Chapter 28: Affection (5)

Don’t leave me.

The girl thinks.

When did she start liking him?

Was it perhaps from that day?

No.

Probably not.

Looking back now, she was interested in him from the very beginning.

While she was lying down, he came to visit every single day.

She remembers being so happy about it that she unknowingly rambled on about all sorts of trivial things.

He is blunt.

And doesn’t mince words when speaking.

Sometimes, he’s arrogant.

An attitude stemming from strength, perhaps.

But she knows.

He’s just clumsy at expressing emotions because he’s shy; he cares about those around him.

As time passed, at some point, she asked herself.

‘Me, could it be?’

‘Did I fall in love?’

No way!

She immediately denies it.

She admits there’s a lot of affection mixed into her feelings for him, but accepting that she fell in love was still incredibly difficult.

How should she put it?

Is it somewhat ambiguous?

It makes sense, though, if I like him.

What form does my love take?

Hmm.

She still doesn’t know. But still, it didn’t feel like this emotion could be called love just yet.

Besides, he already has someone he loves.

…It’s a bit cheeky, but.

Still, love doesn’t need species, borders, or age.

Anyway, I like him, but I’m not in love with him.

She just thinks it would be incredibly enjoyable to spend time together as the closest of companions.

But why.

Why does seeing those two together make one side of her chest ache like this?

…And after a long time, I came to realize.

Indeed, I,

Crave him.

“What, why are you just standing there like that?”

At Chayeon’s words, Arena snapped back to reality.

“Uh, uh-huh. No…”

What’s this?

Where did her usual energetic and sharp voice go, replaced by the voice of a dying puppy?

“Teacher, I’ll be going then.”

“Hm? Ah, Arena’s here. Yes, hurry back now.”

After bowing to Seohee, who had emerged from her thoughts, Chayeon turned back to Arena, but Seohee called her from behind.

“Oh, you haven’t forgotten you need to choose an assignment by the day after tomorrow, right?”

Truthfully, she almost forgot, but Chayeon just nodded silently.

Seeing Seohee smiling as if she knew everything, lying to her was indeed impossible.

“Let’s go.”

Watching Seohee disappear with her eyes, she approached Arena, but she was still sullen with her head hung low.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“No.”

What is it?

This wasn’t like Arena.

It’s worrying when someone usually overflowing with energy suddenly becomes so downcast.

Could it be because of her injured hand?

Even if she didn’t say it, it must be considerably stressful.

For someone who loved swords so much and was so full of pride.

If that was the case, there was nothing Chayeon could do.

At best, she could spar lightly with her once a day, matching her pace.

She wanted to cheer her up, but how could she restore her mood?

Offer to spar…? Hmm, maybe not this.

Somehow it felt like it would cheer her up, but something still felt off.

Besides, she couldn’t push someone whose hand hadn’t even healed properly.

Let’s just buy her something tasty.

She didn’t know for sure, but since she’s a girl, maybe eating something sweet would help?

“Arena, do you have time on the way back?”

“Huh? Well, I don’t have anything particular planned…”

“Let’s stop by a cafe. My treat.”

A sparkle began to enter Arena’s eyes.

The sugar hadn’t even entered her system, hadn’t even touched her lips yet, but just the words were effective.

“A ca-cafe!?”

“Yeah. Do you like cake or something?”

She hadn’t thought deeply about it, just remembered Seohee enjoying a slice of chocolate cake at the cafe they went to last time and suggested it.

“H-hmph! What! You want to eat cake with me that badly? Fine! If you insist that much, Jeon Chayeon, I guess I can go!”

Like watering a dying flower, Arena suddenly brimmed with vitality.

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you just honestly ask me to go together! Jeon Chayeon, you’re surprisingly shy, huh?”

“…I did ask honestly.”

The effect seemed immediate.

The next day.

Chayeon was pondering deeply while looking at the A-rank assignments posted on the bulletin board.

