Chapter 45: Kim Ga-eul’s Time of Suffering (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 45: Kim Ga-eul’s Time of Suffering (1)
“Hey, loser. You’ve never had a girl make you food before, right!?”
Before the morning assembly, Kim Ga-eul stormed into the classroom as usual. With a defiant attitude reminiscent of Jeom-sun offering spring potatoes, she thrust something shaped like a lunchbox toward me.
Unless she had suddenly developed a grudge and was attempting a terrorist attack with a lunchbox bomb, the contents were likely actual food.
The classic touch of a bandage on her finger—suggesting she had worked hard despite her clumsy skills—earned her quite a few points in my book.
But Ga-eul, I’m sorry to tell you that even though she was in disguise, I already ate a meal prepared by a girl this morning.
“What’s with the sudden lunchbox? Did you make it yourself?”
“I learned a simple recipe at the Cooking Research Club and tried it out, but I think I made too much.”
She glanced at me tentatively while maintaining a somewhat forceful smile.
“A girl from another class making a lunchbox for a guy… that happens a lot in the manga you losers like, right? Am I right?”
This gave me a very clear idea of how she viewed me.
But she wasn’t wrong.
If possible, it would have been even better if the person who made it had the ‘childhood friend’ attribute, but I suppose that’s asking for too much.
“Wow, Kang So-hyun. Getting a lunchbox from a girl in another class? Look at Mr. Popular over here.”
“Oh, Ga-eul is being quite proactive. So-hyun, I guess you two are eating together today?”
Kang Ha-ni and Lilac approached one after another, teasing me playfully.
Their smirking faces made it obvious they wanted to get a rise out of me, but how old do they think I am? Did they really think I’d get embarrassed over something like this?
“…Shut up.”
That’s right. I was incredibly embarrassed. To a loner who had never experienced such a bittersweet, youthful atmosphere, the air surrounding these bright socialites was practically poison.
“Guys, So-hyun is blushing. Stop teasing him.”
“Hey! If you say it out loud like that, what does that make So-hyun! Lilac, you’re surprisingly wicked.”
“Is the loser embarrassed? Hehe. It must feel good to have a pretty girl pack a lunch for you!”
The others were one thing, but Lilac—grinning while pretending to stop them with that handsome face of his—was particularly annoying.
Lilac. You’re the worst of them all, you bastard.
But guys, there’s something you don’t know.
“Actually, I already have plans for lunch today.”
Exactly. I didn’t want to say it because it felt like a total buzzkill, but I already had a lunch appointment.
The moment the words left my mouth, Kim Ga-eul’s grinning face crumpled into a look of despair.
And it wasn’t just her; Lilac, who had been setting the mood, also looked devastated.
Wait, why you? Besides, I can’t help it if I have a prior engagement, right?
* * *
In the end, I was only able to send Kim Ga-eul back to her class after making a bizarre promise to eat lunch twice.
To make an excuse for myself, I never intended to have this kind of relationship with Kim Ga-eul.
I thought if I just kept her from dying, she’d eventually stick to Lilac or keep clinging to Cheon Yu-hak on her own.
“I guess this is just a classic transmigrator trope.”
Getting entangled with characters you never intended to associate with, in directions you never wanted, was the destiny of all transmigrators in web novels.
“I mean, if she just flat-out said she liked me, that would be one thing, but it’s not even that.”
Just today, right before heading back to her class, Kim Ga-eul paused for a moment to look at Cheon Yu-hak.
Hmm, she probably has some feelings for me now, but doesn’t she still like Cheon Yu-hak too?
It’s not like human emotions can be sorted out that neatly.
Or maybe I’m just delusional.
…Thinking about it that way is actually a bit scary. Damn, I hope I’m not just making a fool of myself here.
“Sorry! So-hyun, am I late?”
While I was lost in my stupid thoughts, today’s lunch partner arrived.
“No, I just got here myself.”
My lunch partner today was Professor Cathy.
That bastard Cheon Yu-hak! He didn’t just text his family; he texted the homeroom teacher too!
And that’s why I was summoned!
