“Su-hyun! Su-hyun?”
No thoughts come to me. I just stare blankly at the pale ceiling.
“Su-hyun. I’m really, really sorry. I was thoughtless. I want to apologize, so please, just open the door. Please?”
Two weeks. A full two weeks have passed since the 12th-week event match ended.
But still, it hasn’t gone away.
The humiliation I felt in that chaotic moment, and the image of Han So-young fleeing with her face buried in her hands—it still haunts me, tormenting my mind.
“So, you’re not opening the door again today… Are you really not going to see me? The User Academy is almost over, you know?”
That desperate voice calling me from earlier.
“…Su-hyun. Maybe you should just accept his apology? Your brother-in-law’s really pitiful now. He’s been coming by every day for two weeks straight.”
Drawn by the clear voice beside me, I slowly shift my gaze. A woman looks at me with concern. I open my mouth weakly.
“Ha-yeon.”
“Yes?”
“It’s noisy. Tell him to stop knocking and just go away.”
“Oh. So our Su-hyun was sleeping?”
But it’s not Ha-yeon who responds—it’s my brother. He must have been amplifying his hearing with some kind of magic.
“Sorry. Then I’ll come back later, okay? You have to meet me then, alright?”
“…….”
“Hm?”
“Ah, come on!”
Finally, after I shout, I feel his presence retreating quickly. Listening to the hesitant footsteps fading away, I return my gaze to the ceiling.
Ah. I’m just numb. Completely numb. …How am I supposed to hold my head up from now on?
“Su-hyun. Stop that and get up. The User Academy ends in two days. What are you going to do if you spend the whole weekend like this?”
“…….”
“Look. The others are waiting for you, aren’t they?”
“…….”
Of course, what she says is perfectly reasonable. But ever since that incident, I’ve been tormented by all kinds of slander for nearly two weeks. No matter how much I shouted that it wasn’t true, no one believed me. The stress was overwhelming, so right now, I just want to be—empty.
“I want to be alone. The meeting’s over. Please, everyone, leave.”
“…Hah. Alright. Su-hyun, then just one thing.”
“……?”
“That comb you gave to Istantel Low Road…”
“Damn it. Let’s have the meeting.”
“Hoho.”
I immediately sat up. After giving Ha-yeon a sharp look as she smiled sweetly, I took my seat at the table where the clan members were waiting. Now that I think about it, I haven’t really shown a good face in front of them lately. I need to pull myself together.
Shaking my head hard to clear my mind, I looked around and noticed Hanbyeol looking somewhat sulky. Ansol and Yujeong also wore very displeased expressions. In contrast, Shin Jaeryong and An Hyun looked at me with satisfied smiles. What’s with those two?
“Ha. Sorry, everyone. As you know, things haven’t been going well lately. Anyway, let’s wrap up the User Academy matter today. Then, let’s start the meeting.”
After saying that, I immediately looked at An Hyun. For some reason, the others gave off an aura that made it hard to start a conversation with them.
“An Hyun. What’s the status with Cha Hee-young?”
“Oh, I was just about to tell you. The recruitment is moving in a good direction…”
“You already said you approved the recruitment. Not that. Didn’t you have a problem too?”
“Ah…”
An Hyun immediately shut up, scratching his cheek with a troubled look. I felt a slight sting in my chest.
First of all, recruiting Cha Hee-young went quite smoothly.
Her performance wasn’t outstanding at first. Maybe because of the shock she’d experienced, she wandered a lot in the beginning.
But her user data was quite solid. Proving that, An Hyun helped her in many ways, and she quickly regained her mental and physical stability. From then on, she unleashed her potential with terrifying momentum. You could see it in the steep upward curve of her performance in the latter half of the training.
I heard several clans made offers to recruit her, but Cha Hee-young was already heavily reliant on An Hyun. So, with just a word from him, the recruitment was quickly finalized.
The recruitment went smoothly, but it wasn’t without some complications.
After a moment, An Hyun scratched himself again and gave me a sly smile.
“Hehe. Honestly, it’s a bit of a burden, but don’t worry too much. I managed to wrap things up in a good way.”
At that moment, my ears perked up.
“Oh? How?”
“At first, I worried about hurting her feelings and spent weeks thinking it over… You know I’m not good with words, right? So I just told her the truth, as it was. I thought that was better. ‘Hee-young, I’m really grateful you like me, but honestly, it’s still a bit much for me.’”
