Chapter 26: Push and Pull (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 26: Push and Pull (5)
【Third-Person Perspective】
Lying on the bed in her room, only a single thought occupied Seo Jeong-hee’s mind.
‘I’ve done it.’
The moments she had coveted his cock, as if possessed, lingered like embers.
Touching it with her hands hadn't been enough; she had even sucked it with her mouth.
They hadn't had proper sex, but she could feel it.
The psychological barrier between them had all but crumbled.
Otherwise, no matter how aroused she was, she would never have agreed to his request to suck his cock.
“What in the world have I done…?”
Seo Jeong-hee covered her face with both hands.
A single word surfaced in her mind.
Affair.
The word, which she thought would never have anything to do with her, was stuck in her throat like a fishbone.
Her husband’s face appeared behind her heavy eyelids.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, honey…”
She had done something unthinkable while her husband was working so hard out of town.
A heavy sense of guilt crushed her entire body.
But that, too, was fleeting. Another image was superimposed over her husband's face.
The image of herself in the men's restroom, sucking Kim Do-jin’s cock as if it were delicious, flailing in the immense pleasure radiating from her nipples.
“Ah, ah…!”
She struggled to erase it, but it wouldn't disappear.
The more she tried to deny it, the closer it came.
It wouldn't go away.
The trace of pleasure he had left behind when he kneaded her breasts.
‘It was the first time…’
She had felt good a few times before, but she had never in her life experienced a climax that turned her mind completely white.
Without realizing it, she lowered one of the hands covering her face and caressed her own breast.
‘I don’t feel anything.’
Before, she would have at least felt a faint pleasure, but now, there was nothing.
It was completely numb, as if it couldn't feel anything unless it was his hand.
“Haa…”
She stopped touching her breast and stared at the ceiling.
The round ceiling light looked just like Kim Do-jin’s round face.
It came back to her again.
The image of herself, panting vulgarly in the throes of overwhelming pleasure.
She didn't want to admit it, but in that moment, she had been savoring the greatest happiness.
The thought of wanting to feel it one more time made her squeeze her eyes shut.
“No, I can’t do that anymore…”
It was already too late.
But she had to go back.
She had to turn back time.
To the person she was before all this, to a simple relationship between a tenant and a landlord.
Every time she thought that, her whole body ached.
It was as if her body was asking her.
‘Can you really go back to how things were? Now that you know such pleasure, can you really?’
That moment of climax when her mind went blank, leaving nothing but pure bliss.
She asked herself.
‘If something like that happens again…’
Would she be able to firmly push Kim Do-jin away?
“Ugh…”
Her whole body throbbed.
Her breasts, already being tamed by his hands, and even the core of her she had yet to give him.
It was as if they were screaming.
‘If that moment comes again…’
At the very least, she wouldn't be able to be firm.
That’s what they seemed to be saying.
*
I finished my morning workout with the ajumma and returned home.
Nothing particular happened.
The ajumma kept a slight distance, as if trying not to touch me, and I simply followed behind her.
I could see right through her.
“Looks like she’s trying to go back to how things were…”
She must know it too.
Both she and I.
That it was far, far too late for that.
If she really wanted to, she shouldn't have sucked my cock in the restroom.
She should have left what happened in the hospital room as a one-night memory and locked it away for good.
No, at the very least, she shouldn't have been sneaking glances at my cock every time she looked away from me today.
“The only way forward is straight ahead.”
I don't know how this will end.
And I don't want to know.
I'll just do my best to make it a happy ending for both the ajumma and me.
“This is no time to be lazing around.”
The moment I enter my room, my body naturally wants to slack off, but I force myself up and head to the bathroom.
I quickly rinse the dried sweat off my body with running water and leave the house.
After a brisk walk, I arrived at the magic academy.
Today was the long-awaited first day.
Filled with a mix of nervousness and excitement, I took the elevator to the 7th floor.
My destination was the special lecture class.
