Correcting the Villainess of the Academy - Chapter 165

Chapter 166

***

Jin Yeseo stood rooted to the spot, lost in thought.

‘My usefulness has run out…is that it?’

It was quite a plausible story.

After all, it was a well-known fact that men lacked fidelity.

Otherwise, how could those who clearly had partners send such dirty glances her way?

“Ugh…”

Jin Yeseo felt her anger rising.

She had spent a long time with that man.

And Jin Yeseo had to slightly revise her assessment of him.

From a man with a cruel temperament that made one suspect sadism, a terrible obstacle that constantly blocked others’ paths, to someone who, compared to other good-for-nothings, had a rather strong sense of loyalty and some redeeming qualities.

In addition, he had an unexpectedly pitiful and precarious side.

Its destructive power was so strong that, before she knew it, Jin Yeseo found herself unknowingly caring for him and wanting to take care of him.

That’s why she willingly endured the humiliation of being forcibly embraced by him or being forced to act as his wife, a role she never wanted.

She had been treating him as a ‘friend’ all along.

But to think that all she got in return was being treated like a one-night stand.

Her shoulders slumped with pointless disappointment.

Her uplifted heart plummeted to the depths.

She thought he was a decent man, that she might finally have a male ‘friend’…but in the end, was he just like all the other scoundrels?

“Haa…”

What was even more frustrating was her own inability to coldly cut him off.

***

“Uh…what?”

In the cafe district of the Cradle’s downtown.

A cynical-looking female student, Haewon, stared at the blonde female student who was unusually lost in thought.

“Did something happen in the student council?”

“…Ah.”

Then, Jin Yeseo opened her mouth with a somewhat languid and drooping voice.

“…No, nothing happened.”

“Is that…so?”

Her expression says otherwise.

Haewon swallowed her thoughts.

After returning from the request, Jin Yeseo, as the representative of the first-year students, officially took on the duties of the student council.

Originally, it was a position that the masked male student should have taken.

However, after he, who had won the last duel, expressed his refusal, the position of representative fell to Jin Yeseo.

It was a series of questionable processes, to the point where rumors of shady dealings circulated…but in any case, she had no choice but to accept.

Since her honor was already damaged, she had to salvage what she could.

However, this was more a result of her family’s wishes than her own.

Even that would have been an added element of humiliation for her.

So she wondered if something had happened in the student council…but judging from her reaction, it seemed she was mistaken.

“Yeah. Senior Baek Seoyeon takes good care of me…the others are nice too…the Student Council President is a bit unreliable, but…other than that, nothing much.”

Jin Yeseo shook her head again.

“Hmm…”

Haewon was one of the few students who was relatively close to Jin Yeseo.

There were always many people around her, but they were mostly ardent followers rather than friends.

Jin Yeseo often confided her inner thoughts to her.

The situation of her family, her hatred for the masked male student, her admiration for Baek Seoyeon, and so on.

However, today, there was a different feeling in Jin Yeseo’s appearance that she had never seen before.

‘What is it…’

“Ah, right.”

While Haewon was lost in thought.

Jin Yeseo, suddenly remembering something, expressed her gratitude to her.

“And thank you for your help this time. Thanks to you, I got through a really big problem.”

“It’s nothing. Don’t mention it.”

Haewon replied with her usual indifferent voice.

“It was no big deal.”

Before the start of this request period, Haewon had received a request from Jin Yeseo.

It was to falsely include her name in the request that Jin Yeseo was to carry out.

It was a serious violation of the rules, punishable by expulsion if caught, but in reality, it was not easy to manage hundreds of students individually.

It was something that had been going on secretly among the seniors as well.

Of course, Haewon herself had no particular reason to participate in that.

However, it was a rare request from Jin Yeseo, who she thought was completely unrelated to such matters.

Feeling intrigued, she readily accepted her request.

During the request period, Jin Yeseo disappeared without a trace.

And she returned with minor injuries that required her to be hospitalized for about two days, and now she stood before her again.

Naturally, she couldn’t help but feel interested.

“So what really happened?”

