Chapter 217: Supplementary Exam (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 217: Supplementary Exam (3)
Time passed, and the day of the supplementary exam arrived.
In other words, it was the day of the retest for students on the verge of failing their regular classes.
Like the other students, Yoon Chae-ha and I headed to the examination hall.
To be precise, it was more like I was dragging her by the wrist.
“Did you study well?”
“Probably.”
As she said this, I could see the dark circles under her eyes.
It looked like she’d barely slept.
Did she overdo it?
I didn’t think the assignment required that much effort.
All she needed was the minimum score to avoid failing.
The exam I had to take was a practical one. I’d missed various classes that involved physical activity due to my injuries.
Chae-ha’s was a written exam. Magic Theory.
She’d fail if she didn’t show up at all, but as long as she’d studied even a little, there was no way she wouldn’t pass.
Not Chae-ha.
“See you in a bit.”
I patted her on the shoulder. She nodded and moved closer to me.
“Yeah…”
Chae-ha gave me a quick hug, then walked into the exam hall with her eyes half-closed.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I entered the practical training hall.
The supplementary exam had begun.
Time passed, and the practical exam turned out to be simpler than I’d expected.
At least, for someone at my current level.
The format was a combat demonstration against dummies, covering the practical assignments I had missed.
I finished all the tasks with little difficulty in under ten minutes.
I was probably the first one done.
I immediately left the training hall and headed for the waiting room.
There was no way Yoon Chae-ha would have finished before me.
It seemed right to wait here until she came out.
However, in the center of the waiting room, I saw a familiar head of orange hair.
A young woman was sitting with her head tilted to one side.
Zzzzz….
She’s already done?
I let out a hollow laugh and walked over to her.
“You finished?” I asked softly, sitting down beside her. Only then did she seem to stir from her light sleep.
“Eh…?”
Yoon Chae-ha opened her hazy, orange-tinted eyes.
“You’re going to stick around to hear your score, right?”
I’d heard they would announce the results immediately.
“Yeah…”
With that, she tried to close her heavy eyelids again.
“Then get some more sleep.”
I supported the back of her head and patted my lap.
Without a second thought, Yoon Chae-ha rested her head on my lap.
Not even a second later, I could hear the soft sound of her breathing.
Just as I was stroking her hair…
Slam!
The door to the waiting room was thrown open.
“Is student Yoon Chae-ha here?!”
A professor burst in.
The excitement on her face was plain to see.
I recognized her… it was the Magic Theory Professor.
“She’s here…”
Worried she would wake Chae-ha, I quietly raised my hand.
The professor rushed over in a single stride.
“Student Chae-ha! Student Chae-ha!” she called, her voice prim but filled with excitement.
I gently caressed Chae-ha’s cheek and shook her awake.
“Chae-ha, wake up.”
“Nngh…?”
Chae-ha’s eyes fluttered open, and she looked blurrily at the professor.
“Student! This last question! How on earth did you derive this magic formula?!”
The professor shoved the exam paper right in front of her face.
On it, complex equations solved by Chae-ha were written in dense script.
“Normally, treating this part as a Magical Unknown Variable and developing the formula from there is the limit of modern magic theory! That’s the standard approach! But you… you… you calculated the variable itself! How is that possible? And the answer…”
The professor trailed off, unable to continue, and immediately held out another piece of paper.
It was covered in dense, hastily scrawled handwriting.
It looked like… some kind of proof…
“Follow me!”
“…What?”
“To the research lab, right now…”
Oh, boy.
The expression on Chae-ha’s face was souring by the second.
She had the look of a child being forced to eat bell peppers.
“Did I… pass the exam?”
“What… child! Of course you did! The exam isn’t what’s important right now…”
“Heehee.”
Ignoring whatever the professor in front of her was rambling on about, Yoon Chae-ha remained lying on my lap, looked up at me, and smiled brightly.
Her eyes seemed to be asking for praise.
“You did great.”
I stroked her hair as if to say she’d done well.
“This won’t do. Let’s go, now!”
Unable to stand our leisurely display any longer, the professor finally made her decision.
She grabbed Chae-ha’s slender wrist and forcibly pulled her to her feet.
“I don’t wanna go…”
“No! You have to!”
Chae-ha started to get dragged away by the professor.
She desperately turned her head, looking at me with anxious eyes.
“I-I… I have to get my kneading…!”
Chae-ha’s mournful cry echoed through the waiting room.
I suppressed a laugh and waved my hand.
Then, I mouthed words only she could see.
‘When you get back, I promise I’ll do it.’
Only after confirming my silent promise did she seem to give up, going limp as she was dragged away to the research lab.
Staring at the door she had disappeared through, I muttered under my breath.
“Just don’t become a grad student.”
That was a piece of advice born from experience.
*
[summer]: ur so mean.
[summer]: so mean
[belief_]: You can do it. For the future of magic theory.
Late that night, I was chuckling to myself while chatting with Yoon Chae-ha as I made my way back to the penthouse.
It seemed she was having quite an enjoyable time.
[belief_]: Do your best, Chae-ha.
