Mainlanders and Joseonites: Boom!
BANG!
“Hiiik!”
Professor Yoon Arin slammed the desk hard, using Siwu’s other hand. In an instant, Siwu looked exactly like a frightened kitten thanks to his girlfriend(?)’s violent outburst. Powerless and adorable—they were identical in both respects.
“Where the hell did you learn such filthy language? Is that any way to speak to your professor, new student?”
“Oh my, the professor called me a zipperhead first, so I simply matched your level with my choice of words.”
Koharu smiled, delicately covering her mouth with one hand in a show of mock politeness while radiating an unshakable resolve not to yield an inch.
“Because of you, Professor, our sweet Siwu has become terrified. An adult should behave like one, don’t you think?”
“Who the fuck are you calling our sweet Siwu, you crazy bitch! What gives a disgusting whore like you the right to eye someone else’s boyfriend?”
Professor Yoon Arin yanked Siwu’s shoulder toward herself with bruising force, striking the protective pose of a mother shielding her young.
“If that’s what you want, I’ll give you an answer. Siwu?”
“U-um… Nuna?”
Siwu looked up at Professor Yoon Arin with frightened eyes.
“Answer properly. Understand?”
Her tone was almost a threat. Cold sweat began to trickle down Siwu’s face.
Griiiip.
The hand resting on Siwu’s shoulder tightened.
“Uh… well…”
“Yes, Siwu. Go on.”
“I… I’m really… dating… Arin nuna…”
“Oh dear, I’m sorry. I should have done this before listening. I completely forgot!”
Koharu suddenly cut Siwu off, wearing an expression of theatrical surprise as if she had overlooked something important. Both Professor Yoon Arin and Siwu stared at her in confusion.
At that moment, a lightning bolt of realization struck Professor Yoon Arin.
Fujiwara Koharu—the next head of the Fujiwara clan and its second daughter. Her Individuality was so well-known to the public that almost no one was unaware of it. Professor Yoon Arin bitterly resented herself for not remembering it sooner.
“You… fuck, wait—”
“I command Yoon Arin. From this moment forward, you are forbidden from using any of your Individualities.”
A heavy silence fell over the conference room.
“You… fucking bitchhhhhhhhhh!!!”
Professor Yoon Arin exploded in rage, hurling every curse she knew at Koharu. At the same time, the small man beside her regained the light in his eyes as they returned to normal. Siwu himself looked shocked; his face tightened with tension as he slowly raised his head.
“Ahem. Allow me to ask again, Siwu.”
Koharu now filled his field of vision.
“Are you truly in a relationship with Professor Yoon Arin?”
She posed the very question Siwu had most wanted to hear today. The words pierced straight into his chest. There was no need for long deliberation. Siwu answered immediately.
“S… sa… sa…”
“Sa?”
One sad tear, then another, rolled down his cheeks—tears that tugged at the heartstrings.
“Save meeee…”
Seeing that expression, Koharu felt a storm of emotions inside. Fury toward Professor Yoon Arin, yes—but the strongest feeling was a fierce protective instinct that told her this man had to be guarded by her.
Koharu did not hesitate. She invoked her Individuality once more.
“I command Professor Yoon Arin. From this moment forward, you are forbidden from moving your body.”
“!!!!!!”
Professor Yoon Arin’s body gave a violent twitch. Then, exactly as ordered, she could only tremble all over. Not a single finger would move. She remained frozen in her chair, unable to perform any action whatsoever.
“!!!!!!!!!!!”
Even her facial muscles were included in the prohibition; her expression had locked in place.
“Professor, have you no shame? How could you attempt something so shameless toward a student at the very academy where you teach?”
Koharu’s rebuke was flawless by any social standard. There was nothing to refute. Even if Professor Yoon Arin had been able to speak, she would have found no logical counterargument. Of course, that assumed Koharu herself would refrain from committing shameless acts against Siwu in the future.
Siwu stared blankly at Koharu, unable to believe the scene unfolding before him.
“You may relax now, Siwu.”
Grab!
