Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Teacher. Have you been well?
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Teacher. Have you been well? (Revised)
Shwaaa-
It was still January, the kind of month where snow would have been more fitting, yet an untimely spring rain was pouring down.
Must be global warming.
From the rooftop of some nameless building, the full view of Lilac High School looked strangely fresh.
CCTV cameras were installed at eye level for ordinary humans, so moving up to a rooftop like this drastically reduced the chances of being watched.
I was up there in a raincoat, using senses that surpassed human limits to monitor every move of the teachers heading home.
-"I'll head in now."
-"What about Mr. Choi?"
-"He said he has some overtime left."
-"Ugh! You're still newlyweds... Every day like this? What a shame! Hohoho."
-"Ho, hoho, ho... Anyway, see you tomorrow, Ms. Hyun-joo."
-"Sure thing, Ms. Shin-hee~."
The female teachers exchanged small talk before parting—one walked out the school gate, while the other got into her car. The one who drove was Im Shin-hee.
I could never forget that bitch's voice. The repulsive tone as she droned on about how the victim was always at fault, how I just needed to endure it, spouting some unwanted lecture on the lofty status of Awakeners.
From their conversation, it seemed she'd married a fellow teacher at the same school. In a country with a birth rate in the zeros, they'd encourage that sort of office romance without batting an eye.
I quietly tailed her. Or rather, I soundlessly leaped from rooftop to rooftop, pursuing her from above—was that "tailing"?
Either way, my superhuman body and mind ensured no one spotted me. That was when she pulled into the underground parking garage.
Whoosh-
Thwack!
I picked up a small pebble and shattered the underground parking CCTV from dozens of meters away.
If the guard was lazy, he'd only swing by once at shift end. Even if diligent, it didn't matter—by the time he arrived, everything would be over.
I planned to finish before Im Shin-hee even stepped out of her car.
At a speed invisible to the ordinary eye, I raced through the underground lot and reached her driver's side door in an instant.
She didn't even notice someone standing at her window as she instinctively opened the door.
Clunk.
"Gah! Wh-who—?!"
She finally spotted the man in the raincoat and tried to scream.
Grab!
As she instinctively tried to slam the door shut, I yanked it open and clamped my hand over her mouth.
"Stay quiet."
I shoved her into the passenger seat while keeping her mouth sealed, then buckled her seatbelt with my free hand. That would keep her from bolting outside recklessly.
Thud thud thud.
She flailed her arms like a lunatic, punching my face, but punches from a woman who'd never trained in combat arts or even had an Awakening ability were weaker than a feather duster.
Thud thud.
Even for a man, taking punches to the eye socket like that with zero impact must have tipped her off to something unnatural. Im Shin-hee stared at me with ragged breaths and contracted pupils, terror crashing over her.
"I said... stay quiet."
Splat!
A devastating punch, worlds apart from her feeble fists, sank into her gut.
"Guwohk! Keheeehk."
A shock so intense she couldn't even scream!
This must have been the worst pain she'd ever felt in her life.
"Kuhuuuuu—."
Instead of that disgusting faux-refined voice, only the whimper of cornered prey leaked from her throat.
"H-heuk, heuk, p-please, spare me, spare me!"
"If you stay quiet, I will."
"Y-yes, yesyes, huuk, q-quiet, I'll be quiet, Teacher, huuk."
Her face, drenched in cold sweat from the adrenaline surge, had gone ghostly pale even under the dim underground lights.
"Teacher Im Shin-hee. Have you been well?"
"Huuk, wh-who are you?"
"Are you enjoying married life, by chance?"
"Uh, uuu, h-heuk, spare me... please spare me..."
Rub rub rub rub.
Ignoring my questions, she clasped her hands together, rubbing her palms raw as she begged.
The bitch who used to frown in annoyance when I begged for help just once now groveled after a single gut punch. Pathetic.
Fucking bitch.
I ignored her pleas and asked again.
"You don't want me asking twice. Im Shin-hee, 32 years old, career counselor at Lilac High School."
"Heok, heuk, y-yes, yesyes, sorry, I'm sorry."
"Any kids? Children?"
"H-heuk, n-no, not yet."
In the car, a bizarre Q&A unfolded as she entrusted her life to this unknown man.
"I see."
Makes sense—I'd overheard her earlier complaining about not spending time together due to overtime.
Getting pregnant isn't as easy as people think. You have to time sex precisely for ovulation, and most don't know this, but men need at least three weeks of abstinence to build up the healthiest, most motile sperm in well-aged semen stored in the epididymis for better chances.
Even then, conception isn't guaranteed. Especially for Im Shin-hee, already past her prime fertility in her early thirties. For newlyweds with clashing schedules, having a kid right away wouldn't be simple.
"Must be disappointing. They say kids are a blessing."
"Ah, y-yes, yesyes, ho, hoho."
She babbled mechanical responses, trembling uncontrollably, not even grasping her own words.
"Pl-please, why are you doing this? M-money? I'll give you all my money, cards too, here, take my c-cards, I won't report you, just spare me!"
