Chapter 195
Out of nowhere, an unfamiliar presence appeared, and Lee Hyun immediately tried to turn around.
However, the voice of a female student that followed stopped him in his tracks.
“…Don’t look.”
“Senior?”
“I said don’t look.”
Yeon Minha tightened her grip on his arm and muttered. Now that he noticed, her trembling voice was filled with resentment and tears directed at him.
“Who, who gave you the right to call Senior’s name so casually?”
Once her lips opened, she poured out accusations toward Lee Hyun nonstop.
“Sniff… Who do you think you are to act so freely? Trying to stand on equal footing with me—”
“Haah…”
But instead of being upset, Lee Hyun let out a sigh of relief at her words. The strange sense of security embracing him felt almost bizarre.
“Senior.”
After listening to her sorrowful murmurs for a while, Lee Hyun finally spoke.
“Don’t call me… sniff.”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“…No.”
Even while on the verge of tears, Yeon Minha answered his question earnestly.
“In this chaos, what are you doing here alone? You should have evacuated by now.”
“Then why did you come?”
“…What?”
At Yeon Minha’s calm retort, it was Lee Hyun who appeared momentarily taken aback.
“Because I knew Senior would be waiting… We made a promise, didn’t we?”
“Me too.”
And as if waiting for it, Yeon Minha responded to his words.
“I was just waiting because we made a promise… that’s all.”
“What if I couldn’t come… What then?”
“That wouldn’t happen. You’re someone who keeps their promises. Back then… you kept it, too.”
Her tone made it sound as if it were the most natural thing in the world. After hesitating briefly, Yeon Minha added a small afterthought.
“Although this time, you were a bit late… sniff.”
“I’m sorry.”
“…It’s fine. It was because of those strange guys, wasn’t it?”
“…Yes.”
Reluctantly, Lee Hyun nodded at Yeon Minha’s statement.
“Some of them came here too. They tried to set the garden on fire. The spirits were in an uproar, asking for help…”
“So, at the entrance, that was your doing?”
“Those were the ones I dealt with. Something felt off, so I just knocked them out. The rest, the security team will handle. Any injuries they got, that’s on them…”
The butterfly spirits still fluttered around them, glowing with light. Now that he heard her story, they seemed even more joyous.
“Anyway… it’s fine now that you’re here.”
Yeon Minha’s voice, which had been trembling earlier, had steadied somewhat. Though her tone was still curt.
Seizing the moment, Lee Hyun spoke to her again.
“Senior.”
“What.”
“Can I see your face now?”
“…No.”
Lee Hyun could feel the slender arms holding him tighten once again. He couldn’t help but picture the female student behind him shaking her head vigorously.
“Why not?”
“Because… it’s your punishment.”
Yeon Minha stammered, her words flustered and incoherent.
“Punishment…?”
“For— for an insolent junior who dares to call their senior’s name so carelessly. There’s no face to show you. And that’s not all. You broke your promise… Do you have any idea how long I waited here…”
“Then I guess I don’t have a reason to stay here. Should I leave now?”
“N-no…!”
As Lee Hyun pretended to pull away, Yeon Minha cried out in alarm. Then she tightened her hold on him once more.
What was he supposed to do? Lee Hyun let out a light sigh.
After a brief moment of contemplation, he quickly grabbed Yeon Minha’s arms and turned around in one swift motion.
“W-wait…! I’m a complete mess right now…!”
The shrill scream she let out abruptly stopped as soon as Lee Hyun fully turned around.
Warm body heat still lingered against his chest.
“I told you… not to look…”
Her voice, filled with resignation, came from about a head and a half below.
Looking up at him from such a close distance, the female student’s eyes shone with a vivid crimson hue. The smudged makeup around her eyes was unmistakable evidence of her sorrow and tears.
As Lee Hyun’s gaze met hers, Yeon Minha quickly ducked her head, like a rabbit retreating into its burrow.
“I warned you… I told you I was a mess…”
Her voice, now slightly calmer, still carried traces of moisture.
“Idiot… Stupid… Really stupid…”
The hem of her sleeveless dress quivered faintly.
“I tried so hard to prepare… And yet…”
Her dress, the same color as her hair, was clearly something she had put a lot of effort into.
Taking a step back, Lee Hyun could finally see it. White fabric stained here and there with red blood droplets.
“You look fine to me.”
“…Don’t say things you don’t mean. Do you think I’m a fool?”
Yeon Minha shook her head vigorously, vehemently rejecting his words.
“I don’t lie about things like this. You know that.”
“Sniff… Really?”
At Lee Hyun’s next words, she peeked up at him cautiously, as if testing the waters.
“Really.”
“…”
Lee Hyun emphasized his words with more conviction.
After a moment of silence, Yeon Minha shuffled over and grabbed his sleeve, muttering.
“…Say it again.”
