Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 121

Chapter 121

Doubt (12)

***

Baek Seoyeon’s emotions were clearly in turmoil.

This was a side even her closest friends rarely saw.

Seeing her reaction, a twisted smile formed on Yeon Minha’s lips.

She had been almost certain, but now, there wasn’t even a need for interrogation.

Baek Seoyeon’s failure to conceal her feelings was so blatant that it left Yeon Minha feeling a strange mix of satisfaction and emptiness.

Rather than denying the facts, Baek Seoyeon’s question about the candy’s origin was as good as a confession.

However, what filled Yeon Minha’s chest was not contentment, but a sticky blend of unease and anger.

As Baek Seoyeon’s composure wavered, the shadow of the past loomed ever larger, deepening the mystery.

What frustrated Yeon Minha all the more was that beyond that shadow lay an unknown space, something she couldn’t grasp.

“So, it was you after all.”

“…Tell me. How did you get that?”

Yeon Minha spoke, her voice thick with suppressed rage, but Baek Seoyeon, having regained her icy demeanor, retorted coldly.

“Do I need to answer that?”

“I said, tell me.”

“Who knows.”

There was no reason for Yeon Minha to reveal that she had stolen the box from his locker, only for it to be the sole thing left after a certain cat’s assault.

“Cleaning up trash someone threw into the locker of the ‘closest junior’ is hardly a big deal.”

-Grit…

The deliberate emphasis on certain words made Baek Seoyeon’s golden eyes ripple like waves once again.

But she quickly adopted an expression of genuine disdain.

“…I never realized you had such sticky fingers. As the daughter of one of the Five Families, shouldn’t you hold yourself to a higher standard than stealing someone else’s belongings…”

‘Someone else’s?’

“Baek Seoyeon, that’s not something you should be saying.”

Yeon Minha could feel her blood boil at the blatant hypocrisy.

“Maybe you should explain yourself first. Why are you doing such things when you already have a fiancé?”

“…”

At the direct jab, Baek Seoyeon clamped her mouth shut, her piercing gaze still fixed on Yeon Minha.

-Crack!

The fluorescent lights flickered on one side of the hallway, while water droplets crystallized and fell from the other. The overburdened lights shattered with a crackling sound, but neither girl flinched.

Despite her growing irritation, Yeon Minha realized that this conversation wouldn’t yield anything useful.

It was clear just from Baek Seoyeon’s expression.

She had no intention of answering any of Yeon Minha’s questions.

Of course, Yeon Minha wasn’t planning to share anything either.

“Hah. Fine. Baek Seoyeon, this is your last warning.”

There was no reason for Yeon Minha to continue this conversation. She was already in a foul mood, and speaking to Baek Seoyeon would only make it worse.

“I don’t care about your perverted hobbies or your pathetic little past.”

She was about to spit out her warning and leave.

“But remember this. If you try to flirt with someone else’s man again, next time…”

“…Someone else’s man?”

But a voice suddenly interrupted, halting Yeon Minha mid-sentence.

A chill that made her skin crawl seemed to seep from Baek Seoyeon.

“…Yeah. Someone else’s man.”

Yeon Minha was momentarily flustered but tried to maintain her composure as she responded.

“Haven’t you heard the rumors? He and I are already in an inseparable, deep relationship. You saw us at the student council room that day, didn’t you? So stop playing games…”

“Don’t lie.”

Baek Seoyeon’s golden eyes glimmered, her voice filled with a strange eeriness as she glared at Yeon Minha.

“Someone else’s man? Whose? Hyun? Yours?”

Before Yeon Minha even realized it, Baek Seoyeon was naturally calling him by his name.

For Yeon Minha, who hadn’t mustered the courage to do so yet, it was jarring to hear how effortlessly and familiarly she uttered his name.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to talk about Hyun like he’s someone else’s man?!”

“How dare you act like you know him…”

“What do you know about him? What do you even know about Hyun?! I know everything about him—his favorite hairstyle, his favorite clothes, his favorite food. And that’s not all! His favorite flower, his favorite color, his favorite scent—even his favorite personality traits, I know them all!! But what about you? Do you even know one of these things?”

