The secret banquet hall remained bustling even after the auction ended.
The outside was filled with students engaging in unnecessary antics, preferring to spend their time in here away from the scrutiny of the Discipline Committee.
The initial reason for joining the shadows banquet was to indulge in various escapades that couldn’t be enjoyed in the official sub-groups.
Casual conversations flowed just like any ordinary banquet, while in another corner, a gambling game involving student credits unfolded.
Moreover, the hall was alive with scenes that were not commonly witnessed.
“That’s not it. Lower your arms more…”
“I’m not sure… can you help?”
“Hmm. I guess I have no choice…”
A male student closely corrected a female student’s posture as she was about to throw darts.
“What’s our cute one’s name?”
“It’s, it’s Mu-young… Shin Mu-young…”
“Ha ha. Such a cute name too. Shall we have a drink first?”
“This… this is…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s just a feel-good drink. Come on, drink it all down…”
A female student calmly reassured the trembling male student.
“This place is too bright…”
“Bright? It’s dark enough. Should we just move if you really can’t handle it?”
“I… I don’t know.”
A pair exchanged sticky glances.
Freed from the pressure of studies, they were running wild with no end in sight.
However, especially in a dim corner of the hall,
A female student with shimmering golden eyes sat quietly at a table, maintaining a modest posture.
‘That… it can’t be her, can it?’
‘Her elegance and appearance are so similar…’
Whispers from the surroundings tickled her ears sensitively.
‘But why is she with that Heukryeon person…? Why is she just sitting there doing nothing after winning the bid…?’
‘Could it be that she came here to have an important discussion…? Is it necessary…?’
‘Shh! Be quiet! Did you forget the rules? Even if you know, pretend you don’t! What do we care if it’s real or fake?’
The whispers gradually faded away.
Regardless, Baek Seoyeon, wearing a butterfly mask, kept glancing at something.
Directly opposite her sat a person who also remained unmoved.
Dressed in a neat suit, his face concealed behind a white smooth mask.
For two hours, the man’s rights were entirely his. Even so, it might seem cruel for him to sit there like a statue, but Baek Seoyeon paid him no mind.
Instead, the white cheeks revealed beneath the butterfly mask flushed with the hue of a sun-kissed apple.
‘Get a grip, Baek Seoyeon…’
Seoyeon repeatedly chastised herself within. She kept reminding herself why she had taken this step to come here.
Originally, she would never have stepped foot in such a vulgar place.
Even upon hearing that Kwon Yuri was the current chairperson of the shadows banquet, or when she caught wind of his name on the list of first-year auction candidates Yuri casually hinted at to lure her here, her resolve remained unchanged.
She wasn’t ready to be by his side yet.
Even if she hadn’t witnessed the blonde socialite’s horrid betrayal right before her eyes, that resolution wouldn’t have faltered.
After enduring the shame, Seoyeon found herself wasting precious hours fighting the urge to snap the neck of that dog of a woman.
But that could very well be considered her mistake. Seoyeon was already well aware of it.
At the onset of adolescence, when she opened her eyes to romance, her rural peers would send sticky glances toward the boys.
At that time, she struggled from a life dealing with hypersensitivity and couldn’t move freely. Moreover, he was an incredibly naive boy.
Whether it was asking him to carry her things or saying she was afraid and wanted him to go with her, she had quietly endured distress watching him comply with such nonsensical requests.
But she was different now. She had enough strength and resources to help him. So Seoyeon thought:
Maybe a brief escapade wouldn’t hurt.
‘The only one who can protect Hyun is me…’
Once again, Seoyeon glanced at the boy.
She had long absorbed the image of his handsome face. His tall stature, solid back, long fingers, and even the veins that popped out when he got worked up.
Seeing this, Seoyeon let out a sigh of sheer exhilaration.
“Huh…”
Her pupils dilated, and her heart raced. The rising heat couldn’t be quelled merely by fanning herself with her hand.
This was a recurring symptom she experienced every time she faced him.
If it were a brief encounter like when she gave him a gift last time, she could put on a cold act. Yet, in this situation, that was utterly impossible.
Seoyeon realized she had become a perfect captive who couldn’t escape from him.
“…”
Thinking about him, it was somewhat disappointing that the man hadn’t given her even a glance throughout those two hours.
This was the perfect outfit she had painstakingly crafted after days of deliberation. In particular, the 20 denier black stockings that revealed her skin were a special gift she had prepared for him.
Long ago, she had playfully worn stockings that had been lying in the corner of her room.
Back in those days, when she was frail and sickly, the sight of her emaciated legs draped in stockings was truly unseemly.
“Hey! Who the heck told you to wear that…?!”
And the boy had scolded her in anger at the sight of her. It wasn’t particularly unpleasant to her.
Because his face had flushed red with shyness as he covered her legs with his outer clothing.
“I wished he would look again…”
Seoyeon swallowed her disappointment and regret inwardly.
