Chapter 21: Reversal (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 21: Reversal (2)
Another day dawned.
I was rummaging around the locker room, changing into my school uniform, when I stepped out to find Kang Ha-ni still in bed. For some reason, she hadn’t even started getting ready; she just stared at me blankly from under her covers.
“…What are you doing?”
“What are you doing?”
We stared at each other like two creatures that couldn’t possibly understand one another.
Normally, Kang Ha-ni wakes up earlier than me and finishes all her preparations first. Since she doesn’t cross-dress while sleeping and has to undo the compression bandages around her chest, she has no choice but to wake up early to get ready.
Oh, for context, there’s an episode in the original work where Lilac, driven by a petty competitive streak because she always woke up first, tried to beat her to it. They both ended up sleep-deprived, and Lilac got bashed for being a “total pain in the ass.”
Me? I don’t even glance toward the top bunk when I’m sleeping. In fact, I make it a point not to look at her bed even when I’m awake. If I were to make a mistake and see something I shouldn’t, our delicately balanced roommate relationship might transform into one between a cross-dressing girl and a servant whose mouth has been violently sealed shut.
Anyway, I didn’t even realize she was still in the room today. I just assumed she’d gotten ready and left without waking me. It seemed the sound of me changing had woken her up; she was wrapped tightly in her blanket, likely because she hadn’t put on her bandages yet.
After a moment of staring, Ha-ni was the first to snap out of it. She gave a playful smirk and waved a hand from under the covers.
“Hey, I overslept. You shouldn’t be late because of me, so go on ahead.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, I’d feel bad if you were late too. I’ll be there soon. You go first~”
What was this? It felt like she was playing a prank, but I couldn’t tell what it was.
“I’m going then…?”
It felt greasy, but if I lingered any longer, I really would be late. Well, whatever. She’s a physical-type superhuman; she can probably run fast enough to make it.
I left the room, headed down the stairs, exited the dormitory, and was well on my way to school before I realized something.
The path to school was incredibly quiet.
There wasn’t a single soul in sight.
Usually, the way to school would be bustling with energetic cadets, loud enough to be a nuisance. The fact that it was this silent was enough to make me feel a profound sense of wrongness. Was this the move of some villain I didn’t know about? Was it a precursor to an incident I hadn’t anticipated?
No, it wasn’t.
That was it.
Students don’t go to school on Saturdays.
I had lived a life of part-time jobs and labor for so long that I’d forgotten the concept of a weekend.
Shit.
Now I knew why Kang Ha-ni had been smirking.
That wicked girl.
Technically, it was my fault for assuming, but I felt so wronged that I decided at least half the blame lay with Ha-ni for not “kindly” correcting my mistake.
“Hey!”
Fuelled by righteous indignation, I kicked open the dormitory door. Ha-ni, now dressed in casual clothes (men’s, of course), greeted me.
“Haha, ahahaha! You really didn’t realize until the very end! How far did you get? Looking at the time, I bet you didn’t make it to the main gate.”
“Who would go that far when the road is that empty!”
“Normally, people don’t even think about going to the Academy on a Saturday unless there’s a special activity, you know?”
Dammit.
She was fighting dirty with facts, so I had nothing to say in rebuttal.
“Ah, seriously, why is everything you do so cute? If you’d been a little later, I would’ve finished making breakfast. Hey.”
“Huh? Breakfast?”
The Academy dormitories don’t typically provide breakfast. Usually, if students have time, they go to the cafeteria or just grab some bread. Surprisingly, Ha-ni was cooking.
Wait, you’re wondering why there are cooking facilities in the dorm rooms when it’s a fire hazard?
— But I can’t resist the charm of a cross-dressing girl making a homemade meal.
Yes, that was an actual quote from the original author. Case closed.
Personally, I could relate a bit. You really can’t turn down a homemade meal. For the record, in the original work, Lilac tanked his favorability so hard at the start that he didn’t get a chance to eat her cooking until summer vacation began.
“You were going to buy something anyway. Since it’s the weekend and we have time, I’ll make it.”
“Uh, sure. But where did the ingredients come from?”
“I bought them at the mart on the way home yesterday. It’ll take a little longer, so make yourself comfortable. And take off that uniform. Ahaha, seriously, that was hilarious.”
