Aftermath: The Drinking Session Of Regret (2)

Ring, ring.

Inside a snack bar covered with a red tent.

“…Excuse me.”

Moon Bora uttered a polite word as she slowly stepped in.

Her cheeks, frozen from the cold, gradually turned rosy from the warmth.

‘…It’s cozier than I thought?’

A hunter family…
No, the former prestigious ’s second daughter.

A promising talent and one of the few C-rank hunters with the nickname .

That was Moon Bora’s social reputation and image.

In other words, a typical silver spoon.

Of course, Moon Bora had never been to such a place before.

It wasn’t that she particularly disliked it.

It was just that she never had the opportunity.

In fact, when her grandfather was alive, she often went to fried rice restaurants with him.

‘…When I drank, it was always alone in the study, quietly having one or two bottles.’

And that too, she was always by herself.

For Moon Bora, whose past memories were etched like trauma, the idea of a ‘drinking party’ rather than a business meal was her number one target of caution.

Alcohol was a temptation of the devil that muddled one’s mind.

To Moon Bora, who always maintained a frozen, cold rationality, alcohol that made her reveal her true feelings was a dangerous object.

Therefore, she would have normally refused.
But the one who contacted her was Yu Seha.
If it was someone she felt guilty towards and had to apologize to, it was a different story.

‘…On the contrary, it’s good.’

She would apologize to him, even if it meant lowering her forehead to the ground, enchanted by the drunkenness.

Yes, indeed.

‘Good…!’ Moon Bora, who clenched her hands cutely, looked around.

No, there was no need to look around.

There was only one group at the table.

“Meow~”

At the sound of the characteristic cute onomatopoeia, Moon Bora unknowingly let out a ‘pfft’ and laughed.

She walked towards the dazzlingly handsome man sitting next to her.

“Miss~ Bora Bora~”
“…I am Moon Bora. Please don’t give me weird nicknames.”

Moon Bora, who replied coyly, quietly sat next to Yu Seha.

Seeing this, he chuckled and quietly poured her a drink.

“…Thank you.”

As she held the glass with both hands and turned her head to the side, Yu Seha looked at her with an ‘Aren’t you tired…?’ expression.

“There’s no need to be so formal in a place like this.”
“It’s just my habit.”

Moon Bora, who answered as usual, glanced at Yu Seha.

Perhaps feeling hot, Yu Seha, wearing only a simple black knit, was chewing on a snack.

It may be belated to realize this now.

‘…He’s beautiful.’

A prominent nose.
Straight eyebrows.
Smooth and white skin.
Cherry-red lips.
And the slight muscles from recent intense training, along with the shallow arm muscles.

It felt like looking at a piece of art.

“Meeeoow~”

At that moment, I heard Ma Hana’s cry.
However, the tone of the cry was completely different from what she usually heard.

“Meowi. What’s wrong?”
“Meow~”

The drunken Ma Hana didn’t even notice Moon Bora’s presence and giggled ‘Hehe~’ with joy.

She leaned her body against Yu Seha, rubbing her entire body like a pet cat.

Accompanied by the distinctive ‘Puuuurr~’ and ‘Meeeeoooowww~’ low growling sounds.

It was quite an impressive scene for Moon Bora.

‘…Ah, so this is the drinking habit of the Myoin Tribe.’

She had seen it in a dictionary.

When the Myoin Tribe gets drunk, they release their desires from deep within their true selves.

She especially rubbed against Yu Seha, pressing her head against him.
She seemed to have a strong desire to be petted.

“Meeeeoow~”
“Yeah, yeah, congratulations, Meowi.”
“Meeeooow?”
“That’s right, that’s right. Well done! You managed to push back the . I bet no one else among the test takers could do that.”
“Meeeow~”

“…Excuse me, Yu Seha.”
“Hm?”
“All I can hear is Meeeeow~ Can you understand what she is saying?”

Yu Seha shrugged his shoulders as if it were obvious.

Then he boasted, ‘Well, how long have Meowi and I known each other?!’, which was a bit off-putting.

“…I’m jealous.”
“Hm?”

Moon Bora, who had just spoken out loud, thought she had made a mistake.

She wasn’t supposed to voice her true feelings.

But…

‘…It should be fine with him.’

Three or four drinks had loosened her frozen heart a bit.

“I… have never really trusted anyone.”
“……”
“When I see the two of you, the world looks beautiful. I wonder how wonderful it would be if I could be that pure… you know.”
“……”

Surprisingly, Yu Seha didn’t say much to her words.

He just silently listened to Moon Bora, as if he understood everything Bora had been through.

“…Ah, I’m sorry. I’ve been rambling on. And there’s something I really wanted to say.”

“What is it?”

Moon Bora, smiling bashfully, held out her glass to Yu Seha.

With a slight blush from the drink, her fair complexion looked even more beautiful.

“Congratulations to both of you on your admission.”
“Congratulations to you too, Miss Bora.”
“Oh my, I haven’t even told you my results yet?”
“Well, we haven’t shared ours either, right?”

An exchange that assured each other of their admissions.

