Chapter 35
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 35
I didn't see any need to list everything here, so I mentioned just one.
"Oh, the field study club seemed pretty good."
"Field study? Whoa, that's freaky. I joined the field study club too."
Cheon Seo-yoon flinched in surprise and leaned forward.
I pretended not to know and asked back.
"You too?"
"Yeah, not just me—a lot of people from my department joined. We decided to go to the Sejong Center during our free time."
"Why there?"
"Why do you think? It's popular right now. We're going to see the Sain Sword and maybe join the auction. There's something I have to buy. If you've got time, come along."
"......Come along?"
I paused at the unexpected invitation, then replied.
"Sure, let's go. I might buy something too if there's a decent item."
"Whoa, you too?"
"Yeah. It's a rare opportunity."
It was a place I had to go anyway, so turning her down would have been awkward.
Just then, the scholarship-room door opened and Kim Mi-young poked her head out.
"Everyone, what should we do? It looks like we won't be able to confirm everything today. Please go ahead and leave for now."
"Yesss! Thank you!"
Cheon Seo-yoon clenched her fist and started packing her things excitedly.
I packed up my bag too.
Maybe because the auction house had just come up.
"Hey, Cheon Seo-yoon......."
I set my bag down for a moment and casually broached the subject, figuring I might as well ask.
"Huh? Why?"
"That... the thing you said you were going to buy. It seems pretty important. What if......."
But I swallowed the rest.
"...Never mind."
If I gave her any hope and it caused things to go wrong, that would be the worst possible outcome.
Cheon Seo-yoon cocked her head, then grumbled at me.
"What the heck. Way to kill the mood. Why start a question and then stop?"
"Once I said it out loud, it sounded like nonsense."
"Pfft, lame. But how did you know it was something important?"
......Had I not mentioned it?
I was flustered for a second, but Cheon Seo-yoon went on without paying it any mind.
"But you're right."
"Huh?"
"It really is precious to me. I've regretted losing it and waited a long time to get it back......."
"......."
"Ah, was that too serious?"
Cheon Seo-yoon laughed sheepishly, as if embarrassed by the sincerity that had slipped out without her realizing.
"Anyway, ignore what I just said. I've been a little overemotional lately. I'm heading out. Good work today."
"Yeah, you too."
Cheon Seo-yoon smiled brightly and ran off, then suddenly stopped short and spoke to me.
"Hey, but I think we actually get along pretty well? I'm really going now. See you next time."
Thud—
Only after the door closed did a shallow sigh escape me.
Her feelings about the necklace were stronger than I'd expected.
"As expected......."
She was just a character in a novel, and that was why I kept my distance every time, but shattering someone's expectations is never easy.
But I had to do it.
For the sake of the person who resembled her...... no, the person she was the spitting image of.
* * *
Friday evening.
Everyone was making a racket about it being TGIF or whatever. I was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the living room with a serious face.
My Samjaegong comprehension had passed my target of 40%.
I couldn't deny I still had a long way to go, but I had a good feeling about it.
The fragments of knowledge drifting faintly around me weren't complete, but they felt like they were nudging me to at least take a first step.
"Let's give it a shot."
Samjaegong training was known for its brutal difficulty, but I believed in the power of Acquisition.
Before beginning the training in earnest, I sat in the lotus position.
[Activating trait, Heightened Senses.]
With the trait sharpening my senses, I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.
Was this an academy story or a martial-arts story?
I got confused for a second and let out a small laugh, but still—focus.
Focus again!
The profound principles and proper order of Samjaegong rising in my head.
I surrendered my body to them and concentrated every sense on my inhales and exhales.
Before long, my body responded.
"......!"
A sense of being shut out, as if I'd been cut off from the world. Through it, a new sense awakened.
The ambient energy and air felt vivid, as if I'd just thrown off sunglasses I'd been wearing since birth.
At that moment, the power of Acquisition shone.
I felt mana, the source of magical power, as naturally as if I'd always known it.
The instant I perceived it, I drew it out and wove it like stems.
"Past Jeonjung and Jungan, then from Singwol into the circuit......."
The thread of mana flowed through my body along the prescribed path, slowly but steadily.
One complete circuit through every major acupoint.
Opening a path where none had existed and settling into it—two circuits, three circuits.......
With each circuit, the mana moved through my whole body more easily and quickly.
* * *
When I opened my eyes again, pleasant messages appeared.
[You have learned Samjaegong.]
[Mana stat increased by 0.025.]
[You have acquired purer mana than before.]
[The quality of your mana has increased slightly.]
[Maximum daily training time is 5 hours.]
I hadn't thought much time had passed, but when I checked the clock, nearly five hours had gone by.
I stretched my stiff body and went over the messages.
Five hours for 0.025 meant an increase of 0.005 per hour.
I didn't know who called that slow, but by my standards it was a decent rate of accumulation.
If I trained steadily for 20 days at a maximum of 5 hours per day, that would be a 0.5 increase.
And the pure magical power.
It was something I'd realized while training directly, and it was also a major result I couldn't overlook.
It was more efficient than my existing magical power and especially effective against Demonic Energy, so it seemed likely to synergize well with my newly acquired trait, "Adversary of Demons."
"One more thing to add to the mandatory schedule."
I smiled with satisfaction and stood up. That was when it happened.
Bzzzt.
A text arrived from Joo A-rin.
[I sent the contract by email. But do you know Jeong Ae-ri?]
