Chapter 54: A Happening
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 54: A Happening
4
After somehow ending up as Eunnamu's roommate, I was now sitting in the lecture hall.
The morning lecture covered the rules hunters must know and how legal consequences differ between civilians and hunters.
Since I already knew everything, it was just a review for me. But for the others, it seemed to be unfamiliar territory, and many of them were dozing off.
“Ha-chan, what does this part mean?”
“Ah, that's because hunter law and civilian law sometimes overlap, which can be confusing. This law and that one are different.”
“Mm, I see.”
Eunnamu replied in a flat voice and nodded.
Unlike everyone else, she seemed to have a keen interest in all things hunter-related.
Thanks to that, Eunnamu, who knew I was well-versed in most hunter-related laws, had been asking me one question after another.
The only problem was that for some reason, she was sitting incredibly close to me.
‘She looks like a man, though.’
Maybe it was because I knew she was a woman, but a faint, sweet scent was making my head spin.
“Thanks. You’re a good teacher, Ha-chan.”
“Ahaha, you think so?”
After paying me the compliment, Eunnamu looked at me with her characteristically languid smile.
It was the kind of smile that drew your eyes in the more you saw it.
“Damn it, don't let her bewitch you.”
Since when was I bewitched?
Ignoring Baeksan, who was glaring at Eunnamu with constant displeasure, I spent the rest of the morning class answering her questions.
“Hnngh.”
Stretching out the stiffness from the morning lectures, I went out to the field during the break after lunch.
I was there to run on the urethane track that circled the central grass field.
Lately, Baeksan had been running me ragged in the name of “training.”
Of course, it had only been about a month, so it wasn't like there were any dramatic changes.
But I had definitely picked up one habit.
I’d start to feel restless if I didn't move my body.
“I can use aura now, right?”
“Yeah. What you need most right now is to get used to using aura with your body. Ideally, I’d have you use it constantly in your daily life, but you’d just end up breaking everything you touch.”
In other words, it was too much for me right now.
Constant aura… he says the most terrifying things so casually.
“Start with baby steps.”
Waaah.
I nodded in understanding, retied my shoelaces, and tapped the urethane track with the tip of my shoe.
“Ha-chan, about to run?”
Just then, Eunnamu, who had left for a moment to use the restroom, approached while wiping her hands with a handkerchief.
Come to think of it, which restroom did she use, dressed like that?
Despite my pointless curiosity, I just nodded.
“Yeah. I felt cooped up after sitting through lectures all morning.”
“You’re diligent. Do you train regularly?”
“Well, yeah.”
The fact that I’d been at it for less than a month was a secret, of course.
“Me too, then.”
As if to prove how light on her feet she was, Eunnamu descended the stairs in a single leap and came to stand beside me.
Standing this close, I realized just how short Eunnamu was.
She came up to about my chest. I guessed she was probably a little taller than Ahyu.
‘Based on her height, she’s definitely a woman.’
But her features were those of a pretty boy. If Baeksan hadn't told me, I would've thought she was a man this entire time.
“Wanna race?”
“Sorry, I’m not planning on running that fast.”
“Right. Too bad.”
You don’t look very disappointed, though.
With a wry smile, I began to control my breathing before starting my run.
I'm still clumsy when it comes to controlling my aura.
Unlike typical hunters or returnees, I can't just summon aura at will. And the constant, faint stream of aura they maintain? That's completely out of the question for me.
That's why I needed a moment to focus on the aura dwelling within my body before I could use it.
‘It feels like trying to grasp a current of water flowing somewhere inside my body.’
Focusing on that feeling, I slowly began to spread the aura throughout my body.
Running is an action most people can do naturally, without even thinking about it.
But once you become conscious of the act, you realize it requires the simultaneous use of far more muscles than you'd expect.
‘Feet, calf muscles, thighs, waist, arms, back muscles, and even the heart and lungs.’
Running is the result of countless organs, muscles, and bones all moving in concert.
And to run like this, I needed to infuse aura into every part of that process.
But this is where the problem comes in.
‘If I infuse too much, my muscles will break down.’
Being clumsy with aura control, I can only do one of two things: flood my body with it, or use a mere speck.
Sure, I get to skip the tricky “epiphany” phase that others need to go through to advance a level.
But if I can't control it, that advantage is meaningless.
‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’
I let only a minuscule amount of aura settle into my body and slowly began to take my first steps.
Crackle—
A faint red spark jumped from my foot, proof that I was controlling my aura properly. I felt a little proud.
My pace wasn't very fast.
At best, it was a power walk.
But maybe because I was using aura, it felt less strenuous than usual.
This was the limit of what I could manage right now.
“I wonder what percentage this is.”
“0.1%.”
Baeksan helpfully answered my mutterings.
That’s seriously pathetic.
“Get it up to about 3%. That'll give you the output of a decent B-rank hunter.”
3% is a B-rank hunter?
When I gave Baeksan a dumbfounded look, he saw my expression and snorted.
