In a small smoking room tucked away in a corner of the shelter.
Kim Ji-won, who had stepped inside, pulled a cigarette from a pack in her pocket, placed it between her lips, and then held the pack out to me.
“You don’t have any, do you?”
Her tone suggested she already knew.
Interesting.
“How are you so sure?”
She pointed to the tip of her nose with her index finger and answered.
“Because you don’t smell.”
“Smell? You mean, of cigarettes?”
Kim Ji-won gave a slight nod.
“People who smoke regularly have a specific scent.”
“…Ah.”
She seemed quite confident in her sense of smell.
I took a cigarette from the pack she offered and put it in my mouth.
Click!
“Here, a lighter.”
She lit her own cigarette before offering me the lighter.
“I’m good.”
As if creating a flame was that difficult.
When I conjured a small flame at my fingertip and lit my cigarette, she stared at me in surprise.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s just a little strange. I heard mages hate using magic for things like this.”
“There are people like that.”
In fact, there were more than just a few. They were the types who, perhaps because magic is a skill where talent trumps effort, wrap it up in the guise of a sacred discipline and carry an absurd sense of entitlement, believing themselves to be the chosen ones.
I call those people fools.
Anyway.
That wasn't what was important right now.
Exhaling a thick cloud of smoke for the first time in a while, I studied Kim Ji-won standing across from me.
Sensing my gaze, she asked with a light smile.
“So? What’s your impression?”
“Hmm…”
My impression, huh.
Her eyes held a look that was just the right amount of haughty and just the right amount of bold.
Her gaze was captivating, like that of a proud cat, yet it occasionally left room for suggestion.
A high-bridged nose that, if it were a mountain, would not be easy to conquer, and plump, red lips.
On top of that, a firm body sculpted through meticulous care.
If I had to sum it all up in one word…
“A luxury brand?”
As the word left my lips, she laughed.
“Hohoho! Me, a luxury brand? Like a Shanellia sold in a department store?”
“That’s how I see you.”
Yes, that kind of luxury brand.
The kind displayed reverently in a department store, sold with boasts of being handcrafted stitch by stitch by an artisan.
“That’s the first time I’ve heard a compliment like that. Should I say thank you?”
But you know what?
Even luxury brands have tiers.
She was definitely a luxury brand.
But… a luxury brand that wasn't as high-tier as one might think.
You know the type, right?
A brand everyone knows by name, but whose products aren't priced exorbitantly high.
The kind that makes you think, ‘Huh, at this price, maybe I could get one for myself…?’
The way I saw it, Kim Ji-won was exactly that kind of woman.
Maybe that’s why the old man was so smitten with her.
He probably thought that if he played his cards right, if he really tried, he might be able to have her for himself.
Hiding these thoughts, I smiled lightly and replied to her.
“I’m glad you’re happy.”
Whatever my true intentions were, as long as we both felt good, that’s all that mattered, right?
However, there was one thing that puzzled me.
“That’s why I don’t quite get it.”
“What is it?”
“Why a woman like you keeps a married, middle-aged man by her side.”
It was true she was a luxury item worth taking a shot at, but she wasn't a woman just anyone could reach for.
For a middle-aged man, a married one at that, to suddenly make a move…
For that to be possible, wouldn't the old man have to be a chaebol, or a handsome silver fox that even women in their twenties would fall for?
To my rather obvious question, she answered with a bright smile.
“We’re not as close as you think.”
With that opening, Kim Ji-won tossed her finished cigarette butt into the trash and continued.
“Did you know? The facilities inside the shelter are tiered.”
“I know.”
The shelter was equipped with various facilities in case of a long-term situation.
The most prominent among them was the lodging, and surprisingly, this lodging was divided by class.
“A woman who runs a small bar was assigned to D-wing. Can you believe it? They crammed four people into one tiny room.”
D-wing.
The four-person rooms where the majority of people were assigned.
Just because it was for four people didn't mean the room was large; it was a wretchedly small space with two bunk beds installed on either side of a room the size of a shoebox.
It was like the four-person room I was assigned during the Hunter qualification exam.
Actually, it was probably even smaller and more miserable than that.
“To be honest, the people I lived with were more of a problem than the facilities. They were all neighborhood ladies, and every single one of them was dying to tear me apart.”
“…Is there a particular reason?”
“There is,” Kim Ji-won said, continuing with a confident smile.
“Because, as you said, I’m a luxury brand? Hoho!”
“Ah…”
Just hearing that, I understood.
Kim Ji-won was certainly a beauty rarely seen in a provincial area like this.
If a woman like her ran a bar, wouldn't all the men in the neighborhood drink there?
And according to what Jeong-hee saw, she seemed to have no problem with a bit of light touching.
