3 – Can’t You At Least Look at What You Can’t See
“Did you leave Jyeongin behind in the previous world? Daehyeop doesn’t open his heart to me like this, and I suffer every day because of it. But I’ll wait forever. I never learned how to hide my feelings like other women.”
The story that Yeonhwa told in the beginning, about liking me for no reason, suddenly came to mind. The question about whether she left Jyeongin behind. And thinking about Seol Yujung, whom he had been secretly in love with for over three years.
But he couldn’t call it love, not at all. It was just a pathetic one-sided crush, never once confessed.
“Why did Yeonhwa like me so much when I was so unreliable?”
Even after seeing his old crush from ten years ago, Jihoon thought of Yeonhwa without any sentiment, as if it were natural.
“Oh… damn it.”
As Jihoon’s thoughts were shattered, his consciousness returned in an instant.
From Noble mtl dot com
The place where Seol Yujung was sitting and the bookshelf where Jihoon was picking books were quite far apart.
However, her low voice had drilled precisely into Jihoon’s ears.
“…?”
Was it because they had just made eye contact that she cursed at him?
Ten years later, Jihun, who has returned to reality, is struggling to adapt to others who look at his very existence with disgust. This is because he has spent a long time only interacting with Yeonhwa, who always loved him unconditionally, and the hermits who couldn’t hide their reverence for him. Jihun, who had been frozen for a moment, walks towards the seat where Seol Yoojeong is sitting.
“Hey, what’s up? Why are you going to Yoojeong again, you loser? Why can’t you understand what I’m saying-“
The short-haired girl who was talking next to him a while ago grabs Jihun’s arm as he walks over and stops in her tracks.
A strong man’s physique can be felt from his arm that she holds on to.
Jihun’s eyes casually looking down at her hand holding his arm.
“Was she always this tall…?”
As his eyes casually move from her hand, his mouth opens.
“–Don’t touch me.”
Confused by his strange atmosphere, she couldn’t properly understand what he was saying in front of her.
“…Huh? W-what did you say?”
“I told you not to touch me recklessly.”
This time, the girl finally understood Jihun’s words and quickly removes her hand from his arm.
In truth, Jihun, who was filled with the label of being the representative failure of the academy, an E-class hunter of the 11th class, was far from being a frightening existence.
Due to the insignificance of physical differences between men and women in front of hunter abilities, the academy students who knew his pathetic stats all thought of him as a joke.
‘But… what is this… Why do I feel so overwhelmed?’
“What’s your name?”
“Kim… Sunhui.”
“Yeah, Yoojeong’s friend, Sunhui. It’s dangerous to touch someone without permission. In some… places, even a slight bumping of shoulders in a restaurant can lead to a life-or-death situation.”
What nonsense is this… Sunhui, who couldn’t understand a word Jihun was saying, leaves him behind and Jihun walks towards Yoojeong again.
“Yoojeong… Seol Yoojeong, right? Long time no see, glad to see you!”
Suddenly approaching and greeting Yoojeong with a bright smile, Jihun faces her with a chilling expression.
“What do you mean long time no see? I saw you yesterday and the day before… We keep running into each other too often.”
Her words weren’t particularly aggressive, but the underlying meaning was enough to read her disgust.
“Oh right, why do I keep forgetting. I really… But why is she so prickly?”
“Sorry, sorry, I’ve been a bit absent-minded lately. Anyway, is there something wrong?”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Just the way your mouth shaped like you were cursing as soon as our eyes met. Did I do something wrong?”
Asking so straightforwardly? Of course, Yoojeong cursed at Jihun because she felt bad when she came across him.
However, how many people could honestly answer when someone questions them with such a steel face?
“Uh… no, I mean, it’s not about you.”
“Is that so? I knew it. I haven’t done anything wrong enough to deserve you scolding me just for making eye contact.”
Yu-jung stared at Ji-hoon, who kept making strange remarks.
Even before, Yu-jung had always distanced herself from Ji-hoon due to his peculiar gloominess.
***
Yu-jung was well aware, just as naturally, that Ji-hoon had liked her since high school.
He never made it obvious or confessed, but he often greeted her cautiously or acted like a clumsy fool when he was flustered, and his gaze alone revealed his feelings.
With her large irises and a delicate nose bridge, Yu-jung, who had a beautiful face, was popular from a young age. As she matured and her body became more feminine, the number of men showing interest in her increased.
