Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 103
Chapter 103
Exposure (13)
“Thank you. Come on, let’s go.”
Leaving only a half-hearted farewell, the stiff and irritable-looking man turned quickly and walked away.
The woman with a graceful demeanor and the masked male student also turned to follow him.
“…”
Until they disappeared around the corner, Seoyeon’s golden eyes silently watched the three receding figures.
“…Time is relentless.”
A voice dripping with sarcasm snapped Seoyeon out of her thoughts.
Her biological father wore a twisted smile that turned the corners of his mouth upward.
The benevolent and kindly expression he had earlier was nowhere to be seen.
What remained was the face of someone greedy and thirsting for power.
“Is that truly the Black Lion I once knew? Where has that sky-high arrogance gone?”
Seoyeon wondered if he hadn’t been arrogant enough just a moment ago.
“…Could he really be the biological son?”
“Nonsense.”
Her father responded, dismissing the idea with a laugh.
“The matriarch is already at an age biologically impossible for that. Unless she achieved Category 1 like Hae Wolhwa…”
He turned and walked in the opposite direction from where the Heukryeon group had disappeared.
“But the talent is real, it seems. If they’ve given him the Heukryeon name, there’s no need to say more. How did they find such a precious gem?”
Seoyeon followed him silently.
“It’s truly a shame. If he had come into my hands first…”
“…”
T h i s w a s c o pi e d f r o m ki n g m t l. o r g
As her father continued to treat the masked male student like an object, a profound sense of rebellion welled up inside Seoyeon.
She bit her lip slightly to keep her feelings from showing.
“Tsk. A troublesome obstacle has arisen. Of all times, Heukryeon returns to the Supreme Council now, and with an unexpected second child…”
Her father clicked his tongue in regret.
Without turning his head, he asked her a question.
“Enough of the past. What use is dwelling on it? How about the Northern Army?”
“We’re smoothly taking them in. We’re continuously injecting funds to fill their shortage of supplies and budget. The Northern Army is practically like our semi-private military now.”
“Good. Very good.”
For the first time, a hint of satisfaction crossed his face as he nodded.
In his eyes glistened a deep and heavy greed.
“Continue as you are. They will become a great strength for us in the future.”
“…Yes.”
T his w as c o pi e d f r o m k in g m tl . or g
She nodded obediently, but not everything she told him was the truth.
Their loyalty was not directed at the Paechun family but rather at her alone, which was a subtle yet significant difference.
“I will overlook the past mistakes. But when you return to the Cradle, make sure to join the student council without delay. With Heukryeon back, there is no time to dawdle.”
This was a reprimand for Seoyeon, who had attacked Jeokhwa on her own accord without his permission.
Moreover, she neither dealt with the successor of Jeokhwa nor the masked student properly, which ultimately led to an unfavorable outcome for Paechun: Heukryon’s return.
Seoyeon had been granted a considerable degree of autonomy in exchange for her accomplishments.
For example, she had the leeway to reject numerous marriage proposals on the grounds that she was not satisfied with the candidates, or to refuse her father’s demands to join the student council.
She was treated far better than other family members who were used up like cogs in her father’s orders.
Seoyeon could focus on her own work based on that freedom.
However, her father seemed inclined to significantly curtail her autonomy, using this failure as an excuse.
T h i s w as c o p i e d f ro m k i n g m t l . o r g
His targets for checks weren’t limited to just his political enemies.
Children who could potentially threaten his absolute power were also potential sources of unease for him.
“We must not lose our influence in the Cradle. By any means necessary.”
“…Yes.”
But she nodded obediently once again.
To Baek Ilyong, Seoyeon had to be the obedient and compliant child.
Only then could she use the power of Paechun for her own goals and bring him crashing down from the highest point when he was least expectant.
A peaceful death was out of the question.
He had to be dragged into hell while tasting the utmost despair.
Ever since the day she was born until now.
Most of her misfortunes originated from him.
As Baek Ilyong saw the reporters camped outside the parliament building, he spat out another twisted sneer.
