Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: 15. Gaze (2)
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First class.
Yoo Ji-tae, who had come with Yeoreum, sat in the guardian seat at the very back of the lecture hall.
Maybe it was because it was the first class, but a lot of guardians had taken seats in the back to check on their cadets.
"I'm Professor Kai, in charge of gladiatorial combat."
The ordinary first class began.
Honestly, there was nothing special about it.
It was just like a university lecture. The old man rambled on, and the kids looked bored.
Surprisingly, Yeoreum didn't fall asleep or fool around. She had a pouty, bored expression, but she was at least listening to the class.
He hadn't even expected her to take notes. He figured it was good enough if she didn't fall asleep the moment class started.
He'd thought about pulling her out and taking her to some underground fight club in Mexico if she got too bored to handle.
But Yeoreum was listening to the class, even if her posture was sloppy.
After class ended, he asked her,
"You're actually paying attention. That's unexpected."
"Gotta work hard until I crush that bastard."
She was talking about Javier Karma.
Come to think of it, even buried in her daily routine, she was the most diligent of them all. He recalled how she used to head to the training grounds for hours every day.
"Ah... This is so boring, seriously."
But after three straight boring classes, Yeoreum wrinkled her nose.
"How far are you planning to follow me?"
"I'm sticking with you for the day."
"Why?"
"Because I'm your guardian."
Yeoreum rolled her eyes boredly at Yoo Ji-tae's words.
"You're still no fun."
When he didn't respond, she lamented her fate.
"Wouldn't it be better if my kidnapper was at least a fun kidnapper? At first, you seemed like a total bad guy, so I was excited, thinking something thrilling would happen, like this or that? But nope, nothing."
The regressor nodded roughly.
"You act all tough like the world's biggest villain, but why are you so nice? Your true nature doesn't match your actions. Living like that is boring, isn't it?"
"Gotta live somehow."
"True. But why bother living a boring life?"
Yoo Ji-tae shook his head.
"Because life goes on, and you can't give up."
Yeoreum, unaware of his inner thoughts, sighed.
"...Whatever. So, what's next class?"
"Study hall."
"Oh. Nice?"
The words "study hall" sparked interest in her red eyes.
"Wanna come with me somewhere, then?"
Her expression brightened in stark contrast to before.
"Where?"
"The shooting range!"
Lately, she'd been watching a World War I drama.
When she watched sports dramas, she'd exercise all day. Now, after a war drama, she wanted to shoot guns.
She walked ahead with an excited look. It hit him anew that she was a hatchling at play.
But someone ruined the mood.
"Hey? Isn't that Cadet Yoo Yeoreum?"
On the way from the academy district to the entertainment district.
In other words, an area not restricted to outsiders, a reporter spotted Yeoreum and came running.
"Ha, fuck."
Yeoreum, who had been mobbed by reporters a few times before, spat out a curse.
She sighed and kept her head down, walking silently. The reporter approached, walking backward to match her pace and shoving a mic in her face.
"Wow! Cadet Yeoreum. Hello! This is Taiwan Public Broadcasting TTA! Mind a quick interview?"
Yeoreum ignored him and walked faster.
But the reporter kept pace, walking backward.
"It'll just take a sec! Nothing much! Cadet Yoo Yeoreum!?"
She sped up a bit more, and the reporter, struggling to keep up backward, switched to running normally.
"Cadet! Cadet Yeoreum!"
Calling her name so loudly was the problem.
Unfortunately, there were a ton of reporters near the cafe she was passing.
"Huh? Cadet Yoo Yeoreum?"
"Where?"
Hearing the Taiwanese reporter, journalists from all countries jumped up from cafe chairs and chairs and rushed over.
Lately, thanks to Gaeul's incident, the Yoo family name had gained massive global recognition.
"Over here! Cadet Yoo Yeoreum! Any chance for an interview about Cadet Gaeul?"
"Hold on! We're from Korea! KSB!"
"What did the 'sex' you shouted at the Azure Dragon House interview mean?!"
Like zombies, they swarmed and blocked the way. There were over ten of them.
Unable to ignore or push through, Yeoreum stopped dead in her tracks.
Then she lifted her lowered head.
"Cadet Yeoreum? If you'll do the interview..."
"...Did you mean sex at the dorms?"
The barrage of questions continued.
Yeoreum whipped around to look at Yoo Ji-tae.
He shook his head. No punching.
She sighed. Then, as if remembering something, her eyes curved like a bow.
"Alright. Everyone line up in front of me. I'll answer one by one."
It was an incomprehensible demand, but Yeoreum's image in the media was already like that. The reporters, baffled but compliant, lined up in front of her.
Yoo Ji-tae, who had been silently watching, finally spoke.
"Yoo Yeoreum."
"Nah, it's fine. I'll handle it. Come on! Questions!"
"I'm Jia Shuqian from China CCTV. Do you know why Cadet Yoo Gaeul refused the broadcast appearance?"
