## Chapter 106 – Comparison
The sun was setting.
Yuhana silently gazed at the scenery below the waterfall.
“…….”
Women were cooling off under the waterfall’s spray.
Men, just waking up and yawning, were preparing dinner.
It had only been a half-day drive, but all of this seemed so trivial to her.
Low-class and insignificant.
Feeling the sweat trickling down her forehead, Yuhana muttered under her breath.
“I want some air conditioning.”
Barely an hour since she got out of the car.
But she already craved the cool air.
Now Yuhana understood why the girls were so restless, eagerly awaiting the daytime.
‘This is hell, for real.’
This insane heat.
Still, she was better off.
Because she shared a tent with Kim Jaejoon, their two-person tent still had plenty of ice.
But the other girls’ tents had run out of ice long ago.
“Hey, can we take some of your ice?”
“Sure.”
So, when the guys woke up and came out of their tents, they would be waiting to share the ice from his tent.
Then, they would try to make it through the night with that small amount of ice. Dreaming that tomorrow they would be chosen for the drive and enjoy the cool air conditioning.
“Hey, guys, dinner’s ready!”
Han Dokyun shouted, and Kim Jaejoon approached Yuhana, who was sitting at the tent entrance, and gestured.
“Hana, let’s eat dinner.”
“I don’t really have an appetite today. You guys go ahead.”
The men had prepared cold noodles.
Boiling water in a pot to cook the noodles, then adding broth from the icebox to make a refreshing dish.
“It’ll help with the heat. Why don’t you have some?”
“Sorry. I really don’t feel like it today.”
Of course, she would normally have happily eaten that food. Like Park Jimin and her crew, who were gathered around, eating with gusto.
But just two hours ago, she had already eaten soba. And it was in perfect condition, as if it had just been made at a restaurant.
It was on a completely different level from that crude cold noodle dish with just noodles floating in broth.
It was beautifully presented, a complete dish with radish, scallions, seaweed, wasabi, and everything else it needed.
Having eaten that, this didn’t even look like food to her.
‘So low-class.’
Seeing them gathered around, eating that crude stuff so deliciously, even the kids seemed low-class.
“Okay, I understand. If you want something to eat, tell me before we leave. I’ll buy it on the way back tomorrow morning.”
The words, ‘There’s no need,’ almost came out.
Since she could eat something even tastier if she joined the drive tomorrow anyway, why bother?
‘It would have been so great if that guy had a slightly better family background.’
He wasn’t good-looking, but he had a surprisingly gentlemanly side.
No, to be precise, he was pure.
Clumsy, but he took good care of women and couldn’t lie.
‘He did have a bit of a temper, though.’
Back in the first year of high school.
When the bullying got severe and even the homeroom teacher was dishonorably transferred, the way he glared and got angry was still vivid in her mind.
At the time, that fiery gaze was truly frightening, but now that she thought about it, he was just a pure kid. Unable to hide his emotions even a little bit.
‘Well, now he’s lost the spark in his eyes, probably because I crushed him too much.’
He was less than a bug, so she just ruined him a bit and stopped.
Once she left school, she would never see him again anyway.
In short, he wasn’t even worth killing.
She just enjoyed the fun of stepping on him for three years.
‘But it’s still a mystery.’
Why didn’t her smile work on him during high school?
And why does it work now?
‘Hoo. Let’s not think too deeply about it. From my perspective, it’s enough to use him as a slave and make him work for my luxurious life.’
Yuhana looked at the classmates and clicked her tongue.
“Tsk tsk. Pathetic.”
***
The next day, the drive was once again the Yuhana crew’s turn.
“Again?”
“Why do only you guys get to go again!”
When Park Jimin’s group protested, Yuhana just shrugged without a word.
Kim Sujin couldn’t contain her anger and shouted.
“Do you think this makes sense! Something’s wrong here!”
Giving it to one group two days in a row.
Kim Sujin, leading the charge, protested, unable to accept this unreasonable situation, but Park Jimin quickly raised her hand.
