As they walked back to the parking lot.
Lee Yoo-ri stared at the back of Jin Yuha’s head.
"So, Yuna. Don’t worry. Anyway, what you told them was the idea, not the leather outfit itself."
Jin Yuha was stroking Yuna’s head, reassuring her that the crude coats wouldn’t affect their earnings.
’Strange man.’
He had always been a mystery, but now his strangeness had reached a new level.
’Haa, how much am I taking...?’
He should have taken his rightful share, but now he was giving it all away to the other party mbers at his unilateral request.
He didn’t have to and could take everything for himself.
’But he even brought in Yoon-seo and So-yeon to make sure I got sothing...’
It was clear that Jin Yuha had joined the dungeon raid because he needed money, but now he seed desperate to give it all away!
’Suspicious... What’s with that skill, anyway...!’
He could take down a Blood Goblin with a single strike.
The level of that skill belonged in B-grade or C-grade gates, not E-grade.
Suddenly, she rembered sothing Go Yoon-seo had said earlier.
.
.
.
On their way out of the dungeon.
After the nagging session was over.
Go Yoon-seo and Lee Yoo-ri shared their experiences in the unknown area.
"Ah, right, Soup. I have sothing to ask you—! Kek! Ack! Mo, don’t choke ! Ouch!"
"Go Yoon-seo, you keep calling Soup, so Jin Yuha is calling Soup too!"
Go Yoon-seo turned her head away, looking surprised.
"Huh? Isn’t that what I was about to ask you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, after you ran off in the unknown area, Jin Yuha drew his sword to rescue you..."
"Yeah, I know. Jin Yuha saved ."
"But at first, I told him not to interfere. I thought it wasn’t right to sacrifice him for our party’s affairs."
"I understand."
Lee Yoo-ri nodded. It made sense. She had thought the sa thing while facing the goblins.
It was unfair to involve soone who had just co to make money.
"Then Jin Yuha got really angry and swung his sword—! A goblin far away, swish~ The tree behind it, boom~"
"Get to the point."
"Kheum! Anyway, he suddenly revealed his hidden skills and lowered his voice."
Go Yoon-seo turned her head away, her eyes and voice lowered.
He was nothing like Jin Yuha.
"I’m sorry, but Lee Yoo-ri has been Soup to for a long ti."
"... Yes? He did? Jin Yuha?"
"Yes, so I wanted to ask you. Did you know him before?"
No way.
In her twenty years of life, she had never t a man her age.
Especially not one as dazzling as he was, straight out of a comic book.
Lee Yoo-ri shook her head, and Go Yoon-seo spoke in a hushed tone.
"Soup, do you think... maybe he likes you? He’s always been watching you from behind..."
.
.
.
Flush.
Her face turned red.
At the ti, Lee Yoo-ri had dismissed it as ’no way, a guy like that wouldn’t be interested in an ordinary girl like ,’ but...
Now, his suspicious behavior and kindness made sense.
’As soon as I was in danger, he ca to rescue alone...’
To be honest, she felt a little embarrassed about being rescued by a man, but that didn’t diminish her gratitude.
’If he really needed money, he wouldn’t have given up his share of the earnings... He was trying to make sure I got sothing.’
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. A flash of insight.
’Could it be that Jin Yuha knew about the impending gate explosion in Carl’s Forest Gate in advance...?’
According to Go Yoon-seo, Jin Yuha had been watching her for a long ti.
It made sense, given that he had such incredible skills but had claid to need money.
’But he’s always been watching from behind. Even I didn’t know.’
She didn’t feel bad about it. If the genders were reversed, it would have been creepy, but since he was such an incredibly skilled and handso man...
’It just feels surreal...’
A scenario ford in Lee Yoo-ri’s head.
Jin Yuha, who has the body of a man, overca the limitations of his gender and led the life of a hunter with excellent skills.
But he lacked the courage to approach the girl he liked.
In other words, he couldn’t bring himself to talk to her directly, so he just watched her from a distance.
Then, he obtained information.
Lee Yoo-ri was going to the E-grade gate, Carl’s Forest.
There was a possibility of a gate explosion there.
’So, despite his incredible skills, he made up the ridiculous excuse of needing money...!’
All the puzzle pieces fell into place in her mind.
’In the end, he realized he had to step in himself, so he revealed his identity.’
Shiver.
Goosebumps spread across her body.
Gratitude for him watching over her and saving her when she was in danger and the conflicting emotions of not being able to accept his feelings made her heart flutter.
Ugh. The emotions welled up inside her, but...
Lee Yoo-ri swallowed it down, forcing herself to take it lightly.
If she took it too seriously, she would have to face reality.
So, she decided to take it lightly, just accepting the surface aning.
That Jin Yuha liked her.
And soday, if he was in danger, she would risk her life to save him.
Whoosh.
Lee Yoo-ri took a deep breath and chuckled.
