I Have a Fiancee in a Parallel World

6 – Childhood Friend Yoon Jinhee (Revised)

“…Seems like you’re really absent-minded. You should go now.”

“No, this is serious—”

“The punishment for the earlier violent incident will be discussed with the other professors. I’ll let you know once that’s settled. For today, go home early and rest.”

Professor Jin Seokhyun dismissed the 11th Class student who was suddenly contemplating advancing to the 1st Class with a sympathetic expression.

“That kid might be talking nonsense, but there’s no denying that his combat abilities have improved. If it’s not Reawakening, then what could it be…”

Lost in thought, Professor Jin opened the door again and called for Kang Jihoon, who was walking away.

“Hey! Kang Jihoon, if it’s not Reawakening, why have you suddenly changed like this?”

“Oh… that’s thanks to my training. I now have the will to discuss class advancement—”

“Sorry for calling you back again. Please go back and rest.”

Bang!

“Training? You’re telling me that someone becomes completely different overnight through training? Who is this guy kidding?”

Professor Jin couldn’t understand. He had no way of knowing that Kang Jihoon had spent ten years in a parallel world of martial arts, crossing countless life-and-death moments while mastering martial skills.

Sending Kang Jihoon away and feeling irritable, Professor Jin couldn’t shake one thought from his mind.

He may not be able to promote him straight to the 1st Class, but at the very least, he was certain that Kang Jihoon did not belong in the 11th Class.

It is a well-known fact that the Hunter Academy receives sufficient national support to be financially stable. However, even the Hunter Academy does not operate dormitories that can be used by all students. Only students of Class 5 or higher are eligible to reside in the dormitories within the academy. This is why Jihun, a failing student of Class 11, had to return to his old apartment instead of staying at the dormitory. “The monthly support fund is 2 million won, but I still have to pay rent and spend a considerable amount on living expenses… I need to quickly resolve my financial issues…”

Walking through the hallway after leaving Professor Jin’s room, Jihun pondered on how he could earn money. Suddenly, he raised his hand and caught an object flying towards him. “Hey, I threw it absentmindedly! How did you catch it??” Looking at the object in his hand, Jihun realized it was a small handbag. A girl with short hair and a chic appearance jumped towards him from a distance along the corridor. Bouncing energetically, she quickly grabbed Jihun’s neck in a headlock. From the moment he caught the handbag, Jihun already knew who she was. Yoon Jinhee. Despite spending 10 years in a parallel world, Jihun instantly recognized her, just like he had seen her yesterday. Jihun was not someone with a wide circle of human connections or many friends. However, Jinhee, who had been close to him since they were very young, was not someone he could easily forget. “Hey, I’ve been hearing strange rumors about you lately. Like catching boss monsters, defeating 10th class students… it’s all rumors about you, right?” She tightened her headlock while playfully asking. Jihun could easily evade her headlock, even in this moment, he could easily escape from her. But after not seeing his friend for a long time, he was happy to let her do as she pleased. “What the hell… this bastard managed to withstand your headlock? Have you grown a lot? It hasn’t even been a few days since I last saw you… huh…? Uh?” With each passing moment, Jinhee’s grip on the headlock gradually loosened, and she lifted Jihun’s upper body. “W-What is this? Why does your muscles look like this? And your height…?” The discomfort she felt ever since she jumped to initiate the headlock. The solid and broad shoulder muscles that became more noticeable the harder she tightened her grip on his arms. After not seeing her childhood friend for a few days, Jinhee sensed that Kang Jihun had definitely changed. “Hey, what happened to your body? Did you eat something wrong?”

From Jihoon’s shoulders to his chest, arms, and back, Jihoon grabbed Jini’s hands that kept touching him randomly, continually surprising her.

Hmmm…

His touch felt quite different from a few days ago.

“Wow! Yoon Jini! It’s Jini, right? It’s been so long!”

Jihoon sincerely expressed his joy.

***

Yoon Jini

One of his few previous human relationships.

In reality, she was never a good person to Jihoon.

She had even spread the rumor that Jihoon liked Yoojung.

After Jihoon’s parents passed away and he became financially strained, she used him.

She gave him a few pennies under the guise of sharing her allowance with him and made him run errands like a servant.

She even had a crush on Changhoon, the guy who had always bullied Jihoon since high school for no apparent reason.