Like a dam that had burst, Baek Seoyeon poured out her pent-up anger.

“I…!”

Hearing her speak with such certainty, Yeon Minha was momentarily dumbstruck.

As rage boiled within her, a sense of injustice also welled up. The truth was that this was a fight Yeon Minha was at a clear disadvantage in.

Even though she believed her feelings for him were second to none, they had only known of each other’s existence for less than half a year. They were still getting to know each other and had engaged in similar conversations multiple times.

Time was the only thing Yeon Minha lacked, but in that regard, Baek Seoyeon had a significant advantage.

Seeing Yeon Minha’s stunned silence, Baek Seoyeon scoffed as if she had expected this outcome and shook her head.

Tears had started to pool in Baek Seoyeon’s golden eyes.

“Why is it you? Of all the people…why you…”

With a mix of lament and despair in her voice, the black-haired girl turned and walked away down the corridor.

“What… What the hell…”

Left alone, Yeon Minha trembled as if she had a chill.

She mulled over Baek Seoyeon’s final words for a long time but couldn’t decipher their true meaning.

***

The day after the duel with Jin Yeseo.

After finishing my afternoon schedule, I knocked on the door of the student council office in the main building.

“Come in.”

When I entered, the first thing I noticed was a mountain of paperwork piled higher than a person’s head.

Next was the nameplate with “Student Council President” engraved on it in large letters.

And finally, there was a man sitting in a chair with a weary face, sorting through documents, while a female student assisted him.

The lapel of his jacket bore a badge shaped like golden wings.

Without even looking up from his work, the man spoke.

“Sounds like a student. What brings you here at this hour? As you can see, I’m quite busy. If it’s not urgent, could you come back later…”

“I’m first-year Yu Jinhyun. I came regarding the disciplinary matter. The professor mentioned that the student council would explain the details…”

“…Who?”

“First-year Yu Jinhyun…”

“Oh! I wondered who it was for a moment there! Wait… Wait a second…!”

The council president, who had been speaking with an air of annoyance, quickly changed his tone.

Practically throwing the papers aside, he was suddenly standing right in front of me, wearing a bright smile as he extended his hand.

“Nice to meet you. My name’s Hageumtae. I’ve been swamped lately, almost made a huge mistake by being rude, huh? Haha…”

“It’s fine…”

I shook his outstretched hand, and he gave my arm an exaggerated shake.

His height was neither tall nor short, his round glasses gave him a somewhat ordinary and meek impression.

Even from brief interaction, it was clear his words were dripping with insincerity, yet I didn’t sense any hostility or ill will.

From what I’d heard in passing, he wasn’t from a prestigious family nor the capital, but rather from the outskirts, much like me.

So perhaps that façade of his was a survival tactic to navigate the harsh environment.

“Why don’t you take a seat? Would you like some tea? Or perhaps a soda? Maybe a snack…”

“Uh… No, thank you. I’d prefer to get the disciplinary matter sorted out as soon as possible…”

For someone like me, such excessive hospitality felt burdensome.

I wondered if he would continue to insist, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

With a hearty laugh, he seamlessly shifted the topic.

“Ah, I got ahead of myself. Of course, there’s an order to things. Let’s save the chit-chat for later…”

He waved to the female student who had been assisting him.

She had a sharp look, with neatly cropped hair and rimless glasses, a stark contrast to the president.

She wore a first-year badge on her lapel, though I didn’t recall ever seeing her around.

Perhaps she was so engrossed in student council work that we had never crossed paths.

“She’ll explain everything regarding your disciplinary action. Although I can’t help you directly since it’s a disciplinary matter, feel free to ask her if you have any questions.”

With a somewhat overbearing farewell, I followed the girl down the hallway.

“…”

Despite the president’s assurance that she would explain the details, the girl remained silent the entire way.

Not that I had any pressing questions, so I quietly followed her.

We descended a few flights of stairs until we reached the basement of the main building.

A place, like the student council office, that I had never set foot in.

