Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 144
>Chapter Title: Heartbreaker (1)
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About seven months after entering the Demonic Path Academy, peaceful days finally arrived for Il-mok.
Even Chu Il-hwan, who had once hounded him relentlessly, hadn't touched him since returning to the academy, and the same went for So-hong.
After approaching him noticeably for the first few days, she had recently become quite subdued.
'Yeah. It's kinda creepy.'
Though Il-mok still harbored some ominous feelings about So-hong, he decided to let it slide for now.
Thanks to her restraint—perhaps to avoid drawing attention—no one was bothering him anymore.
He slacked off appropriately during training sessions and napped during meditation time to manage his side effects.
But for every day of peace Il-mok enjoyed, there was one person whose blood ran cold—or rather, whose stomach twisted in knots.
'What the hell am I supposed to do!'
As days passed, So-hong felt more and more cornered.
At first, she had thought it was an easy mission.
Hadn't the Protector Court Leader said as much? That seducing a sixteen-year-old brat would be simple.
Though she had no experience seducing men, she figured it was doable with thorough preparation.
But the Eighth Young Master was no pushover.
True to his reputation as a womanizer, he had already been with plenty of women and didn't fall easily for her charms.
On top of that, her overt attempts to seduce Il-mok had drawn too much attention from the academy's people, which now held her back.
Thinking one step back for two steps forward, she had been holding back lately to stay under the radar.
'But I can't think of any way to take that one step forward!'
At this rate, she'd just end up retreating with nothing to show for it.
With a bad premonition that the mission would fail, her side effects grew worse with each passing day.
- Aren't you tired?
- It's over anyway, so why not eat something?
- Better to die with a full belly, right? Come on, eat up.
The temptations of her binge-eating urges grew stronger daily, so lately she had been fasting completely.
The moment she put food in her mouth, she felt she would lose all self-control.
One day, amid her grueling battle against the side effects,
Instructor Chu Il-hwan summoned So-hong.
"You called for me, Instructor?"
"Ah. Have a seat first."
Chu Il-hwan looked somewhat troubled as he gazed at So-hong, who sat down.
"The instructor duties must be tougher than you expected."
"No, Instructor. I'm adjusting well enough now."
"It's just... you've looked noticeably gaunt these past few days?"
Chu Il-hwan spoke in an awkward tone.
Watching her waste away day by day stirred pity in him.
'I'd heard of lovesickness, but damn, it's a vicious illness.'
He had brushed it off as instructor duties, but Chu Il-hwan suspected it was because of Il-mok.
He was half right.
It was due to her failure to seduce Il-mok.
But So-hong, unwilling to reveal that, made an excuse.
"Please don't worry, Instructor. It's just a bit of strain from trying to control my demonic art's side effects."
At her response, Chu Il-hwan offered advice based on his own experience.
"If it's the demonic art's side effects... rather than forcing yourself to hold back, it might not be bad to release them little by little. Just make sure not to harm the cadets—find ways to do it where no one is around."
Whenever his own murderous impulses surged too strongly, Chu Il-hwan would sneak out of the academy, rampage a bit in the mountains, and return.
By hunting wild animals in the hills, for instance.
After hearing Chu Il-hwan's personal story, So-hong replied with an uneasy expression.
"...What if releasing it just a little leads to complete loss of control?"
"That's why I said to find a way that won't harm the cadets. I go to the mountains for that reason myself. If there's no one around, no one gets caught in the side effects, right?"
"...I'll think about it."
After finishing her conversation with Chu Il-hwan, So-hong left the office with a gaunt face.
She then headed to the cafeteria and asked the workers there for a favor.
To prepare about five servings' worth of food as a midnight snack.
'Based on three meals a day, I've fasted for three days already, so I need at least nine servings minimum! If I cut it to five, I won't succumb to the side effects!'
She had entered the mental victory phase.
* * *
Late at night.
Somewhere in the Demonic Path Academy.
"Yawwwn."
Il-mok woke from a deep sleep, stretching as he opened his eyes.
"Man, I'm stiff."
Muttering to himself, he glanced around and belatedly realized where he was.
It was the Meditation Club's hall. He had dozed off in a cross-legged position and fallen asleep too deeply.
"Those jerks. Would it kill them to wake me before leaving?"
If the trio had heard his grumbling, they would have shed bloody tears of injustice.
The guy who used to grab his sword at the slightest interruption to his nap was now mad they hadn't woken him.
Chu Il-hwan, too, had survived thanks to Il-mok's mercy and returned to the academy alive, so he didn't want to disturb his rest.
In the end, both Chu Il-hwan and the trio had quietly left without disturbing Il-mok's nap, letting him sleep until now.
"Did I sleep too long? I'm hungry..."
His steps toward the Black Dragon Hall veered toward the cafeteria.
'Hope there's something left.'
The cafeteria workers had likely returned to their dorms by now. He figured he'd grab any leftover side dishes, eat lightly, and crash.
"Yawwwn."
Reaching the cafeteria entrance, Il-mok yawned and stepped inside.
