Ch.148Episode 31. Because I’m Not a Fan (1)

“Instructor~nim!”

“…What is it? You’re making me nervous.”

“Nervous? To me, your devoted fan…! Your disciple…!”

Why is she acting so weird today?

Looking at Jeong I-yeon pointing at herself with her thumb, I felt like I was losing my mind.

So Jeong I-yeon wasn’t normal either.

Ah… have I been thinking this all along?

“Hello, Yeonhwa and Yuni. Can I eat with you?”

“Hello! Are you also someone who’s been ostracized by everyone and has no one to eat lunch with?”

“Hello. Are you a loner too?”

What are you two doing acting all pitiful?

I shook my head looking at the two sitting across from me. As their instructor, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.

“So… why are you trying to disturb my peaceful lunch time?”

“Disturb? I just came to eat together. Oh! Perhaps you were planning to make a move on Yeonhwa and Yuni—”

“Be quiet and sit down to eat.”

“Hehe. Okay.”

After cutting off her unnecessary comment, Jeong I-yeon giggled and put her plastic tray down next to me. She had ordered katsu rice bowl.

“Hmm! Not a bad choice.”

“Huh?”

Gu Yeonhwa complimented Jeong I-yeon’s menu choice.

“This institution… ahem! Has it become a habit? This is also the institution’s technology… ahem!”

“What are you doing?”

“You’ve even set up a barrier that prevents me from speaking freely. As expected of Aegis Academy! It’s terrifying! I feel like my suppressed power is about to leak out…!”

“Must be chuunibyou.”

“I don’t have chuunibyou.”

“…”

Gu Yeonhwa objected with a serious face.

Bin Yuni was eating her kimchi fried rice while smiling, seemingly enjoying the bickering between me and Gu Yeonhwa. Instead of just smiling, why not point it out?

“Didn’t you drop the chuunibyou concept?”

“It’s not a concept.”

Look at how she talks.

If there wasn’t a table between us, I would have flicked her forehead hard enough to leave a bump.

“Let’s just eat.”

“Let’s eat ram— ack!”

I hit her head with my chopsticks.

“I said let’s eat.”

“Hmph…”

Damn it. I should have hit her with a spoon instead of chopsticks.

It’s kind of gross to dip them in ramen broth after that.

While I was contemplating whether to dip my chopsticks in the ramen broth, Jeong I-yeon tapped my arm.

“By the way, why is Instructor eating with Yeonhwa and Yuni today?”

“We eat together quite often, you know?”

The students I most frequently had lunch with were Bin Yuni and Gu Yeonhwa.

Yu Ari usually ate separately because she said the crowded school cafeteria made her feel queasy, and Yeon Muhui typically had her boxed lunch at the training grounds, so we rarely ate together.

“That’s right. Instructor is ‘also’ a loner, so it can’t be helped.”

Bin Yuni raised her index finger while eating her kimchi fried rice.

“Who are you calling a loner? I could eat with the other instructors, but I’m specially choosing to eat with you guys.”

“But the instructors aren’t your friends, right? They’re just colleagues.”

“Sob sob. Our poor Instructor! I’ll eat with you from now on.”

“Get lost.”

I said to Gu Yeonhwa who was pretending to cry and comfort me.

“Telling a student to get lost! That’s too harsh!”

The Gu Yeonhwa and Bin Yuni combo was giving me a headache I didn’t have before.

“Hmm~ Then I’ll eat with you from now on too.”

“You usually eat with students from other classes.”

Unlike the special class students, Jeong I-yeon had the qualities of a social butterfly and often ate with students from other classes.

Despite voluntarily joining the special class, the fact that her relationships remained intact showed that I had to acknowledge her sociability.

“That’s true… but it’s become a bit uncomfortable lately.”

“Why?”

“Quite a few students ask about you.”

“About me?”

“You might not care, but most of the recent academy gossip is about you, Instructor. Especially after your sparring match with Hero Ha Yuri during the MT a few days ago—everyone’s talking about it.”

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, the video of our sparring match from the MT was posted on the academy’s official website.

It didn’t end there; official media outlets even mentioned it. I don’t understand why they made news about two S-rank heroes sparring.

What was the headline again?

“The Result of the Sparring Match Between Current Official Rank 1 Hero Ice Empress and Unofficial Rank 2 Hero Thunder God?”

…Something like that, I think.

Despite the association’s control over the video, it seemed everyone who should know about me defeating Yeonhwa-ryong already knew.

We even exchanged numbers on the MT bus, and Ha Yuri playfully asked if it was okay to talk about it, as if she was itching to tell someone.

Now that I think about it, I remember Lee Bangsil reacting almost hysterically when I contacted her about training Kang Chan.

[You’re the one I’ll kill… no, defeat! Just wait until I come to Seoul!]

…Was that what she said?

How impudent. I should spank her when she comes to Seoul. Not knowing who’s superior.

“For that reason, students are quite interested in you, Instructor. Even now… can’t you see the students looking our way?”

At Jeong I-yeon’s words, I rolled my eyes to scan the surroundings. Indeed, students were subtly directing their gazes toward us while talking.

