Confronting the Body's Owner (2)
Jeonghye was screaming right in my face.
The very same Jeonghye who had lived this Academy life up until now—the true owner of this body.
Shaking off my brief daze, I took a look around. "Where are we?"
All four sides radiated an oceanic blue. Vast and completely transparent, it felt as though someone had carved an immense hall out of raw sapphire.
｢This is my mindscape.｣
"Your mindscape?"
｢Yeah! Ever since you kicked me out, I’ve been stuck here watching you the entire damn time.｣
If what she said was true, she had been observing me ever since I transmigrated into her body. Which meant...
"...Then did you see everything?"
｢See what?｣
"How I've been getting along at the Academy."
Jeonghye's brow furrowed for a second before she let out a scornful scoff. ｢See what, exactly? You stalking some guy only to get caught and humiliated? Or getting beaten half to death by that red lizard bitch?｣
Her ruthless barrage of cold, hard facts left me completely speechless.
｢How the hell did you even crawl into my body in the first place? Watching you sit through lectures, it was obvious you don't know jack shit about magic or mysticism.｣
"I don't know either. I just opened my eyes and I was inside you."
｢...Ha! And you expect me to buy that?｣ Jeonghye retorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm. ｢And what did you just swallow out there, anyway? Didn't anyone teach you not to shove random crap from the ground down your throat? What were you gonna do if something happened to my body—｣
"A Dragon Pearl."
Her brow knitted in confusion, then instantly shattered into sheer disbelief.
｢A what? A Dragon Pearl?! You couldn't buy one of those if you hauled in chests full of solid gold! There aren't even any left in the world!｣
"Well, there was one just now. And it went straight down your throat."
Still unable to believe it, Jeonghye marched up to me, seized me by the collar, and glared straight into my eyes. ｢How did you even know it was buried there? Not to mention how you took over my body. Who the hell are you really?｣
"Jungwoo. Just an ordinary student born and raised in South Korea."
My utterly honest answer didn't even get a reaction out of her. How disappointing. I had spoken with absolute sincerity.
Clutching her head, Jeonghye paced around muttering something under her breath before turning back to me. ｢Fine. Let's say everything you're saying is true. That means you don't have the faintest clue how to get out of my body either, right?｣
"That's right. Frankly, I want nothing more than to go back to my own body too."
｢Haa... then what do you plan on doing from now on?｣ She tapped my chest with the back of her knuckles as she asked.
I wondered how I appeared within this mental realm, but glancing down at the glassy floor, my reflection still bore Jeonghye's face.
"I don't know. I just vaguely thought I needed to get stronger to survive, so I swallowed the Dragon Pearl."
｢How you even found that thing in the first place... Gah, whatever. Let's shelve that headache for a second.｣
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Jeonghye conjured a chair out of thin air, slumped into it, and sank into deep thought.
"You know, you're being surprisingly reasonable about this," I noted.
｢What?｣
"If someone took over my body out of nowhere, I'd probably be screaming bloody murder and throwing a violent tantrum."
At my remark, Jeonghye spoke in a noticeably calmer tone. ｢...It pisses me off to no end, but it doesn't sound like you're lying. Besides, you're an anomaly. You don't know how to handle mana, qi, or anything, so how on earth did you end up breaking into my mindscape?｣
She scratched her head for a moment before continuing. ｢When we wake up, control of the body will probably belong to me again.｣
"Oh, well that's a relief—"
｢Don't celebrate yet. In a couple of days, you'll end up taking the reins right back.｣
"Why would that happen?"
｢You probably don't realize it, but the weight of your soul is unnaturally heavy. It's dense enough to shove someone like me into a dark corner of the mindscape. Unless something drastic happens, you'll be the one piloting my body for the time being.｣
My soul was heavy? That was a reason I never could have imagined.
"...Is that really how it works?"
｢That's how it is.｣
A heavy silence hung between us following her blunt declaration. But it didn't last long. Jeonghye shattered the quiet with a sharp clap of her hands.
｢Anyway... what you need to do right now is glaringly obvious.｣
"What I need to do? Like what?" Nothing immediately came to mind.
｢Get strong.｣
"Huh?"
｢Do you have any idea how sickening it was to watch you get thrashed by absolute bottom-feeders using my body?｣
"...I feel bad about that, honestly. But it's not like I had a choice—"
Jeonghye cut me off mid-sentence. ｢Your next duel is in a week, right? Against that Henry bastard. If you dare lose to that blonde pig, that day will be your funeral. I'll drag your soul to hell myself.｣
She glared daggers at me, grinding her teeth. But from where I stood, I had plenty of grievances too. How was I supposed to win when I didn't even know how to throw a proper punch?
