Cafeteria Food

Arang’s anticipation for school was greater than I thought.

Living as Arang, I stayed up all night for the first time and played games.

Even though my body has become healthier, Arang’s still-growing body is constantly screaming for sleep, but Arang’s mind is too excited and clear to sleep.

Is this what people with insomnia feel like?

So, I thought I’d just try to listen to the class diligently.

Many kids showered me with attention, but thankfully, it was resolved when the class bell rang and the teacher came in, and I immediately started taking the class in the first-row, first-class seat.

My parents told me not to worry about studying when I entered middle school.

From my parents’ perspective, they probably thought Arang, who had been sick in elementary school and spent almost four to five years in the hospital room, wouldn’t be able to keep up with her studies.

But who am I? I’m Arang, but inside is someone who graduated from a four-year university in Seoul.

I’m not as confident as geniuses when it comes to studying, but I’m confident enough to get a 2nd or 3rd grade even if I took the college entrance exam now.

Me, doing middle school 3rd grade curriculum? Ha. It’s a piece of cake.

…

..

.

What the hell? What are they even talking about?

The first period was none other than math.

It’s not like I’m not good at math, nor am I a math-phobe. I, who successfully graduated from a four-year university in Seoul, don’t understand a single thing in front of me.

Is it because Arang’s memories are mixed in, or because I’m tired from staying up all night, or because the math taught in schools has changed over time…

I don’t understand anything.

Okay, I’m giving up on studying like my parents said.

Arang must be thinking the same thing because her head slowly started to droop.

Well, even a 30-year-old brain doesn’t understand what they’re saying, so how would it look to Arang, whose mind stopped at elementary school?

Maybe the numbers didn’t even look like numbers to her.

As her head slowly drooped, I naturally crossed my arms and put my head on them.

‘It’s hard…’

A big problem has arisen.

It’s quite uncomfortable to sleep.

I usually feel the hardness because of the bones when I use my arm as a pillow, but it’s not as bad as the prosthetic arm.

Usually, a prosthetic arm would somewhat replicate human skin or softness, but the prosthetic arm I’m using is made solely for performance, so in terms of texture, it’s just a prosthetic arm.

Normally, it’s not a problem because I always sleep in bed, but when I try to sleep at my desk, the disadvantages of the prosthetic arm I’m using are felt very acutely.

‘It’s hard and cold.’

I can’t sleep comfortably at all.

Even though my body is this tired, I can’t fall asleep.

The only advantage of the prosthetic arm right now is that I don’t feel like my blood isn’t circulating…? That’s the only thing.

It’s difficult in many ways.

‘I should bring a small doll or something to sleep on from tomorrow.’

I know it’s not a good thing to only think about sleeping comfortably from the first day of school, but I can’t help it.

I took classes in various subjects starting with math in the first period, but I still don’t understand any of it.

It seems like my mind and the brain I used to study with have become younger because I’ve become Arang’s body.

It has to be.

Hmm.

Then, the important thing now is how can I sleep well?

Originally, the rule is to sleep with your arm as a pillow when sleeping at your desk. But it’s too hard and slightly cold to use my arm as a pillow because my arm is a prosthetic.

Then…

I glanced to the side.

Like me, she should be sleepy because she’s mentally an adult, but maybe she has a great sense of professionalism because she was listening to the class in a very serious posture.

Sakak, sakak.

Nakyung is taking notes.

‘That’s a relief.’

Nakyung is on my right now. And Nakyung is right-handed. That means her left hand isn’t doing anything.

Sseueuk.

,Arang-nim?

When I grabbed Nakyung’s left arm, Nakyung lowered her head and called my name in a small voice, but I didn’t answer and moved Nakyung’s left arm towards my desk.

…?

Then, I put my face on Nakyung’s arm and closed my eyes.

==

Arang’s soft cheek is felt on my arm.

Arang fell asleep as soon as she used my arm as a pillow and closed her eyes.

The teacher is talking hard in the front, but Nakyung couldn’t take her eyes off Arang.

The reason is because of Arang’s chubby cheeks.

As she lay down using my arm as a pillow, Arang’s head naturally went in the opposite direction of Nakyung, so I can’t see her face, but Arang’s chubby cheeks, which had gained weight from diligently doing rehabilitation exercises and eating, were sticking out.

Arang’s cheeks are wriggling as if she’s eating something in her dream, and I had the urge to press her chubby cheeks with my fingers right now, but I endured it with the patience I had built up from my mercenary life.

