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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Envy (2)
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I looked at Kang Do-hee, then immediately turned my head.
Shin Se-hee wore a playful expression.
"You see, I know all the restaurants Do-hee frequents."
"So, you're going to follow her around and eat with her?"
It was no different from how I used to follow her when she smoked. When I pressed her with a look that said, *This is your strategy?*
"Oh, no. If I asked her to eat together, she'd obviously run away. We start with a greeting. Don't you know that greetings are the first step to getting close?"
Shin Se-hee whispered this, then waved her hand high towards Kang Do-hee.
"Do-hee! You here for food!?"
She greeted her brightly in a loud voice.
Instantly, everyone's gazes converged.
"Oh, oh!? Che-Cheonhwa!?"
"I was actually wondering earlier, but I never thought Cheonhwa-nim would come to a place like this... But it's really her..."
"But who's that guy sitting with her? Wow. He's handsome."
"...He's that guy. The male quota."
"What?"
A murmur of voices.
What in the world was Shin Se-hee trying to do?
Kang Do-hee would turn green and blue over something like this.
"What the hell, you bastards. What are you looking at!"
Annoyed by the converging gazes, Kang Do-hee looked around and threatened them.
"Th-The Mad Dog is here too...!"
"Hey, don't call me that, you crazy bitch...! Call me the Fighting Dog!"
"The Fighting Dog, she comes here often anyway."
"Still, she doesn't bite if you don't bother her."
"But you *did* bother her, that's the problem. Hey, you bitch, lower your eyes quickly!"
The atmosphere was instantly cleared.
Kang Do-hee bit her lip.
*Thump—*
*Thump—*
Kang Do-hee approached, not hiding her discomfort.
"Hey, Flower Garden. What kind of dirty trick is this?"
"Huh? A dirty trick?"
At her irritated words, Shin Se-hee put on an expression that said, *How could you say such a thing?*
A vein throbbed on Kang Do-hee's forehead.
"Yeah, why is a noble person like you, who wouldn't normally set foot in a humble place like this, here?"
"Hmm, because Jin Yu-ha likes this kind of thing...?"
Then Kang Do-hee's gaze turned to me, sitting beside Shin Se-hee.
Well, it was a bit awkward.
I had just told her a little while ago that I had no intention of getting close to Shin Se-hee.
But here we were, even eating together.
"Hi."
For now, I slightly raised my hand to greet her.
Kang Do-hee stared at me intently, then placed her tray on our table with a *thud*.
"You two eat your fill."
Then, Kang Do-hee snatched only the hamburger and cola from her tray and stormed out.
I turned my head to the side.
"...Hey, is this right?"
"For Do-hee, this is exactly right."
I couldn't understand her thinking at all.
It seemed like Shin Se-hee had just come to where Kang Do-hee was eating and caused a ruckus.
*Even a dog isn't bothered when it's eating, but this is like flipping over its food bowl...?*
Regardless, Shin Se-hee merely spoke with a bright face.
"Then since we're here to eat too, let's order quickly."
"...Right, well. Since we came to eat, we should eat."
We ordered hamburgers and brought them to our table.
*Munch, munch—*
"Wow, this is even more delicious than I thought...!?"
Shin Se-hee exclaimed with a happy face, her eyes sparkling as if she had experienced a new world of flavor.
Then, sounds of camera clicks and reactions like "Cute!" flowed from around them.
I watched her blankly for a moment, then opened my mouth.
"Shin Se-hee, you're not planning to eat where Kang Do-hee is tomorrow too, are you?"
"Yes, well... I think about three days should be enough? Maybe even faster. Hmm, depending on how *they* react."
"Can't you tell me about this 'strategy' of yours?"
"Hmm—. I think it'll be more effective if Jin Yu-ha doesn't know. You're not exactly confident in acting, are you?"
*Suck—!*
Perhaps some sauce was on her finger, as she sucked it clean while speaking.
I didn't have much to say.
I really wasn't confident in acting.
I brought my hamburger to my mouth too.
*Munch.*
Hmm, franchise hamburgers really aren't a waste of money.
I should bring Gukbap-i here sometime and let him try one. If Shin Se-hee reacts like this, I'm curious about Gukbap-i's reaction too.
***
After lunch.
It was time for position training again.
"I saw you training yesterday."
Instructor Baek Seol-hee approached and spoke abruptly.
"Ah, yes. I still don't know what I'm supposed to do..."
"You thought of basic training quite well on your own. It wasn't much different from what I originally intended to teach. What you need now is a solid foundation."
Fortunately, the method I had started on my own yesterday didn't seem to be particularly wrong.
"Carry that wooden sword with you at all times."
"What? The wooden sword?"
"You must get used to it. From now on, whether you're training, sleeping, or eating, never let go of that wooden sword."
It seemed she meant I should never let go of the wooden sword.
Well, it wouldn't be difficult.
"Yes."
