The first to go on a rampage was Tang Sosu.
“Hey, Dokgorin! If you’re so great, then show it!”
Normally, she would become powerless in front of Dokgorin, but under the influence of alcohol, she was shouting loudly.
However, one problem remained: the target of her provocation wasn’t Dokgorin, but rather the restaurant’s pillar painted in red.
“You’re always flashing that pretty chin, even though you can’t do anything! Huh! I could do pretty well too!”
Seems like she had a lot bottled up.
As I watched that spectacle with amusement, this time Namgoong Ruby started to have a fit.
“Rin~ Let’s do a chu~”
Is she the type to get clingy when drunk? Namgoong Ruby was now sticky with affection towards Dokgorin.
Pushing and shoving!
As Dokgorin quietly pushed her away, she turned her attention to me.
“That’s unfair~ Then I’ll go hang out with Chilbok!”
“Ugh! Get off me!”
How strong could a girl be? Even in a drunken state, it wasn’t easy to push her away.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
After a desperate struggle against Namgoong Ruby, I finally detached her, gasping for breath.
In the meantime, Samajak, who I thought was sleeping quietly, suddenly began to move.
“Mmm~ I’m hot~”
She was sitting in her chair, suddenly starting to unbutton her clothes.
Her huge chest, which was barely concealed by her clothing, began to show, and as my gaze unintentionally wandered there, Dokgorin, who had been sitting quietly, spoke up.
“Chilbok?”
“Yes?”
With that one word, I regained my senses and hastily adjusted myself.
Out of the four girls, Dokgorin was the only one still compos mentis.
Unlike the others who had poured themselves drinks without knowing their limits, Dokgorin was supposedly 30 years old before her regression, so she could manage herself.
Although she was a bit red in the face, her eyes were still lively, which was proof enough.
Anyway, perhaps she disliked Samajak’s cold outfit, Dokgorin stood up and began to button her front.
“Looks like they’ll need a little more time to sober up, so let’s take a quick breather.”
“Can we leave these guys alone?”
“Once again, it’s a private room, no one is coming in.”
“Right.”
Since Dokgorin’s words made sense, I decided to follow her and step outside for some fresh air.
*
Outside, it had grown dark.
There wasn’t really a curfew at the dorm, but it was best to get back before it got too late so I could head to school in the morning.
While pondering how to discreetly transfer those three drunks back to the dorm, Dokgorin spoke up first.
“Chilbok.”
“Yeah?”
Turning my head to see what was up, Dokgorin was gazing into the darkness as she spoke.
“It’s already been four months since we left Sangam.”
“Has it really been that long?”
After entering the academy, I had been so busy that looking back, it felt like a long time ago.
“Honestly, I felt a little lost back then. I thought it would be okay since I had already experienced it once before, but when the same thing happened again, my emotions wouldn’t just comply with my will.”
I watched as Dokgoseok dramatically parted ways with Dokgorin on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony, and saw her sobbing in the secret training ground.
She was the first to show such intense emotions, having never really expressed feelings unless they pertained to me.
“That’s why I was glad to have you by my side, Chilbok. If you weren’t here, it would have taken me a long time to gather myself.”
“What did I even do?”
I said that, smiling shyly, but looking into Dokgorin’s eyes, it felt like she was being completely sincere.
“So, Chilbok, I want to ask you one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Do you still feel the same commitment to helping me take revenge for our family?”
Dokgorin said this as she locked eyes with me.
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
Then Dokgorin gave a bitter smile and replied.
“Just seeing you enjoying life at the academy these days made me think maybe not being with me is better for you.”
You want to be together because you like being around me, but being around me might make you at risk.
Thinking like this makes your heart waver.
“…”
She seems to have a lot on her mind too.
To reassure her, I suddenly wrapped her in my arms.
“!”
Dokgorin flinched in surprise.
I gently patted her head as I whispered.
“Don’t worry. Rin.”
My feelings haven’t changed at all.
The resolve to take revenge for the Dokgo family alongside her still remains deep within my heart.
But one concern lingers: getting too fixated on revenge.
