School Festival #4
School Festival #4
Just like my friends were practicing their talents, I threw even more hours into my own singing practice. Only one more night and it'll be festival day. I squeezed in singing practice between Lion's Roar sessions, and finally lay down.
"Heh heh heh, this is gonna be fun."
At first I thought it was pure overkill, but a chance to show off my singing in front of the entire student body doesn't come around often.
If anything, it's a perfect opportunity.
"Who knows? Too much talent, and I might actually end up becoming a Superhuman Idol."
Objectively, I'm confident my singing ability blows most mainstream singers out of the water. Especially when it comes to putting emotion into a song—I mean, even I'm blown away when I listen to my own recordings.
"Ah, shit. I'm so screwed. People are gonna try scouting me the second the festival's over."
Thinking about it that way, I'm honestly so grateful to Leona. Thank you, Leona. Thanks to you, I finally found my talent. I've gone and become a real star singer, Kim Geun-cheol.
"Kekekek!"
I closed my eyes, dreaming of that wonderful future.
Slept with one eye open.
And then, when my eyes opened again.
"Still early."
I could tell it was just 3 a.m. What the hell? I woke up in the middle of the night instead of sleeping in? Did I just get so excited that my serotonin flooded my system?
Thinking that, I tried to move, but there was this weird feeling next to me... Wuh?!
"No—hey!"
ㅡSwoop!
I pulled back the blanket, and there was Kitty, clinging to my side and fast asleep!
What the hell!
"Hey! Who told you you could just come sleep here! Wake up!"
"Mmmngh."
I immediately scooped up the sleeping Kitty and plopped her on the floor! But the kid was still half-asleep, just curled up like a cat and started right back up!
"Wake up already!"
"A-ah-uh-uh-uh! Geun-cheol, that tickles!"
The moment I tickled her side, Kitty finally opened her eyes.
"Hey! Who said you could sleep here?!"
"Didn't mean to. Came here and Geun-cheol was asleep already. And Kitty was sleepy too."
So you just crawled into my side and crashed?
"Was warm and nice, though. Geun-cheol. Kitty's cold. Whole body's shivering."
ㅡSliiide.
Kitty, moving like a snake, wriggled right back onto my bed and covered herself with the blanket. Holy shit. My little sister is throwing a full tantrum just to sleep in her brother's bed. This is really what it means to have a little sister in another world.
"Get out! I need to sleep! I'm singing tomorrow, damn it! Go back, now!"
"Geun-cheol, come quick. Wanna sleep next to you. Cold."
"I'm begging you, just go! Go already!"
And still she just keeps finding ways to torment me!
"Haaah."
Fine. Nothing I can do.
I went over and lay down on the bed.
Kitty slipped back into my arms, curling up like a cat again.
"Geun-cheol, it's festival from today, right? Wanna hear you sing."
"You could get into serious trouble coming here."
"Know that. It's so sad I can't watch."
"You can still watch online later when I'm famous. But anyway, why'd you come?"
"Had something to check. Truth is, I'd already checked what I needed. Was allowed to leave anyway, but decided to just stay."
"What did you check?"
"Who knows?"
This little shit, playing dumb again.
"You asked for it."
"Aht."
ㅡRoll roll roll.
I immediately rolled the curled-up Kitty with the blanket—roll, roll, roll—turning her into a complete caterpillar. And then I tied both ends, completing the prison.
"Aht! Let me ooout!"
"Kekekek. That's the price for ruining my sleep."
Kitty, who had been thrashing around, suddenly—
ㅡBzzzzzt.
—created a gate and vanished with my blanket! Hey!
"My blanket!"
She straight-up stole my blanket!
* * *
In the end, I slept without a blanket until morning. That Kitty. Was she an assassin sent specifically to ruin my momentum?
"Uuuugh."
Still, I'm a superhuman, so one night without a blanket isn't gonna wreck my health. Anyway, bright and fresh this morning. I washed up and got myself ready like I was already a celebrity singer.
"Good. This is what singer Kim Geun-cheol looks like."
A singing debut's not far off now.
"All right, Si-hoo! Let's go!"
"Wha—what's with you, Geun-cheol? Why are you so dressed up?"
"On account of my scheduled singing debut today. I'm bound to get scouted, obviously."
"Absolutely no way that's happening!"
Started walking to class with Si-hoo and her bullshit from the crack of dawn. The moment we stepped out of the dorm—yeah. This really was a festival. It was absolutely buzzing.
"Whoa. They really went all out, huh?"
Properly busy.
Everyone was visitors. Cadets' families, relatives, friends, looked like. Also, private, unarmed security hired for today was strictly controlling who came in.
A few reporters were also trickling in. Is that even allowed?
I'd looked the festival up online, and there really wasn't much info out there. So I'd figured there might be some kind of media lockdown—but I guess they did call a few in.
"Oh, Geun-cheol. Over there. Check out the parade ground. They put a barrier up around it, too."
"Oh yeah?"
The academy parade ground.
A fixed gate was still sitting open there.
