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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: I Want to Fuck a Hero (6)
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Why was this woman doing something like this here?
I pondered hundreds of possibilities for a moment before pulling out the most plausible one.
Lee Ji-yoon, that bitch, must've been a total slacker back in school.
She came for remedial classes but snuck in here to skip them instead.
But her outfit made me rethink it right away.
The nameless girl I'd seen earlier was wearing the academy uniform, but what Lee Ji-yoon had on was plain casual clothes.
A soft milky knit top that exposed her collarbone, paired with a pitch-black H-line skirt that hugged her waist tight.
And that skirt—now that I looked closer—kinda resembled a high school uniform skirt. Or maybe not.
Either way, it wasn't academy uniform. The color was a bit different from what I'd seen before.
So, was she a freshman?
Lee Ji-yoon was definitely a Miren Academy hero. I just couldn't recall her age exactly.
But would a freshman have any reason to loaf around here like this, listening to music and sleeping?
Nothing came to mind.
It was still February, not even during the semester—why would a freshman be hanging out here?
Or maybe the opposite: not a freshman, but an alumna who'd dropped by the academy for a visit after graduating.
That didn't fit either. She still looked pretty high-school-ish. Her skin, the way she dressed, everything.
Hmm. Staring down at her like this wasn't going to solve the mystery.
After a brief hesitation,
I reached out
and
"Mm...?"
lightly tapped the pillow.
To wake the defenselessly sleeping Lee Ji-yoon.
Lee Ji-yoon was a raw gem incomparable to the nameless aspiring hero I'd met during the day.
If left alone, she'd bloom on her own and show that face to the whole nation.
This was my chance to slip in and leave my bite marks, my claim that she was mine.
Instead of rash moves, I had to act with utmost caution.
If I got greedy here and touched her body, and she woke up...
The aftermath would be a guaranteed bad end.
"Excuse me."
"Nngh."
A hand gesture alone wasn't enough, so when I spoke up, her eyes snapped wide open with a weird noise.
Just like when I'd seen her photo before, she had incredibly sassy eyes.
The kind some guys online raved about wanting to be trampled and insulted by,
the kind others dreamed of collaring tight and forcing into submission.
Those eyes.
"What are you doing?"
"Y-Yes?"
"You look like an outsider. What are you doing here?"
I'd become an insider about 20 minutes ago, so I asked boldly.
If I could grab some blackmail material on Lee Ji-yoon, it'd be a huge score.
But what followed was a brief silence.
The kind that lasted just a couple of light breaths.
Scrambling for an excuse? Really?
The situation didn't look like any serious crime.
In the utter quiet, I kept staring down at her with my usual stiff, businesslike expression.
Her large jade-green eyes caught my attention. Similar color to that girl from earlier.
Should I ask if they knew each other? The thought flickered.
Lee Ji-yoon cautiously met my gaze, then glanced around and chose to dodge the question.
"..."
The cozy evening sunset filtered into the health room, stretching the silence longer.
I didn't mind if it dragged on, but what about her?
After giving her plenty of time, I stepped a bit closer to Lee Ji-yoon.
One step. Just that much.
The space between us—three steps away—shrank to two.
Logically, dissolving this suffocating tension and building a comfy rapport would help more down the line.
Honestly,
though,
my heart was racing a little.
"Didn't you hear me?"
"Ah, no. Um..."
This.
The thrill of cornering a national-level hero I'd never even locked eyes with before,
hearing Lee Ji-yoon's voice tremble like this,
it was something I might never get to try again if not now.
Especially since it was the famously antisocial 'Lee Ji-yoon,' who barely talked to fans,
villains,
reporters,
or even fellow heroes.
...I'd expected it'd feel good, but the electric thrill racing up my spine blew past that easy guess.
Is this the rush of secretly sharing a private convo with a celeb while everyone else is in the dark?
Her flustered face that you could never capture on camera no matter how hard you tried.
I'm seeing it crystal clear with my own two eyes, up close like this.
"I, um, well..."
...But still, no matter how shy she was, I hadn't expected her to fumble even introducing herself.
This was the Lee Ji-yoon who'd bite her lower lip and dodge cameras when pesky citizens shoved them in her face after villain cleanup.
Maybe she just struggled with people in general.
Or especially guys.
Even so, left alone, she started relaxing on her own.
After another awkward silence, her voice came calmer, less shaky than at first.
"...Actually, I'm a freshman here."
"Yes."
Fidgeting with the earphones she'd pulled out earlier, she hesitantly met my eyes.
Her voice sounded settled now, no more trembling, but her eye contact was still clumsy.
Probably the type who looks down instead of straight on when talking to people.
"I was wandering around and got curious about this room... Sorry."
"So you were napping that soundly?"
"Ah, no. I have chronic migraines, so I was just lying down listening to music for a bit..."
As I leaned in, faint music leaked from her earphones.
The Beatles' Yesterday.
"My sister's remedial class is ending soon. I was just gonna rest a minute and head back..."
"Sister?"
"Yeah. Second-year."
She didn't drop her name naturally—faint wariness there.
Maybe that's why.
Unlike her initial panicked rambling upon waking, I was starting to see glimpses of the Lee Ji-yoon I knew.
Stiff.
Cold.
Indifferent.
...All perfect materials to break.
"As you can see, this is the health room. Well, technically one that wasn't in use yet."
"Figured. Nothing on the desk."
"We'll stock it up bit by bit now. Since I'm here."
Probably more light novels than medical books, though.
With that subtle reveal of my role, Lee Ji-yoon's eyelids fluttered rapidly a couple times.
Felt like she was eyeing some fancy cat for some reason.
"You're the health teacher?"
"Something like that."
"...? If you're the health teacher, aren't you just the health teacher? What's 'something like'?"
