“Hey, Yu-Na. It's really okay... .”
Lee Yu-Na, who had collapsed and groaned for a while, pulled me inside the hospital room as soon as she came to her senses.
Then she brought an empty paper from somewhere, took a pen, and eagerly wrote something down in round handwriting.
It was an IOU.
“… it can't be okay.”
Lee Yu-Na, who stared at me with a pale expression, wrote in the paper.
Then she looked around and took a small case out of her bag and placed it next to the paper.
“What's that?”
“A promotional post-it set I received while working part-time before. But there is also a stamp pad here....”
When the case was opened with a click, I found a half-written post-it, a memo pad, and a small stamp pad.
On one side of the case, a phone number was engraved with the large slogan, ‘The best preparatory school in name and reality!’.
Lee Yu-Na rubbed her thumb on her clothes and wiped it, then immediately pressed the stamp pad and stamped on the IOU.
“Now, check it out.”
“No, it’s really okay.”
Lee Yu-Na silently handed me the IOU.
Then Shin Woo-Seok stealthily stepped forward next to me and said.
“If you don’t mind, can I check for you?”
“Oh, please.”
Shin Woo-Seok carefully accepted the IOU from her.
Then, with a serious expression on his face, he began to look it over.
“The amount borrowed is 18.2 billion 75 million won. I promise to properly borrow the above amount and to fulfill the clauses below. The first clause, the interest is set at 5% per year and is to be repaid on the last day of each month by bringing the money to the creditor's address or depositing it into his/her account… The repayment of the principal is until the entire borrowed amount is repaid, and if it is for repayment, the debtor must fulfill whatever the creditor demands if it is not legally problematic...."
Feeling something quite heavy in the atmosphere, I spoke to Shin Woo-Seok.
“Isn’t the interest too high?”
“Originally, if there is no specified matter, we roughly receive about this much."
That means, soon Lee Yu-Na has to pay close to 1 billion in interest alone every year.
The amount was so large that it rather felt unrealistic.
“… do I have to write a body waiver as well?”
Meanwhile, Lee Yu-Na was sitting blankly and muttering like that.
I glanced over and saw that Professor Grossman was also making a rather serious expression without any particular restraint.
“Shin Woo-Seok-ssi.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
"Let's go out and talk for a while."
I went out with Shin Woo-Seok.
Then, I strongly clarified to him what I wanted, specifically my intention of not wanting to burden Lee Yu-Na.
After agonizing over it for a while, he opened his mouth to me as if saying, what if you do this?
"Then why don't you hire her officially?"
“Hire?”
"Yes. Wait a moment….”
He took out a small notebook, checked it, and nodded.
“My memory is correct. Up until now Young Lady, I mean, Clan Head was the only one who fell under this category, but... since the Young Master is also a member of the main clan, you can receive preferential treatment according to our clan's rules. Of course, the same goes for those who will become Young Master's aides.”
"Could you explain this in a little more detail?"
“First of all, if you are a member of the main clan, you can put servants to serve you with almost no limits. For any reason, starting from escort, secretary, driving, and running errands. And the servant who falls under this case will also be given enormous benefits."
He said, carefully putting the notebook back in.
"To briefly explain, if the Young Master's close friend is officially hired by the Young Master and becomes an aide, you won't have to worry about this at all.”
“My aide?”
"Yes. Because currently, the Young Master has no one officially hired or accepted as an aide, right? I mean, as is known within the clan.”
"Well... right?"
Shin Woo-Seok added with a nod.
“In fact, there are quite a few people who are only looking for opportunities to become an aide of the Young Master. Of course, Clan Head and I... Euhm, this isn't important right now.”
He cleared his throat slightly.
“If the Young Master hires her and announces that she is his aide, she will be officially hired, ignoring all the necessary formalities. In addition, she will start with a very high position.”
When I looked at him as if I needed a little more explanation, Shin Woo-Seok pointed at himself and said.
“Think of it as a case similar to mine. I already have a considerable say just by being Clan Head's aide. If she becomes the Young Master's aide, she will be in a position similar to me on the surface."
“Ohh….”
“Of course, some people of the clan might nitpick that you took such a young female student with no experience or achievements as an aide, but… what can they do? The Young Master's will is firm, the Clan Head will approve it, and I will also take the Young Master's side.”
Shin Woo-Seok snorted as if it wasn't even ridiculous.
I felt suddenly, but I thought this person was maybe being quite coy in front of me and Lee Ye-Eun.
“We got a little off-topic. Anyway, if she is hired by the Young Master and becomes an aide, she can be temporarily treated as a member of the clan, and as a result, according to the clan's rules, her debt can be packaged as a loan to an insider, not an outsider."
“Ah, then among the rules…?”
"Yes. There is almost no interest rate for insiders. In addition, since she has the title of being ‘a close friend of a person of the main clan’, she doesn’t have to pay interest at all. Plus, with a monthly salary, something like a bonus would be quite useful to her."
