Chapter 101: Ah, How Can I Resist Cheon Yu-hak’s Birthday Party! (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 101: Ah, How Can I Resist Cheon Yu-hak’s Birthday Party! (2)
That day was a day like any other.
In the morning, I walked to school chatting with Ha-ni. Ga-eul, already glued to her seat, greeted us, and Lilac and Lee Yu-na approached me—it was the usual routine before the morning assembly.
That normalcy shattered the moment Cheon Yu-hak, his face about 2.6 times darker and more hollow than yesterday, opened his mouth.
“…In that sense, a ball is scheduled to be held. They requested that everyone attend with a partner.”
The moment he finished speaking, I felt the surrounding temperature drop strangely.
…Is he insane? What? A ball? This is an Academy story, isn’t it…? Was it actually a romance fantasy all along?
“To offer an excuse, even if it’s called a ball, it’s ultimately just a time for dancing; it’s nothing major. Also, there’s no penalty for not having a partner. In fact, they said it’s fine to dance with others who come alone at the venue.”
Right, it’s not like it’s your fault, Yu-hak.
But then whose fault is it? This event didn’t exist in the original work, so it’s hard to even blame my friend for this.
Wait, is it? Cheon Yu-hak’s father was ultimately a character he set up, so in the end, it probably is his fault.
The Heavenly Horse, Cheon Mu-jin.
Ah, for the record, that ‘Heavenly Horse’ isn’t the ‘Heavenly Demon’ from Wuxia novels; it’s a Pegasus—literally, a Heavenly Horse.
His talent is quite peculiar even among the special types; it’s a Phantasmal Beast-type talent that takes the form of an animal. Simply put, the more he releases his power, the more he progressively resembles a Pegasus.
He was a character who boasted quite a deranged track record even in the original work.
For instance, upon seeing Baek Seol—who was a fairly well-liked character among readers since the Academy episodes were still ongoing—he dropped the legendary line: “You are disqualified from being my daughter-in-law. I don’t like you.”
Conversely, upon seeing Lilac resting after a battle, he turned Cheon Yu-hak’s stomach inside out as he happened to pass by, saying, “Any interest in going on a blind date with my daughter?”
As a novel character, I liked him well enough, but based on my experience so far, there was a high probability that well-liked characters from the novel wouldn’t leave a very positive impression when met in person.
“…Actually, it seems they want to set me up with a match under the pretext of a ball. It’s something like a marriage meeting.”
Ju Ri-ra, who was quietly handling work behind Cheon Yu-hak as usual, trembled violently.
Ri-ra. Seriously, you’re being so obvious.
Well, I suppose it’s a relief that we don’t have to go with a partner.
“…And apparently, whether they want to see young love or not, while there’s no penalty for being alone, they intend to pair people up on the spot as much as possible.”
…That is the penalty, you bastard. What do you mean there isn’t one?
I have to pair up and dance with some stranger at a ballroom?
I’d rather put on a mask, crash the ball, and pull a villain drift.
Honestly, up until this point, I didn’t think much of it.
But perhaps it was because I had ascended to the ranks of a Superhuman thanks to numerous fortuitous encounters and Sun Wukong’s delicate care.
The moment Cheon Yu-hak’s explanation ended, I vividly felt numerous gazes shifting toward us.
What… is this?
And it wasn’t just me who felt those gazes; Lilac was also looking around as if he had no idea what was going on.
Most of the stares were directed at me, Lilac, and Ha-ni, though occasionally some guys were looking at Yu-na or Ga-eul.
What, are those guys seriously thinking about going to the party as our partners…?
Sigh, this is ridiculous.
I looked at my friends, intending to seek their agreement, but surprisingly, things were a mess on this side too.
Ha-ni and Ga-eul were looking at me, Lee Yu-na was looking at Lilac, and Ju Ri-ra was looking at Cheon Yu-hak while pretending not to.
Ha-ni was the first to make a move.
“Ah, look at how the kids are staring at us. Hey, So-hyun, instead of dealing with that, why don’t we just say we’re partners and go in together?”
Oh. A small “Kya!” of a scream erupted from the corner of the classroom.
Well, it’s not like she whispered it, so everyone must have heard.
Ha-ni, I think I have a rough idea of what you’re thinking, but how on earth do you think the other kids will see us?
Look, right next to us, Ga-eul is looking at you with a face that says she’s been utterly betrayed.
However, Ha-ni didn’t care about any of those gazes and approached me with a confident attitude.
Our Ha-ni is being much more aggressive than I expected.
“Wouldn’t it be safer for the two of us to go together rather than attending a party with a girl as a partner and starting rumors?”
But then again, that’s not entirely wrong.
Regardless of Ha-ni’s objective or the way her gaze toward me was becoming increasingly strange, everyone else knew Ha-ni as a boy.
If I wanted to prevent useless rumors from spreading, it was certainly not a bad option.