As if reading my frustration, Jeonghye spoke up.
｢I'll teach you.｣
"What?"
｢I'm saying I'll teach you how to fight.｣
Now that was an unexpected windfall. Judging by her past sparring record, Jeonghye was an exceptionally capable fighter. If I could learn from her, it would be an enormous help.
｢Do you have any martial arts, swordsmanship, or particular styles you've trained in?｣
"None at all. I don't even know what qi or mana feels like."
｢...Haaah. To think an amateur like this hijacked my body. What a joke.｣
With a heavy sigh, Jeonghye walked over and pushed down firmly on my shoulders. ｢Drop the tension in your body. Now close your eyes.｣
"W-Wait, right now?" We were jumping straight into this?
｢Ready? Now breathe in slowly, and exhale.｣
"...Whew. Haaah."
Following her instructions, I drew in a long breath and slowly let it out.
"...I don't feel anything, though."
｢Hold on.｣
Jeonghye circled around behind me and placed her palm squarely against my upper back.
｢Don't just breathe blindly. Visualize the qi originating from your dantian, circulating through your flesh and vessels like blood.｣
Focusing my mind entirely on the dantian as she instructed, I adjusted my breathing. And suddenly, unlike anything I had ever experienced before, a distinct sensation flared to life.
A dormant power—one that had been resting inside me all along, waiting to be acknowledged—began coursing through my vessels.
Noticing my relaxed expression, Jeonghye patted my shoulder. ｢Thank goodness. Must be thanks to the Dragon Pearl, huh?｣
"What do you mean?"
｢My natural dantian is ridiculously tiny. Smaller than a five-year-old child's, honestly.｣
For a second, I wondered if she was pulling my leg. A tiny dantian meant an abysmal capacity for internal energy. How could someone with a body like that have wiped the floor with the rest of the Academy throughout her first year?
"Are you serious?"
｢Why would I lie about that? We're practically tied by fate right now,｣ Jeonghye said casually. ｢If this body dies, we both kick the bucket. You said it yourself—you don't know how to leave.｣
She wasn't wrong.
｢I hate having my body hijacked, but... it is what it is.｣ Stretching her arms over her head, she let out a yawn. ｢Anyway, it looks like it's about time to wake up—｣
Before she could finish her sentence, her physical projection vanished. In its place, a massive screen resembling a cinema display appeared across my vision, showing the outside world through Jeonghye's eyes.
｢It'll probably take about two days before control shifts back to you.｣
"What am I supposed to do until then?"
｢What else? Focus on feeling the qi rising from your dantian. Our next lesson starts after that.｣
Speaking as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, Jeonghye brushed aside the hanging vines and stepped out of the hidden cavern. The sun was already hanging high in the sky.
｢Well, look at that. Skipped the whole morning. I almost feel like a delinquent.｣
"Not like you cared much about classes anyway. You practically ruined your own course registration."
｢Hey, fair point.｣ Jeonghye casually brushed off my jab without taking offense. ｢Don't we have one class left today, though?｣
"Today is Wednesday, so... Ah, right."
｢Maybe I should just ditch it altogether. I already skipped the entire morning anyway.｣
"...It's Professor Maria's lecture. If you don't show up, she's going to worry."
At that, Jeonghye sighed reluctantly. ｢Yeah, she probably would. Guess I have to drag myself there, then...｣
Listening to her grumble, a sudden thought struck me. "By the way, doesn't it feel like we're talking to each other pretty naturally?"
｢It's likely an aftereffect of ingesting the Dragon Pearl. Flooding the vessel with an immense surge of qi all at once must have cracked the barrier in our mindscape.｣
I had no way of verifying her theory, but being able to communicate was an undeniable advantage, so I simply nodded along.
｢Still, gotta admit, that Dragon Pearl is the real deal. They don't call it a legendary elixir for nothing.｣
Marveling at the Pearl's miraculous efficacy, Jeonghye arrived at the Academy's outer wall, stopping right in front of the small gap near the drainage trench.
｢How did you even know about a path like this?｣ she asked.
That was a question I couldn't answer yet. Perhaps once we built more trust, but right now? 'Oh, this world is actually a web novel, and I happened to read it thoroughly—'
Whether she believed me or thought I had lost my mind, explaining the truth would only cause trouble.
"Just... stumbled across it by chance."
｢Chance my ass.｣
Jeonghye clearly didn't buy my flimsy excuse, but she chose not to pry any further. Squeezing through the narrow breach, we slipped quietly back onto Academy grounds.
Having safely snuck back in, we barely managed to slide into Professor Maria's lecture hall in the nick of time. Slipping