Corporal Punishment Addict Lee Hye-ri (4)
"……."
"You okay?"
"No."
Yoo Ara, who had come to my house, looked noticeably downcast. She seemed utterly drained by the fact that she'd lost to Baek Han-beom.
I'd heard the story already. The end-of-month evaluation had switched to a matchup between vanguards and rearguards. And that her opponent had been Baek Han-beom, the top tank in Class A.
It was something I'd half-expected.
The moment I heard the exam format had changed from the usual to vanguard versus rearguard battles, the pairings sprang to mind.
Baek Han-beom vs. Yoo Ara.
Kwon Jun-hyuk vs. Lee Hye-ri.
Especially Baek Han-beom—he was the absolute worst matchup for Yoo Ara. Her powers, strong in versatility and utility, often faltered against a rock-solid, impenetrable tank like him.
From the video Hye-ri sent, it looks like Ara put up a surprisingly good fight, though...
But no simple "you fought well despite losing" could soothe the sting of defeat. Especially not for someone who'd fought tooth and nail to win.
Yoo Ara's eyes were glistening with tears, her voice choked up—not just from anger, but from the heartbreak. Victory had been in sight. She'd even gone on the offensive at the end. Blocking Baek Han-beom's vision with dust was smart, but she hadn't anticipated he'd use detection magic to pinpoint her.
He's not just some shield-toting tank.
Baek Han-beom might be more well-rounded than I'd thought.
"Frustrated?"
"……Yeah. Really frustrated."
"That's good enough."
"Good enough? What do you mean?"
I stroked Yoo Ara's head.
"Being pissed about losing means you've got room to grow."
Yoo Ara looked up at me.
"You can't win forever. You'll lose sometime. Think of this as a vaccine against future defeats. Remember, the moment you think you've won is the most dangerous. Never let your guard down until the end. And..."
I patted her shoulder as she gazed at me with puffy, red eyes from all the crying.
"The way you pushed Baek Han-beom? Perfect. Looks like your mana control for telekinesis has improved a ton, too."
"Thank you."
"Use this loss as fuel and beat him next time."
"Teacher, but..."
Yoo Ara sniffled and continued.
"If I don't win, I don't get my reward."
"Hold on, Ara—you're not crying just because you didn't get the reward, are you?"
"No, that's not why I... "
She bit her lip hard before speaking again.
"Hye-ri won. She must've bet a wish voucher or something, too."
Sharp as ever.
Wait a second.
"You... you're crying because of Hye-ri's wish voucher?"
"Yes."
"But you said you were frustrated?"
"I am frustrated. Losing pisses me off. But compared to first semester, the gap between me and Baek Han-beom has closed a lot. I'm sure of it. I thought about it the whole way back. Give me a year—no, half a year—and I'll beat him."
"……."
Maybe it was from repeating a year and overcoming it, but her mentality had toughened up.
"But the reward... it sucks being the only one without one."
She started sniffling again.
"Hiiing."
Still, I couldn't just hand her a reward. Rewards and punishments needed clear lines. She'd fought hard against Baek Han-beom, but that didn't equal success.
So.
"Wait for the next chance. That's all I can say."
"……I know."
Yoo Ara stared at me quietly before asking,
"Teacher, last time I said I was your first student. The number one member of Teacher Guild..."
"Yeah."
"That still holds, right?"
Her possessiveness was kicking in. If she couldn't have me all to herself, she'd at least hold onto being first.
"Yeah. You're still number one, Ara."
"……That's all I needed. Thanks."
She finally let it go with a sigh.
"I'll head out now. I'm feeling a bit better."
As Yoo Ara turned to leave, she glanced back at me.
"Teacher."
"What's up?"
She stared at me intently before speaking.
"You're going to Hye-ri's, right?"
"Probably. We have a deal."
"Then... if I'd won and Hye-ri had won too, who were you planning to reward first?"
Who first?
"Never thought about it that way."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah. Never picked an order. If I'm rewarding, it's all together."
"B-But I'm number one..."
"Even number one gets rewards with everyone."
Too much greed leads to fights. I had to mediate from the middle.
"T-Teacher... Y-You're in really good shape."
"What?"
"N-Nothing! I'm going!"
Yoo Ara fled the scene.
Yoo Ara lost to Baek Han-beom, but Lee Hye-ri beat Kwon Jun-hyuk. Word was Kwon got heavy disciplinary action for using lethal moves, and Professor Yoo Dae-seok, who failed to stop it mid-fight, stepped down as advisor and took a pay cut.
I'd fully expected Hye-ri to win. Even Yoo Ara could've beaten him. A genius who relies on talent without effort meets that end.
I didn't think the skill gap between Hye-ri and Yoo Ara was that wide right now. Just bad matchups.
Knowing that, I hadn't given either any hints or advice—just told them to figure it out themselves.
