Chapter 269. Moon Sulin, Student Council President – After Lee Ho-yeon Lost Consciousness
After Lee Ho-yeon lost consciousness, Moon Sulin knelt down and checked his condition.
Thank goodness.
For some reason, there were hardly any internal injuries compared to the visible external wounds. Had his innate combat sense minimized the damage? His breathing was steady, and his complexion looked good. Only then could Moon Sulin finally relax.
Drip—
Thud—
At that moment, the mine embedded in the ground shook off its shoulders and stood up. Its aura was far stronger than before. It had probably absorbed a ton of mana from the hole it had crawled through.
It was just a light probe anyway. Moon Sulin hadn't expected it to take the thing down for good.
She cast a thin protective barrier over Lee Ho-yeon's body and walked toward the mine. Frowning as she eyed the rising figure, she muttered,
"…So it was you?"
Only when she got close enough to make out its face did she recognize its identity. It looked drastically different from the last time she'd seen it. The vice president of Victoria Academy's student council, someone she'd once worked with—Shin Dong-min.
She'd thought he'd gone missing and fallen into drugs or something… but to think he'd become a mine.
That's why we couldn't find him.
That explained why the investigation had hit so many dead ends. Now that she knew the truth, another question arose. Why? Shin Dong-min was the son of a major guild and had decent talent himself. How had he fallen so far?
The mystery didn't last long. The Shin Dong-min before her opened his mouth.
"Moon… Sulin…"
"Don't act like we're close."
Moon Sulin drew up her mana. Ever since he'd tangled with the mine and turned against Lee Ho-yeon, Shin Dong-min had been an enemy in her eyes.
She glanced briefly at Lee Ho-yeon, collapsed on the ground. If she'd been even a little later, his life would've been in danger. There was no room for compromise after what he'd done to Ho-yeon.
Moon Sulin looked at him worriedly, and Shin Dong-min growled in anger at the sight.
"Y-You… why are you looking at him like that?"
"…What?"
Stomping his foot in rage, Shin Dong-min trembled and screamed,
"Why! Why didn't you choose me! Why!"
"…?"
Moon Sulin stared at his face, utterly baffled.
"I could've given you everything. So why that bastard!!!!"
Only after hearing that did Moon Sulin piece it together.
"…That's what this was all about?"
Scheming to sabotage Lee Ho-yeon, attacking him, contacting the mine, and even turning into one himself—all for that?
Her body felt drained of strength.
"Th-That's not 'just' anything! The humiliation you two put me through—I could never forget it…!"
Black demonic mana rippled around the furious Shin Dong-min. Thick, viscous malice visible to the naked eye—the mark of an S-rank mine.
But Moon Sulin met it with a cold gaze. All this over something so petty?
Her eyes swept over Lee Ho-yeon's prone form. Blood crusted on his clothes from how much he'd lost. Bruises ringed his neck, and joints bent at unnatural angles where bones had broken and mended. Thinking he'd gotten hurt because of her made her chest ache like it was being torn apart.
"I don't know how you breached the barrier… but that was your mistake."
Shin Dong-min's tentacles sprouted from his back—the same ones Lee Ho-yeon had sliced away one by one, now regenerating from the mana that had seeped through the barrier's hole.
"Now that it's come to this, I'll kill you and the guy behind you…!"
More tentacles erupted from his back. But Moon Sulin didn't even spare him a glance. Instead, she reflected on the past while watching Lee Ho-yeon.
It was her fault. She'd given him leeway because he was from a big guild, putting up with his attitude. That had been a mistake. She should've crushed him from the start.
"Ignoring me to the end, huh? Fine, die with him!"
Crunch—
Groooan—
Dozens of large and small tentacles burst from Shin Dong-min's back, surging toward Moon Sulin with enough force to shatter everything and swallow her and Lee Ho-yeon whole.
Facing the incoming assault, Moon Sulin thought calmly. She definitely should've drilled some humility into him.
Taming an angry person is surprisingly easy. Overwhelming power. No one keeps their fighting spirit in the face of true violence. Sometimes, you have to use force on those who won't listen.
Tap—
Moon Sulin lightly stomped her left foot on the ground.
That was it.
The tentacles, barreling in with destructive momentum, froze mid-air. As if time itself had stopped.
Her single casual step had halted everything.
But Shin Dong-min's face twisted in horror.
"Ugh… guh…!"
No matter how hard he strained, the tentacles wouldn't budge. Worse—they were being pushed back.
