The Academy Entrance Exam
Cheon Seong approached Yuna after passing the second exam, only to find Dang Hwa-ryeon and Yoo Hwa-young standing beside her. His expression darkened.
"Ah! Cheon Seong! You're here! How did the exam go?"
"...I think I passed. But what are those two doing here?"
"Ah...it's...it's nothing, really."
She said it was nothing, but Yuna was avoiding his gaze.
Something had clearly happened. The question was why Yuna, Dang Hwa-ran, and Yoo Hwa-young were all together.
"Don't tell me some other creep made a move while I was gone?"
Throb.
Yuna's body flinched. That was the answer, then.
"Sigh...thank you for protecting Yuna in my place. Really."
"Huh? What's this, suddenly being sincere?"
What the hell was this woman saying to a complete stranger?
"Haha. Of course."
"Ugh...this is awkward. You sound like some old geezer."
Was this bitch really trying to push his buttons? He'd held back a curse just to be polite, and what did he get? Called a geezer? A geezer? Damn it, he hadn't even been old enough to be called a geezer before his regression.
"Haha...Yuna, let's go."
"Ah...um...well, actually..."
He wanted nothing more than to get away from these two, but Yuna stopped him, looking apologetic.
"...What else is there?"
"Um...yeah...it's...it's nothing, but...well, you see..."
"I won't get mad. Just tell me."
At his promise not to lose his temper, Yuna cautiously looked at him, about to speak—when Yoo Hwa-young cut in again.
"Ah, it's nothing! Yuna, Hwa-ryeon, and I decided to be friends, and we're hanging out together today, so don't worry!!"
"Hwa...Hwa-young!!"
Haha...ha...ha! Haa....Damn, life really sucks.
"Right...I guess that makes sense. It's fine, Yuna."
He'd just give up. Continuing to struggle like this was pointless—letting go would be more peaceful.
No matter how he thought about it, this life was cursed in its own way.
Before his regression, he'd never once met these two people until the war with the Heavenly Tribes began. But in this life, they kept getting tangled up with him in the strangest ways.
"Um...uh...that...ah...earlier...I'm...I'm so...sorry...um...ahhh!!"
And Dang Hwa-ryeon—what was that bitch doing again? She'd suddenly approached on her own, said something to herself, and then retreated.
"...What was that about?"
"Huh? How would I know? Why are you asking me? Maybe you want to talk to me? Is that it? I'm pretty, but you'd better not fall for me~."
"You damn...hah...I have zero interest in you. Not even 0.001 percent. So don't worry. And Yuna is prettier and more lovable than you anyway."
"Cheon...Cheon Seong, what are you saying!"
Yuna's face flushed at Seong's sudden compliment—and attack. She smacked his back.
"Wow! You two are dripping with honey! Just watching you makes my teeth rot!"
"Hwa...Hwa-young!!"
"Ahahaha! You're so lucky! Having a girlfriend as cute as Yuna! You're so blessed, so blessed!!"
"That's true."
This time, he completely agreed with Yoo Hwa-young.
Even by his own standards, Yuna was far too precious a woman for someone like him.
"Ahahaha...ah...you guys are really fun. What's your name? I'm Yoo Hwa-young, by the way!"
Yoo Hwa-young extended her hand and asked for his name.
He hesitated for a moment—should he tell her? But she was already friends with Yuna, and he'd already given his name to Dang Hwa-ran, so he reached out to shake her hand and said—
"My name is Lee Cheon-seong—"
Whoosh—!
Just as they were about to clasp hands, Yoo Hwa-young yanked her hand away and grinned at him.
"Ahahaha! You can't chase other girls when you already have a girlfriend as pretty as Yuna!"
"You damn bitch...."
"Wow~! Yuna! Cheon Seong just cursed at me~~."
Unable to hold back, a curse had slipped out. Hearing it, Yoo Hwa-young hid behind Yuna and giggled at him.
For a moment, the thought of just killing her filled his mind. But then Yuna pushed Hwa-young out from behind her and spoke.
"This time, Hwa-young, it's your fault."
With Yuna no longer as a shield, Yoo Hwa-young approached with her hands raised.
Thump—thump thump!
"Uh...uh?...um...Cheon...Cheon Seong...? We should resolve this with words, not violence—ahhh!"
Crack—!
He pressed his hand firmly onto Hwa-young's head. Her pained scream rang out.
"Kyaaaaaah! Ah! This really hurts! Wait! Aaaah!! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!! My head's gonna crack! It's cracking! Kyaaaaah! Yuna, save me!!"
"You're so dramatic. We haven't even started yet!"
Crack!
He squeezed harder, and Hwa-young nearly died of joy.
"Damn...look at those veins in your hand...that must really hurt..."
"Isn't that a bit much?"
"Should we call someone?"
Others nearby began whispering, but who gave a damn. He'd been holding back his irritation since earlier, and this was the perfect chance to let it all out.