Shit. I felt incredibly frustrated, but I couldn’t exactly pick a fight with a kid who was younger than me and making me food. I’d already lost; the moment I started complaining, I’d only taste a more bitter defeat.
I quietly changed into casual clothes and came back out to a familiar scent.
Soybean paste stew, fried eggs, grilled canned ham, kimchi, and white rice—the quintessential Korean meal. It was a proper Korean breakfast.
“I kept it simple since it’s morning.”
Really? By my standards, a meal with stew isn’t “simple.”
I took a spoonful of the stew. The savory, salty taste of the doenjang moved me. Aside from the omurice Professor Cathy made, this was the first time I’d had a proper, home-style meal made by someone else. Especially the doenjang-jjigae; it had been so long since I’d had it even before my transmigration. The mild, gentle flavor—less stimulating than restaurant food—tasted wonderful.
“Yeah, eat up. It must’ve been hard work exercising since early morning. Heehee.”
Ah, there are potatoes in the stew.
In the original, there was a scene where Lilac was surprised to find potatoes in the stew. Experiencing it firsthand felt surreal.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah. Your future girlfriend is going to love you.”
“Huh?”
“They say guys who can cook are popular these days.”
“Ah, right. That’s what you meant. But it’s just stew and some grilled Spam; it’s not like I’m a chef or anything.”
“They say true skill shows in simple dishes like this.”
“I guess that’s true.”
As we chatted about nothing and moved our spoons, I soon found myself quite full. It was a satisfying breakfast.
“I’ll do the dishes.”
“Just stay there. I cooked, so I’ll clean up.”
“Hey, how can I let you do the dishes after you fed me? I’ll do it.”
“What’s the big deal between friends? If you really feel bad, just think about what we should do next.”
Huh?
What was she saying?
It sounded like she expected us to spend the rest of the day together. We’d been getting along well since moving into the dorms early, but we’d never actually gone out to have fun together.
“Were we supposed to go somewhere today?”
“Uh, no, not exactly. It’s just… the other kids at the Academy were talking.”
“Hmm.”
I nodded for her to continue. Ha-ni’s face flushed slightly, and she hesitated before speaking as if she’d made up her mind.
“They asked if I wanted to hang out with them this weekend. Hearing that made me think… even Academy cadets can hang out with friends on the weekends, right?”
“…Right?”
Well, they might be “future heroes” and all that, but in the end, the cadets are still just kids. Naturally, they’d want to hang out with friends their age and blow off some steam on the weekends.
“So, I wanted to go out with you.”
Um, Ha-ni, isn’t the usual order of things to make plans first?
As I stared at her, Ha-ni added an excuse.
“The thing is… I didn’t really have friends before I came to the Academy. You’re my first friend, so I wanted to go out with you first.”
Aw, that’s cute.
Knowing she was actually a girl made it cute, but if I’d heard that thinking she was a guy, it would have felt pretty awkward.
“A-actually, do you have plans today?”
Ha-ni, who had looked shy but happy just a moment ago, suddenly looked dejected as she considered the possibility.
I didn’t have plans; I was just going to hit the gym.
“No, I was going to go to the gym, but I can take a day off.”
Hardcore gym rats might cry about muscle loss, but I wasn’t that far gone. I have plans for tomorrow so that would have been difficult, but today I had nothing but training. I could certainly grant a simple wish to hang out from a friend as thanks for a hearty breakfast.
Besides, it was pitiful that she’d never had friends until now.
…Actually, when I was setting up her character, I was the one who suggested she should have no friends so she couldn’t easily cut ties with the protagonist even if she disliked him at first. I felt a bit of responsibility.
I’ll help you make lots of friends, Ha-ni! My bad!
* * *
Where do people usually go when they hang out with a heroine (or rather, a “kill her before she becomes one” victim)?
Maybe karaoke, or bowling—though I haven’t done much of that—or maybe an archery cafe? Fortunately, the area around the Academy was well-equipped with such entertainment facilities.
Now, as you might have guessed, we were currently in a place that was quite far removed from that youthful vibe.
“A kendo gym.”
And a traditional, high-class one with absolutely no one else around.
