Chapter 14 – Childhood Friend and Friend

There was a cafe for the cadets and teachers within the academy.

After school, the cafe was full of people since many students wanted to make friends with others at the beginning of the semester. 

Soothing jazz music was playing.

We were at a place with such a nice atmosphere, yet for some reason, there was only bleak silence at our table.

Sip…

Rattle. Rattle.

Yoo Hayeon was awkwardly glancing around as she inhaled her strawberry latte through a straw.

“Hmm…”

Na Yoona wore a subtle frown as she drank her mint chocolate latte.

“Haa…”

Meanwhile, I drank an Iced Americano with a sigh.

Should I not have brought her?

We both happened to be on the way to the cafe, so I said we should go together after hearing her response.

This was basically our first time meeting face-to-face, so of course there were going to be some awkward moments.

Glance. Glance.

Hayeon kept looking back and forth between me and Yoona.

If you have something to say, say it.

As soon as I gave her that look, she started talking.

“He…llo? You know who I am, right?”

“Class President, Yoo Hayeon. Han Sijoon’s childhood friend. A student who relinquished first place.”

“…You’re certainly well-informed”

Just how much did you investigate?

I never imagined I’d find out that she gave up first place.

Hayeon said she didn’t like attracting attention, refusing to take first place and even turning down a scholarship.

Due to that, the one who was awarded the certificate at the entrance ceremony was not her, but someone else.

Perhaps the first place knew they were actually in second place, because they didn’t look too pleased.

Flustered by how much she knew about her, Yoona asked her another question.

“Ahem, I know you too! Na Yoona of NAVI! What’s your hobby?”

“…Don’t have one.”

“A-Alright…”

Yoona’s impregnable wall.

That wall looked as flat as her chest.

“You were thinking something weird just now, weren’t you?”

“…No, I wasn’t”

Damn, she catches on quick.

How did she find out immediately?

With a puzzled look on her face, Hayeon touched her upper body.

Naturally, there was just a small hill there.

Anyways.

“Thank you for coming with us. This is Yoo Hayeon. She may be stupid, but she’s a kind girl.”

“I’m not stupid…! Nice to meet you! We’re also in the same class, let’s get along!”

Hayeon extended her hand to Yoona.

A sign indicating a friendly handshake.

Yoona stared at Hayeon’s hand for a long time.

“…Excuse me?”

I wonder if three seconds have passed.

She turned to me then said, “I came to give Sijoon an answer. I don’t want to waste my time.”

“Oh…?”

Hayeon’s palm, which was casually ignored, was left hanging in the air. She pulled her hand back as if nothing had happened.

“Ha. How fun.”

A laugh out of the sheer absurdity.

It’s been a while since I’ve been ignored like this?

Hayeon must be fuming in flames on the inside.

Glare.

A war of nerves subtly began between the two.

“Who are you to ask me for a handshake?

“I was trying to be nice, but you went as far as to block me off. I don’t like you.

If I were a mind reader, they were probably having these thoughts.

It was obvious even without the mind reading since my understanding of them was high.

“Now, now, let’s calm down. If you fought in a place like this, what would that make me look like?”

Was it fate again? Due to that, I probably look like a two-timing playboy or villain.

Please, don’t let that happen.

I had to be as careful as possible so that I don’t draw the students’ attention.

As a matter of fact, those two were already the center of attention.

“Woah look over there. Isn’t that Na Yoona? It’s my first time actually seeing her other than on TV.”

“Isn’t the other person, Yoo Hayeon? She dominated in the competition with her skills.”

Hayeon, who was due to become S-Rank in the future.

Yoona, who would inherit the world’s top corporation.

“But who’s that guy? I’ve never seen him before.”

“His face is a bit…”

What. What about my face?

When did I ever go around like a Casanova or cheat?

I’m just a wronged student who complains.

Slam!

It was the sound of an Iced Americano slammed down on the table.

I started to get to the point with Yoona.

“Let’s cut to the chase, Yoona. You want that too, right?”

Nod.

She really hated people who beat around the bush.

She was like a robot in a sense.

She was certainly simple.

I spoke as I looked at Yoona.

“Be friends with me. I’ll show you a different world.”

“A different world…?”

A different world.

A world which the wealthy Yoona could not enjoy.

Doing that would make the hard and stiff world she was living in, soft.

“Take my hand if you’re curious. You won’t regret it.”

“Regret…”

Yoona looked at my bony hand, and fell into contemplation.

Having been tamed inside the cage, she was hesitating even though the door was open.

Such was the terrifying effect of taming.

Yoona was brooding with her hand extended.

It won’t take much longer.

She just had to come a bit closer.

The moment her small fingertip brushed against mine…

A sabotager appeared.

“S-Stop!! You can’t go to a different world with Sijoon…! It won’t happen without my permission!!”

“What’s she saying? This person?”

Who knows, I don’t know what she’s talking about either. Why’s she flipping out at us wanting to become friends?

Hayeon’s hand was blocking the formation of a relationship between me and Yoona.

I lightly removed her hand and exchanged a handshake with Yoona.

