episode_0038

If Cheon Soyul was exactly like Pikachu, then wouldn’t this person be Raichu?

Setting everything else aside, in terms of being a final evolved form, there wouldn’t be much difference. Both in the mastery of lightning magic he had achieved, and in his fastidious personality.

For one, he was an acquaintance of mine. As a student council member and the runner-up of my year, we had met a few times. More than anything, wasn’t he the biological older brother of my closest friend? Even if only formally, we were bound to be introduced. But it wasn’t as if we had any significant closeness.

‘Why is the air a bit heavy……?’

If the atmosphere of the space surrounding Cheon Woohyuk and me felt like it had utterly sunk in this moment, was it merely my misunderstanding? Or perhaps I was just feeling guilty and immersed in paranoia.

Crackle…

It was immediately after that I realized it wasn’t a misunderstanding. A streak of lightning crackled around Cheon Woohyuk’s eyes, scattering sparks. That was also a phenomenon that occurred when Cheon Soyul was uncomfortable in any way. Considering that she and Cheon Woohyuk intrinsically practiced the same unique magic, there was no reason for the cause and effect to be significantly different. I quickly noticed that the man’s gaze, fixed on me, was filled with displeasure.

“……One thing.”

It was then that Cheon Woohyuk, who had only been holding my gaze for a while, opened his mouth.

“There’s something I’d like to ask.”

His eyes became even sharper. His already fierce impression became almost twice as intimidating in that moment. I instinctively realized what Cheon Woohyuk wanted to ask me. There was no doubt. It was a topic related to Cheon Soyul.

“Lee Hyunjin, are you……”

I unintentionally tensed up.

“Are you, by chance, currently dating my younger sister?”

Cheon Woohyuk’s question pierced me immediately. It was like a sharp injection needle.

“……”

Before answering, I paused briefly and stared straight into Cheon Woohyuk’s eyes. It was to try and read his intentions, but this person was incredibly skilled at maintaining a poker face. Should I say he was truly the ‘mage-like’ type? I decided to give up on trying to read anything from that inscrutable expression.

Yet, I couldn’t drag out my answer either. After all, he was Cheon Soyul’s biological older brother, and the question itself was perfectly reasonable for an older brother with a younger sister. I hesitated for a brief moment, my lips parting, before giving my answer…

“No, I am not.”

I decided to tell the truth. Setting aside our complex relationship that couldn’t be explained in a few words, if the question was whether Cheon Soyul and I were dating in the romantic sense, then no, we weren’t.

At that, Cheon Woohyuk slightly furrowed his brow and gazed at me intently. The faintly revealed emotion deepened ever so slightly at that moment.

“You’re not?”

“……Yes.”

“Hmm.”

“……”

“Is that so.”

“……”

“I see……”

“……Is something wrong……”

“No.”

Ah, I see. I quickly stopped myself from asking further and just nodded. Cheon Woohyuk’s firm, immediate reply broke my will to continue the conversation with him. The air awkwardly froze. Even though I hadn’t done anything, it was chillingly frozen…

I raised my head and looked up at the sky. The morning sun, now too bright to be called dawn, was shining down from above. I now had two options. One, to wait indefinitely for Cheon Woohyuk’s next words. Two, to run away.

‘Should I bolt?’

Inwardly, I was inclined towards the latter. Honestly, this encounter with Cheon Woohyuk wasn’t a very comfortable situation for me. How should I put it, it felt like a newlywed groom meeting his brother-in-law from his wife’s side. And the fact that he happened to ask, ‘Are you dating my younger sister?’ made that feeling even stronger. It was enough to make a delusion rise in my mind: if this were some cafe, wouldn’t I have been splashed with cold water?

Of course, I wanted to believe that the eldest son of the Cheon family, who was likely a person of common sense, wouldn’t commit such an uncivilized act. Ah, no, I *do* believe that.

Mountains are mountains, waters are waters [a Zen Buddhist saying about enlightenment and acceptance]. Just as I was waiting for Cheon Woohyuk to open his mouth, feeling like an immortal idly passing the time.

“……During this Cheongsong Festival, that is.”

Cheon Woohyuk finally opened his mouth. I returned my blank gaze to him. Cheon Woohyuk, who was also looking at me, frowned with a hesitant expression for a moment, then spoke with a sigh.

