Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Jealousy (1)
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Morning is time to prepare for school. No matter what, students have to throw on their uniforms and head out of the dormitory without being late.
...But if that student happens to be a full-fledged adult, things can turn out a little differently.
The uniform part stays the same, but instead of the dormitory, you might be stepping out from a motel in the city.
And that was exactly me today. I never imagined I'd spend a wild night(?) on a weekday of all days and then head straight to the academy.
'Talk about living long enough to see it all...'
I muttered to myself. That phrase carried a ton of meaning right now.
I might not be as exemplary as Cheon So-yul, but as the perpetual second-place guy from the 9th class, I'd at least always made it to school on time.
Now, that same second-place loser was starting to get used to waking up naked next to a girl in a motel. Was this something to be scared of?
Still, my biological clock was on point. Right at 7 a.m., my eyes snapped open.
I clutched my throbbing head and let out a sigh. It wasn't like last night where I'd gotten blackout drunk—this headache had to be from something external.
And I shot a glare at the exact 'culprit' responsible for it.
"Hehe, oppa..."
...Haa.
It was none other than Baek A-yun, still plastered to my side, snoring away. Was she so stuck on the role-play nickname we'd settled on last night that even her sleep-talking stuck to it?
I pressed my forehead and sighed again. Really, living long enough to see it all.
'Of all people, with Baek A-yun, and me.'
A sharp thorn seemed lodged in my throat, refusing to go away.
It wasn't that Baek A-yun was distasteful or anything.
Objectively speaking, she was a ridiculously cute girl who deserved the title of 'bishoujo,' and over the past year, I hadn't just seen her purely as a little sister.
After spending all that time tangled up in various ways, how could my heart not skip a beat at least once?
Not that it was some grand romance or anything, but there was no denying I'd been aware of her as a member of the opposite sex.
I stretched my stiff body a bit and glanced back at the sprawled-out Baek A-yun.
Suddenly, I recalled the secret 'ideal type' poll that had circulated among the Blue Pine Academy guys during last year's training camp to the West Sea.
Cheon So-yul took an overwhelming first, Kanzaki Rie second, and Baek A-yun third, I think?
In my opinion, Baek A-yun wasn't on a level where she'd lose to Kanzaki in looks, but maybe her petite frame held her back a little.
Still, the vote gap was only single digits, as I remembered. In that sense, the 9th class guys seemed to prefer that youthful, slender vibe more than I'd thought—
'But that's not the point.'
I shook my head. Anyway, what I meant was, somehow by early this year, I'd already gotten into improper relationships(?) with two out of the top three.
If word got out, I might get stabbed just walking down the street.
A sleazy sense of superiority and selfish possessiveness welled up at the same time—something I couldn't tell anyone about.
Basically, the mindset of 'I've snagged both idols at this school...!'
'What a pointless thing to feel proud about... Is this really okay?'
Low-class thinking, just like the saying goes.
And pretty crappy quality too.
Sure, guys are wired that way, but I needed to recognize this as something that should make me feel more self-loathing.
Above all, it was seriously disrespectful to both Cheon So-yul and Baek A-yun.
Let go of the worries.
Empty mind, no thoughts.
'But damn, what a night...'
Slap!
I smacked my own cheek.
No, stop that, damn it.
I shoved the stray thoughts aside, sat up, and got moving. Last night's workout had been so intense that my whole body creaked a little, but...
No helping it. I quickly purified my whole body and uniform with a Clean spell, got dressed, and knelt on the bed.
"Mmm..."
Baek A-yun was still mumbling in her sleep, wriggling around. Completely naked, not a stitch on her pale skin.
The curtains were open, sunlight pouring straight in, and somehow she was holding out...
Luckily, I knew just how to wake up a heavy sleeper like her.
I rolled up my sleeve and spread my palm wide.
Smack!
"Eek?!"
Her butt, which had already taken one hit from me at dawn, got smacked again. Baek A-yun shuddered and blinked in confusion.
I cleared my throat a couple times.
"Private Baek A-yun."
Putting on a stern tone, I ordered her to rise.
"Rise and shine, now."
"Huh? Uh...?"
She didn't quite grasp the situation yet, but luckily, Baek A-yun was a trainee who obeyed her superior's orders perfectly.
After glancing between me and her own body, her face flushed red as she scrambled up, wrapping herself in the blanket.
She looked up at me with a pitiful pout.
"H-Hyun-jin... My underwear, please."
...Hm.
I raised an eyebrow at how she'd gone back to calling me by my real name.
But for now, I just handed over her underwear as requested.
Shh! She snatched it hurriedly, her face full of embarrassment, and dashed to the bathroom.
Casting Clean on her would've been easy, but from the past few months' experience, I knew girls' sensitivities were more delicate than expected.
She probably wouldn't want that right now.
