Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Han Gyeoul's Weakness (4)
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On her way home after parting with Ahn Su-ho.
She sat lost in thought in the back seat of the car driven by the chauffeur. She was replaying the sparring match from just moments ago.
"......"
She had lost. The defeat in a match she thought she could win left her frustrated and humiliated. She'd kept up a calm facade in front of Ahn Su-ho, but now alone with her thoughts, the displeasure she hadn't felt right after the loss began to creep up on her.
An unfamiliar sense of displeasure. But one that had become all too familiar lately.
Han Gyeoul had lived a life far removed from defeat. She'd never even been in a situation where she could feel the sting of loss. But ever since enrolling in Greenhouse Academy, she'd repeatedly lost to Ryu Tae-hyun in their spars. At first, the shock of defeat had kept her up at night, but now she was at least somewhat accustomed to it.
Accustomed or not, it didn't make the frustration disappear.
Of course not. For Han Gyeoul, whose pride was her core, defeat was exactly that. If it were Ryu Tae-hyun, the rival she acknowledged, he might brush it off with a "I'll win next time!" even in defeat—but she couldn't.
Even if she could win the next fight, today's loss wouldn't vanish.
"Miss, we've arrived."
Han Gyeoul lived in a villa near Greenhouse Academy. Though called a villa, its scale rivaled that of a full mansion. Surrounded by towering walls, the grand structure looked straight out of a drama about a chaebol family estate.
She walked along the brick path through the neatly manicured garden toward the entrance.
Waiting at the front door was an elderly butler with snow-white hair. He'd served the Han family for nearly forty years. Though merely an employee, he was like family to her.
"Welcome back, Second Miss."
The old butler gave a slight bow and grasped the door handle. At the same time, he whispered softly to Han Gyeoul.
"......The First Miss returned just a little while ago."
Her expression stiffened at his words. The butler knew she felt awkward around her older sister, Han Yeoreum.
"The First Miss is in the study right now. If you head straight to your room, you won't run into her."
"......Thank you."
Grateful for his consideration, Han Gyeoul hurried to her room. Her mood was already sour from the sparring match; the last thing she wanted was to bump into her uncomfortable sister.
However.
"You're back?"
Han Yeoreum, who should have been in the study, was waiting in front of her door for some reason.
"Sister?"
Han Gyeoul's gaze trembled. The study was on the second floor, her room on the third. This wasn't a place for accidental encounters. The fact that she was waiting right at her door made it clear this meeting was deliberate on Han Yeoreum's part.
"......What is it?"
"The afternoon meeting got pushed back a few hours unexpectedly. I stopped by the academy and figured I'd drop in to see your face while I was at it."
Since becoming a fourth-year and starting her guild internship, Han Yeoreum rarely came home. Even when she did, she almost never spoke with Han Gyeoul.
Han Yeoreum's attitude toward Han Gyeoul was utter indifference. For her to be waiting like this meant she had something to say.
As Han Gyeoul eyed her sister anxiously, Han Yeoreum asked with her characteristic icy expression.
"I heard you met that Security Force guy, Ahn Su-ho. What did you do?"
Her gaze swept over Han Gyeoul's outfit. The form-fitting combat suit and defensive coat spoke volumes.
Han Gyeoul bit her lip. There was no brushing this off with her attire, and her sister had likely already grasped the gist of it anyway. Avoiding Han Yeoreum's eyes, she answered.
"I...... did some training."
"Training? Leaving all the other trainers aside to spar with a Security Force member?"
"That's......"
Han Gyeoul explained the rough situation in a slightly trembling voice. Of course, Han Yeoreum had already heard the details from her own secretary.
"So, did you win?"
As Han Gyeoul finished describing how she'd just returned after sparring with Ahn Su-ho, Han Yeoreum immediately followed up.
"......"
Han Gyeoul couldn't answer right away. Admitting defeat to herself was one thing; announcing it to others was another. But she couldn't lie either. If Han Yeoreum wanted, she could easily find out the result.
"......I lost."
"I see."
Even after Han Gyeoul's confession, Han Yeoreum showed no surprise.
Was it because she already knew? Or because she hadn't expected anything from her to begin with?
Han Gyeoul bit her lip, gauging her sister's reaction. Her sister saw talking to her as a waste of time. So why wait in front of her room just to have this conversation?
As Han Yeoreum silently looked down at her without a word, Han Gyeoul's lips twitched.
"Han Gyeoul."
At that moment, a chilling voice pierced her ears.
"I figured you could handle things yourself, so I stayed quiet until now. But today, I have to say something."
