Chapter ss82: Side Story 82 - Chae Nayun (37)

Chae Nayun was meditating on top of a boulder like always when she came to Mount Baekdu.

"Hoo... Hoo... Hoo..."

She inhaled and exhaled while feeling the energy from the pristine air around her.

Time passed for a while and she lost track.

Chae Nayun finally opened her eyes when the sun started to set. She felt the surge of mana travel throughout her body. Then she looked beside her.

Chae Jinyoon was sprawled on top of the boulder.

"Ah, what the hell, oppa?" Chae Nayun grumbled.

"I'm exhausted..." Chae Jinyoon replied while shaking his head.

Chae Nayun frowned and said, "You'll never be able to catch up at this rate."

Chae Jinyoon was currently immersing himself in training these days to recover his strength, but it wasn't easy as he spent the last five years bedridden in a coma.

However, he simply smiled and replied, "It's also good for me if my sister becomes really strong."

Chae Nayun intently stared at him for a while. He still had his calm demeanor that made her feel at ease whenever she was with him.

"Geez... Really..."

Chae Nayun smiled while thinking, 'We can finally live like this, right? Just like we used to... You're not going to suddenly disappear again, right?'

"What are you two doing over there?" a low voice suddenly interrupted them.

Both of them flinched and looked where the voice came from. Yoo Sihyuk was wearing a gi.[1]

"Follow me. You have guests," he said.

"Huh...? Guests...?" Chae Nayun muttered as her eyes shot wide open in surprise.

They were currently three thousand meters above sea level. This was the middle point of Mount Baekdu after its peak shot up to five thousand meters above sea level because of the mana explosion that occurred fifty years ago.

"Maybe it's your friends? You talked about them quite often. You did mention that they were going to come to find you soon," Chae Jinyoon said as he sat up.

Chae Nayun suddenly flinched after a thought flashed through her head, "Hold up... No way... No way..."

She kept mumbling and suddenly ran. She ran as fast as she could. Chae Jinyoon smiled at her disappearing into the distance.

Thud!

Chae Nayun ran through the blizzard and barged through the back door.

"Ah..." she muttered.

Her friends were there as she expected. Everyone was waving at her. She smiled in response and looked at every one of these precious friends who braved the cold to visit her.

Kim Suho, Shin Jonghak, Yoo Yeonha, Yi Yeonghan, Rachel, and... and... Chae Nayun's smile slowly started to fade.

"Huh...?"

She tilted her head in confusion and rubbed her eyes, but the scenery in front of her didn't change. Her friends were still there, but the person she longed for wasn't.

"Ah... Hahaha. Y-Yeah, welcome guys. Welcome..." she welcomed her friends while trying her best to suppress her disappointment.

Kim Suho, Yoo Yeonha, and Yi Yeonghan channeled superhuman self-control to suppress their laughter.

"Wow, I never imagined you guys would come all the way here just to see me... Oh, right... Winter vacation has started," Chae Nayun said while constantly looking over their shoulders.

Everyone's cheeks started to puff up whenever she looked over their shoulders.

"Yeah, winter vacation started. We're here to see you."

"Wow, Chae Nayun! It looks like you've gotten stronger in a couple of months?"

Yoo Yeonha and Kim Suho respectively said.

Chae Nayun tried her best to smile, but her smile didn't look genuine at all. In fact, the way she smiled made it look like she was crying instead.

"Yeah... it's vacation so... but why are you guys here?" she asked.

"Why else? We're here to see you."

"Ah, yes... that's right... ah... that should be it..." Chae Nayun mumbled while fidgeting.

Shin Jonghak clicked his tongue as if he couldn't stand the sight of it. Then he pointed back with his thumb and said, "Kim Hajin is waiting outside."

"Ah... What the hell, Shin Jonghak..." Yoo Yeonha glared at him after her fun came to an abrupt end thanks to him.

Shin Jonghak simply shrugged in response.

Chae Nayun smacked Kim Suho on his shoulder and exclaimed, "You scared the heck out of me! Why would you do that?! You meanies!"

"Haha! Sorry about that. Anyways, you better hurry up and go. Hajin is probably waiting for you," Kim Suho said as he pointed into the distance.

Chae Nayun ran to where Kim Suho pointed. She bulldozed through the snow with pure brute force.

"Hey! Kim Hajin!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

Her voice echoed throughout the blizzard.