What was this? Was she planning to not just outclass me, but utterly crush me and make me regret calling her a friend?
“Uh, Han-hee… by ‘hanging out,’ did you mean you’d have fun while I act as your punching bag? Because if so, I’m going to be very disappointed in you.”
“Huh? Oh, you don’t like it? To be honest, I’ve never hung out with a friend before. I thought I’d start by showing you what I’m most confident in.”
Surprisingly, it seemed the choice of location was made without any malice.
“Um, kendo isn’t bad, but let’s do something else today.”
I mean, I’m not even supposed to see your family’s secret sword technique. Shit.
She probably didn’t intend to show it to me, but she was the type of character who might accidentally reveal it if she got too excited. And even if that wasn’t the case, as the Creator’s friend and Ha-ni’s first friend, I had a duty to ensure she didn’t end up with social anxiety by killing the mood and getting laughed at when she hung out with other people.
“Let’s go to a karaoke bar instead.”
“Karaoke? Is anyone allowed to go? I’ve never been.”
Well, I haven’t seen anything in the Setting Book about needing a license to use a karaoke room, so it should be fine. No matter how crazy this world is, surely there isn’t a rule like that.
“It should be fine, right?”
“Why are you answering with a question? Have you never been either?”
“Nope.”
I haven’t been in this world, at least.
“Oh!? Really?”
“Well, you said you haven’t been either.”
“I’m glad. Since it’s the first time for both of us. We really do have a lot in common.”
Hey, kid. Don’t say it like that. It sounds weird.
“Oh, let’s go in there.”
Kang Ha-ni clearly had no idea what a karaoke bar was. If she did, she wouldn’t have tried to drag me into the third floor of a suspicious building just because the pink neon sign said “Karaoke.”
“Hey, that’s not a karaoke bar.”
“Huh? But it says ‘Karaoke’ right there.”
“No, just… it’s not. The place we’re going is called a ‘Coin Karaoke,’ a much more wholesome and beautiful cultural establishment.”
Seriously, why is a place like that even near the Academy?
I took the now-compliant Ha-ni to a decent coin karaoke place. I wondered if they’d have any songs I knew, but fortunately, all the usual hits were there. We sang until our throats were raw.
Maybe I went a bit too far by using mana to reinforce my vocal cords just to belt out high notes, but it was fun, so whatever. When you go to karaoke, you have to give it your all; I’ll let tomorrow’s me worry about my throat.
* * *
Kim Ga-eul was in a rather depressed mood on what should have been a pleasant weekend.
Her smartphone messenger was flooded with insults from people she didn’t even know. The number of blocked contacts grew, but the messages kept coming. Eventually, she turned off notifications and half-gave up.
She tried reaching out to her “friends” and the boys who used to follow her around, but they either ignored her or, more often than not, replied with insults. There was no way her weekend could be enjoyable.
Everything had been going so well when she first entered the Academy, used her talent to make decent friends, and found boys who liked her.
Was the problem that she wasn’t satisfied with being admired? Or was it that she tried to take someone else’s place by sacrificing them?
It was probably both.
As she looked at her phone, where insults were piling up in real-time, a certain person suddenly came to mind.
“…If I contact the loser, at least he won’t curse at me, right?”
The loser. No, Kang So-hyun, for some reason, didn’t seem to think much of her at all. Sometimes he looked at her with pity, or sighed as if he were annoyed, but he always answered whenever she spoke to him.
She felt a surge of indignation, but thinking calmly, she realized she had no right to feel that way.
The moment she hesitantly opened her phone, she realized something and turned the power off again in a fit of irritation.
“I don’t even have the loser’s number.”
That was it. They weren’t even close, so of course she wouldn’t have his number.
“No, it’s not like I’m disappointed. I just thought of it. Yeah, if I get close to the loser, maybe he’ll step in and mediate with the other kids. That’s the only reason.”
What was he doing right now?
Did he even have friends to hang out with on the weekend?
If he didn’t…
“…Would he have come out if I’d called him?”
She was crazy.
Thinking about texting the person she used to bully. She had clearly lost her mind.
“…Maybe I’ll ask him on Monday.”
Seriously. She had definitely gone insane.