Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 134

Chapter 134

Fall (11)

***

“What, what?”

“Didn’t you hear me? I said no.”

Jin Yeseo was more bewildered than angry.

She, a direct descendant and heir of the prestigious Baekgwang family, had just bowed her head.

It was practically a gesture of complete surrender.

She was already enduring all the humiliation and shame.

Yet, the masked boy remained cold and indifferent.

“But… but… I’m asking you so sincerely…”

“What is this now…”

Her rushed words seemed to irritate him further.

Without bothering to reply properly, he stood up and began packing his things.

It looked like he would leave the library any second, so Jin Yeseo hurriedly blocked the narrow path as soon as he turned.

Since they were in a small, secluded corner outside the main bookshelves, her presence alone was enough to block his way.

“Move.”

“…I can’t.”

“We’re enemies. Have you forgotten how you’ve treated me all this time? Not to mention, Baekgwang is stuck to Paechun like a leech. And yet you have the nerve to say something like this?”

“…Ah.”

“What?”

“I know… I know that.”

“You know, and you still ask for this? Are you stupid, or just shameless?”

“…You’re the one who said not to care about the means.”

“…What?”

“I’m just following what you said.”

Her small voice made him pause for a moment.

After a brief silence, the masked boy spoke again.

“…Ask the professors for help. As a first-year, you can change your major as much as you want. They’d know your aptitude better than I do.”

“…That won’t work.”

Jin Yeseo shook her head before he even finished speaking.

“There are people close to my family among the professors. If I openly change my major, word will get back to my mother immediately. And if she hears that I abandoned the family’s unique magic… she’ll take action right away.”

“Then ask your friends to help. You’ve got plenty of them, don’t you? Unlike me.”

“They’re not skilled enough to teach me. You know that.”

“…”

“I’m not asking for much. I’m not asking you to teach me some great secret technique. Just… just spar with me. Even for a few months… please…”

“No.”

“W-wait…!”

“What are you doing? Move while I’m still asking nicely. Before I call security.”

But the masked boy cut her off again and tried to walk past.

Jin Yeseo stretched out her arms, blocking the entire narrow passage between the bookshelves.

The boy’s irritation was now clear on his face.

His clenched fists repeatedly tightened and loosened.

Seeing this, Jin Yeseo’s mind raced, desperately searching for any excuse.

“That’s your problem. Why exactly should I help you? I gain nothing from this, and worse, I’d be helping my enemy…”

“I-I’ll give you leverage…!”

“What?”

“You’ll have something over me. I just told you.”

Jin Yeseo hurriedly spilled her words.

“Baekgwang has always been a prestigious house known for its Expulsion magic. But imagine if people found out that the family’s heir was secretly practicing Circulation magic.”

“…”

“There would be an uproar. I’d lose all my standing in society immediately, and my family would probably sell me off like livestock before my value drops. You could use my situation…”

“So what? I don’t need that kind of leverage. Move.”

Cutting her off again, he stepped forward with a menacing presence, as if ready to shove her aside.

Backed into a corner, Jin Yeseo bit her lip hard. If she let him go now, her last chance would disappear forever.

At that moment.

She noticed the homework sticking out of his bag, her eyes catching it amid her frantic thoughts.

Without realizing it, she shouted.

“I-I’ll help you study…!”

“What did you just say…”

“I-I saw earlier that you didn’t even have the basic theories memorized properly… That’s why you were hiding here, solving problems in secret, right? Too embarrassed to do it where others might see…”

“…You saw that?”

His tone dropped lower, not with anger, but with a tinge of shame.

But Jin Yeseo wasn’t in a position to feel any sympathy for him.

“…It’s okay. I’ll help you. I won’t tell anyone. You’ll solve it in no time. Middle school students can solve it easily if they know how to apply the formulas…! I can help with other things too…!”

“…Middle schoolers can solve it easily?”

After she finished her rambling, the masked boy muttered in a disheartened voice.

A brief silence followed.

Then, in a voice slightly calmer than before, he asked her.

“Why are you going this far?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you working so hard to approach me? Don’t you think I could just turn around and report all of this to someone?”

“…”

Jin Yeseo lowered her head slightly and answered.

“…Then I guess I’d have no choice. I’m out of options anyway.”

She was the person who knew her own situation best. Even though she had been training tirelessly, one fact was crystal clear.

No matter who she faced in the next ranking match, she would lose.

Vessel particles are substances intimately connected to a person’s mental state. The magic that comes from them is no different.

In her current mental state, there was nothing she could do.

And once she lost her last chance, she would become nothing but a puppet for her family’s glory.

“And… well.”

After a brief pause, Jin Yeseo spoke again in a voice that didn’t quite suit her.

“What was that?”

“…I was envious.”

“Of what?”

“…Of you.”

“…”

“Seeing you wield the Blade like it was part of your body… flying around like a bird… I was so envious.”

As she spoke, her head dipped even lower.

“And… I wanted to be like that too. I wanted to fly freely like you. I wanted to prove myself by becoming that strong… and get what I wanted.”

