Yesterday was Saturday. And today is Sunday. Kim Hajin wakes up from his dormitory, with a measured yawn. Yesterday’s turn of events is within their expectations. This weekend is the unofficial start of the Festival of Heroes.
The Combat Exams are yet to start officially, but the spirit of the festival is well-ongoing. Starting tomorrow Monday, the Combat Exam will finally and officially start. “I think the first event is duels…”
Hajin has three choices of action for today on how to spend this Sunday— (1) train like he always does, and make an excuse to his peers that he prefers resting in his dorm, (2) join the hobble and bubble on his classmates’ spending their time on the Veritas classroom arguing about the most trivial stuff, or (3) just walk around and try some booths.
He finds no meaning in choosing Option (1) as his power has long met the ceiling. No amount of routine training can elevate him further. He will end up just idling his time away inside the dormitory. The wise move for him is to relax his mind and body in anticipation of the actual Combat Exam. He has to perform admirably so that he can attract the attention of the Boss of Chameleon Troupe, thus he must be at peak condition during the events.
Choosing Option (2) is the most logical choice for him, though it will be annoying, he will be able to play as an extra in the background keeping a low profile. The chances of him being involved in an incident also lessen as keeping up with appearances among his classmates is so much easier.
Hajin’s eyes zoom in on an assuming fly who must be thinking to itself that it is hiding very well. “There are so many flies around lately… It is annoying… I don’t even stink…” Hajin’s acting isn’t so bad that it can be easily deduced with a glance.
He pretends to sniff his armpit, showing the fly from Droon’s Gift that he is becoming suspicious of this one annoying fly. Hajin draws a dot of magic power from his Stigma. It requires monstrous mental control as his Stigma’s nature is not fluid.
A small flicker rouses from his index finger, killing the fly in an instant.
“I have decided.” Hajin wears his everyday outdoor clothes this time, unlike yesterday when he was wearing his cadet uniform. “I will go sightseeing.” In the end, he decides on Option (3). Hearing his classmates about who to put in which competition does not sound appealing at all.
“Hyon has seen much of the Surface Cube… This is a good chance for me to study the layout of the place…” He understands that knowing the geography of their home ground will yield great advantages in the future.
Hajin recalls their fight with Yun Hyuk and Kum Seungyeon. He could have done better in that fight if he knew the buildings that could serve as good vantage points for a sharpshooter like him.
“This will be a challenge though…” He nibbles on his corndog, while he estimates the area where the temporary booths are placed.
Since it is a festival, some parts of Cube are changed from how they usually are. Memorizing and getting a lay of the land around Cube might be more difficult than he can imagine.
From his peripheral vision, Hajin sees a familiar figure. The Boss of Chameleon Troupe, Yi Byul is sitting beside a bakery eating a slice of her cake. Hajin carefully passes by her without making eye contact. From how he understands Hyon’s retelling of TNE, the reason he has caught Yi Byul’s interest is because of his seeing past the Siren’s Necklace’s effects through perception alone.
It will be difficult now to replicate that feat as unnecessary doubts may arise from Yi Byul’s part in doing so. Thus, Hajin decides to be sensible and not risk it. After all, Hajin and Yi Byul have already made eye contact once. Who says Yi Byul won’t recognize him if their eyes connect a second time?
Moreover, the eyes are the gateway to a person’s soul, and Hajin believes this superstition to some extent. Hajin continues on his walking around, at one time, even making eye contact with Cheok Jungyeon who is eating cotton candy at that time.
Hajin swears he doesn’t remember making a setting like Jungyeon having a preference for sweets. Maybe, Jungyeon is just curious about what a cotton candy tastes like.
“Nayun?” Hajin calls to her.
Chae Nayun is sitting by a bench overlooking the coast, where the sea stretches to the horizon. She turns around, her face meeting Hajin's. A cigarette hangs from her lips. She pincers the cig in between her fingers, and exhales the smoke from her lungs.
