Perilla Leaf Mint Choco (2)

Dudududu!

A cute little punch.

If she had put in real strength, it would have hurt, but it was just an expression of surprise, so it felt like a pleasant massage.

“Young-aaaah!”

The owner of the massage punch(?) was none other than Ju Na-young.

With a startled expression, she was letting out a rare onomatopoeic sound like Meowi’s ‘Meeeoow~’.

Her pupils spun around, and the lack of focus indicated a temporary panic symptom.

I silently accepted the punches and thought.

Today is truly a lucky day.

‘Haha… To see this so early.’

The so-called ‘Yongdada Punch’.

A unique habit of Ju Na-young and her signature special move to appeal to the supervisors.

An action that appears whenever her embarrassment exceeds a certain level, and her emotions become heightened.

In essence, it was a charming point that symbolized the character ‘Ju Na-young.’

And it wasn’t just about performance in Ju Na-young’s case.

Many supervisors declared that they would train her just because of this ‘Youngdada Punch.’

As you can see, it was extremely cute.

Ju Na-young, who kept it up for about 10 more seconds, soon seemed to regain her senses and stopped with a “Huh…!”

She fidgeted with her fingers, hesitating.

“Ah, um… Sorry. I’m just used to doing that to my mom.”

“It’s okay. So, why were you here?”

At my question, Ju Na-young flinched.

She twisted her mouth and slightly avoided my gaze.

Then she mumbled, ‘Why am I avoiding it?!’ and looked straight at me.

This girl was playing both the drum and the flute by herself…
She was quite an entertaining character to watch.

“…I-I wasn’t spying! I just happened to pass by! That’s all!”

“Who said anything about that?”

“I-it’s true! I–”

“I know.”

“…Ah?”

“I know well that you wouldn’t do something so underhanded.”

Ju Na-young is someone who walks the typical path of righteousness.
She’s unable to stand injustice and hates things that aren’t right.
But that doesn’t mean she’s a stubborn person who doesn’t listen to anything.
She has a moderate amount of flexibility and tends to assess the situation before acting, so she rarely seems frustrating.

For someone with her personality to spy on others?

‘There’s no way.’

Meanwhile, Ju Na-young, who heard the confident answer, was bewildered.

What on earth does he believe in to say such a thing about her?

‘…And what’s with that look in his eyes?’

It felt somewhat strange to see a content expression, as if he were looking at a cute little animal.

Pouting her lips, she muttered a small rebellion.

“Hey, how can you act like you know me so well when you barely know me?!”
“Anyway, it worked out well. I wanted to give it to you, but I didn’t have the chance. Wait for a moment.”
“…Huh?”

Ju Na-young tilted her head.

Yu Seha, who told her to wait for a moment, brought a small bag.
He rummaged through it and handed something over.

This is…?
N-no way?!

“…Perilla mint mentos?!”

There was no doubt about it.
That distinctive green color and the subtle scent of perilla leaves.

It was definitely the real deal.

It wasn’t a fake that just had the scent and flavor roughly added to regular Mentos to sell to enthusiasts.

“…Wow.”

Ju Na-young unknowingly opened her mouth in a daze.

To get this, she had secretly asked the Secretary ahjussi.

She had also talked to the Team Leader unnie she was close to.

But she couldn’t get any.

They were all discontinued, so even getting a crumb was difficult.

“Wh-where… how did you get this precious thing?”
“Hehehe.”

Seha, who was giggling, waved a Mentos in front of Ju Na-young’s eyes.

Ju Na-young’s eyes flicked back and forth like a puppy in front of a treat.

The pupils of her green eyes dilated.

It was a characteristic reaction she showed when feeling greedy.

“Do you want to eat it?”

Gulp! Ju Na-young swallowed her dry saliva.
She slowly reached out her hand, then hesitated.

“Do you think I’ll fall for something like this? Don’t be ridiculous! I’m Ju Na-young!”
“Um…”
“What?!”
“Then why don’t you let go?”
“…?!”

Surprised, Ju Na-young looked straight ahead.

Before she knew it, her hand was gripping the Mentos and trembling.

She felt slightly disgusted by her own greed, and Seha, who had chuckled, relaxed his grip and handed it over.

“Here, just eat it.”
“…This, with something like this…”
“Just eat it. Please.”
“……”

Carefully, she peeled it and put it in her mouth.
Ju Na-young’s cheeks blushed with the unique, mysterious, and sweet taste.

