What Did He Say to An Yumin Inside the Barrier? (3)
Back when An Yumin had cast Lee Junwoo out of Aegis, a vicious jealousy had been eating her alive.
"Yumin, have you found a boy you like?"
"Th-there's no way. Of course not. Dating is something I'll only do long after I graduate from the Academy…"
"I'm not against you dating, but… you still have to be careful with men. Make sure you meet someone who truly loves you."
Her mother had been that worried about her.
Her mother was someone whose entire life as a hero had been destroyed by the wrong kind of love. So An Yumin had kept it a secret from her. But she could not deny it. She already liked Lee Junwoo.
She only truly recognized that feeling in the second semester of her third year, though — and by then, it was already too late.
Around that time, countless rumors had started to reach her. People said Lee Junwoo had been fooling around with any number of girls. At first she had tried not to believe it. But at some point, simply seeing him with any woman who wasn't her was enough to fill her with a crushing, unbearable jealousy.
"Heh. So you actually believed a confession from a guy that cheap?"
She had always hidden it from her mother as well — but ever since her awakening, a voice had been speaking from somewhere deep inside her heart. It was like the whisper of a wicked villain. No — it truly was a villain's whisper.
The cursed villain's blood that ran through her veins. The blood of the man who had ruined the life of her mother, once a great hero. Her biological father's blood.
Mother barely ever spoke about him, but…
She had known it by instinct. An Yumin's real father. He had been a special-class villain so dangerous that even her mother — a hero who had surpassed S-class — had had to risk her life against him. And that evil blood flowing through her had always whispered for her to walk the path of an apostle, the path of darkness.
That was why An Yumin had always been so obsessed with becoming a hero of justice. The firmer her resolve, the less easily she was shaken by that evil temptation.
With one single exception.
Lee Junwoo.
"Why… why are you so gentle with other girls, and not just me?"
She could never stay cold when it came to him. After Aegis was formed, even Song Sia — so cold and dismissive of people — ate with Lee Junwoo every single day. Ha Yeeun never missed a chance to flaunt the gifts he gave her in front of An Yumin. Club activities continued every day after school, and so the evil whispers never stopped either.
"See? I told you. Lee Junwoo really is that kind of guy."
All through the second semester, watching him be kind to other girls, An Yumin had thought, If only those two weren't around… Junwoo would never have drifted away from me. She had felt a murderous hatred toward Song Sia and Ha Yeeun so intense it frightened her. But she had forced herself to endure it.
I'm going to be a hero. No — I already am one.
And this was the same Lee Junwoo who had confessed to her. She had believed those feelings were real, so she had to keep believing in him until the end.
"Lee Junwoo has been going in and out of Ha Yeeun's house. And it's not just me — he's been fooling around with countless girls from the Aegis fan club."
The moment she heard those words from the fan club president, the villain's blood inside her crossed a line.
"Haha. You idiot. What did I tell you? You were just being played by that blonde-tanned punk. Who would ever fall for a stiff girl like you, always going on about justice and heroes?"
"Even you can see there are prettier, more impressive girls all around you, right? A thug like Lee Junwoo could pick up women in his sleep. He got sick of you a long time ago."
Shut up!
But the more An Yumin suffered in silence over that incident, the more the evil whisper tormented her day after day.
Right. I need to ask Lee Junwoo for the truth myself.
She had made up her mind — but right up until that final moment, the villain's blood kept whispering to her.
"Are you really going to throw away the rest of your life over this? It's obvious without even looking. You want him to finish you off for good? There's no way Lee Junwoo still likes you. Heh."
The villain had been right. If she heard those cold words from Lee Junwoo himself — that his heart had left her long ago — her entire life would have crumbled to dust on the spot.
That first crack eventually crossed the breaking point.
Fine. If I just don't have to see Lee Junwoo in front of me anymore… everything will be over.
If he wasn't in front of her, she wouldn't have to suffer like this. So she had cast him out of the party. Ironically, she had never expected Song Sia and Ha Yeeun to agree so easily.
Her brief recollection ended.
Time returned to the present.
