Chapter 101 – Master

“Ah-?!”

Seung-hee belatedly realizes that the box has been taken away and screams.
It’s slow. Even react.

“What! You gave it to me!”
“Your mind has changed.”
“Where is that?!”
“Here it is. Don’t you know that legally, if it’s within 7 days, you can get a refund for a simple change of heart? And you don’t need anything this nice. It’s not like there’s no one to go out and show it to.”

Above all, this option.
No matter how you think about it, this was an item prepared for me.

[The wearer’s hit rate and evasion rate are greatly increased.]

There’s even a pearl necklace around a pig’s neck. Isn’t it a useless option for Seung-hee, who doesn’t even leave the house, let alone fight?

“Woo-ssiing… Really mean… !”

Seung-hee is in tears and feels unfair.
Didn’t jump though. I thought he might recklessly try to steal it, but I’m glad he didn’t lose his temper that much.

But for me, the problem wasn’t Seunghee.

“Changjae, that… Wouldn’t it be better to just give Seunghee?”
“Me too, giving and then taking away is a bit…”

Mom and Kaylee were on Seung-hee’s side, firing support.

“Ugh…”

It is impossible to turn all of the women into enemies.
I couldn’t refuse with a single knife like usual.

Seunghee said, covering her crying face with her hands.

“Sniff. That’s Okay. What’s my fault I shouldn’t have expected it from the start… What is my gift… Hehe!”

Pretending to be an adult, pretending to be pitiful is a bad attitude.
And who wouldn’t know that it’s a ruse to make me a bad guy?

But I guess I’m the only one who thinks so. My mom and Kaylee sent me silent accusatory glances.

“Changjae, aren’t you being too harsh only on Seunghee?”
“Me?”

No way!
I felt unfair, but Kaylee nodded as if agreeing. On top of that, Seunghee pretended to cry even more, making a sound of ‘Eugh!’.

Mom spoke softly to Seung-hee, who was crying.

“It’s Seunghee. Shall I switch with my sister then? Seung-hee has this necklace, and her sister gets the brooch and gives it to Chang-jae.”

The mother tried to give Seunghee the garnet necklace her mother picked out.
Less than 10 minutes have passed since I said I would cherish it for the rest of my life…

Fortunately, that was rejected by Seunghee.

“Sniff. No. That’s what her sister got. What does it mean for me to receive it? Sobbing.”

That’s right. Whether it’s a necklace or a brooch, it doesn’t mean much to Seunghee. So, it would be okay to assume that it was not there from the beginning.

Caylee glances at me, wanting me to do something the way Caylee does. She seemed to want to give out her own necklace.

“… Ha ha all right.”

In the end, unable to overcome the pressure from the women, I surrendered with both hands up.

Considering the function of the item, I deserve to have it. That is the most efficient, common sense, and logical judgment.

However, the world does not run only with efficiency and common sense.
Because humans are emotional animals.

“… Sobbing.”

Seung-hee, who had covered her face and pretended to cry, glanced through her fingers.
This guy…

“I’ll tell you first, but I can’t give this back.”
“Ah! Where is that?”

Seung-hee, who had been pretending to cry, confronts her, revealing her true nature.

“Listen to my story first.”

Humans are emotional animals.
That’s why you shouldn’t be buried only in emotions.

“I’m sorry that I gave it to you first and then it became like I took it away.”
“It’s not like you gave and took away, you gave and then took.”
“First, I will tell you how I got this jewel box.”

I ignored Seunghee’s retort and continued the conversation.

“When I went out today, I ran into a pretty dangerous guy. To put it bluntly, that’s it.”

I pointed to one wall with my thumb.
It was decorated with a large wolf skin that could fill one wall.

“I didn’t want to say this, but to be honest, I lived and died. If you weren’t lucky, he might have eaten you.”
“Creative, you… !”
“Mom. Don’t be so angry. In the end, you came back intact like this, didn’t you? That’s why I didn’t want to talk about it.”

My mom glared at me with her menacing eyes, but I tried to brush it off as lightly as possible.

“So, these are the spoils I got from fighting so risking my life. There were also three boxes, so I thought I could share them with three people. I could have opened the contents first and shared them, but then again, that would be unfair.”

Some give good, some give bad.
I must have given the best to my mother and the bad to Seunghee.

But I want you to know this.
The last thing in the list of priorities is that Seunghee isn’t.

Grow. The last of the priorities.
The choice of ‘no’ was my share.

“At least until I got the box, there was no ‘I have it’ option. I did, but the box I gave to Seunghee had something like this in it.”

I emphasized that this diamond brooch was not ‘picked by Seung-hee’ but ‘was in a box’.
I can’t help it even if I’m lethal Because society is inherently petty.

“If this was just an expensive diamond brooch, I would have just given it to Seunghee. But…”

I put the options on the terminal on a table for all to see.

[Tears of a Star]
[Rating: Legend]
[The wearer’s hit rate and evasion rate are greatly increased.]

“If you ever get into a situation where you’re fighting a dangerous guy like that again, of course I don’t want to fight, but just like this time, do you mean there are times when you have no choice but to fight?”

Mom’s eyes are scary.
I didn’t fight because I wanted to fight.

I tried to avoid her eyes and continued her words.