"No clue! Why ask me if that yellow monkey goes on TV or not?"
"Not knowing, calling her a 'yellow monkey'... Does that mean there's discord in the family?"
"What? Discord?"
"Looks like you don't get along with the other cadets in the family."
Persistent questioning.
Perfect fodder for gossip about Lair cadets—people interested in that would eat it up.
She needed to answer carefully.
"Yeah, discord. Every time that idiot acts dumb, I wanna smack her ass so bad I can't hold back."
"Y-Yes...?"
"But her ass is super plump. Feels good when I squeeze it when I'm bored. Happy now?"
"...So, you're saying there is discord?"
"You're so dense."
"Pardon?"
"Who cares if there is or isn't? Question done—get lost. Next!"
As the reporter tried to retort to Yeoreum's outburst, he was shoved aside by the next one.
Cameras were still rolling. Yoo Ji-tae started pondering.
Should he stop this? Or let it go?
The reason for his hesitation was Lair's enrollment rules. Going too far and damaging dignity could lead to penalty points.
"Yes. Park Kang-ho from Jeju Daily. What did the 'sex' you shouted at Azure Dragon House mean?"
This question was even more blatant.
Yeoreum stepped closer, shoving her face right up to his.
Startled, Park Kang-ho flushed and pulled back, but they were close enough to feel each other's breath.
From that distance, Yeoreum spoke.
"Mister Reporter."
"Yes?"
"Wanna have sex with me?"
Yeoreum flicked her tongue. Park Kang-ho from Jeju Daily froze in shock.
But his reaction wasn't fun enough.
Her amusement faded. Irritated, she stepped back and opened her mouth.
"...It's 'sex.' How long are you gonna milk something so obvious? Grabbing at words to make a living—must be nice. Next!"
Dazed, Park Kang-ho was pushed away by the others.
"I'm from Japan..."
As the next reporter stepped up, Yoo Ji-tae made up his mind. He moved.
He clamped Yeoreum's mouth shut, grabbed her waist, hoisted her up, and slung her over his shoulder.
The reporters went "Huh?!" as Yeoreum struggled in surprise, but she couldn't overpower Yoo Ji-tae.
Right after, Yoo Ji-tae vanished from the spot in an instant.
"Huh?!"
"She disappeared! Where?!"
The reporters turned into dogs chasing chickens.
Surprisingly, Yeoreum wasn't upset.
Down from Yoo Ji-tae's waist, she was disappointed about missing the shooting range but didn't complain much.
At dinner, Yeoreum spoke up.
"Good call cutting in. Almost lost my temper and beat them all."
"Why bother? Just dodge them."
"Nah, can't be like that every day. I don't care about others' eyes, but getting hounded every time is annoying, right?"
"You could get expelled."
"Hmph. Whatever. At least I said what I really thought this time—they won't come back."
Yeoreum had lashed out purely because the reporters pissed her off.
Then, from across the table, Bom stared piercingly at Yeoreum.
"What? Something funny?"
"Might not go how you think."
"...What'd you see?"
Yeoreum scowled, and Bom smiled awkwardly.
"Yeah."
That evening, Yeoreum's article spread online.
It started from the fingertips of the reporters on site.
Most headlines were unnecessarily sensational like that.
As always, clickbait that tempts you but is mostly agrro when you click.
'Pfft. Who'd believe this...'
One netizen clicked, half-expecting nonsense.
'Huh?'
Reading the full article, they were shocked.
The protagonist was none other than Yoo Yeoreum.
The cadet who'd spewed trash talk at reporters worldwide. And this article was another bomb.
Lair communities, superhuman fan sites, and more started burning up.
There were reactions enjoying the drama like this.
And displeased reactions.
A media critic dubbed Yeoreum's behavior "raw charm and repulsion." As he said, people were clearly divided—those who hated it and those who loved it.
Fortunately, the fallout wasn't huge.
Just trash talk from an unknown superhuman cadet.
Still, Yoo Ji-tae called PR Team Leader Yong Do-hee just in case. If it hurt Lair's image, PR would already be on it.
-Nah, not serious. It'll blow over in hours.
"Really?"
-Yeah. Wow... But Cadet Yeoreum's got fire!
The middle-aged woman chuckled excitedly.
-Academic affairs called too.
"What'd they say?"
-It's fine. Reporters were a nuisance anyway. Plus, some fans loved how straightforward she was.
"It was trash talk, though."
-Fans mad their fave got a bad rep from reporters. Journalists have a shitty image these days anyway.
"Got it."
Yong Do-hee chuckled wryly.
As she said, not a big issue or too negative. As Yoo Ji-tae thanked her and was about to hang up,
-Oh, heard about this?
"Huh?"
-Yeoreum got her own fan cafe?
Yeoreum scowled hard at the online reactions.
"...Are they all insane?"