Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Reunion
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"By this time, he should be doing personal training at the training grounds. Yang Woo-bin never misses a day and always sticks to his schedule."
It had only been three days since Yang Woo-bin had joined Jincheon Class, but Jin Se-jeong already knew every detail of his routine. Without hesitation, she headed straight for the training grounds.
'...So this is how we're going to reunite.'
Ever since parting ways with Yang Woo-bin, Jin Se-jeong had honed herself relentlessly for the past seven years, without a single day or moment of rest.
Even after claiming the heir's position, she swung her sword ten thousand times each day while never neglecting her studies as the successor.
She had lived a life of perfect balance between martial and scholarly arts, allowing not even a single second for herself.
Her one and only indulgence was imagining her reunion with Yang Woo-bin.
Her strength and skills grew day by day, her body maturing alongside them, but Jin Se-jeong's heart remained stuck at the age of thirteen, when she had spent the night with Yang Woo-bin.
Even when she pushed her body to the point of vomiting blood, she endured because her mind lingered in those happy moments.
Her memories of Yang Woo-bin were precious enough to be the pillar supporting her entire life.
'I spent every day agonizing over how we'd reunite—what I'd look like, what form it would take, what the situation would be. It's a shame it won't be me dramatically sweeping in with the Azure Dragon Twelve Swords to fend off enemies threatening Yang Woo-bin, then turning my head just slightly and saying, "Long time no see, Yang Woo-bin!" to show off how much I've grown... But that's okay.'
Given how dear those past memories were, it was only natural for Jin Se-jeong to dream of a beautiful reunion with Yang Woo-bin.
Day by day, her thirst for that reunion grew stronger, until by now, a dramatic reunion had become one of the few items on her bucket list.
'Right now, though, the priority is proving those rumors about Yang Woo-bin and Fuyuno Tsubaki aren't true.'
She hated the rumor circulating through Jincheon Hall so much that she was willing to abandon that precious bucket list item.
Having their childhood friend bond snatched away, nonsensical talk of them being promised lovers, the way they seemed to live in their own world together, always stuck side by side—it was all infuriating.
To dispel all of it at once, the fastest way was to barge in and confront Yang Woo-bin in front of everyone to clarify the truth.
That was why Jin Se-jeong chose to storm the training grounds where he was, forgoing any touching reunion.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Th-the Student Council President is storming off somewhere with an incredibly angry look on her face and heavy footsteps!"
"The President, who always faces problems head-on without flinching and resolves them... showing such raw emotion... What on earth is going on?"
"No wonder things felt too peaceful these past few days... Something's blown up. Let's hurry and check it out!"
The Jincheon Class cadets nearby sensed something was off from Jin Se-jeong's furious strides and followed behind her.
As they drew closer to the training grounds where Yang Woo-bin was, the crowd trailing her swelled. By the time they arrived at the entrance, about a third of the entire Jincheon Class was right behind her.
"Ahem."
Normally, she would have ordered the crowd to disperse to prevent chaos, but the more witnesses, the faster the rumors would be corrected. This time, she stayed silent.
As she placed her hand on the door to open it, one of the cadets following her glanced at the training ground's window and spoke up.
"Whoa? It's Yang Woo-bin and Fuyuno Tsubaki! Man, those two really are always together."
"...!"
She had come here precisely to see those two, so it was good news. But even hearing they were inside, Jin Se-jeong felt no joy.
On the contrary, the mention of them sticking together made her jaw clench and her body tremble.
"Whoa? Yang Woo-bin's correcting Fuyuno Tsubaki's form! He's spotting her squats. Huh? H-he's putting his hands on her waist!"
"...!?!?"
As the cadets' live commentary continued, Jin Se-jeong unwittingly turned her head toward the window.
The cadets peering in looked just like girls peeking at a romance novel. She couldn't hold back any longer.
Bang!
Jin Se-jeong, who prided herself on restraint and control and had never shown disarray to anyone, failed to regulate her strength for the first time since entering Dabcheon.
She shoved the door open with a thunderous crash that echoed through the training hall and corridor, drawing every eye inside to her.
