Chapter 169
Chapter 169
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: A Strange Mood in the Dead of Night
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***
They say humans are creatures of emotion.
I don’t remember if I read that in an article or a paper, but I do recall the point was that we are far more swayed by feelings and sentiment than we think.
And I felt that this was precisely one of those moments.
“……”
“……”
Sitting on the bench, neither of us spoke.
We both stared at the night sky, as if in a daze, our gazes completely captivated by the heavens and the countless stars that filled our vision.
That’s why I came to think… that Instructor Adelia was being swayed by her emotions.
‘Asking me to stay with her a little longer.’
I didn’t know the exact reason, but it seemed she had become momentarily emotional, and that was the only explanation for why she would say such a thing to me…
“Just looking at the night sky like this makes me feel good for some reason. What about you, Cadet Han Cheon-seong?”
At her gentle voice, I snapped out of my thoughts and nodded.
“I think it’s quite nice, too. Maybe because the sky is so clear, the stars seem to shine especially bright.”
“The sky is clear… You’re right, there are no clouds today, and a night where the stars shine so brightly is truly beautiful.”
As Adelia continued to speak, my mind remained in a state of unease.
“……”
Outwardly, I was taking in the star-filled night sky, but inwardly, a faint sigh escaped me.
‘Huu…’
Am I the only one feeling this strange right now?
I felt like I was the only fool here. The way Adelia had looked just a moment ago.
The way she spoke to me, as if pleading earnestly… am I the only one feeling this strange sensation now?
“I think this is better than going back to rest right away. What do you think, Cadet Han Cheon-seong?”
Her voice was calm as she asked.
Sensing she was asking about my feelings, I kept my eyes on the night sky and carefully opened my mouth.
“It certainly feels like a more meaningful time.”
“Really? That’s a relief. To be honest, I was a little worried that I might have been forcing you to stay.”
“…Not at all. I was happy to accept.”
The more I listened to her voice, the more small ripples spread through my heart.
“……”
This conversation, continuing as we gazed at the night sky, could be seen as meaningless.
But.
…That’s not how it felt to me at all.
Even when dealing with Adelia, I felt a strange sensation compared to before, and I even hesitated to look at her.
‘Is what I’m thinking really right?’
I muttered blankly to myself while staring at the night sky.
There was a time when I thought I understood the female heart well. I used to think I could sense when someone had a crush on me or had feelings, even before they confessed.
They say people can generally sense when someone of the opposite sex likes them, and I thought I was just a bit quicker on the uptake.
But after one of my assumptions proved to be spectacularly wrong, I erased that thought from my mind.
That it wasn’t good to carelessly assume… another person’s feelings.
After blaming myself that one time, I stopped jumping to conclusions about others’ emotions.
Even when I truly felt something, I would think it over more carefully, or I would deliberately pretend not to know until the other person expressed their feelings to me.
“Um… Cadet Han Cheon-seong.”
“Yes, Instructor Adelia.”
I answered absently at her call, and my thoughts were cut short.
“Aren’t you… looking only at the night sky right now?”
“Ah. Was I?”
I replied awkwardly and slowly turned my head.
Then, I saw her with a slightly sulky expression.
While that felt a little different, her beauty once again caught my eye.
Her emerald hair, bathed in the moonlight, faintly reflected the light, along with her soft features and her two eyes that shone like stars.
When everything came together, it was as if she alone was shining in the dead of night.
“When we’re together like this, you should pay a little attention to the person you’re with. At the very least, it’s polite to make eye contact when talking. But you kept making me feel like I was talking to myself, and I was almost a little hurt.”
She expressed her disappointment with a slight smile, and a small laugh escaped my lips, following hers.
“I’m sorry. The night sky was so beautiful that I got carried away…”
“Still, from now on, pay a little more attention to me. Okay?”
For a moment, it seemed like she was showing a bit of cute charm, and my heart wavered once more.
“…Yes. I understand.”
“And don’t answer so stiffly.”
With a bright smile, she turned her gaze back to the night sky, and as I watched her profile, all sorts of thoughts filled my head.
‘How… am I supposed to take this?’
Over the past ten days, including the time we spent together in the infirmary last week, I could say that we had gotten closer.
We had become a little closer than just an instructor and a cadet, but today’s meeting with her made that feeling much stronger.
Throughout our time together, it felt as if she was sending me some kind of ‘signal’.
She would look at me more, acting without reservation. I could feel hints of her trying to approach me nonchalantly from all sides.
That’s why, over and over…
She was making me misunderstand.
No matter how much I tried to calm my heart.
‘At this point…’
Could it be that Instructor Adelia has feelings for me?
Her actions were so peculiar that it felt that way, leaving my mind in a state of utter confusion.
“…This is really nice.”
When she suddenly expressed her sentiment, I flinched unconsciously.
Then, her gaze, which had been on the night sky, slowly turned toward me.