“You have no idea how incredible I am, do you, brat? Your body's pathways are wide open, like a highway leading straight to the level I achieved. By my standards, a B-rank hunter doesn't even use 1% of my output. I was being generous because your body is completely untrained and your aura control is pathetic.”
“Just curious, what about A-rank?”
“With your current body, probably around 5%.”
Apparently, my body was in a much more ridiculous state than I'd ever imagined.
When he put it like that, the true power of the Brain Thunder I'd fired that day really hit me.
And at the same time, why my body had been so wrecked afterward.
“What's the full power of your Brain Thunder like?”
“A single shot could blow away Mount Baekdu.”
“…You answered that way too quickly. It makes it sound like you've actually done it before.”
Baeksan didn't answer.
I don’t know why it didn’t feel like a joke.
“Ha-chan, you’re slow.”
Just then, Eunnamu, who had already completed a lap, passed me, leaving a single comment with her usual languid smile before pulling ahead.
I thought I was running at a decent pace, even if it was slow, but Eunnamu didn't look the least bit tired after a full lap.
‘As expected of a returnee.’
At that moment, I saw something like a bundle of black hands shimmering faintly behind her back.
Startled, I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but it was already gone.
“Baeksan.”
“Pretend you didn't see it. It's better that way. You'll get dragged in.”
Dragged into what?
For a moment I wanted to ask, but I kept my mouth shut.
I had a strange feeling that it was something I was better off not knowing.
Was that the source of the uneasiness I felt when I first met Eunnamu?
‘Which world did she return from?’
I didn't know the details, but she reeked of danger.
So I shook off the thought and refocused on my run.
After about twenty more laps, I headed back to my dorm room. In the past, my muscles would have been screaming by now, but I didn't feel particularly tired.
‘Looks like Baeksan's training is actually paying off.’
At this rate, won't I get into incredible shape soon?
I thought about my current body—one I was just thankful wasn't getting fat—and chuckled.
Me, in good shape? I can't even imagine it.
“Going to wash up?”
Eunnamu, who had followed me back, asked as we arrived at the dorm.
“Yeah, just to quickly rinse off and change my clothes.”
“Okay.”
I was already sweating just from the run, and with the summer heat, my clothes were soaked.
So I planned to quickly wash up and change before heading to the next class.
There are a lot of kids here who just turned twenty. I'd fall apart if I heard someone say I have that “old man smell.”
Entering the room with Eunnamu, I grabbed the change of gym clothes I had received earlier.
“I'll wait inside.”
“Alright. I'll be right back.”
The showers were outside our room, so I replied and headed out.
“Well, well. Look at you two, all buddy-buddy.”
“Aren't we just acquaintances at this point?”
“I told you not to get involved with her.”
“How am I supposed to not get involved when we're roommates?”
I'm trying to be careful, but it's not in my nature to completely ignore someone right next to me.
Besides, she hasn't done anything to hurt me, so I can't just push her away.
“Just be an asshole. Say, ‘Hey, do I look like a pushover to you? Piss off.’ Say that.”
“Hey, do I look like a pushover to you? Piss off?”
“You’re trying that on me? You wanna die?”
See? It doesn't even work.
Bantering with Baeksan, I walked all the way to the showers before stopping.
Ah, my towel.
Why do I always remember these things only when I'm right in front of the shower?
With no other choice, I turned around and headed back to the dorm room.
I scanned my fingerprint on the door lock to grab my towel and opened the door.
It was at that moment.
My eyes met Eunnamu's. She was standing in front of her bed, in the middle of pulling her shirt over her head.
Eunnamu had a band wrapped around her chest, the kind of binder used to flatten one's chest to appear male.
Even so, it couldn't completely contain her, and the soft curve of her chest spilled out from beneath it.
Below it, her pale navel and a slender waist that was unmistakably feminine were visible.
After a brief moment of silence, I quietly closed the door again and walked back outside.
‘I’m fucked.’
So fucked.
She was wearing underwear, but I’d still seen her half-naked.
I'd have no defense if she decided to sue me.
‘…Wait, wasn't this an unavoidable accident?’
Eunnamu came to the academy disguised as a man. If I claimed I had no idea she was a woman, it would probably be considered an unavoidable accident even if she sued.
But this is South Korea.
A country where even a false #MeToo accusation can stick. I'm living proof of it.
Beep—
Just then, the lock beeped and Eunnamu poked her head out the door.
The moment our eyes met, I reflexively shouted.
“Eunnamu, I like men! I'm not interested in women!”
“Uh, u-huh.”
For the first time, a flustered expression crossed Eunnamu's face.
It was a preemptive strike.
The male students passing by in the hall were staring at me with horrified expressions, but this was the only way I could survive.
She scratched her cheek, looking a bit awkward, then opened the door wider, gesturing for me to come in.
“Can we talk?”
For some reason, I felt like I could see that bundle of black hands behind her back again.
Right. Better to get the punishment over with quickly.