“You’re right.”

“I’m tired of it. It’s hard to deal with all the questions. And I don’t like other students being interested in you.”

“Is that so?”

Is she worried I might take an interest in students outside the special class?

“Well… actually, that’s just an excuse.”

She leaned slightly closer to me and said.

“I just wanted to eat with you, Instructor.”

“…I see.”

Her bright smile as she said this was so cheerful it was absurd.

“By the way, where’s Yu Ari senior?”

“Ari doesn’t usually eat in the school cafeteria.”

“Is that so? But… you call Yu Ari senior by her name too? That was my wish.”

“…”

Jeong I-yeon stares at me intently. The pressure is surprisingly strong. I munched on some pickled radish and said:

“Can’t be helped. Our relationship then and now is different.”

“That’s true. We’ve already done everything—mmph!”

I quickly grabbed a piece of Jeong I-yeon’s katsu and put it in her mouth. I pulled out the chopsticks from her mouth and dipped them in my ramen broth.

“Chew thoroughly so you don’t choke, okay?”

…Wait, these are the chopsticks I hit Gu Yeonhwa with. Damn it.

I felt uncomfortable but slurped my ramen anyway. It’s not like it’ll kill me, right?

“Huh? Isn’t that an indirect kiss?”

“…?”

I thought Jeong I-yeon was going to tease me, but surprisingly, it was Bin Yuni who mentioned it.

“You just ate ramen with the chopsticks that went into Jeong I-yeon’s mouth, right?”

“How childish. Are you a kid?”

I clicked my tongue and was about to take another bite of ramen when I looked to the side. Jeong I-yeon was staring fixedly at the chopsticks in my hand.

“…What are you looking at?”

“The fact that Instructor is using something with my saliva on it… might not be so bad…”

I’m really going crazy. I need to finish eating and leave quickly.

Now too tired to respond to everything, I sighed and continued eating my ramen.

“Hehe. I’m just joking. Do you think I’m some pervert who would be happy about that?”

Jeong I-yeon, seemingly aware that I would get annoyed if she continued, touched my arm and said:

“But I’m glad. That you’re conscious of me.”

“…When you put it that way, wouldn’t it be strange not to be conscious of you?”

“This is all because you wasted my wish.”

“You’re the one who lost.”

“That’s true. But I still feel wronged.”

“Shut up. What’s done is done. If you’re unhappy, try beating me in a sparring match. Then I’ll grant your wish.”

“Wow. That’s the same as saying you won’t grant my wish at all.”

I pretended not to hear and inhaled my ramen.

Jeong I-yeon grumbled, but I had no intention of granting her wish. After all, the current situation stemmed from that wish in the first place.

…Of course, I’m enjoying it too, so I can’t complain.

“But you two seem much closer than I expected.”

“…Huh?”

Gu Yeonhwa alternately looked at me and Jeong I-yeon. She had been wearing a sullen expression with chopsticks in her mouth, but suddenly smiled brightly.

“Being close is a good thing. Mm-hmm!”

Bin Yuni also glanced at Gu Yeonhwa and then looked at us. Had she sensed the strange atmosphere between us?

“Yes, it’s good. But… I don’t think we can just be happy about it.”

Bin Yuni spoke meaningfully and then resumed eating.

The sense of discomfort from the two sitting across from me is not just my imagination.

Surely these two aren’t also… no, that can’t be.

* * *

“Instructor, today during lunch—”

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

A vibrating sound sharply cut off Yu Ari’s words.

Since it was on the table, it sounded particularly loud. Yu Ari’s eyes instantly turned fierce.

It wasn’t just once but several consecutive vibrations, which seemed to have irritated her. Her lips were starting to pout slightly.

“Who is it?”

I checked my phone. It was a message from Jeong I-yeon.

[Let’s go on a date. This weekend.]

[I’ll be looking forward to it!]

[Samoyed jumping around emoticon]

“…I-yeon.”

“I-yeon… You call her by her name so familiarly.”

Yu Ari’s brow furrowed. Her displeasure was palpable. She seemed very unhappy about me getting along well with another woman.

In truth, this would be the case with any woman.

No one would like seeing the person they love involved with someone else of the opposite sex. Even if I put myself in her shoes, it would feel awful.

“Well… she wrote it as her wish.”

“That may be true, but…”

“Don’t be jealous. I call you by your name too.”

As I was about to reply to Jeong I-yeon with [Who do you think you are?], something happened.

Smooch.

Suddenly, Yu Ari kissed me on the lips. While I was momentarily dazed, she quickly turned off my phone.

“Don’t look at your phone.”

“Huh?”

“You’re with me right now. You said when you’re with me, you’d give me all your attention and focus only on me.”

“Okay.”

I patted her back soothingly.

“Today… I’m going to do it three times…”

“What?”

“Y-you must follow me.”

She’s really got me, hasn’t she?

No… perhaps she’s finally awakened to her sexual desires.

Either way, I had no choice but to accommodate her. I knew Yu Ari had been holding back a lot.

As I received Yu Ari’s kiss, now accustomed to intertwining tongues, I picked her up and headed for the bed.