Chapter 103 - Academy (1)
Kang Su-ho couldn't get a proper night's sleep at the training ground. His anticipated meeting with the Sword Saint had ended anticlimactically. What stung more was the attention that bastard Choi Si-woo was getting — the jealousy was eating him alive. And what followed was a nightmare in itself.
"No... it can't be."
Amelia, the girl he'd harbored feelings for all this time. She'd disappeared into the forest with that bastard Choi Si-woo. He'd chased after them into the woods. But he couldn't find them. After wandering for half a day, he gave up. With desperate hope, he went to her room.
'Please be there... please!'
Ding-dong!
Click.
She was there. Amelia. She was in her room. What a relief. His anxious imagination hadn't become reality.
But then —
"S-sorry... I-I think I have to go...! Hup...! Haa... I'll hang up now..."
*click*
Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
'S-she's hanging up like that?!'
Anxiety surged like madness. How could anyone sleep through someone ringing the doorbell like this...?
BANG BANG BANG!
"Amelia! Amelia!!"
He pounded on the door, but there was no response. His heart felt like it was on fire. It was getting hard to breathe. Terrible images kept blooming in his mind.
'S-she's... s-sleeping alone! Yeah... she's just in a deep sleep... There's no way that's true!'
There was no way anyone could ignore that incessant doorbell and keep sleeping. Biting his nails, he headed to his own room. There was something he had to check immediately. On the way, he saw the door to that bastard Choi Si-woo's room.
'That bastard... he's here, right...?'
He has to be. There's no way he's with Amelia. His trembling hand hovered over the doorbell, unable to decide whether to press it. If he pressed it and no one answered... if that bastard didn't come out... he felt like he wouldn't be able to bear it.
'Ugh...'
In the end, he couldn't press it. He couldn't see it through to the end. He fled into his own room like a coward. He immediately checked the intercom where the doorbell rang.
'Ah... just as I thought!'
There was a mute button. Amelia must have pressed it and fallen asleep. That's why she hadn't heard the doorbell. That's what he chose to believe.
Kang Su-ho couldn't even train properly in the end. His time at the training ground slipped away meaninglessly. On top of that, he hadn't slept well, leaving both eyes bloodshot.
Grind.
He saw Amelia following that Si-woo bastard around like a puppy. His face twisted involuntarily. This didn't seem like the same girl who used to get angry if he even tried to brush against her fingertips.
"What the hell is that!"
She looked like a dog following its master. He could almost hallucinate a tail wagging furiously behind her.
'I should have been her partner...!'
Without realizing it, he bit his lip. Back when they first entered the academy, those two hadn't even exchanged greetings.
'God damn it...!'
Seeing Amelia tugging at his sleeve made his fists clench tight. Jealousy burned toward Choi Si-woo — no, Park Jin-gu — who accepted Amelia's friendly gestures as if they were his due.
'Tch...! Why do I keep calling that bastard Choi Si-woo? So annoying.'
Once Park Jin-gu, always Park Jin-gu. Even calling him Choi Si-woo felt like losing.
'If my sister hadn't told me not to fight him, I'd have taught him a lesson... Ah! That's right.'
Thinking about that Si-woo gave him an idea. He immediately picked up his smartphone and contacted someone.
A café near the academy.
Jingle.
Kang Su-ho opened the door. The small bell hanging by the entrance jingled, drawing eyes toward him. The expressions of everyone who saw him shifted in a similar way. The women's gazes were all identical — overwhelming good looks. Their mouths fell open and their eyes went wide, as if they were genuinely stunned.
'Heh heh.'
Seeing their looks boosted his self-esteem. He hadn't slept properly in days, but this felt like stress relief. As expected, his face was perfect.
A woman stood up abruptly. She smiled brightly, as if she'd won some prize, and waved her hand.
"Su-ho! Over here!"
"Hey. Long time no see, Sang-mi."
He already had a date waiting. Sighs of disappointment leaked from all around — from the women in the café. Just another day in his ordinary life.
"Right, right! Oh my...! Su-ho, you've gotten even more handsome since entering the academy!"
"Yeah? Thanks."
After exchanging pleasantries, he got to the point.
"Sang-mi. Don't you need another bag?"
"Huh? You don't mean..."
Park Sang-mi. She was the girl who'd approached Choi Si-woo — no, that bastard Park Jin-gu — a few months ago and squeezed a bag out of him. She'd flirted with Park Jin-gu a few times, pretending to like him, and he'd emptied nearly all his money to buy her a designer bag. Of course, nothing he wanted ever happened. She just ghosted him. The fact that she'd actually told him it was over instead of disappearing completely was her last act of mercy.
"Yeah, try contacting that bastard Park Jin-gu."
