Chapter 67: Baek Hyunseo Decision in sorrow

Since the Black Gate incident, Baek Hyunseo had often visited the instructors’ office after she and Choi Juwon parted ways.

The desk Choi Juwon used was now occupied by another instructor, but for some reason, whenever she looked at it, she felt like she could see him at any moment.

Longing.

She had seen Choi Juwon in the dungeon with new colleagues.

The man who had taught and encouraged her at Helmunt Academy was now the Masked Instructor, working with more accomplished disciples.

‘Park Hyeyeon, was it…?’

-Choi Juwon? Is that the instructor’s name? You… How do you know his name?

Remembering how strangely on guard and questioning she had been, it seemed like Park Hyeyeon didn’t know that the Masked Instructor was Choi Juwon. Of course, she probably knew by now.

‘That girl… The instructor seemed to care for her…’

When Choi Juwon entered the dungeon, he rushed to save his new disciples. He threw himself into the fray as if the high-ranking monsters from the Black Gate were nothing, risking his life to save them. Even from afar, it was clear that he cherished them.

‘And that girl… She must have feelings for the instructor…’

And one of those new disciples, Park Hyeyeon, had often stared intently at Choi Juwon in the dungeon.

Although it was brief, Baek Hyunseo had seen how cold and blunt that girl was while they were in the dungeon together. She couldn’t forget the way that girl, who seemed so indifferent to everything, looked at Choi Juwon like a child.

That girl, who usually seemed devoid of emotion, with her white hair, was clearly strong even at a glance.

‘Unlike me, who’s completely useless… someone like her would be helpful just by being there, right…?’

A pretty face, a slender figure, and overwhelming skill displayed in the dungeon.

Someone who didn’t care about others. At first glance, Park Hyeyeon was the typical person who disregarded others. But Baek Hyunseo couldn’t forget the look in that girl’s eyes as she watched Choi Juwon, who had saved her life. It was the look of someone seeing a hero. Baek Hyunseo had seen the way that girl’s eyes, which had been lifeless, instantly regained their vitality.

‘She was saved.’

Baek Hyunseo didn’t know Park Hyeyeon’s circumstances. But she could tell one thing: she had grown up in a very unfortunate environment. Her behavior in the dungeon was the epitome of the survival of the fittest in a dog-eat-dog world.

But she was being saved by Choi Juwon. Awe for the person who had risked his life for her without expecting anything in return. Or perhaps, affection. It was clear she felt something for him.

She was envious.

Baek Hyunseo was desperately envious.

She was envious of that girl who could be by his side right now, to the point of death. She was envious of Park Hyeyeon, who could harbor romantic feelings for him while being near him.

-Swoosh…

Baek Hyunseo stroked the desk Choi Juwon used to use. As she looked at the chair he used to sit in, she saw an illusion of him.

“Instructor… Are you back…?”

An illusion before her eyes. She knew it was just a figment of her imagination. But still, she tried to talk to him.

“Instructor… I’m really sorry…”

It was an illusion. So, there was no reply. But still, Baek Hyunseo continued to speak, as if pouring out her heart.

“Instructor Choi Juwon… Because of me… If only I hadn’t done that, he wouldn’t have been unjustly expelled…”

She muttered unconsciously. Even if it was an illusion she created herself, she begged for forgiveness. She wanted to be forgiven. Even if it was fake, she wanted to hear his warm words again, just once.

Just then, she heard the sound of the door opening as if it were about to break.

-Bang!

Song Mina was standing there.

She looked at Baek Hyunseo and said,

“Explain yourself properly. I’m not thinking straight right now. If you don’t explain what you just said, I might really kill you.”

Song Mina threatened her, a raging fire spell in her hand, as if she would burn her to ashes at any moment. Her eyes had lost their luster, filled only with hatred as she glared at Baek Hyunseo.

“Wh… What do you mean…?”

Song Mina threatened her with the intense fire spell. Baek Hyunseo’s mind went blank, faced with the immediate threat of death.

