A Subtle Morning
The worry over Min Soyeon, or perhaps that unpleasant dream—was that why my mood felt strangely off today? For no particular reason, I moved busily and headed to school, walking the path in a daze. Suddenly, someone called out to me.
“···J-Jihwan. Good morning!”
I glanced back and saw a familiar face standing there. It was the girl who had cheered me on during the friendly match against Jang Suwon and even baked muffins for me.
“Good morning.”
I gave a casual greeting and glanced at the name tag pinned to her chest.
[ Gong Haeseon ]
Ah, so that was her name.
Gong Haeseon naturally fell into step beside me as she approached. ···Wait, did she always live around here? I felt like we’d talked about where she lived before, but I couldn’t quite remember.
“D-did you, um, eat breakfast?”
“Too much hassle, so I skipped it. You?”
“I-I see···. I always make sure to eat···. They say eating breakfast is good for your body···.”
As we chatted about this and that, Gong Haeseon spoke up with extreme caution.
“···Jihwan, um··· if it’s okay, I baked some bread this morning. Would you like some···?”
“Bread?”
“Y-yeah! You said you didn’t eat breakfast, so···.”
The sudden offer caught me off guard. Bread, out of nowhere? I subtly turned my gaze to the girl walking beside me. She was fidgeting with her lips, eyes meeting mine as if she had something she wanted to say. For some reason, she reminded me of a tiny puppy.
Apparently uncomfortable under my stare, Gong Haeseon lowered her eyes and spoke in a slightly trembling voice.
“···I-if you don’t want it, i-it’s fine···.”
Despite her words, she was practically radiating disappointment. She was being so obvious about wanting me to accept that refusing would be rude.
“···Then I’ll have a little.”
“R-really?”
“The muffins you gave me before were delicious. I’m looking forward to the bread too.”
“J-just a second! I’ll get it out right away!”
A small smile bloomed on her lips, impossible to hide. Watching her, I couldn’t help but think how refreshingly honest she was.
Gong Haeseon pulled out a package of bread as if she’d been waiting for this moment and shyly handed it to me. The appetizing aroma of freshly baked bread tickled my nose. There was quite a lot, so I’d planned to take just one, but she suddenly shoved the entire package into my hands.
“Y-you can eat it all!”
“Uh··· all of it? You don’t need to share with your other friends?”
“I-it’s fine···. I usually give out a lot anyway.”
Overwhelmed by her oddly forceful insistence, I quietly opened the package and took a bite of one of the smaller pieces. The flavor was far more refined than anything you’d buy at a store. The soft cheese inside melted and filled my mouth completely. Her skills were so good it was believable that she’d bought it. I polished off the bread in no time and casually asked her,
“Do your parents run a bakery or something?”
“H-huh? No, not really···. Why···?”
What was that reaction? It seemed talking about her family was a miss. She looked somewhat uncomfortable.
“Baking bread isn’t easy. I figured maybe you learned from someone.”
I knew better than anyone because I’d once bragged to Min Soyeon that I would bake bread for her. Only then did she seem to understand my intention. She smiled brightly and answered shyly.
“I-I just practiced. ···By myself.”
“You taught yourself all this? That’s amazing···. If you don’t become a hunter later, you could make a fortune just selling bread.”
My praise must have embarrassed her, because Gong Haeseon’s face flushed bright red and she hung her head. Honestly, I’d said it half as a joke, but the other half was sincere. Baking costs more money than most other cooking. From ingredients to tools, it’s hard for an average student’s allowance to cover. Yet looking at the bread Gong Haeseon made, it didn’t look like she’d used just one or two tools, and the ingredients didn’t seem cheap either. She probably came from a well-off family. In that case, it would be better to do what she loved instead of risking her life as a hunter. These words came from experience—someone who had died trying to show off.
Chatting with Gong Haeseon as we walked, we soon reached the academy gate. Only then did I realize we had already passed ‘that alley.’
By the time we arrived at the classroom, Gong Haeseon went to sit with her close friends in a large seat, while I took my usual spot in the corner. Thanks to the bread she gave me, I’d be able to save on dinner expenses today.
While scrolling through articles about the terrorist attack on my phone, the bell signaling the start of class rang. Min Soyeon appeared a little late. When our eyes met, I waved lightly to greet her.
“···.”
She naturally ignored my greeting and headed to an empty seat. I thought we’d gotten pretty close, but it seemed we still had a ways to go.
*
After the tedious theory class, combat practice time finally returned. Before starting the lesson, teacher Lee Daesan left us with a brief announcement.
“As you all know, there was a terrorist attack at the Association yesterday.”
It was about the incident from the day before. With a single hand gesture, he silenced the buzzing students and continued.
“Fortunately, the culprit was caught quickly, but the Association has sent us a special notice asking us to be extra cautious.”
From the Association? While the Association and the Academy were closely connected, they rarely issued special notices like this. It was even rarer for students to be informed directly. The fact that Lee Daesan—not the homeroom teacher—was delivering it suggested the information had come in a hurry. Had they uncovered plans for additional attacks?
“So if you see anyone suspicious inside the Academy, subdue them without hesitation!”
···The conclusion sounded a bit off, didn’t it?
