Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 63
>Chapter Title: Jealousy (2)
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That night.
Returning to his room, Il-mok sat cross-legged and sank into meditation just like that.
Enlightenment hadn’t come to him.
‘Namu Amida Butsu. Buddha, spirits. Begone, heart demon! Urgent retreat command!’
He was dragging in every god and religion that came to mind to battle the heart demon.
It was all because of that human Demonic Deviation inducer, Bang Mi-hwa.
Il-mok was a man of common sense, too.
He couldn’t very well tell a woman he’d just met that she looked like she needed plastic surgery.
The problem was that the longer he kept running into her, the worse his obsession got.
‘Gotta avoid her. Have to avoid her.’
If he saw her too often, he felt like he’d fall into Demonic Deviation without realizing it and end up performing moonlight bone-sculpting on her jaw and cheekbones.
* * *
Starting from the second day, life at the Demonic Path Academy became a monotonous routine.
Four hours of classes a day, followed by free time.
With Jin Ha-yeon and the Heavenly Demon—who had been forcing him to study and train—gone, these were blissful days where he could slack off to his heart’s content.
That is, if you only looked at the schedule.
The problem was the people around him.
They didn’t nag him like Jin Ha-yeon or the Heavenly Demon, but they were annoying in other ways.
“Today will be different!”
Dokgo Pae, who showed up challenging him to a spar again, tireless as ever.
“Hahaha.”
Instructor Chu Il-hwan, who smiled pleasantly but made Il-mok’s skin crawl every time their eyes met.
“Young Master! About Lady Jin Ha-yeon…”
Joo Seo-yeon, follower of Jin Ha-yeon, who didn’t cross paths during class hours since they were in different classes but came looking for him every afternoon.
But the most terrifying of them all was, of course, Bang Mi-hwa.
To make matters worse, she was in the same A-Class as Dokgo Pae.
And for some reason, whenever Il-mok glanced her way by accident, she was always staring right back at him.
Every time their eyes met, she’d beam a brilliant smile, proudly showing off her facial asymmetry.
‘Please. God, if you exist.’
As Il-mok fought off his heart demon and hurriedly turned away, he’d hear her giggle ‘Hee-hee,’ as if she found it cute.
Each time, the urge to switch careers and become her personal plastic surgeon surged within him.
With traps everywhere he looked, Il-mok had no choice but to fix his gaze in one spot.
The silver lining was that during class time, there was a designated place to focus his eyes.
Namely, the instructor.
Ever since the traps had sprung up all around, Il-mok kept his eyes glued solely to the instructor throughout every lesson.
Because if he so much as turned his head and locked eyes with Dokgo Pae or Bang Mi-hwa, something exhausting was bound to happen.
Thanks to that, Il-mok’s reputation among the Demonic Path Academy instructors had recently improved dramatically.
“How about Eighth Young Master?”
“He’s no ordinary one, that’s for sure.”
“Yes. Talent aside, that enthusiasm of his was truly astonishing.”
“Even during Instructor Yin’s class?”
“Instructor Cheok felt it too?”
“Yes. His gaze was so intense, I was terrified I’d make a mistake in my explanation or demonstration. Haha.”
“Hmm. He seemed pretty apathetic on the first day, but I can’t figure out why he changed so suddenly.”
“Mm. Maybe he was disappointed in his classmates’ level at first?”
“Well, with talent like his, that’s unavoidable.”
Listening to his fellow instructors talk about Il-mok, Chu Il-hwan tilted his head.
‘Strange. During my class, it felt like he was avoiding my gaze.’
The only time Il-mok didn’t look at the instructor was during Chu Il-hwan’s lessons.
* * *
Ten days into his stay at the Demonic Path Academy.
As usual, after finishing the day’s lessons, bathing, and dinner.
“Young Master!”
Hearing Bang Mi-hwa, Ha-yeong, and Joo Seo-yeon call out from both sides, Il-mok thought.
‘Time to bolt.’
Class time was manageable enough. He just had to keep his eyes fixed on the instructor.
Chu Il-hwan’s class was a bit tricky, but he’d found a workaround for that too.
But after classes, during free time, there was no escape.
He wanted to hole up in his room and rest, but if he did, those three—plus Dokgo Pae—would come knocking nonstop, ruining any chance of relaxation.
