Rank 0 at the Awakened Academy — Episode 5
Jiwoo hadn't expected him to return the greeting, and for just a moment, those calm pupils—empty of anything—widened slightly.
But that was all.
"...Hello."
He tossed the words back like loose change, then promptly turned his gaze away, as though he'd never once been looking in this direction in the first place.
It was an extremely brief exchange, but it told her everything she needed to know.
That's not the voice from the video.
She couldn't say so with absolute certainty, but the odds were high that this handsome desk mate of hers had never appeared in that footage.
Which meant he was not a "target."
Jiwoo stared for a long moment at that flawlessly clear, pale cheek, then—
"......"
She, too, looked away as if nothing had happened.
First period began.
The first class of the day was Physical Education.
Welcome news, as far as Jiwoo was concerned. She'd been in and out of treatments for her Core issues since childhood, and along the way she'd received some fairly specialized home training. Thanks to that, she was quietly confident in her ability to move her body.
...Of course, nothing in life ever goes quite that smoothly.
The very first hurdle was finding the locker room just to change into her gym uniform.
"Um, excuse me—where's the locker room?"
"......"
Not a single soul in her class bothered to give her a proper answer.
In the end, Jiwoo had no choice but to hunt down the locker room on her own.
I think those kids went this way earlier.
She found the room, belatedly, and threw on her gym clothes—but the problem didn't end there.
Where'd everyone go?
By the time Jiwoo finished changing and stepped out, the corridor was already empty. Her plan to trail the other students by instinct had failed outright.
Fine, then. She'd just have to find the athletic field herself.
Was it... this way?
Why on earth was this building so enormous?
Simply getting out of it nearly drained her will to live.
After all, only that morning she'd arrived on the island by boat. More than a dozen buses operated within the campus alone—that was the scale of the place. This was Gaon.
Roughly nine hundred students from the elementary division through the high school division, plus over a hundred faculty and staff.
Beyond them: instructors for specialized training, the Purification Squad that managed the Abyss, medical personnel charged with the students' health.
Add in the various security teams, maintenance crews, logistics support, and every other kind of specialist on top of that...
What's that, two thousand people?
Or possibly more.
This one building of the High School Division alone was less a school than a fortress—so vast that "stronghold" was honestly the more fitting word.
Where am I, exactly?
By the time she reached the first floor, her next trial was locating the exit.
She would have grabbed anyone walking past to ask directions, but at this hour, with class already underway, there was no one to be found.
Ah, there it is.
Thankfully, she spotted a door leading outside in the distance. Once she was through it, she'd at least be able to see the field.
Jiwoo hurried out of the building at a brisk pace and was scanning her surroundings for the athletic field when—
"...Nnngh."
A faint whimper drifted from somewhere nearby.
A child's voice.
Jiwoo stopped and swept her gaze across the area.
Where's that coming from?
Beside the entrance to the High School Division building stood a large, spreading fir tree.
Beneath it crouched a small shadow.
A boy, maybe ten years old. Whether he'd fallen from the tree or simply tripped, there was a scrape visible on the back of his hand.
An elementary division student? What's a kid that young doing at the High School Division building?
No guardian was anywhere in sight.
After a moment's hesitation, Jiwoo strode over to him in long, deliberate steps.
"......?"
Eyes round and clear as polished silver beads looked up at her.
Jiwoo crouched down in front of him and held out her hand.
"Your hand. Let me see it for a second."
"......"
The boy simply stared at her, eyes still wide and watchful. Was he wary of her? Or just startled by a stranger appearing out of nowhere?
"It hurts, doesn't it? Come on, give it here."
At her second prompting, the boy fidgeted, then finally extended his hand.
Jiwoo brought her palm gently to rest over the wound.
Fwaaat...
The surface of the skin grew faintly, gently warm.
A soft, dim light seeped out from beneath her palm where it covered the injury.
She withdrew her hand and asked the boy,
"All better now, right?"
The boy stared at the back of his own hand, eyes blown wide.
"Well, I'll be......"
The scrape that had been there moments ago had vanished as if it had never existed at all.
"How did you do that?"
...Huh?
The boy looked up at her with those round eyes.
What's with him? His way of speaking is kind of strange for a kid his age...
"And what, pray tell, happened to your hand?"
Now the boy's gaze fell on Jiwoo's hand.
There, on her perfectly unharmed hand, was a wound identical to the one that had just marred his.
As though she'd copied his injury over onto herself, exactly as it was.
"It's fine. It'll heal right away."
Jiwoo shoved her hand into her pocket.
"And the pain?"
"None, I assure you."
Cheeky, I suppose? Or just strange?
Whatever he was, he was an odd little creature—but now was hardly the time to dwell on it.
"Good. Be more careful next time, okay?"
Jiwoo rose to her feet without a backward glance, took a step away, and then—
—suddenly remembered something important and turned back around.
"Sorry, but would you happen to know where the athletic field is?"
"...That way."
"Thanks."
Ta-da-dash.
She was gone in an instant.
Left alone, the boy gazed after Jiwoo's retreating back, watching her go in silence—
when the sound of footsteps approached from the opposite direction.
"There you are, my lord. I've been searching everywhere for you."
A man in a suit stopped before the boy.
But the boy kept his eyes fixed on the direction in which Jiwoo had disappeared, and said,
"Find out which year and class that child is in."
By the time Jiwoo finally reached the athletic field, class had been underway for about fifteen minutes.
"Seol Jihyo, why are you so late? Class started ages ago."
Jiwoo dipped her head toward the PE teacher, who was chiding her.
"I'm sorry. I got a bit lost."
"Lost? Now that you mention it, weren't you at the high school entrance ceremony?"
"Yes, sir. Today was my first day actually coming to school."
"......"
The teacher apparently decided he had nothing more to scold her for, and let out a small sigh. Then, his voice softening, he said,
"We're doing the running assessment today. You can sit it out if you'd rather—your call."
He was probably extending some consideration for Jihyo, who'd been in an accident.
But—
"I'll participate."
Jiwoo chose to take part. If today's class counted toward her grades, she couldn't afford to skip it.
She'd expected a school for Awakened to offer something a little more special... but if it was just running, that was hardly a challenge.
Except for one small problem.
"All right, then. Go stand over there—in the last group."
Her classmates had already finished dividing into their groups. Which meant any privilege of choosing her own group had long since evaporated.
"Ugh, why does she have to end up with us of all people...?"
The students who'd been lumped in with her made their displeasure perfectly plain.
Amid that unpleasant undertone of whispers, Jiwoo walked toward them, unbothered and calm.
Even after she'd settled into a spot and sat down, the murmuring didn't stop.
"Hey, honestly, it's not all bad. Having Seol Jihyo drag down the average works in our favor, right?"
"True, that. I was worried our scores would tank from being in Yoojin's group—but if she balances him out..."
...Yoojin? That name sounds familiar.
She turned her head, and there he was—sitting alone a short distance away, a head of black hair.
Her desk mate from the classroom.
Moon Yoojin.