Before she knew it, Jin Yeseo had poured out everything she felt.

A long silence followed.

The masked boy neither affirmed nor denied her words.

Then, just when it seemed like nothing would happen, he started walking again.

And he walked right past her.

“Ah…”

A sound of despair escaped Jin Yeseo’s dry lips.

Her green eyes filled with hopelessness as she realized his actions were a clear rejection.

But then, the next moment.

A low voice came from behind her.

“I won’t teach you the prediction techniques.”

“Huh…?”

Surprised, Jin Yeseo turned to look over her shoulder.

He stood still, not even looking back at her.

“I said I won’t teach the prediction techniques. No matter what. That’s non-negotiable.”

“O-of course… I wasn’t expecting that…”

Jin Yeseo quickly nodded in agreement, the condition being entirely reasonable.

“I’ve never taught anyone before. I was never really taught properly myself either. The only thing I can do is spar with you seriously.”

“…That’s enough.”

“Haah…”

At Jin Yeseo’s immediate response, he sighed deeply and scratched his head.

In that moment, time seemed to stretch out like eternity for Jin Yeseo.

It felt as if each second was a minute.

Eventually, he spoke again, still sounding conflicted.

“I’ve told you what I can do. All I can do is spar with you seriously.”

“W-what?”

“…Come to the training room tomorrow.”

“Th-then…!”

Before Jin Yeseo could even fully react, the masked boy walked away.

“Ah…”

She stared blankly at the empty spot where he had just been.

Her green eyes, which had been filled with despair moments ago, now shone with a glimmer of hope, like a cluster of stars in the night sky.

***

“Everyone, you’ve all worked hard during the ranking match period. Make sure to take a good rest this weekend.”

In a classroom bathed in the soft light of the afternoon sun, Professor Kwon Chanyul, sporting a ponytail and a thick beard, was wrapping up his lecture.

As he pressed a button on the device in his hand, the projector connected by wires began to display some text.

“But don’t get too complacent. You all know that external request week starts again on Monday, right? I expect no one to slack off and fail to complete their assignments.”

“Agh…”

“That’s too harsh…! We worked so hard preparing for the ranking matches… How can you expect us to jump right back into…”

Even before he finished speaking, groans and complaints started to rise from the seated students.

“Quiet! Quiet! Why so many complaints? Did you come here to play? Hmm?”

Professor Kwon Chanyul banged his pointer on the lectern, silencing the rising noise.

Yet, despite his stern words, his face was just as tired and uninterested in the event as the students.

“Alright, since you all should know the rules for requests by now, I’ll just go over a few key things briefly.”

The professor continued his explanation after bringing the room under control.

“Those of you who failed the first request will have to start over from the beginning. Those who passed the second request can pick an assignment suitable for your skill level and grade. You can do it individually or as a group with like-minded peers. First-years are only allowed to take on B-level or lower requests, so keep that in mind. Every year, there’s always some idiot who brings me an A-level request…”

He sighed as he pointed at a section of the projected image with his pointer.

“And one more thing. Those who successfully completed the second request and are currently ranked in the top ten will be performing ‘appointed requests’ this time. You’ll receive separate notifications soon.”

At the professor’s additional remarks, murmurs spread throughout the students.

Jin Yeseo, too, was listening from amidst the crowd.

Now that the heavy burden weighing on her heart had been lifted, her appearance had also returned to her former beauty.

Her injuries were almost completely healed. Her dry, dull hair and vacant eyes had regained their shine and focus.

Jin Yeseo glanced toward the real-time ranking board installed not only in the hallway but also at the far end of the classroom.

The names of those ranked from 1st to 10th glowed brightly, while the rest of the hundred or so names filled the remaining space in small, dim text.

And Jin Yeseo’s name, which had firmly held the 2nd spot until last week, no longer sparkled.

“Appointed requests aren’t particularly difficult. However, keep in mind that these requests come from central government agencies, and success in these is considered essential experience for joining the Supreme Council in the future.”

Just as Professor Kwon Chanyul finished his explanation, the ringing of the bell signaling the end of the day echoed through the speakers in the classroom.

“Alright, that’s it for this week’s class. See you all on Monday.”

With a yawn, Professor Kwon Chanyul was the first to leave the classroom.

The students immediately began chattering excitedly about their weekend plans, completely forgetting the professor’s earlier warnings. Meanwhile, those scheduled for extra classes packed up gloomily in silence.

Hearing the commotion, Jin Yeseo, who had been sitting in the back corner of the classroom, lowered her head.

“Yeowool, congratulations! What are you going to do about the request?”

“I think I’ll be assigned to security duty at the reclamation site. My uncle is the head of the Western Development Office, and they’re going to give me the request.”

“Really? That’s great! Then, maybe…”

A female student, who looked like she came from a prestigious family, was engaged in conversation with her friends.

Moon Yeowool’s face was lit up with a constant smile.

