The Ranking Match (Part 2)
31st overall in the second year. While not a bad rank by any means, especially for a ranking match, it was still incomparable to the main cast of the original novel.
After all, the characters of the original novel—especially the male and female leads—usually hovered around the top ten.
There was a reason Seo Ah-hyun had accepted my proposal with such absolute confidence in her victory.
She had solid ground to stand on, which was why she had agreed to a wager that seemed somewhat unfair to her opponent.
But there was one thing Seo Ah-hyun didn't know.
'This body of mine actually has some pretty incredible natural talent.'
It was a future that would never come to pass now, but Han Taeyang—the man who had defiled the heroines in all sorts of ways in the original novel—was actually a remarkably talented Awakener.
Did anyone really think he had relied solely on peaceful methods to steal those girls away?
This was Han Taeyang we were talking about—a bastard who wouldn't hesitate to cross legal boundaries if it meant claiming a heroine for himself.
For instance, subduing them by force, kidnapping them to a secluded hideout, and breaking them in until they were completely obedient. That sort of thing.
'That guy was a certified psychopath.'
Of course, now that I was in control, those scenarios were nothing more than erased possibilities. A future that would never happen.
The preamble had run a bit long, but the point was simple.
Han Taeyang—or rather, this body that now belonged to me—was actually one of the stronger students in the academy.
Since I had kept it under wraps until now, Seo Ah-hyun probably felt like she'd just been struck by a bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky.
In fact, she maintained a dazed, blank expression from the moment the match ended until we finally stepped out of the stadium.
Her eyes were clouded with a storm of complex, heavy thoughts.
"Hey."
"H-Huh?"
The fact that she took a full beat to look up when I called her name made her inner turmoil painfully obvious.
I let out a soft chuckle, trying to ease her tension, and spoke.
"Why the long face? You win some, you lose some. That's just life."
"..."
"What, did you think you'd go undefeated forever? Wake up. You're not Baek Seol-ah..."
"You win some, you lose some." In Cheonun Academy, the only student for whom that common-sense rule didn't apply was Baek Seol-ah.
Born to renowned S-rank Awakeners and blessed with an overwhelming affinity for mana, she was a monster who hadn't tasted a single defeat throughout her entire first year.
In other words, she was a true genius.
Unfortunately, Seo Ah-hyun wasn't quite on that level.
I gave Seo Ah-hyun's shoulder a playful nudge with my fist, noticing how deflated she looked, and added,
"Or maybe you were just having an off day today. It happens. So instead of moping around, why don't you just—"
"...Han Taeyang."
"Yeah?"
Before I could even finish my sentence, Seo Ah-hyun cut me off, stepping right into my personal space.
She stared up at me with deeply suspicious eyes and threw a direct question right at my face.
"Have you been hiding your real strength this whole time?"
"..."
I froze awkwardly, my fist still half-extended from where I'd nudged her shoulder.
That brief, telling silence was undoubtedly all the confirmation she needed.
As I stood there in awkward silence, Seo Ah-hyun muttered, a faint trace of awe slipping into her voice.
"...Yeah, I knew it. It's impossible to make that much progress in such a short time. The only logical explanation is that you've just been half-assing it this whole time."
"Well..."
"Don't bother lying to me. I'm not stupid enough to miss something that obvious."
She let out a heavy sigh, cutting off any excuses I might have tried to make before I could even open my mouth.
Feeling thoroughly put on the spot, I finally pulled my hand back and stuffed it into my pocket.
I had hoped to play it off as her just having an off day, but...
'Yeah, that was a pretty weak excuse.'
Seo Ah-hyun had felt it firsthand. The sheer gap in our duel wasn't something that could be hand-waved away by a simple "off day."
Physical-type Awakeners possessed incredibly sharp instincts. Besides, it wasn't like I had pulled my punches.
Given my recent change of heart, I had gone all out, unleashing a full hundred percent of my strength in today's match.
After all, even with my strength, completely dominating someone like Seo Ah-hyun required a serious effort.
The only consequence was that she had realized I'd been holding back all this time.
But that wasn't really a big deal.
Besides, I had my reasons for finally showing my hand after keeping it hidden for an entire year. I scratched my cheek and looked away.
'Honestly, there's no reason to walk on eggshells anymore.'
The reason I had hidden my true strength so thoroughly wasn't because of some belated chuunibyou phase. It was, of course, directly tied to the original novel.
As I mentioned, Han Taeyang's talent was formidable, and it had blossomed a long time ago.
In the original novel, Han Taeyang had weaponized that talent to satisfy his depraved desires.
And one of those desires involved kidnapping and confining the heroines.
'...Ryu Chae-eun.'