She was certain that her voice filled with love and longing would reach him through the raging blizzard.

***

"Hmm... So what you're saying is... Hmm..."

Chae Nayun continued muttering and squirming while lying down with her head on my lap. I wasn't sure if she wanted to say something or if she was forcing herself to come up with something to talk about.

Regardless, I continued to stroke her hair and fiddle with her earlobe while waiting for her to say something.

"Oh right, what's Jin Sahyuk up to these days?" she asked in a cute voice after finally thinking of something to talk about.

"She's... preparing to establish her own city."

"Her own city?"

"Yeah."

"Wow..." Chae Nayun muttered in amazement before asking, "What game is she playing?"

"No, not in a game, but in real life."

"Real life?"

"Yes, she's trying to get approval to set up a neutral city-state."

"As expected... She's quite the personality herself..." Chae Nayun nodded with a serious look.

I simply smiled in response while caressing her bun-like cheeks.

Chae Nayun didn't push my hand away despite making sounds like, "Ah, stop it. I said stop it. I said shtap."

As we were busy flirting with each other, a shadow towered over us. Both Chae Nayun and I turned around to see who it was.

Chae Jinyoon was looking down at us and smiling.

"Ah, hello."

I immediately stood up and greeted him.

"Ah... What are you doing here oppa? Is your training already over?" Chae Nayun pouted and asked.

"Yeah, but more importantly... Your name is Hajin, right? I've heard a lot about you. Please have a seat," Chae Jinyoon said as he sat beside us.

I nodded in response and sat on the grass.

Chae Nayun leaned on my shoulder and Chae Jinyoon looked at her with an astonished look as if he saw an alien.

"I knew you were Nayun's boyfriend, but... she must listen well to you. This is my first time seeing her like this... wait... did she change after growing up?" Chae Jinyoon said in amazement.

"Huh? Ah, she doesn't really listen to me that well," I said as I shrugged and bounced her off my shoulder.

Chae Nayun had a protesting look that said, 'Why? what? why?' She continued clinging to me. However, I looked at her and saw a hint of fear on her face.

I suddenly recalled her actions until now. She was always scared whenever I got near Chae Jinyoon and had the same look as those times.

"It's alright..." I said.

Chae Nayun looked up at me with tears welling up in her eyes.

She was probably still worried about Chae Jinyoon. I had no idea what happened to him in her life before she regressed, but I tightly held her hand.

"Don't worry," I said.

She soon nodded in response and buried her face in my chest.

Chae Jinyoon smiled and asked, "Before I forget, Grandfather wanted to see you. Is now a good time for you?"

"Ah, yes. Of course," I immediately nodded and replied.

It went without saying that I came here in the first place to meet Chae Joochul.

***

"Will you be alright...?"

I was guided to the interior of the hut by Chae Nayun and Chae Jinyoon.

Chae Joochul was most likely behind those lavishly decorated doors.

"Yeah, it'll be alright. See you later," I said as I pulled Chae Nayun towards me and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Huh...?" she muttered in confusion.

Her entire face flushed red before she started sounding lost, "H-Huh...? A-Alright. See you later, but before you go... one more time... can you do it one more time...?"

I planted another kiss on Chae Nayun's forehead even though Chae Jinyoon was present. Then I walked towards the door.

"Hoo..." I composed myself.

I knocked on the door before opening it.

Chae Joochul sat in front of an intricately designed folding screen and smoked his pipe. He smiled as soon as he saw me as if he was already expecting me.

"Oh, you're here. So you're my precious granddaughter's boyfriend, Ki Majin!" Chae Joochul said.

"... Huh? Ah, my name is Kim Hajin, sir. Not Ki Majin."

"Ah, is that so? That kid tends to pronounce things wrong from time to time. Anyways, it's nice to meet you. Come on in and have a seat."

I sat in front of Chae Joochul and could feel him inspecting every nook and cranny of my body.

He smiled brightly and said, "Hmm... I see... In that case, I guess you were quite the influence when Nayun said that she wanted to strike Kim Sukho, right?"

Chae Joochul went straight to the point despite his gentle smile. It seemed that he was still hesitating whether he should attack Kim Sukho or not.

No, there was no such thing as hesitation in his emotion. Rather, he was probably calculating the chances of success.

"Yes, and that is why I have prepared a small bribe for you," I said to pull Chae Joochul's scale towards us.

