episode_0117

But her attention was solely focused on the young man next to her.

Looking back, had she ever had a date like this with Lee Hyunjin before?

They were engaged and even promised marriage, having experienced something like a romance.

Yet, it seemed they had never gone out in this manner. Life at the academy had been busy enough, and there was no need to travel far to have fun.

So for now, at least for this moment, she was filled with a sense of novelty.

Even she found the situation awkward, so she stopped glancing at Lee Hyunjin, who was pretending to sleep. He didn’t seem likely to open his eyes anyway.

Instead, she looked out the window. The landscapes sped past the train, but there was nothing stopping her from taking them all in if she tried.

‘A squirrel.’

The physical abilities of Awakened individuals were fundamentally extraordinary. For example, even Cheon Soyul, who was a magic user, could vividly recall the scenery that had just passed outside the train.

She could even spot a small animal gnawing on tree nuts by the roadside below the mountain.

In other words… she was quite adept at passing the rather tedious travel time.

Just by enhancing her eyesight and quickly scanning the view outside the window, tens of minutes would fly by.

“……Ahem.”

But Cheon Soyul didn’t do that. She didn’t allocate much time to looking out the window; instead, she just subtly twisted her body sideways.

On second thought, the scenery outside was too ordinary. Monotonous. It didn’t pique her interest.

Therefore, she began to observe Lee Hyunjin’s profile intently.

Her golden eyes took in the sight of the young man with his eyes closed.

“……”

“……”

For so long that the silence felt truly extended, without a single word. Cheon Soyul merely watched him sleep, or more precisely, pretend to sleep, her eyes glinting.

Lee Hyunjin, who wasn’t actually asleep, naturally noticed her gaze.

But he didn’t let on. He twitched slightly, but it was just enough to be interpreted as tossing and turning in his sleep.

Why was he putting on this act? The reason was simple: he was in a predicament.

To be more precise, he just found it awkward. For him, the current situation was incredibly unsettling.

‘Stop staring.’

A date invitation? It wasn’t common, rather quite surprising, but it was understandable. He even felt a little sorry for not having paid her enough attention until now.

Her dressing up nicely… Yes, that wasn’t strange, was it? It could be said to be an excellent date outfit.

…But it was clear he couldn’t quite discern her true intentions.

Lee Hyunjin simply couldn’t understand Cheon Soyul’s inner thoughts right now.

Couldn’t she at least say something? What was with this persistent staring?

It was uncomfortable. This was a very uncomfortable situation. It felt like sitting on a bed of thorns.

Did she want something? Or did she want to confront him about something? If it was the latter, he had some idea, connecting it to the matter with Rachel.

But unless Cheon Soyul brought it up first, Lee Hyunjin had no answer…

With his eyes tightly shut, Lee Hyunjin broke into a cold sweat, hoping not to be found out.

‘I can’t bring it up first either.’

Wouldn’t that be true? No matter how brazen a man he was, perhaps the most brazen in Cheongsong Academy, it would be difficult to boldly confess to having an affair with a classmate.

He had a hunch that his fiancée had found something out, but what if he acted on that hunch and was wrong? That would be awkward.

In the end, there was only one option: silence.

Lee Hyunjin decided to keep his mouth shut.

“Hmph…”

“……”

A perfectly timed, ominous hum was heard, but he pretended not to hear it. The current Lee Hyunjin was sleeping, he was sleeping…

Leaving him to his self-suggestion, Cheon Soyul finally gave up and crossed her arms.

Fine. If he wasn’t going to open his eyes or his mouth, he could do as he pleased.

Since they were already traveling far, she wished they could at least get along.

‘Let’s see if he can grit his teeth and endure this.’

Didn’t he know that keeping his mouth shut like that would only be his loss? Cheon Soyul let out a hollow laugh and quickly turned her head away.

If that was his intention, she wouldn’t refuse to go along with it. The theme of this trip would be silence.

Two hours passed like that.

The train arrived in Busan.

*****

“Yawn…”

Looking out at the North Port sea from the Busan Station connecting passage, Lee Hyunjin stretched.

Then, a little theatrically, he turned his body to look at Cheon Soyul.

“Hmm, ahem. I slept quite a lot. You weren’t bored, were you?”