And finding herself in this situation, she belatedly realized the kind of problem she had.
Naturally, she hadn’t intended to ask for anything. She merely thought of spending time here peacefully and then returning him back gently. That alone was beyond her wildest dreams of happiness.
And the very point that made her conflicted was that.
She was sitting silently across from him. But Seoyeon had already melted into an exquisite happiness from which there was no escape.
It felt like all the hard times she endured were rewarded in an instant.
Already addicted, she found herself wishing, without even realizing it.
That this moment could last a bit longer.
And nurturing happiness far too abundant, impatience and desire began to sprout unexpectedly.
No matter how she thought about it, it was far too wasteful to let this time slip away.
If only she could ask even a simple question.
If they could share even a light snack together.
“…Senior.”
The voice coming from the opposite side jolted Seoyeon, who was deep in inner conflict.
“Uh, huh? Why all of a sudden?”
Flustered, she corrected her posture while responding. There was a strong tone of anticipation in that voice.
She felt almost ecstatic hearing his voice for the first time today.
“Um, is there something you want to know…?”
However, the next solid voice that escaped him shattered Seoyeon’s faint glimmer of hope into dust.
“The time is up. I will take my leave first.”
“Uh, uh?”
Baek Seoyeon was startled by the boy’s words and quickly checked her watch.
‘Am I… such a fool…? What to do… I was so happy that I didn’t even notice the time passing…’
She could clearly see that she had reached the scheduled two hours.
“It was a pleasant time. Then.”
“Wait, wait…!”
The masked man stood up immediately. Seoyeon scrambled to gather her thoughts, her mind clouded by the sweetness of happiness he had brought. Rational thought wasn’t functioning properly.
And just as she was about to stretch out her arm to grasp him in desperation…
-BANG!
A massive explosion from a door leading to the hallway stopped her in her tracks.
*
“What was that noise?”
“Did the guard magic malfunction…?”
All eyes in the hall were fixed on that spot. Instead of panic over the sudden predicament, they appeared somewhat bewildered.
Smoke billowed from the backlash of forcibly dispelling magic, obscuring everything beyond the door. Soon, dozens of figures began emerging from behind the rubble of the destroyed door.
And the moment the Discipline Committee armbands were spotted on their arms,
The participants of the banquet finally began to comprehend the grim situation unfolding before them.
“Arrest them all!!”
“Wow!!”
With a loud commotion, Discipline Committee members armed with non-lethal blades stormed into the banquet hall.
“Quick, get out! Where’s the exit?”
“Don’t shove…!”
“Hey! Don’t touch me carelessly! Do you have any idea who I am…?!”
An unforeseen situation unfolded, and chaos erupted almost instantaneously in the hall. Some students resisted arrest, invoking their prestigious family identities.
In fact, that was a rather effective strategy in this instance. The enthusiasm of the Discipline Committee members momentarily faltered at their defiance.
A student who had been resisting was seen smiling in relief, as if he had caught a break.
“I remember all your faces. You lot seem like lower-class scum. Just try getting out. I’ll utilize every connection I have… Ugh!”
However, before he could finish his sentence, something flew through the air and struck him, sending him tumbling backward.
“Ugh…!”
The fallen student clutched his forehead in pain, writhing on the ground. Shortly after, with the clicking of heels, someone approached from the shadows.
With round glasses and hair neatly braided into pigtails, Discipline Committee Chair Choi Ireh calmly began collecting scattered enforcement blades, whispering coldly.
“Who are you?”
“Choi, Choi Ireh…?”
“Tell me. I’m curious. What kind of esteemed family do you come from to dare speak like that in front of me?”
“…”
The fallen male student hung his head in silence. Choi Ireh’s family, Seongsan, was currently on the rise in prestige. Some even claimed they were closely chasing after the five prominent families.
“Tsk. I thought so. Arrest him.”
“Y-Yes, Chairwoman!!”
At the utterance of Choi Ireh, the Discipline Committee members lightly bound the fallen student’s hands and hoisted him up.
“There’s no need to be intimidated by the threats of delinquents!”
Choi Ireh tipped her glasses up and loudly proclaimed to those around her.
“Remember that you are the honorable Discipline Committee, upholding the order of a prestigious cradle! Capture them all! I’ll take full responsibility for everything!”
“Wow!!”
With her words, the energized members of the Committee dispersed like a flood. Choi Ireh’s proclamation resonated through the banquet hall via a loudspeaker.
“I clearly said that illegal sub-groups were punishable! And yet you choose to act in defiance like this! Just wait until you are caught! You will…!”
By this point, around 30% of the participants had already been apprehended by the Committee. Even those who attempted to sneak out through the secret passages were being quickly discovered by lurking Committee members.
Baek Seoyeon observed from her table in a corner as the scene unfolded. The man across from her also appeared to be weighing his options in light of the unexpected turn of events.