“You loser…!”
However, Ga-eul did not back down.
Normally, this would be the timing for her to whine and retreat, but it seemed she coveted the partner position quite a bit.
Does she have no intention of even maintaining her ‘I like Cheon Yu-hak’ (concept) anymore?
“B-but it’s a party. They’ll be expecting male-female pairs, so would they really accept such a trick? They’ll probably tell you to find a different partner during the dance time anyway…?”
Oh, I thought she just blurted it out, but this also had some merit.
Considering his personality in the story, there was a high possibility he’d call it a penalty for trying to use a trick and joyfully force me to dance with another woman.
Ga-eul and Ha-ni’s gazes met.
Ga-eul glared at Ha-ni with suspicious eyes, and Ha-ni brushed it off with a casual smile, but for some reason, that smiling face looked strangely cold and scary.
“Oh, So-hyun, you’re popular as always today~ I’m jealous.”
“Lilac. A comment like that could cause a huge misunderstanding for your partner. You. Why don’t you hurry up and reassure her?”
Lee Yu-na glared at me for a moment, but this crazy bastard Lilac just tilted his head as if he didn’t understand what I was talking about.
“Huh? I haven’t decided who I’m going with yet?”
Once again, the girls in the class began to stir, looking at Lilac with gazes like predators eyeing prey.
Our Pink Chihuahua, Lee Yu-na, looked at them with a gaze ten times fiercer than the one she sent me, but this time, no one seemed willing to back down easily.
In short:
‘Back off, you bitches.’
‘Huh? From what I can see, you’re not Lilac’s partner either, so why are you interfering?’
That was the vibe.
“It’s not like something like this is decided just because I choose. First, I have to ask the other person.”
You bastard. That’s true, but if you ask Yu-na to go, she’ll just say okay! What are you even going to ask!?
…Wait a minute, it’s not that, is it? This moron isn’t going to suddenly ask Baek Seol to go, is he?
I wanted to think not, but with this guy, there was a distinct possibility.
“My, Lilac, who do you want to go with?”
Unable to hold back any longer, the Pink Chihuahua subtly pressured him, but of course, such psychological pressure doesn’t work on that dense guy.
He was catastrophically clueless when it came to his own romance.
How great would it be if he just said, ‘Actually, Yu-na, it’s you,’ right here?
“If I said I wanted to go with So-hyun too, the kids would probably start giggling, right?”
But surprisingly, this guy dodged the answer with a joke.
…This bastard doesn’t actually want to go with me, does he? Because if so, I’ll have to kill him.
“Hmm, I’ll think about it a bit more before asking. If I say it in a public place like this and rumors spread, it might feel like I’m forcing them.”
It’s not Baek Seol, right? If it’s really Baek Seol, I will definitely beat you until you can’t move and then give you to Lee Yu-na as a gift, so it’ll be better for your health to say it’s not her.
While we were chatting noisily, the preparatory bell rang, and almost simultaneously, Professor Cathy entered as usual.
The professor, who had recently returned to the Academy immediately after her suspension was lifted, surprisingly showed a demeanor no different from usual. She truly showed the side of a self-controlled adult…
“Cadet Kang So-hyun. If you don’t have a partner to go to the party with this time, shall we go together?”
The classroom was instantly turned upside down.
Weren’t you supposed to keep your public and private lives separate? Huh? Professor?
* * *
The reason Cathy suddenly went out of control actually traces back to last weekend.
To commemorate the end of her suspension, four women who were close at the Academy were gathered in her room.
Excluding Cathy herself, there was the Chairperson of the Academy, Leilan Claudia; the Mana Studies professor, Park A-ram; and finally, the Academy’s infirmary teacher, commonly known as the Doctor.
Their ages and circumstances varied, but they were close enough to know each other’s secrets and could be called friends, so they had come to congratulate her.
“It was only about a week, but good job. You’re back to work normally starting Monday, right?”
Park A-ram naturally cracked open a can of beer and began to gulp it down.
Actually, considering her age, it wasn’t strange, but Cathy subtly looked away at the sight of her colleague looking like she was engaging in a bit of delinquency no matter how many times she saw it.
“Aha, I saw you look away just now. Are you judging me based on my looks?”
“Judging you?”
“Are you really going to keep using formal speech even in a place like this? Huh? I’m starting to feel hurt. Are you distancing yourself?”
“Right, is there a need to stand on ceremony in a place like this? Though, I suppose that’s part of our Cathy’s cute charm.”
“Haha, that’s true. It’s rare for Leilan and me to agree on something, but we’re perfectly in sync whenever we talk about our cutie.”
…Since a long time ago, those two would tease her whenever they found an opening.
Even A-ram Unnie is using formal speech herself.
Do I still look like a child to them?
Cathy thought that with a pouting face as she gulped down the beer they had bought.
In fact, a Hero could control their intoxication if they put their mind to it, but in a setting like this, it was natural to get somewhat drunk.
