Chapter 70: I Don’t Care About that Bitch, so you do whatever you want

“She said she can’t stand the sight of you anymore. But don’t worry. Your father loves you. From now on, even without your mother, I’ll do my best to be with you.”

The absurd words coming from her father, that her mother, who had loved her so much just yesterday, had abandoned her overnight.

Baek Hyunseo didn’t believe it. No, she couldn’t believe it.

However, there was nothing she could do.

-Squeeze…

She clenched her fists tightly and said,

“Mother… There’s no way Mother would abandon me…”

About to say something more, Baek Hyunseo glanced at Baek Jooseok’s expression.

-Flick

“Are you trying to take that woman’s side and defy your father?”

Baek Jooseok had a cold expression, as if he were looking at trash.

Baek Hyunseo instinctively covered her mouth.

Then, her father’s expression softened.

“Hyunseo, your father loves you. So, I hope you won’t doubt or question what I say. I’ll do my best for you, so I hope you’ll trust and follow your father. Now that your mother is gone, I’ll do even better.”

Fearing that her father might leave her too now that her mother was gone, Baek Hyunseo could only nod.

Several months after her mother left.

Baek Hyunseo missed her mother. She wanted to see her. But she couldn’t show it, knowing her father would disapprove. She couldn’t even mention her. Baek Hyunseo simply repeated to herself every day that her mother had abandoned her.

She didn’t know the reason or the cause. All she knew was that they had fought. She didn’t even know what they had talked about while she was asleep. But she had to accept that her father was the only one who would be living with her from now on.

Several years passed.

Baek Jooseok did a decent job as a father. Especially financially, he provided her with everything she could want. But strangely, he controlled her excessively. He didn’t even buy her a cell phone, and he restricted her from going outside as much as possible.

Baek Hyunseo was frustrated and curious about the world. But she didn’t show it. Because that’s what her father liked. After her mother left, Baek Hyunseo only had her father left. If he left too, she would have no one.

After the big fight with Won Yeojeong, Baek Jooseok had become domineering. He would get angry if Baek Hyunseo opposed or questioned him. If she agreed and obeyed, he would shower her with affection. So Baek Hyunseo quietly obeyed him. There wouldn’t be any problems as long as she obeyed and endured.

‘I wish… I had friends…’

As time went by, Baek Jooseok became increasingly busy. His position rose, and Baek Hyunseo spent more time alone. She missed her mother, who used to spend so much time with her.

The more intense her longing became, the more she repeated to herself that her mother had abandoned her.

More time passed.

Baek Hyunseo no longer missed her mother. Self-hypnosis. By repeatedly telling herself that her mother had abandoned her, she had come to believe it.

She no longer missed her mother. She resented her. She resented her mother for leaving home, even if it was because of a fight with her father.

Even more time passed.

Eventually, Baek Jooseok established Helmunt Academy.

He had become the president, a position he had long desired, and after some time, the academy had stabilized.

A new “Practical Magic” class was established at Helmunt Academy, and it attracted a lot of attention from the start because of an instructor named ‘Choi Juwon.’

“Hyunseo, you said you wanted to attend the academy, right? I’ll make your dream come true.”

Baek Jooseok began to loosen his control over Baek Hyunseo. She could now meet other people, learn about the world. Though naive and inexperienced, she was finally at a starting point where she could form relationships with others.

She looked forward to each day, anticipating the possibility of making friends.

“You’re Hyunseo, right?”

“Ah… H… Hello?”

“We’re in the same beginner class! What do you like? Do you watch Bell?”

“What’s Bell…?”

“Ah… You don’t know that? Then, do you have a favorite celebrity?”

“I don’t watch TV…”

“Huh? Then, do you have a favorite cafe or something?”

“I’ve never been to a cafe…”

“Whoa… You’re really unique. Then, at least give me your number so we can talk later.”

“I… I don’t have a phone…”

“…”

However, Baek Hyunseo, experiencing social interaction for the first time, found it difficult to make friends. It was only natural that she felt out of place. She couldn’t connect with others.