“You look beautiful.”
“…More.”
“Even with your makeup smudged, you look beautiful. The petals on your dress make it suit you even better.”
Listening quietly, Yeon Minha finally nodded slightly, as if satisfied.
“…That’s enough.”
“Phew…”
Realizing her mood had improved, Lee Hyun let out a sigh.
Suddenly, he turned his head toward the distance.
The screams and explosions seemed to have subsided. However, flames still burned in various spots, yet to be extinguished.
He looked back at Yeon Minha and spoke.
“Senior. We should move now. Staying here might attract those guys again.”
“It’s fine. You saw earlier, didn’t you? Even if a hundred of them came, they wouldn’t be a match for me.”
But Yeon Minha shook her head.
“And I’ve spread the spirits around. Right now, we’re the only ones in this garden, so you can relax.”
Then, with a slight shiver of her shoulders, she added in a low voice.
“…Probably.”
“Probably…?”
“It’s fine. It’s not that important…”
Avoiding his gaze, Yeon Minha changed the topic.
She took a deep breath, as if preparing for something significant.
The snowy white cheeks had once again turned into a blush, but it was certain that it wasn’t the same kind of resentment as earlier.
Finally, she opened her mouth with a nervous expression.
“…Hey. Do you remember why I asked you to come here?”
“You said you had something to tell me.”
Lee Hyun mumbled as he racked his brain.
“Though I didn’t keep to the time…”
“It’s fine. Thinking about it, time doesn’t seem very important.”
Then Yeon Minha hesitated and added a few words, stammering.
“More than that, the heart… is more important, isn’t it?”
“The… heart…?”
Lee Hyun repeated her words as if trying to grasp their meaning.
“What on earth do you mean…”
“…”
Yeon Minha did not answer. Instead, she grabbed his hand and walked further into the serene depths of the garden.
Rustle, rustle. The monotonous sound of leaves brushing against each other in the night breeze tickled his ears.
Underneath the massive trunk of the Centennial Tree they arrived at, there was a spot where an unusually bright light seemed to shine.
Through the glowing blue leaves, vibrant green vines entwined, hanging down toward the ground.
“This is…”
“Mistletoe.”
Yeon Minha’s sweet voice tickled his ears like the rustling of leaves.
“Have you… heard of it?”
“Mistletoe…”
It was the first time he’d seen it, but he was sure he’d heard of it before. And quite recently, at that.
-Are those still around? Mistletoe.
-What? What’s that?
-You know, the one they say helps you find love if you confess beneath it…
In the middle of the festival. A passing conversation between wizards, spoken carelessly, vividly resurfaced in his mind.
And the moment he repeated its name, Lee Hyun froze on the spot.
“…So, you’ve heard of it.”
That silly superstition didn’t matter in the slightest. What mattered was why Yeon Minha had brought him all the way here. At last, Lee Hyun realized it.
His heart pounded, his mind went blank. The conjecture he had desperately tried to ignore due to past fears now reared its head again.
Lee Hyun barely managed to look ahead. Under the tree stood a girl, her hands clasped behind her back, her head slightly lowered.
Her shoulders trembled as if caught in an earthquake. Yet, amidst it all, her gaze was firmly fixed on Lee Hyun.
“Then… you must already know what I’m about to say…?”
***
Seoyeon staggered forward.
Her appearance was a mess, as if she had been through several battles.
She barely managed to stand and gather her thoughts, but there was no trace of the man anywhere.
Even so, she desperately moved toward the place where he might be.
‘I was… I was such a fool…’
It was a pain that felt like her chest was being torn apart. Seoyeon cruelly berated herself.
‘What did I do to Hyun… To such a kind boy…’
The weight of her own words, which she had spoken so carelessly, returned to her belatedly and crushed her.
“At the very least… I have to apologize…”
Just the thought of his empty eyes sent shivers down her spine. The idea of becoming nothing to him was a horrifying thought that made her tremble.
“It’s okay, it’s okay…”
Seoyeon muttered to herself aloud, trying to calm herself.
“Take it slow… Start over from the beginning… There’s plenty of time ahead… At least Hyun is alive… It’s okay…”
Before she knew it, she had reached the garden entrance.
She didn’t know why her steps had led her there. She was merely tilting her body forward, guided by her instincts.
And then.
Expanding her senses widely with magic, she finally detected a familiar presence.
But there wasn’t just one presence—there were two. At this realization, Seoyeon bit her lip.
“Could it be…”
Unintentionally holding her breath, she moved toward the source of the presences.
And finally, beneath the massive tree, she saw two figures standing facing each other.
‘What are they…’
A sense of foreboding gripped her. Cold sweat trickled down her face, and her heart pounded as if it would burst.
And in the next moment.
What reached her ears was the unbearably detestable, bashful voice of a certain female student.
“Then… you must already know what I’m about to say…?”