Ch.58Blue Sky 5

The professor took a sip from the glass.

The blue sky disappeared into her mouth like a fleeting illusion.

“Ah.”

At that moment.

The professor’s hair swayed with a pure elegance.

Soon her eyes gradually turned blue.

All the students stared blankly at the professor’s mysterious appearance.

Her image was as refreshing as the protagonist of a youth film.

She rubbed her eyes as if she couldn’t believe the drink she had just tasted.

Then her eyes returned to their original black color.

Thanks to that, the professor regained her composure and was able to give her evaluation.

“Sweet like cotton candy… and smooth.”

She picked up her pen and grade sheet.

Then she began taking notes to remember the sensation she had just experienced.

“It has quite an alcohol content for a potion.”

The wolf girl stared intently at the professor’s scribbling pen.

I gently stroked her shoulder to ease her tension.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”

After all, it was a 5-star cocktail.

Even I had just succeeded in making it for the first time—it couldn’t possibly receive a poor evaluation.

Indeed, cocktails aren’t about ingredients or venue.

The most important thing is the heart behind making it for someone.

Even if an elegant Kir sits before you, if a customer has fond memories of cheap beer, that would be the more valuable drink.

And for the wolf girl who couldn’t adapt to the group…

Blue Sky was the perfect drink.

“Now, I’ll announce the results.”

The professor’s pronunciation was slightly slurred, as if her tongue had loosened.

Blue Sky definitely has some alcohol content…

“First place in this practical exam goes to…”

The classroom fell completely silent.

All students held their breath waiting for the results.

This was the subject with the highest credit value this quarter.

“Intermediate class student, Lee Mi-rim’s team.”

The professor announced, pointing to an ordinary-looking white potion.

All the students wore stunned expressions.

It was a potion that hadn’t received any attention until now.

“Student Mi-rim’s recipe mixed angelica and licorice to maintain both taste and nutrition. The 500ml volume gives it a nice beverage feel.”

The professor smiled as she read out the results.

The elite girls listened with their arms crossed, looking displeased.

But among them, only Sohee, who had exchanged telepathy with me, maintained a calm expression.

That’s because in this practical, up to second place would receive an A.

“Now, for second place…”

The elite girl took a deep breath.

Her blue bob hair swayed gently.

Jiyoon was the same.

The girl unconsciously linked arms with me.

I could feel a subtle trembling from her arm.

I rested my head on Jiyoon’s shoulder.

“The supplementary class’s Seo Jiyoon team.”

The professor smiled and pointed at us.

Gradually, the sound of students’ applause began to fill the room.

Jiyoon’s large eyes wavered at the acclaim she was hearing for the first time in her life.

She choked up, as if she couldn’t believe she had received an A.

I whispered to her.

“Congratulations, Jiyoon. You did it with your own hands.”

The girl slowly looked at me.

And with a trembling voice, she said:

“Thank you, Siho. This is my first time ever getting an A…”

Jiyoon hugged me tightly.

Her hands around my waist tightened with force.

“Wait, just a second…”

I groaned as the wolf girl’s grip cut off my breath.

I felt pain as if my spine might break.

Only then did she apologize and release me.

Though it was just a brief embrace, a subtle dog-like scent emanated from her body.

“The taste is excellent, and the effect is almost as remarkable as an elixir…”

The professor explained with a reddened face.

Her tongue seemed completely loosened already?

“But… if there’s a drawback, it’s that it makes you drunk?”

She swayed slightly with her finger raised.

The teacher seems weak to alcohol.

“It would be problematic to get drunk during a raid, wouldn’t it? That’s why you narrowly missed first place-.”

Despite the professor’s explanation of the drawback, Jiyoon still looked happy.

I tidied her disheveled hair.

As long as she’s happy, that’s all that matters.

It’s her first A, after all.

After explaining the drawback to Jiyoon, the professor gradually turned to look at me.

“And Siho.”

