Chapter 37 – 37. Lee Ji-Hye’s Family History (1)

The Academy League is just around the corner.

The Academy League, where 8 college club teams and 8 professional preparation teams compete, was a great stage to discover used and new recruits, so it was also a competition that the 2nd and 1st division teams also paid attention to.

Because of this, even the players of the college club teams participating in the competition often immerse themselves in the competition even if they take a leave of absence or neglect their studies.

As the virtual reality game, Arena, is gaining worldwide popularity, more students prefer to become pro gamers than go to college.

Lee Ji-hye was attending Korea University, one of the top 3 universities in Korea.
It was a prestigious university that everyone wanted to enter, but in fact, it was just a tool to make money for her, and did not have any special meaning.

I went in after receiving a scholarship anyway, so there was no pressure.
As in any era, the status of being a student at a prestigious university makes many parts of life easier.

Of course, that didn’t mean I was thinking about graduating.
Not knowing what life will be like.

However, he thought that Battle Angels would be ruined one day, so even though he had quit all tutoring, he had not been expelled.
I was thinking of graduating from university if the money coming in from the gaming team disappeared.

Thanks to this, Lee Ji-hye used to go to college and take the minimum grade once a week.

She was walking around the campus today to attend class. However, my head was filled with thoughts about the competition tomorrow.
If someone hadn’t called her and grabbed her hand, she would have been so absorbed that she would crash into a telephone pole.

“Uh? Is it dangerous?!”
“!!!”

Surprised, Lee Ji-hye opened her eyes and looked up at the man.
He was a man with a good physique and cool features while wearing a Korean University gwajam.
The man looked at Lee Ji-hye’s face and smiled.

“Are you Jihye Lee?”
“Ah… Who are you?”
“It’s me! Han Tae-seop!”

‘Ah, Han Tae-seop.’

Lee Ji-hye narrowed her eyebrows slightly and tilted her head. Her long straight hair fluttered at her movements.

In fact, the moment I saw him, I immediately remembered who he was, but I deliberately pretended not to know.
It’s because I met the senior I hated the most in college.

In the meantime, the man who introduced himself as Han Tae-seop was excited and kept talking.

“I even recommended you to the game club! We went to competitions together and won, but have you forgotten about it? Man, that’s really disappointing.”

Then, naturally, he pokes his shoulder with his finger.
Lee Ji-hye sighed and nodded her head.

“I remembered. Are you the senior who was the one deal at the time? Sorry, I’m out of my mind these days.”
“I see! Well, you’ve been busy since the old days! How are you anyways? I don’t think the game club is coming anymore?”

Lee Ji-hye pondered for a while on how far to tell him about her story.
But it was literally only for a moment.

For Lee Ji-hye, Han Tae-seop was not someone she wanted to get close to, so she had no intention of talking about her deep circumstances.

‘Still, thanks to that, I did make some money.’

The first meeting with him was while taking a class in the department.
One of the many men who were seduced by Lee Ji-hye, who received considerable attention from the beginning of her enrollment.

However, among them, he proposed to participate in a game competition unusually.

‘I’ll give you a bus ride, do you want to go to the competition? If I win, I’ll be able to touch some money.’

Lee Ji-hye, who was more difficult to find what she was bad at than what she was good at, as expected, she did well at the game without difficulty, and thanks to her, she was able to touch the savory prize money.
Since then, she has been cast in the Battle Angels team and has come to join her. In a way, it is safe to say that Han Tae-seop was the one who led her to become a professional gamer.

However, the relationship with Han Tae-seop was not that simple.

“If you don’t have anything to do right now, would you like to hang out with me like before?”

Han Tae-seop smiled and glanced at Lee Ji-hye.

“You made a lot of money running errands for my coffee.”
“Is it?”

Lee Ji-hye shied away from pretentiousness, but of course she did not forget her humiliating days with him.
Recalling that series of events, she turned her body about as if she were busy, feeling very bad.

“I have to go to class, so stop… “
“What class are you taking? I will listen too.”
“Why are you taking a class you didn’t even sign up for?”
“It’s been a while since we met, but it would be a pity if we broke up like this.”

‘I’m sure you’re the only one who regrets it.’

