Magic with Professor Sol! (6)

"Kh—"

Lim Sol covered her face with one hand and burst out laughing — because the situation was funny, and because the state she was in was even funnier. She laughed without the slightest regard for anyone watching.

"...Professor?"

Lee Ho-yeon tilted his head at Lim Sol, who had suddenly exploded into laughter.

What's gotten into her this time?

Had calling her Sol-noona really been that funny? He'd said it plenty of times before. But Lim Sol offered no answer to his confusion. She just kept snickering, shoulders shaking.

"W-what's wrong, Professor?"

Only when Ho-yeon was on the verge of genuine alarm did Lim Sol finally stop her sudden laughter and catch her breath.

"Haa..."

She let out a long, deep sigh. At last, her chest felt clear. She finally understood her own heart.

I've been had.

She should have been more careful. She'd known her adorable disciple had a talent for seducing women. She'd known he was more than just close with her friend Baek A-young — that his bonds with the other female cadets ran plenty deep as well. She had never once made a mistake in a magical calculation. And yet she couldn't even manage her own feelings.

Lim Sol found her predicament so genuinely absurd that she let out one last hollow laugh.

"...Are you all right?"

Ho-yeon watched her carefully — the woman who had just erupted into laughter and then gone quiet just as suddenly. Had she been hit by some kind of mental magic?

No... it doesn't look like that.

Besides, there was no way their professor would fall for something like that.

Hmm.

Ho-yeon genuinely puzzled over why Professor Lim Sol was behaving this way. She was still looking into his eyes, the corners of her mouth lifted in that familiar smile.

"Professor, did you by any chance..."

He was just about to check whether she might have been brainwashed when—

"You reeled A-young in like this too, didn't you."

"Kh!— Cough! Cough, cough!"

Lim Sol's bombshell of a remark sent Ho-yeon into a coughing fit, as if something had gone down the wrong pipe.

What the hell is she talking about?

No, wait — all of a sudden...? Was she just teasing him?

Ho-yeon stared at her in a panic, but she was wearing the same smile as always. Which only made it more terrifying.

Stay calm.

Even if you walk into a tiger's den, you can walk back out as long as you keep your head. First, he needed to figure out why she was doing this.

That playfully smiling face was ordinary Professor Lim Sol through and through. But the affection score, which had climbed sharply, jumped straight out at Ho-yeon. And then there was that thought — that she felt sorry for A-young.

She knew Baek A-young liked him, and she was thinking that anyway... which meant the professor had developed feelings for him too.

But why?

Don't tell me she fell for him just because he called her Sol-noona?

He needed time to get a handle on the situation. Ho-yeon kept the conversation going, hunting for clues in her words.

"What are you talking about all of a sudden, Professor?"

"Be honest. How many girls are you juggling?"

"...Juggling? I don't have any girls."

Ho-yeon listened to Lim Sol and sank into thought — because the truth had landed far too directly.

How far has she dug? Since when? Don't tell me she's been pretending not to know this whole time?

But no matter how hard he turned it over, there was no way he could know.

"Liar. You've got a ton of girls."

"...They're all just friends."

For now, just get through this. Then, slowly, after that...

"Is that so? Then I guess it's fine."

"Pardon?"

Snap.

Lim Sol flicked her fingers lightly. Blue mana surged up from her body into the sky, and Ho-yeon's eyes followed it as naturally as if they'd been pulled. It looked like the kind of magic you used when you wanted every gaze in the area locked on a single point.

Boom!

The instant Ho-yeon looked up, a small burst of mana detonated behind his back.

"Wh— huh?"

Caught completely off guard, Ho-yeon lost his balance and stumbled a step forward — and his eyes met Lim Sol's. Playfulness and resolve lived in them at the same ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time. Before he could even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠register what was happening, she caught his falling body as naturally as breathing, and brought her lips to his.

"Mmph— P-Professor!"

I stared at Lim Sol's lips — the ones that had touched mine and vanished in an instant — with dazed, unfocused eyes. Lips that had met mine before I could even properly feel how soft they were. And the faint scent that lingered after. It was that sweet fragrance of hers I always caught whenever I drew close.

Unlike me, unable to hide how flustered I was, Lim Sol leisurely ran her tongue across her lips.

"What? It doesn't matter, right? You said they're all just friends."

"...Professor. Th-this kind of thing should only happen after both people have confirmed their feelings and received the other person's consent..."

"Didn't you just confess to me?"

"..."

I had nothing to say. It had been a confession, more or less. Honestly, I'd only meant to raise her affection with that — I might have laid it on a little too thick. Breaking through Lim Sol's trauma was a good thing, but...

"Mm..."

Right. Getting closer to completing her route was a good thing. It was all well and good — except this created a problem that was far too big. Baek A-young and the Lucy-Rumi twins were one thing, but if Professor Lim Sol got mixed up in this too, everything would get impossibly complicated. Unmanageable, even.

But as if she'd read my mind, Professor Lim Sol went on.

"But I'm not going to accept it."

"What?"

What kind of insane thing was that to say. Part of me was relieved, and the rest of me was speechless. Then why did you kiss me?

"I've had a standard set ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for my future husband for a long time. You have to surpass it."

"What's the standard?"

I asked, looking at Lim Sol and that refreshingly easy smile of hers. We were already at the point of kissing and blowjobs, and I still hadn't cleared her bar? How far was I supposed to go?

"That's a secret. Wouldn't be any fun if I told you."

"...Then why did you kiss me?"

"Did you hate it?"

"That's not it. Of course I liked it."

