The Weight of Words
Song Do-yun deliberately slowed her steps, falling behind as Yoo Hee-won led her followers ahead. Though Han Min-ha's vision was poor, she could still make out basic shapes and outlines. She noticed herself gradually drifting away from Yoo Hee-won and quickened her pace, but Song Do-yun grabbed her arm with surprising strength.
"What's the rush?"
"It feels like we're falling too far behind Hee-won..."
"Is there some reason we need to stick close to her? We're all heading to the academy clinic anyway, aren't we?"
"Well... that's true..."
In the end, Han Min-ha had no choice but to match Song Do-yun's deliberately slow pace. Song Do-yun kept her cold eyes fixed straight ahead.
"Are you close with Hee-won?"
"I think so. We meet often as fellow mentees under Professor Kyo Suhyeon... I'm not sure how she feels about it, though."
"So you're friends?"
"Friends?"
Han Min-ha didn't answer right away. She had a rough idea why Song Do-yun was suddenly asking such an odd question.
Song Do-yun was Yoo Hee-won's right hand. She followed her like a shadow, tending to even the smallest details like some kind of secretary. With a lowly mentee from the bottom class suddenly wedging herself between them, it was only natural that Song Do-yun would find Han Min-ha incredibly irritating. Perhaps even hateful.
That's why Han Min-ha couldn't carelessly claim she thought of Yoo Hee-won as a friend. She didn't want to create conflict with Song Do-yun. And deep down, she was still uncertain whether Yoo Hee-won even considered her a friend at all.
"Um... I'm not sure..."
Han Min-ha forced an awkward smile and tried to brush off the uncomfortable question. Song Do-yun didn't press further. Instead, her gaze dropped to Han Min-ha's impressive chest, which even the neat academy uniform couldn't hide.
"Did you use those?"
"Huh? Use what?"
"Your tits. Did you seduce our innocent Hee-won with them, you whore?"
In Song Do-yun's eyes, already clouded with impure thoughts, Han Min-ha was nothing but a cunning prostitute who would stop at nothing to tempt Yoo Hee-won. The sudden, vicious insult left Han Min-ha's mind completely blank. Her mouth froze shut. She'd been so careful with her words precisely to avoid a situation like this, but Song Do-yun had clearly intended to shatter her mentally regardless.
"Answer me."
"W-what are you... saying..."
"Just because you got lucky and became the same mentee, and Hee-won deigned to speak with you, you think you're some kind of upperclassman now?"
Song Do-yun spoke in a calm, measured tone while watching Han Min-ha stammer.
"Villains who challenge heroes far above their rank end up dead. You know that, right?"
"Do-yun..."
"That's exactly what your situation looks like right now. Know your place."
Still linking arms with her, Song Do-yun continued pouring out venom.
"This is your first and last warning. Stay out of our business."
When Han Min-ha remained silent, Song Do-yun tightened her grip on their linked arms.
"Answer me."
"I don't know... I've never tried to interfere, and I've never seduced Hee-won. You're misunderstanding everything."
Song Do-yun yanked her close and whispered harshly in her ear.
"Hee-won kissed your cheek. She caressed your face. You think I wouldn't know?"
"That was..."
"How did it feel?"
"What...?"
"Hee-won's lips. Hee-won's hands. How did they feel? Won't you tell me? I've never experienced it myself."
There was no way she could say they had felt warm and soft. Han Min-ha thought to herself: Song Do-yun... she's lost her mind.
"Why aren't you answering? Are you such an idiot that you can't even understand the question? Fine. Then I suppose I won't get an answer if I ask exactly how you stole Hee-won's soul away."
"Do-yun, I..."
"Shut up. Shut your mouth. Don't you dare wag your tail at Hee-won again."
At that moment, Yoo Hee-won, who had been walking far ahead, turned around and shouted.
"Hurry up! What are you doing back there? You're so damn slow!"
"Ah, sorry! Min-ha said she couldn't see well, so I was walking at her pace!"
Song Do-yun called back in an artificially cheerful voice, waving her hand. Then, in the blink of an eye, her expression went cold again.
"Keep annoying me, and academy life will become very difficult for you. You might not even graduate."
"...I'm sorry..."
Han Min-ha answered weakly. She was timid by nature and hated conflict, but more than that, her vision was still badly impaired. She couldn't afford to provoke Song Do-yun in this state.
"Good. Such an obedient girl."
Satisfied with the response, Song Do-yun pulled her along and strode forward with brisk steps.
Even after getting her new glasses, Han Min-ha didn't say a word. The shock of hearing such vicious, high-level insults for the first time in her life had left her stunned. The thought of demanding an apology from Song Do-yun, let alone confronting her, never even crossed her mind. Her mental fortitude was simply that fragile.
"Hey, Chest."
Yoo Hee-won called out to the dazed Han Min-ha. She'd grown tired of alternating between 'Milk Chest' and 'Blockhead' and had recently unified the nickname into simply 'Chest.'
"Y-yes...?"
"Why are you standing there like an idiot?"
