Training (2)
Training (2)
Hong Yeon-hwa lived in the penthouse on the top floor of Building 1 in the first-year dormitory.
It was the residence she chose as the second-highest-ranked cadet among the 613 students of Siyoram's 121st Cohort.
Her practical exam score had been perfect... but her written exam was just a tiny bit lacking, so Baek A-rin took the top seat.
She could have claimed a separate house as a privilege of top-tier grades, but she figured the same building would be more convenient for meeting friends, so she picked the penthouse.
The facilities were quite good.
Even by the standards of Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been raised like a treasured jewel in her family's lap of luxury, it was thoroughly well-appointed.
Thanks to that, staying here wasn't an issue at all.
"Hoo..."
No special lectures had been scheduled on the first day.
They'd simply gone over course overviews and how the curriculum would proceed starting tomorrow, then had some casual, friendly sparring.
Eight in the evening.
Having finished her personal training after lectures and grabbed a late dinner, Hong Yeon-hwa tossed her outer coat aside carelessly and threw herself onto the bed.
The soft mattress cradled her body. It had been messy that morning, but now it was immaculately tidy. Eriel must have done all the laundry and cleaning.
She wasn't particularly tired. Her body wasn't the sort to accumulate fatigue from a schedule like this.
Though nominally a cadet, Hong Yeon-hwa already possessed the combat power to step into her family's ranks and serve as a sub-commander right away.
If any fatigue had built up, it was mental.
"...Will he be okay?"
She grabbed a spare pillow and hugged it tight. She muttered to herself as she buried her face in the soft fabric.
These past few days, Hong Yeon-hwa had only one thing on her mind.
Lee Ha-yul.
The first and only Special Admission Cadet.
The cadet currently at the center of attention.
'He looked pale again this morning. The dark circles seemed to have gotten darker... and his cheeks looked thinner. Does he even eat properly on a regular basis? He ate so little at lunch too. Did it not taste good? No, he said it was delicious... was he just being polite?'
Her head felt completely clogged. It was full of worry—overflowing with it. The subject was, of course, Lee Ha-yul.
"Haa..."
She sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time today. It was unbearably frustrating. Uuuugh... She shoved her face into the pillow and thrashed about violently. Her feet drummed uselessly against the mattress.
"What do I do..."
Saying she'd had no interest from the start would be a lie.
What kind of quality did he have, how immense was his potential, what possibilities did he hold, that the Master of the Cradle would set eyes on him after a century of silence?
Not only superhuman factions but even ordinary society was focused on him with intense interest. Right now, if a rumor got out that Lee Ha-yul had gone outside, all sorts of people would swarm him.
Before the welcome party, there had been a degree of information control, but now that had grown thin, and a lot of information had leaked.
Meaning, if Lee Ha-yul left the Cradle, plenty of people would recognize him.
Hong Yeon-hwa had been curious too. She'd half-wanted to meet him and see just how impressive he really was.
She'd even thought about looking for him once the semester started. If not for that first meeting, maybe she would have approached him first at the freshman welcome party.
Their first meeting.
It echoed not with sweetness, but with deep regret...
Another sigh. Breath trapped against the pillow puffed back against her face.
"Ahguguguk..."
She gave a long stretch and then flipped over. She stared blankly at the patterns on the ceiling for a moment, then turned on her smartwatch.
Swiping through the hologram, her hand stopped abruptly over Lee Ha-yul's number.
"......"
- Tap
The hologram unfolded with a soft rustle.
▶Lee Ha-yul: I got back safely thanks to you, Hong Yeon-hwa (Yesterday 11:12)
▶Lee Ha-yul: Thank you so much for yesterday. I would've been in big trouble if not for you. I'll definitely make it up to you when I get the chance (Yesterday 11:13)
▶Lee Ha-yul: And you even apologized. That's more than enough; it's overflowing (Yesterday 11:15)
▶Lee Ha-yul: I'm the one who ended up causing you trouble (Yesterday 11:16)
'He's really polite with his words.'
