TRPM 245

chapter 245

A few days had passed since I began strengthening myself by directly injecting Aether into my body using points from the Awakener system.

“(…The missing persons incident in Australia?)”

[(A group of tourists, in double digits, split into multiple vehicles and went missing. Of course, there were no reports of nearby monsters.)]

President Richard himself had relayed that information to me.

‘If it’s just a missing persons case, there’s nothing particularly suspicious…’

Australia’s public safety has been critical since the Sydney terror incident in the past. Sydney itself maintains some order thanks to its famous kangaroos, but other areas are reportedly as chaotic as parts of Africa.

So, if someone disappeared after falling into the hands of criminals, that wouldn’t be unusual.

[(The problem lies in the identity of those tourists.)]

“(The identity of the tourists?)”

[(Yes. Those tourists… were all Awakeners from the organization that Sophia had told you about before.)]

… Hmm…

So, the organization’s Awakeners appeared in Australia for some reason and then went missing?

“(Couldn’t it be that they just made a mistake by showing themselves and then went into hiding?)”

[(Doesn’t seem so. I managed to intercept their communications this time, and they seem confused themselves, saying that even their elites were taken out.)]

“(Taken out? By whom?)”

[(That, I couldn’t find out.)]

But one thing is certain:

[(Whoever it is, it means someone opposing the organization has appeared.)]

“(…And you intend to recruit that person as an ally?)”

It seemed as if he was trying to draw me in somehow.

[(Exactly. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.)]

That’s what President Richard meant: even if we don’t know who the opponent is, they could become our ally, so don’t act hostile.

“(…Understood for now.)”

I said this and hung up.

There’s no logical problem with Richard’s reasoning. An enemy of our enemy can indeed become a powerful ally.

But…

‘Even Richard and I might be neutral to each other, but we’re not friends, are we?’

As for whoever Richard mentioned opposing the organization… I felt that rather than becoming an ally, they would likely become another enemy.

It’s just a hunch without concrete evidence, but…

‘I trust my instincts.’

My instincts are usually pretty accurate.

As usual, after school classes ended and the break began, some students were trying to nap at their desks, others were heading to the restroom, when suddenly Lee Ha-eun and Ryu Ah-young jumped forward, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Let’s get matching class T-shirts!”

“Class T-shirts…? Oh, right, the sports festival is next week.”

The sports festival wasn’t anything special; it was much like the inter-school competitions in elementary and middle school.

The only difference was that now, with enough students, there was no need to team up with another school.

Ah, and unlike middle schoolers who were still clumsy with controlling their abilities, high schoolers, who had even earned dungeon conquest certificates, were highly skilled in using their powers.

‘Civilians can hardly even watch.’

Especially in ball games—if the ball flies toward civilians, fatal accidents could occur. The school sets up stronger barriers than usual and strictly prohibits civilian access.

Here, civilians include not just outsiders but also all non-Awakeners working at the school, such as cafeteria staff.

In other words… the cafeteria doesn’t operate during the sports festival.

‘…I’ll need to prepare a lunchbox then.’

With that thought, I checked the class T-shirt designs displayed on the classroom TV.

Hmm…

‘…Pink?’

That was a bit…

I wondered if I was the only one thinking that, but Ryu Ah-min voiced her protest.

“Why pink?! There are so many other colors.”

“The color is set for each class. Ours is pink.”

“Who decided that?!”

As Ryu Ah-min raised her voice, Ryu Ah-young casually replied.

“The teachers decided. Our teacher, Son Ji-hye, got pink. She said it’s a pretty color and liked it.”

“Alright, pink it is then.”

Ryu Ah-min’s attitude completely flipped after hearing Ryu Ah-young say that Teacher Son liked the color.

The other students, including me, looked at Ryu Ah-min in disbelief, but nothing could be changed. The color for our class T-shirt was officially pink.

‘…And if I’m wearing it alone, maybe it wouldn’t matter. But if everyone’s wearing it…’

After deciding on the design, the students began choosing phrases to print on the back of the shirts.

Honestly, this part was the most fun.

“How about writing phrases for each other?”

“Instead of choosing our own, we pick for each other?”

“Of course, nothing too extreme.”

Once everyone agreed to write for one another, Lee Ha-eun used an online randomizer to assign who would write for whom.

It turned out that I had to write a phrase for…

“Oh, Gwon-woo is writing a phrase on my back?”

