EP 2: The High School Graduate Myth

Daejeon Hyunmo Yangcheo High School (Daejeon Virtuous Wife High School), 3rd year classroom. A young female teacher struck the blackboard.

[If you commit a discourtesy toward a man.]

[Example) Spilling a drink on his clothes during a college blind date.]

"You all know, right? But today, because of some bitches, the chairman told me to educate you again. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Now, question. During a blind date, you spill a drink on a man. Does anyone know what that means?"

A female high school student in the front row raised her hand and stood up.

"It's a crisis of death."

"Right. You die. Why? Why would you die?"

Tap. Tap tap. The teacher circled the man, then drew a line back and wrote new letters.

[Main Wife]

"The main wife will never forgive. If left alone, she'll get cursed at, right? Because her husband being disrespected is the same as her being disrespected."

"If the main wife is a hotel maid or a quick service delivery person, it's fine. But only a tiny minority of men have main wives like that. If the main wife is a mage, it's safe to assume at least Deity Realm."

The teacher looked at the students.

"You guys. Imagine spilling coffee on a Deity Realm mage. Could you survive?"

The students' faces turned pale.

"See. So, if you mess up, follow the apology protocol first."

The teacher played a video. In the video, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a clay doll-like man and woman stood. Then the woman suddenly bowed to the man, apologizing and introducing herself. Then the man's mind went blank and he froze.

"A half-hearted apology provokes anger. But an overwhelming apology puts the other person in a stun state. It varies by person, but for at least several tens of seconds, they'll be dazed no matter what you do, so learn it. But this doesn't last long, and there are many people it doesn't work on, so be careful when using it."

The teacher threw three pieces of chalk.

"Urgh!"

"Ack!"

"It!"

Three female high school students who were dozing off got hit by chalk and fell from their chairs.

"That means you shouldn't be like those bitches."

Lee Seo-ah, fallen on the floor, rubbed her reddened forehead. The memory from earlier resurfaced.

—"I... I've had a bad family environment since I was young. I never received proper love either. So because of that, I've never properly talked to a woman."

Yoo Ji-tae had never been loved by a woman in his life. To Lee Seo-ah, such a Yoo Ji-tae looked like he was asking for help.

"I could have done it."

"Huh. What did you say?"

"Nothing."

Lee Seo-ah sighed as she looked at the sky outside the window.

'Ji-tae oppa. What are you doing now.'

*****

Even facing a woman head-on, my mind feels strangely at ease. The elixir I ate in the morning seems to be working well. There are only women around me, women, women, but rather, I feel something natural. Have I grown?

"Your posture is good."

"Yes?"

CEO Lee Ji-eun chuckled.

"You must have received a good education. It's hard to be like that unless you grew up in a pretty strict household."

At that moment, my mind felt like cold water had been poured on it.

EP 2: The High School Graduate Myth

"......."

"Oh my. Why? Your complexion looks bad."

"It's nothing."

There was a tension as if my throat was being squeezed. Naturally, more strength entered my body, and my fists clenched. I took a deep breath to barely maintain my composure.

"Anyway. Are you used to women? How many wives do you have?"

If used to, then used to. I've seen women's malice quite often. It's been like that since I was young. Moreover, now the women aren't showing malice and are openly welcoming. It's fine. Besides, if it's enduring, I'm somewhat skilled at it. The trick is simple. Observe the current me from afar, as if looking at myself. Then I can laugh off my own pain as if it were someone else's. If I can feel that way, it's enough. It's a method I've used often since childhood. If I show that I'm in pain, they'll push even harder, so I don't show it outwardly and only suffer inwardly.

"No. I don't have anything like a wife."

I said that with a small smile. Then the maids murmured from all around. CEO Lee Ji-eun smirked.

"What? Are you trying to seduce me now?"

Feeling uncomfortable, I averted my gaze.

"No. Not really. More than that, do you use the elixir yourself?"

"Ah. That."

When the conversation turned to work, she leaned back on the sofa as if bored.

"No. My niece is quite sick. But since that's the only means to cure her, I have no choice but to do it. Ah. Then you don't have a girlfriend either?"

"Yes. I've never dated a woman."

"...Nice."

Then she took out a card from her bosom and placed it on the table.

"With this, buy some clothes first. And if you want anything, use it as much as you like. Got it? If you need anything, order the maids around. If you need more, come to me. I'll do anything for you."

With a sigh, she stood up, and a tall maid bowed at the waist. Her mouth corners were hooked to her ears, and her eyes kept shaking.

"I'll guide you to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠room and workshop you'll be using!"

"I see. Thank you."

"Yes. Thank you!"

The first place I checked was the workshop. The workshop had many machines that were used in Chirnix before. There were some high-end products mixed in here and there, but in those cases, they didn't provide functions other than for that product. It was a very practical style of arrangement and composition.

"There was someone who used it before?"

"Yes. Professor Llywelyn came before. It took several days just to prepare because she suddenly requested various equipment."

"Is that so."

Crafting Alkahest is something I can't even dare to attempt. She must have come with tremendous resolve and determination of her own. And she failed.

