Inevitably By Chance
It was a bad day.
No, its rather exhausting than bad. From the moment she opened her eyes, an ominous premonition came over her. For some reason, she felt like the bullying will be fierce today.
In the morning, she had to shook of a man’s humorous attempt to approach her on her way to the luncheon. It was said to be a coincidence but she doesn’t feel that way. And when she arrived, she had to face a customer she did not agree to meet beforehand.
It was also an encounter disguised as a coincidence, but there was no way it was a coincidence. It was the owner of the grand theater that she had just recently started sponsoring. He had beautifully decorated his pretty son, who must have just become an adult, and brought him along.
He brought his youngest son to the place prepared under the pretext of pre-selecting works for the grand theater. He said his son was learning the family business, but his boyish gaze made his intentions clear.
The gesture and expression seemed plausible, perhaps it was a lie to say that he would go on stage in person.
His greedy eyes made her feel nauseous and depressed that she left most of the meal untouched.
At that time, she should have just canceled the remainder of her schedule.
But she made the mistake of underestimating her bad luck that day. More precisely, she refused to cancel her long-awaited evening schedule because of some few unwanted coincidences. As she had been looking forward to this day.
It was the day of the ‘Sponsor’s Night’ event at Rodrick Central Academy. It was an event held only once a year. It was one of the few places she dared to attend, risking herself to travel the long distance, as she was listed as a sponsor in various fields.
“Who is this? She never ventures from the mansion, and she took an expensive carriage.”
That evening, she encountered an unlucky and mean face at the Academy dinner. But she ignored it.
In fact, meeting him was a daily routine, thanks to her bad luck. However, she overlooked that he was a man who would take a shot at her whenever possible, and that he was reckless enough to try it in such a public place.
Hence, due to this hasty carelessness, she was doused with alcohol.
“Oh no, I made a big mistake.”
The dinner had just begun, and the director’s greetings hadn’t even started yet. As one of the Academy’s important patrons, she was scheduled to read a congratulatory speech on behalf of the other sponsors today.
‘Damn it, Rex Benia. If you’re going to swear and shout as usual, what’s the point of doing such a childish thing?’
“Now, take off that stuffy veil.”
The black veil, which she always wore, was a tribute of respect for the deceased. She wore it for the sake of honoring her deceased husband.
Barely swallowing down the desire to smack his cheeky face, she quietly backed away. The black veil was wet and drooping with alcohol.
She didn’t know what type of alcohol he poured on her, but the smell was strong and viscous. However, since she had never, and had no intentions to take off the veil in public, she yielded her share of the congratulatory speech to others.
Rex seemed surprised this time, perhaps he thought he would confirm the authenticity of the rumor that “an ugly face is hidden under the veil.”
He thought she would go to the podium even without her veil, as it was obvious that she was paying great attention to this event.
Foolish.
She walked out of the dinner hall lamenting that the Sponsor’s Night was an annual event. Nevertheless, the special reason for this event was to also celebrate the senior graduation of a person who has been personally sponsored for a long time. The title of ‘Senior’ was the only invitation for a student to attend a sponsor’s evening.
According to the schedule, after her congratulatory speech, he would have taken the podium to deliver a speech as a representative of the graduates. It was the part she was looking forward to the most.
If only Rex hadn’t drenched her in alcohol as soon as the dinner began, her veil wouldn’t be all wet.
She was deeply saddened by the fact she couldn’t see her student at the podium. She didn’t even have an extra veil, so she was stuck in a hotel suite, where the academy dinner was held, until she got a new veil.
The academy intended to protect the anonymity of the sponsors, so the hotel was located far, even with traveling by a horse-drawn carriage. Even if a memorial veil was found somewhere right away, it was natural to miss the congratulatory speech, or the speech given the time it took to travel back and forth.
She quickly gave up.
Fortunately, the sponsor’s night was not a one-day event. She said she still had two days left, so she wasn’t completely discouraged.
