The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 278

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

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Yeo Joo Saves the World
Part 2, Episode 99

I simply hadn’t sobered up yet.
As reality came into focus, my composure returned in a rush.
But I was genuinely terrified.
Is this what men feel like when they dream of being dragged back to the military?
Kang Han approached me as I pressed my hand to my chest.
“Did you have a bad dream?”
“No, it’s not that. I was just startled. Why are we here?”
“…It seems you don’t remember.”
This was bad.
Watching Kang Han’s expression cool, I was certain I’d made some kind of significant mistake.
“I’m sorry!”
I apologized immediately without thinking.
For someone as magnanimous as Kang Han to look so serious, what on earth had I done, Yeo Joo?
Surely I hadn’t gone on about possession or world destruction while drunk?
I trembled with anxiety, but fortunately Kang Han handed me a bottle of hangover cure and said,
“It’s fine. Nothing happened.”
“It doesn’t seem like that…”
Like a guilty puppy, I tilted my head even as I remained cautious.
Had nothing really happened, as Kang Han said?
But seeing his favorability rise so much, I must have done something?
Or if his favorability went up, did I do something good?
Kang Han gently ruffled my hair as a hundred question marks floated above my head, then asked,
“How much do you remember?”
“Um, well, up to when the twins answered the phone and left at the pojangmacha…?”
“Ah, that far.”
He was sulking.
Kang Han was sulking.
For a moment I thought, ‘That’s not like him,’ but that turned-away posture was definitely a pouting expression.
“Whatever mistake I made, I’ll apologize properly if you just tell me?”
“No, you didn’t make a mistake. It’s just.”
“Just?”
“I had something on my mind, and you gave me the answer.”
“What was troubling you?”
“Well, I’m not sure.”
Kang Han offered a mysterious smile before responding.
“Go wash up and come back. Let’s grab some tteokguk.”
What is this about!

* * *

“Is this because you wanted to see me curious and unable to sleep, Guild Master?”
Even on the drive back to the Doksan Gate Branch, I kept pestering him, but Kang Han wouldn’t budge.
“Since you don’t seem to remember it, it probably wasn’t that important.”
There seemed to be a sting in his words.
But before I could dig deeper, we had already arrived at the Doksan Gate Branch.
“Let’s get out.”
“Ugh, seriously.”
But if I gave up here, I wouldn’t be Yeo Joo.
It wasn’t just simple curiosity driving me to find out.
I didn’t know what advice I had given, but if Kang Han had a concern significant enough to raise his affection that dramatically, shouldn’t I know about it?
“Guild Master, are you really going to be this petty?”
“I don’t think it’s me being petty.”
I grabbed the hem of Kang Han’s clothes and tugged as we moved from the parking lot toward the dining hall.
“Where are you two coming from at this hour?”
“Oh? Boss! It’s been a while.”
I saw Jung Je Hwa stop in his tracks as he noticed me and Kang Han.
“Happy New Year, Boss!”
“Same to you, Yeo Joo. Looks like you two had somewhere to be early this morning.”
“Oh no, we weren’t going anywhere. We just got back.”
“You just got back? Both of you?”
I nodded and explained.
“Yesterday I went out to Euljiro with the twins to drink, and I got a bit tipsy, so I slept at the Jongno Branch and came back.”
“I saw Lee Yu Chan and Lee Yu Eul eating at the dining hall earlier.”
“They went to meet friends in the middle. Looks like they made it home safely.”
As I thought of the warm tteokguk that Sung Yo Na must have prepared with such care, my stomach rumbled, and Jung Je Hwa suddenly grabbed my shoulders and spun me around in place.
With a touch like he was flipping over a hotteok to check if it was cooked well, I tilted my head as I heard Jung Je Hwa’s murmuring voice.
“Nothing seems out of the ordinary.”
“Of course nothing happened. I was with our Guild Master.”
“Hah.”
Jung Je Hwa brushed his fallen bangs aside and looked at Kang Han beside me.
Or rather, he glared at him.
But Kang Han met that gaze head-on without flinching.
These men, on the very first day of the new year!
I tried to slip between the two of them, but their towering heights made it impossible to obstruct their view, so it was largely futile.
“Why don’t we stop standing in the cold and go grab some tteokguk together?”
After all, a full stomach always lifts my spirits!
Je Hwa suddenly asked me something.
“Yeo Joo, do you like alcohol?”
“Yes, I do enjoy it.”
“I didn’t know that about you.”
Je Hwa stepped closer and pulled the zipper of my padded jacket higher as he spoke.
“I was looking for you to tell you I’ll be away from the Workshop for the next few days due to Maestro business. Once my busy schedule clears up, let’s have some wine together.”
“I don’t know much about wine though. Is that really okay?”
“I’ll teach you. Besides, I’ve received some excellent wines as gifts recently.”
What exactly did Master mean by “excellent wines”?
Could they be worth several million won per bottle?
Or perhaps wines so rare that only a handful exist in the entire world.
“Please, nothing too expensive. It would be such a waste for someone like me who knows nothing to drink it.”
“You should always learn with the best when you’re starting out. That way, your palate won’t be ruined by inferior quality.”
He had a point.
But I couldn’t fathom why Je Hwa smiled faintly while glancing at Kang Han as he said it.

