Chapter 86: Heart-Pounding Romantic Affairs (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 86: Heart-Pounding Romantic Affairs (1)
“Can I kiss you?”
Sitting on the hospital bed, she looked up at me while still holding me in her arms. She said it so casually, as if it were nothing.
I wanted to crack a joke or say something clever, but since I had zero experience with this kind of thing, my brain was short-circuiting.
“Is that a no?”
Just a moment ago, she had felt like a child, but now she was radiating a completely different kind of charm—one far removed from her usual self.
Yes, it was the allure of a mature woman, the polar opposite of the childlike vulnerability she’d shown before.
Because we were so close, her scent, which had been subtly teasing my nerves, suddenly felt overwhelming.
“Right, I guess I shouldn’t. This is a hospital, you’re a cadet, and I’m a professor.”
Though she coolly retracted her own words, it somehow sounded like she wouldn’t have held back if this weren’t a hospital, if I weren’t a cadet, or if she weren’t a professor.
Wait, was she saying she actually would have done it if not for the time and place…?
“Ah, there’s also the age gap and things like that. What about you, So-hyun? Do you not like older women?”
“Uhh…”
What was this? What was the right answer?
Regrettably, a lifetime of almost zero contact with women offered no help.
Was there anything else I could use as a reference?
— In the web novels in your memory, the protagonists usually feign ignorance. Personally, I find that quite distasteful.
‘I hate that kind of thing too…!’
“So-hyun.”
“Ye-Yes!?”
“What are you thinking about? Look at me.”
Is this really the same Professor Cathy who was trembling in my arms just a minute ago…? My mind is truly reeling.
I saw my own reflection in her eyes as she slowly leaned in.
Wait, wait.
I thought you said you weren’t going to do it! Should I dodge? No, is there even a reason to dodge?
A whirlwind of thoughts raced through my head, but regardless of my internal chaos, she approached slowly but surely. Then, tap. Her lips lightly brushed against me.
On my forehead.
With a mischievous smile, she pressed her lips against my forehead once more.
“Since I can’t kiss you properly yet… consider this a reservation.”
“A… reservation?”
“Yes. A reservation until you graduate, So-hyun. This much skinship is fine, right?”
Setting aside whether a forehead kiss is acceptable between a cadet and a professor, the look in her eyes was definitely not that of someone who had just made a simple “reservation.”
She gave a soft giggle and stood up.
“So, give me your answer then.”
With those words, she left the room. I stared at her retreating back for a long time, a satisfied smile playing on my lips.
“Ugh…!?”
A beat late, my forehead—where that soft sensation still lingered—felt like it was bursting into flames.
* * *
As usual, the discharge process was quick.
I had been hospitalized overnight just in case, but there was no reason to keep Superhumans in the hospital when there was nothing wrong with them.
On the way back, at Lilac’s suggestion, we stopped by a cafe.
“So-hyun, be honest. You’re dating the professor, aren’t you?”
I didn’t realize that when this dimwit suggested a cafe, it was just so he could sit there with a smirk and get on my nerves.
Ah, dammit. I couldn’t even sleep last night trying to forget about it.
“Oh, looking at that reaction, there’s definitely something going on.”
Not just Lilac, but even Cheon Yu-hak—who would usually leave, calling such talk “vulgar”—was looking this way with interest.
I mean, what even is this? If it were girls having this conversation, it would be called “Girls’ Talk” and be popular.
Why on earth do I have to have this conversation with two grimy males?
“Just tell us the truth. I swear I won’t spread rumors.”
“Well, she is a charming woman, so I don’t think there’s anything to be ashamed of.”
These bastards…
Well, I suppose this is what kids their age are like.
Male or female, it’s the age to be interested in romance.
But if nothing had actually happened, I could have just calmly denied it. The problem was that something did happen, which made it awkward to talk about.
I mean, really.
I know I’m at an age where I shouldn’t be embarrassed just because I got a kiss on the forehead.
But listen.
No matter how old you are, if you have no experience, embarrassing things are embarrassing!
I’ve lived a life that had nothing to do with this kind of sweet-and-sour stuff!
Wait, you bastards, is this really the time to be talking about this?
