Entrance Examination
"So you're all in Class 2 as well?"
I threw the words out as if I knew nothing at all.
Since I hadn't singled anyone out in particular, naturally all four students nearby turned to look at me. I let their gazes linger on me for a moment, then feigned innocence and added, "I'm in Class 2 too."
"Wait, you're in Class 2 as well?"
The first to react was Si-woo. He broke into a wide grin and struck up a conversation, saying he hadn't expected us to end up in the same class.
"We made a great team during the entrance exam, didn't we? Right?"
"We did."
"Look forward to working with you going forward. You know my name, yeah?"
"Of course. You're Kang Si-woo."
"And drop the formalities. We're the same age. No?"
"Same age, yeah."
I said that with a small smile. Si-woo beamed back, got all excited, and started chattering away — until Si-ah shut him down.
I watched the twins bicker for a bit, then deliberately turned my head toward the other students. The mouse beastman girl looked a little frightened, but the dog beastman girl seemed to find me interesting. I flashed them both a friendly smile and spoke up.
"I saw you two fighting during the entrance exam. It was a shame it ended so quickly."
"Oh, don't worry about it. We barely did anything anyway. Lee Yeji... was it?"
"That's me. Mind if I speak casually?"
"Of course not. I'm Jang Yuna. And this adorable little hamster here is—"
"I'm NOT a hamster! I'm Kim Aram."
I smiled faintly and made a mental note of their names. Counting Si-woo and Si-ah, these were probably the first friends I'd made at this academy.
"I didn't do much either. I just happened to have a way of figuring out where everyone was."
"Ah, right. You're a snake beastkin, aren't you?"
"Yeah. Aside from the beastkin thing, I don't have any special abilities."
"Huh. That's kind of fascinating."
After saying that, Jang Yuna perked her ears up — apparently wanting to hear more about me.
"All I get when I manifest is my snake form."
" understated. But understated is usually a good thing."
"You don't have any abilities either?"
"I'd be thankful if I didn't. Having mine is worse than having none at all."
Jang Yuna heaved a deep sigh and explained. "My ability is a big bark that stiffens up anyone who hears it — the problem is, it can't tell friend from foe."
"Can't you just wear earplugs?"
"If that worked, I'd have already given some to Aram, wouldn't I?"
"Ah..."
"Aram over there actually has a pretty useful ability."
"What kind of ability?"
I put on a deliberately curious expression. It wasn't a story I particularly wanted to hear right now, but that didn't matter. It promised to be interesting.
"Honestly, Aram, you'd better explain it yourself. I never understand it."
"Dummy. I explained it to you already, remember?"
"Haha, but it's complicated. We need to explain it to Yeji anyway, so just pretend you're doing it fresh."
"...My ability is adjusting time, using my own heartbeat as the reference point."
"...What?"
I knew it was rude to cut someone off like that, but I had no choice. If Kim Aram's ability were really what that sounded like, there would have been no reason not to abduct her. Going by everything I'd heard so far, it was a mystery how she'd even made it to the academy in one piece.
Fortunately, Kim Aram corrected herself. "To be precise, I adjust the time I perceive."
"So you're fooling your own brain."
"Yeah. I can accelerate up to twice normal speed, and slow down to 0.3 times."
I nodded slowly. That much was unremarkable. The drugs my aunts and uncles could make included things far worse than that. Honestly — and here I'd been worried I was about to lose the first friend I'd made at the academy.
"Sounds like a good ability. Really useful, I'd bet."
"That's why it's not for nothing that Yuna and I both dream of becoming Heroes."
"Ah..."
"Oh, right — Yeji, what's your goal?"
I smiled awkwardly. For one thing, academy students didn't necessarily have to decide their future right away. Some Heroes worked as Hunters, and some Hunters worked as Heroes. So I planned to say I was still deciding — that both Hunters and Heroes were noble professions devoted to saving civilians, and that I couldn't possibly choose between them. It was also the safest way to keep the conversation going smoothly.
"I'm still deciding—"
"She's obviously going to be a Hunter! I knew it the moment I saw you! Yeji, you've got exactly what it takes to be a Hunter!"
"Huh. My brother actually said something right for once?"
"..."
I gave another awkward smile. After that, Si-woo and Si-ah both launched into passionate speeches about how I was clearly destined to be a Hunter — apparently convinced because we'd made such a good team during the entrance exam. Well, honestly, we had worked well together.
But just as I was about to object to having my future decided for me like this, a voice cut in.
