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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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“Can I kiss you?”
On the hospital bed, she looked up at me while holding me close and said that so casually.
I wanted to make a joke, but I couldn’t think straight because I had no experience with this.
“Is that a no?”
She had seemed like a child just moments ago, but now she was exuding a different kind of charm that was different from usual.
Yes, it was the allure of an adult woman, the opposite of her childlike demeanor from before.
Her scent, which had been subtly tickling my nerves because of our close proximity, suddenly became noticeable because of her words.
“Yes, that wouldn’t be right. This is a hospital, So-hyun is a cadet, and I’m a professor.”
Although she readily denied her own words, it sounded like she wouldn’t have held back if this wasn’t a hospital, if I wasn’t a cadet, or if she wasn’t a professor.
No, was she really saying she would have done it if it weren’t for the place and our positions…?
“Ah, there’s also the age gap. So-hyun, what about you? Are you not into older women?”
“Well…”
What? What was the right answer here?
Unfortunately, my life experience, which was almost devoid of contact with women, wasn’t helpful.
What else could I refer to?
-In the web novels in your memories, most of them pretended not to know. I personally didn’t like that.
‘I don’t like that either…!’
“So-hyun.”
“Y-yes…!?”
“What are you thinking about? Look at me.”
Was this really the same Professor Cathy who was clinging to me and trembling just moments ago…? This was mind-blowing.
I was reflected in her eyes as she slowly moved closer to my face.
Huh? Huh?
No, you said no. Should I dodge this? No, was there a need to dodge?
All sorts of thoughts crossed my mind, but regardless, she slowly but surely approached me, and peck. Her lips lightly touched…
…my forehead.
She smiled playfully and gently pressed her lips against my forehead once more.
“A kiss isn’t allowed, so this is a reservation.”
“A… reservation?”
“Yes, a reservation until So-hyun graduates. This much skinship is okay, right?”
Putting aside whether a kiss on the forehead was appropriate skinship between a cadet and a professor, that look in her eyes definitely wasn’t the look of someone who was just making a reservation.
She smiled bashfully and stood up.
“So, give me your answer then.”
She said so and left the hospital room, and I smiled contentedly for quite a while after I watched her leave.
“Ugh…!?”
A beat later, my forehead, where her soft touch lingered, felt like it was burning.
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As always, the discharge process was quick.
I was hospitalized for a day just in case, but there was no real reason to keep superhumans without any major problems in the hospital.
On the way back, we stopped by a cafe at Lilac’s suggestion.
“So-hyun, be honest. Are you dating the professor?”
But I didn’t know that he suggested stopping by a cafe just to get on my nerves while smiling mischievously.
Ah, damn it. I couldn’t even sleep at night because I was trying to forget about it.
“Oh, judging by your reaction, there’s definitely something going on.”
Not only Lilac, but even Cheon Yoo-hak, who would normally scoff and leave, was looking at me with interest.
What was this about, anyway? At least talk about this kind of topic was popular with the girls.
Why did I have to have this conversation with two dark-haired males?
“Just be honest. We won’t tell anyone.”
“Well, she’s definitely attractive, so there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
These bastards…
Well, this was what kids in their prime were like.
It was an age where they were interested in romance, male or female.
If nothing had actually happened, I would have calmly said no, but since something did happen, it was a bit difficult to talk about.
Well…
I knew I wasn’t at the age where I would be embarrassed about getting a kiss on the forehead.
But still…
No matter how old you were, if you had no experience, embarrassing things were embarrassing!
I had lived a life devoid of this kind of sweet and sour stuff!
No, more importantly, was this the right topic to be discussing right now?
Didn’t they remember almost dying yesterday? If they were the protagonists of a novel, they should be going off to have some kind of awakening event! Stop worrying about other people’s love lives…!
As I was about to shout that, their expressions seemed a bit too serious for just gossiping about romance.
“Actually, we talked while you were still unconscious.”
