Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: False Rumors (3)
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That evening after the promotion ceremony, we arrived at the Jincheon Class exclusive dormitory, having packed our things from our old lodgings.
"This is the Jincheon Class dorm, huh... It looks just like a hotel. I wonder what it's like inside..."
As Fuyuno Tsubaki said, the Jincheon Class dorm looked no different from a top-class hotel.
It was on a scale far too grand for the mere hundred cadets of the Jincheon Class.
But the academy spared no expense when it came to supporting its true geniuses—that was why Dabcheon was renowned as a world-class academy. Those who used these facilities just puffed out their chests and never felt burdened by it.
I added one more thing to what Fuyuno Tsubaki wanted most, as she marveled at the dormitory's grandeur.
"Everything here is private rooms."
"Whoa...!"
With no further explanation needed—just those words alone—Fuyuno Tsubaki's eyes sparkled, her excitement bubbling over.
This girl must have really suffered sharing rooms until now.
Ever since she'd beaten Han Yu-jin and proven herself, she'd been getting brighter by the day.
"Let's head in."
I chuckled at her transparent reaction and pushed open the massive glass front doors, stepping into the dormitory building.
"Ah, y-yeah!"
As I led the way, Fuyuno Tsubaki scampered after me like an eager puppy.
"Oh."
"Wow..."
The dormitory lobby we saw upon entering through those grand glass doors drew a slight gasp from me and a solid one from Fuyuno Tsubaki.
If the General Class dorms looked like plain modern office buildings, the Jincheon Class one started with a lobby that could rival a seven-star hotel in splendor.
Jewel-encrusted chandeliers hung from the ceiling, a fountain bubbled in the center, and antique murals adorned the walls.
No wonder the Jincheon Class cadets walked so tall—this was the kind of building they called home.
Of course, those shoulders would slump the moment the culling began.
Thinking about how the culling was coming soon made even this time standing around in awe feel wasteful.
"Whoaaa..."
"Hey, Fuyuno Tsubaki. Enough gawking—let's go."
I hurried her along as she stood there with her mouth agape like a golden retriever.
"Huh? Y-yeah, got it! Coming, Yang Woo-bin!"
The moment I called, she snapped her mouth shut and trotted over with light steps, sticking right to my side.
"Hehe, here."
"Let's head up. Time to unpack for real."
"Yeah!"
It felt like it took forever just to get inside the dorm.
Thinking there'd be no more surprises, I rode the elevator toward the rooms with Fuyuno Tsubaki.
Right before the doors closed after I pressed the button, I caught sight of some female cadets at the lobby table opening their mouths.
"Wow, look at them calling each other by name so sweetly... Those two are really childhood friends, huh."
"She came running like a puppy when he called and stuck right to his side... Unbelievable."
"In our family, a girl following a guy around like that would be unthinkable. Is the Fuyuno family surprisingly open-minded?"
"No, they're usually super conservative... Maybe she's just open with her childhood friend...?"
The elevator doors thudded shut on their squealing voices.
Whether the Jincheon dorm elevators were top-of-the-line or not, the noisy chatter vanished completely once the doors closed, leaving only silence inside.
"......"
"......"
We'd been chatting casually just moments ago, but suddenly the air felt incredibly awkward.
Keeping my head facing forward, I glanced sideways at Fuyuno Tsubaki. Sure enough, her ears were beet red.
Yeah, no way she didn't hear that. They were talking so loud.
The promotion ceremony had been at lunch today, and it was evening now—yet in that short time, the false rumor had already spread through the Jincheon Class.
Cadets in the lobby had spotted us by chance and immediately spun tales about childhood friends. It wasn't an exaggeration to say the whole Jincheon Class believed it.
And since it came straight from Principal Go Yeo-ryeong's mouth, no one would dream of calling it bullshit.
In just half a day, I'd become Fuyuno Tsubaki's childhood friend.
But what was so exciting about childhood friends that they were squealing like that? Isn't that a totally normal relationship?
"U-um, Yang Woo-bin..."
I was dumbfounded by how fast the rumor had taken hold when Fuyuno Tsubaki, peeking at me cautiously, broke the silence.
"Yeah? What's up?"
"I-is... it okay?"
"What?"
"Rumors like that... about us..."
