NoveLight ™
Lee Ha-yeon replied to the message she received on her phone and looked at herself in the mirror.
The person who had sent the message was none other than Baek Seo-jun.
She had asked him for training because, just like Seomun Ye-jin, she believed that by learning from him, she could become stronger much faster. Baek Seo-jun had agreed to teach her.
Han Se-hee, too, had decided to learn from him, and though their fields were different—Han Se-hee being a healer and support-type and herself focused on combat—together, they could still grow.
‘Maybe she'll become an amazing healer.’
Lee Ha-yeon had firsthand experience of Han Se-hee's abilities. While Han Se-hee couldn’t fully block the attack from SSS-Class villain Gye Un-jik, she was still able to block a significant portion of the attack.
Considering Han Se-hee was only fifteen, many would find it hard to believe that a girl her age could block part of an SSS-Class villain's attack, unless they knew of exceptional cases like Baek Seo-jun, who was known as Kim Ho-jun to the public.
‘She’s not just great at healing, she also has exceptional defensive talent. She’s really a potential top-tier supporter.’
Lee Ha-yeon also looked forward to growing closer to Han Se-hee. As the successor of the Angel Guild, Lee Ha-yeon always valued building good relationships with talented people. Although she didn’t see Han Se-hee as a benefactor, they had both gone through hardships, and she wanted to share a bond with her.
Of course, aside from the professional reasons, Lee Ha-yeon also genuinely wanted to befriend Han Se-hee on a personal level.
‘Maybe I could talk about Seo-jun with her.’
Lee Ha-yeon hadn’t even told her father, Lee Jeong-cheon, about Baek Seo-jun. Her investigation into Baek Seo-jun had appeared on the surface to be just about looking into the suspicious actions of the Baekho Guild, who had sent her support, and no one suspected otherwise.
In this situation, Han Se-hee was the only one Lee Ha-yeon could share what she had learned about Baek Seo-jun with, and conversely, the only one who could provide her with information she hadn’t uncovered yet.
That was why Lee Ha-yeon wanted to meet Han Se-hee and have a deep conversation.
"I’m excited."
Lee Ha-yeon smiled, feeling excited as she looked at herself in the mirror.
In the mirror, a beautiful girl with dazzling blonde hair and pink eyes stared back. Overall, she had a pure, innocent look, but with curves already forming in all the right places, she was undeniably alluring. In just two or three more years, her charm would become even more intense, and she would surely garner admiration to the point that people would say the phrase "stunning beauty" would not do her justice.
Aware of her beauty, she often felt satisfied with her appearance whenever she looked in the mirror. But for some reason today, she didn’t feel that satisfaction.
‘I wish I were four years older...’
She envied Seomun Ye-jin, who was four years older than her.
But why was she feeling this way? Why the envy?
***
"Mm~"
After spending the first night together, Seomun Ye-jin was full of joy from the very morning.
Having shared a passionate night, she couldn’t stop smiling at me, her face lit up every time she glanced at me. And as I gazed into her blue eyes, I too couldn’t help but smile.
"Seo-jun, when should we register our marriage?"
Seomun Ye-jin, now in nothing but her underwear, pressed herself close to me and whispered in my ear.
"Marriage registration, huh."
Naturally, I wrapped my arms around Seomun Ye-jin’s waist and pulled her into my embrace. She quickly responded by sitting on my lap, pressing her hips against my knees.
"Yes~ the marriage registration! It’d be great to have the wedding soon, too. By the way, Seo-jun, do you have a preference for what kind of wedding dress you like? I’m thinking of altering it the way you want~"
Seomun Ye-jin was already imagining herself as my wife and excited about the future, and I too couldn’t help but feel eager.
The image of her in a wedding dress, smiling, would probably be incredibly beautiful.
Even now, no matter how many times I looked at her, I couldn’t help but marvel at her beauty.
"A wedding dress, huh? I do have something in mind."
"Really?! What is it?"
"I’ll show you when the time comes. For now, just keep looking at me."
"Okay!"
Seomun Ye-jin immediately turned her body around and looked at me after hearing those words.
