Checkmate
Until the day I enlisted, I couldn’t tie anything with a string or make a single knot. I couldn’t even tie my own shoelaces, so I had to beg people around me to do it. Sometimes I just bought shoes without laces at all. Looking back now, it’s embarrassing as hell that I reached that age without being able to manage something so basic.
The training camp wasn’t the real world. They issued us combat boots, and when it came time to thread the laces, you weren’t allowed to just slide them in. You had to tie five separate knots in each lace—something they claimed was to prevent suicide. I still don’t see how that’s supposed to work. I fumbled helplessly while everyone else finished. The drill instructor stormed over, screaming that the whole squad was being punished because of me, cursing me out at the top of his lungs to finish it immediately.
The knot I could never tie no matter how hard I practiced suddenly came together like magic the moment real stakes appeared. When your brain realizes that failing means something truly terrible—maybe even death—it kicks into overdrive. Everything else vanishes. The only thing left is solving the problem in front of you.
That’s exactly how I feel right now.
How the hell do I get away from this woman?
How do I survive this crisis?
My mind spins like it did back then, desperately searching for a knot that will save me. But the woman in front of me isn’t giving me time like that patient drill instructor. From what I’ve figured out, the trigger for her mind-bending Individuality seems to be physical contact. When we separated on the train, my sanity snapped back immediately. So my loss condition is simple: if she touches me, it’s over.
Running is out of the question. My stamina is already drained, and even if it wasn’t, I know I can’t outrun a woman in this world. She’d catch me in seconds. So what other options do I have?
For now, I’ll buy time with conversation. It’s the only thing I can think of. If I stall long enough, maybe some variable will appear by luck…
“Thinking hard, are we? Finished yet?”
“U-um… excuse me…”
“Hmm?”
“I… I sincerely apologize for running away last time and cursing at you. I’ve never experienced anything like this before, so…”
Swallow your pride. Don’t provoke her. Provoking her might make her do something sudden. Acknowledge that she holds all the power.
“Don’t you remember what I told you last time?”
“Pardon?”
“If an apology is enough, why do we even have police and heroes?”
“………”
“At least you’re not completely stupid. You didn’t try to run right away. Our adorable little Siwu.”
I seem to have bought a few minutes. She hasn’t lunged at me yet and is actually engaging in the conversation.
“Looks like you already know it’s game over the moment I touch you…”
“Please… I’m begging you…”
“Oh?”
I drop to my knees. I press my forehead to the ground. I plead desperately for mercy.
“I’m begging you like this… Please, just let me go…”
“Haa……”
A sigh? What part of my attitude set her off—wait, what?
She suddenly slips her hand under her skirt and lightly rubs between her legs. When she pulls her hand out and spreads her index and middle finger, a clear string of fluid stretches between them like a thin bridge.
“Seriously… Siwu, do you even realize how fucking arousing every word and action you’re making right now is? Are you deliberately trying to seduce Nuna? Hmm?”
That “haa” wasn’t a sigh. It was a moan of pleasure.
“Besides, Siwu. The weak don’t get to present choices. You’re wrong right from the premise.”
She wipes her fingers on her skirt and points out the flaw in my attitude.
“You don’t have the right to offer options.”
“……”
“Stand up for now.”
Without a word, I obey, rising to my feet. My knees are covered in mud and my clothes are filthy, but none of that matters right now.
She spreads both arms wide, taking the stance of someone about to embrace me.
“Option one. Give up, walk over here, and hug me yourself.”
The strong one presents the choices.
“Nuna was really pissed off when you ran away, you know.”
Her expression is gentle, but her words are anything but.
“I thought that if I caught you next time, I’d lock you in the house and beat you fifty times a day as ‘education.’”
“But Nuna cherishes you so much that if you choose option one, I’ll only give you the pleasant kind of education like I mentioned before.”
This woman is actually insane.
“And option two. Stupidly try to run, get caught, and dragged back. I don’t even need to explain what happens then, do I?”
She doesn’t bother elaborating. Of course I already know what she means.
Overwhelming despair. No real choice. Whichever I pick, the result is the same. Checkmate. Dead end. No next move comes to mind.
“Nuna’s arms are getting tired~”
She pretends her arms are getting sore, hurrying me to choose.
“Since our Siwu is still hesitating, shall I help you a little? Nuna happens to be a professor at Gyeongseong Academy, you know?”
What?
“You might not know this, but the position of professor at Gyeongseong Academy carries far more power than you’d think—especially compared to other academies.”
“P… power?”
“That’s right. Burying one civilian is nothing at all~”
Is she threatening to kill me? No, that’s not what she means.
“Still don’t understand?”
Not me. Then… someone around me?
“I hope our Siwu makes the wise choice so that I don’t have to lay a hand on your future mother-in-law!”
“…………”
“So, what will our Siwu choose?”
“……I understand.”
“What was that?”
“I said I understand… fucking hell……”
Step by step, I walk toward the woman I despise with every fiber of my being. A blissful smile spreads across her face. In contrast, tears drip steadily down mine.
