128 – Dating is Forbidden in Our Party – 3

Night fell.

Ye-min, who had gone to Gi-jun’s room at his summon while harboring a certain expectation that she could never tell anyone else, had to leave his room in utter disappointment without making even the slightest progress in the kind of approach she had wanted, all after listening to a thirty-minute lecture that could be summarized in a single sentence: ‘You must cherish yourself above all else.’

Still, at the end, Gi-jun—who was disguising his identity as a Flame Human—had even suggested whether he should take off his mask and accompany her as a human, pretending to be a member of her party.

No matter how much time had passed, Gi-jun’s heart, which worried for her, seemed unchanged, so her heart softened quite a bit—but of course, she could not nod in agreement to those words.

The mask only hid Gi-jun’s race and did not completely change his appearance, so just taking off the mask now would not only fail to deceive people into thinking he was a completely different person from ‘Flame Human Jun,’ but there was also a higher chance that the fact that he had been disguising his race all along would be exposed.

‘If I drag Oppa into this, Oppa will really get held back because of me. Since he finally got the chance to move with the Hero, Oppa should play his part properly. Moreover… Huh?’

As she continued her thoughts, Ye-min realized that Scintilla and Lora were right in front of her, and she blinked her eyes as she stopped in her tracks.

Although the two of them had been convinced that she would never do anything strange when it came to Gi-jun, they had still been concerned and had been waiting in front of the door.

“……You look so blatantly relieved.”

Ye-min, who momentarily read the expressions on their faces, said with a dumbfounded look.

Naturally, Ye-min had also roughly figured out their feelings, having watched the two of them keeping her in check at the dinner table today.

“I always trust Jun, but Ye-min, I don’t know what kind of person you are yet. Since Jun has a soft heart, I just thought, ‘what if.’”

“That’s right. Because Jun-nim tends to show kindness even to people he has no need to be kind to…”

While Scintilla spoke with a beaming smile, a small thorn was hidden in Lora’s words.

Although she had tried to act like a nun when she was with Gi-jun, away from his eyes, it was becoming increasingly difficult to control her venom.

At their words, Ye-min wore an even more dumbfounded expression.

“Soft-hearted? Him? You guys really don’t know Jun-i Oppa. I don’t know what happened to make him change in the meantime, but Oppa has become extremely stubborn now. Not that it’s a bad thing, though.”

If anything, because of that, her heart seemed to flutter a bit more.

Gi-jun had always possessed a strong desire to protect his party members, but now he looked as if he was harboring an even larger purpose.

Yes, it should be called determination.

Within him now, there was a firm and massive will.

If there was a reason why she had become even more attracted to him, it was probably because of that.

But at Ye-min’s reply, the two of them let out a sigh in unison.

“Yes, well, I’ve roughly heard from Ji-hye that the party members, including you, acted very spoiled toward Jun during the tutorial.”

“Just from that answer, I can guess how much Jun-nim must have suffered during the tutorial…”

“No, seriously…”

Of course, the fact that they had been a nuisance to Jun during the first round of the tutorial was something Ye-min also admitted.

Because of that, throughout the entire second round when she had been unable to meet him, how much had she regretted and felt sorry?

But that was a matter for Ye-min to apologize to Gi-jun about, not something others had any right to blame her for!

At this point, it was certain that they were openly picking a fight with her.

Apart from that, Hye-ji, who had spilled the beans about what had happened in the tutorial, would definitely be punished later…

Ye-min narrowed her eyes fiercely and spoke.

“You two don’t like me, do you?”

“Actually, yes. Seeing you keep initiating physical contact even though Jun dislikes it made me think I should give you a warning.”

Scintilla nodded with a bright smile.

It was hard to believe this was coming from the person who had stripped Gi-jun naked and hugged him just today, but in any case, because she had always initiated contact with Gi-jun by creating appropriate opportunities in appropriate situations, the sight of Ye-min ignoring all such factors and trying to touch Gi-jun as she pleased displeased her greatly.

After all, she had to sell out her father and her kin just to hug Jun once!

“What? What do you know about my relationship with Oppa to speak like that? You guys might not know, but Oppa and I were in the same party for over ten years.”

Naturally, Ye-min flared up, but as if she had been waiting for those words, Lora retorted with a small chuckle.

“I don’t think it’s very good to use the years you spent with him as a weapon. It makes it seem like the only thing you have to boast about is the time you shared, doesn’t it? That is a bit… unsightly, I think.”

“Exactly. The important thing is the present—Jun’s feelings. From what I see, Jun doesn’t seem to view you as a member of the opposite sex at all.”

“You two, get out to the backyard right now.”

Unable to hold back, Ye-min spoke.

“There’s no need to fight with words when we have perfectly good fists, right?”

