RE: Player again

316

[Chapter 101] [Even If You Mix Blood with Blood (2)]

"You'll trade with us too, right?"

"We also have ketchup and mustard."

"This seems like I'm losing out..."

"But isn't it too petty to ask to trade for hamburgers?"

If Hayang had come alone, he would have given her beef.

He could even give her pork because he needed to receive help from her.

However, if Bae Subin came, it was different.

He wanted to tease her as she came with ketchup and french fries and boldly asked to trade.

"Alright, Bae Subin. Call me oppa."

"What?"

"Oppa!"

"No, Jung Hayang, not you..."

Bae Subin's face soured.

However, she was the one at a disadvantage.

If Eunha didn't accept the deal, that would be the end of it.

So he leisurely placed the beef on the grill.

Sizzle—

The sight of the beef slowly shrinking from the edges on the hot grill looked so appetizing.

Bae Subin flared her nostrils at the smell of meat.

With a still conflicted look in her eyes behind her glasses.

"Hey. Try grilling some pork too."

Eunha, who had eaten beef and kimchi wrapped in lettuce, told a student to try grilling some pork.

As the pork was placed on the grill, the sizzling sound hit their ears.

"...ppa."

"What? What did you say? I can't hear you well."

Bae Subin's face was red.

Eunha snickered, waiting for her to speak in a louder voice.

"—Oppa!"

Bae Subin shouted loudly.

Eunha seized that moment to toss a piece of beef into her mouth.

Surprised by the sudden intrusion in her mouth, Bae Subin soon tasted the beef and changed her expression.

"Oppa. Please give me some beef."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"I want to eat beef!"

"Louder."

"Oppa! Please give me some beef!"

"Good."

He was satisfied.

As expected, Bae Subin was the most fun when enduring humiliation.

Eunha, with a broad smile on his face, gave her beef while making a new request.

"This time, moo like a cow."

"...You really..."

"Really, what?"

He tossed beef.

Bae Subin lost face again.

"—Moo~!!"

"Well done. Take some pork too."

"...Ha, shit..."

"Is it hard to make a living? I understand. That's what life is like."

Eunha passed the beef and pork to Hayang instead of Subin, who was hanging her head in self-loathing.

But Hayang's expression was bewildered.

She blinked her large, round eyes, then blinked again as if to confirm what she had seen was real.

"Why?"

"No, just..."

"You want to try too?"

"...Do I have to do it too?"

Eunha casually tested the waters.

Hayang fidgeted with her lips, looking troubled.

It seemed if he left her like this, Jung Hayang might really say it.

Of course, Eunha had no intention of falling out with the Alice Group.

"Take the french fries back. I'll just drink the cola well."

"Is that okay?"

"Is it okay?"

""""...."""

"It's okay, he says."

"...Okay. Thanks."

Eunha packed up everything except the cola he would drink and sent Hayang and Subin back.

The next person to come after the two was Gong Baekgi, who had become hard to see after taking over Gong Cheonggi's position.

"Eunha! We have ramen, let's trade that! We brought rice too!"

"Mm, get lost."

"Hey! Are you really doing this? What kind of relationship do we have!"

"Someone might misunderstand if they hear. I don't think we're close enough for me to mooch ramen off you."

"Wow, really... Do I have to give kimchi too?"

Gong Baekgi took out the kimchi he had been hiding behind his back.

He looked dejected as he held out the kimchi he had saved to eat with the beef to Eunha.

Of course, Eunha snorted.

They had kimchi here too.

"Alright, I'll be generous."

Still, they were in the same situation, struggling under Han Seoyeon.

Eunha fed Gong Baekgi a piece of meat and said.

"You said before that you were more handsome than me, right?"

"When did I! Hey, if I'm handsome, then everyone in this world is handsome!"

"Really?"

"Of course!"

"Then if you can say loudly about ten times that you're ugly, I'll give you some."

"I'm ugly! I'm ugly! I'm ug..."

Gong Baekgi, who sold his pride for beef.

However, Eunha chuckled and gave him a little pork.

He returned to his seat with a face that seemed grateful even for just that.

The next person to come was Yoo Dojun.

Yoo Dojun came with the students following him and their portion to eat.

Then with a grinning smile.

"We're not asking for beef. Instead, let's eat rice together. I'm really good at making ramen, you know?"

"Have you ever even made ramen?"

"Of course! I even ate with just cup noodles when I was young because I was afraid someone might poison me."

Yoo Dojun spoke so nonchalantly.

Eunha, who was initially thinking of sending him back, seated him because he owed Yoo Dojun so many favors.

