ALL NOVEL Chapter 165
In the center of a garden bursting with greenery, a group of female students in white school uniforms were chatting about various topics.
“Where’s A-yoon?”
Someone noticed the absence of one of their usual friends. Another female student lightly shook her head.
“She’s still hospitalized.”
“Still…?”
“Well, it’s a miracle she’s not dead. Trading two fingers for her life… That’s a bargain!”
The conversation continued in a somber atmosphere. They could clearly feel the recent chaotic situations through external requests. Monsters appearing near the capital, warlocks plotting in dirty, smelly sewers, and bizarre mutations reported more each day.
Fortunately, there had been no fatalities yet, but some students who faced those threats had to return to the cradle seriously injured and on the verge of death.
“By the way… what’s happening with City No. 1 now?”
“It’s done for, I guess.”
The conversation naturally flowed to the recent events.
“My cousin who works at the administrative office told me that the purification squad has completely sealed off the city. Not even an ant can escape.”
“What’s really going on…?”
Everyone already knew that there was chaos in City No. 1. While the students were curious about the circumstances, they could only access vague rumors due to strict information control. They heard that the entire citizenry had turned into hideous mutations, and a secret society plotting underground had started a riot, and so forth.
“I’m curious… should I ask Baek Seoyeon-sunbaenim?”
Amidst the chatter, one female student suddenly mentioned someone’s name, causing a blond, green-eyed student who was quietly sitting nearby to flinch slightly.
The idol of the 2nd-year cradle, Baek Seoyeon, had headed towards City No. 1 in response to an urgent request for support, and that was one of the few facts they knew.
“Oh, come on. Do you really think she’d answer that?”
“I’m curious… should I just casually ask her?”
“Her?”
“You know… the one from Heukryeon…”
Once known as a questionable student, the Masked Male Student had recently won a Gold Star Medal for his work in the South, fueling rumors that he was deeply involved in the current situation.
“Hey, hey…”
One of the friends quickly interrupted the girl who was babbling mindlessly. Only then did she realize her mistake and hurriedly turn her head away.
In the blinding afternoon sun, a strikingly beautiful student with exotic looks sat cross-legged, clearly displeased with something.
“Ah, hahaha…”
The atmosphere grew even heavier. Jin Yeseo was someone who didn’t particularly like boys. Among them, her dislike of the Masked Male Student, nicknamed the questionable type, was almost infamous among the cradle’s students.
Even after it was revealed that he was the direct descendant and likely successor of the Heukryeon family, nothing changed. After all, this was the guy who had blocked Jin Yeseo’s way at every turn.
During their last duel, the image of the male student beating Jin Yeseo like a rag was still fresh in everyone’s memory.
Not to mention, she herself didn’t need to be reminded. Having tasted absolute humiliation and shame, she ended up with a shocking defeat against Moon Yeowool, who was considered beneath her after being injured in that duel.
Her rank crashed into the bottom ten, failing to qualify for the commission that was supposed to be the first step in her future rise.
Though she had mostly recovered now, the shock had forced Jin Yeseo to hide from others for a while, looking like a near-recluse.
He, on the other hand, was not only completing commissions during this assignment but also said to have made great contributions. Rumor had it he was to receive further accolades.
It was a drastically different situation compared to Jin Yeseo, who was hospitalized for a mere B-level request and received only light injuries.
He could be called the one who robbed Jin Yeseo of everything.
“Ahahaha… Yeseo…”
The girl who first mentioned him desperately tried to save her mistake.
“At least it’s a relief she’s not too hurt… right?”
“Yeah… we could have been in big trouble…”
“So glad her face wasn’t injured…”
The girls chimed in, but Jin Yeseo’s sour expression didn’t improve at all.
Instead, she narrowed her eyes and muttered half-heartedly.
“…Right.”
In this nutrient-deficient social gathering, she continued to ponder someone else’s thoughts.
*
Crunch… crunch…
Before Jin Yeseo, who had resigned herself and was waiting for the end, an icy expanse suddenly unfolded. A terrible chill seeped into her body. The gruesome monsters that seemed to have crawled up from the bottom of hell were frozen, not stirring in the slightest.
“Oh…!”
She immediately recognized that it was Paecheon’s unique magic, the Snowfield. And she also realized who was coming as reinforcements.
Pitter-patter… thud, thud, thud.
The footsteps approaching them soon turned from a nervous pace into a desperate rush.
Jin Yeseo had to quickly swallow the word ‘sister’ that was rising in her throat. It was a sudden realization of her situation being secret from everyone else.
Sweating profusely, her heart thumping heavily. Confusion filled her mind, and her brain froze, leaving her without any proper explanations.
Squish…
Then, a stench and warm sensation trickled down her palm. She hastily turned her body.
“Uh…?”
Only then did she perceive the deep hole gushing dark red blood in the male student’s abdomen. She understood that he was injured while protecting her.
