A Promise for Sunday
Monday. The kind of day that makes you want to turn around and go home the moment you set foot on campus.
I yawned and slid into my seat. The classroom was already packed, students hunched over their desks and studying like their lives depended on it.
What a diligent bunch.
"Tired?"
"Yeah, I overdid it a bit yesterday."
"Well, you did run with Seo Gayeon for ages."
I looked at Kim Seohyun. She'd barged in halfway through, running with sandbags strapped to her body—bags that had weighed a good 150 kilograms.
Guess I inspired her.
Twirling my pen, I let my thoughts drift back to Kim Seohyun's wish.
Kim Seohyun was, in essence, a living weapon. Built for the sole purpose of exterminating every last demon in this world.
Whish.
Pen spinning between my fingers, I sank into thought about Seo Gayeon.
If I wanted to raise her right, the first step was awakening her mana. Once she grew accustomed to the mana she carried and learned magic as a discipline, she would grow stronger at a pace that defied imagination.
'It'll be a painful process, though.'
Time was short. Gayeon would suffer the most, but I wouldn't have it easy either—there was so much to prepare.
I was mulling over what it would take to raise her so well the story spread as a legend when the front door slid open.
Grind.
Instructor Seo Wooju walked in.
"Good morning again, kids. I have a few announcements to make today."
"Yesterday was Sunday. I'm sure you all heard about the demon that went berserk in Gangnam, Seoul?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Thankfully, some of our own students were nearby and held the demon off, so the civilians were able to evacuate safely. Hong Yuhwa, Erciel, Kim Seohyun, Kim Ara—you all did well."
Instructor Seo Wooju called out the four of them.
"The Hero Association is awarding you a substantial commendation for your exploits. A cash prize, too. Anyone here planning to turn it down?"
"Could you tell us who's presenting the award?"
"The Sword Queen herself, Baek Ji-yeon, has volunteered to do the honors."
"...The Sword Queen?"
Kim Seohyun's eyes went wide. That was how surprised she was.
Half the class buzzed at Instructor Seo Wooju's words.
"Wait, isn't the Sword Queen the one who single-handedly resolved that A-rank disaster a while back?"
"She soloed an A-rank catastrophe? Is she even human?"
The students kept murmuring. To be fair, an A-rank disaster meant a developing country might as well be facing total national collapse.
"Quiet, everyone. Now then, one more piece of news for you. The Black Lotus has been ramping up its activities lately, so I want you all to stay alert. Do not play the hero and go rushing out. I'm not underestimating you, but compared to actual heroes, you're still lacking."
Seo Wooju said it with the faintest note of sorrow in his voice.
"Demons are treacherous. They'll use every means at their disposal to win—poison, hostages, crime. Don't think of them as people. They are our enemies, nothing more than monsters wearing human skin."
Seo Wooju swept his gaze across the students.
"Right, that's enough of the heavy stuff for today."
He flashed a grin. Then his eyes met mine.
He was looking at me with an odd expression.
"And Lee Seoha—stop by the staff office after class."
"Yes, sir."
I scratched my head.
So I'd been made after all. I'd scrubbed every trace of my face from modern surveillance—of that I was certain. But faces can't be fully hidden from word of mouth, so I'd figured they'd piece together a rough picture.
"Let's get today's lessons underway, then. First period is a joint session. Everyone outside."
"So tired."
Someone's muttered complaint, and Seo Gayeon silently agreed.
Tired. And overwhelmed.
She shifted her gaze elsewhere. She could see Lee Seoha. While everyone else was dusted with grime, not a single speck clung to him. He was even yawning, looking downright bored.
"I really don't get that guy."
"Of course he's the top student. Kim Seohyun was the number one recruit this year, and he outshone her right away."
"What even is his ability?"
"No idea. That's what makes it scary. Besides, you really think Lee Seoha's got talent like us untouchable bottom-feeders?"
At that self-deprecating answer, the surrounding students nodded along. There were many talented students in their year, but even among them, Lee Seoha stood apart. It was like he lived several tiers above everyone else.
Bzzt.
Her phone buzzed. Seo Gayeon opened it and checked the screen.
A text from her mother. She sent her reply, then let out a long sigh.
She didn't know what to do. Family gave her unconditional faith. And she felt she could never repay that faith.
Frankly, her family's belief weighed heavily on Seo Gayeon.
And then there was—
"Hey."
—this person's faith too, worn on that lazy, smiling face.
"Ah, h-hi!"
Seo Gayeon greeted him in a trembling voice. But beneath it, expectation flickered.
They were the golden generation of Korea Hero Academy. And among them, the most exceptional student was looking at her—with expectation, no less.
What on earth did he see in her that he could hope for so much? Could there be some hidden talent buried inside her after all?
Hope began to raise its head inside her.
But hope's endings were never kind. Seo Gayeon forced the swelling feeling back down. After all, he might simply have been mistaken.
"Is this seat taken?"
"No, it's free."
"Then I'll borrow it for a moment."
Lee Seoha sat down beside her with a warm, easygoing smile.
"Remember what I said yesterday?"
"Yeah, I remember."
She remembered. That compliment that had made her face burn—the one where he'd dared to compare her to Hong Yuhwa and said her talent was greater. It had been so long since anyone had praised her like that.
"Sorry, I think I was a bit hasty yesterday."