Hajin picks up her cig, and takes a hit, while he sits just beside her. Hajin recalls Nayun’s memories from Kum Seungyeon’s stunt. The reason Nayun has taken smoking is due to the future past Hajin also shares the same vice.
In Nayun’s own words, it is to remind her of the pain the man ‘the other Hajin’ has caused to her.
Nayun picks up another cig from the box under her Cadet uniform and lights it up with magic power. The principle is simple. She just has to make her magic power spark through friction. It is not enough though for combat. “How is your Sunday?” She asks while she takes a hit from her cig.
“So-so… How about you? Did you go to the classroom?” Hajin answers boringly and asks a question of his own.
Nayun looks at her own cadet uniform, the evidence of her bothering to come to the classroom despite being Sunday. “Actually, a lot of them attended… The only exception is you, Hyon, and Jonghak. There was almost a fight, because of disagreements. Many of our classmates have dropped out since the incident, and we lack the numbers to put into competitions. Suho actually is joining seven competitions. Two that he wants, and the other five which is forced on him.”
Hajin chuckles at learning about Suho’s suffering. “I am so happy, I was not there.”
“I requested that you join the Sharpshooter Competition— yes, it is archery.” Nayun mischievously smiles. “Also, there is an Academic Discourse as a competition, I also put you there. Oh, and also a Thesis or something… I also voluntarily put you into the Tournament Bracket.”
Hajin’s face only becomes worse and worse as Nayun continues. “W-what? W-we have mission objectives, and being placed into so many co-curricular activities is bad! We only finished phase 1, and there is more to come!” He reasons.
But Nayun makes Nayun-based reasoning. “So what?”
“Huh?”
“Exactly that. So what? It doesn’t really conflict with your calendar. Go show the world your potential. You don’t have to walk the dark and lonely path anymore. You have us with you. Have a little more ambition!” She smiles sincerely, her intentions only mean wellness for Hajin.
As a sincere friend, and not as a childish romantic interest.
“I don’t know about the Hajin that you know, but I know you. I like to at least believe that, despite the version of the ‘you’ I am facing now is so much older than the one I know.” Hajin resists smiling, but his eyes are warm.
“Do you want to die? I am not that old.” Nayun laughs with mirth, her white teeth showing as she smiles like a blooming flower. But she is not a flower. A charming ferocity threatens to take Hajin away as Nayun grins at Hajin. “Kim. Ha. jin. Go and win them all.”
Nayun punches Hajin’s shoulder as a form of encouragement. She stands up from her seat, kills the cinders of her yet-to-be-consumed cig, and throws it at the trash bin in the vicinity.
Unlike a flower, Nayun is something else.
Hajin remains seated, the cig in between his fingers is almost gone. “Sigh… Such a waste.” His eyes land on the trash bin, where Nayun’s unfinished cig is thrown. “You should live frugally…” Hajin flicks the butt of his cig and flings it at Nayun. “Oops. I missed. Throw it for me.” He adds in a deadpan voice.
“What? Am I your bitch now?” Nayun sighs exasperatedly as she picks up the butt of the cig, and puts it on the trash. She almost forgets. Hajin is a bad boy. She recalls the other Yeonha from the past iteration.
“Sorry, I don’t know, but I felt somehow pissed.” Hajin apologizes and then complains.
“Why?”
“I am jealous.”
“Huh?”
Kim Hajin is jealous of the other Kim Hajin. He realizes that now. “If I win them all, be my girlfriend.” He declares. This is never his style, but he feels immensely greedy right now.
“Huh!?” The same syllable leaves Nayun’s mouth, but this time, with more oomph, reflecting her confusion. “M-me? G-girlfriend? What got into you? T-that’s too much a leap. Shouldn’t we date first? N-no, I already moved on! Damn, it! Take that back!”
“Move on? There is no moving on, to begin with. I am not the one who broke your heart. It is the other Hajin, so give me a break.” Hajin’s rebuttal makes sense, but it doesn’t register in Nayun’s mind.
"Ugh..."
Alfir It is a filler chapter, but I hope you liked it. The next chapter will also be a filler.