“Yes?”

I answered while still fixing the wolf girl’s hair.

The teacher then spoke with a serious expression, as if her intoxication had suddenly cleared.

“I need to check something, so would you come with me to the faculty office?”

Here it comes.

My hair stood on end.

She had noticed my name wasn’t on the grade sheet.

She probably wanted to verify my identity at the faculty office…

“Ah, yes…”

I followed her out of the lab, my face pale.

Jiyoon watched with concern as I left.

The professor and I walked through the academy corridor.

She walked slightly ahead of me with her hands behind her back.

“Siho, you’re a transfer student, right?”

The professor asked me as if talking to herself.

“That’s right…”

The professor looked at a flower blooming in a pot.

It was the nameless flower I had been staring at before attending class.

“You seem to have become quite close with Jiyoon already.”

“Yes, I’d say we’re pretty much best friends now.”

I answered with a smile.

At the mention of “best friends,” the professor turned her head slightly.

And looked at me with a wistful expression.

“Thank you…”

She expressed her gratitude in a gentle tone.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that child look so bright.”

The teacher knew it too.

That Jiyoon was struggling with academy life.

“Jiyoon was always so timid that she hesitated even to use her abilities.”

The professor calmly started walking again.

I followed her, maintaining my distance.

“I was worried… especially since she was always alone…”

The professor quickened her pace as if regretting sharing too much with a student.

I asked her:

“Then, could it be that you let me join the practical despite being late because…?”

I finally understood the professor’s intention.

As if responding to my question, she continued walking steadily and said:

“That’s right, because Jiyoon needed a friend.”

At her words, my eyes wavered subtly.

Perhaps Jiyoon wasn’t truly alone at the academy.

Realizing the teacher’s deeper meaning, the corners of my mouth turned upward.

I said to her quietly:

“I feel relieved too.”

“…”

At my words, the professor stopped in her tracks.

“Because someone like you, who cares so much about your students, is by Jiyoon’s side.”

The professor was speechless at the unexpected compliment.

She cleared her throat, trying to change the subject.

To maintain her dignity as a professor.

“By the way, that was my first time tasting such a drink.”

I chuckled at her praise.

And lowered my head slightly to hide my smile.

“How can just 50ml restore 70% of one’s stamina? And instantly at that!”

“Haha… it’s nothing special.”

I scratched my head at her praise.

I had no way to explain the cocktail buff created by my Angelic Hand.

“Nothing special? This is an incredible talent.”

The professor solemnly refuted as if she had made a great discovery.

She turned to face me with her fists clenched.

“The reason we’re going to the faculty office is because of your cocktail. I need to report it to the academic society as a new paradigm in potions…”

She began speaking with increasing excitement.

I gradually backed away from her burdensome words.

If this continues, things would only escalate further.

Oblivious to my concerns, she began walking quickly toward the faculty office.

“Anyway, let’s hurry to the faculty office. I’ll make sure to place you in the graduating class…!”

But despite the professor’s enticing offer, there was no response from the female student.

Sensing something amiss, the professor slowly turned her head.

“Siho…?”

The female student had already vanished without a trace.

As if by magic.

“Haah…”

I barely managed to hide behind the building.

If I had followed the professor, I would have been caught as an outsider.

Thankfully she reacted slowly due to the alcohol; otherwise, I might have been expelled from the school right then.

Sweat had soaked the crossbody bag on my shoulder.

I finally took off my bag and took a deep breath.

At least I learned one good thing from this.

That there was someone who cared about Jiyoon.

Under such a good professor, the girl would surely manage well.

I hope she advances from the supplementary class to the elite class, just like Seah.

“Ah.”

Thinking of advancement reminded me of Seah.

I quickly took out my phone.

“Right, she must be worried…”

When I unlocked it, dozens of missed calls had accumulated.

Along with an alarming number of messages…

I slowly pressed the call button.

But…

“—.”

The call tone suddenly cut off.