At her extremely hesitant question, I floated a question mark over my head.
Wasn't the rumor just that we were childhood friends? Why was she so worried about my reaction? Oh, wait—is it that?
I briefly wondered at Fuyuno Tsubaki's flustered attitude over such a trivial rumor, then remembered her past and nodded.
Fuyuno Tsubaki had lived as a total loner, without a single friend.
So friendships must have felt incredibly special to her. Asking so carefully if it was okay for the childhood friend rumor to spread was just an extension of that sad history.
There was only one right answer here.
I gently placed my hand on Fuyuno Tsubaki's head—she already looked smaller than me, but with her head bowed, she seemed even tinier.
"Hah!"
Stroke, stroke.
"Hehehe..."
While softly petting her smooth ash-gray hair, I answered her question.
"Hey, Fuyuno Tsubaki. What are you to me?"
"Huh? Your sidekick!"
"Right. You're my sidekick. And I'm your... hm. What should I call it? Personal attendant? Nah, that sounds weird."
"......Master."
"......Huh?"
"......"
"Ah. Um."
Mid-conversation, Fuyuno Tsubaki dropped her bombshell, and a heavy silence settled in the elevator.
Her tone matched that time she'd said, "A hundred's enough, right?"—no way to pass it off as a joke. I slowly opened my mouth and had to acknowledge it.
"......If that's what you want, then sure. Anyway, you and I know what our relationship is. That's what matters. Some dumb rumor won't change anything between us, so why worry?"
"Th-that means..."
I chuckled at her, who had lifted her head with eyes brimming with expectation.
"It's fine. Just some silly rumor."
"Ah, ahh."
Like I'd concluded earlier, so what if the childhood friend rumor spread? No big deal.
Apparently even "childhood friends" was stimulating enough for Fuyuno Tsubaki—she bit her lip, cheeks flushed pink and ears bright red, flustered beyond words.
Her innocence was so pure it made me laugh involuntarily.
Ding-!
"We're here. I'm getting off first, Fuyuno Tsubaki. See you tomorrow."
The men's floors were below the women's, so I had to exit first.
"Y-yeah, uh, s-see you tomorrow, W-Woo, Yang Woo-bin! Woo-bina!"
As I stepped out promising to meet again, Fuyuno Tsubaki stammered a goodbye, her face still beet red.
"Why's she stumbling over her words like that?"
Still occasionally trembling, I found her oddly endearing as I turned and headed to my assigned room.
"A private room at last... Finally getting a taste of the good life at Dabcheon."
Thud.
Once Yang Woo-bin left and the doors closed, Fuyuno Tsubaki was alone in the elevator.
Before meeting him, solitude had been utterly natural for her.
But after meeting him and tasting the happiness of their bond, solitude stopped feeling natural.
Ironically, it was only after forming that connection that she realized solitude was the coldest, most painful, most terrifying thing of all.
"......"
That was why she used to tremble in fear of the loneliness that crashed over her every time they parted.
But fear didn't stop it—solitude always came mercilessly, gnawing at her heart until tomorrow, when she could see Yang Woo-bin again.
The girl for whom being alone was once normal had become a frail one who feared it most.
Until yesterday, that is.
"Hee, heehee."
"Ehehehehe!"
Even though she was alone now, even in this horrific situation where she couldn't see Yang Woo-bin until tomorrow, Fuyuno Tsubaki grinned from ear to ear, happier than anyone.
It wasn't madness from despair.
Her mind was perfectly clear; this laughter was pure joy.
The reason the girl who once dreaded parting could now laugh through it after just one day was simple.
"He says it's okay even if that rumor spreads... What do I do? It feels like a dream..."
It was thanks to what Yang Woo-bin had said.
"Th-this is that legendary... green light? Well, maybe not exactly. But still... it feels so good."
Unlike Yang Woo-bin, who thought it was just a childhood friends rumor, the buzz in the Jincheon Class was pure pink.
Yes, the childhood friends rumor had spread—but that was far from all of it.
It was a gap born of what Yang Woo-bin had missed and Fuyuno Tsubaki, as a girl, had picked up on.
"Ehehehe."
And so, Fuyuno Tsubaki warmed her heart with his words like a heater and headed to her private room.
Utterly oblivious to the disaster her misunderstanding would bring.