EP 5: The Demon of the In-Seoul Retake Class

The yin and yang energies of the In-Seoul class at the retake academy possess the trait of strengthening each other upon contact. Taoist traditions took note of how men and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠women likewise embody yin and yang qualities.

“If a man and woman press their navels together and move their bodies, wouldn’t their energies strengthen one another?”

The cultivation method devised from that idea is none other than Chaeum Boyang and Chaeyang Boeum. Occasionally, proponents of same-sex union would mention Chaeyang Boyang or Chaeum Boeum, but they were immediately purged by the ruling party of male-female unionists, and the methods were eradicated. The surviving techniques came to be called bedroom arts, or paired cultivation, and their partners were referred to as doryeo—friends who cultivate the Dao together.

Yet even with the warning to receive without spilling, it is impossible for a man and woman sharing a room to mix their bodies without consequence. Inevitably, much is spilled and overflowed in the course of cultivation. In truth, that is the women’s original purpose. The bedroom arts are good for the body, delicious, and even grant a husband! So when a man recruits a bedroom-arts partner, women across the nation take leave to come running. Naturally, all sorts of wild rumors circulate. Today’s doryeo becomes tomorrow’s spouse. One session of bedroom arts is better for the body than three meals a day. Three sessions a day is the mark of a primary wife. Such gossip spreads so widely that some women claim they would die happy after experiencing it with a man just once.

For that reason, the head of Hyeseong Academy posts an annual recruitment notice for special scholarship students in the bedroom-arts study. Success is rare. There are almost no applicants; the last inquiry was two years ago. The reason is simple: the women’s aggressive courtship crosses every line.

When a man opens his eyes in the morning, women positioned on either side press their chests against his face. (A privilege granted only to the first- and second-ranked.) When he tries to eat breakfast, they sit beside him uninvited, breathing down his neck and shaking his shoulders while declaring his body belongs to them. During physical or strength training, they gather to admire his sweat-slicked form. Because a certain degree of affection is permitted on the grounds that mutual favor increases the efficiency of the bedroom arts, men eventually grow disgusted and flee.

The bedroom arts themselves are conducted violently. At minimum, three women cling to a man from front, back, and below, licking and sucking at his body. No matter how gently they claim to proceed, the man’s vital essence dries up. This has led to voices from the male camp:

Those opinions are never accepted. When men gather among themselves, their interest in women fades—not for romantic reasons, but simply because they find each other comfortable. Once they meet, they can chat for hours, and before long they naturally go out together. Women find it difficult to insert themselves into that dynamic. It is the worst possible outcome: men spending time meant ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for women on building friendships instead. That is why the bedroom-arts study always recruits only a single special scholarship student.

In other words:

Competition among the entire female student body for a single man had begun. Itoha finished her explanation and gave an awkward smile, as if to console me.

“Well, that’s how it is. Even the top-ranked students are pretty childish—resorting to this kind of petty sabotage. If they wanted to threaten someone, they should’ve gone after the higher ranks.”

“Ah. Um. Right.”

My gaze drifted to my desk. It lay in dozens of splintered pieces scattered across the floor. Female students who had gathered around me spoke up.

“Unnie, want to use my desk? Mine’s clean.”

“…This is too much. It’s obviously the work of the top-ranked students. They’re afraid you’ll steal their bedroom-arts study spot.”

“Are you okay, Serin-ah? Let’s share a desk for now.”

I began gathering the broken pieces of the desk.

“Huh? What are you doing?”

“I’m going to fix it.”

Hephaestus displayed a recipe.

In an instant, the desk was restored.

“…Huh?”

The entire class’s attention focused on me. Shock, respect, admiration—and hostility—filled their gazes. A girl who looked like one of the top-ranked students crossed her long legs.

“How diligent.”

She sighed and took her seat.

‘…It’s going to be really hard to actually attend class.’

EP 5: The Demon of the In-Seoul Retake Class

I sat down and waited. A young female instructor entered, dark circles under her eyes making her look exhausted.

“Ah, a new student. Nice to meet you. I’m the instructor in charge of Korean, English, Math, Science, and Korean History. I handle all non-magic subjects, so feel free to ask if you have any questions.”

‘She teaches five subjects by herself?’

“Today we have Korean. Let’s begin. It’s only one hour a day, but let’s do our best.”

“Um, Teacher? I’m a new student, so I don’t have any textbooks.”

“Ah, my apologies. I’ll bring one right over.”

The instructor pulled a thin notebook from her bag and placed it on my desk. Each thirty-page notebook was labeled with one of the five subjects.

‘This is the textbook?’

“All right, let’s start.”

The female students weren’t listening. Some had cleared their desks to do independent training. The rest were watching magic lectures on their phones. The instructor continued her lesson as if this were perfectly normal. When I focused on her lecture, her eyes changed.

“Excuse me, what’s the new student’s name?”

“Ah… Lee Se-rin.”

“I see. Thank you.”

She glanced at the students doing independent training and spoke again.

“I know the non-magic subjects have low weighting in the entrance exams. But they’re still important for building basic common sense and for adapting once you enter university. Would you all please stop the independent training and attend the lesson?”

After hearing that, I searched and confirmed that non-magic subjects indeed carried very low weighting—some schools even set it at 0%. Korea University and the prestigious universities set it around 5%.

