episode_0125

…

A low hum.

Hong Yeonhwa’s eyes burned as if they could devour a person, as she stared intently at Lee Hyunjin.

She wasn’t someone lacking in perception. Of course, she had the knack of reading the subtle atmosphere flowing between Lee Hyunjin and Cheon Soyul.

‘They’re probably lovers.’

It was obvious. Even when they’d encountered each other at the amusement park, there seemed to be some awkwardness between them, but now even that had evaporated.

What remained was the hot, passionate emotion she had also seen at the amusement park.

To put it plainly, it was romantic affection and love.

Now that she thought about it, she seemed to have seen such an article. It was blabbering about two grand mages’ disciples being engaged.

At the time, she’d dismissed it as a kind of rumor mill…

But now, it seemed that article might have been referring to these two people.

Hong Yeonhwa thought it was a fairly plausible guess.

A grind. Her teeth ground together automatically.

Alright, fine. A romantic relationship? Or an engagement? It didn’t matter. What right did she have to interfere in their relationship?

To be frank, she’d only met them today, and had only briefly seen Lee Hyunjin a few months ago. She was, you could say, a 100% outsider.

However.

‘Still, this isn’t right, Lee Hyunjin-ssi.’

Hong Yeonhwa wasn’t without things to say. There were clear points to criticize about Lee Hyunjin, and by extension, Cheon Soyul, right now.

Though they seemed somewhat calmer than before, their breaths were still hurried, and their complexions were excessively flushed to be merely from taking a bath…

Furthermore, if she expanded her aura perception and surveyed the mansion’s interior, the bathroom area somehow felt boisterous.

At this hour, it would be the time for the servants to enter for tidying and cleaning.

Trembling, Hong Yeonhwa quivered, careful not to be noticed by them.

Did they? Could they have? These people, did they do *that* in her house?

“…Hoo, woo.”

Her breathing grew a little rough. She wanted to confirm. She wanted to ask. She wanted to just directly throw a fastball and ask what the two of them had been doing until now.

Didn’t she have a clear justification? This was Hong Yeonhwa’s residence, and moreover, they had visited as guests, after all.

But they so nonchalantly committed an inappropriate act in someone else’s house…?

Not only could she interrogate them, but cross-examining them wouldn’t be unreasonable either.

Indeed, Lee Hyunjin and Cheon Soyul also seemed to be aware of it to some extent, as they awkwardly tried to subtly avoid her gaze.

Cheon Soyul was particularly so. Unlike Lee Hyunjin, who seemed relatively(?) brazen, she had her ear tips flushed red and kept her head bowed low.

Hong Yeonhwa… though she didn’t want to admit it right away, seeing her admired senior colleague (1 year older) like that, she felt her anger considerably subside…

If she followed her heart, she wanted to coolly tell them not to worry about it.

‘It’s infuriating.’

The reason she couldn’t was purely due to her displeasure towards the man.

That was right. To put it simply, Hong Yeonhwa didn’t like Lee Hyunjin.

How could such a man be Cheon Soyul’s spouse? It was truly lamentable.

Excluding his magic skills, reputation, splendid connections including his master, handsome appearance, and gentle voice, wasn’t he a person with absolutely no discernible strengths?

She couldn’t accept it. More than anything, she found it difficult to accept that Cheon Soyul, whom she had come to look up to as an Unnie, was in a physical relationship with such a playboy.

There were clearly many better men in the world if one looked carefully…!

‘…As expected, this won’t do.’

Hong Yeonhwa’s gaze darkened further. But the flame in her red eyes grew larger.

Guiding Lee Hyunjin and Cheon Soyul to the room with calm footsteps, she gritted her teeth.

It would involve a somewhat crude trick (?), but she felt she needed to go through this verification process, even if it meant resorting to such means.

Having made her decision, she changed direction very naturally.

She was heading not for the guest room, but for her own room on the second floor of the mansion.

Of course, the two, who were merely guests, couldn’t notice it.

“Alright, please come in.”

