‘What should I do?’

My legs started shaking before I[1] realized it.

‘S-Should I run…’

It seemed like Mr. Deok-Gu hadn't noticed the strange atmosphere just yet, but as someone who had seen that look before, I knew very well what that meant. Something was off about their conversation because Miss Jung Ha-Yan kept mumbling, which was scaring me. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but she seemed like she was focused on something.

Sub Guild Master Lee Ki-Young was actually busy. He was really busy because of the issue with the neutral nation, and with the Republic getting involved, he had to come up with a different plan. He was so busy that he even gave me a few tasks, but the problem was Jung Ha-Yan, who seemed to have accepted all these.

‘What in the world did he tell her…’

While going out to meet with the sub guild master, she didn’t go out with us, so I didn’t know what happened or what she heard, but based on her expression, Jung Ha-Yan had definitely been scolded for cheating on him.

‘He’s such a hypocrite.’

All of Lindel, the Sacred Democratic Country and the heavens knew that the sub guild master’s relationship with women was complicated, so I wondered how he could say something like that straight to her face. Calling him shameless wouldn’t be enough.

‘It’s all because of that man.’

Their date was suddenly canceled, and when their time together decreased tremendously, it felt like she was putting all the blame on one of the Republic’s Five Tiger Generals. Of course, this was just an assumption of mine. However, I had to pray that she wouldn’t cause any issues while she was in the process of becoming aware of her feelings, which caused me to become sensitive to her every move.

I wanted to stand up, but my legs wouldn’t move. Surprisingly, Mr. Deok-Gu left first.

“Ah, it’s time for my training. Noonim, I’m going to head out… Ahem. I’ll maybe see you tonight… Ahem.”

‘T-That’s it?’

I didn’t know the details, but he definitely believed this was out of his hands.

‘I trusted him…’

I wanted to get up and leave, but my legs and body started to quiver like leaves from a tree. I bit my lips as cold sweat rolled down my body, and I tried my best to look away.

“W-What should I do?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.

“W-W-What?” I stuttered.

“What should I do… What if oppa continues to hate me?” she continued.

I couldn’t tell if she was talking to me or if she was talking to herself.

“So…”

I experienced a similar situation before, but regardless of the answer, I had to get out of here right now. The moment I slapped my legs and moved my body, I felt someone grabbing my hand.

“Kyahhh!”

I screamed as I felt my heart drop, but the surroundings remained quiet.

“W-What do you think, Miss Sora? What do you think I should do?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.

‘Don’t ask me...’

“Heuk… I don’t want oppa to hate me… I-I’m sure he thinks I-I sleep with different men… Heuk,” she added.

‘He’s the one doing that, not you!’

I had no choice but to stop myself from saying that because I didn’t know what would happen if I told her that. I tried to be as courageous as possible, so when I turned my head, I noticed a woman wiping her tears anxiously. I shouldn’t be thinking this, but I started pitying her. I felt bitter because she was showing exactly what would happen when a woman met a bad guy.

‘I should comfort her.’

“As Deok-Gu oppa said, everything will be fine. I’m sure he doesn’t think that way. I think… he said it without thinking, and he’s actually really… busy,” I told her.

“T-The gaze in his eyes seems different from usual. Heuk. He looks like he really doesn’t like me…” she said.

“I’m sure you’re misunderstanding it. W-When I was with him, he talked about you a lot. He said you were nice and that he loved… you every time,” I informed her.

“Really? H-Have you talked to oppa before?” she asked.

“Of… course! Of course, it wasn’t just the two of us! Mr. Deok-Gu was with us, too! That’s right. We definitely weren’t alone together. Hahaha… D-Definitely not,” I stuttered.

“Ahhh, I see,” she commented.

“And whether he said it without thinking or not, isn’t it actually good that h-he said something like that?” I asked.

“W-What’s good about it?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.

It hadn’t been that long since we talked, but my body was already quivering out of nervousness. It was all because I knew that if messed up, it would be the end of me.

‘That was dangerous.’

Telling her that I had been talking to Sub Guild master Lee Ki-Young could cause a misunderstanding.

“What exactly did the sub guild master tell you?” I questioned.

“That he didn’t like me—Hiccup! Talking to someone like him,” she replied.

“That’s a good thing!” I shouted.

“What’s good about that…”

‘Don’t glare at me… please, please…’

“It means… he’s jealous,” I answered.

“Jealous?” she repeated.

“That’s right. Sub Guild Master Lee Ki-Young doesn’t like seeing you talking to other men. I’m sure of it. If he didn’t like you, he wouldn’t have cared about what you did with that man. The fact that he said that means he’s being possessive. It’s actually a good thing,” I explained.

“I-Is that true?! Being possessive?” she asked.

“Yes, of course,” I answered.

“Oppa was being jealous?”

“I’m not sure since I wasn’t there…” I pointed out.

