blueteamnovel Side Story Chapter 10 - Oh Kang-Hee, Cupid of Love (4)
Side Story Chapter 10 - Oh Kang-Hee, Cupid of Love (4)
Side Story Chapter 10 - Oh Kang-Hee, Cupid of Love (4)
"Ah, yes. It's nice to meet you."
Layla stared wide-eyed at the mysterious beauty who named herself Oh Kang-Hee.
'She was Korean...?'
Layla expected Kang-Hee to be royalty like Iris due to her natural elegance and high aura.
'Is she from a conglomerate family?'
Layla knew that although there was no nobility in Korea, there existed an invisible hierarchy based on one's wealth.
"Layla?" Kim Si-Hun called.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
Layla, who had been intently observing Kang-Hee, came to her senses. She bowed modestly and grabbed the hand Kang-Hee stretched out. Her hands were soft.
'She's not a warrior.'
The hands of warriors were covered in calluses regardless of whether they were men or women.
"Are you a mage or healer, Kang-Hee?" Layla asked.
"Oh, I..."
"She isn't a Player," Si-Hun interjected.
Layla stared at Kang-Hee in surprise. She asked, "You were in a Gate despite not being a Player?'
Si-Hun had said that Kang-Hee had acquired special powers in a Gate like Kim Tae-Hyun had. Non-Players were prohibited from entering Gates.
"I didn't enter of my own accord," Kang-Hee replied.
"Then..."
"She was caught in a Gate expansion," Si-Hun clarified.
Layla looked at Kang-Hee in surprise again. Although monsters coming out of Gates to attack things around them was common, the Gate itself increasing in size was a very rare phenomenon.
'But...'
Although rare, there had been a few precedents. Si-Hun said that he had discovered an abnormal Gate phenomenon, so an ordinary citizen getting caught in a Gate expansion was more than possible.
"I guess I should make my report of the incident." Si-Hun glanced at Kang-Hee and continued, "I happened to see the Gate expansion when I was in Daejeon and headed to it right away. And, uhhh..."
Cold sweats formed on Si-Hun's forehead as he was explaining. He began to look around anxiously like a man who needed to poop after being constipated for five days but couldn't find a bathroom near him. Kang-Hee gently stepped on Si-Hun's foot.
"And Si-Hun saved me after I was swept into the Gate. Right?"
"Ah, yes. That's right."
Layla tilted her head in confusion, noticing the irregularity in Si-Hun's expression, and then turned to Kang-Hee. "What did you see in the Gate?"
"Well... I don't quite remember," Kang-Hee expressed as she elegantly placed her finger on her lip; even such a simple motion made her feel like royalty. She looked up as if rummaging through her memories and continued, "It was like... outer space. It was full of stars, and... I also saw a super bright Milky Way."
"Inside the Gate...?"
Kang-Hee softly nodded.
Then Si-Hun, who was speed-reading a piece of paper he had taken out of his pocket, remarked, "She's right. The inside of the Gate was like outer space. There weren't any monsters, but... something like a black hole was sucking her in."
"And that's when you saved her, Si-Hun?"
"Yes, that's right," Si-Hun replied, nodding in satisfaction for some reason.
Kang-Hee stepped on Si-Hun's foot again out of Layla's field of view.
"What happened to that Gate?" Layla asked.
"It disappeared as soon as I rescued Kang-Hee."
"Hmm."
Si-Hun ended up being abandoned because he was a concubine's son, but he lived in his father's home in the past.
"I-I told you not to tell Layla!" shouted Si-Hun extremely awkwardly.
However, Layla had no time to feel something was wrong due to Kang-Hee's following question.
"Why not? Are you two dating or something?"
Deathly silence fell in the office.
"Well... no."
"Really? Then there's no need to hide it, is there?" said Kang-Hee as she hugged Si-Hun's arm.
Crunch.
The pen Layla was holding was smashed into smithereens.
'Nice, that's what I wanted to see!' Kang-Woo yelled in his head. 'Man, it was worth putting all that time into my appearance and background.'
Kang-Woo created his current appearance with the concept lady of a rich household in mind and even added a setting where she could meddle with the System.
'With this, she won't fall behind Layla in terms of looks and capability.'
The decisive blow was the made-up past with Si-Hun, something Layla didn't have.
'Hell yeah, this is the power of the childhood friend!!'
Kang-Hee looked at Layla as she smiled like a victor; Layla's eyes reflected a vivid sense of jealousy. Kang-Hee hugged Si-Hun's arm harder as if to show off.
"Y-You two seem... close," Layla remarked.
"No, we weren't that close. I say childhood friend but we rarely kept in touch..."
"But," Kang-Hee mentioned as she twisted around with her face reddened, "Si-Hun... save my life... I don't even want to imagine what would've happened to me if I had stayed stuck in that Gate."
Layla shook as if she were struck by lightning, staring at the embarrassed Kang-Hee.
'S-She's cute!!' Layla thought.
An elegant noble lady was getting embarrassed with her face reddened. Something welled up from inside Layla as she recalled what sort of relationship Si-Hun and Kang-Hee had.
'Childhood friend... lady of a rich household... life's savior... Hitom— urgh, m-my head!'
Layla knew it would sell like hotcakes if this story were to be adapted to an ero manga.
"You seem to be stuck quite c-close to him... despite saying you're not close."
"My, I'm sorry," Kang-Hee said as she hugged Si-Hun tighter instead. She blatantly put Si-Hun's arm between her breasts. "But I can't forget... how cool Si-Hun was as he saved me. Fufu, it's a bit old-fashioned, but... he was like a knight in shining armor."
Kang-Hee leaned her head on Si-Hun's broad shoulder and carefully interlocked her fingers with his.
She then whispered in his ear, "Thanks, Si-Hun. If it weren't for you... I wouldn't be here."
Layla's expression crumpled even more. Kang-Hee smiled in a way that Layla couldn't see it.
'Alright, we're almost there!!'
From Layla's reactions, Kang-Woo could tell they were only a few more pushes away until her jealousy burst. Once that happened, her stagnant relationship with Si-Hun would surely take off. Kang-Woo nodded in satisfaction as things were going perfectly to plan.
'How about it, Si-Hun?! I told you that you could trust me!!'
Kang-Woo looked up at Si-Hun as if boasting."U-Uhh, Y-Yeah..."
'Why the hell is your face red, bro?'
"I-I o-o-o-o-o-o-only did... what I-I should have d-done."
'What the hell is wrong with this dude?'
1. Layla is surprised because Kang-Hee is addressing Si-Hun very casually, but it doesn't translate well in English. ☜
2. Chaebol refers to a single family (or a member of the family) that runs and controls a South Korean conglomerate. ☜