Chapter 215 |
“What? Why are you two the only ones here? Did No Eunha not come?”
“The captain said he’s tired and went to sleep.”
After dinner and finishing their baths, Eunhyuk and Parang, dressed casually, found their way to the first-floor multipurpose room in the girls’ dormitory.
Though they received suspicious glances from the security room due to the late hour, fortunately, Minji was there to welcome them, avoiding any further suspicion.
“Why is No Eunha acting like this?”
Minji sighed, clicking her tongue, and led the two to a table she had reserved in advance.
Sena and Hayang were already seated at a round table for about six people, all the girls dressed casually.
“Welcome.”
“Where’s Eunha? Isn’t he coming?”
Eunhyuk shrugged without a word, and Parang sat down with an uncomfortable expression.
Sena and Hayang could sense Eunha’s condition just by that.
“Is he still like that? What’s the matter? Not saying anything and feeling low?”
“Yeah, that’s right. No Eunha, that kid, told us not to do this and that until the entrance ceremony… What’s going on with him now?”
Parang grumbled in agreement with Sena’s lament.
It had been two days since the academy’s entrance ceremony.
For this week, the first-year academy students were learning general education subjects not much different from middle school, and starting next week, they were scheduled to begin academy-specific subjects.
Surely, a registration frenzy would erupt among academy students next Monday.
Therefore, they needed to roughly decide which subjects to prioritize, even though they were given priority points for their excellent grades upon entry.
“Don’t just use your points recklessly. Even though the points received this year won’t carry over to the next, they’ll be helpful in various aspects of academy life.”
Eunha had said that before the entrance ceremony.
He suggested prioritizing the essential subjects with the minimum necessary points and using the rest elsewhere, such as reserving training grounds, borrowing weapons, using workshops, and more.
So, the kids had planned to work on their schedules together.
“What’s going on? He didn’t say anything to us…”
Hayang murmured with a worried tone.
Ironically, even though Eunha had suggested making schedules together, he hadn’t shown up.
Since the entrance ceremony, something seemed off.
As if his mind was floating away.
…As if he wasn’t here.
That was the feeling.
Lately, trying to talk to him felt like reaching for an unreachable cliff.
Other kids felt the same way.
Even if Eunha said he was okay, they knew he wasn’t.
But since he didn’t speak, all they could do was silently observe.
“Did you see it too? During the inauguration preparation.”
“Yeah, no way I wouldn’t have seen it. I even forgot what they were saying and got a serious scolding from the instructor…”
They couldn’t focus on making their schedules.
Minji, who had been continuously clicking her pen’s button, brought up what had happened this morning.
And then, Jin Parang, leaning against the chair’s backrest, replied with an annoyed tone.
There was an inauguration ceremony this morning.
Eunha had simply stood quietly at the ceremony that declared his determination to become a proper player.
Although he was supposed to recite the oath as the top-ranked student upon entry.
Eventually, he had to face the instructor’s wrath.
How much the other students laughed at him for entering at the bottom rank.
Just thinking about it got Parang fired up.
“That kid’s really out of his mind.”
“Enough, Parang. Let’s stop talking about No Eunha. He’ll come to his senses on his own. Let’s focus on what we need to do.”
“…Could that really be it?”
“Hayang, you know too. The most useless thing in this world is worrying about him. Enough, let’s schedule our classes.”
Minji couldn’t hide her irritation while saying so.
She felt frustrated because she didn’t know what to do since Eunha wasn’t speaking up.
That’s how their conversation fizzled out.
While the kids discussed and planned their schedules together, their minds were elsewhere.
“This class was great, as Euna unnie said.”
“‘Martial Arts I’? Does anyone know about it?”
“I heard Chang-jin’s brother said it was super boring. The instructor is strict, making it hard to get good grades.”
“Oh, I know about this one. ‘Mythology and Folklore.’ Yeon-hwa unnie said it helps boost imagination.”
