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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: The Terms of Engagement
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Se-heon put his hands in his pockets and glanced around.
It was past evening, turning into night. Cars shimmered under the bright lights of the rest stop.
But the spot where they stood was secluded and dark, and nearby, exhausted people were smoking. They were smoking so much that the smoke drifted over to them on the wind.
Following the smoke with his gaze, Se-heon's eyes suddenly landed on Kang Ha-ra. As if she couldn't even smell the acrid cigarette smoke, Ha-ra was looking at him earnestly.
Se-heon reached out and waved away the smoke near Kang Ha-ra. Startled by the gesture, Ha-ra flinched and glanced toward where the smoke was coming from, letting out a small, “Ah.”
Se-heon put his withdrawn hand back into his pocket. *How ridiculous.* It would be a lie to say he'd never had a girlfriend in his life.
But he never imagined he'd be discussing whether to date someone in a situation like this. A rest stop, where they were both disheveled, with no atmosphere to speak of, just noisy cars passing by.
But that, in fact, calmed his mind. The situation itself, unadulterated by a fancy restaurant, a beautiful night view, or any sort of strange mood.
“Promise me one thing.”
“Oh, yes. Two things are fine too!”
“And how would you know what I'm about to say?”
Se-heon looked down at Ha-ra.
Her eyes, visible behind her thick, horn-rimmed glasses, were at least clear. Though they held a troubled look, that was likely because she was worried he would refuse her offer.
“Is this kind of relationship valid?”
“...You’re asking if the Constellation will acknowledge it, right?”
“Yes.”
“Just a moment.”
She could have just nodded and said it was fine, but in moments like these, she was surprisingly honest.
Kang Ha-ra swiped her palm through the air. This time, a white light, clearly visible even to Se-heon’s eyes, flashed once and then vanished.
“It says it’s okay. But since it’s a loophole, there might be restrictions or additional quests.”
Her voice sounded a little disheartened.
But he had already expected as much. He knew from the start that these beings called Constellations were capricious.
“Fine.”
“...Oh.”
Se-heon cleared his throat.
“However, the one thing I want you to promise me is trust.”
“Ah, Mr. Yoon. My credit score is good. I’m a civil servant, so I can even get loans easily!”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Se-heon looked directly into Ha-ra’s eyes. Her pupils, behind the glasses, were large and pitch-black. Looking at them like this, he realized her eyes were quite large. He wondered if her eyesight was really that bad.
“A relationship is fundamentally based on mutual trust. Isn’t that right?”
“Uh, yes, that’s right.”
“Don’t lie to me from now on.”
Ha-ra’s eyes wavered. In response, Se-heon tilted his head slightly.
“If you refuse, then this whole arrangement is off.”
“N-no! I don’t refuse! I was just so surprised.”
The woman, waving her hands frantically, exclaimed again.
“I won’t lie! I can even show you my bank account balance!”
“...And what would I do with your bank account balance?”
The absurdity of it made Se-heon let out a short laugh. Even so, the reality that he actually had to enter into a relationship, or whatever this was, with this woman still hadn’t quite sunk in.
Watching the woman fidgeting anxiously in front of him, he suddenly noticed something in her hair and reached out.
Ignoring whether Kang Ha-ra flinched or not, he picked off a dried scab from the edge of her forehead, where her hair began. The scab crumbled at his fingertips.
Se-heon gazed at his hand for a moment before looking up again.
So, this was the first time he'd ever asked a woman out like this, which was why he had hesitated and dragged his feet. But the conclusion was the same.
“As you said, we’ll treat this as official business. I’ll cooperate.”
“...Oh my gosh. Mr. Yoon, thank you.”
Of course, a woman who responded to a proposal to date with ‘Mr. Yoon, thank you,’ while clasping her hands together as if in prayer, wasn't exactly normal either.
Then again, the entire situation was far from normal. Se-heon gave a bitter smile. The wind tousled his hair.
＊ ＊ ＊
['Love and War' Quest Complete!]
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Reconfiguring User 'Kang Ha-ra's skills.]
[Reconfiguring User 'Kang Ha-ra's status window.]
[Activating the 'Luck' stat in accordance with User 'Kang Ha-ra's law of causality.]
[Now Loading...]
“By the way, how far do we have to go?”
“Pardon?”
The rest stop cafeteria. It was late, so there weren't many people inside.
Ha-ra, sitting across from him, was in the middle of slurping up a freshly served bowl of kimchi udon when her eyes went wide.
“I’m asking how far we have to take this. For example…”
Se-heon tilted his head.
“Do I have to kiss you, Ms. Kang Ha-ra?”
*Gack.* Choking on her noodles, Ha-ra immediately turned her head and coughed violently. *Cough, cough, cough.*
Se-heon narrowed his eyes. It wasn't exactly a topic he'd wanted to bring up either.
Of course, he had to understand her position.
