Obsession (4)
Obsession (4)
I had to take a few more days off from classes and rest at the mansion.
On the outside, I was fine. Nothing torn or damaged. The injuries I'd sustained during the incident had healed on the spot thanks to Liana and Ellia's swift treatment.
But the strain on my body didn't simply vanish. Wounds might heal, but fatigue and burden lingered. Bowing to my circumstances, I rested.
Still, even without all that fuss, I would have been monitoring my body's condition anyway.
'My body feels strange.'
I moved. Reached out an arm, took a step, breathed in and out.
In those simplest actions, I felt a subtle creak.
It was noticeable even without concentrating. Simple movements were fine, but anything requiring precise control would split wide open into gaps.
'A split between body and soul... the aftereffects are still lingering.'
My body and soul had nearly torn apart from the elixir. Thankfully, they hadn't separated, but it left a strange awkwardness in my movements.
Given that I was learning necromancy, perhaps a body and soul that had nearly been ripped apart simply needed time to adhere again.
'Then again, my body and soul were already moving independently to begin with.'
Fairies are known as a race with spirit-body traits. They appear to have flesh and skin, but that's merely the soul taking on the body's role.
For some reason I lacked wings, and my abilities were absurdly weak, but that's probably how it was in my original world.
Now that my soul had been placed inside a physical body, it made sense that something might go wrong.
And so, for a time, I spent my days adjusting my physical body.
"There is certainly something off, I can see it now."
I didn't struggle through it alone. I had a reliable teacher right beside me.
The moment I performed a single motion, my teacher noticed the irregularity and nodded to herself.
"Yes, I'd like to fix that part while I'm resting."
"I told you to rest... sigh, still, at least you aren't trying to do it alone this time. That's something..."
"Pfft, bweh..."
When I quietly made my request, my teacher swallowed a sigh and grabbed both my cheeks with one hand.
Her fingers pressed into my cheeks, and my lips puckered out like a fish.
- Pffft.
As I blinked with that ridiculous face, my teacher, who'd been wearing an odd expression, let out a laugh.
"Hehehe."
Seeing my teacher smile, I grinned bashfully, cautiously reading the mood. I quickly wrapped my arms around her waist and buried my face against the softly rising chest right in front of me.
"Of course I'll help you, but you must not overdo anything. Understood?"
"Yeth."
"You answer so well."
My teacher's lips twitched at the sight of me mumbling with my face buried against her chest. Then, with a look of resignation, she stroked my hair.
An affectionate touch that gently smoothed my hair. It pulled a loose, happy smile out of me.
A dependable adult, a reliable guardian. My teacher, who poured affection over me and indulged my every clingy whim.
"Hehehe..."
- Slither...
The winged garment, which had been acting on its own more and more lately, coiled tightly around my teacher's waist. I didn't particularly stop the behavior, which seemed to insist that she belonged to it.
"......"
My teacher glanced down at the Sky Wing Feather wrapped around her waist, then paid it no mind and continued patting my head.
Seeing my teacher wrapped snugly in the Sky Wing Feather filled a corner of my heart with a strange satisfaction.
* * *
Atra had been utterly, blissfully happy these past few days.
There had hardly been a moment of unhappiness since she and Lee Ha-yul had properly established their relationship, but lately, she was even happier.
"Masterrr..."
The training facility prepared in the mansion's basement.
Atra had just finished a simple training session and was drinking water.
Lee Ha-yul came pattering over from across the room and slipped right into Atra's arms.
He ducked his head under her arm and nestled into her embrace. The puppy-like behavior lifted the corners of Atra's mouth.
"Yes, come here... there we go."
It was sudden, but it was also familiar.
She skillfully opened her arms, and Lee Ha-yul pressed his body flush against hers.
Atra soothed Lee Ha-yul as he nuzzled against her, leaning her back against the wall and sitting down.
"Let's rest a moment before we begin."
"'Kay..."
Once she settled onto the floor, Lee Ha-yul began clinging in earnest.
He pressed and rubbed his body against her stomach, still warm from training, and rubbed his nose against her chest, breathing in deep lungfuls of her thickened body scent.