I met her gaze, her blue eyes filled with intense love and longing, and I reflected the same emotions as I stared back at her.
As we gazed at each other with nothing but deep, meaningful looks, we were soon lost in the moment, kissing passionately without either of us realizing who initiated it.
"Chuu... chuu..."
"Hah... haa..."
As the two of us locked our lips together in a passionate kiss, I moved my hand down to stroke Seomunyejin's light purple hair, which was almost the colour of indigo. After trailing my fingers through her long hair, my touch finally made its way down to her hips.
Since she was currently sitting on my lap, facing me and kissing me, I couldn't squeeze all of her bum, but I could stroke some of it.
She seemed pleased with my touch and slowly slipped her hand under my clothes.
After we kissed in that state, I realised the meaning of Seomun Ye-jin's heated gaze.
‘Seomun...can we just do this for an hour?’
Instead of answering, I immediately stood her up and pulled down the panties she was wearing.
…Two hours had passed in the end.
"Hah… hah…"
I smiled as I watched Seomun Ye-jin, lying on the bed with a happy expression, catching her breath. However, a slight bitter smile tugged at my lips.
"This is basically like a drug."
Happiness truly felt like a drug.
Not only did I feel a deep happiness looking at Seomun Ye-jin’s blissful face, but the time we had spent together, so heated and satisfying, had been incredibly enjoyable.
Yet, at the same time, the memories and emotions of that day still vividly replayed in my mind.
[Ahhhhhh!!! Kill me! Just kill me!]
[Why… why…?]
[What did I… what did I do wrong?]
[I won’t forgive them… I will repay the hell I went through!]
The moments of hell that I endured after being sold to the villains because of Baek Hyung-won and Kim Yoo-jung.
The pain, the despair I felt back then, and the anger after being thrown into the rift.
The pain, despair, anger, and hatred from those times were always re-enacted in my mind as if I was still living them.
For an ordinary person, these intense emotions repeating might have been enough to drive them mad, but I could maintain my calm state because I layered over it the love and happiness I shared with Seomun Ye-jin.
"Ramisa."
At my call, Ramisa, who had been watching TV, responded.
It was a bit amusing to see a being like Ramisa, who once sought to devour the world as The Black Serpent That Devours the World, now absorbed in a TV drama.
But, after four years of this, it had become part of my everyday life.
'It’s peaceful, at least.'
I hoped this peace would continue. But at the same time, there were things I absolutely had to resolve.
The anger and hatred toward Baek Hyung-won, Kim Yoo-jung, and Baek Seo-jin still burned fiercely inside me, even amidst the happiness I was feeling now.
"I have to teach Lee Ha-yeon and Han Se-hee at 2 PM today, so… don’t stand out too much."
"Alright. I’ll take them outside for training, so you can watch TV as much as you want here."
Her response, a short one, showed she was too engrossed in the TV to bother much with our conversation. It made me think back on the times when the world had become peaceful.
What would the future look like after taking my revenge and defeating The Fox That Devours the World?
But I quickly pushed the thought aside.
‘That’s something to worry about later.’
There were still things I had to do before worrying about the distant future.
"This training will be a fair deal."
A deal that would make Baek Seo-jin the happiest, only to send him crashing to the depths.
And then, with 15 minutes remaining until 2 PM.
"Seo-jun oppa, hello."
"Hello, Seo-jun. I brought you a gift!"
I saw Han Se-hee and Lee Ha-yeon, who had come to greet me and train.
Lee Ha-yeon had brought a bottle of wine as a gift, and Han Se-hee had a box of donuts in hand.
The wine was something I could drink now that I was of age… and Seomun Ye-jin would surely love the donuts.
I wasn’t fond of sweets myself, but she had a subtle fondness for them.
"Come on in."
Seomun Ye-jin, dressed in a thin tank top and denim hot pants, pressed herself against me and greeted the two of them.
Then she pulled me into a tight embrace, almost as if to show off or flaunt her relationship with me.
It wasn’t a mistaken impression that Lee Ha-yeon and Han Se-hee’s expressions darkened slightly when they saw this.
.