I nodded.
"Assume your stance."
I gripped the wooden sword and took the same stance as yesterday.
Sword forward, one foot slightly ahead, chest and shoulders out, gaze straight ahead.
Then Baek Seol-hee gradually corrected my posture.
"That's it. Remember this stance and try swinging at a normal speed once."
"Yes."
Recalling the sword path I had traced the day before, I lifted the wooden sword upwards and brought it down in a single swift motion.
*Whoosh—!*
Because I swung it quickly, it wasn't a perfectly straight line.
But I could definitely feel that it was better than when I had swung it haphazardly at first.
"Still far from perfect. It would be better to continue that training until you can draw a correct sword path at a normal speed."
I thought it wasn't bad.
But in the eyes of this strict instructor, it still seemed far from enough.
Well, what could I do?
If she said to do it, I had to do it.
"Yes, understood."
I didn't say anything more and began swinging the sword.
*Whoosh—!*
*Whoosh—*
*Whoosh...*
...
My eyes naturally closed.
With my eyes open, the sword path still wasn't clearly visible.
When I imagined a perfect straight line in my mind's eye, the sword lost its speed again, returning to the state it was in yesterday.
The sword stopped abruptly above the crown of my head.
Baek Seol-hee looked at Jin Yu-ha like that and smiled faintly.
*His sword path has improved in just one day.*
She knew well how absurd this was.
It wasn't a quantitative change gained from learning a new sword technique,
but a qualitative change in the sword strike itself.
Even if one lived for months, obsessed with the sword, forgetting to eat and sleep,
a sword path was not something that could be improved so easily.
It didn't matter whether one had learned the sword for a long time or was just starting.
Humans unconsciously tended to swing the sword in a posture that was comfortable for their bodies.
In fact, it was even harder to correct a sword path when one had only recently begun learning the sword.
How could one correct something when they didn't even know what the correct sword path was in the first place?
Even Baek Seol-hee herself was only able to focus on the correct sword path after five years of seriously learning the sword.
*What made such an absurd feat possible, beyond his naturally excellent feel for the sword, must be... this concentration.*
The day before, not long after Jin Yu-ha had begun his self-training during individual position training,
even then, Jin Yu-ha was already completely immersed in the sword, having forgotten everything around him.
The talent of self-oblivion.
Complete concentration, to the point of forgetting not only distractions but even himself.
Jin Yu-ha possessed that.
Uninterrupted concentration, even amidst joint training where the ground shattered from the power of the special admission students and explosions echoed loudly.
*...It seems he has some kind of Detection ability as a trait. Completely shutting off surrounding senses like this isn't possible with talent alone.*
It seemed that joint training would have to proceed without Jin Yu-ha for the time being.
In any case, he was the type who could catch up easily even if he joined later, so it wouldn't matter.
Baek Seol-hee watched him for a moment, then left to check on the other students.
***
When I opened my eyes, it was night again.
"Seriously, would it kill them to tell me when joint training starts?"
Joint training was definitely scheduled for the evening,
but I had forgotten about it again while swinging my sword, filling the entire day with only position training.
At this point, it felt like they had no intention of including me in joint training.
*Grrr—*
My stomach rumbled.
*Ah, I'm hungry.*
I had skipped dinner again because of training.
*I guess I'll have to go to the convenience store.*
Yesterday, I had woken up several times in the middle of the night due to hunger, so I wanted to prevent that today.
So I briefly stopped by the convenience store, bought two random triangle kimbap, and was walking towards the dormitory.
*Hmm?*
Something registered in my detection.
"Hey, hey. He's here. He's here."
"What? That bastard. Why is he so late?"
"Hey, is that him?"
"Damn, he's got a pretty face."
"Did he charm Cheonhwa with that face?"
"Bullshit. Cheonhwa-nim is just kind. She just tolerates him because he clings to her."
A little distance away.
A group of men were hiding there.
I frowned and headed towards them.
The guys' eyes widened, as if they hadn't expected me to approach first.
"...Hey, what are you guys doing?"
And then, the scene that met my eyes.
"Ugh—."
"Cough..."
One man was sitting on top of two male students.
A large guy with a square jaw and a rough appearance.
He was an extra, but I knew him.
He was the one who always followed Shin Se-hee around in her personal story.
I lowered my gaze.
Familiar faces came into view.
With my "Clairvoyance" trait, I could see as clearly at night as during the day.
Bloodstains scattered on the ground were clearly visible.
They looked like they had been beaten for a long time.
Their faces were a mess of bruises and smears,
and their clothes were torn into rags.
These people, trembling and groaning:
They were the male quota students.
"You chair bastards should just stay still. Stop squirming like worms."
The square-jawed guy pressed the quota students' heads firmly into the ground.
Then he looked up at me, eyes narrowed, and asked,
"Hey, are you that Jin Yu-ha who's been following Cheonhwa-nim around lately?"