Five Minutes to Awakening
Thankfully, my body was in one piece. After parting ways with Ahn Param, I'd gone straight home and into the bathroom to scrub off a face and body caked in dust and soot.
The hair at the back of my head had stiffened with dried blood, but with no fresh bleeding and no dizziness, I decided a hospital trip could wait.
Thank goodness for that potion Noah gave me.
I never dreamed it would get used like this, but figuring the heavens were looking out for me, I tipped it into my mouth—and like magic, I could feel my body bouncing back. Thanks to that, I made it to work without incident.
After ushering every last arriving Dolphin Class child up into the building, I stepped onto the first floor and spotted a figure draped halfway off the long sofa-bed by the window.
As I drew closer, Yoo Jinchae—who had been slumped there like a zombie—registered my presence and turned her head toward me.
"What am I going to do...? It completely slipped my mind.... Was the Overnight Camp next week? Or no—was it this week? Oh no. Was it tomorrow? Should I just die right now...?"
Wearing an expression straight out of Munch's The Scream, she looked ready to sink down onto the hallway floor; I barely managed to stop her, patting her shoulder soothingly.
One little attempt to change the subject, and somebody nearly dies. She'd brought the camp up purely as a convenient excuse, never imagining for a second that she'd actually forgotten the event itself...
"It's two weeks away. You're fine. You can just prepare it with me. I mean, how were you supposed to handle all of that alone in the first place? The other teachers all promised to help too, so we'll be okay as long as we get moving."
And besides, if you died right now, everything would be left hanging, half-finished. There was already a mountain of work piled up. Every last pair of hands counted.
"Teacher..."
Looking just short of tears, Yoo Jinchae dabbed her eyes on the hem of my apron.
I did ditch her and run, after all. I owe her at least this much. For the next week or so I'd be glued to overtime, no way around it... but this, too, I would endure.
And so, as I comforted Jinchae and made my way toward the third floor, I could see the teachers emerging into the hallway one by one, like wild beasts creeping out of hiding.
"Ack! Teacher, do you happen to have a spare handkerchief? Munsu's come down with a cold, and I'm all out!"
I handed a flower-print handkerchief—one of the ones tucked into my apron out of pure habit—to Park Edeun, who had come tumbling out of the 4-year-old class.
"I've got more in my classroom. I'll bring some by later."
"Ooh~ ever the thoughtful one. Thanks!"
Second floor, same story. In front of the hallway bathroom, Kang Sagwa was locked in a wrestling match with a hair tie.
Looks like she's attempting an Elsa hairstyle off that kids' YouTuber I recommended. Even from behind, it was plain that things weren't going according to plan. I sidled up behind her and murmured,
"Twist it around to the back and..."
"...Like this?"
"Yes. Hold it there, and pin it down. Yes, yes, just like that."
"...Oh. It's done. Thank you."
"Your skills have really come a long way."
The third floor, if anything, was busier still—more, never less. Kwon Haeseong stood in front of the Seal Class, clutching his brand-new notebook with a seal drawn on the cover.
"Since it's such a hot day today... I've prepared indoor activities instead of outdoor ones..."
"Good choice. What kind of activities?"
Twenty minutes of briefing and feedback later, I could finally arrive at my own classroom—Dolphin Class.
Creeeak.
"Alright, everyone! Is anybody feeling sick today?"
I opened the door and asked in my extra-bright teacher voice, and the answers came booming back at once.
"No! Noah is healthy today!"
"I'm healthy too. Are you healthy, Teacher?"
"Lee Seora is healthy too!"
"Seora, you're healthy every single day."
"I don't have any ouchies today either!"
The same answer, delivered a dozen different ways. Watching them, I chuckled under my breath.
"Teacher, what are we doing today?"
"Today let's play aliens! Me and Seora are the aliens, and Nam Taejae and Seoro are human astronauts! And Baek Cheonji is the rich tycoon who invested lots and lots of money in the spaceflight!"
"No fair, I wanna be a tycoon too."
"Fine, you can both be tycoons. I'll be an astronaut with Taejae."
