Eat The World Tree

Chapter 14: Hoping To Get Closer (4)

After spending the night with Lee Seyeong, the next day.

Rubbing my head due to a hangover, I saw it was 6 a.m. on the phone on the table; a habit of waking up early whenever I drank alcohol kicked in.

“Ugh… my head.”

Maybe switching to soju in between was the problem. My head was throbbing. What happened yesterday?

I tried to recall the previous events in a daze.

Yesterday, I clearly called Lee Seyeong for a drink. It had been a while since I drank, and I remembered enjoying it very much.

As we poured and drank and got drunk, I subtly mentioned Seyeong’s taste that I saw on the World Tree auction menu and then went straight to the bathroom….

“I did it.”

From when Seyeong sipped my drink to when I ate the acorn.

When the memory of supporting the staggering Seyeong to the professor’s residence after one intersection came back, a snicker escaped me.

“Hehe.”

Remembering that time, the corners of my mouth naturally lifted.

But even while laughing, my mouth naturally turned down when I reflected on my current situation.

[Current friends: 1]

The important thing was the friend-making task I had to do from now on.

I checked sneakily after being hit by Jin Dallae’s troubled look yesterday; the closest person to a friend was still Jin Dallae.

-Jin Dallae(Affection 9, Disgust)

Affection had certainly plummeted. I thought of making a new friend, but it didn’t seem like the quest window was lying.

‘Well, whatever.’

Friends… I had to make some. If I couldn’t, I would die.

I sighed heavily and scratched the back of my neck.

“Let’s be strong.”

This morning, again, I rinsed my face roughly with both hands and made a bitter resolution.

As always, I had to survive.

Somehow, absolutely.

---

Right after getting out of bed and washing up, I quickly put on the mask. After stopping by the convenience store to buy expensive chocolate, I entered the academy.

With one experience point, there was no way I knew how to buy a woman’s favor, and the maximum favor I could do was to insist.

Dear chocolate.

I put the bought chocolate on Jin Dallae’s seat and sat down leisurely.

In my old world, from middle school, you were a good kid if you gave someone something to eat. You could buy a week’s worth of favors with just one candy.

Some time passed, and Dallae and Siwoo entered the classroom.

-Thump.

“What did you do yesterday?”

“Huh? Me? Of course, I trained. There’s a good gym on the first floor of the dormitory. Wanna come with me?”

“Well, why not.”

“Then, in the evening… Huh? What is that?”

Looking at the chocolate that Siwoo pointed to, she slightly furrowed her brows and tilted her head.

“Yeah. Who would have given it?”

Naturally, turning heads came my way. The distance was quite far, so I couldn’t see the emotion in her eyes well.

‘What now? I’ve given it already.’

In a brief moment, I accelerated my mind to remember the numerous students I had seen so far.

What was the reaction of kind kids who gave me something to eat here?

-Eat this!

-Huh? Oh, thanks.

They definitely smiled. Yes, they smiled. Wasn’t the power of a smile tremendous?

So, first smile!

-Innocently.

My mouth was exposed under the mask, so at least she could know I was smiling.

“Someone likes you?”

“Ay, who would like someone like me.”

While parrying Siwoo’s teasing words appropriately, Jin Dallae quickly turned her head toward me.

Dallae’s lips move slowly.

-Pl, ea, se, do, n’t, do, th, is.

With a quick turn of her head, the seated Dallae looked at Siwoo and gave him a faint smile.

“Want to go grab something before the curfew?”

“Huh? Sure.”

I let out a sneaky laugh at that place.

“…Hehe.”

I had no intention of backing off like this.

I needed to be not just some sucker stuck in a corner of the classroom like any other but a sweet guy who flirts with girls.

They said you were a stalker if you hit on someone ten times, but all roads lead to Seoul, didn’t they?

I pulled myself together and calmed my nerves.

It was time to start making friends.

---

“Ah……”

“Dallae, it seems like he really likes you.”

“It just seems like stalking.”

“We, well, maybe?”

At Jin Dallae’s cold reply, Siwoo stammered in agreement. It was indeed stalking if you explained what was happening to her now.

There were many chocolates placed when she came to the academy in the morning, and expensive macarons were put in the freshman girl’s locker.

‘Ah, it’s infuriating.’

Jin Dallae could taste a different kind of hell she had never experienced today.

What was the reason for doing such things to her?

Such a question arose, but there was only one person in this world who could satisfy her curiosity.

‘Lee Shiheon. Why are you doing this to me?’

It was so persistent that she had now reached the point of enlightenment.

Why was he clinging to her annoyingly? There was no crazy like this crazy.

-??

She sat in the back seat and glared at him. Shiheon, feeling the gaze, turned his head.

-Innocently!

‘Really, that person. Ah. Really.’

Gnash. Her teeth ground together.

This was not just about getting closer; it was high-level harassment. Rumors spread among the female students that some mysterious person liked Dallae.

He wouldn’t know how much she suffered because of the rumors spread in just one day; thinking about it made her fist clench naturally.