And gestured for them to back down.
“…….”
Lee Seohyun and Kang Hyerin took the lead and stepped back, and the rest of the girls trembled before joining the ranks.
Of course, the ones who had been so heated just moments ago were giggling as if nothing had happened as soon as they turned around.
‘They’ve been through so much with me that they can probably guess what’s going to happen to Yuhana.’
I approached Park Jimin and Yuhana, who were standing face to face, from an [Omniscient Observer Perspective].
The two of them had their arms crossed, looking at each other and smiling.
Park Jimin was unfazed by Yuhana’s smile.
I’m only saying this now, but Park Jimin doesn’t have good eyesight. And she doesn’t wear glasses.
Park Jimin has astigmatism in her right eye.
So, she often closed her left eye when talking to Yuhana.
That alone prevented Yuhana from using her special skill on Park Jimin.
“Yuhana is pretty good. She must have captivated him yesterday.”
“Did I even need to captivate him? He acted like he’d give me his liver and gallbladder if I just smiled once.”
“Tch. You bitch. So annoying.”
Park Jimin moved her feet, and Yuhana followed, walking side by side.
“So, how was the drive yesterday?”
“It was nice. It reminded me of ‘Earth’.”
“?”
“So, I’m sorry, but I’ll have to take that spot starting tomorrow. You said you can ride every day if you’re in charge of administration.”
“Heh. So, you’re coveting my position?”
“Yeah.”
“Is there really a need? Like someone said, one word from me and he’ll give you his liver and gallbladder.”
Yuhana smiled gently.
“If I keep doing that, people will say I bought a ticket with my smile. I don’t want to get involved in that kind of mud fight that the underlings do, and I want to ride regularly, befitting my worth. And get rid of one crazy bitch while I’m at it.”
Park Jimin chuckled.
“Interesting. But I don’t think you can handle it.”
“There’s nothing I can’t do. I get what I want. You’ll see soon enough.”
Park Jimin shrugged at Yuhana’s confident answer.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, goddess. I’m going now.”
Park Jimin turned around and disappeared toward the waterfall, and Yuhana watched her go before gathering the girls.
“Let’s go.”
“Huh? Already? It’s still two hours before noon?”
“Let’s play for two more hours today. I knew this would happen, so I told him to come two hours early yesterday.”
“!!”
Ryushia and Evelyn were excited and prepared to leave.
Oh Seyoung glanced at Oh Sejoon’s tent and said.
“But is it okay? To move already. What if they find us in the middle?”
“It’s okay. It’s been so hot lately that we haven’t even had lunch.”
That’s right. Ever since the heatwave started, it’s been so hot that people below the waterfall have even skipped lunch.
If they were hungry, they took care of it in their own tents.
“They’re probably all sleeping. Jaejoon sleeps at that time too.”
And the brutal heatwave and sleepless nights were draining the men’s stamina.
As a result, the men were busy sleeping from morning until sunset.
There’s absolutely no way they could know what the women were doing during the day.
“Ready? Let’s go.”
Yuhana took the lead, and with that, I released the [Omniscient Observer Perspective] and opened my eyes.
‘So that’s why she mentioned those two hours.’
I knew Yuhana was throwing out loaded words here and there, but I almost made a mistake this time.
I was so lucky to have come out early, just in case.
‘Anyway, this is an opportunity for me.’
Now, Yuhana will see me coming out two hours early and be convinced that her smile works on me.
In fact, when she saw the car waiting by the beach, her expression was pure joy.
“H, Hana. You, you’re here?”
“You came early?”
“Y-yeah. You, you told me to come early yesterday.”
“Good job. I’m thirsty, so bring me something to drink first. Oh, and we’re eating soba again today, so bring it out as soon as I ask for it. Oh, right. I’m going to buy foundation and basic skincare products, so get ready right now.”
The way she rattled off her demands without any hesitation was definitely different from yesterday.
I already had all her demands in my head, but I pretended to be flustered.
