Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: The Two Instructors' Secret Time - (2)
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***
“……”
Her lips hesitated, her gaze wavering.
She was clearly agitated. Facing Kalli, Adelia rested her chin on her hand, her mind filled with thoughts.
‘She definitely has feelings for Cadet Han Cheon-seong.’
There was no other way to interpret Kalli’s expression.
She had sensed it a few times when they’d met in the infirmary, but now it was much clearer.
Instructor Kalli currently saw Cadet Han Cheon-seong as more than just a ‘cadet.’ While Adelia could sympathize with that feeling, a part of her heart felt a slight tickle.
*Swoosh.*
As she slowly tilted her glass, the bittersweet taste of the wine felt a little sweet.
‘I really didn’t intend for this to happen.’
A small laugh escaped her as she lowered the glass from her lips.
When she had first arranged to have drinks with her, her intentions were completely different from what they were now.
On the contrary, she had planned to be even colder than before, to set Instructor Kalli’s heart straight.
The hint that she was feeling something strange for a cadet. I had noticed it.
That’s why she had made this appointment—to warn her that such feelings were not right, that she needed to see the cadet ‘as a cadet.’
But now, the situation had completely changed.
“If it’s that hard for you to say, I’ll go first.”
As I spoke up, I saw Instructor Kalli flinch and look at me.
So I decided to reveal my ‘heart’ first.
“The ten or so days Cadet Han Cheon-seong spent in the infirmary after his injury. I spent quite a lot of time with him.”
There was no hesitation as I calmly stated the facts.
I had agonized over it so much. I was now a little more aware of my own feelings.
...That I was harboring feelings an instructor should not have, right here in a corner of my heart.
“And the more I saw of Cadet Han Cheon-seong during our time together, the more I realized. What kind of person he is, and what kind of ‘man’ he is to the opposite sex.”
“...!”
As Instructor Kalli, who had been listening blankly, flinched at my last words, a small laugh escaped me.
I had emphasized them, hoping she would feel that way.
Seeing her react as I’d expected felt a little strange.
“I think Cadet Han Cheon-seong has a rare charm. I felt in many ways that he’s distinctly different from the other cadets. And watching how he treats others only solidified that belief.”
As I calmly laid my heart bare, my thoughts seemed to organize themselves.
The endless confusion.
The question of whether my feelings were truly acceptable.
Why on earth did I develop such emotions?
And the immense guilt that followed.
…
And the end of all those thoughts was, surprisingly, nothing monumental.
‘I just… came to accept myself.’
I simply came to accept what kind of feelings these were.
And I was certain that Instructor Kalli, who was with me now, felt something quite similar.
That’s why I was having drinks with her like this.
“Instructor Adelia. W-Wait a moment. What on earth do you mean by that……”
Seeing her ask back in genuine surprise, I couldn’t stop smiling.
Her shocked expression. The way her wavering eyes looked at me as if she couldn’t believe it, strangely enough, made me want to laugh.
‘She feels the exact same way I do.’
In fact, she probably felt it before I did. Why was she making such a shocked face?
“I won’t say any more. I’m just saying that’s how I felt about Cadet Han Cheon-seong. Now, would you care to tell me what you felt, Instructor Kalli?”
I asked again, thinking it would be easier for her to speak now.
For her to express the feelings in her heart.
“……”
Instructor Kalli, who had been staring at me blankly for a moment, suddenly lifted her wine glass.
My eyes followed the movement.
Unlike before, when she had taken light sips, she suddenly tilted the glass and downed the wine in one go.
*Clink.*
There was even a strange forcefulness in the way she set the glass down.
“...Bitter.”
As she grimaced and smacked her lips, another laugh burst out of me.
It was as if she was making a great resolution before speaking, and it felt uncharacteristically cute for her.
“...You said Cadet Han Cheon-seong is charming, Instructor Adelia.”
“Yes. I truly felt that way.”
I added another sentence, subtly expressing my feelings.
The ten or so days I had spent with him. The moment he left the infirmary and I was left alone. That was when I first truly felt the emptiness.
I never knew the infirmary could feel so desolate; I felt a profound loneliness.
“I can relate to that sentiment. Cadet Han Cheon-seong is very different from the other cadets. His unusually upright heart, his constant effort to do his best in everything, and his complete lack of pretense or affectation. He’s always trying his best, so my eyes are naturally drawn to him.”
“...I see.”
I found myself understanding Kalli’s words.
Things one could only feel by observing Cadet Han Cheon-seong closely. Instructor Kalli was telling me about them now.
*Huu.* Instructor Kalli took a moment to catch her breath, her dazed look gone.
She looked at me with eyes that had made a firm decision.
“So, at times, he constantly surprises me. You might not have seen it since you were treating him, Instructor Adelia, but Cadet Han Cheon-seong is always looking forward. He’s always trying to move on to the next step. You could call it a desire for improvement, or an expression of his unbreakable will. Most of all, the way he never tries to escape the ‘reality’ he’s been given has always been impressive.”
I didn’t reply to her calm yet strong-willed voice.
I could sympathize with some of her words. But there were other parts I didn’t understand.
‘I suppose…’
I didn’t really know how Cadet Han Cheon-seong trained or improved.
