Episode 551. Confession (5)

For a moment, finding peace of mind and body while feeling Lee Hoyeon’s body heat, Moon Surin uncrossed her arms and said.

“I tried to act composed, but the matter regarding the dungeon was a bit shocking. The battle with Lucifer was so fierce that I too missed Rebecca-ssi’s words.”

“I’m sorry….”

Slurp-

Moon Surin brought the coffee cup to her lips and swallowing the coffee, let out a wry smile.

Even if the magic circle was stolen by Lucifer, what was the meaning of installing such a magic circle in the first place? She couldn’t understand.

“No. Actually, I don’t quite understand, but… Hoyeon will probably explain it slowly.”

“….”

There was nothing to explain. Surin noona seemed to think there was some huge secret.

“Um, well… There’s no particular secret to explain. I haven’t hidden anything from you either.”

“I guess I’ll have to throw away all these documents. The reorganization of the security team… maybe I should reconsider.” Moon Surin began to sort through the security team reorganization papers, which took up most of the documents. Should I call it fortunate? Now that I know Lee Hoyeon is the culprit, a lot of unnecessary work has been reduced.

Seeing Moon Surin focused on work while ignoring his words, Lee Hoyeon tried to continue speaking, but seeing her expression, he shut his mouth.

‘…She doesn’t seem to want to hear it right now.’

Moon Surin also had her own defense mechanisms. She was someone who prided herself on trusting and loving Lee Hoyeon more than anyone. But precisely because of that, she didn’t want to see Lee Hoyeon’s bad side. No matter what she saw, her love wouldn’t change, but unlike 101 Dalmatians, hearing about eleven women directly from the source now. Moon Surin found it difficult to process any more information.

“What do you think about the security team? Should we cancel the reorganization after all?”

“…Yes. The security team is doing a good job. Having them lose their jobs because of me feels a bit wrong. Oh, and the knights who worship me as a hero are also a burden, but….”

“I know Hoyeon feels guilty, but if the truth were revealed, the shock to those who suffered from the terrorism would be too great. People are cheering for the emergence of a young hero.”

“…That’s true. I have an image to maintain.”

“And we can’t send Hoyeon to jail. … Sometimes, don’t we need a white lie?”

Sigh. Lee Hoyeon smacked his lips. Honestly, he knew it wouldn’t work out. Maybe before he was treated like a hero, but now that it had spread like this, there was no turning back.

‘Lucifer isn’t the end. I just need to kill the Demon King too.’ Lee Hoyeon still had a lot left to do.

“Thanks to Hoyeon, my work disappeared, so I have more time now.”

“…That’s fortunate.”

It was truly precious that the trouble caused by Lee Hoyeon disappeared thanks to Lee Hoyeon. Could I even say it was thanks to me in the first place?

“Since I have more time, is there anything you want to do with me, Hoyeon?”

“I don’t really have anything. Maybe because you made it, this coffee is delicious too.”

“You went through so much fighting Lucifer, want to do something nice?” Moon Surin raised the corners of her mouth and pressed her shoulder firmly against Lee Hoyeon. The sight of her crossing her legs and leaning her shoulder against him made his heart race, even without any revealing clothing. But today… even Lee Hoyeon, the embodiment of lust, wanted a break. He was extremely tired, both physically and mentally.

“…I’d like to spend that kind of time with you too, but how about we take it easy today? I feel like I’m getting worn out from exhaustion and becoming lethargic.”

“Mmm, that makes sense too.”

Lee Hoyeon barely managed to suppress his rising lust. Even for a bad boy, doing lewd things in this situation would make him too much of a scumbag. Looking at Moon Surin’s expression, it almost seemed like she was hoping for something lewd, but taking a break for just today should be fine.

“Then shall we just stay together? I like that too.”

“Yeah. … I like that too. Surin.”

Lee Hoyeon moved even closer to Moon Surin. Moon Surin naturally leaned her body against him and rested her head on his shoulder. Moon Surin, who had closed her eyes for a moment, opened them and clapped her hands clap.

“Right. I have something I prepared for Hoyeon.”

“For me?”

