Chapter 144: Heartbreak (1)

For the first time in the seven or so months since he’d entered the Hall of the Demonic Way, Il-mok was finally enjoying a bit of peace.

Chu Il-hwan, who had once hounded him relentlessly, hadn't bothered him since returning to the Hall.

The same went for Xiao Hong. She had been remarkably quiet lately after her very conspicuous attempts to get close to him during her first few days.

'Yeah, right. Something's fishy about this.'

Il-mok still felt uneasy about Xiao Hong, but decided to let it slide for now. Thanks to her sudden change to being well-behaved—probably to avoid standing out—there was no one left to bother him anymore.

He slacked off during training sessions and took naps during meditation time while managing his side effects.

But while Il-mok was at peace, there was one person whose insides were twisting into knots, or rather, whose stomach was shriveling up.

'What the hell am I supposed to do?!'

Xiao Hong felt like she was being backed into a corner with each passing day.

At first, she’d thought the mission would be easy.

Hadn't the Chief said so himself? That it was a simple job of seducing some sixteen-year-old brat.

Sure, she might not have any experience in seducing men, but she figured if she prepared thoroughly, it was a task well within her abilities.

But the Eighth Young Master wasn't an easy target.

Living up to his reputation as a womanizer, he'd already dealt with quite a few women and wouldn't easily fall for her seductions.

To make matters worse, her attempts to seduce Il-mok had drawn too much attention from everyone at the Hall of the Demonic Way, which was now coming back to bite her.

She decided that it was a strategic time to retreat, trying to lessen the attention drawn to her.

'But I can't think of any way to advance!'

At this rate, her retreat would be permanent. The mission would just end.

The dreadful feeling that she was about to fail was making her side effects flare up.

—This is hard, isn’t it?

—Looks like it's a lost cause anyway, so why don't you eat something?

—They say even a ghost looks better if it died with a full stomach. Go on. Eat.

As the temptation of her binge-eating disorder grew stronger each day, she'd recently started fasting completely.

She knew that the moment food touched her lips, she would lose all control of herself.

Then one day, while she was locked in this grueling battle with her side effects, Head Instructor Chu Il-hwan summoned her.

“You wished to see me, Head Instructor?"

"Ah, have a seat first."

Chu Il-hwan looked at Xiao Hong with a somewhat complicated expression as she sat down.

“Instructor Xiao’s life seems to be harder than I expected.”

"Not at all, Head Instructor. I'm adapting to it well enough now."

“It’s just… you’ve gotten noticeably gaunt these past few days."

Chu Il-hwan spoke in a hesitant tone.

He couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity watching her wither away day by day.

'I've heard of lovesickness before, but damn, it's really a terrible disease.'

Though he'd casually attributed it to instructor duties, Chu Il-hwan suspected she was in this state because of Il-mok.

His guess was half right.

She was indeed like this because she'd failed to seduce Il-mok.

But Xiao Hong had no desire to reveal the truth and offered a vague excuse.

"You don't need to worry about me, Head Instructor. I’ve just been pushing myself a bit too hard trying to manage the side effects of my Demonic Art.”

Chu Il-hwan gave her advice based on his own experience.

“If it’s because of your Demonic Art… trying to forcefully suppress the side effects might not be the best way. It’s not a bad idea to let it out a little at a time. Just find a way to do it somewhere with no people, so you don’t harm the students.”

Chu Il-hwan himself would secretly slip out of the Hall of the Demonic Way when his murderous impulses became too intense. Go wild in the mountains for a bit, then return. His usual method was to hunt the wild animals living in the mountains.

As he shared his method, Xiao Hong answered with an anxious face.

"...But what if trying to release them just a little leads to completely losing control?"

"That's exactly why I told you to think of ways that won't harm the students. I used to go to the mountains for this reason. If there are no people around, no one will get caught up in the side effects, right?"

“…I will consider it.”

After finishing her conversation with Chu Il-hwan, Xiao Hong left the office with a gaunt face.

Then she went to the dining hall and asked the workers there to prepare about five portions of food for a late-night meal.

'If we're going by three meals a day, I've already starved for three days, so I should eat at least nine portions! I've reduced it to five portions, so this should be enough to not give in to the side effects!'

She had officially entered the realm of self-deception.

***

Late that night, somewhere in the Hall of the Demonic Way.

“Hwaaaahm.”

Waking from a deep sleep, Il-mok stretched and opened his eyes.

"Ugh, so stiff."

Muttering to himself, Il-mok looked around and belatedly realized where he was.

He was in the Meditation Club's hall. He’d dozed off while sitting cross-legged and had fallen into a much deeper sleep than intended.

"Damn jerks. Would it kill them to wake me up before leaving?"

If the trio had heard his muttering, they would have shed tears of injustice.

This was the same guy who would grab his sword sheath if anyone so much as breathed too loudly during his nap, and now he was angry they hadn't woken him?

Even Chu Il-hwan, who owed his life to Il-mok’s mercy, didn't want to disturb his rest.

In the end, both Chu Il-hwan and the trio had quietly left to avoid disturbing Il-mok's nap, which led to him sleeping until this hour.

"Did I sleep too long? I'm getting hungry..."

His steps toward the Black Dragon Pavilion turned toward the dining hall instead.

'I wonder if there are any leftovers.'

The kitchen staff would have already gone back to their dorms by now. He just planned to grab any leftover side dishes for a quick bite before sleeping.

“Hwaaaahm.”