"......"
But upon seeing the scene inside, he froze solid.
Late at night, the cafeteria was naturally empty. Except for one spot.
Chomp chomp.
And at that spot, a woman sat shoving food into her mouth.
As if chopsticks and spoons were a hassle, she grabbed food with both hands and stuffed it in.
Her binge lust must have been intense, as a mountain of food piled up at her seat.
Chomp chomp.
And that mountain of food was vanishing into her mouth at an astonishing speed.
It was a scene straight out of demonic possession.
"......"
While Il-mok stood there dumbfounded by the unimaginable sight,
So-hong, lost in her first feast in three days, had completely lost her mind as she hunted the food. Her arm brushed the pile, sending a dumpling rolling to the floor.
She lunged for the fallen dumpling, snatched it up, and shoved it into her mouth.
As she stood while swallowing it, she belatedly noticed someone at the cafeteria entrance.
"......"
"......"
Silence hung between Il-mok and So-hong as their eyes met.
"S-Sorry, Instructor So. P-Please enjoy your meal."
Il-mok muttered awkwardly and bolted from the cafeteria.
Outside, Il-mok turned back toward the cafeteria with a face full of mixed emotions.
"Whoa..."
A sigh of amazement escaped Il-mok's lips at the sight he never could have imagined.
The place was a wreckage of food scraps.
Discarded utensils littered the table, and her hands were caked in food mess.
Not just her hands. Her face was splattered with sauces and bits of food, and her clothes were a mess too.
And yet, she dove for food that fell on the floor to eat it.
It was the first time in his life he'd seen a woman who could be called a beauty eating so voraciously.
"If there were YouTube, she'd be a huge hit."
She might even make waves in the mukbang scene.
"Hmm. Nah. Instead of getting an appetite, mine's completely gone. No potential there."
The sloppy way she crammed food in had killed Il-mok's hunger stone dead.
* * *
Shortly after Il-mok returned to the Black Dragon Hall.
Chomp chomp.
So-hong remained in the cafeteria, tears streaming down her face.
'It's all over...'
Chomp chomp.
Even without dating experience, she knew from common sense.
No man could love an ugly woman lost to her gluttony.
Chomp chomp.
They said some women ate heartily, but this was different.
Her mouth, hands, and clothes were covered in food debris.
Chomp chomp.
Above all, no one would call a woman scavenging food off the floor "hearty."
Was it because she felt the mission was doomed?
Chomp chomp.
Her mood sank again, and she shoved the remaining food on the table into her mouth.
'If I fail this mission, the Protector Court Leader won't call me back to the court.'
Chomp chomp.
'I guess I'm doomed to rot in the academy forever.'
How long had she been shoving food into her mouth, resigned and surrendering to the demonic art?
Finally finishing the five servings on the table, she gazed down at the empty plates with eyes full of regret.
But that lasted only a moment.
With her hunger sated and the side effects somewhat subsided, she suddenly remembered something she'd forgotten.
'Wait, there's still one method I haven't tried!'
Since she had no dating experience, it was advice she hadn't even dared to consider.
But now, cornered on a cliff's edge, she had to try it—even if it was grasping at straws.
Strike while the iron is hot, as they say.
Having made up her mind, she tried to stand.
"Urk."
But the pressure from her bloated-to-bursting stomach stopped her cold.
Looking down at her protruding belly like it was something to brag about, she thought,
'F-First, I need to digest a bit.'
Even to her novice eyes, seduction in this state seemed impossible.
* * *
About two hours later.
To avoid prying eyes, So-hong donned neat, dark black attire and sneaked into the Black Dragon Hall.
Recalling advice from a married senior in the Protector Court.
That senior had been giving her various tips when she sighed deeply and said,
'Now that I think about it, this doesn't have to be so complicated.'
'Is there an easier way?'
'There's a simple method. Your looks are enough to have men lining up anyway, so just pounce on him.'
'!?? W-What do you mean, pounce?'
'Just sneak over late at night.'
'And then what?'
After pondering So-hong's question, the senior sighed and answered.
'You have no experience, so words won't help. Since your target is a lech, leave the rest to him. Just slip off your outer robe, and he'll handle everything.'
Reviving that memory, she had arrived right in front of Il-mok's room before she knew it.
'Whew.'
Even for her, it was a method she'd buried deep in her memory because she couldn't fathom trying it.
But now, with no other options, she boldly opened the door and stepped inside.
At the sound of her entering, Il-mok's eyes snapped open from his drowsy state.
'Crazy... coming at me this blatantly.'
As Il-mok realized it was So-hong visiting late at night and made a shocked face,
Swish.
So-hong met his gaze and carefully tugged at the knot holding her clothes.
Her outer robe naturally slipped off, and with her preparations complete, she took a deep breath inside and looked at Il-mok.
According to her senior, he'd take care of the rest now.
But soon after, she felt an inexplicable sense of wrongness.
'Wait, doesn't this involve... a sword??'
For some reason, Il-mok had drawn his sword from its sheath beside the bed.