Solo Leveling : Sung Jin-Woo x Cha Hae-In (English Version)

Ji the cat

Night had already fallen for about an hour. At the Sung's, mother and daughter had already gone to bed a moment ago. But Jin-Woo wasn't sleeping. Several reasons kept his eyes from closing; or rather, he found severals to justify his insomnia. The truth was, President Go Gun-Hee's death haunted him, and he couldn't get to close his eyes.
So he was out on the roof of the building and was immersing himself in managing his shadows — after all, he was the monarch.

He decided to check with [Sensorial Perception] the people he assigned a soldier to. He felt tense, with a dull fear creeping in, as if one of them was about to be attacked like the president had been. The president died, and none of these people he wanted to know safe had the president's strength — except maybe Hunter Cha.

Thousands of stars were shining in the firmament. A cold nocturnal wind raged against his coat, and the coat who couldn't care less supported the attack without flinching. Fully focused on his task, Jin-Woo payed no mind to it.

As expected, his mother and his sister were sleeping peacefully. He changed target. Baek Yun-Ho from the White Tiger guild was sorting files in his office. Choi Jong-In, from the Hunter guild, was on the phone, visibly agitated. Jin-Ho was sleeping.

The soldier assigned to Cha Hae-In seemed to be in great confusion when he connected to him. He didn't know very well if should report to the monarch before being asked.
Jin-Woo was intrigued, but... he remembered with embarrassment the last time he peeked at her. After all, thinking about it, what he intended to do was nothing less than spying a young woman at night. And who could know what was disturbing the soldier! He knew better than anyone how off the mark his shadows could be...

He'd better take a few precautions.

He ordered the soldier in the hunter's shadow to close his eyes, and only then did he use [Sensorial Perception]. No water noise, nor anything more... embarrassing, fortunately. He could hear a vague hubbub, as if she was in a crowded place.

'Not in her bed, at such an hour?' Jin-Woo wondered.
He opened his eyes. The S-rank hunter was staggering, a large glass filled with an amber drink — presumably alcohol — in her left hand and her sword in the other. Her cheeks were ember-colored. She was apparently in a bar. Jin-Woo remembered he promised himself to invite her someday as an apology...

'But why does she have her weapon?'

As if to answer his question, she raised her sword, and brought it down violently on some poor flipper who had done nothing to deserve such a treatment.

'Okay, that's a problem.'

[Shadow Exchange]

Hunter Cha sheeted her sword and with a sigh, and sat back down at her table, all alone. She heard the death rattle of the agonizing flipper.
'I wonder what was that monster doing here. Fortunately he wasn't really strong.'

She buried her head in her elbows, half asleep. She heard a noise in front of her, and the table creaked, as if someone had just sat down. She lifted her head a little. Everything was a bit blurry. In front of her was a dark, silky hair she would recognize among thousands of others...

"Miss Cha?"

She straightened completely and blinked, and stood frozen for a moment like undecided, with her hand lifted. Jin-Woo wondered what could be going through her mind. She moved her hand forward... and began to stroke his hair.
'Bug system, bug system...'

"Ji!" The young woman merrily shouted. "My kit catty! I knew you hadn't died! 'You doing well lill' kitten?"

'Okay. Until I still had a doubt, but now I'm sure. SHE'S COMPLETELY DRUNK, DAMN IT! What the heck am I supposed to do now!"