It was, of course, a good thing to earn the trust of my leader. However, I was not too fond of this particular type of trust.
I didn't know how to evaluate myself, but if I were to describe it, I would be a child who still needed Kim Hyunsung's warm love and attention, especially when it came to growth.
I did not need to ask why I needed to raise my abilities and get another job, for I understood the urgency, but I was not too fond of this overestimation.
'At least doubt me a little, you bastard...'
Although I had painted the image of being fine on my own, I didn't particularly appreciate being put in this kind of situation. At the same time, I knew what Kim Hyunsung was thinking.
'This expedition will most likely end in failure.'
This was because my fellow party members were indeed highly dependent on the psychological stability my presence offered.
"If oppa is not going, then I'm not going to go, either. I will never want to go."
"..."
The problem was Jung Hayan. As the expedition date fast approached, she would come up with all sorts of excuses to try and be excluded from the expedition as well.
On the first day since our discussion, Kim Hyunsung immediately moved to achieve the goals he had cooked up for the whole party.
He thought that if he managed to change his job or achieved desirable stats during the few days of preparing for the expedition, he would not have to leave the expedition. Of course, there was still the matter of Jung Hayan not wanting to take part, but he would have to find another solution for that.
'Of course.'
Achieving legendary status would be an impossible feat to achieve in a very short time. Every member had shown astonishing growth in such short periods, but it was apparent that we would not reach our target this time around.
Jung Hayan, on the other hand, began to exhibit behavior similar to someone who was anticipating death.
During the preparation time, she eventually went through the five stages: denial, anger, compromise, depression, and, eventually, acceptance.
It didn't take too long for her to undergo the first step. She began to deny the fact that she would have to leave me for a month. In her mind, what Kim Hyunsung said was probably a joke.
On the other hand, Park Deokgu and Sun Hee-young began to set their minds toward the upcoming expedition, packing everything they would need for the hunt. It was then that Jung Hayan was forced to face reality.
Anger came soon enough.
'...'
She had begun to hate Kim Hyunsung, who was responsible for the sudden expedition schedule. I felt worried for a while, but it didn't seem like her anger would give her any intention to kill him. Somewhere from deep within, she still regarded Kim Hyunsung with respect.
In short, Jung Hayan spent this stage screaming in her room and exhibiting a neurotic expression. She did not forget to let out her pent-up anger to Kim Ye-ri, either, seeing as the child was the weakest target among the party aside from me. I knew she was only doing it to try and find an excuse to be excluded from the expedition.
She tried to find faults with the kid and took every opportunity she could find to criticize. In short, Jung Hayan was being Jung Hayan.
It got to the point where she approached Park Deokgu to talk behind Kim Ye-ri's back. Considering Jung Hayan's personality, this didn't feel right at all.