That thing—you know—from when a gate opened on campus and that Doppelganger Slime showed up. The rift formed then still hadn't vanished—just fixed there. Occasionally something goes into it, but at this point it's just part of the background and has never caused any problems, so nobody really pays it any mind.
It's like it became a kind of art piece, almost. Anyway, with all these outsiders coming in, they probably barricaded the gate with the barrier.
Makes sense—nothing good comes from showing it to regular civilians. Still, a structure like that in the middle of the school field does look a bit off.
"Plenty of security too. Temp hires, maybe."
"Could be. Anyway, let's head in."
"Sure. But Si-hoo, you've got your martial arts demo today. Prepared properly? You're not gonna whip out a secret technique, are you?"
"Couldn't show that off here. I'll just display my skills normally. I'm pretty damn good for my level. Right?"
"Heh heh heh, you arrogant little shit."
Objectively, though, she really is incredible. She's always near the top of the rankings. From what I've heard, Si-hoo mostly taught herself after receiving only basic instruction rather than formal training.
A completely different vibe from Leona, Yu-ri, and the Ryu Family, who were raised within powerful families.
So in terms of pure talent, Si-hoo would probably be number one.
ㅡClatter.
We entered the classroom like that.
"Oooughhh! My hair! This yellow thing! Is this not watashi-no hair?! Nooooooo!"
But the second we got inside, Brian was on his knees on the floor, desperately picking up something that had fallen while screaming bloody murder.
"No, wait... what's wrong with him? Hey, Ken. What the hell's Brian doing?"
"Biiii, Scream Man. It is—how you say—a huge disaster has occurred."
"What kind of disaster?"
"So Brian, he says he's dancing today, yes? He came early and practiced his headspin, but... I—I really cannot explain. Just look at his head."
"His head?"
ㅡFlump.
The wailing Brian stood up. But the guy who'd been head-down on the floor turned around, and now his head was fully visible to me.
"Gone...?"
The crown.
Where there should be yellow hair.
Something was missing!
"That idiot's lid—where the hell is his hair?!"
"Nooooooo! Watashi, I do headspin way too hard! Alopecia areata come to mee! Nooooo! It's a zetsubo! Despair of the abyss!"
So this dumbass was grinding his headspin like a lunatic, and all the hair on his crown straight fell out! And now he's crying his eyes out like he's lost the whole goddamn world!
"Pffhahahaha! Oh, god! I can't! Is this guy completely out of his mind?!"
"Biii, Scream Man...! Not a laughing matter! A man has lost his own hair!"
Horrified, Ken tried to stop me, but how the hell am I supposed to not laugh at this?
"Oh! Geun-cheol! You!"
Around then, Brian came right at me.
"You do not mock me! You think this is funny?! No! This is not one bit funny! This is an extremely terrible experience!"
"Hey—whoa! Back off!"
The rampaging Brian kept shoving his bald spot right in my face like he was doing some kind of headbutt attack!
"You some sort of demented Pachycephalosaurus?!"
"I am losing my mind! Like this, I cannot perform! I was going to be a Rising Star up on the brightest stage of all! But no! With this head, I can't do anything!"
That's too bad for you.
ㅡClatter.
And then, the Ryu Family kid walked in.
"Ooooooogh! Dragon-sky! Please! Look at watashi's head!"
In the same instant, Brian—like a fish literally meeting water—got totally hyped and sprinted toward the Ryu Family kid like some mindless titan.
"Wha—what the—?! Uwaaaaaagh!"
The horrified Ryu Family kid ran for his life from Brian, and meanwhile, I sat down, sorted out my stuff, pulled out my music sheets, and started practicing.
"Haah."
The festival's starting soon.
Morning is just gathering at the parade grounds, watching stuff, all that. Then after lunch, in the afternoon, we head to the auditorium to watch the performances.
My turn is relatively near the end.
I'll watch my friends' acts, then hop over and get on stage when it's time to sing. The song I'm going with is "Burzum's Thorn." A classic heartbreak song. I'm gonna dominate the whole school with this.
"Kim Geun-cheol! Have you been practicing singing well?"
"Oh, Leona, you're here? Of course I practiced to the very limit. I'm scheduled to be scouted by an entertainment agency today, so just be aware."
"Ugh, you're never gonna drop that over-the-top bit. Can you please just stop with the nonsense for once, seriously."
"But it's actually true, though."
"Fufufu, then I guess I'll look forward to it as a formality. But you know, say all that and then you actually can't sing, you'll be getting a specially made jjamppong, so prepare yourself."
"Hah! Leona, you'd better know you're gonna be in big trouble yourself if your art score drops below mine!"
"No chance that's happening!"
Leona. This girl.
"Full of confidence, are we?"
"What's the point of talking now, anyway? I'll speak through results. So my performance—you watch properly. Got that?"
Leona tapped her finger on my forehead as she spoke, full of arrogance.
"I'm looking forward to it. But, Yu-ri isn't here ye—"
ㅡClatter.
Speak of the tiger and she appears.
"..."
Head hanging low, Yu-ri pushed the door open and stumbled in.
What's this?
"No way?"
She went and practiced dancing all night long!