Episode 239. Magic with Professor Im Sol! (6)

“Tsk.”

Im Sol covered her face with her hand and burst out laughing. The situation was funny, and her own state was funny. She laughed without caring about what others thought.

“… Professor?”

Seeing Im Sol suddenly burst out laughing, Lee Hoyeon tilted his head. ‘Why is she acting like this again?’ Were the words ‘Sol-i noona’ that funny? She had said them several times before. But Im Sol didn’t answer Lee Hoyeon’s question, just kept laughing and snickering.

“Why, why are you acting like this, Professor?”

Finally, just before Lee Hoyeon started feeling scared, Im Sol stopped her sudden laughter and caught her breath.

“Haa…”

And she let out a deep sigh. Now her chest felt relieved. Because she finally understood her own feelings.

‘I fell for it.’

I should have been more careful. She knew her lovely student was skilled in charming women. She knew about his very close friendships, not only with his friend Baek Ahyoung but also with other female students. She had never made a mistake in her magic calculations, yet she couldn’t control her own emotions. Im Sol let out a hollow laugh for the last time, finding her situation truly funny.

“… Are you alright?”

Lee Hoyeon cautiously looked at Im Sol, who had calmed down after suddenly bursting into laughter. Maybe she had fallen victim to some mental magic spell? ‘No, she doesn’t look like it… Besides, our Professor wouldn’t fall victim to that kind of magic.’ Hmm. Lee Hoyeon genuinely wondered why Professor Im Sol was acting like this.

Im Sol was still looking into Lee Hoyeon’s eyes, the corners of her mouth raised.

“Professor, perhaps…”

Just then, he was trying to check, just in case Im Sol had been brainwashed.

“You, you charmed Ahyoung like this too.”

“Cough! Kof, kofkofkof!”

At Im Sol’s bombshell statement, Lee Hoyeon started coughing like someone who had choked. ‘What is she even talking about?’ No, suddenly…? Is she just teasing me? Lee Hoyeon looked at Im Sol with panicked eyes, but Im Sol was wearing the same smile as always. That made it even scarier.

‘Stay calm.’ Even if you enter a tiger’s den, you can escape if you keep your wits about you. First, I needed to figure out why Im Sol was acting like this.

★ Heroine Status Window

[Im Sol]

• [Affection: 88]

• [Lust: 55]

• [Hunger: 40]

• [Fatigue: 40]

Current State: What should I do, I feel sorry for Ahyoung.

Her playful smile made her look like the ordinary Professor Im Sol, but… The rapidly increased affection level caught Lee Hoyeon’s eye. And the thought of feeling sorry for Ahyoung. Knowing Baek Ahyoung likes me, and thinking that… means the Professor has also developed feelings for me. ‘Why, though?’ Did she fall for me just because I said ‘Sol-i noona’ once? I needed time to grasp the situation first. Lee Hoyeon continued the conversation. To find clues in Im Sol’s words.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden, Professor.”

“Tell me honestly. How many people are you involved with?”

“… Involved with? What women do I have?”

Lee Hoyeon fell into thought listening to Im Sol’s words. Because the facts hit him too directly. ‘How far did she investigate? Since when? Did she pretend not to know until now?’ But no matter how much he thought about it, Lee Hoyeon couldn’t possibly know.

“Lies. You have tons of women.”

“… They’re all friends.”

For now, let’s get past this situation. And then, slowly…

“Oh? Then that’s fine.”

“Huh?”

Ttak-

Hearing Lee Hoyeon’s words, Im Sol lightly snapped her fingers. Then, blue mana soared into the sky from Im Sol’s body, and Lee Hoyeon’s eyes naturally followed the mana upwards. It was like magic used deliberately to draw people’s attention.

Pung-!

The moment Lee Hoyeon looked up at the sky, a small mana explosion occurred behind him.

“Wha, what?”

Lee Hoyeon, standing defenseless, lost his balance and took a step forward. He met the eyes of Im Sol, who was looking at him with eyes holding both playfulness and determination. Without even having time to realize what was happening, Im Sol naturally caught the falling Lee Hoyeon and went straight for his lips.

*

“Mmph, Pro- Professor!”

I looked at Im Sol’s lips, which had touched and disappeared in an instant, with bewildered eyes. Lips that had touched without me even feeling the softness properly. And the faint scent that remained. It was her sweet body scent that I felt whenever I got close to Im Sol. Unlike me, who couldn’t hide my panic, Im Sol calmly licked her lips.

“Why? It doesn’t matter. You said they were all friends.”

“… Professor. Th- things like this should be done after confirming each other’s feelings and getting the other’s permission…”

“Weren’t you just confessing to me?”

“…”

I had nothing to say. It was practically a confession. Actually, I only intended to raise the affection points with this, but maybe I said too much. Breaking Im Sol’s trauma was good, but…

“Hmm…”

Yeah. Getting closer to conquering her is good. All of this is good, but if it goes this way, a huge problem will arise. Setting aside Baek Ahyoung or the Lucy-Lumi twins, if Professor Im Sol gets involved like this, things become too complicated. To the point where it’s truly unmanageable. However, as if reading my mind, Professor Im Sol continued speaking.

“But I won’t accept it.”

“What?”

What kind of crazy talk is this? Part of me felt relieved, but I was also dumbfounded. Then why did she kiss me?

“My future husband has had set standards since long ago. You have to meet them.”

“What are the standards?”

I asked, looking at Im Sol who was smiling brightly. We’ve kissed and done more intimate things, and she still hasn’t met the standards? How far do I have to go?

“It’s a secret. It wouldn’t be fun if I told you.”

