Chapter 196 – The Tale of the Young Oak

Lee Se-Young had no expectations from her returning family.

After all, they had abandoned her from the very beginning, and she had never experienced any honor or privilege as a member of the Oak family.

She had come simply to offer her help. Of course, one couldn’t say that was her sole purpose. The desire to be acknowledged by those who had once cast her aside had driven Se-Young.

She had grown this much on her own, in contrast to her father, who had deemed her incapable of anything. In the face of that, she had confidently shouted at the top of her lungs.

“A selfish bitch.”

That’s what Se-Young’s older sister, Lee Seo-Hyun, had said to her. The words had sprung reflexively from her lips upon seeing Se-Young’s return to the family.

“…What?”

Facing each other in the company hallway, both women frowned nervously.

Se-Young didn’t expect praise, but she hadn’t anticipated being cursed by her own sister either.

It dawned on her that her father had been spreading malicious rumors about Lee Se-Young.

In truth, they were being set up, or rather pushed together, because of Lee Se-Young. He concocted such baseless words and relayed them to his daughters.

“Lee Se-Young, living like that… Are you happy being the only one to escape?”
“Escape, damn it? Who?”

It was they who fell for those trashy words and fled. Why was she, who didn’t even bring a single set of clothes from her family, labeled as the runaway girl?

“What nonsense.”

Though she felt a surge of emotion, Lee Se-Young knew how to defuse the situation based on her past experiences. She wasn’t one to lose in a war of words.

“I’m not the one running away. You’re the senseless one.”

The memory of nearly dying while breaking through a dungeon. Compensation taken from her by fellow guild members under the pretense of protecting a minor.

“You were the one who accepted engagement to a man barely worth a gnat from a family like this, not me.”
“What, what?”

There was a time when she had knelt for a mere 20,000 won.

“I didn’t even want to welcome you, damn it. But still, still… Ugh. Seriously, I feel filthy.”

From the various foods she couldn’t buy due to being short a few hundred won, to the clothes she wore multiple times; she had led a young life sustained by water alone. Fortunately, her tree-like nature allowed her to endure for extended periods with just water.

Still, Lee Se-Young knew how to live.

“But what are you doing?”
“…Huh?”
“I came here to expand the dungeon, and you start cussing me out?”

She obtained an apology in her own way. However, it didn’t bring her much satisfaction.

Instead, she felt a sense of emptiness—she had truly lost the place she could return to. An A-class Hunter. The title of Lee Se-Young, who had just become a high school student.

Even though Se-Young had returned to the family late and secured her position, her mood didn’t improve at all, despite the other sisters cautiously tiptoeing around her.

‘…’

Lee Se-Young had no family.

She had never experienced the warmth or affection of another person.

The last time she held someone’s hand for more than 2 seconds was during her elementary school days. In her youth, she barely made eye contact with the opposite sex, let alone embrace them. For her, the few thousand won in front of her eyes were more precious than forging connections with others.

Romance or love – she had no time for such things.

To begin with, trusting people was impossible for Lee Se-Young. She might have understood if someone had forcibly invaded her space and tried to share their warmth. But others didn’t even come close to attempting that.

No one truly sought to understand the depths of Lee Se-Young’s dark thoughts. Moreover, she was now rumored to be the only woman with power in the Orc family.

There were only a few people who had ever managed to forcibly unlock her heart.

College. It was the day she entered the academy.

* * * * * * * * * *

She despised group projects.

These damned professors showed no consideration for those without friends.

“Form groups of three with people you like~”

She had come here to cut and hammer, so why was she learning theories? It wasn’t that she was sulking because she lacked friends. At twenty years old, Lee Se-young surveyed her surroundings with sharp eyes.

Once more, she decided to just… put on a suitable mask and carry on.

It wasn’t that she had no one she could call a friend. Her list of contacts was filled with her peers’ phone numbers. There were even fellow students who acted friendly without knowing anything about her. It wouldn’t have been difficult to form a group if she had really wanted to.

But today, one person’s figure caught her eye.

-Flustered, darting left and right.

The yellow-haired woman glanced around anxiously with a rodent-like expression in her eyes. Lee Se-Young was taken aback by the peculiar star-shaped pupils.

“Um, over there… Jo-“

The star-shaped woman cautiously spoke to the youngster sitting beside her, but her faint voice went unheard.

“Hey! Wanna join us?”

In the end, the star-shaped woman’s timing was stolen by the other students.

“…Hing.”

Feeling dejected, she sank into a gloomy mood all by herself. Just by looking at her, one could imagine her shoulders drooping.

“Hey.”
“…Eek, yes? Oh, hi there!”
“Hi there? Just use informal speech since we’re the same age. Wanna work together on the assignment?”

The all-too-common group task had the awkward students creating another astonishing PowerPoint presentation. It seemed they were in a bit of a bind.

“What’s your name?”
“Star… Starry.”

Lee Se-Young, Starry, and… another student who came between the two.

The trio, who first met during a group project, naturally came together whenever there was work to be done from that day on.

“…Um.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you like games?”

From that day onward, Byul began to show interest, as if they had become friends after just one assignment.

Se-Young’s eyes narrowed in concern at the sight of Byul’s expression, like a drenched cat that would wilt if rejected.

“…What?”
“Games! Let’s play together. I have plenty in the dorm.”

Byul was a bit of a handful. However, there was no harm in spending time with her, so they hung out. Se-Young was also curious, not having much experience playing games with other people.

And so, a week went by.

“Want to play some kart racing?”
“I don’t have the time.”
“…Aww.”
“…Fine, let’s go.”
“Yay!”

A month passed.

“Se-Youngie!”
“…What’s with that nickname?”
“Why, don’t you like it?”
“It sounds a bit dimwitted.”
“…I’m not dimwitted!”

