Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Dual Cultivation Partner
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Kang Woojin emphasized it once more.
'Dual cultivation? With me...?'
His words made Han Ye-eun's vision spin.
The atmosphere had felt off from earlier anyway.
A strangely sensual vibe had her whole body tingling, starting from the palm he was stroking.
"Um..."
Normally, she should have rejected him outright.
"That is..."
But she couldn't.
Maybe because of her complicated feelings for Kang Woojin.
Or maybe she was just swept up in the mood.
"I'll... ask Father for permission..."
In the end, Han Ye-eun gave a vague, noncommittal answer that was neither acceptance nor refusal.
"...Okay."
In truth, chamber arts or dual cultivation weren't bad in themselves.
No one knew what outsiders thought, but within the Truth Church, they were actively encouraged as a training method.
Many disciples even revered them.
After all, there were plenty of people whose bodies had grown healthier through chamber arts.
By properly releasing desires through intercourse between men and women, circulating qi within the body, and achieving harmony of yin and yang.
That was the core principle of dual cultivation.
Using chamber arts for training, not making chamber arts the goal.
With that self-justification, the disciples led extremely lewd sex lives.
Of course, Han Ye-eun was different. As the leader's daughter and a candidate for the Truth Church's Great Saintess.
Even though she was officially a disciple of the Truth Church, she had never once trained through chamber arts.
"Ye-eun, you're an adult now. Relying on Father for everything is a bad habit. Think for yourself."
To become her dual cultivation partner, to become her sex partner for training, Kang Woojin added.
"Don't feel too pressured."
Han Ye-eun gave a wry smile.
He had changed so much from middle school, yet he seemed to see right through her heart.
'Did I ever tell him I only lived by Father's will...?'
Understanding and empathy.
Based on that, Kang Woojin pushed her back, encouraging her to muster her courage.
"It's not about dating as boyfriend and girlfriend. This is purely for training. I'd like you to teach me chamber arts, Ye-eun, and do dual cultivation with me."
His earnest expression made Han Ye-eun reflect on it herself.
'If it's really just for training...'
Wouldn't it be okay if it was for training?
Everyone else was doing it anyway.
'Father never explicitly told me not to do dual cultivation either...'
Besides, she had a responsibility.
After all, she was the one who had brought her middle school classmate into the Truth Church, one way or another.
If the goal was training and instruction, trying it a little wouldn't be so bad.
She was wavering deeply like that.
"Actually, I have a girlfriend."
Kang Woojin, who had just arrived at Deneb Academy, drove a nail into Han Ye-eun's heart while still sitting in the driver's seat.
"Huh?"
Han Ye-eun turned to look at him, blinking her wide eyes.
"What did you say?"
For a moment, she felt like her memories were being sullied.
No matter how much he'd changed, traces of his old self remained in the Kang Woojin before her.
And that him.
The stubbornly honest, purely innocent him from back then had a lover?
'Then, what about me...?'
Kang Woojin's words hit her like a bolt from the blue.
'What should I do now...?'
She wondered if she'd never see Kang Woojin again from now on.
'Ugh...'
To be precise, Han Ye-eun didn't like Kang Woojin romantically right now.
But strangely, a twinge of jealousy arose.
Whether in the past or present, it was true that she harbored friendly affection for him.
It was an emotion she hadn't even noticed herself, but one thing was clear: her mood was foul.
"Woojin, you're the worst..."
Narrowing her eyes, Han Ye-eun scolded him.
"How can you want to do dual cultivation with someone else when you have a girlfriend?"
Kang Woojin replied as if he'd expected it.
"The other disciples all do it. I actually think that's a good thing?"
"Good?! What's good about that?!"
Her emotions finally boiled over, and Han Ye-eun snapped at him.
"It means they're serious about training."
In contrast to her, Kang Woojin remained utterly calm.
"They have someone they like, but they mix bodies with others solely for training. That shows how serious and sincere they are about cultivation."
