A Normal High School Youth Story (1)
As for the first wish...
When Jinny heard my words, she dropped her usual playful attitude and put on a deliberately solemn expression.
The girl who looked like she could work miracles at any second answered shortly and decisively.
"No."
"Huh? Why?"
Jinny's ability was clearly about granting three wishes. When I'd first asked her about them, I'd told her we needed to raise the mana precision of my butt.
...Come to think of it, that conversation had happened in our bathroom too.
"You were the one who said you'd grant three wishes."
To my flustered question, Jinny sat cross-legged in the air and wiggled a finger.
"Listen carefully. The moment I grant your first wish...!"
"The moment...?"
Jinny curled both hands into circles, waved them through the air a few times, then made a gesture like something exploding.
"The suppressor on the powers sleeping inside me gets released."
"That means the mass of mana that'll pour into your butt will be on a completely different scale from what you're handling now."
Ugh. Just imagining it made my butt feel strangely sore.
"With your current clumsy mana control, you wouldn't be able to withstand the recoil. Your body would explode."
Jinny continued her explanation with a serious face.
"The lamp fairy must grant the owner's wish if it's possible to fulfill it."
The lamp fairy had to carry out the owner's wishes. An absolute contract like that was in effect.
But it seemed there was one ironclad rule.
"You can't grant wishes that threaten the user's life. Something like that?"
"Exactly."
Jinny nodded.
"Even if it means using all my mana and every ounce of my power, no matter what method I have to use..."
She spun once in the air and corrected her posture.
"If it's a wish the owner made that I can fulfill, I must grant it."
As she spoke, she brought her index finger right up to the tip of my nose.
"You're still not qualified. It would be a problem for me if I forced the wish through and you died."
"Ah... I see...?"
The disappointment must have been obvious on my face, because Jinny floated closer and gave my head a light poke.
"Don't make that kind of face."
She turned her head to look somewhere else and spoke in an indifferent tone.
"It's true that your skills have been improving by leaps and bounds lately."
Her arms were firmly crossed over her chest.
"At this pace, you'll soon be able to endure the first suppressor."
Jinny didn't meet my eyes as she spoke.
"Make your wish then."
But I understood what she was really trying to say.
"Thanks."
"Hmph, obviously."
Jinny snorted.
"Until you're strong enough to handle the power of an Original spirit like me, keep working hard!"
It was true. Compared to when I'd first met Jinny, I could now handle the mana inside my butt with a little more skill.
The days had been chaotic, but the repeated training and brutal real battles had made me stronger.
"I'll think about what wish I'll make when the time comes."
At my words, Jinny turned her head just enough to let out a small chuckle.
That was when it happened.
"Gangjin! Who are you talking to on the phone for so long in the bathroom? The water's getting cold!"
Slide―.
The door suddenly opened.
Me, soaking in the bathtub. Golden Jinny floating above my head. And Mom's eyes meeting both of us head-on.
"...Oh my?"
Mom stared blankly at Jinny, then quietly closed the door without screaming.
One second later, I heard loud footsteps running toward the living room.
"Honey! Honey!! Our Gangjin, you know...!"
"Ah, Mom, it's not what you think...!"
A little while later in the living room.
The table was piled high with peeled fruit, and right in the middle sat Jinny in an extremely arrogant pose, stabbing apples with a fork and eating them.
"So this golden doll-like friend is the spirit living in our son's butt?"
Dad adjusted his glasses and asked with open curiosity.
I broke out in a cold sweat but told them everything—how Jinny had come to reside in my butt and all the things I'd experienced since. I left out the Plague Doctor story that might worry them.
After listening, both my parents clapped and cheered.
"Oh my goodness! An Original spirit in his butt!"
"As expected, our son was born with an extraordinary butt. This is truly a blessing!"
What do you mean by extraordinary butt, Dad?
Mom already seemed completely taken with Jinny. She gave her another piece of fruit and whispered affectionately.
"Your name is Jinhee, right? What a pretty name. Jinhee, have some more apples."
"Mom, it's not Jinhee, it's Jinny. The lamp fairy from Aladdin...!"