“Well, So-hyun, it’s a bit awkward to say this, but you were really angry when the professor was like that. It was the first time I saw you so agitated, and also…”
As Lilac hesitated, Cheon Yoo-hak took over.
“You charged in while in that agitated state and displayed a performance far beyond your usual level. How many academy cadets could overwhelm the ‘you’ from yesterday? Frankly, even Lilac and I can’t be sure.”
“So, I talked to Yoo-hak, and we thought… maybe it was that kind of thing.”
“…That kind of thing?”
“Awakening through the power of love… That kind of thing.”
“…Well, it’s not like there are no such cases.”
I thought I misheard for a moment.
Wow, these guys…
Were they the heroines of a shoujo manga or the protagonists of a web novel…?
Their voices trailed off, perhaps because they were embarrassed to even say it themselves.
The problem was that in this kind of world, there were cases of awakening through willpower or the power of love, but I guaranteed that Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak weren’t that type.
No, damn it, more importantly, was this really a protagonist awakening event and not just romantic gossip…?
I didn’t want to think about it, but since it was so different from the original story, I couldn’t help but recall the original story.
Lilac, the swordsman who silently swung his sword to hold on to what he had, even after losing his friends, comrades, and master, and being blamed and insulted.
Cheon Yoo-hak, the martial artist who desperately trained after his overflowing martial arts crumbled and he realized his chilling powerlessness, but eventually gave up everything he cherished to win because nothing worked against his increasingly powerful enemies.
The two before me were completely different from the ones in my memory.
Of course, these weren’t entirely negative changes, but the power of love was still a bit much for them.
“That’s not it. What power of love?”
“Then why were you so agitated?”
“Are you a crazy psychopath? The professor was like that, wouldn’t you be pissed?”
“No, well, that’s true, but…”
Well, it wasn’t true, but it wasn’t entirely a lie either, so they would probably be convinced.
“This is boring.”
…Cheon Yoo-hak, you bastard, did you just say this was boring?
“Actually, you rarely get agitated, So-hyun. We thought it was cool that you were so worked up for someone you liked.”
The build-up was quite serious, so I was going to let it slide, but it seemed like they were just half asking out of curiosity.
Oh, now that I thought about it, I was suddenly pissed.
These bastards. You dare to talk about romance with me?
You guys lost your comrades and whined in the original story, fell in love with some strange woman and got dumped, and now what? The power of love? Boring? Working hard for someone you like?
You clueless guys who couldn’t even manage your own love lives and made a mess of everything, who are you to interfere with other people’s love lives…?
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Actually, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable for them to think that way.
Kang So-hyun had said…
…that he was able to be so confident and confront her because he had such a relic, because he was certain he could be revived.
That he wasn’t brave or reckless, he just acted because he knew he had some leeway.
But even if they were certain, who could actually do that?
It hurt to be hit, and it was scary to face an opponent you couldn’t beat.
The two geniuses were still scared.
They couldn’t shake off the fear of the red color that had mercilessly crushed them, even when the three of them had attacked together.
So they tried to find the answer from the boy who was the only one who remained the same after seeing it, and the answer the immature boys came up with was…
‘Love.’
Weren’t there many stories where love helped overcome fear or despair?
Especially Kang So-hyun’s behavior that day gave them some basis for their thoughts.
-I’ll save you soon, Professor.
-It’s okay now.
Even while angry, he smiled gently only when looking at the professor, and his affectionate gaze… It was understandable that they misunderstood.
Anyway, the two boys, if it was a misunderstanding, wanted to end this topic before their friend got truly angry.
Normally, that would have been fine.
Kang So-hyun wasn’t so clueless as to not understand jokes, and he understood that the boys’ interest could be directed in that way.
But since there was a subtle incident with Professor Cathy, Kang So-hyun’s patience snapped a little faster than usual that day.
“…You…”
“…Hmm?”