With just one victory, Moon Yeowool had taken all the glory that should have belonged to Jin Yeseo.

With a single win, Moon Yeowool, who had been stuck in the double digits since she entered Cradle, had catapulted herself to 8th place.

And with that achievement, she had earned the right to perform an appointed request, the first step toward a successful career.

Since the ranking match, the two hadn’t exchanged a single word.

They used to sit together for classes that overlapped, but now they passed by each other like strangers.

Jin Yeseo silently watched the scene unfold.

Yet, strangely, she felt no anger or jealousy.

The biggest reason she had lost her friend was her own arrogance and indifference.

“…”

Jin Yeseo turned her gaze away.

Just as she watched the masked boy leave through the back door of the classroom, she finished packing her things and stood up.

She left through the front door, the opposite direction from him. Though their destination was the same—the training room in Building A—their paths had to differ. She couldn’t risk what would happen if their association became public knowledge.

As Jin Yeseo walked through the corridor bathed in the orange glow of the sunset, she heard a familiar voice call out her name from behind.

“Yeseo?”

Even before she turned around, she knew who it was.

A bright smile spread across her face as she responded to the voice.

“Seoyeon unnie!”

The most popular person at Cradle right now. A second-year senior and her mentor, Baek Seoyeon, was approaching from the far end of the corridor.

Jin Yeseo ran up to her and, without hesitation, threw herself into Seoyeon’s arms.

“Watch it! You’ll get hurt like this…”

“Hehe… Sorry…”

Even as Baek Seoyeon gently scolded her, Jin Yeseo only smiled brightly.

She relished in the warmth and comfort of Seoyeon’s embrace.

Even after they parted, Jin Yeseo couldn’t take her eyes off her face.

Her hair shimmered like the night sky, her golden eyes sparkled like treasures, and her perfectly symmetrical features seemed mathematically flawless. She even smelled as sweet as wildflowers.

Recently, Baek Seoyeon’s beauty had only grown more radiant.

Though there was an occasional shadow of worry on her face, it only seemed to enhance her natural elegance.

Jin Yeseo couldn’t help but swallow a gulp of admiration.

It pained her to think that such beauty would soon belong to just one man. It felt like such a waste.

“What…? Is there something on my face…?”

“No, no. Where are you headed, unnie?”

“Oh, the student council. There’s an emergency meeting. Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I’ve fully recovered. Look.”

Jin Yeseo nodded her head a bit too enthusiastically.

Baek Seoyeon had been regularly checking on her recovery.

Even after learning about her fallout with Moon Yeowool, Seoyeon had adjusted their mentoring group schedule so there wouldn’t be any conflicts.

Jin Yeseo had been moved by her sincere and warm support more than once.

“…I’m glad to hear that.”

Seoyeon gave a soft but tired smile.

Is she exhausted from student council work? As Jin Yeseo pondered, Seoyeon suddenly asked an unexpected question that made her heart drop.

“So, where are you off to? You seem busy…”

“M-me…?”

Her heart trembled with guilt, as if her conscience had turned into something physical, pricking at her chest. Jin Yeseo avoided Seoyeon’s gaze.

“Yeseo? What’s wrong all of a sudden? Are you really okay…?”

Noticing Jin Yeseo’s strange behavior, Seoyeon asked in concern.

“I-I’m fine. I was just on my way to do some rehab training…”

“Already? Isn’t that rushing things?”

“No, it’s not… I just couldn’t stand sitting still any longer…”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that, but still, be careful… okay?”

“…Don’t worry, unnie. I won’t cause you any concern.”

“Pfft… Concern, really.”

Seoyeon chuckled lightly as if finding her words cute, then suddenly checked her watch and widened her eyes.

“Oh no, it’s already that late… I have to go. See you next time, okay?”

“…Yes, unnie. Hurry along now…”

Jin Yeseo waved as Baek Seoyeon hurried off.

Once Seoyeon’s black hair disappeared around the corner, Jin Yeseo’s raised arm dropped limply to her side.

She stood there, blankly, for a moment.

After standing still for a while, she snapped back to reality and resumed walking.

Toward the old training room in Building A.

Where the boy was waiting.

The boy who supported Yeon Minha, Baek Seoyeon’s biggest rival.

He was even the man who had clashed loudly with Baek Seoyeon at the start of the semester.

He was the one who had descended out of nowhere and snatched away everything that should have been hers.

Jin Yeseo couldn’t accept that.

No matter how many times she challenged him, the result was the same—her body and spirit shattered by his overwhelming strength.

And though she had dragged herself into this situation, her fate now lay entirely in the hands of that brutal man.

Fear, anxiety. Guilt.

Yet, there was also a sliver of hope. A thrill of anticipation for the unknown. The first step toward achieving her true potential.

Caught in the storm of these conflicting emotions, Jin Yeseo whispered a small apology to someone.

As if trying to dilute the guilt of betrayal.

“I’m sorry, unnie. I’m so sorry…”

But despite her apology, there was already a slight spring in her step.

End of Chapter