The Thing That Appears When You Rub It
The dawn air was cold, but my heart felt dozens of times colder. I can barely remember how that long night passed. Still, like always, morning came again.
"Damn it..."
My mind had been racing with too many thoughts for me to sleep properly. But I had to go to school, so I forced my body out of bed. Standing in front of the mirror, I adjusted the pants of my Gaon Special Ability High School uniform over and over.
Gaon Special Ability High School. Shortened to Gaon Special High, Gaon High, or whatever else people called it. This school was a gathering place for geniuses, where only the elite awakeners in South Korea with A-class or higher talent could step foot. It was a national high school that brought together A-class and above awakeners to teach them proper ability usage and mana control.
Normally, an awakener's body part and rank were announced first, and their ability manifested naturally. Even if someone awakened an S-class body part, if the ability that appeared didn't match it well, they couldn't produce better synergy than a B-class awakener. That's why mana operation and ability usage would fall short. Gaon High existed to help students compensate for that imbalance between their ability and awakened body part.
In truth, the rank of the awakened body part wasn't that important. But the ability itself was something you absolutely couldn't compromise on. Especially for me—an S-class butt awakener—the ability that manifested was incredibly, incredibly important.
Still, this was my first day at an elite high school full of A-class and higher awakeners. If word got out that I'd gotten in with nothing but my butt? Oh man, damn it. The thought made me shake my head.
Luckily, the specific awakened body part of an awakener was treated as private information, like a resident registration number. The one difference was that the awakened body part and ability weren't considered sensitive personal data directly tied to someone's identity. So unless the awakener themselves went around announcing it, no one could force the information out of them.
As long as I didn't go around yelling, "I'm a butt awakener!" there was no reason for me to become the butt of everyone's jokes.
"It's fine. It's normal. Doesn't show at all."
My butt in the mirror looked just as slim and ordinary as yesterday. Whatever was inside it, from the outside there was no trace of the S-class mana fragment that had caused such a fuss.
"Son! Have a great day!"
I left the house with my bag after my parents' overly enthusiastic send-off. At the plaza bus stop heading to Gaon High, I ran into students from Cheonmyeong High School up on the new town hill. They walked right past without sparing a glance at students from other schools.
Cheonmyeong High School. Like Gaon High, it was a training school that only accepted A-class and higher awakeners. But because it was private, the tuition was pretty expensive. As a result, it had the image of an elite academy for the nobility. Thanks to their shared status as schools for elite awakeners, a fierce rivalry had formed between the two.
I squeezed through the crowd and climbed onto the bus bound for Gaon High. Once inside, I did a little web surfing on my smartphone. Among the usual news, I checked out some celebrity gossip.
Jung Bo-ram. In her twenties, she'd already pulled off multiple ten-million-viewer movies. Her dramas and films were so famous that even someone like me, who didn't usually pay attention, kept hearing about them. Her acting was impressive and flawless, of course, but it probably didn't hurt that she was an A-class awakener with the 'Face of Aphrodite' ability.
After watching a few short videos with trends I couldn't make sense of, the bus arrived at the stop in front of the school. I made my way up the uphill path, weaving through the many students wearing Gaon High uniforms.
The school grounds were far more heated than the walk there. A wide athletic field, pretty decent facilities. It was a beautiful stage where my youth would unfold, but the school's scenery felt almost too pristine for someone like me.
I headed straight for the large auditorium where the entrance ceremony would be held. I'd been told in advance that as the freshman with the highest S-class awakening rank, I would be representing the new students by reciting the oath.
I practiced by reading the oath text I'd received beforehand. As the ceremony time approached, the freshmen gradually filled the seats until the spacious auditorium was completely packed. They were all joking with friends beside them, checking their phones, or talking about their own ranks and mana.
"...Is that him? The top freshman this time!"
"No way, for real? The guy with S-class mana?"
I felt the whispering gazes staring at me as I stood there blankly in the auditorium. They must have figured out I was the S-class awakener. I wasn't the type to enjoy attention, so it felt a bit overwhelming.
The entrance ceremony proceeded smoothly, and I recited the oath just like I'd practiced. All I had to do was read the declaration they'd handed out, so it wasn't that hard. Even a kindergartener could have managed it.
As I stepped down from the podium after finishing the oath as the freshman representative, my eyes met the student council president who'd just entered through the back door of the auditorium. Despite the rumors of her cold charisma, she gave me a warm smile.
The student council president, who carried an unusual aura, smiled kindly at me. As she passed by my side, she whispered softly.
Her voice was gentle, but it carried a weight that made it hard to refuse.
"Ah... yes, understood."
I wasn't scared. A second-year senior had called me, so I was simply responding appropriately.
After the entrance ceremony ended in the auditorium, I headed to the classroom I'd been assigned in advance. First-year Class 1. It was in a very noticeable spot, so finding it wasn't hard at all. I opened the door, walked in, and sat at the desk with my name on it. Then I looked around.
All the kids here had at least A-class mana... Standing among them, my body stiffened with inexplicable tension.
That's when someone from the seat next to me casually spoke up.
"Hey, you're seriously amazing."
It was a friendly-looking guy with curly hair and a slightly chubby build.
"...What is?"
"The student council president smiled at you first back in the auditorium."
She just smiled. Was that really such a big deal?
"To think such a pretty noona smiled at you first. Ugh, you lucky bastard."
