NOVEL NEXT chapter 44
44 – Intuition
Through… through?
s*xy is a universally appealing charm, but it seems to be a multi-dimensional charm, not a universal one.
The silk is so thin.
Yeonhwa, wearing a sheer fabric that clearly reveals everything underneath, gets into a car.
In the fantastic curves that flow from the back to the hips, even blinking once seems like a waste of time.
The light pink silk seems like it’s only worn as a formality, not covering any part of her back.
No, it rather focuses more clearly on her hips with its faintly fluttering pink color.
Approaching her cautiously, I stand behind her.
With the scent of Yeonhwa’s body mixing with the fragrance of the tea that she’s pouring, my mind becomes blurry and it feels like I’m losing strength in my legs.
Thump.
I tightly wrap my arms around her.
I hold her chest and wrists, and press my lips against her neck.
Just as I expected, she turns her head and lightly smiles, burying her face in my shoulder.
– Why can’t you leave me alone for a moment?
– Did you wear this outfit to make me leave you alone? Is this really an outfit?
She playfully laughs with a mischievous look on her face like a child.
This time, I purchased fine silk with determination and personally made the modifications… If Kang Dae-hyup doesn’t like it, well…
She chuckled and teased me, leaving me flustered.
“No, no, it’s wonderful… Beautiful.”
As I unraveled the silk garment, her hand gently touched mine.
“If you like it, you should touch it gently… If you handle it roughly, it might tear.”
“Huh? Tear! Tear it!”
“Kang Dae-hyup, wait… Uhm… Uhm.”
My lips covered hers.
As the steaming hot tea grew cold, we couldn’t even take a sip.
:
:
:
“What do you think about expanding your influence, Dae-hyup?”
In the soft bed,
Yeon-hwa, nestled in my arms, asked carefully.
“Influence? Are you talking about some kind of power struggle?”
“Even if it’s not exactly a power struggle… aren’t you tired of fighting alone? Lonely and exhausted, aren’t you?”
“Well, as long as I have you, Yeon-hwa, I don’t need anyone else. I haven’t really felt the need for anyone else.”
“Again? Are you saying you won’t make any connections, won’t have any relationships? Like someone who’s going to leave soon!”
“hahahaha, no, no, don’t be angry… It’s not for that reason. It’s just that I haven’t had a chance to have comrades. Not here, not in the other world…”
“Oh…”
“Besides, the truth is that fighting together can be quite inefficient. A simple fight to protect myself turns into a troublesome task when I have to worry about comrades.”
“So you’re making those tools to help Kang Dae-hyup when he’s in danger?”
That’s right.
Yeon-hwa was, as always, concerned about me.
My life.
Is there anything else she values as much as that?
Although I couldn’t bring myself to say it, she was asking whether using others as tools was right.
Her world revolves solely around me.
She thinks about everything in the world from my perspective.
She touched her forehead again with her lips, and the thought of tea, which she had forgotten, came to her mind as she spoke to her.
– Has the tea gone cold?
– Oh! I’ll be back down in a moment. Just wait a little longer.
Yeonhwa rushed up desperately.
She put on a light pink silk dress that was lying on the floor.
Whether she wore it or not, it didn’t make much of a difference…
Could she taste that delicious tea today?
I find myself approaching her again, heading back down for tea.
***
“… You’re not drinking today?”
“…No.”
“… Shall I make another kind of tea for you?”
“No, no! It’s fine! Actually, I don’t like tea!”
I can’t stand this damn tasteless tea anymore.
Jihun was even lying that he now dislikes tea as he rejected Director Song Yoo-kyung’s tea.
A scene that seemed familiar.
But the location had changed.
Whenever problems arose, Jihun used to be called to Professor Jin Seok-hyun’s office, but now he was called to the director’s office.
“Ahem… Anyway. I heard you beat up three Class A top-tier hunters to a pulp after your promotion?”
“They were friends who needed a bit of beating.”
Confidently,
Jihun picked up a pastry placed next to the tea and took a bite, then spoke casually.
“This is fortunately delicious… Oh, no, it’s not.”
“…?”
Song Yoo-kyung found herself in a rather perplexing situation.