Cheon Yu-hak, you son of a bitch. How could you do this to me…?
The sense of betrayal burning in my heart won’t be extinguished easily. Just you wait, Cheon Yu-hak. I’m going to get my petty revenge.
“You could have started eating without me. I’m sorry, the meeting ran a bit long.”
“No, it’s fine. You’re the one who called for me, Professor. Of course I should wait.”
The only silver lining was that the Professor didn’t seem particularly angry.
“Well, shall we finish our talk while we wait for the food?”
Ah, I should have just ordered the food in advance.
“I’m not here to scold you, so don’t worry, So-hyun. I just have a few simple things I want to ask.”
Since Cheon Yu-hak promised to strictly hide the source of the dungeon information, I didn’t really have anything to be guilty about.
“I read the materials Yu-hak submitted, and the part about you fighting a villain weighed on my mind.”
Ah, thank goodness.
I was worried that seeds of suspicion toward me might have sprouted in my secret friend’s heart, but fortunately, that wasn’t it. She was just curious about how I managed to take down a villain.
I had plenty of excuses prepared for that.
Indeed, I was a prepared transmigrator.
“Weren’t you scared?”
“Yes, well, what happened was… Huh?”
“So-hyun. This is only the second time you’ve faced a villain directly. You must have been scared, right?”
The unexpected question caught me off guard.
Was I scared?
Honestly, I wasn’t sure.
Maybe it was thanks to the practice I’d been doing, or maybe I’d grown numb after the fight with Jin Gyeong-tae. Or perhaps it just hadn’t sunk in yet.
Regardless, I don’t think I felt particularly afraid.
“Actually, as a hero and a professor, I shouldn’t say this to a cadet, but… I hope you can hold onto that fear, So-hyun.”
However, her eyes were so earnest and her worry for me so palpable that I couldn’t easily tell her I wasn’t scared.
When she took my hand, I was surprised to find that my hand was trembling slightly.
“You’ll inevitably get used to it, but I think you should cherish that feeling for as long as possible. You don’t necessarily have to become a hero just because you graduate from the Academy.”
The faint trembling gradually subsided, melting away into the warmth of her hand.
“The Chairperson was worried. She said that with such a massive goal in front of you, you might not even realize how much you’re struggling.”
The image of the Chairperson flickered through my mind.
She was the type who would laugh as if something were amusing while still worrying about me as her student.
I could easily picture it.
“You’re still attending the Academy, and you’re only a first-year. Is there really a need to rush so much?”
The emotions that had been melting softly began to harden like ice again at her words.
“…So-hyun?”
“You’re right. I think I’ve been in too much of a hurry.”
In a hurry.
Was I really rushing?
I had successfully stopped the terror attack at the entrance ceremony.
I had dealt with Jin Gyeong-tae and Choi In-ho.
And this time, though unintentional, I had also put Cha Ho-young behind bars.
With this, I had essentially cut off all the early-stage lackeys of the Academy’s Mastermind—the boss of the early part of the story.
But I wasn’t in a position to relax yet.
In this godforsaken world, there was no telling when something might change due to the Creator’s whims, and I still hadn’t dealt with the Academy’s Mastermind, who was the most dangerous threat in the beginning.
I even had the Ruyi, which I could awaken right now, tucked away in my pocket just because I felt tired.
It had been like that until now.
If even one thing went slightly wrong, someone’s life was immediately at risk.
If I were to comfortably enjoy Academy life as she suggested, someone would surely start dying soon.
At the very least, if I wanted to live peacefully at the Academy…
I felt like I could only rest easy once I had dealt with that last guy.
Otherwise, once again, before my eyes…
…Huh? Once again?
“…So-hyun?”
“Ah, yes. Professor.”
Again.
Something like this had happened before.
A sense of déjà vu, like something was about to come to mind, covered my head like a thick fog. The memory that felt within reach vanished back beyond the mist.
“My words didn’t make you feel burdened, did they?”
“Of course not.”
On the contrary, feeling that she truly, sincerely cared for me made something swell in a corner of my heart.
