Chapter 7
It had to be pure coincidence. Out of the three, the first to break the silence was Shin Chaewon.
"...For real?"
I'd figured one of the other two would speak up first, but she must've been pretty shocked.
"For real."
Denying it would just be a lie. In Astasia, weddings were usually held in churches dedicated to the goddess Peira, where you'd receive the gods' blessings. The venue wasn't a church this time, but with Aris—essentially Peira's proxy as a saintess—officiating, it was definitely a proper marriage. If anything, it felt even more legitimate than a standard ceremony, fully acknowledged by the divine.
"What are you talking about? You barely left the house during high school break."
"For real? With who??"
Shin Chaewon froze again with her mouth agape, and now the other two jumped in with chatter.
Lies ruin relationships, so I went with the direct approach.
"Her name's Sharl. She's in another world right now."
Kim Junwoo clutched his head with one hand and started grinding his teeth. Kim Gayeong and Shin Chaewon wore grins and sighs of relief, respectively.
"Dude... back in high school, you were at least pulling off the normie cosplay. Why go full weeb now that you're in college?"
"You're the one who introduced yourself as an otaku the first time we met. What's your problem?"
So Kim Junwoo had some shame after all. I hoped he'd felt even a fraction of the secondhand embarrassment I'd endured watching him hit on every girl in sight. I never expected these three to take me seriously, of course. But it was the plain truth, so no embarrassment there. We hadn't known each other long, but they seemed nice enough.
"Phew... I was worried a twenty-year-old freshman getting married would be rough."
"So, is she pretty?"
That explained Shin Chaewon's sigh of relief. Yeah, in Korean culture, a couple in their early twenties was still a bit young.
Kim Gayeong kept the conversation going with a smile. When asked if Sharl was pretty, there was only one answer.
"She's gorgeous. Like a manga protagonist come to life."
"It's manga, so of course she looks like one. What did you even see in her?"
Kim Gayeong burst out laughing at my response and Kim Junwoo's instant comeback. Shin Chaewon seemed to be trying for a positive reaction but couldn't quite get the words out.
Hey... even that reaction was appreciated. It was real life, not some manga, but if my story got adapted, it'd probably be titled something like 'I Defeated the Demon King to Return to Earth and Married a Grand Mage.' Titles these days were getting longer to grab attention anyway.
Sharl felt like a manga protagonist mostly because of her hair. I'd never seen silver hair suit a real person so perfectly until her. Her face went without saying, and even in her battle gear—which barely exposed her arms—her killer figure was obvious.
Sharl had a slight complex about her height. Eyeballing it, she was definitely under 160cm, but it wasn't really a flaw. If I had to pick one, maybe her fierce competitiveness and wild side? But thanks to her height, it just came off as Chihuahua-level cute. That feistiness packed a real punch, though—which could be seen as a plus.
"I watch anime reviews when I'm bored. Binge-watched a volleyball one all the way to the movies. Haven't had time lately, though."
Bless Kim Gayeong for steering us back to safer topics. An insider's empathy was no joke. She seemed more clued-in than Shin Chaewon, who was straight-up normie material.
As we chatted and walked, the seniors up ahead stopped first.
"We're here. Omu Sum. This place is amazing!"
The menu board outside screamed 'Omurice specialists!'—just three options, all cheap and mouthwatering.
"Party of seven—we reserved earlier!"
"Have a seat wherever's comfy, and we'll push tables together."
The shop was small: six tables plus a kitchen. Being close to the kitchen already had delicious smells tickling my nose.
"They're all great, but if I had to pick one, White Magma Omelet. It's the best!"
Cream-based, apparently. If the veteran said so, worth a shot.
We picked our orders and passed them to the seniors; they were in quick as pie.
"Thanks to our cute underclassmen, it's been ages since we came..."
"Right? So good."
"We'd never have found it without you, sunbae. And drop the formalities—we're good."
"Cool. But do you call seniors 'unni' or 'noona' instead? 'Sunbae' feels kinda embarrassing..."
With so many outgoing types, everyone quickly switched to casual talk. I mostly just nodded along, silent.
As we waited for food, topics flew.
"Class of '23 feels so fresh. My little sis just got into Korea University—fashion design."
"Ah, Seol-ah? Your family's all brains, huh."
"Jia-unni's little sis is named Seol-ah? Names ending in 'ah' are always so cute."
Something about Jia-sunbae had felt familiar earlier. Her voice was soft and melodic, with a magnetic pull.
"Pretty name, but Seol-ah's face is the real stunner."
"Unni's sister? Gotta be."
"Thanks. But Seol-ah's a jaw-dropper."
"Here she goes bragging about her sis again..."
Kim Gayeong wasn't just buttering up a senior—nursing majors weren't chosen for looks, but they dealt with people a lot, so yeah, they were all pretty. Jia-sunbae included. Yujeong-sunbae rolled her eyes openly, so siscon vibes from way back.
"If you're gonna brag, show a pic. We're at the same uni now—you'll run into her eventually. Why hide her?"
"Nope. Girls might fall for her too."
How pretty was she to inspire that level of cringe? Siblings hyping each other up usually meant business, though.
"She just dyed her hair silver, so you'd probably spot her passing by."
"Not even blonde—silver? How gorgeous is she...?"
A regular person dyeing silver in Korea? Ballsy. Total confidence in her looks.
"Tried talking her out of it at first, but damn, it suits her. Waist-length, total doll vibes."
"Whoa, that long? Hard to pull off."
Silver hair to the waist? Exactly like Sharl. Finding someone matching those two traits was like picking stars.
"Silver-haired tiny girl wandering around? High chance it's Seol-ah. Say hi if you see her—drop my name, she'll play nice."
...Way too much like Sharl. No way. She was in Astasia, for sure. Logically, impossible.
The seniors soon huddled, heads together. Eavesdropping wasn't polite, but curiosity killed the cat—or in my case, I sharpened my senses just a tad.
"Lately, feels like Seol-ah's got a boyfriend..."
"She's an adult now, so what? How'd you know? She tell you?"
"Nah, woman's intuition. Woke up the other day, and her eyes had that lovesick glow."
"College kids date. Long as he's not a jerk."
"Right. If he is, I'll handle it..."
"Food's up! Careful, it's hot!"
Plates arrived, cutting the chat. Knew the senior, so yeah—no jerks for her sis. Siscon level: max.
I dropped the sense boost and took my omurice. Winter chill, but sweat beaded my nape. Must be the steam. Yeah.
I stabbed in with my spoon. Everyone hungry, spoons flew; I took a bite.
"Whoa, best omurice I've ever had."
"Told ya. Nothing beats this."
Agreed. Cream sauce, zero greasiness? Chef an alchemist? The cheongyang pepper mentioned earlier maybe.
Chatty group went silent, shoveling. Totally worth it. I cleared my plate fast.
"All full?"
"Yeah... a bit."
"But room for booze, right? We're hitting a bar—we rented the whole place."
College life's first event ends in drinks, huh. Seniors paid up, and we headed back toward campus.