“Hmm~”
“You’ll get indigestion. Drink this too.”
“Hmm…? Hmm?!”

She was once again surprised by the drink handed to her.

A drink with sparkling carbonation.

It was undoubtedly sesame leaf mentos.
Th-this was also hard to get.

“You should drink it together, right? It’s a set item.”
“Chew, chew… Y-You know something, don’t you?”

He seemed to be somewhat similar to herself.
Feeling an instant internal closeness, Ju Na-young accepted his kindness and gulped it down without hesitation.

As it went down her throat, the unique explosive carbonation added an overwhelming refreshing feeling.

“Ahh… I never thought I’d taste this again.”
“Is it your first time in a while?”
“Both were discontinued three years ago… It’s hard to find stock now.”

Yu Seha made a surprised expression at those words.
After pondering for a moment, he cautiously started speaking.

“Actually, I have hundreds of these.”
“…Wh-What?! Hundreds?”
“Yeah.”
“Y-You wicked hoarder! So it was you who kept them from us!”
“No, no. I got them from someone else.”

Ju Na-young hesitated at his words.
After some contemplation, she quietly asked,

“…H-How much do you want?”
“Huh?”
“For those remaining stocks. I’ll buy them all. I-I’ll pay a high price.”

Embarrassed by her own words, Ju Na-young’s neck turned red.

It seemed she felt ashamed to say such things to Yu Se-ha, whom she had been grumbling at until a moment ago.

But even so, Ju Na-young really wanted them.

For her, the perilla leaf mint choco mentos series was a nostalgic scent and a symbol of longing.

“If you want, I can pay right away–”
“I don’t want your money.”
“Ah…”
“You don’t need to be disappointed. I’ll just give it to you.”
“Huh?”

Yu Seha smirked and handed over all the dozens of Mentos from his bag.

Ju Na-young’s eyes wavered at the generous gesture.

“All of these…?”
“Yeah, but in return, can you do me a favor?”
“…What is it?”
“Let’s talk more often, like now.”
“…Talk?”

Ju Na-young was flustered by the unexpected request.

“Yes, more specifically… hang out with our group in the mornings. And talk here in the training room at night.”

Group?
If it’s the people who hang out with Yu Seha…

“The cute and adorable feline girl… are you talking about Snow Ice?”
“Yes, Ma Hana and Moon Bora. Those two.”
“…I’ve been curious. How did you manage to get Snow Ice in your party? I heard she’s cold and aloof.”

Ju Na-young chuckled incredulously at Yu Seha’s words.

“She may seem cold and aloof… but she’s actually a pushover if you get to know her.”
“Huh?”
“Well, I forced her in. Anyway, what’s your answer?”
“……”

Ju Na-young pouted.
From a business standpoint, it was a win-win deal.

Just by hanging out with them, she could get the hard-to-find perilla leaf mint series.

‘Ha, but…’

Something about agreeing to this felt like a slight to her pride.

Especially since the other party was Yu Seha, who was competing for the position of Professor Peng Jin-ah’s exclusive disciple.

But when she saw him take out an extra perilla leaf mint choco Mentos from his bag and shake it, she finally surrendered.

“Ah, fine! But… just for a while! Not for long!”

“Of course. Anyway, I’m looking forward to it, Ju Na-young.”

“…L-looking forward to what… it’s just a conversation…”

Time passed relentlessly.
One day passed.
Two days passed.

And then, on the third day.

“…Huh, what?”

Ju Na-young, who had been blinking, stared blankly ahead with a dazed expression.

“The stir-fried pork is delicious here.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Meeeoow.”

Despite looking like a noble lady, Moon Bora was putting stir-fried pork into her mouth with gusto.

Yu Seha was cutting a pork cutlet.

Even Ma Hana was drooling over her pork belly rice bowl…

When Ju Na-young came to her senses, she found herself naturally having lunch with them.

“Meeeow~ Na-young, what’s wrong? It’s getting cold.”
“Huh? O-Oh… what?”

She had even started speaking informally with Ma Hana.

From what she had heard, she was the same age as Yu Seha, 19 years old…

‘But I’m two years older?’

She couldn’t remember clearly.
But it seemed she had fallen completely for that cuteness.

The curiosity didn’t stop there.