"Hmm….”
It was a better method than I thought.
I knew well how much the interest that must be paid every month dries up a person's blood.
In addition, since the name was a member of the World Tree clan, the salary and bonuses would be good.
"On top of that, there is also a method in which the Young Master separately gives special orders, and when she carries them out, shaves off the debt under the name of incentives. Honestly, if she puts her heart into it, she can pay it all back within a few years without credit or other social problems.”
After he said that much, he muttered quietly.
“If you wrap it up like this, I think the Young Master's close friend will accept these conditions without any particular rejection.”
At his words, I had no choice but to stare at him with surprised eyes.
He seemed to have grasped Lee Yu-Na's personality and noticed that I was looking for conditions that she would accept without any particular rejection because of it.
“I think I should do that."
I looked at him, nodding.
“Thank you, Shin Woo-Seok-ssi. Honestly, I didn't know you'd think this seriously and find a good method. If it’s such a method, I don’t think Yu-Na will oppose it too much.”
“I'm glad you found it helpful.”
Having finished talking with him to some extent, I opened the door of the hospital room again and entered.
Then, looking at Lee Yu-Na, who was staring at me with almost dying eyes, I brought up the story we just talked to her.
The more I brought up the story, the more Professor Grossman looked relieved as if it were fortunate, and Lee Yu-Na put on a troubled expression for a while and told me.
“Then, aren't those conditions too favorable only for me…?”
“It's not like that. To be honest, I have an unstable position in the clan. Because I suddenly became a member of the main clan, you know? There are a lot of people who think very badly of me."
Strictly speaking, it was not wrong.
Though, even if people who thought that way gathered together, it wouldn't be a threat.
“So being my aide can be dangerous for you in a way.”
I stopped talking for a moment and stared at her.
“Perhaps you don't want to do it?"
"Huh? No, it's not that I don't want to... I rather appreciate it. But……."
She had some kind of unrefreshed expression on her face.
Seeing her like that, I opened my mouth just in case she refused.
“And if I had to nitpick, it’s not my fault, you know?”
"Yes?"
"I just said I'd cure you of the disease, I didn't say that such… expensive things are medicine. Strictly speaking, I think this might be a fraud.”
I said that with a laugh, but Lee Yu-Na didn't seem to be laughing at all.
She opened her mouth, staring at me with a serious expression.
“If you put it that way, then I guess I am bad. You just said you would cure my disease in good faith, and I accepted that it was good out of the blue. Ji-Hyuk, you also didn't know how much it was until just now, right? And if I hadn't overheard it, you probably wouldn't have brought it up until the end."
“Ji-Hyuk, when you went out with him just a while ago, I checked on Yu-Na’s condition.”
Professor Grossman quietly opened her mouth.
“… you were telling the truth. I had no idea that Mana Marks was a cure obstinate disease, not an incurable one. Indeed, who would have expected that it would need such expensive things... Anyway, it is true that Yu-Na has been cured because of you.”
“Yes, so it's not like you committed fraud or anything like that, Ji-Hyuk. If I had to say... Umm.”
She seemed troubled for a moment, then shook her head.
“Um, I don’t know how to explain it. Then I'll just say what comes to my mind.”
Lee Yu-Na muttered in a quiet voice.
“To be honest, I'm just very grateful to you. Originally, I knew it was incurable and should have been suffering from it for more than three years and had to live with the aftereffects for the rest of my life, but thanks to you, I was able to cure it. Well… the money will be paid back someday if I work hard.”
Lee Yu-Na, who said so, showed a grin and looked at Shin Woo-Seok.
“Then from today, I'm Ji-Hyuk's subordinate?”
“Strictly speaking, it's from the moment the contract is written, but I will send it to you in the near future.”
Shin Woo-Seok said so and looked at Lee Yu-Na.
“And I’ll summarize and send you the little things you need to know along with that. You can discuss the things related to the work with the Young Master later.”
“Oh, umm. I see….”
She nodded and said to me.
“Then, I am looking forward to working with you, Young Master.”
I didn't expect I'd be this repulsed by her calling me young master.
It wasn't to this extent when Shin Woo-Seok, and even when Jin Ye-Seul called me young master.
“… just call me normally.”
“Then, boss?”
“Call me by name, just.”
I stood up and told her.
“For a few years, while attending the academy together normally… Yes, let's say you'll be guarding me when I'm in danger. You know, like you see in a drama or a movie, going undercover and guarding?”
Although these were words I spat out as if to make up something, Lee Yu-Na nodded seriously.
Perhaps it was because of my mood, but for a moment I felt that her head was moving in a strange way.
“So my relationship with you is a secret to others. Until we graduate, we just have to keep being friends like we are now, okay?”
“… uh? Yes, well... If you want so.”
Lee Yu-Na nodded.
Her eyes looked somewhat blurry, so I glanced sideways at Professor Grossman, and she said without sound in the shape of her mouth.
'She's probably out of her mind right now. You'd better talk about the details later.'
