Chapter 166: An Unexpected Combination (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 166: An Unexpected Combination (1)
The common magic spell, 「Fly」.
In terms of casting difficulty, it was an intermediate spell. However, its mana consumption was comparable to an advanced spell, it continuously drained a significant amount of mana just to stay afloat, and it required meticulous control of the mana enveloping the body to move. For these reasons, it was effectively classified as advanced magic.
Despite its many problems, there wasn't a single magician who didn't use it.
The Magic Tower even offered a separate lecture dedicated to mastering the Fly spell.
The reason was simple.
‘The ability to fly through the sky.’
That alone was enough to offset all its shortcomings.
Furthermore, these rather critical drawbacks became meaningless before Kim Do-jin.
His ability to handle mana with extreme efficiency cut the consumption by half compared to others, and since he could freely change the form and properties of mana with his will alone, he was also free from the need for delicate control.
Fwoooosh-
Holding Seo Jeong-hee tightly in his arms, he pierced through the wind and soared into the sky.
He must have climbed about 200 meters.
A wondrous sight unfolded before his eyes.
In the far distance, the red sun was beginning its slow ascent into the sky.
Kim Do-jin gently stroked the hair of the woman trembling in his arms, calming her.
“Trust me and look over there.”
Seo Jeong-hee looked up at Kim Do-jin with a pitiful expression, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
She slowly nodded and shifted her gaze beyond his embrace.
“Ah…!”
A gasp of admiration escaped her lips.
Contained within it was a sense of pure, boundless awe.
The noble energy emanating from the blazing red sun was both mystical and beautiful.
“It’s so beautiful…”
“You think so? In my eyes, you’re more beautiful, Jeong-hee.”
A smile spread across her face at his playful, transparently cheesy line.
Watching the rising sun, she thought of Kim Do-jin, the man holding her.
‘He’s such a strange person.’
He was strange and puzzling in so many ways.
Sometimes, he was more sly than men her own age; other times, he was like a fresh-faced twenty-year-old.
Usually, he seemed so precarious that you’d feel the need to look after his every move, but in crucial moments, he would reassure her with an expression and actions that were endlessly reliable.
Each day with him burned brightly, like a midsummer night's fling destined to end, yet it showed no signs of extinguishing, inadvertently making her think of eternity.
Caring for him and being cared for by him made the days pass as if she were intoxicated by a drug or alcohol.
As if she were a person who was only happy, without a single worry or concern in the world.
She quietly tightened her grip, hugging him so hard her chest felt crushed against him.
A worried tone flowed into her ear like a melody.
“Are you scared? Should we go down now?”
“No, it’s okay as long as I’m like this.”
A desire began to sprout.
‘I don’t want to lose him.’
She wanted to hold onto his attention, his affection, for much longer.
Forever, if possible.
To do that, there were so many things she had to do.
She had to beautify herself more, be more honest.
She had to become shamelessly crazy—so much so that she wouldn't bat an eye even if the whole world cursed her, so much so that she could melt away all the criticism surrounding her with a single warm word.
He possessed an affection that made it all worthwhile.
A deep affection that was more than enough to endure all this discomfort and hardship.
It had already piled up so much, and it was growing deeper in real-time.
She gently closed her eyes and made a wish to the sun.
‘Please, don't let me lose this happiness I’ve barely managed to find again.’
Seo Jeong-hee wished and wished.
* * *
Gently holding her, I slowly descended to the ground.
When we were about 100 meters from the ground, I saw a familiar face.
…It was Shin Yu-jeong.
“Jeong… no, Ajumma.”
“Hm…?”
“It’s Yu-jeong down there. Yu-jeong.”
“Oh my!”
Standing with her arms crossed and her weight on one leg, she was clearly displeased.
To buy a little more time, I slowed our descent even further and quickly coordinated with Jeong-hee.
And finally, we landed on the ground.
“Yu-jeong! When did you get here?”
“I came out after seeing you were asleep. Are you hurt anywhere?”
The moment we touched down, we broke apart and greeted the girl with perfect naturalness.
“What were you two doing just now?”
When the expected question came, Jeong-hee answered, casually linking her arm with mine.
“I said I was sad I missed the sunrise, and can you believe it? Do-jin took me up into the sky to see it! Magic is amazing, dear.”
Is this the wisdom of her years?
As I was marveling at her incredibly natural acting, the girl’s sharp gaze turned to me.
“She was disappointed she came all this way for the sunrise and missed it, so I put in a little effort.”
But I’m a veteran at this myself.
I continued speaking in a perfectly natural and shameless manner, as if to ask what the problem was.
I was just being a good son out of gratitude for everything. What’s the issue?
“…So, did you see the sun?”
“Of course we did! It was so beautiful from the sky. I wish you could have seen it too, Yu-jeong.”
“Really?”
At that, Shin Yu-jeong smirked, walked over to me, and stretched out her arms.
“Then I want to go see it too.”
“……”
“……”
This was completely unexpected.
I quickly exchanged glances with Jeong-hee.
After confirming her slight nod, I took the girl’s arm.
As our bodies touched, she grinned at me and asked.
“I’ll have to hold on tight so I don’t fall, right?”
“…I guess so?”
“Then, excuse me for a moment.”
Her arms slipped around my sides and wrapped tightly around my torso.
She squeezed so hard I could barely breathe.
“Alright, we’re going up.”
“Okay.”
