Chapter 78
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Hapbi Haepi♪ Happy Hapbi~
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(Flower photo taken at the Comic Garden)
The sunlight is so warm and cozy~ /(￣︶￣*/))
The flowers are blooming so prettily~ ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ
Super hapbi haepi!!!!!!! Haepi hapbi!!!!!!!! （＾∀＾●）ﾉｼ
The world is sooo sooo sooo beautiful~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!
o(≧∀≦)o
Fuck, did this crazy bitch swallow the heat? Why's she suddenly losing her shit again?
Our girl's a bit off in the head, but she's sweet (exam period excluded)
No no, it's exam period right now........
Kyungdu... sunlight's warm? Sunlight's warm????? Move a little and you're drenched in sweat, you sure about that?
Most useless place in Hundred Flowers Academy -> Medical Hall
For real lol, why doesn't this crazy bitch get better?
Did you lose your mind, Pika?
“Euhung hung, heung hung~”
Even as the haters trashed the post, Moyong Seol was simply in a great mood.
Even the new rival she'd secretly viewed as competition, Pika, wasn't bothering her today.
The smartphone castle she'd solidly built as Ice Kyungdu was no match for some upstart powerhouse.
The mentality of Ice Kyungdu, a veteran of the Hundred Flowers Academy Gallery boasting a perfect 1:1 like-to-dislike ratio, wasn't shaken by such trivialities.
“Euhung hung, hehet, het.”
Gazing at the Geum Sihyeon collection she'd just added to the gallery.
Such minor issues didn't matter at all.
At first, it was just a vague sense of unease.
Even though there was clearly no one around.
The gut feeling that someone was watching her.
Moyong Seol tended to trust her instincts quite a bit.
She'd originally planned to head straight back to the instructors' dorms for some rest, but before she knew it, her feet were carrying her toward Baekhwa Market.
And then, ever so faintly.
She sensed the ambient natural energy drifting around her slowly seeping toward one side.
Moyong Seol's mind raced.
It had been unease just moments ago.
Now, it had turned into a sliver of certainty.
But who?
Me? Why?
It couldn't be someone who'd figured out her 'Ice Kyungdu' identity, and there weren't any suspicious types around who might approach with ill intent...
Suddenly, Moyong Seol recalled a certain informational post she'd seen on the gallery.
It said to check your smartphone first if you sensed someone masking their presence nearby.
She'd laughed watching the supposedly extinct Mosan Sect folks come crawling out in droves, begging her to take down a post.
Moyong Seol decided to give it a try while she was at it.
In Western tongue, the so-called selfie.
Pretending to snap a photo, she carefully scanned the world reflected in the camera.
“...Heung, heung hung~”
A hum escaped her lips naturally.
A man in a black robe emblazoned with a dragon emblem.
Geum Sihyeon was there for some reason, staring right at her from a distance, pressed flat against a wall like he was observing her.
The man she'd taken a secret liking to was tailing her on the sly.
Wasn't this just like a scene from a romance novel?
In that moment.
Moyong Seol's heart reverted to that of a fresh young girl.
Afterward, she deliberately wandered here and there, sneakily surveying her surroundings with her smartphone whenever she got a chance.
Just when she thought he'd vanished completely.
Geum Sihyeon would reappear, circling and observing her.
What was his intent?
What was his goal?
She wanted to march right up, grab his sleeve, and demand answers, but Moyong Seol desperately held back the impulse.
It didn't seem like malicious intent anyway.
In her life, which wasn't all that long but not short either—
This was the first time she'd harbored feelings for someone.
And just the vague fantasy that she might be in his thoughts too was enough to make her blissfully happy.
But.
She even strolled into the Comic Garden on a whim.
And when Geum Sihyeon followed her inside.
She could no longer suppress her impulses.
“Next time, wouldn't it be nice to come here openly together~?”
Steadying her quivering voice with effort, half-doubting if what she saw was an illusion, she whispered as she reached out her hand.
A warm, soft texture met her fingertips.
Geum Sihyeon's expressions were a whirlwind.
Anxiety, a flicker of hope, disbelief, bewilderment, shock.
And then.
I, what did I just say...!
Realizing too late the meaning of the impulsive words that had slipped out, Moyong Seol's face gradually flushed red.
That was, like, like.
Basically asking to be lovers, right?
No, the first confession... I, I want to be the one receiving it...!
“Eung, well, it's a bit tricky for Instructor Narang and an cadet like me to come here privately. Kinda disappointing, huh?”
A, disappointing my ass!
No!
Still, she had to keep some dignity!
If she heard Geum Sihyeon's response right now, she felt like her heart might just burst.
Moyong Seol steadied her trembling hand with effort, pressed her index finger to her lips.
Then she turned abruptly and hurried away from the spot.
Her cheeks.
In mismatch with the color of the hairpin in her hair—
Were blooming safflower red.
For a good while after, Moyong Seol remained sealed away as Ice Kyungdu, her hapbi haepi state stretching on endlessly.
Even amid the nightmare of final exam preparation.
Even with that octopus-headed geezer pulling his usual nagging crap right in front of her.