“That’s a brutal straight shot.”
“Yeah. So she suddenly burst into tears. ‘Are you going to abandon me too?’ she said…”
I’d expected that reaction to some extent, so I tapped the table and continued.
“And then?”
“So I told her it wasn’t like that, and that it’d be good for us to take some time to get to know each other. There are plenty of good guys out there, and you haven’t even experienced this whole ‘Whole Plain’ world yet. So after the graduation ceremony, if your feelings haven’t changed, then I’ll consider it.”
“Oh.”
“That’s what I said… Did I handle it well?”
Watching An Hyun sneak a glance at me, I nodded in affirmation. Not just me, but all the clan members nodded too. Some even looked at An Hyun as if to say, ‘What’s gotten into you?’ It wasn’t a perfect resolution, but for An Hyun, it was pretty well handled.
Just as I felt a weight lifted, Ha-yeon smiled gently and spoke.
“What if you really end up liking her later?”
“Hmm~. I guess I’ll have to see when that time comes. But honestly, I think I might change my mind. This is all new to me.”
“New?”
“Yes. She’s the first girl who’s looked only at me like this. So, secretly, I don’t dislike it.”
Ha-yeon nodded in understanding and looked back at me.
“I think it was a good call to leave Cha Hee-young’s training to Hyun.”
“I think so too.”
“Hoho. Hyun’s scored a point. Anyway, let’s say that’s settled… What about that Jin Su-hyun instructor?”
“Fifty-fifty.”
I answered clearly as the topic shifted.
As it stands, the chances of recruiting Jin Su-hyun are about even. But I’m not too worried. We agreed to talk again, so there’s still room to maneuver. Even if recruitment fails, we have a good enough relationship to be like siblings.
Anyway, I plan to visit and talk to her once more before the User Academy ends. It’d be great if it works out, but even if she refuses, I’ve prepared a backup plan.
“It should be finalized before the graduation ceremony.”
After adding that, Ha-yeon thought for a moment, then asked in her clear voice.
“If Instructor Jin Su-hyun comes, will she bring others with her?”
“Yes. I think at least one person will come along. I’m prepared for that, but as far as I know, her companion isn’t a bad person.”
“That’s a relief. If at least three come, we can say we recruited quite a few.”
“Haha… Still talking about that?”
Before her demotion, Ha-yeon had insisted on increasing numbers even if it meant lowering standards. So she’s probably relieved we recruited even three. Besides, after the 9th-week event match, Jin Su-hyun’s value has risen considerably, so the clan members agreed without complaint.
“Then let’s settle on Cha Hee-young and Jin Su-hyun. And…”
I paused for a moment.
Actually, there’s still one user left to recruit.
Je-gal Hae-sol.
A few weeks ago, I got a preliminary report through a secret messenger sent by Han So-young. After I finished talking with her, they tried a secret recruitment around the 13th week, but Je-gal Hae-sol’s response was, ‘I’ll think about it until the graduation ceremony.’
It feels like she’s treating this like choosing a clan. Well, looking at her user data, she’s entitled to do so.
The one bit of good news is that, aside from Istantel Low, no other clans have made offers. So if she rejects Istantel Low’s offer at the ceremony, the opportunity will inevitably come to us. From then on, whether to recruit or eliminate her is entirely up to the mercenary—me.
Given the situation, it’s probably better if I keep this to myself for now rather than discussing it with the clan.
…Yeah. It might be sudden for the others, but considering the situation around Je-gal Hae-sol, that’s for the best.
“Clan Lord. And?”
With that thought, I hesitated for a long moment before quietly saying,
“Let’s end today’s meeting here.”
The weekend of the 14th week passed, and the graduation ceremony was just around the corner.
After the weekend, the User Academy was bustling. The training was over, but preparations for the ceremony and the recruitment battles were still ongoing. Since the clans participating as instructors want to recruit trainees before the ceremony, it’s only natural.
After helping out a bit with the ceremony preparations and returning to the dorm, the sun was already slowly setting.
Looking back, my time at the User Academy had truly been a whirlwind. The incident with the Goryeo clan, the witch Cha Hee-young, battles with Jin Soo-hyun and Gong Chan-ho, encounters with Jegal Hae-sol, and so on.
But somehow, I managed to get through it all (though not completely yet). And now, tomorrow, I have to leave this User Academy.