The scene where he locked up another heroine—aside from Baek Seol-ah and Seo Ah-hyun—in a secret hideout and sexually broke her in had been incredibly shocking to read.
It was the very reason I had developed such a high tolerance for the NTR genre in the first place.
Back when I first reincarnated into this body, I struggled to control Han Taeyang's lingering instincts, which clung to my mind like a phantom residue.
The moment I first tapped into his power and realized just how strong he was, I made a firm resolution.
I had to seal this power away before those dark instincts drove me to kidnap some innocent girl, just like in the original story.
Since I didn't care about top rankings or academic achievements anyway, holding back was an easy choice to make.
And thanks to that restraint, I had successfully suppressed Han Taeyang's primal urges for an entire year.
Now, I was no longer at the mercy of the original owner's twisted instincts.
Moreover, those dark urges had grown strangely quiet ever since I slept with Baek Seol-ah.
I had a feeling that the lingering phantom of Han Taeyang had been thoroughly satisfied by how intensely I had claimed her.
Either way, there was no longer any reason to fear being consumed by this power.
In fact, even after letting loose against Seo Ah-hyun today, my mind and body remained perfectly calm, without a single tremor of those old urges.
I offered a wry smile to Seo Ah-hyun, who was still staring at me with an intense, searching gaze.
"I wasn't trying to trick you or anything. I can't really go into the details, but I had my reasons. It just ended up this way."
There was absolutely no reason for me to lay bare the bizarre truth of my reincarnation.
I kept my explanation brief, and Seo Ah-hyun simply nodded, surprisingly offering no further argument.
"Fine... Either way, a bet's a bet. I lost, fair and square."
"Seems so."
"Why are you acting like this has nothing to do with you?"
Glaring at my half-hearted response, Seo Ah-hyun came to a sudden halt in the middle of the hallway.
With the ranking matches over, our schedule for the day was completely clear.
She looked at me with a deeply uncomfortable expression, clearly wanting to get the rest of our conversation over with.
"...A promise is a promise. I don't go back on my word."
She crossed her arms, shrinking back slightly as she avoided my gaze.
It was a wager she had entered willingly, and she was prepared to pay the price.
"Is that so?"
I nodded calmly, accepting her resolve.
An awkward silence settled between us.
With the ranking matches still underway elsewhere, the hallway was eerily quiet. We stood there, staring at each other in silence.
"...Well? Why aren't you saying anything? I told you, you can make me do whatever you want. That was the deal."
Unable to withstand the silence, Seo Ah-hyun was the first to crack, her voice rising defensively.
"Hmm."
I let out a soft hum, falling into deep thought.
An absolute order over Seo Ah-hyun.
This was a golden opportunity. A once-in-a-lifetime chance that might never come again.
As I weighed my options, my eyes naturally drifted down, tracing the contours of her body.
Her chest was undeniably lacking compared to Baek Seol-ah's, but her hips and thighs more than made up for it.
It was a figure with very distinct strengths and weaknesses. But either way, she was incredibly alluring.
"W-What is it? Why are you looking at me like that...?"
"Oh, nothing."
Realizing that I was blatantly appraising her body, Seo Ah-hyun gasped and hurriedly smoothed down her skirt with both hands.
Did she have any idea how enticing the soft flesh of her thighs looked, pressed tightly against the hem of her neat school uniform skirt?
'She really is a masterpiece.'
Well, as expected of a main heroine, her visuals were stunning enough to make anyone stop and stare.
I raised my gaze to meet her eyes. She looked like she was imagining the absolute worst.
The curly tip of her side ponytail swayed over her shoulder as she bared her teeth like a frightened puppy.
"Y-You... If you're thinking of ordering me to do something obscene, I swear I'll—"
"Quiet down."
*Chop!*
"...Eek?!"
I lightly chopped her on the head, treating her like a feisty Yorkshire Terrier snapping at its owner.
As Seo Ah-hyun clutched her head with a tearful face, whimpering from the blow to her crown,
"Seo Ah-hyun."
Ignoring her dramatic worries, as I had no intention of making any obscene demands, I spoke in a casual tone.
To be honest, I hadn't given much thought to what I'd ask for when I first proposed the wager. But now...
Since the opportunity had presented itself, I might as well use it to get what I wanted.
I looked down at Seo Ah-hyun, who was glaring up at me with teary, resentful eyes, and delivered my command.
"Why don't you break up with him?"
"..."
"With Kim Min-jun."
Using the wager as an excuse, I finally voiced the words I had been wanting to say to her all along.
'Wow.'
And the reaction was instantaneous.
Seo Ah-hyun froze completely. A second later, she slowly raised her head, staring at me with terrifying, lifeless eyes.
I could practically feel the raw, murderous intent radiating off her. If looks could kill, I would have been shredded to pieces on the spot.