82) Chapter 14. No, That’s Not It? (3)

To be honest, I don’t enjoy fighting.

It hurts when you get hit.

Because it hurts, I want to avoid it. Because I want to avoid it, I get scared.

Even swinging my fake hand toward Hyeonji’s body terrifies me enough that I want to run away immediately.

People say in shounen manga, the protagonist and rival understand each other through exchanging punches, but I honestly can’t relate.

Violence—whether in my previous life or this one—was always one‑sided.

I mean, who thinks, “I like this person, so I want to punch each other once to understand them better”? Anyone who thinks that should go to a psychiatric hospital. They’ll definitely do something dangerous later.

But even so—

Why am I smiling?

I want to give up right now, so why?

Because Hyeonji smiled? No, if anything, I smiled first. So why, when I hate this so much?

Maybe because it feels like I should?

Am I the type to provoke people like that? I don’t think so.

So… maybe it’s more like—

Just a little, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

Because I’m not someone who can’t do anything.

Sure, I ran away so many times, and eventually even quit school because I was scared.

But still, I’m not completely useless.

Maybe I’m someone who can be a little more positive than the original Seo Rua.

Even if I didn’t do all of this alone.

“Ghk!?”

Cold.

Reaching toward Hyeonji feels like touching a block of ice—no, something even colder.

Is this what it feels like when your flesh freezes and falls off in an instant? It hurts, then the next moment I feel nothing. Not pleasant at all.

But I can still reach her.

I only have to endure for a moment.

I clench my fist and thrust it toward Hyeonji.

She extends her arm toward me as well.

She can’t see my hand, but she tries to respond based on my movements.

Smack!

I don’t know if it was coincidence or the result of some high‑level mind game, but—

A sound echoed in the air.

“Kh…!”

A groan escaped Hyeonji’s lips.

It hurt. But at the same time, a small thrill rose in my chest.

Because Hyeonji isn’t weak. In the original story, she was a heroine who genuinely helped the protagonist, Nam Jinwoo.

Especially when it came to blocking Soi’s flames—she was exceptional.

“Heh.”

But in this world, that won’t happen.

Because Soi is Jinwoo’s friend now.

…Not yet? Well, even if not, they’re just a bit awkward. If they spend more time together, they’ll get close like Hyeonji is now.

They’ll hang out, eat together, go on school trips and have fun.

And then they’ll make more friends. Jinwoo eventually becomes someone with lots of friends, so maybe I won’t be misunderstood and I’ll make friends too.

Not popular or anything, but just like other kids—having a few friends, losing touch with some when classes change.

Maybe someday, even as adults, we’ll meet occasionally and laugh together.

Just like everyone else—

“Hehek!?”

Ah.

I spaced out too long.

While I was distracted, Hyeonji suddenly rushed toward me.

I hurriedly swung both hands.

Huge invisible palms rushed toward her from both sides—

Ah.

Wait, is this okay?

What if I hit her too hard?

What if she gets hurt?

With this power…

I don’t want that.

Because her father… because of this power—

Ah.

My body flinched.

My hands trembled. Both the ones attached to my arms and the invisible ones.

The hands reaching toward Hyeonji slowed, and the cold I should’ve felt only briefly surged painfully. I instinctively hunched my shoulders—

Crack!

Hyeonji, as if she had predicted I would react like that, created ice panels on both sides of herself.

Not the kind of ice you freeze in a freezer—ice that felt like it was forced into existence at temperatures impossible on the surface.

Whether her ability was simply lowering temperature or actually creating ice—I had no time to think. The moment my palms slapped the freezing ice, my mind went blank from shock.

“Heh.”

My vision shot upward.

Thud— I fell. Thankfully, the floor wasn’t too hard. It would be bad if someone died from a concussion during sparring.

And then I felt weight on top of me.

“…You got scared at the end?”

“…Huh?”

I blinked.