“Filthy bottom-feeding vermin crawling around. Disgusting creatures…”
He wore an expression of genuine contempt before abruptly changing his face.
Straightening his appearance, he stepped forward with a broad smile in front of dozens of cameras.
“Chairman Baek! Could you say a word about Heukryon’s return to the Supreme Council?”
T hi s w a s co pied f ro m ki ng mt l . o rg
“There are allegations that the attack on Jeokhwa had political motives…!”
“About Baek Seoyeon’s fiancé…!”
Thi s w as c o p ie d f rom k in g m t l . o r g
“Now, now! I’ll answer everything, so let’s take it one question at a time!”
He waved his hand, feigning slight discomfort.
“Heukryon’s return is something I also hope for. Rather than engaging in fruitless debates, we need sincere discussions for the future of our Republic…”
As the man spoke with words like oil flowing from his mouth, Seoyeon stood behind him, wearing a serene smile, hands neatly clasped, as if they were a harmonious father and daughter.
Though she thought he was utterly repulsive, she simultaneously felt a deep self-loathing for treating others in an almost identical manner.
T h i s wa s c o p i e d f r om ki n g m tl . o r g
T h is w as c opi ed f r o m k in gm t l .o r g
Surely, everything was approaching its conclusion.
Yet now, her heart was filled with confusion and questions.
Seoyeon replayed their encounter that day more than a hundred times.
Below her navel, the spot where the masked male student had struck still tingled.
He had aimed for her most precious, intimate place. A place that no one else could dare to invade.
So, naturally, he should have been crushed into a bloody pulp just for attempting to violate her body.
But she didn’t do that.
It was more accurate to say she couldn’t.
Even now, when she closed her eyes, the sensation from that moment vividly lingered.
The sound of his mask shattering and the fragments hitting the floor echoed loudly in her ears.
And in the next moment, what she saw was… a gaze that felt clearer and more transparent than anything in this world.
Simultaneously, for some reason, Seoyeon recalled something she had lost long ago, something she could never reclaim due to her own mistakes.
The pain was followed by a sweet ache in her lower abdomen, but he turned and disappeared into the mist in a fleeting moment.
“Sigh…”
For once, Seoyeon and her father shared a rare agreement.
Though worn and weathered by the world’s trials, his gentle eyes were certainly distant from the sharpness unique to Heukryeon.
Seoyeon was going mad.
He was one of the people she loathed most in the world.
But since that day, just encountering him made her hatred melt away without a trace.
Like snow in spring.
And Seoyeon had no way to resist it.
Even the kind concern that unintentionally slipped from her lips, met with a cold response, made her heart sink and her breath catch.
The masked male student.
He had entered the Cradle on Heukryeon’s recommendation for the first time in fifteen years.
Due to his unique appearance and somewhat twisted personality, he was mocked as an oddball, but he was gradually overturning perceptions by proving his abilities.
And the person closest to him at the moment… her nemesis, Yeon Minha.
After the Southern incident, Seoyeon had seen them walking together on campus from a distance.
It seemed ridiculous, wearing a rather cold expression, but… Seoyeon could easily recognize the change in Yeon Minha’s eyes.
That’s because she once looked at someone with those shining eyes too.
But she dismissed it as laughable.
Pretending to be noble, in the end, they were just in it together… she thought, mocking them.
Yet for some reason, even thinking about them being together now made her break out in a cold sweat and feel suffocated.
“…Miss… a question… a word…”
“…”
“Miss Baek Seoyeon?”
“Oh, excuse me. I was lost in thought for a moment… So, my thoughts are…”
A reporter’s question snapped Seoyeon back to reality.
Though she answered with a smiling face, her mind was elsewhere.
It was filled with almost certain doubts about a particular possibility.
There was only one way to solve it.
She had to somehow face him again.
***
By the time the great turmoil was wrapping up, I returned to the Intelligence Bureau’s base in the capital.
There were a few things I wanted to ask about. Also, there was no one better to inform me about various political situations that I didn’t understand well.
“…It’s closed?”
When darkness had fallen over the streets and I returned to find the silver moonlight hidden under a hood, the entrance to the underground tavern was securely shut with an iron shutter.