The other women must have hated that.
I wouldn't be surprised if half of them already saw Kim Ji-won as their husbands' mistress.
“So I went to Officer Shin, who I was close with, and seduced him into letting me sleep over.”
Oh, you old fool.
You fell for it hook, line, and sinker just because a pretty woman asked to sleep over.
He probably imagined himself vigorously having sex with her in his head right then and there.
Placing a new cigarette between her lips, she continued.
“Well… unlike me, who just wanted to sleep, it seems our dear Officer Shin wanted something else.”
The most interesting topic of our conversation so far finally surfaced.
“So, did you give him what he wanted?”
She smiled, one corner of her mouth curling up.
“What do you think?”
“Oh, dear…”
Judging by her reaction, she must have teased him, acting like she would but ultimately giving him nothing.
Honestly, this was unexpected.
It wouldn't have been bad if they had definitively crossed the line, giving me a stronger card to play.
As a pang of disappointment hit me, the lust that had been building for the past few days began to stir, telling me to reach out and devour what another man had so desperately craved.
“Hmm…? Why are you suddenly smiling?”
Ah.
I had failed to control my expression.
In that case, I had no choice but to be a little more blatant.
“I was just thinking how fortunate that is.”
“In what way?” she asked, her smile now tinged with a strange sensuality.
She already knew, yet she was asking again just for the sake of it.
“Who knows.”
After finishing my cigarette, I stepped closer and looked down at her.
Just as my eyes were filled with desire, hers didn't seem much different.
A feverish bloom of passion was blossoming in her eyes.
“Let’s have a drink after this is all over. As for the place… I was hoping it could be your bar.”
There was no way she didn't understand the hidden meaning in my proposal. The smile on her lips deepened.
Other than that smile, no further answer was needed.
—I’m so glad nothing happened to you, dear.
—Ah, you had me worried! When something like this happens, don’t you think about how worried we’d be?!
Jeong-hee expressed her concern for her husband in a dry tone.
And Shin Yujeong, as always, showed her true colors even to her father.
After reporting the old man’s survival over the phone and parting ways, I called Director Kim Seongtae, who was down in Haenam managing the operation and the accident site.
I had only one request.
“Please leave me out of the team composition.”
—…Are you saying you intend to operate solo?
“That’s right.”
It was time to unshackle myself.
—I know you’re highly capable, Mr. Kim, but the Kraken Junior is not an opponent to be taken lightly.
As expected, Kim Seongtae politely refused my proposal.
Well, it was understandable.
It would be a problem for him to simply accept a mage’s request to act alone without any frontline support.
“Director.”
—Please, speak.
But it was fine.
I knew how to change his mind.
“Have I ever made you an empty promise, or failed to meet your expectations?”
—…
Those words were enough.
—I will make the arrangements.
“Thank you, Director.”
I didn't forget to thank him, who always gave in to my proposals as if he couldn't help it.
After that, I had lunch.
“Dojin, try this too! Isn’t it delicious?”
“Y-Yes, it is.”
I had originally planned to eat alone, but Juyeon called just before lunchtime, asking to eat together.
“Auntie, you’re making Dojin uncomfortable.”
“Oh my, was I…?”
“…No.”
The moment she heard my answer, Son Seo-yeon glared at me with a look of betrayal.
Hey… how was I supposed to say anything when she was looking at me with those teary eyes?
As lunchtime was ending, the team compositions were finally announced.
There were over fifty teams, each consisting of one A-rank and three B-ranks.
Among them, my name was the only one standing alone.
“That man certainly gets things done.”
When facing an opponent like the Kraken Junior, it was better to be alone than with just anyone.
I didn't want to trust some random strangers as teammates and risk facing a crisis at any moment.
Nor did I want to waste my time and mana trying to save them.
The raid was set to begin at dawn, so I sat in my room meditating to get my condition right.
Ding-dong!
The cheerful doorbell echoed through the room, abruptly pulling my deeply submerged consciousness to the surface.
“…Who is it?”
Was I expecting anyone?
I went straight to the door and opened it to find a familiar face.
“Sunbae, what brings you all the way here…?”
My visitor was none other than Son Seo-yeon.
“I have… a favor to ask.”
Seeing how difficult it was for her to speak, it didn't seem like a simple request.
“What is it?”
When I asked out of curiosity, she forced her eyes, which kept drifting downward, to look up at me and parted her lips.
“…Can I go with you to the battle tomorrow?”
Ah, so that was it.
I was wondering what the favor could be.
I thought it was something incredibly important and got worried for a second.
With a relieved expression, I smiled brightly and gave her my answer.
“No.”
Then I immediately closed the door.
Thud!
The nerve of her.
What an absurd thing to ask.