episode_0289

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Refresh.

For modern people who are busy being jostled here and there, if asked to name the most important thing, it would undoubtedly be one of those words that can fit in the palm of your hand.

Depending on one’s disposition, for some, refreshing might mean relaxing alone at home.

For others, it might be regaining energy by going out to a hotel with friends and taking photos.

If you’ve saved up enough money, going on an overseas trip could also be a good method.

But just as there are a hundred different tastes for a hundred different people, there are bound to be those who don’t care for such mainstream methods.

Yoo Si-woo, too, far preferred a different method over something wholesome like a staycation.

For someone with XX chromosomes—as long as they were moderately attractive, anyone would do—releasing the pent-up sexual desires suppressed all this time because of Baek Seo-yeon.

And then using all that recharged energy to imprint himself on Baek Seo-yeon.

This was Yoo Si-woo’s own special way of recharging—his Refresh.

“Hmm…”

Having completed another round of his usual Baek Seo-yeon Attention Cycle, Yoo Si-woo entered the student council room with a soft hum.

But there was no one there.

Not even Baek Seo-yeon, who should have been sitting in her usual spot at this time.

289

When he entered the student council room, Baek Seo-yeon wasn’t there.

Of course, while it was indeed as surprising as a tossed water bottle landing upright, it wasn’t exactly a major incident warranting a missing person report.

Baek Seo-yeon disappearing for a while had happened before.

When there were no slaves—no, no officers—to run errands for her, she’d say things like, The café mocha here is good, so I’ll be back after a quick visit…

Or sometimes, if sitting at her desk felt suffocating, she’d go for a brief walk—something seen often enough to be forgettable.

But.

“Hmm…”

The concerning part was that her walks usually lasted no more than 15 minutes on average (he’d checked frequently), but this time, nearly an hour had passed since she’d said she was going for one.

Lunch break might have made it a little longer than usual, but this was still different from how Baek Seo-yeon usually behaved.

If only she’d answer her phone—but the KakaoTalk message he’d sent earlier was still marked as 1 (unread).

What? Seriously.

Where could she be and what could she be doing at this hour?

“Maybe she’s with those close juniors of hers…”

Since it was the day before midterms, Yoo Si-woo glanced around the empty student council room before scratching the back of his neck and sinking into his personal couch.

It was more of a chaise lounge—comfortable for lying down rather than sitting—so he leaned his head against the plush armrest.

Though not quite at the level of the geniuses in the magic department, summoners like Yoo Si-woo, as transcendents, still had pretty sharp minds.

So, as he idly tapped his foot against the opposite armrest, he began listing places Baek Seo-yeon might have gone.

A restaurant outside the academy?

Given Baek Seo-yeon’s unusually image-conscious personality, that was unlikely.

If there had still been plenty of lunch break left, it might have been a possibility, but now there were barely five minutes remaining.

Then, was she still at the student cafeteria?

It was possible, but not very likely.

The fact that she hadn’t checked his message was the reason.

Being the diligent person she was, she always replied to messages as quickly as possible, no matter who sent them.

In other words, the places Baek Seo-yeon could be were…

Within the academy, somewhere where checking her phone would be difficult.

“……Ah.”

Then maybe she’s there.

Rolling around while staring at the student council room ceiling, Yoo Si-woo let out a groan, stretched, and got up.

Though he spent every day holed up in the student council room playing games, it wasn’t because he particularly liked the student council room.

“Eh, what? Yoo Si-woo, you’ve been missing all day, and now you’re here? Where are you off to now?”

“To prepare for midterms.”

“What? You? Suddenly?”

“Anyway, move. Don’t block the way.”

“…Uh, okay.”

The student council officers.

He’d never particularly liked them.

To the south of Miren Academy lived four geese carrying golden eggs in their bellies.

Built with the fortune Principal Seok Jae-hwa had earned over his lifetime to uphold the slogan “The greatest heroes, from the greatest academy,” the 1st to 4th Training Halls were the stars of the show.

Though they were simple cube-shaped buildings devoid of any aesthetic sense, the technology and materials inside were supposedly incredible.

Rumor had it that if you stole a handful of the materials used to build them and sold them, you could make an ordinary office worker’s monthly salary.

Not that he cared about any of that.

What Yoo Si-woo was looking for wasn’t a goose, but a fox.

A fox that oozed pheromones, bewitching men, yet still pretended not to notice…

An incredibly annoying fox.

One he wanted to punish until he was satisfied.

“Ah, sunbae? What brings you here?”

“What brings me? I’m a student here too—why are you looking at me like it’s so strange?”

Entering the 1st Training Hall, Yoo Si-woo acknowledged the greeting from a vaguely familiar junior (whose name he’d forgotten) and scanned the area.

Perhaps because it was the day before evaluations, the place was packed.

The faint, unpleasant smell of sweat hung in the air.

Being just shy of 180 cm (really, just barely), he wasn’t confident about finding one person in this marketplace-like crowd…

Best to start by looking for that striking blue-white hair.

She was probably helping someone practice, hence not checking her phone, so he’d focus on those actively using the training hall rather than those resting.

Rising slightly on his tiptoes to peer over the shoulders of the guys around him, Yoo Si-woo made a mental note to wear thicker insoles next time before circling the training hall once.

