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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Min Ju-ri
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The place he headed to with Min Ju-ri was a nearby park.
"Here, have a seat."
As soon as they sat on a bench, Min Ju-ri abruptly held out an envelope.
"Take it."
"Isn't this the money I gave you?"
"I can't accept this much money, so take it back."
Ten million won was a lot of money to Min Ju-ri and her father.
Of course, to Ryu Min, who had hundreds of millions, it was pocket change.
'Ten million won is certainly an amount that would feel burdensome. Well, I offered it knowing she wouldn't accept.'
He had already anticipated that she would refuse the envelope.
'She's the type who can't stand being in debt, no matter how poor she is.'
Her personality, her tastes, her favorite foods, her family's financial situation, and so on.
When it came to Min Ju-ri, he was confident he knew a fair amount about her.
That's how close they had become.
That's why Ryu Min was sure he could get Min Ju-ri on his side.
"Hurry up and take it. My arm is getting tired."
Min Ju-ri shook the envelope she was holding.
But Ryu Min had no intention of taking it.
'If I take this envelope, my connection with Min Ju-ri ends here. I have to use the lottery as a pretext to continue our relationship.'
He simply shook his head with a firm expression.
"I'm not taking it back."
"What?"
"Like I told the owner earlier, it's money I gave out of apology. It's the least my conscience will allow."
"But the amount is just too much..."
"Regardless of the amount, I'd like the owner to accept it. Otherwise, I'll feel so bad that I'll keep thinking about it."
He said this, but Ryu Min didn't feel particularly sorry for the owner.
Once the next round began, there would be a massive number of dropouts, and the economy would be shaken anyway.
'Ultimately, the lottery market is bound to collapse naturally within a few months.'
He had merely hastened that time by monopolizing the winnings.
When you thought about it, was it really wrong to use information from the future?
Of course, it wasn't that he felt no guilt at all.
'In any case, it's true that he suffered damages because of my influence.'
That's why he intended to give ten million won as compensation.
Even if Min Ju-ri continued to refuse.
"It's for my conscience, so don't give it back."
"Still, this is too much! It's a burden."
'That's why I'm giving it to you.'
He smiled inwardly but maintained a neutral expression on the outside.
To get Min Ju-ri's help, making her indebted to him like this was the only way.
"Give it to your father. Tell him not to feel burdened, since it's not a lot of money to me."
As he adamantly refused, a sigh escaped Min Ju-ri's lips.
"Were you always like this? Why are you so stubborn... haah."
"If we're done talking, I'm going to go."
As Ryu Min tried to stand up, Min Ju-ri panicked.
"W-wait! Ten million is too much of a burden, so I'll just take one million. Okay?"
"Why are you deciding that? You should ask your father."
"My dad wouldn't want to accept this much money either."
"Dad?"
Ryu Min feigned surprise, as if he had no idea.
"The convenience store owner is your dad?"
"Yeah."
"Wow... I come here often. That's pretty cool."
"I think it's cool, too. To think a first-prize lottery winner is my classmate..."
'A classmate...'
They had never spoken, but since they were in the same class, they were technically classmates.
Though it was hard to consider them friends in the truest sense.
"But did you really not know we were in the same class? I recognized you the moment you walked into the store."
"Sorry. I'm really bad with faces. And this is the first time we've ever talked like this, isn't it?"
"That's... true."
The two had been in the same class for a whole year, but it was true they'd never had a chance to talk.
It wasn't easy for boys and girls to become friends, and since both were introverted, it was hard to strike up a conversation.
Of course, the Ryu Min from back then and the Ryu Min of now were different.
So different they might as well be two separate people.
But Min Ju-ri, talking to him for the first time, wouldn't notice the change.
"So you must have learned my name for the first time today, too?"
"Sorry, but yeah."
"..."
Min Ju-ri's lips parted as if in shock.
It seemed she never imagined he truly wouldn't even know her name.
'I'm sorry for pretending not to know, but I have no choice. This is the only way to get her interested in me.'
Sure enough, the look in Min Ju-ri's eyes changed.
It wasn't a look of disappointment or resignation at the fact that he didn't know her name.
Instead, as if her pride had been ignited, her eyes grew intense.
"Like I said before, my name is Min Ju-ri. I'm in your class, and this is what my face looks like... think you can remember?"
"Yeah."
"Don't just give me a half-hearted answer. Look carefully. Remember it properly."
Min Ju-ri, who had stuck her head forward as if to say 'take a good look,' sheepishly pulled it back.
"Phew... what a reality check. What am I even doing? Formally introducing myself to a classmate when graduation is right around the corner... It feels kind of sad."
"It's fine as long as you know now. It's not like we can't keep in touch after we graduate."
At those words, Min Ju-ri's expression shifted slightly, but Ryu Min didn't notice.
"On that note, can I get your number?"
"My... my number?"
For some reason, Min Ju-ri looked startled.
A question mark appeared on Ryu Min's face.
"Why? It's not strange to ask a classmate for their number, is it?"
"N-no, it's not. I'll put it in. Give me your phone."
When Ryu Min handed over his phone, Min Ju-ri typed in her number.
He immediately called it, and her phone vibrated.
"That's my number. Save it."
"Uh, okay."
"Since we met like this, let's call it fate and keep in touch."
"S-sure."
"Well, I'll get going for today. I have something to take care of."
"W-wait. The envelope..."
Ryu Min waved his hand dismissively and walked away.
All Min Ju-ri could do was stare blankly at his retreating figure.
* * *
'In the end, I couldn't even give back the envelope.'
