Choi Nayeon

They were searching for a restaurant, and they chose to head to a dwarf's tavern.

The pub is so plain that it has a small counter with the dwarf's house on the back, and it has plenty of seating for its customers, a stairway going to a place that looks like where people can lodge.

"I loved to eat here, it's better than Desmund's cooking," King Lee stated.

'This ungrateful lad,' Liu Kai could imagine Desmund Brashford yelling at King Lee if he heard what King Lee said.

"This bar takes pride in using giant bugs meat for food and ale, and didn't fail to convey their excellent culinary skills with it," King Lee said, leading them to the tavern.

Humans and dwarves are dining inside, and they all stare at them once they've entered. Liu Kai scans the crowds inside the pub, and he sees a familiar face. The lady in the lobby, Choi Nayeon, was sitting alone while drinking an ale, directly staring at him.

"Oh, the hottie from the Hot Spring, and she's drinking alone," Jin Chow pointed at her, which resulted in Sergio hitting him at the head.

"Fool, don't point at her," Sergio yelled at him.

"Don't even try to think about it, can't you remember she gave Liu Kai a pair of slippers?" Sergio Von Croy added in a low voice.

"I agree, go on, buddy," King Lee tapped Liu Kai's shoulder before they headed to a different table.

"Don't worry Jin Chow, there are still a lot of pretty women here," King Lee assured him, walking away from Liu Kai.

"Ahh, it's better to be alone at this place." Liu Kai said to himself, decided to be alone. He sat on the chair in front of the counter to order a meal.

Choi Nayeon leaned her lower half to the counter table, facing the opposite direction while Liu Kai checked the menu.

"You're... new here, aren't ya?" She slurred, having hiccups more than once, as she ogled to see Liu Kai's side profile.

"Yes," Liu Kai answered nonchalantly.

Liu Kai noticed her on his side, but he didn't pay any attention and just kept on choosing a meal.

Nayeon gave a playful grin. "It's unusual... havin' new people in this village, y'know?" she continued to slur, "First was King Lee, a monarchy knight. What about ya?" She propped her arm on the counter, trying her best not to wobble.

"No," said Liu Kai.

Liu Kai narrowed his eyes and thought, 'What happened to the timid girl I met yesterday? It could be because of alcohol.'

The woman can see that Liu Kai isn't interested in talking to her, so she sat completely on the counter's table and went closer to him.

"This meal... is made from a giant locust, and this... burger is made from a mealworm. It's the tastiest food~ in this bar, but y'know… it's sort of expensive." Choi Nayeon pointed at the meal she recommends, emphasizing the tastiest food, getting closer to Liu Kai.

"It's nice to partner it with ale made from citrus, soda, and dried meat from giant bugs with a little bit of salt. Because you're having a hard time picking, I'd recommend that," Choi Nayeon showed the ale she's holding, intentionally making him jealous.

"Thanks a lot. Alright, I'll order that then," Liu Kai finally looked at her and smiled gently. Choi Nayeon blushed, even more, realizing what just happened and sobered her a bit.

Liu Kai called the dwarf and ordered exactly what Choi Nayeon recommended to her.

While waiting for the food...

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"Am I bothering you?" asked Choi Nayeon.

"No, not at all. Thank you for always assisting me." Liu Kai's mouth can't help but grin at her.

'I'm not dumb. I know what you're doing,' Liu Kai said to himself, laughing at her.

"I didn't introduce myself yesterday. I'm Choi Nayeon from Gimdo." Choi Nayeon chuckled and offered her hand. Liu Kai didn't hesitate and shook her soft hand.

"If you're from Gimdo, how did you end up in Wei Qing?" Liu Kai finally asked something that piqued his curiosity after shaking her hand.

"I'm on vacation here when the Great Catastrophe happened. As you can see, my name isn't from around this place. I've been stuck here since then." Choi Nayeon said without a glimpse of regret for what had happened to her.

Liu Kai remained quiet after hearing it. Almost all the people he encountered so far have a terrible past related to the Great Catastrophe, and he can't help but be a little furious about it.

"I'm sorry to hear that," the only words that came up to his mind.

"It's all right. I like it here. It's not exhausting compared to my life before the Great Catastrophe. And another one, I could imagine that the outer world is now in turmoil," said Choi Nayeon.

'She expected it right.' Liu Kai said to himself.

"But how about your family?" Liu Kai couldn't help but ask.

"I don't have any," said Choi Nayeon.

"Life's kind of boring before the Great Catastrophe, don't you think? With everything in place, everybody's comfortable, and yet I don't have someone whom to enjoy life with. It's nicer here. Despite the problems, people are socializing more and helping each other," said Choi Nayeon before drinking the ale she's holding, still sitting on the counter's table.

Liu Kai's eyes widened on what he heard. If there is a perfect person on the planet who can empathize with Choi Nayeon, it will be him. A guy who low-key wished for a change of events when everything was in order. But he said nothing. He just stayed still because he doesn't want her to know about it.

'And here I am, thinking that I'm the only one who's freaking bored before all these things happened.' He said to himself, gulping an amount of saliva.

And this is the case for Liu Kai. He doesn't want other people to envy him or feel sorry for him in his school. He just needs them to carry on being happy; that's why he didn't talk much about him. Even if boredom is killing him that much, he concealed it all.

"What about you, Liu Kai? Would you like to share your story?" asked Choi Nayeon.

"I don't think so," said Liu Kai.

Choi Nayeon smiled at him, expecting his answer.

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"Hmmm, do I look desperate to you?" Choi Nayeon moved her face closer to him, making him see her cleavage. Liu Kai looked away as soon as he saw it and thought, 'Ahhh, temptations go away. I need to focus on getting stronger.'

"Here's the meal and your ale," said Darwin the dwarf, offering him his orders. He saw his name on the name tag. The name of the dwarf is Darwin. Because of that, Choi Nayeon was compelled to move her body a little.

"Why are you so interested in me?" asked Liu Kai, raising his right eyebrow.

"Hmm, the intuition of a woman, I suppose. I feel like you're hiding something interesting," said Choi Nayeon.

'Women's intuition, okay, I wonder if that's true. She's right, but I don't know what this system is either.' Liu Kai thought to himself.

"I'm going to take that as a yes. I've got to go now, let's continue this next time. I'm going to treat you next time. Just go to where I work if you want to see me. Even though I don't think you're going to." Choi Nayeon left him and the bar. Liu Kai felt guilty about it because, despite all the things she did for him, he didn't show her empathy.

'She's beautiful, but I may not be into it.' Liu Kai thought to himself, drinking the ale Darwin provided.

[Alter is activated]