The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 367

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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 188

Who might you be?
Suddenly, I recalled the image of my Familiars gathered during their leisure time recently, watching dramas together.
Their particularly favorite genre was none other than historical dramas set in the Joseon era.

“[The historical accuracy is completely off.]”
“[I can’t immerse myself in this.]”
“[Agreed. Meat was so scarce back then.]”
“[Soybean soup with kimchi was a feast fit for royalty. The protagonist’s stomach is full.]”
“[Exactly, pfft!]”

I’d known from the start that despite their complaints, they never missed a single historical drama.
I pressed my forehead and sighed, then noticed Je Hwa and Na Baek Ho still regarding each other awkwardly, so I introduced them to one another.
“CEO, this is my… well, my Familiar, Na Baek Ho. Na Baek Ho, this is CEO Je Hwa, who we owe a great debt to.”
Despite my intervention, Na Baek Ho merely swished his rope-like tail languidly, maintaining his wariness toward Je Hwa.
Eventually, Je Hwa smiled and greeted him first.
“Hello, Baek Ho.”
“[Hello.]”
“I’ve only seen you small on screen until now, but you’ve grown quite impressive.”
Je Hwa spoke without hiding his slight surprise.
Na Baek Ho was fundamentally an attention-seeker and a ‘people-loving tiger.’
I’d thought he would melt at Je Hwa’s praise.
“[Thank you for the compliment.]”
Huh?
Na Baek Ho’s attitude was slightly cold.
“[But you’re too close.]”
With that, he deliberately turned his body and increased the distance between me and Je Hwa.
“[Men and women should not sit together after age seven.]”
“When did you start caring about that?”
“[Starting now.]”
Na Baek Ho raised his snout proudly and insisted.
When he was this stubborn, reasoning with him was pointless.
“I’m sorry, CEO. He’s not usually like this. I’m not sure why, but he seems to be in a mood.”
As I apologized on his behalf, Je Hwa stared down at Na Baek Ho for a moment, then nodded.
“I think I roughly understand the reason. Still, I want to get closer to you too, Baek Ho. I’ll bring a gift next time.”
“[Not necessary… understood.]”
Na Baek Ho, who had been answering rudely as usual, only relented after our eyes met when I glared at him.
But that didn’t mean his attitude had become any more cooperative.
“[Yeo Joo, let’s go. I’ll take you to the Conference Room.]”
“Why? You need to get to the Training Facility, don’t you?”
“[Time, sufficient.]”
“Well, fine.”
I thought his whims were as unpredictable as boiling porridge, but who could fathom what went on inside Na Baek Ho’s head?
In the end, the three of us—myself, Na Baek Ho, and Jung Je Hwa—began walking with considerable distance between us.
“By the way, CEO, you said you had something to tell me earlier, didn’t you?”
“Ah, yes, I did. Hmm.”
Jung Je Hwa scratched his cheek lightly with his thick fingers, glanced at Na Baek Ho walking slightly ahead, and then spoke.
“Now that I think about it, this isn’t the place to discuss it.”
“Is that so? Is it something serious?”
“Not so much serious as… I’d like to borrow some of your time.”
“My time? If it’s you, CEO, anytime… Oh, but the semifinals are right around the corner.”
“It’s not urgent. Once you’re done with your busy schedule, could you spare a day for me?”
“A day?”
“Would that be difficult?”
Watching Jung Je Hwa wait for my answer with his dark eyes gleaming quietly like mulberries, I found myself unable to refuse.
He was larger than me, older than me, and even a Master.
Come to think of it, Jung Je Hwa had never once used his advantage over me.
Despite being someone revered everywhere and accustomed to such treatment, he was content to simply be called “CEO” by me.
‘What a curious person he is.’
With that thought, I nodded readily.
“What’s difficult about it? We’ll just pick a day and have fun, right?”
“Yes, I’ll treat you to something delicious.”
“Let’s set a date after the Guild Cup ends, then.”
But when I felt a gaze and turned my head, Na Baek Ho was looking at me with a rather disrespectful expression.
It was the kind of look a younger sibling gives an older sister sneaking chocolate behind their mother’s back, or the look one gives a troublemaker who won’t listen to reason.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that again?”
“[…nothing.]”
As we exchanged various words, we eventually arrived at the corridor where the Conference Room was located.
But Kang Han, whom I expected to be inside the Conference Room, was standing outside.
It seemed he knew I was coming up with others, as he didn’t look surprised seeing Na Baek Ho and Jung Je Hwa.
Though he didn’t seem particularly welcoming either.
“The Association Director arrived first, Yeo Joo.”
“Really? That’s strange—he’s always saying he’s busy.”
I hurried into the Conference Room and spoke to Na Baek Ho.
“Go on to training. You’ll be late at this rate.”
“[Nag, nag, nag.]”
This oversized cat?
I shot Na Baek Ho a look before greeting Ji Jung Hwi, the Association Director, who was leisurely sipping tea.
“Did the sun rise in the west today? How come you’re not late for once, Director?”
“Who hears that and thinks I’m someone who breaks appointments every day!”
“Aren’t you? You are, though.”
Outside, he was the “strict, solemn, serious” Association Director, but the satisfaction of teasing him into this flustered state was quite something.
I’d expected Kang Han and Jung Je Hwa to come in together, but I only now realized they were still in the hallway—I just shrugged it off.
‘They’re not people with much to say to each other anyway. They’ll be in soon enough.’