A 9 o'clock news anchor. Meaning, his voice was serious and his diction was overly precise. For a man like that to suddenly mention kissing in such a voice, it was only natural for Ha-ra to be flustered mid-meal.
“S-sorry...”
Wiping her mouth belatedly, Ha-ra started coughing again, then took the cup Se-heon silently pushed toward her and gulped down the water.
In front of Se-heon was a stone pot bibimbap set from the rest stop. But he hadn't touched his meal, instead tapping his fingers on the table.
“Let’s sort this out. I understand the dating part. It’s a relief the quest isn’t to fall in love. Dating is largely a matter of actions.”
“I see what you mean. So…”
“Yes. Let’s define the scope of ‘dating’ as this Constellation sees it.”
Se-heon pushed his phone screen toward Ha-ra. Looking at it, Ha-ra nearly choked again.
The phone’s search bar showed terms like ‘contract relationship’.
“I looked up contract relationships, and most of them seem to be about assuming the form of a relationship for benefits other than love. However.”
Se-heon pushed his meal tray aside completely and took out a reporter’s notebook from his pocket. He clicked his pen and wrote a word in the notebook: Love.
“Cupid. What that Constellation wants is probably love.”
“...”
“Normally, these kinds of contract relationships seem to come with clauses like ‘do not fall in love with each other’.”
Ha-ra felt a cold sweat break out. It was because of Yoon Se-heon’s unexpectedly analytical attitude.
He had kept such a distance from her that she had even wondered if he despised her. But now, he was being remarkably cooperative. Truly.
“In the end, it seems that god of love wants there to be something emotional between you and me. Is that correct?”
“Uh…”
Ha-ra’s eyes wandered to the empty air.
[The Constellation 'Cupid' nods its head vigorously.]
“Probably?”
At that, Se-heon immediately asked, as if he had been waiting for it.
“Then what is the standard for that emotional exchange?”
“Pardon?”
“Love takes many forms, does it not? Even a god of love must know that it’s the kind of emotion that can change over time. For example, take a couple that’s been married for twenty years. Do you think they still harbor the same feelings for each other as when they were first dating?”
[The Constellation 'Cupid' is flustered. *Hey, what’s with this guy?*]
“Feelings ranging from the camaraderie of colleagues and gratitude for being together, to, at the other extreme, hatred, will accumulate. If all of that can be summed up as love, then the feelings I currently have for you, Ms. Kang Ha-ra, are similar.”
“What?”
Ha-ra asked back loudly, flustered in spite of herself.
As if he had expected her reaction, Se-heon spoke again.
“I feel a sense of camaraderie from having cleared a dungeon together, and gratitude for you saving me. But I also have the question of ‘Why me, of all people?’. So, can I say that I love you, Ms. Kang Ha-ra?”
[The Constellation 'Cupid' is troubled. *Hey, I don't like this guy...*]
[*I didn't know he was this kind of person...*]
[The Constellation 'Cupid' is baffled by User 'Kang Ha-ra's taste.]
“I’ve never even liked him! Stop questioning my taste!”
Ha-ra snapped, raising her voice. When Se-heon’s eyebrow twitched, she belatedly covered her mouth with a gasp. “Ah.”
“I’m sorry. The Constellation was saying something weird…”
“It’s fine. The fact that you have no personal feelings for me isn’t a bad thing in this situation. It’s the same for me. You’re not my type, Ms. Kang Ha-ra.”
“...”
*He's right, so why do I feel bad?* But since she was the one who had been rude first, Ha-ra had nothing to say. She sighed and nodded.
Se-heon started scribbling in his notebook again.
“If the act of dating itself is sufficient, then doesn’t that call into question the very nature of love that a god of love pursues? Ultimately, what is it that the Constellation hopes to gain from this? If we assume that the quest itself is structured with a very mythological logic…”
[...]
“However, we need to approach this quest rationally. Cupid is also said to be a god of pleasure, but that sort of immediate gratification…”
[The Constellation 'Cupid' has fled!]
Ha-ra furrowed her brow.
[A message from the Constellation 'Cupid' has arrived.]
[Same time tomorrow.]
*Are you kidding me?!* Ha-ra shot up from her seat without thinking. *Screech,* the chair made a harsh sound.
Se-heon, who was sitting in front of her, raised an eyebrow.
“I wasn’t finished speaking.”
“...Yes…”
*Why can't I run away?*
Ha-ra became deeply saddened by her inability to escape this man's perplexing questions.
To make matters worse, she remembered they were at a rest stop. She needed a ride in his car to get home. And this analysis probably wouldn't end before they got there...
Suddenly, Ha-ra recalled the man’s profile listed on a portal site.
*He graduated from the best university in Korea... He must have been a really good student... I was a good student, too... I'm pretty sure we agreed to a contract relationship... But why does this feel like I'm watching an online lecture back in high school...*
*I want to go home...*
The talk, which was impossible to distinguish from a lecture or a quest analysis, continued for some time. The kimchi udon had long since gone cold. As had the stone pot bibimbap, of course.
