Chapter 190
The Secret Banquet Hall remained bustling even after the auction ended.
This was because there were far more people who preferred spending their time here rather than causing unnecessary trouble outside and catching the attention of the Disciplinary Department.
The very reason they participated in the Shadow Banquet in the first place was to indulge in various acts of rebellion that couldn’t be done in official club activities.
While conversations no different from those at an ordinary banquet continued, in another corner, a gambling table using Student Credits as collateral had been set up.
Inside the hall, scenes that were typically unimaginable unfolded in a variety of ways.
“Not like that. Lower your arm more…”
“I… I don’t quite get it. Can you help me?”
“Hmph. Seems like there’s no choice…”
A male student leaned in close to correct the posture of a female student who was about to throw a dart.
“What’s your name, cutie?”
“M-Muyoung… Shin Muyoung…”
“Hehe. Even your name is so cute. Shall we have a drink first?”
“Uh… this is…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s just something to make you feel good. Come on, drink it all down…”
A female student soothingly reassured a trembling male student.
“It’s too bright here…”
“Bright? It’s this dark. If you insist, we could move somewhere else entirely.”
“I… don’t know.”
A pair exchanged sticky glances.
Freed from the pressures of academics, the students indulged recklessly.
However, even in the dimly lit banquet hall, tucked away in a particularly secluded corner, a girl with golden eyes quietly sat at a table, her posture reserved.
‘That’s… no matter how you look at it, it’s definitely her…’
‘She has that elegance… and her appearance is similar too…’
The whispers around her tickled her ears with sharp sensitivity.
‘But why is she with one of those Heukryeon guys…? She spent all that to win the auction, and now she’s not doing anything…?’
‘Did she come here for an important discussion rather than for fun…? Really…?’
‘Shh! Be quiet! Don’t you remember the rules? Even if you know, pretend you don’t! Whether it’s true or not, it’s none of our business.’
The whispers soon faded away.
Regardless, Baek Seoyeon, wearing a Butterfly Mask, continued to glance at something—or rather, someone.
Across the table sat a man, equally unmoving.
Dressed impeccably in a suit, his face was concealed behind a smooth, white mask.
For the next two hours, his rights would entirely belong to her. Despite this, the man remained as still as a statue, something that might have annoyed others. Yet, Baek Seoyeon seemed entirely unbothered.
In fact, beneath the Butterfly Mask, her snow-white cheeks flushed with a red blush, resembling a sunlit apple.
‘Pull yourself together, Baek Seoyeon…’
Seoyeon was busy chastising herself internally. She repeatedly reminded herself of the reason she had stepped forward into this place.
Normally, she would never have considered setting foot in such a vulgar venue.
Even when she learned that Kwon Yuri was the Current Chairperson of the Shadow Banquet, and even when she saw the name of “him” on the first-year auction list that Yuri had intentionally leaked to tempt her, Seoyeon’s resolve had remained firm.
She couldn’t stand by his side yet.
If she hadn’t witnessed the golden-haired vixen’s treacherous betrayal firsthand, that resolve might never have wavered.
For hours, Seoyeon had to suppress the urge to strangle that despicable woman’s neck, wasting precious time in the process.
Still, she couldn’t deny that this was ultimately her mistake. Seoyeon was well aware.
Back when she was on the brink of adolescence, just beginning to awaken to the opposite sex, she had keenly observed the sticky gazes those rural girls directed at him.
At the time, Seoyeon, bound by the constraints of her terminal illness caused by Particle Hypersensitivity, could barely move freely. Moreover, he was nothing if not overly kind.
He would carry their belongings without hesitation, walk with them when they claimed to be scared—it was infuriating to watch how easily he complied with such absurd requests.
But now, things were different for her. She had gained enough power and resources to assist him and more.
And so, Seoyeon thought to herself: A momentary act of rebellion couldn’t hurt, right?
‘After all, I’m the only one who can protect Hyun…’
Seoyeon cast another glance at the man.
She had long since memorized every detail of his dignified figure. His tall height, his broad and sturdy back, his long and elegant fingers, and even the veins that popped out prominently on them.
Seeing this, Seoyeon couldn’t help but let out an excited sigh.
“Hoo…”
Her pupils dilated, and her heart pounded. The heat radiating from her couldn’t be cooled by mere hand fanning.
It was a chronic symptom she experienced every time she faced him as he had grown up.
In brief encounters, like when she had given him a gift, she could force herself to feign indifference. But in a situation like this, that was utterly impossible.
Seoyeon had become his perfect prisoner, incapable of escaping.
“…”
Thinking about him, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment at his complete lack of attention toward her during these two hours.
She had deliberated for days before settling on the perfect attire. The 20-denier black stockings, which subtly revealed her skin, were a special gift chosen just for him.
Long ago, on a whim, she had tried on a pair of stockings that had been lying forgotten in a corner of her room.
It was during her frail and sickly days. The sight of those stockings clinging to her bony legs had been pitiful even to her.
‘Hey! Wh-who told you to wear something like that?!’
And he had been furious at the sight of her. Not that it had upset her.
After all, his face had turned bright red with embarrassment as he draped his jacket over her legs to cover them.
