The Golden Sun Craves Obsession
I wondered if this person had been terribly lonely. I’d been wandering around the academy before the entrance ceremony, checking for anything unusual, when I ran into Lucia. That much I could accept. But why on earth was this woman suddenly running up and throwing herself into my arms?
‘At first, I really did try to push her away…’
She’d buried herself against me and started sobbing so miserably that I couldn’t bring myself to shove her off. No, seriously. No matter how much of a Geumtaeyang she was, my heart wasn’t cold enough to forcibly peel away a woman who was clinging to me and bawling her eyes out.
…To be completely honest, in the past I would have pushed her away without hesitation. But now, for some reason, I couldn’t.
‘Besides, even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could get her off me.’
Let me say it again: Lucia was the crazy person who had entered A-class—the class full of monsters who relied solely on pure martial arts without any fancy techniques—by simply swinging a club at people. And right now, the strength of that same woman was crushing me so hard I felt like my bones might shatter.
‘Of course, I’m not a martial artist myself…’
Most of my training had focused on Explosion, so if she held me this tightly to keep me from running, there was nothing I could do.
“Hngh… I missed you…”
At that moment, one word slammed into my ear. Missed me? Anyone listening would think she actually liked me.
“Just what have you been doing all this time?”
I slowly stroked Lucia’s hair, trying to detach her as quickly as possible from whatever scheme this Geumtaeyang had cooked up to bewitch me. Honestly, the way she could act like this was starting to inspire respect. If she’d been an actress in her original world, she probably would have made it straight to Hollywood. I had to admit it. She deserved the title of Professional Geumtaeyang.
“I like you…”
Suddenly, those words slipped from the Geumtaeyang’s lips as her sobbing quieted to a murmur.
“Haah…”
Even though I knew it wasn’t real, my heart still wavered slightly. To cover up the complicated feeling, I popped one of the lemon candies from the envelope Lucia had given me into my mouth. I hated myself for constantly being shaken by a Geumtaeyang who didn’t even mean it.
“Uh… huh…?”
She’d been rubbing her face against my chest, but now she lifted her head as if coming back to her senses. The way she wiped away her own tears with a dazed expression was so ridiculous that I let out a small laugh and spoke to her.
“Are you feeling a little more composed now?”
Thanks to her crying while clinging to me, my uniform was now a mess of tears and snot. Still, watching Lucia cry had been oddly entertaining, so I decided to let it slide.
“D-did I… say anything weird?”
The woman who had just been glued to me sobbing was now keeping a careful distance and asking questions. If this was all acting, she was talented enough to conquer not just Hollywood but Bollywood too.
“If you mean things like ‘I missed you’ or ‘I like you,’ then yes, I heard them.”
I watched with delight as her expression crumbled in real time. With the intention of testing just how far her performance would go, I continued.
“Oh, and I think you also said you loved me.”
Lucia’s eyes widened in panic. She clapped a hand over her mouth and shrieked.
“N-no way! For real? I actually said that?”
Now I could only feel admiration. I barely managed to suppress the hollow laughter rising at her terrifying acting skills, unwrapped another candy, and popped it into her wide-open mouth.
“Anyone watching would think you really do like me, Lucia.”
“T-that’s…”
I was wondering if she could even control the color of her face through acting when Lucia suddenly stared off into the distance and quickly changed the subject.
“More importantly! Where did you leave that friend of yours or whatever he is?”
“He’s staying at a nearby lodging house.”
He would become a transfer student tomorrow and move into the academy dorms anyway. But I couldn’t exactly make Grayson sleep on the street for one night, so I’d left him at the lodging. I’d pick him up tomorrow morning, and together we’d prevent the incident that was supposed to happen at the entrance ceremony. Perfect.
“By the way, Lucia.”
Honestly, there was something else seriously bothering me right now. I already knew what would happen at the entrance ceremony, and I didn’t think I’d fail to prepare for it. I had meticulously organized ways to coordinate the Saint, the Crown Prince, Grayson, and the others. Since I was certain it would succeed, I wasn’t worried.
“Why do you keep doing this to me?”
