Spring Cold and a Cosmic Roast
"Achoo!" "Sniff." "Haha, achoo!"
When we stepped outside, Professor Hwang greeted us first with a strange expression on his face.
"Shin-yong, Kim Chan-yong, Noah, and Han Ga-eul—first place, four hours and twenty-six minutes."
"Yes!"
"By the way, did the training cave have air conditioning?"
"Uh… yeah. It was a little cold. Next time, could you set it to heater mode?"
Professor Hwang’s already odd face twisted even further. He looked completely baffled.
I left the professor behind and headed to a corner of the outdoor training ground to sit down.
"Guys, come here."
I waved at the three of them, who were still shivering, and they sniffled their way over.
"Sorry. Baek Seol’s still a baby, so she couldn’t control it properly."
"Fun!"
When I patted Baek Seol, who was nestled in my arms, she happily rubbed her head against my finger.
"It’s fine."
"We’re okay."
"Me too."
"Thanks. If you keep shivering like that, the cold will seep in and you’ll catch a real chill. Come sit down."
The three of them, still trembling, sat in front of me.
Ding!
I bought blankets from my inventory and draped one over each of them. Even in this situation, they looked amazed.
"I’ll make something warm right away."
I took out a gas burner from my subspace, set a kettle on it, and started boiling water. The three guys stared blankly at the bubbling pot.
Glug glug.
"It’s quince tea. It’s hot, so blow on it before you drink."
"Thank you."
"Here, Noah and Chan-yong too."
"Thanks, Ga-eul."
"I feel alive again. Thanks, Ga-eul."
"Mhm."
They looked like they’d been hit by an unexpected cold snap on a perfectly nice spring day.
"Hoo— hoo—"
Still, watching them blow on the hot tea and drink it made me feel good.
While sipping his tea, Shin-yong glanced at Baek Seol beside me.
"She’s tiny, but where does all that power come from?"
Baek Seol, who had been munching on something with a nom nom sound, seemed to notice his gaze. She hopped over to him with a flower still in her mouth.
"Eat!"
"Huh?"
"It’s tasty!"
She must have misunderstood and thought he wanted to try the flower. Shin-yong looked flustered and met my eyes.
"She says it’s good, so try it."
"Is that so? Thank you."
Shin-yong accepted the flower from Baek Seol, plucked off a petal, and floated it on top of his teacup. He then tore off two more pieces and handed them to the other two.
I had no idea what the four of them were doing, but it was fun to watch.
"Baek Seol, did you finish eating?"
"Yeah!"
After sharing the flower, Baek Seol hopped back and snuggled into my arms.
"Sleepy."
"Get in my pocket and sleep."
"Okay."
I opened my hoodie pocket slightly, and Baek Seol burrowed inside. Eating and sleeping—rabbits really were the best at those.
—Puff, puff.
"Hoo— Ah, the weather’s niiice."
Leaning against the tree behind me while smoking a cigarette, it felt like all the worries of the world had vanished.
Beep!
3:11 PM
The first class, which had started around 10 a.m., finally ended past 3 p.m. Even country dogs get fed while guarding the house—what the hell was this? No matter how I looked at it, the test was way too difficult for freshmen.
"Hoo— Since I owe you guys today, dinner’s on me. Let’s go eat something good."
"Pretty sure we’re the ones who owe you."
"Yeah."
"Whatever. I’m treating you to something tasty."
"Sounds good, Baek Seol’s mom."
"Aish, damn it."
"Hahaha."
This moment, laughing and chatting with my classmates, left a strange warmth in my chest. It felt like we’d grown closer just from conquering one cave together.
"Hoo—"
Time passed, and students started emerging from the cave. Most of them looked completely wrecked, being dragged out by the instructors.
"Let’s go. They’re coming out."
I stubbed out my cigarette, stretched my stiff body, and stood up. The three guys who had been sitting nearby got up in a rush to follow me.
As we approached the entrance, I could see the students’ faces more clearly. They were all in terrible shape. This was probably their first time experiencing something like this.