Her cold, short answers showed that she wasn’t interested in him, but her persistent questions continued.
In the end, Jihye Lee confessed that she had joined Battle Angels as a jungler and that she was going to the Academy League.

Han Tae-seop let out a hearty laugh as his mouth caught on his ear.

“Hey~ What kind of relationship is this! I’m in the academy league too! As a representative of Korea University’s game club! If we do well, we may see you at the competition!”

Jihye Lee also saw her university game club in Korea on the roster when the list of participating teams was revealed.
I didn’t know that this guy was still in the game club, so he didn’t care…

“Senior, aren’t you in fourth grade now?”
“Right! So I think this will be my last competition. It used to be fun, but it’s a pity.”

‘I’m going to get a job in the 4th year…’

Lee Ji-hye and Han Tae-seop arrived at the lecture hall before they knew it.
She blatantly flopped and sat down in a chair without strength, and immediately fell face down on the desk.

“I can’t sleep. Get some rest, too.”
“Uh… Sleep, wait! Going to sleep? Before that, could you buy me some coffee after a long time?”

When Jihye Lee had no money, she ran errands for coffee.
From Han Tae-seop’s point of view, it was a timid yet naive revenge for Lee Ji-hye, who did not accept his feelings, and for Lee Ji-hye, who knew it, it was a small pocket money.

She would make money just by buying her coffee, so there was no way she wouldn’t do it, even if her ego sold a little.

When he doesn’t like Han Tae-seop, who feels superior through him, he just needs to take the attitude that he won’t run errands anymore.

It was because Han Tae-seop, who was proud of himself, couldn’t help but notice her, anxious about losing his relationship with Lee Ji-hye every time.

It was an errand run by Han Tae-seop, but in fact it was a strange situation in which Lee Ji-hye took the initiative.

“Buy your own coffee.”

But now it’s different from then.
At her cold reply, Han Tae-seop, who tried to take money out of his wallet, stopped.
Jihye Lee puts her face on her desk and doesn’t budge.

‘Lee Ji-hye… I don’t need money anymore, is this? Where did you get some money from?’

Desire for what you don’t have.
Nasty feelings slowly rose in Han Tae-seop’s heart.

Her reality was that Lee Ji-hye was swaying her, but she didn’t think so of her pride left by him. It was because of this that it felt like an unbearable humiliation to him, who was drunk on her own sense of superiority that she was treating her like her slave.

‘Does the pro game team pay a lot?’

In the end, Han Tae-seop even thought of ‘Battle Angels’ that she joined her.
No matter how much you think about it, that’s the reason why she rebelled against herself when she lived in poverty!

Having become convinced, he decides to destroy the Battle Angels or something in this Academy League.
If that’s the case, she might be able to look back at him again as she has no place to lean on.

###

He is dreaming, but he knows full well that it is a dream.

Just because she was swimming in her money pile of her.

‘I can’t possibly have this much money… ‘

In the sky, for some reason, banknotes fly one by one.
He raised his head and looked up to see that none other than Han Tae-seop was scattering money.

Lee Ji-hye, feeling bad for her, frowned at her.

‘It’s a shame…’

It is a well-known fact even at Korean universities that Han Tae-seop has a lot of money.
He drives a sports car and spends huge sums of money on parties and gatherings.
From what I’ve heard, are you rich in real estate that your parents know about?

However, on top of Han Tae-seop, who was scattering money, there was someone who was scattering more money.
Lee Ji-hye smiled and picked up the money falling from the sky.

‘But yet… Not as good as the money he sows’

With her bright smile on her face, she scrapes up even the money that has fallen on her floor her.
At that moment, the ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred.

“Lee Ji-hye… ! Jihye Lee…!”

A familiar voice was heard.
Jihye Lee opened her sleepy eyes and looked to her side of her.
Han Tae-seop was looking down at him.

“Um… “
“Class is over. You must be very sleepy, you can’t even hear the phone ringing.”

Hand phone?
Lee Ji-hye looked at her cell phone her next to her.

A screen with more than 10 missed calls came to mind.
Jihye Lee felt her hair her go white in an instant.

“…Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“Yes? Was it an important call? It didn’t seem that important, so I turned it off.”

The missed call is from Korea University Hospital.
Jihye Lee bit her lip.
The good luck of sleep was gone.

