episode_0129

My expression is momentarily distorted by the overwhelming headache. I’m sick of it at this point. How could I meet that woman in a place like this?

Because the entrance door was located at the top of the duplex, I was able to clearly see the movements of the blonde female student.

And I could tell right away that she was somehow not normal.

Her hair, which was always neatly tied up, was almost a mess. A dark shadow was digging into the skin around the eyes, and the direction of the gaze was blurry.

His neck and limbs were still wrapped in bandages, as if he had not yet recovered from the injuries sustained in the two-game series.

Needless to say, he didn’t even notice my pretense of being popular.

“Ha… ha… !!”

-Quaang!

Jin Ye-seo is out of breath and shooting out her signature black flames. Flame snakes, flaming barriers, and rain of flames pouring from the air towards the target and the automatons.

But all I feel is evil. Neither the power nor the accuracy were as good as what she had experienced before. In fact, it even feels like it has regressed.

-Quaang! Quang! Quaaaang!

When the magic spark misses the target and hits the wall of the training room, fragments fall apart.

If you look at this, you might understand why the training room is being renovated on such a large scale.

“Ugh… !”

Jin Ye-seo, who witnessed the scene, bit her lip hard with a desperate expression. Soon a trickle of blood flowed down, but I didn’t pay any attention to it.

Then he made a dull expression again and fired magic in all directions.

Or maybe you don’t know that you’re bleeding in the first place?

But you won’t get anything if you do that. Instead of overloading her body properly for growth, she was almost torturing her body.

And there is no way that I, an honors student, would not know this fact. This is one of the most basic things taught in the cradle. It was also a topic that professors reminded themselves of when they forgot. They say that impatience is the biggest poison for growth.

To put it another way, it means that Jin Ye-seo is somehow out of his mind to the point where he can’t even recognize such basic things.

That may be why her magic skills feel more regressive.

It is said that the Bessel particles that make up magic are substances that interact very closely with the mind.

Why are you doing something like that? Even if you say you lost to me, was losing to Moon Yeo-ul that big of a shock?

Well, Choi Woo-jin said that he has never lost to Moon Yeo-ul so far, so it might be true.

“… ”

After watching Jin Ye-seo for a moment, I quietly turned around and left the training room.

I was suspicious of his self-destructive behavior, but it was none of my business.

I just have to give up today and come a little early tomorrow.

I retraced the way I came and headed to the Beech Tree Dormitory, but for some reason, an uncomfortable feeling began to seep into my body little by little.

Just by stopping and thinking for a moment, I was able to quickly realize the source.

It feels like I’ve been looking at a magic mirror that reflects the past.

***

It took less than a day for me to realize that my simple thinking was a big mistake.

Jin Ye-seo had the large space of the training room to herself for two days. How does it arrive so quickly? Is the dormitory close by? Or did they drop the afternoon lecture altogether?

What is certain is that I am the one who is suffering from a lack of proper training.

Although it’s gotten better now, I also had something close to an obsession with it.

Thanks to this, in the past, I was harshly scolded by the team leader for overworking my body.

Afterwards, he himself rolled it in the mud with ‘appropriate’ force.

In the end, it was not until the third day that I was finally able to occupy the old training room in Building A.

It was the result of throwing away an afternoon liberal arts class and rushing forward.

After changing into training clothes and completing warm-up exercises, I swung the blade like a fish in water. Every time I see an automated doll falling to pieces, a sense of liberation comes over me, as if I would fly into the sky.

Meanwhile. The sound of the door opening pierces my ears while I was engrossed in practice.

My eyebrows furrow at the discordant sound that disturbs my composure. Even without having to turn my head, I could tell for sure who was visiting.

I tried to fall into a trance again without being conscious of him.

Today, this is my own paradise. If you have a conscience, you will get back on your own.

But no matter how long I wait, I don’t hear the sound of the door opening and leaving. All I could feel was a pair of eyes looking at me intently.

-Tangrang!

I couldn’t bear it any longer and ended up throwing the practice blade on the floor.

I couldn’t shake it off and focus on training.

I walked towards the blonde girl who was sitting in the corner in a squatting position with her knees together.

“Hey.”

“… ”

Jin Ye-seo didn’t even look back, let alone answer. Her blurry gaze was fixed firmly on a certain point in the sparring hall.

