Chapter 18: Seed

Christina quietly stared at the man before her.

A naive man who couldn’t hide his awkwardness, as if it were his first time visiting such a luxurious place.

“Tina. I’m not really used to places like this……”

The man’s identity was none other than Kim Soo-ho.

This situation was undoubtedly what she had always wished for.

A situation where she dined alone with Kim Soo-ho, the object of her affection.

Kim Soo-ho looked no different than usual.

His smile, still present even in an unfamiliar situation, was enough to make her heart race.

She, too, should have been feeling joy and happiness, rightfully so.

“…”

But the image of one person kept interfering.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Lee Seo-yeon, bowing her head to the floor, repeatedly apologizing until she finally couldn’t bear it anymore and fainted.

Lee Seo-yeon, whom she had rushed to the infirmary in panic, but who hadn’t regained consciousness even by the time she left the infirmary after receiving Kim Soo-ho’s message.

The image of Lee Seo-yeon desperately begging for her forgiveness wouldn’t leave her mind.

“Tina? Is something troubling you?”

How lost in thought had she been?

She only snapped back to reality when Kim Soo-ho called her name.

“Is something wrong?”

“Of course not. Nothing’s wrong, please don’t worry.”

“……Really? That’s a relief, then.”

Kim Soo-ho let out a sigh of relief, as if he could finally relax.

“By the way, you texted me first… Did you do it to accept the proposal I mentioned last time?”

“The proposal……”

“The engagement proposal. Surely you haven’t forgotten?”

“……I haven’t forgotten.”

A denial that he hadn’t forgotten.

That expression simply answered her question.

“……Seeing Soo-ho’s reaction, it seems it’s not acceptance.”

“I’m sorry it’s not the answer you wanted.”

Christina could easily discern the hidden meaning in the man’s sentence.

She had expected this, actually.

She hadn’t thought Kim Soo-ho would accept her proposal so easily.

Because he was that kind of a man.

Excellent in all fields, but more foolish than anyone when it came to romantic relationships.

“Well, it’s okay. I was kind of expecting it.”

“……I’m sorry, Tina.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I haven’t given up yet.”

Of course, she had no intention of giving up on the man before her.

He was the first person who saw her as ‘Christina Valentine,’ not just the Princess.

How could she give up on the man who saw her as a person, not a tool to be used?

Thinking this, Christina continued speaking.

“Shall we hear the reason why you called me out on a weekend? I’m a busier woman than you might think.”

“……You didn’t have prior plans, did you?”

“…”

She was speechless at the unexpected response.

To apologize here, asking if she had prior plans?

He was truly a foolishly kind man.

Well, that aspect appealed even more to her, having grown up in the Imperial Court, where people only tore each other down.

“Just kidding. I’m not particularly busy today.”

“Really? That’s good. I thought I was taking up your time.”

“I just teased you a bit because you looked troubled and cute.”

“……Stop joking around. I’ll get to the real point now.”

His face still flushed, Kim Soo-ho began speaking seriously.

“Tina, you were late recently, right?”

“……Yeah. I was late.”

“Did anything happen then?”

“…”

She instinctively hardened her face and observed Kim Soo-ho’s expression.

Kim Soo-ho’s expression remained the same.

A somewhat serious expression, but one that seemed to show consideration for her.

…The man before her didn’t know about what happened that day.

“Me, I’m going to die soon.”

He knew nothing about that morning when Lee Seo-yeon dropped a bombshell on her.

If he knew, he wouldn’t be able to maintain such a normal expression.

“……Nothing special happened. I simply overslept.”

“Really? That’s good. After you were late, you seemed out of it, so I thought something might have happened.”

It seemed her attempts at maintaining her composure after entering the classroom that day must have failed miserably.

Considering Kim Soo-ho, who could be considered clueless in these matters, was saying this.

“I’m sorry. I seem to have worried you unnecessarily.”

“No, it’s fine as long as nothing happened to you, Tina.”

“Thank you.”

“Actually, the reason I came to see you like this is because Seo-yeon told me to.”

“Seo-yeon… you mean she told you?”

