Heroine Netori-Chapter 58

Confident in his newfound abilities, Gam Deok-bae decided to tackle the dungeon solo. He wanted to test his limits and see just how far he could go.

And the result? Gam Deok-bae successfully soloed a D-rank dungeon.

His clear time was one hour and thirteen minutes—a significant improvement from when he was teaming up with Lee Hyun-ah.

====

I'm not clueless. I noticed right away why Lee Hyun-ah got so gloomy all of a sudden. Could it be because she’s jealous of me advancing ahead of her as a hunter?

Plus, the feelings of inferiority and self-loathing for not being as strong as me must have depressed her. I've been there, so I could empathize with her.

But that didn’t mean I could pretend to be weak just to make her feel better. If she can't keep up, eventually, we’ll have to part ways. So, sacrificing my progress just for the sake of her feelings seemed pointless. It was harsh, but that was the reality.

Still... I could at least try to comfort her.

I decided to organize a drinking session to celebrate my first solo dungeon clear, thinking a drink might help lift Lee Hyun-ah's spirits.

***

“How’s it going with your boyfriend? Did you guys make up?”

“...That bastard...”

“Huh?”

“That bastard... is a total jerk, really!”

Ah, crap. I was just trying to steer the conversation away from hunter stuff, but I accidentally hit the panic button. She had mentioned her boyfriend was against her hunting career... My bad.

“Is he still telling you to quit hunting?”

“It’s not just that—he cheated on me!”

Oh, damn. It felt like I'd just hit a double whammy that threw ice water on everything. How could anyone cheat on her? What kind of saint do you have to be?

Just moments ago, Lee Hyun-ah was all smiles talking to me, but now she was on the verge of tears, venting her frustrations.

Damn, this is really just making her feel worse. What a mess.

“...Ugh. Please tell me, uncle! How could he do that, huh?”

“...Yeah, how could he?”

Lee Hyun-ah wasn’t good at holding her liquor, but she forced it down anyway. Then she started yelling at the top of her lungs.

Listening to her, it was too clear to be a misunderstanding. Waking up early in the morning to find him with another woman, and he even made her breakfast. Not having a sister made it obviously cheating.

“That bastard... sniff, this isn’t the first time.”

“...What?”

“He’s been two-timing, that jerk!”

Ah, this is just terrible. It felt like being hit by a pitch right to the head. He was a repeat offender? Seriously, what kind of guy keeps doing that and still maintains a relationship?

“Sniff... that bad guy... sob, such a jerk... wahhh.”

Now Lee Hyun-ah was outright bawling. To think, her mental state was already fragile from boyfriend troubles, and then a colleague suddenly reawakens and solos a D-rank dungeon, and I bring up her cheating boyfriend at a drinking party?

‘Holy shit.’

I would've reacted the same way. Overwhelmed by guilt, I couldn't even lift my head.

“So he apologizes, saying he’ll treat me better from now on! Sob.”

“Again! Another lie! Waaaah.”

Sitting on pins and needles here. I felt too bad to just sit there, so I moved next to Lee Hyun-ah to console her.

“Sob... Uncle... Uncle!”

As I patted her shoulder, Lee Hyun-ah threw herself into my arms and cried her heart out. Her tears soaked my T-shirt, but I couldn’t push her away.

‘But really, her boyfriend is a total jerk.’

He’d cheated and caused her to break up with her only friend, leaving her isolated and manipulated to rely solely on him. He was a bigger trash bag than I thought.

Listening to her, it was clear that Siwoo was really a good guy. A bit clueless and gullible but not a bad person.

Really, next time I see him, I need to treat him better...

****

Once again, Lee Hyun-ah had reached her limit from drinking, and Gam Deok-bae ended up carrying her home. It was a good thing they had the drinking party near her house, just in case this happened again. Despite it being a hassle with all the stuff he had to carry, the soft, comforting feeling on his back made it all bearable.

"Sob... Uncle... don’t do that..."

This time, unlike before, Lee Hyun-ah didn’t fall asleep. She wasn’t that drunk. Instead, she kept moving around while he carried her, making it quite a struggle.