“Not really.”

“That’s good.”

“……”

Cheon Soyul didn’t reply further… Instead, she set out to prove firsthand that one could kill a person with their gaze.

Her sharp gaze, shimmering with a lightning-like intensity, pierced into the back of Lee Hyunjin’s head, and though he noticed it, he deliberately ignored it.

Lee Hyunjin hadn’t expected it. He couldn’t believe she really wouldn’t try to wake him up even once.

Cheon Soyul hadn’t expected it either. She couldn’t believe he really wouldn’t wake up?

She had at least expected him to gradually wake up and say something about an hour before arrival, but what kind of guy was this?

Cheon Soyul had also entered this “contest” with a burst of stubbornness, but getting angry was another matter entirely.

“Hah…!”

Finally, Cheon Soyul, annoyed, brushed past Lee Hyunjin and moved at a faster pace than usual. Lee Hyunjin, who had been abruptly shoulder-checked, could only rub his arm and follow her.

“Sorry.”

And he offered a slightly belated apology.

“It’s fine. You’re way too late.”

Cheon Soyul spun her head around and ignored him. The resentment from a few days ago, which she had tried to suppress for the sake of the date, was about to erupt.

Lee Hyunjin wore a troubled expression but didn’t walk far from Cheon Soyul.

Instead, he seemed to try to stay as close as possible, almost pressing against her.

“Hmph…”

At the touch, which created quite a couple-like atmosphere, Cheon Soyul’s expression softened slightly, very slightly.

After subtly observing her for a moment, Lee Hyunjin cautiously parted his lips.

“So, where are we going?”

For now, since Cheon Soyul was leading, he was following her, but he was genuinely curious. What was their destination?

It was Lee Hyunjin’s first time coming down to Busan. He didn’t know anyone here.

‘Ah.’

Then, a sudden memory came to mind, and Lee Hyunjin pondered it.

Come to think of it, wasn’t Jeokho Academy located in Busan?

‘Are you feeling good about that?’

The face he recalled belonged to a certain girl.

Someone he had briefly encountered once.

That was probably when he had completed a contribution mission with Kim Jiwoo during the winter break and roughly booked a motel nearby.

By chance, the red-haired girl who had stayed in the room next door at the time was a Jeokho Academy student.

Well, Busan wasn’t a small city, so he didn’t expect to meet her again…

Still, Jeokho Academy came to mind when he thought of Busan, so he briefly recalled it.

Where was Cheon Soyul intending to take him? If the destination was Jeokho Academy, he thought it would be quite novel.

“An amusement park.”

“……Huh?”

Cheon Soyul’s reply was quite different from Lee Hyunjin’s expectations.

Lee Hyunjin, who had momentarily let out a foolish sound, quickly collected himself.

‘Ah, an amusement park.’

I see. It seemed the pretense of a date wasn’t a lie after all.

Well, that was obvious, wasn’t it? Coming all the way to Busan for a train trip?

…Anyway, if the true purpose was indeed to have a date, Lee Hyunjin decided to set aside the awkwardness with Rachel for now and comply.

Cheon Soyul looked upset, but it didn’t seem the immediate cause was something else.

Could it be that the battle of wills on the train was the biggest cause of her annoyance?

Lee Hyunjin felt a bit of responsibility.

‘I am the sinner.’

If he thought about it, what was so hard about contacting her in advance right before the “affair”? It was a bit thoughtless to not even contact her after getting permission.

So, for today, and until they returned to Cheongsong Academy tomorrow, he should focus on doing his best to cheer Cheon Soyul up.

Thinking that, Lee Hyunjin followed behind Cheon Soyul.

“You, surely…?”

“……”

And so, at the amusement park they arrived at, they ran into a certain person.

A girl with long, flowing red hair.

She wasn’t wearing the conspicuous tiger-patterned uniform like before, but he definitely recognized the girl wearing bunny ears.

She seemed somewhat unsure but narrowed her eyes, watching Lee Hyunjin as if relatively certain.

Cheon Soyul, standing beside him, subtly glanced up at Lee Hyunjin with an expression of perplexity and awkwardness.

“…Who is that? Do you know her?”

Cold sweat trickled down Lee Hyunjin’s cheek.