Acquainted?
Not really. We'd just run into each other once.
[Not really. Why?]
The reply did not arrive until a while later, neatly omitting the answer I wanted.
[Nothing. The commission issue is taken care of, and 200 million won will be deposited sometime next week. I've specified the remaining funds and the future schedule in the contract.]
It wasn't a particularly important issue, so I decided to let it go for now.
More importantly—
[What happened with the wolf?]
The fortune I'd tossed out earlier.
Curious how Joo A-rin had handled it, I casually tested the waters. This time the reply came instantly.
[Hey. I get that you mean well, but if you get involved any further than this, it's a breach of contract.]
Had that been too much?
Now that I thought about it, it was ridiculous to expect someone of Joo A-rin's temperament to believe a fortune.
Still, it would be right to give her at least one last chance.
It had been take-it-or-leave-it advice, but I decided to press her a little more.
I sent a short message and leaned back against the sofa.
The funds were ready, so now it was time to lay out a detailed plan.
Winning the bid in Cheon Seo-yoon's place meant that I would be the one facing the bomb head-on.
Somehow, I had to suppress the explosion while also exposing the Demonkin's involvement.
"What should I do?"
My head was starting to ache from wrestling with the problem.
Then my ear suddenly itched.
Was someone talking about me?
* * *
At the same time.
Joo A-rin was mulling over a single text message.
[Still, wouldn't it be good to at least look into it? You've got nothing to lose. If it turns out to be nothing, no harm done; if it goes well, you gain. Think it over.]
Park Ha-yul.
The more she got tangled up with him, the stranger he seemed.
At times he looked weary and at others frivolous, yet a casual remark from him somehow cut straight to the heart of the matter.
It was enough to make even someone as rational as her go blank for a moment.
The two occupation battles they'd fought together had been like that, and today was the same.
She should have handled the investment cautiously, yet before she knew it, she was already drafting the contract.
"Ae-ri's reaction was definitely a little strange too."
Joo A-rin recalled the phone call from that afternoon.
Jeong Ae-ri.
Only a year older, but someone she had always wanted to resemble.
Her composed, refined bearing and professional charisma were qualities Joo A-rin had admired since childhood.
But why had someone like her gotten so excited while looking for Park Ha-yul?
She had even said Joo A-rin would find out soon.
The mood hadn't been negative, so her curiosity only grew.
"This isn't the time."
Joo A-rin swept her hair back and shook off her thoughts.
First, she pulled up one man's profile.
He was the Awakener with the highest score among the candidates for her direct team.
In his early forties, a Tier 7 Superhuman Track Awakener—a veteran among veterans.
But his requested salary was low for someone of his caliber, so he was at the top of her recruitment list.
"There's no harm in looking before you leap."
Joo A-rin called Secretary Noh.
Keeping it secret that the source was a fortune, she asked him to focus the investigation on the man's relationships with the other heirs.
"...But surely it won't actually be true?"
If it really turned out to be true, she would be grateful, but it would also leave her rather uneasy.
There was the help she had already received during the Initial Stage occupation battle, too.
It would be no different from owing him another debt.
* * *
[Welcome to the field study club "Youth."]
[The first field study destination is Seoul. Please gather at Portal Station by 9 a.m. next Saturday.]
It must have been Sunday morning when I received that text.
I'd thought there was still plenty of time left—had I really been that busy?
[Remaining Time: 6 days 23 hours 33 minutes]
When I came to my senses, it was already the day of the field study.
My "Huh?" had turned into "Oh," and now I was on my way to Portal Station.
The week had practically evaporated, though I'd certainly been busy enough to explain it.
Out of every twenty-four hours, I had spent at least eight on Samjaegong and physical training, and the effort had produced meaningful changes.
▷Strength: 4.8
▷Stamina: 4.2
▷Magical Power: 4.5
Magical power had risen by 0.2, and strength and stamina had also gone up slightly, by 0.1 each.
The account that had held only 120,000 won now had 200 million won in it, and I'd also received the acceptance text from the painting club I'd quietly been waiting for.
Everything I'd planned had been accomplished.
"As long as I stop today's auction-house incident without a hitch."
The Taehak campus, which had now fully entered spring, was dotted here and there with pink from the cherry blossoms beginning to bloom.
As I walked with the rustling spring breeze and the pleasantly warm sunlight for company, I heard an excited voice.
"Hey, we're not going to the training room—why'd you come in sweats?"
"Does it look weird? I splurged on these last week."
"No, the design isn't the problem......."
Cheon Seo-yoon was lecturing Baek Sa-young about dressing appropriately for the occasion.
When I quietly joined them, Joo A-rin, who had been watching from the side, and Lee Dae-ho, who had been sneaking glances at her, greeted me.
Joo A-rin gave a quiet nod, and Lee Dae-ho spoke in a voice as big as his frame.
"Ah, you said you're in the field-study club too, right?"
"Park Ha-yul?"
"You made it on time."
Cheon Seo-yoon and Baek Sa-young also stopped their conversation and looked this way.
Everyone looked much brighter than they did in class.
Since I wasn't simply going out for fun, I couldn't feel entirely at ease and smiled awkwardly.
"Now, now, it looks like everyone's here, so I'll run a brief orientation."
Just then, a man climbed the steps with a bright smile.
Something about his face looked shifty, and I knew at once.
That man was the president of the field-study club "Youth."