I Became the Academy’s Kibitz Villain

One. Baek Seol-hee had somewhat guessed that I was the Goblin.

I essentially told Baek Seol-hee, “I am the Goblin,” in a roundabout way, and I had thrown various hints her way.

But still, the reason Baek Seol-hee left me alone was because she harbored romantic feelings for me.

I confessed my feelings for her too, and Baek Seol-hee has now proposed her own compromise.

“So, you’re saying there’s a doll of me at your house?”

“Yes. If it were up to me, I’d make it foldable so I could carry it in my suitcase when traveling far. This is the limit for now.”

Baek Seol-hee reached out her hand again and created a clone.

“I can’t make it smaller, only a 1:1 scale. It’s a clone, after all.”

The clone made of ice quickly came to life, then snuggled up behind me, rubbing its body against mine.

“It feels a bit cold. Because it’s made of ice?”

“It might be cold on the outside but it’s warm inside.”

“Did you check again?”

“……Yes, yes. I’ve checked. I used a thermometer to measure everything in advance so that what happens in dramas won’t happen. Is it okay now?”

After I lightly kissed Baek Seol-hee’s puffed-up cheeks, her expression softened immediately.

Meanwhile, the clone of Baek Seol-hee behind me kept touching me persistently, and it felt like melted water was sticking to my body instead of sweat.

“Seol-hee, it seems like the clone is melting.”

“I’m not controlling the clone well right now.”

“Why?”

“…Because when you’re by my side, I feel too precious to even give it to the clone.”

With a pop, the clone disappeared instantly.

Right after that, Baek Seol-hee climbed on top of me as if to cover me and hugged me.

“Now it’s my time. I can’t give it to anyone else.”

“Seol-hee, your possessiveness is quite strong. You don’t want to give even a bit to the clone?”

“Yes. Now, during my time, it’s mine. After I’m satisfied, I’ll tell others to use it.”

“I’m not an object, though.”

“Using your object, it’s all the same for everyone.”

“Seol-hee, you know your words are getting more extreme, right?”

I gently stroked Baek Seol-hee’s cheek with my hand.

Baek Seol-hee rubbed her face against my hand like a cat, and I indulged her whims as much as possible.

“So, our Seol-hee. Were you very tired?”

“Yes. I was so tired I wanted to quit on the spot.”

“What would you do if you quit?”

“I don’t know. I’d do something. Wouldn’t something come up if I increased my wealth? Ah, maybe you can support me? If you get permission from your wife.”

“To support you, I’d need to earn a lot of money.”

“I’m a cost-effective woman. We just need to watch movies and dramas together. How about that?”

“My wife might be there too?”

“Then the three of us can watch together.”

A woman who grew up without parents.

When else would she have had the chance to act so spoiled to someone else?

“Including Yumir, that makes four… Well, it would be uncontrollable if it increased from there, but at least we should have time to be together like this, right?”

“Of course. How could I not find even a moment for Seol-hee?”

“You talked like you’d make time easily before. Now I’m like a fish that’s been caught?”

“That’s not it. I’m not someone who manages a fishpond. That won’t happen.”

I patted Baek Seol-hee’s back to reassure her.

“Our Seol-hee, how can we deal with you worrying so much? Seol-hee, you said you wanted to quit, right? How about working together with me then?”

“…….”

“It would be really nice if Seol-hee could work with me. Then, as long as I’m not away on business trips, I think I could be with you.”

“That’s not possible.”

Baek Seol-hee placed her index finger on my lips.

Her eyes, beginning to shine blue, were firm and clear without any wavering.

“You will work beside me. It’s not me going to your side.”

“It’s ironic how our hearts can be so close, yet our jobs can’t be.”

“There are lines neither of us can cross. It’s almost like a long-distance relationship when you look at it through the lens of the internet, but our relationship isn’t ordinary, is it?”

Baek Seol-hee took hold of my shoulders and slowly leaned into me.

“Our relationship began with an affair. Does it bother you that the other woman keeps clinging and causing trouble?”

“No. I actually like it.”

As if she was clinging to me, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close.

“How could I dislike it when a woman named Baek Seol-hee is so into me, she even wants to have my child?”

“There’s something I want to ask.”

Baek Seol-hee pressed down on my shoulder with her index finger, making a sulky face.

“I don’t know if I’m missing the timing, or if there’s some sort of mechanism at play. It feels like it’s been two months since we started trying seriously, but there’s still no sign. What’s going on?”

“Isn’t it good if there’s no sign?”

“That’s not it. The hotel manager keeps getting angry.”

Baek Seol-hee tapped my cheek lightly with her hand.

“He says the guests keep no-showing even though the reservations were made properly. He knocks on the door over a hundred times, but complains that not a single guest has entered. He says it causes a blood fountain at the hotel every time. What’s going on?”

“Can I tell you the truth?”

“Tell me. I’ll keep it a secret from Yumir.”

“The hotel manager is mistaken.”

“……What do you mean?”

“Heh.”

I turned our bodies around as I held Baek Seol-hee.

This time, Baek Seol-hee was beneath me, and I looked down at her, moving my hand to her lower abdomen.

“You know, I actually have a special ability.”

