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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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The incident was resolved quickly, of course.
-I apologize…!
-I wasn’t thinking straight…!
-Y-Y-You crazy bastard! You were the one who started it!
And so on. I received sincere apologies from the seniors.
You’re wondering about the one guy who seemed strange? The one who poured the extract on me? He was expelled from their club.
Seriously, he was scolded so severely that I almost felt sorry for him.
Of course, I concluded I shouldn’t feel sorry for him because it was his own fault!
I didn’t create this incident out of thin air. Who told him to threaten me and pick a fight with me because he was jealous?
“…So-hyun, are you really okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I can just wash my clothes, and I already showered. Ah, I don’t smell of ginseng anymore, do I?”
The academy had shower facilities, and my sister quickly brought me some fresh clothes.
…The colors were a bit brighter than I’d like, but I couldn’t complain.
Anyway, the Health Extract Club members who were facing Professor Cathy and my sister’s wrath tried the typical excuse of “We didn’t mean to do that” and “It was just an individual’s impulsive action,” but of course, it didn’t work. When Professor Cathy threatened to quit as their advisor if they didn’t apologize to me properly, they immediately bowed their heads.
Especially the guy who poured the extract on me. He kept making excuses instead of apologizing, so he was immediately expelled from the club on the spot.
It was quite amusing to see him yelling about how unfair it was, but judging by his attitude as he glared at me instead of reflecting until the very end, I had a reasonable suspicion that he would become a villain rather than a hero in the future.
Well, the two people in front of me were more important than some rude senior, so I should stop thinking about him already.
“What are you talking about? You smell nice now.”
“Ah, now that you mention it, you do. So-hyun, are you wearing perfume?”
Actually, I was just joking about the smell.
After living with Ha-ni, I had developed a habit of washing myself thoroughly.
I hadn’t worried about my smell since consuming the elixir.
It was practically a natural deodorant.
Anyway, they were worried about me because of those guys, so they dragged me out while saying that they would buy me lunch. Seeing them in the cafeteria reminded me of something.
This restaurant was where these two first met.
“What do you want to eat, So-hyun?”
“They don’t sell omurice here anymore. I heard you like that.”
Well, they weren’t on good terms back then.
It was my sister who broke the silence as we waited for our food.
“Ah, right. Cathy unnie. I heard Yoo-hak is in your class. You received a party invitation, right?”
The birthday party of Cheon Yoo-hak, the heir of the Cheon family, was divided into two parts: an open party outside that anyone could attend without an invitation, and a VIP hall party inside for invited guests and their partners only.
It was called a festival, but the outside would probably get chaotic.
“Ah, yes. Of course, I received one. Almost everyone in his class received one.”
Cheon Yoo-hak’s father had threatened to invite everyone at school if he didn’t bring a minimum number of guests, so Cheon Yoo-hak tearfully invited a few people he wasn’t close with to meet the quota.
“I see. Then, unnie, have you already chosen a partner?”
“U-Uh…!? Me? That…”
The professor seemed to be subtly watching my sister’s reaction, so she probably hadn’t told her about asking me to be her partner yet.
Well, it wasn’t something she had to tell my sister.
“So you don’t have one? What about you, So-hyun?”
“…I had some offers, but I haven’t decided yet.”
My sister nodded in relief.
“Then, So-hyun, how about we go in together, the three of us?”
…Did I hear that right?
“Huh?”
“How about we go in together, me, Cathy unnie, and you?”
Did Sun Wukong accidentally mess with my ears when he was rebuilding my body?
“Don’t look at me like that. I hate to say it myself, but I’m practically a celebrity, and Unnie is a professor, so it’s perfect for gossip articles.”
Oh, I see. But you’re family, Noona, so that makes sense. But the professor has no relation to me. Wouldn’t I become the subject of gossip instead of preventing rumors?
“Yeah, that’s good, Na-hyun. That’s a good idea.”
But the professor readily agreed.
“No, wait. Noona, a partner is usually someone you enter with at the same time, right?”
“You have two arms. You can link arms with both of us and enter.”
…Was my sister always like this?
“…Or do you already have someone in mind?”
Seeing her frown, she finally looked like my sister!
She wasn’t always fierce, but perhaps due to the impression she made when I first met her, she seemed more like herself when she frowned.
But honestly, how could I enter such a huge party while linking arms with both my sister and Professor Cathy?
I’d be assassinated. Even if I wasn’t assassinated, Cheon Yoo-hak’s father wouldn’t miss such an interesting event.
…Hmm? Now that I thought about it, it didn’t sound so bad. I needed to attract his attention anyway.
But who should I go with?
It was a real problem.
Not to mention the others, there was Ha-ni, Ga-eul, Professor Cathy, and even my sister.
I was honestly happy to receive so many requests, but each of them had their pros and cons, making it difficult for me to choose.
Wait, Ga-eul hadn’t actually asked me yet.
She was interrupted by the professor.
…No, but why was I even having such playboy-like worries?
I didn’t even have a girlfriend.
“…Are you saying no because you don’t want to?”
No, please. It makes me uncomfortable whenever I see my sister act so dejected.
In the end, instead of answering, I dodged the question.
“It’s not that I don’t want to, but wouldn’t it be too conspicuous to enter with both of you?”
But I realized that my choice of words was a bit off.
“…As expected.”
“…Huh?”
Why was she suddenly speaking in such a low and serious voice? It made me anxious.
“I see. I didn’t expect to face Na-hyun like this again.”
