Swallowing the Tears of Heliwood

Cha Jiyun walked over and smoothly took the seat beside me.

"...Um."

I turned to look at her.

".....I'll be waiting for you after class."

"Got it."

Scrape—

The teacher soon entered the classroom.

"Hello, everyone. First time meeting you all, isn't it? I'm Yulji, and I'll be in charge of your theory classes."

Yulji scanned the students with a bright, cheerful smile.

"I came into this class today with incredibly high expectations. After all, there's a student here who ranked first in the theory section of the entrance exam."

Yulji turned her gaze toward Jeong Hanna.

She smiled warmly.

"Whoa, seriously? She was first in theory?"

"She's the freshman class president and tops the school in academics too? Isn't she the definition of perfect?"

"Honestly, that's just unfair, isn't it?"

"Of course, we also have a student who placed dead last in theory across the entire school."

She shot a glare in my direction.

"Puhaha. Exactly what you'd expect from the bottom of the entrance rankings."

"Right? Heh heh."

"There's actually a class that has both the top and bottom students in the whole school?"

The students' mocking laughter reached all the way to my ears.

Tap— Tap—

Yulji began writing a complex-looking formula on the blackboard.

∮ f(x)dx + ∬g(x)dx - ∂16367…. =?

Note: f(x) is a sixth-degree function, and its minimum value is greater than zero.

No matter how I looked at it, the fact that this wasn't an alien language was the truly surprising part.

"Hanna, would you come up and solve this for us?"

"Yes. I understand."

She stood in front of the blackboard and faced the class.

She turned back around, stepped forward as if it were the easiest thing in the world, and began writing out formulas I couldn't even begin to comprehend.

"I've finished."

The teacher looked at the board and clapped.

"A perfect model answer. Everyone, take a good look and use it as reference."

"....."

"Just so you know, if your theory score falls below the passing standard on the final exam, you'll be held back immediately. You're all aware of that, yes?"

She said ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this while staring directly at me.

Sigh... I'd have to unlock that particular trait of Nam Doyun's before the final exams.

Only then could I avoid repeating the year and get through it safely.

****

After school.

I climbed into the luxury car parked in front of the main gate.

Cha Jiyun was waiting inside.

She looked at me and said,

"...You've arrived."

"Yes."

"What is it you desire?"

"I need the 'Tears of Heliwood.'"

She nodded.

"...Will that be sufficient?"

"Yes. That alone will be enough."

"...Understood."

True to form, her expression remained completely impassive.

"Driver ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kim."

"Yes?"

"Please head to the jewelry store immediately."

"Yes. Understood."

Vroom—

The car pulled away.

She kept stealing sideways glances at me.

It was as if she had something she wanted to say.

"Is there something on your mind?"

"...Ah... well..."

She struggled to get the words out.

"It's fine. Go ahead."

"May I ask how you obtained ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that information?"

There was no way I could answer this.

How could I possibly explain it?

That I knew because I'd played the game countless times before possessing this character?

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that."

"...No, it's me who should apologize for asking something so unnecessary."

After that, the atmosphere in the car grew a little chilly.

A short while later, the car stopped in front of the jewelry store.

"Mr. Doyun, please go in first. I need to speak with the driver for a moment."

"Yes. Understood."

I walked toward the jewelry store with heavy steps.

Jingle—

Jingle—

"Welcome."

The clerks greeted me.

They instantly scanned me from head to toe.

It felt like they were checking whether I had any money on me.

"I'd like to look at some jewels."

"....."

The clerks didn't respond.

As I tried to step inside,

"Excuse me."

An older woman who appeared to be a clerk called out to me.

"Yes?"

She looked me up and down.

Then, in a voice full of certainty, as if she'd already sized me up, she said,

"You look like a young student. You're just here to browse, aren't you?"

She started speaking casually and disrespectfully right from the start.

"....?"

"We don't have time to deal with penniless students like you. So why don't you just turn around and leave the way you came in?"

"....."

I was so stunned I couldn't even find the words to respond.