Hong Yeonhwa, having reached her room without any particular difficulty, opened the door and greeted Lee Hyunjin and Cheon Soyul with a somewhat unnatural smile.

Cheon Soyul aside, Lee Hyunjin, for a moment, read a strange sense of unease in her expression.

Despite that unsettling aspect, there was no other choice. Thinking that nothing particularly strange would happen, Lee Hyunjin set aside his doubts and entered the room.

Thud!!

…

And the door closed with an unusually loud thud.

Lee Hyunjin and Cheon Soyul flinched and cautiously turned around.

“…Yeonhwa-ya?”

“Why do you ask?”

To Cheon Soyul’s awkward question, Hong Yeonhwa smiled faintly. Outwardly, it was the bright smile of a girl who seemed truly harmless.

“Uh-uh, hmm. It’s nothing…”

Seeing her smile, Cheon Soyul couldn’t say anything more.

In the end, she hesitantly stepped into the room and quickly scanned her surroundings.

A girl’s room, which could be called ordinary if it were ordinary. There was no sense of disorder, as if it was usually kept well-organized.

If she had to pick a peculiar point, it would be that the bed was quite wide?

Cheon Soyul paused for a moment at the width, which seemed easily capable of accommodating three people.

…

She broke out in a cold sweat.

It was intuition, so to speak.

Lee Hyunjin and Hong Yeonhwa seemed unfazed… but precisely because of that, she could be even more certain. It was a kind of trick she had learned after a long period of emotional struggle (?) by Lee Hyunjin’s side.

She didn’t know why. She dared not guess the reason, and there was no way to know what process had led to this.

However, Cheon Soyul foresaw the future. She truly didn’t know why, but she felt that bed would soon be greatly soiled…

Click-

It was then that Hong Yeonhwa took something out of a glass cabinet.

Lee Hyunjin blinked, identifying the object.

“…Alcohol? Sake?”

The identity of the luxurious bottle was none other than Japanese sake. The blue packaging was impressive, and Hong Yeonhwa let out a soft laugh.

“Since we’ve met like this by chance, I thought, why don’t the three of us have a drink together? Would that be alright? For both of you?”

…

“Oh, don’t worry. If you get drunk, I’ll make sure to get you back to your room safely.”

“I’m really good with alcohol, you see.” Hong Yeonhwa added, pulling up the corners of her mouth ominously.

“Uh, hmm…”

Lee Hyunjin let out a very reluctant voice, scratching his cheek.

No, well, there was nothing wrong with the words themselves.

Not only was there no problem, but the suggestion to drink together due to this chance encounter was something he actually liked.

Through several incidents, Lee Hyunjin had grown quite fond of drinking itself.

However… the problem lay elsewhere. Not in the alcohol, but in the very person holding the alcohol and offering the glass.

That is to say, Hong Yeonhwa’s smiling expression was simply too ominous.

Lee Hyunjin had to put all his effort into not showing that feeling outwardly.

Right, well. In fact, what problem could arise from sharing one bottle of alcohol?

Hong Yeonhwa seemed quite confident in her alcohol tolerance, but Lee Hyunjin wasn’t much different.

In fact, seeing her so confident, he felt a slight competitive urge welling up.

“…Alright, fine.”

In the end, Lee Hyunjin quickly ended his brief deliberation to his liking and nodded decisively.

He took the small glass Hong Yeonhwa offered and plopped down in the center of the room.

With the situation like that, Cheon Soyul couldn’t back out either.

She awkwardly accepted the glass and sat down next to Lee Hyunjin.

“It’s nice and cool.”

Hong Yeonhwa wore a satisfied expression and a fresh smile on her lips.

She, too, knelt down opposite them.

Gurgle gurgle…

Tipping the bottle herself to pour into their glasses, Hong Yeonhwa spoke, as if a little shy.

“I never imagined I’d have the chance to drink with the two of you from Cheongsong Academy. It seemed unlikely we’d ever meet normally.”

Cheon Soyul accepted the glass and let out a relaxed laugh.

“Right. If we were to meet, it would have probably been next year.”

“Next year?”