'Why not? Clean magic's so convenient.'
Super practical, right? I couldn't quite understand it, but I wasn't about to butt in unnecessarily.
I started getting ready for school at a leisurely pace.
Even if I'd finished most of my prep and could take it slow, Baek A-yun, who'd overslept, couldn't afford to.
But she seemed oblivious to that fact.
Judging by how she spent nearly an hour in the shower. I tilted my head and gave her a sidelong glare, applying silent pressure.
If I'm late because of you, you're dead, Baek A-yun.
"S-Sorry, I said I'm sorry..."
She mumbled an awkward apology, shrinking back.
And tried a timid bit of rebellion.
"...But if you thought we'd be late because of me, couldn't you have just left me and gone ahead? Ah, ack! Sorry, sorry! Don't pull my hair...!"
That rebellion was swiftly quashed by grabbing her handle (twin tails).
Baek A-yun sniffled helplessly, unable to do anything.
If her hands were free, she'd probably be ready to retaliate right away, but oh well.
She had to take responsibility for putting me at risk of being late.
Hm.
To explain in more detail: right now, Baek A-yun was carrying me on her back as she dashed across the rooftops of campus buildings.
Given our size difference, you'd think it'd be the other way around, but...
Unfortunately, I didn't have the skill to carry someone and fly at high speed yet.
In other words, she had to piggyback me and hop around.
We'd already blown past regular class time... Walking in through the main entrance would've meant penalty points for sure.
So, no frontal assault. We had to take the shortcut: hopping from rooftop to rooftop.
Why not have her run while I fly with magic?
But I couldn't pass up the chance to ride on a cute girl's back.
Baek A-yun was innocent enough that if I didn't say anything, she'd just go, "Oh, really?" and accept it. So, let's keep quiet.
Anyway.
That way, we finally made it to the rooftop of the central main building.
Thanks to her blazing speed, we even had more spare time before first period than expected.
In a good mood, we headed down to the first floor to hit the vending machine together.
"Hm."
And there, we ran smack into Cheon So-yul, grabbing a drink from the machine.
...
...
Yeah.
This was one awkward encounter.
I reflexively straightened up politely, while Baek A-yun's pupils shook like in an earthquake.
Pssht!
Meanwhile, Cheon So-yul slowly cracked open her canned drink with a casual motion and took a leisurely sip...
All while never taking her golden eyes off us.
She lowered the can slightly.
Silence flowed.
"Had quite the fun night, huh."
Cheon So-yul tossed out the line in a flat tone.
Glancing back and forth between me and Baek A-yun.
"Coming in together all chummy first thing in the morning..."
"Hic!"
Suddenly, Baek A-yun hiccuped.
Me and Cheon So-yul's gazes snapped to her.
"...Hauu."
She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a weird noise. What was that? Prey facing a predator? Herbivore in front of a lion?
No, don't look at me like that. Even if you do, I can't do anything.
Baek A-yun made a 'boom!' shocked face, like her trusted shield had failed her. Now scheming to survive alone.
She hunched her shoulders, pressed her arms tight together, and bent her wrists forward a bit.
Oh, I know that one. The submission pose.
She whimpered like a cicada.
I stared at her in bewilderment. Cheon So-yul looked similarly puzzled, blinking like 'What the heck?'
But the little animal, having sorted out the pecking order, kept up her plea for mercy.
Me and Cheon So-yul exchanged awkward glances. The petty expression she'd flashed earlier had vanished somehow.
Replaced by a deflated, anticlimactic vibe.
Cheon So-yul let out a weak chuckle, then grabbed two more cans from the machine and handed one to each of us.
A regular ion drink for Baek A-yun. But for me, one with a pine needle on the label...
?
I froze and looked at Cheon So-yul. My gaze asking, 'What the hell is this?' She met my eyes.
A brief staring contest. She glared fiercely without backing down, then huffed and turned away.
'Ha, jeez.'
I could only let out a silent chuckle.
Her pettiness was kinda adorable.
I spread my arms wide with a hint of apology and approached her, intending to soothe my sulky wife.
"C'mere. I'll give you a hug."
"Piss off, playboy."
And got cussed at. My energy deflated as I awkwardly lowered my arms.
Meanwhile, Cheon So-yul took the fidgety Baek A-yun to a nearby bench and sat down chummily.
Baek A-yun's eyes darted wildly between me and Cheon So-yul, restless.
Though if you measured by caution, Cheon So-yul took up over 90%.
From the vibe, she'd already guessed what happened between me and Baek A-yun last night... And I'd given her a heads-up beforehand anyway.
She must've quickly grasped the weird, delicate dynamic between me, her, and Cheon So-yul.
Strictly speaking, as long as me and Cheon So-yul were just close friends, Baek A-yun had no need to tiptoe around her. But given Baek A-yun's personality, that wasn't happening.
