episode_0171

Seol Hayeon slowly returned to her original appearance. Even as she sat at the dining table, picking up her cutlery, a chill slowly emanated from her, as if she had already completed her evolution from middle schooler to high school age.

I briefly observed her, but focused on the meal itself.

As expected of the foremost Awakened family in Korea, there was an array of luxurious dishes, comparable to a meal at any high-end hotel.

I don’t often indulge in gourmet food, but I’m not one to refuse good food when it’s available.

Taking a bite of what seemed like an expensive steak, though I couldn’t tell the cut, I calmly surveyed the atmosphere at the table.

‘…It’s quite quiet, isn’t it?’

Unexpectedly, not much conversation took place during the meal.

This was mainly because my mother-in-law, who should have been leading the conversation, was silent.

For some reason, she was more focused on Seol Hayeon, who sat beside me, than on me, Cheon Soyul, or her other two children.

Her eyes seemed to be staring at something utterly alien… yet, it wasn’t a gaze laced with negative emotions.

How to describe it? It was like looking at a wayward child, or perhaps seeing a wayward child behave unusually normally.

Now that I said it, it didn’t seem like a very apt comparison, but that was precisely how it felt.

‘Their relationship probably isn’t very good…’

As far as I knew, Seol Hayeon and Cheon Sehee, my Master-nim and mother-in-law, did not have a harmonious relationship.

Though there was quite an age gap, a sense of rivalry had formed between them.

More than anything, their personalities reportedly didn’t match. Or so I had heard from Seol Hayeon long ago.

But seeing them now, it was puzzling how that didn’t seem to be the case at all.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

If anything, Seol Hayeon seemed to be treating my mother-in-law excessively casually.

She glared at my mother-in-law because of the excessive gaze, and at her words, my mother-in-law wore a complicated expression but maturely shook her head.

“It’s nothing, dear.”

“…”

And Seol Hayeon also fell silent. She seemed to want to say something, but she didn’t, seemingly reading the room.

Indeed, it would be difficult to confront one’s mother in front of all three siblings.

“Ahem.”

In the end, the elder at this gathering—excluding my mother-in-law and Seol Hayeon—there was only one person who could open his mouth. That would be Woohyuk Hyung-nim.

“…So, Lee Hyunjin. I heard you had quite a hard time in Cheorwon.”

I gratefully nodded as he started the conversation and introduced a topic.

“It wasn’t really a hardship. Ryu Jinseong-ssi was there too, and well. The only threatening thing was one giant.”

“Wasn’t that one giant an S-rank monster? It’s something to be proud of.”

“If Hyung-nim had been there, we might have caught it even faster. That guy, his durability was strangely poor compared to his attack power.”

“…Hmm, is that so?”

Cheon Woohyuk subtly curved the corner of his lips, pretending not to be affected by my flattery.

Lightning mages, they all have such pride in their firepower. Uselessly so.

‘Still, it’s not entirely flattery.’

Regardless, Cheon Woohyuk’s firepower was certainly among the best of mages.

That giant bastard, there was nothing special about it except for shooting lasers from its eyes.

Naturally, if Woohyuk Hyung-nim had been there, it would have been easier to catch.

“Do you know this, Lee Hyunjin? Something happened at the Association meeting recently…”

The conversation that followed primarily consisted of me and Cheon Woohyuk exchanging words.

The others were all quiet, I don’t know what they were thinking, so we had no choice but to do so.

“…Pardon? An S-rank recommendation?”

And as a result, I learned a surprising fact. Heavens, my father-in-law(?) from Cheorwon actually recommended me for S-rank.

He also recommended Ryu Se-eun, who had almost perfectly inherited his level…

It was a truly astonishing story. That stingy old man, for some reason, he’s been showing only likable sides lately.

I became unnecessarily pleased and puffed out my chest in triumph.

“…My disciple-nim is still lacking, though.”

“?”

It was then that a tiny voice, like an ant crawling, was heard.

It was faint, but undeniably from my right.

It was Seol Hayeon’s voice. I instinctively turned my head and blinked, but she simply concentrated on her meal.

‘Did I mishear…?’

I briefly thought that.

“…How impudent…”

“…”

It seemed I had heard correctly after all. I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine and, at the same time, cold sweat beaded on my cheeks.

My Master-nim was fundamentally utterly pathetic, not just in bed but in all aspects of daily life, showing such weak sides.