She seized the arm Yoon Arin still had draped over Siwu’s shoulder and hurled it downward as if discarding garbage. The limb hung stiffly in mid-air behind the chair like a mannequin’s, frozen in an awkward pose.
Only then did Siwu regain his freedom.
With a smooth motion, Koharu offered her hand. Siwu took it and rose from his seat.
“Are you all right?”
“Y-yes… I’m… fine… hic…”
His mouth claimed he was fine, but Siwu could not control the sorrow welling up inside him. Tears continued to fall.
“Oh, you poor thing…”
Koharu pulled him into a tight embrace, patting his back gently with her palm.
“I don’t know the details, but it must have been awful.”
“Hic… ugh! Fuuuuck… Why are you all doing this to meeee…”
His resentment had built up considerably. He broke down completely, sobbing against Koharu’s chest.
…Oh, how pitiful. To meet such a strange person and endure something so cruel…
Pat pat. This strange, lovable, beautiful, fragile person…
Pat pat.
Sliiiide. Before she realized it, the hand patting his back had drifted down toward his backside.
Freeze.
No. I mustn’t be too hasty.
Like the Joseon proverb about scattering ashes on perfectly cooked rice—if I act too quickly, Siwu might come to hate me…
Still, how surprising. For nearly twenty years I’ve felt nothing for any man, yet simply holding him like this has me so excited. How unbecoming of me…
Is this what love at first sight feels like? Is this sexual desire? A protective instinct? Maternal affection?
I only saw him from afar when he was arguing with Professor Yoon Arin in front of the building, but… I want to protect him. I want to keep him by my side. I don’t want to let him go anywhere…
Could the professor have felt the same and acted so impulsively? If so, I understand. Even now I’m struggling just to hold myself back…
Aaaah, I want to spend my entire life with this person!
…I was lucky. Without him, that crazy bitch would have dragged me off and wrung me dry like a living onahole…
That crazy bitch, seriously. If she had dragged me away and I ended up with her child…
How many people in this world could abandon their own child and run away? Some might manage it, but I never could. What sin has the child committed? I don’t want to force it to live a life without a father like I did…
Swish. Koharu stepped back from him.
My savior! Siwu felt genuine gratitude. How can I ever repay her?
Suddenly, a faint sense of unease brushed across his mind.
No way… It can’t be… right?
“Siwu, I’ll tidy up here before I leave. There should be a black limousine waiting in the parking lot outside the building. Could you wait for me in front of it?”
“Ah, yes. Of course!”
Siwu accepted her suggestion, opened the conference room door, and stepped outside.
Clunk.Thud, thud. Koharu listened as the door closed and Siwu’s footsteps receded down the hallway.
Now only two people remained in the conference room: Koharu and Professor Yoon Arin, whose body and face were completely rigid as she sat in her chair.
Koharu spoke first.
“I command Yoon Arin. Thirty minutes from now, all commands placed upon Yoon Arin shall be lifted.”
With that final use of her Individuality, she released the ability after weaving in rather specific conditions. The public knew she possessed a total of four Individualities. Having more than two was already uncommon, yet she could wield four. The first among them was the very Order Koharu had just used—as the name implied, the moment the target heard the caster’s voice, they were forced to obey every command. It was versatile and quite powerful, though not omnipotent; simply covering one’s ears could block it. Even so, it was formidable, but it was not Koharu’s primary combat ability.
“Professor.”
Koharu called out to her. The professor could not respond even if she wished to. Thirty minutes still remained before the ability would lift.
“Thank you.”
“?”
Standing before the woman who had just showered her with curses, Koharu bowed deeply in polite gratitude. Though her face remained expressionless, she could sense Yoon Arin’s inner panic.
“Thanks to you, Professor, I was able to meet Siwu. I am truly grateful.”
“!!!!!!!!!!”
Teabagging. That was the technical term the world used for what Koharu was doing now. Her words were factually correct. In the end, it was thanks to Professor Yoon Arin that she had encountered Siwu. She deliberately delivered this “gratitude” in the most provocative manner possible. At this point, her behavior was less a thank-you and more outright psychological warfare.