“Do you have some time?”

“Huh……?”

And I instinctively flinched, wrapping my arms around myself. Suddenly, the man in front of me began to overlap with Senior Seo Harin.

*****

Surely you’re not after my body too…! No! I’m heterosexual! If you come any closer, I won’t hesitate to resort to physical confrontation!

……Of course, nothing of the sort happened. I had just been confused for a moment; surely Cheon Woohyuk wouldn’t have spoken to me with such intentions. Cheon Woohyuk, who had momentarily received my wary gaze with a bewildered expression, soon tilted his head slightly as if it didn’t matter, and added further explanation.

– My mother wants to see you.

And that brief remark was enough to fluster me. I even made a subtle expression, unable to understand it for a moment after hearing it.

So… in this case, ‘Cheon Woohyuk’s mother’ would naturally mean Cheon Soyul’s mother. And wouldn’t that soon refer to this country’s Great Mage?

Manroe (Ten Thousand Thunder) Cheon Sehee. The founder of the family, a lightning mage so excellent that she was not inferior even to the Thunder God Monarch, practically vying for the world’s best in annihilation magic, surpassing even the nation.

Such a person wants to see me? And she even said it herself, directly?

‘……Why?’

As I was flustered, unable to dare guess the reason or the business she might have with me, another kind explanation came.

– By any chance, during the last vacation, did my younger sister make some ‘remark’ at the main family home…? Hmm, have you heard anything about it directly?

A tone that subtly tried to sound out how much I knew. Or a hint to help me understand without difficulty if I already knew something. In this case, I was, of course, the latter, so I could receive great help in guessing the reason.

In other words, wasn’t it because of that, after all? That embarrassing secret I heard directly from Cheon Soyul a few days after the school term began… Yes, it was indeed about that legendary ‘adopted son-in-law and so on’ remark, which would rank at least in her top 5 embarrassing moments in her not-so-short life.

‘I pretty much get it.’

I could immediately understand the situation. Indeed, was Cheon Soyul the kind of person who could sugarcoat her words well? Perhaps others wouldn’t, but her family would surely quickly notice her suspicious points from her tone or nuances. She must have thought she had hidden her words well, but unless the people present were fools, they probably immediately noticed the unusual atmosphere she exuded. In other words, it was Cheon Soyul’s naivety, which circumstantially confirmed suspicion almost 100%.

And upon hearing that story, Cheon Sehee must have harbored questions, and Cheon Woohyuk, suspicion. At the very least, he would know well that there were no male students Cheon Soyul hung out with other than me. So, during their mother-and-son conversation, my name must have eventually popped up.

Thankfully, Manroe seemed to have taken an interest in her youngest daughter’s almost unique male friend. Wow, how glorious. And so, somehow, a meeting with two Great Mages was already scheduled for me.

I buried my head in the desk and let out a silent sigh. Hah.

‘Why on earth are so many people interested in my Cheongsong Festival schedule?’

I already have appointments with several people. Starting with my parents and Master-nim, probably Jiwoo Noona, Senior Seo Harin, Manroe Cheon Sehee… At this rate, I wonder if I’ll end up with an appointment to meet Ryu Jinseong, or rather, Black Heaven, Ryu Seeun’s adoptive father. Haha.

“……”

No way, right?

Just as I was seriously considering whether I should harden my expression and preemptively threaten Ryu Seeun due to an ominous premonition, someone happened to tap the crown of my head from behind.

“You’re here early? What brings you here?”

“……”

I didn’t answer, but I knew who that person was even before hearing their voice. Especially because I had my eyes closed… her characteristic footsteps, infused with electricity, were clear. I lifted my head, and Cheon Soyul, who had casually set down her bag, tilted her head and looked down at me quizzically.

“……Why do you look so tired from this morning?”

She seemed to have noticed my somewhat fatigued complexion. I deliberately let out a loud sigh and looked up at her disdainfully.

“Because of you, I live a truly difficult life.”

“Huh?”

“Take responsibility and offer yourself up. I need some healing.”

I reached out towards Cheon Soyul’s adorable chest, and Cheon Soyul, noticing the dark intention of my approach, blushed crimson and immediately jabbed a knuckle on the crown of my head. Thud!

……It hurt quite a bit. Not a ‘thump,’ but a ‘thud.’