Min Ju-ri, who had been staring blankly at Ryu Min's back as he walked far into the distance, placed a hand on her chest.
Thump-thump-thump-
Her heart was pounding as if it were broken.
'To suddenly ask for my number...'
Her heart was pounding so hard she could barely handle it.
Of course, she knew he'd asked for it as a friend.
'The problem is that I don't see him as just a friend...'
She had never told anyone, but Min Ju-ri liked Ryu Min.
When she first saw him, she wasn't very interested.
He never did anything to stand out and was always quiet, so she just thought of him as the quiet kid.
Then, she happened to see it.
Ryu Min being bullied by Hwang Yong-min and his gang in an alley.
'I couldn't bring myself to step in back then, I just reported it to the police... He probably still doesn't know it was me, right?'
He wouldn't know.
She had only watched from behind as the police came and sorted things out; she never stepped forward.
After that, Min Ju-ri secretly followed Ryu Min.
'Looking back, I wonder what I was thinking...'
Was it because she felt sorry for him?
Or was it a sense of responsibility, that as the one who reported it, she had to see it through to the end?
'Thinking about it now, it was probably both.'
Min Ju-ri tailed Ryu Min to make sure he got home safely.
She planned to call the police again if the bullies showed up.
But after dusting off his pants, the place Ryu Min headed to was a small barbecue restaurant in a back alley.
Seeing him working there so nonchalantly, Min Ju-ri thought.
'He's strong. There's more to him than meets the eye.'
He might look small and frail on the outside, but on the inside, he was stronger than anyone.
That was the kind of person Ryu Min was, and that was how he lived his life.
'That's when it started. When I started to take an interest in Ryu Min.'
During break times, she would watch to see what he was doing, and on the way home, she would secretly follow him.
In the process, she unintentionally found out he had a younger brother and saw a new side of him.
'He seems to have a good relationship with his brother.'
Seeing Ryu Min taking care of his brother made her even more interested.
A crush began to form.
She continued to follow him from a distance, and a few more times the bullies appeared and she called the police, but she could never bring herself to step in.
'...Because I didn't have the courage.'
She just watched and helped from behind.
If she'd had the courage, she would have tried talking to him long ago.
'It's too late to start talking now. I already like him too much to control it...'
An interest that started by chance soon blossomed into feelings of affection.
Watching Ryu Min live so steadfastly, like a tree that wouldn't fall, filled her with respect and made her heart pound.
But she lacked the courage, so she gave up on trying to talk to him.
'Still, I wanted to talk to him at least once before graduation...'
Perhaps because she was in front of the person she liked, things didn't go as planned.
She was also busy helping her dad at the convenience store, so she never had the chance.
'But to think I'd meet him here.'
She had never imagined she would meet her crush at the convenience store.
Nor did she ever think he would be the first to ask for her number.
'It was unexpected. I didn't think he'd be so forward about being friends...'
Her intuition hadn't been wrong.
Just because he looked small and weak didn't mean his personality was timid.
There was something else that was unexpected.
'I can't believe he didn't even know my name...'
Even if they were of the opposite sex and never had a chance to talk, to not know a classmate's name?
Wasn't that a bit too uninterested?
It was, admittedly, a little wounding to her pride.
'He's bad with faces? Well, I'll make sure he remembers mine.'
She would meet him under the pretext of being friends and make her face known.
So that he wouldn't forget her face.
She would keep contacting him and make a definite impression.
So that he wouldn't forget her name.
'I need to gather my courage and step up now. This is a chance given by the heavens.'
Before, she lacked courage and missed her chance, but not this time.
She couldn't possibly miss this golden opportunity to get closer to the person she liked.
'There's so much I want to know. How he spent his vacation, if the bullies are still bothering him, how he won first place in the lottery, if catching goblins was hard, how high his level is now...'
It was a shame they couldn't talk much, but she had plenty of opportunities now.
Ryu Min's number was right there on her phone.
'I can't just take ten million won and pretend nothing happened.'
In her heart, she wanted to return it, but since he wouldn't take it, she decided to think of it as a debt.
'That way, I can use the ten million won as an excuse to keep contacting him.'
A pleasant smile bloomed on Min Ju-ri's lips.
* * *
[Min Ju-ri: Have you eaten? There's something I want to talk about, can we meet around 1? Lunch is on me!]
[Ryu Min: Sure, let's meet. I'll treat you.]
[Min Ju-ri: No no, if anyone's buying, it should be me. haha]
[Ryu Min: I have a lot of money lol]
[Min Ju-ri: Still, I can't be shameless and let you pay. What do you like?]
[Ryu Min: What about you?]
[Min Ju-ri: I eat anything, so you pick what you like.]
Ryu Min, who was exchanging texts with Min Ju-ri, grinned.
'As expected, she feels indebted and is offering to buy me a meal first.'
It was a good sign.
If he could get entangled with Min Ju-ri like this and naturally build a friendship, he could make her an ally.
'I couldn't pay attention to her before, but not this time. I'll do whatever it takes to keep Min Ju-ri alive and bring her with me.'
All the way until they reached round 20.
'It's about time to go.'
Ryu Min checked the time and changed into his outdoor clothes.
Seeing this, his younger brother asked.
"Hyung, where are you going?"
"To meet a friend."
"Don't tell me it's a girl."
"Why would you think it's not?"
Looking at his brother's dumbfounded expression, Ryu Min let out a small smile.
"I'll be eating out, so have lunch by yourself. You still have that card I gave you, right?"
"Uh, yeah."
"I'm off then."
As Ryu Min left, Ryu Won, standing at the entrance, muttered under his breath.
"Could it be... a budding romance?"