The Ex-Girlfriend's Trap
"Is there... anything else...?"
"I heard you handle the healer classes. Is that right?"
"Yes. I'm a healer myself."
"Do you happen to have any information on the students' parents?"
"The parents?"
"Yes. Nothing else—just how much money their families have will do."
"That's personal information... Even as a teacher, I can't just..."
"So you're saying you don't know?"
"No... I can find out, but if I get caught..."
"It's fine. I'm not planning to use it for anything bad, so you don't need to worry."
"Still..."
"Does it prick your conscience? Feel like a crime? If that were the case, I would have already—"
"Aaaah... I'll do it. I'll do it, so please..."
Hong Eunyoung was older than me, yet with her weakness firmly in my grip she had no idea what to do with herself. She probably wanted nothing more than to blast my face off right then and there, but without mana, what could she possibly manage?
I spoke in a firm, commanding tone.
"Then I'd like it as soon as possible. Filter out only the students whose parents have assets of at least five billion won and organize the list for me. Be sure to include contact numbers."
"Yes..."
"And when I call, pick up immediately. Whether you're in the middle of class or in the bathroom—any situation at all."
"I understand."
"Then I'll be going. If you've finished eating, let's head out, Donggeul."
"Yeees~"
Maybe it was the food, but Lee Donggeul had returned to her usual self. I decided to pretend I hadn't seen that lewd, wicked something from earlier.
Leaving Hong Eunyoung silently watching our backs, I stepped out of the cafeteria building with Lee Donggeul.
Knowing everyone around me was an Awoken made me want to start touching them one by one right then and there to check their potential, but I had to hold back. What choice did I have? They were all either students or instructors, so caution was necessary.
Still, having one solid piece of leverage I could use whenever I wanted wasn't nothing.
I told Lee Donggeul to head back to Seoul for now. And there was one more thing I needed to say.
"I'm just leaving like this?"
"Yes. Is there something else you wanted to do?"
"No... You raised my mana too, so thank you..."
"Hm? Ah! I have something to tell you as well."
"What is it?"
"I quit the company. Please give my regards to the others. From today on, I'm not a Supporter anymore—I'm an Awoken."
"What? Then my mana... Without you, Team Leader, who am I supposed to go on dungeon expeditions with now?"
"Well, that's for the company to figure out. Unfortunately, this might be the end of it. Thank you for coming today."
"But... I don't want that."
"We'll meet again someday. Until then, stay out of trouble and take care of yourself."
"......"
I felt a little bad for making her come all the way to Incheon, but it had been for her revenge. I'd even raised her mana as a gift. And this wasn't a complete goodbye either.
Once I saved up enough money and started my own company, I planned to bring her over. Right now I didn't have the funds to cover the hundreds of millions in contract penalty fees it would take to pull her out immediately.
Baek Hwayeon and Kim Isol on top of that... My back would break. Starting a company would burn through a fortune too... Of course I'd need a certain amount of capital just to sign contracts with equipment rental firms.
Maybe I should just forget the company and join some massive corporation instead?
"What do I do if I miss you, Team Leader..."
"Pardon? Me? Well, then just call. Since I'm not working at the company anymore, outside of Academy classes I'll have plenty of free time."
"Okay. Then see you next time."
"Yes. Take care~"
In the end, Lee Donggeul's bright expression returned and she took a taxi back to Seoul.
Her greed for mana was unusually strong for her. Expressing it as missing me almost made my heart skip a beat.
I watched the taxi disappear into the distance, then quickly turned around.
They'd told me to come for the mana test by two o'clock, and I was already twenty minutes late. So what?
I was an Awoken now—what were they going to do about it?
Sure enough, a call came right away. I casually ignored it, ducked into a nearby café, got a fruit juice in hand, and only then strolled over at my leisure.
What was the big deal, anyway?
This was the whole reason I'd become an Awoken.
"Unbelievable... The amount is astonishing."
"You already have the results? At the National Mana Examination Center it takes two whole weeks."
"Ah, that's because those are non-Awoken tests. Finding mana in someone who hasn't awakened is extremely difficult, you see."
"I see. So how does my mana level look?"
"Incredible. It's close to the highest reading this year."
