School Closure # 3
School Closure # 3
The food was genuinely incredible. It was a hotel buffet, after all. The academy cafeteria was already shockingly good, but this buffet was the real deal.
"Seriously, why is buffet food so good? I'm so freaking happy right now."
Every single spoonful possessed a power that could casually obliterate about a hundred million Don-gapnaegi burgers. Could this truly be called fried rice?
No kidding, I basically just demolished ten billion power's worth of Don-gapnaegi in a single sitting. Enough Don-gapnaegi to feed all of humanity with change left over has vanished into my stomach in an instant.
The resource waste of modern society is truly staggering.
"Eat up. The buffet is unlimited."
"Sniff! I'm about to cry!"
"Here. Beef. You have to dip beef in salt."
Leona picked up a piece of beef with her chopsticks and placed it on my plate.
"Thanks!"
And so, I consumed the beef with tears streaming down my face. Leona was right—beef must be dipped in salt. As expected, Leona knows what's up.
"There's probably nothing tastier than tear-soaked beef. Right, Si-hoo?"
"Geun-cheol, please, I'm begging you, don't actually eat meat while crying...!"
"I'm so happy the tears just come out. What do you want me to do?"
Leona isn't the only one quick to tear up. I'm a guy, but I tear up pretty easily too. A man's tears are an ugly thing, but I'm not the kind of guy who lacks the guts to cry when he needs to just because it's ugly.
Anyway, while we were eating.
"Ah. Looks like the quick delivery arrived. Finish eating and then go upstairs and open it."
"What is it?"
"What do you think? Clothes for Kim Geun-cheol. I just ordered the bare essentials for now. From now on, stop looking so pathetic and dress properly. Seriously. Who walks around in nothing but their school uniform?"
"I was at school!"
What's wrong with wearing a uniform at school?!
"Still, Leona. Seriously, thanks. I didn't know what I was going to do—this is a lifesaver."
She just went and bought me clothes through quick delivery? I'm so grateful I can't even handle it. Calling her a goddess doesn't do it justice. What's higher than a goddess? That would be Leona.
"No, but what exactly did you do at that orphanage? I mean, not even giving you clothes? Isn't that way too harsh? Is it a substandard orphanage or something?"
A substandard orphanage?
Now that I thought about it, I really had no luggage. Even an orphanage would at least buy clothes for the kids... Not even having that—had it seriously been such a substandard orphanage?
How exactly did I live in that orphanage? All sorts of questions pop up, but there's no way to find out without going there in person.
Should I go check it out sometime?
To move forward into the future, you have to know the past. Especially those goddamn Dr. Chaplain Orphanage and Ancient Batista Orphanage. I am curious about what kind of places they were.
"Dunno."
"Huh? You don't know?"
"Yeah. My time at the orphanage... my memories of that period are kind of hazy."
"Wh-what did you say?!"
"What?"
"Sniff...! You must have suffered so much!"
Ah, damn, I hit the trauma button again!
"Hey! I just forgot because it's ancient history!"
"Don't you dare go acting like a man with a tragic past, Kim Geun-cheol!"
"Everyone has a past! Even you! And even me!"
Alright!
I'll track down my past one of these days!
"But, Leona. If you're too generous like this, Geun-cheol won't come to his senses."
Si-hoo spoke up from beside me.
"Yeah. Honestly, that's true. I feel like I'm losing my grip on reality because you take such good care of me. Obviously, I'm infinitely grateful, but I do think maybe I'm just taking and not giving back."
"Right, Geun-cheol. You can't just keep taking."
"Exactly."
Leona chuckled at that.
"I'm doing this purely because I want to. Why worry about it? Of course, Kim Geun-cheol isn't used to other people's kindness. So I'm teaching you. How to accept kindness."
"Even someone who's lived their whole life soaked in goodwill would probably think the same thing I do when they stand in front of you, Leona."
Her generosity is practically inhuman.
"This is something beyond just goodwill... it feels like divine love. The act of receiving it is so noble that it makes my heart go boom-boom with the urge to do something in return."