In no time, his large and solid body leaned precariously toward Jin Yeseo.
“Hey, hey…! Stay awake…!”
“Move aside.”
But before Jin Yeseo could take any action, she heard a familiar voice in an unfamiliar chill.
Baek Seoyeon disregarded Jin Yeseo and focused only on the male student. She hurriedly laid him down on the floor.
Without a moment’s hesitation, she removed his gas mask, checking his condition.
His skin was pale to the point of displaying a bluish hue. An obvious shadow of death loomed over him, yet the faint breath escaping his lips told her that there was still a glimmer of hope.
“He’s alive…”
Hiss…
Baek Seoyeon mumbled something quietly and proceeded quickly with further measures. Freezing his wound entirely to slow the bleeding, she issued commands to the arriving soldiers.
“This is an urgent situation. We need to hurry with the transport.”
“Yes!”
“And…”
Soon her gaze turned to Jin Yeseo, who was sitting there dazed. It was an eerily unfamiliar coldness for someone who had always received her warm glances.
However, noticing that Jin Yeseo was uninjured and posed no threat, Baek Seoyeon showed no interest and swiftly turned away, hurrying after the transported male student.
“There! This area is dangerous. Evacuate quickly…”
Until a soldier came over to pull her away, Jin Yeseo blankly stared in the direction he had left.
*
On the way back from the social gathering, Jin Yeseo was replaying what happened in City No. 1 in her mind.
Fortunately, Baek Seoyeon’s attention was solely on the male student, so she didn’t face any inquiries or risk having her identity discovered.
However, the new side that Baek Seoyeon had shown that day kept swirling in her head.
“…”
Of course, considering Baek Seoyeon’s beautiful heart, it was not an impossible scene.
Although they had conflicting relationships, she was compassionate enough to wrap around him completely.
“Still, that seems a bit… excessive…”
The urgent footsteps, the tender touch on his cheek, the pale face that made her bite her lip upon sight, and the joyful expression at even the slightest sign of breath.
Haaa…
Stopping in her tracks, Jin Yeseo sighed deeply. There was indeed a limit to delusions.
She gazed at the distant cradle ward, feeling as if she had left something important behind.
“Miss. Here’s the medical report.”
A servant assigned to monitor her under the guise of care suddenly handed her a piece of paper a few days prior.
“It’s just minor bruises and strains. They say she can resume daily activities and even light training with no issue.”
The servant, who served her mother instead of Jin Yeseo, had a very strict demeanor with her.
“I’ll start the discharge process right away. Isn’t it time for you to focus on your studies?”
“But…!”
“Your master is very disappointed.”
Despite her protests, the heavy words continued to echo.
“How could you fall below the top 10 ranking and end up hospitalized from a mere B-level request? What a disgrace… It’s such a waste of time you could have spent training for the black flame…”
“…”
The voice droning on like a parrot reciting her mother’s opinions was understandably reasonable.
Given her quick recovery as a magician, she had long since removed the bandage from her wrist.
Moreover, since the relationship between Jin Yeseo and the male student, along with their secret trip to City No. 1, had been concealed, it was entirely plausible for others to view it as mere feigning illness or slacking off.
Jin Yeseo eventually left the ward quietly, not uttering another word.
She left without keeping her promise of returning to see him again.
However, she shuddered in frustration. It felt like a shackle named “clan” was tightening around her neck. This sensation had only intensified since her return.
After living as a lower-class woman for several days, she found herself reminiscing about those times. At least then, she was free from her clan.
Invariably, her resentment turned towards the male student.
In truth, the confusion she experienced lately largely stemmed from him.
Honestly, she felt it was a bit too much.
Having crossed numerous life-and-death moments together, she harbored no real ill feelings toward him now.
Instead, Jin Yeseo felt increasingly sorry. Although she had saved his life, he had suffered a serious injury trying to protect her.
Furthermore, she experienced the pleasant thrill upon seeing he was safe, the annoying warmth that melted away with simple exchanges, and the unjust irritation when hearing him mentioned from another girl’s mouth.
All experiences she had never felt before.
And upon deducing the reasons behind her feelings, Jin Yeseo concluded that all of it stemmed from the close relationship she had developed with him as “friends.”
They had shared the same room for several days. One day, they even rolled around in bed together, and she got to see a fair bit of his humanity.
Dare she say, she was now probably the closest “friend” to him at the cradle.
After all, she’d even pretended to be his “wife” for a brief moment. It would have been impossible if they weren’t close.
Thus, she felt this sorrow.
Why was he treating her so dismissively? It was as if he had completely forgotten they were hospitalized together. He probably didn’t even know she had already been discharged.
“…Wait.”
In the flood of thoughts, a sudden realization hit Jin Yeseo.
It wasn’t a pleasant thought. Instead, it was a horrific fantasy with devastating implications.
“What if… he’s already gotten tired of me?”