The basic assignment list was delivered via notices and SMS, but to see the detailed content, one had to read the posts attached to the bulletin board like this.

“Jeon Chayeon, how about this one?”

Beside her, Arena kept hovering around.

She had been hyper ever since they went downtown together yesterday.

If she had known she liked cake this much, maybe she should have fed her some sooner.

“This one, this one!”

Arena persistently pointed at one spot, tugging at Chayeon’s sleeve.

She seemed fixated on something.

[Assignment Notice. Difficulty: A Rank. Type: Exorcism. Location: XX Province, XX City…]

The assignment Arena pointed to was an exorcism task, involving directly eliminating demons.

It was A-rank, but since it was a 3rd-year assignment, she assumed it would be remnants of lowest-level demons, but the content was strange.

“…This is a graduation assignment.”

It wasn’t a lowest-level demon, but a Class 5 demon, meaning a low-level one.

“Yeah, wouldn’t it be suitable for you, Jeon Chayeon?”

Arena asked back nonchalantly.

“Not doing it.”

Naturally, it was rejected.

“Why!”

“Why? I want to ask that. Why should I do a graduation assignment?”

“But you’re strong.”

“It’s not about being strong or not.”

In aspects like this, Chayeon and Arena didn’t quite see eye to eye.

To Chayeon, demons were simply a species that posed a threat to her, natural enemies, so to speak.

Best avoided if possible.

Conversely, to Arena, demons were enemies that needed to be actively hunted down.

“If it were me, I’d do this one!”

“Yeah, when you get to A rank, you do plenty of them.”

“Eek! Are you looking down on me because I’m C rank now!?”

“No, that’s not looking down.”

Leaving Arena stomping her feet, she calmly looked over the other A-rank assignments.

She wanted to take it easy doing something like volunteer work, but all A-rank assignments seemed dangerous, involving criminal investigations or demons doing something.

Chayeon, standing on tiptoes to look higher up, caught sight of something in a corner.

“Nngh…!”

Wanting a closer look, she stood on tiptoe and reached out, but it was slightly too short.

Why did they stick it up so high?

“Arena, get that down for me.”

She decided to use Arena, who happened to be right beside her.

Pointing upwards with her finger, Chayeon turned her head towards Arena.

Arena, who was about 15cm taller than Chayeon, easily peeled off the paper and handed it to Chayeon.

As she took it, she glanced over and saw Arena’s eyes dazedly relaxed for some reason, just like the expression when she sometimes fed stray cats, but decided not to mind it.

Arena being strange wasn’t a one-day or two-day affair.

“Hmm.”

Rift Sealing Escort.

Difficulty between B Rank and A Rank.

Rift size: Very small.

Looks decent.

Rift sealing literally meant closing the rifts, the passages demons used to enter.

Their size varied depending on the demons passing through, and dozens appeared daily, but the vast majority were tiny, barely allowing lowest-level demons through.

Even if lowest-level demons appeared, their impact on the human world was minimal.

Although numerous rifts weren’t a threat, they couldn’t just be left alone, so specialists existed to handle them.

Escorting these specialists was the main task of this assignment.

Though called an escort for formality, it was practically a field trip.

“This one looks okay.”

“Rift Sealing Escort? Well, it might be good to try it at least once.”

Not just once, she wanted to keep doing only things like this from now on.

The location was an old, unused large church.

It was ironic that a rift would appear inside a church.

Recruitment: 5 people.

The pay—students called it compensation—was low, but she had no desire to earn big money.

Everything was fine.

If there was just one thing bothering her,

‘Would Baekgumiho possibly apply for this assignment?’

It was this part.

There hadn’t been any particular contact yet, but every time they even brushed past each other, Heukgu freaked out.

Ever since Jin Sira transferred into the same class, Heukgu wouldn’t even speak outside the dormitory.

Was he really planning to catch Baekgumiho while being this scared?

Absurd.

How about it?

Chayeon pondered some more.

She needed to be careful.

If by any chance they ended up in the same assignment, it would be nothing short of a disaster.

