Can’t Control Be Bought With Money? 57

Chapter 57

“I’m sorry. Was I too blunt?”

Beodeul laughed as he heard the surprised voices of Sinu and SaltySalt.

“It’s not that I don’t know how to swear, I just don’t have occasions to use them… But for those people, I think I could make an exception.”

A gulping sound came from someone swallowing dryly over the headset.

—I-I’ll at least say hello to them. So…

“That’s enough. Youngglory will be much more relieved too.”

—Yes, yes…

“Oh, and one of the new members even switched servers just to meet SaltySalt.”

—What? Really?

“Yes. They’re online now… Would you like to go say hello after this buff ends?”

—Wow… who is it? Who? How do you know that, Girmu?

“I exchanged greetings with them when you weren’t around. I’ll tell you who it is later.”

From that moment, SaltySalt became so preoccupied with the newcomer’s identity that he forgot all about the earlier seriousness. Seeing this, Sinu muttered that once an attention-seeker, always an attention-seeker.

Beodeul let out an ambiguous laugh, then narrowed his eyes when he saw a voice code message from Sinu a little while later.

[SN: Let’s send SaltySalt away and hang out just the two of us]

[Girmu: Aren’t you busy?]

[Girmu: You’ve been busy lately, right?]

[SN: Ahaha, I’m okay now]

[Girmu: Haha, that’s good]

[Girmu: Shall we hunt then?]

For some reason, Sinu didn’t respond for a moment. But soon after, a strangely discouraging message arrived.

[SN: Hunting is fine haha but aren’t you tired? I heard you’ve been hunting continuously these days]

[Girmu: I’m almost level 130! Going for my 3rd job advancement]

[SN: Ah…]

[Girmu: You gave me the leveling guide so I should level up quickly haha]

[SN: Ah right, I did]

[SN: Why did I do that]

[Girmu: …? Why do you sound like you regret it haha ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

[SN: Hahahahaha no, not at all]

[SN: Then today I’ll help you reach 130 and complete your job advancement quest]

[Girmu: Oh, I can do the quest by myself]

[SN: No]

[SN: It takes quite a bit of time]

[SN: I think it would be better to help you finish it quickly haha]

If that’s the case. Beodeul ignored the faint stubbornness visible behind Sinu’s chat and smiled gratefully.

*

It was a day when the last cold snap of spring had passed and the weather had completely warmed up. Beodeul crossed the campus with his thin jacket removed and draped over his arm. Beside him was Wooseok, who seemed somewhat gloomy for some reason.

Unlike him, several cheerful sophomores passed by Beodeul and greeted him.

“Sunbaenim, hello!”

“Hi there~”

“Are you coming from lunch?”

“Yes. With Wooseok.”

“Ah… we were going to get coffee, would you like to join us?”

“No, we’re fine. You go ahead.”

Beodeul had become accustomed to grouping himself with Wooseok. He knew that what Beodeul did, Wooseok did too, and what Beodeul didn’t do, Wooseok also didn’t do.

Before entering the department building, Beodeul glanced at a nearby bench. Sure enough, Wooseok noticed and spoke first.

“Should we sit for a while before going in?”

“You want to?”

From what Beodeul had observed, Wooseok was both attentive and naturally considerate. However, he didn’t seem to realize that Beodeul had actually been looking at the bench because of him.

“Wooseok.”

“Yes?”

“Are you alright? You’ve seemed down all day.”

Beodeul looked into Wooseok’s dazed eyes with concern. After seeming lost in thought, Wooseok spoke.

“Hyung, I actually have something on my mind.”

“What is it?”

“Can you listen from your perspective and tell me what you would do?”

“My perspective? Well, let me hear it first…? I might not know much about the situation.”

“No. I think you’ll be able to relate to this quite well.”

What kind of concern could this be? Beodeul sat down next to Wooseok and said he would listen.

“There was a student I was teaching well, but one day that student started avoiding my teaching.”

“Oh, are you tutoring someone?”

“Not exactly tutoring…”

“I see. And then?”

“Then I found out that the student was still learning well from other teachers.”

“Was there some kind of trigger? If you know when it started, I’d first try to recall what happened around that time.”

“I distanced myself from the student at that time.”

“Distanced yourself? Why?”

“Um…”

It seemed difficult for him to explain as Wooseok rolled his eyes away from Beodeul’s gaze. Beodeul became more puzzled seeing this reaction. What reason would a teacher have to distance themselves from a student first?

“I was busy, and there were various things going on…”

“Hmm… then maybe the student feels hurt?”

“Hurt?”

“Yes. I’m not that student so I can’t say for sure, but the teacher they respected distanced themselves and drifted away first. If the student didn’t hear a sufficient reason, wouldn’t they feel that way?”

“It doesn’t seem like that…”

“People often don’t show those negative feelings. But if they’re suddenly refusing your teaching, think about it. Unless there was a problem with your teaching—”

“There was no problem. Definitely.”

Beodeul burst into laughter at Wooseok’s assertion. His unwavering confidence was nice to see.

“Right, you are good at it.”