What was hardest to judge right now was Lucia herself. The person who used to be obsessed with tormenting Heidi no matter what Jack did was now, for some reason, showing interest in me.
“If you keep behaving like this, I’ll have no choice but to misunderstand.”
Of course, it wasn’t actual interest in me—it was just amusement at the chance to mess with Heidi. Ever since I’d heard Lucia’s confession, I had never once mistaken the hidden truth behind her feelings.
“Both you and I are adults. I believe this clearly falls within the bounds of reasonable physical contact.”
If I stayed silent and let it pass gently here, it felt like we’d end up in the horrifying situation of constantly hugging despite having no relationship. It seemed best to emphasize my position to Lucia one more time.
“I dislike you, but when you act like this, I’m still a person—and a man—so I can’t help but waver.”
However, I wouldn’t say “I hate you” in the exact same way as before. After all, whether I hated her or not had never really mattered much to Lucia.
“Then… if I keep doing this, you’ll like me…?”
The fact that she could say something like this even after I had clearly expressed my refusal several times made it obvious. So what could I do to make her truly unable to approach me? What would make Lucia—who saw me as nothing more than a toy—actually avoid me instead?
“Lucia.”
I grabbed both of her arms as I spoke. Her eyes widened in surprise and she quickly looked away. I leaned my face close to her neck and said,
“I’m the kind of man whose obsession toward the person I like is quite severe.”
What Lucia feared most—someone who jumped from person to person just to torment Heidi—was probably becoming bound to a man she couldn’t escape.
“If you keep approaching me like this without any real feelings, I might end up developing feelings and becoming obsessed with you.”
“…Hiiik.”
The idea that the man she thought was her plaything would become obsessed with her and refuse to let go. That was the most terrifying emotion someone committing infidelity could feel toward their partner.
“J-just how obsessed… would you be…?”
But the words that came out of her mouth completely shattered my expectations. She wasn’t supposed to react like this…?
“…?”
What was wrong with this person? Wasn’t she going to target any other men? In the original story, she used to flirt with all the male leads who showed interest in Heidi.
I held back my growing panic and poured provocative words toward Lucia, letting my eyes shine with what I hoped looked like ‘I’m already somewhat fallen for you.’
“I’ll watch your every move. Just like you did, I’ll keep clinging to you until you accept my love.”
“…Hngh.”
Yet an unknown sense of danger began creeping over me. I had a strong feeling that something was wrong, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.
“I won’t let you even glance at anyone else. The kind of contact that makes you uncomfortable will continue as well.”
I had more lines prepared to scare her, but I instinctively felt that this was the line. Crossing it would cause something irreversible. If I said any more, there would be no turning back, so I quickly shut my mouth.
“Haah… Say that again. Just once more.”
Fortunately, it seemed I had made the right choice. The dreamy, ecstatic expression on her face was downright eerie.
“…I refuse.”
Had I miscalculated? For a moment I even wondered if she had some strange fetish related to obsession. But I soon remembered that she possessed considerable talent for acting.
“Anyway, behave yourself. My patience has reached its limit.”
She was mistaken right now. Even if she could have me all to herself, she probably thought she could deliver a shock greater than all the men Heidi would have in the future.
‘But that’s a misunderstanding.’
Honestly, would someone like the Crown Prince or the Saint even notice an old childhood friend when they were busy flirting with Heidi? It was flattering that she valued me more than all the other men Heidi would meet, but I still needed to correct her—
“You don’t have to hold back.”
“…Pardon?”
My head spun. Had she not fully realized it? No matter how much she valued me, why would she want a man with no feelings to become obsessed with her?
But she pressed herself against me as if I hadn’t misheard, unbuttoned several of her top buttons, and—
“Ugh!”
—shoved me straight down onto the grass, climbed on top of me, and said,
“You can shake for me all you want. You can obsess over me. So…”
Lucia had unbuttoned just enough to reveal a hint of her cleavage. She clung to me precariously and whispered,
“Just… like me a little bit like this.”
I tried to pull my body back as much as possible to avoid the blatant contact. Faced with the dizzying sight before me, I couldn’t even form a proper sentence.
“…Beast.”
All I could manage was that single, pathetic word.