Yes, this was Lee Shiheon’s fault.

‘I was a bit harsh back then……!’

Would she accept if he apologized now? No, her pride wouldn’t allow it.

While attending the class, biting her nails and simmering her anger, she suddenly thought about Lee Shiheon’s existence.

‘Who is he in the first place?’

He passed the practical exam against Jung Siwoo, and he seemed to know some swordsmanship the last time she saw him.

‘Even that guy is eyeing Lee Shiheon. Why? Him?’

Unlike before, he had lost some weight, making it hard to call him a pig now.

That aside, the word ‘pig’ seemed to act as a trigger, but what she was interested in was not Lee Shiheon but his background.

She recalled the last recreation time.

‘He definitely introduced himself. How did he do it?’

-I, I’m Lee Shiheon. Nice to meet you.

With his stumbling voice, he said so. A body with a slight lump and a shallow voice wasn’t attractive, and everyone there, except Guseul, ignored him.

‘……’

To be honest, a bit… pathetic.

But at the same time, she could see he didn’t leak any of his information.

Who was he, where was he from?

‘Should I use an informant? No, then it will reach that bastard’s ears.’

If news reached her stepfather that she was trying to dig into Shiheon using an informant, he would immediately insist on bringing Shiheon in.

Hence, it was more mysterious.

What did that filthy man see in a man who wore such a childish mask? Despite her disgust and contempt, her stepfather was a wealthy and influential businessman with capabilities even Dallae had to acknowledge.

‘There must be something if he likes him.’

Jin Dallae’s current target was Jung Siwoo, the husband candidate of the World Tree and a martial artist with commendable skills. Indeed, Jung Siwoo’s existence was expected to be a great help in driving away her stepfather.

However, if she thought about it carefully, there were many ways in which the existence of Lee Shiheon could also be helpful to Jin Dallae. She simply did not have the confidence to win over Lee Shiheon. If her father tried to persuade Lee Shiheon with determination, the boy would probably fall for it.

‘He always tries to get what he wants, somehow. He will do the same this time.’

She had acted like this before. To overthrow her stepfather, she had approached what her stepfather wanted first many times. However, even the strongest bonds she had formed betrayed her after a few private meetings with her stepfather.

Her stepmother did it, and her mother did it.

The only one who did not betray her was her own biological father. He was the only one on her side but was now gone. Suddenly, thinking about it made her feel gloomy. Dallae sighed, rubbing her stiff face.

‘Now, I must quickly make Siwoo my ally.’

Regardless of Lee Shiheon’s shameful behavior, the priority was set. If Siwoo was a man of principle, she had no doubt he would side with her, just like her father.

And with Lee Shiheon… there probably wouldn’t be any friendship. He would certainly have crossed over to her father before that. There was no need to touch an untouchable fruit. That was Dallae’s philosophy after living a lonely life.

‘The next class is… Magic Studies, right? It should be in the desk drawer?’

She put her hand in the drawer to get the book, but a solid box made of metal blocked her hand. It was another chocolate.

“Ah!”

She suddenly looked up and glared at Lee Shiheon. He looked at her, realized something, and showed a grin.

-Innocent.

To her, his smile seemed like that of a psychopath.

---

This friend-making project may be going well.

The likability still needed to be confirmed, but it had to work out. That was the only way I would survive.

-Rustle, Rustle.

I unwrapped a leftover chocolate, put it in my mouth, and entered the training ground where Master Wood Training Dummy was.

There was already a guest there.

“That is….”

A familiar face, someone I secretly wished to meet.

However, approaching her was abandoned early on, as our statuses were on different dimensions.

The one who approached Siwoo last time, showed a childish competitive spirit, claiming she wouldn’t lose next time. She was exchanging swords with the master.

Sansuyu.

Her bright yellow long hair fluttered, and an aura as bright as her hair was shimmering around her body. The phenomenon that occurred when high-purity magic wrapped around one’s body, I absentmindedly watched her swordplay.

-Bang! Bang!

The surrounding air whirled in the path of her sword. The pressure was felt even through an invisible wall, the sinister aura even in practice. It was the same sensation when I first faced Siwoo. Sansuyu was definitely fast and powerful.

-Hwalack!

I followed her movement with my eyes. Following her sword, the remaining mist scattered in the air, showing peculiar shapes.

Like fully bloomed flower petals

A subtle image rose in my mind.

‘I have grown too.’

Originally, I wouldn’t be able to see her sword, but now I could.

Every move was imprinted in my eyes. From the subtle movements of the muscles when taking a stance, the rotating wrist, to the bending sword blade.

I had to train, but I couldn’t resist.

No, my body naturally moved, following her movements. The graceful and agile steps, the wrist movement.

I took a stance as if I was holding a sword and mimicked her every move.

A swordsmanship form naturally emerged.

Ah…..

A thought became a sword form, sparking a new concept in my mind like lightning in a storm.

‘This… this is.’

It was a good-flowing sword.

“…..?”

When I came to my senses, Sansuyu was looking at me.