Chapter 4

Seeing Cho-i tilt her head from side to side alone, the other party members closed their mouths and looked at Hyeonchan. It was clear they wanted him to do something, as if that girl wasn’t in her right mind. Hyeonchan cursed lightly under his breath, finding it hard to grasp the current situation. What was certain, though, was that Cho-i, whom he thought was dead, had returned alive.

“Cho-i?”

“Yes?”

Cho-i turned her head at the sound of her name. She then saw Hyeonchan and her eyes widened.

“Hyeonchan!”

“Yes, that’s right, Cho-i.”

“My boyfriend!”

Cho-i rushed into his arms. Hyeonchan was flustered but hugged her back, patting her on the back.

“How much I missed you!”

At her words, Hyeonchan slowly began to organize his thoughts. Yes, she was a girl who couldn’t do anything without him anyway. She was his girlfriend whom he’d dated after pursuing her because she was the most popular girl in college, but he’d found her boring due to her timid and quiet personality. A girlfriend who was useless except for making him feel proud when he showed her off.

“How did you get out?”

“R-right! Where did all those Mantises go?”

Suyeon Park shouted the question.

“They retreated once I ran past a certain distance?”

Cho-i said brazenly.

“And then they disappeared.”

And she lied.

“Do you think that makes sense?”

“Then how else should I explain it?”

“N-no, that so many would suddenly disappear…!”

“If you’re curious, go in and see for yourself.”

Cho-i smiled.

“Even though you don’t have the courage.”

There was no hint of mockery in Cho-i’s wide smile, but Suyeon Park’s face turned bright red.

“You–!”

Suyeon Park was flustered by Cho-i, who was talking back unlike her usual self, and she stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence. Hyeonchan stepped in front of Suyeon Park.

“Alright, that’s enough now. Cho-i must be very tired and confused right now, so…”

Hyeonchan patted her and spoke like a tender boyfriend.

“I’m so glad you came back alive. You have no idea how worried I was.”

At that, Cho-i hugged him even tighter. Until he was almost out of breath.

“Cho-i…?”

“Really?”

“Huh?”

“You really worried about me?”

Her voice was flat. But it was her usual soft voice, so Hyeonchan answered without hesitation.

“Yes.”

“Don’t you have anything else to say first?”

At that, Hyeonchan sighed inwardly. He knew it wouldn’t just be let go. But now, in this situation, there was no other way than to simply apologize.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. But you know, don’t you? I had no choice but to make that decision for everyone. What’s important now is that you’re back. Cho-i, I’m truly happy you’re back.”

Cho-i hugged him tightly and smiled slyly.

“I’m happy too.”

Hyeonchan stroked her hair at her submissive answer.

“You understand everything, right?”

“Of course.”

Cho-i buried her face in Hyeonchan’s shoulder and said. A low chuckle escaped her.

“I understand, of course I do.”

“I knew you’d understand.”

Hyeonchan pulled Cho-i away. Cho-i’s eyes looked a little blank, no, why were her eyes like that?

“Cho-i, you’re really okay, right?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Her eyes were originally pitch black. So much so that her pupils weren’t visible in the shadows. But her eyes had no focus. Hyeonchan thought it was a bit troublesome and asked.

“Shall we rest a bit before we go?”

“Go? Where?”

“We have to go defeat our last boss monster, don’t we?”

“Ah, ahhh. Right. We were almost at the end.”

Cho-i clapped her hands and laughed at that. Oh, right. That’s how it was. We were in front of the boss monster. Mumbling such words. Hyeonchan looked at Cho-i like that, frowned, and smiled.

‘She seems to have gone crazy, should I discard her when we get out?’

Hyeonchan took her wrist and led her to the party members.

“Since Cho-i is back, let’s defeat the boss monster as planned and go back.”

“Uh, uh-huh. Let’s do that.”

Sangyeop Choi answered inadvertently, and Nara Shim glared at Cho-i with her lips tightly shut. Cho-i met Nara Shim’s gaze and asked,

“Were you worried about me?”

“You call that a question…! No, never mind. Let’s just get out of here quickly.”

Nara Shim was the first to turn around and walk away.

‘When we get out, I’m going to expose everything those bastards did. Those sons of bitches. What kind of stunt are they pulling with an innocent girl? She needs to snap out of it, but as soon as we get out, she’ll probably just cling to Hyeonchan An. What’s the point?’

She stomped along, and in the meantime, Sangyeop Choi subtly approached Cho-i.

“Hey, you know, right? That we had no choice. You understand everything, right?”

“Y-yeah. You would have done the same! Right?”

As Sangyeop Choi subtly spoke, Suyeon Park, who was standing not far away, also started talking to Cho-i. Hyeonchan, far from shielding Cho-i, looked at her as if agreeing with the statement. Cho-i said,

“I understand.”

She answered with a slight smile.

“I understand everything. So, let’s go.”