Don’t you remember almost dying yesterday? If you’re novel protagonists, go do an Awakening event or something! Stop worrying about someone else’s love life…!
Just as I was about to shout that, I noticed their expressions were a bit too serious for just sharing gossip.
“Actually, while you were still unconscious, I talked with this guy.”
“Um, So-hyun. It’s a bit weird to say this, but you got really angry when the professor ended up in that state. I’ve never seen you that worked up before, and also…”
As Lilac hesitated, Cheon Yu-hak took over.
“In that agitated state, you charged in and showed a performance far superior to your usual self. I wonder how many cadets in the Academy could have overwhelmed you as you were yesterday. Certainly, neither Lilac nor I can say for sure.”
“So, I talked it over with Yu-hak, and we wondered if it was that.”
“…That?”
“You know… Awakening through the power of love… that kind of thing.”
“…Well, if you look for precedents, it’s not an entirely unheard-of story.”
For a moment, I thought I had misheard.
Wow, these guys.
Are they shoujo manga heroines or web novel protagonists…?
They seemed to realize how embarrassing it was even as they said it, as their voices trailed off.
The problem was that in a world like this, cases of Awakening through willpower or the power of love weren’t entirely non-existent. However, I could guarantee that Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak were not that type.
No, wait. Instead of a romance story, is this actually a protagonist Awakening event…?
Even if I didn’t want to think about it, the difference from the original work was so vast that I couldn’t help but remember.
Lilac, the swordsman who never let go of his blade even after losing friends, colleagues, and his master one by one, and being criticized and insulted.
Cheon Yu-hak, the martial artist whose self-assured techniques were all crushed, who desperately trained after realizing his chilling helplessness, but eventually abandoned everything he held dear just to win because nothing worked against the increasingly powerful enemies.
They were worlds apart from the versions in my memory.
Of course, this wasn’t a negative change, but still, no matter how I thought about it, the “power of love” was a bit much.
“It’s not like that. What ‘power of love’?”
“Then why were you so worked up?”
“Are you some kind of crazy psychopath? The professor was in that state; of course I’d lose my mind.”
“No, well. That’s true, but…”
Well, it wasn’t the whole truth, but it wasn’t total nonsense either, so they’d probably accept it.
“How boring.”
…Cheon Yu-hak, you bastard. Did you just say it’s boring?
“Actually, you rarely get worked up, So-hyun. I thought it would be cool if you exerted yourself like that for someone you liked.”
The buildup had been so serious that I was going to let it slide, but it seemed half of it really was just for their own amusement.
Wait, thinking about it now, I’m suddenly getting pissed off.
These sons of bitches. You dare bring up romance to me?
In the original, you guys lose your comrades and whine about it, then fall for some weird woman and get rejected. And you’re talking about what? The power of love? What? Boring? Exerting yourself for someone you like?
You’re both socially awkward losers who can’t even manage your own love lives, turning them into total disasters. Who are you to butt into someone else’s…?
* * *
In fact, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable for them to think that way.
Kang So-hyun had said it himself.
Because he had such an Artifact, because he was confident he could be resurrected, he could stand his ground so boldly.
He wasn’t brave, nor was he reckless; he simply did it because he could.
But even with that certainty, who could actually do it?
Getting hit hurts, and facing an unbeatable opponent is terrifying.
The two geniuses were, in fact, still afraid.
The “Red” that had brutally crushed them even when the three of them attacked together was so terrifying that it was hard to shake off.
That was why they tried to find an answer from the boy who, despite seeing it directly, remained his usual self. And the answer that came from the minds of these still-immature boys was:
‘Love.’
Don’t many stories feature characters overcoming fear or despair thanks to love?
In particular, the way Kang So-hyun acted that day gave their theory some weight.
— I’ll save you soon.
— It’s okay now.
Even while he was that angry, he would smile softly only when looking at the professor, gazing at her with affectionate eyes. It was a perfectly understandable misunderstanding.
Anyway, the two boys intended to drop the subject before their friend got genuinely angry if it really was a misunderstanding.
Normally, that would have been fine.