Yesterday was Saturday. And today is Sunday. Kim Hajin wakes up from his dormitory, with a measured yawn. Yesterday’s turn of events is within their expectations. This weekend is the unofficial start of the Festival of Heroes.
The Combat Exams are yet to start officially, but the spirit of the festival is well-ongoing. Starting tomorrow Monday, the Combat Exam will finally and officially start. “I think the first event is duels…”
Hajin has three choices of action for today on how to spend this Sunday— (1) train like he always does, and make an excuse to his peers that he prefers resting in his dorm, (2) join the hobble and bubble on his classmates’ spending their time on the Veritas classroom arguing about the most trivial stuff, or (3) just walk around and try some booths.
He finds no meaning in choosing Option (1) as his power has long met the ceiling. No amount of routine training can elevate him further. He will end up just idling his time away inside the dormitory. The wise move for him is to relax his mind and body in anticipation of the actual Combat Exam. He has to perform admirably so that he can attract the attention of the Boss of Chameleon Troupe, thus he must be at peak condition during the events.
Choosing Option (2) is the most logical choice for him, though it will be annoying, he will be able to play as an extra in the background keeping a low profile. The chances of him being involved in an incident also lessen as keeping up with appearances among his classmates is so much easier.
Hajin’s eyes zoom in on an assuming fly who must be thinking to itself that it is hiding very well. “There are so many flies around lately… It is annoying… I don’t even stink…” Hajin’s acting isn’t so bad that it can be easily deduced with a glance.
He pretends to sniff his armpit, showing the fly from Droon’s Gift that he is becoming suspicious of this one annoying fly. Hajin draws a dot of magic power from his Stigma. It requires monstrous mental control as his Stigma’s nature is not fluid.
A small flicker rouses from his index finger, killing the fly in an instant.
“I have decided.” Hajin wears his everyday outdoor clothes this time, unlike yesterday when he was wearing his cadet uniform. “I will go sightseeing.” In the end, he decides on Option (3). Hearing his classmates about who to put in which competition does not sound appealing at all.
“Hyon has seen much of the Surface Cube… This is a good chance for me to study the layout of the place…” He understands that knowing the geography of their home ground will yield great advantages in the future.
Hajin recalls their fight with Yun Hyuk and Kum Seungyeon. He could have done better in that fight if he knew the buildings that could serve as good vantage points for a sharpshooter like him.
“This will be a challenge though…” He nibbles on his corndog, while he estimates the area where the temporary booths are placed.
Since it is a festival, some parts of Cube are changed from how they usually are. Memorizing and getting a lay of the land around Cube might be more difficult than he can imagine.
From his peripheral vision, Hajin sees a familiar figure. The Boss of Chameleon Troupe, Yi Byul is sitting beside a bakery eating a slice of her cake. Hajin carefully passes by her without making eye contact. From how he understands Hyon’s retelling of TNE, the reason he has caught Yi Byul’s interest is because of his seeing past the Siren’s Necklace’s effects through perception alone.
It will be difficult now to replicate that feat as unnecessary doubts may arise from Yi Byul’s part in doing so. Thus, Hajin decides to be sensible and not risk it. After all, Hajin and Yi Byul have already made eye contact once. Who says Yi Byul won’t recognize him if their eyes connect a second time?
Moreover, the eyes are the gateway to a person’s soul, and Hajin believes this superstition to some extent. Hajin continues on his walking around, at one time, even making eye contact with Cheok Jungyeon who is eating cotton candy at that time.
Hajin swears he doesn’t remember making a setting like Jungyeon having a preference for sweets. Maybe, Jungyeon is just curious about what a cotton candy tastes like.
“Nayun?” Hajin calls to her.
Chae Nayun is sitting by a bench overlooking the coast, where the sea stretches to the horizon. She turns around, her face meeting Hajin's. A cigarette hangs from her lips. She pincers the cig in between her fingers, and exhales the smoke from her lungs.