Even though the area was a mess, Professor Hwang looked busy grading.
"Looks like everyone had a rough time."
"Yeah."
While the other students were chatting about how the test had gone, a familiar face approached me.
"Hey."
His voice was dripping with hostility. It was the scarred guy who had picked a fight with me on the first day—the one with the face that looked like it had been doodled on.
"Hey? You’ve got some nerve, you bastard. Want to die?"
"Wait. Ga-eul, calm down."
"What’s going on?"
"What’s the matter?"
The three guys beside me stepped in front of me as if they’d been waiting for this.
The scarred guy’s eyes darted around.
"Heh. Guess there’s a difference between first and second place after all? I didn’t think you’d carry dead weight like that and still come in first. Our team’s idiots dropped out early, so I left them behind and came out alone."
"Shut up and get lost. If it weren’t for Han Ga-eul, we would’ve given up ages ago."
At Shin-yong’s words, the other two nodded.
"Our supporter is a hundred times better than you."
"We wouldn’t trade our supporter for a hundred of you."
I had no idea why they were saying such embarrassing things right in front of the person in question. Hearing their voices, the scarred guy rolled his eyes and looked at me.
Did his silence magic also come with amnesia? I was pretty sure I’d knocked him out with a spell until the end of class—why was he acting like this?
"What do you think you’re doing on the training grounds? Get back to your places!"
Professor Hwang, having finished grading, raised his voice as if he’d noticed the commotion.
"Heh. Han Ga-eul."
The snake-like bastard licked his lips with his tongue.
"Professor! He keeps picking a fight with me!"
"Get back to your place right now!"
"Heh."
He stared at me with sticky, half-lidded eyes.
"This is ridiculous. Guys, move."
"Ga-eul, calm down."
I lightly pushed the three of them aside and stepped forward. The guy grinned like he was on drugs.
"Heh."
"What the hell are you grinning at, you piece of trash?"
—Smack!
"Guh."
I slapped him hard enough to send his jaw flying toward the sky. He face-planted straight into the ground. When I grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head, his jaw was twisted sideways. Still, thanks to his sturdy build, he was breathing fine.
"Professor! Look at this. A bug!"
"Haa…"
Professor Hwang rubbed the back of his neck.
"Han Ga-eul, three demerit points."
"What? Professor, why?!"
"‘Why’ is a Japanese song, you brat!"
It was the first time Professor Hwang had sworn. I felt so wronged.
"He started it!"
When I held up the scarred guy by the collar, Professor Hwang rubbed his neck again.
"Haa… Even so, you can’t hit your classmate."
"I didn’t hit him. I used the auxiliary spell Sleep. Look, he’s sleeping soundly."
Professor Hwang pressed his temples hard.
"…Get back to your place, you lunatic."
"Two points."
"Fine, two demerit points. Now go back."
"Yes!"
Two points were still worth bragging about. I dropped the guy on the ground and returned to my spot. The other students’ eyes were all on me, but my steps felt light.
"Class is over for today. Go back and rest well. Dismissed!"
At Professor Hwang’s words, the area grew noisy again.
"Shin-yong Loan Team, assemble!"
"We’re not loan sharks, what’s with that name?"
Our scattered team gathered despite their bewilderment.
"Tell me what you want to eat. I’m buying anything today."
The three of them spoke in unison after thinking for a moment.
"Samgyeopsal?"
"I want beef."
"I want beef Wellington."
Typical guys—everything was meat.
"Beef what? Isn’t that a pie?"
"Yeah."
I think I had it at a shipboard party once.
"Fine. We’re eating everything today. Brace yourselves."
"Ooh!"
***
- I’m sorry, sir.
"Yeah."
Click.
"No seats?"
Most places nearby that served beef Wellington were fine dining, and even those were fully booked. Without a reservation, it was harder than expected.
"Ga-eul, I’m fine with anything. Let’s just eat somewhere."
"Hmm. Then let’s go to a regular restaurant."
