episode_0186

To briefly summarize my flight experience, I’m certainly not without experience flying abroad.

Even based on my current life, I’ve traveled to several countries with Seol Hayeon when I was young…

And if based on my past life, the world I lived in wasn’t filled with danger like this one, so I traveled even more.

The explanation for why I’m saying this is simple.

So, I expected this ‘Lightning Storm’ fellow to start its flight with even greater noise and vibration compared to a regular passenger plane, but—

Smoothly…

As if to say such commotion didn’t suit a high-class aircraft like itself, the Lightning Storm simply lifted off smoothly.

There was no runway takeoff. The Lightning Storm, lifting its body quietly like a helicopter capable of vertical takeoff, soon soared high into the sky.

Before long, we were able to unbuckle our seatbelts and move around, following the pilot’s guidance.

Unlike Baek Ayun and I, who were quite flustered, Cheon Soyul headed naturally towards a bookshelf.

Even setting aside the question of how such a spacious area could exist inside an aircraft, Cheon Soyul seemed quite accustomed to this kind of flight.

“Huh? Have you ridden one before?”

When I couldn’t hold back my curiosity and asked, Cheon Soyul tapped her temple for a moment, pondering, then replied in a casual voice.

“Something like that. It’s been a while, though… I remember riding something similar a few times with my mom when I was little.”

“…”

“Anyway, even compared to back then, this aircraft seems very stable. It’s incredibly quiet.”

I didn’t know how to react, so I looked at Cheon Soyul with an ambiguous expression.

It’s quite striking, but was this girl’s family also a gold spoon family, no less than Senior Seo Harin’s?

I was well aware of the Cheon family’s power, but experiencing it firsthand was another matter entirely.

Scratching my cheek with an indescribable feeling, I deliberately turned my gaze to the opposite side.

“…Uh, mm.”

Perhaps it was a small comfort that Baek Ayun was showing a similar reaction to mine. She also couldn’t hide her awkward expression.

It seemed the bluish scenery passing by outside the aircraft was quite interesting to her, as she subtly fixed her gaze on the window.

I briefly followed Baek Ayun’s gaze to look at the scenery outside the window… then I glanced at the monitor mounted at the very front of the cabin.

A large screen displaying the flight path from Seoul Airport to Turkey.

Next to it, the estimated travel time was briefly displayed. Just over 4 hours, it was definitely much faster than a typical passenger plane.

‘It said it could move even faster than this, didn’t it?’

Inferring from a few words Yang Chan-ho-ssi casually dropped before we left, assuming extreme consumption of mana fuel, it could traverse an entire continent within an hour.

At this rate, even if a significant problem arose, escaping with Cheon Soyul and Baek Ayun wouldn’t be too difficult.

That is, as long as the Lightning Storm, resting at the airport while we act in Istanbul, isn’t attacked.

I’d like to believe that wouldn’t happen easily, but given the circumstances, I felt quite uneasy.

“Sigh.”

I let out a short sigh and leaned back in my seat. In any case, there was no need to complicate my thoughts just because I was anxious.

Assuming Elder Gwon Hwang is safe… We just need to rescue him from the unknown threat and return to Korea.

Yang Chan-ho-ssi also said he’d continuously check on the situation in Istanbul and keep us updated.

Looking at the plan alone, there were no problems. If only looking at the plan, that is.

Anyway.

‘…Should I get some sleep?’

Four hours isn’t exactly a short flight time either, so it might be better to seize this opportunity and get some rest.

Moving around locally will also consume a fair bit of stamina… It’d be good to conserve energy.

It didn’t take long for me to close my eyes and fall into a light sleep.

If you think about it, even though it might not seem like it, I had barely returned to Daejeon from Seoul before heading back to Seoul and boarding the plane.

There was no way I wouldn’t be tired.

‘Hmm…’

Fortunately, the seatback seemed to be made of high-quality material… Even just leaning back for a moment, I felt myself drifting off quite pleasantly; I swear, if it were okay, I’d want to take this chair to my dorm.

Just as I was about to slip into such supremely comfortable slumber, losing consciousness.

Rumble…

“…”

A sudden vibration forcibly pulled me out of that comfort.