“You’re better, hyung. Just look at how everyone loves your presentations.”

“If you start with that, the compliments will never end. Shall we go in now?”

“Wait a moment.”

As Beodeul stood up first, he turned his head at the warm touch grabbing his hand. Wooseok, realizing this a beat late, released his hand in surprise and cleared his throat.

“We still have time. Why are you in such a hurry?”

When Beodeul spoke with a hint of laughter, Wooseok weakly tugged at his sleeve instead of holding his hand.

“You want me to sit back down?”

“…Yes.”

“Alright.”

Only after sitting on the bench did the hand pulling his sleeve let go. Despite having such large hands, he only grabbed the edge of the sleeve. Beodeul struggled to swallow his laughter without Wooseok noticing.

“Because of your concern?”

“Yes.”

“Wooseok has more worries than I expected.”

At Beodeul’s murmur, Wooseok briefly curved his eyebrows as if feeling wronged, then sighed. Witnessing that fleeting expression, Beodeul smiled with crinkled eyes.

“Sorry, I won’t laugh anymore. What’s bothering you?”

“It’s related to what I mentioned earlier. I… why do I dislike that the student is learning from others besides me?”

“Oh, so the student isn’t learning different subjects, but is learning the same subject from multiple teachers?”

“That’s… similar.”

Wooseok’s resigned answer gave Beodeul something to think about.

“Hmm… but do people usually go that far? Actually, I’m finding it hard to relate to this one.”

“I know. I don’t think you’ve ever experienced jealousy.”

“Huh?”

Beodeul’s surprised response made Wooseok equally surprised.

“What?”

“I think you just said it yourself?”

“What did I say?”

Beodeul failed to hold back his laughter again. He buried his forehead against Wooseok’s shoulder, laughing as he spoke.

“You said ‘jealousy,’ didn’t you?”

“Jealousy…?”

“Yes. You must have really liked that student?”

“Like…”

Wooseok, who had been muttering unconsciously, quickly swallowed his words.

“Hmm?”

“…Nothing. It’s nothing.”

Beodeul blinked as he watched Wooseok hastily stand up. His cheeks, ears, and even his neck were all visibly flushed red.

“Thanks for listening to my concerns, hyung. I’ll treat you to a meal next time.”

“Was what I said helpful?”

“…Yes. Probably.”

“But don’t we already eat together pretty much every day we see each other?”

“Then what—”

Beodeul held out his phone screen to Wooseok as he turned around. Wooseok stared blankly at the movie ticket booking page that appeared before him.

“Want to see a movie this weekend?”

“A movie?”

“Yes. If you haven’t done your critique assignment yet.”

“Ah, the assignment…”

Wooseok mumbled like someone in a daze, then quickly nodded. Beodeul’s lips curled into another smile at the swift nod.

“So we’ll see each other on weekdays and weekends too.”

“Hmm, is that a problem?”

“No. I like it.”

“Why are you saying you like it while avoiding eye contact?”

“Because you’re handsome.”

“What?”

“Stop laughing and let’s go in now. The professor will be coming soon.”

After another round of laughter, Beodeul was half-dragged by Wooseok’s hand. Truly, lately there was so much to laugh about when he was with Wooseok.

## Chapter 15: What’s the Big Deal About Dating

Conversely, Beodeul’s expression became serious whenever he logged into <SOG> and looked at the screen these days.

“What’s wrong with me?”

The problem arose when he was with Sinu. It had been like this since Sinu had distanced himself from Girmu, citing busyness, then approached again as if nothing had happened.

Sinu really was busy, but his busyness was also an excuse. Beodeul instinctively sensed this. Despite usually never missing their voice code calls even while doing their own things, Sinu had been quiet for several days.

After the voice code conversation with SaltySalt, Beodeul hadn’t shown any reaction as Sinu tried to approach again as if nothing had happened. But occasionally, childish emotions would bubble up and spill over.

‘Should I just ask him directly?’

Why he suddenly avoided him, and what conclusion he reached on his own that made him approach again. Knowing that might actually bring relief.

[Guild] RoyalFamily: I was wondering where Sinu went right after the field extermination ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] SaltySalt: As expected, he’s beside Gireum ㅇㅅㅇ~

[Guild] Baekdu: Hasn’t he always been like that

[Guild] Fxxa: But lately he’s almost at the level of courtship? That’s how it seems

Beodeul, who had been blankly staring at the attendance check window after logging in, spotted Sinu hovering near Girmu, just as the chat indicated.

Sinu was alternating between using the ‘peering’ and ‘poking’ motions right in front of Girmu. According to SaltySalt, Sinu never used motions except when mocking others, but Girmu was an exception.

[Whisper/Girmu] Sinu: Girmu

[Whisper/Girmu] Sinu: You didn’t log in just to go AFK, did you?

[Whisper/Girmu] Sinu: …?

I should really ask what kind of change of heart he experienced. Beodeul, who had been quietly observing Sinu’s behavior, made up his mind and placed his hands on the keyboard.

*Field extermination: Field hunt.

Author: Hyacinthus B

Hyacinthus