"Are we going to space? Then I wanna go to Mars. You can grow potatoes on Mars, you know. I know 'cause I watched a show about growing potatoes on Mars with Grandma."
"Whoa! Taejae, really? But can aliens eat potatoes too?"
"Yep!! Then what are you gonna be, Teacher? Should we let you play too?"
...It's pandemonium. Absolute pandemonium.
And yet, far from hating it, I loved it.
Yes. This is what peace looks like. I nodded to myself, thoroughly satisfied. Getting swept into dungeons, nearly ending up on the news, getting kidnapped... none of that was my everyday life.
"...Teacher, are you really gonna be Ttori? Ewww~ it so doesn't suit you."
"The Ttori at our house doesn't look like that."
"Then let's give the Ttori part to Teacher! He said he wants to do it."
"But didn't Seora say the puppy in her story was a girl?"
...Right. Playing the puppy in make-believe—this was my everyday life.
[ Want to become a dog? You have such weird tastes~ ]
Lately, Lee Seora had come to suspect that something was wrong with her body.
I'm cold. Her whole body shivered with a bone-deep chill, as if she'd stepped out of a bath straight into a blast of icy air conditioning.
"What is this?"
But it didn't hurt! Her hands and feet were just cold as ice, and she got so chilly at night that she had to burrow deep under her blanket—that was all. Sure, a runny nose had almost made an appearance once or twice, but...
I can't let Oppa find out. Her brother made such a fuss—acting like he'd keel over backward from shock—if she so much as coughed, so getting caught was absolutely not an option.
And besides, being healthy and strong was the only thing she was good at! Oppa and Seoro had both said so—that her health and energy were her very best qualities.
Try as she might to think it over, Seoro simply had more going for him than she did. He was smart, he got heaps of praise for how well he used his ability, he was calm and collected, and...
Anyway, he gets praised way more than me.
Back before Teacher Na Hwiyeon came, every single teacher had said the same things to her. Your voice is too loud. Stop running around. Sit still.
I love that Teacher Hwiyeon never says stuff like that. He told her every day that she gave good answers, that she ate all her food, and even that she was such a good kid—really!
But then Seora remembered the conversation her teacher and her brother had shared yesterday, just before she left the kindergarten for home.
"Did the children cause any trouble today as well?"
"They played well and ate well. And they're kids—trouble happens. All that matters is that they're healthy."
"Yes, of course... being healthy is the best, but..."
It had been the same then, too: healthy is best. Which meant that if she wanted to be the best, staying healthy was exactly what she had to do.
Which is why I am never, ever getting caught.
"...Not this again. Did you play water games at kindergarten today?"
Lee Seohyeok said this while shaking out Seora's backpack, and from inside the yellow bag a whole bowlful of water splashed onto the floor along with her supplies and assorted trash.
"No!"
They hadn't played any water games at kindergarten today. Her bag had sat in her cubby the whole time!
"But it was like this yesterday too. Why does your bag keep filling up with water? Seoro's bag never does this."
"Dunno?"
"Maybe the cubby's leaking... I'll have a word with your teacher."
After that, Seora gobbled up the dinner her brother had made, took her bath, and went to sleep.
And she dreamed.
In the dream, she was lying on a great big ship, sailing the ocean while munching on rice balls. The calm, gentle sea was peaceful—truly, perfectly peaceful.
Right up until the storm hit.
Clinging for dear life to the heaving ship, she endured three days and three nights, and when she finally managed to open her eyes...
It was morning.
"Whoa. It felt so real."
The ship had lurched and rolled beneath her, and everything had been damp and cold, exactly like a real sea. It had felt completely real.
The moment she hopped out of bed to tell Oppa and Seoro about this amazingly realistic dream, however, she finally noticed that her bed was soaked.
Huh? And it wasn't just the bed. Half the room, spreading out from the bed, was drenched in water.
Little Seora nearly jumped out of her skin.
