Chapter 57
Chapter 57
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Think Only of Me
-----------------------------------------------------------------
57. When you're with me, think only of me. I hate seeing you think of someone else when you're with me.
***
Esia felt that Kalli was acting strange today.
'She's being unusually emotional today.'
Ever since she brought up the cadet named Han Cheon-seong, Kalli's attitude had become... peculiar.
It was so unlike Kalli to be emotional; seeing her this way was almost fascinating.
But Kalli's change felt like a good thing. An emotional Kalli felt much more human than the cold, detached version who slaughtered monsters on the battlefield.
Time passed, and just as they were about to head to their next destination.
Kalli suddenly started walking in a direction that wasn't the exit.
“Hey, Kalli?”
“...Just a moment.”
Ignoring my words, she walked with her gaze fixed on one spot. I couldn't help but wonder what she was looking at.
Her eyes were on two cadets sitting at a table by the window.
A male and a female cadet, at that.
They were even wearing uniforms from different classes, yet they gave off the distinct impression of a handsome couple that suited each other well.
'They say love can overcome class differences...'
It was rare, but cases like that did exist.
Cadets from different classes becoming a couple. But even then, it was usually just a one-class difference. I'd almost never seen a gap of two classes.
“Don’t do it to anyone else.”
Suddenly... the male cadet spoke with a firm voice, and my eyes were drawn to him.
“It’s fine if you do this to me. But I hope you don’t do it to others.”
I was a little surprised by his repeated, firm tone.
'He's got guts.'
A C-Class cadet was speaking to an A-Class cadet as if he were leading the conversation.
That would normally be difficult. But the male cadet spoke without hesitation, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“...Why?”
The female cadet replied, sounding a little surprised. I found myself unconsciously anticipating the male cadet's next words.
“Because I can handle you, but other people can’t.”
At the male cadet's words, which sounded like he was telling her to rely only on him... the corners of my mouth lifted unconsciously.
'Right, a man should have that kind of spirit.'
The sight of the male cadet, undaunted by the large class difference and honestly expressing his feelings, looked quite good to me.
I figured that to win over a woman more skilled than yourself, you needed that much courage. Cadets these days tend to be too hung up on class and get intimidated easily, so this seemed all the more refreshing.
He was tall and handsome, and his bold way of speaking made me understand why he was with a female cadet two classes above him.
*Click-clack.*
But when Kalli started walking straight toward the two cadets, my heart was instantly filled with tension.
Since the topic we'd just been discussing was romance, there was no way Kalli would look favorably upon those two.
Still... I thought, 'surely not.'
'It's the weekend, after all.'
The weekend was a time for everyone to rest. Would Kalli really interfere with the two cadets? I followed her with a sense of dread, and soon we arrived at their table.
“Cadet Han Cheon-seong?”
When a completely unexpected name came from Kalli's lips, I blinked in surprise.
'What? He's... the one from the rumors?'
The cadet who became famous for being the only one to fight Leonhardt to a draw.
—Han Cheon-seong.
I hadn't paid him any mind, focused as I was on my own class, but I never expected to see the cadet Kalli cherished in person.
But that was only for a moment.
“...”
Seeing the cadet flinch at Kalli's cold call, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
Just moments ago, he had so confidently told the female cadet to rely on him, yet now, facing Kalli, he looked as if he had frozen before a natural predator.
'Then again... the rumors about Kalli being terrifying are certainly true.'
There were bizarre rumors about her half-killing a cadet on the first day of class, and talk that her lectures were so tense you had to consciously breathe, as if walking on thin ice.
Just seeing Cadet Han Cheon-seong's reaction now... I could tell those rumors weren't entirely false.
“Yes, Instructor Kalli?”
The cadet replied, awkwardly turning his head. For a second, I wondered if I should stop Kalli.
'Don't be too harsh.'
When Kalli got angry, even I was scared of her.
We were close, but when it came to being cold, Kalli could be endlessly so.
“...”
But surprisingly, Kalli met Cadet Han Cheon-seong's gaze and didn't speak right away.
Instead, her lips hesitated as if she were searching for the right words. I swallowed hard without realizing it.
Just then, as the surroundings rapidly fell silent.
Kalli slowly opened her mouth.
“It’s nothing serious, so don’t be so tense. I just came over because I was happy to 'coincidentally' run into you at the cafe. I called you to offer a little help.”
“Help, you say…?”
Stunned by her completely unexpected words, I saw that Cadet Han Cheon-seong felt the same way I did; his expression said it all.
“Yes. I just wanted to pay for your drinks. I wanted to tell you to rest well today.”
“Oh... well, thank you very much.”
As Kalli spoke calmly, her words full of goodwill, I found myself looking at her in a new light.
'She really does cherish Cadet Han Cheon-seong.'
I was sure she was going to say something unpleasant, but surprisingly, Kalli was speaking kindly even after seeing the cadet on a date.
To the point where she would offer to pay for their drinks, even though the cadet she claimed to cherish was spending time with a female cadet.
“Well then, Cadet Han Cheon-seong, I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”
“...See you in class tomorrow.”