Kang So-hyun wasn’t so bad at reading the room that he couldn’t distinguish a joke, and he understood well enough that boys’ interests could lean in that direction.
However, because of the subtle incident that had actually occurred with Professor Cathy, Kang So-hyun’s fuse was just a little bit shorter than usual today.
“…Enough.”
“…Hmm?”
“Huh? So-hyun, what did you say?”
“SILENCE…!!!!!”
Kang So-hyun’s roar echoed through the cafe.
If not for the soundproofing barrier Cheon Yu-hak had set up in advance, everyone’s attention would have been fixed on them.
* * *
I could see exactly what they were thinking just by looking at their faces.
‘We messed with the wrong person…!’
That’s right, you bastards. You messed with the wrong person.
You dimwits.
Do you have any idea how much of a headache your romance stories gave me while I was reading the novel? And you dare try to make me the subject of gossip…?
My first target was Lilac.
“Lilac, in romance, pure love is what’s important. ‘Drifting’ to other interests is something only idiots do. You shouldn’t choose based on momentary emotions or appearances. Do you understand?”
“Huh…? Yeah, of course.”
‘Of course’ my ass. If you knew that, would the original story have turned into such a mess?
“No, you don’t know. From what I can see, you have the face of someone who’s going to ‘drift.’”
“Huh…? What kind of face is that? Besides, I don’t even have anyone I like—”
“SILENCE…!!!!”
“Oh, okay. Sorry. I’ll just keep listening.”
He looked unconvinced, but since he was the one who started the teasing, he seemed prepared to keep listening for now.
“Hey, honestly, even if everyone else is clueless, if there’s someone who only looks at you and does everything for you, not noticing that is crossing the line. Don’t you think so…?”
“Huh…? Yeah, I guess if there were such a person…?”
At this, even Cheon Yu-hak shook his head as if it were absurd, but in my eyes, he was just as bad.
“You’re no different, you bastard.”
“…What?”
“Oh, why so surprised? Do you think you’re better than Lilac? You’re two peas in a pod. No, that guy really doesn’t know, but you do know and you’re just pretending not to, which makes you even worse.”
“Ahem, giving an answer based on my own opinion to someone who isn’t even sure of their own heart is…”
“Oh, really?”
Good grief.
The way he talks is exactly like Ju Ri-ra. You two are a match made in heaven.
You romance-illiterate fools.
I’m bad, but I’m definitely not as bad as you guys.
Is that why you ended up like that in the original?
Driving a girl to fall into villainy because she was hurt by you saying you liked another woman? Making a girl who couldn’t even dare to say she liked you finally confess her feelings only while she was dying at the hands of a villain?
Ding~ Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak’s phones went off simultaneously, and their expressions suddenly changed to ones of urgency.
“Sorry, So-hyun! We were wrong, so let’s just calm down a bit! We have to be quiet now!”
“Calm down a little. I just got a message saying they’ve arrived.”
Who’s arrived? Is my stress-induced stomach ulcer arriving? Then it’s your fault, you bastards…!
“Then don’t bring up romance in the first place…! You guys…!”
“Hmm.”
Oh, heavens. There’s a saying that no matter how worked up a person is, they can cool down in an instant.
It was true.
The fact that the trigger was a woman’s voice was quite sad, but apparently, anger isn’t such a grand emotion in the face of instinctive fear.
“How interesting.”
The voice was calm and serene.
“But why did you stop talking all of a sudden? Keep going, everyone.”
A soundproofing barrier, by nature, cannot block physical intrusion.
So, naturally, if someone approaches, they enter the range of effect, and the barrier becomes useless.
I turned my head to see the Pink Chihuahua smiling as if she found this genuinely intriguing, and Ju Ri-ra glaring at me with an exasperated look.
And then there were Kim Ga-eul and Kang Ha-ni, who both looked somewhat displeased.
“Hmm? You said you were talking about romance. I’m curious to know how far the conversation went. You’ll let us join in, right?”
There wasn’t a hint of a smile in the eyes of the brightly grinning Pink Chihuahua.
Um, exactly how much did you hear? And what exactly did I say?
If it’s not too much trouble, may I offer an apology? You’ll accept it, right?