I nodded and turned my gaze to Lee Yu-Na again.
“Rest for now. Your symptoms are just starting to improve, but you're probably not fully recovered yet."
“Uh, yes….”
Lee Yu-Na meekly laid down on the bed when Professor Grossman gently grabbed her shoulders and pressed them from the side.
Meanwhile, she looked at me and suddenly burst into laughter.
"Why?"
“No… that, you know, back then. I said... mean things to you.”
I looked at her, wondering why she was suddenly talking about that time.
“At that time, you said you would introduce me to a part-time job, but in a way, it seems like it has gone round and round and become like this.”
“…….”
Lee Yu-Na muttered with a bitter smile.
“… if I had been a little more rational at that time, if I had thought about it one more time, would our relationship have been a little different?”
She closed her eyes quietly before I could answer anything.
Looking at her falling asleep as if she were dead, Professor Grossman gave a small sigh.
“Actually, I gave her narcotic painkillers right before you came, Ji-Hyuk. The effects of those drugs seem to be kicking in now."
“Then, shall we go out so that she can get some rest?”
The three of us, who agreed, immediately went outside.
To be precise, it was me and Professor Grossman talking to each other, and Shin Woo-Seok silently followed me.
“… So, you're saying that in order to cure Mana Marks, we need to have the person who just developed the disease ingest all of those things' energy.”
"There may be a better method, but that's the only method I know of for now."
"Okay….”
Unexpectedly, Professor Grossman didn't show much regret.
She let out a small smile as if she noticed my thoughts.
"Why? Did you think I would be very sorry?”
“To be honest, I thought so.”
"I've been suffering from this disease for too long to feel sorry now."
She, as always, stared at me with a gaze whose meaning could not be known.
“Plus, it's funny that I'm saying this, but just the fact that Yu-Na got better….”
Meanwhile, someone's voice came out.
“Oh, you were here.”
I could tell without turning my head to look at it.
Isaac McDowell.
It was him.
“… Professor McDowell. Didn’t take a week of leave due to personal reasons?”
Professor Grossman said to him as if shooting back in a voice that was clearly wary.
Before I knew it, she reached out and gently pushed me back.
“Oh, of course, I did. But, that... I thought it would be right to apologize directly for a serious mistake of our party and leave, so I came here.”
"Mistake? What mistake are you talking about?”
Before I knew it, Shin Woo-Seok also stepped forward.
It was Abel Grossman, not Isaac McDowell, who answered.
“… there was a report that one of the professors dispatched from Urea, named Emilia, had committed an indecent act to a student during her class. Of course, Professor Emilia denied it, but there was solid evidence that eventually made her unable to teach classes for a while.”
“Indecent? No way….”
"Yes."
Professor Grossman was still looking at Isaac McDowell with cold eyes.
“The target of that act was student Yoo Ji-Hyuk.”
“It was a really unfortunate, disgraceful, and regrettable incident.”
Isaac McDowell quickly opened his mouth.
“In Professor Emilia’s home country, it was just natural skinship between the opposite sex, but she had no idea that it was such disrespectful behavior in this country."
He muttered as if it was really regrettable.
“She said she wants to apologize face to face if possible. Of course, as her superior, I am also responsible for her actions, so I came here to apologize like this."
[Be careful.]
Svengali muttered quietly.
[His eyes are half-turned over with anger. He probably would have jumped on you right away if it had not been for the two of them by your side. To be able to calculate even in the midst of such rage, he is quite a serpent-like human being.]
He seemed to have finally noticed the fact that two of his disciples, including Dmitry, had died, and at the same time, all the veins had been seized.
Perhaps he had noticed the fact that I drove a wedge between the children of Milited and him.
Of course, it might be both.
“If possible, I’d like to talk to Yoo Ji-Hyuk alone, but….”
Even though Isaac McDowell muttered as if he was really sorry, he was staring at me with a glance.
Seeing that, I couldn't help but smile.
Could it be that he thinks he can kill me without difficulty if it's just the two of us?
Yes, then it was rather what I wanted.
There was no need to bother to refuse when he was going to make a justification for self-defense.
It was when I was about to nod, thinking like that.
Vrrrrr.
Almost at the same time, Isaac and my phone rang.
And we both checked our cell phones almost at the same time as well.
It was text messages from Lee Myung-Joon, Evangeline, and Lee Ye-Eun, respectively.
[Started. Proceeding smoothly. Be careful just in case.]
[It started. Everything is going well. Since you are marked, be especially careful.]
[Ji-Hyuk, never separate from other people. It's not that I don't trust you, but there are always ifs in the world. Oh, and you don't have to worry. Everything's going well.]
Each word was different, but the meaning was the same.
That the punitive expedition against the Big Watch has begun.
And that everything is going according to plan.
“…….”
On the other hand, Isaac McDowell's expression was frighteningly cold.
His trembling eyes soon turned toward me.
I smiled silently at him.
The most unfortunate smile I can make.
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