"Oh yes, Jinhee!"
I tried several times to correct her, but Mom didn't seem to hear me at all.
"Jinhee? Oh! Auntie, I like this name!"
Jinhee... no, Jinny seemed to enjoy Mom's friendly energy and smiled brightly.
"To think such a pretty child is Gangjin's spirit...! It's like we've gained a daughter!"
Dad seemed to like the pretty and lively Jinny too.
"Right? Gangjin! You have to get along well with Jinhee!"
"She's a spirit bound to my body. There's no way we'd fight."
Watching my parents and a spirit laughing and chatting together at one table, I let out a small laugh.
Yeah. So what if it's a butt?
As long as we could be this happy, that was enough.
This seemed like a pretty normal life for a butt awakener.
The next morning on the way to school.
Mom came out to the front gate to see me off, waving not just at me but at my butt as well.
"Have a good day, my son! And our Jinhee too! Take good care of our Gangjin!"
"Don't worry, Auntie! This body will stick right by his side!"
Jinny answered with only her head poking out from inside my butt.
Mom tried to cover her laughter with her hand, clearly amused by the sight.
I had to feel strangely embarrassed from the very start of the morning.
I walked the familiar road to school, took the bus, and arrived at the classroom.
Everyone was as noisy as usual.
During first-period morning assembly, our homeroom teacher Song Hyoju stood at the lectern with a mysterious smile.
"All right, the results for this midterm theory exam are out."
The class cheered at her words.
Since it was our first test as high school students, they were clearly curious about their scores.
"The person with the highest score treats everyone to drinks and snacks at the PC bang, right?"
"Yeah, good work. You brought plenty of money, didn't you?"
My classmates in the front seats bantered back and forth as if they'd bet on the results.
"As you all know, this test had many variables, but our class produced a truly surprising result."
The teacher's gaze settled on me.
"Baek Gangjin. Second place in our class with a B-type test paper."
The classroom fell silent for a moment, then erupted in explosive cheers.
"Whoa! Crazy! Second place with a B-type?"
"Gangjin, you really are S-class! Strong mana and a good brain too?"
"Total alpha male!"
Everyone stayed in their seats, looking at me and throwing out comments one after another.
"Ahaha..."
It was embarrassing, but the feeling was incredible.
It felt like proof that my desperate studying the night before and the mana formulas I'd learned while dancing on the edge of death hadn't been wasted.
Then came the announcement for first place.
"First place is, as expected, our vice president! Bora."
The teacher looked at Bora with a warm smile.
"Bora also took first place in the entire freshman year among A-type test takers."
First in the whole grade.
The first-years cheered as if impressed.
"Wow, that's insane."
"The quiet ones really are good at studying."
"Vice president is amazing!"
The teacher clapped for Bora as if to organize the chaotic cheers.
"Everyone, let's give a round of applause to Bora for her hard work!"
Watching Bora calmly stand and accept the applause, I thought to myself.
The student council supplementary member Dohee senior mentioned... Wouldn't Bora be perfect?
It seemed the student council's 'Q' position was meant for a healer-type awakener.
That made sense. Real missions for the student council would inevitably involve fighting residues, and injuries would definitely occur.
The role of 'Q' in providing medical support and solidifying their position seemed crucial.
I'd already been healed by Sua senior twice.
The third-year Q senior whose name I'd only heard in the group chat was probably a healer too.
Bora's treatment felt good too...
I recalled the sensation of being healed by Bora's mana needles.
Yeah. I should recommend her.
I decided to talk to Chaeyeon and the other seniors about Bora. If the student council seniors all agreed, then I'd ask for Bora's own opinion.
After finishing lunch, I headed to the snack bar with Deokgu.
Deokgu rummaged through his pockets, then looked at me with an "oops" expression.
"Gangjin, my wallet..."
"It's fine, Deokgu. I'll buy."
Deokgu's face brightened.
"Dude, Baek Gangjin! You're seriously the best friend ever!"
He clung to my arm and rubbed his face against it.
"All right, all right. You're getting the sausage bread, right?"
