Closing Ceremony
Closing Ceremony
My consciousness was hazy. My reason was scattered, and my mind and body felt damp and heavy.
It wasn't a pleasant state, apart from the drowsiness.
I couldn't face reality, just lying there in a stupor like a dead fish.
It felt like I was stuck in a swamp. Outwardly it seemed like comfort, but in truth I was sinking in a thick mire, unable to struggle, quietly dying.
At some point, I'd be seized by fear—what if I'd sunk too deep and couldn't climb out on my own?
[Bliss]
[Comfort]
[?]
"Mmph..."
Now I wasn't entirely uncomfortable. Because I had the confidence that I could shake it off and emerge.
If I were alone, I'd have quietly given up and died, but now I absolutely didn't want to die.
Though I'd just woken up, my mouth didn't feel stale.
I moved my lips, nuzzling my head against the arm of the person cradling my head.
It was Hong Yeon-hwa's arm, her warmth pulsing vividly.
"Zzz..."
Yeon-hwa was still off in dreamland. Her gently swelling chest, rising and falling with soft breaths, pressed against my nose.
I could also see the many strange marks left on her skin. Reddened traces and small bite marks.
[Guilt]
[Sheepishness]
...
[Satisfaction]
...Come to think of it, I had a few on my body too, so we were even. Though I'd left far more marks on her... well, anyway.
It was a shame that Yeon-hwa's eyes were closed and I couldn't see her pretty eyes.
But I couldn't wake a soundly sleeping person just for that. I closed my eyes, resting my head on her arm.
Languor and comfort right after waking. And a weighty, heavy emotion that warmly filled my chest.
- Chirp!
"Mmph?"
It was then that bird chirps reached my ears. A sound commonly heard in the morning. Though it was more like late lunch than morning now...
'Why is it so high up?'
I blinked. This was Yeon-hwa's former dormitory, the penthouse at the top of a tall building.
I wondered why those sparrows, plump like glutinous rice cakes, felt the need to come all the way up here and chirp.
- Srrk
"...Attaching yourself to my chest first thing in the morning? Or... no? Were you even detached in the first place?"
Then the hand holding my head moved and hugged me tightly. I wasn't startled; I smiled softly and snuggled into her arms.
"Yeon-hwa, you're awake?"
"Yeah. I slept well... Heheh."
At my greeting, Yeon-hwa also let out a laugh and hugged me deeper.
While still drunk with sleep, her bright laughter reassured me, but just in case, I patted her on the back.
"Are you sore anywhere?"
I had zero experience with this until yesterday, but there were those experience stories you can't help but come across while browsing the internet.
People said that during, um, coupling... and when you wake up afterward, your body aches.
"No, I'm completely fine."
Fortunately, Yeon-hwa said she was fine. I blinked, feeling the tap-tap-tap of her fingers patting my lower back.
I looked closely, wondering if it was just empty reassurance, but she really seemed to have no issues.
No, she actually looked better than yesterday.
"Haa... How do I put it. It was different from what I'd heard. It didn't exactly hurt, it just felt good..."
As if sharing my thought, Yeon-hwa murmured in puzzlement, her cheeks flushing softly and a shy smile spreading—a bonus.
"...Ahem."
But then her voice got quieter and her cheeks flushed apple-red. As I sensed the emotions flickering across Yeon-hwa's face, I grinned.
"Heh."
"Why are you laughing."
"Eheheh."
I could guess which memory Yeon-hwa was suddenly recalling.
It was a sound different from the always confident and cool Yeon-hwa. Even in my hazy state, I had been inwardly startled by it.
It would be polite to bury such embarrassing memories together, but I hadn't forgotten how Yeon-hwa had teased me and provoked me yesterday.
I didn't hide my grin and chuckled.
"Pathetic."
"......."
- Crack!
At my teasing, cracks appeared on Yeon-hwa's face. The emotions leaking through them were quite chaotic.
.
.
.
"Coming back after so long, and luckily nothing's changed."
We left the dormitory and found a restaurant nearby. I nodded, sitting across from Yeon-hwa, who was casually looking over the place.
As she said, it was a place we hadn't visited in a while, and it held some memories.
[Table 12, your order has arrived]
[2 Spicy Pork Set Meals]
Various dishes were set on the table. The most appetizing among them were the bright red stir-fried spicy pork and the soft tofu stew.
"I ate it really deliciously back then... You remember too, right, Ha-yul?"
"Yes, how could I forget."
This was the restaurant we visited with Yeon-hwa right after the first semester started.
I nodded with an odd expression at Yeon-hwa's question, her smile as if she was vividly recalling those memories.
Eating with Yeon-hwa for the first time was a happy memory, but for me at the time, it hadn't been pleasant.
Looking back, I was in a state like a ticking time bomb.
I don't think I'm perfectly healthy now, but at least I have a reason to live.
Back then I didn't have such a reason. At most, a sense of rebellion toward my dead parents?
It was a mental state that forced me to understand why the Tower Masters treated me like a fragile sunfish and created all those facilities and systems.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Yeon-hwa, who had scooped up a generous spoonful of the bright red broth, blew to cool it.
"Here, ah~"
"........"
Presently, the spoon full of warmth was thrust toward me. When I kept my mouth quietly shut, Yeon-hwa, who had been wearing a warm smile, tilted her head.
"What's wrong? Did it start hurting after some time?"
"No, I was just thinking of something else."
"Really? You're not lying, right?"
"Really..."
