TRPM 368

chapter 368

During the two days we stayed in the UK, after returning to Rachel and Arthur’s house where Woo Ji-min and I were staying, Woo Ji-min was researching bounty hunters on her smartphone.

…Of course, being a bounty hunter isn’t exactly a stable job.

This time, it had been lucky that there were many criminals with high bounties, so the profits were good—but not all fugitives have high bounties.

Moreover, skill and bounty aren’t necessarily proportional, so even a criminal with a low bounty could be strong, making it a dangerous job.

“Most fugitives hide, so they’re hard to catch.”

Especially in Korea, fugitives hardly ever operate. So becoming a bounty hunter isn’t really a good choice for Woo Ji-min. Above all…

“Oh… there are so many fugitives? And many of them aren’t even Awakened…”

“Instructor.”

“Hm?”

“You’re going to be working as an instructor for the next ten years anyway because of your contract with Chairman Shin Han-ji, right?”

“…Ah!”

At my words, Woo Ji-min looked up, as if she had forgotten.

“…What happens if you break that contract?”

“You’d become a slave who couldn’t disobey Chairman Shin Han-ji.”

I said this, recalling how Chairman Shin Han-ji had given Woo Ji-min a dedicated weapon in exchange for a ten-year instructor contract.

“Then… I guess we have to give up.”

Woo Ji-min realized the reality and put her smartphone down.

“No, don’t act like your life is over.”

I meant that being a bounty hunter itself isn’t such a great job.

“Still….”

“No, why are you crying over this?!”

Seeing a slight moisture in Woo Ji-min’s eyes, I couldn’t hide my astonishment.

“Calm down and eat some cake~.”

As we talked, Rachel placed a cake on the table. Seeing the cake, Woo Ji-min’s tears disappeared and the mood changed. Rachel had probably intentionally brought out the cake at this timing.

“Artist, would you like some wine?”

At the same time, Arthur brought out a bottle of wine and glasses from what appeared to be a wine cellar.

“Oh… sure, why not.”

Honestly, I would have preferred soju or beer, but thinking that I could finally drink legally after a long time, I immediately nodded. But…

“Arthur! Even if Geon-woo is an Aura Master, he’s still underage!”

“Mr. Arthur? Wine is for adults only, please give grape juice to Geon-woo.”

“……”

Unfortunately, Rachel and Woo Ji-min, unaware that I had reincarnated, stopped me from drinking.

“At your age, Geon-woo, wouldn’t your parents have taught you about alcohol? Right, Geon-woo?”

Arthur tried to help by saying that, but…

“……”

No matter what, I couldn’t lie that my mother had taught me to drink. Even though I had drunk alcohol in this life, it had all been alone in my room.

“Then, let’s give Geon-woo grape juice.”

“……”

In the end, only the adults drank wine, while I had to sip on grape juice.

‘…I want to become an adult quickly.’

We began drinking wine, using the cake as a snack. How long had it been?

“…Woo Ji-min, your alcohol detox ability is amazing.”

Watching Woo Ji-min lightly drink wine, Rachel said this. Woo Ji-min nodded in agreement.

“It’s true, in the past… 200 years ago, I wasn’t like this. But after becoming this body, I don’t get drunk easily.”

…Makes sense. A branch of the World Tree wouldn’t be defeated by mere alcohol. Any slight intoxication probably happens because Woo Ji-min unconsciously prevents detoxification, wanting to get drunk.

“(Je… jealous. I wish… I wish… I didn’t get… drunk so easily….)”

Meanwhile, Arthur made a strange sound, as if broken. What the heck, why is he like that?

“Oh, this again. If alcohol is absorbed without being detoxified by the stomach, this happens.”

Rachel said this as she stood up and opened the back of Arthur’s head.

‘…So his back of the head can open?’
‘Could mine open too…?’

While Woo Ji-min and I wondered about that, Rachel fiddled with something and then closed the back of Arthur’s head.

“(…Hmm… what’s happening?)”
“(He got drunk. So I rebooted him.)”
“(Ah, I see.)”

Rebooting removes the effect of alcohol…? How does that even work…?

Watching Arthur, he began drinking his share of wine again.

“Phew… rebooting seems to have erased recent memories… were we talking about something?”

“…If I had to say, we were talking about how amazing Instructor Woo Ji-min’s alcohol detox ability is.”

“Oh, really?”

Hearing that, Arthur looked at Woo Ji-min, as if a rival had appeared.

“Woo Ji-min, shall we have a drinking bet?”