After spending a while looking around my dorm, I began packing my things one by one. I had to return to the clan house tomorrow. Ahn-hyun was staying late tonight to help with the graduation ceremony preparations, so I couldn’t just leave the packing to him. Besides, I didn’t have that much stuff anyway.
After dedicating some time to packing, I finished just as the day was starting to dim, the light growing faint.
I opened the window to cool off and calmly glanced toward the entrance. My body felt a bit itchy—probably from dust stirred up while tidying every corner. It wasn’t too late yet, but maybe I should just wash up quickly.
That’s when it happened.
Knock, knock.
Just as I was about to move, thinking of a quick wash, someone knocked on the door.
“Hyung-nim, are you there?”
The door suddenly swung open, and none other than Jin Soo-hyun stepped inside.
I blinked a couple of times, a bit surprised. I had actually planned to visit him tonight.
“…Jin Soo-hyun?”
“Told you. I heard you were here, so I came in.”
“Geez. Still, who just barges in right after knocking? Anyway, what’s up?”
“Oh, nothing much. It’s just… tomorrow’s the last day at the User Academy, right? I figured we might not see each other for a while after that. And I wanted to thank you for everything. So, I came by to say goodbye.”
Not seeing each other for a while. And a final farewell.
Those words carried weight. I wasn’t about to cling to him or stop him from leaving, but Jin Soo-hyun was someone I’d always wanted to spend more time with. Feeling like I should stretch my tongue a bit after a while, I smiled and gestured toward the table.
“Ah, that sounds good. Have a seat there.”
“Thanks!”
Jin Soo-hyun grinned and plopped down. I took the seat opposite him, pulled out a cigarette, and spoke.
“So, a final farewell, huh? Did something change in your heart?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure if it’s a change of heart exactly…”
He paused, scratching his head shyly. Watching him, I couldn’t help but think he was quite similar to Ahn-hyun in some ways.
After a moment, Jin Soo-hyun spoke again.
“To be honest, I still don’t really know. But I think my way of thinking has shifted a bit.”
“A shift in thinking?”
“Yeah. I’ve been wondering if I’ve been too caught up in old memories all this time. Maybe I was rushing things.”
“Hm. Keep going.”
“Well, you’ve probably noticed I still have a lot to learn. So instead of obsessing over user info, I want to get a broader understanding of the whole Hall Plain.”
“I get what you mean. But how?”
He crossed his arms and gazed wistfully out the open window. Such a show-off.
“For starters, I didn’t recruit any trainees this time. Rather than looking after someone else, I want to take care of myself first.”
“Hmm…”
“So once this is over, I’m planning to head straight to a pioneer city and try out different things. I want to start truly from the bottom. What do you think? Is that a good choice?”
“…”
I paused to think, then answered after a brief moment.
“It’s not bad. Actually, it’s pretty good. A solid choice.”
“Wow. Hearing that from you really puts me at ease. I was a bit worried, to be honest.”
Jin Soo-hyun’s face brightened with relief.
He smiled warmly, then suddenly looked a bit sheepish.
“Anyway, that’s my plan. What about you? Once this ends, are you going straight back to mercenary work?”
I was pondering how to answer when he beat me to it. Lighting the cigarette I’d taken out earlier, I exhaled slowly and shook my head.
“No, not exactly. I have other things to do once I get back. I’ll still do mercenary work, but I won’t be able to focus on it entirely.”
“Other… things?”
“Yeah. Important stuff. It’s a secret for now.”
“Aw, come on, hyung-nim. Don’t be like that—tell me! I’m curious.”
I chuckled inwardly. Even though I said that, I had a feeling Jin Soo-hyun might already know.
Whether he did or not didn’t really matter. I pretended to think for a moment, counting silently to ten.
“Well, it’s something that’ll have to be revealed eventually.”
I quietly stood, closed the window, and carefully looked around before sitting back down.
“But don’t tell anyone. It won’t do any good if it gets out.”
“Of course, hyung-nim. My lips are sealed.”
Jin Soo-hyun pounded his chest confidently.
Watching him, I lowered my voice as if sharing something truly important.
“When I get back, I’m planning to prepare for the assault on the Steel Mountain Range.”
“…The Steel Mountain Range?”
Jin Soo-hyun’s eyes widened slightly.
Seeing that, I secretly wet my lips.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Oh?
No matter what I said or did, the readers who usually didn’t react and just laughed it off suddenly showed some response yesterday?
Oh… oh… oh!
P.S. This chapter is scheduled to be posted by reservation today. :)