This was likely the first time anyone had ever worried about me to this extent, even including my life before the transmigration.
The omurice arrived at just the right time.
Mm, as expected, omurice is the way to go when eating with a secret friend.
“Right, shall we stop the heavy talk here? Is there anything you want to say, So-hyun?”
Something I wanted to say.
I considered asking for advice about how Kim Ga-eul seemed to be walking a strange tightrope lately, but that wasn’t a good choice.
Though she was a bit better than before, Cathy still tended to dislike Kim Ga-eul.
That’s right. I am a growing man.
I hope you’ll discard the prejudice that a transmigrator protagonist will be oblivious forever.
I pushed the topic of Kim Ga-eul to a corner of my mind and brought up another concern.
“Actually, I do have one worry.”
“What is it? You might feel better if you talk about it.”
“Well, it’s not that big of a deal.”
Perhaps thinking I had some major problem, she took my hand again.
She waited for me to speak with a gentle smile, as if she wouldn’t rush me.
The warm temperature seemed to lighten my heart a bit.
Maybe that was why.
“Actually, my Elder Sister is coming to see me…”
Creeeak.
Wait. Did something break?
There was no pain.
Startled by the chilling sound I’d just heard, I checked my hand that she was holding. It was still perfectly fine and didn’t particularly hurt.
I could still feel the heart-warming warmth, but for some reason, my captured hand began to feel like a hostage.
“Yes, go on. Why did you stop?”
It’s okay for me to keep talking, right? Your eyes aren’t going to lose their light every time I speak, are they?
Then again, it wasn’t like I could take back what I’d already said.
“Well, she said she was worried because of the dungeon incident, so she’ll be putting in a request for a visit soon…”
Shit.
It wasn’t an illusion.
The moment the words ‘Elder Sister’ came out, her grip had definitely tightened for a split second before returning to normal.
“Because she’s worried.”
This was terrifying.
Because her head was slightly lowered, I couldn’t see her expression, which made it twice as scary.
What is this? Where did I make the wrong choice to suddenly fall from a cozy atmosphere of eating omurice into this living hell?
“…Is that so?”
The moment I was about to mindlessly blurt out an apology for no reason.
“I see. I’ve actually wanted to have a consultation with your family at least once. If your sister comes, I hope she’ll definitely come to see me as well.”
When Professor Cathy raised her head, she looked exactly the same as usual.
With her unchanging smiling face and warm aura, I almost felt relieved instinctively, but…
“Um, Professor?”
“Yes, So-hyun?”
Judging by the way she was holding my hand and not letting go, it was certain that something had gone wrong.
“Oh my, look at me. I’m sorry. Was it too tight?”
“A-Ah, no.”
It wasn’t exactly ‘tight,’ but I really have no idea what it is you’re unhappy about…?
The classic transmigrator trait: being incredibly oblivious.
I thought I had overcome it, but apparently not.
* * *
In fact, Cathy had been in a fairly good mood until they started eating the omurice.
She had been worried when she heard he went into a dungeon, but he had returned safely, and hearing that he had protected his friends as usual even made her heart swell with a strange sense of pride.
Her heart had skipped a beat when she saw in the report that he had collapsed briefly after playing a major role in catching the villain, but the fact that he got up shortly after meant that the ring was doing its job.
However, one thing she worried about was whether he was already suffering from the chronic ailment that heroes face.
So, she had called him out under the pretext of a consultation.
At the Academy, they teach that villains are not human—that they are beings who have forfeited their human rights.
In reality, doing so increases the survival rate of heroes, and it is also true that villains behave in anti-humanitarian ways.
From a hero’s perspective, the faster one gets used to it, the better, but Cathy did not want the boy who resembled her younger brother to become cold-hearted too quickly.
Fortunately, he was still trembling.
He might not have realized it himself, but fear and hesitation still remained in his heart.
That was enough.
Now that she had confirmed what she wanted to confirm, she thought she could just enjoy the meal and have a pleasant conversation with him.
Until the word ‘Elder Sister’ came out of his mouth.
An inexplicable unpleasantness swirled in her chest.