Chapter 120: End of Semester (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 120: End of Semester (1)
A peaceful, an all-too-peaceful weekend morning.
-Toss, turn.
Cheon Yeo-wool was rolling around in her bed, wrapped in her blanket up to her toes, staring at the ceiling.
A languid feeling, so much so that everything felt hazy.
Inside the game… No, I don't want to call it a game.
Those happy experiences.
If she closed her eyes for a moment, it felt as if the sensation still lingered at her fingertips.
I have to hold onto them… without letting a single one slip away.
Just then.
-Bzzzzzz.
Her watch vibrated, signaling a new message.
Cheon Yeo-wool carefully pulled an arm out from under the covers and checked her watch.
[RIN]: lol
[RIN]: So? Did everyone have a good time?
It was the group chat.
A message brimming with Kang A-rin's mischief.
[RIN]: What's this? No praise?
[RIN]: I put a lot of thought into it.
Of course, Kang A-rin's intention had been for just the two of them.
But in the end, the ultimate goal was achieved just as she'd intended.
Cheon Yeo-wool stared at the message for a long time before finally nodding.
“...I’ll give her that.”
This time, Cheon Yeo-wool truly had to admit it.
It was a method she could never have imagined—to think she'd bring such a crazy board game and trick them into playing.
She had completely demolished the psychological firewall he'd built, one as solid as an iron wall.
This was a triumph I hadn't even managed to achieve before my regression.
She remembered the look in Jung Hae-in's eyes as he drank his coffee.
His pupils, trembling like aspen leaves; his gaze, unable to look straight ahead.
The moment they saw it, all the women present couldn't help but feel it.
‘Something’s… different.’
The wall had crumbled.
-Tap, tap.
Cheon Yeo-wool quietly sent a message.
[1000_y]: Gotta admit.
Truly, this was the perfect chance.
She didn't know if the wall had crumbled temporarily or for good.
But if they kept pressing without stopping, they might achieve a significant result.
The problem, however, was that Yu Hana was next in line.
She'd already secretly arranged a trip to China with just the two of them… That was the really frustrating part.
“Ugh…”
Cheon Yeo-wool stretched languidly on her bed and stared at the ceiling.
Then once again, she tapped away at her watch screen.
[1000_y]: Congratulations? To the biggest beneficiary, Ms. Yu Hana.
And the one being called the beneficiary, Yu Hana.
Dressed in her sweat-soaked training uniform, Yu Hana sat on a bench, looking down at the message displayed on her watch.
Her morning training was over, but her breathing was still ragged.
The message was still on the screen.
She was mulling over a reply.
“……”
Yu Hana took a moment to catch her breath, then slowly set her watch down.
A trip alone with Jung Hae-in.
It was something she had dreamed of for a long time.
I want to be with him sooner than anyone, closer than anyone.
If he asked her to go right now, she would.
And yet, a corner of her heart was simmering with a strange feeling.
Oddly, what came to mind were scenes from the game.
Herself, unable to hide her desire, trying to steal another's man.
Someone was screaming from deep inside her.
‘Let someone else go on the trip first!’
And then, after that, I'll wedge myself between them…
Desire subtly bloomed within her.
“I must be crazy.”
Yu Hana shook her head, swallowing a dry laugh.
It was a feeling her usual self would never have even imagined.
That game was going to ruin a lot of people.
-Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
As if to clear her head, she swung her sword with all her might. Three times it sliced through the sharp air, into the void.
“……”
But the embers left deep in her heart showed no signs of being easily extinguished.
*
I'm sitting in the middle of the Vanquisher's base, in that vast, empty underground training ground.
Today was a joint training session with Park Gwang-cheol, for the first time in a while.
I requested it myself.
I quietly composed my posture and closed my eyes.
Meditation.
I remembered what Kang A-rin had said.
‘Aftereffects…? Hmm, I'd say it'll last at least a week. Maybe longer?’
