“I should write this in my diary.”
“You keep a diary?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t think you were the type to write a diary.”
I couldn’t imagine Joo Seung-hyuk writing a diary.
“I do. When something good happens.”
Joo Seung-hyuk rinsed off the soap bubbles with water and then dried my hands with his black handkerchief.
“It’s okay. I can do it.”
“Forget it. Baby, just stay still.”
“…….”
I felt that something was going very wrong. After drying my hands meticulously without a single drop of water left, Joo Seung-hyuk rubbed my earlobe.
“Let’s go eat.”
“N-no!”
I shook my head urgently. I truly didn’t have a shred [unauthorized copy]of intention to stolen contentinterfere with [unauthorized copy]Joo Seung-hyuk’s training.
“You said you were hungry.”
“I can wait a little. I’ll just watch you train.”
If one was a student or an official, observing training was possible. There were plenty of Guides who went to watch Esper training out of boredom, so no one would find it strange if I observed.
“Why would you watch that?”
“Can’t I?”
“If you come to the training grounds, other bastards will look at Lee Yeon-soo.”
What kind of ‘protective squid’ comment was that?
People wouldn’t care what I was doing anywhere.
They might pay attention because I’m an S-Class Guide, but that was it. It wasn’t interest in Lee Yeon-soo the person.
Just as I was about to tell him that no one would care, Joo Seung-hyuk continued.
“Because if other bastards are staring at Lee Yeon-soo, visit our siteI’ll [stolen content]feel like gouging all their eyes out.”
“I-I won’t! I won’t observe!”
Since it was entirely possible for Joo Seung-hyuk to do such a thing, I shook my head frantically. I didn’t want anyone else getting hurt because of me.
“Then I’ll just eat a triangle kimbap.”
I spoke, thinking of the convenience store on the first floor of the East Wing. I should just eat something quickly at the nearest place and leave.
“You said you wanted to go to Lambert?”
“Now that I think about it, I’ve started craving a triangle kimbap. Tuna mayo.”
“You said you were hungry; will that be enough?”
“I’ll eat a big tuna mayo one. And a cup noodle too!”
“Come.”
Joo Seung-hyuk took me and walked with long strides. The place we headed for was not the convenience store, but the East Wing parking lot.
I was now at the French restaurant, Lambert, in the Shinjung Hotel.
I never imagined Joo Seung-hyuk would actually ignore his training to come have a meal with me…
“What do you want to eat?”
I looked at the menu.
Since we’re already here, should I order the most expensive Lambert course and reach the peak of being a nuisance? No, I eat things like this all the time, so it wouldn’t even be considered a nuisance. While the prices here are high, they weren’t as overwhelmingly expensive as I thought. I couldn’t become a nuisance with just this. Maybe I should order a champagne that costs a million won?
While I was contemplating the drink menu, which boasted exceptionally high prices, Joo Seung-hyuk spoke.
“Shall we do the Lambert course with a Lascarago?”
If it was ‘Lascarago,’ that was a specialized wine for ability users… I gasped when I saw the price of the wine on the menu. Tw-twenty million? Joo Seung-hyuk drinks things like this?
Even if I had mentioned a million won, he wouldn’t have even blinked. It’s not a treasure; how can a single sip of alcohol at a restaurant cost twenty million won…
“Th-that… drinking from the afternoon is a bit… I think I’ll have a Coke…”
“Alright. If you’re hungry, shall we add other dishes?”
“No. This is enough.”
“Then I’ll go with this.”
Once again, splitting the bill was out of the question. I’ve only increased my debt to Joo Seung-hyuk.
After a while, the course dishes began to arrive one by one.
“How is it?”
“…It’s novel.”
I now understood why the original Joo Seung-hyuk hated this place. Perhaps the chef had a unique philosophy, but the dishes overall boasted an alien-like visual, mixing shades of green with fluorescent red.
Not only was the appearance poor, but the taste was also ambiguous. The original Lee Yeon-soo’s sense of taste couldn’t have been paralyzed; why on earth did he want to come here? No wonder Joo Seung-hyuk was disgusted.
“I heard the chef majored in fashion.”
“Really? I thought their aesthetic sense was quite unique…”
“Tell me if you want to come again next time.”
“Uh-huh.”
I doubt that will ever happen. It doesn’t suit my taste. It must be the same for Joo Seung-hyuk.
Did he order the expensive wine knowing the food was bad? Just to enjoy the taste of the alcohol?
“And it doesn’t matter when, so call me if you miss me. Tell me if there’s anything you need. However, do not come to the East Wing. If you come to the East Wing dressed that prettily one more time, I’ll lock you up.”
L-lock me up?! Not losing interest, but confinement? Why?
Today, I did nothing but act like a nuisance and do things to make him lose interest. I even dragged him to a tasteless restaurant, so why does he want to confine me?
“This is just a uniform.”
“That’s why it’s pretty. It has plenty of buttons that Lee Yeon-soo likes.”
“…….”
Could it be that Joo Seung-hyuk still thinks I’m a button enthusiast…
“Y-yeah. I won’t go back.”
“Good.”
Failure. This plan was a complete failure.
Unable to suppress my frustration, I put a snail dish in my mouth.
“Chew carefully. So you don’t get indigestion.”
He must be treating me like a child because I asked him to wash my hands. I feel even more depressed.
“Yeah. You chew carefully too.”
“I will.”
I couldn’t make him skip his next lecture as well. I wanted to eat quickly and return to school, but since it was a French course meal, it took more time than expected.
“Now that we’re done, let’s go. If we leave now, you won’t be late for your next class.”
“Did you memorize my entire schedule?”
“Yeah. You know mine too.”
Since we were together every day and were on [visit our site]the same team for all practical training, it would be stranger not to know.
“That’s true.”
Joo Seung-hyuk smiled and gripped my hand tightly.
After finishing the meal, we entered the elevator. Naturally, I intended to go to the lobby, but Joo Seung-hyuk suddenly pressed the button for the 20th floor.
“20th floor?”
“Are you really just going to leave after coming all this way?”
The corners of Joo Seung-hyuk’s mouth curved into a clear smile.
“Huh? But your lecture…”
“Don’t worry about it.”
I want to worry about it!
Why are we going to a hotel room instead of returning to school! But before I could even ask, the elevator arrived at the 20th floor.
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