The Silent Obsession
CRACK!
"Stop! Martial Arts Club — Huang Bo-jung wins!"
"What a great spar."
"...What a great spar."
The Martial Arts Club's Huang Bo-jung.
Though not on the level of the Four Great Sects like the Cheon family of Sichuan, Huang Bo-jung of the respected Huang Bo Family was savoring the gazes of admiration from those around him and the envious cheers.
'Yeah, look at me! I'm Huang Bo-jung of the Huang Bo Family!'
The Huang Bo Family, a noble house that produced many geniuses with the blessed Huang Bo bloodline and the rare innate talent known as Mu-gol, had only one dream.
To elevate the family to one of the Four Great Sects.
Unfortunately, even though they possessed superior Mu-gol, the family constantly lost the top spot to the Heuk-buk Bang family.
But not anymore!
'Now it will be me, Huang Bo-jung, who defeats the Heuk-buk Bang and raises the Huang Bo Family to the Four Great Sects!!'
Tap-tap.
"Hey. It's my turn now, right? Could you step aside?"
"Hm? Ah, sorry."
Huang Bo-jung, who had been mentally rehearsing his reason for coming to this Korean Academy, politely asked the person ahead of him to step aside since it was his turn, then moved aside after the man apologized.
The shimmering golden hair of Huang Bo-jung swayed right in front of his eyes, and his sapphire-blue eyes, as deep as pockets, flashed open wide as he offered his thanks.
"Thanks for stepping aside."
Grin.
"""Kyaaaaa! Seong-ssi, fighting!!!"""
It was Cheon Yu-seong, one of the Lucinus of this Academy.
Even Huang Bo-jung, a man himself, was utterly stunned by the sheer handsomeness of Cheon Yu-seong. The girls who had been nearby squealed and fainted, some collapsing in heaps.
Yu-seong smiled kindly at the girls cheering him on, waved his hand, and said thanks before walking away. Watching his retreating figure, Huang Bo-jung raised a hand to his head and shook it back and forth.
Swish, swish!
Nothing was caught in Huang Bo-jung's hand. The Huang Bo family had been a bald clan for generations, a joke told to other students.
Glitter.
The sky was clear and the sunlight dazzling, and his receding hairline sparkled.
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CRACKLE!!
Cheon Yu-seong charged forward at blinding speed, yellow lightning crackling around him, and thrust his staff like a spear. He struck the opponent's wrist, sending the weapon flying.
Thud!
After Yu-seong kicked the weapon far away so the opponent couldn't hold it, he pinned the opponent down. The referee confirmed the end of the spar and shouted for it to stop.
"Stop! Korean Club — Cheon Yu-seong wins!"
"Ugh, that was tough. You're seriously strong."
"You too."
After the referee announced the result and the two shook hands to mark the end of the spar, Yu-seong descended from the arena. The girls waiting there rushed over in a crowd.
"Yu-seong, you worked hard!"
"It was so cool! Yu-seong really is amazing!"
"Yeah, yeah! He went shwoong! and finished in one go!"
"Haha, you don't have to praise me like that. The opponent was good too."
Yu-seong smiled awkwardly at the girls hyping him up and said the opponent was also good, that he didn't need the praise. But the girls were so humble they praised him even more, calling him flawless.
Still being called amazing, Yu-seong felt embarrassed and said thanks. But in his handsome, embarrassed face, his true thoughts were worlds away.
'Hah, damn it. Those extra years really piss me off.'
Everyone was half-decent-looking, but they had no backing and were barely half as attractive as him. No matter how pretty they were, how could nameless extras from the novel ever enter his story?
'Except Nabi. Just her alone.'
Just like in any novel, the rule was that the heroine would always be more attractive than a minor extra or side character. But after transmigrating into the novel, Yu-seong had found an extra who rivaled the heroine.
The girl who worked as a female streamer online — BJ Nabi-ra.
Nabi-ra, with her pink hair swaying and her large breasts healing him, was now the most promising candidate for his wife.
Nabi-ra was already consolidating her position as president by pouring money into her streams, just like he had done for Yuna back then, in case the dog author tried to mess with him again.
The money he had spent on her streams alone had already exceeded 100 million, and all he had to do now was show up and she would smile brightly with delight.
'She seems to have almost come over to me already. Should I ask where she lives? No, rushing in all at once might be too soon, so I should first ask for her contact info.'
'It might look like an early judgment, but would I really be able to do it after seeing how Nabi treats me?
Every time he went into the stream, she smiled brightly, called him Oppa and welcomed him eagerly, and clapped for whatever he said. She had to have 100% affection for him already.
Otherwise, why would she react so eagerly to every word he said and only call him Oppa?
'Ah, I hope the stream starts soon. I should tell her to adjust the broadcast time.'
"And the way you flicked the sword earlier was so cool!"
"Really? Thanks, everyone. I'm a bit tired, so I think I'll head out first."
"Ah! We were too inconsiderate. Sorry, Yu-seong."
"No, it's fine. Then I'll go."
So Yu-seong walked on, ignoring the annoying nameless extras who kept bothering him. During the downtime until the next spar, he thought about rewatching Nabi-ra's stream from yesterday.
