70 - A Frenzied Morning on the Way to School
It was a hectic morning on the commute to school. I'd stayed up late the night before and slept right through my alarm, so I woke up way behind schedule. I barely managed to tame my bedhead with a quick brush and threw on my uniform in a rush.
"Cheon Professor, are you heading out somewhere today?"
"Yeah, I was thinking of stopping by the university to meet some old colleagues. Want me to drop you off at the academy?"
"I promised to meet my friends and walk with them. Just up ahead."
"Haha, alright then. The weather's still chilly, so bundle up and don't catch a cold!"
In the elevator, I headed to the first floor while he went down to the basement, and that was that. Sure enough, outside the wind was howling and heavy clouds blanketed the sky, making everything feel gloomy. Plenty of other students were out too, chattering noisily as they made their way to school.
"Hey, Nami! Bet you kept you waiting!"
Han Se-ri came running up, waving her hand.
"Hey, Se-ri."
"Nah, nah! It's 'Hey, Se-ri!' like this!"
She brought her right hand to her head, then shot it straight up toward the sky with her arm fully extended. If she'd put her left hand on her hip, it'd have been a perfect Nazi salute—but luckily, this world had no history of Nazi Germany. Ji-hye arrived a bit later, panting as she ran up and greeted me.
"Don't just run off without me...! Hey, Nami. Did you have a good weekend?"
"Hey, Ji-hye. Yeah, sorta. I stayed up late last night, so I'm a little tired."
"Really? I overslept too—Dad had to wake me up on his way out. Got an earful for it, though..."
"You got yelled at? Just for sleeping in?"
Se-ri's eyes went wide. Ji-hye pouted, looking all indignant.
"Dad's always kinda strict... Don't you think yelling over something like that is too much?"
"Hmm. I've never overslept, so I wouldn't know."
"What are you talking about? You always sleep in and show up late!"
"But I was early today~!"
"Eek!"
Se-ri started tickling Ji-hye's neck and bolted. Ji-hye dropped her bag to chase after her in revenge.
"Hey, hey, hey! Using aura to run is cheating! No fair! Waaah!"
"If I catch you, you're getting the same treatment. No mercy!"
Where did they get all that energy? Kids that age just couldn't contain themselves—they bounced around everywhere. I figured I'd carry Ji-hye's bag at least to the school gate. Our routine had been solid for the past couple weeks: Ji-hye came in through the apartment complex's back gate to meet Se-ri first, then we'd link up. Judging by Se-ri's laughter echoing from somewhere, it looked like Ji-hye had finally caught her.
"Ack! Just... just the neck! Not the armpits!"
"Nuh-uh, no way. More, more."
"Ji-hye, stop... stop...! Nami, help! Hyaah!"
"Oh, right—your bag!"
"Thanks for bringing it. Ugh, I'm so sorry... Want me to carry yours all the way to school?"
"Nah, no need."
"What about me? Am I invisible?!"
We passed through the main gate and kept walking along the boulevard. Since all the cars ran on electricity, there was no exhaust—just clean, pleasant air. While Se-ri and Ji-hye kept bickering, I couldn't shake my thoughts about Adella. It was way more realistic for her to grow stronger than Jin Chronicle than for me to shatter 108 ice pillars. But with the boss fight looming, was investing time in training her really the right call? No way to know until I tried.
"Huh? Nami, what's up?"
Se-ri noticed me stopping near the bus stop and asked.
"I was supposed to walk to school with one of my classmates too. Wanna wait and all go together?"
"She takes the bus?"
"Yeah, should be here any minute."
"Sure, why not? We've got plenty of time."
"Who're we waiting for? Someone from your class?"
"I thought you only had us as besties, Nami!"
I was about to answer when the bus pulled up and a crowd spilled out. It was a busy stop near the subway station, so it took forever for everyone to unload. And calling that thing a "bus"... It was a double-articulated behemoth with two sets of doors linked by gates, big enough to hold over a hundred people easy. Soon enough, a redheaded girl squeezed out from between a potbellied salaryman and a long-haired high school boy, finally planting her feet on solid ground. She glanced around, straightened her clothes, and retied her shoelaces.
"Morning, Yuna."
"Huh? Oh, NoNami!"
The girl who always carried a gloomy aura like today's weather, thanks to her family situation. But today, a smile lingered on her face.
