Chapter 445: The First To Cry Survives (2)

Regressor Instruction Manual

I had other choices, but before I could choose, the tears that unknowingly fell down my cheeks told me that crying was the best answer.

Lee Chul-Woo and Kim Tae-Geon looked as if they didn’t know what to do.

“It’s not what it looks like…” I told them.

“Ha…”

Obviously, the four female members looked annoyed and looked as if they were asking what I was trying to pull. They had probably never expected me to cry, so they were trying to read the room to come up with a countermeasure.

‘Don’t challenge me if you’re not prepared to win, bitches.’

They humiliated me publicly, and I was sure that they were already thinking that victory was theirs after they obtained Lee Chul-Woo and Kim Tae-Geon’s support. They had already suggested kicking me out, and they would have directly demanded to kick me out if it weren’t for my tears.

Yes, my tears instantly ruined their plans.

My cries were so heart-wrenching that everyone went silent.

“Heuuuk…!”

Obviously, the girls chose to stand their ground.

“Wow, are you serious right now? Why are you even crying?”

“Hiccup…!”

“Do you really think that crying will change anything? Ridiculous!”

“What a crazy bitch.”

“Seriously… Ha.”

Lee Chul-Woo and Kim Tae-Geon were already under the effects of my tears, so the girls’ complaints weren’t working. They stood reliably in front of me and protected me from Gook Minji and the other girls. The way they stood there made them look as reliable as the Berlin Wall and the walls of Castle Rock.

They also looked like they were ready to protect me from any slander. Public opinion had already turned against me, but I was thankful because these two still decided to stand by my side.

It seemed that playing the victim card was more effective if I were to use it while disguising as Light Ki-Yeon rather than Light Ki-Young.

“What are you guys trying to do here?” Kim Tae-Geon asked.

“You heard it just now. She isn’t the type of woman you guys think she is. I knew she was strange when she came up to us to join the expedition without knowledge of the basics and with basically nothing. I bet that she won’t be any help in the dungeon at all, and I’m sure that she will just endanger us all, Gook Minji replied.

“How many times have I told you not to do anything stupid, Gook Minji?” Kim Tae-Geon questioned.

“Stupid? I’m doing this for the sake of the party. She’s lying to you guys,” she answered.

“Are you okay, Miss Ki-Yeon? Please stop crying…” Lee Chul-Woo didn’t know what to do.

“Hiccup.”

The surroundings got noisy as Kim Tae-Geon dealt with Gook Minji and the others, and I couldn’t stop crying even though Lee Chul-Woo was trying his best to comfort me.

It seemed that the old saying about how victory would belong to those who cried first was true.

“Wow, this is really absurd. Seriously,” Gook Minji complained.

“Do you really want to do this?” Kim Tae-Geon asked.

“Gook Minji!” Lee Chul-Woo called out.

“It’s not our fault! You heard the conversation earlier,” she yelled.

“I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding. Miss Ki-Yeon isn’t that kind of person,” replied Lee Chul-Woo.

‘You don’t even know me, so how can you say something like that, Chul-Woo? Anyway, thanks. I won’t forget what you did to me today, but you shouldn’t trust people so easily.’

“Misunderstanding, my ass! Mi-Jung unni saw it herself. Tell me, Miss Ki-Yeon. Am I wrong? You saw my unni earlier this morning, right?” she asked.

My response to that question was extremely important. I was pushing the envelope just a bit with the response I had prepared, but I had no choice but to use it.

“T-they just gave me an offer—hiccup—to join their clan. I was surprised as well… It’s really not what you’re—hiccup—thinking. Real—” I replied.

Gook Minji interrupted. “A clan recruitment that early in the morning? What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Who would believe in that kind of nonsense?”

‘Who? Your oppas, of course.’

“T-they were just about to leave early in the morning—Hiccup!” I replied.

“Can you speak properly?” Gook Minji said with raised brows.

“I’m sorry—Hiccup. I-I’m sorry,” I stuttered.

“No, you don’t have to apologize, Miss Ki-Yeon,” Lee Chul-Woo said.

“I’m sorry. I’m… sorry…” I repeated.

I was actually choking up, so who would believe that I was merely acting?

I felt so aggrieved and wronged that my sobbing prevented me from speaking properly, and I naturally looked childish. Of course, the four female members were the only ones who felt frustrated because I looked like someone who could neither control her emotions nor speak properly under pressure.

Lee Chul-Woo and Kim Tae-Geon did their best to calm me down because they felt that something was wrong.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Lee Chul-Woo said.

“Don’t tell me that you believe her… Do you really think that they actually came early in the morning just to recruit her? I wonder where the clan master was while they were recruiting her. You don’t expect us to believe that, right? I’m sure even you won’t believe your own excuses because of how absurd it sounds.” Gook Minji pointed out.

“I’m sorry—Hiccup! It’s… my fault,” I apologized.

“It’s not your fault, Miss Ki-Yeon. You don’t have to apologize,” Lee Chul-Woo repeated.

“No… It’s my…” I trailed off.

‘I am justice.’

“...fault.” I continued.

‘Cute is justice, and I’m Light Ki-Yeon!’

“Are you really going to keep on playing the victim?!” Gook Minji screamed.

“I’m sore…”

Naturally, I moved into Lee Chul-Woo’s arms as if I couldn’t handle it anymore. The innocent man was kind of surprised, but I guess he wasn’t dense and dumb because he started patting my shoulder.

