Chapter 40: Is This Perhaps Asking Me Out on a Date?

"Ugh... I slept well."

I got off the bus and stretched.

Jin-wook shook his head left and right and asked, "Are you going home?"

I shrugged, saying, "Maybe," then took the card out of my pocket and threw it in front of me.

"Haven't seen that in a while."

"I have no reason to take it out when I'm up there (in Seoul)."

Perhaps because he had seen it before, Jin-wook tapped the card twice, looking quite glad to see it. "Hello, long time no see."

Originally, if someone else touched it, it would use telekinesis to repel the person touching it.

But perhaps because of the time Jin-wook and I had spent together, my card didn't even react now when Jin-wook climbed on it.

"Anyway, I'm going first."

"Eun-ha-ya, wait a sec."

"Huh?"

Jin-wook took two movie tickets out of his pocket and handed one to me.

When I looked at him with a gaze asking what this was, he turned his gaze slightly away as if embarrassed and spoke to me.

"If you have nothing to do tomorrow, wanna go watch a movie?"

"Is this perhaps asking me out on a date?"

"If you don't want to, forget it..."

I smirked looking at Jin-wook being like that.

With a pleasant smile, I took the ticket, carefully put it in my wallet, and raised my right hand.

"I just need to go to your house an hour before the movie starts tomorrow, right?"

"Uh? Yeah."

"Then see you tomorrow."

After bidding farewell to Jin-wook, I infused telekinesis into the card, floated into the sky, and headed straight for the mart my father runs.

Fortunately, the super-large marts like 'Home-Plus' in this area are a bit reluctant to visit without a car.

So there were still quite a few people coming in and out of my father's mart.

To avoid hindering the smooth sailing of my father's business, I landed in a corner of the parking lot and retrieved the card.

"It's still doing well."

I smiled quietly and moved my steps inside the mart.

The reason I deliberately dressed up today—wearing a beanie and dressing stylishly unlike my usual comfortable clothes—was primarily to avoid catching the eyes of the employees working hard.

Going straight to the office would be the end of it, but I didn't want to disturb the employees working on the floor at least.

"Hello."

"Oh, oh my. Are you perhaps Eun-ha?"

"Yes. The semester ended, so I came down."

Among the three employees working in the office, Deputy General Manager Park (Cha-jang), who happened to be there, expressed her gladness to see me.

I chatted with her roughly and glanced at the CEO's office.

Seeing the lights off in the CEO's office, it seemed my father wasn't in the office.

"Where is Father?"

"He should be at the loading dock right now. He says the owner has to check those things personally."

"He's still diligent."

After exchanging a brief conversation with Ms. Park, I opened the rear window overlooking the loading dock.

There was quite a height difference, as the loading dock was classified as Basement Level 1 by the elevator and the office was on the 2nd floor.

But I didn't care and stepped on the window sill, jumping straight down.

Thud!

"Whoa, you scared me!"

Perhaps because there was a loud noise when I landed on the ground.

Everyone who was in the middle of working looked this way in surprise, and I scratched the back of my head looking at them.

"E-Eun-ha?"

"Yeah."

"You rascal, if you came, you should call! What are you doing jumping down like that?"

"Hehe, sorry."

"Anyway, since you're here, unload that over there. Hey, Manager Kim! I think you can take the kids and go do something else!"

"Yes, understood!"

However, as soon as they realized the cause of that loud noise was me, everyone's expression brightened.

What is my ability?

With telekinesis that can push away even buildings, would I not be able to lift a single pallet?

"Haa. Seriously. Making your daughter work as soon as she arrives?"

"What's your dad's theory? You know it's to use everything available within legal limits."

"I bet you're the only dad who uses a former S-Class as a substitute for a forklift."

"In the first place, you're the only person in the world who can lift that without breaking it, so isn't it obvious? And you."

It was at that moment.

Suddenly, my head was caught in my dad's arm.

I was put in a headlock just like that.

I tapped my dad's arm to let me go, but regardless of that, his arm strength only got stronger.

"Ack, my head!"

"This rascal, if you returned your license, you should have told your parents! You hid that?"

"O-Okay! I was wrong, so let go of this!"

"Make sure to tell me things like that from next time, got it?"

"I got it, so let go!"

Barely escaping from my dad's arm, I fixed my hair and started organizing the warehouse, which hadn't been done for a while.

As I repeated clearing away the scattered items in bulk at once as my father instructed...

The storage warehouse, which was literally like a pigsty, soon became somewhat like a proper warehouse.

When I finished organizing, Father said, "Good job," opened a 500ml beverage bottle on the spot in the warehouse, and handed it to me.

"Seems you're very busy these days?"

"That too, but it's hard for people to do it manually."

"Can't you just hire a Hunter part-timer for a day?"

"Those called Hunters are way too expensive to hire."

As expected, civilians have no choice.

I organize comfortably by moving things here and there with telekinesis.

But ordinary people have to move them with forklifts, manpower, and pallet jacks.

"Do you need more money by any chance?"

"Forget it. You should use your money now."

"If it's tough, you can tell me. I can help within the limits of my power somehow."

"There's nothing this girl can't say to her father."

