Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Blonde Tanned Delinquent (3)
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‘D-did he just say “You wanna die?” to me too...? N-no way. I must’ve misheard. There’s no way a true hero who sacrificed himself to save someone would say that to the person he rescued...’
“What’s with that betrayed look? You wanna die?”
‘So I did hear him right...’
Fuyuno Tsubaki felt the gratitude and joy that had surged to the top of her head the moment Yang Woo-bin appeared shrivel up in an instant.
‘Of course... My life was never going to go the way I wanted. I got my hopes up all by myself and now I’m disappointed all by myself again.’
At the same time, she scolded herself for daring to hope.
‘The world is gray, and it’ll stay gray forever. A colorless void where I can’t feel joy anywhere. After twenty years of just taking it, it’s about time I accepted it... What an idiot.’
The reason Fuyuno Tsubaki saw the world in gray was to desensitize herself as much as possible to the stimuli it gave her.
From birth, her mother had died giving birth to her, and due to her trash-tier talent, she’d been ostracized by her family. All the world had ever given her was pain.
Even after her environment shifted from the Fuyuno Family to Dabcheon Academy, nothing changed, so she concluded the world was colorless.
If the world truly had vibrant colors, it wouldn’t only give her pain.
It would have given her something good at least once.
And a month ago, during the entrance evaluation, Fuyuno Tsubaki felt something other than pain for the first time in her life.
She saw a brilliant, multicolored light—not gray—from the man who sacrificed himself to save her.
It was her first taste of hope, and that’s why she dared to wish and expect.
“Why’re you hanging your head? You wanna die?”
Right up until the man who’d given her that hope for the first time hit her with a triple “You wanna die?”
‘The world really is just colorless after all, and hoping only leads to bigger wounds...’
In the end, Fuyuno Tsubaki lowered her head at her hero’s disappointing words and actions, starting to resign herself once more.
She vowed never to expect anything from anyone again, reinforcing the walls around her heart even stronger than before.
And so her world became an even murkier gray, devoid of any hope...
“...So. What’s your name?”
“Huh?”
Just as the exhausted Fuyuno Tsubaki was about to fully close the door on her heart to the world, Yang Woo-bin suddenly shoved his face close and asked her name.
Asking someone’s name without giving your own first was a grave breach of etiquette in a superhuman society that prized bloodlines and families.
“T-Fuyuno Tsubaki... Fuyuno Tsubaki...”
But Fuyuno Tsubaki had no way to point out such rudeness, so with wide eyes, she blurted out her name to the tanned-skinned man who’d thrust his face right in front of hers.
‘H-his eyes are red... His hair’s a sparkling gold. Skin’s... t-tanned... U-ugh, too close...!’
At this distance where their breaths mingled, seeing his eyes, hair, and face up close made Fuyuno Tsubaki’s head spin.
It was the first time a man had ever gotten this close to her.
Superhuman society ran on power, so only strong women had the right to Exquisite men.
For the weakest at Dabcheon, Fuyuno Tsubaki, even the lamest weaklings wouldn’t approach her.
Of course, Fuyuno Tsubaki’s looks were stunning enough to draw men’s gazes even against the logic of power, but as the lowest of the low at Dabcheon, no one dared approach her despite her beauty.
Except for this flashy man, who murmured her name while deep in thought.
“Hey, I’ll just call you Fuyuno Tsubaki. I saved your life, so you’re cool with that, right? Anyway, mind if I hold your hand for a sec...”
“Hey. You there.”
“Huh?”
Just as the blonde, tanned man was about to finish his sentence, a sharp voice rang out from beside him.
His gaze naturally turned toward the one who’d called him.
“Ah...”
Fuyuno Tsubaki felt an inexplicable pang of regret as his eyes left her.
‘...Wait. Didn’t he just say something insane...?’
Then it hit her—he’d said something she couldn’t just let slide—and her face flushed bright red.
In this superhuman society where men and women kept their distance, a man’s most important virtue was chastity.
For those from prestigious bloodlines, its importance multiplied dozens of times over, so his near-slip of “hold your hand” hit Fuyuno Tsubaki like a thunderbolt.
‘H-he said he’d hold my hand...? My hand? Not someone else’s—mine? Why? Why?!’