Then, I spoke to Jeong-hee.
“We’ll be back after a quick trip up.”
“Okay, dear. I’ll be in the hospital room.”
“Yep.”
After we finished talking, I immediately enveloped my body in mana.
「Fly.」
The weight pressing down on my shoulders vanished, and my body naturally floated into the air.
Just as Jeong-hee’s face, looking up at us from below, disappeared from view…
“Hey.”
An icy voice grazed the back of my neck.
“Even if you think of my mom as your own, don’t you think you’re being a little too familiar?”
Still, it wasn’t as sharp as I’d expected.
Was it thanks to our earlier performance?
“What was I supposed to do when she was so disappointed about missing the sunrise?”
“Even so, you punk.”
If I play my cards right here, I think I can get through this smoothly.
“This is just a hypothetical, but she could be my future mother-in-law. I should get on her good side early, right?”
“W-What did you say?”
Her face instantly turned red.
Proportionally, the corners of her mouth shot up toward the sky.
She’s absolutely loving this.
“W-Who decided she’s your mother-in-law?! I don’t have the slightest intention of that yet, you bastard!”
Look at her, trying so hard to force her smile down.
If you’re going to talk like that, you should hide your expression better. She can’t, and that’s what makes her so funny.
It’s also what makes her cute.
“That’s why I said it’s a hypothetical. You never know what can happen between a man and a woman, right?”
“Hmph… Well… I guess that’s true.”
“And Ajumma has a fear of heights.”
“Ah, right. My mom does have a fear of heights.”
“……”
Right.
At least you remembered now.
“Anyway, look over there.”
Once the mood had lightened considerably, we reached the same altitude where Jeong-hee and I had been.
The sun was still rising majestically, though not as dramatically as before.
Seeing it, the girl let out a gasp of admiration, just as Jeong-hee had.
“Hah… It really does look different from up here.”
“Right?”
“Yeah, I’ll give you that.”
The suspicion in her eyes melted away like snow.
Just as I was breathing an inward sigh of relief, thinking it was all over…
“I’m just saying this out of concern.”
“…Saying what.”
The pressure on my ribs intensified.
“Don’t you go soaring into the sky like this if some other bitch asks to see the view, got it?”
I decided to keep the defiant thought, And what if I do?, to myself.
The answer was written all over her face.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
After finishing a few tests that we hadn't gotten to the previous evening, we had a simple meal nearby and started our journey home.
The hotel had actually offered us a suite for a few more days, saying how grateful they were for last night, but we politely declined.
Jeong-hee and I wanted to stay another day, but Yu-jeong had plans with her friends the next day.
I subtly tried to gauge if the two of us could stay behind, but her glare was so sharp that I gave up.
“Heehee, we can just come back here again later. Right?”
“I guess so.”
The girl, who had successfully snagged the passenger seat for the ride home, smiled brightly as she held up a small envelope.
Inside were hotel vouchers.
As we were leaving, they insisted we take them, saying they couldn't let us go empty-handed.
They said we could have a suite anytime we showed them the vouchers.
There weren't just one, but ten of them, so it seemed like they would come in quite handy.
The girl, who had been chattering away happily in the passenger seat, fell asleep in less than thirty minutes.
“Haha.”
I saw that coming, so it’s not even funny.
I checked the back seat through the rearview mirror and saw that Jeong-hee was also sound asleep.
They had stayed up talking with me all night, watched the sunrise, and then only got a catnap in the hospital room, so it was understandable.
I drove smoothly, and upon arriving home, I gently shook the two sleeping women awake.
“Alright, let’s all go inside and get some real sleep.”
“Ughn…!”
“Haaam…”
Jeong-hee, who woke up first, shot a sharp glare at the passenger seat, where the girl was stretching languidly after a long nap, and smacked her on the back.
Smack!
“Ow! Why’d you hit me all of a sudden!”
“Shin Yu-jeong! I told you to sit in the back if you were going to sleep in the passenger seat!”
“Ah, I didn’t sleep that long! I just dozed off for a bit after we got into Seoul!”
“Don’t make me laugh! Do-jin, when did she fall asleep?”
Ah, why is this coming to me…
“Let’s see. I think she slept for about three hours.”
Perfect.
“How dare you lie to your mother…!”
As Jeong-hee’s palm, capable of breaking through a tanker’s defense, was about to unleash its fury, Shin Yu-jeong hastily got out of the car.
Even as she fled, she didn’t forget to leave me with a warning.
“Kim Do-jin, you and I will talk later.”
“Yeah, see ya.”
“You son of a…!”
“Aren’t you going to get over here?!”
As Jeong-hee got out of the car, the girl bolted, taking the stairs five at a time.
Meanwhile, I quietly got out and took the luggage from the trunk.
“You went through a lot, Do-jin.”
“It was nothing.”
As I was walking up the stairs beside her, I suddenly remembered something important.
“Wait a second.”
“What is it?”
Jeong-hee looked at me quizzically as I abruptly stopped.
“We forgot something important.”
“Did we leave something behind?”
“No, not that.”
I gestured for her to come closer and whispered in her ear.
“I never got to show you what I prepared for the hotel.”
“Ah, that…”
Jeong-hee’s face flushed as she replied in a low voice.
“When Yu-jeong goes to meet her friends tomorrow… I’ll show you then.”
If only there was a sleeping pill that could make me sleep without knowing time was passing until tomorrow night.