Study (3)
Study (3)
Ellia came back, and the studying resumed.
The 'Lee Ha-yul Care Party' system was still in full effect, but I wasn't too bothered by it.
Because I was starting to see results.
The X's on my problem sets were shrinking in number, and the circles were slowly increasing.
"You're visibly improving in real time."
It wasn't just my imagination—the numbers back it up. Baek A-rin, who was grading my answers, even widened her eyes in surprise.
It wasn't because my rote memorization had gotten better. Honestly, I could already solve most of the memorization-based problems without much issue.
Back in my old world, I was physically frail, but at least my head... my memory is the one tiny advantage I can claim.
The problems that were turning into circles were all application questions.
Before, I'd try to solve them thinking I had the right answer, only to get them wrong due to errors that popped up like kimbap bursting at the seams. But now, I was finally beginning to understand them.
'Is this an effect of All-Rounder?'
I don't know if it greatly affects my intelligence, but it seemed to at least apply a proficiency adjustment.
After all, once I realized that All-Rounder was truly my own unique ability, my efficiency shot up in many ways.
And now I finally understood why people seek out study cafes even when they could just study at home.
When you study with other people, how to put it... it provides motivation. Your drive and focus increase, which in turn boosts your learning efficiency.
Of course, that wasn't my only source of motivation.
"Ha-yul, you got problem 21 right too? That one was tough. And your written answer... is good."
Ellia, who was grading, looked impressed and then gave a gentle smile, stroking my head.
"Good job~"
The warmth of her touch slid through my hair. It almost made a goofy grin break out across my face.
Honestly, it wasn't studying with others that motivated me so much as the praise and head-pats that came with every problem I solved.
They say praise makes even a whale dance. Granted, what I was doing wasn't exactly praise-worthy, but I couldn't deny that it felt good.
"Ha-yul? Ah~"
[I'm full]
Along with the praise, occasionally... no, quite regularly, they would also pop snacks or candy into my mouth.
At some point, after Ellia saw Baek A-rin forcibly putting a snack in my mouth, she joined in, and the frequency only increased.
The food had no taste, but I swallowed it down anyway to spare myself the embarrassment. After a few repetitions of that, my stomach started feeling bloated.
And maybe because I'd thrown up so much that morning, my already poor appetite had hit rock bottom, and I just didn't want to put anything else in my mouth.
I couldn't even bring myself to reach for the nutrition bars I always kept on hand.
"Superhumans need to eat much more than regular people, you know. Ha-yul, you usually eat so little that it honestly worries me."
Honestly, when Ellia said that as she stubbornly pushed a snack into my mouth, I felt a little wronged.
Frankly, given my situation, isn't it weirder for me to actually have an appetite?
I grew up never living a life where I could eat a lot, so I naturally became a light eater.
On top of that, my sense of taste and smell have both gone haywire recently, and because things have been mentally rough, my already small appetite has grown even smaller.
"You have to eat a lot to stay healthy and grow taller..."
'?'
Right as I was stewing in that feeling of injustice, a remark I absolutely couldn't let slide slipped from Ellia's lips.
The corners of my eyes quivered from the shock. I tightened my grip on the pen in my hand.
[Eating and height don't have much to do with each other]
"Uh, um...?"
[Height is most determined by genetics]
Ellia faltered, looking unusually flustered.
No matter how nice Ellia is, I couldn't just let a comment like that slide.
You have to eat a lot to grow taller. Your body needs nutrients—vitamins, iron, and that kind of stuff to grow bones. I know. I know that, yes, eating comes first.
But that's not the case for everyone. There are some people who won't grow taller no matter how well they eat.
I wasn't exactly from the "well-fed and well-grown" camp, but later in life, I wanted to be a little taller, so I forced myself to eat properly too.
Didn't grow a single bit. No matter how delicious they said it was, I drank milk every day, ate my meals consistently, but my height stubbornly wouldn't budge.
I mean, if eating well alone made you grow consistently, then everyone who ate three good meals a day and slept well would be a giant by now.
I know there's a logical fallacy in there. But emotionally... a very hard-to-describe sense of unfairness and inferiority began to swell up.
Ellia was tall. She easily stands taller than the average height of the women I know.
And I'm short. I was well aware that I fall short of the average height for men.
If I ever opened my eyes, I'd have to tilt my head up just to meet her gaze.
And it's not just Ellia. Hong Yeon-hwa and Baek A-rin... my mentor and Professor Liana are all tall too.
The way I see it, people who are superhumans just tend to have great physiques.
They're tall and put on muscle easily. The male cadets passing by are all tall and muscular, brimming with a powerful presence.
Unlike me.
A sense of rebellion surged. The Confession Necklace, interpreting its master's intent, rattled and poured out speech.
[Height is most determined by genetics! Even with optimal nutrient intake, some people just stay short! My height is just what I was born with—]
"Okay, okay, calm down. You're right, Ha-yul, you're completely right. Let's just calm down a little, okay?"
"...That's right! I misspoke, didn't I? Ah, Ha-yul! Have a sip of this. It's lemon flavor—the tanginess is strong, so there's no weird aftertaste... That's it, good boy..."
I was subjugated by hugs and head-pats.
Before such overwhelming force, the powerless truth was trampled without mercy.
.
.
.
"Shall we call it a day here?"
After the suppression, a little time passed while I pulled myself together and refocused on studying.
In the middle of it, Baek A-rin, who had been scribbling with her pen, glanced out the window and spoke up.