“Alright, we’re friends from today onwards. I’m your first friend, Han Sijoon. Don’t ever forget.”

“Friend… Huhu… Good. It has a pretty nice ring to it.”

Huhu.

Yoona let out another content laugh.

She had a cool side to her.

Thankfully, things ended smoothly.

Excluding Hayeon, who was throwing a fit, that is.

“I said… I’m against it! I’m Sijoon’s one and only friend! I’m against a different world!!”

What is she saying?

I was going to give Yoona the ordinary people’s experience of having Tteokbokki1, Deep-Fried Snack Food, Ramen, Coca-Cola, and JJajangmyeon2.

Are you that against her descending to the level of an ordinary person?

Hayeon looked like she thought we were leaving her out.

She sure is selfish when she could see the world of an ordinary person every day. 

“Then I’ll show it to you too. Let’s see it together. A different world.”

“Nngh… Urgh… My childhood friend has lost it… He’s deviated…”

“……?”

Hayeon began to mumble something, but I couldn’t wrap my head around it whatsoever.

Well, it wasn’t the first time she was like this. 

I just let her be.

Yoona tilted her head and asked, “Is your childhood friend usually like that?”

“…Not always. Every now and then.”

Yoona didn’t look like she understood Hayeon’s behavior either.

How could she when even I couldn’t?

I did not expect it at all.

“He grew up…so suddenly… He became an adult…”

Yoona stared at the broken Hayeon for a brief moment, then pulled out her phone to check the time.

Perhaps she remembered something, but she got up from her seat, holding her designer book bag.

She appeared busy, as if she had spent more time than she expected to with us.

“I don’t have much time. I’ll get going now. See you tomorrow. Sijoon.”

“Alright, Yoona. See you tomorrow.”

A stickler for the rules.

She always did what was on her schedule. That included appointments.

It looked like Yoona left for her next appointment.

“Shall we get going too, Hayeon? If you’re done with your drink, let’s go. I’m also tired.”

“N-No…you can’t. If you go, you’re in for it…”

Is she still broken?

After cleaning everything up from the table, I dragged Hayeon out of the cafe.

“Look at him! He spiked her drink, isn’t he kidnapping her?”

“Oh my goodness!!”

And of course, rumors about me piled up.

 ***

“The different world was showing her the world of ordinary people…? What was I doing… Idiot! You should have told me…!”

Hayeon made a fuss on our way back.

I don’t know what she had been thinking, but in any case, her misunderstanding was cleared up.

Just what kind of world was she imagining?

I still didn’t understand.

After that small incident, I arrived at the dorm and was lying on a cozy bed.

“Ugh, I’m beat.”

Relaxing at home was a must after spending time outside.

Just like charging the phone battery, my body had a fixed energy capacity.

After I plopped the evening supplements in my mouth, I summoned my innate ability to check my condition.

 “Come out, Libra.”

–What is it that you desire?

The innate ability that Han Sijoon possessed, The Scale, Libra. 

You obtain what you desire by paying the price.

Convenient as it might be, it was on the costly side.

I spoke in an uncharacteristically grave tone as I asked that corrupted dealer, Libra, “My lifespan. How much time do I have left?”

–Pay the price.

Like I thought, just asking won’t cut it.

Tsk, so dang stingy.

“How much do I need to give for you tell me?”

–Lifespan. Hand over half of your lifespan.

“…Just piss off.”

With that, Libra vanished from my eyes.

You’re talking shit.

Dumbfounded, I almost laughed.

But what was most annoying was that Libra didn’t lie.

“I need to know how much time I have left to decide whether or not to use it.”

Spotty memories of the past.

Back when I didn’t know anything about Libra, it was a given that I’d be aggravated upon remembering that I used the ability before.

“Well, it should be fine.”

People die anyway.

No matter how much time I have left, let’s not fret over it.

It’s more beneficial to view it that way.

What I needed to do was find out the price, not the lifespan.

Also increasing my proficiency with the weapon.

This place was both a world within a game and my reality.

My proficiency with the weapon was fairly high.

“Let’s rest for today and do it tomorrow…”

Running too fast for no reason will cause you to trip.

But shouldn’t I be running fast?

As I kept on worrying…

Bzzz.

My phone began to vibrate.

“Who’s messaging me at this time? Hayeon?”

She just said good-bye to me, but she’s contacting me again.

However, the incoming text message was from an unknown number.

A message from a contact I had not saved.

I tapped on the screen to check it.

–This number! LOL It’s mine! Save it! Hehe. LOL You’re my first texting friend!! Think of it as an honor^^ Sorry for hitting you during the spar today! I was sick!ㅠㅠ See you tomorrow! Bye!

“What’s this…”

How did she know my number?

Did she investigate me again? Over something she could’ve just asked?

More importantly…

Did an elementary school student send this text?

But this message claimed to be from Yoona.

“…She could send this to a friend for the first time.”

Yeah.

It could happen.

It did seem like this was her first time sending a friend a text message.

I came to an understanding and decided to look past it.

Footnotes

1 Tteokbokki is a Korean spicy rice cake snack food.

2JJajangmyeon is a type of Korean-Chinese noodle dish with black bean sauce.