"'Boom-boom,' my ass. Can you stop with the cute vocabulary? Are you going to keep making a big deal out of something so trivial?"
"It's expensive!"
A few pieces of clothing easily cost over a hundred thousand won!
"Ah! I'm sorry! Unintentional flex! Of course, for Kim Geun-cheol, it must be a huge amount!"
"It is! You said it!"
But flexing only feels like an obnoxious flex when a cheapskate does it. When someone like Leona does it, it's not a flex—it's a delightful campaign.
If a post shows up on a Naver cafe saying, "OMG I just pulled a limited legendary-grade unit on my free single pull!", I'd want to charge in and cuss them out. But if I actually open the post and it says they're giving away ten boxes of fried chicken at random to celebrate, I'll just collapse right there, sob my eyes out, and start crying for mom and dad while singing that member's praises.
"Still, you know."
-Slide.
Leona pushed her plate aside and rested her chin on her hands.
"You don't need to feel pressured."
"No, I mean."
"Just hear me out. Kim Geun-cheol? You're going to work as a Hero after graduating from the Academy anyway, right?"
"Well, yeah."
Because I have to live as a Hero after graduation.
"Once you become a Hero, you'll live so comfortably that you won't even need to think about your current poverty. Isn't that right?"
That's.
"Clothes? Meal tickets? Fancy hotels? You'll be able to enjoy things like that whenever you want. Heroes make a lot of money."
"I know that."
Being a Hero is a high-income profession. They make insane amounts of money. All Heroes belong to the upper class. Sure, there's an upper class of ordinary businessmen too, but their life satisfaction can't compare to that of superhuma Heroes.
"Showing goodwill toward Kim Geun-cheol, who will become that kind of Hero, is like that. Will Kim Geun-cheol forget my kindness after becoming a Hero?"
"Like hell I would!"
As if I could ever forget it!
Leona's sincerity has reached me time and time again!
"I'm going to start a charity organization named after you and run it."
"Hohoho. That's exactly my point."
Exactly her point?
"Once Kim Geun-cheol becomes a Hero, the goodwill I've shown you... you'll be able to spread it to even more people."
"Ah, so you mean—"
"Yes. It's a kind of investment. A cycle of good deeds and service. An investment toward that."
There it is.
Leona is rolling a snowball of goodwill and kindness by bestowing it upon me. For Leona, taking care of me is just a small kindness. But if I, having received it, am reborn as a true servant of the people... that would be a true utopia.
"That is the philosophy of Leona Kainus. Kim Geun-cheol has the qualities of a philanthropist, after all. We're building that starting now."
"Leona."
My heart.
"My heart feels so naturally reverent I can barely stand it. I'm serious, I think I need to start a religious order."
"'Religious order,' my ass. If you don't want to die, just make a damn charity while I'm still asking nicely. No kidding, if you actually start a cult, you might get beaten to within an inch of your life."
"Your words are way too violent!"
"No fanatics allowed!"
Damn...!
Still, Leona is a truly thoughtful person. If someone like her ruled Europe, it would definitely become a paradise.
Anyway, we ate and talked about all sorts of things. We talked about the Doppelganger Slime, and the fight with the monster earlier. But honestly, most of the conversation was just me expressing my gratitude to Leona.
* * *
"Whoa. Look at these clothes."
"Jeez, Geun-cheol. All of these are branded."
"Seriously, Leona, I'm telling you, she's a goddess."
"..."
There were seriously a ton of clothes. Everyday casual wear, training clothes, underwear. Obviously comfortable loungewear, and even a school uniform.
It's going to be a job just hauling all this to the dorm.
"Geun-cheol. Do you like girls who take good care of you?"
"Huh? What's this about? Since when do you ask about my taste in women?"
"I-I'm interested in that kind of stuff too, you know?!"
"Well, I mean, as a guy, of course I would be."
Si-hoo might be a bit effeminate, but at his core, he's a guy. If he wasn't interested in women, he'd be a eunuch, not a man. The fact that he hates the glamorous type makes me think he's a bit odd, but hey, I respect all tastes.
