Mystery Udon Girl

"Could I see your student ID?"

"...Pardon?"

Lea blinked vacantly. Student ID. The words were so ordinary, so matter-of-fact, that her mind blanked out for a second.

Kim Suhyun watched Lea quietly.

"Student ID."

Her voice was calm. She spoke gently, but not in a way that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠assumed refusal. It was a simple request to verify.

Lea's fingers tightened around the udon bag.

"Uh... I don't have one."

A brief silence.

Suhyun's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. The middle-aged man standing behind her stared at Lea wordlessly too.

"You don't have one?"

"Yeah..."

"Lost it?"

"No. I... never had one to begin with."

Suhyun didn't press her immediately upon hearing that. Instead, she paused a beat, then asked in an even softer tone.

"So you're not one of our university students, then?"

"...Right."

Lea nodded honestly. She briefly considered bolting. But that would probably blow things way out of proportion.

More than that, though—

Her udon would get cold. That was a dealbreaker.

Sure, she could just order more if it cooled off... but if she ran now, where the hell would she even get delivery from next time?

Why did I keep ordering from the same damn place...

A swirl of brief regret spun through Lea's head, but there was no helping it now.

Suhyun studied Lea's face for a moment. Frozen expression. Shoulders hunched like a scared little rabbit. And yet, her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hands still clutched the udon bag tight.

...What the heck?

Suhyun felt a subtle sense of wrongness deep down. A being with mana so overwhelming it could choke you just by being nearby... and right now, she looked like some lost kid, scared and alone.

The university president standing right behind her was an awakener too, even if his mana reserves were low. But he didn't seem to notice anything off about the girl.

Only Suhyun had sensed it.

That crushing pressure from her immense mana. The heavy air that still pulsed faintly now and then.

...Feels like cognitive dissonance kicking in.

It didn't make sense. But she had to confirm first.

"If you're not a student, why do you keep hanging around the dorms?"

"Ah... well..."

Lea's lips twitched. I have a place to live. But explaining where was impossible. And saying "for deliveries" just sounded stupid.

...Even though it was the truth.

"It's just..."

"You can speak freely."

Suhyun lowered her voice a touch. College kids lacked real-world experience, after all. She'd learned from dealing with students that pushing too hard just made them clam up.

"We're not gonna kick you out right away or anything. We just need to check some things."

At that, Lea glanced at the middle-aged man. He looked intimidating as hell. Scary for real.

Why do they have a guy like that working student affairs...

It wasn't exactly befitting a world-topping powerhouse to cower at a mere scowl, but that's what Lea was doing.

"Hoo..."

Letting out a tiny breath, Lea finally forced the words out.

"...To pick up deliveries."

"...What?"

Suhyun's eyebrow twitched up just a fraction.

Lea, embarrassed for herself, dropped her gaze to the floor.

"I can't get delivery to where I'm staying."

"....."

This time, Suhyun was the one at a loss for words. It was such an out-of-left-field answer.

But weirdly, it didn't sound like a lie. If anything, the blunt honesty made it more bizarre.

"Ahem."

The man behind her cleared his throat awkwardly.

Suhyun struggled to keep her expression neutral and asked again.

"So... you have somewhere else to stay?"

Lea couldn't answer right away this time. She did. An amazing, comfy, awesome place. But saying so would cause ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way bigger problems.

So after hemming and hawing forever, she gave a vague reply.

"...I do, kinda."

"Kinda?"

"Hard to explain..."

Suhyun's gaze shifted.

Is she homeless?

It was a total misread, but in this situation, not jumping to that conclusion would be weirder.

Lea, oblivious to the change, kept staring at her udon bag.

...When can I eat this...

Her mind was all udon, nothing else.

Whether she sensed Lea's thoughts or not, Suhyun cautiously asked the next question.

"What about your parents?"

Lea froze.

That single word stuck in her chest oddly. Parents. She hadn't had any in her past life. And now? Did God count?

No, that was too iffy to call parenting. Explaining it at all was impossible.

In the end, Lea murmured softly.

"...Don't... have any."

Suhyun's fingertips stiffened faintly.

"Any other family?"

"...Yeah."

"..."

Short answers. No room to dig deeper.

Suhyun looked at the girl again. No student ID. Not affiliated with the school. Lingering near the dorms. Unknown residence. No guardians.

And that absurdly massive mana, unregistered as far as she knew.

No way...

The pieces started clicking in Suhyun's mind. Awakened without guardians or registration? She could be a kid scraping by, hiding in the crowds with nowhere to turn.

Using the dorms as a delivery spot made sense that way. Barely getting by like that...

But mana on this scale? Unheard of.

"...How long ago did you awaken?"

Lea blinked. What to even say? She couldn't pinpoint it exactly. Too long ago would sound fishy. Too recent, same issue.

"...Not long."

Vague and hazy. But enough for Suhyun.

Recent awakening. Unregistered. No guardians. No clear home.

This girl wasn't some dangerous intruder—she might be someone who'd fallen through the cracks of the system entirely.

The moment that thought hit, Suhyun's voice softened even more.

"Hungry?"

"...Huh?"

Lea looked dumbfounded.

Suhyun glanced down. Lea was still hugging her udon bag.

"Uh... yeah, kinda hungry."

The faint warmth from the bag—kept hot to avoid cooling—wafted up.

"Udon."

"Ah."

"It's gonna get cold."

Only then did Lea's face fall a bit. No, not that. Cold udon lost so much flavor. That'd be truly tragic.

"Oh, yeah it is."

Watching her, Suhyun felt an odd twinge of discomfort in her chest.

Without realizing, Suhyun let out a tiny sigh-laced chuckle.

"Let's head inside first."

"...Where?"

"Student affairs counseling room."

"Uh..."

Lea's face went pale again. Counseling room. Sounded scary. Super scary. Like a place for people who'd done something wrong.

"It's fine. We'll just sit and talk."

Suhyun turned and started walking. Lea stared at her back, clutching her udon.

Run? Nah, that'd make it worse.

And...

...They might let me eat it.

That thought sealed half the deal already.

Lea took a cautious step forward.

"Um..."

Suhyun turned.

After hesitating forever, Lea asked with dead-serious eyes.

"Can't I eat while we talk?"

"......"

The president behind her finally looked away.

Suhyun closed her eyes briefly, then opened them.

And thought, ...What is with this kid?

Yet somehow, her wariness had eased a notch.