Il-mok yawned as he reached the entrance and stepped inside.

"......"

The sight that greeted him made him freeze on the spot.

Late at night, the dining hall was naturally empty.

Except for one spot.

Chomp chomp.

And at that spot sat a woman, shoving food into her mouth.

She seemed to find chopsticks and spoons too cumbersome, so she grabbed handfuls of food with both hands and crammed them into her mouth. Her appetite was so immense that a mountain of food was piled on the table in front of her.

Chomp chomp.

And that mountain of food was vanishing into her mouth at an incredible speed. It was a scene straight out of a horror story about a hungry ghost.

"......"

As Il-mok stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face, Xiao Hong—who had completely lost herself in her first feast in three days—accidentally knocked a dumpling off the mountain of food.

She lunged down to grab the fallen dumpling and stuffed it straight into her mouth.

As she straightened up with her cheek puffed from the dumpling, she finally noticed someone standing at the entrance.

"......"

"......"

Silence fell between Il-mok and Xiao Hong as their eyes met.

"S-sorry, Instructor Xiao. P-please, enjoy your meal.”

Il-mok managed to get the words out in a strained voice before immediately turning and fleeing the dining hall.

Once outside, Il-mok looked back toward it with various emotions on his face.

"Holy shit..."

An exclamation of pure awe escaped his lips. He had never witnessed such a spectacle.

Food debris was everywhere. Discarded utensils lay scattered on the table. Both of her hands were caked in food.

It wasn’t just her hands; her face was splattered with sauces and scraps, and her clothes were a complete mess. And on top of all that, she had literally thrown herself on the ground to rescue a piece of fallen food.

He had never in his life seen a woman, especially one who was actually quite beautiful, eat with such ravenous ferocity.

“If only they had YouTube here, she would’ve been a superstar.”

Maybe she could have pioneered mukbang in this world.

“Hmm. Or maybe not. Seeing that just killed my appetite instead of whetting it. Probably no hope for her.”

The sight of her shoveling food into her mouth so crudely had completely erased the hunger he’d felt just moments before.

***

A short while after Il-mok returned to the Black Dragon Pavilion, Xiao Hong was still in the dining hall, shoveling food into her mouth and crying.

'It's all over...'

Chomp chomp.

No matter how lacking she was in romance, she knew this much from common sense.

No man would love an ugly woman whose eyes had rolled back from gluttony.

Chomp chomp.

Sure, there was the saying about eating heartily being charming, but this was different.

From her mouth to her hands and clothes, everything was covered in food scraps.

Chomp chomp.

And most importantly, no one would call a woman who eats food off the floor “charming.”

Was it because she thought her mission had completely failed?

Chomp chomp.

Her mood plummeted once more, and she mechanically crammed the rest of the food on the table into her mouth.

'If I fail this mission, the Chief won't call me back to the Law Enforcement Hall.'

Chomp chomp.

'I'll be stuck rotting in the Hall of the Demonic Way for life.'

With a look of utter resignation, she let her Demonic Art take over and continued to eat. After what felt like an eternity, she had finally finished all five portions. She stared down at the empty plates, her eyes full of regret.

But that was only for a moment.

After satisfying her hunger and calming her Demonic Art’s side effects somewhat, she remembered something she'd forgotten.

‘Wait a minute, there’s still one method I haven’t tried!’

It was the one piece of advice she had never dared to attempt because she had no experience.

But now she was already backed into a corner. She had to try that advice with the desperation of grasping at straws.

Strike while the iron is hot, as they say.

Having made up her mind, she tried to get up.

"Ugh."

The pressure from her stomach, which was so full it was about to burst, made her stop.

Looking down at her protruding belly that seemed ready to show off, she thought.

'O-okay, maybe after I’ve digested a little.'

Even to a complete novice like her, it was obvious that seduction was impossible in this state.

***

About two hours later, Xiao Hong, dressed in a clean, dark outfit to avoid being seen, slipped into the Black Dragon Pavilion.

She recalled the advice she’d gotten from her married senior at her old place.

After giving her various tips, that senior had let out a deep sigh.

‘You know, now that I think about it, there’s no need to make this so complicated.’

'You mean there's an easier way?'

'There's a simple method. Your looks are good enough to have men lining up for you, so just jump him.’

‘!? J-jump him? What do you mean by that?’

‘I mean just sneak into his room late at night.’

‘And after I get there, what do I do?’

The senior pondered for a moment, then answered with a sigh.

‘You have no experience, so explaining it won’t do any good. You said your target is a womanizer, right? Just leave the rest to him. Just take off your outer robe, and he’ll know what to do.’

As she relived that memory, she found herself right in front of Il-mok’s door.

'Huu.'

Even for her, this was a method she hadn't dared to try, burying it in the corner of her memory.

But now she was completely cornered, so she boldly opened the door and entered.

The sound of someone entering the room caused Il-mok, who had been deep in sleep, to snap his eyes open.

‘Holy shit… To make a move this brazenly.'

While Il-mok made a startled expression upon realizing it was Xiao Hong who had come in the dead of night...

Rustle.

Slowly, deliberately, Xiao Hong pulled at the knot holding her robe together.

Her outer garment slid gracefully to the floor. Having prepared herself, she took a silent, deep breath and looked at Il-mok.

According to her senior's words, the Eighth Young Master would handle the rest from here.

But soon, she felt something was off.

‘Wait, was a sword supposed to be part of this?’

For some reason, Il-mok had drawn his sword from the sheath beside his bed.