NOVEL FROG Chapter 181
Lee Hyun strolled across the dormitory grounds wearing a bizarre lion mask instead of his usual school uniform and a regular mask.
Typically, students wanted to enjoy social gatherings early, so the surroundings were quiet and deserted. In contrast, the distant sounds of the gathering echoed loudly, adding to the excitement.
He moved briskly, lost in thought as if he had no interest in the festival.
‘…Enjoy it. Meet whoever, do whatever, just do it your way.’
‘But promise me one thing.’
Yeon Minha’s whispered words from the day before still lingered in his ears, soft like a drifting breeze.
‘By midnight on the 13th… you must come under the Baeknyeon tree.’
“Baeknyeon tree…”
He had heard about the Baeknyeon tree a couple of times in passing. For freshmen, getting lost was part of life in the vast cradle garden. An ancient hardwood tree firmly rooted at its center.
The name was given as a nickname that had accompanied the history of the cradle for nearly a century. Thanks to its roots soaking up the abundant particles flowing through the area, its branches stretched out, covering dozens of meters all around.
He resolutely refused the notion of making an appearance at any sub-group, focusing solely on what Yeon Minha had said.
‘You absolutely have to come.’
‘No matter what happens, even if someone tries to hold you back.’
‘…Definitely.’
The 13th would be the second day of the social gathering.
He had to juggle the tournament and Kwon Yuri’s secret meeting that day.
But Yeon Minha’s voice, filled with a determination he had never heard before, resonated in his mind.
That’s why Lee Hyun found himself agreeing immediately, as if he were enchanted by something.
‘It’s fine. The tournament is during the day, and the secret meeting is supposed to be in the evening…’
However, he couldn’t grasp the implications of midnight and the specific condition of being under the Baeknyeon tree.
“It didn’t seem like she was angry…”
Yeon Minha had gotten up at dawn and vanished, leaving no chance for him to ask more. The fact that she hadn’t insisted on sleeping together as usual made this even more puzzling.
“Excuse me, senpai…! What are you doing…!”
“…?”
Lee Hyun had been lost in thought when the ruckus coming from the designated meeting area snapped him back to reality.
A female student with an exquisite beauty that even a ridiculous monkey mask couldn’t hide seemed furious, on the verge of delivering a kick to a slouching male student’s groin.
“Huff…”
Lee Hyun let out a small sigh upon seeing her. He shook his head sharply as if trying to get rid of something.
Now wasn’t the time for unanswered worries; it was time to carry out the task at hand.
*
“Y-You, with someone else’s girl? What the… GRAAAAAH!!”
With a surge of strength, the guy let out a scream, but for some reason, his twisted face looked familiar.
Wait a minute, isn’t this the upperclassman from the last time in the hallway who was bothering Yeon Minha?
“Let me go… AAH!”
Recalling that fact made his grip involuntarily tighten. The male student squirmed like a pathetic caterpillar caught in a dire predicament.
After being humiliated like that, he still couldn’t recover his senses.
At that moment, Lee Hyun had the impulse to break his arm, but… there were too many eyes watching right now.
Moreover, today he had to act as Jin Yeseo’s boyfriend while keeping his true identity hidden. If he created too much chaos and security got involved, he might be forced to reveal his identity. All of his hard work would be for nothing.
Today was the first day of the social gathering. Excitement and competitive spirit were in the air. There would probably be countless light brawls happening everywhere. It was physically impossible to control all of them.
As long as he didn’t inflict excessive harm on his opponent.
“ACK!”
Ultimately, instead of breaking his arm, Lee Hyun chose to push the guy down to the ground like last time. The guy lost his balance and let out a comical scream as he tumbled onto the stone floor.
He felt pride in how well he held his anger back. It was a clear sign he was growing, even if just a little. His sisters would have loved to see that.
“HAH… HAH…!”
The male student, finally freed from Lee Hyun’s grip, took a moment to catch his breath. As if he forgot the pitiful begging from moments ago, he raised a finger and shouted.
“You, what are you doing! Do you even know who I am…!”
“Who? I just told you. Seems like you don’t have much of a head for a cradle student.”
“Uh…?”
For some reason, Lee Hyun pulled Jin Yeseo closer, as if drawing her into the act. The setting was just right.
“I’m the fiancé of Lady Baekgwang.”
“W-What…? Y-You’re the fiancé…?”
The mumbling male switched his gaze between him and Jin Yeseo, wearing a bewildered expression.