She quickly picked up her spirits. The senior graduate represented all the alumni, so he would attend the events throughout the day, even if it wasn’t a tour. She entered the suite early with a promise to be fully prepared tomorrow.
After washing with the bath water provided by the hotel, most of the terrible smell disappeared. Considering her current state, she decided to drink and head to bed early. With that thought in mind, she opened a bottle of alcohol.
The foul mood from the morning improved gradually as she drank. Normally, she would have restrained herself in moderation, but this was a situation that called for alcohol.
So, she let her guard down before the unlucky day was over.
“…Ha.”
When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a wide back lying next to her. The nail marks on the back were obviously made last night. It was as if someone didn’t have any energy to beg them to stop, so they clawed into the back instead.
The events of last night quickly flashed through her mind.
“You…”
There were two elevators in the hotel, the elevator leading to the floor where the patrons stayed was guarded by staff to prevent the general public from using it at all.
So last night, she drank the whiskey comfortably without any worries. Of course, it was comfortable with a bare face without a drop of makeup.
In short, it meant that she was very defenseless. To the point where she didn’t pull up her clothes due to the sudden visit.
She stiffened as she had been drinking, and as she opened the door, the person at the door stiffened as well.
“Excuse me. I heard that this room was assigned to my sponsor…”
“Sponsor’s room?”
When she encountered the unexpected person, her mind went blank. It seemed to be the same on the other person.
“Ah, I think I’m on the wrong floor.”
He seemed to have no recognition of her face, overshadowed by the fear that her name would pop out of his mouth right away, she stumbled with her words.
“…Sponsor?”
She had heard the stories of graduates seeking a “sponsor’s night” for an easy life in the future.
Even after graduation, students who wanted to receive personal, confidential, and solid support tried to appeal to their supporters’ hearts, even if they had to offer themselves. The situation was far better for students who could receive support from their families, but commoners especially didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
This was the reason why only senior graduates were invited to the venue, or the sponsors stayed in hotels far from the academy. But despite these restraints, students were caught hiding in the sponsors’ rooms every year.
…But why was it him and no one else?
Speechless, she tried to control her shaky vision and adjust her focus. She called out to him as he turned away to leave.
She didn’t know why she invited him into the room, but she couldn’t allow him to enter another sponsor’s room like this.
The man, who thought he found the wrong room, was a student she had been supporting for a long time.
“No, I…”
“I’m so sorry.”
She knew that her appearance was different from the image of a sponsor he normally sees. This was because the socially prominent sponsors were generally wealthy individuals of a mature age.
As for her, who usually wears a veil during outside activities, her appearance or exact age was not known to the outside world. The hotel accommodates regular guests as well, so she could understand why he didn’t see her as a sponsor.
“If you’re going to another room, stop.”
What was she thinking? She speculated her inebriated state had something to do with it. The immediate anger must have played a part in that as well.
She thought she had given him enough support, that he lacked for nothing, it felt like a betrayal for the other party to do this ahead of graduation.
“That’s not it.”
“Are you going to stop?”
Of course, he didn’t know her at all, and would leave and forget about her forever.
“I am a sponsor.”
That’s why she called out to him as he was about to leave.
He seemed very surprised, perhaps because he had never thought there would be a young female sponsor. She put on the smile of a bored upper-class woman without difficulty.
“You’re a sponsor?”
“Yes.”
She had expected to meet him someday, but not like this.
She felt a strange, indescribable heat, but at the same time she was a mess and felt saddened by the confrontation with him.
Her drunken energy wrapped around her body, instilling her with unnecessary courage. With the increasingly slow time, the stimulation of her five senses became clear.
“And this is my room.”
Standing close, he was tall enough for her to look up at. Assuming her intentions for approaching him, he pulled away with a hardened expression.
“I’m sorry, but I already have a great supporter.”
‘Oh, did he finish his behind-the-scenes work in advance?’
