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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Jealousy (1)
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"You want to get close to Dohee, right?"
"..."
"I think I can help you with that..."
Shin Sehee offered to facilitate my relationship with Kang Dohee.
It wasn't entirely out of the blue.
Somehow, I seemed to have piqued Shin Sehee's interest, and she already knew I was interested in Kang Dohee.
My mind raced.
Did I need Shin Sehee's help right now?
'...Yes, it would be helpful.'
Even though I was intimately familiar with Kang Dohee's personal story and personality, the extent of her deep aversion to the male quota system was unknown.
Of course, I was confident I could dilute that image by showing her a different side of myself, one that defied her prejudices.
But there was no time.
Only three weeks.
'Considering the training ahead, there's just not enough time to make separate contact with Kang Dohee.'
Once the training camp period ended, it would be difficult to even run into Kang Dohee at the academy.
'Getting Shin Sehee's help here would definitely be beneficial.'
As someone skilled in human relations and schemes, she would likely be able to provide genuine assistance.
'But if things continue like this, I'll be pulled into her schemes...'
I narrowed my eyes, looking at her, still smiling sweetly.
If I accepted one small favor after another, accumulating debts, there was a high probability I'd unknowingly become her pawn.
I needed a leash.
Not one-sided help, but a transaction.
That way, I could prevent Shin Sehee from crossing the line under the guise of a debt.
But anything too intimate would only raise suspicion, so that was out.
'Something appropriate... Oh, right. There was that, wasn't there?'
"So, what do you say about getting close to Dohee? I'll help you. You'll accept my help, won't you?"
Her expression was confident, as if asking if I could possibly refuse this offer.
I curved the corners of my lips upward.
"...I'll accept your help, but let's make a deal instead. You'll need my help too. Don't you want to know what happened to that necklace you lost?"
"What...?"
Shin Sehee's smile shattered, as if a crack had appeared on her face.
Feeling a subtle sense of satisfaction, I continued.
"I'm talking about Cheonhwa's only blemish. The unidentified necklace theft incident."
"...You, you..."
"I recall it was a dungeon reward... and it was better than expected, so Cheonhwa secretly took it behind the scenes. Was that it?"
"H-how do you know that...!"
"Why, are you flustered because I know, even though you clearly tried to keep it quiet?"
"..."
"Surprisingly, everyone who needs to know, knows."
In fact, quite a few people besides me know about this. And it later becomes a full-blown incident.
An incident that would crack Cheonhwa's solid reputation.
About three months after the entrance ceremony.
A rumor began to circulate at Velvet Academy.
A rumor that Shin Sehee had secretly hoarded the dungeon reward, not wanting to share it, and had silenced people.
However, it was also an incident that, anticlimactically, was resolved almost immediately after it occurred.
'So, it's fine to use this now.'
Shin Sehee stared at me, her face stiff, her lips slightly parted.
I chuckled, watching her.
"Don't look at me like that. I know you didn't take it."
"!"
This time, her eyes widened into perfect circles.
Shin Sehee's expression changed rapidly in a short span of time.
"And I know who took it."
"Who is it!!!"
Shin Sehee immediately shot back the question, her voice devoid of composure.
"Shin Sehee, I said let's make a deal."
"...Ah."
"Since you brought up the offer first, wouldn't getting Kang Dohee and me close be the priority?"
And after a brief silence, Shin Sehee finally spoke.
"Jin Yuha. What exactly are you?"
"Male quota?"
"...Ha."
She exhaled, as if dumbfounded.
"That had better not be a lie. The part about knowing who stole that necklace."
"Would I dare lie in front of Cheonhwa?"
I shrugged, replying slyly.
"Alright then. A deal."
Shin Sehee extended her hand to me.
Not as a gesture of one-sided help, but as an equal partner in a transaction.
***
The next day.
"Special admission students and quota students will no longer follow the same training schedule."
Instructor Baek Seolhee, who arrived at the training grounds precisely at 8 AM, said this immediately.
At that, the quota students' faces bloomed like fully opened flowers.
It seemed they couldn't possibly do it after trying it once the day before.
Of course, I was a quota student too, but I wasn't particularly worried.
She had said she would create a separate, tailored training schedule for me.
"Special admission students will follow yesterday's training schedule, so begin with running. Quota students, come over here for a moment."
Kang Dohee and Shin Sehee headed to the track, and we gathered in front of her.
"From now on, these three will train together."
"...!?"
I stared at Baek Seolhee with bewildered eyes.
"W-wait a minute, Instructor. This is a different story—"
"Ask questions after I'm done speaking."
Baek Seolhee cut me off, as if she had expected this.
"Only Student Jin Yuha will be training."
"...Huh?"
"Then you must be wondering what the remaining quota students will do."
"Yes..."