"So not the absolute highest, then."
"Well... that's true, but among those who awakened this year, you're easily in the top ten."
I was a little surprised inside.
My current mana was B-10—the same as Senior An Sora's. Tonight I planned to raise her mana to A and copy the new level for myself. But even without going that far, I'd figured Senior An's level of mana would at least put me at the top among Academy students. Apparently not.
The world was full of monsters, it seemed.
Since this was only among this year's Awoken, it meant there were dozens of people inside this Academy alone with mana of A-1 or higher.
"If we're talking about this year, where does that put me overall?"
"Overall?"
"Yes. Since the Academy was founded."
"Hmm... I can say you're in the upper ranks, but there are probably several hundred above you..."
Huh...
That was surprising. And most Awoken grew even further by going in and out of dungeons, so the real number was even higher than I could imagine.
Min Hyeokju's mana had definitely been around B-class 7 or 8. He was one of those Academy A-class graduates they only produced a hundred of per year. Cha Miso from Blue Dolphin was the same.
I clicked my tongue.
About half of those Awoken would be women, and if I sweet-talked them properly and made them mine, that power became mine as well. Of course, cherry-picking only the Transcendents would be ideal, but there were so few of them and they were far harder to deal with.
"Does 'awakened this year' mean they're all first-years?"
"No. Plenty awaken in their second year, or even as late as third year. Quite a few end up repeating a year because they never manage to awaken at all."
The man explaining all this to me was a doctor who researched mana. Being a non-Awoken himself, he was carefully explaining everything to someone much younger. Maybe he was just used to dealing with students and found an adult refreshing?
I rather liked this middle-aged guy.
Listening to him, I learned a great deal. But almost none of it was immediately useful. The ones I could put to use right away were the F-ranks—especially the F-ranks with rich families.
Obsessive parents existed everywhere, and parents who spared no expense for their children were just as common in this world.
I finished the mana test and stepped outside.
Now information about my mana would flow to government officials, and once it reached people like Park Yuri and that colonel from last time, things might get noisy again. But it was fine.
I could have forcibly lowered Senior An's mana and copied the reduced ability to pretend I barely had any. I chose not to.
While the information was being passed to the government, countless related parties would learn of it, and eventually those details would leak to the corporations as well. Then they would come running to find me.
Some Awoken who suddenly appeared out of nowhere ranking in the top ten for mana quantity? Of course they wouldn't just sit still. They would show up loaded with sponsorship offers.
I planned to sit back and enjoy the feast.
"Senior's already getting calls, apparently... Let's just wait patiently~"
I stretched.
What should I do today? Official classes started Monday. From now until then, more than two full days stretched empty before me.
I wandered the Academy grounds at a leisurely pace, hoping something interesting would happen.
"After being so busy, suddenly having free time is boring~"
That was when a text arrived.
Ah!
Should I reply or not? Should I meet her or not?
The sender was, of all people, my ex-girlfriend.
Shin Haneul.
"It's been a while, Oppa."
"Yeah."
I pulled out a cigarette and put it between my lips.
I'd left her text on read, and she called right away. I answered without thinking. She begged me to meet her just once, so I set a time for the next day—today—Saturday at two in the afternoon.
"You're smoking again..."
"Yeah."
This café had an outdoor terrace, so smoking was allowed at this table. Knowing it was allowed made me want one even more. I asked if they had an ashtray and they brought one over. I wasn't the type to refuse a smoke when the setup was perfect.
These days people hated smokers with a passion, yet places like this still existed. Interesting.
Shin Haneul was staring straight at me. The same cigarette she used to nag me endlessly to quit. The fact that she wasn't saying a word even though I'd started again made me wonder if this was really the same girl I used to know.
Still, I didn't blow the smoke toward her face.
"Phew... So, why did you want to see me?"
"Just... I was curious."
"Curious about what? I don't have anything... Ah, how is that bastard doing?"
"We broke up."
Of course.
I figured as much. I kind of wanted to see Min Hyeokju's face once. Wonder how he was getting by.
"Good. You did well. I'm a bastard myself, but that guy wasn't even human."
"Yeah..."
"He didn't do anything to you, did he?"