She was faced with a different side of her sponsor student, whom she thought was only exemplary and sound. She generously supported him, and he was honored with a senior graduation in return.
Since talent-based recruitment was a trend in the world, he would have been contacted to work anywhere with this performance alone. So, what else did he need? What made him secretly look for his sponsor’s room?
That’s not why I got you into this academy.
She wanted to know.
Her rational thinking probably ended around that time.
Last night was extremely impulsive and instinctive.
If she was drunk enough to not remember, she would’ve shamelessly pretended to not know, but her mind was uselessly clear.
“Ha…”
A deep sigh came out again. It was impossible to distinguish whether her throbbing head was due to a hangover or the current situation. Feeling the impulse to cry, she pulled up the blanket and gently buried her face.
Can we turn this around? Can we make it happen? No, can we even meet face to face right now? Why the hell did she do something like that last night? She must be really crazy.
She couldn’t decide what to do, so she was lying on her back. Suddenly she felt movement next to her. She thought it was a sign that he had woken up. Perhaps he assumed she was still sleeping, but he got up quietly and began to dress.
There was only the faint sound of the rustling fabric, which revived the scene of last night in her mind. She gasped and tried to swallow but her mouth was dry.
Last night, he didn’t stop moving until his curly hair was damp.
She didn’t know when that tenacious gaze would fall from her face, but it was so intense that even while intoxicated, she did not dare to face him at all.
She couldn’t find a place to put her gaze, so she closed her eyes tightly. When she opened them and casually glanced his way, in that moment, his golden eyes darkened as if surrendering to his desires.
“Whoa…”
The heavily contorted forehead looked painful and angry. She stretched out her hand because she wanted to straighten that brow, but her wrist was grabbed instead.
The exhilarating sensation of him pressing her gripped wrists onto the bed and sucking hard on the back of her neck.
“Hmm!”
There was no conversation. He was busy moving like a beast; his breathing was unsteady. Perhaps her opponent was not as rational as she was.
His hard, muscular body was tireless and full of strength the whole time. Clivia was helplessly swayed by the relentless momentum of his hips.
Did she faint at the end?
In the end, she didn’t think she could recognize how the opponent touched her body. After waking up, she could only guess that he must have been very demanding, by the tingling of her core and the trembling of her thighs.
If she relaxed a little, she thought a pained sound would escape her mouth. Because of the throbbing below, it felt like there was still a thick pillar inside…
The rustling sound stopped shortly after. At the same time, her imagination was cut short.
Perhaps he was all dressed, but no sound was heard after that.
Has he already left?
If he did, it would be easy enough to pretend nothing happened and leave.
But just in case, she decided to pretend to be asleep.
She tried to swallow again but it felt like she was about to cough. It was fortunate that he pulled up the blanket first as soon as he opened his eyes to cover his face. It would be even better if it could disappear like this.
She held her breath forcibly holding back her cough, but the room was still silent. Did he leave and she just didn’t hear it? Just as she was about to pull down the blanket and take a closer look around her, she heard a deep voice near her.
“If you’re a sponsor, you’ll attend the dinner.”
Oh, he was closer than she thought.
“I’ll meet you at the dinner and formally greet you.”
The neat, low-pitched voice was exactly what she had been pondering on.
“I’ll go before it is too late. Rest.”
This time, she heard a weak sound of footsteps, the door opening and then closing. This time she was sure he was gone, but she remained stiff for a long time, only breathing quietly.
As her mind wandered, his words rang in her ears.
Tonight, dinner, greetings.
She kicked off the blanket and got up. There would have been a lot of chatter if any of her acquaintances saw her blushing face now, but fortunately she was the only one in the room.
Unsurprisingly, she scrambled about, cleaning the room with her own hands. Still, her thoughts were spinning faster than ever.
Firstly, the list of sponsors was not open to students. In addition, there were many patrons who didn’t attend the Sponsor’s Night the day before. Therefore, even if she was absent from the dinner afterwards, she would not be identified.
She left the hotel right away.