His lips curled as he said, "Hahaha! A bribe you say?"

"... Yes," I replied as I took out a medicine I created after collecting various medicinal plants from various neutral city-states with the Pharmacy Club members.

Chae Joochul tried to feign curiosity, which was another emotion he probably didn't possess.

"What is that?" he asked.

"It is a medicine that will recover a portion of one's emotions, sir."

"..."

Chae Joochul froze for a second and silently stared at me.

"I cannot guarantee its effect as I created it without diagnosing you, but I believe that you will be able to feel more emotions than you currently do once you ingest this."

Chae Joochul looked down at the yellow medicine in front of him.

I had no idea what he was thinking right now as there was no way someone with emotions could ever tell what was on the mind of someone without emotions.

Chae Joochul finally said with a smile, "Alright, it seems that Nayun's boyfriend has brought something healthy."

I could feel the tension and anxiety in my body reduced a bit at those words.

"Yes, thank you very much. I shall leave the medicine with you. Also, is there anything else you wish to say, sir?"

"No, there's nothing. You may go now. Go and play with Nayun," Chae Joochul said in a cold voice.

I immediately bowed and exited the room.

"Huh? Why are you out so fast?" Chae Nayun asked as she ran up to me with a worried look. She continued asking, "How was it? How was it? Did grandfather say anything strange after seeing your gift?"

I simply shook my head at her barrage of questions, "Fortunately, he accepted it. The rest is up to you now."

Chae Nayun let out a sigh of relief and Chae Jinyoon looked relieved as well.

"Then!" Chae Nayun exclaimed before she ran up and kissed me. She confidently said, "It's my turn to meet Grandfather now!"

I found her confidence quite reassuring.

"Sure, see you later."

"You'll be here waiting when I come out, right?"

"I most certainly will."

"Not only now, but... forever and ever... you'll be with me, right?"

"Yes."

"... Promise?"

Chae Nayun extended her pinky.

I stared into her eyes and whispered, "I promise."

Both of us pinky swore. Chae Nayun brightly smiled and wrapped her arms around my neck. Our lips and tongue intertwined one more time.

***

We were guided to our accommodation by Chae Jinyoon.

"Wow, it's quite cozy."

All of us expected it to be uncomfortable since the entire place resembled a dojo, but they provided us with every amenity such as beds and even game consoles.

"Yeah, it's imperative that we get a good night's sleep and make the most out of our playtime too. Anyways, go on and unpack first," Chae Jinyoon said.

We unpacked our belongings at his words. Most of my belongings were just a sleeping bag, some magic scrolls, and a few emergency food rations.

"Shall we go eat if you're done?" Chae Jinyoon asked.

Everyone nodded in response.

"Does anyone know how to cook?" he asked.

Everyone looked at me in unison.

Chae Jinyoon's eyes shot wide open in surprise as he said, "Wow, my sister's boyfriend knows how to cook?"

"Yes, Hajin is really good," Kim Suho proudly replied and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Alright, then follow me. Let's go cook. We try to be as independent as possible here," Chae Jinyoon said.

"Okay," I replied and followed him to the kitchen.

We walked along the wooden corridor and could hear the cozy sound of wood creaking whenever we took a step.

Chae Jinyoon suddenly said in a soft gentle voice, "Thank you."

"Pardon me...?"

"I heard from Nayun. You were the one who woke me up, right?"

"Ah... Not really. It wasn't just me, but everyone worked hard as well."

"Is that so? Then I should thank everyone then."

Chae Jinyoon sincerely smiled and I smiled in response.

It was then.

[Episode cleared..............]

A system message popped up in front of my eyes.

However, I didn't bother reading it and immediately waved it away. I no longer wanted to treat this world, this time, and whatever would happen in the future as mere episodes of a story.

"This is the kitchen. It's packed with all sorts of ingredients. There's meat, vegetables... ah, we caught that wild boar yesterday. Do you know how to butcher wild game by any chance?"

The kitchen was quite spacious.

I confidently smiled at his question and rolled up my sleeves.

"Of course, please just stand back and watch," I said.

Any dish I cooked with the help of [Dexterity] and [Stigma] was bound to be a delicacy out of this world. I was confident that even Chae Joochul would be moved by my cooking.

I looked at Chae Jinyoon and confidently said, "I am extremely talented at cooking."

1. A gi is a martial arts uniform. More info: ☜