Yoo Ara would've found ways to improve from her loss.
Hye-ri would've gained confidence from her win.
And now was the time to seal that confidence boost.
"Teacher, you're here?"
Unlike her usual training clothes, Lee Hye-ri was in a skirt and flowing top. She bowed her head in greeting.
"You look happy."
"I beat that annoying bastard."
"Got the video from Ara."
"How was it?"
"You did great. Good work."
"Thank you!"
Her smile brimmed with confidence.
"How was it?"
She knew exactly what I meant and grinned.
"Your handiwork was killer!"
She mimed gripping a spear and swung it upward dramatically—the same move that had deflected Kwon Jun-hyuk's skill.
A clean uppercut. She'd parried a skill-infused attack in one stroke.
Hye-ri's Mobility Strike clashed head-on with Kwon Jun-hyuk's blazing flames. But with Cheonryu Spear Technique layered on, her deflection overpowered his strength.
"Keep parrying like that from now on. Get more proficient, build up your mana, and you'll deflect raid bosses or giant monsters too."
"……Thank you so much, Teacher."
She bowed again.
"What's with that? Doesn't suit you."
Her face was full of genuine admiration—nothing like her usual resistance. It gave me chills.
"Honestly, I doubted you a lot. Even approached you grasping at straws. Never thought it'd work... but thanks to you, I really think I can do it now. Not a pure tank like my brother, but one who can protect the party."
Her sincere thanks made me smile awkwardly. I'd never imagined talking like this with her.
"Feels like you owe me a deep bow."
I joked to ease the embarrassment.
"Ah, sit here. Now I really have to treat you like a teacher, so let me..."
"Hey, hey, stop. No deep bows. It was a joke."
"Oh..."
I sat on the sofa and asked,
"Why'd you want to be a tank?"
"……To be like my brother."
"That's it?"
"Yeah. His back looked so wide when he protected me."
"Evasion tanks protect differently from your brother. You know that, right?"
"Yes. But it's the same—protecting the party."
I couldn't help laughing at her words.
She'd grown.
Beating Kwon Jun-hyuk had leveled her up. Like Yoo Ara learning from loss, Hye-ri had gained from victory.
"If you stay by my side, Teacher, I know I can do it."
Lee Hye-ri's dependency target has changed.
The emotional intel I'd confirmed updated with an alert. No need to guess who the new target was.
Then her conquest progress popped up. An astonishing 94%.
The results I'd shown her had earned her trust. And that shifted her dependency to me.
Now I knew: she'd fled Lee Kang-san's shadow and nested right here with me.
"So, um..."
Hye-ri hesitated, then forced the words out.
"About that wish voucher."
"The wish voucher, right. Said I'd grant one if you won. What do you want?"
"Well..."
She hemmed and hawed. I watched patiently, wondering what could make her stutter like this.
"Th-That is, Teacher..."
Her face flushed beet red, like it might explode.
She paused again, then blurted,
"Do it."
"Do what?"
"P-Punish me."
"What?"
Wait, what did she just say?
"What was that?"
"Punish me."
"You like getting hit?"
"I don't like getting hit. Or the pain. But... if it's you, Teacher, it might feel good."
"You could've wished for something better. This is really it?"
"B-But I thought about this really hard!"
"Punishment's for failures and mistakes—to reflect and swear never again. But what you're asking for isn't punishment; it's a reward. That can't be a wish."
"Th-That's cheating! Why twist it like that...? D-Does that mean you don't want to?"
"Never said I didn't."
As if. Where else would I find a student this perfect?
"You said you hate getting hit. Who wishes for what they hate?"
Was she hiding something?
She squirmed, unable to respond.
What did she really want? Why ask for this?
As I pondered,
"Th-Then... t-teach me m-masturbation."
I hadn't misheard.
"Teach you masturbation?"
She nodded vigorously instead of answering.
"Why me?"
"W-Well... ugh... I saw it once before."
"Saw what?"
"Ara unnie's private lesson with you, Teacher."
Ah, that time. When I'd felt her gaze.
"My bottom half got all tingly and weird, couldn't look away. Then I saw Ara unnie masturbating alone in her room, and she looked so good. So I tried it myself..."
"But it didn't feel as good as watching?"
"Yes."
"That's your wish?"
"Yes. I want to feel what Ara unnie felt then."
The cocky girl from before was gone, replaced by someone ready to crawl into a hole, avoiding my eyes.
"Y-You won't say no to this too, right? Why do I always get painful beatings, while Ara unnie gets all the fun stuff? This is discrimination. Student discrimination!"
She shouted without meeting my gaze, desperate in her own way.
"Got it."
If that's her wish.
"Take your clothes off."
I'll teach her.
"Everything."
"Yes, Teacher."
She slipped off her skirt.
A sweet perfume scent hit my nose.