She was probably sitting there feeling like the homewrecker(?) who'd wedged between us. Super likely.
'Then what does that make Ryu Se-eun?'
The random thought popped up, and I pondered it.
Hm...
'Pet?'
Ooh, that might be too much.
Fine, pet then.
As I was lost in such pointless thoughts,
Cheon So-yul broke the ice first.
"Don't be nervous, A-yun."
She patted Baek A-yun's back reassuringly, though it only made her paler—probably unaware.
The opener already went sideways, so Cheon So-yul coughed awkwardly.
"...Ahem, cough! No, you don't have to be scared of me. Really."
Maybe because she'd been rejected by Baek A-yun once before, she wiped away her earlier annoyance and coaxed her with a smile.
Thankfully, it worked.
"...Y-Yeah."
Baek A-yun timidly lifted her head and met Cheon So-yul's eyes for the first time.
Cheon So-yul brightened and nodded encouragingly. Baek A-yun fidgeted with her hands.
And spoke up.
"I-I heard the gist... About you and Hyun-jin..."
...Huh?
Cheon So-yul blinked in surprise and glanced cautiously at me.
Her look screaming 'Did I say something weird?' I just shrugged nonchalantly.
"We're like, flirting."
"Ah."
At my teasing answer, Cheon So-yul's face flushed a bit. She looked oddly pleased, almost giddy.
But she quickly composed herself and turned back to Baek A-yun.
"No, A-yun. Sure, me and that guy are... flirting. Ahem, kinda in that ambiguous phase, but you're not at fault. It's all that playboy's doing. Right?"
"Y-Yes?"
"He must've been super rough with you too... I get it. I suffered big time my first time with him. Sucks when your first is some horny perv."
And she started badmouthing me outright, treating me like I wasn't even there.
'What the hell kind of otherworldly conversation is this?'
I couldn't feel great about it. I frowned and called out.
"Hey."
"What, you jerk? Spit it out."
But my call fell on deaf ears. Facing her 'What'd I say wrong?' attitude, I had nothing to say.
...Well, I do remember our first times being rough for both of us since it was new.
What can you do? I just turned my head and pretended not to hear.
I'm a folding screen. I'm a folding screen.
As Cheon So-yul was about to gloat like she'd won,
"N-No, that's not it."
Baek A-yun spoke up in a slightly louder tone than before.
Me and Cheon So-yul blinked at her curiously.
"Huh? What's not?"
Cheon So-yul asked with a hint of unease, but Baek A-yun squeezed her eyes shut shyly and spilled everything.
"Oppa—er, Hyun-jin was really gentle with me. He kept complimenting me, saying I was pretty..."
...Huh?
At those words, an inexplicable anxiety washed over me.
I whipped around to Cheon So-yun.
Bad angle—I couldn't catch her expression. A chill ran through me for no reason, making me shudder—
"A-And..."
Unhelpfully, Baek A-yun missed my desperate glance and kept going.
Her cheeks flushed as she spoke in a honey-sweet voice.
"At the very last moment... When that warm thing filled my belly completely, it felt... so good..."
Her face blissful, like reliving an ecstatic memory.
Baek A-yun sank deep into her own world.
"...Pretty...?"
Cheon So-yul muttered in a suddenly sunken voice.
"Warm thing filling her belly...?"
Creak creak—
She turned to me like a malfunctioning machine, intermittently jerking her head.
Her eyes demanding an immediate explanation.
...
I turned my head slightly to dodge her intense stare.
In other words, invoking the right to remain silent.
Emotions drained from Cheon So-yul's face. Golden lightning crackled sharply around her eyes.
"...Lee Hyun-jin, you didn't."
Just as she gritted her teeth and lunged for my collar—
Ding dong—
The academy bell rang, signaling the start of first period.
'Lee Hyun-jin' has acquired 1 coin.
My life got a temporary extension.
Hm.
But it looked like Baek A-yun snuck a little smile at the end...
'Nah, no way.'
Must've been my imagination.
I spent the rest of the day on pins and needles, but the thing I feared didn't happen.
I'm a victim(?) of the creampie too, I'd already scolded her seriously, and I'd drilled it into her to take better care of her body next time, even on safe days—so don't blame me...
I was all geared up with that lengthy defense, biding my time quietly.
But throughout the whole day at the academy... Cheon So-yul didn't say a word to me. Wouldn't even meet my eyes.
I felt a deep sense of foreboding.
And that premonition came true soon enough.
In a completely unexpected form.
Ding dong—
Super early in the morning.
"...Hi."
The doorbell rang out of nowhere, so I opened the door to find Cheon So-yul standing there in her pajamas, clutching her pillow.
"Do it inside me too..."
Her eyes rimmed red, she muttered it casually as she brushed past.