* * *

“What’s with your condition? Are you still going around Gates pretending to be Hunter Kim Young Sang these days? Isn’t being Association Director enough to keep you busy? If you keep doing this, rumors will spread all over the neighborhood….”
“Quiet, you brat!”
Click.
As the conference room door—boasting excellent soundproofing—closed, the noisy voices of Yeo Joo and the Association Director were completely cut off.
Baek Ho let out a small sigh at Kang Han, who wore a wry smile with slight disappointment.
“[I brought her here, Yeo Joo.]”
Yeo Joo, who had personally overseen the building blueprints when establishing the Doksan Gate Branch, couldn’t possibly have gotten lost on the way to the conference room.
Kang Han understood why Baek Ho had deliberately come with Yeo Joo and gently patted his large head.
“Thanks, Baek Ho.”
“[Try to work hard.]”
“…Yeah.”
“[You don’t seem reliable.]”
Baek Ho, who had turned away shaking his head, suddenly asked Kang Han a question.
“[Where’s Baek Young?]”
“Probably at the Chung Soo Greenhouse. Why?”
“[I’m going to train with him. I can’t suffer alone.]”
Baek Ho’s tail swayed pleasantly as he padded down the stairs.
“You have reliable allies, Guild Master Kang Han.”
Jung Je Hwa let out a hollow laugh.
“It would take a while to make him my ally.”
“Baek Ho is Yeo Joo’s Familiar.”
“And?”
“He instinctively knows who’s best for Yeo Joo.”
“You really believe that?”
At Jung Je Hwa’s blunt question, Kang Han’s expression hardened.
“Someone like Yeo Joo, who tries to bear everything herself, needs someone who can be a source of strength. Not someone who becomes another burden.”
Someone who could be a source of strength.
Je Hwa was precisely that kind of man.
He possessed much.
All of it earned through his own efforts.
The composure of someone who had endured countless trials and stood alone was fortress-like in its solidity.
“It seems you don’t know Yeo Joo very well, Je Hwa.”
Yet at the same time, Kang Han could find some measure of relief.
“What Yeo Joo needs is a partner. Not someone who meddles under the guise of protection.”
“….”
“Let’s head in. The meeting needs to proceed on schedule regardless.”
Kang Han turned first and entered the Conference Room.
Left alone in the corridor, Je Hwa furrowed his brow and followed in his wake.
Tsk.
Those cold eyes that made no effort to conceal displeasure were a side of Je Hwa—and the Master—that he would never show before her.

* * *

The reason the Association Director, two people from the Justice Guild, and Je Hwa had gathered in one place was because of the analysis results of the Cheonho-dong Dungeon Break’s wave patterns.
Je Hwa stated the conclusion simply and directly.
“My suspicions were correct. Approximately one hour before the Dungeon Break occurred, there was a wave pattern unique to Double Dungeons.”
“Then that means….”
“Based on data analysis, we’ve determined that the S-Grade Gate that opened in Cheonho-dong was a Double Dungeon.”
“Well, we’ve been in the dark about that until now.”
The Association Director exhaled deeply, as though deflated—or perhaps finally having found the answer.
Je Hwa quietly shifted his gaze toward Kang Han.
From the moment he first received the request to analyze the wave patterns, and especially when he read the Double Dungeon’s signature from the ancient data, he had wondered.
How would Kang Han react upon learning this truth?
And observing Kang Han’s expression across the large Conference Room table, Je Hwa could be certain.
‘He already knew.’
The Guild Master of the Justice Guild, who had lost everything including his family because of the Fifth Dungeon Break, showed no surprise at the analysis results.
Rather, he seemed satisfied that objective evidence had emerged.
And it was the same for her.
The two of them were already sharing secrets about the Cheon Ho Dong Gate.
Je Hwa buried himself deep in his chair to avoid revealing his petty thoughts before her.

“What Yeo Joo needs is a partner. Not someone who meddles under the guise of protection.”

It was infuriating, but he was right.
Kang Han possessed something Je Hwa did not.
The right to stand beside Yeo Joo.
And if the Cheonho-dong Dungeon break truly wasn’t caused by the Justice Guild’s greed but was instead an unavoidable consequence of the Double Dungeon, then Kang Han would gain one more thing Je Hwa could never have.
Something impossible to obtain without dying and being reborn—the ‘roots’ that flowed through bloodline itself.
That’s why Je Hwa wanted to throw a stone.
Another truth that could shatter Kang Han’s infuriating composure.
“And there’s one more thing I discovered.”
Je Hwa opened his mouth, meeting those deep green eyes that silently fixed upon him.
“Exactly ten minutes before the Dungeon break occurred, there was another resonance from the Double Dungeon.”

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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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