“If someone calls you, do you answer?”

“… Why.”

Jin Ye-seo then slightly raises her head and looks up at me with wide eyes.

Looking closer, the condition was even more serious.

Even if it were a person suffering from some incurable disease or a drug addict, it would seem like they would be deceived.

“What are we going to do now?”

“… I’m waiting for my turn.”

The change in voice is also surprising. There was not even a trace of the confidence that was so overflowing that it felt arrogant.

The voice crawling towards the floor could only be heard if you listened carefully.

Of course, what made me angry is a different story.

“Then go out and wait. Because I can’t train because of you.”

“… There is no such rule.”

Jin Ye-seo left only that answer and bowed her head again. I didn’t even open my mouth anymore. The gaze is directed to the same point as before.

At that moment, something burning hot floods my throat. Heat spreads across my face.

I had to fight the urge to kick her right where she was sitting.

This is neither childhood nor a duel situation. If you make a fuss, you are not causing trouble to me, but to the leader and the members of the Black Lotus. Of course, this could further affect Yeon Gyeon-ha’s reputation, which is already not good.

The problem was that what Jin Ye-seo said was not wrong. Rather, it is an argument that is more consistent with Yoram’s method.

The keynote of the cradle was to encourage spectators to watch and learn from outstanding performers as much as possible… Rather, by general standards, it can be said that I am the one who is weird.

“Ha… ”

I finally cooled off my anger by repeatedly clenching and opening my fists.

Then, leaving Jin Ye-seo behind, he turned and headed toward the door.

There was a lot of time left, but I felt like I wouldn’t be able to continue practicing in this situation.

However, he later remembered that he had not cleaned up the practice blade he had thrown on the floor, and turned around again.

Jin Ye-seo was still in a squatting position, staring intently at somewhere in the training room.

“… ?”

What was touching the end was the practice blade that was lying on the floor just as I had thrown it down earlier.

***

“Baek Seo-yeon. Just do it in moderation, right?”

“Well. Aren’t you the one who needs to do things in moderation?”

Student council regular meeting held every other day.

Today again, in the biting cold wind, student council president Hyeon Joo-hak was constantly looking left and right with a restless expression.

“Don’t you know that our cradle is an educational institution that pursues equality? How can a club like this be approved?”

A female student with hair as beautiful as the night sky. Baek Seo-yeon held up a piece of paper with her thin fingers and waved it.

“If this is a condition for joining… I don’t think it would be difficult for students from five families to get in, right?”

The club application form, handwritten by Yeon Myeong-ha, was densely packed with a few lines of admission conditions that were more stringent than ever before.

Yeon Myeong-ha, who was sitting in an irreverent posture with her legs crossed, laughed and accepted Baek Seo-yeon’s words.

“It doesn’t seem like there will be any problem at all, right? I reviewed everything properly while checking the rules. I wish you would stop making nitpicks. Because it looks dirty.”

“You call that a horse? It’s obvious to anyone that it’s expedient… ”

A female student with braided hair was sitting next to Seoyeon. Choi Ire joined the debate.

She agreed with Seo-yeon and snapped at Yeon-sang, then turned her head towards the head table where Hyun Joo-hak was sitting.

“Chairman, please also say something. Even though I am a student council executive member in name, is it okay for me to blatantly commit such an expedient act?”

“Yes, yes?”

In an instant, the attention of everyone present is focused on Hyun Joo-hak. Including a pair of red eyes that burn as hot as the lava of hell.

Hyun Joo-hak sincerely resented Choi I-re, who turned the arrow on him, but desperately tried to avoid the crisis.

“Hmm, hmm. therefore… ”

Hyeonjuhak slowly opened his mouth, even clearing his throat to buy time.

“… In this case, what Lady Choi Ire said makes some sense. It’s not the Cradle’s internal regulations that are the problem, but if the media asks about it, it will really make a big fuss. These days, public sentiment is already very dire… If the most prestigious educational institution offers a club under these conditions… ”

Instead of asserting his own opinion, he attempted to avoid the situation by involving external circumstances.

“Miss Yeonminha… I completely agree with the fact that the daughter of a famous family is actively involved in school activities, but… that… It’s a good idea to reconsider clubs that have somewhat unreasonable membership conditions… ”

“… Tsk.”