“I worry about you sometimes. You’re so engrossed in revenge that you’re not enjoying life at the academy enough. Your life is still long. You need to think about what comes after the revenge is done.”
“But…”
“Since you’re already here at the academy, I want you to make more friends and enjoy yourself even more than now. Isn’t it a bit sad to only have memories of training for revenge from your childhood?”
“…Alright. I’ll try.”
Having drawn a positive response from Dokgorin, I finally let her go from my embrace.
After sharing such a deep conversation, she seemed a bit brighter.
Recently, our time together had significantly decreased because of living in dorms, leaving little room for these kinds of discussions.
When I caught Dokgorin’s gaze, I smiled and suggested we head back in.
She shyly nodded along to my words.
*
When we returned to the guest room, all three of them had their heads down on the table.
It seemed like they had drunk themselves into a stupor and passed out, but since the two of us couldn’t move all three to the dorm, I pondered our next action when Dokgorin confidently stepped forward.
“What are you trying to do?”
“I’m going to blow away their drunkenness with Sammae Jinhwa.”
“Is that even possible?”
“With someone like me, a warrior, it’s definitely doable.”
Dokgorin said this and placed her hand on Namgoong Ruby’s head.
Immediately,
Pshhh—
White smoke began to rise from her palm.
“…Is her hair burning?”
“Just wait and see.”
I patiently followed her instructions and watched quietly.
Then, as if by magic, Namgoong Ruby opened her eyes.
“Oh, sorry. I must have dozed off.”
She wiped the drool from her mouth with her arm, seemingly unaware of the fact that she had drunk herself to sleep.
“Ooh.”
As I admired the sight, Dokgorin shrugged her shoulders and then placed her hand atop Tang Sosu and Samajak’s heads.
Pshhh!
In the same manner, Dokgorin expelled the alcohol from Tang Sosu and Samajak’s systems.
Soon after, just like Namgoong Ruby, both of them woke up, allowing us to return to the dorm without the hassle of dragging them along.
*
“Today was fun!”
“See you tomorrow!”
“Let’s go drinking again next time!”
“Head home safely.”
We parted ways at the fork in the road in front of the dorm.
Waving until their figures vanished, I led my still slightly drunken body toward the male dorm, stumbling along.
‘Maybe I overdid it.’
I could still hold on, but once I got into my room, I felt like I would collapse into a deep sleep.
And after waking up, a hangover would surely hit me hard.
Thinking I should have asked Dokgorin to help me with her Sammae Jinhwa too, I entered my empty dorm room.
Clunk—
“…I’m back.”
The dark room was empty.
Since Samajak moved to the female dorm, I had yet to have a new roommate, so I was monopolizing what was supposed to be a double room.
After lighting a candle, I neatly hung up the robe I had worn during today’s outing to avoid wrinkling, and for a moment, I fell into contemplation in the softly lit room.
‘Did I make her uneasy?’
Upon reflection, since beginning my life at the academy, I hadn’t had much time to care for Dokgorin.
Though we were always together in class, we had no real interactions after school due to living in different dorms.
Unlike Namgoong Ruby, who loved making friends, Dokgorin had a narrow circle of acquaintances.
Her personality made it difficult for her to approach others, often exhausting herself before she could connect with anyone.
The fact that she was conversing with someone other than me was almost a miracle.
‘I need to pay more attention moving forward.’
Having come to that self-realization, I started to feel drowsy due to the alcohol, so I blew out the candle and lay down on the bed.
“Good night.”
Murmuring words whose addressee was unknown, I quickly fell into a deep slumber.
*
Once finals were over, we would officially enter the summer season.
And when summer came, Cheonmu Academy would go on an outdoor training trip.
Under the pretext of nurturing the students’ talents and exposing them to the harsh environments of the wild, in reality, it was just a big picnic.
If it weren’t for this, we mostly lived within the academy grounds during the semester, so it felt like a makeshift excuse, but frankly, I didn’t mind at all.
What mattered now was that we would finally leave the confines of the Academy.
But at that time, little did we know.
What kind of crisis awaited us.