Snap-

As Moon Surin snapped her fingers, the desk drawer opened, and two tea bags floated over into Lee Hoyeon’s teacup. Lee Hoyeon blinked and watched the change in the coffee. The sweet and bitter coffee’s color gradually turned into a strange hue.

“…What is this?”

“The owner of a cafe I know made it into a tea bag for me. Try drinking it.”

Lee Hoyeon carefully picked up the coffee cup and sniffed it. A sweet scent tickled his nose. When he brought the cup slightly to his lips, a sweet yet subtle rose scent lingered in his mouth. After a moment, his mouth felt refreshed like after eating mint, and then suddenly, a spicy taste began to emerge.

“…This is quite the wake-up call.”

It only came back to him after he tasted it. Clair Rose Latte. A drink Moon Surin liked, one that was highly polarizing.

‘There was definitely coffee in it… is this magic?’ Back when I was trying to win over Moon Surin, and only drank this, I thought I had adapted somewhat, but drinking it again after so long, it’s still a difficult taste to get used to.

“Hoyeon, you used to like Clair Rose Latte too. Since it’s a prototype, there aren’t many tea bags yet, but I saved some thinking of you.”

“Was it Nakwol? The cafe in front of the Academy. Did they make this there?”

“You remember!”

“Of course. Back then, you kept calling me ‘Junior-nim. Junior-nim.'”

“It’s a memory, right? Junior-nim.”

Clair Rose Latte. It was the drink Moon Surin had been drinking since their first meeting. Rummaging through his memories with his memory enhancement ability, he recalled it.

‘A lot happened with Surin noona too.’ From the first meeting, the stalker incident, the incident where her dorm was attacked, and the matter involving Moon Surin’s father. Various memories surfaced one by one.

‘I wonder if my father-in-law in the medical team is okay.’ Since the entire Academy was kidnapped, he must have suffered some damage. Lee Hoyeon gently held Moon Surin’s hand, who was wearing a happy expression while drinking the Clair Rose Latte.

“Noona. Speaking of which, is Father-in-law okay?”

“Hmm… yeah? Actually, after this recent terrorism, he seems to be doing even better. When I went to see him with Grandpa. No, the Chairman, he seemed fine walking around.”

“Then shall we make time to visit him together?”

“Okay. Since Dad is discharged from the hospital and still has some time left to pay for his crimes.”

“Ah.”

Ahem.

At Moon Surin’s words, Lee Hoyeon coughed and turned his head. She had definitely said something like that when the mother and daughter reunited.

– I will make him pay for all the crimes he committed when Father was a fiend.

At the time, the two of them accepting it so naturally looked admirable, but now that I’ve done something wrong myself, my conscience is pricking me. Like Moon Sungmin, shouldn’t I also pay for the crime of creating a fake dungeon magic circle? Of course, Lee Hoyeon tried not to cause any victims while creating the dungeon, and Moon Sungmin, who had fallen into a fiend, killed hundreds or thousands of people, so the nature of the crimes is different.

“Why, Hoyeon?”

“…No. Is Father-in-law turning himself in then?”

“Hmm, that’s a sharp observation. Honestly, I want to put my father in jail, but… doing so would cause immense shock to the Academy. The court can’t hide the fact that I’m related to him, so… And putting him in jail without legal judgment would be meaningless…” Moon Surin fundamentally had a righteous personality, but she didn’t win the position of student council president by playing ddakji. She cherished the Academy and felt a responsibility to protect it as its student council president. This means she was realistic enough to tell lies without her expression changing. If Moon Sungmin faced legal judgment, the Academy’s authority would be tarnished. What is said by day is heard by birds, and what is said by night is heard by mice. That level of scandal is something that cannot be hidden, no matter how hard one tries.

“What does the Chairman think?”

“Grandpa seems to want to let it slide. But we can’t just let it slide. He’ll have to pay for his crimes by running a orphanage for the rest of his life.”

“So he’s completely stepping away from the Academy.”

“Of course. After neglecting the Academy for over ten years, he can’t just try to get involved now. Absolutely not. I refuse.”