Right before her eyes, Lee Junwoo and Choi Hana were walking away hand in hand. Every word he had just shouted at her was still burned vividly into her memory.
In truth, ever since the exile, that whisper had grown very quiet. And so she had already sensed it — that she had made a terrible mistake. Song Sia and Ha Yeeun had clearly deteriorated without Lee Junwoo around, but at the very least, he no longer seemed to meet either of them privately of his own accord.
Lee Junwoo never liked those two in the first place.
She had known his personality well enough — and still, out of a completely baseless jealousy, she had driven him away herself. Just like some cruel prank of a villain.
The truth that everything might have been a misunderstanding had been terrifying her day after day — and then the school nurse's words had been decisive. For a full hour, she had listened to everything Lee Junwoo had done for Aegis. He had developed a panic disorder from the simple fact of being cast out by her.
Junwoo liked you until the very end.
The nurse's words rose in her mind again now. Everything had become an established fact. Lee Junwoo had done nothing wrong. Not to her. Not to Aegis.
What the hell… have I done?
Perhaps just a moment ago had been her last chance. She should have apologized to him first, no matter what. But even knowing in her head that it had all been a misunderstanding, that vicious jealousy had flared up again, and her heart would not settle. Worst of all, the object of that jealousy had been none other than Choi Hana — the same Choi Hana An Yumin had considered her greatest rival since their days at the high academy.
He said he wasn't dating Choi Hana.
Even thinking the two of them were together had been a misunderstanding. Because of that jealousy, she had thrown away her last chance. That gentle Lee Junwoo had even hurled harsh words at her.
Is it… really over now?
It hurt so much. And right now, she hated herself even more than she hated Choi Hana — hated the version of herself that had never managed to believe in Lee Junwoo until the end.
"Kh… kuh…"
She could barely breathe. A pain like the world collapsing crashed down on her. The same panic attack Lee Junwoo had suffered seemed to have seized her as well.
"An Yumin! Are you all right?!"
Seeing her like that, Jeong Ungyeong carefully caught her as she started to fall. She hated a man's hands on her more than death itself — but the An Yumin of this moment had no room left for such thoughts.
"You stupid bitch. Heh. Giving up this easily? You're An Yumin of Aegis. Is this all the freshman representative amounts to?"
And that cursed voice began to return.
"G-get… get away…"
The words hadn't been meant for him, but Jeong Ungyeong flinched in shock.
"Eek. I-I'm so sorry. Then perhaps my familiar—"
He summoned a paper familiar and used it to support An Yumin's body instead.
"Hah… hah…"
She wanted to reject that whisper — but even after being completely rejected by Lee Junwoo, she still could not give up the feelings she held for him.
I like him. I like him. I like him. I like him.
And the more of that affection remained, the more it tormented her all over again.
"Heh. Well, Lee Junwoo probably doesn't care about you anymore. But it's not over. Want me to teach you a good method?"
A cold hiss filled the air as the temperature around her plummeted.
Shut up.
"Just a moment ago, Lee Junwoo said he was going to become a hero, didn't he? Then you become a villain. A truly wicked villain. Then Lee Junwoo will have no choice but to look back at you."
Don't give me that bullshit!
It was complete nonsense — and yet, for a single instant, the words were so seductive that her heart wavered. The Lee Junwoo of now was far too resolute. No method she could think of seemed likely to repair what was between them.
An Yumin bit down hard on her lip. First, she needed to get her head straight. If the infiltrating villain really was Bonchina, then never mind a reunion with Lee Junwoo — he and every other cadet here were in danger. No. The truth was, only one person filled her thoughts.
Right. I have to protect Lee Junwoo, no matter what.
A villain that even Aegis would struggle against. Whatever his purpose, he had appeared inside the Academy — inside the grounds protected by Leticein's Ark. If he meant harm, the Middle Class cadets, relatively weaker than the High Class, were in greater danger. No matter how much Lee Junwoo had grown since leaving Aegis, he couldn't be compared to someone who already held a C-class Hunter license like herself.