A class supposedly created for Awakened Beings like me, gathering a bunch of similar weirdos.
When I opened the door, a classroom of enormous size came into view.
It was so big I could hardly take it all in at once.
What was a little absurd was that in this massive classroom, there were only five people in total.
Director Park Cheol-su stood at the podium, along with the three other students who would be taking the special course with me.
And standing at the very back, looking down at us, was Yoon Ji-an from the Hunter Association’s Inspection Department.
I exchanged a light greeting with her and surveyed the faces of the students sitting sparsely in the wide classroom.
They were a peculiar bunch, just at a glance.
One guy had his hair dyed blood-red, and another had a detached expression as if he’d seen everything the world had to offer.
Finally, a woman with ashen hair was resting her chin on her hand, staring intently at her smartphone.
Yup, just as I thought.
I’d always wondered why there wasn't a single normal person among mages, and now I felt like I had my answer.
So that was it. Only abnormal people became mages in the first place.
Wait, does that mean I’m not normal? That’s strangely upsetting.
Ah.
Right, I’m not a mage.
“Haha! Welcome. I trust you’ve been well?”
“Yes.”
Director Park Cheol-su, who had been on the podium, approached me with a friendly demeanor.
His eyes still held a look that said he hadn't given up on me.
It gave me the creeps.
He led me up to the podium.
Then, he introduced me to the three students who were sitting far apart in a free-spirited manner that screamed, ‘We are not friends at all.’
“This is student Kim Do-jin, who will be joining you for the special lectures. Let’s all give him a warm round of applause.”
Clap, clap, clap…
A half-hearted applause followed.
There were only three of them, and only two bothered to clap.
Yoon Ji-an, standing at the very back, and the guy with the red hair.
Even then, the guy’s applause felt less like a welcome and more like he was just copying Yoon Ji-an, who his gaze was fixed on.
From the looks of it, he was completely preoccupied with hitting on her.
I didn't feel much of anything, but Director Park Cheol-su, standing next to me, seemed more flustered.
“Ha, haha… Please understand. They’re a group of very unique individuals.”
“They certainly seem that way.”
“For now, go ahead and take any seat you like.”
I looked over where the others were sitting.
One at the far right, one at the far left, and one at the very back.
I sat right in the front, dead center.
Great. And just like that, we became the Four Divine Beasts guarding the cardinal directions.
Director Park Cheol-su shuddered, looking slightly fed up with how the students—all four of them—were using the massive classroom so expansively. He quickly composed himself and began the lecture.
“Now, what is magic? It is the most fundamental, yet most profound of questions. First, let’s look at the dictionary definition…”
A boring time ensued.
He explained the history of magic in tedious detail, and I honestly almost fell asleep several times.
Figuring the others felt the same, I snuck a glance behind me, only to see that the same guys who looked so disinterested moments ago were now taking notes and listening intently.
Even Red-head, who had been busy hitting on Yoon Ji-an, was taking notes!
What, am I the weird one here?
Come to think of it, mages were a group with an exceptionally strong sense of pride.
Considering that, it made sense that they’d be passionate about their dull history, which meant I was the abnormal one.
“Alright, that’s enough about the history of magic. Shall we move on to the practical application?”
The thick book was finally closed, and the moment I’d been waiting for arrived.
“Everyone, please come to the front.”
At his call, the students got up one by one.
I got up a little late and followed them to the front.
“Today, we’ll do something simple and identify each student’s main attribute.”
With a light gesture, something floated up from under the lectern and revealed itself.
It was a transparent crystal orb.
The crystal orb, which had been levitating by Director Park Cheol-su’s psychokinesis magic, settled on the lectern.
It was only for a brief moment, but I saw it.
The shape of the magic circle he had drawn with a single stroke, and how the surrounding mana moved as a result.
Psychokinesis itself is an intermediate-level magic with enormous mana consumption, so I couldn't do it for long, but for a very brief moment, I could probably move a light object.