The messages put her mind at ease as she read them. Every turn of phrase conveyed a considerate heart.
▶Lee Ha-yul: Lunch was delicious today. Next time, it's my treat (Today 19:57)
"Ah."
There was a message that had just arrived. It said lunch had been fine. She'd heard as much at lunch itself, and this message might just be for politeness, but it still managed to put her mind at ease, if only a little.
Her eyes lighting up, Hong Yeon-hwa's fingers moved.
▶Me: Oh yeah? That's a relief to hear...
...relief... relief... uh...
Her fingers, which had been flying like beams of light, froze in place. Her thoughts slowing down, her fingers dulled right alongside them.
'What should I send.'
The tone of the message she was typing felt unbearably awkward to her. Hong Yeon-hwa, who had fallen silent, glanced sideways at her hologram.
[Group Chat (6)]
▶Shin Seo-yul: [Breaking] Personality controversy surrounding Hong Yeon-hwa of the Calamity Flame Family (Two days ago 19:11)
▶Lee Si-eun: Uproar over "Can't you see ahead?" remark to a blind person... (Two days ago 19:13)
▶Yang Yoon-ha: If you only look at this, she sounds like a total piece of shit (Two days ago 19:14)
▶Shin Seo-yul: Is this all of it? (Two days ago 19:14)
▶Me: You fucking cunts (Two days ago 20:17)
.
▶Me: Recommending good places to eat, hurry up (Today 1:11)
▶Yang Yoon-ha: Guys like spicy pork (Today 1:12)
▶Baek A-rin: Yeon-hwa, why are you ditching us and going? (Today 1:12)
▶Yang Yoon-ha: One look at a guy and we're tossed aside in an instant (Today 1:13)
▶Shin Seo-yul: Ditching all your friends? Ditching all your friends? Ditching all your friends? Ditching all your friends? (Today 1:13)
▶Lee Si-eun: A guy who might become a husband > friends of ten years, I guess that checks out... (Today 1:15)
▶Me: Stop fucking around (Today 1:21)
.
▶Shin Seo-yul: (Picture of a vanilla chocolate parfait) (Today 18:33)
▶Shin Seo-yul: You wish you could eat it, right? You wish you could eat it? (Today 18:33)
▶Yang Yoon-ha: You pig (Today 18:35)
▶Shin Seo-yul: 🖕 (Today 18:39)
▶Hwang Si-yeon: +0.3kg (Today 18:41)
▶Shin Seo-yul: Yeah~ I'm a superhuman, I don't gain weight~ (Today 18:42)
▶Shin Seo-yul: Let this be heard by the traitor who threw her friends away like cast-off shoes and ran off with a guy to stuff her face (Today 18:43)
▶Me: You wanna die? (Today 18:52)
▶Shin Seo-yul: Gasp, death threat (Today 18:54)
▶Me: See you tomorrow (Today 18:55:12)
▶Shin Seo-yul: srry (Today 18:55:13)
"......"
It was pure chaos. In public, they were all perfectly fine, even decent people, but the moment they gathered among themselves, they turned into utter lunatics.
She quietly closed the chat. The heart that Lee Ha-yul had healed felt like it was rotting and putrefying.
Rotting and putrefying.
Her mood plummeted in an instant. Unbidden, old memories replayed.
The infirmary bathed in sunset light. Ha-yul, sleeping like a forest fairy. The burn scar covering his right hand.
A trace of Calamity Flame.
"Fuck."
Her insides seethed. A boiling impulse wrenched the profanity from her.
Calamity Flame.
The name of her family, and the name of the inherited Unique Ability. A name she carried with a certain pride.
The clan's progenitor was a figure who distinguished himself during the 'Great Cataclysm Era' over two hundred years ago.
