EP.30
“Hmm~~”
Lee Sooah was eating French fries, almost humming a tune.
“Um, is there something you wanted to say to me?”
“Oh. No?”
“Then do you usually eat with other team members like this?”
“Yes, often!”
It felt like she was just fibbing.
The manager had said this for sure.
“Sooah? She usually eats alone. She hates getting photographed while eating with other people nearby. And since she’s the boss, she thinks it would be uncomfortable if her meal time overlaps with work, so she avoids it.”
“She thinks of lunchtime as a break. When it’s time to rest, she wants to take a break, not eat with her boss as if it’s just an extension of work, so she’s worried about us instead.”
I recalled her passing comment from earlier.
“Hm. Does she really like me? But that doesn’t seem plausible. I just treated her for the status ailment. But, wait, did I even notice? Why?”
“Doesn’t it feel like she keeps following me around?”
Of course, I had only recently joined the guild, so I wasn’t really aware of how things were usually done.
That meant I couldn’t quite say anything definitive about the situation either.
“This is tasty, right? Isn’t it?”
“Yes…”
I was too focused on observing her to eat properly.
Well, it was understandable since the place was quite spacious, accommodating about 100 people, and it was very crowded.
Yet, all those people were whispering and glancing our way.
In a situation like this, there was no way I’d be able to eat.
*
“Sigh… what can I say… it feels strange…”
Sooah was completely distracted.
While munching on the French fries, she was lost in thought to the point where she didn’t notice anyone else around her.
“Why do I feel good? It’s strange. I feel great whenever I’m near Jihoon. Why…?”
“I’m feeling unbelievably happy right now. I’ve never felt this thrill in my life. It’s strange. Strange. Is the French fry really that delicious?”
She tilted her head from time to time.
But no matter how much she thought, she couldn’t find an answer.
“Wow. Is that Lee Sooah? Who’s that guy in front of her? Is he her boyfriend?”
“Hey, are you crazy? Do you really think Lee Sooah would come to a place like this in broad daylight with her boyfriend?”
“Oh, good point. Unless she lost her mind suddenly, there’s no way that would happen.”
“She’s probably just with one of her guild members.”
“Then why is she only out with him? Their guild is pretty big, right?”
“Who knows? Maybe they’re just seeing each other.”
I could hear whispers directed toward me.
But I didn’t catch any of it.
“Haah… I feel so good… it feels like my body is melting away…”
It was a weird feeling with no identifiable cause, but I decided to enjoy the moment.
*
“What’s going on…”
Sooah seemed to be getting more and more dazed.
“Did this place lace their French fries with something…?”
Nervously picking up a fry only to set it back down, I realized that Sooah was giving off a completely dual nature in my eyes.
“Was that bipolar disorder label actually accurate?”
The status window popped into my mind.
She was clearly a meticulous, cold, and composed professional urban woman.
And on the other side, she was warm, affectionate, and seemed like a woman who would cling to men.
It was a bit confusing.
“Things are odd. Why is she acting like this?”
It seemed her expression transformed to one of intrigue.
“Is her status acting up again…?”
I opened the status window to check.
But there was nothing unusual.
I had treated everything this morning.
“Uh?”
I spoke involuntarily.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
Sooah turned her surprised gaze toward me.
“Oh. It’s nothing. Sorry. Hehe. This place is great, right? Wow, it’s tasty enough to make a sound! Haha…”
I hastily covered it up with chatter.
Then, I returned my focus to the status window.
There was a phrase displayed that I had never seen before.
Since it was tucked away in a corner, I must have just overlooked it…
[If you proceed with point recovery, you may obtain part of the counterpart’s traits.]
“What’s this?”
It was a phrase that completely bewildered me.
So, parsed by the sentence itself, it seemed like if I gave points to Chae Suhyeon and then recovered them, I would be able to use her traits.
“Hmm? Chae Suhyeon’s traits? Succubus?”
I didn’t precisely know what Chae Suhyeon’s traits were.
I had just learned about them from Hyungseok a while ago.
Yet, according to the information in the status window I was looking at, it seemed I could obtain those traits as well.
“Um…”
Naturally, I could only be left in a daze, staring fixedly at the status window.
*
“Hehe… it’s delicious…”
Sooah was gazing softly at Baek Jihoon while munching away delightfully.
Having nearly finished eating, she began picking at her food more slowly now.
She didn’t want to end it quickly.
Once she finished eating, she’d have to return immediately.