"I'm fine... I moved into the company dorms, so it's safe. There are a lot of Awoken in the same building."
"Whoa... They even have dorms there?"
"Apparently."
That was enough small talk. I wanted to get to the point already. Why the hell did you call me?
"Looks like you're doing well."
"Yeah... But Oppa."
She sure tossed around "Oppa" freely. We were the same age.
I kept my expression blank and looked into her eyes. She was avoiding mine. Don't tell me she came to borrow money?
"Spit it out. Hoo..."
"Oppa, did you ever lie to me?"
"What? What the hell is that supposed to mean all of a sudden?"
"... Oppa. Did you lie about the mana test results? Did you actually have mana and already awaken, and just pretend otherwise because you knew I was cheating?"
I sat there with my mouth open for a long moment.
Thinking about it, the misunderstanding was understandable. Against Min Hyeokju—even if the guy had lost his mana—I had beaten him one-sidedly.
"No. The mana came later."
"What? That doesn't make sense. Why didn't you just tell me the truth? If I'd known, I wouldn't have gone this far—"
"Haaack— ptoo."
I spat a wad of phlegm into the ashtray like some dog was barking nearby. I felt a little bad for the café staff.
I spoke with an extremely annoyed look on my face.
"What would have changed if I'd told you that day? That bastard was already waiting right outside the house. Did you call me here just to say this shit?"
"No. I was just... curious."
"I did become an Awoken. I registered at the Academy yesterday. They said that among this year's Awoken, if you rank by pure mana quantity, I'm in the top ten. So what? What does that have to do with you?"
"... No. Congratulations..."
Shin Haneul had returned to the version of herself from when we used to meet. Not the one decked out in Min Hyeokju's money. Still, she'd dressed up reasonably well to see me.
"Anyway, it's good to see you rid of that total piece of trash and holding down a proper job. Don't go meeting weird guys like me or Min Hyeokju again—take care of yourself. It was nice seeing you after so long. I'll get the bill."
"Wait... Don't go, Oppa."
"Fine. If you've got something to say, don't hold it in—say it all. It's going to be hard to see each other after this."
"Oppa..."
Something felt off around my chest.
I'd finally quit that hellish company and was about to start a new life. I thought I'd closed every chapter, and right on cue Shin Haneul contacted me. Whether it was Buddha or God, this bastard was fucking with me right now.
"Can we... get back together..."
"Haneul."
"Yeah."
"Want to have sex with me?"
"What?"
"Let's be sex partners. When I get lonely sometimes, I'll take care of your nights. Once you get a new boyfriend, we stop."
Shin Haneul, who had been avoiding my gaze the whole time, finally met my eyes. Her eyes, wide with shock, seemed to ask whether I was serious.
Of course I wasn't. This was just a way to thoroughly trash her and forget her while I was cleaning house.
I could see both of her hands resting on her knees trembling.
We could never get back together anyway. I had become far too different a person from back then. Even if the memories we shared turned into the worst ones possible, this was the only way.
"You bastard... If you don't want to, just say you don't want to..."
Drip. Drip.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Yeah. That was a bit harsh. Sorry. But you know it too. We can never go back to the past. That's my answer."
"......"
"Even now, if I weren't an Awoken, you wouldn't have thought about coming back. That's how I see it. I think that's enough of an answer."
"......"
"You're not in some kind of trouble, right? Someone like you could do way better than me or Min Hyeokju... !?"
"I'm sorry..."
Oh, fuck.
The situation was turning to shit.
Suddenly a number of people surrounded me, blocking every escape route. Their movements looked prepared from the very beginning.
"What the hell? Who are you people!"
"A pleasure to meet you, Kang Junghyeok-ssi."
I spun around in surprise. A man with a familiar face was standing there.
"I'm Kim Jaeseok of the Diamond Guild. I'm going to have to ask you to come with us for a moment."
The man I had met inside the Suwon Hwaseong Gate—the one who had been the Diamond Guild's rescue team leader—was standing right in front of me.
"Shin Haneul... Don't tell me you..."
"I'm sorry. Jaeseok Oppa... no, the company asked me to..."
I couldn't believe how absurd this was.
I was angrier right now than I had ever been.