I should try moving the remote control when I get home.
“You will place your hand on this, one by one. Who would like to go first?”
As soon as he finished speaking, someone shot their hand up.
“I’ll give it a try, sir!”
It was Red-head, the one who had been sitting at the far right.
“Alright, student Yoon Min-gyu will go first.”
The moment the director gave his permission, he climbed onto the platform and placed his hand on the crystal orb.
“Now, in that state, slowly channel your mana into it.”
Red-head slowly closed his eyes and began to draw up his mana.
Magic is known as a versatile dealer class that manifests spells tailored to the characteristics of a region or monster, based on various elements.
So, can mages freely wield magic of all attributes? Not exactly.
“Every mage has an attribute that suits them best. We call this the main attribute.”
As he explained, a red energy began to fill the transparent crystal orb under Red-head’s palm.
The transparent mana particles were influenced by his mana, turning red and then transforming into flames.
“Student Yoon Min-gyu’s main attribute is fire.”
But the change didn't end there.
The fiercely burning flames gradually died down, and the now-transparent crystal orb began to stir.
“That is wind. It means student Yoon Min-gyu’s second-highest aptitude is for the wind attribute.”
Fire, wind, lightning, earth, water, and so on.
The attributes appeared one after another before disappearing.
The first attribute to appear was the main attribute, and the last was the weakest attribute, the one with the lowest aptitude.
“When using magic of an attribute you have a high aptitude for, you consume less mana than someone who doesn't, even when casting the same spell. Conversely, when using magic you don't have an aptitude for, the mana consumption increases.”
In short, it meant that Red-head was efficient when using fire-type magic, but his mana efficiency sucked when using water-type magic.
The guy seemed quite pleased with his main attribute, smiling as he ran a hand through his red-dyed hair.
His gaze, of course, was directed at Yoon Ji-an, who was standing at the back watching us.
She was scowling every time their eyes met, but I guess that guy has no sense.
“Alright, next is…”
The other two also finished their attribute check.
The ashen-haired woman, Jeong Hyo-rin, had wind as her main attribute, followed by fire as her sub-attribute.
The guy who looked tired of everything, Jo Dong-jin, had earth as his main attribute and water as his sub-attribute.
“Now, it’s your turn, student Kim Do-jin.”
Receiving the director’s expectant gaze, I stepped onto the platform.
Yoon Ji-an, standing at the back, also seemed to be watching with a bit more intensity.
Is she that curious about my main attribute?
Well, to be honest, so am I.
I’ve tried a few spells on my own so far.
I’ve made an ice flower, conjured a flame, and made an awl out of stone, but I don't think any one of them was particularly difficult or strenuous.
Does this body of mine even have a main attribute? If so, what could it be?
With excessive nervousness and anticipation, I extended a slightly stiff arm and placed my hand on the crystal orb.
Then, I slowly pushed the mana sleeping in my core through my arm and into the orb.
The mana particles that filled the transparent crystal orb began to react.
Fwoosh!
Flames erupted from the center of the orb.
Whoooosh—
An eerie wind began to blow.
Crack—!
The ground formed at the bottom of the orb and then…
Crackle!
…it froze over in a layer of white.
Pitter-patter—
Rain began to fall from the top of the orb.
KRA-KOOM!
Finally, a single bolt of golden lightning struck from top to bottom.
What appeared inside the crystal orb was the apocalypse itself, compressed into a tiny space.
“Oh, shit.”
That’s fucking cool.
But is this supposed to happen?
For everyone else, the elements appeared one by one and then vanished, so why is mine like this?
I lifted my head and looked at the faces of the director and the three students below the platform.
Every single one of them was gaping, their jaws practically on the floor.
Yoon Ji-an at the back was much the same.
Her pretty, composed features were painted with sheer horror, as if she had witnessed something she was never meant to see.
“Hmm.”
It seems this body of mine has caused some trouble.