It was sophistry.
The usual sophistry from the Truth Church disciples.
"I don't like it either. Honestly, it hurts a bit. But I've heard training always comes with pain and hardship."
It was just an excuse, but Han Ye-eun couldn't refute it.
As a follower of the Truth Church, denying his words would mean denying the doctrine.
"But I didn't expect you to react like that, Ye-eun."
"Th-that's..."
"Of course, I'm not forcing dual cultivation on you. You don't have to teach me if you don't want to. Read the scriptures a thousand or ten thousand times, and enlightenment will come someday."
Skillfully pushing and pulling, Kang Woojin toyed with Han Ye-eun's heart.
Thud.
And as he got out of the car, he set her heart ablaze once more.
"If it's no good, oh well. Guess I'll have to train with my girlfriend based on the scriptures as best I can."
Han Ye-eun followed him out of the car, frowning deeply.
"You, really..."
Then she shook her head and recalled one important fact.
"Wait, so who the heck is your girlfriend, Woojin? Sia? That Harin I saw before? Or the nursing assistant from the gym?"
To Han Ye-eun's rapid-fire questions, Kang Woojin flashed a bright smile.
"Ji-hye. Lee Ji-hye."
"What?!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The moment class ended, Han Ye-eun slumped over her desk.
"Haa."
She had a model student image, but she hadn't absorbed a word of the previous lesson.
'Seriously...'
She couldn't even think straight.
'What am I even doing...'
Her mind was filled with Kang Woojin.
"Ye-eun-ah, Ye-eun-ah."
"You okay? Not feeling sick?"
Her classmates approached her.
"Who was that guy this morning?"
"He was hot."
"He had a car too. Is he your boyfriend?"
The chatty friends made a fuss about Kang Woojin.
"Just a middle school classmate..."
Han Ye-eun lifted her head awkwardly and replied.
"Middle school classmate?"
"These days, classmates just give rides in their cars like that?"
"What were you two doing in the car? Holding hands? Eek! Or more than that?!"
While the girls giggled, Han Ye-eun sighed again.
"It's not like that."
After enduring the girls' chatter for a while longer, she finally escaped the increasingly risqué questions when the next class started.
'Kang Woojin, you jerk.'
Even as class began, Han Ye-eun couldn't focus.
'He'll just take it easy while I'm like this?'
Fidgeting as if adjusting her uncomfortable position, she glanced at her smartphone under the desk.
There were no messages from Kang Woojin.
Still, she mindlessly scrolled through his contact, lost in thought.
'Woojin and Ji-hye...'
The more she thought about it, the worse her mood got.
'Why Ji-hye of all people...'
If Kang Woojin's girlfriend had been Cynthia, she would have accepted it.
'If it was Sia, I wouldn't just accept it—I'd congratulate them.'
She knew there was no room for her between those two childhood friends who'd been together so long.
But if it was Ji-hye, that changed things.
"Are all guys like that?"
Putting her phone away, Han Ye-eun muttered softly.
"Like what?"
Her seatmate replied.
Park Yeon-jin, who wasn't particularly striking or outstanding in any way. Average-looking, but she had quite a bit of dating experience.
"Oh, Yeon-jin-ah."
"You've seemed troubled all class. Guy problems?"
Spot on, Park Yeon-jin grinned and followed up.
"Yeah... Pretty much."
"That guy from this morning? He seems like the type with lots of girls. Must hurt, huh, for our Ye-eun."
"D-do guys normally just date whoever they like without a second thought?"
"Hmm. Probably not usually. He must like her to date her."
"No way. I never heard they were even talking..."
"What? Don't tell me you're seeing a guy who has a girlfriend?"
Park Yeon-jin covered her mouth, lowering her voice in shock.
"N-no, it's not like that. I didn't know."
Han Ye-eun waved her hands frantically, flustered.
Normally, she'd say not to misunderstand.
That they were just friends.
But because of her friends' earlier teasing, she suddenly found herself in the position of the other woman(?).