Pretending not to hear them, Il-mok turned and hurried off somewhere.
Whoosh!
Darting around the massive Demonic Path Academy complex with lightness skill for quite a while.
‘Oh ho.’
Spotting a secluded spot between the halls, Il-mok leaped into the shadows to hide.
Unfortunately, there was already someone there.
‘Huh? Thought it was empty?’
It was an odd feeling. No presence at all, yet upon arrival, there was a person standing there.
‘Pretty sure I’ve seen him a few times? Or maybe not?’
One of the mere twenty classmates, yet Il-mok struggled to place him.
Partly because he had no interest in these wannabe lunatics, but mostly because the cadet’s presence was so faint.
You’d think his gloomy, huddled demeanor would stand out, but somehow it didn’t.
The presence-lacking cadet, who had an arrow nocked on his bow and was aiming intently somewhere, turned at the sound of footsteps, spotted Il-mok, and let out a shrill scream.
“Eek!”
Seeing him freak out like he’d seen a ghost, Il-mok looked sheepish.
“Ahem. Sorry for interrupting your training.”
“N-No, it’s f-fine. Y-Young M-Master.”
The cadet trembled as he replied to Il-mok’s apology.
Il-mok was baffled. Sure, he was the Heavenly Demon’s disciple, but it was rare for anyone to shake like that when talking to him.
After a moment’s thought, Il-mok collected himself and approached the cadet.
No matter how he looked at it, this was the most out-of-the-way spot in the Demonic Path Academy. He felt a bit bad for the cadet training here, but Il-mok decided to hide out.
“First time we’re talking like this. Name’s Il-mok.”
“I-I’m J-Jeong Hyeon. Y-Young M-Master.”
Il-mok briefly wondered if the side effect of Jeong Hyeon’s demonic art was a stutter, but decided it’d be rude to ask.
“We’re classmates here at the Academy, so no need for formalities.”
“I-I’m u-used to th-this…”
Jeong Hyeon averted his gaze with anxious eyes, avoiding eye contact as he answered.
Feeling awkward, Il-mok noticed the bow in Jeong Hyeon’s hands.
“Oh ho. So Cadet Jeong practices archery.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Very enviable.”
“!?”
Jeong Hyeon, who’d been dodging Il-mok’s gaze, whipped around to stare at him in shock.
“E-Enviable? It’s j-just a c-cowardly t-trick unfit for a D-Divine Cult disciple.”
Spitting out the words rapidly like he was coughing up letters, Jeong Hyeon belatedly averted his eyes again.
Worried the young master might take it as impertinence.
But Il-mok wasn’t thinking anything of the sort.
He was genuinely envious.
‘Damn! Why wasn’t archery an option when I picked my demonic art?’
Survival was Il-mok’s top priority. In that sense, what martial art could beat archery?
No need to charge in swinging a sword—just hide behind cover at a distance and loose arrows. Done.
For the first time, he resented his master for not teaching him archery.
‘Enviable. If I switched now… Damn. Would that stack the side effects?’
Shaking off the stray thought, Il-mok spoke sincerely.
“Why do the Cult’s warriors learn demonic arts? To smite the wicked who torment the masses, right? When killing evil bastards, who cares if it’s noble or base? You can take down villains from afar—archery is a magnificent art.”
“!!!”
Jeong Hyeon, who’d been avoiding his gaze, looked up at Il-mok with a moved expression.
Of course, he immediately turned away again the moment their eyes met.
Right then.
“Young Master!!”
From beyond the hall came the voice of the Demonic Deviation inducer searching for him.
Il-mok quickly sidled up to Jeong Hyeon and whispered.
“I’m about to practice stealth now, so if anyone asks about me, pretend you didn’t see anything.”
“…….”
With Il-mok suddenly right in his face, Jeong Hyeon froze solid.
Taking the silence as agreement, Il-mok dove into the shadows and activated his stealth technique.
It was the stealth art he’d learned from Instructor Eun-ryeo over the past ten days. Barely ten days in, but the black clothes and shadows made it serviceable for hiding.
No sooner had Il-mok concealed himself than footsteps approached, and Bang Mi-hwa and Ha-yeong arrived.
Bang Mi-hwa scanned the area, then approached Jeong Hyeon, who stood dazed with his bow.