As a result, those who had sworn loyalty to him also had the luck to eat beef.

"As expected, meat tastes best when someone else buys it!"

"For someone with so much money, you're so stingy..."

"I look forward to your continued support."

"There's not much meat left now. Just eat a little, will you."

From what he heard, Yoo Dojun's group had poor performance and only got ramen.

Moreover, they didn't even get water and were told to boil it themselves.

In the end, it seemed his group members scattered to somehow manage their meals on their own.

Among them, Yoo Dojun was enjoying the greatest luxury.

...There are many watching eyes.

Then Eunha felt people's gazes pouring towards his group.

The instructors were looking proud.

The players were amazed.

Lastly, the students were envious.

Those who had no connection with him could only sit on the cracked asphalt road and swallow their saliva.

Among them, some had gazes that went beyond envy to jealousy towards the friends who came to receive meat with him.

Discrimination visible right before their eyes.

The jealousy and envy resulting from it.

Eunha ignored their gazes.

He had no obligation anywhere to look after them too.

"Hey, um... Won't you trade food with our group? We got 3rd place so we have Kkanpunggi and sweet and sour pork..."

"...I'm sorry. You should go directly to Eunha and say that, not to us."

"We don't have that authority."

"Please... please. We messed up making the curry so we only have one calorie bar to eat. Won't you share even a little bit? Please?"

"Wait. I'll ask Eunha once."

"Thank you so much!"

Those who had no connection with Eunha.

They approached group members they were acquainted with and asked humbly.

Students who knew where the decision-making power lay, like the Class 5 president, pushed them away at their level.

However, in the case of students who were swept up by emotions or couldn't refuse, they carefully approached Eunha to speak.

"Um, Eunha..."

"What?"

Those who had been in a party with Eunha all day thought they had developed some friendship.

Perhaps they were under the illusion that they had become something, eating beef and receiving requests from people around them.

Either way, they came with shameless requests without knowing their place.

"Why should I?"

"...What?"

"Why should I care about them? Are they my friends?"

""""...."""

A person might share if they were human.

However, they were academy students trying to become players, and the academy was a world where meritocracy prevailed.

A world where there was no room for compassion to intervene.

The world that prioritized only oneself was sharp and keen like a blade.

"You could just give some meat. Why are you being so stingy?"

"Really?"

Someone who got upset retorted.

Eunha raised the corners of his mouth.

The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

Nevertheless, Yoo Dojun silently stuffed meat into his mouth.

As if eating was all that mattered.

"Then you don't eat, and tell your friend to come eat instead."

"What are you saying? You could just let one more person join..."

"What if other kids ask to join too, one after another?"

"But Yoo Dojun and the others are eating like this..."

"Are your friends the same as them?"

"......"

Eunha asked purely, and the male student looked at him with a reddened face, just opening and closing his mouth.

No one around supported the male student.

Only then did the male student seem to realize where he stood.

He thought he had become a tiger just because he had ridden on a tiger's back for a moment.

"Don't say nonsense, just make a decision. Will you eat? Or will your friend eat?"

"...I'll eat."

The male student, whose face had turned pale except for his earlobes, bowed his head without even being able to say sorry to his friend.

He silently ate the meat.

Eunha, who had been staring at his head for a while, quietly burst into laughter.

You can't even take care of your own rice bowl, yet you're thinking of taking care of others' rice bowls?

If the male student had really spoken out of goodwill, he would have given up his own food and yielded his seat to his friend.

If it were Cha Eunwoo, she would have done so.

However, he kept his seat until the end even though he must have eaten enough.

That's why Eunha quickly erased his interest in him.

At first, he had watched closely out of interest in someone trying to climb up to him, but his heart was really weak.

If he had ability, he would have wanted to put such an easily submissive opponent under his feet, but seeing him submit so easily without any ability made him completely lose interest.

If his heart had been stronger, he might have thought about raising him a little.

...Lee Yujung wouldn't have done that.

Suddenly, Lee Yujung came to mind.

Before the regression, there was a similar incident at the high school academy.

At that time, Lee Yujung gave up her food to a student in poor condition and even gave up her warm bed.

She was an oddball at the academy.

And in that sense, he and she would be entangled until death.

Because he was an oddball and a stubborn one.

"Hey. Let's trade with me too."

That's when it happened.

This time, Minji came.

Carrying a large pot, she placed it squarely in front of Eunha.

"I'm not asking for free without any shame."

"So what's this?"

"What else? It's curry. Since there were no solid ingredients, I had no choice but to use wild herbs growing here and there on the airport road."

"...You used wild herbs? Do such things grow here?"

