Yee Eun-chae and Seo Moon-min-hye
"That's amazing!" Yee Eun-chae exclaimed, infusing her sword with magic power. She immediately tested my teachings on the spot, and it seemed far more meaningful for her to move slightly to the side and practice what I'd shown her rather than demonstrate her skills against the mithril golem like the other students.
'There wasn't anyone else worth paying attention to anyway.'
None of the other students had caught my eye. Naturally, Yee Eun-chae was more interested in learning something from me than wasting time watching them.
"To think you'd teach me something like this! Thank you so much! How can I ever repay this kindness?"
Yee Eun-chae was filled with goodwill toward me. In the original story, her positive feelings had begun after sparring with Seo Moon-hyun, so she was simply expressing gratitude for my guidance.
'The repayment will come in bed.'
I had no intention of saying that out loud. It would only derail my plans. While making Yee Eun-chae one of my women was important for Seo Moon-hyun's downfall, it didn't mean forcing her. I needed to win her heart purely, making her fall for me naturally. Using force was nothing but repulsive and idiotic.
'Power is only a means to an end.'
Strength existed solely to achieve goals. Relying on it alone wasn't the path I wanted.
Right now, there was only one thing I needed to say.
"Don't worry about it. I did it because I wanted to. It just felt like this would make things better... and it cleared my head."
At my words, a hint of surprise crossed Yee Eun-chae's face. I quickly continued.
"Come to think of it, Eun-chae, seeing how talented you are and how quickly you picked it up just from my explanation is really satisfying. I'll consider that payment enough."
Yee Eun-chae shook her head.
"No, that won't do. It wouldn't sit right with me! How can I repay this kindness?"
Just as expected. Though not shy, her honest personality made her openly express her desire to repay me. My earlier comment about doing it because I liked her had clearly influenced her.
"Well then, how about sparring with me from time to time?"
I gave her an answer that would satisfy her as well.
"Sparring?"
"Yeah. Crossing swords with you sounds fun. It'd be pretty enjoyable, so I think it'd be more than enough repayment. What do you say?"
"Hmm, good! I wanted to spar with you too. Leave it to me, Moon-cheon."
"...My family name is Seo Moon, and my name is Cheon."
"Ah! Sorry! Hmm! My mistake. Cheon, I'm really sorry."
I chuckled at her flustered, polite apology.
"No need to apologize that much. More importantly, could you give me your contact info?"
"Contact information?"
"Yeah. Let's register each other. We can keep in touch. We'll need to message each other through the academy's system anyway, right?"
"Hmm, got it! Should I use Yucheon Group's YucheonTalk?"
"Yeah, let's do that."
YucheonTalk was the messenger operated by Yucheon Group, known for its strict security. Though I hadn't ordered it myself, it was something Baalzebul had created while expanding the company. Thanks to its real-time translation feature for every language in the world, it had already surpassed 100 million users despite being in its early stages. Statistics showed over 40 million users combined in Korea and the Liberin Kingdom alone. It wasn't yet at a truly global level and was still growing, but thanks to Yucheon Group's influence, the Korean Yee Eun-chae happened to be using it.
"Seo Moon-cheon. Registered."
"I registered you too, Eun-chae."
After registering each other's names in the messenger and sharing phone numbers, Yee Eun-chae smiled and spoke.
"Hehe, this is a first! I heard that coming to the academy would let me make lots of friends, and it was true. I've already made a friend!"
Though she had gained some freedom, it was only freedom from things like political marriages and media restrictions. Having been homeschooled without attending regular school, Yee Eun-chae hadn't properly made friends her age. If her family had kept her locked up at home, she would have rebelled, but the promise of the academy as an escape had given her dreams and passion to work hard for.
'There must be a reason it's only partial freedom and not complete.'
Still, now that she had come to the academy, it was practically the same as having proper freedom. In the original story, the Yee family hadn't opposed her growing close to Seo Moon-hyun; instead, they had supported and welcomed it. Connecting with the powerful Seo family was beneficial for the Yee family, and since Yee Eun-chae was satisfied, both sides saw it as a good thing.
That meant they would actively welcome and even push for a connection with me, the heir of Yucheon Group, using every means possible.