"Hehe, hey! Haven't taken the bus this early in forever—nearly got crushed by the crowd. Might as well walk from now on."
Yuna let out a short sigh.
"What? Seo Yuna?"
"Oh, it's Yuna. Hey...?"
Se-ri and Ji-hye eyed me and Yuna back and forth with awkward expressions. An uneasy vibe settled over our little group of four. No time to dawdle if we didn't want to be late, so I gave everyone a nudge forward.
"Seo Yuna, didn't you hate Nami?"
"When did I say that? I love Nami."
"You okay? You passed out last week and had to go to the nurse..."
"Yeah, Nami healed me right up."
Seo Yuna emphasized our closeness with a curt reply. She suddenly grabbed my right hand and laced her fingers through mine. Not to be outdone, Han Se-ri snatched my left wrist. Before things got any uglier, I changed the subject.
"What'd you do over the weekend, Yuna? How's your mom doing?"
"Good. We had a family picnic—first one in ages! The sun was blazing yesterday, and Mom loved it. You went straight home after getting discharged?"
"Pretty much."
"Discharged? What happened? Were you hurt?"
"It was nothing. Just a cut on my wrist."
"Lemme see! Not the left one, right? I grabbed it pretty hard earlier...!"
"Look. All healed up."
I showed Se-ri my wrist—perfectly smooth, not a scar in sight. Behold the wonders of modern medical magic, kids.
"Be more careful... Deep cuts leave scars. Dad's got tons on his back and arms from that."
"Right, Ji-hye—didn't you say your dad's a detective?"
"Yeah."
"Whoa, a cop dad must be scary even when he's just scolding you. Does he ever judo-throw you?"
"Nah... He just lectures. He has used judo on me before, though."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
I left Se-ri and Ji-hye buffering for a second and checked on Yuna. I'd missed it at first glance, but her mouth was smiling while her eyes drooped sadly.
"You don't look so great."
"I'm fine. Just worried... Did it really not hurt that bad?"
"If that much pain stops you, you'll never make it as an adult. Field medics fought with holes in their guts."
"Huh? Is that what combat mages do? News to me."
"Maybe not?"
Back in my day, they all fought like maniacs. Guess it's different here.
"Anyway, from today on, the four of us walk to school together. Got it?"
"Do we have to? I just wanna go with Nami."
"What? Nami was walking with us first. You just butted in."
"I've decided we're besties from now on."
"Says who?"
"Enough, let's just walk. You can fight while moving, right?"
Why did we keep stopping every few steps? Ji-hye fidgeted, trying to intervene, but I waved her off—no need.
"Why...?"
"That's how bonds form—through fighting."
Especially at their age. Once they got close, they wouldn't even remember what they fought over. That's how Hiasen and I became friends. Though I usually did the beating.
"Fine, then do you even know what Nami likes?"
"O-of course! Do you know her hobbies?"
"Let's test it. Guess what Nami did yesterday."
"You're on. Me first—Nami, Nami!"
Yuna looked at me with sparkling anticipation.
"You practiced ocarina yesterday, right? You said you'd play for me at school."
"I did the day before, but not yesterday."
"Whyyy...?"
"Played too much at the hospital."
Pfft—Se-ri barely stifled her laugh with her hand.
"I'm Han Se-ri, the Nostradamus! I know exactly what Nami did yesterday!"
"Isn't Nostradamus about the future, not the past...?"
"Ji-hye, shh! Ahem, anyway... Got it! Nami studied magic yesterday!"
"That's not a hobby! Cheating. If that's allowed, I can guess too."
"It's a hobby for Nami, right? Right? Tell her yes, NoNami!"
Sharper than I expected, Se-ri.
"But I didn't study yesterday. Normally I would have."
"No way... So what'd you do?"
"Played a VR game."
"A game? VR? You mean capsule gaming?"
"Yeah."
"You game? Whoa, I'm seeing you in a new light. That's so cool."
Yuna was even more shocked than Se-ri.
"What game?"
"Know World of Arceria?"
"Yeah, heard of it. Hangeol from class is obsessed. You need a capsule for that, right?"
"Yep. Wanna try?"
"Nah... Capsules are expensive..."
Yuna wilted like a dried reed, her steps dragging.
"She still copying Nami?"
"Yuna's got some serious persistence... Even after getting chewed out last week for messing up her meds..."