episode_0274
by AfuhfuihgsA bubble rose in my dark consciousness. When I opened my eyes, I saw a bedroom illuminated by the bluish light of dawn.
My head was hazy, as if I was in a dream. I couldn’t even remember what had happened before I woke up or why I was looking at this scenery.
I looked around. My vision was faded and dull, like looking at an old photograph.
A musty, unpleasant smell tickled my nose. As the sun rose, the alarm sounded outside and someone lying in bed woke up with a start.
“… It’s morning already?”
A man with his upper body naked was clutching his forehead as if he had a headache. He was behind me so I couldn’t see his face, but I could clearly see that he had a well-trained and well-built physique.
“Really… Time flies so fast… ”
He checked the calendar, exhaled deeply and sighed. And there was another person lying next to him.
A half-naked woman opened her eyes at the sound and muttered, rubbing her eyes.
“Umm… Master, are you going?”
“Uh.”
The man answered, picking up the clothes scattered on the floor and putting them on.
“No matter what, it’s an entrance ceremony. Being late is a bit much.”
The jacket he was wearing was a Cradle uniform. It was a style that had long since passed its time, but the unique color and old-fashioned pattern were clearly recognizable. Why did it seem familiar?
“You’re pretending to be a model student now. You’ll be the only student here until the day before the entrance ceremony.”
The woman, covered with a blanket, said playfully. The man answered back, buttoning up his shirt.
“A place like this? I like it here. Of course, it’s a hundred times better than that suffocating mansion.”
He straightened his appearance and waved his hand without even looking back.
“I’m going. I won’t be able to come now. There will be more eyes watching me once I enter school.”
“Okay. I don’t even expect it.”
The woman replied as if it was nothing. After a brief farewell, the man opened the door and went out into the hallway. Before I knew it, I was following him like a ghost without a will.
The old hallway creaked with every step. After going down several flights of stairs, the exit finally came into view.
And then, suddenly, a voice as cold as ice passed by next to the man who was leaving the door.
“Brother. Did you have a good night?”
“Ah.”
The man turned his head and sighed as if he had been mistaken.
A female student wearing the same academy uniform as the boys stood with her hands clasped together. She was full of grace and courtesy, and her beauty was so great that it caught the attention of passersby just by her presence.
And I too could immediately recognize her identity.
“Jin?”
The man’s voice was clearly displeased. The identity of the female student was Jin Noona. Noona? Is it really Noona? She looks about the same age as me now.
…anyway.
She maintained a cool and dignified demeanor the whole time, as if she was proud of being the daughter of a prominent Ye family.
It was a mixture of familiarity and unfamiliarity. It was a much sharper attitude than now, when he looked much younger but gave off a dreamy and mysterious impression.
He also calls me “Orabeoni” instead of “oppa” and speaks politely instead of informally.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came because my aunt asked me to do something.”
“Please?”
The female student nodded in response to the question.
“Yes. He told me to find my brother and escort him to the entrance ceremony.”
“You’re not serving, you’re watching. Tsk, what a waste of time… ”
The man clicked his tongue, showing his displeasure without hiding it. He must have had a very scrunched-up expression on his face. It seems like I can tell what the expression is just by looking at the back of his head.
If Jin’s older sister is your aunt, then she is the leader’s mother. I heard that the Madoishibchijok Ye family is the leader’s maternal family. Jin’s older sister was the successor to that family.
“Brother, you are now a legally full-fledged adult. You should start to realize your own position.”
Jin-noona didn’t flinch at the man’s fierce demeanor. He spoke in a soft and polite voice, but the light in his eyes was clearly one of contempt, not affection.
“Aren’t you the eldest son of the prestigious Heukryeon family? How can someone like that go from one brothel to another until the day of the entrance ceremony? I’m afraid it will be known to the outside world. You don’t even attend the preparatory exchange meeting for children from prestigious families, and you neglect the education of your successor, and you’re being so dissolute… ”
“Hey, I told you. If you give me that kind of advice one more time, I’ll put your eyes out.”
The man interrupted his older sister who was giving a sermon. He leaned in close to her and looked at her threateningly.
“Or is that it? Are you saying this on purpose to make me feel bad? If so, I’d like to say that it was a successful trick.”
“No way. It was just heartfelt advice from a close relative.”
“Ha, hide your expression while you speak.”
The man snorted in disapproval. Every word the schoolgirl uttered while looking at him was filled with deep disgust. Her gaze, as if looking at a disgusting deep-sea creature, was a bonus.
“Would you like to go to a preparatory exchange meeting? It’s not fun, and it’s a suffocating place. Compared to that, a red-light district would be heaven.”
“As the successor of the Black Lotus… ”
“Is this crazy, seriously.”
The man raised his hand as if he could no longer bear it. Then he grabbed Jin Noona’s chin tightly and lifted it up as if he was evaluating her.
“Hey. I told you not to do that.”
“… ”
“If you don’t like me here so much, then you should have dealt with me. I just needed something useful for the cradle.”
“That’s not worth responding to. I’d rather bite my tongue and die than be shamed by a bastard who keeps slandering his cousin.”
A heated argument erupted between the two. Jin-unnie was staring at him, as calm as a frosty winter.
And the first person I looked at was the man.
“Tsk, that’s enough. I’m the one who asked.”