Even though she always witnessed Changhoon hitting and tormenting Jihoon for no reason.

To her, Jihoon was just a toy she had been playing with for a long time, so she didn’t care much about these facts.

Of course, Jihoon was not unaware of this fact.

When he was with her, he could feel himself withering away day by day.

He could feel that she regarded him not as a friend but as someone beneath her.

But after his parents passed away, and with no one else around, Jihoon couldn’t let go of the only human relationship he had left.

He foolishly did as she told him and tried to stay her friend by catering to her whims.

To Jihoon, who was emotionally drained during his school years, Jini, his oldest human relationship, was a poison he couldn’t spit out.

***

“… What’s this about ‘long time’? I saw you just a few days ago. That aside, what’s up with your body? Have you been working out? It’s only been a few days, and this is how you-“

Jihoon grabbed Jini’s hands again, which were trying to touch his body as if nothing happened.

Jini, who was experiencing Jihoon restraining her actions for the first time, could only be perplexed.

“What…? What are you doing? Did you just push my hands away?”

Jini suddenly distorted her expression a lot, the expression that Jihoon feared the most.

That expression she made when Jihoon didn’t move as she wanted, the expression she often made.

Just making that expression was enough to make Jihoon obediently return to being her toy.

She knew Jihoon’s state very well, that he had nowhere else to go and needed human affection. And she had been using that to her advantage.

However, now.

It had only been a few days, but Jinhee suddenly felt a strange sensation from Jihun.

“hahahaha, if you touch so freely, what will happen? This is a body with an owner.”

Jihun playfully winked at Jinhee while skillfully avoiding her.

“What? What owner… This is an absurd topic! Or is it about your crush, Yoojung? Did Yoojung accept your feelings? Where does this unfounded boast come from-“

“Oh, if you speak so harshly, I can’t say it.”

Different.

Although Jihun was speaking with a smile, joking around and not showing any irritation or annoyance, Jinhee felt that this leisure was completely different from a few days ago.

Anger surged in Yoojung at the realization that she could no longer control Jihun as she pleased.

Since his parents passed away, Jihun, who had never resisted her words for a single moment, even if she made unreasonable demands, had changed.

I am his everything.

He is my toy.

Unbeknownst to Jinhee, this arrogant feeling that had unknowingly taken root in her heart had been gnawing at Jihun’s life for quite some time.

“Yoojung? Seol Yoojung? Pfft… hahahahaha.”

“Hey… What’s so funny? You’re seriously chasing after Seol Yoojung, aren’t you?”

After hearing Jinhee’s words, Jihun, who had laughed for a while, quickly composed himself.

“Ahahahaha, sorry… Sorry. It’s just so amusing. As old memories gradually come back, it feels so fresh and fun. I lived more amusingly than I thought, hehehe.”

Jinhee, increasingly annoyed by Jihun’s inexplicable leisure, wondered if it was related to the recent rumors surrounding him.

She couldn’t stand the thought of her toy playing alone without her permission.

“Hey, you’ve been spreading weird rumors lately, haven’t you? You seem really pathetic now. Always doing my bidding-“

Swoosh.

In an instant, an intense atmosphere enveloped Jinhee, pressuring her.

Breathing became difficult, and her legs trembled uncontrollably, unable to support her body.

‘What is this?… I’ve never heard of an ability that controls space in an instant like this…’

Suddenly, Jihun approached Jinhee, who was unknowingly trembling, and lightly pinched her cheek.

“Can’t you speak nicely?”

It seemed that he wasn’t angry, as there was still no hint of playfulness or mischief on his face.

But right now, Jinhee felt frozen and couldn’t move a muscle.

“Uh…uh sorry,”

It was the first time in her life that something like this had happened.

Jinhee had never felt sorry for Jihun, not even once while playing with him, and she had never tried to apologize to him, even as a joke.

In an instant, the air became calm again, and Jinhee was able to exhale the tightness in her breath.

Slap!

“Ow!”

Jihun turned around, hitting Jinhee’s buttocks with his right hand.

“It’s been a while. I’ll forgive your tone…just don’t do it again in the future.”

Even though Jihun’s expression and words were playful until the end, Jinhee felt fear for some reason.

‘Is that guy, Kang Jihun, the one who just hit my buttocks?’