“Hmm…”

Running an orphanage for life doesn’t erase the sins committed, but… if turning himself in causes harm to those around him, that’s something to consider. He was in no position to decide who was right. The choice should be left to Moon Surin’s family.

‘Hoyeon seems weak.’ Moon Surin frowned, looking at Lee Hoyeon. The unease still lingered on his face. She knew why he was acting like that. He was probably thinking about the wrongdoings he committed. She knew it was Hoyeon’s fault, but family comes first. Seeing the powerless Lee Hoyeon, she wanted to do something for him. Moon Surin pondered for a moment before slowly speaking.

“Looking at the results, Hoyeon, you didn’t cause any deaths, right? Because of the healing space or whatever, no one died… Most injuries were minor. The Academy’s medical team reported that there were no reports of psychological distress either.”

“…That’s truly fortunate.”

Thanks to Lucifer using up a lot of mana, the dungeon lost most of its abilities. Because of that, the dungeon’s traps didn’t activate at all. While there weren’t zero casualties, the injured were treated in the healing space, and since most of them were combat personnel, it seems there were no psychological damages either. However, even knowing that, his hunched shoulders didn’t straighten.

‘…Sigh. I need to stop showing this pathetic side.’ Lee Hoyeon took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. I’ve said what I needed to say, so let’s face this head-on.

“Argh-! I don’t know! Let’s stop talking about this now.” Moon Surin, shaking her head vigorously, snatched the Clair Rose Latte that was in front of Lee Hoyeon and gulped it down. The cool taste lingering in her mouth eased Moon Surin’s mood slightly.

“Regarding visiting Dad, I’ll schedule it as soon as possible, so let’s talk about it again then. Okay?”

“Mm, I understand. No, I understand.”

Lee Hoyeon smacked his lips, watching Moon Surin’s suddenly heightened energy. He had intended to show that kind of side first, but she beat him to it.

“Is there anything else you want to do? Since Hoyeon has to go and have a meeting with the security team, tell me now. Or you can leave a message.”

“…Then, I have one request, Noona.”

Shamelessly. Lee Hoyeon burdened Student Council President Moon Surin with more work.

*

“Take care.”

“You worked hard too, Junior-nim~.”

“…Yes. Thank you.”

Coming out of the student council president’s office, Lee Hoyeon bowed to his student council seniors and headed for the elevator. The seniors, despite being part of the student council, treated the junior who rarely showed up very kindly. Well, they must be good people to be in the student council. That Vice President guy was the exception.

Clunk-

Riding the elevator, Lee Hoyeon felt a sense of emptiness. He had been incredibly nervous, but it ended up being surprisingly anticlimactic.

“…Surin noona is really kind.” Surprisingly, she was lenient towards him and prioritized Lee Hoyeon’s position over her own. The reason was obvious: she liked Lee Hoyeon. She trusted him, no matter the circumstances.

‘Why was I agonizing over this? It was such an easy matter.’ While he was grateful for her kindness, the fact that things resolved so easily made him feel relieved.

“Let’s not take it for granted. I need to get my act together.” It was somewhat natural for the heroines to be lenient towards him. The heroines were all lacking something, and it was Lee Hoyeon’s role to fill that void. After all, he was the one who had conquered them. He felt guilty again for no reason, but he absolutely shouldn’t show such a pathetic side again. What they wanted wasn’t for Lee Hoyeon to hang his head in shame. It would be better if he confidently declared his love instead.

[Ding dong- Floor 2.]

Slide-

“Ah. I came to the second floor instinctively.” The club room where the Lucy and Lumi twins were. Since he always stopped by after meeting Moon Surin, he must have pressed the second floor button subconsciously.

‘Everyone must be resting in the dorms. The dungeon was tough.’ Let’s just go to the club room. Even though I’m alone, I guess I can clean up a bit. Since I always left it to the twins, it was worth doing it myself for once.

[Let’s Play Club]

It was a familiar name. Lee Hoyeon checked the club’s cheap-sounding name and tried to enter.

– Shh. Someone’s here outside.

– No way, did they follow us all the way here? Ugh….

However, familiar presences and voices leaked from the club room.

“Huh?”

What are you guys doing here?