I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City

Chapter 48

"Ughhhhh!!!"

Clara flung herself onto the bed, hugging a pillow tightly as she rolled around the small room.

Her pale legs kicked at the mattress with a thumping sound. She simply couldn’t hold it in otherwise.

– Then stroke me...

The unintentional words of her desire had slipped out, and Rohan had responded with a gentle touch.

Those two elements alone set her entire body ablaze, producing an uncontrollable heat.

‘I leaned my head on Oppa... What was I thinking? What was I thinking? What was I thinking?!’

The girl was overwhelmed by her own actions. The embarrassment was so intense that she felt like her mind was shutting down.

“Hoooo...”

Clara raised her head from the pillow and pressed the back of her hand to her flushed cheek, trying to cool herself down. It was burning like fire.

Even though the sensation had mostly faded, it was still this bad. She couldn’t imagine what kind of expression she must have had at the time.

‘What about me?’

Suddenly, her thoughts became more complicated—unnecessarily so.

Instead of focusing on the work she’d be doing with Rohan, her mind turned to her own feelings.

‘Do I... want Oppa to praise me? Or maybe...’

Despite only just beginning to lead a somewhat normal life, Clara had a vague understanding of her emotions.

As someone who’d enjoyed subculture media, she was well-versed in the various relationships men and women could have.

But the foundation of those relationships, the emotion called “love,” was something she only knew about from stories. Every character seemed to experience it differently, and the catalysts varied greatly.

‘No, no, no. I just haven’t known him long enough... It’s just admiration for someone who’s a good person, right?’

That thought became Clara’s refuge, her way of not taking any risky steps forward.

She had seen plenty of stories where a confession was rejected, leading to disastrous consequences and irreparable relationships.

The idea was terrifying.

Of course, those scenarios were from games and anime, not reality.

“...”

That’s why she was afraid to label her feelings or make any definitive conclusions.

Even without confessing, giving her current emotions a name could change everything.

Buzzzzz—!

The long-awaited vibration of her phone broke her train of thought.

Clara’s hand shot out like lightning.

[Rohan Oppa: The instructor came all the way to the Security Bureauᄒᄒ Did you get home safely?]

“!”

The instructor? That stunning woman with red hair?

Just the thought of her was terrifying. If Clara had to stand in front of her, she probably wouldn’t even be able to speak. She swallowed nervously.

‘W-what do I do? I can’t win against her right now...’

Her thoughts took an unexpected turn toward combat readiness.

“...”

In an instant, the heat drained from her face. Clara calmly got up from the bed.

It seemed like a cold shower was urgently needed.

For reasons she couldn’t quite explain, she felt like training was more necessary than playing games right now.

“Wow!”

“So this is what the finest residential buildings in Academy City look like.”

Following Juyeon into the luxurious entrance, Rohan couldn’t help but let out an admiring exclamation.

Juyeon smiled silently at his reaction as she entered the door code. But just as she was about to grab the handle, a thought stopped her.

‘Did I put away the laundry on the drying rack...?’

She always made sure to keep the house tidy and never let chores pile up, but there was always a chance.

Plus, she remembered she’d left in a hurry and might have left the lights on.

“Rohan.”

“Yes!”

“Sorry, could you wait here for a moment?”

“Of course.”

Rohan, an unplanned guest, understood Juyeon’s need to check.

While waiting, Rohan sent Clara a text message.

After some time, the door finally opened with a soft chime, revealing Juyeon.

Instead of her usual formal attire, she was dressed in comfortable, casual clothes—an unfamiliar yet refreshing sight in Abyss City.

Realizing further protests were futile, Rohan quickly lowered his head in submission.

Juyeon followed him into the bedroom, insisting on making sure he was properly settled under the blankets.

"Are you warm enough? I can adjust the temperature."

"It’s perfect. Honestly, I could fall asleep right away."

"..."

For someone so full of chatter, he certainly had a way with words.

Juyeon couldn’t help but laugh softly at his earnest response.

As Rohan lay there marveling at the soft, expensive pillow, he stopped Juyeon just as she was about to leave the room.

"Instructor."

"Hmm?"

"About heading to the training room after waking up—"

Before he could finish, Juyeon’s gaze sharpened. The intensity in her eyes felt like fire.

"Absolutely not. Are you begging me to keep you under constant supervision until you're fully healed?"

"No! I was just going to say... rest sounds like a good idea after all."

As expected, he wouldn’t get to see Ichinose’s face at the start of the day. A bit of a shame, really.

"Still, I’ll go to my part-time job."

"Inform them you won’t be coming. As the Security Bureau mentioned, the bounty and reward money will be significant."

Normally, Juyeon wouldn’t interfere in such matters. But this time was different.

Having secured his promise to rest and skip work, Juyeon crossed her arms and reached for the light switch.

"Instructor."

"Is there something else?"

"This is the most important thing."

"...What is it?"

Satisfied by her attentiveness, Rohan lifted his head slightly from the pillow and smiled.

"Thank you so much for today. If I see you in my dreams, I’ll thank you there too."

"..."

With that, he plopped his head back onto the pillow and closed his eyes.

Juyeon let out a small laugh, turned off the lights, and left the room.

***

3 a.m.

Juyeon sat in the living room, leisurely reading a book.

Her phone was beside her, ready to receive any urgent messages.

Flip. Flip.

She had been turning pages for some time when—

"Go that way, and you’ll find the path..."

Rohan’s voice drifted out from the bedroom.

With her keen hearing, Juyeon immediately caught it and rose from her seat, heading toward the bedroom silently.

Entering without a sound, she saw Rohan tossing and turning on the bed.

"We... have to kill it... ugh..."

Was he having a nightmare?

Even with his eyes closed, the distress etched on his face was palpable.

"If we just break through here... we can survive..."

His murmurs were all the same—desperate struggles to survive.

"..."

Was he reliving his time in the southern regions?

Juyeon felt an indescribable emotion as she watched this unfamiliar side of Rohan.

‘He’s never shown this at the Academy.’

She had only ever seen him being polite and making an effort to smile. Perhaps it was all a mask to hide the scars in his mind.

Juyeon stepped closer to the bed and carefully reached out her hand.

"It’s alright. Don’t worry."

"Mm... ugh..."

She soothed him with soft words and gently wiped the cold sweat from his face with her warm hand.

His expression eased slightly, the tension in his features softening.

Juyeon’s kind smile lingered as she perched on the edge of the bed, waiting for him to find peace.