At that moment, Lim Chakyung, standing beside Lee Daesan, shot him a sharp glare and added,
“Access is being restricted starting this afternoon, so please be especially careful, students. If you truly spot someone suspicious, leave the area immediately and report it. Do not engage them yourselves.”
The way she put it made it clear something serious had happened.
After the announcement ended, the students began to scatter at Lee Daesan’s command. As I headed to a corner of the training ground to join up with Min Soyeon, I overheard some students talking.
“Hey, you think they’ll give us a reward if we catch them?”
“We’d be lucky not to get killed messing with them for no reason.”
“They say the guy’s only B-rank. If there’s enough of us, we win.”
Whether now or back then, kids really never knew fear.
When I reached the far end of the training ground, I spotted Min Soyeon stretching alone. I quietly approached her side and spoke up.
“Warming up? Want some help?”
“···No thanks.”
She shot me down instantly. ···What’s with her? For some reason, Min Soyeon didn’t seem to be in a good mood.
“···Soyeon, did you enjoy your lunch···.”
“···I ate.”
“W-well, that’s good then···.”
I’d brought it up for nothing and got nothing in return. Things had seemed fine when we parted yesterday, so I couldn’t understand why she was reacting like this.
···Was it that time of the month? The atmosphere made it hard to even have a proper conversation, let alone ask why she lived alone.
I spent a long time pointlessly rolling my shoulders, pretending to warm up. Then—
“···If you’re done preparing, come out already?”
Min Soyeon called to me. Her tone was almost provocative. Her usual speech was blunt, but she didn’t usually pick a fight so openly. Caught off guard by the rare challenging tone, I ended up walking over to her without thinking.
“We’re starting right away. Same rules and conditions.”
“Huh? Right now?”
“Rock, paper···.”
She clearly had no intention of listening to me and immediately thrust out her hand, so I had no choice but to play rock-paper-scissors.
“Ah.”
The result was scissors versus paper—my loss. This time, I was it.
Tsk···, what should I do? I glanced at her while pondering how to adjust the difficulty.
“···.”
Min Soyeon seemed completely indifferent as she set a timer on her phone. The way her fingers moved irritably suggested she was annoyed about something.
Once we were ready, we took our positions with the same distance between us as before. I had a good grasp of Min Soyeon’s attack power, but I still lacked information on her mobility. I couldn’t let it end the moment we started, so I had to take it slow···.
Just as I was picturing how to handle her in my head—
Ding-ding-ling~ The timer signaled the start.
At the same time, I stepped forward with mana wrapped around my feet. The repulsive force of the mana launched my body forward, closing the distance to Min Soyeon in an instant. As I gathered mana in my palm, searching for an opening—
She had already drawn her sword and swung it at me.
Huh? She’s swinging?
“Whoa!”
Startled by the sudden action, I let out a yelp and hurriedly dodged. Min Soyeon glared at me and swung her sword again. Shwoooosh— She must have infused it with mana; the sound of air being sliced rang in my ears.
Clang!!!
With my stance broken, I barely managed to block the attack. I stared at her in bewilderment. She spat out with clear satisfaction,
“What? Am I not allowed to attack?”
I was at a loss for words. At this rate, it was no different from a regular spar. I countered to block Min Soyeon’s attacks. I gathered the scattered mana into a thin arrow shape and launched it at her.
Shiiiing—
The arrow that flew while cutting through the air lost its power in front of her sword and vanished. Without panicking, I created and fired several more arrows. However···.
Whoosh—
With a single swing of her sword, Min Soyeon destroyed them all, sending them scattering. No, this girl···.
She looked at me triumphantly, as if asking if that was all I had. I was genuinely taken aback by her expression. My plan had been to gauge her mobility, but she had never intended to dodge in the first place.
While I paused for a moment, Min Soyeon moved again. She closed in quickly with her sword drawn and swung. I stepped back briefly, then raised a large amount of mana and thrust my hand toward the ground, releasing it.
Freeze!
The mana I released suddenly stopped moving, then crack! began freezing the ground with a sharp sound.
“W-what the···.”
Min Soyeon retreated to avoid the freezing floor. I wrapped my clenched fist in mana and set it ablaze. With a bang!, flames erupted from my fist.
Min Soyeon, who had been slowly backing away while watching me, widened her eyes in shock.
Fire Punch!
The flames shot from my hand and flew toward her at high speed. Fwoooosh—
Min Soyeon panicked and hurriedly swung her sword to shatter the flames. The moment the scattered fire obscured her vision, the ice that had been spreading across the ground reached the tips of her feet.
Crack—crackle—
The ice raced up her legs in an instant. Min Soyeon smashed it with her sword and leaped far back. Thanks to that, the nearby students jumped in surprise and started clearing a path.
“W-what the hell, why is she coming all the way over here?!”
“Hey, move! You’re gonna get cut!”
Oops. I hadn’t meant to send her that far.
Min Soyeon, however, paid no attention to the students’ complaints and continued breaking the ice clinging to her feet. I figured I should end this quickly. I immediately gathered mana in both hands and charged at her. The moment she finished clearing the ice and took a counterattacking stance—
“Stop right there!!!”
A booming voice cut between us. Lee Daesan had appeared out of nowhere and thrust his hand toward us. A massive shield suddenly materialized, blocking the path.
Ah, we got caught···.
Our bet ended without a decisive winner.