'But more important than all that is Yee Eun-chae's heart.'
With that thought, I responded to her words.
"I see. You're the first friend I've registered at the academy too."
"Oh! Really? I'm glad I'm your first too, Cheon!"
I simply smiled at Yee Eun-chae's words, which could easily be misunderstood by others. Her amethyst-like purple eyes were filled with joy.
"Yeah, it's a first."
I would become her first and last man in this lifetime.
"Well, we've exchanged contacts, and it looks like everything over there is finished too, so I'll be heading out now."
"Hmm? Are you busy?"
"Yeah. I have plans with my little sister. I should get going."
I smiled as I spoke. Watching the remaining examinees attack the mithril golem from inside was an option, but for someone like me or Yee Eun-chae, their skills held no interest whatsoever. Before we knew it, all 540 examinees had finished their tests while we weren't even looking their way.
'The rule that you can't leave until everyone finishes unless it's an emergency is really inconvenient.'
Because of that, I hadn't been able to leave and had spent time inside building my relationship with Yee Eun-chae.
"Ah! I see! That's a shame. Then would it be okay if I contact you often?"
Yee Eun-chae spoke with a regretful expression that matched her breathtaking beauty. Though unintentional, her face looked as if it could make anyone feel guilty, and no one would be able to resist offering comforting words.
"Of course. Message me anytime. Just understand if my replies are a bit late."
"Of course! Ah, if you're leaving now, would it be alright if I came with you?"
"Why not? This is a good chance to introduce you to my sister too."
"Oh! Really? I'd like that even more."
As we decided to leave together, I noticed many of the male students struggling to take their eyes off Yee Eun-chae yet not daring to approach. Seeing how close she seemed to be with me after we'd both displayed overwhelming skill, they didn't have the courage to try. Even without knowing I was the heir to Yucheon Group, they reacted this way. Once my identity became widely known at the entrance ceremony, the number of people who would foolishly interfere would decrease significantly.
'I have no intention of letting annoying flies hover around my woman.'
With that thought, I walked out of Gate C with Yee Eun-chae.
"Oppa!"
Seo Moon-min-hye, wearing a white T-shirt and skinny jeans, came running toward me with a bright smile. Her artistic beauty was so striking it could be called a painting. With her long blue hair flowing in the wind, she adjusted her speed to a normal person's full sprint and rushed over. I smiled and braced myself. Seo Moon-min-hye reached me in an instant, and I caught her, pulling her into my arms. Naturally, a mere impact like that wasn't enough to knock me over.
"Hehe, did you wait long?"
"I waited quite a while. I thought you'd finish quickly if it was you, Oppa, so why did they hold you up for so long..."
Seo Moon-min-hye seemed disappointed that I hadn't come out right away. However, she hadn't greeted Yee Eun-chae yet—not because she was ignoring her on purpose, but because she hadn't noticed that Yee Eun-chae was with me. Since I usually appeared alone or with subordinates, she probably couldn't imagine her brother getting close to a pretty older girl she'd never seen before.
"Min-hye. Say hello. This is Yee Eun-chae, a friend I made today."
"Oh, so you're Seo Moon-cheon's younger sister? You're really pretty! Nice to meet you, I'm Yee Eun-chae!"
When Yee Eun-chae greeted her with a bright smile, Seo Moon-min-hye's eyes widened in surprise.
"Ah! My apologies. I'm Seo Moon-min-hye. You're Oppa’s friend?"
"Yeah, that's right! We just met today, but Cheon seems like a really good friend! I'd like to get close to you too, his sister."
As Yee Eun-chae spoke with a smile, Seo Moon-min-hye's expression darkened slightly. However, the look quickly disappeared, and she smiled back.
"Yes, please take care of me, Eun-chae unni."
"Oh, sure! Take care of me too! By the way, Cheon, you said you had plans with Min-hye, right?"
"Yeah. We're going to look around together."
"Hmm, then I'll contact you again tomorrow. See you later, Cheon, Min-hye."
"Yeah. See you later, Eun-chae."
"See you next time, Eun-chae unni."
After parting ways with Yee Eun-chae, I left her looking regretful and headed toward the department store hand in hand with Seo Moon-min-hye.