I clutched my head, groaning in pain. And Cheon Soyul covered her chest with one hand and pointed an accusing finger at me.

“Y-You crazy bastard! I told you to mind the time and place ever since last time…!”

There weren’t many, but there were still a few other kids in the classroom. So she whispered, telling me not to be heard, but it somehow looked like she was getting scared preemptively, which made me burst into laughter. Cheon Soyul’s eyes flared with anger.

“This bastard is laughing?”

“My bad.”

“If your urges are so uncontrollable, just take care of it yourself! Don’t always rely on me! Ha, honestly, really…”

Cheon Soyul glared at me disapprovingly, mumbling. Yet, the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, ever so slightly, so it seemed she didn’t utterly dislike physical intimacy. Was this a push-and-pull game? For instance, perhaps she was worried I might develop bad habits if she indulged me too much.

With my competitive spirit needlessly activated, I tried speaking words that felt like, ‘I accept that challenge!’ taking a step back.

“Hmph, no choice then. I’ll go find the top-ranked junior….”

“Hm?”

“……”

“Uhh?”

“……That was a slip of the tongue.”

I immediately retracted my words. I realized how terrifying a voice could be when it wasn’t angry, but merely asked questions without any intonation. Baek Ayun seems to view her kindly as a friend, but our wife-nim completely wipes away any trace of a smile whenever Ryu Seeun is mentioned. I’ll need to learn from this.

“Hyunjin-ah.”

“What.”

“Let’s do well.”

“……Okay.”

Sure enough, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being completely under her thumb. How did things turn out this way? It was a moment that made me contemplate the dangers of a one-night stand anew.

*****

1st: Lee Hyunjin (1135 points) 2nd: Cheon Soyul (1127 points) 3rd: Kim Yijun (986 points) 4th: Baek Ayun (955 points) 5th: Kanzaki Rie (921 points)

There wasn’t much difference between this week’s ranking board and the one from the first day of school. At least in the top ranks, there were no changes at all. I gained 12 points, and conversely, Kim Yijun lost 12 points. Following that, Cheon Soyul gained 17 points, and Baek Ayun lost 17 points. It seemed Cheon Soyul’s score went up 5 points more than mine, likely reflecting that it took her less than a minute to defeat Baek Ayun. At this point, I was also starting to feel the necessity of being on guard.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that I lost the top spot at the last minute and lived with the humiliating nickname ‘perennial runner-up,’ now even the #1 spot in the ranking matches could be recaptured?

‘That cannot happen.’

I resolved myself and prepared for today’s ranking matches. I approached the kiosk-like monitor, started searching for a match, and prayed.

Please, not Kanzaki, please, not Kanzaki!

Seeing as her score dropped by 10 points, she probably met a female student two weeks ago. To put it another way, based on the Law of Gender Preservation (?) in ranking matches, there was a high probability she would meet a male student this time. Of course, no such strange law exists… But don’t ranking matches have jinxes? When I calculated the probability a little more meticulously, it was an established fact that either I or Kim Yijun would face Kanzaki or Baek Ayun. At this point, I couldn’t deny that Baek Ayun was also a rather uncomfortable opponent. But given the timing, Kanzaki Rie was more dangerous.

After waiting for about 10 minutes.

Shimmer—

A shimmering glow, signaling a successful match, enveloped my body. I reflexively looked up at the monitor and cheered inwardly. Two matches were caught at the same time.

[Left: Lee Hyunjin (1135 points) vs Right: Baek Ayun (955 points)]

First, one was me versus Baek Ayun.

[Left: Kim Yijun (986 points) vs Right: Kanzaki Rie (921 points)]

The second was Kim Yijun versus Kanzaki. I turned my head and checked Kim Yijun’s demeanor, which happened to catch my eye. His expression was almost as crumpled as if he had swallowed a thorn. With a much more relaxed mind, I decided to wish him good fortune. Still, wasn’t he supposedly a seeker of the sword? I figured he could endure it to some extent with mental strength. Although, I would have to finish my own match quickly in the meantime.

With contrasting emotions on our faces, Kim Yijun and I were then moved to the virtual dungeon.

“Please kill me.”

I found myself facing Baek Ayun, who had neatly taken off her shoes and was prostrating herself before me in apology.

“……”

What is wrong with her, really.