For some inexplicable reason, she didn’t want that.
It felt strange.
She wished only for this moment to last.
“Sooah, you were talking about Baek Jihoon and the guild earlier.”
“Ah, just be quiet for a bit.”
Lee Sooah was preoccupied, battling the voice within her head.
In the midst of her thoughts, Baek Jihoon suddenly spoke up.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong? Why?”
He seemed to have been looking at the status window but wore a perplexed expression, as if something was off.
“Hmm? Is something up?”
Without realizing it, she spoke out loud.
Though she said it was nothing, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was staring at the status window, lost in thought.
“What is it? By the way, I didn’t ask about Baek Jihoon Hunter’s traits.”
A twinge of regret struck her.
*
“So, does that mean I’m becoming an Incubus?”
If the explanation was accurate, it implied she would become an Incubus.
“What the hell is this?”
“Um, Baek Jihoon Hunter.”
Sooah’s gentle voice broke through.
“Oh, yes.”
Startled from her reverie while staring at the status window, she snapped back to attention.
“Um, what are Baek Jihoon Hunter’s traits? I realized I never asked properly. We’re in the same guild, the same team, right? I think I should know more about you. Hehe.”
She flashed a bright smile.
“Ah. I’m… Incubus… No, I…”
Her unintended slip of the tongue escaped before she could stop it, prompting her to correct herself.
“My trait is being able to see others’ status windows and invest in them.”
She stated it clearly.
Having accepted that no one would believe her anyway, she felt unreserved about it. Plus, it didn’t seem like something she needed to hide.
“Huh? Hehe. You’re quite the jokester.”
As expected, Lee Sooah blushed slightly, clearly thinking she was joking.
After laughing for a while, she resumed the conversation.
“So, your trait is an Incubus?”
She tilted her head slightly as she asked.
“No, damn it. That was a mistake,” he thought, thoroughly flustered.
“No, no. That’s absolutely not the case. I just misspoke while I was distracted. Please don’t misunderstand. It’s not true. Not at all.”
He expressed himself with wide gestures, clearly in distress.
However, it seemed Sooah hardly heard what he said next.
It appeared she only retained the initial part where he said he was an Incubus.
“Please don’t misunderstand! I’m not an Incubus! I’m not that kind of person! Absolutely not! Really!”
“Damn it. Chae Suhyeon isn’t helping at all. I’m being bewitched by that Succubus over this mess.”
The atmosphere felt off.
*
“An Incubus…”
Lee Sooah’s mind spiraled as she processed the words that had just come out of Baek Jihoon’s mouth.
“Baek Jihoon Hunter is an Incubus? Huh? What… Was he joking, or is he serious? What’s going on?”
She recalled having read Baek Jihoon’s admission file not long ago.
The traits section had been blank.
Typically, that meant either the trait was something people didn’t want to brag about or something they wished to hide.
Naturally, she assumed it wouldn’t be something he’d boast about…
“Was it something he wanted to keep hidden? Is his trait truly an Incubus?”
“But he doesn’t look the part…?”
To her, Baek Jihoon didn’t seem the type to seduce or charm women.
“What is this…? He must be joking, right? There’s no way Baek Jihoon Hunter is an Incubus.”
Confusion mixed with unease as she grappled with the absurdity.
Her face flushed red, and she shook her hands in disbelief.
“That’s suspicious…”
Lee Sooah’s eyes sharpened as she tried to analyze the situation.
*
“Um, why don’t we go in separately?”
As they awkwardly resolved the situation, they aimed to head back.
Sooah suggested they take their time eating, a ridiculous proposition.
“Isn’t it true that if we’re even a moment late after lunch, the manager will be mad? She definitely said that.”
“Does that rule not apply to her? Is it double standards?”
“Why? Why must we go in separately?”
“Sigh. It’s just that if we both go in together, our teammates might misinterpret things…”
From the moment they entered the guild building, the gazes from other employees had changed noticeably.
They were all looking at them with expressions that had shifted.
She could sense what they were thinking.
“If this keeps up, they might really misunderstand.”
“Sooah, you go ahead. I’ll join you a bit later.”
Though time was nearly up, she decided to send Sooah in first.
“I don’t want to! Let’s just go together. Why should we go separately?”
“Ugh. Really. Is there no way out of this?”
Sooah was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.
“What excuse can I come up with? Sigh…”
Lost in thought, he stepped into the elevator.
*
To be continued…
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