Yet, sometimes when her switch was flipped, she became an uncontrollable person.

As it was a master-disciple relationship from the start, she was clearly my superior.

“Heh, my brother-in-law is that good already?”

It was then that another person opened their mouth. The owner of that mischievous, playful voice was Cheon Hyeon-a, sitting across from me.

Unlike Cheon Soyul, who always had a ponytail, my sister-in-law was a classic beauty, with light brown hair neatly cut into a bob.

“That’s amazing, isn’t it? This sister-in-law is still stuck at A-rank, but my brother-in-law is already preparing to reach S-rank at that age…”

She somehow stretched her lips into a long smile and tapped my chair.

Quite impolitely, she extended her leg under the table.

I instinctively flinched and made eye contact with her. The others didn’t seem to notice, but I couldn’t help but be flustered.

‘Excuse me, Sister-in-law…?’

If she only tapped the chair, that would be one thing. But Cheon Hyeon-a didn’t stop there; she proceeded to lightly tap my leg, knee, and thigh, one after another, with her bare foot.

I turned pale at the touch, feeling like she might delve deeper into my inner thigh.

What was wrong with this person? Were strange inclinations a basic trait of the Cheon family women?

As I struggled with extreme bewilderment, she parted her lips again.

“Hey, Soyul.”

“…Huh?”

It was a remark directed at Cheon Soyul. Turning to look at Cheon Soyul, who had raised her head, Cheon Hyeon-a smiled ominously.

“Can I have a match with your husband?”

“…Eh?”

She suddenly dropped a bombshell. Perhaps because of everything she had experienced, Cheon Soyul trembled slightly, her eyes flickering anxiously.

Not only that, but Seol Hayeon also sharply lifted her head, warily glaring at Cheon Hyeon-a.

My mother-in-law also narrowed her eyes as if to express concern at the sudden declaration, and Cheon Woohyuk, too, stiffened his expression towards Cheon Hyeon-a…

“…”

What about you?

I turned to look at Cheon Woohyuk, unable to hide my confusion.

*****

“…I was going to request a sparring match first.”

“Hm?”

Cheon Woohyuk approached, his voice laced with dissatisfaction.

Cheon Hyeon-a turned to look at her younger brother.

“What, Woohyuk, you wanted to spar with our brother-in-law too? But why, didn’t you two already have a match at the Cheongsong Festival last time?”

“It’s different now. Both Lee Hyunjin and I have grown even stronger, haven’t we?”

“Hmm…”

Cheon Hyeon-a nodded as if it made sense, but then spread her hands wide, as if saying it couldn’t be helped, and smiled enigmatically.

“Anyway, I claimed him first, didn’t I? Woohyuk, you can do it tomorrow or the day after. This Noona-nim will get a taste of Hyunjin first.”

“…Noona-nim, ‘get a taste’? Such expressions can be misinterpreted…”

“Hm? Why, I was just saying I wanted to gauge his skill through a sparring match?”

Cheon Hyeon-a, wearing workout clothes that clearly revealed her navel and waistline, and leggings that clung tightly to her lower body, stretched them out and mocked.

“Oh dear~? Did Woohyuk perhaps think something strange~?”

“Haa…”

Cheon Woohyuk sighed and shook his head. Thinking there was no point in saying more, he turned away.

“Where are you going, Woohyuk!”

“…I will head to the sparring arena first. Please prepare and come out at your leisure.”

Thump. Cheon Hyeon-a, who had been watching Cheon Woohyuk leave with disappointed eyes, soon changed her expression.

The corners of her lips twitched subtly, and an uncontrollable blush appeared on both her cheeks.

“…Haa…”

And a deep breath escaped her. That breath somehow contained a sensual hint.

Cheon Hyeon-a wrapped her arms around her shoulders, panting softly.

‘…I shouldn’t be feeling this way.’

The only thought that came to mind was this.

No, there was only one face that came to mind.

Lee Hyunjin. The young man who would become her younger sister’s husband.

That is, her brother-in-law.

To confess, Lee Hyunjin’s appearance was very much in Cheon Hyeon-a’s strike zone.

She subtly rubbed her lower abdomen.

“This is bad…”

The next words she uttered were just one sentence.

“I’m in heat.”

The leggings covering Cheon Hyeon-a’s lower body began to show a strange grayish sheen of moisture.