Conquering Baek A-young

"Ho-yeon... Ho-yeon...!"

Baek A-young clung to Lee Ho-yeon's chest, tears streaming down her face.

Fortunately, his heart was still beating.

He must have collapsed from the combined aftereffects of mana exhaustion and whatever buff skill he had used. In a single instant, his firepower had more than doubled.

Baek A-young poured out healing light without a thought for her own mana. The wounds along his back closed over, and then she turned the magic inward, mending what lay beneath the skin.

His mana circuits are a wreck.

She had no idea what skill he had burned through, but at this rate it would take a long stretch of rest before he could channel mana again.

"Why... why would you go this far?"

She couldn't make sense of it. Would anyone do this much for a mere sex partner?

They might, she supposed. But Lee Ho-yeon was not that kind of bleeding heart. He was a man who took what he could get — and took it thoroughly — whenever there was something in it for him.

...Does he actually like me?

Maybe he really did. Those last words of his had certainly carried that kind of weight.

But the truth ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was, his feelings no longer mattered.

Baek A-young had decided she was done holding back. Whether Lee Ho-yeon loved her or despised her made no difference now. She could no longer contain the thing swelling inside her chest.

In her life, he had become someone she could not tear away — someone she would not allow to be torn away. A person she had to stay bound to, no matter what stood in their path.

How was she supposed to name a feeling that the word love was not big enough to hold? The one she cherished? The one she adored? Her dearest? The one she revered? The one she leaned on?

Whatever word she chose, it would not change what she did next. She would not hold back anymore. And she would never, ever give him up.

She kept the healing flowing as she brushed her fingers across his cheek.

Not the easy, unguarded face she knew — this one was drawn tight with pain, his eyes squeezed shut. And yet it looked so much more at peace than before, and that made it unbearably precious. Masculine eyes. A clean, tapered jaw. A high, straight nose. Lips still vivid with life.

Her hand drifted to his mouth before she even realized it.

Those soft lips, faintly damp, were more than enough to steal her soul away. As if something had taken hold of her, Baek A-young lowered her face, closer and closer—

Their lips were a breath apart when she heard the click of heels.

Click. Click.

"...!"

She jerked her head up and scanned the surroundings — and found a red-haired beauty walking toward them, a faint smile on her lips.

Baek A-young ran through the faces of every VIP and guest at the party. That face had not been among them.

Which meant she was an enemy.

She swallowed hard.

Keeping Lee Ho-yeon's body shielded behind her, Baek A-young squared off against the red-haired woman. She could not stop the treatment, so one hand remained pressed to his body.

The presence rolling off the stranger was a match for the skull-masked man from before — if not worse. Fighting to keep the tension out of her voice, Baek A-young spoke.

"Who are you?"

"......"

The red-haired beauty dragged her tongue across her lips, then broke into a radiant smile as her eyes found Lee Ho-yeon, hidden behind Baek A-young.

"Found you."

"...Ah!"

In the same instant, Baek A-young's breathing slowed.

The red-haired woman was already at Lee Ho-yeon's side. Baek A-young tried to stop her — but her body moved as if someone had dropped her to half speed. She reached for Rebecca's hand as it touched his face, and her limbs refused to obey.

"What... is... this..."

"Ah... you were treating him. Hmm. Can't have that, can we?"

Rebecca dispelled the Rune Barrier she had wrapped around Baek A-young.

Baek A-young's body snapped back to normal speed, and the breath she had been denied hit her all at once. She doubled over and retched.

"Kh—! Cough, cough— khahk!"

"Sorry. If I'd known you were a healer, I would've left you alone."

"W-who are you...?"

Baek A-young's body shook as she spread herself over Lee Ho-yeon, covering as much of him as she could. If she could buy even a single second, backup might arrive. She draped herself across his body, doing everything she could to block Rebecca's view.

"Lovers, I take it... Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt him."

Rebecca stroked Lee Ho-yeon's face once, then looked at Baek A-young. The way she trembled made her look like a tiny, frightened animal. Rebecca found it rather cute.

"When he wakes up, make sure you tell him. 'Someone from your former clan came looking. I'll visit again once you've recovered.' Got that?"

"...Yes."

With that, Rebecca vanished.

Baek A-young kept her eyes locked on the spot where the woman had stood, and only long after Rebecca was gone did the tension finally drain from her body.

She sat with the words, turning them over. A former clan. Just what kind of past was Lee Ho-yeon hiding?

"...Darling."

Whatever that past turned out to be, she was already prepared to take it into her arms.

A low electronic hum cut through the air.

"Over here! The Saint is over here! Cadet Lee Ho-yeon too!"

Hunters who had reverse-engineered the surrounding Rune Barrier came pouring in. Every one of them was covered in minor wounds and soaked through with sweat. Whatever had happened outside, it had clearly been a nightmare.

"A-young! Are you okay?!"

The sight of Min Yeji charging in at the front of the pack sent a wave of relief crashing through her. A familiar face. The tension she had been holding in her body finally let go, and tears welled up in an instant.

"Yeji... hh. Hhhk..."

"There, there... It's okay. You're safe now."