‘I wanted him to see me like this again…’
Seoyeon swallowed her regret and disappointment.
Now placed in such a situation, she suddenly became aware of a certain aspect of the problem.
Of course, she had never intended to demand anything from him. She was content just to spend time like this and send him back afterward. Even that was a happiness she felt she didn’t deserve.
But this very contentment also led her to another inner conflict.
She simply sat across from him without speaking a word. Yet, Seoyeon had already melted into an overwhelming sense of happiness from which she couldn’t escape.
It felt as if all her past struggles had been rewarded in an instant.
Now utterly addicted to this feeling, she found herself wishing, without realizing it.
That this moment could last a little longer.
And from this excessive happiness grew unexpected impatience and greed.
Letting this time slip away felt like such a waste.
If she could ask even a simple question about how he’d been…
If they could at least share a light snack together…
“…Senior.”
Her inner conflict was interrupted by a deep voice from across the table.
“Huh, huh? Why all of a sudden?”
Seoyeon, startled, swiftly adjusted her posture and responded. Her voice carried a thick undertone of anticipation.
Hearing his voice for the first time today, she felt a thrill that bordered on rapture.
“D-Do you have something you’re curious about…?”
But the cold tone of his next words shattered her slim thread of hope entirely.
“The time is up. I’ll be leaving now.”
“W-What?”
Seoyeon, flustered, quickly checked the time.
‘Am I an idiot…? What do I do…? I was so happy I lost track of time…’
She saw that the two hours had indeed passed precisely as scheduled.
“I had a pleasant time. Goodbye.”
“W-Wait…!”
The masked man promptly stood up. In her panic, Seoyeon scrambled, trying to think of a way to stop him. Her mind, clouded by the sweetness of happiness, struggled to function rationally.
Just as she stretched out her hand to grab him—
-Boom!
A loud explosion erupted near the door connected to the passageway, causing her to freeze in place.
***
“W-What was that sound?”
“Did someone mess up the security magic…?”
All eyes in the hall turned toward the source of the noise. Rather than panic, the attendees appeared more stunned than anything.
Thick smoke billowed from the forcibly dispelled magic, obscuring the view beyond. Soon, silhouettes began to emerge from the wreckage of the shattered door.
The moment they spotted the Disciplinary Department armbands on their arms,
The banquet participants finally grasped the reality unfolding before their eyes.
“Arrest them all!!”
“Whoa!!”
Soon, with loud shouts, members of the Disciplinary Department equipped with nonlethal blades stormed into the banquet hall.
“Quick, get out! Where’s the exit?”
“Don’t push, don’t push…!”
“Hey! Don’t you dare touch me! Do you even know who I am to be pulling this nonsense…!”
It was an unforeseen situation for everyone.
Chaos erupted within the hall in an instant.
Some students attempted to resist arrest by flaunting their family authority.
And truth be told, it was a somewhat effective method. The aggressive stance of the Disciplinary Department members did seem to waver for a moment upon hearing their protests.
A student who had been resisting the Disciplinary Department allowed himself a brief sigh of relief, a smile of triumph spreading across his face.
“I’ve remembered all of your faces. You lot seem like lower-class scum. Just wait until I get out of here. I’ll use every connection I—cough!”
But before he could even finish his sentence, something flew at him and struck him squarely, sending him tumbling backward.
“Ughhh…!”
The fallen student clutched his forehead, writhing in pain.
Soon, the clattering sound of heels echoed as someone stepped out of the shadows and approached.
Round glasses and neatly braided hair falling in two pigtails.
It was Choi Ireh, the Head of the Disciplinary Department, picking up a discarded nonlethal blade as she spoke coldly.
“And who are you supposed to be?”
“Ch-Choi Ireh…?”
“Go ahead, tell me. I’m curious too. Just how prestigious is your family that you dare say such things in front of me?”
“…”
The fallen male student hung his head low, unable to utter a word.
The family of Choi Ireh, the Sungshan family, was currently a rising powerhouse.
Some even evaluated that they were closing in on the ranks of the Five Families.
“Tch. Of course. Take him away.”
“Yes, ma’am!!”
At Choi Ireh’s order, which was spoken with disdain, members of the Disciplinary Department cuffed the male student in light restraints and hauled him to his feet.
“Don’t let threats from delinquents scare you!”
Choi Ireh adjusted her glasses with her finger and shouted firmly to the surrounding Disciplinary Department members.
“Always remember that you are the proud Disciplinary Department, guardians of order in this prestigious cradle! Arrest them all! I’ll take full responsibility for everything!”
“Whoa!!”
With her words, the morale of the Disciplinary Department surged, and they spread out like an unstoppable wave.
Choi Ireh’s voice, amplified through a loudspeaker, echoed throughout the banquet hall.
“I told you, illegal gatherings are subject to punishment! And yet you still went ahead with this nonsense? Just wait until you’re caught! I swear…!”
By now, about 30% of the participants had already been arrested by the Disciplinary Department.
Even the students attempting to escape through secret passages were being systematically caught by the members lying in ambush.
From a corner table, Baek Seoyeon quietly observed the scene.
