The Catfight Among Cheonjihae’s Geniuses
Today, I had to endure a scary experience from the moment I arrived at Cheonjihae.
Was it an anomaly?
If it had been, I wouldn’t have been this creeped out.
“Mom~ Mr. Nam Dohyeong is here?”
It was immediately the only daughter of , a chaebol second-generation.
Yoo Yeonhwa, the barrier master, approached with a friendly voice.
...What the hell?
The woman I had beaten to a pulp before was suddenly smiling and talking to me.
Is this a red light?
No, why really?
The Yoo Yeonhwa I know is a smart and sinister character.
A person who would do anything for her goals and interests.
Such a woman suddenly smiled and greeted me after being hit.
No matter how I think, it only feels dangerous.
And in a place full of people too.
Being a trainee doesn’t mean I only get education all day.
There are times when there are breaks between lectures or rest times.
At those times, trainees study in the library, train in the training room, or rest in the lounge.
I was also preparing for the next lecture in the lounge.
There were quite a few trainees sitting there, not just me.
Their gazes were directed at us.
“What’s up, why is Yeonhwa suddenly talking to you?”
“Didn’t you say you fought and Yeonhwa got hit? Did you make up while we weren’t looking?”
“I don’t know. It’s a honey jam anyway, so just watch.”
It’s impossible for a smart woman like Yeonhwa not to have calculated that.
It’s like she’s deliberately showing it to others.
Or she just doesn’t care.
“...What’s the matter?”
“What do you mean ‘what’s the matter’? It’s hurtful. I came to get close to my peers.”
Smiling brightly, Yeonhwa naturally sat down on my side.
At this point, I started to feel genuinely scared.
“We’re not strangers, right? Since we’re doing this, it’s better to get along well.”
“You want to do that after hitting me like that?”
Thud.
Yeonhwa suddenly bared her teeth fiercely.
Wow, scary.
I should have just ignored the words.
“Oho ho ho...! Well, that was a fair duel under mutual agreement, right? If you’re hiding after being hit a bit, you’re not an adult.”
It seems like it wasn’t even a bit hit.
Originally, Yeonhwa isn’t a cool character like that.
Rather, she’s the type who grinds her teeth and holds grudges somehow.
Just looking at her now, she’s managing her expression but the anger is evident.
“I’ve said this before, but I highly evaluate you.”
Yeonhwa said with a bright smile.
If I didn’t know this girl’s personality, it would be a beautiful smile worth falling for.
“Even if it failed to enter my faction, it’s fine to get close in a separate way, right?”
Yeonhwa extended a basket to the table where I was.
“It’s a bento I prepared. I haven’t eaten lunch yet, right? If it’s okay, let’s eat together.”
“...Is it poisoned?”
“What do you think people are made of?”
If it were the Yeonhwa I know, she could definitely do that.
But not in front of so many people.
“The past is best forgotten with food. I’m sincere about wanting to get close to you.”
Yeonhwa took out a sandwich from the bento and handed it to me.
Since the smell was good, I accepted it.
“How is it? Tasty?”
“Um, it’s okay.”
“Of course it is. The ingredient cost alone for making this is how much.”
As expected, the chaebol second-generation’s bento is different.
The sandwich was stuffed with high-end ingredients.
“...This is just a random question. How did you do it last time?”
“What?”
“You know everything~ You broke my barrier in one shot. If it’s okay, can you tell me the principle? I want to reference it for future studies.”
Yeonhwa poured orange juice herself and said with a sly look.
I took a sip of the juice and answered.
“No. It’s a secret.”
“Ah, how mean. Are you really going to say that?”
“If I tell you, I might die.”
It wasn’t a joke. It was real.
The moment the existence of the Instant Death ability is revealed, I would become a target for all exorcists, politicians, businessmen, and shamans in the world.
“Tsk! If you don’t want to tell me, just say so.”
But Yeonhwa didn’t believe my words.
It was truly a sad era where sincerity didn’t work.
“Well, okay. From now on, when we get closer, I’ll tell you.”
“You’re saying all that just to say it?”
“It’s regrettable, but this is my way. I don’t know how to make friends normally.”
Yeonhwa gave a bitter smile.
“Maybe the way I’m treating you now is the opposite, honestly. Since I’ve already been hit badly, I don’t have to watch my words.”
Yeonhwa has the habit of judging people based on gain and loss because she’s the daughter of a businessman.