“The Blue-Red Battle is next year, isn’t it?”

At Cheon Soyul’s words, Hong Yeonhwa let out an ‘Ah,’ as if finally understanding.

She covered her mouth with her sleeve and her eyes curved into crescents.

“That’s right. I’m a freshman so I don’t know much, but I think the seniors mentioned that the ‘Red-Blue Battle’ would be held next year.”

“Yes, the ‘Blue-Red Battle,’ you mean.”

…

…

And a chilling silence fell. Hong Yeonhwa and Cheon Soyul each smiled faintly, sparks flying from their eyes.

Watching the two girls’ battle of wits, Lee Hyunjin let out a snort of laughter.

“Why are you two getting so prideful over something like that? You can just call it whatever.”

Thwack! The moment Lee Hyunjin uttered those words, he was immediately punished by Cheon Soyul’s elbow.

Lee Hyunjin, who had just been about to gulp down his drink, coughed and spluttered.

Even so, he had no time to express his indignation. As Lee Hyunjin was about to widen his eyes in disbelief, Cheon Soyul was already looking at Hong Yeonhwa and extending her glass.

“Shall we toast then? Yeonhwa-ya.”

“Yes, Unnie.”

Clink!

Lee Hyunjin’s mouth hung open in a dumbfounded expression. What kind of people are these?

At his reaction, Cheon Soyul stifled a laugh, her eyes curving in amusement.

Teaming up with Hong Yeonhwa for some mischief was fun, but still, at times like these, she had to take care of her husband. It was a wife’s duty, one could say.

Cheon Soyul tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and offered her glass to Lee Hyunjin.

“You too, toast with me.”

…

Lee Hyunjin gave a wry laugh and shook his head. With her strategy effectively blocking him from saying anything more, he ultimately had only one option.

Clink!

Lee Hyunjin downed his drink. After all, expensive alcohol was innocent.

Cheon Soyul also sipped her alcohol. She found the atmosphere quite pleasant.

‘…I’ll be watching.’

And Hong Yeonhwa, too, tilted her glass, projecting as much naturalness as possible.

Her sharp eyes were fixed on Lee Hyunjin from beginning to end.

The alcohol tasted as good as ever, especially since Hong Myeongseon herself had personally selected it in Japan, but…

Hong Yeonhwa sincerely hoped that Lee Hyunjin would drink this alcohol and reveal his true nature.

For instance, if by some chance he lost control and tried to flirt with her, that would be ideal.

As he was someone with a prior record, the possibility was by no means small.

With a smile as if saying ‘Just as planned,’ Hong Yeonhwa kept pushing the alcohol down her throat.

Regardless of her underlying scheme, she also liked the situation all the same.

After all, it was a drinking session with a same-sex mage she admired, and an opposite-sex mage who, despite being annoying in some ways, certainly had solid skills.

Hong Yeonhwa felt no small amount of satisfaction and fulfillment as she continuously, continuously drank the alcohol.

…

…

…

*****

Four hours passed like that.

“Gasp.”

Hong Yeonhwa suddenly came to her senses and shot upright.

Her head throbbed. Her body was hot. More than anything, her mouth was damp.

“Wh-what…?”

She frowned to understand the situation, while also turning her head.

The headache was considerable, so she had to press her forehead, but still.

Hong Yeonhwa began to survey her surroundings with narrowed eyes.

…

The night sky outside the darkened window, extinguished lights. Scattered glasses, several bottles spilled on the floor.

In addition, there was even a palm-sized plastic box whose contents she couldn’t immediately discern.

Feeling a sudden sense of unfamiliarity, Hong Yeonhwa looked down at her body.

There, what should have naturally been there, was somehow absent.

In other words, yes.

Her clothes, were gone.

Her top and bottom, bra, and panties were all gone, leaving her in a truly literal state of complete nudity, not a single thread remaining.

And right next to her, Lee Hyunjin and Cheon Soyul, also unclothed, were sound asleep, embracing her from both sides.

“…?!?”

Hong Yeonhwa let out a silent scream.

Her lower body felt very sticky.