29. When Tomorrow Comes
29. When Tomorrow Comes
29. When Tomorrow Comes
The Promised Day.
The day my week-long cohabitation with the villains would finally end, and my return to the academy was set.
I stood below a massive building alongside the villains, at the promised location.
A man's glib voice came through the earpiece in my ear.
—Today's plan: no need to destroy anything. We just need to use that fool. Everyone clear?
"Got it."
"Y-yeah! But Si-jun isn't a fool!"
"...Why are you giving orders."
I was also ticked off by the word 'fool,' but I decided to let it slide.
That flippant voice belonged to Black Dawn's financial officer and strategist, Kim Chun-sam.
He was someone I could physically overpower.
But his mind more than made up for his lack of muscle, which was why he was in Black Dawn.
'Sneaky little shit.'
He always picked a fight whenever we crossed paths in the hallways, but he never sought me out to start one.
Now that I think about it, I'm annoyed.
Once again, the man's voice came through the earpiece.
—The other two will move in once the item is secured. The rest of you head to the banquet hall and hold your positions until I signal.
The banquet hall.
The building we were about to enter.
It bore the name of a company called NAVI.
'So this was about Episode 1.5.'
An incident nestled between the tutorial that was Episode 1 and Episode 2, where the real story got underway.
Originally, Black Dawn would have destroyed nearly half the building and stolen the NAVI Family's treasured item.
Multiple people would lose their lives, and Na Yu-na would also be left in terrible shape because of it.
NAVI Group, which was practically her whole identity—its collapse meant Na Yu-na's downfall as well.
So, all things considered, this current situation wasn't half bad.
No need to wreck half the building. Black Dawn would just slip out quietly.
Losing the important item was unavoidable, but it was a lot better than people dying.
My being kidnapped had actually resulted in a chance to breeze through an entire episode.
In the middle of all this, Han Yu-wol voiced her disappointment.
"Infiltration is so boring. A shame. I was hoping to blow off some steam..."
"Ah... actually, this is better. We can get through quietly. Right, Ha-na?"
"Si-jun. If this mission fails, you're coming back to the hideout, right?"
Nobody's listening to a word I say.
Han Yu-wol looked dissatisfied, as if she were thirsting for something.
But right now she was standing next to Angela, who wore glasses and always sounded annoyed. Thanks to Angela's hallucination-type ability, their faces were disguised, so Han Yu-wol's red eyes didn't radiate their usual pressure.
In the midst of this, Ban Ha-na kept tugging at my sleeve.
"Si-jun. I'm just going to fail the mission. Let's not go! Let's read books together again..."
"No, Ha-na. That's not..."
Intentional trolling.
Ban Ha-na was trying to drag me back to hell.
That absolutely could not happen.
"...If you're going to play house, do it somewhere else. You're in the way."
Angela had been watching us. Irritation was her default tone, and today seemed no different.
Even though she'd been rude, I decided to offer a parting shot.
"How annoying."
"...What? I've been going easy on you..."
Just as Angela was about to unleash a tirade, a new order came through my earpiece.
—Stop messing around and get into the banquet hall.
The plan was to follow everything Kim Chun-sam had laid out.
Angela shot me a vicious glare, but she couldn't say another word.
'Serves you right.'
This wasn't just me picking a fight—it was payback. Payback for calling me Han Yu-wol's boy toy all week.
After that brief exchange, we entered the NAVI building where the banquet was being held.
Towards the place where Na Yu-na might be.
***
The banquet hall could be summed up in one word: luxury.
It wasn't a single, uniform color. Multiple shades blended together and brightened the space.
The floor was marble, our steps tapping on it.
We walked across it, beneath brilliant lights.
Platters of lavish food. Countless people in expensive clothing.
My reaction was pure amazement.
'...This is insane.'
This was a first for someone like me, who'd grown up in an ordinary home.
A gathering of high-ranking figures, each flaunting their own wealth.
I wasn't the only one in awe.
"Wooow..."
Whether it was the lights reflecting in her eyes or her eyes themselves shining—Ban Ha-na's light-brown eyes, not her usual pink from her ability, were sparkling.
