The Only Enhancer - Chapter 165

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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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Episode 165
165 – A Meeting? A Double Date? (2)
Yu Ji-min and Hong Myeong thought of Gwen and Min-jun as people lacking in social awareness. After finishing his thoughts, Hong Myeong gazed at the surrounding scenery and tilted his head with a hint of confusion.
It seemed they were still within Seoul proper, yet the route appeared to veer toward the outskirts while simultaneously driving deeper into the city—he couldn’t quite grasp where they were headed.
Having rarely ventured beyond the Gyeongnam Region, Hong Myeong lacked any sense of Seoul’s geography.
As Hong Myeong stared bewilderedly out the window, Yu Ji-min noticed and asked with curiosity.
“Is something on your mind? Is there anything bothering you?”
“Huh? Oh, well, I… um, it’s nothing really.”
Unable to admit that Seoul’s roads fascinated him, Hong Myeong swallowed hard. Observing their exchange, Min-jun suddenly interjected into the conversation.
“Ah, were you perhaps curious about where we’re going?”
“Huh? Well, yes, I suppose I am.”
Since it was his first time here, Hong Myeong naturally felt curious, so he admitted it with some embarrassment. Realizing he hadn’t mentioned it beforehand, Min-jun promptly provided an answer.
“We’re heading to an amusement park. We’re on our way to Lotte World here in Seoul.”
“Lotte World?”
“Oh, an amusement park sounds nice. Good thing we dressed in clothes suitable for activities.”
“Hehe, right? I was actually wondering if you were going monster hunting since you’re an Awakened One, but I’m relieved that’s not the case.”
“Huh? Mon, monsters?”
Hong Myeong was somewhat startled by Gwen’s sudden mention of monsters, but decided to let it pass as a minor incident. He couldn’t understand what monster hunting meant, so he simply accepted it. However, Yu Ji-min and Gwen’s complexions turned pale as if some switch had been flipped.
Well, they had decided to go to Lotte World today anyway. There was no need to be tense.
Once Hong Myeong reminded himself that today was a day off, the two women’s complexions returned to normal.
Hong Myeong swallowed hard upon seeing this, wondering if something was truly amiss, but there was no way for him to find out. He simply decided to let it go.
While Hong Myeong was brushing it aside, he found himself gazing at Min-jun.
He’d certainly seen Min-jun before, but there was no denying that Min-jun looked far better now than when he was with him. Min-jun was comfortable and at ease even when they were together, but there was something different about this.
‘Should I say he looks more at peace?’
As Hong Myeong was thinking this, Min-jun was having similar thoughts.
For some inexplicable reason, whenever he was around Gwen, he found himself smiling more.
It was like a ticklish sensation, if that made sense.
Since it wasn’t unpleasant, he simply accepted it. Yet there were a few things that nagged at him.
Social awareness? While Min-jun admittedly lacked it, didn’t he possess transcendent senses?
He was detecting everything—from what Yu Ji-min and Hong Myeong were doing to what Gwen was doing.
Because of this, things that had been invisible before were now becoming visible.
The peculiar gleam in Yu Ji-min and Hong Myeong’s eyes as they observed his and Gwen’s interactions.
And that ticklish sensation in Gwen’s gaze directed at him.
It was an emotion he hadn’t felt from the other executives.
After all, the Reinforce Guild had quite a few female executives.
Isabella, Mary, and even the newly recruited Natalia—they were all attractive beauties.
Yet Min-jun’s heart had never stirred or been drawn to any of them.
Part of it was because he’d never dated anyone before, but in a way, it gave the impression that his emotions were parched. Of course, observing his feelings toward Gwen proved otherwise.
‘Hmm…’
He’d come to realize, to some extent, that Gwen’s behavior toward him stemmed from affection.
Min-jun wasn’t a fool. While I lacked intuition when it came to romance, I wasn’t so dense as to miss something of this magnitude. But that didn’t mean I’d been deliberately ignoring Gwen’s feelings all this time either.
I had my own circumstances to consider.
From the beginning, I couldn’t even distinguish whether I liked Gwen or simply had no particular feelings about her.
I understood that Gwen liked me, but not knowing my own emotions was ironic.
Yet it wasn’t that I disliked Gwen or felt indifferent toward her.
Whenever I looked at Gwen, I found myself smiling without realizing it.
I knew I had feelings for her. But whether those feelings constituted love? I had no idea. Until now, that is.
At first, I genuinely didn’t know. How could I have recognized that these emotions were what it meant to like someone? Especially when I’d spent my entire childhood reading the mood around Uncle and his family—the very concept of liking someone was a luxury I could never afford.
As a result, my emotional palette had grown somewhat parched, making it impossible for me to quickly recognize the feeling of liking someone.
Truth be told, I was still uncertain. These emotions were foreign to me, having never experienced them before.
Yet I could certainly recognize that I cherished Gwen more than others.
What was the proper way to handle something like this?
The thought crossed my mind, but I had no idea who to ask for advice.
Then it occurred to me that if I let these worries ruin today, I’d regret it. So I cast the concerns aside.
‘Today, I’ll only think about today. Just enjoy it, and worry later.’