Han Yeoreum's cold gaze pierced through Han Gyeoul. It wasn't a metaphor. Actual frigid air emanated from her, enveloping Han Gyeoul. Frost formed on the walls nearby, and the corridor's temperature plummeted below freezing in an instant.
Han Gyeoul shivered faintly. Not just from the cold. Looking up timidly at her sister, she met those icy eyes staring down at her.
"Han Gyeoul."
"......Yeah."
"Don't you feel any shame?"
Han Yeoreum looked down at her younger sister with pity.
"Our family has always stood at the pinnacle of society for generations. Grandfather reached the peak of this country's power, and Father built an empire to claim the heights of wealth."
A calm, gentle voice. But the emotions within were razor-sharp. Like cold daggers stabbing at Han Gyeoul's chest.
"Anyone from the Han family should naturally stand at society's pinnacle. And thankfully, both you and I were born with exceptional superhuman talents. That's why Grandfather and Father have such high expectations for us. You know that, right?"
"Yeah. I know."
"You know, and yet this is how you act?"
"......"
"I've steadily met their expectations. I'm the undisputed top of Greenhouse Academy, and soon, I'll claim the pinnacle of superhuman society itself—just like Grandfather and Father."
Han Yeoreum placed her hand on Han Gyeoul's shoulder. Kiririk! A harsh sound rang out as ice formed over it.
"Eek!"
"But what are you doing?"
Han Gyeoul's body trembled like a leaf in the wind. Not solely from the cold. The fear ingrained since childhood, the dread etched into her very being, shook her body and mind.
"Not content with handing the year-top spot to some nobody whose background we don't even know, now you've dragged a random Security Force member into a spar and lost pathetically. What the hell is this?"
"Sister. I......"
"Am I asking too much? As a member of our family, as my sister, is it that hard to at least not embarrass yourself?"
Han Yeoreum was perfect. Han Gyeoul was outstanding but not perfect. Han Yeoreum was disappointed in her sister for that. Objectively, Han Gyeoul's achievements were impressive, but that didn't matter. As her older sister and a Han family member, she wanted her sibling to be purely perfect like herself.
That's why Han Gyeoul's recent behavior disappointed her so much. That disappointment turned into biting cold, invading Han Gyeoul's body.
"......"
Unable to muster any excuse, Han Gyeoul hung her head and trembled. The confident girl she usually was had vanished.
"This is your last chance."
With that, Han Yeoreum tossed her a threadbare lifeline.
"I'll chalk up everything so far to you fumbling around at the start of the semester. But for the upcoming midterms, at least produce results befitting a Han family member. Make sure no one dares look down on you. Make them unable even to dream of surpassing you, only able to admire from afar. You get what I'm saying, right?"
"......Yeah. I get it."
She'd said a lot, but it boiled down to simple: surpass Ryu Tae-hyun and take first place. Han Gyeoul had planned to do that anyway. Sparring with Ahn Su-ho today had been for that very purpose.
Still, Han Yeoreum nailing it down like this carried the weight of an ultimatum. As she'd said, it was the last chance she was giving her sister as an older sibling.
"If you disappoint me again this time......"
Han Yeoreum trailed off, and Han Gyeoul looked up at her with an anxious expression.
"......You know without me saying, right?"
With that final remark, Han Yeoreum turned and walked away. In that instant, the pervasive chill vanished. A testament to her perfect control over her superpower.
Left alone in front of her door, Han Gyeoul watched her sister's receding figure down the hall.
"......"
Her gaze mixed resentment and fear.
"Hmm......"
Meanwhile, Han Yeoreum, who had delivered such a cold rebuke to Han Gyeoul, was thinking about Ahn Su-ho.
Han Gyeoul fell short of the standards Han Yeoreum had set, but objectively, she was a strong superhuman. Han Yeoreum knew that too. She might see her sister as disappointing, but most superhumans wouldn't even dare approach her.
Yet this mere Security Force member, Ahn Su-ho, had beaten her in a spar. That surprised Han Yeoreum a bit.
"Surviving the double dungeon wasn't just luck and running away well, then."
With that thought, she found herself growing mildly curious about this man she'd ignored until now. Not like Min Chae-ryeong, wanting to recruit him or anything. Just pure curiosity about who he was and what kind of strength he possessed.
"......Maybe I should look into him a little."
The upcoming dungeon raid meeting would naturally cover Ahn Su-ho too. Investigating him in preparation for that wouldn't hurt.
With that in mind, Han Yeoreum called her secretary.