Marine Park Ji-hoon.
Marine Park Ji-hoon.
Da-yeon and I worked on course registration prep together at school.
We could've done it from our own places, but we came in so we could hit up some good restaurants together after finishing registration.
On top of that, our department rep Yoon Hyeong-seop said if we came to campus he'd go through all the sweetheart liberal arts courses for us one by one.
"Wow, look at all the people here just to have fun~ I like it, I like it~ I already knocked out all the studying I'll ever need just to get into Hanguk University. You get into Hanguk University, you party—who the hell studies?"
""Ahaha.""
"See the courses and professor names on the board? Those professors generally grade generously. You can figure just showing up gets you at least a C."
The board was laid out like a pyramid, divided into three tiers in total.
Of the three layers, the bottom one was courses that give high average grades;
the second layer up was courses that give barely any assignments;
and the top one was courses where you just take two exams the whole semester, or just turn in two reports.
In short, for the courses in the top layer, you could coast and then just take the exams at the end and still walk out with a high score.
"'A Scientific Understanding of Death'?"
"Huh? That sounds like such a humanities course name."
"They say that one's top-tier."
I was hitting F5 at 600 APM, ten presses a second, and next to me Da-yeon was aghast.
"Is... is that thing gonna break?"
"I'm basically pressing it like a vibrator, so don't talk to me."
"Yeah... I can see that... G-good luck..."
Yoon Hyeong-seop, who was passing by me, glanced over and looked at me like I was some kind of moron.
We hadn't even gotten properly acquainted yet, and that was just rude...
"Uh... Si-yoon? If you hammer it that fast, won't you get in and then instantly get kicked back out?"
"Huh?"
Come to think of it, my superhuman dynamic vision aside—whether I could even see it or not—the screen wasn't even making it past the refresh screen.
I checked the time and, thirty seconds out, pressed the refresh button at 120 APM.
The course registration screen popped up, and I dragged down fast, using my dynamic vision while at the same time, with flawless aim, selecting nothing but sweetheart liberal arts courses and maxing out my credits at 26 per semester, the absolute cap.
Just a guess, but I'm pretty sure I finished first.
Afterwards, I went in, followed the liberal arts courses Da-yeon had registered for, and dropped the ones I'd picked.
"Wow... you're crazy fast."
"Heh heh heh..."
"But... you know people trade liberal arts spots, right...?"
"Huh?"
Right, if you put a bounty of about a million won on a liberal arts spot, you'd have sellers coming out of the woodwork...
I admitted to myself, and only to myself, that I'd been a little too amped up today and made a bunch of mistakes.
"If word gets out, it'll trash my image, you know~"
"Oh, will it~?"
Da-yeon had already caught on to every single lie I was feeding her, but she played along.
We added Professor Ahn Jun-tae's class—one that didn't even make the third tier—as our final pick.
Then, belatedly, we registered for the two major courses that were mandatory, and picked up our department jackets.
The #1 university in the Republic of Korea, Hanguk University.
Hell yes.
Off in the distance, the officer handing out the department jackets smiled.
"Now you really look like Hanguk University students!"
It really did feel like I'd finally enrolled at Hanguk University. The H emblem stitched into the department jacket is legendary.
I'd deliberately put on an XS size so I could wear it oversized, but it turned out even bigger than I expected.
It was small, like I'd stolen my older sister's clothes. Wearing it this way, I looked like the tiniest person in the department.
Da-yeon and I stood in front of Hagik Hall in our department jackets—seriously giving off that oversized fit vibe—snapped a picture, and posted it on social media.
Now that I'm an adult, I'll just say it.
Da-yeon doesn't hide her figure excessively anymore.
In the past, she used to compress it to the point where she looked like she couldn't breathe. Now it's more like... just a reasonable amount of compression?
Maybe that's why—when I go down stairs, I get two big jolts, but with Da-yeon, it shakes like two or three times my amount.
Boing-boing.
An overwhelming spectacle that inspires a sense of grandeur in anyone watching...
Da-yeon used to be really embarrassed by it, at first pressing down firmly with her hands so it wouldn't shake, but.
She seems to have gotten kind of used to it by now.
Without a single thought in my head, I poked Da-yeon's right boob with my finger and flicked it upward.
"Eek!"
"Holy shit..."
"Kim Si-yoon! We're outside, you know!"
"So inside it's fine?"
"Are you insane!?"
I grinned greasily, and Da-yeon bolted. Together, the two of us headed for the good restaurants around Hanguk University.
Since we had our department jackets on, people paid me some attention since I'm famous, but they didn't try to invade my privacy.