"But I dumped him last time... will it be okay?"
"That pushover will come running, won't he?"
Park Sang-mi thought for a few seconds, then smiled brightly. She patted the bag Park Jin-gu had given her and said,
"Hmm... should I? I guess so. I'm getting sick of this bag anyway."
"Yeah. Call him now."
Kang Su-ho watched Park Sang-mi tap at her smartphone with eager eyes.
'Heh... I hope he cries and begs again...'
But then —
"What the...! He's not answering!"
"Huh?"
Park Sang-mi's brow furrowed. How dare he not answer her call.
"He's not picking up. Hold on, let me try again."
The subscriber you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please try again later...
"Uh...? Did he block me, by any chance?"
"Come on, no way. He was so desperate for you?"
Now Park Sang-mi looked offended too. Being completely ignored by a man who'd been groveling at her feet just months ago — it felt like she was the one who'd been used and dumped.
"Wait. Let me try again."
Same result. No matter how many times she tried, it was the same. It cut off immediately, as if she'd been blocked. An awkward silence settled between them. She forced her scowling face to relax. Kang Su-ho barely managed to speak.
"He m-must be busy. Let's try again later."
At that same time, Si-woo was meeting with Kang Hyun-ah, Kang Su-ho's sister, for the first time in a while. He'd come to get a teleport scroll, but there was no rush. You had to enjoy what there was to enjoy. It hadn't been long since Kang Hyun-ah lost her virginity and, overcome with shame, ignored all his calls. But the moment he sent her a single text asking to meet, she came running.
'It's been a while.'
Si-woo admired Kang Hyun-ah's outfit. She was dressed to the nines, as if heading to a party. A black mini dress with a hint of red. Long gloves that covered her elbows. Her pale forearms, left bare, drew his gaze especially. The gloves somehow made her look more lewd than bare skin. The dress that barely revealed her thighs suited her perfectly too. Though with her level of beauty, she'd look good in anything.
"You came?"
She sat down, her high heels clicking, and opened her mouth with a feigned coolness.
"...Why didn't you contact me?"
"Huh? I did, but you didn't answer."
"Y-yeah, but you should've kept trying! It's only th-three days away!"
"Three days?"
Kang Hyun-ah's voice shrank, as if embarrassed. She whispered so quietly it was barely audible, like an ant crawling.
"Y-you know... the thing you promised to do for me... it's three days away."
"Ahh..."
In exchange for taking care of his... needs... he'd agreed not to reveal that she lost to him in their sparring match. Seeing Kang Hyun-ah's flushed face reminded him of the last time they were together. She'd been begging for his cock like an animal in heat.
Feeling his persistent gaze, she fidgeted with her clothes and asked,
"What...? Is it s-strange?"
"No. You're pretty. It suits you."
"Hmph..! What's that supposed to mean... I'm always pretty... hup...!"
Just as she was trying to regain her confidence from a single compliment, he covered her lips. Right as he was about to slip his tongue through the small gap between her parted lips —
Brrrng — Brrrng.
Just as they were enjoying a nice kiss, his smartphone interrupted.
- Sang-mi
'Who the hell is this, saved in my contacts.'
For a moment, he couldn't remember who it was.
'Ah... that bitch.'
Before he possessed this body. The gold digger who'd latched onto that bastard Park Jin-gu. He couldn't be bothered with trivial things like this. He blocked her immediately.
"...What was that?"
"Nothing."
Kang Hyun-ah kept asking, pretending not to care. Her composure, which she'd been trying so hard to maintain after meeting him for the first time in a while, was shattered. Well, it had been shattered for a long time, but she didn't know that.
"What was it...? It sounded like a phone call...!"
He silenced her useless questions with a kiss.
Slurp. Smack.
A sticky kiss. Their tongues intertwined, exchanging breaths. They shared saliva, communing. Kissing a beautiful woman always felt good.
"Haa... ♥"
"It was spam. Don't worry about it."
"Mmm..."
With a single deep kiss, Kang Hyun-ah transformed from a haughty beauty into a shy newlywed. He admired her figure. Her slender waist flowing into full breasts. The nape of her pale neck was flushed red.
'...Oh?'
Something stood out against her pale skin. A band-aid on her nape.
"Hup...?! Ahh..."
When he brushed it with his finger, she stiffened. She floundered like a broken machine. He carefully peeled off the band-aid so it wouldn't hurt. A faint red mark remained.
'Oh?'
A hickey. The one he'd left on her during their last sex was still preserved. This was proof that she belonged to him.
'How adorable.'
He buried his face in her nape and rubbed it with his tongue. Then he circled it with his finger, making her flinch.
"Haaah..."
A sweet sound