Therefore, it was easy for Yu-jung to tell when someone liked her, as long as they weren’t complete outcasts.
When Yu-jung’s friends learned that Ji-hoon had a crush on her, they would tease her intentionally or in jest.
“Yu-jung, isn’t it about time you acknowledge Ji-hoon’s feelings? hahahahaha.”
“Yu-jung! If he’s blushing like that when he greets you, haven’t you noticed? hahahahaha.”
Adolescence. Yu-jung, sensitive and emotional, disliked her friends’ teasing. She didn’t like being associated with Ji-hoon, who was poor and had no particular talents.
Of course, Yu-jung knew that Ji-hoon had done nothing wrong apart from liking her. He had never inconvenienced her with awkward confessions or annoyingly pursued her.
However, for a young female student, reputation among friends was more important than anything else. At some point, Yu-jung began to ignore Ji-hoon whenever he appeared, as if signaling to those around her that she didn’t care.
After all, it didn’t matter to her whether Ji-hoon liked her or not, and if she did this, her friends would tease her less.
***
“If something’s bothering you, try eating pizza and cola. It’ll improve your mood. I know a great pizza place.”
What kind of nonsense is this? Is he trying to make a complete fool of himself now? Yu-jung retorted.
“What? Why would I eat pizza with you?”
In response to Yu-jung’s sharp words, Ji-hoon seemed somewhat flustered and stepped back lightly, clapping his hands.
“No, no. I didn’t mean we should eat together. I was just going to tell you about a great pizza place. I mean, I wouldn’t eat pizza with anyone else but you. It would make me feel like I’m doing something wrong…”
Yu-jung’s brow furrowed deeply. What on earth is this guy blabbering about all of a sudden?
Ji-hoon couldn’t help but think that while other girls may not know, eating pizza with Yu-jung, his unrequited love from another world, would make him feel like he was committing a sin.
Ji-hoon thought that he should leave quickly before the conversation continued.
“Read the book diligently, goodbye.”
“What…?”
“Seon-hwa, goodbye to you too.”
“Seon-hee… it’s Seon-hee.”
Seeing Ji-hoon suddenly leave, Seon-hee picks up a book and goes to Yu-jeong.
“Yu-jeong, isn’t something strange about him?”
“Huh?… What…?”
“No, when he held my arm… his muscles… Oh, and his height… was he always this tall?”
Even without that, Yu-jeong felt that Ji-hoon seemed much taller for some reason.
“Oh, and I heard from the Class 11 students who went on the E-rank gate expedition earlier… he killed a King Goblin with one blow?”
“What? That’s nonsense. Kang Ji-hoon? Not someone else but Kang Ji-hoon? Maybe they misheard something…”
“Really? It seemed like he was in a hurry since he came back from the Class 11 mission. We should ask him later.”
As they continued their conversation, Seol Yu-jeong, who was unfolding the book again, did not realize that her gaze kept going towards the direction where Ji-hoon had left.
***
CEO’s Office
“No, Professor Jin. There isn’t anybody who doesn’t know that you’re capable… but still, isn’t this report written too carelessly?”
After completing the E-rank gate expedition and writing a related report, Jin Seok-hyun, who visited the CEO’s office, is in big trouble.
“Kang Ji-hoon… this student. Did he really become so memorable that even I have to remember his name? Wasn’t he a failing student all year?”
“Yes… that’s right.”
Professor Jin Seok-hyun’s expression became even more distorted, and CEO Song Yu-kyung’s face was filled with dissatisfaction.
“No matter how it’s an E-rank gate, for one Class 11 student to take down a boss monster in one blow, when did our academy’s level rise like this?”
Listening to CEO Song’s reprimand, Jin Seok-hyun felt very unfair, but he could understand her.
If he hadn’t seen it himself, he wouldn’t have believed it either…
“The contents of the report were not written incorrectly or carelessly. It is the truth.”
“No, Professor Jin–“
“The quarterly evaluation will be held next month. CEO, you should also come and observe. Our academy will probably become quite noisy.”
After finishing his words, Jin Seok-hyun bows his head as a gesture of respect and promptly opens the CEO’s office door and leaves.
“Kang Ji-hoon… Kang Ji-hoon… Professor Jin is not the kind of person who speaks like that…”
As the image of a small house comes to Song Yu-kyung’s mind, an indescribable anticipation surrounds her.
The mtl is rough