What on earth is going on? She racked her seven-year-old brain for an answer, but nothing clear-cut was forthcoming. Then, at last, she landed on the explanation she decided was the most realistic and plausible one:
"Ahh! I must have sweated a whooole lot! Oopsie..."
To sweat this much—my, my, this summer really must be a scorcher. Hahaha.
"...But if I get caught, I'll be in trouble, huh."
Only after laughing it off did she realize this was no laughing matter. Something had gone wrong, even if she didn't know what. Oppa was going to scold her—what was she supposed to do?
But wait... it was just sweat. Was getting scolded over sweat even fair?
But Seoro will definitely say something! That I'm being sloppy again.
Her deliberations dragged on and on. Then, at the sound of Seohyeok calling from outside her door, her head snapped up.
"Seora, come out and eat breakfast. Oppa has to leave for work early today."
What do I do? What should I do? Wipe it up? But I don't have a towel?
"Seora! Are you still not up?"
At the end of her desperate deliberations, Seora finally dragged the blanket off her bed and carefully spread it over the watery disaster on the floor.
Flawless, right?
Then, with impressive composure, she answered her brother's call from beyond the door.
"I'm up! It's crazy hot today! I'll be right out!"
But even after that, the phenomenon of water appearing out of thin air—and her body running cold as an icebox—showed no sign of stopping. If anything, both the frequency and the severity only kept getting worse.
Something feels off.
For once, the past few days had been peaceful. Aside from scanning all four directions on my commute so as not to cross paths with Lee Gyeon, Team Leader of Field Team Ga, nothing in particular had demanded my attention.
Of course, the Overnight Camp preparations had me run off my feet, too. Things were so calm, in fact, that a modest little hobby had taken root: watching the evening news over a beer, covering the newly surfaced facts about the cult of fanatics I'd barely escaped—and how their prosecution was coming along...
But still... why does everything feel so off? Like I'd overlooked something important.
"So only the Shark Class, Seal Class, and Dolphin Class are doing the Overnight Camp?"
Park Edeun asked from his spot on the staff lounge sofa, sipping his coffee.
"Yes. It's been decided we'll run it for the 5-, 6-, and 7-year-old classes only."
"Ooh~ the big-kid classes really do get all the fun stuff."
Not a word of it was sincere. The man's clown act was about to punch straight through the ceiling.
"Then maybe your class could... join in too..."
ventured Kwon Haeseong, who had been quietly munching snacks beside him, looking hopefully at Edeun.
"S-sorry. I'd, um, rather just assist..."
"...What a shame."
The fact that he'd asked that in complete earnest was pure black comedy. I just shook my head quietly. Then again—how long had it been since work felt this leisurely?
"Seriously, I've been waiting for this day all month!"
"You're the only person alive who greets the once-a-month visiting instructors barefoot, Teacher Edeun~"
Even Yoo Jinchae, apparently, was in a good mood, her smile refusing to fade.
That's right—we'd handed the children over to the two outside instructors who visited once a month and stepped out for a break. To the first-floor staff lounge, specifically.
A magician, a professional storyteller, a children's art therapist... since they brought in specialists who could teach their fields far better than we could, the kids surely loved it. And we got to rest, so it was a win for us, too.
Today's class was origami, held in the annex audiovisual room. Edeun had been pacing around the entrance since lunch like a man waiting on[req_5e2d716c] [glm-5.3-flash] **Request exceeded 570s limit** - Your prompt took too long to process, likely due to a large context window or heavy reasoning required by the AI provider. How to fix: - **Send "continue"** to resume from where the model stopped (works for most timeouts). - **Start a new session/chat** to clear accumulated context and reset the timer. - Shorten your prompt or split it into smaller parts. - Avoid repeatedly retrying the exact same request to prevent continuous timeouts. **Billing:** - This request still counts as a request and is billed based on its input (minimum 1,000 prompt / 1,000 completion / 1,000 cached tokens). - Do not resend the same request — it will keep failing and keep consuming your quota. **Recommended tools:** - These responses are optimized for opencode, Claude Code, and Codex. - If you are using a non-standard client and keep hitting errors, switch to one of the supported tools above.