“You’re not in a position to talk after just glitching from alcohol, are you?”

“That was probably because I absorbed the alcohol without detoxifying it. If I intentionally detox, I can drink as much as I want.”

“Oh… really?”

…Suddenly, a drinking contest?

“(Ah, here we go again.)”

Rachel shook her head at Arthur’s behavior. Apparently, he often acted like this when drinking with others too.

“Rachel! Another glass of wine here!”
“Me too!”
“Yes, yes. I’ll bring it right away.”

Seeing Arthur and Woo Ji-min insist, Rachel reluctantly brought out more wine from the cellar. The two of them kept drinking the wine Rachel poured.

‘They’re drinking a lot.’

The room filled with the smell of alcohol.

‘…Wait a minute.’

Woo Ji-min was focused on the drinking contest with Arthur, and Rachel was occupied judging them, so neither paid attention to me.

“……”

I quickly drank my grape juice. Seeing that a bit of wine remained in the bottle, I poured it into my cup.

‘Perfect!’

Just as I was about to drink it…

“No.”
“Ah….”

Rachel snatched the cup from my hand. I thought she was distracted by Arthur and Woo Ji-min, but she had still been watching me. I hadn’t even noticed her approach.

“Che….”
“Geon-woo, let’s drink after you become an adult, okay?”
“Yes….”

A shame. Anyway.

“When you wake up in the morning and comb your hair, if it’s too stiff, the comb breaks first, you know?”
“My hair isn’t that long, so I can’t relate much, but I had a similar experience while cooking. I was cutting vegetables while watching TV and accidentally cut my hand, and the knife broke.”
“Wow… the knife? Not as bad as my body, but your body isn’t normal either.”

Arthur and Woo Ji-min were having a conversation only someone with a doll-like body could relate to.

“At first, I often broke door handles because I couldn’t control my strength.”
“I had something similar. When I was first created, I had no sense of touch…”
“I don’t like that I can’t freely use my aura. I can’t heal myself, so I have to be careful with it normally.”
“That part was inconvenient, but I was always okay because Rachel was at home.”
“That’s enviable. I sometimes thought about living at Geon-woo’s house or taking him to live with me, but that had many issues.”

Before they realized, the two had forgotten about their drinking contest and just kept drinking and chatting. Rachel and I couldn’t relate to any of it.

“……”

Rachel puffed her cheeks, maybe out of jealousy, but Arthur didn’t notice. Hmm.

‘After Woo Ji-min and I leave tomorrow, I don’t need to know what Rachel will do to Arthur.’

The next day.

Woo Ji-min and I took the morning flight back to Korea. Even though it was a morning flight, the time difference meant it was equivalent to leaving in the afternoon Korean time, so by the time we arrived, it was already dark.

“Ugh…! Finally, Korea.”

Getting off the plane, Woo Ji-min stretched. Sitting for hours had stiffened her body.

Creak.
“Ouch…”

Same here. Just stretching a little made my bones and muscles protest.

“Geon-woo, you’re heading home now, right?”
“Yes. Instructor Woo Ji-min, you’re going to the academy?”
“Yeah. I live in the instructor dorm there and need to prepare for lectures tomorrow.”
“…Sigh.”

Hearing that, I realized today was Sunday. The weekend was gone because of the UK trip.

“I don’t want to go to school…”
“No. Even if you’re strong, you have to go to school diligently.”
“……”

Muttering, I was corrected by Woo Ji-min. Of course, I wasn’t really refusing school. But…

“Next week is midterms.”
“Oh, really?”

Woo Ji-min understood why I felt tired. Time flies, huh? The vacation just ended, and midterms are already here…

“…But Geon-woo, aren’t you good at studying? I heard you rarely miss full marks.”
“Doesn’t mean I like exams.”
“Oh, I get it.”

At the taxi stop, Woo Ji-min said that and got in first.

“But you can’t skip school tomorrow, okay? It’ll be a memory later! Go to Seoul Awakened Academy.”

Woo Ji-min said something slightly like a parent and left in the taxi.

‘A memory…’

I got in the taxi behind and told them my apartment’s name. The taxi departed, and I thought:

‘I know it’s not wrong; this is my second high school experience.’

That’s why sometimes you play with others, go on meaningless summer camps, or gather to do vacation homework.

Just then…

Buzz…

My phone vibrated. It was a message.

‘Sent by the association.’

Frowning at its content, I read:

[The female doppelganger of Oracle, a voodoo doll who had been imprisoned, was found dead.]

No wonder…