The Women's Duel
“Or how about this?” Irina continued in a suggestive tone, smiling as if she had no idea how hard Kim Suhyun was trying to act unaffected.
“I’ll agree to never cling to Seojin oppa again. In exchange, you and I will have a duel.”
“…Excuse me?”
Kim Suhyun’s face twisted in disbelief. Even if she usually kept her distance from the world, she still knew how things worked. Who was Irina? The woman widely regarded as the strongest ability user in Korea. Some argued about it, but her support was overwhelming. Even villains—hell, even the Elders—were said to find her troublesome. And she wanted to duel that person? Win, and that would be it? She could snap back that the idea was ridiculous and no one would blame her.
“Hmm. Your face is screaming ‘bullshit’ loud and clear.”
Irina knew exactly what she was thinking, yet still made the absurd offer. Kim Suhyun’s eyes made her thoughts painfully obvious. Scratching her head, Irina brightened and added, “Then let’s do it this way. No time limit. We can fight whenever you want, wherever you want.”
“Look, even so—”
“And if you manage to leave even a single scratch on me, I’ll gracefully give up on Seojin oppa. I won’t bother him again. That’s what you want, isn’t it? Right?”
The sudden proposal was absurd beyond belief. Any third party would have found it laughable. Most importantly, Baek Seojin—the person at the center of it all—hadn’t even been consulted. And how could anyone trust Irina’s word? She was the type to do whatever she pleased, closer to a villain than anything else. What if she later claimed, “Oh, I never said that. Don’t remember a thing”?
But Kim Suhyun didn’t have time to think that far. Everything else faded away. The only thing that echoed in her mind was the thought of that strange woman no longer being by Baek Seojin’s side.
“You’re saying you won’t stay near the examiner anymore.”
“Yeah. That’s the condition I’ll set.”
“…”
“In return,” Irina said with a strange smile, “until you win, I’ll do whatever I want.”
Kim Suhyun’s face crumpled again. Summarizing Irina’s offer: she had to accomplish something with less than a 0.1% chance of success, and until she did, she would have to endure constant damage. The analogy wasn’t perfect, but that was exactly how it felt. From Kim Suhyun’s perspective, it was an outrageous deal—one she could have rejected outright. Yet Irina had already anticipated that objection.
“Don’t complain that it’s unfair. If you don’t accept, I’ll just keep staying by Seojin oppa’s side.”
“Ah…”
“Of course the odds are tiny. Yeah, they are. I’m just that good. But I already said it, didn’t I? All you need is one tiny scratch. I never said you had to beat me, did I?”
Irina, the woman called a lunatic, spoke with surprising persuasiveness. The fact that she had accurately struck at Kim Suhyun’s urgency helped. “At least this way you’ll have a legitimate reason to get rid of me.”
“…”
“If you still don’t trust me, I’ll swear on my mom. That’s a huge deal, you know? In this country of Eastern courtesy, swearing on your mother is serious. I’m not so vicious that I’d sell out my own mom. So? Does that earn me a little trust?”
Kim Suhyun stared quietly at Irina. She couldn’t begin to guess what the woman was plotting or what she hoped to gain from this offer. It felt less like a scheme to stay near Baek Seojin and more like she simply wanted to fight.
Refusing is the right move. Yes, I should refuse…
Yet her instincts overrode her reason.
“Fine.”
Kim Suhyun bit down on the proposal without hesitation.
“Great! Wow, our Suhyun is so cool, huh?”
“…Don’t call me that so casually.”
“Why? It makes us closer. That’s nice, isn’t it?”
“I still don’t like it.”
Irina clicked her tongue inwardly at the strange stubbornness, then shrugged. “Alright. I’ll contact you when I have time—”
“Where are you going?”
“Huh? Me? Home. If my mom catches me like this, I’m seriously dead—”
“We’re dueling. Where do you think you’re going?”
“…What?”
Irina thought she had misheard. Duel right now? Immediately?
“Wait, did I hear that wrong? It sounded like you wanted to fight right away.”
“You heard correctly.”
“…”
Staring blankly at Kim Suhyun, Irina muttered without thinking, “…Are you insane?”
She took pride in being called a crazy bitch and had believed no one could outdo her in madness. Yet this Kim Suhyun had managed to impress even her.