“Burn it.”
“Yes?”
“Right now, I have to go to the hospital. I have your car, so please give me a ride.”
“Uh, uh… “

Han Tae-seop was taken aback by her coercive tone of her.
But then he nodded and took out his car keys.

“That, yes. Are you going to the hospital? Who do you think is sick?”
“Run!”

Tae-seop Han had no choice but to start running, attracted by her pushing her on the back of her.
Even so, he couldn’t say anything to her cold eyes.
Moreover, didn’t you turn off the phone that seemed important?
No matter how selfish he was, Han Tae-seop lived for taste, but he had some guilt.

Tiriling… Tiriling…

As Lee Ji-hye ran, she called the Korean University Hospital.
And by the time she got to Han Tae-seop’s sports car in the parking lot, the phone was connected.

“Ah, Jihye Lee.”
“What happened to my brother?”
“Yes. I contacted you because I thought you would need surgery right away.”

Fall.
Jihye Lee’s heart sank.
Biting her lip, she shouted to Han Tae-seop.

“Hurry to Korea University Hospital!”
“Uh…! That, yes”

His sports car starts without knowing why.
Lee Ji-hye continued talking to Han Tae-seop as she drove.

“Are you feeling very bad?”
“Yes. Seizures continue. As I said before, I went into surgery.”
“Are you having surgery?”

Lee Ji-hye felt her head her empty from the shock.
When her younger sister her, Lee Je-man, was awake, she personally agreed to the operation, so it was a procedure under the procedure, but she felt a great sense of guilt that her opposite sister her, herself, could not keep the position.

“…Isn’t the surgery over yet? I’ll be there soon.
“Yes, the guardian came and explained everything. You can come slowly.”

Boo woo woo…
A sports car gliding along the road.
Lee Ji-hye, who hurriedly grabbed her handle her as her body her leaned to the right, asked.
Before I knew it, I began to see Korea University Hospital from a distance.

“A guardian?”
“Yes. The younger siblings brought their guardians and went through all the procedures! You paid for the operation.”
“……”

Did she have her guardian her?
She remembered her parents her, whose faces she could n’t even remember now, but she shook her head.
There is no way that the younger siblings brought their parents, who even they don’t know where they are.
So who is the person claiming to be the substitute guardian?

“I understand for now. We’ve all arrived, so let’s go up.”

If you have any questions, you have to go up and solve them yourself.
As soon as she got to the front of the hospital, she got out of the car and started my run.
He heard the panicked Han Tae-seop calling, but he couldn’t stop.

She arrived in front of her operating room in a month.
Men in her black suits her, who had seen her somewhere, looked at her.

“……”

Seeing those familiar faces, Lee Ji-hye realized who the guardian was.
Then, overcome with subtle emotions, she turned to her younger siblings who had gathered to one side.

Her younger siblings her, who were sitting in her long chair her, also noticed her and rose from their seats.
Beside her stood a sharp-looking man with his hand in her pocket.
Lee Ji-hye, who opened her eyes, rushed at her man.

“…Sister…!”

I heard the embarrassed voice of her younger brother, Lee Ji-hoon.
However, it was after Lee Ji-hye had already grabbed her man by the collar.

“…What are you, are you here as a guardian?”
“……”

In fact, her heart was filled with feelings of shame.

If Han Tae-seop hadn’t turned off the phone, if her younger siblings hadn’t called him,

She wouldn’t have shown her own weak side her like this.

“Who else asked me to pay for the operation?!”

But why?

Lee Ji-hye could not control her rising emotions of her.
Even though she had already been ashamed of this and that with this man, the shame she now felt was different.

A feeling that showed her to the bottom of herself.

Like her sandcastle, her built on her beach, she had to show all of her own precarious situation that could be swept away at any moment.
She was like a mouse driven into her corner, her fur all over her body her erect and nervous for no reason.

“Why do you do something you didn’t even ask me to do?! Why are you my protector?!”
“……”

But her man her, coach Kim Jeong-soo, said nothing.
The atmosphere around them had become chilly.

Even Han Tae-seop, who arrived late from afar, looked at the atmosphere and quietly looked around.

“Who… Did you ask me to do this!”
“You are very mistaken.”

