The Fixer (2)
A few days after the class placement exam, Serena Eldark, who had taken first place, strode confidently into the A-class lecture hall. From her down to the fifteenth-place student, they were assigned to A-class. Sixteenth to thirty-fifth place—twenty students in total—went to B-class, and the remaining twenty-five to C-class. Today was the first class after the division.
Before the placement, they'd only covered basic theory, so Serena felt a bit of anticipation for the real lessons ahead. That's why she'd arrived at the lecture hall a little early, only to be slightly startled by the sight of a man already there.
"Ugh... ughhh..."
In the direction she was looking, there was Seong Hyun-jin, slumped over his desk, seemingly in agony all by himself as he slept. It was fine to nap before class started, but why did he look so tormented?
"Stop... please stop..."
And what was he begging to stop? He kept groaning in his sleep-talk.
His condition didn't look good at all, so Serena lightly touched his shoulder.
"...Seong Hyun-jin."
"Ugh, stop...!"
"Seong Hyun-jin!"
When Serena called out a bit louder, he finally snapped his eyes open.
"Huh... Serena? Is the instructor here?"
"No."
"Then why'd you wake me...?"
"No, you were groaning and looking miserable all by yourself."
"I was...?"
"Yes."
Serena nodded affirmatively and tilted her head.
"Why are you sleeping in the lecture hall? Didn't you get any sleep last night?"
"...Yeah."
"Pardon? Why not?"
When Serena asked if something had happened, Seong Hyun-jin stared blankly at her. Then he muttered something incomprehensible.
"Serena, this is partly your fault too."
"Pardon...? You're saying you couldn't sleep because of me?"
"To some extent."
Serena blinked at his words. At first, she just blinked in confusion, not understanding, but then realization dawned, and her eyes widened.
If a guy couldn't sleep because of a girl in the same department, same class, and same age...
"!"
Serena jumped back in shock, and Seong Hyun-jin looked at her like what's wrong? Seeing him act so shamelessly made her face burn even hotter.
"W-what kind of imagination is that!?"
"...Imagination?"
Seong Hyun-jin's expression crumpled slightly, as if he had no idea what she meant. But the flustered Serena didn't notice and yelled in an embarrassed voice.
"Y-you couldn't sleep because you were having weird thoughts about me!"
His expression grew even more ridiculous at her outburst.
"What are you talking about? When did I say that?"
"Pardon...? B-but you just said it was partly my fault that you couldn't sleep."
"Yeah, but how'd it turn into that? That's a hatchet wound, Serena."
"A-a hatchet wound...? Then what did you mean? You said I had a share in it."
Seong Hyun-jin let out a deep sigh.
"I told you to help other people if you want to get famous, right?"
"...Yes, you did?"
She stared at him curiously at first, wondering why that came up. But as he explained further, Serena finally understood why he'd said that.
"That's why."
"Pardon? What do you...?"
"I lived alone with my master in that mountain cabin, remember?"
When Seong Hyun-jin suddenly brought up his secluded training with the Sword Star, Serena nodded uncertainly.
"So I got good at fixing all sorts of things. Back then, it was more efficient to repair broken stuff than replace it. Going down that tall mountain to buy new ones every time something broke was a hassle."
"Ah... I suppose so."
"But my master surprisingly had no knack for that kind of thing, so I handled most of it."
Of course, drawing on his past-life memories.
Serena said, looking a bit surprised.
"So you were handy with that sort of thing...?"
"Yeah. And this damn handiness of mine is why I couldn't sleep."
Seong Hyun-jin pulled something out of his jacket pocket to show her. It was a small rectangular box with a wind-up key on the side. He casually wound it up, flipped it open with a click, and a sweet melody tinkled out.
"A music box?"
"Fixed it yesterday."
"You pulled an all-nighter fixing this?"
"What? No. This kind of thing takes thirty minutes tops."
"Then why...?"
"Wasn't just one or two."
Seong Hyun-jin clutched his head with both hands.
"It started with just a couple. I figured I'd fix them before bed and crash. But..."
"...Don't tell me you took on everything people asked?"
"You said I had to help steadily to get famous..."
"......"
Serena was dumbfounded. It was true she'd told him to take on others' requests and help out. But who takes on so many he can't handle it, you idiot? It was such common sense she hadn't spelled it out, and now this.
