Yellow Red Yellow - 3
“Hurry up and tell me. What’s so funny?”
The question made me want to ask if she was seriously that clueless. Of all people, you acting like some prim and proper citizen of the Eastern Land of Courtesy was the strangest thing imaginable. And it wasn’t simply because Irina had blonde hair and blue eyes. There was no trace of etiquette to be found in front of that woman. Anyone who actually valued proper manners would probably hear the words “crazy bitch” hurled at them from both sides.
“There are reasons.”
“Ugh. You know I can’t just let something go once I get curious, right? Out with it.”
“I just laughed. That’s really all there is to it.”
“Stop bullshitting me.”
Hadn’t this woman said herself that she shouldn’t be doing this here? That she was reflecting on her actions? That she was banned from leaving except for official ability-user business? So why was she still hanging around and acting like this?
“Isn’t it bad if someone catches you doing this here?”
“Well… I’ll just get yelled at by Mom again.”
She spoke as if it were no big deal, but I saw it. The way Irina’s pupils trembled slightly when she mentioned “Mom.” Those were the eyes of a child who genuinely feared getting scolded by her mother.
“Your mother sounds quite strict.”
“She keeps saying I do bad things! But I only do them to catch villains!”
“Still, no matter how villainous they are, doing that is obviously going to get you criticized.”
“What did I even do?!”
Did this woman have bipolar disorder and amnesia at the same time? Just searching for a few articles would show that Irina’s incidents were on a completely different level. Villains she captured ended up so mangled they couldn’t even speak. She had used her abilities on non-ability users even though they were cooperating with villains. The excessive force was undeniable. No matter how much people wanted to cover for her, the universal reaction was, “This is just too much.”
So it was only natural for Irina’s mother to get angry. Her daughter had the kind of talent that would earn praise from everyone if she just toned down her personality a little. Instead, this lunatic cackled like a hyena and caused every kind of trouble imaginable.
The strongest ability user with the most controversies. That was Irina.
Even I’d have a heart attack from the stress.
They say parents only want to see their children succeed. In that sense, Irina was a fiery dutiful daughter. Or rather, she was burning her parents’ hearts to ash. As if all the dutiful daughters in the world had frozen to death.
“Ah! Stop, stop it. Why are you talking about my mom, oppa?”
“What do you mean? You’re the one who started it, Irina.”
“Hmm… Ah! I get it! Is it because she’s your future mother-in-law?”
“Please, I’m begging you. Can’t you listen to what people say for once?”
My sincere plea made Irina giggle. She perched on the windowsill and stared straight at me.
“What?”
“You know you can’t hide it anymore, right?”
“Hide what?”
“What else? Your ‘true self,’ Seojin oppa.”
Irina’s eyes sharpened as she spoke. Just looking at that gaze made a sigh escape me. This woman still thought I was hiding something. In reality, it was an ability that could only be used when multiple conditions were perfectly met.
The Gatekeeper trait showed its highest efficiency against Alpha or Elder-level threats. But when I faced Kang Minsung, it only performed at about half strength. Even that was only possible thanks to the Overtime sub-trait. Originally, it was a trait that reached peak efficiency only inside the Academy.
Just as the name suggested, it was literally only capable of conducting “Silver rank examinations.”
Whether she knew any of that or not, Irina simply continued.
“They say you gave that water ghost bastard a huge wound. Right across his chest, like this!”
“So I’ve heard. I was too out of it to check properly.”
“What? Even if you pass out, you should still watch something like that. Seeing a guy who thinks he can never lose have his pride completely crushed is pure entertainment!”
I could almost hear King Sejong sighing in the distance. Was she deliberately talking like this to prove she was crazy?
“More importantly! What are we going to do about this? Our poor Seojin oppa, I feel so bad for you!”
“About what?”
“That bastard. He looks gloomy as hell, so his stalker tendencies are off the charts.”
“You mean the Elder, Kwak Hyuk?”
“Yeah. That guy. I kicked his ass once before, and ever since he’s been saying he’ll kill me. Though he always slinks away whenever I actually challenge him to a fight. But now it looks like he’s going to start following the examiner around instead! Ahahaha!”
Fuck, stop laughing. This was extremely serious. The thought of a dark, gloomy male Elder stalking me was horrifying. It gave me goosebumps just imagining it.
“Oh. Once you’re discharged, the Ability User Association will probably come looking for you, Seojin oppa.”
“For me?”
“I overheard them saying they want to remeasure your abilities. They were talking about C-rank or something.”
It wasn’t even really C-rank. Until recently I had been D-rank. This C-rank was basically a temporary promotion. The reason was simple: I had been completely destroying Silver-rank students with ease.
