F-Rank Secretly Becomes Stronger - Chapter 36

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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36

“Why are you opening the shop again?”

“Don’t worry, I finished my rehabilitation well while my son was off somewhere.”

Mother returned home after six months following her long hospital stay.

I thought she would finally rest comfortably at home, but she started talking nonsense about reopening the bakery again.

“That son of yours is making good money now, so there’s no need to open the bakery.”

Until now, the bakery was the only means of supporting the household.

However, things are different now.

Just from the magic stones Jung Juhyeok had sold without putting them into the Training Room, their bank balance was already more than comfortable—it was abundant.

There was no need to strain her body that had just finished rehabilitation.

“But if I just stay at home, I’ll be bored.”

“If you’re bored, go chat with the ladies instead of overworking your body for no reason.”

“Mom finds making bread the most fun.”

Her stubborn insistence, not listening to a word I said.

I always wondered who she took after to be so stubborn, but now I think I could figure out the answer.

“Since we’re talking about it, I should bake a few to get my hands back in practice.”

“No… sigh.”

She went straight down the stairs not even a few hours after unpacking.

I desperately wanted to follow and stop her, but seeing her joyful expression as she went to bake, I couldn’t bring myself to stop her.

She went down to the shop and turned on the lights one by one.

As I sat at the table inside waiting for the bread Mother was baking.

I saw a familiar silhouette walking toward the tightly locked shop door.

“….”

She made eye contact with me.

It was none other than Yena.

Jung Juhyeok immediately opened the locked door to greet her upon seeing her.

“What brings you here?”

“I came to give Mother a discharge gift since she was released from the hospital~”

“A discharge gift…?”

I couldn’t see anything in her hands except her own bag.

I was slightly puzzled about what discharge gift she could have brought, so Yena answered.

“It’ll come later. I couldn’t carry it myself.”

“…Did you buy a refrigerator or something?”

“Hehe, you’ll find out when it arrives.”

Yena kept it secret as if it would remain a mystery until it arrived.

As I looked at her strangely, I heard Mother’s delighted voice from inside.

“Oh my, is that Yena?”

“Yes~ Mother! It smells good inside, are you already baking bread?”

“Yes, it’ll be ready soon, so sit at the table and wait a moment~”

Mother disappeared again after saying that.

I suddenly noticed something odd in their conversation and asked Yena.

“But are you on informal terms with my mother?”

“We’ve been speaking informally for a while now?”

Mother isn’t the type to easily drop formalities with people.

Especially with someone much younger than her, she’s even more careful not to slip up and rarely drops formalities.

I was quite surprised that she was speaking informally with such a mother and treating her like a daughter.

‘Well, it would be hard not to become close after visiting the hospital so much.’

A son’s friend who visited the hospital more often than the son himself.

With that kind of relationship, it would be impossible not to feel affection.

“That’s impressive. My mother doesn’t easily drop formalities.”

“I was also touched when Mother first spoke to me informally.”

She sits across from me with a bright smile.

Now that we’re sitting together, she glances at me and asks.

“Then it’s our turn to drop formalities now?”

“What, should I call you noona?”

“Hmm, that feels strange somehow. I think just Yena-ssi might be better.”

We chat idly while waiting for the bread.

The savory aroma he hadn’t smelled in a long time lifted his mood.

Sometimes he used to bring friends here to eat bread together at the shop.

Those memories briefly came flooding back.

‘I haven’t brought anyone since my Awakening.’

After entering the Academy, he really lived obsessed only with the sword.

He barely came home and spent every day only at the Training Ground.

Of course, he formed somewhat close relationships with kids who approached him first.

But he didn’t form intimate enough relationships to bring them to the shop.

Thanks to that, he doesn’t have a single peer friend he contacts regularly now.

‘I’m not in a position to lecture Han Sui about friends or whatever—’

“Ah.”

“What’s wrong?”

He had completely forgotten.

After returning from the Training Room, he had contacted her and agreed to train together for lunch today.

But because Mother started talking about baking bread, he completely forgot.