She’s good at making factions and recruiting people.
But she has no friends to confide in sincerely.
Not knowing how to make friends is what she’s saying.
“I think I’m confident in my attractiveness as a woman, right? Right now I’m the one clinging, but later you’ll be the one clinging to me.”
“...Can I say such things like this? People will misunderstand.”
“Mom~ Of course I put up a soundproof barrier. Isn’t this basic?”
As expected, Yeonhwa is thorough.
“Due to circumstances, I must get close to you. Please take care of me from now on, Senior.”
Yeonhwa bit into the sandwich.
Feels like I’m entangled in some troublesome matter.
Probably, she approached me after being shocked by the broken barrier and trying to dig up information.
But I will never tell her the truth.
As I said earlier, I must keep the Instant Death secret at all costs.
Well, if she keeps acting like this, she’ll give up on her own.
Yeonhwa not bothering me isn’t the case.
Rather, she’s trying not to give me a bribe or something.
Since I have no reason to refuse, I can just accept it.
Anyway, no matter what Yeonhwa does, it won’t affect me.
...I thought that, but apparently it wasn’t the case.
“What are the two of you doing?”
A suddenly cold voice came.
Clearly, Yeonhwa had put up a soundproof barrier to block the sound.
But it was someone who could easily pierce through it.
“Jiyeon-ah?”
The peer I became close with first after joining Cheonjihae.
Cheok Jiyeon, the sword genius.
Her gaze was fixed on the bento we were eating.
“I came to call you to eat lunch together...”
Suddenly, I, Jiyeon, and Eunhye had become lunch buddies who always eat together.
The shock on her face when I was eating the bento with Yeonhwa separately.
“Moreover, isn’t this the barrier master? She got caught slandering my back.”
Jiyeon’s tone was very cold.
Actually, Jiyeon doesn’t care about her own backstabbing.
She’s used to it, and besides swordsmanship and oppa, she has no interest.
Rather, she was happier that I had taken the blame for her (or not).
So I thought it wouldn’t matter...
When the parties are present, the story changes, right?
Jiyeon’s eyes looking at Yeonhwa were sharp.
“What’s going on here?”
Jiyeon looked at me and demanded an explanation.
Feeling a slight death crisis, I quickly opened my mouth.
“Jiyeon-ah, it’s not like that...”
“Mom~ What?”
But before I could explain properly, Yeonhwa pushed in.
“Are you acting jealous in a pathetic way now?”
“Jealous? It’s not like that...”
“Then what? Are you saying that Mr. Nam Dohyeong has to get permission from you when meeting someone?”
Yeonhwa shrugged.
Jiyeon’s words were cut off.
Strictly speaking, Jiyeon had no good counterargument.
“Knowing full well what kind of family image it is. Isn’t it too brazen to interfere with the person you’re making friends with?”
“...It’s you who has been stirring up trouble without any scruples. Are you trying to target Nam Dohyeong this time?”
“Why? I’m just trying to make many colleagues, unlike anyone else.”
“Colleagues, not useful subordinates. As expected, blinded by money, like a family that runs a company.”
“Ha!”
This time, Yeonhwa’s eyes twitched.
“I thought you were just staring at the sword without words, but now I see you have the skill to scratch people?”
Yeonhwa, also heated, shot back at Jiyeon.
“It’s not funny at all. Interrupting someone else’s conversation without any relation.”
“I am friends with Nam Dohyeong.”
“If you’re friends, do you think it’s okay like this? Ah~ Maybe you’re ‘uncomfortable’ because you’re afraid of losing the friend you made in your lonely situation to another woman?”
“You brat...”
Jiyeon placed her hand on her sword.
Yeonhwa smiled leisurely and raised her spiritual power.
In pure combat power, Jiyeon would naturally have the advantage.
But Yeonhwa, specialized in barriers, also had strength in defense.
No, why are they like this...
Instead, I was the one in the middle, wishing I could die.
You guys have skills, so you can ignore minor incidents.
But I don’t have connections or skills, do I?
I don’t want to get caught in some pointless fight and get expelled.
“Wow, look at that. Yeonhwa and Jiyeon are fighting over the senior.”
“You seduced two girls in such a short time? Even those two? As expected, the senior is different.”
“It’s a jackpot. If I had known, I would have brought popcorn.”
Even among the peers, strange words were being heard in real time.
Why did this happen?
My company life seemed to be getting more complicated than now.