’Haa, Jin Yuha. You like , huh? And you’ve been teasing this whole ti?’
As she was lost in thought.
"Team Leader. Team Leader. Team Leader!!"
"Huh...!?"
She snapped out of her reverie to find Choi So-yeon waving her hand in front of her face.
"Are you feeling unwell? Are you experiencing any after-effects from the gate?"
She had been so deep in thought that she hadn’t realized they had already arrived at the parking lot.
"Soup. We’re done for today!"
The party mbers surrounded Lee Yoo-ri, waiting for the dismissal order.
Among them was Jin Yuha.
She felt a little sad that they would be parting ways.
’Now that I know why he acted the way he did...’
Of course, she would see him again at the Academy, but she wanted to get to know him better.
"Hmm..."
Lee Yoo-ri looked at him sideways and said sothing she wouldn’t normally say.
"First of all, everyone worked really hard today. Now you can all go ho, but..."
Cough, cough.
Lee Yoo-ri coughed awkwardly.
"Would anyone like to join for a drink? It’s on today."
"Soup! Are we having a party!?"
Go Yoon-seo’s face lit up at the ntion of drinking.
"Yay! Our Soup is treating us to a party! Let’s go! I want to go!"
"I’d love to. I also wanted to have a drink with you before you go to the Academy."
Yoon-seo and So-yeon nodded in agreent.
And Jin Yuha...
She glanced at him and saw him nodding casually.
"Sure, Team Leader. Where are we going?"
Hmm... She hesitated here.
She didn’t know any drinking places, to be honest.
Despite being an adult for a few years now, she had never tasted alcohol.
So, she hesitated for a mont, and Jin Yuha spoke up.
"It’s already dinnerti, so how about we go for so ’soup’? We can have a shot of soju as a side dish."
Jin Yuha suggested it with a slight lift of his lips.
"...soup?"
"Yes, soup."
"..."
He was definitely teasing her.
Who calls ’Soup’ ’Soup’?
’Why do you keep teasing ! If you like , just be nice to ...!’
Suddenly, a surge of anger rose within her, but...
If he was thod of trying to be nice to her, it was also cute in its own way.
Maybe this distance was just right.
But she didn’t like being on the receiving end of his teasing all the ti.
’Okay. This is... a chance to pay him back for all the teasing.’
Jin Yuha was just joking about wanting to eat soup, but she had heard sowhere that soup was ’the number one food that n don’t like to eat.’
Because the chili powder and perilla seeds get stuck between their teeth.
How could anyone dislike Soup? It was hard to understand, but...
Yes, it would be fun to take this incredibly handso man, who looked like he only ate steak, to a shabby soup restaurant.
Then she could see him flustered and dismayed.
"Hmm... Sure, let’s go. To eat soup."
Lee Yoo-ri clenched her teeth and spoke.
.
.
.
A shabby sign, smoke rising from a large pot, an old soup restaurant.
This was a place Lee Yoo-ri rarely visited, only when she had a good haul from a dungeon.
’I bet you didn’t expect to bring you here.’
Lee Yoo-ri glanced at Jin Yuha as he got off the truck.
If he looked displeased, she would suggest going sowhere else.
"Wow! This place looks great! It’s looks like a really good restaurant, and it’s cheap too!"
But Jin Yuha imdiately lit up and said, "Let’s go in!"
’...Do you really like soup?’
No, she couldn’t be sure until she saw him eat.
Jin Yuha was a man who expressed his affection through teasing.
He might be doing this just to tease her.
"So, are we really going in...?"
She asked, but Jin Yuha didn’t listen and walked right in.
Instead, he stuck his head out the door and said, "What are you waiting for? Co on in!"
Lee Yoo-ri and the party mbers exchanged awkward glances and entered the Soup restaurant.
.
.
.
We sat around an old wooden table.
Soon, five bowls of soup, radish kimchi, and soju were served.
And Jin Yuha...
Slurp!
He eagerly scooped up the soup with his spoon.
But it seed like soup wasn’t to his taste after all.
He frowned.
’I knew it.’
It was obviously an act to tease her.
’Ahhh, why are you so serious about teasing ? Now that we’ve ordered, we can’t just leave...!’
But Jin Yuha scooped up another spoonful and seed to realize sothing.
Then he reached for the radish kimchi.
He poured the radish kimchi broth into his soup.
"Kkeu—! This place is really good!"
’...He really likes soup.’
There was no way he was acting now.
She watched him curiously for a mont, and...
Jin Yuha looked at Lee Yoo-ri.
"Ah, I feel bad just eating this by myself. Team Leader, try this."
"...Eh?"
Slurp!
He poured the radish kimchi broth into Lee Yoo-ri’s Soup without giving her a chance to refuse.
"Ah, you have to eat it like this for the real flavor to co out."
Lee Yoo-ri stared at the soup in front of her, her mouth hanging open.
The soup had been completely stained red by the radish kimchi broth.
’This crazy man!!!’
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