Haewon casually asked Jin Yeseo, pretending not to care.

However, Jin Yeseo hesitated, unusually, and took quite some time.

But in the end, as if she couldn’t stand the frustration herself, she carefully opened her mouth.

“It’s just…there’s someone who’s been irritating me lately.”

“Someone…irritating?”

“Yeah. Don’t ask any more. Just thinking about it makes me angry.”

But Jin Yeseo cut her off sharply.

Swallowing her disappointment, Haewon’s mind somehow pictured someone wearing a mask.

She couldn’t think of anyone else who could make Jin Yeseo like this.

She didn’t know how that man, who was known to be hospitalized, managed to get on Jin Yeseo’s nerves again.

‘Did she hear something in the student council? Senior Yeon Minha is there too…’

During the previous Southern request, Haewon, like others, had her life saved by him.

As a thank you, she gave him a piece of candy during the festival.

Along with the information about Jin Yeseo that he wanted.

She didn’t feel any particular remorse about it.

He was her lifesaver, after all, and the information she gave him was mostly superficial, something that could be easily found out with a little effort.

Of course, the sight of him beating Jin Yeseo was still a terrible memory…but honestly, she thought that Jin Yeseo had provided some of the cause.

After all, she maintained a fairly good relationship with the girls, but she treated the male students like bugs that crawled on the ground.

‘How can anyone not lose their mind after being treated like that…’

The only difference was that he had overwhelming strength.

Unlike most men who wouldn’t even think of opposing Jin Yeseo.

“And…”

“?”

Haewon was spreading her wings of imagination.

Jin Yeseo, while hesitating, revived the dying embers of the conversation.

“So…this is about a friend I know, okay?”

Haewon inwardly cheered.

That’s right.

There’s no way she’d just let it go when she looks so frustrated.

‘What on earth happened…’

But after hearing her story, Haewon couldn’t help but make a stunned expression.

“What, what…?”

***

“What brings you here?”

In her frustration, Jin Yeseo happened to head towards the infirmary where he was still hospitalized.

It just happened that her feet led her there.

The sunlight shone warmly, and her ‘specially’ well-groomed hair had a shiny gloss.

‘For some reason,’ she had put extra effort into her appearance since morning.

“I’d like to apply for a visit.”

“I see. First, please write your name and grade here…”

It was truly an amazing series of coincidences.

She didn’t originally intend to do this.

If it overlapped this much, she couldn’t help it.

‘Since I’m here, I might as well check on him…’

He was certainly a hateful and annoying man, but if she didn’t care for that poor person, who would?

Jin Yeseo couldn’t help but worry.

What if that man was spending another night crying?

There would be no one by his side now.

As a ‘friend,’ it was only natural to check on him.

‘…No, this is perfect.’

Jin Yeseo, sitting demurely in the corner of the infirmary garden, steeled her resolve.

In fact, she was not one to avoid problems that came her way.

She intended to resolve her recent 고민 today.

‘…How about just having an honest conversation? No, can you tell him that for me…?’

Of course, she had definitely heard such advice from Haewon, but it wasn’t because of that advice that she came here.

Absolutely not.

‘It’s because I’ve been too kind to him. Anyway, men, if you’re just a little nice to them…I need to tell him firmly that what’s wrong is wrong…’

Just as Jin Yeseo was clenching her fist.

From the entrance of the garden, she felt someone’s presence.

It was the familiar, weighty footsteps of someone she had heard dozens of times before.

It sounded quite cheerful, so it seemed that his recovery was going well.

At this, she unknowingly wore a bright smile.

The determination she had just made melted away without a trace.

And again, without realizing it, she was about to utter the title he had forcibly engraved on her.

“Honey…huh?”

Jin Yeseo, upon discovering something, couldn’t finish her sentence.

She had no choice but to distort her face.

The man was tightly holding the wrist of some female student who had popped out of nowhere.

Someone she knew well.

A second-year senior in the magic department, and the female student who had been sticking to his side like a leech all along.

Yeon Minha of the Jeokhwa.

End of Chapter