But that didn't apply to me.
[Single-Minded Focus]
My Internal Arts, born from the evolution of Mirror-Still Water after the decisive battle with the Apostle.
To focus on one thing so the mind does not waver.
In other words, a perfect and flawless Internal Art that shakes off all stray thoughts when I focus on one thing—a direct upgrade to Mirror-Still Water.
So, when it came to training, my mind should never have wavered.
…Or so it should have been.
“Bullshit.”
I feel like I'm going to die.
My mind has been a complete mess for days.
‘I wonder what the girls are doing right now?’
‘Cheon Yeo-wool is probably lying down… Kang A-rin is working…’
‘Sion went to the movies with the Old Man… Chae-ha is probably passed out asleep…’
‘Ah, and I'm supposed to go to China with Hana…’
‘…Nothing's going to happen when we go, right?’
I couldn't even trust myself anymore.
Stray thoughts kept popping up in my mind, one after another.
Was my mental fortitude always this weak?
This was a first for me.
To be honest, I just wanted to call someone, anyone, right now.
Call them, maybe grab a meal together, just see their face.
I felt like that would put my mind at ease.
Unable to bear the flood of distracting thoughts, I finally spoke.
“Gwang-cheol… let's spar one more time.”
Park Gwang-cheol sighed and looked at me.
“What on earth is wrong with you?”
He raised an eyebrow, looking dumbfounded.
I had already fought him three times to clear my head, and I'd gotten my ass kicked each time.
My body ached all over, but I preferred the physical pain.
“Why are you so desperate today? Did you get dumped?”
I flinched.
Five faces flashed through my mind.
I gave an awkward laugh and shook my head.
“It's not like that… Things have just been a little… complicated lately.”
“What, so it's true?”
“No… I said it's not.”
I replied.
Just then.
Park Gwang-cheol laughed as if he couldn't believe it, then clapped me on the back.
“Hey, I thought you'd never date in your life. You finally seem like a student now.”
“What?”
I frowned.
“You're surrounded by pretty girls, but you're always off by yourself with that sullen look, lost in thought and keeping your distance. Live a little, kid. That's what gives you strength. Anyway, I'm glad.”
I'd never heard that before.
I'd never thought of myself as abnormal.
But it seemed I was wrong.
Is this what's normal?
Before, I never had room for stray thoughts.
I had set a goal, and I lived my life solely to achieve it.
Naturally, the main characters were simply targets for me to develop, or they were comrades.
I had never thought of them as anything more.
But now… I feel like my eyes have been opened, just a little.
The direction is a bit strange, but still.
I'm starting to think I might have been treating them too transactionally until now.
Approaching them on a more human level… didn't seem like a bad idea.
I smiled faintly.
And I murmured quietly.
“...You're right.”
I've been too closed off.
For some reason, my heart felt a little lighter.
*
Lately, Gaon has been very relaxed, and quiet.
The professors still weren't bothering the students, and the students were diligently enjoying their given freedom.
But today was a little different.
A regular class was scheduled.
Which most likely meant one thing…
‘The release of the first semester's grades.’
Thanks to that, the classroom was filled with students for the first time in a while.
I entered the classroom at 9 a.m. sharp and headed for my designated seat in the very back.
Yoon Chae-ha was quietly dozing with her arms folded on her desk, and Cheon Yeo-wool was resting her chin on her hand, gazing out the window.
Seeing me, Cheon Yeo-wool gave a small wave.
“You’re here?”
“Yeah.”
As I sat down, I greeted Yoon Chae-ha as well.
“Good morning.”
Without even turning her gaze, Yoon Chae-ha answered in a small voice.
“...Mm.”
I acted naturally.
As if nothing was out of the ordinary.
But then, Cheon Yeo-wool quietly leaned toward me.
Usually, when she did this, it was a sign she was about to mess with me.
“...Honey?”
Of course.