She seemed to be experiencing such a place for the first time, just like me, and looked overwhelmed with the urge to explore.
"Si-jun! I... that...!!"
"What is it?"
I turned my gaze to where Ban Ha-na was pointing.
There was a spread of various dishes—different from the limited food cooked at the Black Dawn hideout, cuisine from all around the world.
Such novel food. Ban Ha-na, completely captivated by curiosity, went skipping off with an excited pitter-patter.
"...Is it okay to leave her alone like that?"
"Mmm... I wonder...?"
With an awkward smile, Han Yu-wol deflected my question.
Perhaps she didn't have the confidence to handle that kind of energy, because she even averted her gaze.
So then, the remaining person who could take responsibility for Ban Ha-na...
"..."
"What are you staring at."
...was nobody.
Angela had no intention of doing it either, since she seemed to be scanning the area for the mission.
'Guess there's no helping it.'
I had no choice but to be responsible for Ban Ha-na myself.
They'd probably brought her along for the escape.
But here, there was no one else around who could keep an eye on her.
'...Should I just take her and go?'
I considered it, but even if I took her, if she didn't like it, she might just run off on her own again.
So I had no choice but to ask what she wanted.
I approached Ban Ha-na, who was currently stacking a tower of food on a plate.
"Can you really eat all that...?"
"I can! I'll just eat it slowly!"
"That's not something you can manage just by eating slowly..."
We're about to set off an incident soon, is this really the time?
'Actually, why am I even worrying about that?'
Getting caught would be a good thing, wouldn't it?
The food tower on her plate. Before it got any taller, I tried to stop Ban Ha-na.
"Let's eat later. Later. Not now. Got it?"
Acting out of place. That would be classified as erratic behavior, highly likely to lead to bad outcomes.
So I stopped Ban Ha-na, but her face had crumpled into a near-tearful pout.
"...No."
"What?"
"I said no...! Today's the last day...! There is no later! You don't even know that! Idiot!"
"..."
Without a word, I took the plate from Ban Ha-na.
Then I slowly set it down on an empty table.
"Then, if today weren't the last day? Would you give up?"
"...?"
Ban Ha-na cocked her head at my words.
She definitely wouldn't understand what I meant.
"I'll kidnap you. Not the hideout. Let's live on the outside."
"Really...?"
"...It's not a lie."
Ban Ha-na didn't want today to be the last, and she wanted to know the outside world more than anyone.
There was no way she'd return to the Black Dawn hideout of her own free will now.
The justification was perfectly in place.
"But do kidnappers usually tell people they're going to kidnap them?"
"...Let's just gloss over that, Ha-na."
She only gets sharp at times like this.
What I intended to do was run away with Ban Ha-na.
"This is... an escape."
The kind of escape she'd seen in her storybooks.
This was a golden opportunity to completely screw over Black Dawn.
***
After enough time had passed and the guests had gathered, the banquet officially began.
Click.
The main lights went out, and only the podium up front was brightly lit.
Through the dimness, an old man in a crisp suit appeared. He was the chairman of NAVI Group and Na Yu-na's grandfather, Na Jin-cheol.
"Thank you all for attending the NAVI Family's 50th anniversary banquet, everyone."
His dignified voice filled the hall, signaling the banquet's official start.
And that was also the signal that Black Dawn's plan was beginning.
—Now move. I'll guide your direction. Hurry.
The voice in my ear.
Angela and Han Yu-wol, who had been standing apart, approached me.
"Let's move naturally, Si-jun. I hope you're not foolish enough to cry for help here."
Han Yu-wol was worried I might signal for rescue.
If I did, the people gathered in the hall could get hurt, so I naturally had no intention of doing something so stupid.
'Why on earth do they even need me here?'
In the original story, I knew they destroyed the building and took the item.
But even as a veteran player of the game, I still didn't know why they needed me.
Time would tell, but the frustration was unavoidable.
'...Even if they hand me the item, I'm taking Ban Ha-na with me.'
With that thought, I followed behind Han Yu-wol.