An era when monsters swarmed across the whole world, dungeons rampaged daily, the world turned upside down, and everywhere was like the Demon Realm.
Scything through that world with flames, slaying countless monsters and saving people—that was her progenitor. A man named Hong Yeon.
A great hero who built a reputation rivaling the Tower Masters who constructed the modern world's framework. The Calamity Flame Family that inherited his bloodline was a superhuman faction possessing power that ranked among the greatest in the world.
With gratitude and vengeance overflowing, lacking neither.
Following the deeds and family traditions left by their progenitor, successive clan heads and the Council of Elders had carried out what could be called a righteous path.
The duty of the strong and the rulers, as superhumans.
They cleared dungeons that plagued the world, and burned to death monsters that brought chaos. They judged villains who persecuted innocent commoners, and engaged in various activities to stabilize the world.
But a family's history spans two hundred years. Hoping that no corrupt elements would appear among its members over two full centuries would be nothing but a dream.
Members who defied its ideology, cast off duty to seek only their own rights, or trampled others for their own pleasure were bound to appear.
A two-hundred-year history. It was beyond Hong Yeon-hwa, who had only just passed twenty, to fully fathom.
But hoping no corrupt elements existed throughout all that time was far too optimistic a story. She could remember right now a vile deed committed by a member of her own generation.
- Grind!
A terrible sound came from her tightly clenched jaw. The metallic taste of blood swirling in her mouth snapped her back to her senses.
"......"
Nothing had been confirmed yet.
When had Lee Ha-yul been exposed to the Calamity Flame? She could make a guess, but it wasn't confirmed.
Which son of a bitch who deserved to be chewed up and killed was responsible? She didn't know yet. For what purpose? Was it intentional? She didn't know. She knew nothing.
What was certain was this.
She had caused Lee Ha-yul great trouble several times, and the burn on his right arm was harm inflicted by her family.
She was Hong Yeon-hwa, a manifestor of the Calamity Flame. She knew all too well what power the Calamity Flame held, what kind of damage it caused once ignited, and what aftereffects it left even if one survived.
Was the Calamity Flame tied to how weak Lee Ha-yul's body was? Just the thought sent blood rushing to her head.
She was aware that whenever it involved Lee Ha-yul, the blood rushed to her head. She knew that despite knowing him for barely a week, she was pouring excessive attention on him, and that her feelings ran deep.
But so what?
She'd never been the type to overthink things. She was the sort who went wherever her mood pointed.
There was guilt. Causing him repeated trouble on their first meeting. The traces of the Calamity Flame.
His appearance... he had a fairy-like beauty so stunning that ten out of ten people would turn back if he walked down the street. Wasn't that a face that naturally inspired affection?
His actions showed an effort to be considerate toward others. He was the person who'd said it was fine, and even comforted her over the nuisances Hong Yeon-hwa had committed.
That was all the motivation she needed to want to get closer.
Having calmed her emotions, Hong Yeon-hwa closed her eyes.
The Calamity Flame Unique Ability always incited its holder's emotions.
The more intense her emotions grew, the more the Calamity Flame blazed, but there was the risk of her rationality clouding and her personality narrowing.
That was why Hong Yeon-hwa's temperament was sharp and short-fused.
Especially because her Calamity Flame's output was abnormally high, the incitement of her emotions was severe.
As a result, roughly half of the training Hong Yeon-hwa received at home was for emotional regulation.
Ignoring Eriel's nagging, which had started up belatedly, she sank into sleep.
'This is enough.'
Whatever reasons she attached, Hong Yeon-hwa had guilt and wanted to wash it away. She had fondness and wanted to get closer—for now.
That was enough.
.
.
.
The next day.
[Good morning.]
"......"
Having arrived at school earlier than usual, Hong Yeon-hwa came face-to-face with Lee Ha-yul, whose face was plastered with livid bruises.
"...Crrk."
Hong Yeon-hwa's eyes blazed like hellfire.