“… Then why did you kiss me?”

“Did you not like it?”

“That’s not it. Of course, I liked it.”

Of course, I liked it. A beautiful woman’s lips are always welcome. Of course… it would have been better if it happened somewhere quiet. ‘If this gets spread through the news again, how complicated will it get?’ Actually, it feels like it’s already become difficult to manage. Can this be passed off as camaraderie between a professor and student? Or should it be called an accident? While I was lost in complex thoughts, I heard voices from around.

• What the, I think Professor Im Sol was just over there.

• Student Lee Hoyeon was there too. Where did they go?

“What the.”

Hearing people’s conversation, I looked around. And my eyes widened. Because, before I knew it, a very thin mana barrier was covering us.

“… Were you kidding?”

“Yep. I was curious how serious my student was.”

To my bewildered question, Im Sol answered with a twinkle in her eyes.

“… Wow. Seriously. That’s too much.”

I was so flustered. Still, it’s a relief. If I had gotten serious or angry here, it would have been a real disaster. Of course, I probably wouldn’t have… but anyway, if people had seen, it would have gotten really troublesome.

“Tsk. So, are you satisfied?”

Im Sol smiled, raising the corners of her mouth.

“Not bad. My student.”

I touched my lips and smiled sheepishly. For some reason, I felt embarrassed looking at that face.

• Oh, they’re over there?

• It’s the security team! It’s already over, what are they doing!

• This is the security team! Professor Im Sol! Student Lee Hoyeon!

Before I knew it, the barrier surrounding us dissolved, and the security team and reporters approached. Im Sol looked at me confidently, as if her previously timid appearance was a lie.

“… Let’s go. I guess I can’t attend this afternoon’s class.”

“Hehe, I told you so.”

Thinking about the troublesome investigations to come, we approached the people.

*

“… Tsk.”

Fortunately, the investigation wasn’t long. But it didn’t end quickly either. Because there was an awkward amount of time left to attend the afternoon class. In the end, after getting permission from Professor Im Sol, who excused me from the afternoon class as well, I headed to the dormitory. For reference, Professor Im Sol returned to her lab with a beaming smile. I’m a bit confused about how to act towards her from now on… but it’ll probably be fine. Though I still don’t know what that condition is.

“Huh? Hoyeon, junior?”

Just then, I ran into a student council senior at the dormitory entrance. It was someone I remembered working with Surin noona.

“Oh, senior. Hello. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, yeah. Likewise. I was just coming down with some documents, looks like we missed each other.”

The student council senior smiled and shook the documents.

“Huh?”

“The participation form, I mean. Ah, are you coming back from the convenience store?”

“…?”

What is this person talking about now? Since I didn’t know the exact situation, I just played along for now. I tend to trust my intuition, and I got a gut feeling that ‘I shouldn’t ask what that is.’

“Ah… yes. That’s right.”

“I see. Looks like you just signed the form and went down. Well, you did come pretty early.”

“Uh, the form… Yes.”

I still couldn’t grasp the thread of this conversation. What form? And why is a signature coming up?

“Anyway, alright. I’m swamped with work too. Ah, your package arrived. Go check it!”

The student council senior chattered excitedly on his own before leaving.

“… What a weird person.”

How busy must one be to act like that. Tsk tsk. Speaking of which.

[Form]

[Signature]

It was a list of words that felt incredibly unsettling. Feeling a sense of dread for no reason, I quickly headed to my room and saw it there.

Kkiik-

A delicate hand emerging cautiously from the door taking the package left in front of it.

“…”

Kung-

After the door closed completely, I looked around. Fortunately, it seemed no one saw, as it was a time when students weren’t around… Even though I told her not to do that.

“Haa. What’s the big deal if I get a package a little late.”

The only one in the dorm at this hour is Liliana.

Ttirring-

I opened the familiar door and went inside.

• Hmm hmm hmm. I need to hide this before the others come.

And headed towards the living room where Liliana’s humming could be heard. Liliana, dressed in broadcast attire, was opening the package while shaking her head back and forth.

“You crazy succubus… I told you not to come out to get packages when I’m not here.”

“Huh? Ack. Wh- what! Class isn’t supposed to end for a while.”

Liliana looked up at me, hiding the contents of the package behind her back. Behind her back were piled things like chocolates, snacks, and jellies.

“… I’m not going to take them and eat them. Liliana, be careful when I’m not around. You’ll get caught and dissected if you’re not.”

“But! If I open them when you’re here, Nam Dahee takes them all… Nam Daeun wants to give them to her own sibling, and Nam Dahee wants to eat them herself!”

“I paid a lot, so you can just order double.”

“If I order too much and get caught, Nam Daeun will scold me…”

Seeing Liliana holding a jelly and looking dejected, I let out a hollow laugh. Because you laugh when you find something absurd.

“No, haa… Forget it, forget it.”

I didn’t understand why they fought over such things, but I decided to let it go. Because I was tired from the investigation. I tried to sit on the sofa, but then I noticed a document lying next to the package box Liliana was opening. It had a signature that looked exactly like my handwriting.

“… What is this?”

“Dunno. I thought it was a signature for the package, but it said ‘Student Council’.”

“Why is my signature on it? I don’t remember doing it.”

“… I thought it was for the package delivery and just did it.”

Liliana bowed her head deeply as if repentant.

“Is it okay to just say that so easily?”

When did she practice my signature? And how many packages did she secretly receive? ‘It’s fortunate she wasn’t caught somehow.’ I looked down at the document with genuine relief. The document read [Student Council Final Exam Commemorative Event Plan!].