I nodded to myself at the improved civic consciousness of the people of the Republic of Korea.
Present company excepted, of course...
We'd ordered our food at a short-rib soup place and were enjoying a mobile game together, Da-yeon and I, when a young woman came over and asked if we'd take a photo with her son.
Well, taking a photo isn't exactly hard, but this little kid clearly had no idea who I was.
I moved to take the picture, but the little brat grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked hard.
"Ah..."
"Haeseong, let the big sister hold you~"
A mother who only reacts as though her son is being adorable, even though I'm visibly uncomfortable as hell...
"Please hold Haeseong for a moment~"
What would be the point of me getting pissed off right here?
I mean, I think it's fine to show my real personality, but when the person doing it is famous, the aftermath is kind of a pain in the ass, you know?
Right... didn't they say mothers were amazing?
Even the people around us were visibly uncomfortable, but I thought about a mother's heart, wanting the best for her son. To sit the four-year-old little brat on my knee, I slid my hands under his armpits and lifted him.
And with that, the little shit started throwing the most unholy fit.
Even back when I was in kindergarten, I couldn't stand seeing kids like this, so I never let anyone except Da-yeon near me, goddammit...
Deciding he wanted off my lap, he grabbed my hair and threw a tantrum, and ended up flipping the entire table.
"".....""
"It's hotttttt! Waaaaaaahhhhh!!!!"
"Haeseong!!!"
I twisted the little brat's hand until he let go of my hair, then used a handkerchief to wipe the kimchi juice that had splattered onto my face.
Hot, my ass... The food hadn't even come out yet. There was nothing on the table but cold side dishes, and this kid was screaming bloody murder about it being hot.
If this had been fourteen years ago, I would've seriously taken him around the corner and beaten the shit out of him.
The little brat, totally unaware that I'd twisted his hand, was crying simply in shock that the stuff on the table had gotten on his body.
The young mother grabbed her crying son and suddenly glared at me.
"You have to hold a child firmly! What if you'd dropped him!!!"
The restaurant went ice cold...
This young woman, suddenly spouting nonsense...
If there was one thing this young mother was failing to notice, it was that there were already people around us filming the whole situation.
And the biggest thing—Da-yeon, who'd been watching right in front of her, was pissed.
"Excuse me, you can't come at us like that."
"And who are you to butt in?"
Da-yeon's eyebrow twitched... That was a look I'd never seen on her before.
"Hmm... Excuse me, do you see Si-yoon's bag there? Courtesy of your son, it looks pretty much destroyed, and as far as I know, it easily costs more than a domestic car."
Where Da-yeon pointed, the pure-white bag my dad had bought me was completely obliterated, soaked in kimchi juice.
Da-yeon was smiling, but the expression gave off a chilling vibe, and everyone went quiet.
"......."
"Should I say you're lucky...? That bag happens to be one of the cheapest things Si-yoon is wearing right now? Ah! Fortunately, there are people in our household who are very good at handling things like this. You see them by the door over there? They'll be here in about five minutes~"
By the door, one of the security detail had been watching the situation inside the restaurant and was already on the phone with someone.
Da-yeon scanned the surroundings and smiled.
"Luckily, there's plenty of evidence~"
As if to prove we were in the 21st century, there were plenty of people in this restaurant filming us.
Da-yeon immediately contacted Team Lead Gil Kang-seop, who was in charge of Team 5.
The second the rundown of the situation was finished, the restaurant door opened, and in came Tae-jun—Tae-oh's older brother from Team 5—and Sang-gil, both in suits.
The two of them had a similar build; both were big guys, really nicely built.
Tae-jun walked over with perfect composure, pulled out a handkerchief, and handed it to me.
"I'll take care of it. Would you prefer to have your meal elsewhere?"
"Hmm... this place looked good, though..."
"Shall I look into another good restaurant, then?"
Da-yeon shot a sharp look at the young mother, then spoke to Tae-jun.
"Tae-jun, take us somewhere good!"
"Of course~"
Tae-jun took in my wrecked state, a flicker of anger crossing his face, then smiled.
"I've had them prepare a change of clothes outside."
"Got it."
Da-yeon and I followed Song Sang-gil of Team 7 outside.
Parked in front of the restaurant was a massive white container vehicle.
While I waited for the car to pull up in front of me, I looked at Song Sang-gil's build and spoke.
"Whoa, do you guys pump iron or something? Look at those muscles."
"Heh heh... with Ji-hoon gone, I've got to get my conditioning in fast! The entirety of Team 7 has been going at it like their lives depend on it, saying they refuse to lose to that punk."
