Hong Yeon-hwa was residing in the penthouse on the top floor of the first-year dormitory building one at The Tower of Growth.

She was from the 121st intake, among 613 cadets, having secured the position of runner-up during admission.

Her practical skills scored perfect marks… it was just the written exam where she fell slightly short, allowing Baek Ahrin to take the top spot.

As one of the top-ranked students, she had the right to choose a house, but thinking it would be more convenient to meet with friends, she chose the penthouse.

It was a pretty decent facility.

Even to Hong Yeon-hwa, who was cherished by her clan and lived luxuriously, it seemed to have everything one could need.

Thanks to that, she didn’t have any problems living here.

“Sigh…”

As it was the first day, there were no special lectures.

They briefly went over the course outlines and explained how they would proceed with the subjects starting tomorrow, followed by some friendly sparring.

8 PM.

After finishing her personal training and a late dinner following the lectures, Hong Yeon-hwa carelessly hung her outerwear and threw herself onto the bed.

The plush bed embraced her body. It had been a mess in the morning, but now it was neatly tidied up, likely Ariel’s doing with the laundry and cleaning.

She didn’t feel particularly fatigued. Her body was not at the point where a day’s schedule would accumulate fatigue.

Though she was technically a cadet by status, Hong Yeon-hwa possessed enough strength to take on the role of a team leader in a clan right away.

If there was any fatigue, it was certainly on the mental side.

“…I wonder if he’s okay.”

She grabbed a spare pillow and hugged it tightly. She buried her face in its softness and muttered without thinking.

These past few days, Hong Yeon-hwa had only one thing on her mind.

Lee Hayul.
The first and only special admission student.
The cadet at the center of recent topics.

‘He looked pale this morning too. The dark circles under his eyes seemed darker… and it looks like he’s lost some cheek fat. Does he eat properly usually? He ate so little at lunch too. Was it not tasty? No, he said it was tasty… Was it just a polite remark?’

Her head felt congested. Filled with worries, they flowed through her mind, naturally centering on Lee Hayul.

“Ha…”

She sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time today. The frustration was suffocating. Ugh… She buried her face into the pillow and thrashed about violently. Her feet meaninglessly pounded the bed in rapid succession.

“What should I do…”

Not that she didn’t have an interest from the beginning – that would be a lie.

What kind of qualifications does he have, how immense his potential must be, and what possibilities lie within him for the master of the cradle, silent for over a century, to take notice?

The superhuman factions, of course, and even normal society had their focus on him. If rumors spread that Lee Hayul stepped outside right now, all sorts of people would flock to him.

Before the welcoming party, there was a certain amount of information control, but now it has significantly weakened, and a lot of information has been released.

In other words, if Lee Hayul went outside the cradle, there would be plenty of people who would recognize him.

Hong Yeon-hwa was curious too. She wanted to meet him once to see what kind of outstanding person he was.

She had been planning to visit him once the semester started. If it had not been their first meeting, she might have approached him first at the freshman welcoming party.

The first meeting.

Not a sweet reverberation, but one full of regret…

Another sigh. Her breath, trapped by the pillow, smacked back against her face.

“Agu, guk…”

After stretching out her body, she flipped over. Staring blankly at the patterns on the ceiling, she turned on her smartwatch.

Her fingers swiped through the hologram, coming to an abrupt stop at Lee Hayul’s number.

“……”

– Beep

The hologram unfolded with a slide.

▶Lee Hayul: Thanks to you, Hong Yeon-hwa, I got back in safely (Yesterday 11:12)
▶Lee Hayul: I really appreciate what you did yesterday. If it wasn’t for you, I would have been in big trouble. I’ll make sure to repay you when I have the chance (Yesterday 11:13)
▶Lee Hayul: You’ve already apologized. That’s more than enough (Yesterday 11:15)
▶Lee Hayul: If anything, I’m the one who caused the trouble (Yesterday 11:16)

‘He really speaks elegantly.’

The messages brought a sense of ease just by looking at them. Each word seemed to be considerate of the other person.

▶Lee Hayul: I enjoyed the lunch today. Next time, it’s on me (Today 7:57)

“Ah.”

There was a text that had just arrived. It was about the lunch being satisfactory. She had heard it from him directly at lunch, and this text could also be out of politeness, but it somewhat eased Hong Yeon-hwa’s worries.

Her fingers glowed as they moved.

▶Me: Really? Glad to hear it was tasty…

Glad… glad… uh…

The fingers that were moving like rays of light suddenly froze. Her thoughts slowed down, and her fingers followed suit, becoming sluggish.

‘What should I send?’

The tone of the text she was typing felt awkward. The usually quiet Hong Yeon-hwa glanced at the hologram.

[Group Chat(6)]

▶Shin Seoyul: [Breaking] Gop-hwa clan’s Hong Yeon-hwa in hot water over character issue (2 days ago 19:11)
▶Yi Si-eun: Scandal erupts over her “Can’t you see ahead?” remark to a blind person… (2 days ago 19:13)
▶Seo Ha-eun: If you just look at this, she really seems like trash (2 days ago 19:14)
▶Shin Seoyul: Is this what you call justice? (2 days ago 19:14)
▶Me: You bitches (2 days ago 20:17)

.