"Does it feel good?"
"It feels good..."
Satisfied, Atra pushed her chest forward for him.
At first it had been unbearably embarrassing, but now she found herself wishing he would breathe in even more.
This act of rubbing their bodies together and thoroughly marking the child with her scent.
She'd once thought it felt animalistic, but later, when she caught her own scent rising from him, she felt a primal satisfaction fill her chest to the brim.
"Now, you need to drink water too, don't you?"
"Yeshh... slurp, sluurp..."
Lee Ha-yul, who had been rubbing his nose against her chest, lifted his head and bit the straw that tapped against his lips.
"Sluuurp..."
Atra smiled softly as she watched Lee Ha-yul suck on the straw with his mouth.
The water bottle was meant to be held and sipped from, but impatient Lee Ha-yul just latched on and sucked vigorously.
"Slurp, slup..."
- Squeeze...
As she gazed down at Lee Ha-yul drinking his water, she suddenly felt a sensation on her arms and legs.
Atra glanced down. A cloth band was stealthily winding around her limbs. Atra stroked the band with an unreadable expression.
An incredible softness wrapped around her fingertips.
It was the Sky Wing Feather, now an artifact synonymous with Lee Ha-yul.
'Hmm...'
The Golden Child had gotten himself into trouble again a few days ago.
He'd taken an elixir and nearly wrecked his body, or something like that?
Given that his movements had become subtly sluggish, the problem must have been real.
The child had almost suffered serious harm inside Siyoram.
She'd been so startled and terrified.
Either way, after that, Lee Ha-yul's behavior had changed while he rested quietly at the mansion.
Lee Ha-yul was clingy. That was a trait everyone knew, but his clinginess had intensified.
More precisely, his possessiveness and clinginess had grown.
If she stayed still, he would subtly extend his winged garment and wind it around her body, then nestle into her arms and stake his claim, as if declaring her his.
And if anyone tried to leave his side, he would whine and throw a fit, so someone always had to stay close to him.
...The greatest beneficiary of that change was Atra.
Because Atra was the one who could stay at the mansion the longest.
It was only natural.
Hong Yeon-hwa, Baek A-rin, and Ellia were cadets and had to leave the mansion often and for long stretches to attend lectures.
Liana had it even worse. As the homeroom professor for the Ipchun Class and the professor teaching spirit arts, she had plenty to do.
On top of that, she had to prepare for the approaching Birth Festival, so she was inevitably swamped.
And what about Atra?
She was the educational supervisor for Special Admission Cadet Lee Ha-yul. She held no other position.
Aside from teaching Lee Ha-yul, she had practically nothing else to do.
So naturally, Atra, who could stay at the mansion the longest, ended up looking after Lee Ha-yul the most.
Thanks to that, these past few days had been nothing but happiness for Atra.
"Pwah..."
Lee Ha-yul, having quenched his thirst, spat out the straw. Atra glanced at the saliva-coated straw and spoke.
"Child... next year, on a certain day... could you spare some time for me?"
"Next year...? May I ask why?"
Lee Ha-yul tilted his head cutely.
Atra lowered her head and rubbed her cheek against his hair.
"It's the anniversary of my former disciple's death. I told you about her before. I plan to visit her grave that day, and I would like to visit it with you."
"Ah."
His gray eyes widened, filled with fluster. Lee Ha-yul rolled his eyes around, gauging Atra's reaction.
"There's no need to be so cautious. Thanks to you, I'm all right now."
"Mmnh..."
Shaking her head, Atra gently squeezed Lee Ha-yul's bottom as he fidgeted in her arms.
A sharp tingle traced up his spine, and Lee Ha-yul's back reflexively straightened.
At the same time, following the memory trained into his body, he tilted his head back slightly—and as if she had been waiting, Atra's head descended.
"Chuup..."
Their lips met. Flushed warmth and deepened scent mingled thickly. With half-lidded eyes, Lee Ha-yul wrapped his arms around Atra's neck.
The lips that had been brushing together separated.
The distance grew, and a heated breath slipped from between Lee Ha-yul's softly parted lips.
"Will you come with me?"