‘Ah, I’m already late.’

It was now 30 minutes past the promised time.

When he immediately checked his cell phone, there were double-digit missed calls.

“Ah…”

He was screwed.

She must be waiting for a long time without being able to contact him.

Jung Juhyeok quickly called Sui.

The ringtone barely made a sound before it connected immediately.

“Hello?”

[You just saw it, I guess.]

“Sorry, something else came up in between and I forgot.”

[It’s okay, I was on my way.]

“What?”

[See you later.]

Saying that, the call ended immediately.

The moment he was spacing out, wondering what this was about, not understanding the meaning of “see you later” as the call ended.

“Jung Juhyeok, isn’t that Hunter Sui over there?”

Yena said, pointing outside the window.

Following her gaze toward him, Sui, who had just talked with him on the phone, was walking toward the shop and quietly opened the door.

“Hello.”

“…”

It seemed quite early to use the phrase “see you later.”

Though many other questions came to mind, there was one thing he wanted to ask most.

“How did you know to come to our house?”

How does everyone know and find our house address so well when he never even told them?

When he threw out the question without even returning her greeting, she answered indifferently.

“You told me before. That your house runs a bakery.”

“So…?”

Did she perhaps remember the bus number and stop by every bakery visible on the way?

He got chills for a moment at that somehow frightening determination…

“I asked the Academy Teacher.”

“What does that have to do with me saying it was a bakery?”

In the end, it was the Academy again.

He didn’t know who exactly was spreading his information like that there.

Since that side was also the first to give information to Yena, it seemed he needed to visit there sometime.

“So why didn’t you come?””Ah, well.”

The atmosphere became awkward.

Jung Juhyeok confessed honestly to her in a careful tone.

“Sorry, I forgot while talking with Mother for a moment.”

“Really?”

Sui becomes quiet for a moment.

She looked back and forth between Yena and Juhyeok for a moment before speaking.

“I thought you forgot because you were hanging out with another friend.”

“….”

So she’s misunderstanding it in that direction.

Honestly, it was a situation that could only look that way, so I had nothing to say.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to explain first, Yena intercepted me.

“Not a friend, but his older sister.”

She stood up from her seat and spoke.

“We met before, right? Nice to see you.”

“Yes, we did meet.”

Sui didn’t return the pleasantry about it being nice.

Perhaps because she has a personality that can’t easily lie, she didn’t offer even a single empty courtesy.

No, there was no need to offer such empty words.

A rarely seen sharp atmosphere could already be felt in her eyes.

“Juhyeok, let’s go now.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

If nothing else, it seemed better to go train rather than keep the two of them standing together in this place.

‘I was hoping to eat some freshly made bread after a long time.’

It was regrettable, but since I had made the appointment first, it couldn’t be helped.

I got up from my seat and was about to tell Mother before leaving.

“Wouldn’t it be okay to rest for just today?”

Then Yena grabbed Juhyeok.

“Juhyeok must be tired since it hasn’t been long since he returned from special training, so he should rest for at least a day.”

Saying that, Yena looked at Sui as if seeking agreement.

Then Sui answered without any change in expression.

“Juhyeok trains without resting even a single day.”

“That’s exactly why I’m saying he should rest for just today.”

A subtle war of nerves beginning to show.

At the obviously tiring scene, Juhyeok immediately shouted toward the bakery.

“Mom! My friend is here!”

“What?”

Mother came out of the bakery immediately, surprised by the words that my friend had come.

When she saw Sui, she was greatly surprised and approached.

Then Sui’s sharp atmosphere disappeared somewhere and she immediately greeted Mother with a polite attitude.

“Hello.”

“Hello~ I don’t know how long it’s been since Juhyeok’s friend came over.”

With Mother’s arrival, the murderous ice sheet began to melt.

Juhyeok quietly said to Mother.

“We’re supposed to train together today, so I told her to eat bread before we go.”

“That’s great~ I was actually troubled because I made more than expected!”

Mother looked at Sui with a happy expression.