As expected, Cheon Yeo-wool, who wouldn't just let it slide, piped up.
I let out a small laugh and met her gaze.
And then, in a slightly lower voice, slowly.
“What is it? My darling?”
I returned the favor.
It was the response I'd often used when she called for me in the game.
Cheon Yeo-wool's eyes went wide.
“Uh, uhh?”
As if she never expected me to actually play along, a blush spread across her face.
She blinked for a moment, then, not knowing what to do, she even lowered her head.
I added with a smile.
“Don't get cheeky.”
“Okay…”
A deflated reply, and soon even her ears were flushed red.
-Press.
Just then, I felt a gentle pressure from under the table.
Yoon Chae-ha, sitting to my left, was subtly pressing her foot onto mine.
When I glanced up at her, she was pretending not to notice, looking out the window.
Normally, I would have wondered what she was doing, but now that I'd had a change of heart, everything she did seemed cute.
“Yoon Chae-ha…”
Just then.
-Bang!
The classroom door suddenly flew open.
“Good morning, everyone.”
Instructor Do Han-seong entered the classroom in his neat uniform.
At that moment, everyone remembered that today was the day grades were released.
In an instant, the classroom filled with tension.
“I trust you all know what we'll be doing today.”
Instructor Do Han-seong glanced at the watch on his wrist.
He tapped it with his index finger, taking a slow breath as if timing something.
“I will now explain the criteria for all rankings and grades.”
The rankings were simple.
Midterms and finals, written and practical exams.
Extracurricular activity points, volunteer points, and even entrance rankings.
For the transfer students from Carlos, their rankings from their previous school were also factored in, and the results of the Exchange Match replaced their midterm scores.
The cumulative effect of one's entrance ranking couldn't be ignored.
So honestly, I couldn't predict my own rank at all.
“What rank do you think you'll get?”
I quietly asked Cheon Yeo-wool, who was sitting next to me.
“Hmm… I don't know.”
Cheon Yeo-wool, carefree as ever.
Just then, the instructor's voice once again echoed through the classroom.
“Now, everyone please check your watches.”
Instantly, the students all raised their wrists and began to turn on their watches.
The sounds of alerts, screens changing, and soft breaths spread throughout the room.
I, too, quietly opened my screen.
[Rank 1: Kang A-rin]
First place was Kang A-rin, as expected.
From her cumulative grades to her practical and written exams, volunteer work, and extracurriculars.
She was close to perfect.
But the moment I saw second place, my eyebrows shot up without me realizing.
[Rank 2: Jung Hae-in]
It was a much higher rank than I'd expected.
It seemed that thanks to being named MVP in the midterms, the Exchange Match, and the finals, I had broken through the wall of cumulative scores and climbed all the way to second place.
Pushing Yohan out.
[Rank 3: Cheon Yeo-wool]
[Rank 4: Yu Hana]
[Rank 5: Yoon Chae-ha]
[Rank 6: Joo Seo-jun]
[Rank 8: Ha Sion]
The main characters, including myself, had successfully lined up at the top.
Seeing the ranks, I felt a quiet sense of pride.
It meant I was on the right track.
“...?”
But feeling like a name was missing, I slowly scrolled down.
[Rank 10: Yohan]
Ah.
…Let's just pretend I didn't see that.
I looked up at Cheon Yeo-wool.
She didn't seem to care much about her rank, still smiling brightly.
Yoon Chae-ha was similar.
A strangely relaxed smile, her face more at ease than usual.
I lowered my gaze back to my watch.
[Rank 2: Jung Hae-in]
From 'Unranked' all the way to second place.
Small gasps and sighs echoed around the classroom. Some lowered their heads, while others stared intently at their watches.
To be honest, I hadn't thought the rankings would mean much to me, since it was just a passing phase anyway.
But I was wrong.
It felt like all the days I'd spent running this past semester were being rewarded, however small, by this short number.
“...Not bad.”
I let out a quiet breath.