Are you angry at Jihye Lee screaming?
Coach Kim Jeong-soo loosened the collar with a cold tone.

Lee Ji-hye, who flinched at her body, finally came to her senses her.

‘What have I done?’

Coach Kim Jeong-soo must have come at the request of his younger siblings.

It was clear to her eyes even without looking.
Her younger siblings her, who were minors, would have found themselves as soon as they got a call from the hospital.
However, she, who was sleeping comfortably, was not contacted, and her younger siblings had no choice but to find a coach near her.

After that, coach Kim Jeong-soo would bring his younger brothers and men in black suits to the hospital and act as guardians.
If things went wrong, he might be in trouble for himself, but he stayed put.

Isn’t this the situation where you rescued a drowning person and asked him to give you his bundle of his?

Jihye Lee’s cheeks turned slightly red. It wasn’t strange if the coach got angry.
However, coach Kim Jung-soo’s words of her were completely different from Lee Ji-hye’s expectations.

“Do you think I am here for you? I came here at the request of your younger siblings, and Ji Ji-yi asked me to take care of him, so I just kept my promise.”
“… Is this Jiji?”

Jihye Lee cast her gaze into the lighted operating room.
Lee Ji-man was her younger sister who is now in surgery.

“I was just doing your brother’s favor, and this has nothing to do with you.”
“It’s my brother’s business, so how can it have anything to do with me?”

Lee Ji-hye was arguing with the coach to the point that even if she thought about it herself, she couldn’t understand it.

The thought of stopping her rose from a corner of her mind, but her mouth continued to shoot her sharp words.

‘Please… Stop now…’

Hiding her sorry feelings for her, she gladd at coach Kim Jeong-soo.
Fortunately, coach Kim Jeong-soo didn’t seem to mind.

The coach calmly opened his mouth.

“I didn’t do that for you either. I made a promise to you The money will be paid back by him himself when his health his recovers.”
“… Whoever wants… “
“As I like.”

After Jihye Lee stopped talking, Jeongsu Kim passed her by.
Surprised, Lee Ji-hye hurriedly grabbed his hand her.

“…I’m not done talking yet.”
“I’m done.”

Coach Kim Jung-soo, who turned her head and looked at her, continued her words.

“Or are you saying you won’t acknowledge a promise your brother made himself?”
“……”
“Don’t treat me like an idiot who can’t do anything just because I’m lying in the hospital room.”

Jihye Lee couldn’t say anything more.
As he said, she did everything for her younger siblings her. In other words, it was as if the opinions of her younger siblings did not matter.

She felt regret and shame over her stubbornness of her, and she wanted to hide somewhere.

‘Why do you…’

At that moment, it felt as if the stuffiness that had been suppressing her breasts for 20 years had disappeared a little.

Tight
Her younger sister her, Lee Ji-ah, approached before she knew it and took her hand her.
Lee Ji-hye hid her emotional feelings her and held her hand her.

‘Thank you… ‘

She swallowed her words and looked at Coach Kim Jeong-soo’s back her.

###

I came out of the hospital building and walked through a park with trees and benches.
The conversation I had with Lee Ji-hye lingered in my head.
At the time, she was bragging about something, but I don’t know how she took it.

In fact, I did not accept how to accept it, but I just told the story as it was.

It was when I was enjoying contemplation in the park for such a long time.
A man approached from afar.

“Hello, I’m Han Tae-seop, Lee Ji-hye’s college senior.”

He was a man with a slightly slimy appearance.
He was wearing clothes with patterns that he had seen a lot somewhere and a watch that looked expensive.

“Ah yes. Hello.”

Why are you greeting me all of a sudden?

There was no way Lee Ji-hye’s college senior would have anything to do with me.
When I looked at him with a questioning face, he said with a very serious face.

“Don’t make Lee Ji-hye cry.”
“Yes?”
“Lee Ji-hye, don’t cry.”
“Her…”

My mouth is gaping at the absurd feeling.
What is this guy talking about now?

However, despite my expression his, his ugliness continued.

“My girl, don’t cry. From now on, I won’t just skip it.”
“……”

It was so embarrassing that I couldn’t say anything.
Meanwhile, Han Tae-seop handsomely turns around and leaves.

For a while, I stood still as if I had become an old tree on the promenade.
What just passed?