Truthfully, he'd been a little emotional. What he'd assumed was a tutorial had turned out nowhere near the difficulty he'd imagined.
Lee Seoha drawled on lazily, thinking as much.
"S-so you were right, then? I-I really don't have any t-talent?"
"No. You do."
To her self-esteemless question, Lee Seoha answered without a moment's hesitation.
"......"
It was belief so unwavering it left no room for doubt. So firm that Seo Gayeon found herself staring at him, lips parted.
"Do you have time on Sunday?"
"Time? Y-yes, I do. My c-club activity is on S-Saturday."
"Good. Mine's Saturday too."
Because I picked Saturday on purpose, though.
Lee Seoha swallowed the words before they could slip out.
"Gayeon, your talent is exceptional, but learning magic right now would be really hard for you."
"Y-yeah."
She nodded at the blazing compliment—because Lee Seoha was looking at her as if he genuinely believed she had talent. Belief like this was a first, apart from her family.
"It's also a bit late in the game. Magic is a discipline where the fundamentals matter enormously."
It was one of the very reasons she'd hesitated. Magic was far too difficult. And above all, she'd started far too late. There simply wasn't enough time to switch her major track now.
Lee Seoha paused and looked at her. He'd been pondering it all through class—how exactly to lift Seo Gayeon's self-esteem.
"Do you want to go somewhere with me on Sunday?"
"W-where?"
"Somewhere fun."
"Somewhere fun?"
Lee Seoha deliberately didn't say the word dungeon. If he had, she would have bolted.
"Yeah. And the reason I said you have talent? It's connected to that."
"Talent..."
At the unfamiliar word, Seo Gayeon murmured it back to herself. It wasn't that she had no talent—if she truly hadn't, she never would have made it into this school. It was just that the students around her were such monsters.
She'd been the top of her school back in the countryside, but every time she tried to keep pace with this academy's curriculum, she ran out of strength.
"S-Seoha?"
"Hmm?"
"Is the talent you mentioned... the awakening of an attribute?"
Attributes. A power that manifested when mana took on an elemental nature. That power was so rare that fewer than five first-years—the so-called golden generation—possessed one.
Lee Seoha flashed a moment of surprise at her guess, then nodded readily.
"Yep."
"So that's why you said all that."
Only then could Seo Gayeon begin to make sense of his behavior. She'd stayed up all night wondering what talent he could possibly have seen in her, and the more she thought, the more baffled she became—because there was nothing there. And then it had come to her: the awakening of an attribute.
"Th-then can you tell what k-kind of attribute mine is?"
"Of course."
Lee Seoha opened his mouth.
"Your attribute is..."
Seo Gayeon tilted her head at his answer. She'd never heard of such an attribute.
"It'll sound unfamiliar. This one comes with a lot of secrets attached."
"...I see."
"But there is a way to awaken this attribute in a short period. It's grueling and difficult, though. Can you handle it?"
"I can."
Seo Gayeon said it while looking straight at him. Not a tremor in her voice. It was ironclad resolve.
That was simply who Seo Gayeon was. On the surface, she looked endlessly small and insignificant—but the spirit she carried within was brilliant as starlight.
Seo Gayeon thought differently. The mana of an attribute—a power that might, just might, be her last lifeline. Her efforts were never rewarded. But she knew that if she stopped even trying, she would become nothing at all.
"Then it's a promise for Sunday. Oh—it'll be rough, so just wear comfortable training clothes."
"Y-yeah. O-okay."
Lee Seoha left his seat, and Seo Gayeon kept watching him until he was gone. Even so, she still couldn't wrap her head around the attribute her mana supposedly carried.
The attribute of the Star. She'd never so much as heard of such a power.
I was on my way to the staff office. Class had ended, and Instructor Seo Wooju had called for me.
'I should ask him to keep it a secret.'
He probably would. He was one of the few genuine educators in this school, after all.
When I reached the staff office, Instructor Seo Wooju was waiting outside.
"Follow me."
"Yes, sir."
I trailed after him—and the route looked familiar. What was the point of pretending otherwise? It led to the place where I'd met Seo Yebin not long ago.
We stopped before a door far too massive and ornate to belong to any mere staff room.
Creak.
As I approached, the door began to open on its own. Gorgeous blonde hair swept behind an ear, and a pair of violet eyes turned toward me.
"Welcome."
"That student is...?"
A woman in a formal suit stood there. Sharp, imposing eyes. Black hair pulled back into a ponytail. At her hip hung a white scabbard.
The Sword Queen, Baek Ji-yeon.
"This student?"
"A student I have my eye on. And—the one you've been looking for."
"This student?"
Those violet eyes curved into a delighted crescent.
"I said I would watch from a distance. I didn't expect us to meet this soon."
Seo Yebin smiled, the smile full of meaning.
"I put in some effort, since the Headmistress wanted to see me."
"I see. You faced a demon alone, did you?"
I answered with a shrug instead of words. Whether the gesture pleased her or not, Seo Yebin's lips curved slightly.
"You really do make things difficult for me. Now I'll have to agonize over what reward to give you."
"In that case, may I choose it myself?"
"Go right ahead."
Seo Yebin looked at me the way one might watch a grandchild performing an adorable little trick. Or rather—given her actual age, the comparison was probably accurate.
"Then I'd like..."
I opened my mouth.