episode_0019

Fortunately, those fears were unfounded. Though I don’t know for sure, Cheon Soyul, who probably deliberated for a bit, soon unlocked the door.

A rhythmic mechanical sound accompanied by a distinct click announced that the lock had disengaged.

But seeing that she didn’t open the door herself, it seemed she was still quite upset.

I let out a wry smile and opened the unlocked door myself. It was Cheon Soyul’s dorm room, a place I had visited numerous times before.

There was no reason to hesitate. In fact, if I lingered any longer and happened to get caught by the dorm manager, things would become even more troublesome.

Fearing someone might be peeking, I swiftly stepped inside and clicked the door shut.

Only after carefully checking that the door lock had re-engaged did I finally relax and turn around.

“Hey, come out.”

Then, I tapped on the mirror near the entrance, calling out to Cheon Soyul.

“Today, I specially bought your favorite flavor.”

Regardless of who was right or wrong, it was true that I had upset her, so with a generous spirit, I conceded on the menu choice, which we usually disagreed on.

Personally, I preferred the standard half-and-half set, with both seasoned and fried chicken…

Cheon Soyul, however, tended to prefer golden-colored chicken dusted with some incredibly strange, unknown savory powder.

Her magic was like that too; she seemed to have a lot of connections with gold. Anyway.

To be honest, once you started eating it, it was surprisingly tasty, so I didn’t particularly refuse it.

So, after today’s incident, I’d gone out of my way, using my own money, to pick up takeout from a shop near the academy campus.

“…”

Hmm.

But it seemed she was truly mad. There was no sign of her coming out.

Resigned, I took off my shoes and, without bothering to get the homeowner’s permission, walked down the short hallway into the living room.

It was obvious where she’d be. Whether in the bedroom or the bathroom, she’d be hiding her small body in some concealed space.

“…What are you doing in there?”

That’s what I thought just ten seconds ago.

I immediately had to change my mind.

My prediction was wrong. Unlike my guess that she’d be hiding somewhere like a sulking cat, Cheon Soyul was brazenly in the living room.

…With an empty green bottle casually placed beside her, as if she’d been drinking before I arrived.

I was initially flustered by that.

Cheon Soyul, drinking straight soju? No way.

The girl who was more thorough in her self-control than most high-ranking mages had polished off two bottles of soju without any snacks?

Her complexion wasn’t flushed, so it seemed the alcohol had metabolized somewhat, but even considering that, this was extremely rare.

As I, genuinely impressed, went to place the takeout chicken on the table.

“…”

Suddenly, I noticed a trace in my vision that I couldn’t just overlook.

Right around Cheon Soyul’s eyes.

“…Hey, you.”

I was genuinely flustered and stammered for a moment. Cheon Soyul glanced up at me, then quickly whipped her head away.

“What, why. Do you have something to say?”

“…”

She retorted curtly, but I couldn’t answer. I was in too deep a shock. For me, it was only natural.

Struggling to hide the slight dampness around her eyes, Cheon Soyul opened her mouth again.

“…If you don’t have anything particular to say, just leave the chicken and go home…”

“Did you cry??”

I didn’t even let her finish her sentence, bluntly pointing out her state.

“…”

Ah. Thinking about it belatedly, that might have been a bit too blunt. Cheon Soyul flinched, then glared at me askance, as if asking what kind of guy I was.

Did she want me to be more considerate on my own? But isn’t it your fault for having such excessive expectations, especially of me?

I held back those words with superhuman patience. I had a strong feeling that if I said them, I’d truly be kicked out without exchanging another word.

So, I merely let out a snicker and flopped down opposite Cheon Soyul.

“If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve bought some alcohol too. I didn’t expect you to be drinking alone…”

As soon as I said that, Cheon Soyul glared at me disapprovingly for a moment, then gestured with her eyes towards something behind me.

“…There are canned beers in the fridge.”

“Oh.”

“Bring them.”

I didn’t like her commanding tone one bit, but what could I do? After all, today I was here to comfort her.

I obediently nodded and stood up again, less than a minute after sitting down.

Opening the small refrigerator, I saw there were indeed three cans of beer inside.

Without hesitation, I took all three cans out, then closed the fridge with a thud.

Carrying the armful of canned beers, I returned. Cheon Soyul impudently wiggled her fingers, and I handed her a can without a word.

She expertly opened the can. I heard the fizz of the carbonation rising.

Before I could say anything, Cheon Soyul began chugging the canned beer. Gulp, gulp!

She didn’t even wait for me to suggest we drink together.

I stared at her with a bewildered expression, but Cheon Soyul, with audacious impudence, glared back at me as if to say, ‘What’s your problem?’