An invisible pressure crushed them. Against Moon Sulin's control over the entire area, all Shin Dong-min could do was twitch helplessly.
"H-How…?!"
What happened next made him doubt his eyes. His tentacles were slowly reversing direction.
Those tentacles were part of his body now, ever since becoming a mine. Third arms that obeyed his every command.
And now, they were turning on him.
"N-No way. This can't be… impossible…!"
Crack—
Snap—
Forced to bend unnaturally, the tentacles' muscles tore, and Shin Dong-min's strength waned.
"Th-This… can't be real…"
"Still wondering why you were never in the running?"
Shin Dong-min stared at her in a daze. He couldn't comprehend what was happening. He'd abandoned everything to become a mine, fixated solely on revenge. He was on the verge of victory.
So why?
"You were never even an option."
Boom—!
Kaboom—crash—!
The mana-infused tentacles turned back on their master. It looked grotesque, like a flower bud imploding before it could bloom—its own limbs folding inward to strike the core.
Confirming the mana reaction had vanished, Moon Sulin returned to Lee Ho-yeon.
How should I carry him out? …Princess carry okay?
As she fretted over the unnecessary detail, she noticed the barrier changing. The opaque dome melted away from the top, revealing the blue sky and the ruined party venue. The women outside maintaining the barrier's gap spotted them.
"L-Lee Ho-yeon!!!"
"Ho-yeon…!"
The twins rushed in first, grabbing him and bursting into sobs. Nam Da-eun followed, quietly confirming he was alive and sighing in relief. The wounds looked severe superficially, but his life wasn't in danger.
Ellis staggered over next. Seeing his state, she nodded.
-Sob sob— G-Good… he's okay. Sob.Hic.-
-L-Lu-Lucy… I was so scared…
Leaving the twins kneeling and bawling into his chest, the remaining three women faced each other.
"…"
"…"
"…"
An awkward silence. But they understood without words. They all loved the same man. Their actions and words so far were proof enough.
"Ho-yeon-ah… sob…"
"F-First, let's call the medical team."
"Y-Yeah, quick!"
While Lucy and Lumi contacted the medics, Nam Da-eun, Ellis, and Moon Sulin quietly sized each other up.
"Thank you so much."
Nam Da-eun spoke first, bowing politely to the other two.
"For saving Ho-yeon… truly, thank you."
"N-No, lift your head, Da-eun."
"No, really. Ellis, thank you too. If I said anything rude earlier, I'm sorry."
"…Fine."
Moon Sulin seemed flustered by the apology, but Ellis felt inexplicably irritated. It was like she was saying, Of course you bow and thank me for saving my man. Well… probably spot on.
I just can't understand it.
Ellis could get why women flocked to a guy like Lee Ho-yeon. He had the skills and the looks to match. But usually, those women knew their place. Even if it was just a one-night fling, they wanted a taste of someone like him. Players knew it, and the women did too. They passed each other off as fond memories.
Her father was the same. He strayed with many women, but always returned to her mother. It wasn't about adding new loves—it was just collecting new experiences, like trying a fresh game.
But Lee Ho-yeon was different. This insane player was genuinely multiplying his loves.
The sobbing twins below, the bowing Nam Da-eun, even the uneasy Moon Sulin—they all loved him.
Of course, it wasn't weird for a player to make a woman feel loved. His casual fling might become her cherished memory. But to Ellis, Ho-yeon seemed sincere with them too.
That made the dynamic incomprehensible.
Finally, she realized why Nam Da-eun rubbed her the wrong way. In Ho-yeon's bizarre, unfathomable relationships with women, Nam Da-eun had known about it before her. That's what sparked that weird discomfort.
"…Hah."
By her common sense, it was absurd. Talented women like these forming a harem. And as a latecomer, becoming the center seemed impossible.
"D-Da-eun, enough with the head. You worked hard too."
Moon Sulin, burdened by the apology, glanced at Ellis as if to say, Do something.
Seeing that made Ellis want to be petty. This woman who'd thrown herself into saving Ho-yeon and was genuinely relieved. Moon Sulin. She still didn't get it—like a mirror of her past self.
And she wanted to help. For this pure woman to escape the playboy. Or maybe just to eliminate a rival.
The motive didn't matter.
I went through hell to save him. This much is fine.
Ellis approached the still-bowing Nam Da-eun with her best business smile, voice warm and friendly.
"Da-eun. Mind if I ask something?"
"…Sure."
Moon Sulin blinked at the sudden question, as did Nam Da-eun.
"How far have you and Ho-yeon gone?"
All eyes turned to her.