Jihun, who had strongly insisted on being directly promoted to Class 2, had beaten three Class A top-tier hunters to a pulp on the first day of his post-promotion class.
The strange question he had asked when she briefly explained the Class 1 system earlier.
Song Yoo-kyung felt a vague sense of unease, but she brushed it aside.
It doesn’t make any sense.
“Are you planning to challenge the A-rank hunters right after moving up to Class 2 and try to fight them?”
It’s something a normal person would never attempt, let alone think about.
But the Jihun in front of her was, unfortunately, not a normal person.
“Ahem…”
“Do you care about those guys getting hurt? They’re here right now, learning manners from me, and it will help reduce the chances of trouble in the future. Eventually, they will all be grateful to me for this.”
It didn’t sound like he was just saying it. Despite his playful words, there was a genuine conviction in his eyes.
Is this guy for real?
“After receiving Professor Gong’s report, I was truly surprised. Hwang Uitae, Jung Inhyuk, Kim Janghan… These three students are indeed infamous individuals, but their skills are not to be underestimated.”
“Their skills… are they really lacking?”
Ahem…
How should I handle this?
Song Yugyeong’s face remained expressionless.
This was a good thing. An exceptional talent had appeared.
Is it even possible for a Class 2 student to defeat three Class 1 students? Kang Jihun, the student in front of her, was clearly deserving of moving up to Class 1.
“I understand why Kang Jihun did what he did, and I also acknowledge the fact that I haven’t fully grasped Kang Jihun’s abilities.”
Someone who communicates well, admitting her own lack of judgment and fully appreciating the students’ abilities, she was certainly fitting to be the Academy Director.
Different from when Jihun met Professor Jin Seokhyun, she felt that the conversation was going smoothly and absentmindedly lifted a teacup to her lips.
“Phew…”
As if she couldn’t swallow it or let it linger in her mouth, Jihun, who had belatedly spat out the tea, made eye contact with Song Yugyeong.
“Is that so…?”
“…I’m sorry. I actually like tea… I always prepare high-quality tea to be considerate of my guests…”
“Cough…”
Her sigh deepened.
After finishing the snacks, Jihun asked her, “But isn’t it true that Class 1 students don’t usually show up at the Academy? The trio of troublemakers, right? Is that correct?”
Even though they were unquestionably the top class students at the Academy…
Hwang Ui-tae, Jung In-hyuk, and Kim Jang-han, Song Yu-kyung couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Ji-hoon, who was casually referred to as the “Three Stooges.”
“Yes… That’s true. The attendance rate of Class 1 students is low.”
“Why?”
“Well… Actually, Class 1 students are almost equivalent to nationally certified combat forces. It’s natural for them to have connected guilds. And those who are at that level prefer to experience real battles rather than learn and build their skills. So they spend their time going through gates or participating in activities with their guilds rather than attending the academy.”
“Hmm… Don’t they still receive support funds from the academy? And have freedom of access to the special library?”
“Yes, that’s true… It may seem like the academy simply provides everything for them, but that’s not always the case. They regularly undergo skill assessments and submit their own Hunter ability data to the academy. Just that alone shows that the academy takes good care of Class 1 students.”
“Hmm… I still don’t understand.”
“What…?”
“They call themselves Class 1 students, but they don’t even attend the academy. They use the academy’s name, receive money, and have access to information, but only give their own Hunter ability data periodically? This doesn’t make sense at all.”
“Well, just having the top-tier Hunters gathered and managed in one place-“
“Please give me the profiles of Class 1 students, including the guilds they’re connected to.”
“W-Why? Uh… I can’t just give out personal information-“
“I’ll let them know that they still need to learn and make them come back to the academy. If they are all valuable combat forces for our country, there needs to be a clear control over them.”
Song Yu-kyung realized that Ji-hoon was forcing his way through.
His words were a good and ideal story to hear, but it was the kind of thing that couldn’t be realized.
However, Song Yu-kyung wanted to believe in him for some reason.
She couldn’t explain why, but she had a feeling that a great change was coming to the academy, with Ji-hoon at the center of it.
So, without any evidence, only relying on her intuition…
Song Yu-kyung handed the Class 1 profile files to Ji-hoon as if possessed.