Feeling like a nagging mom, Serena scolded him.
"Of course you take them on in moderation! I didn't mean help to the point it messes up your daily life!"
"I wanted to, but... once I started, I didn't realize it'd pile up this much."
"...That's just saying you took whatever came."
Serena sighed softly. This guy was weaker to others' requests than she'd thought. Or maybe he just didn't think at all.
"How many are there?"
"Dunno. I boxed them up, so I don't know the exact count..."
"All mechanical gadgets like this?"
"Mostly. Music boxes, alarm clocks, wristwatches, pencil sharpeners, that sort of thing."
Now she knew why he'd been rushing back to the dorm after classes lately.
Serena let out another small sigh. He wasn't doing anything bad, so she couldn't scold him too harshly. But if this kept up, he'd be like this for days...
"...Want me to help after class?"
"Help?"
When Seong Hyun-jin looked puzzled, Serena said,
"I might be able to fix some."
"You ever fixed stuff like this?"
"To some extent. Father used to bring home antiques and junk, so as a kid I'd take them apart and put them back together for fun."
Seong Hyun-jin looked genuinely surprised.
"Girls with that hobby are super rare."
"I didn't have much else to do besides study. I'm not the type who likes going out much... You'd get it if you visited my house."
"Pure homebody, huh?"
"...Yeah."
As Serena admitted it bashfully, Seong Hyun-jin chuckled lightly.
"Help from a homebody? Now I'm excited."
"I'm not that much of one. Probably not as good as you. You fixed that music box in under thirty minutes."
"Still, extra hands make it way better. Just help till curfew."
"Got it."
The moment class ended, Serena headed to the dorms with Seong Hyun-jin. Naturally, it drew a lot of attention.
In principle, as long as a resident student escorted you before curfew, anyone could enter the dorm regardless of gender. So Serena visiting the boys' dorm wasn't against the rules per se, but it was extremely rare for a girl to show up there.
Moreover, Serena Eldark was the most famous and talked-about freshman girl. Beauty that even Seong Hyun-jin, master-obsessed as he was, acknowledged; top scores in both entrance and placement exams; and the daughter of the renowned Dragon Star. Everything about her was newsworthy.
So, of course, her visit to the boys' dorm became instant buzz.
"Wasn't that Serena Eldark just now?"
"Walking with some guy?"
"That's the entrance exam runner-up. Heard he was a monster in the combat department placement too."
When a student recognized Seong Hyun-jin, another scoffed.
"Why's Serena with a guy like that?"
"Personality's decent, though? Surprisingly nice. He offered to fix broken stuff last time, so I gave him mine and he fixed it quick."
"Handy guy's nice? That's new."
"Maybe 'cause he's half-elf."
The students who saw Seong Hyun-jin and Serena heading to the dorms whispered curiously about their relationship.
"Here it is."
"It's messy with all the stuff people gave me, so bear with it."
"Okay."
Especially when Serena followed him into his room, the boys who saw it wailed in despair.
"S-Serena Eldark in another guy's room...!!"
"Lucky bastard...! So jealous!!"
"You crazies, don't get weird ideas. Something must've come up."
The parties involved didn't care about the other students' reactions.
Serena was a bit surprised upon entering. His desk was covered in tools and parts, and one box overflowed with repair requests.
"Wow, that's a lot."
"Told you. Gotta fix 'em and clear 'em out."
Seong Hyun-jin asked her,
"First, I need to know what you can do. Assembly, disassembly, soldering?"
"Yes. I can do all that."
"Oh..."
In Seong Hyun-jin's mind, Serena's image shifted a little. A girl who could solder? That set her apart from other girls in a charming way. Maybe it was his past-life engineer bias, but that's how he saw it.
Oblivious to his thoughts, Serena picked up an ugly wind-up doll from his box.
"Wind-up doll? They asked you to fix this too?"
"Said it's an attachment from childhood."
"Kinda childish hobby."
"Could be. And if they've had it since kid days, it's more like a good-luck charm than a hobby, right?"
Serena, who initially found it pathetic, nodded slightly. Yeah, could be.
She asked him,
"Anything need soldering?"
"Yeah, but I'll handle the risky stuff. It's my job anyway. And we've only got one iron."
"Then what do I do?"