The man let out a deep sigh and released Jin Nuna’s chin. Watching the female student straightening her appearance as if nothing had happened, the man waved his hand in annoyance.
“Can’t you see I’m wearing a school uniform? I was going to go anyway.”
“Is that so?”
“Uh. So get out of here now.”
“That can’t be. What I was asked to do by my aunt was… ”
“Ah, I got it, I got it!”
The man who had been glaring at Jin Nuna as if he was going to kill her with annoyance soon brushed past her as if she didn’t exist. The two of them walked towards the bus stop without saying a word.
“It’s better now that you’re like that.”
The man glanced at the female student who was following him at a brisk pace and sneered at her in a sarcastic tone.
“How can a person be so closed-minded? That’s why you’re not popular with men. Whenever you open your mouth, you preach, advise, and admonish… If someone saw you, they’d think you were an 80-year-old senator.”
“I don’t need the attention of shallow and horny men. In fact, it’s a good thing.”
“Let’s stop talking… ”
The man shook his head and sighed. As he was walking, he suddenly stopped in front of a sparkling glass window.
The man who approached swept his long bangs back while looking at the window as if it were a mirror. Then he opened his mouth with a smirk.
“As expected, he’s handsome.”
And I, who was standing behind, could finally see the man’s face reflected in the window. A thin face, with a sharp expression that seemed threatening to those who did not know it.
But now, a freshness that had never been seen before was clearly visible on his face. The name tag attached to his chest had three familiar letters written on it.
-Sa Jae-hyeok
***
What I was seeing was the past of the captain spread out like a mirror. I don’t know how I ended up in this dream, but I didn’t really feel like escaping. Well, I was curious about that too.
The view changed in an instant. I was taking in the view of Hwayang Hall, which looked much newer than it did now. The entrance ceremony for new students, which is held every spring, was being held again this year.
The boring flower offering and self-introductions by the faculty and staff continued. The head of the department was standing in the back row, yawning long and hard as if he was not interested.
The students gathered in groups of three or five were whispering in heated voices. Their sidelong glances were directed at the head of the group.
-Hey, back there…
-Crazy… You’re the Black Lotus’s best friend. Why did you have to choose our rider…
-Shh! Don’t make eye contact. You’ll get involved for no reason…
“You little shits. You should challenge me to a duel instead.”
The captain muttered, snorting as if it was not true. Fortunately, the interest in him did not last long.
All the students’ attention was immediately drawn to the figure of someone appearing on the front stage.
“That’s… ”
“It’s him… !”
A female professor was just about to step onto the stage. The voice of the presenter introducing her boomed through the amplifier.
-This is Professor Haewolhwa, who has been teaching the black magic countermeasures course since this year! Everyone, please give her a round of applause!
“Haewolhwa? The Haewolhwa I know?”
“You’re the hero of the 3rd Annihilation War! You single-handedly swept away more than thirty Baekdu Bloodline Demons! ”
A roar of passionate admiration filled the Hwayang Hall for a moment. The female professor who had received the amplifier opened her mouth sharply, gently pushing her long hair over her ear.
-Hello, freshmen. My name is Haewolhwa, the black magic countermeasure. Although I am lacking, I will do my best…
The principal was no different then than he is now. He was a famous person, and his appearance was surprisingly young for his age.
“Wow… You’re really pretty… ”
One of the boys in the back row muttered with his mouth wide open.
“If she’s wearing a uniform, you wouldn’t know she’s a freshman. How is she over 40… Ugh!!”
The mouth of the student who was counting something with his fingers was quickly covered by his friend. He looked around the stage and lowered his voice and spoke urgently.
“Hey! Watch what you say! Haven’t you heard the rumor?”
“Coolook… You’re suddenly making a fuss. What’s the rumor?”
“That professor hates talking about age the most in the world. If you get caught, you’ll be sent straight to solitary confinement.”
“What? That’s all… ”
“I’m telling you the truth. It’s something I heard from my older brother who graduated. Do you think that’s all? Uniforms… Every night… Staring… at… the young… ”
“Crazy… ”
Because the whisper was so close to my ear, I couldn’t hear what was being said behind me. All I could see was the astonished face of the male student.
The captain had a bored expression on his face, as if he had no interest in such gossip. He glanced at the stage out of the corner of his eye and muttered indifferently.
“Oh my, forty? She’s just a grandmother.”
He was sticking his tongue out and shaking his head. When he felt someone tapping his shoulder from behind, the captain instinctively turned around.
Because of that, he didn’t even realize that Haewolhwa, who was standing on the stage, was staring at him. Should he call that a blessing?
“What?”
The captain turned his head and frowned. The one who called him was a tall, handsome male student. His eyes were so sad that you could tell at a glance that he was a good person.
“Hello. Are you the guy I’m talking about?”
He also had a freshman badge hanging on his chest, just like the captain. The captain’s gaze grew even fiercer when he heard the word ‘rumor.’
“Are you trying to start a fight? That’s good. I was already feeling a little shaky. As soon as the entrance ceremony is over… ”
“… What are you talking about?”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
But his spirits dwindled like a deflated balloon at the sight of the bewildered expression on the face of the strange male student.
“I was just going to say hello to the other freshmen… ”
The boy muttered awkwardly, scratching the corner of his mouth. He smiled kindly and raised his right hand, offering it to the captain.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Baek Yu-jun. Baek Yu-jun of Paechon.”
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