"Cheon Seong, let her go. Hwa-young has probably learned her lesson by now, right? Hwa-young?"
"Yeah! I've learned my lesson! So please let me go!!"
"Alright, that's enough."
Yuna had intervened. He still wasn't fully satisfied, but she'd been humiliated in front of others, so he released his grip on Hwa-young's head as she said.
"Ow, ow...damn, wasn't that too much!? I thought my head was gonna crack!"
"If it didn't crack, your head must be pretty tough."
"You damn...! Are you calling me stupid right now!?"
"Oh, busted. So you're not as dumb as I thought, huh?"
"Hey, you really!! Um...?"
Hwa-young huffed in anger at his words, then suddenly looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Hmm...what is it? Your speech pattern sounds kind of similar to Hanwol's...."
Throb.
I went too far without realizing it.
Hanwol was the pseudonym he'd used when talking to Cheon Yu-seong at Seoraksan Dungeon. Hwa-young must have heard it from him.
"Do you know someone called Hanwol? Someone with black hair and a mask, like you."
"Who's that? And just because someone sounds similar doesn't mean you know them. That's weird."
"Is it? But it feels too similar to just be a coincidence....."
As Hwa-young's suspicion deepened, a hologram appeared in the sky above them, displaying names alongside the registration numbers everyone had received.
This is the list of passers for the second exam. All those on the list, please gather together.
The announcement of the second exam passers list, along with the instruction to gather, reached his ears.
Cheon Seong knew this was a communication magic—and an opportunity to escape Hwa-young's suspicion.
"Yuna, let's go."
"Huh? Um...wait, Cheon Seong, Hwa-young and Hwa-ran should come too! Ah, Hwa-young! Hwa-ran!! We're going first! I'm really sorry."
Seong wasn't about to miss this chance to slip away. He took Yuna's hand and deliberately followed the residual trace of the communication magic.
"Hmm...something's off...well, Hwa-ran, let's go too."
Yoo Hwa-young watched Seong disappear quickly, her eyes full of suspicion, and spoke to Dang Hwa-ran. Hwa-ran, meanwhile, stared at the hand Seong held with Yuna's and muttered:
"I'm jealous..."
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Ah...nothing. Let's go."
Following the residual trace of the communication magic, they arrived at a location where someone who appeared to be a professor spoke to them.
"The third exam will be conducted at a different location. Everyone, please wear the bracelets I'm giving you now."
A single bracelet flew toward them, propelled by flame magic.
A teleportation artifact.
He put it on and confirmed the inscription—there was a teleportation formula engraved on the bracelet.
Of course, the formula carved into the bracelet had many limitations, and the destination was fixed. But even so, it was a spatial-type artifact that would fetch at least several billion at auction.
"The bracelets you've received are artifacts that teleport you to the location of the third exam. If you don't wear them properly, your body may be severed during the transfer, so please make sure to wear them correctly."
At the mention that their bodies could be severed, those who had been admiring the bracelets jumped in shock, and the sound of them being put on filled the air.
Seong thought it was ridiculous—there was plenty of time, and if they got cut, the academy would just stitch them back together. What was there to be afraid of?
But then, in a voice unusually subdued, Yuna asked him something.
"Cheon Seong...is it really true that your body can be severed during teleportation?"
"Huh? Ah, yeah. Teleportation doesn't move your body directly. It creates an invisible space of a certain size, and moves whatever's inside it. If something's outside that space, it can't be moved along with the rest, so it gets left behind and severed."
"Ah~ So teleportation is that dangerous. And Cheon Seong, you taught me that dangerous thing without explaining any of this, with your sister."
"That's..."
Seong's body stiffened as he tried to respond to Yuna's words.
Chilling.
Yuna's words flew like a dagger, embedding themselves in his chest.
Crack—!
Yuna squeezed his hand, gripping it tightly.
Seong turned his body stiffly to look at Yuna beside him. She smiled at him and said:
"You know I'm not going to let you off when we get home."
"Y-yes...ma'am."
Pain was nothing to fear for Cheon Seong. But Yuna getting angry—she never got angry—was terrifying.
"Kikikiki... Yuna, fighting!"
Yoo Hwa-young, watching from afar, covered her mouth and giggled. But there was nothing he could do about it.
Yuna was angry, and her reasons were entirely justified. Above all, there was one biggest reason.
Cheon Seong was first-rate at fighting but third-rate at romance. He had no idea how to get out of this situation.
.
.
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.
Five minutes had passed since the bracelets were distributed.
"We will now begin the transfer! You may experience severe motion sickness afterward, so please be careful!"
With those words, mana began to gather around them. It enveloped everyone wearing the bracelets and began to glow.
Recognizing the familiar signs of teleportation, Cheon Seong thought:
Those dogshit academy bastards....
The transfer to the third exam was itself part of the third exam. And the destination wasn't even that far from where they were—far enough that teleportation wasn't even necessary.