Baek A-young collapsed into Min Yeji's arms and let out every tear she had been holding back.

It was dark.

Where was this?

Shhk. Shhk.

The sound of something being sliced by a knife drifted in.

...Hell, maybe?

I sat bolt upright.

An unfamiliar ceiling. A pristine white stretch of it greeted me, and I was wearing a bizarre outfit of white mixed with green. The words Chulhyul Hospital were printed on the clothes.

"Ah..."

Thank god. Not Hell. A hospital room.

Thud.

Something hit the floor. I turned my head — and found Baek A-young staring at me, mouth hanging open, a paring knife in her hand. On the floor lay an apple, peeled about halfway.

"A-young..."

"...You're finally awake."

She blinked at my face.

"Was I out for long?"

Don't tell me I'd been asleep for a month.

"No. About a day."

"Ah... that's a relief."

"I need to let people know you're up. Give me a moment."

While Baek A-young placed a call, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pulled up the heroine status window.

Thankfully, her affection was holding steady at one hundred.

Good thing I'd planted that flag before I went down.

Affection at one hundred...

It was a number built from incident after incident, all of them stacking on top of each other. I had never pushed a heroine's affection to the cap before, and I was a little tense about it myself.

"After you collapsed, everything went completely insane. I heard you tore through a bunch of hunters before you even got to me? They wouldn't stop talking about you. A lot of people were really worried."

"Ah..."

I'd been in no state to be careful, punching through every barrier in sight. Fair enough.

"Pretty much every hunter at the party thinks you're a genius mage now. Not a bad return, huh?"

Baek A-young gave a soft little laugh and went back to peeling the apple.

...Is this right?

The composure was fine, of course. Better than sobbing, anyway. But for someone sitting at affection one hundred, she seemed strangely ordinary.

Ah...

That was when I noticed it. The hand peeling the apple was trembling, just slightly.

"How's your body? I finished treating all the external wounds. Your mana circuits are a mess, though, so those are going to take a long time to recover."

I shifted around at her words, testing myself. I felt good. No strange sensation along my back, either. The treatment had done its job.

"That's our A-young. Every bit the Saint."

I was still enjoying the feel of a properly mended body when I caught Baek A-young watching me fuss over my back, her mouth working as if she couldn't decide whether to speak. Then, slowly, she did.

"...Why did you do it?"

"Sorry?"

"Why did you take that blade for me? You knew I would've been fine even if it had hit me. So why...?"

"..."

She had stopped peeling. She was looking at me, her eyes trembling, waiting for something.

"...A-young."

"I'm asking you why... why... If you do things like that, I can't hold myself back either... and then you just leave me like this, all by myself..."

Watching her pour out everything she had been holding in, a wave of guilt rolled through me. In a way, I was the one who had made her like this.

It was time to stop.

"A-young. I like you."

I finally said the words I had wanted to say for a long time.

"...What?"

"I like you. You."

"D-don't lie to me. I-if this is another one of your weird games..."

I hooked an arm around her neck and pulled her into me.

Folded against my chest, her face burning red, Baek A-young tried to look away — then flicked her eyes up to meet mine.

"A-young. You know I'm a pretty awful guy. I'm the kind of bastard who goes after you knowing full well what I am, who torments you, who fools around with other women. And I'm going to keep doing it. But still. What am I supposed to do? I like you."

With every word, her eyes grew redder. It was a garbage thing to say, honestly... but at affection one hundred, I had a feeling I could put it that bluntly and it would still land.

The liking her part, at least, was genuine.

"Even if I'm that kind of man... you'll take me anyway, right?"

At that — at the sincerity in it — Baek A-young burst into tears and started pounding her fists against my chest.

"...Hh. Why. Why did I have to fall for a piece of trash like this. Hh."

Thump. Thump.

"Trash... rapist... playboy..."

The words she spat through her tears stabbed deeper than the fists on my chest.

Around the time even the feeble strength in those fists had faded, I caught the hands that had been trying to hit me and looked her in the face.

"Darling. I love you. I'll always put you first."

"...I love you. I love you. Darling... hh. I've been waiting all this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time."

We pulled each other close.

Ordinarily I would have locked my arms around her so she couldn't slip away, but I had no strength left in my body. I ended up leaning into her instead. Looking at the state of me, recovery was going to take a while.

Baek A-young cried against my chest for a while, then pushed me back just enough to wipe her tears.

"Darling's a crybaby."

I did everything I could to keep the corners of my mouth from lifting. The tears still shining in her eyes were so cute I couldn't help teasing her.

"...Be quiet, darling."

Baek A-young tapped at her smartwatch and placed a call.

"...Darling?"

What was that supposed to mean? I was fine.

The moment she hung up, Baek A-young began taking off her clothes, one piece at a time.

I only grasped what was happening around the time she started on her dress blouse, and I scrambled for an excuse.

"...Darling— I mean, A-young. I, uh... I don't have any strength at all... right now..."

"It's all right, darling. I'll take care of everything."

"..."

Looking at Baek A-young watching me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with the sultry eyes of a hunter sizing up her prey... I accepted the reality that I was a mouse in a trap, and started taking off my clothes.