I hate her. I loathe her. I want to kill her. But what I hate even more is my own powerless self—too weak to protect Mom.
I wrap my arms around her of my own free will.
“You did well, Siwu. There, there.”
……
……
Siwu came into my arms by himself!
I’m so happy! He’s so cute! So lovable!
He’s mine now. I’ll never let him go again.
I stroke his hair over and over.
“N… Nuna?”
“Yes, that’s right, Siwu.”
With tear stains still on his face, he looks up at me with watery eyes. How can I make sure he stays by my side forever?
That’s it. First I’ll lock him up at home and educate him. No, that’s not enough! I need to have our lovely baby as soon as possible. I know my sweet Siwu is so responsible that once he has a child to take care of, he’ll never run away again.
And right now, it looks like I need to educate the bad Siwu rather than this obedient one.
“Come on, Siwu. You’re completely soaked from the rain and your clothes are filthy. Let’s go home, take a shower, and practice making a baby with Nuna, okay?”
“B… baby?”
“That’s right! A lovely baby who looks just like Nuna and Siwu!”
Aaah, I want to get home and ravish him on the bed right now!
I’ll start by educating the good Siwu, then release the Brainwash in the middle and watch the bad Siwu fall into despair! I wonder what kind of face he’ll make.
“A… a baby seems… a little too soon…”
“What?”
“N-no, never mind! I want to make a baby with Nuna!!!!”
“Good, good. Such a good boy for listening to Nuna.”
Just looking at his face makes me want to torment him. The way he panics and his expression changes makes me wet without even trying.
“Let’s go home.”
I grab his hand and pull him along. He follows with that bewildered look on his face. The moment we get home, I’m just going to—
“Excuse me. Are you Professor Yoon Arin?”
“…..?”
Professor Yoon Arin had finally forced Siwu into submission and taken him into her grasp. She was just about to drag him home and devour him like a dog according to her desires—when a student wearing the Gyeongseong Academy uniform suddenly appeared and spoke to her.
“Oh my, which student might you be?”
“My apologies for the late introduction. My name is Fujiwara Koharu. I arrived from Tokyo and enrolled today.”
While Yoon Arin had been busy subjugating Siwu, the entrance ceremony had ended and people were pouring out of the building.
“Fujiwara… You wouldn’t happen to be the successor candidate for the Fujiwara Clan, would you?”
“Thank you for recognizing me. I am no longer a candidate—I was recently confirmed as the official heir.”
“Oh, congratulations!”
“I appreciate your kind words.”
The Fujiwara Clan was one of the Five Great Hero Families of the Empire of Greater Japan. There wasn’t a citizen in the entire empire who didn’t know their name.
“I flew in from Tokyo yesterday to study in Joseon, the true heartland of hero training.”
“I see. But I’m very sorry to interrupt, but…”
“Yes?”
“I’m in a bit of a hurry. Could we talk at length another time?”
That was right. Professor Yoon Arin had been in the middle of trying to take Siwu home for immediate “education” when this sudden interruption appeared.
“By the way, who is that adorable gentleman standing beside you?”
Fucking bitch.
Professor Yoon Arin had wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible, but Koharu’s single compliment toward Siwu scraped against her nerves.
“……I’m truly sorry. I really must be going right now…”
“You are Minami Siwu… No, Namgung Siwu, correct?”
Even Koharu mistook his surname at first. To most people, it really did sound Japanese.
“You knew and asked anyway?”
“My apologies. It seemed like you were trying to hide it…”
Koharu’s tone was extremely polite, but the implication was sharp. It scraped against Yoon Arin’s nerves once again.
“……There are too many eyes here. Follow me for now.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Sensing that the girl wouldn’t let go easily, Yoon Arin suggested changing locations. Koharu accepted. The two women moved the battlefield to a place without people.
……
A quiet conference room on campus. The two—no, three—people had moved to an empty meeting room in the nearest building. A brief silence flowed between the two women.
For reference, Professor Yoon Arin’s mood was extremely foul. She was supposed to be on a bed with Siwu right now, passionately practicing baby-making. Having to waste time like this because of Koharu left her thoroughly displeased.
Koharu spoke first.
“You two seem incredibly close. Especially for a student and a professor.”
Ever since earlier, Professor Yoon Arin had kept her fingers tightly interlocked with Siwu’s. The reason was simple: the moment she let go, she would be in serious trouble.
“Actually, we’re dating.”
“……Does Siwu-nim think the same?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. I want to know whether Siwu-nim also believes he is in a relationship with you, Professor.”
To a third party with no context, Koharu’s behavior would seem extremely rude. But from Koharu’s perspective, there were far too many unnatural points for Yoon Arin and Siwu to actually be dating. The way the professor openly declared they were in a relationship, the dazed look in the cute young man’s eyes, and several other details all seemed deeply wrong.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“You’re fucking rude, you Jap bitch.”
“My, you’re no different yourself, insolent Chosengin?”
Yoon Arin revealed her true colors and spat venom without restraint. Koharu, refusing to simply take the insult, threw it right back. It didn’t look like their fight would end anytime soon…