"Health committee member."
"Pardon?"
"Health committee member. You don't know?"
I realized after saying it—I barely knew myself.
Some Japanese school thing? The term sounded just like it.
"...A student, but like a health teacher."
Her jade-green eyes stared piercingly up at me.
Yup. She didn't get it.
"Healing-type Transcendent."
"...Ah."
Finally, a short gasp of realization as she stared at my face.
Probably checking who I was.
Not that she'd recognize me.
The photos of me online were mostly from when I was a kid.
Hmm. I let out a short breath and pulled out my phone to show her the news article I'd found before.
Only then did the suspicion fully vanish from her eyes.
Whew, thought he was some weirdo, but he's legit. That exact vibe.
...Kinda familiar look. Probably nothing.
"..."
"..."
Soon, that all-too-familiar silence settled in again.
The cute, panicked "oh no, oh no" from first sight was gone, leaving only the Lee Ji-yoon I knew: "talking to people is a hassle."
...What if I'd pushed a bit harder—what face would I have seen?
Shelving the fun for next time, I smacked my lips.
Drop the heavy vibe, keep it light.
"By the way, you mentioned chronic migraines earlier?"
"...Ah, yes."
"Since we crossed paths, want me to heal it?"
"...Pardon?"
A brief flush lit her stiff face.
Just brief, though.
"But the money..."
"Don't worry about it. Health committee member and all."
Money again.
It was eerie hearing the exact same line from her as from that daytime girl.
The odd déjà vu made me think of that country pup aspiring hero, and I blurted the same response without thinking.
"And no need for formal speech. I'm a freshman too."
"No. I prefer this."
"Can't force it then."
...Total opposite of what puppy-girl said.
Was that second-year sister the daytime aspiring hero?
Staring at their matching jade-green eyes, I let out a small sigh and carefully reached out.
Maybe because she'd just seen the news on my abilities and trigger conditions, Lee Ji-yoon stayed surprisingly docile as a guy's hand approached.
Still hesitant, but she didn't dodge.
Even when my hand gently brushed her snowy white hair.
Just a tiny flinch of discomfort. That was it.
Lee Ji-yoon quietly stared at the white curtain hanging over the health room bed.
"Migraine, right?"
"...Yes."
"Might feel a bit tired after. But you just napped, so probably fine."
"..."
I plopped down beside her, hand on her head.
Thought I'd sat at a decent distance, but somehow the gap between us widened by half a handspan without me noticing.
At this point, maybe she just disliked me...
Whatever. I brushed it off.
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.
Hiding a smile, I slowly infused mana into her head.
...But
this time was different.
I had no intention of fully healing her from the start.
"Feeling okay? Anything weird?"
"...Not really."
I casually checked her status, then instead of smashing all the hard impurities clashing against my mana outright,
I left the deep core intact and only carefully shaved off the surface.
From experience, that kills the pain.
Precisely, just the pain. The wound stays. Pain alone vanishes.
For natural-healing external injuries, it'd help (like painkillers). But chronic migraine?
Simple result.
It'd slowly worsen again, never heal on its own.
Leave the root cause, and eventually it'll fester and rot like now.
Then, when the throbbing pain hits her again,
Lee Ji-yoon
will knock on the health room door herself.
Like an addict craving a fix.
Sure, doing this too long might raise suspicions if caught.
But once or twice? She won't notice.
"..."
As the process advanced and pain eased, her rigidly tense face visibly relaxed.
Good. Foundation laid.
Now, while I've got my hand there, time to roughly gauge her hidden tastes...
"You here?"
That was when.
The firmly shut health room door burst open forcefully, and a familiar female student strode in.
"Ah. Ji-yoon. There you... ...Huh? What's this? Aren't you not a freshman?"
"...Hey. Ha-yoon. Shut... Be quiet a sec..."
"Getting a migraine fix from Woo-jin?"
"How'd you know his name... ...Ah. No way."
"How's it feel? Amazing, right?"
"..."
"I was shocked too. Waited a bit and it was all gone."
I knew that face.
Unlike Lee Ji-yoon's snowy, neat bob, her jet-black ponytail swung energetically, tied back tight.
Unlike Ji-yoon's neatly dressed casuals, her uniform was sloppily thrown on—sleeves barely in.
So,
the one I'd dubbed "puppy" on a whim.
"Anyway, hey. Seo Woo-jin."
"Yeah, noona."
"You told me earlier you weren't submitting enrollment papers? So why're you here like this? And why's this the health room?"
"...Wasn't a lie. Just kinda ended up this way."
From Ji-yoon's reaction, her name was Lee Ha-yoon.
From Ji-yoon's reaction, yeah, that girl really was her sister.
I stuck a new Post-it on my mental notes.
"Wasn't a lie. Kinda ended up this way?"
"Huh? Yeah."
"...For real? Not lying, seriously?"
"Why would I lie about this?"
"Hmm... Suspicious... Super suspicious..."
"What is?"
"Well... Heroes who save you in crises fall for at first sight more often than you'd think."
"...Pardon?"
"Be honest. What's so great about noona? Fan service hug?"
"...Sorry. Embarrassing sister."
"..."
"Duty to save citizens even skipping school...?"
"..."
"Guts to charge in even if your ankle snaps...?"
"..."
"Or just looks..."
Lee Ha-yoon, chattering more than Ji-yoon and I had since she barged in.
While humoring her, I gripped Ji-yoon's head firmly,
and poured all my effort into calming my pounding heart.
...Lee Ji-yoon.
Her tastes were,
unexpectedly,
unlike her looks.
All those spots she'd secretly pinched herself,
scratched at—they were so shallow,
but her
'weak spot'...
Like her sister,
was
deep,
and
intensely
rough...