She started walking, following Nara Shim, who was leading the way. Suyeon Park and Sangyeop Choi followed behind, and finally, Hyeonchan An, who had been watching Cho-i, started to move.

‘Something’s off.’

Hyeonchan An felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity from Cho-i. If she were in her right mind, she should undoubtedly be hostile towards them.

‘Is it just my imagination?’

Perhaps she couldn’t easily shake off the habit of depending on him. Hyeonchan thought that was enough.

‘Yes, she can’t escape me unless she really dies.’

He started thinking that it was time to wrap up this party. Even with three B-Ranks, they couldn’t enter a B-Rank dungeon because they weren’t coordinated. His uncle, the Guild Master, couldn’t even bid on a B-Rank dungeon, making it a legacy party, but at this point, continuing to legacy it was foolish.

‘I’ll soothe Cho-i when we get out and then discard her, and since Nara Shim came back alive, I’ll have to persuade her well.’

Nara Shim needed to be in this guild so he could properly deal with things later. Thus, lost in his own thoughts, he failed to observe Cho-i. If he had paid a little more attention to her, things might have turned out differently. The group headed straight to where the boss monster was visible. The boss monster of this C-Rank dungeon was a Deer Knuckle, a giant deer with sharp, knuckle-shaped antlers. Hyeonchan gathered them around and began his briefing.

“Just do what we always do. Cho-i, you draw aggro at the front. This time, be careful not to get knocked down. The charge attack is quite fierce.”

“Okay.”

Cho-i replied very casually. Hyeonchan stared at Cho-i. Still, something was off. Cho-i was still looking at him with unfocused eyes.

“Why?”

“No, I’m counting on you. We’ll attack from behind, and if you get hurt, I’ll heal you, so don’t worry.”

“Oh, really?”

Cho-i asked again. Hyeonchan openly frowned.

“Yes, why have you been like this since earlier?”

Cho-i still smiled and tilted her head.

“I’m just answering.”

“…Alright. Just do that for now.”

“Okay.”

Cho-i discarded the Broken Sword and took out a proper Sword and Shield from her inventory. Then, she was the first to step forward. Clang! Clang! Clang! She then struck the shield and sword together, making a loud noise. As soon as the sound echoed, the Deer Knuckle immediately raised its head towards them. Unlike normal deer, its bloodshot eyes were grotesque. Cho-i made a loud noise once more and laughed.

“Hey, over here! Over here!”

She shouted excitedly.

“Don’t provoke it too much!”

Hyeonchan An shouted with annoyance. Cho-i, ignoring him, even whistled to provoke the monster. The boss monster immediately aimed its horns at them and began to charge. It was its most well-known skill, the rush. Cho-i held up her shield and tensed her thighs. The party members lined up behind her in order. Woooong! The deer let out a loud bellow and quickly approached them. And just before its horns collided with Cho-i’s shield.

“Huh?”

She jumped high, leaping towards the deer’s head. “Ugh, hngh.” Someone’s groan was heard. Cho-i burst out laughing. Cho-i landed on the back of the deer, grabbing its fur and settling in. And she grinned, looking at the person impaled on the deer’s horn.

“I was so scared that I accidentally dodged it?”

Cho-i lay on the deer’s back, wiggling her feet. The one impaled on the deer’s horn was none other than Sangyeop Choi. The person right behind Cho-i, the main dealer. He was bleeding profusely from his head and chest, pierced by the sharp, knuckle-like horns. It was a perfectly clean penetration, a perfect 10 out of 10. Cho-i clapped.

“You understand, you bastard?”

She cackled, watching him gasp his last breath. And the party members watching her outrageous behavior were wide-mouthed in shock.

“You, you, you. You just…”

“What are you doing!”

“Why?”

Cho-i smiled, looking down at them. Hyeonchan’s face was rigid, like a statue. He looked at Cho-i and said firmly.

“Cho-i Hyeon, what are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

“Stop playing around and come down.”

Cho-i blinked her eyes innocently.

“Playing around?”

She violently pulled the Deer Knuckle’s fur, turning its head. Sangyeop Choi was still impaled on the Deer Knuckle’s antlers. He hung limp, no longer convulsing, dead.

“Are you crazy? Do you think this is a game?”

Cho-i kicked the monster’s side hard. The monster began to thrash in pain, like an excited horse. Woooong! The Entity’s cry was heard once more, and Cho-i burst into cackling laughter. She looked down at the party members rolling on the floor, dodging the thrashing boss monster’s kicks.

“Now, let’s see who survives longer.”

Cho-i Hyeon abruptly stopped laughing, her eyes turning sinister, and spoke in a voice that sounded like falling icicles.

“When you live, things happen. If you had been abandoned like that, you would have done the same.”

And she repeated their words once more.

“Do you understand?”

“Cho-i Hyeon!”

Hyeonchan, whose hair was messy from rolling on the floor, lifted his head and shouted.

“Why are you calling me, you bastard! Don’t call me. I’ll get attached! Aaaah!”