“Huh? But Euna unnie said she dropped it because of too many assignments…”
“””””…….”””””
All the information the kids gathered came from people they knew.
There was no use discussing further.
From the start, they hadn’t joined the academy to take fun and easy classes for grades. They enrolled to enhance what they needed.
That’s why they aimed for the top ranks in the entrance exams.
At times like this, if Eunha were here…
Why did No Eunha suddenly…
Silence fell.
The kids, quietly looking at their schedules, shared similar thoughts.
If Eunha were here…
If he was there to guide their path, they wouldn’t be lost like this.
Overall, the atmosphere wasn’t cheerful.
Just because one person wasn’t there.
“We can’t leave it like this.”
Hayang, who couldn’t bear the silence anymore, spoke up.
Putting down the pen she held, she looked around at the kids and spoke.
“We all joined the academy together, but we can’t be down like this, can we? Even Eunha is acting weird.”
“So?”
Sena raised an eyebrow.
Hayang fell silent for a moment, lost in thought. Then, as if she had a good idea, she clapped her hands.
“Come to think of it, we never had a proper celebration after coming to the academy! How about we throw a party?”
“A party? What kind of party?”
“…I agree. After hearing Hayang, it makes sense. We’ve worked so hard to get into the academy, we should enjoy it a bit.”
“Right! I agree too! The captain might forget about feeling down if we have a lively party!”
“But how do we get Eunha to join? He might be holed up in the dormitory right now.”
“It’s okay. I have a good plan.”
Hayang, lowering her voice, gestured for the kids to come closer.
As it was a multipurpose room, they had to be mindful of others around.
She spoke in a hushed tone when her friends leaned in over the circular table.
“We just need to kidnap Eunha.”
~ * ~
“Come to think of it, I didn’t know much about Yi Yoo-jung.
She always approached, and he always waited for her to approach.
“Haven’t had dinner yet? It’s boring, let’s eat together.”
“What’s up with your clothes? Not happening. Today, cancel all your plans and come with me to check out clothes!”
Their relationship began at the academy.
He could boast of knowing her better than anyone else.
Really?
Now, he wasn’t sure anymore.
Looking back, he didn’t know what kind of life she lived before entering the academy.
At that time, he didn’t care about others.
If he showed interest hastily, he felt he might end up attached to this world.
So, he deliberately kept his distance.
He didn’t ask about her background before entering the academy or why she became a player.
Is she really not in this world?
Is it because the future changed?
I don’t know.
I prefer to believe it’s the latter.
He wanted to dream that she was somewhere safe in this world.
In a world devoid of dreams and hope.
…
He couldn’t sleep.
Restless on the bed, Eunha got annoyed with the moonlight coming in through the window and angrily pulled the curtains shut.
“…I want to drink.”
Sitting on the floor, leaning halfway on the bed, he sighed deeply.
If he had alcohol, he’d gulp it down.
Maybe he could down a bottle of soju right now.
It was just sad that his body wasn’t of legal drinking age yet.
What happened…?
I messed up from the beginning.
I messed up from the start.
That phrase was right on point.
While planning for what might happen in the future at the academy, he had planned to involve Yu Jeong right from the start.
With abilities surpassing ‘Saint’ Park Hye-rim, she was undoubtedly an essential talent.
But it went wrong from the start.
Not only did his heart grow troubled, but he couldn’t muster the strength to act.
Yi Yoo-jung, she was one of the people he pledged to change the future.
…Everything’s annoying.
Just irritation.
Today, he felt a desire to rebel against the instructors trying to motivate them.
But the reason he didn’t was because he knew he had messed up and couldn’t blame others.
Although he wished to control his temper as in his past life.
Rustle, rustle.
Then it happened.
He heard a loud rustling of the trees.
He sighed at the sound of the wind shaking the branches, already restless from lack of sleep.
But the sound didn’t stop there.
Tock.
Something hit the window.
Initially, he thought it was something carried by the wind hitting the window.