“Oppa was being jealous…” she mumbled.

“That’s right,” I commented.

“Oppa was being jealous!” she shouted.

“Yes!” I yelled.

“He’s being possessive over me!” she shouted again.

“Yes, that’s it!” I said in agreement.

I thought about whether I was saying the right things or not, but I couldn’t find the answer. Right now, I was trying to make her stop crying. I was worried because she seemed really happy, but seeing Jung Ha-Yan’s happy face made it more comfortable for me to breathe.

‘Did I say the right thing?’

The issue was this unknown anxiousness growing on one side of my heart.

‘If…’

If she tried to recreate a similar situation after realizing that the sub guild master was just jealous, he might actually start disliking her. And if she started crying again because of that, she might blame me for it.

‘It’s because of you, Miss S-S-Sora. It’s because of you! Hiccup… I really don’t want to do this, but… it’s all your fault!’

When I imagined Jung Ha-Yan stabbing me with a dagger while saying that, I started thinking that maybe I shouldn’t have done this. My words could lead me to hell, but at the least, I wanted to avoid the blame because she might actually kill me. I survived last time because I got really lucky. Actually, I would rather die than experience that again.

I was actually starting to become happy again recently.

“A-And…” I started.

“What?” Jung Ha-Yan questioned.

“And that person… I’m sure he has bad intentions. Yes, that’s right. Since the sub guild master is good at reading people, he probably caught on to the fact that the man had something else in mind. He didn’t mind it when you previously spoke to other men, right? I’m sure that man had other plans and that’s why Sub Guild Master was annoyed,” I added.

“Ah… I-I see,” Jung Ha-Yan muttered.

“Of course, everything I’m saying may not be the answer, but it’s most likely what he is feeling. Rather than saying that it’s because of you—” I paused.

“I-It’s because of that bad man, right?” she asked.

“Yes…”

“What should I do?” she asked.

“About what?” I questioned.

“I need to prove to oppa that he’s the only one for me and that I don’t have any interest in a bad man like that man,” she answered.

“Is there really a need—”

“Oppa needs to know that I’m not that type of woman. Yes, he has to know,” Jung Ha-Yan interrupted.

“Don’t you think… he already knows?” I asked.

“But he needs to know better. Being jealous and possessive is fine, but… I don’t like oppa looking at me like that. That’s because… he’s the only one for me. I need to prove my innocence and show him that it’s the bad man’s fault,” she explained.

It felt like the atmosphere was getting heavier.

“Yes, it’s not your fault, Miss Jung… Ha-Yan,” I mumbled.

“It’s that bad man’s fault, right?” she questioned.

“If we have to put the fault on someone… then it could be the bad man’s fault…” I said.

“I was only interested in oppa, but he started talking to me, which caused a misunderstanding with oppa. He thinks I’m a strange woman, so of course, it’s that man’s fault. If it weren’t for him, this wouldn’t have happened. It’s his fault that our date got ruined… Our date was actually going really well… We could have eaten together and o-officially become one! Yeah… we got interrupted,” Jung Ha-Yan shouted.

“Well.. that’s…”

“We got interrupted. Yes… and as if that weren’t enough, he wasted our time on something stupid. Think about it. Back then, we were in danger. My precious oppa could have died because of them. Those useless people are dangerous as well,” she continued.

‘T-This isn’t good.’

It was scary how she kept on mumbling to herself, and I kept recalling that horrific moment, which made me feel sick. I was sure that not even a mouse would feel this scared in front of a cat.

“It wasn’t just him. That woman seemed like she liked oppa as well and that big man even punched oppa. Think about it. It’s because of them that oppa became busy. If it weren’t for them, we could have gone out every day to have fun. W-Why did they come to Laios and put my oppa in an uncomfortable situation? T-They should’ve just stayed in the Republic! T-Those idiots! D-Dummies! There are still a lot of places I haven’t visited and things I haven’t done yet… Even Deok-Gu oppa said this trip was my chance! But they ruined it. All of it! They ruined it all!” she yelled.

“P-Please…” I begged.

“I have to get rid of them. I have to kill them,” she continued.

“Save me…” I begged again.

“I have to kill them. I’ll clean them all up. I should have made sure I was even stronger since they’re strong, too…” she mumbled.

“Please… Please save me,” I muttered.

In addition to my trembling body, my bottom felt wet and tears unknowingly formed in my eyes as well. I knew Miss Jung Ha-Yan’s anger wasn’t being targeted at me, but I couldn’t help but keep asking someone to save me. The nightmare I experienced before reared its head once again, and it was trying to devour me.

While I was muttering, Miss Jung Ha-Yan’s voice died down, and it became really quiet.

‘Did she leave?’

Then, I heard someone’s voice.

“You agree with me right, Miss Sora?”

I obviously had no choice but to nod.

1. Han Sora’s POV ☜