Deep blue eyes stared straight down at me.

Her blue hair tickled my cheek.

Hyeonji’s breath wasn’t warm. It was cold. Almost worryingly so.

Her hand gripping the front of my shirt was cold too.

…So basically—

She knocked me down but also caught me. The place she grabbed was a bit embarrassing, but unfortunately, I wear my clothes pretty short, so there aren’t many places to grab unless she forces it.

Since she grabbed my chest area while pushing me down, she ended up straddling me, leaning over me.

“Your movements are predictable.”

Hyeonji said, expression blank.

“Uh… yeah…”

“Just flailing around actually makes you easier to read. And you’re using an invisible ability but swinging your arms everywhere.”

“H‑Hey.”

But Instructor Justina cut her off.

“Pointing that out is my job. Since when do students teach other students?”

…Isn’t that normal, though? Students helping each other?

“Ah, yes.”

Hyeonji quickly stood up and fixed her hair.

Her face reddened slightly in embarrassment.

“Rua.”

Chae‑yi had approached at some point and held out her hand.

I reflexively grabbed it and stood up—

“…Chae‑yi?”

Only after standing fully did I see her expression.

Something… something… something was off.

She was smiling. It was a smile she often showed me.

But somehow—

Why did it feel so terrifying?

Like she was extremely angry at me.

“Did you have fun?”

“Uh?”

What was I supposed to say to that?

“Uh, n‑no?”

That’s what I answered, but—

“You looked like you were having fun.”

No, I wasn’t.

Accomplishment and fun are completely different things.

Like in PE—you hate running, but if you shave off a second, you feel accomplished.

Not that I said anything about accomplishment.

“Really? Then how was it?”

While I stammered, Instructor Justina asked.

“Huh?”

“If it wasn’t fun, then what was it? You’ve never lost before, right?”

Only then did I blink.

Ah. Right.

Wait, no?

Well, if we’re talking strictly about fights, I have lost.

When that man stalking Chae‑yi attacked, I couldn’t do anything and almost died. And when I faced Seo Arin later, I didn’t do anything impressive either, so you could say I lost.

But if you look only at the results, I held out until help arrived, so it wasn’t a total failure?

And during sparring, I’d never lost, so I did gain confidence.

“I’m not sure.”

Even thinking about it, I didn’t know.

I’m not the type to find meaning in fighting.

Honestly, even if I graduate from the academy, I don’t think I’ll become a hero. I just want to get a decent job somewhere and live on a salary.

…Though since I didn’t finish middle school properly, I’m not sure I can get a really good job.

“Is that so?”

But for some reason—

Even after I said that, Instructor Justina only smiled meaningfully.

I wanted to ask why she was smiling, but asking “Why are you smiling” feels like picking a fight.

“Alright. Discipline Committee, satisfied?”

“Ah, yes.”

Hyeonji answered reflexively.

Then she looked at me.

“Are we going to spar like this all semester?”

“Oh? Getting fired up? Or in your case, freezing up?”

Instructor Justina laughed and nodded.

“After we go through everyone once, we’ll get more serious. I’ll teach strategy and tactics, and while watching your sparring, I’ll correct each person’s movements. You remember the monk from last time? He’ll come help too.”

So the monk is a superpowered person too.

Well, instructors are instructors, so of course. He just wasn’t a heroine, so the original story didn’t bother describing him.

“You can go again with the next student, right? Still have energy?”

“Ah, yes.”

This time the question was directed at me, so I nodded quickly.

“Good. Though you used quite a bit of strength, so let’s do just one or two more.”

As Instructor Justina looked toward the students, I reflexively looked too—

“Oh.”

And I accidentally made eye contact with Soi.

Soi was far more straightforward than Chae‑yi.

Her expression wasn’t a smile.

Her eyes were blazing as she stared at me.

Soi, why are you like this.

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Pub: 19 Apr 2026 09:59 UTC

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