The name of the person who had been constantly troubling her mind spilled out by the man in front of her.

“Yeah. Seo-yeon was also late that day, so I thought something might have happened between you two. But Seo-yeon told me to ask you directly.”

“……Did Seo-yeon not say anything else?”

“She didn’t say anything else, but……”

She had felt it earlier, but now she was certain.

Lee Seo-yeon hadn’t told Kim Soo-ho anything.

Honestly, she didn’t understand.

Even if they had grown distant lately, Kim Soo-ho was still Lee Seo-yeon’s childhood friend.

A friend who would immediately listen if Lee Seo-yeon said, ‘I’m struggling,’ or ‘Something happened.’

Why wouldn’t she say anything to Kim Soo-ho?

This felt less like simple distrust and more like resignation.

As if it meant nothing.

Like someone who believed that even if she told Kim Soo-ho, nothing would change.

Like someone firmly convinced that no matter how hard she tried, nothing in this world would change.

“……But, Seo-yeon was a bit strange.”

“…”

“Should I say she was sharper than usual? It felt like… watching a different person.”

Though he seemed unaware due to his cluelessness, Kim Soo-ho seemed to sense it to some extent.

That Lee Seo-yeon had changed.

That the difference between the Lee Seo-yeon he knew and the current Lee Seo-yeon was so vast, she was closer to being a different person.

Could that be why?

“……Soo-ho.”

“Yeah?”

“Does Seo-yeon perhaps have any trauma… or something related to that?”

Christina asked Kim Soo-ho a question she normally never would have.

A question she wouldn’t have asked, fearing Kim Soo-ho might start paying attention to Lee Seo-yeon again.

Fearing that Kim Soo-ho’s affection, which hadn’t been directed at anyone, might turn towards his childhood friend, Lee Seo-yeon.

“Trauma?”

“There was something that bothered me while Seo-yeon and I were training for the group assignment.”

“Right, you two are in the same party……”

“Yes. Do you perhaps know anything?”

“……Hmm. As far as I know, I don’t think anything happened that would cause Seo-yeon trauma.”

“…”

Impossible.

An academy student without trauma, fainting just because someone drew a whip?

She’d sooner believe Lee Seo-yeon was originally a man.

She knew it sounded absurd, but that’s how impossible it seemed.

“Why? Did something happen to Seo-yeon?”

“……No. It was just simple curiosity.”

However, Christina didn’t bother arguing with Kim Soo-ho.

Because the man before her truly knew nothing.

Because those clear eyes, untainted by falsehood, held no truth.

Unlike Lee Seo-yeon’s eyes, which only felt empty.

‘…Are they really childhood friends?’

For the first time, just a little, she felt pity for Lee Seo-yeon.

“Shall we get going soon?”

“Alright. Thanks for coming out today, even though I called you out of nowhere.”

“Don’t mention it. I’ll come out anytime you call.”

“……How can you say things like that without your expression changing at all?”

With those final words, Kim Soo-ho stood up and headed towards the academy’s main building.

He would probably head to the training ground to train.

The man named Kim Soo-ho, as she had observed him until now, was a hard worker who never skipped a day of training.

“……Shall I head back to the infirmary too?”

By now, Lee Seo-yeon would likely have regained consciousness.

Even if it wasn’t intentional, causing the trauma was her fault, so she needed to apologize accordingly.

So she decided to stop by the dorm, change back out of the clothes she had put on to meet Kim Soo-ho, and then head to the infirmary to apologize to Lee Seo-yeon.

Smack-

“…”

“Isn’t that the Princess’s clothes?”

“Wow, she’s really crazy.”

“Does this lowly **** think she can climb higher just because the Princess graced her by being in the same party?”

“Do you think you’re someone special just because the Princess teamed up with a **** like you?”

Until she saw Lee Seo-yeon, who should have been lying in the infirmary, surrounded and being assaulted by other students.

Until she saw those she thought were her loyal followers slapping her cheek right in front of her dorm room.

“……Seo-yeon?”

One always reaps what one sows.

Even if the farmer who sowed the seeds never anticipated it.