Utterly dumbfounded, I let out another wry laugh.

With no choice, I opened my own can and immediately poured the cold drink down my throat.

The beer’s unique sharp taste tickled my tongue as it flowed down my throat.

I decided to just open the takeout chicken right away. The phrase ‘chicken and beer’ wasn’t coined for no reason. If we were going to enjoy it, we should do it together.

I kindly tore open the pickled radish and set it out, then tried speaking to Cheon Soyul again, who was staring intently at the chicken.

“Now, talk to me.”

And only then did Cheon Soyul’s gaze return to me.

Especially today, she had been deliberately avoiding me.

“…What? What are you talking about?”

Cheon Soyul feigned ignorance, but I, having fully expected that, openly sneered and gestured with my chin at her.

“You’re not going to pretend avoiding me for three straight days never happened, are you? By now, you must have calmed down. I need to talk to you to understand. What’s all this about?”

“…”

An answer didn’t come immediately. Cheon Soyul remained silent, and I, holding back a sigh, tried to joke.

“You’re not avoiding me because of that incident from last time, are you? Not now, anyway. Thinking about how you were comforting yourself when we talked on the phone, it didn’t seem like you were bothered by it.”

I’d said it with a hint of a smile, hoping for any reaction – whether she’d get angry or embarrassed.

Unfortunately, it was neither.

“…It’s not that.”

Cheon Soyul lowered her voice, and I blinked in momentary confusion.

“What?”

“I said it’s not that. I told you I wasn’t bothered by what happened then. I just…”

“Just…?”

“…”

Cheon Soyul trailed off, then immediately closed her mouth when I questioned her again.

Just as I was starting to feel a little frustrated and was about to raise my voice ever so slightly.

“Haa.”

Cheon Soyul let out a sigh that felt entirely different from before, and picked up a can of beer.

Whether she wanted to speak with a bit more alcohol in her system, I couldn’t tell what was going on in her mind, but…

“…Phew.”

At least her expression after she set the can back down—that is, the clear gaze of Cheon Soyul finally looking properly at me…

…held a hint of sadness.

…It was a moment when I felt slightly flustered, unable to comprehend that sudden emotion.

“Right, avoiding you like this, without any explanation, without rhyme or reason, is probably disrespectful to you…”

Cheon Soyul began to speak.

‘So you knew it was disrespectful?’

I decided to keep that one thought, which almost broke the mood, safely to myself.

*****

“…Uh, so.”

Cheon Soyul’s entire story had concluded.

She, who had taken a gulp of canned beer with a sigh every time she spoke, was now fanning herself with her hand as if embarrassed.

“…So…”

And I was struggling to wrap my head around the story she had recounted for over ten minutes, and the complex emotions she had felt over the past three days…

…trying my best to understand it cleanly and summarize it in a single sentence.

The sense of unease she felt during the ranking match between Kim Yijun and me. And the subsequent deductions she made regarding my abilities.

Furthermore, the decisive reason she went down to her family home after ‘that incident’ with me, and, most importantly, the outline of the conversation she’d had with her mother.

I racked my brain to bring all of those things to a single conclusion as much as possible, and soon enough, I arrived at that conclusion.

I stared at Cheon Soyul with a utterly dumbfounded expression.

“Did you like me?”

Whiz! Thud!

And a chicken bone, charged with lightning, flew and embedded itself straight into the sofa behind me.

I swallowed dryly and rolled my eyes. It seemed I hadn’t been able to follow her movement just now.

When I made an effort to return my head to its original position and met Cheon Soyul’s gaze, she was blazing with a truly furious intensity I’d rarely seen before.

“…Calm down, friend. Would you please choose a more civilized way to converse?”

I tried somehow to calm her down, but it had little effect.

On the contrary, my words seemed to anger her more, and Cheon Soyul shrieked.

“What did you think I just said?!”

I reflexively covered my ears. The fact that her sharp, high-pitched voice was agony to simply listen to was something that could not be easily understood by anyone who hadn’t experienced it firsthand.

Damn, I must have touched a raw nerve.

No, but if she was talking about a son-in-law, didn’t that mean she had feelings for me?

I thought it was a reasonable deduction, but it seemed not to be the case from Cheon Soyul’s perspective.

She glared at me, huffing, her face flushed a deeper red than I’d ever seen.

“Who likes whom…! That’s impossible, you crazy bastard! I, I was just looking for a way to help you use Cheonroe!”

“…”

Hmm.

So, I’m asking how, while searching for ‘that method,’ you somehow arrived at the conclusion that you and I would get married, and that I would become the son-in-law of the Cheon family.

Cheon Soyul seemed to have completely misunderstood what I was trying to say.