“H-Have you s-seen Eighth Young M-Master?”
“Uh, th-that’s…”
At her question, Jeong Hyeon stammered without meeting her eyes.
“Did you see him? Or not?”
“W-Well, um…”
“Could you look me in the eye when you answer?”
As Bang Mi-hwa and Ha-yeong pressed closer, Jeong Hyeon began trembling violently, on the verge of a fit.
Seeing the sudden panic, Bang Mi-hwa and Ha-yeong startled and rushed to him.
“A-Are you okay?”
“Breathe! Take deep breaths!”
But as they got closer and shouted, Jeong Hyeon’s fit worsened.
While the two floundered, Il-mok emerged from stealth and hurried to Jeong Hyeon.
He couldn’t just watch from hiding, feeling guilty that he’d triggered it.
“Young Master?”
As the two blinked in confusion at his sudden appearance, Il-mok scooped Jeong Hyeon into his arms and lightness-skilled away.
* * *
Il-mok, Bang Mi-hwa, and Ha-yeong looked down at Jeong Hyeon, who lay on the bed as if dead.
He wasn’t actually dead, of course—just acupoint-sealed into sleep.
Moments later, Instructor Eun-ryeo entered the room.
Right after Il-mok had carried Jeong Hyeon out, they’d luckily run into her.
She’d sealed his rampaging acupoints and brought him here.
Having checked the roster of cadets’ peculiarities to diagnose the cause, Instructor Eun-ryeo returned.
“Do you know what happened?”
At Il-mok’s question, the stern-faced instructor countered.
“Do any of you know what martial art Cadet Jeong Hyeon practices?”
“We hadn’t heard.”
Il-mok answered for the group, and Bang Mi-hwa and Ha-yeong shook their heads.
With a light sigh at their response, Eun-ryeo explained.
“The art Cadet Jeong Hyeon practices is Ghost Spirit Divine Bow, specialized for assassinating foes from afar. Fittingly, it has a hidden effect that heightens body and mind’s sensitivity to anyone approaching.”
Only then did Il-mok piece it together.
‘So the side effect is social phobia?’
It started making sense—Jeong Hyeon’s constant gaze-aversion, his startled jumps at proximity.
Realizing he’d unintentionally triggered it, Il-mok said regretfully.
“I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“Good. Cadet Jeong Hyeon must overcome his side effect too—avoiding people entirely isn’t right. So approach with caution hereafter.”
Instructor Eun-ryeo spoke as if describing a pet sensitive to strangers.
“And he needs rest for his mind today, so off with you all.”
At her dismissal, the three left the room.
“I never imagined we’d set him off.”
Ha-yeong muttered, shocked, and Bang Mi-hwa nodded.
“Must be my stunning looks that startled Cadet Jeong Hyeon.”
Il-mok nearly burst out laughing at Bang Mi-hwa’s baseless confidence.
‘They didn’t seem like bad people anyway, so let it slide.’
When Jeong Hyeon had his fit, they’d rushed in to help.
But Bang Mi-hwa had no intention of letting the opportunity pass.
“Still, thanks to you, Young Master Il-mok, Cadet Jeong Hyeon got quick treatment.”
Seizing the moment, she suddenly chattered at Il-mok, with Ha-yeong backing her up.
“But where were you, Young Master Il-mok?”
“You popped up out of nowhere and scared us.”
With the two women yammering nonstop, Il-mok felt like he’d be the next to have a fit and end up asleep beside Jeong Hyeon.
“Ahem. Practicing stealth.”
Answering vaguely to dodge Demonic Deviation, Il-mok stared straight ahead as he walked.
Mistaking his attitude for shyness, Bang Mi-hwa stepped ahead, turned to face him directly.
“!!!”
Il-mok’s brain, exposed to her full-frontal asymmetric smile, raced for a survival solution.
Any longer, and he really might grab a knife for her face.
In the Demonic Deviation crisis, Il-mok’s brain found a brilliant fix.
“Could you step to the side instead of in front, Miss Bang?”
“The side?”
For facial asymmetry, just view from one angle.
But he couldn’t just force her there. Digging into modern memories, Il-mok recalled the perfect excuse.
“Yes. You look even more beautiful from the right side than straight on or the left.”
The so-called best-angle shot, all the rage back in his student days.