There were surely sides of him that I didn’t know.
“Instructor Adelia, you asked me what I think of Cadet Han Cheon-seong. I… I think he is a truly ideal cadet. Despite his unfavorable circumstances, he always looks ahead and never gives up. That’s why I see him as someone who will grow even greater in the future. I’m almost certain... he might even become the first Common-grade to rise to the rank of an Axis of the Empire.”
Her next words surprised me.
I thought Instructor Kalli was finally going to express her feelings to me. Her feelings for Cadet Han Cheon-seong.
Since I had revealed my heart first, I thought she would find it a bit easier to show her own...
‘But she’s going to change the subject, even now?’
It wasn’t that her words were meaningless. To say that a Common-grade cadet like Han Cheon-seong could become an Axis of the Empire was a statement not many could make so easily.
It was a very meaningful statement, but it was quite far from the answer I wanted.
“Instructor Kalli.”
“Instructor Adelia.”
Just as I opened my mouth, our voices overlapped.
“...You go first, Instructor Adelia.”
As she caught her breath and spoke, I let out a soft sigh and began.
“What you said before was all well and good. It genuinely felt like you hold Cadet Han Cheon-seong in very high regard and care for him deeply. But Instructor Kalli, is that... really all?”
I asked again, this time directly.
Is that really all you have to say?
I had no intention of beating around the bush or muddying the topic at this point.
I was here with Instructor Kalli, sharing the ‘same feelings.’ To honestly reveal our hearts and discuss what comes next.
So, I needed a proper answer from her.
“...All? What am I supposed to say about Cadet Han Cheon-seong here?”
But. Despite that, Instructor Kalli was still saying something else.
Looking me straight in the eye... the way she asked with such a puzzled expression made me doubt myself for a moment.
‘Is she still trying to play dumb?’
I didn’t know why she was trying so hard to deny it. *Huu*, a deep sigh escaped me unconsciously.
I took a moment to compose myself and met her gaze completely.
“I am asking if the feelings you have for Cadet Han Cheon-seong are solely those of an instructor.”
So she couldn’t even try to avoid it anymore.
Just when I thought Instructor Kalli would have no other choice but to answer.
She blinked her eyes blankly.
“What do you... mean by that?”
As Instructor Kalli continued, her lips trembling, I was the one who was left speechless.
‘Wait a minute. Don’t tell me…’
I truly couldn’t believe it, but given Instructor Kalli’s current reaction, I could only come to one conclusion.
Amazingly.
...So incredibly, unbelievably amazing. Instructor Kalli was currently unaware of her own ‘feelings.’
No, should I say she wasn't properly aware of them?
She looked as if she hadn’t established what kind of feelings she had when dealing with or looking at Cadet Han Cheon-seong... as if she hadn’t figured out her own emotions.
“...Pfft.”
A disbelieving laugh escaped me, and the hand propping up my chin almost lost its strength. I roughly ran my fingers through my hair, my own mind growing complicated.
‘Seriously…’
For a moment, I felt like an idiot.
I had been almost certain that we shared the same feelings, the same heart.
Back when I had no feelings for Cadet Han Cheon-seong, I had felt that Instructor Kalli treated him strangely, and when we met again later, I thought she clearly harbored feelings beyond that of an instructor.
Later, when I became confused after developing feelings for him myself... I naturally thought we would be able to understand each other.
That was a huge miscalculation.
‘How can this be real?’
I looked at Instructor Kalli again, still in disbelief.
“I d-don’t understand what you’re talking about, Instructor Adelia. What kind of feelings am I s-supposed to have when dealing with Cadet Han Cheon-seong?”
Perhaps it was the alcohol, or perhaps my words had thrown her into a state of great confusion. Her face was flushed red as she rambled incoherently.
“……”
At that, I just blankly lifted the glass in front of me.
*Gulp.*
Just as Instructor Kalli had done a moment ago.
I drained the glass as if pouring the wine into my mouth and intentionally set it down with a loud noise.
*Clack!*
*Flinch!*
Seeing Kalli flinch, I was truly at a loss for words.
More accurately, words did come to mind. But I didn't want to say them out loud.
‘You’re twenty-five years old…’
I swallowed the words, a disbelieving laugh escaping me. Then I shook my head and spoke.
“It’s… nothing. Never mind. Let’s stop talking about Cadet Han Cheon-seong.”
I just gave up.
‘To think someone could be twenty-five and not know what love is.’
...Even a young girl with a heart in turmoil wouldn’t speak like Instructor Kalli was right now.
That’s why I couldn’t believe it.
That I tried to connect on an emotional level with a person like this.
That I tried to discuss the future with her.
“Y-Yes. Let’s stop talking about it.”
Seeing Instructor Kalli brighten at my words, another thought inadvertently rose in my mind.
‘...Maybe.’
I should just have him for myself.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if I were the one to have him.
No, thinking about it, it felt like the right path.
*Swoosh.*
As I watched Instructor Kalli pour wine into her own glass, I found myself nodding.
Seeing her, flushed red and muttering something trivial about being hot, made me feel like a complete fool.
'To think... I was about to share him with someone like this.'
The decision I had struggled so hard to make vanished into thin air.
Now, I think I would hate that.