chapter 332

Soo Ah went to the 2nd floor basement parking garage and looked for her father’s car.

Then…

Vroom!

Soo Ah flinched at the sudden revving of the engine. She looked for the source of the noise, and then her eyes widened.

“Oppa?” For some reason, Jae Woo was here. ‘Why are you here?’

Jae Woo approached her. “You’re not happy to see me?”

“I am!” Soo Ah replied automatically.

“Then give me a big hug.” Jae Woo opened his arms wide.

Now Soo Ah realized what was going on. Hyo Min had lied to their manager, claiming that Soo Ah’s father had come to visit her so that Jae Woo could see her.

“Aah, my arms are starting to hurt.” Jae Woo began to lower his arms.

Soo Ah took a quick look around, confirming that no one was here, and then jumped into his arms.

“Oppa! Why are you here?” She snuggled into his arms.

“I wanted to see you.”

“Oh. I like the sound of that. Say it again.”

“I came because I wanted to see you.”

“This is why having a boyfriend is so nice!”

“So it’s only beneficial at times like this?”

“No. I like it all the time.”

“You must’ve had a tough time today. You usually refuse to drop the honorifics, but you’re not using them now.”

Normally, Soo Ah would speak with Jae Woo formally. However, she was speaking to him very naturally, as if she were speaking to a same-age friend right now. She must’ve gotten much more comfortable with him. That’d be nice…

Jae Woo held her tight.

“You don’t… like it?” Soo Ah looked up and asked.

“No, just talk like this all the time.”

“Ok.”

“You’re not just saying that are you? I don’t want to see that formal talk next time we meet.”

“I won’t anymore. Did Hyo Min Unni help you?”

“Yeah. I told her that I wanted to see you, and she agreed to help me. She’s the reason I was able to meet with you! I have to thank her later.”

“Yeah.”

“Anyhow, were you surprised I came?”

“I was!”

“Want me to surprise you even more?”

“How?”

Jae Woo let go of her and grabbed her hand.

“Tada!” Jae Woo pointed at his silver car. “This is my car.”

“Your car? Did you get your license?”

“Of course.”

“When?”

“In secret.”

Jae Woo had kept both his license and his car a secret from her. So that he’d be able to show up with his new car and take her by surprise!

“Are you surprised?”

“Yeah. But it’s not more surprising than you coming here instead of my dad.”

“Well, I guess there’s no beating that.”

“I was stunned.”

“Looks like my plan worked. Anyhow, please get in.” Jae Woo politely opened the passenger seat door.

“Thank you.” Soo Ah slightly bowed her head in respect, and sat inside.

Jae Woo sat in the driver’s seat and was about to put her seat belt on for her, but she raised her hands.

“That’s enough. Putting on my seat belt for me is too much.”

“Is it? I see all the guys do it in the dramas.”

“That’s why they’re called dramas.”

“Then let’s act like we’re in a drama.”

Despite her protests, Jae Woo leaned to the side and pulled on her seat belt, but it didn’t budge.

“See? Dramas and real life are completely different.” Soo Ah smiled, softly pushed him away, and put on her seat belt. “And a man’s not supposed to do everything for a woman. Being excessive is as bad as doing too little!”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Alright then, Mr. Driver. Please show me your driving skills.” She pretended like she was raising her glasses, and then crossed her arms.

“Please leave it to me.”

It hadn’t been long since he’d gotten his license; he was definitely a novice driver! However, he would drive his mother to and from work in the morning and the afternoon. Plus, he’d practice occasionally too, so his driving wasn’t that bad.

“Let’s go!”

The silver car drove smoothly across the road.

* * *

Kang Oh drove across the Gangbyeon Expressway. He couldn’t keep her for too long, as her schedule was packed tomorrow, so he planned on giving her a night view of Seoul and the areas around the Hangang River.

“It’s beautiful,” Soo Ah whispered, as she looked outside the window.

Nighttime in Seoul. The city’s colorful lights illuminated the darkness! Most people were asleep already, so the silence only made it seem even more beautiful.

“Want to listen to some music?” Jae Woo asked.

“Sure. I’ll choose. I feel like you’ll just pick one of my songs.”

“Hehe, how did you know?”

“Jeez.”

A calming foreign song played on her phone.

“How is my driving, Miss?”

“Good for a beginner… Yawn.” Soo Ah smiled and then covered her mouth.

“If you’re tired, you can just recline the seat and lay down.”

“Ok.”

Soo Ah hadn’t had a good night’s rest for a few days now. The combination of the calming music, the reclining seat, the beautiful view, and Jae Woo’s so-so driving (not bad for a beginner), caused her to fall asleep rather quickly.

Jae Woo drove slower, and selected Soo Ah’s accommodations on his GPS. He obviously put it on mute!

‘Thank you, Ms. Hyo Min.’ He thanked Hyo Min again, as she’d sent him where they were staying beforehand.

Jae Woo drove even more carefully, not wanting to wake Soo Ah.

How much time had passed?

His car finally stopped in front of their living quarters. However, Soo Ah was still sleeping.

It was quiet, but she was definitely snoring. She was in such a deep sleep that she probably wouldn’t wake up if someone carried her. Soo Ah was so cute that Jae Woo decided to just watch her for a little bit.

However, he couldn’t keep her here. She had things to do tomorrow, so it’d be better for her to sleep in her own bed.

Ultimately, Jae Woo softly shook her.

“Soo Ah, we’re here.”

“Mm.” Soo Ah opened her heavy eyelids halfway, wiped her mouth, and stretched out. She looked around vacantly, but when she noticed Jae Woo, she spoke hoarsely. “Oppa.”

“We’re here. Go on in and go to sleep.”

