Fated to Die in an Academy Novel – Chapter 112

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

He was… big.

He wasn’t physically large, nor did he possess a pressure like the Fighting Demon.

Yet, that was my first impression of Cheon Mu-jin.

The pressure emanating from the man who led Cheon-hwa Group, the top corporation in the country, felt different from the intimidation I felt from strong opponents in battle.

If I had to describe it, it was a sense of presence.

“Such a waste.”

The man, a former hero, looked at me with undisguised interest.

“If you were a girl, you’d be the perfect daughter-in-law for Yoo-hak.”

…What the hell was this crazy bastard talking about?

This was the chairman of the top corporation in the country? Was the Cheon-hwa Group on the verge of collapse?

“Wow, Kang So-hyun hasn’t changed at all! Your face always scrunched up like that when I joked around!”

“I don’t think you’re joking.”

“Oh, but you’ve gotten better at joking!”

I wasn’t joking.

But I had a feeling that I shouldn’t say that again.

“If I wanted to, I could easily get a sex-change artifact, so isn’t that proof that I’m joking?… If only you weren’t Hyun-woo’s son.”

“Haha, that’s true. It was really funny.”

I almost screwed myself by joking around. Or maybe I almost got myself castrated?

“Anyway, thanks for the gift. If I stay in places like this for too long, everyone gets busy scheming and setting traps. Unexpected incidents are best left to the young ones.”

His large hand reached out and grabbed my shoulder.

“But let’s stop here. You know that Lira and Yoo-hak won’t work, right?”

He had erected a soundproof barrier, so no one else could hear us.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“When you were young, I thought you were just being brave because you didn’t know any better, but you should know better now. You’re still quite bold. I like it. But there are things that can’t be solved with friendship or love.”

“People will get suspicious if you use that barrier for too long.”

“Your situational awareness isn’t bad either. But So-hyun…”

“Yes.”

“I’m someone who has the power to crush such petty suspicions. You know what I’m saying?”

“Yes, of course.”

As expected of a former top hero, there was no falsehood in his words, and his pressure was quite strong.

But that didn’t mean I was scared.

‘Humans fear overwhelming power, whether it’s physical strength or wealth.’

That was something Cheon Mu-jin often said in the original story.

It applied to most of the people he met in his life, and it was the fundamental reason for his disappointment in others.

This cheerful and playful man was pretending to threaten me, perhaps because he had a sliver of hope that I might be different.

Was he testing me to see if I was qualified to be a friend who could guide Cheon Yoo-hak down a different path?

Actually, I partly caused this scene for this very moment.

Don’t worry, I’ll make sure your son walks a different path than you.

“Don’t worry. I won’t give up because of such a petty threat.”

I smiled confidently, and a crack appeared on the mask he was wearing.

“You…”

Cheon Mu-jin had undergone a similar test from his own father.

A test to see if the people around him were drawn to him for their family’s glory and wealth, or if they truly cared for him and would stay by his side.

Well, how resilient could kids fresh out of the academy be?

During the test, the woman he loved succumbed to money, and his friends, unable to withstand the threats, left him one by one.

In the end, he married the fiancée his father had prepared for him and lived a life where his only friend was my father. But that didn’t mean that his life was a sad one.

That was why he was hesitating.

He was putting on this grand show and testing us in a way far more troublesome than his father did to see which path was right for his son.

He hoped that his son wouldn’t be hurt too much.

But it would be hard to enjoy a party with such schemes involved.

“I will never betray him. And neither will the others. You can test us further if you want, but it’s pointless, so you should just enjoy the party.”

I tried to smile confidently, but I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right.

A mixture of kindness and bitterness momentarily flashed in his eyes.

He probably remembered when his own friends faced similar threats.

“How did you know?”

As always, I had a suitable excuse prepared for this kind of question.

“Cheon Yoo-hak is more fragile than he looks. He’s easily hurt. It’s understandable to be worried.”

“You and my daughter are the only ones in the world who think Yoo-hak is fragile.”

He said that with a smile on his face.

This should be enough.