Wondering what it was, I turned my head. Was it just that this was a plane too?

“…What is it?”

I thought, but the source of the vibration wasn’t the Lightning Storm itself.

Rather, what woke me up was the gray-haired girl who had come right next to me.

“…Gasp, shudder.”

Had she also tried to get some sleep? Baek Ayun, who seemed to be sleeping with her eyes closed, was trembling all over.

Startled by her visibly pained expression, I gently woke her.

“Hey, are you okay? Ayun, Ayun?”

“…Gasp.”

As I grabbed her shoulders and shook her, Baek Ayun thankfully opened her eyes shortly after.

But her face was pale, and her body was trembling like an aspen leaf.

Her eyes, which couldn’t focus for a moment, soon sent a pained gaze towards me.

How could I not feel pity for her gaze, so heavily tinged with anxiety?

Perhaps she had been forcing herself to be calm at the academy. Indeed, she probably wasn’t in a state to play such pranks.

“…It’s okay. Calm down.”

Lightly biting my lip, I gently embraced her.

Baek Ayun flinched briefly, but soon leaned into me.

“…Hyunjin-ssi, my grandfather…”

“He’ll be okay.”

I gave an immediate reply to the girl muttering in a voice clouded with fear. Baek Ayun whimpered once more and dug her nails into my back.

“But…”

“He might be in a dangerous situation, but… That’s why we’re going to help him, aren’t we?”

“…”

Baek Ayun pressed her lips together and sniffled quietly. The grip of her arms around my back and waist grew even stronger…

‘…This kinda hurts, doesn’t it?’

This girl probably doesn’t realize how strong she is, does she?

Honestly, if Baek Ayun put her full strength into it, she could turn someone like me into dried shredded squid [meaning to utterly crush or flatten me] in no time.

Even so, she wouldn’t do that to a man she herself said she liked and loved, would she?

With our bodies pressed so close like this, the instinctive fear I felt was unavoidable.

“…Ahem, ahem.”

I tried my best not to show any signs of it, and lightly stroked Baek Ayun’s head.

“Don’t worry too much; just try to relax for now. A Special S-Class Awakened isn’t someone who can easily go wrong, you know.”

“…Yes, Hyunjin-ssi.”

“Oppa.”

“…Yes, Oppa…”

Baek Ayun let out a weak chuckle, and nuzzled her forehead against my chest.

Had she recovered a bit now? Of course, her anxiety would still be there, but I hoped she would at least maintain her composure.

‘But… why does she keep trying to burrow inwards?’

I flinched momentarily and looked down at Baek Ayun. Still hugging me, she was gradually leaning her body closer to me.

Her hand also seemed to be subtly trying to lift my shirt, or was I mistaken?

“…Ayun? What are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, shouldn’t we not be doing this? We’re on a plane, you know.”

“What ‘what’?”

“…Don’t use informal speech…”

Baek Ayun didn’t respond to my words any further. She subtly pulled her head back, and gazed at me with hazy, unfocused eyes.

Her light gray hair cascaded smoothly around her chest.

Gulp.

Was the sound of dry saliva going down my throat mine, or Baek Ayun’s?

It was probably the former, but whether that was true wasn’t important right now.

“Hey, wait…”

Before I could stop her, Baek Ayun subtly tried to slip one hand inside my shirt, and the other inside my pants.

“—You two are really having a good time, aren’t you?”

At that very moment, a third party’s cold voice cut in like a lightning bolt.

At the flat, echoing tone, Baek Ayun and I instantly froze.

Creakily, like rusted machines, we turned our heads to look behind us, and there was Cheon Soyul, lying down and pulling off her blanket as if she had just woken up.

Now that I think about it… the seats in this cabin could be reclined like beds.

I thought she was asleep like that.

Was she awake? Or had she just woken up?

After a brief moment of agonizing over a fact that wasn’t very important either way, Cheon Soyul twisted her lips into a cold smile and lowered her voice.

“Go on. Do more. I’m curious to see how far you two will go with your PDA in front of me.”

“…”

“Did you bring condoms? Want to borrow the ones in my bag?”

True or false. To what extent should we take those words seriously? Baek Ayun and I were faced with a deadly dilemma.