What bullshit.
"Let's head up to your place first? It's sticky from the rain."
"H-heuk..."
She knew. She had no choice anymore. To her, I was some psycho stalker who knew her workplace, age, name, car model, and plate number.
She had no option but to obey.
Ding!
Crack!
"H-heek!?"
As the elevator doors opened, I flicked a pebble to smash the ceiling CCTV instead of stepping in.
"Get in."
She forced her trembling legs to move, spooked by the sudden CCTV failure.
-Tenth floor.
-Going up.
-Doors closing.
Clunk.
"Heuk, heuk, please spare me, Teacher, please."
Calling me Teacher now, huh.
Any mental debuffs from the Witch Sword I could use?
I focused on the hand gripping her arm, and some instinctual sensation surfaced.
So that's how it works.
After rummaging through deployable mental debuffs, I found something useful.
Witch Sword - Aphasia
Mental debuff applied. Target unable to speak.
Perfect.
This would be handy not just here, but for shaman-type Awakeners using self-suggestion spells too.
I immediately channeled the Witch Sword's energy into Im Shin-hee's body.
"Sp-spare m—!... Mmph!?"
Her eyes bulged in horror as she clutched her throat.
"...!"
She whipped her head toward me in shock.
Stupid bitch. Didn't she know seeing your kidnapper's face in good lighting was the worst rookie mistake?
"Mmgh...!?"
I thought she'd recognized me for a second, but no.
Whether from the shock of sudden speechlessness or forgetting my face, she just pawed at her throat frantically before my icy glare made her snap her head away.
"Shall we go?"
She struggled to control her intensified trembling as she led me—herself—to her apartment door.
"Ring it. What are you waiting for?"
I pressed hard on the nape of her neck, and the pain like her cervical vertebrae might snap killed any thought of refusal as she hurriedly punched in the door lock keypad.
Beep beepbeepbeepbeep.
The apartment inside was quite cozy.
One thing caught my eye in the living room: a small crib.
On it sat neatly arranged baby pillows, blankets, and tiny shoes.
"No baby, you said?"
"Mmgh...!"
Oh, right—the Witch Sword kept her mute.
Whoosh!
Witch Sword - Aphasia
Mental debuff released.
"Heuk, heuk... Wh-what... what the..."
Im Shin-hee reeled in confusion from suddenly losing then regaining her voice.
"Teacher, you're making me ask twice. Annoying."
"Eok, th-that, that's just prepped... for trying to get pregnant, ahead of time, th-that's... a pr-promise with my husband!"
The terror garbled her words into a jumbled mess.
"Kuh... Pfft, hahaha, what a coward. Relax."
I strolled around like it was my own home, inspecting every corner. Their marriage seemed solid—toothbrushes side by side in the bathroom cup.
"This must be the marital bedroom."
A queen-sized bed in the bedroom, covered in thick pastel pink bedding that screamed her taste.
Even a viper like her turned feminine after marriage?
That was when it happened.
"D-die!"
Clang!
A kitchen knife slammed into my back.
It hadn't pierced.
The blade tip crumpled like it'd struck solid steel.
"...What are you doing?"
Clatter!
Turning, I saw Im Shin-hee crawling backward, legs giving out.
I silently picked up the knife and toyed with it.
The stainless steel blade crumpled like rubber clay in my hands.
I stretched the mangled metal lump between my fingers—shwing!—and it flattened back out.
"M-monster."
"Yeah...? Monster? Hahahaha!"
"H-honey, h-help... ph-phone...!"
I let her pull out her phone undisturbed. But I didn't forget to add:
"Teacher Im. I'm not a monster—I'm an Awakener. Call your husband. When he shows, I'll rip his head off and kill him."
Clatter...
The phone slipped from her limp grasp.
I crouched, bringing my face close to hers—slack-jawed, drooling in terror—and pulled back my raincoat hood.
"Wh-what...? Y-you!"
Finally pieced it together, huh.
"Why so surprised...? Thought you'd never see me again?"
"Y-you, what is this? What are you doing to a t-teacher?!"
Dumb bitch. Women always misread the power dynamic right up to the end in situations like this.
As if being female granted them some invisible, invincible shield against death.
"Right, you're the teacher. But I've Awakened now—what good does that do? Even if I tore you apart here and smashed your husband's skull, I'd be out of prison in a year."
Of course, I had no intention of getting caught or letting cops get involved.
But my threat landed.
Tears streamed silently down her face.
"Why cry so hard...? Smile."
"H-heuk, hik, sp-spare me... I'm sorry, Teacher's sorry, I was wrong."
She'd backed up steadily until her back hit the wall—no escape left.
"What did you do wrong?"
"Ev-everything... I did everything wrong. Teacher's sorry for it all, okay? Yoo-hoon."
"Wh-what...? Keuk... kuhuku."
An apology requiring a name change? Unique touch.
"Teacher Im, I'm Yu-hyeon. Shin Yu-hyeon, your old student."