I suddenly noticed Cheon Yoo-hak looking at me from afar with trust.

Although it wasn’t depicted in the original story, Yoo-hak, who was shaken by losing me, his friend, became even more obsessed with power after losing his followers and Joo-ri, who loved him.

Yet, he lost repeatedly.

He rarely won against truly powerful opponents in the academy arc.

He could have given up, he could have admitted that his talent, like his father’s, wasn’t enough to reach the top.

But he didn’t give up.

If he couldn’t overcome something with hard work, he tried to find other means, and with that determination, Cheon Yoo-hak eventually resorted to forbidden techniques.

Forbidden techniques that granted power by paying a price to a god of another world.

At first, he offered relatively small things like a finger or blood, but as stronger enemies appeared, Cheon Yoo-hak unhesitatingly sacrificed his own body.

-I won’t lose anything else. I won’t concede anything.

By the time the story was discontinued, half of his body was controlled by a foreign god and he was unable to even maintain his sanity without assistance.

And it was his father, Cheon Mu-jin, who helped him obtain the forbidden techniques.

I presumed that he made that choice because he couldn’t bear to watch his son break down while doing nothing, so he helped him burn brighter.

Perhaps he had made that choice out of regret for not being able to protect what he cherished with his power and wealth. He couldn’t just watch his son struggle against fate, refusing to surrender.

I didn’t know for sure.

His feelings weren’t described in the original story or the settings book.

The feelings of a father who sacrificed his own life for his son as a price for a contract with a foreign god were now lost to time.

It was just a vanished possibility of a future that was ruined by my own hands.

“Anyway, I’ll be there for him if he’s about to fall, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

There were plenty of opportunities in this world besides making contracts with foreign gods. They were all consumed by the villains.

A hero who lost his pride, his dignity, and even himself, yet still swung his spear for the last remaining shred of hope, was no longer needed in this world.

I would make sure of it.

“Sometimes, when I look at young people, I think…”

“Yes?”

“…Maybe I could have lived more like a hero than like this.”

He patted my shoulder again with a slightly bitter expression, his hand devoid of any pressure.

“Thank you for saying that.”

“It’s nothing. And you’re not going to cancel Yoo-hak’s potential engagement candidates, are you?”

“Of course not. How precious is it to see my son embarrassed? And there’s a chance that there might be a better girl for Yoo-hak than Lira.”

Hmm, I personally wanted Joo-ri to win, but was it crossing the line for me to interfere? I meddled with Yoo-na’s situation because she might have had a bad ending if I didn’t, but this was different.

Lira! Love and victory are things you have to fight for yourself! Good luck!

Ah, serious atmosphere aside, I should also enjoy myself!

Time for some live romantic comedy!

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

…How did things turn out like this?

I took care of what I needed to do, so I was planning to enjoy the food and watch the romantic comedy unfold.

Well, strictly speaking, I was watching.

It was interesting to see Joo-ri actively securing the first dance with Cheon Yoo-hak in front of the girls clinging to him. And there was Lilac who was supporting a girl who twisted her ankle and asking if she was okay, which fueled Yoo-na’s jealousy.

The girl, who was about to ask him for a dance, hiccuped and ran away after seeing Yoo-na’s glare.

And it was quite amusing to see Woo Jae-hee and Chan-hui, the guys from Cheon Yoo-hak’s party, trying to pick up girls and failing miserably, lowering their favorability with the girls from Cheon Yoo-hak’s party.

Wait, but Woo Jae-hee, that bastard, still hadn’t given up and was talking to another girl.

…Good luck with that.

Anyway, you might be wondering what I was complaining about. I preferred being a spectator rather than being a participant in a romantic comedy.

“E-Excuse me, would you… dance with me later…?”

Ah, um, it all started when a girl I had never met before asked me for a dance.

“Hmm, I wonder? Miss, this friend’s dance card is already full~ I might not be as good, but how about me instead?”

Before I could even answer, Ha-ni acted like a cockblocker and took the girl away.

The problem was that it didn’t end there.

Whenever I was enjoying the food and the show, someone would approach me and ask for a dance.