"W-what are we supposed to do?"
The quota students looked at her with eyes full of anticipation.
Did they really hate training that much...?
"Healers will provide healing, and supporters will provide buffs. To Student Jin Yuha."
"...What!?"
"To, to Jin Yuha!?"
"Yes. Student Jin Yuha has a naturally gifted body, but he handles it like an ordinary person. He has no grasp of his physical limits."
Baek Seolhee said in a blunt voice.
"Therefore, he will break through his limits by moving his body while receiving buffs and healing."
"Ah."
The explanation was brief, so it took a moment to understand, but applying it to my current situation, I grasped what she meant.
'I've been moving my body based on the physique of my previous world.'
Hunters who awaken their status window possess a physique fundamentally different from ordinary people.
They differ in all aspects: recovery, strength, stamina.
They could even be shot and rushed to the hospital, but not die.
'So, by receiving buffs and healing... I'm supposed to break free from the sensations of an ordinary person.'
Baek Seolhee saw my expression and nodded.
"Hmm, it seems you've largely understood, which is good. The quota students' skills have particularly negligible effects, making them just right for reducing Student Jin Yuha's sense of incongruity."
A remark that treated the quota students like training equipment.
At her words, the two crumpled their faces, as if their pride had been wounded.
'But they don't think highly of me, so would they comply willingly...?'
"If you don't like that, you can follow the same training schedule as yesterday, if you wish."
"...W-we'll do it!"
"Please let us do it!"
They immediately became compliant with Baek Seolhee's single sentence.
"Alright, quota students, you may sit comfortably and just use your skills."
And so, Baek Seolhee's individual coaching began.
*
"You can do more."
"Just one more."
"More."
Baek Seolhee, chanting "Just one more" like an enthusiastic personal trainer.
Of course, with no change in expression or tone, she was like a machine repeating the same phrase.
"Ughhhhh—!"
I bit my lip, doing push-ups while in a handstand.
Veins bulged on my face, and sweat dripped onto the floor.
My ankles were weighed down by weights far heavier than the day before.
"Quota student, buff."
"Gasp...! Again, again...?"
"Then you can start with running."
"N-no, I'll do it! I-I'll do it!"
The quota student clenched their lips and extended both hands towards me.
Faint magic welled up from their hands, flowing towards my body.
It felt like a single drop of water falling onto parched earth.
It was absorbed immediately, leaving no sensation that water had even fallen.
"Student Jin Yuha. Do one more."
"Ughhhh—!!!"
I clenched my teeth and bent and straightened my arms once more.
*Thud!*
And immediately after, I collapsed onto my back.
"Hmm, a slight tear in the arm muscles. Quota student. Healing."
"Ughhhhhh—. H-healing!"
At Baek Seolhee's words, the quota student cast healing with a deathly pale face.
Honestly, I couldn't even tell if I'd recovered.
Perhaps this was a wicked trick to boost training efficiency through a placebo effect.
"You've worked hard."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Neither I nor the quota student uttered a word.
It felt like my body was being squeezed to the absolute limit of its limits.
Baek Seolhee looked down at us.
"From now on, training will proceed in this manner. Now, eat your meal and report back in one hour."
*Stomp. Stomp.*
Baek Seolhee uttered those words, turned her back, and left.
The sound of her footsteps fading away reached me like a distant dream.
As I stared blankly up at the disgustingly clear sky, a shadow fell over my face.
"...Shin Sehee?"
I twitched one eyebrow.
"Hehe, you worked hard during training."
"...Did you come to mock me?"
"Of course not. We should eat together."
"With you?"
"Yes, this is all part of the plan too."
Shin Sehee subtly covered her mouth and whispered as if sharing a secret.
"...Alright, I get it."
Since I'd already put a leash on her, there was no reason to doubt her.
And so, I staggered to my feet and headed to the meal with Shin Sehee.
The place was completely different from yesterday.
A red and yellow sign.
An enticing aroma.
And even the loud chatter of people.
A fast-food restaurant.
'...Hamburgers?'
I turned my head to look at Shin Sehee, as if asking if this was right.
"Oh, I've never eaten anything like this before!"
"..."
"I've always wanted to come, but I never had the chance, you see?"
Her eyes sparkling, she opened the door.
As soon as we entered, we found an empty table.
She swiveled her head around, looking for the menu.
"Ah, there it is. I think the chef made me a hamburger once before... I wonder if it tastes similar?"
"I'll have the Yeroni Fiaco Cheese Burger."
"...What's that?"
"The burger's name."
"Oh, there's something like that. Then I'll have that too."
It was then.
A woman caught my eye, holding a hamburger and looking for an empty seat a short distance away.
Fiery red hair.
A firm, voluptuous body.
An indifferent face.
It was Kang Dohee.