Thanks to her father, she had been admitted to the beginner practical magic class at Helmunt Academy, a class everyone wanted to join, but she was still alone.

-Munch

-Munch

During lunch breaks, she ate alone on the rooftop of Helmunt Academy every day. Before she discovered that she could access the rooftop, she used to skip lunch because she was embarrassed to eat alone. But now, she could eat comfortably without worrying about what others thought.

As usual, Baek Hyunseo was eating lunch by herself.

She was lonely.

She needed people.

She needed someone to talk to.

Someone she could talk to even if they didn’t have anything in common.

She needed someone like that.

-Munch Munch

-Drip

Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes.

Even though she had finally entered the academy she had longed for, making friends wasn’t easy.

Baek Hyunseo, about to have lunch on the rooftop as usual…

-Creak

She turned around at the sound of the rooftop door opening.

“Oh…?”

A man was standing there. It was her instructor, the one who taught her classes every day.

It was Choi Juwon.

-Step Step

He walked over naturally and sat down a little distance away from Baek Hyunseo.

-Click

And he took out the lunchbox he had brought.

“Uh…”

Baek Hyunseo was startled to see him sitting next to her and let out a silly sound, but Choi Juwon paid no mind and opened his lunchbox to eat.

-Swoosh

When Baek Hyunseo finished eating, Choi Juwon got up and left the rooftop without a word.

The next day, and the day after that.

Choi Juwon just ate his lunch beside her in silence.

-Munch

-Munch

At first, she felt uncomfortable with the instructor silently beside her, but as time passed, she started to feel a sense of stability.

There was no need for conversation. She didn’t have to try to find common ground or force herself to come up with topics to maintain the relationship. Choi Juwon just quietly ate lunch with her.

It wasn’t bad. She felt a sense of comfort having someone beside her. She liked that she didn’t have to eat alone.

-Munch

-Munch

As time went on, she began to notice subtle things about Choi Juwon’s behavior that she hadn’t noticed before.

‘He seems like a very considerate person.’

He always sat a little distance away so as not to make her feel uncomfortable. As if to emphasize that he wasn’t there for her, but simply wanted to eat lunch on the rooftop.

Also, he would match his pace to hers. Not obviously, but he would eat slightly faster or slower than her, giving her the feeling that they were eating together.

‘He seems… like a good person.’

After almost a month, Baek Hyunseo looked at Choi Juwon’s lunchbox.

‘That looks delicious.’

His lunchbox was filled with various meats, shrimp, vegetables, and various sauces.

-Stare

As Baek Hyunseo stared blankly, Choi Juwon finally spoke to her.

“You can have some if you want.”

“R… Really?”

Baek Hyunseo began to talk to Choi Juwon casually.

It was strange.

She always felt uncomfortable talking to others. She had to try to find common ground, and all relationships felt difficult. But it wasn’t like that with Choi Juwon.

Was it because they had been eating lunch together for over a month? He felt so comfortable.

“Wow… This is really delicious…!”

Choi Juwon looked at Baek Hyunseo eating with a pleased expression.

“I made it myself. How is it? My cooking isn’t bad, right?”

Baek Hyunseo nodded.

“I can share some with you in the future, if you want.”

“Really?”

Baek Hyunseo had only ever bought lunch with the money her father gave her. She rarely had a home-cooked meal prepared with care. So, she was interested in Choi Juwon’s offer.

“Of course. But I have one favor to ask.”

“A… A favor? What kind of…”

“Let’s greet each other when we meet on the rooftop from now on. How about it?”

It was simple. Perhaps it was something Baek Hyunseo had longed for all along.

“O… Okay!”

Baek Hyunseo finally had her first friend.

After that, Choi Juwon continued to look after her. Thanks to him, she adapted well to the academy and no longer felt out of place among her peers.

She now ate lunch with her friends.

But sometimes she felt a pang of regret. She missed the time she spent with Choi Juwon.

At the same time, she felt jealous.

“Make sure you review what I taught you today, okay?”

Seeing him treating other students kindly made her heart ache.