The girl placed her hand on the door and injected particles into the pattern, causing the heavy door to creak open.

Following the dimly lit corridor, we soon arrived at a section filled with a chaotic mess of paperwork.

The documents were riddled with holes, likely eaten by insects, and the stench of rat droppings filled the air.

“So… sorting the documents in this section is my punishment?”

“That’s correct. These are the minutes from previous student council meetings.”

The girl turned to face me, her voice even and devoid of emotion.

“You have one week. In that time, you must properly reorder all the neglected minutes by date, time, and sequence. You may work at your own pace, but if you miss the deadline by even a second, you’ll face a harsher punishment. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

“Good. Then…”

After I nodded, the girl handed me the key and lock before promptly leaving the basement.

Apparently, the door’s security code couldn’t be disclosed to outsiders.

Now alone, I surveyed my surroundings by the dim light of the stellite lamps.

I picked up one of the scattered documents from the floor and began sorting them.

It wasn’t difficult, but the repetitive nature of the task made it tedious and time-consuming.

This was the punishment I had been assigned after my duel with Jin Yeseo.

As it turned out, there had already been a complaint lodged by the Baekgwang family after my previous ranking match with her.

Even though I had deliberately provoked her, this time as well, I had clearly crossed the line with the severity of the violence.

So it was only natural for the disciplinary committee to be convened. I had even anticipated a fairly harsh punishment.

But to my surprise, it turned out to be nothing more than a slight deduction of points and this menial task.

It seemed that Cradle’s martial-focused culture and the influence of Heukryeon, which now supported me, had played a significant role.

“…”

Though I didn’t feel particularly humiliated, I could say with certainty that sifting through rat-infested documents was an unpleasant experience.

Not to mention the fact that I had to carve out extra time from the academy’s already demanding schedule to complete this task.

Still, I felt a sense of accomplishment.

After beating her up that badly, Jin Yeseo probably wouldn’t bother me again.

Now, I just needed to focus on taking care of a few other things that had been bothering me.

Two hours later, I left behind the newly organized stack of documents and exited the basement archive.

The task clearly couldn’t be completed in a single day, so there was no need to overexert myself.

Before locking the door with the key, I glanced to the side.

Deeper inside was another locked metal door marked with a sign that read “Records Room.”

“Now that I think about it…”

The name “Seol Yujeong” resurfaced in my mind as I gazed at the sign.

***

“Here’s the key.”

The student council president was still swamped with paperwork even after the sun had set.

I had intended to simply hand over the key and leave, but he stopped me, smacking his lips as if he had something on his mind.

“It’s a shame. I really wanted you to join the student council instead of Baekgwang’s protégée…”

“Me? Do you have a particular reason why…?”

“Well, no, nothing like that, but… Another strong-headed young lady is going to join us… Ah, it’s just… haha…”

His tired eyes and weary expression betrayed his sincerity.

“I’ll admit, saying this in front of you is awkward, but Yeon Minha is… well… And today, Baek Seoyeon’s mood was so gloomy that it made things even worse…”

“…I’ll talk to them. They aren’t as difficult as they seem.”

“Yes, please…”

Once he was sure I wasn’t interested, he nodded in resignation.

Leaving the student council president’s parting words behind, I headed back to the Beechwood dormitory.

Oddly enough, the night felt like the perfect cover to avoid prying eyes.

Lately, I’d been feeling increasingly self-conscious due to the growing attention I seemed to be attracting.

And waiting outside my dorm, as if she had known I was coming, was Yeon Minha.

Sensing my presence, she greeted me first.

“…You’re back?”

“I’m back, Senior. Were you waiting this whole time? I told you that wasn’t necessary.”

“Still… I couldn’t just leave…”

Yeon Minha shook her head.

Something about her tone had seemed off since yesterday.

“By the way, Senior, about the deal…”

“S-Sorry… Let’s talk about it next time…”

“Wa—”

-Bang!

Before I could finish my sentence, Yeon Minha hurried into her room and slammed the door shut.

I was left standing there alone, staring blankly.

End of Chapter