But it wasn’t.
Knock, knock.
Now, it was a continuous knocking on the door.
“…Who on earth is it?”
It was an occasional occurrence at the academy.
Students living at the academy would play pranks out of boredom.
Should he go out and scold them or ignore them?
After a moment’s hesitation, Eunha decided to leave it be.
If he didn’t react, they might lose interest and disappear.
“Knock, knock.”
Truly idle people indeed.
Now, they were actually knocking on the door with their mouths.
It was unbelievable, so Eunha decided to check the face of the person standing on the veranda himself.
He felt terrible.
He would make them pay for this.
“…”
Grabbing the curtain harshly, Eunha was taken aback by the person standing on the veranda.
With one hand holding the curtain, he looked down at the girl, smiling brightly.
“Ha.”
Jung Hayang didn’t even bother sighing and continued to smile even as he sighed.
He waited for her to open the door.
“Knock, knock. Please open the door.”
He had no intention of dealing with her.
He wanted to throw her out of the balcony, but for now, he endured because it was her.
She must have known that, yet she stood there without giving up.
“Knock, knock. Noh Eunha, second place in the Player Middle School Academy entrance exam? Please open the door.”
“…”
“If you don’t open, I might break this door?”
“…What? Why are you here?”
He reluctantly opened the window.
Her mana was expressing that she wasn’t lying.
“Finally opened.”
Hayang took off her slippers and entered the room without permission.
Tying her hair with a ribbon, she looked around the room.
“There’s nothing in the room. Ah, I see. Is this brought by Un-ah unnie?”
Hayang must have known Eunha’s mood.
Yet, pretending not to know, she chattered while examining the well-equipped room.
“Girls are not allowed here. Go back to your dorm before the dorm supervisor catches you.”
He noticed the smell of soap as she passed by. Had she just taken a bath?
He tried to speak as casually as possible, despite her revealing female figure.
“Ugh, no.”
Hayang responded without fear, hiding her hands behind her back and slowly approaching with bare feet.
Her round eyes were focused solely on him.
“Why on earth are you here?”
She seemed unfamiliar.
He thought she wouldn’t be someone who would recklessly do something like this.
But it wasn’t like that.
She was cautious by nature.
Yet, here she was, at the male dormitory late at night without hesitation, even making threats so blatantly.
“Don’t strain your face too much.”
Now Hayang was using her fingers to stroke her cheek.
Eunha’s irritation vanished, replaced with utter bewilderment at what was happening. Why was she acting like this today?
He blinked, wondering if she had eaten something weird.
Then…
“…You finally noticed me?”
Meeting her eyes, he smiled as if she were happy. Her eyes shimmered with the moonlight.
“Time…”
“Even if there’s no time, you have to come with me.”
As if refusing any opposition, Hayang interrupted him.
“Are you angry?”
Eunha sighed.
He hadn’t been angry for a long time.
He asked, facing the wind blowing from the veranda.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a secret.”
What did she have in mind?
He looked at her, with her index finger resting on her lips.
Sure, fine.
I’ll do as you say.
He nodded silently.
Then she suddenly grabbed his hand.
“From now on, I’ll kidnap Eunha.”
“Where is there a kidnapper who openly declares that they’ll kidnap someone?”
“Hey, right here.”
Leading him to the veranda, Hayang, looking surprised, walked through the room and took out his shoes from the shoe cabinet.
Eunha silently put on the shoes she offered with a mischievous grin.
She held his hand and led him.
“Let’s… have a party.”
It was a sweet reverberation.
The two of them leaped off the veranda.
TLN – Long chapters are LONG~ Anyway, we have a donation from “Joel”! Thanks to them we have 3 bonus chapters this week. I want to push them out in one day but I’m going to be honest, that’s a lot to do in one night. So expect at least one more today and 2 more over the course of the week at some point. Maybe even tomorrow. If you want to help push out more chapters, or read stuff in advance, join us at Ko-fi!