‘He’ll be a dumbass if he doesn’t pat me, at the very least.’

I couldn’t see his face, but I was sure that he was blushing. Obviously, I wasn’t planning on stopping here. I started sobbing while in his arms.

For the final blow, my plan was to smile at the girls because the more worked up they were, the more advantageous it would be for me.

I turned my head slightly while I was still in Lee Chul-Woo’s arms. My eyes met with Gook Minji’s eyes. I wasn’t sure whether I got lucky or not, but the other female members were still talking to Kim Tae-Geon.

Seeing that, I decided to deal the final blow.

I was still crying, but I smiled smugly at Gook Minji when our eyes met.

I was sure that I looked like a cunning fox in Gook Minji’s eyes because her face started trembling, and I wanted to compliment her for doing a good job of suppressing her anger.

I couldn’t help but be surprised because I had always been famous as the walking provoking totem. I was sure that not even the servants of demons would be able to suppress their anger after seeing my smile.

Of course, everything happened in the blink of an eye. I looked away from Gook Minji and rested my head against Lee Chul-Woo’s wide chest. The moment I started acting cute, I heard a loud scream.

“Get away from him, you fox!” Gook Minji screamed.

“...”

“Watch your mouth, Gook Minji!” Lee Chul-Woo yelled.

“You didn’t see her just now? You saw it, right?! She smiled at me. Shit! She smiled at me!” Gook Minji yelled.

“Gook Minji!” shouted Lee Chul-Woo.

“You…!” she pointed at me.

‘You’re pathetic, Minji.’

She suddenly charged at me like a mad woman. Lee Chul-Woo stood in front of me to protect me, but he was a priest with a weak body, so there was no way he could stop an agile thief. In the end, Gook Minji hit my arm.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

I was sure that she simply wanted to shove me away, but I revealed a Hollywood-worthy stunt and rolled on the ground a few times. The horrified Lee Chul-Woo quickly helped me up, and the furious Gook Minji had to have realized that she had made a mistake because her expression turned pale.

The other members were shocked as well.

Anyway, she shoved me, and I got hurt. Of course, it was technically my fault that I got hurt, but it was ultimately her fault that I got hurt. No matter what angle one would use to look at this situation, the assailant and victims could be easily deduced.

Naturally, the Berlin Wall got furious.

“I-I’m s—” Gook Minji started.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Lee Chul-Woo yelled angrily.

“O-Oppa…” Gook Minji stuttered.

“The expedition hasn’t even started yet… Do you really have to act like this?!” he yelled.

“That’s not—” Gook Minji started.

However, she was interrupted once more as Lee Chul-Woo continued. “Do you even realize what you’re doing right now? Stop it, Gook Minji, please!”

”Why are you doing this? This party isn’t even permanent; it’s only temporary! Is it really that hard for you to endure it? Have you always been this kind of person?!”

‘There goes the famous line! Have you always been this kind of person?! Nice one, Chul-Woo! You can become a great actor! Your dramatic lines are awesome!’

“Oppa, that’s not it. That woman—”

“I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to see you right now, Minji,” he interrupted her.

“O-Oppa…” she called out.

I pitied Gook Minji a bit when she started crying because I felt bad about going this far against a bunch of worthless rookies. She was crying, but it wasn’t that effective because I cried first.

Lee Chul-Woo was definitely important to Gook Minji because her expression right now made her seem like she had just gotten abandoned by her parents. However, it seemed that Mr. Chul-Woo wasn’t done just yet as his cold voice filled the room.

“Apologize.”

“Huh?”

“Apologize to Miss Ki-Yeon right now. I want you to apologize properly,” he ordered.

“But…”

“Don’t disappoint me anymore, Minji. I’m saying this as nicely as I can. Apologize,” he repeated.

Lee Chul-Woo was basically telling her to swallow her pride. Swallowing one’s pride was difficult to do, but Gook Minji approached me slowly.

I was worried that she would take out her dagger, but I couldn’t help but think that she wasn’t actually that crazy when I saw her bowing in front of me while biting her lips. It seemed that she knew that all of this was because she made an impulsive decision.

“I’m… sorry. Sniff!” Gook Minji apologized.

“...”

“I-I’m sorry. Sniff…! It’s… my fault,” she repeated.

‘All right, it’s fine. As long as you know your place, Minji. You shouldn’t have messed with your unni like that unless you have enough social skills. You’re supposed to cry first because it’ll be more advantageous for you.’

I honestly wanted to corner her even more.

However, Gook Minji had already done this much, so I decided to just return the gesture in kind. We still had an expedition to do, and it wouldn’t be good for us to watch each other’s backs while we were frustrated and secretly angry at each other.

“No… I should… be the one who should apologize. I should have said something to prevent the misunderstanding,” I replied.

I held her hand and even hugged her lightly.

At last, our tiny war was over, and the other female members apologized to me as well.

“I think I misunderstood. I’m sorry, Miss Ki-Yeon.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’m okay, so please don’t bow like this. It’s my fault for causing the misunderstanding,” I told them.

‘You’ve become too nice, Ki-Yeon.’

Normally, I would have destroyed these rude bitches, but since I ended things here without going too far, it meant that I was worthy of receiving their genuine apology and gratitude.

“You’re so kind…” Kim Tae-Geon muttered.

Of course, he was right…