A shadow waited from afar until Yu-seong was alone, then pushed off the ground and sprinted toward him.
Tada-tada-tadak!
"H-hey! Just a moment!!"
"Hm?"
Yu-seong turned at the voice. In front of him stood a girl with a somewhat ordinary appearance, panting.
"Do you have business with me?"
"Hah, hah, th-that is, so, uh, th-that..."
'What the hell is this girl doing? So annoying.'
Other girls talked too much and irritated him, but this one didn't, yet people still got irritated if they didn't speak properly.
"Ah, uh, that... um, nothing—"
But that's not how you piss a person off.
Yu-seong noticed the potion bottle in the girl's hand and interrupted her to ask, "Are you trying to give me that?"
"Y-yes! T-that's my... my self-made recovery potion."
"Ah, made for me? Thanks, I'll drink it."
"Ah! Thank you so much!"
Yu-seong accepted the potion after thanking the girl, who was overjoyed that he had taken it.
"Then I'll go. See you later."
"Y-yes! Ah, l-low, I-I'm Emily."
"Haha, no need to be so nervous. Anyway, see you later, Emily."
Yu-seong walked away after receiving the potion from Emily. Behind him, the girl's blushing cheeks were cupped in her hands as she quietly smiled at his back.
...Grin.
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Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
The echoing sound of high heels filled the Academy corridor. The owner of the footsteps was Cheon Yu-seong, the golden-haired, sapphire-eyed beauty from earlier. He took out the potion he had received from Emily and stopped in front of a trash can somewhere in the middle of the corridor.
Then
Whoosh!
He tossed the potion from Emily into the trash like garbage, pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped his hands while muttering.
"That dirty girl... thinks I would believe and eat something she made?"
Emily, Emily, Emily. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't recall the name.
So she was just another extra. But why did the feeling keep coming?
"No, why would I feel deja vu toward that girl in the first place? What is she?"
Yu-seong couldn't understand why he felt deja vu toward an extra he didn't even remember.
An ordinary-looking girl with no standout features... or body...
"Still, her eyes were watchable at least."
Emily wasn't anything special, but one thing was. Her emerald-green eyes, glowing like emeralds, felt incredibly beautiful to him.
But no matter what, he had no idea why he felt deja vu from such an ordinary Emily.
"Hah... I'd better go back and rewatch Nabi..."
Deciding not to bother his head with the extra, Yu-seong turned to leave when his foot suddenly froze.
"..."
Cheon Yu-seong's steps halted in perfect unison with the shadow. Beside the unmoving figure, a cold, hunter-like gaze pierced toward his neck — the eyes of a man who knew everything.
The owner of the jet-black eyes that mixed all colors without allowing coexistence was the only regressor in this world, Cheon Seong, who knew Yu-seong's secret and wanted his downfall more than anyone.
"......"
"......"
A heavy silence fell as the two silently stared at each other, not a single breath heard.
Click.
Thud.
The air in the confined corridor space grew heavy with the pressure between the two.
They stood like that for a few minutes, staring silently, until a bright voice broke the tension.
"Hey! What are you doing standing around! Is something wrong...?"
Strongly shoving Cheon Seong's back, a red-haired beauty appeared — Yoo Hwa-young.
Hwa-young saw Cheon Seong still staring at Cheon Yu-seong and was startled, her hand trembling as she asked.
"...Who was that?"
Crack!
"...It's Cheon Yu-seong. Same Lucinus as me."
Yu-seong suppressed the rising anger at the sight of Hwa-young not recognizing him. Cheon Seong glanced at Hwa-young and confirmed with silence, then said to her.
"...It's fine. It was just a misunderstanding. Don't worry about it. I'm waiting for Yuna."
"Hey, but earlier you were... no, never mind. Let's go. Ah, and hey. You always worry about Yuna the most even though you wait with the others. It's really unfair."
After asking about the killing intent Hwa-young had felt earlier, Hwa-young decided not to ask if she couldn't say something and walked past Yu-seong.
Cheon Seong's steps, which had stopped, fell to the ground. He took one slow step, passed right beside Yu-seong, and whispered so quietly only Yu-seong could hear.
"Your head looks fine."
"What? What do you mean—"
Yu-seong tried to ask what that meant, but Cheon Seong didn't wait and continued walking right behind Hwa-young, who was now far away.
Though not loud enough to hear, the two could be seen bickering from afar, and from that closeness, something intimate seemed to pass between them.
Grind. Grind.
Yu-seong, who didn't know Hwa-young, and Cheon Seong, who ignored him in everything, grew furious at the sight of Cheon Seong acting friendly toward the heroine he wanted — Hwa-young. He returned to the dormitory, slammed the door shut, and shouted.
CRASH!!!
"How dare! How dare! How dare! You extras!!"
Zap! Zap-zap!
The lightning of Yu-seong's unique ability, Lightning God, which he couldn't control with rage, erupted in the dormitory room, scorching the inside black.
Whoosh!
Staring at the scorched marks on the wall, Yu-seong stopped his rampaging lightning and stood before them, looking down at the damage.
Then...
Zap! Zap-zap!!!
BOOM!!!!
The lightning of the Lightning God struck toward the spot.
Golden threads fluttered in the room.