Only then did she realize.

The instructor who had helped her, her first friend.

She had a crush on him.

After the battle with Song Minchul’s guild, W, Choi Juwon returned home.

He lay on the sofa and organized his thoughts.

‘Yang Hangil, who ran away from the Black Gate incident, is now a wanted man nationwide, and I was cleared of any wrongdoing in the Shim Jihyuk case as it was deemed self-defense. Min Hwayeon kept her promise, so all the urgent matters have been resolved for now.’

Over a hundred W guild members had died. The guild officially announced that a major incident occurred during a dungeon exploration and that they couldn’t reveal the details due to internal reasons.

No outsider could interfere in guild matters, and it wasn’t uncommon for guild members to die during dungeon explorations, so the incident passed without much resistance.

‘I need to start training my disciples again. Even though I have more allies, I still need my disciples for a reason.’

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

‘Who is more talented, Park Hyeyeon or Song Mina?’

It was simple curiosity. Song Mina was currently under the ‘Harsh Fate’ debuff, but before that, she had been a girl with exceptional magical talent. In terms of talent alone, she was on par with Park Hyeyeon.

‘It’s a shame. I wish I could extract Song Mina’s talent and give it to someone else.’

Song Mina had met all the criteria for his ideal disciple. If she had believed him, she would have been the one to stay by his side the longest.

‘Useless thoughts. She’s a stranger now anyway.’

She was someone he treated sincerely, yet she not only failed to believe him but also sent him a message telling him to die. Choi Juwon shook off those thoughts.

“Haa…”

He rubbed his throbbing head.

Lately, he had been experiencing severe headaches.

Was it a psychological issue caused by the numerous events that had occurred, or was it because he had been pushing his body too hard?

He didn’t know.

He just rubbed his aching head.

Stress piled up.

He had too many things to think about.

He didn’t want to get involved with anyone anymore.

But there was still a mountain of things to deal with.

Just then…

-Ring Ring

His phone started ringing.

-Click

Choi Juwon answered and asked,

“Hello?”

A woman’s voice came from the other end.

“This is Won Yeojeong.”

“Won Yeojeong? Who is this? Do I know you?”

Choi Juwon didn’t know who Won Yeojeong was. By the time Baek Hyunseo entered the academy, a considerable amount of time had passed since her mother left.

She took a deep breath and said,

“I’m Baek Hyunseo’s mother. I’m calling because I have something to tell you.”

-Throb

His head started to hurt again.

“…”

He didn’t say anything. He felt like his blood pressure was going to spike through the roof. Won Yeojeong continued, unfazed,

“Instructor, I know Hyunseo made a mistake. I’m planning to meet with her and discuss it, but I wanted to ask for your forgiveness before that. Based on the information I’ve gathered, it seems like Hyunseo admired you and liked you quite a bit. It’s been a long time since Hyunseo and I met. If I make amends with you on her behalf, it will make her think favorably of me.”

“…Just get to the point.”

He had no idea who Won Yeojeong was, and he couldn’t understand her nonsense. So he asked what she was going on about.

Won Yeojeong said,

“I want to reconcile you and Hyunseo. I don’t know the extent of Hyunseo’s wrongdoing yet, but I’ll compensate you as much as you want. I’ll be generous, so…”

“Money?”

The moment he heard the words “compensate with money,” he snapped.

Choi Juwon burst into laughter and said,

“Compensate me with money?”

“…”

“How much can you give me? How much do you think I should ask for to forgive someone who ruined my life? How much should I receive for being betrayed by someone I trusted and devoted myself to for years?”

“It’s best to be practical. You were an S-rank instructor, but you’re unemployed now. Even if you’re completely cleared, it will be difficult to return. But I can offer you much more money than you can imagine. I’ll give you anything you want, so please, just…”

Choi Juwon cut her off and said quietly,

“
. I have more money than I can ever spend. If you want to compensate me, compensate me for the time I wasted listening to your
. And if you say another word of this
, I won’t hold back. Do whatever you want with your daughter. I don’t care about that b*tch.

”