Moon Bora and Yu Seha both laughed lightly.

“…You’ve proven it.”
“Are you talking about Meowi?”
“Yes, I was wrong. Um… I was an idiot.”
“Why are you saying that?”
“…I was a fool…”

The drinking party was calm and quiet.
And it continued with a pleasant atmosphere.

Various trivial conversations soon led to talks about their admission.

And the schedule right after admission.

“They say we have a 3-day break… Then we will have our first class after the break. We need to prepare for course registration.”
“…That’s not it.”
“…What?”

At my question, Moon Bora tilted her head.

“The remains. Although it counts towards the admission period, the proper course registration and classes start after that.”

[Mandatory Military Service?]

What’s with this word reeking of military life?

‘What is that?’ As I looked with eyes that seemed to ask, Moon Bora shook her head as if she couldn’t believe it.

“…What do you even know?”

Ahem, I had no response.

“…Listen carefully. I’ll explain.”

According to Moon Bora.

After passing the Academy, for about a month, ‘awakened individuals’ have a basic obligation.

More precisely, they have to fulfill the duty of ‘military service’.

It also includes physical and mental training through the basic training prepared by the Academy.

“No, but we did that. We cleared the gate, didn’t we?”

“That was just the beginning. To put it simply, if clearing the gate is like reserve training, what we are doing now is part of active military service.”

Clearing the gate was something all Awakened individuals go through.
What they’re doing now is part of the military service required upon entering the Academy.

“…Do women have to do it too?”
“Of course. In a world where monsters appear and threaten us, distinguishing between men and women is meaningless. In fact, most women are stronger than men, so holding them back is unsightly.”

With power comes responsibility.
Hunters receive immense wealth and benefits that ordinary people can’t even dream of.

“Contributing to the nation’s safety in exchange for rewards. It’s a duty that Awakened individuals must naturally fulfill.”
“Ugh…”

As impressive as her words were.

To me, it felt like being told to re-enlist, which wasn’t a pleasant thought.

“The duration is a total of four weeks. For the first one to two weeks, you will receive basic training prepared by the Academy. This mostly involves physical conditioning and basic skill application assessments. At the same time, three like-minded individuals will form a team.”

“A team?”

“Yes, Mr. Yu Seha, I think you know that a party of five is the standard.”

I knew that too.

Two warriors take on the roles of tank or damage tank in the front line.
Two main damage dealers in the midline.
One supporter and healer in the rear.

Depending on the situation, you might reduce the number of tanks or add an extra healer, but you never deviate from this basic structure.

“However, it is difficult for a person with no party experience to join a team of five and be effective. Therefore, the minimum size for this purpose is three.”

Front line, dealer, supporter.
The simplest and most cost-effective combination.
I also preferred to form a small party in this way.

“That’s why the purpose of this training is to form teams of minimal size and increase party experience.”
“Ah… so it’s just about forming teams? Surely there’s some goal.”
“Of course. In the third week, there will be team sparring matches.”

I realized what Moon Bora meant.

‘Tutorial…’

The first phase in GAL involved being assigned three characters of unknown origin and fighting against another trio.

It was clearly held under the name of .

‘So that’s how the story progresses from there.’

Wait a minute, then what about the fourth week?

“We will be clearing the gates in the fourth week.”
“…Again?”
“Yes, again. But it’s not just a regular clearing. It also includes the closure process.”

.
Simply put, it meant closing and eliminating the dungeon itself.

This usually happens when a gate is deemed ultimately unprofitable.

This is actually nothing special.
Just use a special artifact that captures the boss and proceeds with the closure process.

“…So, in short, they’re using us for rough disposal?”
“…That’s correct.”

Hmm, as expected…
It didn’t feel particularly good.

After the conversation about the schedule ended, we quietly sipped our drinks.

More precisely, Moon Bora was drinking alone, as if on a rampage.

“…Hey, Miss Bora? You’re drinking too much…”
“It’s okay…”

Moon Bora, with a flushed face, took another drink.

Just when I thought I might forcibly stop her, serious words flowed from her mouth.

“…Mr. Yu Seha.”
“Oh, yes?”
“…I’m sorry.”

It was an unexpected apology, but I wasn’t taken aback.

Because from the fact that she didn’t take off her gloves at the Shrine, I had somewhat sensed it.

For Moon Bora, taking off her gloves was a habit of revealing trust to the other person.

I don’t know what it is, but she was suspicious of me…
I guessed it.

And it turned into certainty during the entrance exam.

“Actually, I… was suspicious of you.”
“……” (I sipped my drink.)
“…Ah, you knew?”
“Yes, well… Was it Professor Peng Jin-ah? When you exchanged glances with her, I had a vague idea.”
“…You really have incredible intuition.”

Moon Bora, who was hesitating, continued to speak.

“I… carelessly–”
“It’s fine.”
“…Pardon?”
“The misunderstanding is resolved, right?”

I smiled gently at Moon Bora, who had a bewildered expression.

‘This must be it.’

Cheat User Investigation Event.

Sometimes, when players showed unbelievable growth by excessively using paid resources, this event would trigger.