He’d feared the dude might recognize him from before, but looking at that face, it seemed unlikely.
Modifying his voice slightly had turned out to be a good choice after all.
“T-Then, the person you were waiting for…? It can’t be that junior Jin Yeseo… What nonsense…”
“Nonsense? Can’t you tell by looking? Huh?”
Lee Hyun draped his arm over Jin Yeseo’s shoulder and pulled her closer, while Jin Yeseo played along without making a sound.
“How dare you throw glances at someone who’s already engaged. Even if you’re from the 27th Mage Clan, do you think you can just brush this off?”
“It, it’s not like that…!”
Continuing to intimidate the still-sitting male, Lee Hyun found him trembling. The confidence he’d had moments ago vanished without a trace.
And how much time passed?
Ultimately, unable to endure any longer, the guy scampered away on all fours.
“N-No…! S-Sorry…!”
What remained in his wake was an apology that sounded insincere, echoing faintly. It was quite infuriating to see him make a mess and fail to resolve it properly, but there was no need to chase after him now.
It seemed that the strategy of looking down on him had worked like a charm. The Chun Su-ho family was a recently rising force that had barely squeezed into the 27th Mage Clan.
With many people above them, it made sense that this tactic worked. If he had been from a slightly higher-ranked noble family, it wouldn’t have stood a chance.
He’d been worried about a potential brawl breaking out, but thankfully that concern had been unfounded.
Having wrapped things up adequately, he finally turned his gaze down to Jin Yeseo.
“Hey.”
“Uh, what?”
Jin Yeseo, lost in thought, snapped back after a couple of exchanges.
“What’s going on? Is there a problem?”
“Uh, no… not really…”
She seemed deep in thought. Jin Yeseo took a deep breath, and finally, with eyes shining with vigor, glared at him.
“Hey. Who decided I was yours?”
“What? Are you kidding? Who asked you to help?”
Lee Hyun felt a sudden surge of disbelief. Hadn’t she been the one to practice for days?
“Don’t you remember? You told me to introduce you to others like that. Make a strong impression.”
“Oh, no… I mean, that might be true but… it was so sudden…”
In response to his objections, Jin Yeseo opened her mouth, looking flustered.
“It’s not my job but yours. Then you should do it right. Didn’t you say you didn’t want to be dragged around by a family anymore?”
“Job… job…”
Jin Yeseo seemed to ponder his words with a strange expression.
“…Right. It is a job.”
She finally nodded resolutely, seeming to snap back to her senses. The girl in the monkey mask coughed a couple of times, glancing around nervously.
“…Cough cough. For now, let’s move. We’ve drawn too much attention here…”
*
They walked side by side, blending into the crowd.
Guests wore bizarre animal-shaped masks, colorful stalls caught attention with magical displays, and various weapon demonstrations were happening on outdoor stages.
Even though it was high noon, the festive atmosphere had already reached its peak.
“So, how is the lion mask?”
“It’s okay. A bit heavy, though…”
“Had no choice. That was the only thing that would cover my hair and face completely.”
Jin Yeseo’s voice carried a hint of apology. It seemed unavoidable. Not only her hair, but she also needed to cover the scar near her nose at the very least.
“Hmm. And about earlier… that was a decent performance.”
Jin Yeseo continued, seemingly embarrassed and avoiding eye contact.
“Probably surprised the audience a bit. It was quite a dramatic introduction.”
“Audience? You mean those crowds earlier?”
“Sure, showing it to them is important. But the audience I’m talking about is different.”
Jin Yeseo shook her head.
“See? The guy with the beard in a hat, following us from behind.”
She pointed to a middle-aged man keeping his distance.
“One of the direct subordinates of the Baekgwang family head. I know his face. Even with a disguise, he can’t fool my eyes.”
Those green-glowing eyes darted around restlessly.
“And over there, the girl with the alligator head, the skinny guy with round glasses, the bearded man handing out helium balloons, and…”
“…”
Jin Yeseo just kept talking. The Baekgwang family head must be quite a suspicious person. Now Lee Hyun understood a bit why Jin Yeseo was so thorough in her preparations.
“They sent a lot… Anyway, today’s goal is simple. Leave a strong impression of our affection to those watchers.”
“I get it. You’ve repeated it enough times. So, what do we do now?”
Jin Yeseo shot him a sidelong glance, looking a bit annoyed. But she soon lowered her head and muttered in a softer voice.
“What do we do? Just like before… act as affectionate as possible.”