“Huh? So-hyun, what did you say?”
“Shut the fuck up…!!!!!”
Kang So-hyun’s roar echoed through the cafe.
If it weren’t for the soundproofing barrier Cheon Yoo-hak had put up, everyone’s attention would have been drawn to them.
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I could clearly see what they were thinking from their expressions.
‘I poked the wrong bear…!’
That’s right, you bastards. You poked the wrong bear.
You idiots.
How much stress did I get from your love lives while reading the novel, and you dare try and make me the subject of gossip…?
My first target was Lilac.
“Lilac, the most important thing in romance is pure love. Drifts are something only idiots do. It’s not something you should choose based on momentary emotions or appearances.”
“Huh…? Yes, of course.”
Of course, my ass. If you knew that, would the original story have turned out like that?
“No, you don’t understand. From what I see, you have the face of someone who drifts.”
“Huh…? What kind of face is that? And I don’t even have anyone I…”
“Shut the fuck…!!!!”
“Oh, okay. Sorry, I’ll just keep listening.”
Although he had a puzzled expression, since he was the one who started teasing me, he seemed willing to listen for now.
“Hey, honestly, there’s someone who only looks at you and cares for you, and it’s a bit much for you to not notice that. Don’t you think…?”
“Huh…? Yes, I guess so if there’s someone like that…?”
Even Cheon Yoo-hak seemed dumbfounded and shook his head, but from what I saw, he was the same.
“You’re no different, you bastard.”
“…What?”
“Oh, why are you so surprised? Do you think you’re better than Lilac? You’re both the same. No, he genuinely doesn’t know, but you’re worse because you’re pretending not to know.”
“Ahem, giving an answer based on my own opinion to someone who isn’t even sure of their own feelings…”
“Oh, really?”
This bastard…
Even his words were the same as Joo-ri’s. They were a match made in heaven.
You romantically challenged bastards.
I might be bad, but I wasn’t as bad as you.
Is that why you guys were like that in the original story?
One pushed a girl who was hurt by his words about liking another woman to the point where she turned into a villain, and the other made a girl who couldn’t even confess her feelings confess only when she was dying after being attacked by a villain…
Ding~
Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak’s phones rang, and their expressions suddenly changed to urgency.
“Sorry, So-hyun! We were wrong, so let’s calm down! We need to be quiet now!”
“Calm down a bit. They contacted us and said they’re almost here.”
What’s coming? Am I getting a stress-induced stomach ulcer? Then it’s your fault, you bastards…!
“Then don’t bring up romance in the first place…! You guys…!”
“Hmm.”
Oh wow. They say even the most agitated person can calm down in an instant.
It was true.
Although it was a bit sad that the trigger was a woman’s voice, it seemed like anger wasn’t that big of a deal in the face of primal fear.
“Interesting.”
It was a calm and composed voice.
“Why did you suddenly stop talking? Continue, guys.”
A soundproofing barrier basically couldn’t block physical intrusion.
So if you approached closely, you would enter the effective range, and it would become useless.
I turned my head, and there was the pink chihuahua, who was smiling as if she was genuinely interested, Joo-ri, who was glaring at me with a dumbfounded look…
…and Kim Ga-eul and Kang Ha-ni, who seemed displeased for some reason.
“Hmm? You were talking about romance? I’m curious what you were talking about. You’ll let us join in, right?”
There wasn’t a trace of amusement in the pink chihuahua’s brightly smiling eyes.
Um, how much did you hear? And what did I say?
If it wasn’t too much trouble, could I apologize? You would accept it, right?
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T/N – You tell them, MC! God, I so hate dense protagonists. And the ones who know but keep making up excuses are even worse.
Also, the author is really going for Professor Cathy huh. From what I remember, the MC is 18 and the professor is 26. But you know what they say, “Age is just a number.”
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
Chose a god MC
And start praying
Out of the hospital, but now he’s going back in. RIP So-hyun.