Hajin picks up her cig, and takes a hit, while he sits just beside her. Hajin recalls Nayun’s memories from Kum Seungyeon’s stunt. The reason Nayun has taken smoking is due to the future past Hajin also shares the same vice.
In Nayun’s own words, it is to remind her of the pain the man ‘the other Hajin’ has caused to her.
Nayun picks up another cig from the box under her Cadet uniform and lights it up with magic power. The principle is simple. She just has to make her magic power spark through friction. It is not enough though for combat. “How is your Sunday?” She asks while she takes a hit from her cig.
“So-so… How about you? Did you go to the classroom?” Hajin answers boringly and asks a question of his own.
Nayun looks at her own cadet uniform, the evidence of her bothering to come to the classroom despite being Sunday. “Actually, a lot of them attended… The only exception is you, Hyon, and Jonghak. There was almost a fight, because of disagreements. Many of our classmates have dropped out since the incident, and we lack the numbers to put into competitions. Suho actually is joining seven competitions. Two that he wants, and the other five which is forced on him.”
Hajin chuckles at learning about Suho’s suffering. “I am so happy, I was not there.”
“I requested that you join the Sharpshooter Competition— yes, it is archery.” Nayun mischievously smiles. “Also, there is an Academic Discourse as a competition, I also put you there. Oh, and also a Thesis or something… I also voluntarily put you into the Tournament Bracket.”
Hajin’s face only becomes worse and worse as Nayun continues. “W-what? W-we have mission objectives, and being placed into so many co-curricular activities is bad! We only finished phase 1, and there is more to come!” He reasons.
But Nayun makes Nayun-based reasoning. “So what?”
“Huh?”
“Exactly that. So what? It doesn’t really conflict with your calendar. Go show the world your potential. You don’t have to walk the dark and lonely path anymore. You have us with you. Have a little more ambition!” She smiles sincerely, her intentions only mean wellness for Hajin.
As a sincere friend, and not as a childish romantic interest.
“I don’t know about the Hajin that you know, but I know you. I like to at least believe that, despite the version of the ‘you’ I am facing now is so much older than the one I know.” Hajin resists smiling, but his eyes are warm.
“Do you want to die? I am not that old.” Nayun laughs with mirth, her white teeth showing as she smiles like a blooming flower. But she is not a flower. A charming ferocity threatens to take Hajin away as Nayun grins at Hajin. “Kim. Ha. jin. Go and win them all.”
Nayun punches Hajin’s shoulder as a form of encouragement. She stands up from her seat, kills the cinders of her yet-to-be-consumed cig, and throws it at the trash bin in the vicinity.
Unlike a flower, Nayun is something else.
Hajin remains seated, the cig in between his fingers is almost gone. “Sigh… Such a waste.” His eyes land on the trash bin, where Nayun’s unfinished cig is thrown. “You should live frugally…” Hajin flicks the butt of his cig and flings it at Nayun. “Oops. I missed. Throw it for me.” He adds in a deadpan voice.
“What? Am I your bitch now?” Nayun sighs exasperatedly as she picks up the butt of the cig, and puts it on the trash. She almost forgets. Hajin is a bad boy. She recalls the other Yeonha from the past iteration.
“Sorry, I don’t know, but I felt somehow pissed.” Hajin apologizes and then complains.
“Why?”
“I am jealous.”
“Huh?”
Kim Hajin is jealous of the other Kim Hajin. He realizes that now. “If I win them all, be my girlfriend.” He declares. This is never his style, but he feels immensely greedy right now.
“Huh!?” The same syllable leaves Nayun’s mouth, but this time, with more oomph, reflecting her confusion. “M-me? G-girlfriend? What got into you? T-that’s too much a leap. Shouldn’t we date first? N-no, I already moved on! Damn, it! Take that back!”
“Move on? There is no moving on, to begin with. I am not the one who broke your heart. It is the other Hajin, so give me a break.” Hajin’s rebuttal makes sense, but it doesn’t register in Nayun’s mind.
"Ugh..."
Alfir It is a filler chapter, but I hope you liked it. The next chapter will also be a filler.