“…Why mention that suddenly?”

“No, it’s not about that. Regarding our country and Ulleung, I have a very special magic.”

As if drawing a circle, I tickled around Baek Seol-hee’s navel in a circular motion.

“The guest did enter. It’s just staying still in the hotel room.”

“……What do you mean? Explain it in a way that’s easier to understand.”

“The seed has been sown, but it’s just that the seed sown in the field has yet to sprout. It’s merely waiting to break through the shell with the magic’s power.”

“…….”

“In simple terms, that’s it. The sperm and egg in your belly have met and fertilized, but implantation hasn’t occurred yet. They’re just holding hands and sleeping soundly, thanks to my very special magic.”

I pressed down on Baek Seol-hee from above, immobilizing her.

“With me, you can really have a child whenever I want.”

“So, what we’ve done until now was fake?”

“No, no. It’s growing. It’s growing well, just not inside the womb.”

I tapped below her navel with my finger, as if knocking.

“Time is passing very slowly. Wouldn’t it be awkward if you started showing without being fully ready?”

“I could just say I gained weight.”

“If it’s you, it won’t be pig-like fat but just a protruding belly, right?”

“……Can’t I just say it’s abdominal obesity?”

“There’s no need to go that far. It just seems like you need some time.”

“I?”

Baek Seol-hee’s eyes wavered.

“I told you that day. I want to be with you…”

“Hero and the human Baek Seol-hee. If you try to choose both, the fruition within is clearly a ‘hindrance.’”

“!!”

Her expression began to harden, and her lips started to dry.

“You want to have both sides. Your hero self. And as a woman, wanting to be the mother of a man’s child, to become a woman. The problem is, having a child will eventually cause significant disruptions to your hero activities, and you will be under tremendous stress. Isn’t it already like that?”

“…….”

“Imagine if you suddenly take maternity leave when the government wants to use you as the face of the nation. You, it would be tough to endure, given the temperament of Snow White, who has lived as the hero of this country for the past 25 years.”

“I…”

“I can’t make the woman carrying my child suffer a miscarriage due to stress.”

“……!!”

“I’m not joking.”

I gently stroked Baek Seol-hee’s cheek with one hand and brought my face close to hers.

“If the news of your pregnancy spreads, the whole world will slander you. There will be those who insult you, coughing blood, and unicorns turning dark. You don’t know yet. The incessant malice of those more dreadful and abominable than demons.”

They were called ‘humans.’

Even though they were not demons, they filled ordinary people with a malice that turned them into worse beings.

People who thrived on the misfortune of others, more satanic than Satan himself.

“Can you really handle it? Can you live for the child without being swayed by any biased opinions or slander? From the moment your pregnancy becomes known, you can no longer step out as a hero. You’ll feel guilty for not being there where you’re needed, comparing it to the life you’ve lived as a hero.”

“…….”

“You will live a completely different life from what you have lived so far. Even among those who were on your side, there will be those who turn their blades towards you. What, did someone threaten you with a knife to get pregnant?”

“That’s…”

“You can’t completely deny it, can you? You can guess the true intentions of the people you’ve seen so far. Even if those around you say to get pregnant, it’s just lip service. If you have the child of an ordinary librarian like Do Ji-hwan, the world will immediately criticize you for being with such an incapable man. Definitely.”

“…….”

Baek Seol-hee couldn’t say anything.

She remained silent, just staring at me for a while.

“Then.”

Baek Seol-hee slowly opened her mouth.

“What should I do to prepare myself?”

“There’s a good way.”

I extended my hand towards the direction where Baek Seol-hee had dispelled the clone.

“Seol-hee.”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve learned how to clone, so tell the clone to be Snow White. The woman Baek Seol-hee will stay by my side quietly and focus on prenatal care.”

“……Okay.”

A slow light began to dawn in Baek Seol-hee’s sunken eyes.

“It’s like a homework robot for the holidays…”

“Right. Simple, isn’t it? The main body stays at home and has ‘patriotic duties’ with me, while the clone attends state events.”

“Two birds with one stone.”

“It’s more than just two birds with one stone.”

I got up and went down, slightly lifting Baek Seol-hee’s shirt to press my lips below her navel.

“While pregnant and raising a child, I can continue to be by your side.”

If Baek Seol-hee had planned to lock me in a basement.

“I can’t stand to see the woman carrying my child miscarry due to being insulted by others.”

Now the roles were reversed.

I would lock Baek Seol-hee away.

“Can you handle the clone properly? Can you ensure the clone roams around properly even while we’re having ‘patriotic duties’?”

“Why during ‘patriotic duties’?”

“Because that’s when your concentration is most disrupted.”

I went further down.

“Summon the clone. If we continue ‘patriotic duties’ until morning and maintain the clone, from then on, it’s a long-term guest in the hotel room.”

“How long?”

“From now, 10 months.”

“……”

The bet was.

“…What about the lost 1 month?”

“If you win, I’ll recover that too.”

“Alright. Then… come in. Let’s see who wins.”

Not just in gambling.

“Then.”

I pointed inside Baek Seol-hee’s shirt.

“Let’s see how long you last, shall we?”