The Law of Conservation of Boobs... If I like the glamorous type, it's maybe inevitable that Si-hoo likes the slender type.
"Anyway. So that's it? Your type is a girl who takes good care of you?"
"It's less about the taking-care-of part and more that it's Leona, you know."
"Wh-what did you say?!"
"How should I put it? Leona is someone you could gladly swear loyalty to. Honestly, I wouldn't mind working under her someday."
"What? Is that it?"
"Yeah. She is seriously admirable. Leona's a person worthy of respect."
Leona doesn't lack anything.
Skilled. Beautiful. Great family. And on top of that, kind. What is this? A perfect character? How does Leona have everything? Of course, I'm not jealous. When something is so envy-inducing that it exceeds all limits, the feeling just turns into reverence. If you look at Leona and feel envy, you're just a piece of shit.
"Yeah. I can relate. Leona's a worthy friend to respect."
"Hehehe, right?"
And so, while chatting with Si-hoo, I finished sorting the clothes and wrapped up my report. I'd already organized my thoughts while talking to Leona earlier, so it was done in no time.
"Okay, Si-hoo. Should I send it?"
"Yeah. Send it quickly."
"Done. Sent it to the instructor."
"Whew. I feel relieved now. Even if the same thing shows up again, as long as we have info, we'll figure out how to handle it."
"Totally. Ugh, writing all that was exhausting. I'm gonna go brush my teeth."
"Okay."
I went straight into the bathroom, rinsed my mouth, and grabbed a toothbrush.
Then I looked in the mirror.
And what was in the mirror.
"Handsome."
It was me, looking about three or four years younger. No one else but me, Kim Geun-cheol. A face I know all too well.
"..."
Only then did the thought really strike me.
Did I...
Enter this game...?
Did I become a specific character?
Or did I enter as myself?
The status window. The system. The game.
Thoughts about those things suddenly flooded my mind. Is this really nothing more than a world inside a game? Vague memories that surface now and then, and a system window that seems eerily customized for me. I felt it during the fight earlier, too.
If this is really a game world, then who made it? And is it even remotely possible to enter a game in the first place?
"..."
An emotion I can't put into words surged up from deep inside me.
Lee Si-hoo.
Leona.
Ryu Cheon-hwi.
These guys... they're all characters from the game Academy's War Hero. In that case... are they all fake? Is it because this place is a fake world?
What happens to me after the game's ending?
I promised Leona I'd run a charity while working as a Hero. But if I go back to the real world, how am I supposed to keep that promise?
Does that mean I should stay here?
-Bzzz.
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.
-Throb. Throb.
The moment I thought about it, a migraine hit.
"Guh. Guh. Guh."
The side of my head throbbed in time with my heartbeat...! Agonizing pain! Tylenol! I need Tylenol!
"Hoo."
I kept my hand on my head for a moment and stared into the mirror. I'm getting more and more exhausted. Who would believe me if I said this place was a game world?
Could there even be an entity capable of making a game feel this real? If so, it would have to be a god. But what kind of god has so little to do that they'd target a specific game and turn it into reality? And for what reason would they put a person inside it?
It doesn't make sense.
There's no way that's the case.
"I'm so tired I could just die."
For some reason, it felt like I was deceiving Si-hoo and Leona. That feeling was so intensely uncomfortable that I quickly washed up and crawled under the covers.
* * *
Leona and Geun-cheol seem to get along really well.
'Whether they look good together... I'm not really sure.'
The two are always having fun talking, and Leona herself is just as peculiar and strange as Kim Geun-cheol, if not more. I'm obviously not saying that as an insult. It just means they're that well-matched.
They get along so naturally, as if they've been like this for ages.
'Geun-cheol... has gotten really close with Leona.'
Lee Si-hoo found that fact oddly bothersome.
-Zzz.
But why is that very same Geun-cheol sleeping right next to me now?
'I can't sleep...!'
Lee Si-hoo curled up and bit the blanket.
'Why am I the only one stressing over this?!'