#99. Still, don’t smoke.
I feel inferior.
It’s a very distant word for me.
I’ve never felt envious of anyone in my life, and I’ve never felt inferior to myself.
But he was the only man who gave me such a disgrace.
Choi Inwook.
When he attended the academy, I had no choice but to compete with him for the senior position.
The man who was rumored to be Yoon Ha-rin’s lover was really strong.
I’d be terrified if I was so engrossed in watching his graduation evaluation video that I wasn’t even interested in being a man.
A sword that seems to cut the sky in half.
Brilliant black magic that dazzles.
I knew it as soon as I saw it.
The talent of this man is one step above me.
Of course, I had no intention of showing any hostility or envy to him.
He and he. I am myself.
It was enough for each to go their own way.
Until that time, I really didn’t know that he would be my husband.
I didn’t even know that I was going to get a divorce.
When I saw Lee Ji-eun showing a technique similar to Choi In-wook’s technique I saw in the graduation evaluation video, I unintentionally failed to control my strength.
When I wondered if she had done too much, my magic had already swallowed her.
Fortunately for her, Choi In-wook, who was watching from her side, seemed to have offset her attack to some extent for her on behalf of her me.
“It’s Sihwa.”
…Always a horsetail that goes down whenever something scolds me.
Choi In-wook supported Lee Ji-eun with a worried expression.
I felt like he was on her side, so somehow I didn’t feel very good, but at first I thought I was too harsh, so I went in the direction of the dust.
Kolokkolok.
Lee Ji-eun’s sword flew away and lay in the distance, and she grabbed her stomach with her distressed face.
“…Sorry.”
I was not so narrow-minded as to not apologize for doing this to a young child.
“Master.”
Unable to overcome her pain, Lee Ji-eun, who was lying on the floor, looked up at her sky with a blank expression.
“Uh. Are you in a lot of pain?”
Choi In-wook smiled at her like that.
“It hurts. It really hurts.”
Still, it was clear that Lee Ji-eun was at the top among hunters her age.
I agreed that he was a talented person who could be nurtured diligently with an eye on him, who had never made a disciple.
Perhaps if she had met us in her previous life, we might not have known that we would have been in a tight battle for the ranks.
“Can it happen?”
At Choi In-wook’s question, she shook her head.
“No. I think it should be like this.”
With the bandage on the window again, I stood next to Choi In-wook.
“So, are you thinking of calling me your sister now?”
If you felt this difference in power, you wouldn’t be able to say it any more.
But Lee Ji-eun’s answer succeeded in making me mad again.
“Yes. Aunt.”
… Choi In-wook ripped off me as I tried to hold him back one more time.
* *
“So why didn’t you come last night? Director.”
Deforme failure after class.
I started nagging the manager who was hiding under the blanket.
“I… Inuk-ah. My brother was a little busy. I had some paperwork to do, but it ended late.”
“…Started at 7pm?”
Most of the places where people usually see business processes are well aware that 5 o’clock is the time to leave work.
“Hey. When you’re in 3rd grade, you’ll understand everything I’m saying. It’s really not that common.”
Look at this. Mr. Oh Tae-soo
When I was in 3rd grade, I served as the student council president.
There were few people who were more knowledgeable about the operating system of the academy than me.
I took a deep breath at his breaking lies.
“If I come out like this one more time, I won’t teach you.”
“Ah… I’m so petty because something really happened.”
I wanted to grind a single chestnut, but the minimum respect for the elders must be kept.
“Choi Inwook. Just don’t be shy and come here and draw a picture.”
Jenna, who was only drawing pictures on the other side of the chair without saying anything, stretched out.
“I’ll be there soon. Let’s talk for a moment.”
“Tae-soo oppa. It’s a gold spoon anyway, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
…This is the first I’ve heard of it.
“Oh. Hana. Why are you talking nonsense again?”
“I think Choi In-wook tried to help because he looked so pathetic.”
I couldn’t find anything to deny about her accurate prediction.
“But the manager. Are you really a gold spoon?”
