Heroine Netori-Chapter 59

It was such a vivid dream. The scent, the touch, the pleasure... The memory of that day lingered in Lee Hyun-ah's mind even days later. It led her to doubt.

"Could it be that what I thought was a dream was actually real?"

So, she decided to test the waters.

"If I create the same situation as that day, could I verify it?"

But contrary to her thoughts, he did not take advantage of her drunken state. Instead, he comforted her with sweet words.

The words he said, that she could always act spoiled with him and that he'd always be on her side, were exactly what she wanted to hear when she felt lonely and insecure. But for some reason, she didn't want to hear them now.

What she really wanted wasn't just verbal comfort. She wanted him to act as he had in her dream, to sweep her off her feet.

"Turns out it was a waste of time... setting all that up."

If only he had, they might have been tied together forever.

****

Upon waking, Lee Hyun-ah immediately checked the camera she had set up the day before. In the footage, Gam Deok-bae was seen tucking her into bed, quickly cleaning up and doing the dishes, then coming over to stroke her hair. She had half-hoped to catch him in some nefarious act, perhaps stealing underwear or secretly filming her, but, unfortunately, none of that happened.

"He wouldn't do that, huh... silly me..."

Ironically, the sinister one was herself. She had installed the camera hoping that if he acted out the scene from her dream, she would have undeniable evidence to keep him by her side. But her entire premise—that the dream was reality—was flawed, so her plan was doomed from the start.

"I really am the worst... Sorry, uncle..."

With a heavy sigh, Lee Hyun-ah set the camera aside and slumped onto her bed, recalling the events of the previous day.

The uncle who had suddenly reawakened, the uncle who had soloed a D-rank dungeon with his scam-level ability, the uncle who had cleared it even faster than when they did it together...

She instinctively realized that if things continued this way, they would drift apart.

Both D-rank hunters, dealer and healer, woman and man, she had thought they were in it for the long haul, but reality begged to differ.

The stronger he became, the sooner he would reach C-rank and undoubtedly aim higher. And if that happened, she, who remained stagnant, couldn't continue with him. This realization made her anxious.

He was a precious connection she had finally made, her first real comrade, the person who had bolstered her self-esteem, her only lifeline.

She didn't want to lose that. If she lost him, she felt she would truly crumble. That's why she wanted to be with him forever.

"Setting up a camera for that? Was I out of my mind yesterday..."

In her anxiety, she hadn't held back in trying to secure him by any means necessary. She quickly installed a security camera at home under the pretense of parking her car. At the drinking party, she clung to him more than usual, pretending to be drunk to get him to take her home. At the convenience store...

"Ugh... I'm a regular there... how can I face them now..."

She had crazily tried to buy condoms, a clear signal of her intentions. That was immediately shut down.

After arriving home, she pretended to fall asleep immediately. While being mindful of the camera's position, she cleared obstacles to the bed and lay down. Muttering about being uncomfortable, she loosened the buttons of her shirt to make it easier for him to undress her.

But he did not take advantage of her. He was the kind uncle as usual.

"Ha... is uncle really impotent? It was all laid out for him..."

"Or am I not enough?"

To her, there were only two reasons he didn't make a move: he was either uninterested in women, or he didn't see her as a woman. She suspected the latter.

Thinking about it, he was a handsome man. It wasn’t apparent because he didn’t dress up, but when she saw his serious face during combat, she found herself unwittingly fluttered. He also had a good personality. Rarely angry, he always considered others' perspectives. He was nothing like the lust-driven men she knew.

After spending over a month together, becoming as familiar as one could be, she hadn't realized until a step back that he was indeed an attractive man.

Did he really have no women in his life? Absolutely not. Even though he seemed to have no contact with women currently, his behavior typically didn’t suggest a man without a past with women.

"Then he must have high standards for women..."

She figured there must have been many women around him who were much prettier and more competent than her. Understanding this made his behavior towards her clearer—he treated her more like a younger sister or a niece.

"Sigh... I shouldn't be doing this."

Before he could drift away, Lee Hyun-ah knew she had to make a move. But as much as she thought about it, it seemed the only way to catch his attention was through her appearance and body.

Despite despising men who only cared for those aspects, she now found herself contemplating using them to seduce one... It was an ironic twist that made her chuckle bitterly.

"But... how do I even start?"

That was the problem. She had never tried to seduce a man in her life. She was always the one being pursued, so the idea of taking the initiative was completely foreign to her. And she had no one around to ask for advice.

"I really didn't want to go this far..."

Her only option left was the internet.

[Search: How to seduce a man]

================

The requirement for the C-rank promotion exam was to clear a D-rank dungeon 30 times. With a cap of three D-rank dungeon clears per day, mathematically, it could be achieved in ten days—and that's exactly how long it took Gam Deok-bae and Lee Hyun-ah to meet the conditions.

Though clearing three times a day might sound daunting, it wasn't in practice. It took less than an hour to clear a dungeon together, so often, waiting took longer than the dungeon itself.

With the exam scheduled for the end of the month—this weekend—I registered immediately. Normally, I would have needed to prepare separately for the promotion exam, but I felt no need. I was that confident in my abilities.

On the other hand, Lee Hyun-ah gave up on the challenge. Technically, she had just been riding the bus, so passing the exam didn't seem likely. It seemed natural for her not to try.

But... Lee Hyun-ah... She had changed a lot over the last ten days. Always wearing modest, plain suits, she suddenly started wearing hotpants that showed off her thighs and tank tops that displayed her cleavage. She clung to me more than usual, acting almost as if she was my girlfriend.

Clearly... she was trying to seduce me. And the absence of the couple ring she always wore confirmed it.

However, I didn't reciprocate. I knew relationships based solely on pity never ended well. Lee Hyun-ah didn't need 'me.' She just needed 'someone' to depend on. Accepting her under these circumstances would have inevitably led to disaster.

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As I held firm, she changed her tactics. Instead of physical seduction, she emphasized her loneliness. Every night, she called me saying she couldn't sleep, felt incredibly lonely, and wished someone was there.

This method did have an effect. Seeing her dark circles grow each morning broke my heart, and I feared that continuing this way could lead to something bad—like her harming herself or ending up with the wrong kind of guy.

Finally, unable to stand seeing her in that state, I spoke up.

"If you pass the upcoming promotion exam, I have something important to tell you."

"Really...?"

Thankfully, that worked. After our conversation, her appeals of loneliness ceased, and naturally, her dark circles disappeared. She continued to wear revealing clothing, but since it was easy on the eyes, I didn't comment. We returned to our usual dynamic, enjoying our dungeon runs together.

And now, the day of the C-rank hunter promotion exam had arrived.