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Her luscious blonde hair cascaded down her back, swaying in the breeze. Upturned fox-like eyes exuded an alluring sultriness. Her crimson irises, like the deep red of blood, drew in the gaze of onlookers, pulling them into unfathomable depths like the ocean.
Though her expression remained impassive, it seemed to beckon, stirring a restlessness in the hearts of those who beheld her.
Despite having some notion of her appearance from illustrations, Baek Woo-jin couldn't help but be caught off guard.
'For once, the illustration fails to capture the real thing.'
It wasn't the artist's fault. The issue was that her bewitching aura, mannerisms, and speech could simply not be encapsulated in a mere illustration.
'Is she actually a succubus?'
In all his experiences, Baek Woo-jin had only felt this kind of overpowering atmosphere once before - when he'd encountered a succubus queen, an executive of the demon army, in the fantasy realm. Without even trying, she seemed to effortlessly stir men's deepest desires, making one wonder if she was even human.
"Are you alright?" she asked with genuine concern.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine."
"I'm glad. Really..., I can't tell you how worried I was.
"Haha, really?"
It was unexpected.
To her, who was about to leave me for Nam Gungsu, my death would have been a perfect opportunity.
'But does that mean she still has feelings for me?'
Looking back on Baek Woo-jin's memories, reflecting on her actions, she had always been utterly devoted to him. When his family had half-given up on him and the academy mocked him as the 'Faceless Dragon', it was she who lifted his hanging head.
'My mind is hazy.'
This body still harbored remnants of the late Baek Woo-jin's lingering emotions that he failed to take with him upon passing.
Amidst the tumult of feelings, Yoo Hwa-yeon occupied the largest part - fondness, anger, resentment, gratitude, apologies, uncertainties, all directed at her in a confusing swirl. His perception of her was changing with each passing moment. Just a moment ago, he had felt affection for her, but now he was inexplicably angry.
'I shouldn't get close to her for a while.'
He hated being swept up in emotions that didn't belong to him. And it was even worse when they were the emotions of a dead man.
'I won't go through that again.'
He had already been through it once, and he didn't want to go through it again.
Anyway, Yoo Hwa-yeon would probably try to distance herself from him, so he would have plenty of time to sort out his feelings.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go."
"Oh..., where were you going?"
"The conference room in the main building. The vice-principal called me there. Let's talk about it later when we have more time."
"Yes."
She stepped aside with a dazed expression on her face and Baek Woo-jin turned his gaze away from her and walked past her.
* * * * *
"What...?"
She watched Baek Woo-jin's back as he walked away, her eyes filled with confusion.
It had been a long time since they had spoken. It had been almost two months since he had started avoiding her in order to distance himself from her before leaving for his low-grade mission.
"But...."
It had been a long time since they had spoken, but Baek Woo-jin didn't seem to feel any warmth.
In Yoo Hwa-yeon's eyes, Baek Woo-jin was a puppy-like man. Just as a puppy would wag its tail and run to its owner when it saw it from a distance, he would also run to her with a bright smile on his face like a child.
But not today.
"He didn't smile once."
He who always smiled brightly when he saw her and would come up with all sorts of excuses to stay with her a little longer, didn't smile once.
"And even."
The nickname "Yeon-mae," which he used to call her several times every time he spoke, like a child calling for its mother,
"He didn't use it once..."
She was confused.
Did he change after almost dying? Or did he find out about Nam Gungsu and herself?
All sorts of thoughts dangled in the air.
"Ha."
She let out an ambiguous exhalation - a sigh or a cynical chuckle, she couldn't tell.
"What am I doing..."
Hadn't she been the one hoping for distance between them? And yet, she felt an inexplicable knot of emotions that he hadn't smiled at her or used that affectionate nickname, giving a self-deprecating laugh.
"What a selfish woman I am."
* * * * *
The conference room on the 3rd floor of the main building.
The gazes of numerous professors turned toward Baek Woo-jin as he entered through the doors, a tangle of mixed emotions flickering across their eyes.
Nearby professors wrinkled their noses. The scent of alcohol, tinged with a grassy undertone, wafted from Baek Woo-jin.
"You've been drinking?"
One of the professors asked in disbelief, and Woo-jin nodded, "Yes."
His frank admission without a hint of hesitation contorted the professor's face grotesquely.