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea either, but sure.”

Scintilla retorted with a brilliant smile.

“It just so happens that I wanted to test my strength as well.”

They never wanted to show Gi-jun the sight of women fighting over such unsightly reasons, but as the commotion grew, Eun-shin—who had been watching their confrontation from somewhere—called Gi-jun.

Coming out to the lodging’s backyard, Gi-jun watched the three of them glaring at each other with murderous expressions and wore a look as if he wanted to applaud in admiration.

“As expected, our party members are truly different. To think you are so absorbed in training even with such an important operation tomorrow…”

“Does this look like such a peaceful scene to your eyes, Hyung?”

If there was one thing Gi-jun and Eun-shin had in common, it was that although they had no talent when it came to their own love lives, they were incredibly quick to spot and meddle in other people’s romances.

In the eyes of such an Eun-shin, it went without saying for Ye-min, and those two dazzling beauties he had met for the first time today were also definitely in love with Gi-jun as a man.

He had even marveled at how Gi-jun had managed to pick and charm two beauties of such completely different types.

Yet, the man himself had no idea?

‘Look at them even now. As soon as Jun-i Hyung appeared, they are constantly watching his reaction! But how can he not know this…!’

Watching as Gi-jun tilted his head as if asking what was wrong with the three of them sparring, Eun-shin recalled once again that the reason Gi-jun’s love life had not gone well during the first round of the tutorial was not due to his average appearance…

“Hyung, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

Even if he went out of his way to tell him that all three of them liked him, Gi-jun would not believe it.

Eun-shin knew very well that there was a certain wall in Gi-jun’s attitude toward Ye-min, stemming from his long-standing feelings.

In a sense, he was also a comrade who shared a sense of inferiority with Gi-jun.

“If you were to date one of those three, who would you prefer?”

So he took a different tactic.

It was to start by making him conscious of the three of them as members of the opposite sex.

If he was forced to view them as members of the opposite sex, no matter how dense Gi-jun was, he would have no choice but to notice something in their attitudes toward him from then on!

If there was a mistake he had made here…

The three women, who had been building up tension, had also heard the words he had just spoken.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

Feeling their sharp gazes flying toward him simultaneously and clawing at him, Eun-shin thought.

In Greek mythology, Zeus gave Pandora a jar and told her never to check its contents.

However, when Pandora, unable to overcome her curiosity, opened the jar containing all the evils of the world, all kinds of plagues spread through the world,

and when she hurriedly closed the jar in surprise, it was said that only hope remained inside.

That was why humans, though struggling through all kinds of hardships, could live without losing hope.

Eun-shin had long harbored a great doubt about this story.

All other evils began to affect humans as they escaped the jar, so why did the hope that remained locked inside, unable to get out, give hope to humans?

He finally realized the answer to that question today.

In truth, because hope could not come out, locked inside Pandora’s jar, the world was full of only despair.

‘I ended up asking a question I shouldn’t have.’

Sensing the situation, Eun-shin quickly fled, using his unique ability that matched his name.

Suddenly left alone, Gi-jun wore an awkward smile at the gazes of the women stabbing into him instead of the vanished Eun-shin.

Although he was dense, he was at least aware of the fact that Scintilla harbored considerable affection for him.

Lora was a praiseworthy younger sister who admired Gi-jun and tried to emulate him, and as for Ye-min, she was a companion who had shared joys and sorrows with him for over ten years.

Choosing any one of them, even if they did not have feelings for Gi-jun, was no different from insulting the two who were not chosen.

“Don’t take it so seriously, you three. In any case, dating is forbidden in our party.”

In the end, the answer he came up with was this.

Running away was shameful, but helpful.

It was truly a phrase meant for a situation like this.

“How can you run away like that, Oppa!”

“But it really is like that, so it can’t be helped. Since long ago, I had made up my mind that if I ever became a party leader, I would definitely do so.”

The reason he made such a pledge was partly because he had witnessed hell due to a dating couple in a college club, but even more than that, it was the realization he had gained from watching the love triangle among Mok-su, Ji-hye, and Eun-shin.

When Gi-jun had reunited with Ji-hye, why else would he have inquired about her romantic relationships first of all?

If she ended up dating one of the two after he rejoined their party, the remaining one would surely create a deathly awkward atmosphere!

It was because he did not want to see the party creak due to such issues!

Therefore, he had rather hoped that Ji-hye would stick to one of the two—preferably Eun-shin—and that their relationship would have been resolved smoothly!

These fools!

“Love always ruins relationships. Therefore, dating is forbidden in our party. Everyone understands, right?”

“As expected of Jun. You had such a reasonable justification.”

Tilla, who was always kind to Gi-jun, did not press him any further and nodded as if convinced.