"From what I've seen of him, the guy's got nothing else to do but work out, no?"
"......I'm going to win."
The vehicle stopped in front of Da-yeon and me, and bodyguard Song Sang-gil opened the door to the neat container compartment at the back.
Under countless gazes, even I thought the display of wealth was excessive, but hell, it had Hanseong stamped right on the side of the thing... it's not even mine anyway.
We stepped inside the container, and Da-yeon—who looked like this was her first time seeing it too—started looking around here and there.
Looking at the clothes arranged inside, the vibe was that this was Kim Seon-hwa's personal stock.
I stripped off and wiped myself down with a damp towel, and Da-yeon, who'd been looking around, helped me.
"Wow, Si-yoon, you got even paler."
Luckily, even my underwear hadn't gotten wet, so I just changed my outer clothes into whatever appealed to me.
Most of them were nothing but luxury pieces, so I was semi-forced into looking flashy myself.
When we stepped outside, the young woman who'd been shuffling in place with a desperate look on her face spotted me and tried to approach to apologize, but the security detail kept her from getting close.
Da-yeon and I followed Tae-jun's guidance and went to eat pork-and-rice soup.
Leaving short-rib soup behind, we headed for the pork-soup place.
Tae-jun dropped us off and turned to leave.
I called Tae-jun and told him not to charge them for the cleaning costs.
Tae-jun started to refuse, but in the end he answered that he understood, adding that he'd just scare them a little.
Da-yeon was watching my call with a satisfied expression...
Da-yeon and I ordered outer-leaf sundae soup.
I took a bite with high expectations, and it suited my taste even better than I'd expected.
I don't hate MSG, but my palate's good enough to tell exactly how much went in, and I'm sure this place is better than that last shop we went to.
Right around the time we were digging into our soup, a supercar pulled up in front of the place, and our department rep Yoon Hyeong-seop got out of the driver's seat.
Looked like his business on campus was done; he wasn't with the other officers, just his own friends.
He hadn't spotted me and Da-yeon yet; he sat down and ordered.
"Ma'am~ Two orders of sundae, two pork-bone hangover soups, and two bottles of Fresh~ I can park out front for, like, four hours, right?"
"Sure thing~"
I mean... the sun was literally hanging dead-center in the sky, yet the sight of them drinking booze starting at lunch inspired a deep sense of admiration in me and Da-yeon.
What the hell he planned to do about the car he drove here... I really was curious.
Was he planning to call a designated-driver service this early...?
"Yo, after we eat, you wanna shoot some pool?"
"Ever since the day you cleaned out my wallet, I don't do anything with you when I'm drunk."
"That was totally legit. Was I not drinking too?"
"Do you and I have the same tolerance? Huh!?"
Yoon Hyeong-seop, who'd been cackling, checked his ringing phone.
"Ah? It's a freshman. Gimme a sec."
As they watched Yoon Hyeong-seop step out to take the call, his group started talking.
"That guy seriously lives a tiring life. What kind of department rep goes that far?"
"They say he does it because he likes it."
"How the hell are his grades so good when he lives like that? I can't even."
"I met one of Hyeong-seop's childhood buddies once. Said the guy's brain was on another level even when he was a kid."
"They say he's got a hell of a knack for the business he's running now, too."
"What kind of work does he do?"
"Who knows?"
Da-yeon and I sat there with our spoons in our mouths, watching the scene, then went back to eating.
I put a spoonful of the outer-leaf sundae soup in my mouth.
I was eating it with some diced radish kimchi when he finished his call and came back in.
Since the two of us are pretty nosy, we ate while keeping an ear on their conversation.
"They said they think they messed up their course registration, asked me what they should do."
"What kind of Hanguk University student can't even handle course registration? That's a fucking washout."
"Don't be like that. They were in high school until just a little while ago—of course they might not know how course registration works."
"No, I mean, are they an idiot? You even told them you'd explain it all today, said to come in and do it together if they didn't get it."
The moment Yoon Hyeong-seop sat down, he immediately threw back a shot.
"Keuh~ I guess they thought they could handle it on their own."
Watching the four of them polish off a bottle of soju with nothing but diced radish kimchi was really... something.
That these were supposed to be twenty-somethings was beyond me.
"After we eat, wanna play a round of ROL?"
"With bets?"
"What, if there's no money on the line you can't do anything?"
"Hey, when there's money on the line, that's when my focus level changes~"
Yoon Hyeong-seop looked playful, but he clearly seemed like a good guy at heart.