Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 120

Chapter 120

Doubt (11)

***

“Haa…”

Yeon Minha sighed as she sat alone at her desk after Lee Hyun had left.

Her gaze remained fixed on a small paper box wrapped in luxurious packaging.

It still emitted a sweet, mouthwatering fragrance that filled the room.

“…”
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The more sincerity she felt from the gift, the deeper her worries grew.

Consumed by a maddening sense of unease, she found herself biting her nails.

She had returned the picture that had fallen from Lee Hyun’s jacket last night, but the face of the girl in that drawing was still vividly etched in her memory.

Why did he carry such an old picture with such care?

The girl in the picture didn’t resemble a sister or a family member—she didn’t look like him at all.

If she were just a friend, would he hold onto it so dearly?

And if she was neither family nor a friend…

“A… girlfriend?”

Yeon Minha’s voice trailed off, sounding defeated. A dark cloud loomed over her heart.

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Hoping to be his first girlfriend might be too much to ask. She knew that logically.

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It wasn’t unreasonable for someone to hold onto a picture of their first love from childhood.

Though her heart ached with jealousy, she was the one walking alongside him now, wasn’t she?

But when the past refuses to stay in the past… it always ends up causing trouble.

‘No matter how much I think about it…’

Every time Yeon Minha thought about the frail girl in the picture, another person’s image always flashed through her mind.

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Long, jet-black hair and eyes that gleamed like gold, as if holding all the light in the world.

A person who was no longer just a rival, but someone closer to a sworn enemy. An adversary whose very existence made her blood boil.
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It was none other than Baek Seoyeon of Paechun.

-Grit…

The mere thought of her rival was enough to make Yeon Minha grind her teeth in frustration.

Though the girl in the picture had been drawn in monochrome, making it impossible to verify the eye color, the resemblance to Baek Seoyeon was undeniable, except for the fact that the girl looked more emaciated.

No, it wasn’t just a resemblance—it could very well be her.

‘Come to think of it…’

Yeon Minha recalled a conversation she once had with Lee Hyun about his past.

He had lived his entire life in a pioneer village near the northern border.

But two years ago, during the Great Demon Invasion, his village was attacked by remnants of the demon forces that had escaped the army’s containment. The village was reduced to ruins.

In that attack, he lost his family and friends.

All he had left was a long scar under his eye, a mark from trying to protect his friend, the one named “Yeon.”

If not for the chance encounter with Sa Jaehyuk of the 66th Squadron, Lee Hyun admitted he wouldn’t be alive today.

That was as far as Yeon Minha’s understanding went based on what she knew.

It was natural to feel a little jealous, but if it was the memory of a first love tragically lost, she could understand why he held onto that picture.

However, Baek Seoyeon’s presence continued to gnaw at her mind.

Though it was publicly known that Baek Seoyeon revealed herself after awakening under the care of the Paechun family head, Baek Ilyong’s nature was an open secret among the aristocratic families.

That man treated his children like crops to be harvested and discarded at will. Who could he possibly have shown affection to?

Yeon Minha tried to recall more.

Baek Seoyeon had made her first public appearance exactly two years ago.

The timing coincided too perfectly with Lee Hyun’s story, unsettling her further.

“…”

Her mind raced uncontrollably, spiraling into a maze of assumptions.

Lee Hyun, who kept an old portrait of a girl resembling Baek Seoyeon.

The name he whispered in the hospital bed, “Yeon.”

The image of Baek Seoyeon sneaking away after leaving behind a box of candies she’d carefully made for him.

There were still unresolved questions, of course.

The mysterious identity of Baek Seoyeon’s fiancé.

The hostile confrontation between them at the beginning of the semester.

And Lee Hyun’s peculiar aversion toward her.

But even so… Yeon Minha found it impossible to dismiss everything as mere coincidence.

“Ugh…”

Suddenly, anxiety and fear gripped her, causing her body to tremble.

Her vision narrowed, and her heart pounded wildly.

No matter how hard she tried to shake it off, all the clues pointed toward some kind of relationship between the two.

Part of her was filled with intense hatred for Baek Seoyeon.
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The woman who had taken everything from her was now extending her claws toward the one thing she held dear.

“Haa… What should I do… Huh?”
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“Meow~”

Just as she was trying to calm herself with a deep breath, a small creature padded through the slightly ajar bedroom door, letting out a soft cry.

A cat, coated in a mix of amber and cream fur, sniffed around curiously before leaping onto the desk in a single bound.

It pawed at the paper box, knocking off the lid and sinking its teeth into the contents inside.

“What—what are you doing…! No!”

“Meow! Myaaang!”

Though Yeon Minha quickly grabbed hold of the cat, it struggled stubbornly in her arms.

“Why, why are you like this…! You’re so small, but where does all this strength come from…!”

There was no way she could let go of something that might be a vital clue.

Of course, she couldn’t exactly drive off Lee Hyun’s beloved cat with magic either.

As she wrestled with the squirming feline, an idea came to her.

One of the spirits she had contracted with took the shape of a cat as well.

Thinking of this, she immediately summoned the spirit.

Her spirit cat was much larger than the one in front of her, so it should be able to handle the situation with ease.

The air above Yeon Minha’s shoulder shimmered, and soon, a translucent white-furred cat materialized.