"How dare you show up drunk when the vice-principal himself summoned you!" he barked angrily.
Fuming for no logical reason. He himself might not have realized it. He was just trying to suppress Baek Woo-jin with unreasonable arguments.
It wasn't hard for Baek Woo-jin to remember who the professor in front of him was.
'Han Bi-yeol.'
He was a second-generation disciple of the Mount Heng Sect and taught basic swordsmanship to first-year students. The Mount Heng Sect, which had a heated rivalry with the Mount Hua Sect, had long regarded the Ximseop Baek family, which had a close relationship with them, as an eyesore.
Han brought that enmity to the academy, harboring a one-sided dislike for Baek Woo-jin.
'I've been humiliated in many ways.'
From the first class until now, he had used Baek Woo-jin as a teaching material. He would wield his sword under the pretext of demonstrating and skillfully create bruises on him, and make him roll on the dirt floor to make the other students see him as a negative example.
Each time, the other students' perception of Baek Woo-jin plummeted to the bottom.
'Such people exist everywhere.'
Those who resort to unscrupulous methods to belittle others could be found in both the fantasy realm and on Earth. They shared a common trait - their tendency to look down on others was so strong, they never considered retaliation.
"I started drinking before the vice-principal's summons."
"What?”
A light provocation was enough to ignite their fuse, causing them to fly into uncontrolled rages.
"Is it a crime to have a few drinks on the first weekend after returning from the brink of death?"
"You insolent brat, how dare you talk back...!"
With no logical grounds for his outburst, he had no recourse but to get even more enraged and intensify his glares - nothing productive to offer. However, this was not an appropriate venue for such excessive displays. Too many superiors of higher rank were present.
"That's enough," the vice-principal's chilly voice cut in.
“V-Vice-principal." Seeing the cold face of the vice-principal, he belatedly realized his mistake, but it was too late.
"We urgently called Baek Woo-jin, a student who is resting on the weekend. I don't think it's a problem that he drank alcohol."
"I-I apologize."
"It doesn't seem like I'm the one who should receive your apology."
Han Bi-yeol clenched his fists.
It was his fault for getting angry without thinking straight because he thought he had caught him red-handed.
'Damn it.'
He had no choice but to humble himself now. He couldn't even imagine how difficult his life as a professor would become if he got on the wrong side of the vice-principal, essentially the power behind the throne.
"I'm s-sorry. I lost my temper for a moment."
Baek Woo-jin smiled and replied, "It's okay."
“‘Tsk,” Grinding his teeth, he lowered his head in defeat.
Once the situation had calmed down to some extent, the vice-principal, who had been watching, opened his mouth, "The reason I called you here is to talk about the treatment of the bandits you captured one after another."
A brief explanation followed — the main point was that considering the lackluster skills of these third-rate bandits, the failure of the lowest-grade mission, and the losses incurred due to the dispatch of the investigation and search party, he was not qualified to be given a mission performance score.
Baek Woo-jin listened to the vice-principal's words with a discouraged expression. Then, a glimmer of hope appeared.
"However, we have decided to acknowledge your contribution in capturing a first-rate bandit among them."
"Then...?"
"I've decided to give you 4 performance points."
A stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
'So I just need 6 more points?'
He only needed to go on three low-grade missions or two intermediate-grade missions to fulfill the score.
"Thank you!"
As Baek Woo-jin bowed his head with a bright expression, the vice-principal stared at him with a strange look. He didn't show any signs of discomfort even though countless professors were staring at him.
'He's quite bold.'
Unless a master reached the sublime state of "Return to Truth," no matter how much internal qi they cultivated, their imposing aura would inevitably leak outward. Meaning, in this gathering of numerous experts, Baek Woo-jin should have felt at least some strain.
There were typically two fates for such audacious individuals: They either blindly charged ahead to an early demise or endured countless trials to ultimately achieve greatness.
'Completely different from the reports.'
The vice principal had seen many individuals whose values underwent a seismic shift after brushing against death's door and Baek Woo-jin likely fell into that category.
'Intriguing.'
He wiped clean the contents of Baek's previous reports from his mind.
Whether this new life he started would wither before blooming or magnificently flower into a blinding radiance - the vice-principal felt a keen fascination to witness it unfold.
- - - - - End of Chapter - - - - -
Translator's Notes:-
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