When I looked at my father, who suddenly flicked my forehead, with a gaze asking why he hit me...

He sighed softly and spoke as if rebuking me.

"What parent asks their child for money?"

"If it's tough, you could."

"That's a story for when your parents are old and have no strength. I won't push you back into the Gate just because I'm having a hard time. Back then, it couldn't be helped because you were the only one who could stably handle the surrounding Gates."

Before I knew it, I crumpled the finished beverage bottle into a flat disc (Jwipo) and threw it into the trash can seen in the distance.

Father smiled seeing the clean warehouse, then walked ahead saying let's go up now.

I followed behind my father up to the office.

"You're back? You said you'd organize the warehouse too, you finished quickly."

"With her here, it's done quickly no matter how messy the warehouse is."

"As expected of the boss's daughter, hohoho!"

But I had no intention of staying here any longer.

The reason I came here in the first place was to help if there was any work needed at the mart before going home.

There wouldn't be any more work that absolutely required me.

"Going home already?"

"Um, no. I'm going to stop by Jin-wook's place for a bit."

"You really like that boy. Since you came all this way, you can't even stay a bit longer with your dad?"

"Hmm, shall I then? What time do you get off today?"

The moment I said I was going to Jin-wook, Father's eyebrow twitched.

But since that kind of incident happened a few days ago...

It was awkward not to go, but well... whatever.

Considering the number of mana detectors installed in the city, there won't be anything like a Break.

"You should go early, you rascal."

"Aren't you working?"

"You came and did everything. Just need to look at some documents and I'm done."

"Then can I go down and bring whatever I want to eat?"

"Scan it at the counter before bringing it."

Leaving behind the words "Of course I should," I left the office and headed straight to the first floor.

Hehe, how long has it been since I shopped for snacks?

Without the risk of anyone recognizing me...

"Huh? Isn't that person Hunter Hwang Eun-ha?"

Without the risk...

"Seems right."

No...

"Excuse me, Eun-ha-ssi."

"Yes?"

Ah, fuck seriously.

Wondering who on earth was solidifying my identity so clearly, I turned my head.

Supervisor Park Dong-woo, who had been working here since before my father acquired this mart, was standing there.

Does this guy have time to be doing this right now?

"I wondered if you finished the warehouse organization."

"Yes, well. It's not something that takes long for me."

"Ah, thank you. You must have worked hard, so please have this drink here."

Is he hitting on me right now?

To a kid who is probably 8 years younger than him?

"Ah, well. I'll drink it well then."

"Yup! Then I'll go back to work, please have a comfortable time!"

Because of the remark that popped out just as I was contemplating what to eat.

My good mood turned bad instantly, and I exhaled a small breath as if throwing a tantrum.

Of course, nothing like things breaking from a single snort like Superman happened.

'...Should I tell Dad?'

Every time this happened, I resented my appearance a little.

Either a woman or a Hunter.

But if I make a fuss at the employee for no reason, it might cause damage to Dad, right?

"What is it, daughter. What's wrong?"

"Dad, please go home first. I'll go somewhere and then head home."

"Huh?"

Among the gazes I felt after a long time, receiving the former (being seen as a woman/prey) felt dirtier, so I deliberately acted annoyed and returned to the office briefly to tell him.

As expected, the only guy who can relieve my mood at times like this was him.

The only guy who knows the me as the woman Hwang Eun-ha, but also understands the me as the human Hwang Eun-ha.

Flying a little on the card, his apartment came into view.

[ Uh? What's up with you? ]

When I pressed his unit number on the intercom, Jin-wook's voice came through the speaker.

I exhaled a small breath, then crushed Jin-wook's puzzlement with a single sentence.

"Come out, let's play."

"So, you came out because you felt bad thinking a company employee was hitting on you?"

"Yeah."

"Still, you're the boss's daughter. Would he really do that when his livelihood is at stake?"

"You should have seen that bastard's gaze."

Sitting on the apartment park bench, I confessed the incident at the mart that made me feel bad.

Jin-wook looked at me with a dumbfounded expression and spoke.

"If you put it that way, isn't it the same for me?"

"What is."

"Even in my eyes, you look like a woman?"

"That's not what I mean."

Anyway, he's still the same, blurring the point of conversation with strange remarks.

When I sent him a slightly glaring gaze, Jin-wook coughed in vain, "Ahem."

"The guys who approach me seeing my appearance all have the same thing in their heads. They're all guys who want to do something to me."

"...If you put it that way, I already did something to you though."

"Th-That was an accident."

"Bullshit. Who was the one who suggested going to a motel first that day?"

"Oh my, isn't that Eun-ha?"

It was at that moment.

While pouring out my story and bickering with Jin-wook for a while.

A familiar voice came from behind.

"Ah, hello."

"What are you two doing here in this cold weather, not going inside?"

"No. We just came to talk briefly so..."

"Why decline?"

Jin-wook's mother.

Clearly, she shows goodwill to me, but for me, she is an existence that is somewhat uncomfortable somewhere.

"Since it's just lunchtime, come and eat before you go."

But since she said it like that, I couldn't think of an excuse to refuse, so I moved my steps.