Roughly speaking, a malicious event of being suspected as a or , leading to a tremendous increase in boundary index and instilling paranoia in NPCs.

All veteran players had experienced it at least once, so it wasn’t surprising.

If Moon Bora, of all people, suspected it, then it must be a valid suspicion.

Though she appeared cold on the outside.
She was a character with a warm heart who cared about the safety of others more than anyone else.

“……”

Despite my response, Moon Bora’s expression didn’t soften.
This won’t do.
I got up and took her hand.

“…Mr. Yu Seha?”
“It’s getting quite late… and Meowi is purring…”

Shall we take a walk together?

The three of them slowly walked out of the snack bar after paying the bill.

Ma Hana was drunk and mumbling ‘Meeeoow~’ on Yu Seha’s back.

Yu Seha looked at Ma Hana as if finding her cute.

Lastly, Moon Bora looked at him with an apologetic expression.

‘Hoo…’

Moon Bora felt like a large stone was rolling around in her heart.

He knew from the beginning.

This fact made her heart heavy again.

‘I need to apologize…’

Yu Seha had brushed it off, saying it was okay, but she couldn’t let it go.

If you make a mistake, you should be punished.

Just as she was overwhelmed by these thoughts, his words struck her ears.

“Anyway, someone so smart can seem so foolish at times.”
“…What?”
“You feel sorry, right? You know you should apologize, but you don’t know what to say, right?”

Right on the mark.
As expected, this man…
Sometimes he seemed really foolish, but at times like this, he was incredibly sharp.

“Then let’s do this. I’ll forgive you if you grant me two requests.”
“…! Wh-what is it?”

Hearing the word ‘requests,’ Moon Bora felt her heart slightly ease.

Yeah. If it was just material compensation, they could settle it cleanly.

But this unpredictable man said something unexpected again.

“Let’s be friends. And let’s drop the formal speech.”
“…What?”
“Let’s be friends. We’re both first-year students anyway, right? How long are we going to keep using honorifics? It’s tiring.”
“I-I’m two years older, you know? I’m 21 years old!”
“Same difference. Or should I call you Bora Noona instead?”
“…N-noona… D-don’t use such an embarrassing term!”
“Why not~? Bora Noona~”
“Eeeeek!”

What is this rude guy saying right now?
And why do you talk down to me as if it’s natural?

Yu Seha, smiling cheekily, kept insisting on being friends.

He subtly closed the distance and even nudged her with his shoulder.

In the end, after much bickering, they came to a conclusion.

“…I will continue to use formal speech. It makes me feel comfortable. You can address me however you like, Mr. Yu Seha.”

“Tsk~”

“Meow~”

“Clicking your tongue won’t work! Still… thank you.”

…Mr. Seha.

“…!”

Though it was just one word, Yu Seha looked at her with a surprised expression, clearly sensing the familiarity in her tone.

Meanwhile, Moon Bora, whose face had turned bright red, could only bow her head deeply.

“…Ah, anyway… what’s the other request…?”

“Oh, that’s simple too.”

He looked at Ma Hana, who was making a ‘Meow~’ sound behind him.

“Become official friends with Meowi.”
“….Is that all? Is there anything you want other than that? Even though I look like this, I do have influence in my own way–“
“Friends don’t make such demands. It is fine. Just please be friends with Meowi. Please.”

After finishing speaking, Yu Seha smiled brightly.

With that smile, Moon Bora felt the overlap of their past conversation once again.

-Wait and see. Our Meowi’s back. I will definitely make you believe and follow her.

The bright smile from that time when he was boasting about her.

And his shining heart, so different from her own vile one.

Yu Seha… He looked at her with the same unchanged expression.

“……”

Moon Bora couldn’t understand.

Traumatized by a terrible experience as a child, she had never had a relationship that could be called a friendship.

She was betrayed by a blood relative she had trusted.

That fact became a shackle for her, making it impossible to trust anyone.

Therefore, she had kept a proper distance from others.

She had servants who served her, but they too were nothing more than a calculative relationship moved by money between employer and subordinate.

Therefore, for her…
She had no idea what to do in such situations.

“What?”

Then Yu Seha gave an answer.
‘Aren’t you going to shake hands awkwardly?’ He said, shaking his hand extended for a handshake.

“Oh, s-sorry.”

Moon Bora slowly took his hand.
Soft and firm at the same time…
More than anything, a warm sensation flowed through Moon Bora’s hands.

“Nice to meet you. Moon Bora.”
“…Yes, likewise…”

Nice to meet you. Mr. Seha.

Three days later.

I slowly opened my mouth toward Moon Bora, who was whistling and avoiding my gaze from the side.

I deliberately raised my voice.

“Miss Moon Bora?”
“…Yes?”

Moon Bora swallowed dryly at my words.
Her face was colored with bewilderment, with an expression that seemed to say, ‘This… can’t be’.

“I told you to stay put in your room for at least a day because you’d be tormented for a while… So why… didn’t you do so? Because of that, I couldn’t take our Meowi out to play.”

“…So what?”

“…No way.”

Did you deceive me?