*Swish.*
Her emerald hair rustled as her direct gaze met mine.
“Just because I told you to pay a little attention, now you’re staring at me… Cadet Han Cheon-seong. You’re acting a little strange today.”
Her eyes, curving into a smile, seemed to express yet another charm to me.
So, for a moment, I couldn’t answer right away.
‘That’s exactly what I want to say…’
From my perspective, Adelia was being far too familiar compared to before.
Was she the one constantly making me misunderstand, yet asking me questions as if nothing was wrong?
But I set aside those thoughts and slowly shook my head.
“Just like the beautiful night sky, I was thinking that you, Instructor Adelia, are also a very beautiful person… Ah, I’m sorry.”
Then, before I even realized it, I had let out a strange remark.
A comment that crossed the line a little, as if testing her feelings.
“!”
Her eyes, which had been looking at me playfully, widened in an instant.
“You know, Cadet Han Cheon-seong… sometimes you say things that really shake a person’s heart, don’t you?”
“Do I?”
As I replied, ripples once again formed in my heart.
“Of course. You casually say such strange things to people. I’m one of the more lenient instructors, so I can take it in stride, but if another instructor had heard what you just said, it wouldn’t have been strange for them to get seriously offended.”
Adelia turned her head and shot me a sidelong glance, as if telling me to be grateful. Watching her, I unconsciously bit my lip.
‘Again.’
It was happening again.
Every single thing she was doing right now looked like a signal to me.
A signal that she had feelings for me.
And not a small signal, but one that seemed to be blatantly trying to entice me.
“Haa.”
“…Hm? Why are you suddenly sighing?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
It felt like my thoughts were about to spill out on their own.
As she sent me a steady gaze, I met her eyes without thinking.
“……Ah, I’m sorry. I guess I was only thinking of myself. You must be tired too, Cadet Han Cheon-seong. Then let’s… call it a day.”
Then, as if she had taken it another way, she tried to end our time together abruptly…
I should have said something, but no words came out of my mouth.
‘I can’t let it end like this…’
Watching her as she composed herself, I spoke without thinking.
“Instructor Adelia.”
I felt that I couldn’t let this moment end just like this.
***
It was precarious.
Adelia was keenly aware that was her current state.
“……Ah, I’m sorry. I guess I was only thinking of myself. You must be tired too, Cadet Han Cheon-seong. Then let’s… call it a day.”
Even as she spoke hastily, her furiously beating heart was sending heat throughout her entire body.
The surging affection rose endlessly, expanding as if to swallow her whole heart.
—*Just like the beautiful night sky, I was thinking that you, Instructor Adelia, are also a very beautiful person…*
Cadet Han Cheon-seong’s voice, revealing his inner thoughts with a hint of surprise, was like a match that set a great fire in my heart.
…That voice simply wouldn’t leave my ears.
Was it okay for me to be this happy? It felt like I couldn’t control my emotions right now, to the point where I judged that I had to end this immediately.
‘If I stay here any longer…’
It felt like I might suddenly cross a line with Cadet Han Cheon-seong.
My plan to approach him naturally seemed hollow, as it felt like I was about to do something rash to him right now.
And perhaps my feelings were showing a little, because the reply that should have come from Cadet Han Cheon-seong never did.
Feeling awkward, I began to rise from the bench.
“Instructor Adelia.”
But at the sound of his serious voice, my body froze.
…It was as if his careful tone was laced with some high-level magic. A magic that shook my heart to its core.
I turned my body stiffly and looked at Cadet Han Cheon-seong.
“…Cadet Han Cheon-seong. What is it all of a sudden?”
Then, I gave a reply that felt incredibly awkward even to myself.
The way he was looking at me with his intense gaze felt different from usual.
“It’s just that, something came up that I’d like to ask you, Instructor.”
At his calm voice, I nodded blankly.
‘What is he curious about?’
Even though I didn’t know why he said that, the mere fact that he was expressing curiosity in me filled my heart with a small happiness.
“What are you curious about?”
Regaining a bit of my composure, I asked softly, but he suddenly narrowed his eyes.
That change was a little puzzling.
“……”
The expected voice did not come.
Instead, I felt a heavy gaze, uncharacteristic of Cadet Han Cheon-seong.
A gaze that seemed to subtly trail over my body, starting from my eyes… A thick, sticky gaze.
It was a type of gaze I had felt all too often.
I knew how men looked at me, and I usually reacted with a stern expression.
But. This time was different.
‘…Why?’
Why was Cadet Han Cheon-seong suddenly looking at me like that?
Even though I couldn’t understand it, I couldn’t react the way I normally would.
Even though I should have responded coldly to that heavy, lingering gaze, or turned away with a firm expression…
*Gulp.*
Unconsciously receiving his thick, sticky gaze, I swallowed hard.
My heart pounded even more fiercely… and there wasn’t a single trace of displeasure.