Ch.173Episode 34. Christmas Eve (End)

“Ugh……”

“Are you awake?”

“Ah……”

A short sigh.

I could see numerous emotions dwelling in her eyes as she looked at me. She seemed happy but also anxious.

However, it was clear that those emotions weren’t predominantly negative.

“I made some ramen.”

“Huh?”

“You must be hungry. Let’s eat ramen. It’ll help with the hangover too.”

I spoke while tidying Yeon Muhui’s hair, which had become disheveled from last night’s lovemaking. She nodded and tried to get up, but grimaced as she clutched her lower abdomen.

“Ugh…! My lower abdomen hurts…”

“Are you okay?”

“…No, I’m not.”

Her sulky response was cute. I chuckled and kissed her forehead.

“You did well. Yesterday.”

“N-not really… it wasn’t that hard…”

Her face, as she touched the forehead I had kissed, began to turn visibly red.

“Put some clothes on and come out.”

I said, subtly pointing at her chest. Belatedly realizing she was naked, she hurriedly covered her chest. I giggled at her face, which had turned as red as her crimson eyes.

“Don’t look!!”

I easily dodged the pillow that came flying at me, then closed the door and left.

Shortly after, Yeon Muhui appeared at the dining table, wearing a black t-shirt and shorts, looking around nervously. She fidgeted with her arms, seeming unsure.

“Come here and sit down. Let’s eat ramen.”

“…Okay.”

I ladled ramen and broth into a bowl and passed it to her. I had also heated up some instant rice in the microwave.

“We drank a bit yesterday. How’s your stomach?”

We didn’t drink that much since the mood escalated rather quickly, but I asked just in case.

“It’s fine.”

“Good. Let’s eat quickly, rest a bit, and then head to the academy. Do you want to visit your mother on the way?”

“…Would it be inconvenient to stop by?”

“It’s meeting your family, how could that be inconvenient?”

“Really…?”

Perhaps she was pleased that I was considering her.

The corners of her mouth subtly turned upward. Watching her smile broadly, I ladled ramen into my bowl as well.

After that, we ate ramen while exchanging light jokes, but there was an awkward current flowing between us. It seemed like she was at a loss for how to treat me since our relationship wasn’t clearly defined even after we had slept together.

For my part, I had no intention of clarifying our relationship, so I just glossed over it.

After finishing our breakfast of ramen and tidying up a bit before the checkout time, we headed outside.

As soon as we stepped out, my body shivered. The temperature difference between inside and outside the pension was considerable. Had Ha Yuri cast some glacier zone here?

I loaded all our luggage into the trunk while she went to check out.

“I’ve checked out.”

“Good. Well done.”

As I closed the trunk, I naturally extended my hand to her. Muhui stared blankly at my face and hand for a while, alternating between the two.

“You don’t have to hold it if you don’t want to…”

“I want to hold it. But I won’t if you don’t like it.”

“……”

Muhui slightly averted her gaze and then gently took my outstretched hand. As soon as she gave her permission, I interlaced our fingers so our palms were completely touching.

“Y-you don’t need to hold it like that…”

“But I like it this way. Let’s go like this.”

“…My palm is rough. It has many scars from sword cuts.”

As she said, her palm had calluses, and there were scars scattered across her hand, giving it a somewhat rugged feel.

But that was all.

I actually liked Muhui’s hands. They made me newly appreciate what kind of life she had lived.

“I like them.”

“Huh?”

“I like them because I can feel how hard you’ve worked.”

“……”

She said nothing. Whether out of embarrassment or not, she just slightly lowered her head and kicked at the gravel at her feet.

Smooch.

When I kissed the back of her hand, she flinched and looked at me with surprised eyes.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Because I like you.”

“Eek…!”

“Shall we go?”

She nodded.

I couldn’t tell whether her face was red from the cold or from holding hands, but one thing was certain:

Yeon Muhui’s hand was very warm.

* * *

Before leaving Taean, we stopped by Muhui’s family home.

Jin Subin welcomed Muhui with a much better expression than before. The elderly woman patted my back naturally, as if I were family, and said:

“Did you have a good trip?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Nothing special happened, I suppose?”

“N-nothing happened at all!”

“…?”