“Seoyeon… No, no! Butterfly Lady!!”
Suddenly, a female student wearing a rabbit mask dashed out in haste from somewhere. She seemed to have been watching them closely.
“What is going on, White Rabbit…?”
“I-I don’t know… How did the Discipline Committee find out about this? I think Ireh came really prepared…!”
The rabbit-eared girl with elongated ears muttered anxiously. The previously silent masked man beside her seemed to have a question for her.
“Weren’t you saying they wouldn’t punish anyone?”
“I thought so too… heh heh… But I might not get expelled… It would be humiliating if I got caught…”
“…”
“Ah, this isn’t the time for that! We need to run…!”
-Get the girl in the rabbit mask! She is the ringleader!
-Yo, Kwon Yuri! You’re the one! You knew this would happen! You’re just dragging Seoyeon into this mess!! Today you are really…!
“Eek…!”
The booming voice of the Discipline Committee Chair echoed through the smoke, making the rabbit girl tremble. Her rabbit ears stood upright as if they were real.
“I-I’ll go first? You two enjoy your time…!”
“Wait…”
“Se-seems unlikely. You know Ireh, so I have no idea what will happen…!”
Before she could finish her sentence, the rabbit girl fled. Left behind, Seoyeon wore an awkward expression.
The secret passage she had used to enter was already sealed off long ago. The other passages seemed to be in a similar predicament.
The encirclement of the Discipline Committee members was steadily tightening. It didn’t seem there were even thirty seconds left before they would reach the outer table they were at.
“If they find out… it would be troublesome.”
Suddenly hearing a voice, Seoyeon glanced over. After pondering for a moment, she reluctantly nodded at the masked man who had spoken.
“…Okay.”
If he had not been there, she probably would never have stepped into this place. Instead, she would have been encouraging Ireh’s cleaning efforts from the sidelines.
However, sharing identities with fellow participants was on a different level than being discovered by the Discipline Committee.
“…Follow me.”
After a brief pause, the man gestured for Seoyeon and moved stealthily. Seoyeon followed him quietly along the outer side of the banquet hall.
Surprisingly, he headed toward the direction of the main passage where the Discipline Committee had entered.
Just as she began to ponder his intentions, he halted Seoyeon mid-way. Hiding behind an overturned table, which had become a wreck, he spoke.
“Stay here quietly. When I give the signal, that’s when you come out.”
Seoyeon nodded silently. After a moment of confirmation, the man vanished into the dark smoke beyond the table.
As she waited behind, the unease grew within her. It pounded in her chest like she had abandoned a child at the water’s edge.
During her struggle with those familiar sensations, Seoyeon eventually slipped out from behind the table and began following the man.
Soon, she caught sight of him standing majestically at the entrance to the passage. And alongside him stood a bespectacled female student keeping watch at the entrance.
“Hey, who’s there! You can’t keep going!”
Recognizing the silhouette of the male student, Choi Ireh shouted in a sharp voice.
“What do you think? Did you think no one would be here after all of you slipped away? Hey! Show yourself right now! Otherwise, you’ll face harsher penalties…”
Baek Seoyeon also felt that Ireh’s claim was valid. She was keenly curious about the man’s motives for bringing her here.
Choi Ireh, the unassailable head of the Discipline Committee, bore the brunt of students’ grievances due to her strict adherence to rules, yet no one dared to voice discontent due to her backing from an overwhelmingly powerful family.
Her confidence, which bordered on arrogance, only reinforced by her exceptional skills.
Naturally, she couldn’t overpower her. The use of magic for personal motives was strictly forbidden on campus, and interacting inappropriately with the Discipline Committee Chair could lead to expulsion.
‘Is he trying to bribe her…? Ireh wouldn’t accept something like that…’
Choi Ireh harbored feelings akin to hatred toward Lee Hyun who had metaphorically crushed her chin. To her, only insignificant boys were readily available for blind dates, often ruining those opportunities.
Because of this, Baek Seoyeon found her to be quite a capable person.
“Um…?”
As she contemplated the reasons behind this, Baek Seoyeon widened her eyes.
Although seen slightly from the side, the male student’s jawline was fully revealed.
Instead of the white mask concealing his entire face, only a thin black eye mask barely covered his eyes.
This meant he was fully revealing his innate good looks to Choi Ireh.
Seoyeon was about to grasp something profound when the man, feigning unsteady steps, approached Ireh cautiously and broke the silence.
“Um… are you a student from the Discipline Committee…?”
His voice, seemingly unsure about the situation, pleaded for help.
The tremor and precariousness in his tone overwhelmed the echoes in the hall.
While vastly different from his usual deep and trustworthy voice, it contained a level of destructive persuasion.
And the very next moment, what followed was a tone of Choi Ireh’s sweet voice, never once heard in her life.
“Well, um…?”
Baek Seoyeon involuntarily clenched her fist.
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