One of the students doing independent training stood up and took out her phone.

“Yes, Staff. Could you replace the morning instructor? Ah, thank you.”

“Huh! Huhh! Huhhhh! Wait a second!”

“Is it done now? Thank you.”

A few minutes later, a female instructor wearing a crop top appeared. The previous instructor packed her materials and trudged out. The crop-top instructor slammed her hand against the blackboard.

“I heard there’s a new student. I don’t know if you’ll be able to keep up, but from now on we’re starting physical training. What I’m about to teach is the 108 Forms of Physical Training developed by Hyeseong Academy—shortened to the 108 Forms. It consists of 108 movements designed to rapidly improve stamina and strength.”

The instructor smirked.

“Once you master the 108 Forms to Lv.10, theoretically it improves stamina and strength by 0.05 per day. I participated in the research myself.”

0.05 strength per day. That meant it would take 100 days to raise it by just 5. With only 70 days left, it was useless to me—especially when I knew Manseong Pajigwon Gakbeop raised stamina and strength far more efficiently.

“Of course, none of the academy students have reached that level. Even the most talented top out at Lv.4 or 5. Still, that’s impressive in its own right—it reliably increases stamina and strength.”

The instructor demonstrated the basic 108 Forms. Even after dozens of minutes, she wasn’t sweating. My Hephaestus perfectly understood the movements.

“That’s how it’s done. Got it?”

The instructor smiled brightly.

‘Is this really all there is? Or is this all the In-Seoul class provides?’

“…Excuse me, I have a question.”

The instructor held out her hand.

“Ah, wait. I forgot to mention—lecture-related questions are paid.”

“Excuse me?”

I felt my common sense shatter.

“The basic lecture is already over. If you want private tutoring or to ask questions beyond this, you’ll have to go through my assigned staff. Even if I wanted to help, I can’t. Providing tutoring outside the academy gets you fired. For reference, each question costs five million won. Think carefully before asking—you don’t want to waste money.”

“……No, that’s not what I—”

“Hm? Don’t you have a staff member? Want me to introduce you to one?”

She tossed me a business card with phone numbers. Many staff names were listed, but Cheon Hui-ah was not among them.

“Cheon Hui-ah isn’t here.”

“Ah, that one didn’t pay the contract fee.”

“Contract fee?”

“Yeah. If you want to sell my lectures, you have to pay me a contract fee first. Since she didn’t pay, she can’t do it.”

I stayed silent for a moment, then asked something that felt off.

“She was selling tutoring for Buwipagwisul, though.”

“That’s something she learned herself and is selling. She does have instructor qualifications. Of course, don’t buy it just because it’s cheap. Her level is trash—it’s a waste of money. If you’re going to learn, it’s better to pay more for a proper instructor.”

Ah. So that was it.

She looked at her phone, smiled, and walked over to several students.

“Thanks for the payment. I’ll check your forms from now on. One hour, right?”

“Yes. I don’t really understand this part.”

The remaining students began their own independent training. I scratched my head, then reluctantly started training with Manseong Pajigwon Gakbeop. The instructor stared at me.

“That doesn’t look like the 108 Forms.”

My shoulders twitched. My breath caught.

“Hoo. Serin-ah. The 108 Forms created by our Hyeseong Academy are truly excellent. I don’t know where you learned that sloppy method, but those half-baked movements will never improve your stamina or strength. Didn’t your staff tell you that?”

“But… I have my own method.”

“I see. I won’t interfere. But the results are your responsibility.”

“Yes.”

I began training in place. Itoha came over beside me.

“Are you serious? Using some cult-like training method instead of what the academy provides?”

“…It’s not a cult.”

I stomped, threw punches, gritted my teeth, and trained until my entire body screamed. After several hours, I collapsed on the floor just before lunch.

The results were good—nearly five to six times the maximum effect provided by the 108 Forms.

“Tsk tsk. Using the wrong training method is why your body is falling apart.”

The instructor watching me sighed, pulled a medicine bottle from her pocket, and handed it to me.

“Body-recovery medicine. First-day service.”

“…Thank you.”

After taking it, I pulled myself together. Lunchtime had arrived, and everyone was getting up. A lower-ranked female student who followed me came over.

“What kind of training method is that? I’ve never seen it before.”

“Um, wouldn’t it be better to learn the 108 Forms?”

“It’s what the academy teaches, so let’s learn it together.”

‘Sorry, but that method has abysmal efficiency. Training with it would be a loss.’

I couldn’t say that out loud.

A tall female student with long blonde hair approached.

“Not much to see here, is there?”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’m Baek Seol. I’m number one in this class.”

Baek Seol smirked and tapped my desk.

“If you’re doing weird things to get the male student’s attention, you should stop. Men hate women like that the most. And I hate it too.”

“Ah. Yes.”

“Also, I don’t know what trick you used on the strength test day, but you should stop that too. Everyone’s already on edge.”

“Yes….”

Baek Seol smiled brightly, then placed a hand on her chest.

“Well, I’ll let it slide for now. But you shouldn’t get any ideas about being chosen as the doryeo. I’m the one who’ll be selected.”

“…Yes.”

“Good. You’re obedient.”

Baek Seol hummed as she left the classroom.

So she was the one who broke my desk.