The man sitting across from her also seemed to be contemplating how to handle the unexpected situation.
“Seoyeon… no, no! Madame Butterfly!!”
Soon, a girl wearing a rabbit mask appeared, sprinting breathlessly toward them.
It was as if she had been watching them from nearby all along.
“White Rabbit… What’s going on?”
“I-I have no idea… How on earth did the Disciplinary Department find this place? I think Ireh really came prepared this time…!”
The rabbit-eared girl muttered urgently, her tone flustered.
The masked man, who had been silent, looked at her with a questioning expression and asked,
“Weren’t we assured there would be no punishment?”
“I-I thought so too… hehe… But maybe we won’t be expelled… Getting caught would definitely be humiliating, though…”
“…”
“Ah, anyway, this isn’t the time for this! We need to escape…!”
-Rabbit Mask! Capture the girl in the rabbit mask first! She’s the ringleader!
-Hey, Kwon Yuri! That’s definitely you, isn’t it? We know everything!!! You always cause trouble for Seoyeon! Today, you’re really…!
“Eek…!”
The sound of Choi Ireh’s shrill voice resonated through the smoke, causing the rabbit-eared girl to tremble violently.
Her rabbit ears stood stiffly upright as if they were real.
“I-I’m going first, okay? Enjoy the rest of your time here…!”
“Wait…”
“Seoyeon—no, Madame Butterfly, you’re close to Ireh, so maybe you’ll survive somehow…!”
Without finishing her sentence, the rabbit-eared girl bolted away, leaving Seoyeon standing there with an awkward expression.
The secret passage they had used to enter had already been sealed off long ago.
The other passages were in similar states.
The encirclement of the Disciplinary Department was steadily closing in from all directions.
They had less than thirty seconds before the members reached their outer table.
“Would it be troublesome if you were discovered?”
Seoyeon turned toward the unexpected voice.
After a moment of hesitation, she nodded in response to the masked man’s question.
“…Yes.”
If it weren’t for his presence, she wouldn’t have even set foot in this place.
In fact, she might have quietly supported Choi Ireh’s crackdown from the sidelines.
But keeping one’s identity hidden among the participants was entirely different from being caught by the Disciplinary Department.
“Follow me.”
After a brief pause, the man gestured for her to follow and began moving stealthily.
Seoyeon, left with no other choice, followed closely as they navigated along the outskirts of the banquet hall.
To her surprise, the man headed toward the largest passage where the Disciplinary Department had first entered.
Just as she was trying to figure out his intentions, the man stopped midway and motioned for her to hide behind an overturned table.
“Wait here quietly. Come out only when I signal you.”
Seoyeon nodded silently.
After confirming her response, the man disappeared into the smoke-filled darkness beyond the table.
As she waited behind, anxiety began to creep into Seoyeon’s mind.
Her heart pounded as if she had left a helpless child by the water’s edge.
That familiar sensation of dread tugged at her heart.
Unable to shake the feeling, Seoyeon eventually crept out from behind the table and followed him.
Before long, she spotted his figure near the main passage.
Standing before the passage was a female student wearing glasses, standing guard alone.
“Hey, who’s there? Stop right there!”
Recognizing the male student’s shadow, Choi Ireh shouted in her shrill voice.
“Thinking you could outsmart me. Did you really think no one would be here? Reveal yourself at once. Otherwise, you’ll face additional punishment…”
Seoyeon found herself agreeing with Choi Ireh’s assessment.
She was deeply curious about what the man was thinking when he led her here.
Choi Ireh, the almighty Head of the Disciplinary Department, was notorious for her rigid enforcement of the rules, earning her the ire of many students.
Her family’s overwhelming power shielded her from any complaints.
Arrogant confidence paired with undeniable skill defined her personality.
Of course, overpowering her in such a situation was out of the question.
The use of private magic was prohibited on campus, and injuring a Disciplinary Department head during duty could very well lead to expulsion.
‘Is he planning to bribe her…? Ireh wouldn’t accept that…’
Choi Ireh often expressed her deep-seated animosity toward Lee Hyun, who had broken her jaw.
She also had a habit of sabotaging blind dates, complaining about the unimpressive men she encountered.
For these reasons, Seoyeon had come to regard her as a fairly capable person.
“Huh…?”
As she mulled over possible explanations, Seoyeon’s eyes widened.
Even from the side, the man’s sharp jawline was clearly visible.
Instead of the white mask that had covered his entire face, he now wore a thin black eye mask that barely concealed his features.
This meant that his natural beauty was now fully on display for Choi Ireh.
Seoyeon was on the verge of realizing something when the man, feigning unsteady steps, cautiously approached Choi Ireh and spoke.
“Excuse me… Are you a member of the Disciplinary Department…?”
His voice carried a mix of vulnerability and desperation, as if he genuinely had no idea what was happening.
The contrast between this voice and his usual deep, reliable tone only made it more striking in its impact.
And then, the next sound to be heard was something Seoyeon had never imagined in her life—Choi Ireh’s coquettish voice.
“Y-Yes, I am…”
Without realizing it, Seoyeon clenched her fists tightly.