Was it a day they weren’t open for business…? The thought crossed my mind, but this isn’t even a real tavern in the first place.
Th i s w a s c o p ie d fr o m k i n g m t l.o r g
Moreover, Mok Jinwoo had said it was open day and night, year-round, so I could come anytime.
What should I do? Once I enter the Cradle, it will be hard to come out again for a while.
There are overdue studies, and the surroundings will be noisier than before…
Upon closer inspection, there were marks of inserted sensing stone circuits and soldering traces all over the shutter.
“…”
I ended my brief deliberation. Whatever the case, I should at least try to get in and see.
If no one’s there, I can just leave.
T his w a s c op i e d f ro m k i n g mt l . or g
I placed my hand near the bottom edge of the shutter.
Then, I sequentially injected particles in accordance with the pattern he had shown me.
Then, creak… It sounded like some mechanical device was turning, and suddenly, with a clunk, a small passage opened in the middle of the shutter.
T h i s w a s c o p i e d f ro m ki n g m t l . o r g
I stepped down the dark, unlit stairs.
And I felt a peculiar atmosphere I hadn’t noticed before.
What should I call this?
Fishy, damp, sticky, lukewarm…?
It grew stronger with each step I took.
“Uh…”
“…Ah…”
Simultaneously, I began to hear sounds similar to moaning.
A strangely thin and faint voice brushed my ears.
Then a thought suddenly flitted through my mind.
Fishy, damp, sticky, lukewarm.
Reflexively, it made me think of blood oozing from the body, and the moans…?
Just considering the possibility sent my body into a state of tension.
I carefully descended the stairs and pressed my ear against the door, but thanks to good soundproofing, I couldn’t sense anything beyond what I’d already heard.
What if Mok Jinwoo had been ambushed and was barely hanging on?
“…”
Deciding to enter was far easier this time than before.
He was a collaborator who had helped me in many ways, not to mention being a close friend of the commander.
If Mok Jinwoo were to die, the commander would be deeply saddened.
I mustered my resolve, took a deep breath, and with that, I kicked the door with all my strength.
-Kaboom!
The door was instantly reduced to a ragged mess and lay on the floor with its hinges torn off.
I could immediately see the scene inside the tavern.
“What, what is this!”
“Aaaaah!”
And what I saw was a tall man with a woman, dressed like a hostess, on his lap, making vulgar gestures…
End of Chapter
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Ddaniel112
Long fucking Rant……
I really don’t like Baek Seoyeon, I disliked her obsessive nature before the demon incident that separated them and I still ain’t a fan now. She has constantly only made bad choices concerning Hyun and she is honestly a terrible individual on a base level.
She constantly manipulates people including those she “loves”, her very presence in Hyun’s life nearly got him killed due to her brothers Jealousy, but even if we were to acknowledge that as something that was out of her control, her “plan” to protect Hyun was highly detestable as well, idc whatever good intentions she had shattering his love moments after he lost everything dear to him is cruel in ways that is hard to describe but having the audacity to think that he will simply accept it and come back to her when everything is over is crazy to me. She clearly had no respect for him as an individual otherwise she would have considered his opinion and situation more, instead she simply thought of the dangers and his protection from her perspective and scarred him emotionally, worse too that if not for the kid awakening when he did and being found when he was Hyun would have died by assassins from her family anyway.
She is manipulative, narrow minded, arrogant, vindictive, obsessive and doesn’t mind hurting others and treating them like tools if it serves her purposes, other than the fact that she is supposedly strong and good looking she has not shown any good qualities and to be honest she would be weak and dead if not for Hyun anyway because its obvious that the only reason she survived and blossomed into strength was Hyun’s anti-magic field slowing down the condition she had when she was younger.
Yeon is also not the greatest LI but at the very least she at least treated Hyun with honest goodwill when they got close, instead Baek Seoyeon broke him further at his most lowly moment without consideration all for the sake of her “plan” that was doomed to fail from the start and did it with expectations that he would happily come running back to her later. She might harbor some actual affection from Hyun but she never respected him.