Aaaah, what a cruel woman! Fujiwara Koharu!
“Now that I think about it, I can understand why you acted that way, Professor.”
Koharu continued.
“If I were in your position, I’m not confident I would have behaved any differently.”
She laid her honest feelings bare before Yoon Arin.
“After seeing a man like Siwu, how many women in this world could possibly stay calm?”
“!!!!!!!”
Professor Yoon Arin’s body shook violently, as though desperate to speak. Yet her form remained as immobile as stone.
“Honestly, Siwu is far too good for someone like you, Professor.”
“!!!!!!”
“In this current climate that pursues equality between mainlanders and Joseonites, saying such a thing may not be advisable, but…”
What could she possibly be about to say that even Koharu hesitated?
“It does look rather unseemly for a Joseonite like Professor Yoon Arin to embrace Siwu.”
“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Koharu even attacked the core of Yoon Arin’s identity. It seemed she had taken the “zipperhead” comment quite personally.
“I believe it is only right for a mainlander like myself to bear Siwu’s child. Don’t you agree, Professor—our esteemed Joseon instructor?”
“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Professor Yoon Arin’s body vibrated with even greater violence. The provocation concerning pregnancy seemed to strike the deepest nerve.
Of course, Koharu’s taunt contained a logical flaw. After all, Siwu himself was Joseon. As if aware of this, she quickly supplemented her statement.
“Wouldn’t it be the true embodiment of Naesun Ilche—a mainlander like me bearing a child from the seed of Siwu, who is Joseon? It is the very policy the empire has promoted since Joseon’s incorporation, is it not?”
Through the slogan Naesun Ilche—meaning the mainland and Joseon are one body—Koharu had strangely packaged her own desires. Naturally, the phrase was not meant in any lewd sense.
“By the way, the Individuality you possess is quite useful, Professor.”
Koharu’s gaze sharpened.
“It does appear to have a few weaknesses, however…”
She placed her hand on the shoulder of Professor Yoon Arin, who was trembling with fury.
“Hmmmm…”
Koharu wore an expression of deep contemplation.
“What should I discard? Hmm… Yes, this will do. I don’t use it much these days anyway…”
She spoke as if debating which of her belongings to throw away.
Swish. She removed her hand from the shoulder.
Swipe, swipe. She brought her palm to her skirt and wiped it two or three times.
As though she had touched something filthy. As though she had touched trash.
She straightened the waist she had slightly bent to reach Yoon Arin’s shoulder.
“Thank you, Professor. I shall make good use of this to deepen my friendship with Siwu!”
“………”
As if she had finally given up, Professor Yoon Arin’s body no longer vibrated. Yet inside, her rage continued to burn white-hot.
“Ah, and one more thing…”
Swish. She bent at the waist again.
Grab. She reached out and placed her hand on the lower part of Yoon Arin’s abdomen.
Rub, rub. As if soothing a child with a stomachache, she drew small circles, casually stroking the professor’s belly.
“If you wanted a baby that badly, why don’t you just make one with another Joseon man’s seed!”
“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
This was the most violent tremor yet. Until the very last second, Koharu drove her teabagging straight into Professor Yoon Arin’s heart.
Just how terrifying a woman was she…?
“Then I’ll be cheering you on, Professor. See you next time~”
Bow. Koharu gave a perfectly polite bow in farewell.
After indulging in such thorough psychological warfare, the courteous goodbye seemed almost absurd… though if one considered even the farewell part of the teabagging, the behavior made a twisted kind of sense.
“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Leaving the violently trembling Professor Yoon Arin behind, Koharu headed for the door.
Thud, thud.Clunk!
But right in front of the door stood one small, cute, and lovable young man.
“…Oh my.”
“Ah… no, that’s…”
“Hmmmm…”
She let out a sigh-like sound, the way a mother might upon discovering her child had broken a dish while misbehaving, openly expressing her disappointment in Siwu.
“If you refuse to listen from the very beginning like this… it won’t set a good example for our children later, Siwu…”
“Ah… yes? Ch-children…? Huh?”
“I’m a little angry, Siwu.”