"Disassemble these for me? You said you're good at assembly and disassembly. Pass 'em to me for repairs, then you reassemble?"
"Simple enough."
And so the division of labor began. Serena disassembled, Seong Hyun-jin repaired, Serena reassembled and finished. Their teamwork turned his dorm room into a little factory.
It was way faster than him doing everything alone. He could focus purely on repairs.
Reminiscing about his college days from his past life, Seong Hyun-jin said with a sigh,
"I didn't come to the academy to be an engineer, but here I am..."
"Then why'd you take on so many?"
"They all asked with these expectant looks... hard to say no."
"What? You told me to ignore random expectations."
Serena chuckled lightly.
"You were the same."
"...That's different."
"Seems pretty similar."
Chatting idly while fixing junk flew by. Thanks to Serena's help, Seong Hyun-jin finished all the repairs.
He completed the last item—a wind-up clock—perfectly and stretched hard.
"Whew, finally done."
"Ugh, that was a lot."
Serena, stiff from sitting so long, stretched too. Her uniform sleeve slipped, revealing a pale wrist. Seong Hyun-jin glanced at it, then grinned at her.
"Thanks a ton, Serena. You saved me."
"You helped me before, so I returned the favor."
Serena said firmly.
"Don't think of it as a debt. That'd just make things awkward."
"Saying that actually puts me at ease."
Still, as if he needed to repay her, Seong Hyun-jin said,
"I'll buy you lunch later anyway."
"Fine, I'll take that much."
"It's gotten pretty late. Better head back before curfew."
"...Oh, yeah. I wasn't watching the time."
Serena glanced at the repaired items. Lots of clocks, but none set to the right time—they all showed different hours.
"They're all over the place. No idea what time it is."
"No time to set 'em individually. Owners can do that when they pick up."
Seong Hyun-jin said,
"Don't worry. Just look out the window. I can tell time from the sun."
He pulled back the curtain to peer out. But before even opening the window, they both sensed something wrong. No sunlight came in. It was pitch black outside.
"......?"
"...Night?"
It was night. The sky was dyed black, with a bright white moon and stars shining clearly. Dorm curfew was 9 p.m. Judging by the moon's position, Seong Hyun-jin figured it out.
"...Past 11?"
Seong Hyun-jin and Serena blinked at each other.
Realizing the situation, Serena yelped in panic.
"W-what do we do!? Time flew by more than I thought!"
"Yeah......?"
"I can't get back to my dorm now...!"
Breaking curfew didn't penalize academy life directly, but after hours, dorms locked down—no entry or exit. They were lenient on most things, but violate this, and you faced real consequences: grade deductions at minimum, expulsion from dorms at worst. One night out could ruin your whole academy dorm stay.
That's why upperclassmen advised: if you miss curfew, just camp out comfortably rather than risk it.
"Getting out's the first problem..."
"Exactly...!"
Serena looked at him with a miserable face. Seeing it, Seong Hyun-jin scratched his head and shrugged.
"Guess you crash here then."
"...Pardon?"
Serena stepped back instinctively, hugging herself protectively. Realizing the misunderstanding, Seong Hyun-jin quickly clarified.
"Don't get the wrong idea—hear me out. Not sleeping together."
"Th-then what...?"
"You sleep here. I'll crash in the shower room."
"Pardon? How do you sleep there?"
"Dorms have good facilities—private showers with tubs. Just lie in the tub."
Growing up on the mountain, he'd adapted to sleeping in all sorts of uncomfortable spots. A tub was basically a bed to him. His master hadn't always left him without a bed—sometimes he'd collapse from training exhaustion and sleep on the spot. He was used to it, so a tub was no big deal.
"As long as I can lie down, I can sleep."
Serena stared at him, unsure what to say to his casual attitude.
"Th-that doesn't seem right. You're the room owner—it's wrong for me to take the comfy bed while you suffer."
"Then what? You can't get back to your dorm now..."
"......"
Serena glanced at the bed. It was a single, but academy-standard furniture—spacious enough for two if they squeezed.
She pondered the bed, torn between conscience and comfort. But her personality decided it quick—the answer was set from the start.
"...J-just sleep."
"What?"
Seong Hyun-jin looked at her, thinking he'd misheard. But Serena didn't take back her words. Blushing furiously, embarrassed even to say it,
"L-let's sleep together!"