It seemed like he wasn't talking about the fact that the student council president had smiled at me specifically, but just that a beautiful older girl had smiled at me. What a unique character had sat down next to me.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Oh Deokgu."
Deokgu grinned brightly and extended his hand like he was asking for a handshake. He didn't seem like a bad kid, at least.
"Hey, I'm Baek Gangjin."
After our slightly awkward handshake, I felt the tension ease up a bit.
"Actually, the kids at our school have been digging like crazy to find out what your awakened body part is."
"Huh, really?"
I was surprised for a second, but when I thought about it, it made sense. The news of an 'S-class' awakener showing up would definitely cause that much of a stir. Without realizing it, I placed my hand on my butt.
"I got lucky and had my ability manifest before I even started school."
Deokgu tapped his forehead lightly with his finger.
"I'm an A-class forehead awakener. My ability is called Alexandria Library, I think?"
It happened sometimes. People who started manifesting abilities even before becoming high school students. Growth speed naturally varied from person to person, and in Deokgu's case, his mana awakening speed was just a little faster.
He brushed his bangs back down and continued.
"Anyway, it seems like an information-type ability. After it manifested, my head started working a bit faster."
After he finished speaking, Deokgu asked me,
"What about you? I heard you're an S-class awakener. Has your ability manifested yet?"
"Um..."
I hesitated a little, unsure how to answer this sudden difficult question.
"I know my awakened body part, but... I don't really know what ability will manifest yet."
I avoided Deokgu's curious eyes and looked off into the distance.
"I'll tell you once it manifests."
It still took courage to suddenly blurt out that my awakened body part was my butt. I tried to naturally change the subject. Luckily, Deokgu picked up on my attempt to shift the flow of conversation.
After chatting with him a few more times, I realized Deokgu was just as warm and sociable as his first impression suggested.
"We seem to get along pretty well. Want to be friends?"
I nodded.
"Since we're seatmates anyway, let's get along, Deokgu."
It was the classic story of overcoming the awkwardness with your first friend at the start of a new semester. A textbook beginning to ordinary school life.
After that, our homeroom teacher came in. She naturally wrote three characters on the blackboard as she introduced herself.
Song Hyo-ju
She was the school's art teacher and our class's homeroom teacher. She was an A-class awakener with Picasso's Left Hand. It was an ability that really suited art class, but I doubted the art she taught was the same as regular high school art class.
"From now on, I'll help you all draw the basic framework for your abilities."
Using abilities required a certain level of innate sense for the fundamentals, so receiving guidance from an art teacher could be helpful.
The teacher drew a single flower in the air with her mana. The flower she'd drawn suddenly popped into full bloom in a beautiful form and was grasped firmly in her hand.
"Nice to meet you all!"
Even though she was a left-hand awakener, she was right-handed. If she'd been a right-hand awakener, she probably would have achieved even better synergy with her manifested ability.
After that, it was just a string of regular classes. Sometimes I felt sleepy, but since it was my first day at Gaon High, I tried my best to fulfill my duty as a student.
After school. After a quick goodbye with Deokgu about seeing each other tomorrow, I headed to the student council room. When I knocked on the door, I heard a voice from inside telling me to come in. I opened the door and found the student council president sitting there, brewing tea for me.
She gestured for me to sit, then handed me a fragrant teacup and said,
After taking a sip of tea, she continued.
"My ability hasn't manifested yet... Would I really be any help?"
At my uncertain words, she answered with a smile.
The look in her eyes as she said that seemed filled with expectation toward me as an S-class awakener.
Practice our abilities together. It was probably an offer because I was an S-class awakener, but it was also the perfect environment for everyone to find out about my embarrassing title as a butt awakener.
"It's a bit hard to answer right away... Could you give me some time to think about it?"
I answered carefully. She nodded with a relaxed expression.
That's what she said, but the moment I joined the student council, the news that I was a butt awakener would clearly spread throughout the entire school. My answer was set on no, but if my awakened body part hadn't been my butt, I would have jumped at the chance in a heartbeat. I had dreams of a shining youth and fantasies about the student council too.
I'm an introvert and a loner, but deep in my heart, I dream of being an insider.
After a few more short conversations with the student council president, I left the room. By then, the sun had already set outside. I walked along the empty path home against the red sunset and got on the bus.
For some reason, the area around my butt felt strangely hot. It was like something inside was wriggling around, looking for an exit.
"...Do I need to use the bathroom?"
I thought it was just my imagination and brushed it off without much thought.
By the time I got home late at night, I was completely exhausted. Mom and Dad looked incredibly curious about my first day of school, but when they saw how tired I was, they told me to go rest in my room right away. I tossed my bag aside and threw myself onto the bed.
Once the tension released, the heat in my butt grew even stronger.
'Muscle pain?'
I changed clothes and headed straight to the bathroom. The moment the warm water touched my body, I felt the fatigue that had been weighing on me all day slowly washing away.
After finishing my shower, I grabbed a towel. While I was drying off the remaining moisture on my body, the instant I rubbed my butt with the towel—
Hiss— Strange smoke began rising from between my butt cheeks, like dry ice sublimating.
"Huh...? Wha—?"
Startled by the smoke suddenly coming from my butt, I dropped the towel. The mysterious smoke filled the bathroom floor, then began to clump together and take on a human shape.
And from within it, a very arrogant yet clear woman's voice rang out.