Muhui, who had been talking with Jin Subin, suddenly shouted while looking in our direction. A heavy silence fell due to her outburst.

She probably jumped in because she was worried I might say something, but this was actually counterproductive. Especially to parents who already had children.

The guilty conscience speaks first…

She’s basically advertising our relationship on her own.

“Ahem.”

I cleared my throat, drawing their attention to me. Suppressing any sign of being flustered, I smiled and said:

“Nothing happened. Don’t worry. We did become much closer after having some honest conversations, though.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Y-yes. That’s right.”

Her way of fumbling through the lie was so terrible that I wondered if Muhui had always been this bad at lying. I made a mental note never to share secrets with her.

Somehow, we finished our conversation and left her family home.

Muhui seemed tired from Subin’s continued questioning, stretching her body and showing clear signs of fatigue.

“You two finally seem like family.”

“Huh?”

“You and Ms. Jin Subin.”

At my words, her eyes gradually widened, then curved into a smile.

“…Yeah. You’re right. Seeing mom worry like that reminded me of my childhood.”

She becomes particularly honest when it comes to family matters.

“Childhood… Somehow I want to see what Muhui was like as a child. Do you have photos?”

“E-even if I did, I wouldn’t show you!”

“Hehe. That’s fine. I’ll have plenty of opportunities to see them anyway.”

I casually took her hand again. Muhui didn’t pull away. She just blushed slightly on her cheeks.

“Let’s go to the academy.”

* * *

After parking the car in the dormitory parking lot, I headed with Muhui toward the women’s dormitory.

I was about to turn around after telling her to contact me later when she called out:

“Yujin!”

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For everything.”

Thank you, huh…

“…Just with words?”

“W-what do you want me to do?”

“Yes. There’s something I really want you to do.”

I took a step closer to her as I spoke. Muhui flinched but quietly looked up at me.

“T-there are too many people here…”

She seemed worried I might kiss her, but that was quite a misunderstanding.

“If you’re grateful, make sure you become a hero.”

“Huh?”

“That’s the only thing I want from you.”

The ending I had wanted was for all the special class members to become heroes and defeat Yujin. Now that I’ve become Yujin, it would be troublesome if they tried to defeat me, but still.

“Is that really all?”

She sounded somewhat disappointed.

“Yes. Now, go on in.”

“…Okay.”

Her attitude was so obviously disappointed that I couldn’t just let her go like that.

“Muhui.”

“Yes?”

I grabbed her wrist as she was entering the dormitory and whispered in her ear.

“I like you.”

“Eep!”

Seeing Muhui’s bright red face, I smiled, released her wrist, and turned around.

That should do it.

The probability of Muhui going astray and becoming a villain is now zero. She’s started to rely on me completely and is pouring her emotions into me, so even if Akcheon tries something, she won’t fall for it.

“Phew…”

But I’m completely indulging my personal desires under the pretext of preventing them from becoming villains.

I wonder if this is really okay.

Actually, this is all because of Jeong Yeon.

Who would have thought she’d push me like that? Not that I disliked it.

I entered the men’s dormitory with a bitter smile.

I headed to my room, thinking I’d rest until it was time, but the moment I saw Gu Yeonhwa lingering in front of my door, I instinctively knew that rest was out of the question.

“Why are you here already?”

“Ah! Instructor! You’re late!!”

Gu Yeonhwa shouted in the hallway, stomping her feet.

There were still three hours left until our appointment, yet I was being scolded for being late. I had no idea what I’d done wrong.

“We need to have a party in your room, but why do you keep your door locked and won’t open it!”

“I’m pretty sure I said the party was at 6, so why are you here at 3?”

“For a party, we need cosplay, of course! I’ve brought various outfits, so try them on!”

“Are you confusing this with Halloween?”

“No way. Halloween is on October 25th.”

“It’s October 31st.”

“Anyway!”

She’s still as willful as ever.

But somehow, facing Gu Yeonhwa made me feel at ease. It felt like returning to a peaceful daily life, albeit a noisy one.

“Stop grinning like a pervert and tell me which outfit you prefer!”

…Look at how she talks.

It seemed like I needed to educate Gu Yeonhwa on proper behavior before the party.