Hong Myeong and I hadn’t spent much time together, but wasn’t this an opportunity to befriend someone my age?
Thinking I might as well enjoy myself while I was here, I was pondering what to do at Lotte World when I overheard Yu Ji-min and Gwen talking.
“Gwen, is there anything you can’t ride?”
“Huh? I can ride everything.”
“Well, it would be strange if a Hunter couldn’t do something.”
“Hehe. So what’s your favorite, Ji-min?”
“Hmm, I should probably plan things out first, but since we arrived late, the lines are probably packed. Let me think strategically about the order so we can ride as much as possible!”
Yu Ji-min’s demeanor, honed from frequent visits since her high school days, was truly impressive.
I found myself unconsciously swallowing hard at her aura.
For some reason, I saw an overlap between Yu Ji-min and myself during monster subjugation operations.
Gwen was no exception either.
I sensed something was slightly off, but as long as it was fun, what did it matter? I thought this while glancing at Hong Myeong, who was grinning widely and enjoying himself.
‘Well, let’s just have a blast then.’
1.
Despite being a weekday, Lotte World’s interior was packed with people.
With my wealth, I could have rented out the entire Lotte World on the same day.
I would simply have paid off the people with prior reservations and sent them away.
In fact, I could have easily purchased Lotte World itself without even needing to rent it.
But I didn’t. I didn’t want to.
What right did I have to rob others of their opportunity to enjoy themselves today?
Money exists to be spent, but when you spend it by depriving others of their chances, that crosses a line. At least, that’s what I believed.
Besides, there was a certain charm to this bustling atmosphere.
When I went to Berlin before, I’d enjoyed that market atmosphere too.
As our group moved through the crowds, searching for rides to enjoy, that’s when it happened.
Everyone around us was staring and talking about our group.
Had they figured out that he was from the Reinforce Guild? No, that couldn’t be it.
When Min-jun appeared on screen, he’d already cast a perception-blocking skill on his face, so aside from important figures, no one could recognize him.
Besides, the atmosphere wasn’t conducive to that kind of speculation.
“Damn, that foreign woman is absolutely stunning, right?”
“Wow, the guy’s also incredibly handsome…”
“And the Korean woman is really pretty too.”
“But seriously, who’s that guy in the middle?”
“Wait, I’ve seen that face somewhere before… who is he?”
Min-jun could only smile quietly as he listened to his group chattering about their appearances.
Well, Gwen and Yu Ji-min’s looks were certainly extraordinary. He could understand the reaction.
After all, hadn’t he himself undergone a complete transformation since awakening?
So while he’d grown somewhat accustomed to it by now, it was a bit awkward hearing Hong Myeong being criticized.
Though there wasn’t much he could say about it, so he let it slide.
Yu Ji-min and Gwen had heard the comments too, but since they heard such things all the time, they simply ignored them.
Soon after, Yu Ji-min spoke to Min-jun.
“We’ll head straight to the carousel, take some photos, then ride the Flume Ride since the line is shortest right now, and go directly to the Viking Ride nearby after that. Then we’ll grab dinner depending on the time, and watch the parade when it starts. Does anyone have any questions so far?”
“Ji-min! This is so exciting! You really planned this schedule perfectly!”
“”…???””
Gwen seemed quite pleased, but Min-jun and Hong Myeong simply stared at Yu Ji-min with blank, bewildered expressions.
It wasn’t that they didn’t understand. Both of them had caught every word despite her speaking at nearly rap speed, but they were simply amazed that she’d formulated such a thorough plan in such a short time.
When Min-jun and Hong Myeong nodded in agreement, Yu Ji-min exclaimed with satisfaction.
“Let’s go everyone! We absolutely have to take photos at the carousel! There will probably be more of a line than expected, so we need to hurry and claim our spot or the schedule will fall behind. Come on!”
“Sounds good!”
Initially, Min-jun had wondered why there would be a line just to take photos in front of the carousel, but there actually was one. Hong Myeong was visiting Lotte World for the first time, but Min-jun had been here several times during his school days—field trips and excursions and the like.
Still, he’d never known there was a line just to take photos in front of the carousel.
As Yu Ji-min and Gwen quickly lined up, everyone else began exchanging glances and graciously offered to let them go first.
It seemed they were intimidated by the exceptional appearance of Gwen, Yu Ji-min, and Min-jun, so they let them take their photos first.
Min-jun thought this was a bit much, but decided to just go along with it when—
Suddenly, someone approached cautiously and handed him a business card, asking them a question.
“Um… I’m a Photographer, and if you don’t mind, would it be alright if I took some photos for you?”
“What? Oh! That would be so helpful, thank you!”
Yu Ji-min said this while handing over her phone, and the Photographer eagerly thanked her repeatedly before positioning himself in front of the carousel to frame several shots before quickly taking the photos.
With such beautiful subjects, the composition couldn’t help but be excellent.
Hong Myeong stood out a bit, but well, that was unavoidable.
The photos that resulted were truly remarkable.
After adjusting the color with basic corrections available on a standard phone camera, the carousel appeared completely ethereal, and they managed to capture some truly stunning images.

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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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