Of course I liked it. A beauty's lips are always welcome. Though... it would have been nicer if we'd done it somewhere quiet.

If this gets picked up by the news again, how messy is that going to get?

Honestly, it already felt like it might be past the point of managing. Could we pass this off as the affectionate bond between a teacher and her disciple? Or should we call it a simple accident?

I was turning all of that over when voices drifted in from nearby.

"Wait, was that Professor Lim Sol over there just now?"

"Cadet Lee Ho-yeon was with her. Where'd they go?"

"What."

I looked around after catching the conversation — and my eyes went wide. At some point, a membrane of mana, thin as a whisper, had drawn itself around us.

"...Were you messing with me?"

"Yep. I wanted to see how sincere my disciple really was."

Lim Sol answered my incredulous question with a smile in her eyes.

"...Wow. Seriously. That's going too far."

Do you have any idea how flustered I was? Still — thank god. If I'd gotten serious or blown up at her here, it would have been a real disaster. Not that I would have... but if people had actually seen that, it would have been a genuine pain.

"Tsk. So, are you satisfied?"

Lim Sol's mouth curled up into a smile.

"Not bad. My disciple."

I touched my lips and smiled, awkward and a little sheepish. Somehow, meeting that face of hers head-on was embarrassing.

"Oh — they're over there!"

"It's the security team! Everything's already over — what are you still doing?!"

"Security team! Professor Lim Sol! Cadet Lee Ho-yeon!"

The barrier wrapped around us dissolved, and security officers and reporters came closing in. Lim Sol looked at me with complete composure, as if the withdrawn version of her from just a little while ago had been a lie.

"...Let's go. I don't think I'll make afternoon classes today."

"Hehe. I suppose not."

Thinking of the annoying investigations waiting for us, we walked toward the crowd.

"...Tsk."

Fortunately, the investigation wasn't long. That didn't mean it wrapped up quickly, either. There was an awkward sliver of time left — not enough to bother going to afternoon class, not quite enough to call the day over. In the end I got Professor Lim Sol's permission to skip the afternoon session as well and headed for the dorm.

For the record, Professor Lim Sol went back to her lab beaming from ear to ear. I was a little unsure how I was supposed to treat her from here on... but it would probably be fine. I still had no idea what that condition of hers actually was, though.

"Hm? Junior Ho-yeon?"

That was when I ran into a student council senior at the dorm entrance. Someone I remembered working with Su-rin noona.

"Oh — senior. Hello. It's been a while."

"Yeah, yeah. It has been. I was just coming down with the paperwork — guess we just missed each other."

The student council senior smiled and gave the papers a little wave.

"Pardon?"

"The participation forms. Oh, were you coming back from the convenience store?"

"...?"

What on earth was this person talking about? Since I didn't know the actual situation, I just played along. I tend to trust my gut, and my gut was screaming, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Do not ask what that is.

"Ah... yes. That's right."

"I see. So you just signed the papers and headed down. Well, I did get here pretty early."

"Uh, the papers... yes."

I still couldn't find the thread of this conversation. What papers, and why did a signature keep coming up?

"Anyway, got it. I've got a ton of work piled up too. Oh — a package came for you. Check it out!"

The student council senior chattered away cheerfully to herself and then left.

"...What a weird person."

How buried in work do you have to be to end up like that? Tsk, tsk.

That aside.

An all-too-unsettling string of words. A sudden prickle of dread sent me hurrying to my room — and that was when I saw it.

Creak.

A delicate hand eased carefully out through the door and drew the package sitting in front of it inside.

"..."

Thud.

After the door had fully closed, I checked the hallway. Fortunately it was an hour when no cadets were around, so it didn't look like anyone had seen... but I had told her not to do that.

"Haa. What's the big deal if you pick up a package a little late."

The only person in the dorm at this hour was Liliana.

Ding.

I opened the familiar door and stepped inside, then headed for the living room, where Liliana's humming drifted out to meet me.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm. Gotta hide these before the kids get back."

Liliana was in her streaming clothes, swaying her head this way and that as she tore into the package.

"You crazy succubus... I told you not to come out for packages when I'm not here."

"Huh? Eek! Wh-what! Class isn't supposed to be over yet!"

Liliana shoved whatever had come out of the package behind her back and looked up at me. Piled back there were chocolates, snacks, gummies — the usual suspects.

"...I'm not going to steal your food. Liliana, be careful when I'm not around. You'll get caught and dissected at this rate, you know that?"

"But! If I open them when you're here, Nam Daehee steals everything... Nam Da-eun wants to give them to her little sister, and Nam Daehee wants to eat them herself!"

"I gave you plenty of money. Just order twice as much."

"If I order too much and get caught, Nam Da-eun will yell at me..."

I let out a hollow laugh looking at Liliana, who was holding a single gummy and drooping like a wilted plant. When something is that absurd, laughter is the only thing that comes out.

"No — haa... forget it. Whatever."

I didn't understand why they fought over things like that, but I decided to let it go. I was tired from sitting through an investigation.

I was about to drop onto the sofa when I spotted a sheaf of papers sitting next to the package box Liliana had been opening. There was a signature on them identical to my handwriting.

"...What's this?"

"Dunno. I thought it was a delivery signature, but it said student council on it."

"Why is my signature on it? I don't remember this."

"...I thought it was for a package and just signed it."

Liliana hung her head as if she were reflecting on her sins.

"Is that something you can just say so casually?"

When had she even practiced my signature? And just how many packages had she been secretly signing for?

It's a miracle she hasn't gotten caught.

I felt genuinely relieved as I lowered my eyes and checked the papers. Written across them was a title.