Ch.157156. Birthday (1)

# 156. Birthday (1)

Delicate snowflakes falling ever so slowly from the high heavens.

The biting wind that somehow penetrated through layers of clothing and the visible breath with each exhale seemed to confirm that winter had undoubtedly arrived.

“It’s cold…”

I was someone who matched this weather perfectly.

After finishing today’s training, I was walking back to the dormitory with her.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“I’m fine since I’m always dressed like this.”

“Does that apply to your body too?”

“Not severely, just a little bit.”

It seemed that being in that state every day had made her completely unfazed by this level of cold.

‘But I’m the same…’

I too had experienced her [Cruel Cold] for a long time.

If anything, it was probably worse for me since I was on the receiving end.

Yet I still couldn’t adapt to this weather.

Feeling the bearable cold throughout my body, I opened my mouth.

“This semester is coming to an end too…”

Once we returned from the school trip, winter break would begin, and with that, this long yet short year would come to a close.

A year filled with numerous events.

It was certainly an impressive year for me in many ways.

‘Yes… so many things happened…’

There were so many memorable events that it would be difficult to pick just one.

Though if I had to choose one, I could.

“This semester seemed really quiet.”

“Not particularly quiet… I’m not sure.”

Still, with Luna’s transfer and everything, it didn’t feel especially quiet to me.

As I thought about Luna, who would be packing her luggage for the school trip in the dormitory by now, the air around me suddenly grew colder.

Even though there wasn’t any wind.

“Just now… who were you thinking about?”

“Um… I wonder…”

A voice colder than the current weather.

And with that cold voice, someone appeared.

‘This… doesn’t feel good.’

Luna suddenly emerged from the girls’ dormitory and approached us with a smile.

Completely unaware of the current atmosphere, she greeted me.

“Hi, were you training until now?”

“Yeah… I was.”

“What about your luggage for tomorrow?”

“I packed it in advance.”

“Tomorrow will be fun! It’s my first time going on a school trip.”

At that moment, I felt a soft touch on my hand.

Startled by the sudden sensation, I instinctively looked in that direction.

She was holding my hand tightly and somehow standing even closer to me than before.

“It’s my first time too…”

“That’s surprising… I thought you’d have gone on many camping trips since you’re good at it.”

“Well… I just happened to get good at it.”

In truth, I had no choice but to become good at it.

When entering field-type dungeons or during missions, camping wasn’t just frequent—it was constant.

“Really? But why are you sticking so close to him, unni?”

“I’m doing this because I want to. Do you have a problem with that?”

I didn’t understand why they were acting this way, but lately, whenever these two met, they engaged in this kind of psychological warfare.

Since they weren’t originally like this, something must have happened, but I didn’t know what it was, so I couldn’t do anything about it.

“Not a problem exactly, but seeing couples act like this in front of me makes me sick since I’m single.”

“Then you should get a boyfriend too. There are plenty of guys who are crazy about you.”

“I told you before, I’m going to get one this time.”

The atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.

I could only listen to their conversation without saying anything.

“I’ll pray for your success, though it probably won’t happen anyway.”

“We don’t know that yet.”

“”Right?””

They both looked at me simultaneously, seeking my agreement.

I didn’t know what was going on or why.

But they were clearly looking for my sympathy.

‘Does that mean she’s planning to confess during the school trip?’

I didn’t know who would be receiving that confession, but that seemed to be what she was saying.

Honestly, if a girl like Luna confessed, most guys would accept.

Unless the recipient was someone like Leo.

But since I didn’t know who it was, I couldn’t speak carelessly.

“Well, it could work out or it might not.”

When I said that, both of them looked at me as if they had expected such an answer.

Their psychological battle seemed to end with my single comment.

“Well… I guess so. I’ll be going now. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah…”

With those final words, Luna went back into the dormitory building, and she watched Luna’s retreating figure with fiery eyes.

“Did something happen between you two? Your relationship seems to have suddenly gone bad…”

“Nothing in particular happened, really.”

“That’s good then.”

Anyone could see that something had happened, but since she said otherwise, I had no choice but to say it was good.

As I was about to return to my dormitory building, she, who had been looking at the snow on the ground, began to speak.

“By the way, we’ll really be living apart soon.”

She was planning to go to the Orion Kingdom right after the graduation ceremony, so there was less than a month left until that time.

I was a bit worried, but I knew she would handle it well, just as she always had.

“Don’t be too sad when I’m gone.”

“You say that, but you actually want me to be sad.”

“Well… of course.”

“Of course I’ll be sad.”

But after a day or two, I’d probably get used to it.

It had been that way before.

‘Besides, the situation isn’t that bad this time.’

This time, it would probably just end with a feeling of regret.

Or at least, I hoped it would.

“I won’t see you starting tomorrow either… for a whole week.”

“That can’t be helped.”

“You said you packed your luggage in advance, right?”

“Yeah, a while ago.”

In truth, I didn’t have much to pack, so it was almost embarrassing to say I had packed, but I had prepared in advance knowing I would be training until late the night before the trip.

After escorting her to the dormitory, I was about to return to the boys’ dormitory.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

Just as I was about to leave, she blocked my path.

With a deeply flushed face.

“Um… could you… stay a little longer?”

With that single question, the atmosphere around us changed instantly.

The warm atmosphere that could melt even the winter snow made me blush as well.

Trying to hide my reddened face in this embarrassing situation, I answered her question.

“Um… sure.”

A breathtaking atmosphere, but for a different reason than before.

Feeling that atmosphere, I entered the girls’ dormitory building with her.

Just like last time, all eyes focused on me as soon as I entered.

Ignoring those stares, we headed toward her room, which I had visited before.

‘Why am I so nervous about this…’

Of course, it wasn’t something to be dismissed so easily.

At least, given the atmosphere.

Unlike last time, we entered her room alone.

In this tense situation, she was the first to speak.

“Do you… like black tea?”

“Yeah… I do.”

“Then please sit somewhere comfortable and wait for a moment.”

After saying that, she went into the kitchen, probably to make tea.

Following her suggestion, I sat down in a place I found comfortable.

The living room sofa.

I was sitting on the rug on the floor, using the sofa as a backrest.

‘Smells… nice.’

Her scent wafted throughout the room, tickling my nose.

A fragrance like flowers nourished only by dew.

It was a scent that always emanated from her, but because of the location, even this familiar fragrance felt different.

“I’m not sure if it’ll suit your taste, but here you go.”

She carefully placed two cups of black tea on the table and sat down on the rug just like me.

Perhaps because she was nervous, she kept some distance between us.

‘Cute.’

She was clearly showing signs of being conscious of me.

I slowly moved closer to her, who was so tense.

And just like that, the same atmosphere and situation as that summer vacation was created.

“Why did you call me here? So suddenly too.”

“Well…”

After taking a deep breath and appearing somewhat calmer, she continued.

“Do you know… what day it is today?”

“Today?”

Today’s date was December 7th.

Something did come to mind.

But there was no way she could know about that.

It was something only I knew in this world.

So it definitely wasn’t that.

‘But even besides that… I feel like there was something…’

Of course, I just had that feeling; I hadn’t actually realized what day it was.

Unable to provide an answer to her question, I asked her instead.

“What day is it?”

“I knew you’d forget! Today is Albert’s birthday!”