I put away the slightly bitter expression that had surfaced and opened my lips. Right after, a warm liquid entered my mouth.
...It was merely warm. The color was good, but there was no actual taste—it was like a pie in the sky to me.
I picked up a piece of spicy pork with a strange expression. The chewy texture of the meat was gnawed. No taste, but by now I was even getting used to the tastelessness.
But now I was dissatisfied.
I stirred the soft tofu stew with my spoon and sneakily rolled my eyes.
After feeding me a few bites, Yeon-hwa, apparently getting hungry, was busily inhaling the pork and stew...
'...Why is she eating it so deliciously? Is it really that good? Compared to the pork I serve as side dishes usually... no, that's not the point.'
I suppressed the sudden spike of prickly feelings and glanced at Yeon-hwa with an odd look. Precisely at Yeon-hwa's chest, whose curves were visible even through her clothes.
[......]
I averted my gaze and gently rubbed my belly with my right hand. Maybe from swallowing so much overnight, it still felt warm.
The aftertaste of yesterday still lingered in my mouth. The way sweetness and savoriness mingled on my tongue was proof.
...I'd gone and eaten this. The most delicious thing in the world, I'd put it in my mouth after nearly a year of fasting.
And now I'm supposed to contentedly chew on a picture of rice cake that only looks good...?
Isn't human greed said to be endless? If standing, you want to sit; if sitting, to lie down; better a bed than the floor; you want the warmth of a blanket rather than the cold.
I was the same. When there was no way, I gave up and ate, but now it was hard to just let it go...
"Oh my? Aren't you cadets?"
It was while I was pointlessly massacring the pork with a complicated heart. The restaurant owner, coming out of the kitchen with a rag in one hand, saw us and her eyes widened.
"On top of that, both of you are famous! But anyway, why are you here at this hour?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Yeon-hwa, after gulping down the food in her mouth, tilted her head. The restaurant owner fussed without hiding her round eyes.
"The closing ceremony's about to start soon, isn't it? Aren't all cadets supposed to attend?"
"Huh?"
[?]
At that, our chopsticks stopped. Blinking blankly, Yeon-hwa and I stared at each other.
Yeon-hwa hastily tapped her smartwatch. The smartwatch that had been showing a locked icon turned on, and alarms blared noisily.
...I too had turned off Observation except for threat detection because it interfered with... private affairs, and I now switched it on.
Various information surged into my head.
The Grand Hall where the closing ceremony would be held.
I observed the Vice Headmaster scanning empty seats with a displeased expression.
And I also observed faces somewhere between sulky, expressionless, and flabbergasted.
[Ah]
.
.
.
Fortunately, Yeon-hwa and I were able to sit down just before the closing ceremony started.
The Special Admission Cadet and the first-year's second-ranked cadet almost missed the closing ceremony together.
I'd have to go thank the restaurant owner later.
"Wow~ your skin is so glossy, ma'am? Eh?"
"This one here is pretty fair too... no, kidding, but seriously, really fair, right?"
After using Spatial Leap to land at the entrance and hurrying in, countless gazes had zeroed in on us.
When we sat down, even denser stares poked at me and Yeon-hwa.
"Hey, hey, you didn't take my calls all day, what were you doing? I sent like forty texts, you know."
[Silence]
"Seeing you this late, I guess you really forgot? Skipping the closing ceremony too, you delinquent cadet."
It wasn't a metaphor; a physical finger was jabbing my cheek. Sitting next to me, grinning—it was Baek A-rin's attack, and the inside of her mask felt somehow cold.
"Yeon-hwa, did you pass it on?"
"Uh, uh... huh? Pass on what?"
"Come on, don't play dumb between us. That is—"
"Mmph...!"
Yeon-hwa was under attack as well. She covered Ellia's mouth with her hand, shrieking softly so no one around would hear.
I whined under Baek A-rin's harassment and subtly rolled my eyes.
A little further away, through the dense mist, the stinging gazes of two adults staring straight at me also lingered.
I couldn't see her directly, but Lee Ji-yeon's somewhat uncomfortable and complicated gaze was palpable too.
With that, I pressed my lips shut and calmly steadied my expression.
"With the closing ceremony, this year's Birth Festival has come to an end. Although fireworks are still scheduled tonight, the closing ceremony marks the last official event."
The closing ceremony of the Birth Festival wasn't as splendid as the opening ceremony. The procedure was shorter, and a gentle atmosphere lingered amid the festival's afterglow.
'I need to finish my preparations now.'
I observed the Vice Headmaster conducting the ceremony on stage.
And while tolerating Baek A-rin's prank of stealthily tickling my side with her finger, I racked my brain.
After the Birth Festival, the second semester would end with the vacation ceremony next week.
The upcoming break was going to be very busy.
The Reverse Side.
I'd have to wander ceaselessly across a wide area to find its entrance.
If I couldn't find it, I'd just lose some time, but if I did.
And if it seemed about to burst open soon.
I might have to stick my head into a chilling crisis.
I'd gained some confidence in my skills and was sure I'd handle ordinary incidents safely, but the Reverse Side was no ordinary matter.
I had to prepare thoroughly.
'Ah, before that, I should go meet the unicorns.'
Unicorns... more precisely, I had business with their horns.
...I had some shameful memories that are still hard to recall, but for the sake of the task, I needed to visit them.
.
.
.
[What?]
At my retort, the researcher adjusted his glasses and smiled awkwardly.
"The unicorns... they've become sensitive, you see. There's a risk of accidents, so the area is temporarily closed."
Of all times?