The Lee Junwoo she had just faced had been so cold and absolute — but she didn't care if he cursed her for it. She still wanted him to look at her again, somehow.
An Yumin steadied herself. Then she spoke.
"Jeong Ungyeong. From this moment on, give clear tactical commands."
At those words, Jeong Ungyeong's ears perked up.
"Understood! Allow me to demonstrate my worth! With the three of Aegis, we can more than handle Bonchina!"
At the same time, Jeong Ungyeong raised his voice, weaving a spell into the command.
"Middle Class, fall back! The High Class will engage the villain!"
A moment later, the three members of Aegis moved.
The Middle Class cadets were in chaos. At first, everyone had assumed the training exercise was simply continuing — but the barriers spreading in every direction were nothing like the ones used in drills.
"This is a real combat situation! Everyone, get your heads on straight!"
And the one who announced that it was real — the one calming the panicking cadets — was none other than Lee Junwoo.
"These damn barriers are everywhere!"
Jeong Siu shouted. Choi Hana moved quickly as well, careful not to get trapped inside one.
She kicked off the ground in rapid succession, dodging yet another barrier as it formed.
It's like a maze.
Barriers were rising like screens all across the urban training ground, and with night already fallen, everyone's sense of direction was completely wrecked.
"They must have used those Chaos Attribute magic stones. They're generating far more barriers than anything on record."
Lim Jaeho said.
A barrier shattered right in front of them — but the bone fragments immediately recombined, and undead skeleton soldiers emerged. With so many barriers already in place, there was no path of retreat. The cadets' faces went pale.
Then a calm voice cut through the noise.
"Those are real monsters! Everyone be careful! Gather around any cadets who can use holy power!"
It was Lee Junwoo. Without a trace of panic, he was issuing orders to the Middle Class cadets.
Junwoo…
Watching him, Choi Hana felt her chest tighten. Just a short while ago, she had found herself crying because of him without meaning to. Lee Junwoo and An Yumin had been trapped in the same barrier — and Choi Hana, who happened to be nearby, had overheard their entire conversation by chance.
He developed a panic disorder… because of being exiled?
Hearing that, her body had trembled. Lee Junwoo and An Yumin clearly hadn't been ordinary friends. It had been the kind of relationship tangled up in romantic feelings on both sides. But the one who had been cast out was Lee Junwoo. She had assumed his departure was by mutual agreement — she had thought that if there had been any feelings involved, they would never have driven him out first.
Those three are even bigger idiots… no, bigger fools than I thought.
No — it wasn't something she could dismiss so lightly. If they had hurt someone like that, they were scum. No further evaluation was needed. Of course Lee Junwoo's wounds ran deeper. And yet he had never once shown any sign of struggle in front of Choi Hana. He had even readily accepted her party proposal, which must have been a burden in its own way. He had even helped her adapt to her new weapon.
I didn't even know what he was carrying inside… and I couldn't do a single thing to help him.
The Rain Weapons membership had been nothing more than a friendship fee. Even throughout this Hell Week, Lee Junwoo had always been kind to her. It made her heart ache. Even while enduring the agony of panic attacks, the Lee Junwoo of now was executing Hell Week's training to perfection.
He's truly a strong person.
That was when it happened.
A massive explosion tore through one of the urban buildings. The location was on the High Class side. Combat with the villain must have broken out over there first.
At this rate, we won't be able to face the villain.
The High Class had the three members of Aegis. Even so, if that side fell first, the risk of being picked off one by one was enormous. The cadets' stamina was already heavily depleted from the continuous training. Somehow, the Middle Class cadets needed to join up as well.
But right now, dealing with those skeleton soldiers first is also…
More than anything, those maze-like barriers blocking every path were the problem.
Just then, Lee Junwoo spoke to her.
"Follow me. Lim Jaeho and Jeong Siu can handle things here. We need to go help the High Class."
For a moment, she was startled. He was right, of course — but it still meant he was going to help the same An Yumin who had tormented him just moments ago.
As expected… he's on a completely different level.
The two of them moved out together. And once again, Choi Hana found herself astonished by Lee Junwoo.
How does he find the path through this maze in an instant?