The teacher, who knew roughly about Arang, didn’t try to wake Arang up.

Ttiring~ Ttiriㅡ

The bell rang to end the class, and as the students who were still curious about Arang rushed in, Nakyung turned her head so everyone could see and put her index finger to her mouth.

,Ah.

Nod nod

The kids immediately understood what that meant. Nevertheless, they didn’t go back to their seats and went to Arang’s side.

The reason is because Arang’s sleeping face was too cute.

,How can she be so cute…! She’s so cute, but she’s the same age as us…!

,Can you see her chubby cheeks? Awesome…

Nakyung nodded inwardly among the students who were speaking in the smallest voices possible.

==

,Arang-ah, Arang-ah.

I opened my eyes to the slowly shaking body and the voice calling me.

Jureureuk

After wiping the drool from my mouth with my hand and regaining my senses, there were a lot of girls standing in front of me.

,Euing…?

I thought it was already break time, but I was startled when I saw the time on the wall.

‘It’s 12 o’clock…!? Then I slept for almost 3 hours straight…?’

I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them, and it’s lunchtime… Jackpot?

Even though I was annoyed to go to school, I had a lot of good memories of eating school lunch, so I jumped up.

,Food!

,Pfft.

The girls in front of me laughed in unison at my words.

Whatever, the important thing is to eat.

The moment I was about to head to the cafeteria with Nakyung and the girls.

Winceㅡ

I felt discomfort in my right prosthetic arm.

My center of gravity shifted to the right and I was about to fall, but Nakyung gently supported me.

Then, she just picked me up.

,!?

Even though I don’t weigh much, Nakyung lifts me up as lightly as if I were a balloon.

,Maybe it’s because you haven’t been sitting for such a long time. I’ll hold you until we eat lunch for now. Let’s go to the nurse’s office after lunch.

Is this what an elite bodyguard is…?

,Wow…

,That’s crazy. Nakyung-ah, go out with me!

,Isn’t she too cool…?

Before I could even say thank you, the girls around me screamed and cheered.

Well, I think she’s cool too, so middle school girls will be even more so.

Her bobbed hair, tall height like the boys now, and trained body are revealed even when she’s wearing a school uniform, so her fit is no joke.

And she’s even pretty? That’s the end of it.

In the end, I went to the cafeteria in Nakyung’s arms, and it was more embarrassing than I thought.

I felt good about receiving attention from others while doing LEORE, but that was only when I showed a cool side of myself.

Everyone was just passing by looking at me with adoring eyes and telling me I was cute, and I felt like I was going to die of embarrassment.

Maybe it’s because I was sleeping and late, but the cafeteria line on the first floor was huge.

I saw that there were separate lines for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders, but the 3rd grade line was still brutally long.

I thought it would take a while, but the line quickly disappeared as I talked with the kids.

I learned a lot about what girls do for fun these days, what topics they talk about, and so on.

Surprisingly, the cafeteria food was buffet-style.

Is this the future…?

It wasn’t as many dishes as a buffet at an expensive hotel, but the number of side dishes and the delicious-looking food were quite a lot, to the point where I couldn’t believe it was school lunch.

I’m going to look forward to school lunch time even more?

I ate lunch and came to the nurse’s office.

Nakyung, who laid me down on the bed, told me to wait a moment and went outside.

And not long after, she came in with one of the friends I had lunch with.

Neat hair, wearing glasses, and a tidy uniform.

It was Chanmi, a female student who anyone could say was a model student!

==

Chanmi, who always maintains top grades at Seoul Asan Middle School, is the class president of the 3rd grade, 1st class.

When Arang and Nakyung transferred, she was asked by the homeroom teacher to help the transfer students adjust to the school well.

So, she went with them when they went to lunch with her friends during lunch time.

Everyone around her felt like a mother, although they weren’t, at the sight of Arang eating rice in her cheeks like a squirrel.

‘Is it okay for such cuteness to exist in the world…!?

When I first saw Arang, I thought she had jumped out of a comic book.

I didn’t show it much on the outside because I was worried that Arang would feel burdened, but I was full of wanting to get close to Arang.

After finishing lunch, I was going to tell her where the facilities at Asan Middle School were, but she said she had to stop by the nurse’s office, so I went with her to tell her the location of the nurse’s office.

Nakyung said that only she and Arang would go in, and not long after, Nakyung came out and specifically pointed at Chanmi and told her to come in.

…?

,Only Chanmi?

,Yeah.

Her friends were also puzzled, but not long after entering the nurse’s office, they realized why.