Though it felt more like a disaster for Heukgu than for Chayeon.

Speak of the devil, Chayeon turned her head, and shimmering silver hair entered the edge of her vision.

Quite far from this bulletin board, Sira was fidgeting and loitering.

In front of her hung another bulletin board, different from this one.

Compared to where Chayeon was, an incomparably larger number of papers were plastered densely on it.

Ah, I see.

The thought finally struck her.

Jin Sira hadn’t participated in the ranking match. Like Arena, she transferred in afterwards.

Meaning, her rank was C.

Chilshinwi or not, being C rank meant she had to do C-rank assignments.

‘What, I worried for nothing.’

Then there was nothing more to consider.

There was no need to hesitate.

They shouldn’t have crossed paths.

But,

“Ah uh…, I’m J-Jin Sira! I-I’ll do my best not to cause any t-trouble!”

As she bowed her head, her waterfall-like silver hair flowed down her cheeks.

Her restless demeanor made even the onlookers uncomfortable.

Why on earth was this woman here?

‘Hey, how did this happen?’
<<…….>>

There was no reply, but somehow she felt like she heard a desperate cry of <<Don’t talk to me!>>.

This spineless coward.

“Ah, not at all. It’s an honor for us to be with Sira-nim!”

“Indeed, indeed!”

“Plus, even Bulyeo, ah, no, Lady Chayeon! I’m happy to be part of such a wonderful party…”

TL Note: “Bulyeo” is likely short for “Bul-al Yeowang” (불알 여왕), meaning “Testicle Queen” or “Ball Queen,” a crude nickname Chayeon received after the match with Ju Jiho.

The three who ended up joining kept nodding their heads and eagerly approached.

Two guys and one girl. Including Chayeon and Sira, the party consisted of two guys and three girls in total.

Anyway, what’s Bulyeo? Did she get some kind of nickname like ‘foxy lady’?

TL Note: “Bulyeo” sounds similar to “Bulyeou” (불여우), meaning vixen or foxy lady.

A somewhat unsettling word came up first, but Chayeon decided to let it slide.

She never dreamed that others were calling her the Ball Queen.

“Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Kim Daegeom. My ability enhances physical strength, and my main weapon is a greatsword.”

“This humble one is called Go Onan. My weapon is this soccer ball. Despite its appearance, it’s quite a lethal weapon.”

“Ah! I’m Iat! My weapon is a whip, and I can use a little psychokinesis!”
TL Note: Kim Daegeom literally means Kim Greatsword. Go Onan  sounds like Conan, and his weapon is a soccer ball, referencing Detective Conan’s iconic gadget. Iat is an onomatopoeia often associated with martial arts or exertion, fitting for a whip user.

The feeling that there’s some kind of intention to make the names easy to remember must just be my imagination, right?

“I’m Jeon Chayeon. My weapon is a sword. I received a fox spirit. My ability is physical enhancement.”

After Chayeon finished her simple introduction, they boarded the van.
Chatting about various things to get to know each other, she learned that, surprisingly, this party consisted solely of top-tier skilled individuals.

Sira, despite being C rank, was evaluated as ‘the strongest Ineungnyeokja in the world’.

Chayeon, who skipped grades shortly after entering the academy and showed shocking skills in the subsequent ranking match.

These two were obvious, but the other three were also gathered as the most outstanding martial talents from Class A, Class C, and Class D, respectively.

A relatively low-difficulty assignment that even B ranks could apply for.

The pay was also low.

Why were so many skilled people gathered for such an assignment?

Unaware that after Chayeon and Sira applied for this assignment, people had fiercely competed for the remaining spots, it was a natural question for Chayeon.

Baekgumiho right next to her.

In front, members of 「Eungchaa~」 whose cover was ultimately blown despite trying to hide it.

Oblivious to Chayeon feeling like she was sitting on pins and needles, the trio was extremely excited, chattering about this and that.

After that torturous time passed, the van finally entered the grounds of the destination church.