When I asked him with a surprised expression, it was Jena, not the person who gave the answer.
“Tae-soo’s father runs a big business. A restaurant franchise.”
It was only then that I realized why he was living so peacefully every day.
Of course, I can’t compare her to Harin, but when I saw Jena talking like that, I thought she was living a good life.
“So, don’t be foolish to say that you want to save sentient beings, and come and sit down.”
Easy profit
Jenna pulled back the chair next to her.
After hearing about the manager’s family affairs, I felt a little embarrassed, so I went and sat down next to Jena.
“…I haven’t seen your face often these days.”
Jena opened her mouth with her gaze still fixed on the drawing paper.
“Ah… I was busy training…”
In fact, since I made up my mind to properly restore the form of my previous life, the frequency of drawing calmly in the poor room has drastically decreased.
“Then why don’t you stay by my side even for a time like this?”
Her light brown short hair covered her expression like a curtain.
I wanted to see your face.
She slowly reached out and tried to unveil the veil of her hair…
“Hey! Ban your love!”
My arms stopped in mid-air at Taesu-hyung’s loud voice.
The finger, which had lost its place to go, quietly returned to my knee again.
“…We are not dating.”
I responded to the manager’s words with an awkward tone.
Should I say I’m dating…?
To use such an expression, the relationship between the two of us had a strange current.
I have to say it feels like an old couple reunited.
Actually, it’s not like we’ve actually signed a sign for a reunion.
It was vague. Nothing has been confirmed, but that she and I have feelings for each other has been confirmed in the last trip.
“…I crave a cigarette. Let’s go to the rooftop. Choi In-wook.”
She stood up from her seat, unable to move despite the manager’s words.
“Miss… The room smells like cigarettes. Yena.”
As a non-smoker, the manager expressed displeasure at her remarks.
“You can spray deodorant. Anyway, I bought it because of what I had with it last time.”
“Hey. You are here for a while, but I live here.”
“Ugh. Proud Boast.”
Jena raised her arm to the side of her and tapped him in the back.
“Ha… What are these days?”
Leaving behind the manager’s murmur, we went up the stairs to the roof as it was.
When I opened the door and went out, a reddish sunset left shadows all over the ridge.
“…Do you want to?”
“I haven’t asked before, but when did you start smoking?”
I didn’t smoke, at least when I first met her in her countryside.
“This has been since high school.”
“You know it’s bad for your health.”
I tried to take the pack of cigarettes in her hand.
“You smoked it too. Why are you here?”
She stretched her arm out to the other side as if she didn’t want to hand it over to me.
“You took care of my body too. Can’t I worry?
When I met her, she asked me to take care of my body whenever I was sick.
“I will smoke a little and then quit. I don’t think I talked often, but I was a little depressed at this time.”
Tak Tak.
She took out her lighter and lit it, and soon white smoke came out of her mouth.
If it were 20-year-old Choi In-wook, he would have been very squeamish because he was obviously not immune to cigarettes.
When I reached out to her Jena, she naturally put one in my hand.
Perfect hand to block the wind.
I felt it before, but it was not a day or two at a glance.
“…This is what I used to smoke.”
Looking at the pack of cigarettes, he smiled bitterly.
“I know.”
The two of us leaned side by side in front of the railing and looked at the sunset without saying anything for a while.
“…I am thinking about not living as a hunter at all in this life.”
“…Why?”
I knew she quit her job as a hunter in her mid-late 20s, but Jena still wouldn’t tell me why.
“After thinking about the past. I don’t really want to.”
Smoke is scattered in the wind.
I nodded, not wanting to bring up the difficult story.
“Yeah… it’s your complete choice. Still, I want to quit smoking.”
Yena, who smiled as if my worries were funny, said as she threw the butts in her trash.
“…We won’t have children anyway. It’s okay.”
“…But don’t smoke.”
The information the Great Spirit gave me was too insufficient to disclose to my ex-wives except for Harin, who had no choice but to find out.
I didn’t want to break this brief peace yet.