“Should I look forward to it?”
“No. Don’t. At best you’ll get B-rank.”
Having worked in the Ability Measurement Department and knowing that my original ability was detection and measurement-based, I could already predict what rank I would receive. The reason was simple.
Could I use my trait during the rank measurement?
Most likely, with high probability, no.
First, the activation conditions didn’t match at all. This wasn’t me conducting an examination; I was the one being examined. It also wasn’t one of those urgent, life-or-death moments I’d grown used to. After benefiting from the Gatekeeper trait multiple times, I understood it clearly now. It might work in other situations, but it would have zero effect during a rank measurement.
In other words, all I could show during the test was the physical movements my body remembered. None of the trait-assisted abilities would be available.
“Seojin oppa?”
But Irina seemed to have interpreted my words differently.
“If you keep talking like that… I’m going to get mad.”
“Why would you get mad? Why are you getting angry about me taking a rank measurement—”
“So according to what you’re saying, a mere B-rank somehow wounded that water ghost bastard, easily repelled villains, and even caught my interest. That’s what you’re telling me.”
“It’s not impossible, is it? Even if someone is B-rank…”
“No.”
Suddenly my body tilted backward. I fell onto the bed. Before I could process what was happening, Irina’s face filled my entire field of vision. This crazy woman had climbed on top of me in one swift motion.
“W-what are you doing?!”
“The only ones who can catch my interest are people as strong as me. People who can understand me. People who can stand beside me. People who can survive me!”
What did that last part mean? Survive her? It sounded incredibly dangerous, and I was about to ask for clarification when I heard murmuring voices beyond the hospital room door.
I tried to push Irina off in a hurry, but the door opened faster.
“His condition is still stable. Probably…”
The first thing I saw was a doctor in a white coat. Following behind him were a nurse and…
“Ah.”
“Oh.”
Red-tinted eyes met mine perfectly. It was Kim Suhyun. She had entered the hospital room along with the doctor.
*
“H-hello, doctor. I’m not late, am I?”
“No, no. You’re right on time. I was just about to check on his condition anyway.”
Kim Suhyun fidgeted with her hands, looking embarrassed. The doctor in charge of Baek Seojin looked at her and thought the same thing he always did.
She’s here again today.
The patient really had a lot of visitors.
He hadn’t heard the full story. He only knew that the patient had suffered severe injuries. Although he had received treatment from support-type ability users on the way, his condition had still been critical. The treatment itself had gone smoothly, but the accumulated fatigue and shock left him unable to wake up.
The real spectacle began after the patient named Baek Seojin was admitted.
“Please take good care of him.”
The first visitor had been the Academy Chancellor, Ma Hakjun, who made the request in person. Han Jiyun, an S-rank ability user, had even stood beside him. That alone was enough to warrant VVIP treatment.
But the visitors didn’t stop there.
“Has he still not woken up?”
The next guest was Kang Inbum, Master of the Matap Clan. Kang Hana had been with him, visibly worried. They too had repeatedly asked for the best care before leaving.
The next visitors were two siblings.
“Our grandfather sent us.”
“How is Examiner Baek Seojin’s condition?”
The siblings were Kang Dogyeong and Kang Jisu. As Kang Minsung’s grandson and granddaughter, they were the new rising stars of the Kang family. Geniuses likely to become the next S-rank ability users. In short, they represented the pinnacle of the past, the present, and the near future.
All these people kept coming by to ask for updates whenever they had the chance.
And even someone as beautiful as her keeps visiting.
It was a scale of visitation that made one feel envious. He couldn’t help thinking that famous people who appeared in the news really were different. Of course, once he heard that the patient had fought an Elder, he immediately shook his head.
“You come here every day,” the doctor said casually to Kim Suhyun as they walked toward the hospital room. He wasn’t implying anything; he was simply curious. It wasn’t a normal hospital visit, and the patient probably wouldn’t even remember it. The fact that she came every single day was both fascinating and slightly puzzling.
“He’s my benefactor.”
“I see.”
“And… he’s the most precious person to me.”
“Oh my.” The nurse beside them covered her mouth in surprise. The doctor also understood what those words meant, so he simply smiled.
When they reached the hospital room, the doctor opened the door. What he saw was a patient who had regained consciousness and a blonde, blue-eyed beauty straddling him.
“Huh?”
At first he thought he had seen wrong. But her face was plastered everywhere, so he recognized her immediately.
“Irina…”
“You!”
The doctor’s voice, filled with shock and admiration, was drowned out by Kim Suhyun’s furious cry.