At the question, asked as she gently cupped his cheek to meet his eyes, Lee Ha-yul nodded dazedly.
"Yeshh... I'll go with you..."
It wasn't intentional, but Atra had extracted an answer through something close to coercion.
* * *
A few days later.
Under my teacher's affectionate care, I resolved the clumsiness and was able to return to my studies.
The people around me still shot anxious looks my way, but once I expressed my will that I was fine, they reluctantly nodded.
On the day I returned, I had the "Practical Workshop Construction" lecture, which I took together with Baek A-rin.
"It's been quite a while since I've seen you in your cadet uniform, Ha-yul."
We ate breakfast at the mansion and headed together toward the building where the lecture was held.
Glancing at the winged garment wrapped around her own waist, Baek A-rin briefly studied my attire and shrugged.
Baek A-rin herself was dressed in a neatly worn cadet uniform, outer coat and all.
"You've only been wearing white clothes or indoor clothes lately, so seeing you dressed like this feels new."
[Yeah, it does feel that way since it's been a while]
"They covered a fair bit of material while you were out. Should I send you the notes file later?"
[Yes, thank you]
"It's nothing."
Chatting amiably, we boarded the bus, and a short walk later, we arrived at the building in no time.
Even then, I kept the Sky Wing Feather wrapped around Baek A-rin's waist.
People around us shot curious glances, wondering what it was, and it was a little embarrassing, but it made me feel at ease, so I endured it.
I also noticed several new installations being set up here and there. They were likely for the Birth Festival.
12th Magic Training Hall, 4th floor, Room 413.
I felt a strange sensation as I entered a lecture room I was visiting for the first time in a long while.
Quite a few people had already gathered inside. The professor had yet to arrive, and among the cadets, I sensed Baize, whom I hadn't seen in a while.
After that incident on the first day—when he'd nearly been sliced in half by my magic—I'd shared my contact information with Baize as an apology, and we exchanged messages from time to time.
"A-rin! Over here."
That was when we entered the lecture room.
A female cadet who'd been resting her chin on her hand at a desk by the window suddenly waved in this direction—at Baek A-rin, who had just walked in.
"What, did you switch seats?"
"Yeah, my usual spot was already taken. Come over here."
She wasn't a familiar face, but she was someone etched into my memory.
She was the cadet who'd partnered with Baek A-rin for the two-person practical sessions during this lecture.
As I recalled, she was fairly close friends with Baek A-rin even outside this class.
"Then I'll head over there. Let's meet up when we do the four-person group work!"
Confirming the cadet's presence, Baek A-rin said her goodbyes to me and turned away.
- Tug.
[Aversion.]
Instinctively, I grabbed the sleeve of Baek A-rin, who was about to step away.
"Hm?"
Baek A-rin tilted her head and looked back at me, her sleeve suddenly caught. Her blue eyes held my reflection along with her puzzlement.
"Ha-yul? What's wrong?"
[U-Um...]
At Baek A-rin's question, I pressed my lips shut.
Why did I grab her? I'm not really sure myself.
It was just... a reflexive grab.
- Sliiither...
As I fidgeted with the sleeve, at a loss for words, the Sky Wing Feather moved on its own, winding even more snugly around Baek A-rin's waist and pulling her toward me.
Baek A-rin let out a flustered sound as she was tugged in my direction. More eyes in the room turned toward us.
[Uh... um... well...]
The winged garment's movement left me even more at a loss for words.
I didn't know why I'd grabbed her.
That was a lie, actually. It was an instinctive action, true, but I knew the reason.
It was a stupid, childish thought.
[Umm...]
I glanced at Baek A-rin's expression, then gave the sleeve I'd been toying with a gentle tug.
[T-Today... could you, um... sit with me instead? Please?]
- Click.
The Confession Necklace let out a small voice.
It was definitely a small voice, but for some reason it felt like it echoed through the entire lecture room. Heat rushed to my face.
* * *
Lee Ha-yul→Atra Clyde
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♡(91▷92/100)
｢Affection｣ ｢Teacher｣ ｢Anticipation｣ ｢Stability｣ ｢Affection Seeking｣ ｢Unease｣