"Ah, aaa! Ah! Ho, hohoho, sorry dear, Teacher's out of it, ho, hoho."
That laugh...
Grind...
"One more of that fucking laugh, and I'll rip your mouth open."
"Hep...... Gulp!... Gulp."
Seeing her face made self-control especially tough.
"Kidding, Teacher."
I flashed a fake friendly smile, but the frozen Im Shin-hee just hiccuped nonstop.
I picked up her dropped phone.
I scanned her contacts, copying her family's numbers to mine, then asked:
"What are your parents' names, Teacher?"
"Wh-why?"
Splat!
I stood and stomped her abdomen.
Crunch!
"Kahak!!"
"Listen, you cunt, I said don't make me ask twice. Get it through your skull?"
"Keuheup, keheuk! Kuwohk."
Pain. Pain.
Just pain filling her world.
Her twice-stomped gut was bruised black and swollen despite my restraint, scalp ripping from my hair grip.
"Speak."
Splat!
This time my foot slammed her tits proper.
"KyaAAAAAHH! Keuup, I-Im Joon-sang, Park Hye-rin... Uhheuk..."
"Where do they live?"
"Pl-please, anything but that! Teacher, n-no, I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Shiver shiver shiver.
She shook like I was off to slaughter her parents.
Even trash like you has family love?
Sorry, I'm an orphan—never got the memo on that noble shit.
"Don't worry, Teacher. No harm will come to them. Tell me quick."
"R-real-real? Real?"
"Don't make me say it twi—"
"A-aaa, w-wait, please... please Yu-hyeon... Uhheuk... Do-Dogok-dong, Dogok Hanshin Apartments, Building 101, Unit 1108..."
I drew my foot back like I meant to soccer-kick her skull, and survival instinct pried her mouth open.
I shoved her head to the floor by the hair and, with caller ID blocked, dialed her parents.
-"Hello?"
"Hello, yes, this is the district office. Is this Im Joon-sang at Dogok Hanshin Apartments, Building 101, Unit 1108?"
-"Uh... yes, that's me..."
Humans spill their info so easily. Even flimsy lies like this fooled them. I hung up.
Click.
No lie there.
"Good girl, Teacher. No fibbing."
"Uhk... heuk..."
She got it. Im Shin-hee was evil, not brain-dead.
She'd handed her parents' details to a monster beyond civilian resistance. I knew where her family lived, her home, her husband's identity and job.
And above all, one twitch of my finger could blow her brains out. My repeated gut punches were just playful restraint for my amusement.
Her sole defense—calling the authorities—was feeble, and no one knew that better than her. Her and her family's lives traded for one year in an Awakener prison. Insane.
"How's it feel? Being on the receiving end... Clears the mind, right?"
Non-Awakener her could do nothing against me.
Helplessness.
A poison that crushed the will to resist.
It began corroding Im Shin-hee's spirit.
"Teacher."
I seized her face, forcing eye contact.
"Answer."
"Hi-heek, y-yes! Yu-hyeon."
"You're no idiot, so you know why I came back after Awakening. Unlike some brainless drama villain who doesn't even know their own crimes, right?"
"Y-yes, yes! S-sor-sorry, I knew, sch-school violence, I ignored it, pr-prideful lectures, scoldings, Teacher's sorry, so sorry! I don't even know why I did it, I was trash!!"
Thud! Thud!
She prostrated, slamming her forehead on the floor, wriggling like a worm. Laughable.
If she'd been hit by a dog's mental debuff, she might have excuses: Unknowingly developed a negative image of me, inexplicable hostility bubbling up only toward me, not other students she'd help.
Such bullshit.
If not just memory tampering but a parasite warping her personality like Aurora's, there might be mitigating factors.
Not that I'd forgive her anyway.
Only one way to check for parasites in her mind...
Would it work on her too?
Easy to test.
"Teacher, stand up."
"Y-yes? F-forgiving me...?"
"Can't follow simple instructions?"
Slap!!
Harder to calibrate not to knock her out—or rip her head off—than full force.
"Guwohk... Buweee..."
Her mouth burst, blood spilling as her mind half-fled in a daze.
"I said stand, you stupid bitch."
Pop! Tremble tremble...
Stand or die!
Her brain, locked on that absolute command, poured power into her quaking legs.
"I-I'm sorry, Teacher's sorry... Uhheuk, don't hit... please..."
A peek showed wetness trickling down her pantyhose-clad legs.
Pissed herself.
"Now you'll pay for your sins... But honestly, killing you and your husband and family might be letting you off easy."
"N-no!!"
Thud!
Her knees shattered as she knelt again, crawling to clutch my pant leg.
"A-anything, Teacher will atone, Teacher will repent!! Uhheuk."
She groveled till her hands blistered.
"Really? Anything?"
"Y-yes, anything, anything!"
Her piteous pleas only fueled my disgust. This bitch was fundamentally different from Shin Nari or Aurora.
"Take off your clothes."