Just Trying to Do a Favor (2)
After giving directions to the mysterious blonde girl named Yumir—who might be an extra or someone of unknown importance—I heard her say,
"Hey, have you eaten lunch yet?!"
"...Huh?"
"If you haven't eaten yet, wanna grab lunch together? My treat!"
I'd just been invited to lunch by Yumir. What the hell? Was this girl onto my identity and closing in? Was she planning to use the meal as an excuse to subtly threaten me—like, "I know you're Dokkaebi, so buy me lunch every day from now on"? Or maybe she was from the organization? It was a situation I couldn't quite pin down, but when someone offers to buy you a meal, there's only one choice.
"Sure."
Manifesting a pizza and eating alone was novel, sure, but sharing a meal like this would be a new experience—and fatten me up nicely.
"Do you like pasta? There's this super famous pasta place I've never been to. Wanna check it out together?"
Time to show her how dangerous it is to buy food on Sejong Island.
"Never...?"
"Yeah. I've only been here a week myself."
"Ah, so you're the new staff member who just arrived."
"That's right. I just started as the librarian."
"Heh, so you're new here too, then, Teacher?"
"...Teacher?"
"Yeah. Librarian teacher. Isn't that right?"
"It's a bit different, but not by much, so no problem. Call me whatever feels natural, Miss Yumir."
Getting called "oppa" by a blue-eyed blonde foreigner felt a little off ethically. Maybe someday if we got close, but what was the point in befriending a student like Yumir anyway?
She looks like the type every guy would chase after.
Even the extras went crazy for foreign girls, just like the protagonist. It was a trend born from all those foreign tycoons and power players abroad going, "A Korean A-rank guy in his early twenties?! Make him my son-in-law right now!" Academy guys especially targeted foreigners. Sad, but the positions of male and female ability users were worlds apart. Female ability users who went abroad got labeled as "ran off with some foreigner after locking eyes." But males got "talented guy getting treated like royalty in his wife's country." It felt unfair, yet it also seemed like a measure to protect the nation's women— a murky situation all around.
"You must be pretty popular with the academy students, Miss Yumir."
"Huh? Oh, thank you. But I bet you're popular too, Librarian Teacher... Oh."
Yumir covered her mouth in surprise.
"Your girlfriend won't get mad if you eat with me?"
"Luckily, I don't have a girlfriend. Miss."
"Oh... really? I see. Hmm."
What was that? Yumir's eyes sharpened for a split second, like a hunting dog spotting prey. Was she plotting to devour me now that she knew I was single?
"Well, no one to complain then. Let's head to that place you mentioned."
"This way. It's a bit of a walk— you okay with that?"
"Yeah. I love walking. Oh, can I drop my stuff at the dorm first?"
"Of course."
Yumir scurried off with her suitcase toward the dorms. Guys weren't supposed to linger near the girls' dorms—a male domain forbidden—but whispers rippled around us. No one would suspect me, though. There were other guys around besides me.
"Oppa, you waited?"
"Not long. Where to, babe?"
"Hmm, wherever you want, oppa~ I'm good with anything."
"......."
That spot was where guys gathered to pick up girlfriends from the dorms. I wasn't waiting for one, but with lunch hour approaching, the road was packed with guys out to fetch their girls.
"Hey, over there!"
Someone pointed. I figured it was just another girlfriend arriving and started to ignore it—
"Snow White!"
At the shout, every guy's gaze—even those who'd just met their girlfriends—snapped toward the sound.
"Whoa..."
In the distance, a limousine straight out of a Hollywood movie pulled up. As it stopped, sunglass-wearing women in suits hopped out, pressing fingers to earpieces for radio checks. They opened the door, and a white-haired woman in a suit stepped out.
"Snow White."
Dressed formally even on a weekend, she carried only her smartphone—no other luggage. Correction: she didn't need to carry anything. The suited women trailing her—national bodyguards? Better call 'em supporters—handled the trunk and hauled it all to the dorms.
"Snow White's slumming it in the dorms too, huh."
"Heard the staff housing filled up. But isn't that wing for grad students?"
"You really think that's why? Bet it's a dirty trick to stick her near her fangirls and lure more girls to Korea."
Conspiracy theories flew about why Snow White—Baek Seolhui—had ended up in the student dorms instead of staff quarters.
Tough break for her.
As an S-rank ability user—not just abroad, but idolized by tons of women in Korea too—she probably couldn't live comfortably at the academy.
"Hm?"
In the distance, just as Baek Seolhui was about to enter the dorms, our eyes met for a split second. Hallucination? Nah. Without drawing attention, I pulled out my smartphone and pretended to take a call.
"Hey, long time no talk. Week already? You good?"
Baek Seolhui spotted my act and gave a faint smile.
"Look! Snow White smiled at us!"
"She's the celeb of the ability world. Damn, she really is gorgeous."
"I wanna marry her."
I got why the guys were drooling. White-haired cool beauty with bottomless mana reserves, S-rank hero to boot—who wouldn't harbor dirty thoughts?
"Tough life, huh."
She must've dealt with stares like that since she was a kid. Even as a fictional character, I felt like I was getting a glimpse of a top celeb's inconveniences in this world.
"Who're you calling?"
"Ah, you're back?"
I pocketed my phone at Yumir's voice from behind.
"Just a friend."
"A friend..."
"What's with that suspicious look?"
"Nothing. Anyway, shall we go? I'm starving."
"Sure. This way?"
I led Yumir out of the dorm area. Something like a chill prickled my back—probably just the guys' ugly jealousy over me lunching with a beauty like her.
But solo meals suck.
Beauty buying lunch + eating together vs. solo pizza at home.
"Oh, right. Won't your boyfriend mind you eating with me?"
"Never had one, so no clue."
"......."
(Lifelong singleton.) Beauty buying lunch + eating together vs. solo pizza at home.
I chose the former. Obviously.
Thud.
Baek Seolhui flopped onto the bed in her suit. Way smaller than her Busan home, but the dorm room—three combined into one suite—was spacious enough, bed and all.
She'd have to rub elbows with tons of people for a whole year here. She'd entered the academy under the guise of "rest," but this might be mentally tougher than hero life in Busan, where call-outs could drop anytime.
But academy worries weren't cluttering her head right now.
"...Who was that?"
Baek Seolhui checked a photo on her lowered smartphone. Far off, beyond the crowd—a man walking away, back turned. And beside him, a blonde girl keeping pace.
"...What? They know each other?"
The girl beamed, twisting her body slightly toward him. Not just side-by-side—she leaned his way, eyes fixed on his face while he faced forward.
"...What the hell?"
Something fuzzy bubbled up in Baek Seolhui's chest. That weird feeling.
"......Hmph."
She tried to forget it by reviewing tomorrow's entrance ceremony script.
"What is this. Arrhythmia?"
Hand on her chest, she stared blankly at the ceiling. She reached for her phone, thumbing toward a recently frequent contact—but
"......."
For some reason, she froze, unable to call or text.
A bit later.
"Whoa, lucky. Perfect spot with one seat left."
"Yeah. Heh, maybe thanks to me?"
Yumir poked her cheeks with her index fingers and grinned.
"I've got insane luck, y'know."
"Luck?"
"Yep. Luck. Meeting you like this? Total luck on my part."
"I'm just your average librarian."
"Are you, though?"
Right now.
"Doesn't seem average to me."
What was she building up to?
"You're..."
Yumir stared straight at me and quietly opened her mouth.
"a handsome librarian teacher."
"......."
Yumir Favorability +10