…But I didn’t even know how to dance?

What were they expecting from me? I couldn’t perform some kind of talent show dance here.

Anyway, as the number of requests increased, even Ha-ni couldn’t handle them all, and those who broke through her guard had to face my sister.

“Oh my, it’s been a while.”

This one seemed to know my sister, and she shrunk back the moment she saw her.

Where was the confident girl who said “I’m not bad enough to embarrass my partner,” when she asked me for a dance?

“I didn’t know! Na-hyun unnie! I really didn’t know!”

“Hmm, I’m sure. I know. If you knew, you wouldn’t have looked at my brother with those eyes even if you didn’t value them.”

…Her eyes?

“Ah, or did you already forget after recovering? Should I burn both of your eyes this time?”

Oh, I didn’t know my sister had a hobby of giving people Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils. That’s terrifying.

“What are you still doing here? Get lost.”

“Y-Yes…!!!!”

Wow, I forgot because she had been acting gentler lately, but this was my sister. I should be careful.

“…You should stop charming girls too. Did you know she was about to touch your ass?”

…Oh my god.

“You must be mistaken. Her gaze was a bit intense, but I didn’t think she would do that at a party like this…”

“She sexually harassed a male celebrity while we were on the same program and almost got arrested, but she got away with it because she’s a C-rank hero. Ah, and she’s older than me. She’s acting like this because I lightly roasted her once, so don’t misunderstand.”

Yes, I definitely wouldn’t misunderstand. Getting your eyes burned was incredibly painful, as I experienced firsthand.

“…You were thinking of something strange.”

Damn it, how did she know?

“You always have a softer expression than usual when you lie. The others might not know, but I’m your sister. You think I wouldn’t know?”

Sister.

Sun Wukong said we weren’t blood-related.

Well, even if So-hyun and she were blood-related, it would be difficult to consider me blood-related to her.

But even so, when I talked to her like this, it didn’t feel like I was talking to a stranger, even if it was awkward.

“Dance.”

“Yes?”

“Who are you going to dance with first?”

…I resolved my partner problem, but now it was the first dance issue?

“Should I dance with you, Noona?”

I said that jokingly, and she opened and closed her mouth with an indescribable expression before letting out a sigh.

After a pause, she then spoke.

“…Forget it. Take care of Cathy unnie. Or are you going to dance with that Ga-eul girl?”

“I wonder.”

“…How did my brother become such a playboy? Come running to me if you’re about to get stabbed.”

“Don’t say such horrifying things. I’m not dating anyone yet.”

“Saying ‘yet’ means it’s not exactly a platonic relationship, right?”

…I had nothing to say.

“…It’s okay to run away.”

“Yes?”

“If you’re about to get stabbed, you can run away, and I’ll take care of you. Of course, you can run away even if you’re not about to get stabbed. I can afford to raise you.”

I thought she was joking, but her expression was serious.

Affection and obsession.

Responsibility and guilt.

Her eyes that was clearly looking at me seemed to be chasing someone else.

But I had no intention of running away, and there was no reason to.

There were still too many things I had to prevent, too many things I had to fix.

-I don’t deserve to run away.

And there were too many things I had to find out.

“Well, I’ll handle things before I have to run away.”

“…Hmph, whatever.”

My sister picked up a red drink that suited her perfectly and walked away with a proud gait to greet the others.

And those who noticed the empty space next to me tried to approach me again, but this time, Ga-eul tried to intercept them.

Tried was the operative term. They all seemed to think they could handle Ga-eul and approached me while ignoring her, which was quite amusing.

“Why are you ignoring me!?”

Ah, because you’re a “butt.”

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

T/N – Well, this was an interesting chapter. We get a glimpse of what happened to Yoo-hak in the original story, and damn, that author friend of the MC was ruthless to him. Poor Yoo-hak. I also am not sure if I approve of what Mu-jin in that story did to support Yoo-hak, but one thing for sure is that he really is a dedicated father.

Also, I wonder what the story is regarding Na-hyun? She seems like she’s projecting someone on the MC, hence her affection for him.

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.