episode_0088

“What are you doing, Hyunjin! I left you alone for a moment, and now you’re boldly slacking off?”

“…”

The sharp voice from the kitchen pierced my ears and struck me forcefully.

It so happened that Cheon Soyul and Kanzaki were both off duty on the same day, so Rachel was effectively leading the booth.

She seemed quite displeased to see me idly wasting time in front of Seo Harin Senior-nim, but… I felt wronged too.

‘Hmph hmph’, I sighed, staring with cold eyes at Seo Harin Senior-nim, who was sound asleep with a very comfortable expression.

How could I return to work so casually, as if nothing had happened, leaving someone like this?

Though I might be a scoundrel known for trashy behavior, I wasn’t capable enough to be so utterly brazen.

Helplessly, I diligently looked around.

Perhaps there might be an acquaintance of hers.

If so, I would have half-forced them to take care of her, saying ‘please take care of her,’ and fled alone again. Unfortunately, such luck didn’t exist for me.

Besides, even if there really was a third-year student, I wouldn’t be able to tell if they were an acquaintance of Seo Harin Senior-nim or not…

‘This is really, incredibly troublesome.’

I felt a suffocating tightness, as if my heart was being squeezed, and bit my lip.

Doesn’t this mean I ultimately have to deal with this black-haired drunkard myself?

There was no one else who could take care of her. I had a conscience, so I couldn’t just abandon her and run away.

Helplessly, I closed and then opened my eyes, first standing up.

My intention wasn’t to abandon her and leave. I merely cleared the table and walked towards the kitchen, approaching Rachel.

She glared at me with extremely displeased eyes. I awkwardly scratched my cheek.

“Rachel.”

“Oh my, you’ve finally come. Was a little slacking off very sweet?”

“I think I need to step out for a bit.”

And then, at the next words I immediately uttered, Rachel’s expression turned blank.

It was a reaction that looked as if she hadn’t quite grasped what she’d heard.

But that was only for a moment.

“Whaaat…?”

Soon, the blonde girl, whose blank expression twisted into a grimace like a malevolent spirit, spread her fingernails as if to kill me.

“Hyunjin, can’t you see how busy it is here right now? It’s not enough that you were slacking off alone, now you’re saying you’re leaving entirely? Are you serious?”

“…Let’s talk after you put your nails away. What, are you some kind of feline beast or something?”

I instinctively took a step back and raised my hands to calm her down. Aside from everything else, even a great mage would naturally be on edge if threatened by such sharp, mana-infused fingernails.

Rachel, not abandoning her displeased attitude, lowered her raised hand and placed it on her hip.

“Haa, so what is it? Let’s hear it. Did your fiancée suddenly call for you? Is that why you have to rush off right away?”

“…It’s not that. And why did her name suddenly pop up in the first place?”

“Why are you acting surprised? I’m just trying to tease you a bit, Hyunjin.”

At my slightly disgruntled reply, Rachel grinned, pulling up the corners of her mouth.

Her reaction seemed a lot more relaxed than before.

Fearing the situation might change again, I immediately gestured towards the back. Specifically, to table number 18, located in a secluded corner of the booth.

Following the direction I pointed, Rachel tilted her head, then blinked her eyes.

“…What’s that? Hmm. A drunkard?”

“No, that’s Senior-nim.”

“Ah, it’s Senior-nim then.”

Rachel nodded at my correction. Her tone wasn’t particularly accepting, but the person looked exactly like a drunkard, so honestly, I didn’t want to add anything more.

“Anyway, that’s someone I know… I think I should take her home. I’ll be back soon, so can I step out for a moment?”

“Hmm.”

I put on a rather troubled expression and briefly gestured towards Seo Harin Senior-nim. Rachel hummed, seemingly understanding roughly.

But how could she refuse when I was just saying I needed to take a properly drunk person home?

Rachel, who glanced left and right for a moment as if checking the situation of the booth, reluctantly sighed and twitched her thumb.

“Haa, I guess there’s no helping it.”

“Mm.”

“An hour should be enough, right? It’s going to get even busier soon… You really need to be back on time, Hyunjin. If you don’t come back on schedule, you’re dead to me.”

“…I’ll be back soon.”

I felt a chill run down my spine and turned around. Rachel, extending her gleaming fingernails, was a difficult opponent to face.

Even so, I could still feel her gaze piercing through the back of my head.

“…Senior-nim, hurry and wake up.”

Pretending not to notice, I grabbed Seo Harin Senior-nim’s arm and gently shook it.

My intention was to try waking her up, but…

“Mmmph.”

“…”

“…Heh heh.”

Naturally, I failed. She mumbled strange sounds, seemingly sleep-talking, and her arm flailed upwards as if she was tossing and turning.