She knew who Song Mina was. She had to. She was the person who had never lost the top spot since the establishment of Helmunt Academy’s practical magic class.

Of course, there was a gap between the beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes, so there wasn’t much interaction between them. However, Song Mina knew Baek Hyunseo because she was the academy president’s daughter, and Baek Hyunseo knew who Song Mina was because her reputation within the academy was so widespread.

-Tremble

Baek Hyunseo felt her hands shaking uncontrollably. This wasn’t just because she was weak. The magic Song Mina was emitting was at a level that even seasoned mages couldn’t ignore. Any mage, not just Baek Hyunseo, would find it difficult not to be intimidated by Song Mina’s murderous aura. Moreover, she was strong even with the ‘Harsh Fate’ debuff. Song Mina’s flames intensified, growing even stronger.

She spoke coldly,

“Don’t play dumb. I heard everything you just said. You said Instructor Choi Juwon was unjustly expelled because of you. You said it yourself. I don’t like to repeat myself. Explain.”

-Instructor Choi Juwon… Because of me… If only I hadn’t done that, he wouldn’t have been unjustly expelled…

Only then did Baek Hyunseo realize that Song Mina had heard her muttering.

Song Mina had used an enhanced hearing spell to amplify the surrounding sounds. That’s why she had heard even Baek Hyunseo’s quiet voice. Baek Hyunseo, unaware of this, had assumed that Song Mina couldn’t have heard her.

‘H… How could she have heard something I said so quietly…?’

“I… That was…”

Baek Hyunseo tried to make an excuse, but she closed her mouth.

The murderous intent in Song Mina’s eyes was intensifying.

It was as if her eyes were saying,

‘If you try to play dumb again, I’ll kill you.’

‘I… I’m going to die…’

Baek Hyunseo’s instincts screamed. She would die if she didn’t answer properly.

She quickly tried to organize her thoughts. Why was Song Mina acting like this? It wasn’t hard to guess.

‘She misses the instructor… just like me.’

Baek Hyunseo had seen Song Mina with Choi Juwon many times. She had seen the happy smiles Song Mina had whenever she talked to him.

It must have been a huge shock to her when he left the academy. If it was someone else’s doing, it was understandable that she would feel unbearable anger.

“I… Actually…”

Baek Hyunseo briefly considered telling the truth. But seeing the fiercely burning flames, she decided she couldn’t be honest.

‘She might kill me if I tell the truth.’

The look in that girl’s eyes was beyond chilling. If she found out that Baek Hyunseo was the reason Choi Juwon was expelled, that she had framed him, who knew what she might do.

She knew.

That’s why she tried to make an excuse. She tried to make an excuse to save her own life.

But she couldn’t speak.

Was it because she was afraid of Song Mina? No. It was because of her intense self-loathing.

Because of her foolish desire to have Choi Juwon for herself, she had driven him into a corner, and now she was trying to avoid responsibility.

She was aware of it herself. The only way to atone to Choi Juwon was to turn herself in or kill herself. But she was afraid of both.

Either choice meant she would never see him again.

It was true that she feared punishment. But more than that, she feared never seeing Choi Juwon again. Their relationship was still unresolved, and if she left things as they were, she thought she might never be able to untangle the knot between them.

She was afraid.

Afraid that if she turned herself in, she would go to prison and be separated from him, unable to talk to him.

She was scared.

Scared that if she atoned by killing herself, Choi Juwon might not accept it, and even in death, she wouldn’t be able to receive his forgiveness.

Baek Hyunseo’s one wish. To be forgiven by Choi Juwon. Selfishly, she wanted to have just one warm conversation with him.

To go back to the time when they were instructor and student, just for a day, or even half a day.

She just wanted to hear him say, “Good job,” and pat her head again, just one more time.

-Drip

Tears streamed down Baek Hyunseo’s face.

She made up her mind. She looked at Song Mina and said,

“I framed Instructor Choi Juwon.”