Actually… because there was one more reason for not choosing one of the three, Gi-jun felt his conscience prick slightly.

The triangle in Gi-jun’s heart, which had never rotated before in his life, was slowly rotating.

“Nothing is as uncertain as the emotion of love. Jun probably worried about the aftermath that might come once the feelings evaporated, had he surrendered his body and mind to a temporary emotion. Right?”

“As expected of Tilla, you know my heart so well.”

“…She is really annoying.”

“I absolutely hate to agree with you, but that’s right. Lady Scintilla always slips away on her own like that, pretending to understand Jun-nim.”

While Ye-min and Lora looked at Tilla and quietly whispered behind her back,

Tilla added with a bright smile.

“That is why people get married, Jun.”

“……Huh?”

The air seemed to freeze.

“Since we cannot just rely on invisible emotions, we bind two people in a contractual relationship called marriage so they can trust and rely on each other more firmly. It becomes even more certain if you have a child. By creating someone for whom both must share responsibility, it binds the relationship more tightly and allows them to build other feelings besides love.”

“……Wait a minute, Tilla.”

“Jun, since you say you dislike dating, let me ask. If you were to marry, who would you prefer among the three of us?”

Lora, who was pretending to understand whom earlier?

At a question that was even more advanced than the one Eun-shin had asked, Gi-jun grit his teeth.

However, if Tilla was borrowing Eun-shin’s words, Gi-jun was also willing to borrow Eun-shin’s method.

That was none other than running away!

“Since when did Jun-i Oppa get that fast?”

Ye-min muttered in a daze, watching the back of Gi-jun, who had vanished without a trace by employing Light Spirit Power.

Scintilla licked her lips in disappointment and spoke as she turned around.

“Then, shall we do what we need to do among ourselves?”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Whew, seriously, how much are they underestimating me…”

Even as Ye-min drew her longsword, she could not help but chuckle.

Of course, it was true that her strength paled in comparison to Gi-jun’s, who had become absurdly strong—but she was also, in name and reality, a monster who had achieved absurd growth by claiming only the best of everything that existed in the second round of the tutorial.

Although the two of them were undoubtedly strong as they were Gi-jun’s party members, she had no intention of losing easily.

In fact, she also wished to beat them and prove to Gi-jun that she was still a good partner.

“I can feel your fighting spirit, how nice. I hope you hold out for a long time. I want to go all out too—”

It was about thirty minutes later when Ye-min realized the fact that Scintilla was of Legendary rank.

Naturally, she was utterly thrashed.

Even that was only because they had stopped midway, saying that tomorrow’s operation must not be affected, which only made her grind her teeth in frustration.

…That Lora had also ended up collapsed on the ground with her was a small consolation, if any.

* * *

“So did you run away?”

“It was so scary, Nuna…”

“What am I going to do with you? How are you going to get into a relationship when you’re so clueless?”

“Jun-i Hyung said that dating is forbidden in our party, though.”

“Eh? Did Jun-i Oppa figure out his own situation by any chance? Did he make a preemptive move so the party wouldn’t break up for no reason? No, he definitely looked like he had no idea…”

“…Nuna, you call him ‘Jun-i Oppa’ now. Before, you used to call him ‘Gi-jun Oppa’ without fail.”

“Ah, since coming to this party, everyone calls Oppa ‘Jun’. So somehow, I think I just ended up calling him ‘Jun-i Oppa’ too.”

“Was that it? I thought Nuna also felt something for Hyung…”

“What are you talking about? There’s no way. Sure, he did become easier to approach than before. Jun-i Oppa has changed quite a lot. I like him much better now. He’s also fun to watch!”

“I also prefer how he is now… No, actually, it’s not. I liked it better when both of you were unpopular.”

“I told you, Oppa was popular even back then. Although not like now… Hmm.”

“What’s wrong, Hye Nuna?”

“Speaking of popularity, it reminds me of Uncle Su. Actually, I looked for him earlier to talk to him, but I couldn’t find him. He didn’t say much at the party either…”

“He seemed to be a bit depressed. There have been signs of that ever since we crossed over to Leta, though.”

“Ah, as expected—I think Uncle was the one who was most shocked by the fact that it was just a tutorial. I want to do something for him, but—is it not possible with just me?”

“Nuna, that line just now sounded totally like a drama protagonist.”

“Really? Then Shin-i, as for you, hmm, you…”

“I’ll just be a supporting character.”

“It’s not good to be so timid. Shin-i can be a drama protagonist too. Straighten your shoulders!”

“No, I’ll be a supporting character. The kind of supporting character who listens to Nuna whenever she’s worried.”

“Huh? That sounds just like…”

“Why?”

“…No, it’s nothing. I just had a really silly thought.”