Jingle—

Jingle—

The door opened again as someone else entered.

The clerks, who had been looking at me with open contempt, immediately shifted their attention to the new customer.

"!!!"

Their eyes widened as they stared at the newcomer.

"VIP customer, welcome."

The clerks bowed deeply toward the young-looking woman.

"...Yes."

She gave a small nod in return.

"...More importantly, this person here."

Cha Jiyun looked at me.

"Why were you standing at the entrance unable to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enter the store?"

She must have watched the entire situation through the window.

"If I may ask, what is your relationship...?"

"He is my companion."

"Ah..."

The clerks let out soft gasps of dismay.

Jingle—

Jingle—

At that moment, the door opened once more.

"Miss Cha Jiyun! I heard you had arrived and came running right away."

"...Ah, yes."

The middle-aged man's name tag read 'Manager.'

"Did... something inconvenience you?"

The manager spoke with clear tension in his voice.

"...It's nothing major, but my companion was prevented from entering by that employee over there."

Cha Jiyun glanced at the woman who had blocked me earlier.

"Ah..."

The manager sighed and turned to the employee.

She was sweating profusely, completely at a loss.

"I'm so sorry. This is my failure for not training her properly. I apologize deeply."

The manager kept bowing repeatedly.

He then looked at me.

Only now did he seem to understand why the employee had refused me entry, and he nodded.

The manager strode right up to the woman.

"Manager?"

He ripped the name tag off her uniform.

"You are fired effective immediately. Haven't I told you over and over not to judge people by their appearance?"

"...Ah..."

Her face went completely blank with shock.

****

After obtaining what I wanted from the jewelry store, we left.

"Thank you for today."

I bowed politely.

"...Not at all. If anything, I'm the one who should thank you. By the way."

She quietly studied my clothes.

"...People like that tend to judge others based on what they're wearing. They act as though working at a luxury shop somehow makes them luxury items themselves."

She seemed troubled by the earlier incident.

"...While you were inside the jewelry store, I had Driver Kim pick up some clothes from a nearby department store."

She handed me a bag.

"No, you really don't have to do this."

I tried to refuse firmly.

"...Please accept them. To be honest, I felt the jewel alone wasn't enough payment for the information you provided."

"..."

"They're not even that expensive. I only chose affordable pieces."

"In that case, thank you. I'll accept them gratefully."

"Then we'll head to the dormitory?"

"Yes."

****

"Whew."

I returned to my dorm room.

I opened the bag she had given me.

It contained quite a few clothes.

There were simple shirts, outerwear, jeans—pretty much everything.

Money had been so tight that even buying clothes felt like a burden, so this was perfect timing.

I couldn't exactly show up to next week's field trip in my school uniform.

I picked up one of the garments to remove the tag.

That's when I accidentally noticed the price tag on the back.

"....?"

My eyes widened.

What? Had I read it wrong?

I rubbed my eyes and looked again.

It was correct.

One shirt cost two million won.

Then what about this outerwear?

The jacket was four million won.

I had accepted them without hesitation because she'd said they were cheap...

Did this count as cheap in her eyes?

Understanding the economic perspective of a conglomerate heiress was proving rather difficult.

"Well. Let's set that aside for now."

I looked at the Tears of Heliwood I had purchased at the jewelry store.

The brilliant green gem sparkled with an ethereal light.

I knew exactly how to use this jewel to unseal one of Nam Doyun's locked skills.

"...Ugh."

But I was hesitant.

Because I had to swallow the gem whole.

It was about the size of a five-hundred-won coin.

"Let's just close my eyes and do it."

I pushed the gem into my mouth.

The intense foreign sensation made me feel like I would throw up at any second.

Still, I somehow managed to swallow it.

Immediately afterward, my stomach began to churn violently.

"Ugh."

I writhed in agony.

"Fuck. Did I do it wrong?"

I struggled through the pain for what felt like forever.

Roughly thirty minutes passed.

At that point, the pain suddenly vanished.

A tremendous surge of vitality flooded every inch of my body.