However, he did not pretend to listen to his pleading words of sympathy and clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

At this, Hyun Joo-hak flinched without even realizing it. He was a little resentful of the masked male student with whom he had formed a close friendship in the past.

‘Didn’t I say that I would speak well?’

But then I shook my head inwardly.

Thinking about Yeongyangha’s past notoriety… Maybe it’s just that I told you the story.

“Okay, let’s stop here for today… ?”

The Chairman, who looked around at Hwihwi, cautiously added his words.

Those who wanted to escape the uncomfortable situation agreed with his words and quickly concluded the meeting.

The chairman was the first person to disappear from the conference room.

While the rest were cleaning up their seats. Someone approached Yeon Myeong-ha, who was packing her luggage.

Without having to raise my head, I could tell its identity right away just by the jet-black hair that fell down.

Seeing him, Yan Yanha furrowed her eyebrows and made an expression of displeasure.

Because of Baek Seo-yeon, the opening of clubs has already been disrupted several times.

Her plan to create a paradise for the two of them where no one would disturb anyone had not even begun to break ground.

“What is it?”

“Compassionate. I’m sure I told you to stop doing that.”

Baek Seo-yeon’s sad words, whispering in my ear, as if she knew everything about his intentions.

“… Ha.”

At this, Yeon Myeong-ha lets out a laugh and stands up to face her.

Baek Seo-yeon’s mouth is still smiling brightly, and her eyes look kind at first glance with their ends slightly drooping like those of a puppy.

However, only the pupils are frozen as cold as a glacier.

The others didn’t seem to know, but they knew very well why the sympathetic Baek Seo-yeon was sabotaging them like that.

“He is not your toy. Do whatever you want like that… ”

“Hey.”

Seoyeon’s words were a harsh warning, but she cut him off midway without paying any attention to her pity.

Then, after twitching his lips and making a mockery, he whispered in a very low voice into Baek Seo-yeon’s ear.

“He’s my man now. Wake up from the dream.”

“… !”

The moment you say those words. I could clearly see the cracks in Baek Seo-yeon’s sympathetic eyes. When I glanced down, I saw Seoyeon with both hands clenched into fists and her arms shaking.

“… ”

But witnessing those fluctuating emotions. Rather than feeling satisfied, I feel more uncomfortable.

I pass by the sympathetic Baek Seo-yeon and head towards the conference room door.

“… Whoever wants.”

Baek Seo-yeon’s words, which were a sticky mixture of obsession and affection, managed to come out and ended up sticking to Yeon-sang-ha’s back.

***

Yang Yeon-ha’s steps back to the dormitory were sluggish the whole time. This was his true self beneath the mask he wore to deal with his enemies.

Rather, her eyes were full of anxiety.

One way or another, the person closest to him right now is not anyone else but himself.

However, the biggest problem was that Baek Seo-yeon’s courtship was not a simple one-way street.

The person who kept the portrait of Baek Seo-yeon in his/her arms the whole time was not anyone else but himself.

There is no room at all… It was not easy to tell.

“Something, something more is needed… Something more crucial… ”

While walking, lost in worry. Before I knew it, I had reached the entrance to the dormitory I felt sorry for.

“I want to see you soon… ”

Yeon Myeong-ha entered the dormitory grounds, muttering to herself in longing. He always came back after completing training, so it would take at least two or three hours before I could see him.

However, I was unable to continue the compassionate words that opened the dormitory door.

The back of Lee Hyun, who is absorbed in exercise while hanging weights, fills both her pupils.

The curves of the upper body that look lumpy and solid. Big and small scars engraved here and there. Even the hot air in the dormitory. I could see all that pity.

At the same time as she recognizes Lee Hyeon, he also recognizes Yeon Myeong-ha.

He suddenly stopped moving and gave her an embarrassed greeting as if he hadn’t expected her movements.

“… Are you here? Early today… ”

-bang!

However, out of pity, I slammed the front door shut without realizing it.

My heart was pounding and my face was burning with heat.

After standing blankly for a moment, she collapsed onto her seat with her back to the door.

“Mang… I’m devastated… ”

Yeon Myeong-ha covered her face with both hands and muttered in an excited voice.