“Me neither. I don’t want to fight with you, unnie, so could you please give in this once?”
Huh? Why was the conversation suddenly going this way?
To make matters worse, our food arrived at the worst possible time.
The dishes all looked delicious, but the atmosphere was so tense that I couldn’t bring myself to eat.
Why did I always end up in hell whenever I come here with these two?
Was this my fault? Was there really something wrong with me?
Just as I was about to pick up my spoon while enduring the suffocating atmosphere, my smartphone rang.
“Ah, I’ll just check my messages!”
Please, anyone, save me from this situation.
I opened the message while hoping for a lifeline, but its contents were so baffling that I couldn’t comprehend it at first.
No, the meaning was clear and concise.
There was no room for other interpretations.
The sender was Yoo-na.
Yeah, that made sense.
But the content was so absurd that I thought it was a joke.
No, I didn’t want to understand it.
[Do you want to be my partner?]
I wanted to deny that Lilac, that idiot, had caused another incident.
This wasn’t a lifeline. This was a sinking ship!
Alright, lunch was over.
I would definitely get indigestion if I ate anything now. Seriously.
Even my sister and the professor, who had been about to argue, looked at me with concern, noticing my suddenly stiff expression.
[Where are you?]
I had no choice but to reply.
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“Damn it…!”
A boy kicked a trash can in a park near the academy.
It was a fixed trash can, but when a superhuman kicked it with all his might, it spilled its contents and rolled away.
He was annoyed by the bastard club members who betrayed him without a second thought after he messed with a disrespectful junior and the pretty boy who tricked the innocent professor and stole her partner spot.
“Bastards. I did it for you because you were being so pathetic.”
Feelings towards someone could easily be distorted.
The words “for you” justified his actions and made it easy for him to make excuses.
In the boy’s mind, he was practically a hero who acted for Professor Cathy.
A bitter feeling towards her, who didn’t appreciate his devotion, momentarily surfaced in his heart, but he quickly dismissed it and corrected his thoughts.
The professor was just tricked by those other bastards.
That black-haired bastard who smirked at him, the club members who used him and then pretended to be innocent, and those who acted kind while flirting with other girls…
He remembered them all.
Of course, remembering them wouldn’t change anything, but he smiled while imagining himself punishing them.
As he raised his head while harboring a twisted hope of making it a reality someday—
“Ah, hello?”
“Eek!?”
He landed on his butt, startled by the people who suddenly appeared in front of him.
“Ah, why are you so surprised? We just smelled the delicious scent of desire here and wanted to offer you some help~”
“D-Desire?”
“Yes, it was a wonderful dream. That’s right. You deserve to have that dream.”
The women approached him while exuding a seductive aura and an intoxicating magical power as if hypnotizing him.
“We just want to help you. If you come with us, we can make that dream come true.”
He felt his heart race as he looked at them and slowly opened his mouth.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not interested in anything weird, so find someone else.”
“…Huh?”
One of the things he learned in his 18 years of life was that people who approached him like this were always trouble.
Just because he had violent thoughts earlier, it didn’t mean that he had lost all reason.
He wasn’t a child. Who in their right mind would readily believe a group of robed people who suddenly appeared before them and said “You are worthy” unless they were an idiot?
“Ah, damn it. What the hell? They said kids like this would be easily swayed. They’re all liars.”
He tried to run away from the women who had revealed their true colors, but they caught him easily.
“We should have done this from the beginning.”
“…Mmm…!”
He wanted to scream, but his mouth wouldn’t open.
“Don’t worry~ We’re not going to hurt you. We just really need some twisted desires. You’ll actually enjoy it~”
He felt his strength draining as he looked into her strangely glowing eyes.
Huh? Was he falling asleep? Here?
He couldn’t resist the overwhelming drowsiness.
“Then, sweet dreams.”
“Why are you being so polite to a kid like that? How much is left of today’s quota?”
“He’s the last one for today. But let’s look around a bit more.”
“Huh? Let’s go if we’re done. I really hate this.”
“Don’t be like that. He’s a talent who will sacrifice his life for our cause.”
“…He’s just prey we hunted. You’re more twisted than me, bitch.”
They spread their bat-like wings and soared into the sky, their conversation far from what you’d expect from kidnappers.
“For the day when the world of dreams will open.”
“Yes, yes. Let’s go find some more then.”
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I decided to meet Yoo-na at the cafe we usually met at after school.
The cafe door opened with a jingle.
This place had become our default meeting spot, but I wasn’t feeling very good right now.
Judging by the way she was enjoying her chamomile tea in the same spot as always, she seemed quite angry, but honestly, I couldn’t understand her message no matter how angry she was.
“Hey.”
“Ah, you’re here? Did you order already?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll pay for it since you came because of me.”
“…Forget it, and I’m sorry, but my head hurts too, so I’ll just ask directly.”
“Really? Go ahead.”
“What is this nonsense?”
I showed her the message she sent, implying she should deny it, but she retorted casually.
“It means what it says. Are you interested in going to the party with me as my partner?”
“What about Lilac?”
The moment I mentioned Lilac’s name, her shoulders trembled.
…No, damn it, what did that idiot Lilac do again?
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T/N – Oh damn, drama incoming. Poor Yoo-na, always suffering because of Lilac. No wonder readers didn’t like him in the original work.
Also, bully extra A almost got away. Too bad, his opponents were just too strong. I wonder who these new villains are?
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
My guess is demons related to that knife relic demoness. Also why did he not agree to going with both he should know about the demons, right?