Chapter 49 – Rule 20. The Leader Relies on the Vice Leader (2)
When showering, it’s natural for various thoughts to arise. It was the same for Oh Baek-seo.
A few minutes earlier, while showering, Baek-seo recalled the golden hair she found at Ahn Woo-jin’s house.
‘Whose hair is that?’
The thought lingered, questioning her.
As far as she knew, there was no one in Woo-jin’s circle with golden hair.
An intruder? Unlikely.
An intruder who could evade all the security drones and robots wouldn’t be careless enough to leave hair in the middle of the living room. And Woo-jin did mention he would introduce someone soon.
That person must be the owner of the golden hair. So, Baek-seo felt somewhat relieved.
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The person wasn’t an intruder nor someone Woo-jin was hiding.
But then, who could it be?
Perhaps it was the ‘master’ Woo-jin had mentioned before.
But thinking that way raised another question.
Woo-jin had already talked about his master. He had no intention of hiding their existence.
Yet, he merely said, ‘I’ll introduce an important person.’
If it were his master, he would have mentioned it explicitly. Therefore, the person with the golden hair was likely a third party Baek-seo didn’t know.
A golden-haired woman who frequents Woo-jin’s house, whom Baek-seo doesn’t know.
‘I guess I have to wait.’
Since Woo-jin said he would introduce the person, she had to trust and wait.
‘Also...’
Baek-seo thought of a significant problem.
The large-scale incident during the practical evaluation.
Han Seo-jin’s massacre attempt.
The barrier she couldn’t break through that day still lingered in Baek-seo’s mind, chaining her heart like iron.
If Woo-jin hadn’t awakened his unique ability, the situation would have been catastrophic.
Unthinkable things might have happened.
‘If another person like Han Seo-jin targets Woo-jin, it will be truly dangerous.’
Recently, Baek-seo often had sleepless nights thinking about it.
‘Moreover, the reason Han Seo-jin joined the Disciplinary Committee was because of me.’
She learned this from Woo-jin.
Although she hadn’t figured out why Seo-jin was monitoring her.
But.
‘That means...’
One person came to Baek-seo’s mind.
Someone who could have provided Seo-jin with the information about the magic catalyst underground at the practical evaluation site.
Someone who had a reason to monitor Baek-seo.
The Head Principal, Lee Doo-hee.
“...”
The water from the shower wetted Baek-seo’s hair and flowed down her skin.
She squinted and looked up.
She thought.
The Head Principal would target Woo-jin.
It was only a matter of time.
A free-spirited individual with potential comparable to Goliath, whom the Head Principal desperately wanted in his hands, had appeared.
If the Head Principal decided to target Woo-jin... a situation worse than the recent practical evaluation incident might occur.
‘That won’t happen.’
Baek-seo resolved herself.
In her first year, she had already vowed to protect Woo-jin.
She would somehow prevent anyone from laying a hand on Woo-jin.
Then.
Boom!
“!”
The sudden impact made Baek-seo instinctively turn away from the source of the sound, covering her chest and left shoulder.
“Huh...?”
Baek-seo turned her head slightly and saw a man who had fallen in the shower room.
For some reason, Woo-jin was there.
In an instant, Baek-seo gasped.
“...”
“...”
Woo-jin had failed to set the coordinates and ended up teleporting into the neighboring shower room.
For a while, Woo-jin and Baek-seo just stared at each other. Silence filled the space, but their minds were buzzing with various thoughts.
As they say, even in a tiger’s den, one can survive by keeping their wits about them. Woo-jin narrowed his wide eyes, trying to gather his startled expression.
“Baek-seo.”
Woo-jin spoke first.
“This is a misunderstanding.”
He spoke earnestly, like a criminal caught in the act, choosing sincere explanation over immediate escape.
“...Yeah.”
Baek-seo’s soft voice echoed in the shower room.
“I know.”
Baek-seo quickly deduced the situation.
Woo-jin was strict with himself and valued his dignity.
He wasn’t the type of voyeuristic pervert who would secretly watch a naked woman.
Moreover, he had told Baek-seo that he still couldn’t properly use his ‘space leap’ ability.
In other words, he must have made a mistake while practicing his space ability at home and ended up here.
Understanding this sequence of events, Baek-seo tried to smile gently.
“This is awkward, Leader.”
If she let it go like this, Woo-jin would be extremely troubled.
Baek-seo didn’t want that.
Acting as if it was no big deal.
As if there was no problem at all.
So Woo-jin wouldn’t feel guilty.
Baek-seo decided to lighten the mood with a joke, as usual.
“Were you that eager to see my body?”
Baek-seo tilted her head slightly and gave a sly smile. However, unlike usual, Woo-jin couldn’t take Baek-seo’s joke lightly.
‘What should I... say?’
Woo-jin swallowed nervously, unable to answer immediately. In this situation, a positive response would be tactless and could make him seem like a pervert. On the other hand, a negative response might imply he had no interest in Baek-seo’s body, which could be offensive. He had no intention of conveying such a meaning, even as a joke.
“That’s...”
In the end, Woo-jin covered his mouth and turned his head to the side, his face already turning as red as a ripe apple.
“Leader, your answer...?”
“Sorry...”
Avoiding the question. It was the best, yet the worst choice.
Baek-seo’s playful joke backfired.
“Ah...”
Baek-seo unintentionally let out a small sigh, understanding why Woo-jin avoided the question.
The sound of the shower water couldn’t dispel the awkward atmosphere between them. The usual smile that graced Baek-seo’s face didn’t function properly. A mix of shame and an odd sense of liberation from showing her naked body overwhelmed her. It was hard to take her eyes off Woo-jin. His deeply embarrassed expression was endearing to her, especially because she believed it was due to her body.
This strange, thrilling emotion running down her spine was hard to control. Even someone as adept at hiding their feelings as Baek-seo found this situation extremely stimulating.
‘This is dangerous...’
Baek-seo struggled to turn her head away, deciding not to show her expression to Woo-jin.
Woo-jin was having a similar difficulty controlling his expression. From the moment he saw Baek-seo’s naked body with its beautiful, arching curves, his rational mind stopped functioning properly.
“Leader...”