"...Huh?"
"What's wrong, Yang Woo-bin?"
Among them was Yang Woo-bin.
Their eyes met—the one she'd longed for so desperately—and Jin Se-jeong's mind went blank for a moment.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
All the words she wanted to say, all the questions she wanted to ask, vanished. Only the pounding of her heart, shaking her entire body, filled her head.
"Yang Woo-bin... do you know her...?"
But when she saw Fuyuno Tsubaki, right beside him, ducking slightly behind his back and whispering, a dark, sticky emotion boiled up from the depths of her chest, snapping Jin Se-jeong back to reality.
"Sigh... Hoo."
Jin Se-jeong took a deep breath, sharpened her gaze, pointed her index finger at the two of them, and shouted forcefully.
"Yang Woo-bin!"
She hadn't expected to call his name so roughly, but it was the best way to get what she wanted.
She opened her mouth again to follow up with, "Tell me clearly what you are to that girl!" But another voice cut her off first.
"Kiddo! It really is you!"
It was Yang Woo-bin who interrupted her.
"Kid... do? Did Yang Woo-bin just call the Student Council President 'kiddo' while looking right at her?"
"He's staring straight at her, so it's not like he's talking about someone else. Seems like it."
"Calling the Student Council President—top first-year and symbol of strength—'kiddo'... Has he lost his mind?"
To the Jincheon Class cadets, calling the first-year top student and martial icon "kiddo" was unthinkable.
The cadets in the training hall and those who had followed her naturally watched her reaction.
They'd seen plenty of times how the President judged the rude.
"...?"
But oddly, instead of anger, the President's cheeks flushed at the rude nickname. Question marks popped up over the cadets' heads.
It was a side of her they'd never seen before.
"I was really looking forward to seeing you now that I'm in Jincheon Class. I searched everywhere but couldn't find you, so I was worried. Where have you been all this time? I get that you're busy as Student Council President, but I was a little hurt."
"...!"
As Yang Woo-bin's words continued, Jin Se-jeong flinched, hunching her shoulders.
Her fierce aura, rivaling battle readiness, melted away in an instant at his admission that he'd missed her and worried about her.
'W-Yang Woo-bin missed me? He felt the same way I did? He was hoping for a touching reunion too...?'
She felt the words "I missed you too, Yang Woo-bin...!" surge up to the back of her throat.
But they never made it past her lips.
Because Fuyuno Tsubaki was right behind him.
Right now, unearthing the truth mattered more than a touching reunion. Jin Se-jeong shook her head to clear it, reignited her fierce momentum, pointed her finger again, and said,
"What are you two? What's your relationship that you're always glued together?!"
It was the question she'd wanted to ask from the moment she saw them together.
The question that had kept her up at night. The brief moment from asking it to hearing his answer felt like an eternity to her.
What if he says, 'Nothing much'? No, what if he says, 'Childhood friends? Promised lovers'? What then? Clutching her fists tight and biting her lower lip until it hurt, Jin Se-jeong braced herself.
"Our relationship? Well... sidekick and boss?"
Thankfully, no horrific words like "childhood friends" or "promised lovers" came from Yang Woo-bin's mouth.
She started to relax, but anxiety crept in—maybe it started as childhood friends and evolved into sidekick and boss. So she pressed again.
"Then, childhood friends? You're not childhood friends, right?"
"Nah, of course not. You're my only childhood friend, kiddo. I've only known her for less than two months."
"R-right!?"
The instant Yang Woo-bin confirmed they weren't childhood friends, Jin Se-jeong felt a heavy weight lift from her chest, leaving a refreshing clarity.
The drab world brightened again, her frozen blood thawing warmly.
With the rumors confirmed as false, it was time for that touching reunion she'd put on hold.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Jin Se-jeong smiled teasingly at Yang Woo-bin and opened her mouth.
"Good... So all that talk about you having a fiancée is just nonsense too, right?"
"Huh? I do have a fiancée."
"What?"
And so, Yang Woo-bin's reunion with her took the worst possible form.