“S, so, drinks and soba. And….”
When I looked at Ryushia as if I had forgotten, Ryushia responded as if on cue.
“Foundation and basic skincare products. Bring out the drinks first, and then bring out the cosmetics pamphlets right away.”
“Ah, okay.”
I listened to Ryushia’s answer and pretended to fumble around, waving my hands in the air. Then I checked on Yuhana.
[State: Watching]
[She is quietly observing you.]
She was fanning herself and talking to Evelyn as if she wasn’t, but Yuhana was watching me closely.
‘I just have to be careful at first. Just at first. Then the day will be easy.’
And my acting was pretty good, because Yuhana quickly relaxed.
[State: Relaxed]
[She is almost completely relaxed.]
“Is this all the cosmetics you have? Don’t you have any more high-end brands?”
“U-uh. Sulwhasoo is the most expensive one right now. S-sorry.”
“Well, it can’t be helped. Give me one of each.”
I waited on Yuhana, talked to her, and gradually lowered her guard.
Yuhana, who always smiled when she saw me, slowly began to let go of that smile.
Three years of habit won’t disappear overnight, but as befitting a goddess who doesn’t care about what others think, her attitude changed surprisingly quickly.
Smiling.
Of course, she still remembered to snap out of it and smile at me, as if she was still wary of me.
“Hehe.”
But the frequency of her smiles was noticeably decreasing.
As if she was recognizing and learning that there was no need to smile on purpose, Yuhana slowly lowered her weapon in front of me.
Then, after about five hours, Yuhana suddenly stared at me, as if she had thought of something.
She stared at me with her golden eyes.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
Yuhana moved her hand.
“Hey, you guys, go outside for a bit.”
“Huh? Outside?”
“In this heat?”
“Hana. That’s a bit….”
When the girls protested, Yuhana smiled. The girls who met that smile were soon kicked out one by one.
In the space where we were left alone, Yuhana grabbed my chin and made me look straight at her.
She smiled brightly at me and asked.
“I have something to ask you.”
“W-what is it?”
“Why did you reject my offer back then?”
It was a question without context, but I knew what she was talking about.
I thought she would definitely bring it up at least once.
About that day.
About the beginning of the knot that twisted our relationship.
Feeling that I had finally reached the last gate, I asked back.
“When?”
“In the hallway on the first day of school.”
“Ah.”
“In front of the vending machine after lunch. In the shade next to the dorm. And at the cafeteria that evening….”
“!!”
It came out one after another.
I felt goosebumps all over my back.
‘…She remembers every moment I rejected her?’
Yuhana remembered everything, even the things I barely remembered after watching past videos through the [Encyclopedia].
This showed how wary Yuhana had been of me all this time.
“Th, that’s.”
I answered her.
“Yuri and Yejin were behind you….”
I told her the truth.
That the twins were behind her every time she asked me for something.
That I had no choice but to reject Yuhana’s requests because it was more reasonable to grant the requests of two people rather than one.
Yuhana’s eyes widened.
Her mouth dropped open in surprise.
It was as if she had finally realized the secret to a mystery she had been unable to solve for a long time.
「I see. He wasn’t resisting my smile.」
I could tell what she was thinking just by looking at her expression.
「He was just fooled by those twins’ pranks.」
「I was mistaken. I was scared that this kid had a special ability.」
「How foolish of me.」
[State: Curious]
[She has dropped her guard against you and is starting to become curious.]
Her wariness disappeared and curiosity took its place. Having learned the truth, Yuhana was no longer nervous.
“Hehe. I see.”
“D, do you have any more questions?”
“No. That’s it. That’s enough.”
Then, she called her close associates and started having fun.
“Hey, guys, I’m sorry. Was it too hot outside? Come on, let’s drink something cool and cheer up.”
[Yuhana]
[State: Enjoying]
[She is thoroughly enjoying the drive.]
It was the moment when the cat named Yuhana had finally completely dropped her guard against me.