I got slapped on the cheek by that gesture. Splat!

“Pfft!”

“…”

And just then, I heard a burst of laughter from behind, probably Rachel.

Feeling a mix of inexplicable shame and anger, I coldly looked down at Seo Harin Senior-nim.

“Phew…”

Still, I was a man with quite deep patience (?). Doesn’t it feel exactly like that, just by looking at how I’ve kept Ryu Se-eun, the attempted reverse-rapist, alive?

Well, if it doesn’t, there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Oof.”

It was an unavoidable situation. I gently helped Seo Harin Senior-nim stand up, having her arm rest on my shoulder.

Perhaps because she was a pure-blood mage, she didn’t feel particularly heavy at all.

I quietly slipped out of the booth, lost in thought.

‘…So, hmm. This person.’

She must be in a state where she can at least say which floor her dorm is on, right?

*****

Less than five minutes after Lee Hyunjin left the booth. Baek Ayun, timidly entering the pub, rolled her eyes around.

She soon stopped a passing Class A student and struggled to ask a question.

“Um, excuse me…”

“Yes?”

“I heard you could see male students wearing butler uniforms here… Is Oppa—no, is, um, Hyunjin-ssi not here today?”

“?”

“…Haa.”

I wiped away the sweat dripping down my face as I laid Seo Harin Senior-nim on her bed. After all the twists and turns, we finally arrived at her private dormitory.

Fortunately, she had managed to input the front door password while half-asleep, so the mishap of having to leave a woman lying in front of the door didn’t occur.

However, supporting a drunk person and traveling a long distance is a tougher job than one might imagine.

Even if the person in question is extremely light and weighs very little.

‘This Senior-nim really is a hassle, too.’

Thankfully, the Class A booth and the dormitory building weren’t too far apart; if I had been told to move her further, I might have abandoned her halfway.

Or perhaps I would have just floated her with magic and carried her like luggage…

At any rate, I had successfully put the drunkard in her room, so there was no reason for me to stay there any longer.

I covered Seo Harin Senior-nim with a blanket one last time, then turned to leave.

Grab!

It was none other than Seo Harin Senior-nim who grabbed my collar.

“…”

For a moment, I was so flustered that I foolishly blinked my eyes.

What was this?

‘Wasn’t this person asleep just a moment ago…?’

It was an unexpected touch that gave me goosebumps all over, even for a brief moment. I hid my bewilderment and turned my head back.

There, Seo Harin Senior-nim, with her eyes half-closed, was looking up at me.

“…Hyunjin-ah.”

“…”

“Are you really just going to go, like this? Without doing anything at all…?”

As a result of being supported and moved by me, her clothes were disheveled and her hair was damp with sweat.

Two unbuttoned buttons now revealed a cleavage hinting at sensuality.

I instinctively had to swallow dry. Seo Harin Senior-nim’s gaze, looking up at me from a low angle, was too lustful.

Looking at me, Seo Harin Senior-nim smiled faintly.

“Alright, alright… I won’t tell you to become a live-in son-in-law. And I won’t try to make it a done deal, okay. Just stay with me tonight.”

She half-raised her body and, at the same time, began to unbuckle her skirt.

“It’s just a simple, one-night fling with a school senior. …Maybe it’s because I drank, but my libido isn’t well-controlled today. Heh.”

“…Senior-nim, wait. Just a moment?”

“No, no, don’t be nervous. I really won’t eat you up. Besides, today is a safe day anyway… Don’t worry. I have no intention of making a baby.”

Seo Harin Senior-nim lightly dismissed whatever words I was about to urgently blurt out.

She slowly gestured towards the dressing table on one side of the bedroom.

“…There are condoms in the drawer.”

“…”

“Get them out. Why are you backing away? Someone with far more experience than a shy girl like me.”

And that’s when I realized.

No, I could sense it.

In her eyes… there was no trace of the obvious, palpable drunkenness that had been there just moments before.

Had she forcefully decomposed the toxins using mana? From what I could tell, probably not even that.

…This person hadn’t been drunk at all today. Yet, she had pretended to be drunk and lured me here.

It was utterly chilling. I felt a cold dread run down my spine and broke out in a cold sweat.

Swish…

At that point, Seo Harin Senior-nim took off her top, letting it fall softly.

Her bare skin was overtly exposed.

“Hyunjin Junior-nim.”

Seo Harin Senior-nim’s eyes curved into a crescent shape, and I remained unmoving, as if my feet were glued to the spot.

She tilted her head gently towards me and extended her hand.

And then she spoke just one word.

“Won’t you let me experience sex too?”

“…”

It was an overwhelmingly powerful temptation, one I simply could not resist.