“Huh?” Soo Ah looked around again. She blinked her eyes a few times and stroked his cheek. “Thanks for today.”

“No problem.”

“I won’t be able to see you for a while.”

Her schedule was packed for the foreseeable future; until her work promoting her album was finished, no, until it was almost finished, she wouldn’t be able to see him. And it’s not like Jae Woo could surprise her like this every day.

“I don’t want to go.”

“But you have to.”

Soo Ah closed her eyes and slightly pushed her face in. Jae Woo automatically closed his eyes and their lips touched.

* * *

The next day.

“Mm.” Jae Woo opened his drowsy eyes and touched his lips. His kiss with Soo Ah felt like a dream.

‘Did I really kiss her?’

It felt so unreal to him that he doubted it even happened. However, he could still feel her soft lips on his own.

‘I really did!’ Jae Woo clenched his fists and rolled around atop his bed.

“Big Brother, what are you doing?” Yura, who’d coincidentally passed by, saw his antics and looked concerned.

“I-It’s nothing!” Jae Woo quickly replied.

“Have you lost your mind? If you’re sick, then go to the hospital.”

“I’m fine.”

‘Phew, she’s so insensitive. She could’ve just left me alone. The mood’s completely ruined.’

Jae Woo rubbed his lips again and stood up. He was about to message Soo Ah ‘Good Luck!’, but felt too embarrassed and thought against it.

“Guess I’ll go exercise.”

Jae Woo changed into a tracksuit, and wore a thick jacket over it. He left his house, and returned sometime later.

“Oh, that’s right. Today’s the day.”

Yesterday was so memorable that he’d completely forgotten. Today’s the day that Snow Flower attempted the Spider Queen, Benolov raid.

He’d been outside, so he hadn’t seen it, but Jin Cheol had already sent him Snow Flower’s live stream code.

Jae Woo immediately turned on his computer and inputted her live code. Snow Flower appeared on the screen; she was not only the only woman on the program, but the leader of the Breaker Guild’s Leopard Squad.

Jae Woo carefully examined her equipment.

‘Is that the Reaper of Souls? It does look similar.’

The Reaper of Souls was a greatsword, but the sword she was wielding was a one-handed sword.

However, she was definitely wearing the Galmoss set. What would be the point of wearing the Galmoss set if you weren’t going to wield the Reaper of Souls? That would be ridiculous. The Galmoss set wasn’t good enough to wear on its own.

‘I guess I’ll find out.’

Anyhow, Snow Flower was accompanied by three other people. Two of them were high rankers from the Breaker Guild, and the last was someone he was unfamiliar with.

“It’s one o’clock sharp. Let’s get going.”

Her team, which consisted of only four people, entered Croc Mountain.

As always, the Spider Queen sniped them from afar. Marco and Strong Punch had opted to use shields to protect themselves from her long-range fire.

Snow Flower wielded a shield, so the arrows wouldn’t get through. However, her teammates didn’t come with any shields. Instead, they swung their swords and deflected the arrows.

Once the barrage of arrows ended, monster spiders the size of bulls appeared, preventing their advance.

Snow Flower swung her one-handed sword. It passed right through their hard exoskeletons.

“That is the Reaper of Souls!” Jae Woo yelled in disbelief.

How did it become a one-handed sword?

‘She remodeled it.’

There weren’t many blacksmiths skilled enough to remodel a weapon like the Reaper of Souls into a one-handed sword. To his knowledge, only six people could do it; five NPC Master Blacksmiths and one player. The player was called the Remodeling Master and was ranked 9th; God Hand, Arthand!

He wasn’t sure who did it for her, but the Master Blacksmith had definitely remodeled it properly.

Snow Flower was skilled, so putting such an overpowered weapon into her hands exponentially increased her combat ability. The monster spiders would obviously be no match for her. They couldn’t even slow her down, and died helplessly before her blade.

“Move.”

Snow Flower and her team quickly climbed up to the tip of the mountain where the Spider Queen, Benolov was located. Eventually, they encountered the Spider Queen and the Spider Brothers.

Jae Woo clasped his hands in prayer. ‘Please fail!’

That’s the only way he’d get his chance.

Snow Flower and one of her teammates rushed at the Spider Queen. The remaining high rankers fought the Spider Brothers one on one.

Like with every other attempt thus far, the start was rather easy.

The Spider Queen shot her arrows, and the Spider Brothers would only use physical attacks. They’d also periodically shoot spider webs onto the ground, and monster spiders would pop out of the forest!

Since Snow Flower’s team was so small, not many monster spiders spawned. Thus, Snow Flower would instantly kill the monster spiders whenever they appeared, and then return to attacking the Spider Queen.

‘Mm. The Reaper of Souls!’

The Spider Queen’s lower body consisted of eight spider legs, while her upper body was that of a woman’s, except that it was covered by black fur.

Her lower body was incredibly tough, as it was covered by a spider’s exoskeleton, so players would usually focus on her upper body instead. However, avoiding all eight of her legs and aiming for her upper body wasn’t an easy task.

Snow Flower chose to focus on the Spider Queen’s lower body instead. In other words, she attacked her spider legs. It was only possible because she wielded such an overpowered sword. Who cares how tough her exoskeleton was? The Reaper of Souls passed through everything.

However…

‘Is it because it was remodeled? Or is it her skill? The Reaper of Souls doesn’t seem nearly as powerful as when Galmoss used it.’

When Galmoss had used it, the Reaper of Souls had been outrageously powerful. Defending against it was impossible, and even getting grazed by it would do a ton of damage.

However, Snow Flower had hit the Spider Queen several times already, yet Benolov didn’t seem to have taken much damage.

‘Eh, she can’t use it properly.’

However, he was too quick to judge her.

Sometime later…

Jae Woo gaped.