“At that time, if I have this, my chances of surviving increase. And if I survive, it means that my mother, Seung-hee, and Kaylee survive, and that means that Noah and Seung-pil survive.”

I even dragged in the deceased as a last resort.
Even if it’s fatal, it can’t be helped. Because this is so important to me.

“Therefore… I want you to know that this is a decision for everyone, not just for me.”

Mom has her arms crossed with a little scary expression.
Perhaps he was angry that I had gone out and done something dangerous. And even though I didn’t say it honestly.

Seunghee is still pouting her lips, but she doesn’t seem to be stubborn anymore. Kaylie, too, can’t help but keep her mouth shut.

But. Since you brought up the story of Seungpil and Noah, what do you have to say?

“And what if you say instead… Seunghee, if you need anything else, tell me. I will buy you.”
“… Do you need it?”
“Okay. I’ll buy it if you can. It’s what you need, or what you want from me, what you want to do, what you want to eat. Tell me anything I will listen.”

It’s better if it doesn’t cost coins.
But a little bit will be fine. Coins are what you need to earn again.
Because these precious items cannot be bought with coins.
On the contrary, it might not be an afterthought to buy something a little extravagant and give it a go.

“Ah…”

After thinking for a moment, Seunghee made a sound as if she remembered something.

“What? Is there anything you want?”
“Oh, no…”

When I asked, Seunghee was flustered and evasive.
This ‘no’ is not a ‘no’ in the sense that it is not real. It was a ‘no’ used when it was difficult to say honestly.

“What? Say it. I’ll listen to anything.”

As I continued to encourage her, Seunghee struggled to open her mouth.

“Well, then… Etc…”

Etc. Guitar. Etc. Etc.

“Etc?”

As I pretended to play the guitar in the air, Seunghee cautiously nodded his head.
I guess he’s really talking about that guitar. It was very surprising to me.

“Seunghee, do you know how to play guitar?”
“I know how to play… It’s not enough to say…”

For some reason, Seung-hee twists her body and feels ashamed.

“Really? Does Seunghee know how to play the guitar?”

My mother, who had been watching me disapprovingly by her side the whole time, joined her story with her eyes shining.

“Etc. It’s cool, Seunghee.”

Caylee was also admiring it and helped.

“Ah, not to that extent. I was just learning a little bit.”

Seunghee shakes his hand as his face turns red.
It seems embarrassing for the older sisters to make a fuss.

“Hmm. Guitar.”

First of all, I searched the terminal store.
Was really selling. Acoustic guitar. 100 coins.

Expensive if expensive, cheap if cheap.
It’s not a burdensome price for us now, but it was on the expensive side compared to other daily necessities.

Things that have nothing to do with survival are rather expensive. Should this be considered a luxury tax?

Anyway, it just went well. It might be just right for a brooch and tungchigi.
I immediately clicked the buy button.

“Ah.”

Then, a wooden-colored acoustic guitar popped up in the air with a ‘pyeong!’
I grabbed it and handed it to Seunghee.

“Uh… Go… Thank you.”

Seung-hee accepts the guitar shyly.
I smiled and chined Seunghee.

“Then pick a song.”
“Eek! What, now?”
“Of course.”
“Oh, oh, no… The guitar hasn’t been tuned yet…”

Seunghee was adjusting the guitar while plucking the strings or tightening the screws while muttering something.

Even though he said no, he secretly wanted to hit it. It looked as if a concert would start on the spot if he pushed his back a little.

“No way. It’s okay if you can’t. What do you think? Not listening to anyone else. We have each other.”
“Is it so. Think of it as practicing and try it.”

Coincidentally, Mom and Kaylee also pushed Seung-hee’s back as if they had read her reaction.

“I can’t… I mean, I’m really not very good at it. Lol…”

I said no, I couldn’t do it, but it wasn’t that I didn’t like it.

“It’s okay, so do it. A song that everyone should know.”
“Uh… Then… Mmm!”

Finally, as I cheered, Seunghee also took up her stance, as if she had made up her mind.
He grabs his guitar, sits in a chair, and starts plucking the strings.

“Oh…”

Seunghee’s guitar sounded quite plausible.
Mom swayed her upper body from side to side to the rhythm, and Kaylee matched hers with silent claps.
Like Seunghee herself said, she wasn’t a beginner at all. On the contrary, she heard that she was playing better than she thought.

Besides, Jeonju is somehow familiar… Familiar melody?
… Yes… ? What is this?

It’s vaguely familiar, but I can’t remember which song it is.
However, the identity of the song was revealed when Seunghee’s song started in earnest.

“Leave the house——take the train——”

… Uh?

“The day we go to the training camp—”
“——Stop.”

I am… I stopped Seunghee’s song.

“Ah. Why again?”
“What’s the matter? I was just listening.”

Seunghee, Mom, and Kaylee all look at me dissatisfied.
But I couldn’t help but listen to the song.

Private’s letter.
It is an undeniable fact that it is an immortal masterpiece.

However… It was a traumatic song for a soldier like me.

“You deliberately… Are you doing this on purpose to lift me up?”

I asked tearing my hair.

“Isn’t it?”

The face of Seung-hee who answered with a bright smile looked like a devil to me.