After the meal, in the afternoon, it was time for training.

“Excellent, Ju Na-young.”
“Thank you.”

Ju Na-young punched the rock even stronger than a few days ago.

Peng Jin-ah, who watched the scene, smiled faintly.

She bowed her head and walked back with a happy heart.

Two women greeted her as if it were natural.

One was a girl with a lively face and short blue hair.

The other had silver hair and a gentle demeanor.

They were fellow freshmen called Ryu Da-rae and Hwang Kibum, respectively.

“Ju Na-young. That’s amazing.”
“Na-young! You were awesome!”

The two had recently gotten closer to Ju Na-young.

To be exact, they were chosen by the professors for the team match in the third week.

Ju Na-young didn’t particularly want to get close to them.

Both of them were sociable, and somehow they ended up opening up to each other.

Sure, whatever.
These two could be overlooked.
They were teammates after all.

The problem arose with the two individuals waving from elsewhere.

Ma Hana and Yu Seha.

“Meeeeoooow~ Na-young-ah. Amazing!”
“As expected of <Flame Dragon>.”

Ju Na-young was flustered.

Why were they welcoming her so warmly?

What was more bewildering was her own response of waving back at them.

‘Huh…?’

Time flowed on.

The fourth day.
The fifth day.

At lunch, as if it were natural, she dined with Yu Seha’s group and engaged in trivial conversations.

In the afternoon, she trained hard, fueled by a sense of rivalry towards him.

Finally, in the evening, they met in the training room alone and chatted away.

Yes.

Just like now.

The training room with only the two of them.

Ju Na-young was chattering away in front of Yu Seha, telling stories with great enthusiasm.

“So, what I’m saying is… when Professor Peng Jin-ah appeared, swirling her black cloak, it was so cool… Huh?”

At this point, Ju Na-young sensed that something was off.

‘Wh-What am I doing right now?’

“Ah!”

“…? Ju Na-young. What’s wrong?”

It seemed already too late.
No, it was actually too late.
She jumped up from her seat.

“What’s this? Leaving already?”
“Don’t act so friendly! Don’t forget, you and I are rivals competing for the position of Professor Peng Jin-ah’s exclusive disciple!”

Yu Seha made a slightly tired expression at those words.

“Oh, you’re still keeping up that pretense?”
“Pretense?”

He chuckled at the sight of the fuming Ju Na-young.

“Anyway, I’m leaving!”
“See you tomorrow.”
“……”

Without a reply, Ju Na-young disappeared.

I watched her go and stretched my neck here and there.

Anyone could see it was a clumsy way to let things slide.
But in fact, there was no better way to get closer to Ju Na-young.

According to her character, she is very wary of those who approach her with an agenda, but is endlessly weak to those who genuinely want to befriend her.

‘This much should have pulled out some of the thorns.’

If I could ride this momentum and recruit her as a party member…

I decided to stop being greedy about that.

Ju Na-young, like Meowi and Moon Bora, is a character I have spent a long time nurturing.

Of course, I initially raised her because of her abilities.

But that doesn’t mean I didn’t give her affection.

‘Just looking at her makes me happy.’

Just exchanging a few words with each other.

Sometimes, just being friends who occasionally eat together was enough for me.

Anyway, it was when I thought it was too late and decided to go in.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

Yongdada!

“…Huh?”

It was Ju Na-young, whom I thought had already left, came running towards me.

What is that she’s holding in her hand?

“Ju Na-young? Did you forget something? Do you need more Mentos?”
“Here, take this.”

Then she abruptly handed me what she was holding.

It was a cylindrical container about the size of a forearm…
It looked like it contained something important.

I tilted my head in confusion and asked.

“What is this?”
“Open it…”
“…Huh?”
“Just stop asking and open it!”

With no other choice, I opened the lid of the container.

With a hiss, the residual magic spread like mist.

What was revealed next was…

It was a faintly glowing yellow dagger.
It was a small dagger about 15 cm long, but oddly, it was a plain dagger without any patterns or designs.

Someone might think it was a cheap item.
I was so surprised when I saw it that my eyes widened.

Th-this, could it be…?
Could it really be that?

After looking around, I was convinced by the mysterious initials engraved at the end of the handle.

There was no doubt.

‘…Crazy, this…’

It’s really the [Dagger of the Pilgrim]?!