“Cadet Glacia, I hear you’re doing well in A-Class. It’s my treat today, so please relax.”
“I gratefully accept your kindness.”
Just when I thought the conversation was over, I found Kalli's expression incredibly strange as her eyes met Cadet Glacia's.
She had finished speaking as if she were about to leave immediately.
Yet Kalli didn't take her eyes off the female cadet, which was odd.
“...”
Just as I was wondering why.
Of the two, it was the female cadet called Glacia who eventually lowered her gaze first.
“As expected of an A-Class cadet. It's good to see you're so confident.”
When Kalli tossed out that single remark and turned away, I flinched without realizing it.
'What on earth just happened?'
Taken at face value, Kalli's words sounded like a compliment, but her tone was so cold. It didn't feel like a compliment at all.
It almost felt like she hated the female cadet named Glacia.
“Kalli?”
“Yes, Esia.”
“Are you... okay right now?”
And in that moment, I didn't even know why I'd said that.
“Okay?”
Kalli looked at me as if I were being strange, and realizing my slip of the tongue, I awkwardly shook my head.
“No... it's just. I thought you'd be furious seeing the cadet you cherish on a date. I'm glad that's not the case.”
As I said it, I felt a huge sense of relief.
It felt like, contrary to what she'd told me, Kalli was showing the cadet magnanimity.
But in response to my words, Kalli said nothing until she finished paying.
“...I was going to pay today.”
“It’s fine.”
Her cold, curt reply made me wonder if I'd said something wrong.
*Click.*
As we left the cafe, Kalli's frosty demeanor made me seriously reflect on what I had said.
And I couldn't find anything.
'What part of what I said made Kalli angry?'
...I thought I said something nice.
“Esia.”
“...Yes, Kalli.”
“I’m telling you this because you seem to be mistaken, but Cadet Han Cheon-seong is not in a relationship right now.”
“Huh? At that stage... aren't they dating? When we approached, they seemed to be talking very affectionately.”
In my eyes, it was a sure thing.
Both Cadet Han Cheon-seong and the A-Class cadet named Glacia clearly had feelings for each other.
I could feel it in the words they exchanged.
“They are not dating.”
But as Kalli replied coldly again, I just nodded blankly.
When Kalli was in a foul mood, her words were law.
“...”
“...”
And so... all the way back to the instructor dorms, I couldn't bring myself to ask Kalli anything more.
'Does she really hate the idea of her cherished cadet dating that much?'
That was the only thought that came to mind.
***
“...”
What is left in the wake of a storm?
The answer was 'nothing.'
If anything did remain, it was broken debris and the cruel marks left by the storm.
Cheon-seong suddenly had that strange thought. In the few short minutes that Kalli and the unnamed female instructor had approached and then left them.
Ever since then, my mind had felt adrift.
Even now, walking out of the cafe, I couldn't forget the look in Kalli's eyes.
Her cold gaze, which seemed to pierce right through me, felt like it was binding my body.
Then she suddenly turned her gaze away from me, and I felt as if I had experienced a traceless violence.
And even her well-intentioned offer to pay for us... my mind couldn't keep up with reality.
‘Why…?’
Why didn't Kalli get angry at me?
Last Friday, she had treated me as if she were disappointed by my involvement with Luna, and only after the misunderstanding was cleared did she look upon me favorably.
And today at the cafe, the situation was one where it was even harder not to misunderstand.
And yet, Kalli treated me so well....
“...Cheon-seong. Han Cheon-seong?”
The repeated call of my name brought me back to my senses.
“Sorry, Glacia.”
“...You don't need to be sorry. But why are you spacing out like that?”
“I just... have a lot on my mind now.”
As I answered honestly, I wanted to take a short break.
Then, I spotted a bench on the side of the main road, and my mind was made up.
“Glacia. Let's rest here for a bit.”
I grabbed Glacia's arm and headed for the bench. She stared at me blankly, and I imagined my expression was probably similar to hers.
The feeling of a reality beyond comprehension messing with my head.
*Rustle.*
As I sat down on the bench, Glacia belatedly pulled her arm from my grasp.
“Grabbing my arm so suddenly... you startled me.”
“Ah, sorry.”
“Forget the apology. So, what's wrong...? Han Cheon-seong. This isn't like you.”
At Glacia's rare, normal words, a laugh escaped my lips.
“You're right. This really isn't like me.”
I had no idea how I was supposed to face Kalli in class tomorrow.
I sighed and ran a hand over my face, my mind blankly drifting to a single thought.
'Could it be that?'
The calm before the storm.
Was that what Kalli was showing me right now? That she only said nice things because of the public eye and the fact that it was the weekend.
Somehow, that seemed like a plausible explanation.
After all, Kalli had deeply regretted getting angry at me in the classroom that day.
...So, she might call me aside tomorrow to say a few things.
*Tap.*
The moment something touched my cheek, my head slowly turned.
“Han Cheon-seong.”
...Glacia's firm voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and at the same time, I realized her hand was holding my face.
“When you're with me, think only of me. I hate seeing you think of someone else when you're with me.”
As she spoke, staring intently into my eyes, my mind became even more......
shrouded in confusion.