A year went by. As they spent more and more time together, Se-Young began to believe that this was what true friendship felt like.

Inside the dormitory room, Lee Se-young sensed it.

“…It’s up!”

Byul, lying with her head on her thighs, played a mobile game collecting wooden girls. She popped a shrimp snack into her mouth and blinked her large eyes.

“What’s so fun about that?”

“It’s not that the game is fun… It’s the pleasure of raising our little ones that I enjoy.”

“Fine, let’s watch a movie. I want to see the latest one. Can you turn on the TV?”

“Ah, don’t move, the snack dropped… Ack! My bed!”

“Sorry.”

So, the two of them carried on as if they were filming various sitcoms.

“…What are you guys doing?”

Se-young, Byul, and Unhyang, who often played together, sighed and looked after one another.

“Kkingkang! I want to eat cake. Se-young, get me a blueberry strawberry cake. I’ll have a cheesecake.”

“Alright, go out and buy it yourself. And it’s not kkingkang, it’s kumquat, you dummy.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“It’s entirely different. It’s called a carambola, not a starfruit.”
“No, I like the refreshing names more!”

As they became closer, they started drinking together, and even Se-Young, who had never experienced alcohol before, began to let her guard down. They all realized that in some ways, they were all deeply wounded individuals.

Lee Se-Young, Byul, and Woon-Hyang.

Although they were born in different places, they felt a sense of kinship with each other. Se-Young, who had never really felt the warmth of others before, began to cherish this relationship more than anyone else. The same was true for all three of them.

It was just that Lee Se-Young was a bit more morbidly obsessed.

Among her friends, it became even more apparent when Woon-Hyang died.

It wasn’t anything significant. It was a fatal accident caused by an event that occurred once or twice a year at the academy. The person involved just happened to be her friend.

To be more precise… A rampage broke out in the dungeon. Woon-Hyang saved Se-Young and Byul but ended up trapped inside.

Just before the dungeon closed, he made a swift decision to sacrifice himself instead of Se-Young and Byul.

Someone dies in my stead.
I had never even imagined such a thing, let alone foresee that I would be the one to benefit from it.

“Hey.”
“…Yeah.”

A destiny unfulfilled. A sealed dungeon.
At their comrade’s funeral, Lee Se-Young stood in a daze, and then spoke to the seated Byul.

“…You… No.”

Thoughts stirred within her, but words failed to convey them.

Lee Se-Young, who had lived a life devoid of connections, had lost one of the two relationships she had first formed.
The loss occurred not long after she had come to realize their importance.

She couldn’t pinpoint the emotion she felt.
Her mood was utterly wretched.

Now that she had lost them, she could no longer converse with that friend, nor could they train together, aiming their weapons at one another as they had before.

“Se-Young. Are you crying?”

Lee Se-Young didn’t know, but Byul had some inkling.

I’ve heard about Se-young’s past, and I’ve observed her behavior closely.

As empty as her heart is, she clings to the idea of filling it. She grew up alone, subjected to harsh words from her family when she was young. Now, she seeks to mentally latch onto the affection she didn’t receive back then.

However, she struggles to express emotions on such matters. Perhaps that’s why her actions take precedence over her thoughts.

Looking back at how she almost broke down when Byul was ignored by others… it’s quite clear.

That was the conclusion drawn about Lee Se-young by Byul.

* * * * * * * *

[…There are many gaps in this understanding, but it’s likely accurate.]

Glancing at the phone’s call time, two hours had already passed. Time had flown by as they asked and answered various questions.

“[Se-young is the kind of person who tends to go all out, even to the point of exposing their liver and gallbladder.]”

Of course, judging people so casually is rude. However, there is always a reason behind the words of a close friend, and what was said wasn’t entirely wrong.

“[Se-young is sensitive when it comes to someone’s death, especially if it’s a lover.]”

“Is that so?”

“[Si-heon, you’re actually in a life-threatening situation.]”

The more I listened, the more I realized that Lee Se-young had revealed all my secrets to the star.

Did Se-young even talk about the rape? If so, then the star’s words become more trustworthy. To Lee Se-young, the star is such an important person that there are no secrets between them. This is quite a contrast to how Se-young is usually so good at keeping their mouth shut around others.

“[Well, what I’m trying to say is…]”

The star spoke.

“[You need to make Se-young feel certain about you.]”

“…”

How?

I wanted to ask a question, but I held back.

[He’s backed off for now. But he’ll try to die for you if you’re in danger. Not just for you, but for me too. Would he even try to stop me if it meant his death?]

“I knew he was like that, but I didn’t realize it was to such an extent.”

[Hehe. His obsession is intense. If he sees me where you’re not, he’ll cling to me, right?]

“I don’t think that’s the case.”

[Oh, did I get caught?]

We chuckled softly at each other.

Anyway, I knew that Lee Se-Young was being unusually kind to me. It was one of the questions I’d had since I came to the academy. Now that I think about it, it was similar to Azalea. Why are the people around me… all lacking something in some way?

[Oh, but Si-heon.]

“Yes?”

[Se-Young took a plane and went there yesterday.]

A voice rang out from the phone. At that moment, I sensed someone’s presence behind me.

“Hey. Idiot.”

The sensation of her pressing firmly against my back while I’m on the phone.
Her ample breasts crushed against my shoulder blades.

“Finally found you.”

Is it Byul’s initiative that’s admirable? Or is Lee Se-Young just too audacious?
Why now, of all times?

I tensed up and hung up the phone.
Se-Young’s long, verdant hair tickled the nape of my neck.

The teacher’s voice whispered in my ear as she rested her chin on my shoulder.

“…I heard everything from the old man.”

Anger laced her words, mingled with a hint of playfulness.

“Who were you talking to?”