Unfortunately, Baek Seo-yeon was nowhere to be seen.

There were plenty of white-haired people, but no girls as tall as Baek Seo-yeon.

None with her face or figure, either.

Even when he asked the guys if they’d seen the student council president here, the answer was unanimously NO.

Unless they were dickless, there was no way guys would miss Baek Seo-yeon and just move on…

In the end, Yoo Si-woo’s first attempt was a bust.

“Ugh…”

He knew the saying “You can’t be full after the first bite,” but wasn’t this a situation where being full was allowed?

If Baek Seo-yeon had really been helping a junior train, that was a 25% chance.

Leaving the 1st Training Hall with a sigh, Yoo Si-woo began checking the other buildings.

But the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Training Halls were the same.

Packed with students, yet no sign of Baek Seo-yeon.

At this point, he had to admit his reasoning was flawed.

Maybe she’d blocked his number in a fit of anger.

“Tch. …Damn it.”

Briefly tapping his sore feet—now aching from unnecessary walking—against the ground, Yoo Si-woo pulled out his smartphone and checked the time.

1:00 PM glared back at him.

Lunch break was over.

As for Baek Seo-yeon… She was a graduating senior who diligently followed even minor school rules, so if she wasn’t in the training halls, she was likely in the student council room or the third-year classroom.

…Guess we missed each other.

Should’ve just stayed lying on the couch.

Just as he was mentally cursing, right after stepping out of the 4th Training Hall—

“Huh?”

Far in the distance.

Near the 1st Training Hall, a familiar blue-white figure was walking.

None other than Baek Seo-yeon.

Even from this distance, she was unmistakable.

“What? Where’ve you been all this time…”

Besides, if she was walking around like that, she could’ve at least checked her phone and seen his message.

Brimming with a mix of disappointment and irritation—and something else—Yoo Si-woo decided against calling out to her. Instead, he walked to a nearby smoking area and stared at Baek Seo-yeon.

Not because he wanted to creepily spy on her like a private detective, but because after all that wasted effort, he really needed nicotine.

Though vape smoke was less noticeable than cigarettes, openly puffing in front of Baek Seo-yeon still felt a bit off.

Inhale…

As Yoo Si-woo held the vapor deep in his lungs, the distant blue-white figure pushed through the revolving door of the 1st Training Hall and disappeared inside.

Must’ve had prior plans. There was no way she’d actually come here to train—helping a junior was far more plausible.

Well, personally, as long as the other person wasn’t a guy, he didn’t care.

Ah, right. Preferably a pretty girl.

Might bring her to bed later and ask about Baek Seo-yeon.

Exhaling the vapor while lost in thought, Yoo Si-woo pocketed the now-warm vape and headed into the 1st Training Hall.

“…?”

But again, Baek Seo-yeon was nowhere to be seen.

He’d seen her enter.

Why?

His confusion was short-lived.

After clearing his throat (cough), Yoo Si-woo approached a guy who looked free—muscular but with a clueless vibe, probably a first-year facing his first midterms.

…They should really differentiate P.E. uniforms by grade.

Why couldn’t the upperclassmen handle these small details?

“Hey, first-year?”

“Ah, me?”

“Yeah. Got a question—did the student council president come in here earlier?”

“Student council president…? Sorry, I’ve only seen her once during orientation, so I don’t really remember her face…”

“Blue-white hair, about… slightly taller than me.”

“Ah, the pretty one.”

“…Yeah. The pretty one.”

“She just went toward the showers right after coming in.”

“Showers?”

“Yeah.”

The answer was so unexpected that Yoo Si-woo tilted his head and asked again, to which the guy nodded earnestly.

Perhaps realizing how his words might be misinterpreted, he hastily added that he’d just happened to see her.

Still baffled, but at least he had a lead.

Muttering a half-hearted thanks, Yoo Si-woo immediately headed for the underground showers.

But Baek Seo-yeon seemed to have already gone inside the women’s shower area.

Given that she wasn’t near the entrance, she must’ve.

“…Hmm.”

Showering.

Suddenly showering.

Well, sure, if she wanted to shower, she could.

It wasn’t the act itself he questioned.

But why now, after being missing for so long?

Had she been doing something that made her sweat?

The same person who could run several kilometers without breaking a sweat during their jogs?

“……”

Leaning against the wall, lost in thought, he soon noticed a familiar face stepping out of the shower area.

“Sunbae.”

“…Eek.”

But.

While the face was familiar, the state of it wasn’t.

She’d been in uniform when she entered, but now she was in P.E. clothes.

He knew her shower caddy was always kept in this underground shower area.

He also knew she kept a couple of spare P.E. uniforms in her personal locker.

But the fact that she’d been in uniform until just now, and only just changed into P.E. clothes…

…It raised a small question.

Normally, you’d shower in P.E. clothes and then change back into uniform, right?

Doing the opposite was…

A little odd.

“Wh-what are you doing here?”

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere, but you were nowhere to be found, so I asked around.”

“……”

Something’s off.

Not sure what, but…

Something feels suspicious.

Just a gut feeling, but it seemed like she was hiding something.

So Yoo Si-woo set a small trap.

“Looks like you were helping some juniors train earlier. That’s why you didn’t see my message.”

“……Y-yeah…”

“…”

Didn’t expect her to fall for it this easily.