When I searched, there were plenty of regular restaurants. I picked one with good reviews and found most of them were nearby. Thanks to Wisdom Academy, the commercial district seemed very developed.
"It’s right behind us!"
"Haha."
"All the meat’s gone."
"I’m hungry."
"We’ll demolish steak in the first round and samgyeopsal in the second!"
"Yeah!"
With the momentum to actually destroy everything, we rushed into the building behind us.
Ding!
The elevator arrived on the first floor as if it had been waiting for us.
"Ga-eul, what floor?"
"Seventh!"
When I pressed the button, the elevator rose smoothly. Fitting for such a stylish building, the elevator itself was luxurious. We reached the seventh floor in an instant, and when the doors opened, an even more upscale restaurant welcomed us. It wasn’t dinner time yet, so it looked quite empty.
"Welcome. Do you have a reservation?"
"No, we just came."
"I’ll show you to a table."
If he was going to do that anyway, why ask?
"Yeah."
After sitting at the table the waiter led us to, he immediately handed us menus.
"We’ll take the course, please."
Without much thought, I told the waiter, and he jotted it down on his notepad.
"Is there anything else you need?"
At the waiter’s question, Noah gave a slight wave of his hand.
"Pairing, please."
"Yes, I’ll prepare it right away."
Noah really seemed like he came from a wealthy family. There was a certain aura in his basic manners.
After a short wait, the waiter returned.
"This is the appetizer bread and butter."
The waiter brought a large loaf and sliced it neatly with a bread knife. The restaurant atmosphere was nice, but it didn’t quite suit me—probably because my tastes were too cheap.
***
"We’ve prepared sorbet for dessert."
The waiter served the final dessert and stepped away. However, he seemed to have missed the elderly couple across from us who had slightly raised their hands. When the waiter left, they awkwardly lowered their hands again.
"It was good."
"Thanks for the meal, Ga-eul."
"Thanks."
"But do you still have room for samgyeopsal?"
"Hmm."
They seriously pondered it.
While we were chatting over dessert with the three guys, a man in a chef’s uniform approached our table. The elderly couple on the other side saw this and raised their hands again. The approaching man’s eyes flicked slightly, but he pretended not to notice and walked straight toward us. The waiter had stepped away for a moment—if there were customers, someone should have attended to them, but I couldn’t figure out why he was doing this.
"Good evening. I’m Chef Ye Seung-ho, who prepared today’s dishes. How was the course?"
"It was delicious."
"Haha, that alone makes me happy, but I’m even happier that students from Wisdom Academy came."
He was a slimy guy. It wasn’t a problem to show desire, but when it was this blatant, the person receiving it felt gross.
"But there’s a big problem."
The chef’s face filled with confusion.
"Uh, what kind of…?"
"The fact that I could only eat food like this now is the big problem."
The chef, who had been tense, broke into a smile.
"Ah! Haha. The beautiful lady also has a way with words."
"Thanks to you, my vision’s going dark."
The chef’s face stiffened again.
"…Pardon?"
"It’s like looking at a beautiful universe."
The chef’s stiff face instantly relaxed, and he beamed.
"Hahaha."
"It felt like seeing beautiful Pluto."
"Such high praise…"
"Even though it got demoted."
The chef’s face twisted as he failed to manage his expression. The three guys, who had been listening to our conversation, were rolling their eyes in disbelief.
"…"
"It tastes like a lonely, solitary fight, as if turning its back on the world alone."
"I… I can’t really tell if that’s a compliment or not."
"Then I’ll be straightforward."
"Yes."
"It was meh."
"Ah… I’m sorry."
Chef Ye Seung-ho’s shoulders slumped as he turned away.
"I misspoke. Not ‘meh,’ but ‘star road.’ Like Pluto drifting majestically along the path of the stars."
"Ah! Thank you."
He smiled brightly again.
"Though that planet doesn’t exist anymore."
"…You son of a bitch."
"I can hear you, you space orphan."
***