"Wow. Guy's got looks, alright. So, what are you gonna do, Ye-eun?"
"W-what do you mean?"
"Give him up?"
"......"
"Logically, yeah. No matter how trashy the guy is, the girl isn't at fault."
"Fault..."
"Telling the girl how trashy he is could work too. I had something similar happen once. No matter how much I thought about it, there were only three options."
Mulling over Park Yeon-jin's words, Han Ye-eun asked with genuine curiosity.
"Give up. Get revenge on his betrayal(?). What's the third?"
"Steal him, obviously."
"Huh?"
"Whether the other girl is pitiful or not, she's still a stranger. I'm more important than some outsider."
"So, you did that, Yeon-jin?"
Park Yeon-jin shrugged lightly.
"Yeah, I did. But honestly, it didn't last long with that guy. Once a cheater, always a cheater. Dealing with that stress wasn't worth it."
"I see..."
"He still texts me sometimes. Wanna see?"
She started to slide her phone screen over from her desk.
"N-no, it's fine."
"Aw, you're no fun."
"Um, Yeon-jin-ah."
"Yeah?"
"Do you regret doing that back then?"
"Huh? What? Oh, stealing him?"
"Yeah, that..."
"Nah? It was actually refreshing. Once I'd done everything I could, breaking up left no regrets."
They say nothing's as entertaining as someone else's love life.
Drawn deeper into Park Yeon-jin's story, Han Ye-eun sought practical advice.
"You know, this is about a friend of mine. What would you do?"
"......"
"My friend got really close to this guy—who's a friend of her friend—and turns out he has a girlfriend."
"I'd probably do the same. I tried giving up on someone once, and it hurt way more. Regretted it big time. Forgetting isn't easy."
"R-really...?"
"Hang in there, Ye-eun. You're pretty and have a great figure. Have some confidence."
"Th-this is about my friend..."
"Unlike me, you can wrap that guy around your finger completely. Make him fall hard for you."
"Fall for me...?"
Having given up on claiming it was a friend's story, Han Ye-eun repeated Park Yeon-jin's advice.
"Yeah. Make him yours for sure. So he wouldn't even dream of cheating."
Her words rippled through Han Ye-eun's heart.
Han Ye-eun, who had never done anything wrong in her life aside from missionary work.
'My man...'
Reflecting on her own feelings, she wanted something for the first time.
Imagining Kang Woojin as her man felt indescribably good.
'If Ji-hye can have him instead of Sia, then I can too...'
Naturally, the words "dual cultivation partner" surfaced in her mind.
Ding-dong—.
The academy classes finally ended.
Han Ye-eun, who was in the general advancement class fulfilling mandatory education like anyone else, turned down all her friends' invitations to hang out and left the academy straight away.
And then.
She took a taxi to one of the Do-won Truth Church's branches.
The branch in Gyeongseong-dong.
Kang Woojin's old house.
Arriving at the mansion, Han Ye-eun cautiously opened the front gate and entered.
Swoosh.
Around lunchtime, the gate was left open on designated days for regular followers to visit.
'Huh?'
But now was well past lunchtime.
And the front door being open was rare, so Han Ye-eun paused at the entrance, tilting her head.
'Another guest first?'
As she debated whether to ring the doorbell or just go in.
"...Ahk!"
A strange noise came from inside the mansion.
"......"
Her shoulders twitching, Han Ye-eun entered the house as if possessed by a ghost.
Creeeak.
The sound came from upstairs.
Step.
Looking up at the ceiling, she followed the occasional voices naturally with her steps.
And then.
"Hyaaang! Ang! Ah! Ah! Too! Too rooough!"
Han Ye-eun ended up witnessing a couple's dual cultivation scene—no, a sex scene.
Whoooosh—!
In stark contrast to the steamy pair before her eyes, a cold wind blew in through the slightly open window and door.
However, Han Ye-eun was frozen stiff, unable to move an inch.