[summer]: kay
I sent her another message of encouragement.
Since it was Friday evening and the weekend was ahead, I had designated it as Chae-ha’s reward time.
As for the reward… I’m sure you can guess without me saying.
I had already anticipated that one thing would lead to another as I kneaded her, and we’d both start feeling good.
But now, my schedule was completely empty.
It looked like tonight… would be time for myself.
As I walked through the night streets, my thoughts naturally drifted back to Yoon Chae-ha.
The professor who took her… she’s quite trustworthy.
Sincere.
And famous for being hardworking.
In the first place, supplementary exams for failing students have a bit of a reputation for being grunt work that no one wants. The fact that she volunteered to stay late for it…
It means she cares about her students.
I hoped Chae-ha would have a good experience.
As for pleasurable experiences… I can give her those anytime.
I returned to the penthouse and opened the door to my room.
And what I saw before me was…
“You’re finally here?”
“?”
It was Cheon Yeo-wool, dressed in a white, flimsy slip.
She was sitting demurely on the edge of my bed, waiting for me.
Click.
The moment I stepped inside, Cheon Yeo-wool shut the door.
This is my place, right?
Then again, maybe it wasn’t.
Which would mean she must have been waiting inside my room.
“You know you’ve been neglecting me lately, don’t you?”
From the trip to Japan… to all the recent running around for the Pentagon…
I had been a little busy, so it was hard to argue.
“Well…”
“Have you eaten?”
“No…”
“Then you’ll have a Substitute Meal. For today.”
As she said the words “Substitute Meal,” Cheon Yeo-wool caressed her own slender body.
Her gaze was seductive.
I had been determined to spend this evening by myself.
Just as I was wondering how to get out of this…
In the blink of an eye.
“Mmph.”
“Heuph…”
With Cheon Yeo-wool’s powerful kiss, my memories of that night vanished.
*
The next morning.
No, the afternoon.
I had passed out in the morning. I have no memory of it.
I woke up in the afternoon.
The sun was streaming brightly through the gap in the curtains.
It might have been a different story if I’d been wearing the ring.
But she hadn’t even given me a chance to put on Iano’s Ring.
‘I’m more than enough without it… hngh…’
In the end, I had no choice but to start my weekend schedule in a state of exhaustion.
My destination was Maengju’s building.
I stepped into Kang A-rin’s private elevator, located on the top floor of the guild headquarters.
I checked my reflection in the glass.
My eyes were sunken.
“Hah.”
I gave a bitter smile and opened my watch.
A notification for unread messages was blinking.
There…
[summer]: Hae-in, open the door for me (1:32 AM)
[summer]: I’m just gonna let myself in. (1:33 AM)
[summer]: So mean. (1:34 AM)
There were messages from Yoon Chae-ha.
It seemed she had been released from the professor’s lab late and had come back.
She sent a short message of protest when I didn’t open the door, and in the midst of it all, she was even polite enough to ask for permission to let herself in.
And what Chae-ha must have heard when she came inside was…
“……”
I’ve committed another great sin.
I immediately replied to her.
[belief_]: I’ll rush over as soon as I get there. Tonight… I’ll do anything you want.
I would absolutely make it up to her.
With that thought, I stood before the elevator doors.
Ding.
The doors opened, revealing Maengju’s office.
“You’re here?”
Kang A-rin greeted me while signing a mountain of documents piled on her table.
“Yeah.”
I walked toward her.
“Hae-in, can you get that for me?”
Her eyes still fixed on the documents, she gestured with her chin toward a printer in the corner of the office.
A single sheet of freshly printed paper lay there.
“Here.”
I brought the paper over and handed it to her.
But she didn’t take it.
“Read it.”
“Huh?”
Puzzled, I looked down at the paper in my hand.
Something was written in large letters.
[Mutual Agreement Regarding Joint Research of the Pentagon and Maengju Fragment]
“What?”
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
I thought it would take at least a month.
That a written agreement would be out of the question.
That was including the time it would take to visit in person.
But Kang A-rin seemed to have already finalized the agreement.
She put down her pen, looked at me, and raised her hand.
She made a V-sign and winked.
“All taken care of!”
“A-rin!”
I exclaimed in admiration and rushed toward her.
I never imagined it. That she would move this quickly.
Mwah.
I planted a kiss of gratitude on Kang A-rin’s cheek.
“Eek…”
Startled by my sudden show of affection, Kang A-rin buried her head in my chest as I held her.
“But… the schedule is tight.”
A muffled voice came from my embrace.
“That’s fine.”
I could go anytime.
This was a Fragment we were talking about.
“It’s tonight.”
“…What?”
Tonight?
Then the promise I just made…
“Can we postpone it a little…”
“No. The Pentagon said they can’t keep it open for long.”
Kang A-rin looked up at my face and spoke firmly.
“Who said?”
“The President.”
You have got to be kidding me.
I was at a loss for words.
“I’ll get ready…”
I had no choice.
You can’t argue with the President.
I began to rack my brain, trying to think of how I was going to apologize to Yoon Chae-ha.