“You want to do it right now? Are you that confident? Or do you think you can at least scratch me even if you can’t win? Is that it?”
Kim Suhyun slowly shook her head, then delivered an answer that left Irina speechless.
“I’ll lose. I probably won’t even graze your collar, let alone leave a scratch. But I still want to do it.”
She’s actually insane. How can someone be this viciously crazy?
“You said we could fight whenever I wanted. Are you forfeiting?”
She even slipped in a subtle provocation. It was a reminder that she carried Kang Minsung’s blood. Irina stared at her in disbelief, then shrugged and spoke. “Fine. Let’s do it now. Where?”
“It wouldn’t be good if ordinary people found out.”
“True. Especially since the news would say I beat up some poor female student for no reason.”
“That wouldn’t be so bad.”
“…You’re really dead.”
Even at Irina’s fierce tone, Kim Suhyun showed no change. She led Irina to the car she had arrived in. “You can come with me. There’s a training hall assigned to me. We’ll do it there.”
“Hold on. Don’t tell me it’s your house.”
“It is.”
“That’s where that old man Kang Minsung lives. Ah… that place is seriously uncomfortable. The old man especially.”
“If you don’t like it, forget it. You can forfeit instead—”
“I’m not forfeiting, you little— Are you trying to force me into giving up?”
“Not at all.”
The car began moving as the two women bickered lightly. Leaning against the window and gazing outside, Irina let out a sigh. I’m screwed. By now, Mom probably already knew she had slipped away. How long would she be grounded this time? When she got back, her back would be in pieces.
“…Can I ask you something?”
While Irina sighed again, wondering how to apologize, Kim Suhyun spoke quietly from her seat.
“What.”
“…Why do you like the examiner?”
Irina blinked. She had thought this girl was some strange creature that only reeked of blood, yet she apparently had a bit of girlish sentiment too. Haha. How cute. Though Irina was barely older than Kim Suhyun, she answered as if she were a life senior.
“Does something like that need a reason?”
“Yes. It does.”
Wow. She cut that down like a knife. I really don’t like her. Grumbling inwardly, Irina fiddled with the window. “It’s nothing special. I just found him interesting.”
“Is that all?”
“What more do you need? He’s interesting, so I want to know more. I want to know more, so I want to stay closer. And for that, being lovers is obviously the best, right? Don’t tell me you want me to become a stalker instead. I’m nothing like that water ghost bastard, Kwak Hyuk.”
Zap—!
The moment the name left her lips, Irina’s eyes narrowed. Clear killing intent. A thick, sticky scent of blood seemed to fill the air. Curious, she turned her head—only to realize the source wasn’t herself, but Kim Suhyun.
…She’s just as crazy as I am.
Suddenly curious, Irina wondered if there were any normal people around Baek Seojin. Starting with herself, there was Kim Suhyun who even surprised her, the stalker Kwak Hyuk, and the vengeful Hyun Sujin. Everyone connected to him seemed to be like this.
“First, you need to learn how to control your aura.”
“I’ll handle it myself.”
“Handle it yourself, my ass. If you keep leaking it everywhere, you’re just advertising how low your level is. Seojin oppa will probably think you’re sloppy too.”
Kim Suhyun hadn’t reacted at all to being called low-level. But the moment Baek Seojin’s name came up, she reacted instantly. Her previously calm eyes wavered. Watching that, Irina laughed. “Hah…”
“Then what about you?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you so clingy with Seojin oppa?”
I answered, so now it’s your turn. At Irina’s implication, Kim Suhyun replied in a small voice.
“…He saved my life. More than once.”
“So you like him because of that?”
Nod nod—
“You know, that might not actually be liking someone.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you just want to repay the favor. Plus you feel grateful because he saved you. Maybe you’re mistaking that for romantic feelings.”
“Absolutely not.”
Her voice was cold—almost freezing. Irina simply smiled and said nothing more. Before long, the car carrying the two women passed through the main gate and entered the grounds.
“…Ah.”
Beyond the window stood numerous servants and, at their head, an elderly man. Seeing him, Irina let out a groan. No matter how many times she saw him, that old man always made her uncomfortable—and he was waiting for her.