No cracks appeared on her face as she kept smiling sweetly, humming tunes amid the grueling workload, floating along dreamily.
“Instructor Seol. You seem really happy lately?”
“Ahaha. Dohee-unnie. That obvious?”
“This girl, calling me unnie and all.”
The burning competitive spirit and jealousy from when Geum Sihyeon had ditched them and they'd walked awkwardly together had long faded.
Plus, sharing drinks at the Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress had built some internal camaraderie— even a sense of kinship over their age gap.
Moyong Seol and Seo Dohee's relationship had softened considerably from before.
Moyong Seol's petite chest, already half-filled with a victor's leisure, brimmed with warmth, gentleness, and respect for her senior.
After the regular instructors' meeting.
As they walked side by side, chatting away on the rare camaraderie of being female instructors at the academy.
Their eyes caught.
“Ah......”
“Hm......”
In the distance, at a pavilion, Geum Sihyeon lounging with Myo Narang and Cheon Luri.
Geum Sihyeon grinning innocently as he tugged the cheeks of tiny Cheon Luri like she was a kid.
Myo Narang approaching to stop him, but it looked like she was slyly rubbing against his chest; Geum Sihyeon blushing, flustered, laughing awkwardly.
No matter how much they maintained their beauty to stay youthful.
Even if half returning to their prime through reversal of aging.
To them, it was something that would never return.
The fresh vibrancy of twenty-year-old youth.
The guy who always smirked slyly in front of them.
Could smile so innocently, so awkwardly too?
Watching the scene.
Moyong Seol silently looked at Seo Dohee.
Seo Dohee met her gaze.
No more words were needed between the two women.
Wu Yue in the same boat.
Like frogs riding a snake.
A provisional alliance was forged.
Ahh. This cool, heavy sensation.
Two months since...
The endless humiliation and torment... so damn sick of it.
Time to revert to top-of-the-class Geum Sihyeon.
“Geum-hyung, wanna take a shit?”
“Beggar bastard, quit with the shit talk. Scared Instructor Seo might quiz us on shit outta nowhere.”
“Huh...... Could be possible......?”
“Goddamn, kids. What shit talk is this.”
Suddenly imagining Chickenhead flipping out, yelling 'Receive your master's gift! Reflect on yourselves! What I'm saying ain't cursing, it's the instructor's voice!' and spraying Central Plains saccharin had my hairs standing on end.
Like a gruesome trip straight to 1972.
The first hurdle of finals: Understanding of Unorthodox Martial Arts.
Thankfully, the aftermath of the last Blood Cult=Green Forest incident lingered, so no outdoor practicals.
But knowing Chickenhead's temperament, he'd cooked up some bizarre test to throw us into hardship and trials for sure.
As we entered the classroom tense and on edge.
“Welcome! Long time no seeee!”
The same bunch who'd fed us Scatter Poison Air in the first class showed up again with greetings.
“Not eating. Don't want it. Hey, don't touch.”
We were plenty immune to baseless goodwill by now.
“Hee, heehee, shaking hands like this, hee, heehee.”
“Beggar bastard....... Get a grip......”
I smacked Unhak's head—his woman resistance still in the negatives—nice and hard, then escorted him inside with Yongtaek.
“......?”
And what appeared before us.
Was a spinning wheel of fortune.
I couldn't help reading the densely packed text on it.
[Bring one bead from the rosary held by the Buddha statue in the Headmaster's office]
[Bring one part from the projector in Simryeon Pavilion playing the Mind-Image Sword Debate]
…
[Bring something precious to one of the female instructors]
[Bring the scroll from the 2nd floor of the women's/men's dorms]
[Bring the key to the 3rd floor reading room in Cheonun Pavilion]
“What the...”
Managing my twitching expression, I waved back cheerfully at Na-rang and Sojeo, while noting Luri's extra pouty face, wondering what was twisted up this time.
“Alright! As you all guessed, the Understanding of Unorthodox Martial Arts completion exam will be decided by this wheel. If someone draws a mission, it's invalid and we spin again, so you'll get some varied experiences.”
Chickenhead's booming voice echoed through the classroom.
“There was a Buddha statue in the headmaster's office...?”
As Unhak questioned, I racked my brain recalling that bald guy's raid episode, but.
“Top midterms deserve rewards! Alright! Cadet Geum Sihyeon, you first!”
Chickenhead sniped me directly, missing my chance to answer.
Well, 1st place gets me, I get 1st place.
But something felt off.
Don't these usually give priority to the bottom rankers...?
“What're you doing, punk. Get out there.”
Ugh, this lava Yongtaek bastard.
Always pouring cold water, and now...
Shoved out forcibly to the wheel.
Rollll──
The wheel spun round and round.
“Wait, hold on──”
Wait a sec.
Chickenhead.
Did you just give it a subtle nudge with qi──
“First mission decided! Cadet Geum Sihyeon draws 'Bring something precious to one of the female instructors'!”
“No, I, that──”
“No take-backs! Next, Cadet Unhak, you're up!”
No.
Suspicious.
Reeks of suspicion.
I definitely saw that qi nudge just now......?