Academy's Silver Gatekeeper
Ch. 89

"..."

What's with this woman? Did she sell her "crazy blonde" title or something?

She stops at red lights and goes on green. She doesn't even speed up on yellow lights. She uses her turn signal when merging, respects the speed limit, and maintains a safe distance.

Is this really Irina? I expected her to show some Mad Max-level insanity.

"Why are you glancing at me like that? Is it your first time seeing someone drive?"

Of course, I'm looking because I'm curious. Not about the driving, but about Irina.

She drives so modestly? That Irina? The crazy blonde? I'd expect her to shout "Manners be damned! Speed limit be damned! Turn signal be damned!"

Screech—!

"Ugh."

A vehicle coming from the merging lane didn't seem to check properly. When Irina honked her horn, it quickly reduced speed. If the reaction had been a bit slower, there might have been at least a minor collision.

In this situation, it would be completely justified to get angry and curse. If you're going to merge, the basic courtesy is to check your side properly. Let alone Irina, who would curse and use physical force... but she's not?

'Even with this... she doesn't get angry? That Irina?'

At this point, it's not just surprising but almost frightening.

Am I really with Irina? I wonder if there's a villain who can mimic another person's appearance. In just a few minutes, I had all sorts of thoughts.

"First of all, yes, I am Irina." 

"Uh, what?" 

"You keep looking at me like, 'Who the hell is this person? This doesn't seem like the person I know!' Our handsome and suspicious Seojin oppa."

Her words were so accurate that I couldn't even respond and just blinked. At this rate, I need to be careful even about what I think in front of this woman.

"Secondly, I am quite careful when driving. Are you curious about the reason?" 

"...A little."

"It's nothing special. When I first started driving recklessly, my mother scolded me to death."

I wonder if Irina's mother is also an S-rank ability user? After pondering, the answer was "no."

Both of Irina's parents are naturalized foreigners in Korea. If those foreigners were S-rank ability users, both their home country and South Korea would have made a huge fuss, that's for sure.

"You said you're going to the Academy, right?" 

"Yes." 

"That's strange. I asked those suit guys earlier, and they said you got leave."

When did she do that background check?

"And they even said it was paid leave. They said it was approved from above." 

"That's right." 

"You're saying you'll go to work even when they're offering paid leave? Are you in your right mind?"

Irina is making me out to be crazy, but honestly, I have nothing to say. Even thinking about it myself, someone who would go to work when offered paid leave is indeed crazy.

If people who desperately want leave now heard about my situation. I'm confident they would curse at me and ask for that leave instead.

"Is it because of that kid?" 

"Who?" 

"Why are you pretending not to know? That kid who's all giddy about Seojin oppa." 

"Suhyeon."

Crack—

I thought I heard something breaking just now. I turned my head slightly and saw that the steering wheel Irina was holding was slightly dented.

Car steering wheels aren't made of clay, yet they got bent by her grip. I could once again confirm that she was indeed a crazy woman.

"Now you're even addressing her so intimately. It's EXTREMELY annoying to hear." 

"...I don't see why Irina should be annoyed by that?" 

"Why wouldn't I be? Don't you remember how recently, I, the ever-single but ever-defensive Seojin oppa, was rejected by you?"

Would you please stop with the "single" talk? This isn't gaslighting, but you're making me wonder if I really was single.

"Wait, and was that really a confession to date?" 

"Wow. Look at this guy. Then did you think I was joking?" 

"Yes. Of course I thought it was a joke."

At my answer, Irina makes a face as if she can't believe it. Then she even turns her head to fix her gaze on me...

"...No, no! Look ahead! The car, the car!"

As the traffic light changed, the car in front suddenly came to a hard stop. Even though there was a safe distance, Irina isn't looking ahead right now! At this rate, we'll crash right into them...

Screech—

...or not. Does this woman have eyes on her sides too?

"That's really funny. You thought it was really a joke?" 

"Well... honestly, yes. You were constantly joking with me at that time, and also..." 

"So you thought the confession was a joke too. Like a prank disguised as a confession?"

I couldn't help but nod at Irina's words. At that, Irina let out a "Haa," sigh and stepped on the accelerator in sync with the traffic light.

By the way, her gaze was still focused exactly on me.

"I might be crazy, and that's true. I won't deny that, but I don't stoop to the level of using 'myself' as a condition. And I'm a woman too, you know?"

She is a woman, that's true. That's why she's not a crazy "guy" but a crazy "woman."

"..."

After that, Irina focused on driving in silence for a while. Fortunately, she turned her head back and kept her eyes on the road. Thanks to that, the burden in my heart decreased ever so slightly.