"It's nothing. Just... everything looks so bright now that I can see again."
"Bullshit..."
Yoo Hee-won shook her head in exasperation.
"We have a meeting today, so come straight to the research building after class. Don't be late."
"Um... okay..."
Song Do-yun, who had been watching Han Min-ha with a faint smile, made a suggestion to Yoo Hee-won.
"Hee-won, why don't we head straight to the super strength training room from here?"
"That sounds better."
With Yoo Hee-won's approval, Song Do-yun turned to Han Min-ha with a gentle smile.
"Oh dear. Looks like you'll have to go to the lecture hall by yourself. You know the way, right?"
The lecture hall was clearly visible from where they stood. It was an obvious, blatant insult delivered to her face, but with her spirit already crushed, Han Min-ha couldn't even muster a reply.
When she simply stood there blankly, Yoo Hee-won raised her hand first.
"Go on. See you later."
"Yeah..."
As Yoo Hee-won and her group moved off, Han Min-ha turned and trudged back toward the lecture hall. She had never earned anyone's grudge before, nor been cursed at. Song Do-yun's verbal assault had felt like an act of incomprehensible violence to her.
Like most people, when faced with overwhelming mental stress, she momentarily became a fool. And fools tend to cry.
Han Min-ha took off her glasses and wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks with the back of her hand.
"Awakening your aura is one thing, but using it properly requires another set of skills. Especially since your aura, Miss Min-ha, is exceptionally dense and heavy... Miss Min-ha?"
"Yes...?"
For some reason, Han Min-ha looked as though she hadn't heard a single word I'd said. Normally she would be nodding eagerly with sparkling eyes and taking diligent notes. She'd longed for this moment, and now that we were discussing the delicate control of her newly awakened aura, the topic should have fascinated her. So why was she like this?
"Is something wrong?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. It's nothing."
When Han Min-ha bowed her head, Yoo Hee-won, who had been standing beside her with arms crossed, furrowed her brows slightly.
"Did you hit your head on the ground during flight class and get some kind of concussion?"
"No, Hee-won. I'm really fine."
Han Min-ha smiled awkwardly, but the smile quickly faded into a gloomy expression. She always looked a bit downcast, but today it seemed especially severe. Could it really be because of what happened in flight class?
"Miss Min-ha. I'll teach you how to prevent something like today from happening again, so please pay attention."
"Understood. I'm sorry."
"Good. So... for example, your aura is like a massive dump truck. It can crush almost anything with raw power, but it's extremely difficult to control. That's why you need to be even more careful and... hm..."
Once again, Han Min-ha was staring down at the round table with empty eyes. Unable to watch any longer, Yoo Hee-won reached out and pinched her arm.
"Ow!"
"Snap out of it!"
Han Min-ha jolted back to attention, looking back and forth between me and Yoo Hee-won.
"Ah..."
"It's alright. You don't need to apologize. It seems there must be something you can't tell either me or Miss Hee-won. Anyway, we've run out of time, so let's end here for today."
"Understood..."
Han Min-ha meekly accepted my suggestion and rose from her chair with heavy movements.
"I'm sorry, Professor. I'm sorry, Hee-won..."
"What? Seriously? What's going on with you?"
Yoo Hee-won pressed her, but Han Min-ha simply shook her head with that same awkward smile.
"Miss Hee-won. Don't pry too much. If she wants to tell you, she'll do so eventually. If not, then it's clearly something she doesn't want others to know."
"Hmph."
Yoo Hee-won crossed her arms and glared at Han Min-ha with eyes full of suspicion. Not that it would make her talk.
"Everyone, you're dismissed. Train hard. Miss Min-ha, we'll continue the aura control lesson at our next meeting."
"Thank you."
I stepped out into the hallway and saw Han Min-ha and Yoo Hee-won off. Han Min-ha walked with slumped shoulders, slowly trailing behind Yoo Hee-won. What on earth could have happened? She wouldn't say a word, so there was no way to know. Well, she'd tell me if she wanted to. If she didn't, then it must be truly personal.
That aside... what Professor Jin Se-yeong had told me earlier was quite surprising. The explosion in the flight training room today had been caused by Han Min-ha. It was an accidental incident stemming from her inability to properly control her newly awakened aura. Her aura was unusually heavy. Heavy meant immense latent power, but it also made it incredibly difficult to wield. Han Tae-woo's aura had been exactly like that. His signature technique was to charge forward like a falling comet wrapped in that high-density aura. It was a simple, brute-force method, but it still required enough control to set a target and trajectory. In her current state, Han Min-ha was no better than a dump truck with broken brakes.
How should I help this mentally fragile child... I suppose... I'll have to use the method Secreto uses on new recruits... I really don't want to, but... there's no other choice...
When they reached a spot where the dormitory was visible, Yoo Hee-won suddenly stopped and spun around. She reached down toward the stunned Han Min-ha's waist and grabbed the hem of her skirt.
"Mommy!!"
As Yoo Hee-won lifted her skirt, Han Min-ha let out a terrified scream.