▶Me: Recommend me a good place quick (Today 1:11)
▶Seo Ha-eun: Guys like spicy pork (Today 1:12)
▶Baek Ahrin: Why are you ditching us, Yeon-hwa? (Today 1:12)
▶Seo Ha-eun: Just a glimpse of a guy and we’re cast aside so quickly (Today 1:13)
▶Shin Seoyul: You ditch your friends? You ditch your friends? You ditch your friends? You ditch your friends? (Today 1:13)
▶Yi Si-eun: A man who might become a husband is indeed more important than friends of ten years… (Today 1:15)
▶Me: Don’t f*cking spazz out (Today 1:21)

.

▶Shin Seoyul: (Picture of vanilla chocolate parfait) (Today 18:33)
▶Shin Seoyul: Want to eat it? Want to eat it? (Today 18:33)
▶Seo Ha-eun: Pig (Today 18:35)
▶Shin Seoyul: ㅗ (Today 18:39)
▶Hwang Si-yeon: +0.3kg (Today 18:41)
▶Shin Seoyul: Yep~ I’m a superhuman, so I don’t gain weight~ (Today 18:42)
▶Shin Seoyul: This is for the traitor who threw her friends away like old rags and ran to a guy to eat good food (Today 18:43)
▶Me: Wanna die? (Today 18:52)
▶Shin Seoyul: Gasp, death threat (Today 18:54)
▶Me: See you tomorrow (Today 18:55:12)
▶Shin Seoyul: Sorry (Today 18:55:13)

“……”

It was pure chaos. Under the eyes of others, they all seemed fine, if not good kids, but when they were amongst themselves, they turned into lunatics.

She quietly closed the group chat. The heart that had been healed by Lee Hayul felt like it was rotting away.

Rotting away.

Her mood plummeted instantly. Memories from the past played automatically in her mind.

The infirmary bathed in the sunset light. Lee Hayul, sleeping like a woodland fairy. The burn scar covering his right hand.

The mark of the Gop-hwa clan.

“Shit.”

Her insides boiled. Spurred by surging impulses, she spewed out curses.

Gop-hwa.

The name of her clan and the name of the unique ability passed down through generations. A name that she took pride in.

Her clan’s progenitor was a figure who emerged during the ‘cataclysm’ some 200 years ago.

A time when monsters swarmed the world, dungeons went berserk daily, and the world turned upside down as if it were a realm of demons.

That progenitor, named Hong Yeon, cut through that world with flames, killing countless monsters and saving people, earning a reputation akin to the tower lords who built the world’s current structure. The Gop-hwa clan, inheriting that bloodline, became a superhuman group with considerable power in the world.

With enough favors and grudges to overflow.

Following the deeds and family traditions left by the progenitor, the successive clan leaders and elders have carried out actions that could be called virtuous.

The duty of the strong and the rulers, as superhumans.

They eradicated the dungeons that brought chaos, burned to death the monsters that caused disorder, punished the villains who oppressed the innocent commoners, and engaged in various activities to stabilize the world.

But the clan’s history spans 200 years. To expect no miscreants within the clan over two centuries is like hoping for a dream.

There would always be those who go against the clan’s philosophy, shirk their duties in search of their rights, and trample others for their pleasure.

200 years of history. It was more than Hong Yeon-hwa, barely in her twenties, could comprehend.

However, hoping there were no miscreants during that time was an overly optimistic wish. She remembered the misdeeds committed by members of her generation.

– Crunch!

A sinister sound resonated as she bit down hard. The taste of bitter blood in her mouth snapped her back to reality.

“……”

Nothing had been confirmed yet.

When was Lee Hayul exposed to Gop-hwa? She had her suspicions, but nothing was certain.

Which despicable bastard did this? She didn’t know yet. What was the purpose? Was it intentional? She knew nothing.

What was certain was…

She had caused Lee Hayul a lot of trouble, and the burn on his right arm was a result of her clan’s doing.

She was an inheritor of Gop-hwa. She knew very well what kind of power Gop-hwa held, what harm a touch of Gop-hwa could cause, and even if one survived Gop-hwa, what kind of aftermath it would bring.

Was Lee Hayul’s frail body related to Gop-hwa? The thought alone made blood rush to her head.

She realized that whenever she involved Lee Hayul, blood rushed to her head. Despite it being a connection of barely a week, she spent excessive attention and dense emotions on it.

But what could she do?

She was never one to think deeply; she always just followed her feelings.

She had a sense of guilt. She had caused trouble multiple times during their first meeting, and there was the mark of Gop-hwa.

Appearance… With fairy-like beauty that would make everyone turn their heads on the streets. Wasn’t it an appearance that could foster affection?

Efforts to consider others shone through his actions. He was the one who comforted her, saying it was all right despite the inconvenience she had caused.

Desire to get closer was enough as a reason.

Hong Yeon-hwa, having calmed her emotions, closed her eyes.

The unique ability known as Gop-hwa always stirred the emotions of its possessor.

As emotions intensified, Gop-hwa would flare up as well, but it carried the risk of clouding one’s reason and narrowing the spectrum of personality.

That was the reason for Hong Yeon-hwa’s impulsive and irritable nature.

Especially since her output of Gop-hwa was abnormally high, prompting intense emotional provocation.

Because of this, about half of the training she received from the clan had to do with emotional control.

Ignoring the nagging that Ariel, who came in late, was babbling, Hong Yeon-hwa fell into a deep sleep.

‘This is enough.’

Whatever reasons she gave, Hong Yeon-hwa felt a sense of guilt and wanted to wash it away. She felt an attraction and wanted to get closer.

This was enough.

.
.
.

The next day.

[Good morning.]

“……”

Arriving earlier than usual, Hong Yeon-hwa faced Lee Hayul, who was covered in a fresh array of bruises.

“…Crunch.”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes blazed like the fires of hell.