After that, I went to the room. As expected of a VIP room, it was incomparably spacious and comfortable inside compared to the workshop dormitory I'm currently residing in. After throwing the bag with almost no luggage onto the bed, I stretched. Cracking sounds came from my shoulders and back.

"But where is that niece now? The hospital?"

"Ah. She's in the bedroom."

I thought the illness was quite serious, but it was unexpected that she was in a hotel room instead of the hospital. Well, if you're a chaebol, you call a doctor.

"Then guide me there."

"Eh."

"Anyway, you're going to feed it to that person, right? Before making the medicine, I need to see the patient's condition."

"......Well, that's true, but. Is there really a need to see? Alkahest is a famous medicine that could go down in history."

"...I can't see?"

"It's not that you can't. It's just that the situation isn't worth seeing. Hmm. But if you want to see, I'll guide you."

The reaction was strange, but I nodded and followed the maid's guidance. After walking through a long corridor, I arrived at a certain room.

"Thanks for guiding me."

"Yes."

The maid smiled as if she had made some decision and took my hand, bringing it to her chest. She winked with one eye and smiled. My face flushed with unfamiliarity, and my breathing became rough.

"If you need night service, you can call anytime."

"What. Don't joke. Who decides that."

"If there's a woman among the other maids that you like, please tell me. I'll send her right away. Yoo Ji-tae-nim."

Suppressing my disgust, I smiled like before.

"If that happens, I'll ask for your help."

"Ji-tae oppa. Even though I'm here."

Han Ye-jin was aghast and slumped. After the maid let go of my hand and left, I rubbed my arm. Yeah. It's still goodwill. Still, if it's goodwill, I can endure it. Even if it's unpleasant, all of that is something they're saying thinking of me. Responding to goodwill with malice is something I shouldn't do. That's the same thing my mother did to me. But if it's malice, it's different. Yeah. Yesterday, in that mad chat from Janus, even breathing deeply was hard, wasn't it.

"Then wait here."

"Yes...."

I opened the door and went inside. The inside of the room, which seemed to be about 40 pyeong, was filled with dazzling white. At the end, there was a bed, and next to the bed were several IV drips connected inside the blanket. The face wasn't visible because the whole body was covered with the blanket. I spoke to the blanket in the most polite tone possible.

"Excuse me. I'm an alchemist. I came to cure the illness. May I see your condition?"

The blanket rustled, perhaps because she woke up because of me.

"A man?"

"Yes."

"Ah. Did you come to laugh at me. Well, it's a rare spectacle."

My breath caught. It was different from the women I faced earlier. She was responding to me with clear malice.

"Why would I have to laugh at a patient?"

"Don't joke. Everyone is laughing at me. Moreover, everyone is hoping I die. You too."

It's a terrible state. Perhaps because of the long battle with illness, her personality was thoroughly twisted. Women of this era generally have overwhelmingly strong muscle strength and stamina. I experienced it this morning too.

'Is it dangerous if I approach any more.'

"Then. Well. I'll go back."

"I didn't tell you to go back."

What do you want me to do.

"...Then what should I do."

When I said that, she didn't answer. To my eyes, this woman now was a kind of creature. The moment I turn my back, it feels like she'll throw off the blanket and rush at me to harm me. It's a technique I was subjected to by my older sister when I was young. It was hard to take my eyes off.

"Really. You won't laugh?"

"...I don't know. Because I don't know what you look like."

"If you laugh, I'll never forgive you."

"Then you don't have to show me."

I added.

"If you don't want to show, you can ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cover it. Everyone has something they want to hide, and the side telling them to show it by force is the strange one. So if you don't want to, I will never ask you to show it. The only time I see your appearance is when you want it."

Let's try to gloss over it appropriately. Honestly, I regret coming in now.

"Really. You won't laugh?"

"...I can't make a definite statement. But I'm not someone who laughs at sick people."

A trembling hand came out from under the blanket and slowly revealed itself. There were blisters and boils under the skin, and it was a form that generally looked like a critically ill patient.

"Your body is quite damaged."

"...Isn't it strange?"

"It's not a normal case."

"...You said you wouldn't laugh."

"I'm not laughing. It's just a bit pitiful. It's normal for people to feel sympathy and want to help when someone is sick."

Even if the world isn't like that, I've always wished the world was like that. It's hard to have an attitude that's not like that now.

"A person? In this state?"

"Appearance isn't everything."

"Lies."

"There are many people whose appearance is ruined because they're sick. Among those people, there are great ones. Rather..."

My family members were pretty. So elegant and with a charm that captivated people that the word beautiful wasn't enough. So I wanted to be loved, but it was impossible.

"Even if their appearance is good, there are people whose hearts are monstrous."

The blanket went up again to cover her face. A sick hand stuck out sideways.

"Hand. Can you hold it?"

"......."

If I don't hold her hand here, it's like saying you're an ugly woman. I took a deep breath and held her hand. I lightly squeezed it and let go, then her hand quickly went into the blanket as if running away.

"I hate liars like you the most. Get out right now."

"Yes."

While leaving, I saw the point notification.

"I'll come tomorrow."

"Don't act like a hypocrite. If you don't want to come, don't come."

Points had been duplicated. I closed the door and left the room.