"There were a few things that looked like mugwort."

"Have you studied herbology?"

"Are you worried about my cooking skills now? Really... Do you think I can't even recognize herbs?"

Yes, I don't think you can recognize them.

Eunha looked into the pot, which was supposed to be curry, with a blank expression.

The smell was indeed curry.

The color was vaguely similar to curry too.

But the herb-like things floating on top of the curry bothered him.

"I only put in healthy things, so it'll definitely taste good!"

"...I'll give you beef, so take the curry back to your group."

"Why are you like this? I have some tact too. I can't just take meat and..."

"No! It's okay!"

At that moment, the president stood up abruptly.

The president insisted on taking the curry back, panicking.

Minji frowned.

She glared at the president with a face that said she absolutely couldn't do that.

Nevertheless, the president was desperate.

"I'll give you pork too, so just go."

Eunha felt the same way.

He wanted to get rid of that thing somewhere, even if it meant taking a loss.

"No, why?"

"That's right. It's wrong to ignore the effort after making and bringing this. Why, it looks delicious."

"Hey, wait..."

Right then.

Suddenly, Yoo Dojun reached for the pot.

He scooped up a little of the blackened curry with a spoon and brought it to his mouth.

Yoo Dojun, who slowly savored it, said—

"—Why is there a familiar taste here..."

Yoo Dojun, who had said he was training to gradually adapt to poison to avoid being poisoned, wrinkled his face.

☆

Kim Minji is really amazing in some sense.

Kim Minji's cooking skills that even Violent Venom's providence couldn't block.

What's more amazing was that it was certainly not a Gift.

It meant it was purely her cooking skill.

Above all, the fact that Violent Venom didn't recognize it meant it certainly wasn't poison.

"What's the occasion? You grilled all the meat."

"If it's delicious, just eat the meat."

"Okay. Yum..."

Surprisingly, Yoo Dojun didn't seem to mind Minji's cooking.

Although he did say he never wanted to eat it again.

Eunha left him in his seat and called Minji separately.

He deliberately took a small grill and meat, found a place with no people, and diligently grilled meat for her.

Minji was busy constantly picking up and eating the meat he grilled.

"Give it here. I'll grill for you now."

"It's fine. You just eat what I grill for you."

Eunha panicked and objected when Minji tried to reach for the tongs.

He absolutely couldn't allow that.

In the end, Minji decided to just quietly eat the meat he grilled.

"Is anything difficult at the academy?"

"You're talking just like Teacher Im Dohoon would. I'm doing better than you're worried about."

The two exchanged trivial conversation while grilling meat.

From stories of the past to stories of the present.

There was no purpose to their rambling conversation.

Just quietly passing time while grilling meat.

I wish it could always be like this...

A life where you don't have to think about anything.

Eunha felt the most peaceful while grilling meat for her.

Hoping such times would continue forever.

But he knew that such time was not allowed for him.

Time to sit face to face with a friend and have rambling, trivial conversations like this.

And that time was slowly coming to an end too.

"I gave Minho an artifact."

"I know. It seems you gave the same artifact to Eunhyeok and Seona too?"

"That's right."

Quick-witted friends.

Among them, Minji was quicker than anyone.

"What's going to happen?"

"Do the others think so too?"

"They probably think so even if they don't say it."

Eunha didn't answer.

He did tell his friends to prepare thoroughly this time.

They would have guessed from that.

Moreover, Eunha even gave one-time use artifacts to some people.

"I have something to give you too."

There was no meat left.

Eunha turned off the fire and took something out of his bag.

One was a ring threaded on a chain, which he had given to other kids too.

A one-time use artifact that deploys a protection spell the moment mana is

infused into it.

“You called me all the way here just to give me this one thing?” “That’s not all.”

Kim Min-ji smiling faintly.

Eunha shrugged.

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She looked like she was expecting something.

So I looked with curiosity at what would come out of the bag next.

What he finally took out was─.

“… This is?”

“You know it well because you’ve seen it a few times, right?”

─It was Avenir's Cloak.

Minji looked puzzled as she looked at the neatly folded cloak.

“Why are you doing this to me…?”

A voice that is slightly trembling.

Take the cloak

Minji Dden asked him for an answer.

She knew that the seemingly ordinary black cloak was an artifact containing some kind of magic.

Why on earth would you give it to yourself?

The galaxy's answer to such questions had already been decided.

“─I thought you might need it.”

“…….”

The wind blew.

The wind that had rushed down the runway shot up vertically, and the hair of both people fluttered.

Words that were filled with concern for someone else sounded harsh to that person.