"Ahem, everyone? The entrance ceremony is over now. Stop sitting around like statues or chattering away, and go do what you need to do."
Very much a Jang Mi-na thing to say. I blanked out for a moment, then noticed the other students getting to their feet. With the mood shifting like this, it seemed best for me to stand up too and head for Class 1-2.
It was the perfect moment. Both Si-woo and Si-ah were so self-centered that the two of them looked set to dominate the conversation for a good while. So before either of them could strike up another chat, I swiftly began walking out of the auditorium. I didn't walk too fast, of course — that would have left the other students unable to keep up with me.
Before long, Jang Yuna and Kim Aram drew up beside me, with Si-woo and Si-ah trailing right behind, still talking to each other. If things stayed like this, I figured we could chat on the way.
And that was a misjudgment on my part. Just as Jang Mi-na had said, this academy seemed to love leaving things up in the air.
For starters, the students were filing out of the auditorium in an orderly fashion — but they were all shouting at the top of their lungs, making conversation impossible. Anything I tried to say was instantly swallowed by the din.
In the end, I had no choice but to pull out my phone and save Jang Yuna's and Kim Aram's numbers first, then Si-woo's and Si-ah's from behind me. Even if not now, we could always contact each other later by phone.
The one saving grace was that the students were actually exiting at a decent pace. I waited in line for a while, then slowly made my way out of the auditorium. Just as I was thinking we could finally pick up the pace, a wall of students materialized in front of me.
It wasn't hard to understand why. The new students had no idea where they were supposed to go and were wandering lost. Fortunately, the teachers and senior students apparently had no intention of watching this drag on, and stepped in. I stood still for a moment, then began following the teacher who was calling out that Class 1-2 was this way.
...That teacher, how should I put it. He seemed like a considerable black-hearted schemer.
On the surface, he looked perfectly ordinary. Tall and handsome, slender but with a well-muscled build, neatly kept black hair, a good face. The one problem — if it could be called that — was those narrowed, slit eyes of his. They made me wonder whether he really needed to keep his eyes pinched shut like that all the time. And his fingertips were distinctly blackened, which was strange in itself.
...He looked exactly like someone who should only exist in the Laboratory. The sort of impression that made you think he'd treat students kindly with a smile on his face, then reveal his true nature and commit some crime.
No, I wasn't joking. That was precisely what my uncles had looked like ten years ago.
So I walked behind that teacher with extreme caution, ready to react instantly if anything happened. ...Fortunately, my worries seemed to be for nothing. Nothing happened all the way to Class 1-2, where we arrived with the other students.
"Mmm, everyone please take whatever seat you like. I have a lot to say."
With those words, the teacher flashed us a kindly smile. Feeling an inexplicable unease, I decided to pick a sensible seat. The window side seemed best for a start — I wasn't strongly serpentine, but sunlight felt pleasant nonetheless. And... somewhere in the middle, neither front nor back. A spot where I could take in the lessons adequately without drawing the teacher's attention.
So I chose a suitable seat and sat down. ...Except the situation seemed to be turning out rather strangely.
Si-woo and Si-ah sat in front of me. Jang Yuna and Kim Aram sat behind me. And naturally, the seat beside me was left empty. That much I hadn't expected — I'd assumed someone I knew would sit next to me.
So I sweated inwardly and prayed that whoever sat beside me would at least be a taciturn sort. That way, I felt, I could bear it a little better. But my hopes were dashed — the boy who sat down next to me seemed remarkably sociable.
I screamed internally for a moment, then slowly arranged my face into blank neutrality. At least while the teacher was speaking, the student beside me didn't seem likely to start a conversation.
"Good. Everyone's seated? Welcome. I'm Park Hyo-rim, the homeroom teacher in charge of Class 1-2."
The homeroom teacher strode to the front of the classroom and wrote three Chinese characters on the blackboard. I squinted at them for a moment, trying to make them out, then gave up. They were characters I didn't know — well, characters from a different world, so that was only to be expected.
"I hope that from here on, you'll all be able to achieve your dreams here at Busan International Academy..."
The teacher's speech continued on from there. Most of it was genuinely useful, at least — a brief explanation of the various benefits available to us at the academy. So the students, without any real protest, engraved his words into their ears.
But I was finding it hard to sit quietly and listen. I mean... that face — I have trauma attached to faces like that. Still, he seemed like a good teacher, so I tried to endure it.
There was no way a teacher at this academy could actually be a black-hearted villain... right?