Above all, the content she wanted to consult them about now was something difficult to say while completely sober.
“So? Seeing how you’ve been restless for a while, do you have something to say?”
“Oh, what is it? Does our Cathy have something to tell her Unnies?”
Unnies.
It was a word that would have raised questions if Kang So-hyun had heard it, but it didn’t seem to bother Cathy much as she took a deep breath and looked at them.
“…What do you all think about a professor liking a cadet?”
“It’s a crime. Why would you ask something like that?”
“No, it’s not a crime. Since they’re legally treated as adults after entering the Academy, there’s no legal issue. If anything, it’s a moral issue.”
Her will almost broke at the heavy fact-bombing that flew in without a moment’s hesitation.
“Why? Is there a kid in your class who got tricked by a bad professor? Should I go crush them for you?”
“It’s better to suppress those kinds of problems early on.”
Whether this was a blessing or a curse, it seemed no one even imagined that she had fallen for a cadet.
Normally, the two quick-witted ones might have noticed first, but perhaps because of the alcohol, or perhaps because of her usual behavior, they didn’t suspect a thing.
Only the Doctor, who was munching on snacks without a word, sent a suspicious glance as if wondering ‘could it be?’, but she didn’t say anything in particular, likely lacking certainty.
Right, in the end, this meant she should stop beating around the bush and speak plainly.
“It’s me.”
“Pardon?”
“…Hmm?”
“I think I like a cadet.”
Literally, beer trickled down from the corners of two mouths.
Since it wasn’t a sight the usually mischievous A-ram or the always confident and powerful Leilan would show, Cathy waved her hands in a panic.
“No, I don’t mean just any cadet! It’s just that the person I happened to fall for was a cadet!”
Uh…? No, that’s not it. No, it’s true, but saying it like this makes me sound like a terrible person.
“No, yes. Right. No, you could like a cadet. I’m just a bit surprised.”
“Ah, yeah. Right. It’s surprising that our Cathy is finally having her first love, and it’s also surprising that I didn’t expect the target to be a cadet.”
Though the two were flustered at first, they soon began to smile with twinkling eyes as if they had found a good topic to pair with their drinks.
“My, my, so who is it? Just how wonderful of a man is he to have stolen the heart of our Cathy, who has rejected every confession until now? Ah, you said a cadet? Hmm? A cadet?”
“Right, a cadet, you say.”
And the two who were smiling playfully suddenly thought of a certain boy and looked at her, wondering.
“…Could it be.”
“…Cadet Kang So-hyun?”
Cathy couldn’t bring herself to answer, but seeing her face turn as red as an apple, she might as well have given them the answer.
“Seriously…?”
She mustered her strength and nodded.
As a side note, all four people here had different perceptions of Kang So-hyun.
To Cathy, he was the savior who had rescued her, a boy who resembled her younger brother yet possessed different qualities, and at the same time, someone she had committed an unpayable sin against.
Meanwhile, Park A-ram thought of him as a good cadet and a savior who had helped her, but she also subtly suspected whether he was in a cooperative relationship with the man in the Ghost Mask.
This was because, after analyzing the past incident in her own way, there were too many suspicious points to believe he had moved simply because he received a letter or a tip-off.
To Leilan Claudia, Kang So-hyun was a Superhuman who had seen a part of the future, a kind child who sacrificed himself for heroes, and she felt guilty for making him do what she should have done herself.
She felt that she should have been the one to deal with Latis. Such thoughts were latently within her.
And finally, the Doctor.
To her, Kang So-hyun was a sample she wanted to investigate at least once.
According to the investigation reports she had received over the past month, his health was improving at an unbelievable speed, and he seemed to have somehow resolved the fundamental problem she thought was irrecoverable.
In other words, he was a subject she wanted to dissect.
Cathy took a deep breath and began to tell the story of what happened that day.
And by the time the story ended.
“…Ho. Well, now.”
“H-he’s more manly than I thought.”
“…Interesting.”
His actions were so radical that even the silent Doctor said as much.
And at the same time, it felt unbelievable.
To hug, comfort, stroke, and even say ‘those’ things to the person who put a hole in his own stomach?
If one had no experience in romance, falling in love would be unavoidable.
“So, I’d like to get some advice…”
However, there was one problem here.
Cathy didn’t know it, but in fact, none of the four people here had any experience in romance.
They were all popular, but the child-like Park A-ram was more an object of affection than sexual attraction; Leilan Claudia was popular due to her natural aura and looks, but due to her racial characteristics as a High Elf, she couldn’t engage in casual dating with anyone.
She had little interest to begin with, anyway.
The Doctor had decent looks, but her view on romance was so twisted that she wasn’t popular, so what more needed to be said?
Simply put.
She had chosen her consultants very poorly, and this meant the ‘advice’ they gave by squeezing out their non-existent knowledge wouldn’t be very helpful.