* * *

A few days after the new year, I was leisurely sitting in the Break Room brushing Baek Ho’s fur when my phone rang.
“Yes, Association Director. What brings this on?”
[ “Are you free today?” ]
“No, I’m busy.”
[ “Come by the Awakener Association with the Kang Han Guild leader for a bit.” ]
“I said I’m busy?”
[ “Come around lunchtime then.” ]
Click.
Association Director Ji Jung Hwi said what he needed to say and hung up.
“Seriously, what if I really am busy?”
Unfortunately, I had no other commitments, so I retrieved Kang Han from the Training Facility and headed to the Korean Awakeners Association.
“The Association Director will be here shortly. Please wait a moment.”
Following the staff member’s guidance, I sat in the Association Chairman’s Office sipping tea when Association Director Ji Jung Hwi soon appeared.
But the Association Director entering the office wasn’t alone.
A woman in her late twenties with long, jet-black hair tied high—so dark it had a blue sheen—was clearly someone I’d never met before, yet somehow felt oddly familiar.
Where had I seen her?
As I tilted my head in confusion, the woman approached with confident strides and extended her hand to Kang Han first.
“I’m Shin Se Hee. It’s nice to meet you, Guild Leader Kang Han.”
Only then did I understand why she felt familiar despite being a first meeting.
Shin Se Hee.
A sub-guild master of the Muwoon Guild, which operated out of Busan, and an A-rank Hunter who had demonstrated unwavering camaraderie with Kang Han during the Sejong Dungeon incident.
(武運)
Some readers even considered Shin Se Hee a semi-heroine of the story.
As the guild’s name suggested, she came from a prestigious martial arts family and had been famous even before her awakening for her brilliant trophy collection from various competitions. Now she was Busan’s representative Hunter.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. And this person is…”
“I know. You’re famous, Yeo Joo the Healer.”
So her straightforward personality made her popular, I thought.
The hand she extended firmly was as solid and warm as Kang Han’s own.
“Hunter Shin Se Hee has agreed to oversee the transport of external potions that will be distributed to each region.”
“Transport?”
I questioned whether such measures were truly necessary, and Shin Se Hee explained.
“I’ve seen Yeo Joo the Healer use these potions inside Gates several times, and it’s wonderful that other guilds can now use them too. But while they say the distribution will be fair by guild, some people might get greedy.”
“That’s a fair point.”
Association Director Ji Jung Hwi had adopted a tiered distribution system for the external potions based on guild size and ranking.
I had thought everyone would be satisfied with that approach, but my thinking had been naive.
Better to be cautious than sorry.
“Thank you for helping us. We really appreciate it.”
“There’s nothing for Yeo Joo the Healer to thank me for.”
Caught off guard by her unexpected response, I hesitated for a moment as Shin Se Hee turned her back to me.
She positioned herself between Kang Han and me.
“Guild Master Kang Han, want to spar with me?”
“Are you suggesting a match?”
“Yes. Now that I’ve met you, my hands are itching for a fight. I bet yours are too, right?”
It was admittedly rude, if rudeness was the right word.
Suggesting a fight right after introductions.
But Kang Han didn’t refuse Shin Se Hee.
“Sounds good. Let’s do it.”
Kang Han answered with a faint smile directed at Shin Se Hee.
Kang Han answered with a faint smile directed toward Shin Se Hee.

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

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