Soon the mobile phone automatically shut down.

Despite having plenty of battery left.

My eyebrows twitched.

It felt as if someone had deliberately blocked the communication.

“Hey.”

This voice…

My body started to feel cold, as if the temperature had dropped.

I instinctively looked around at the sensation.

“All alone now?”

It was Sohee, the telepath.

She slowly emerged from the darkness with two other female students.

“I told you, didn’t I? That I wouldn’t let this slide.”

The girl looked me up and down with her arms crossed.

She asked me with a sharp gaze:

“Who are you? I’ve never seen your face before.”

As if igniting her sensitive nerves, the girl standing beside her pointed at my white shirt.

“She deliberately wears her shirt small. Thinks it makes her chest look bigger?”

In response, another girl clicked her tongue.

Looking at me as if I were an insect.

“She’s obviously a loser from the supplementary class, trying to seduce some popular guy.”

“Did you see how she pressed her crossbody bag against her chest earlier? She’s desperate to get married. Really-.”

In my opinion, those parrots hanging on either side of Sohee contributed most to her anger.

Their baseless assumptions had already reduced me to a slut in their minds.

“So now that you’re done with your looks, are you trying to help an outcast to create a kind image?”

Sohee slowly approached and whispered to me.

Then she stared at my chest and lightly slapped it with her palm.

Perhaps because the aphrodisiac hadn’t fully left my body.

That stimulation made me let out a short moan.

“If you’re a slut, act like one.”

She took out a jackknife from her jacket.

As expected of the academy’s queen bee, she didn’t settle for a simple box cutter.

I slowly backed away.

What kind of girls carry daggers around…

I gripped my crossbody bag tightly and turned around to flee.

But.

The girl who had been provoking Sohee from the side snapped her fingers.

Suddenly, the broken desks piled behind the school began to stir.

Soon the desks floated into the air, blocking the path I had come through.

“Where do you think you’re going-.”

I was gradually being cornered.

They seemed excited, as if they had found a new toy, their lips curling upward.

“The wolf bitch and the slut. Nice. A perfect match.”

Sohee muttered in a sinister voice.

Why is it?

Why are strong people always so desperate to torment others?

“J-just try coming closer…”

I concentrated all my strength into one hand.

I would immediately subdue anyone who approached with my Angelic Hand.

“—.”

The telekinetic girl easily noticed the light emanating from my hand.

A subtle green light flashed in her eyes.

“Ugh…”

My body gradually began to paralyze.

No matter how much I struggled, I became frozen as if buried in snow.

Pathetic.

From the start, she was an opponent I couldn’t even resist, let alone defeat.

Had Jiyoon been enduring bullying from girls like these all alone?

Sohee’s hand reached for my white shirt.

She poked at my taut shirt.

Soon she inserted her fingers between the buttons of my shirt.

Eventually, my buttons began to unfasten one by one.

“Girls, turn on your phones. We need to post this on Instagram. Label her as our school’s ‘bitch’.”

The parrots simultaneously raised their phones.

“Smile-.”

Their camera screens gradually began to focus on me.

As the white shirt slipped down, a black bra was revealed.

Sohee stared blankly at the cleavage.

At the black spot that moved with each breath.

The girl’s eyebrows twitched.

The girl raised her nose, and her mouth began to open gradually.

“Sohee, what’s wrong?”

Despite her friends’ questions, Sohee couldn’t readily answer.

She just panted, following my pale pink breaths.

The bridge of her nose began to redden.

The girl gradually pressed her body against mine.

“You… seem to have a nice scent…”

What’s suddenly wrong with her?

The girl lifted my tied hair.

And began sniffing my scent.

Meanwhile, my white shirt slowly slid down over my shoulders.

The girls watched this scene with incomprehension.

This was like…

Rather than introducing the school’s bitch, it felt like watching an adult video with a school concept.

Soon, the faces of the girls who had been insulting me also began to flush red.