Sui just fidgeted, not knowing what to do.

“Don’t feel uncomfortable, just sit comfortably and wait~ Auntie will bring you bread right away!”

“Yes… thank you.”

Sui quietly sat down.

When Mother disappeared into the bakery, silence began to hover again.

Was she surprised by the sudden unexpected action?

I spoke to her as she looked at me with a slightly bewildered expression.

“Mom said she wanted to make bread even though it hasn’t been long since her rehabilitation ended, so I was late trying to stop her. As you can see, I failed to stop her.”

“…I see.”

“It’s lunchtime now, so let’s eat together before we go. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, it’s okay. I like bread.”

A nodding head.

As I inwardly sighed at having somehow gotten through the crisis, Yena, who had been quietly watching, spoke.

“I felt it in the Gate too, but your quick thinking is amazing.”

“Because of who, I wonder.”

Normally, he could have spoken more gently and nicely.

Why did he deliberately try to make the situation worse?

‘Was it because he was worried Mother would be upset?’

If her son left without eating the bread she made after so long, she would definitely feel hurt.

He thought maybe he had been a bit too harsh out of that consideration.

“Speaking of which, about the Gate.”

“Yes.”

“I’m thinking of entering an A-rank this time. Can you find one for me?”

“….”

The atmosphere became momentarily solemn.

Yena’s playful expression visibly crumpled.

“Jung Juhyeok, as I said before, A-rank is still too much for you.”

“It was too much before.”

It was definitely too much until he ate the Dream Herb.

“It won’t be now.”

Now he had eaten the Dream Herb, become stronger, and even been to the Training Room.

The definite growth he felt after going there.

He was certain he could handle an A-rank Gate without any problems.

However, there was no way Yena could know that.

“Jung Juhyeok! Your mother was already so worried when you went to a B-rank, and now you’re saying you’ll go to an A-rank?”

It was natural for her to be worried.

If someone suddenly said they’d go to an A-rank after just one special training session, anyone would react the same way.

“No matter how strong you are, Jung Juhyeok, A-rank isn’t something you can just casually challenge—”

Yena, who had been speaking so passionately, suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Her eyes turned toward something beyond Jung Juhyeok.

“…What did you say?”

Mother’s voice came from behind.

When he turned his head, he saw Mother carrying a plate full of bread.

“A-rank?”

A hardened expression.

Mother stood quietly frozen while holding the bread plate.

Jung Juhyeok spoke to his mother.

“…I’m thinking of going to an A-rank Gate.”

“Jung Juhyeok!”

Yena shouted at Jung Juhyeok, who stubbornly spoke despite her opposition.

The atmosphere became several times more tense than before, as if even the air had frozen.

After a few seconds of silence, Mother let out a deep sigh, set the bread plate down on the table, and spoke.

“Go.”

She spoke indifferently without looking at Jung Juhyeok.

“You must have your reasons for wanting to go.”

“Mother….”

“Yena said it too, that Jung Juhyeok is strong enough.”

Saying that, she looked at Jung Juhyeok and continued.

“Since you’re someone who knows how your mother would feel if you died, you won’t act recklessly.”

“….”

Twenty years of living only for her child after losing her husband.

She thought her son surely wasn’t such an unfilial child that he wouldn’t understand his mother’s heart.

“Right.”

Naturally, that thought was correct.

Jung Juhyeok hadn’t decided to go to an A-rank with a reckless mindset.

Confidence.

He had the confidence that he could definitely handle an A-rank.

“….”

Of course, Mother didn’t seem to have that kind of confidence yet, and it looked like she was enduring it while trying hard to respect her son’s choice.

How could he make that anxiety disappear?

There was no need to think about it.

Jung Juhyeok picked up a piece of bread that Mother had cut in advance with his fork and said.

“After we finish eating the bread, let’s go watch me train together.”

“…Go together?”

“Yeah, let’s go watch.”

He looked forward to it.

The day when he could proudly show off in front of Mother.

It seemed like that day was probably today.

“I’ll make sure Mother never has to worry again.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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