Outside the window, past the drawn-back curtains, the sun was slowly setting, and a gentle amber light was spreading across the sky like watercolor paint.
"It's gotten so late already."
Ellia, taking in the sunset seeping into the room, nodded in agreement. It seemed we'd been so focused that we hadn't noticed the time passing.
I, who'd known the time for a while thanks to the Observation Authority, also set down my pen and nodded.
No matter what, camping out in someone else's house to study past nightfall felt a bit much.
Especially after I'd already been fed a meal and had so many snacks stuffed into my mouth.
Ellia and I gathered our things and stood up. Although, "things" really just meant my hologram projector and one pad.
"I'm very grateful for your hospitality today! And I look forward to tomorrow as well."
[Thank you]
"Sure, sure. Don't be late again tomorrow. But the snack selection might be pretty similar to today's."
"A-rin, your tastes really are unwavering, aren't they?"
After a brief farewell, we stepped out of the study room. All our belongings were packed, and I'd checked to make sure nothing was left behind.
'Now I should stop by the training room.'
My body has been healed for a while now. The aftereffects are almost completely gone, and my physical condition is actually better than before.
I was told to focus on recovering my stamina for a while in order to regenerate my arm... but that's still up in the air, so I'm mulling it over.
'Two weeks, was it?'
The midterm evaluation is getting closer. It's supposedly two weeks away, but since today is Saturday, it's practically next week.
The realization that it's truly right around the corner really hit me.
And at the same time, memories of the Tower entry I couldn't properly prepare for—due to an unexpected incident—came rushing back.
The time when I recklessly consumed an elixir right then and there, and instantly started bleeding from all seven orifices before blacking out.
The memory of how I completely lost the entire weekend right before the Tower entry was still painfully vivid...
'I need to manage my condition, too.'
To avoid repeating that disaster, I have to get my condition under control.
But thanks to my nightmares, which have gotten disgustingly worse, my already-meager one-to-two hours of sleep per day have vanished entirely.
Sure, I can endure about five days, and it's not a huge problem since I'm going about my daily life now, but... it will have a negative impact on my midterm grades.
Especially for the Combat Major practical and the tournament.
'Should I... take the medication tonight?'
The pills the Association Headquarters' Intensive Care Unit prescribed for me.
They were something akin to psychiatric medication—I was told to take one tablet if it starts interfering with my daily life.
I took one last time before going to sleep, and it was quite effective. I slept soundly for a good while, and the nightmares were comparatively bearable.
...Though, honestly, falling asleep in my mentor's or Hong Yeon-hwa's arms was way more effective than the medication.
But of course, that doesn't mean I can just skip the pills and pester one of them to put me to bed.
[I'll see you tomorrow]
"Oh, hold on."
Just as I was about to turn around after giving a polite bow, Baek A-rin, who had been waving, suddenly tapped me on the shoulder.
Wondering what it was, I turned back, and Baek A-rin's finger lightly swept near the corner of my mouth.
"You should wipe your mouth properly after eating, you know."
'?'
Baek A-rin held up her finger, a playful smile on her face.
At the tip of her finger were what looked like cookie crumbs.
The same finger that had just swept the corner of my mouth.
'......'
But I was sure I'd wiped my mouth. How are there crumbs...
A sense of injustice came first, then embarrassment quickly followed.
[You could have just told me]
"Why go through that hassle? It's nothing to just wipe it off for you like that."
Letting out a soft giggle, Baek A-rin waved her hand again.
Belatedly, I scrubbed the corner of my mouth with a handkerchief and fled the room as if escaping.
"Ha-yul~ Shall we go together~?"
Ellia, who had been chuckling as well, followed after me.
* * *
Click— The door closed, and silence settled back into the room.
The same room where three of us had been gathered and studying just moments before.
It had been quiet then too, as studying usually is, but now there was an added emptiness.
"Hmm..."
Baek A-rin twitched her finger. She was lost briefly in an odd reverie, replaying the memory from just a moment ago.
In the middle of it, the cookie crumb on her finger caught her eye.
It was the very crumb she'd just picked off the corner of Lee Ha-yul's mouth.
Lee Ha-yul's claim that he'd wiped it off was also correct—this was the snack she'd popped into his mouth right before they finished studying, so he might have forgotten to dust it off.
Baek A-rin recalled what had just happened.
- Try one bite.
- [Thank you]
The snack she had offered him. Lee Ha-yul, finding the bite-sized piece easy to eat, had accepted it without burden.
Though it was still fascinating how even something that size seemed to fill his mouth right up.
Anyway.
- How is it? Sweet, right?
Baek A-rin, who had been staring blankly at her finger, brought it to her lips.
Then she stuck out her tongue and licked the crumbs off her fingertip.
There could have been saliva on it, but Baek A-rin didn't care.
- [Yes]
- [It's sweet]
Lee Ha-yul, who had taken the snack without any suspicion when she'd asked if it was sweet, and answered that it was sweet.
There had been no hint of doubt in his innocent expression, and no lie detectable in his matter-of-fact reply.
Though it was only a crumb, Baek A-rin savored the taste lingering on the tip of her tongue and nodded.
"Ugh, it's bitter."
Calling it sweet had been a lie.
* * *
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Baek A-rin
●●●●●○○○○○(55▷56/100)
｢Affection｣ ｢Doubt｣ ｢Confusion｣
...
[Unique Ability ｢All-Rounder｣ is growing]