However, before she could even issue a command to the spirit—

-Hiss! Hiss!

The moment it locked eyes with the small cat, the spirit bristled, hackles raised.

It immediately turned transparent again, attempting to escape back into the spirit realm.

“Wha—wait! What’s going on…”

Yeon Minha, baffled, tried to hold it back, but her efforts were futile.

She could only stare blankly at her now-empty shoulder in confusion.

Spirits, whose purpose was to absorb the world’s energy, were generally friendly toward living beings.

In all her life, Yeon Minha had only seen a spirit react this way once before.

That time was when she had shown Lee Hyun the larval spirit.

“Why is this happening…? Is it because it resembles its owner… Wait a minute!”

At the sound of rustling paper, Yeon Minha snapped back to reality.

The small cat had already toppled the box and was happily devouring the treats inside.

The crumbs of cookies and candies clung to the cat’s fur, and its mouth was curled upward in what could almost be described as a satisfied smile.

“Myaang~”

***

-Thud!

A dull impact echoed from somewhere, snapping Yeon Minha back to the present.

Though the duel had been entirely one-sided, with Lee Hyun easily overwhelming Jin Yeseo, her expression remained anxious as she watched.

It wasn’t out of concern for Lee Hyun. Nor did she care about Jin Yeseo, who was being beaten like a rag doll in the rain.

While the cat was unharmed, Yeon Minha’s dilemma remained unresolved for days.

A strange, discomforting emotion filled her, one that she couldn’t quite define.

Her gaze then shifted toward a certain section of the audience.

There, a black-haired girl watched the duel closely, not even blinking.

-Thud!

“…Ugh…”

“…”

Every time a punch landed, Baek Seoyeon’s body seemed to flinch ever so slightly, making Yeon Minha even more uncomfortable.
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-Ding! Ding! Ding!

“Duel over! It’s over! Yu Jinhyun! That’s enough…”

Just as the masked boy pressed his foot into Jin Yeseo’s abdomen, the bell signaling the end of the duel rang out.

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Only then did he stop the relentless beating.

“Ah… Haah… Hah…”

The once-bright and shining blonde girl now lay in tatters on the ground, struggling to catch her breath.

Jin Yeseo was quickly carried away by the medical team, while the masked boy turned his head as though looking for someone.

Eventually, his gaze landed directly on Yeon Minha.

“…”

Though he said nothing, Yeon Minha felt his unspoken desire.

When she gave him a small, coy wave, he bowed his head slightly, seemingly satisfied, and turned away.

Seeing him, Yeon Minha couldn’t help but smile a little.

Then, suddenly, she felt a sharp, burning gaze from nearby, and she quickly turned her head in that direction.

But Baek Seoyeon, who had been sitting there just moments before, was already walking briskly out of the arena.

“…”

Yeon Minha, having made a decision, stood up abruptly.

She began to follow Baek Seoyeon.

She wouldn’t be able to stay sane until she resolved this mystery.

***

“Baek Seoyeon.”

A voice suddenly called out, stopping Baek Seoyeon in her tracks as she walked through the dark passageway.

With her black hair swaying, she turned around to see a girl approaching, her heels clicking against the floor.

Kwon Yuri and Choi Ireh, who had been walking alongside Seoyeon, reacted in their own ways to Yeon Minha’s arrival.

“Minha, hi~!”

“Yeon Minha. What are you doing here…”

“Baek Seoyeon. I need to talk to you.”

But Yeon Minha ignored Kwon Yuri and Choi Ireh, directing her words solely at Baek Seoyeon.

Seoyeon frowned and shook her head, looking uncomfortable.

“Can we do this later? I’m on my way to check on Yeseo. She’s hurt badly, and I’m worried…”

“You’re worried about that blonde? Don’t spout such nonsense…”

“Yeon Minha! Barging in like this—what the hell do you think you’re doing…!”

“Enough…! Stop it, Ireh.”

Seoyeon stopped Ireh from lashing out on her behalf.

Sighing heavily, Seoyeon looked at the two of them.

“You two go on ahead. I’ll talk to Minha for a moment and catch up.”

“But…”

“It’s fine. Go check on Yeseo for me.”

At Seoyeon’s insistence, Yuri and Ireh reluctantly walked away, disappearing down the corridor.

Now, the passageway was silent and empty, save for the two of them.

“…So, what is it?”

Seoyeon was the first to speak.

Her expression had cooled, and she no longer bothered to hide her irritation.

Gone was the girl who felt awkwardly caught between her friends.

All that remained was an unmistakable hostility directed at Yeon Minha.

“…”

Yeon Minha met Seoyeon’s gaze without flinching. She didn’t bother with any further words.

Instead, she reached into her coat and pulled something out, then tossed it toward Seoyeon.

The last thing she had managed to protect from the cat’s intrusion.

“Catch.”

“What the hell… Huh?”

Seoyeon instinctively caught the object that had been thrown at her.

The moment she saw what it was, her eyes widened in shock.

There, resting in her hand, was the small bag of candies she had painstakingly prepared over several sleepless nights for him.

Seoyeon’s eyes began to tremble violently.

Her head dropped as she muttered in a low voice.

“How… How could you have this…”

End of Chapter
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