Deokgu looked like a big dog waiting for a treat. Not in a bad way, of course.
"You're going to the student council room again?"
"Yeah, I have some business today."
I handed Deokgu a big stack of his favorite bread and we parted at the fork in the hallway.
Going to the student council room today wasn't just for resting like usual.
There was the matter of recommending Bora, and I'd received a message from Dohee senior asking for a detailed account of the battle with the Plague Doctor.
"Still, it feels like I'm getting one step closer to a real youth story."
It was a little chaotic, and there had been painful real battles, but the midterms, my classmates, getting closer to Chaeyeon and the student council seniors...
Isn't this a perfect high school youth story?
I looked forward to how my fun and happy school life would continue from here.
Oh right, the battle with the Plague Doctor...
Before anything else, the important thing was the battle record with the Plague Doctor that Dohee senior would use as tracking data for the Hunters.
I organized my thoughts on how to explain it as I opened the door to the student council room.
"Hello..."
BOOOOM―!
A tremendous crash rang out as dust poured from the gap in the door.
The scene before me was devastatingly chaotic.
One entire wall of the student council room had a massive hole punched through it. Even though the broken wall left the outside completely visible, Taeo senior and an unfamiliar female senior ignored it completely. They faced each other as if ready to grab one another, radiating mana.
"...Huh?"
Even at my flustered voice, the deadly clash of their mana showed no sign of stopping.
In front of me, Dohee senior sat on the sofa calmly sipping black tea. Beside her on the same sofa—well, a little apart—sat Gangcheol senior in a relaxed position.
Bang!
Kwaaang!!
"Oh, you're here, Butt?"
Even in the middle of the chaos, Gangcheol senior gave me a relaxed smile.
"Wh... what is all this?"
I couldn't process the absurd situation in front of me, but the other student council seniors watched the fight with calm expressions, as if this were completely normal.
"It's youth."
Youth?
The definition of the 'perfect high school youth story' I'd been thinking about right before opening the door was being rewritten.
Even though the student council room wall had collapsed and the place was a mess, Dohee senior and the others didn't seem to care at all.
Meanwhile, the fight between Taeo and the others continued.
"Hey Jeong Taeo, you said it was a mock battle... but you got pretty immersed, huh?"
The blonde female senior dusted off her hands and walked out of the cloud of dust.
"You don't hold back even against a girl?"
"I have three things to say."
Taeo senior took two steps back.
"First. I hit girls too."
Taeo senior adjusted the mana-forged dagger in his grip.
"Second. You were the one who broke the wall."
The aftermath of released mana still lingered on the blonde senior's body.
Taeo senior glanced at the open view beyond the gaping hole and continued.
"You shouldn't break the walls of the student council room."
That was true. No matter if it was a mock battle, you shouldn't destroy school property.
Jeong Taeo senior was still operating within common sense.
"It's cold. The wind's coming in."
Never mind.
Farewell, my perfect high school youth story.
The student council seniors' way of thinking was beyond my understanding.
"Third, I'm already holding back."
Taeo senior continued with a stoic expression.
"Against a girl who looks like an elementary student, I'm not going all out."
Crack.
It felt like the sound of someone touching a reverse scale.
"Ah... is that so?"
'Song Iseo.'
She was clearly the second-year Joker senior we'd agreed to join for the residue extermination operation.
Red mana slowly gathered and condensed around her fist.
"You're getting your ass kicked by an elementary-school-looking kid today."
I called out to Dohee senior, who was still comfortably seated on the sofa drinking her tea.
"Senior...! Shouldn't we stop them?"
The pillar of the student council. The leader.
Dohee senior had never done anything beyond common sense before. She was the most normal person in the student council as far as I knew.
Senior turned her head toward me, read my urgent expression, and nodded.
"Yeah!"
She turned back to the two of them and shouted brightly.
"Everyone! Make sure you fight safely without getting hurt!"
With Dohee senior's cheerful final cry, the two collided violently.
With tears in my eyes, I accepted the newly rewritten version of my 'perfect high school youth story.'