"You know, right? You absolutely mustn’t do that!"

Looks like I’m not getting lucky tonight. I could force something if I played on physical stimulation, but that just wasn’t the mood. Touching her in her vulnerable state seemed like it would plunge us both into deep darkness.

"Ugh, let's just stop by here for a sec."

"Sob, okay..."

Today, I just had to get her home and make sure she slept it off. Thinking this, I took Lee Hyun-ah into a convenience store to buy some hangover recovery drinks and some instant noodles for a hangover remedy.

As I was picking out items with Lee Hyun-ah stumbling beside me, she suddenly clung to me. Then she looked up at me with puppy eyes and started acting all cute.

"Uncle... can you buy me this drink... sob... just one, please?"

"Oh! And this too! This one's really tasty... hehe."

Her mood swings were extreme, almost like she was bipolar. I was confused about which tune to dance to, but one thing was clear.

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'She’s so damn cute...'

Her cutesy act was incredibly charming. Tempting enough to make a saint stumble. No, stop. I have to hold back. I shouldn’t ruin everything by acting on impulse. Let’s just hold on.

"Okay, pick whatever you want. I’ll buy it all."

"Really? Hehe... jackpot! Then this, and this..."

Lee Hyun-ah happily linked arms with me, pulling me around the store as she chose various items, while I enjoyed the soft touch of her arm against mine as I loaded up the basket.

"Please check us out."

As we approached the counter, the part-timer couldn’t keep his eyes off Lee Hyun-ah’s chest. I cleared my throat and asked him to ring us up, and he looked at me with an admiring stare. Ah, it’s not what it looks like. Hmmm... I couldn’t help but feel a bit proud.

"Ah, we forgot this!"

Suddenly, Lee Hyun-ah grabbed something from beside the counter and placed it on top of the basket. What the hell? Why is she doing this? The item she picked made both the part-timer's and my pupils shake.

Was she so drunk she was hallucinating? Did she think this was a dream?

"Let's not get this."

"Right... we don’t need this... hehe."

See, if you say it like that, it sounds like a misunderstanding. I sighed and looked at the part-timer, who was gaping at us.

"No, not needed..."

"Could you hurry up and check us out, please?"

"Ah, yes!"

Is he insane? Blurting that out. And it’s not like that, really. I truly just plan to let her sleep tonight.

****

After arriving at Lee Hyun-ah’s place, I only removed her socks and jacket and laid her down on the bed. I wanted to help her wash up since she hadn't slept, but as soon as we got home, she felt relieved and immediately fell asleep.

I left her to sleep and started to tidy up a bit. The desk was cluttered with papers strewn all over, and it looked so messy that I couldn’t just leave it alone.

"Ah, this Chinese restaurant is good. Hyun-ah has some taste."

Among the papers on top of the pile was the name of my favorite Chinese restaurant, which was a pleasant surprise to see.

After finishing cleaning and washing my hands, I decided to take one last look at Lee Hyun-ah before leaving. She was sleeping peacefully, making small sleeping noises.

Having such a pretty girlfriend and still cheating? It was incomprehensible. Poor girl, how did she end up with such a guy?

Feeling pity, I reached out and gently stroked her hair.

"Heeung..."

She had been through so much. Living alone in a foreign place, getting fired from the guild, failing at networking so she had no friends, and dealing with a long-distance boyfriend who cheated...

Yet, she always managed to show a bright face, never letting on how hard she was struggling. How could she be so kind and admirable?

"Hyun-ah, I’m always on your side. Don’t struggle on your own. Whenever you're having a hard time, you can always whine to me. I’m your comrade, right?"

With that thought, I spoke words of comfort to her, even though she couldn’t hear them.

====

In the quiet studio apartment, shortly after Gam Deok-bae left, Lee Hyun-ah slowly opened her eyes.

She then placed her hand on her head where he had stroked her hair and smiled softly. She could still feel the warmth of his touch, warming her heart.

"It really was just a dream that day," she murmured in a slightly regretful tone, lost in the deep darkness around her.