The usual “Why?” that filled her mind in absurd situations arose again, but this time it wasn’t from the absurdity.
She genuinely couldn’t figure it out. She was truly curious.
But without him explaining, she’d never know.
Fuyuno Tsubaki pressed a hand to her pounding chest, feeling the heat rise in her face as she stared at his back.
It was all she could do.
“Barging in here throwing a tantrum all of a sudden. And what? “You wanna die?” You little punk, you dared say that to a girl? These days’ boys grow up without getting hit, so they don’t fear women? Huh?”
As always, Jin-sook stepped up first.
Her furrowed brows and unabashed hostility as she strode toward Yang Woo-bin were so intimidating that even Fuyuno Tsubaki behind her shrank back involuntarily.
“...Whoa, he’s High-value. I mean, ahem! Looks like you grew up pampered in your family, huh, pretty boy?”
Jin-sook, who’d approached to intimidate him effectively, got momentarily distracted by his looks but snapped back under the arena’s focused gazes and Sun-hee’s eyes on her back.
“But listen. I don’t know what you’ve been up to that you’re only now showing your face in this class, but this is Dabcheon Academy. No more family to baby you. Got it? Wanna find out what happens if you act tough anyway? I’ll show you!”
Her furrowed brows, wide eyes, and snarling made her look like a textbook thug.
It was a look that screamed “mess with me and regret it”—her second-biggest weapon for ruling the class.
“Haha, ease up, Jin-sook. Hey, you’re that guy, right? The one who got hurt the worst in the entrance eval.”
Her biggest weapon was Sun-hee, who grasped situations and steered them her way.
Jin-sook seized control with her fierce face and momentum, then Sun-hee followed up to take the reins.
This was the duo’s unbeatable pattern, and they were certain it’d work this time too.
After all, he was a man—far weaker than women—and a frail superhuman who’d been critically injured in the entrance eval.
“Jin-sook might be overdoing it, but she’s not wrong. Going “You wanna die?” to a precious classmate right off the bat? Unknown classmate, don’t run your mouth with words you can’t back up, or you’ll get hurt bad.”
Sun-hee, now closer than even Jin-sook, spoke to Yang Woo-bin in a low, measured tone.
She wasn’t overtly threatening like Jin-sook, but to Fuyuno Tsubaki, Sun-hee was far scarier.
Because Sun-hee was relentlessly vicious, incomparable to Jin-sook.
A true villain who got off on tormenting the weak.
“But I get it. It’s your first day, right? You don’t know the class vibe, how to act, who runs things. Ignorance isn’t a sin. Refusing to learn is.”
Sun-hee started talking about “sin” just like she had to Fuyuno Tsubaki moments ago.
The difference? This time, Yang Woo-bin was actually in the wrong, sort of.
Kicking open the classroom door and threatening a stranger with “You wanna die?” was objectively rude.
“So, I’ll let you know this once as a special favor. What order and justice mean in this class.”
Thus, Sun-hee spoke to Yang Woo-bin with the leisure of someone who’d claimed the moral high ground.
“I’m the order in this class. And that trash you just talked to and asked the name of? Useless garbage. Got the vibe now? Who to listen to.”
Sun-hee glanced back at Fuyuno Tsubaki and twisted her lips into a creepy smirk.
At that eerie smile directed her way, Fuyuno Tsubaki froze stiff, then began trembling.
Terror etched into her over the past month.
From experience, she knew what was coming.
“Alright, new friend. How about you kick that trash over there? It’s pretty fun, they say.”
And when her feared scenario began from Sun-hee’s mouth, all Fuyuno Tsubaki could do was close her eyes, shut out reality, and repeat “Why?” in her mind.
‘Why? Why? Why does it always end up like this? What did I do wrong...?’
Crack! Crash-tumble-thud!!!
“Kyaak!?”
The snap of breaking bone, the thud of a body rolling across the floor, a hideous scream like tearing flesh.
‘...Huh? What?’
At the chaotic noises ringing in her ears, Fuyuno Tsubaki slowly opened her eyes.
And saw it clearly with her own two eyes.
“S-Sun-hee!”
“Pretty fun, huh. Kicking trash. You know how to have a good time, don’t you?”
The blonde tanned delinquent grinning down at the ordinary thugs slumped on the floor.