'Yes, ever so slightly.'

I looked around to see how far we were from the Academy.

Seeing the increasingly familiar scenery, we seemed to have nearly arrived. Ah, yes. If we turn left here, take the main road, and go a bit further...

Swish—

"...Irina?" 

"What." 

"You shouldn't turn right here. This way doesn't lead to the Academy but..." 

"I'm not going to the Academy."

What are you saying? You just said earlier that you'd take me to the Academy.

"Are you going to kidnap me or something?"

"Kidnapping? What a bleak choice of words." 

"Then what? Where exactly are we going now?" 

"First, you need to pay the taxi fare. We've been driving for almost 40 minutes."

"...How much is it?" 

"Forget the money. Do you know how much money I have? It's probably rotting away."

This might sound absurd, but the person we're talking about is none other than Irina. An S-rank ability user. Among them, she's described as the strongest in South Korea. Naturally, the various subsidies and compensations that come with that must be enormous.

The statement that 'money is rotting away' is probably true.

"Then what do you want?" 

"I spent 40 minutes of my time, so you also need to spare 40 minutes for me."

"What's that...?"

"I'm asking you on a date, are you really that dense?"

At the mention of a "date," I reflexively looked at Irina.

I wanted to see if she was smiling like before. If she was laughing her head off, as the crazy woman she is, after pulling a prank.

'But, damn it. She's not laughing.'

Couldn't you just laugh at a time like this? I'd really prefer it if she'd start cackling now and say, "Did you actually expect something? This is why you're single!" I might be annoyed, but I could laugh it off somehow.

"And you said you'd have dinner with me but there's been no sign of that either."

But instead of laughter, Irina vented her grumbles in front of me.

"Do you think I don't have men saying they like me? They're so annoying." 

"That's a 100% lie. Who would dare to annoy you?"

Unless they're insane and have a death wish.

"Just answer me. As taxi fare, 40 minutes on a date with me. Deal?" 

"What if I say no?" 

"Then, I guess I'll have to take money instead. Hmm. Simply put, about 400 million won?" 

"Let's do it, the date."

At my answer, Irina looks at me incredulously once again. As if asking, "All this time you acted like you wouldn't, but as soon as money is mentioned, you agree?"

'What can I do? 400 million won isn't pocket change.'

TN: If I had to pay to date Irina, I would think about it hahaha.

Given an S-rank's value, that amount would be reasonable. If Irina had done something more productive in the 40 minutes she spent with me. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she could have earned not 400 million but 4 billion won.

And knowing Irina, she's the type who would actually collect the 400 million. In that case, it's much better to just spend 40 minutes with her.

"I can't believe this."

Irina grumbles, but a subtle smile forms at the corners of her mouth. Watching her, a certain curiosity arose in my mind.

I have a feeling it might be to my disadvantage to ask. And I suspect I'll get an answer like, "that's why you're single" or something. But still, I felt like this was the right timing to ask.

"Let me ask you one thing, Irina." 

"As long as it's not weird."

She's recycling the exact answer I gave her before. It's a bit creepy that she even remembers that much.

"Why are you doing this? Why do you keep acting this way towards me? I don't understand the reason." 

"That's a strange question. An adult woman asks an adult man on a date. Is there any special meaning behind that? It's just because I like you. Seojin oppa. Are you really that inexperienced?" 

"I'd prefer a more serious answer." 

"I did give a serious answer, not a joke."

After that, Irina continued to mutter something under her breath.

After driving for a few more minutes, as we stopped at a traffic light,

"...Seojin oppa, you think I'm crazy, don't you?"

At Irina's sudden question, I almost answered with a "Yes."

If Irina's voice, and her expression, hadn't been so serious. I might have really answered that way.

"That's..."

"Why hesitate? It's true that I'm crazy. Yes, I know it too. That I'm a crazy woman. That I'm not in my right mind. Always causing trouble, acting before thinking, doing things that blur the line between ability user and villain. Being a crazy woman, yeah, I coolly admit it!"

It's good that she's self-aware. Sometimes, there are people who are crazy but insist they're normal till the end.

"But, you know, Seojin oppa. I'm a 'monster.' A monster that no one can handle. Other people can't deal with me."

I suddenly feel her gaze on me.

Instead of the eyes that had been sparkling with faint madness or excessive interest. Blue eyes containing something strangely profound were approaching me.

"But with Seojin oppa, I feel like you could handle me. Someone who could make a monster like me, at least a little bit, more human-like."

TN: Ahh, this is sad, she just wants to feel “human”

Yuyu: Awwn