It was Ryu Ah-young, who had been leading the discussion at the front.

Hmm… Ryu Ah-young…

‘There’s a phrase that comes to mind immediately for her.’

Although she might find it embarrassing, that was exactly why it was worth putting on her shirt.

I stepped forward with a sly grin and wrote the phrase on Ryu Ah-young’s back.

‘Nut Crusher.’

A nickname she earned back during middle school’s inter-school competitions, after kicking a male student in the groin.

“Ahhh!”

Ryu Ah-young screamed in horror when I carefully included the English in parentheses, but the other students clapped, saying it suited her perfectly.

Thus, the phrase on Ryu Ah-young’s back became “Nut Crusher.”

“Ugh… If I had gotten the chance to write a phrase on your back, I’d have taken revenge immediately…”

Ryu Ah-young glared at me, teeth gritted. Then, with eyes full of mischief, she wrote something on her assigned blank.

“Ahhh?!”

Jin Cheon-ha screamed at the phrase.

That’s because Ryu Ah-young had written it on Jin Cheon-ha’s back. She wasn’t going to be the only one embarrassed, so she gave him a humiliating phrase as well.

‘Chuunibyou.’

Jin Cheon-ha had been a self-proclaimed mystic with Chuunibyou at the start of the semester. Now he was an ordinary student, but this was essentially his embarrassing past.

“Then… I’ll do mine too!”

Following Ryu Ah-young’s example, Jin Cheon-ha filled in his assigned blank.

One by one, the students began putting embarrassing phrases on each other’s backs, sparked by what I did.

‘…So it’s my fault?’

It all started with me.

“Pervert in love with the teacher!”
“British cuisine is the worst…? But some British food is good!”
“Hikikomori…? Not wrong, but wearing a shirt with that phrase…”
“Support magic one-trick? I know other spells too!”
“Ordinary…? Ha-eun, you may be ordinary compared to me or Gwon-woo.”
“No special traits…? That’s kinda insulting…”
“Muscle brain…? What does that mean? I don’t recognize the Hangul…”

One by one, Idu-min, Elena, Kim Eun-yeon, Lee Ha-eun, Kang Ga-ram, Ryu Ah-min, and Elliot had their phrases set.

‘…And the last person is Elliot.’

Elliot would decide the phrase for my back. I wondered what kind of phrase this duelist would choose for me.

“Hmm…”

Elliot pondered at the teacher’s desk for a moment, then whispered something to Ryu Ah-young.

“Huh? How do you say ‘petty-minded’ in Korean?”

Ryu Ah-young repeated it aloud. Elliot clearly thought I was petty for refusing a duel.

“…”

Seeing that, Ryu Ah-young shot me a wicked grin. Our eyes met, and I felt a bad omen…

‘…My karma.’

Ryu Ah-young was seriously angry at me. Since I started this, I had to accept the consequences.

“When someone is petty and timid, we say ~ ‘Bendangi sogaldakji’.”

“Ah…”

So, for the sports festival, I ended up wearing the pink class T-shirt with “Bendangi Sogaldakji” written on the back.

“Pffft… Hahaha…!”

Two days later.

The class T-shirts we ordered were delivered, and I went home with mine.

Seeing it, Yeon Mi-rae couldn’t hold back her laughter.

Sophia, who initially didn’t know what “Bendangi Sogaldakji” meant, probably searched for it secretly and was now trying hard to hold back her laughter.

“Go ahead, laugh.”

I told her that because if I got serious about it, I felt like I’d really become a “Bendangi Sogaldakji.”

“Hahaha… Seriously, why did you write that phrase?”

“I didn’t. Elliot said I was petty for not dueling, and Ryu Ah-young wrote it after hearing that.”

“Well, you could have just accepted his duel request.”

The problem wasn’t Elliot but Ryu Ah-young. To explain, I’d have to reveal that I wrote “Nut Crusher” on Ryu Ah-young’s back, so I didn’t bother.

‘If I explained, people would say I was too harsh.’

I realized belatedly that I wasn’t being very mature, but I couldn’t help it at the time.

If I were to experience this situation again, I’d probably repeat the same actions.

“Oh, by the way, what about lunch? Should I make it?”

“Yeah, if you have time, go ahead.”

I remembered the lunches Yeon Mi-rae prepared during middle school inter-school competitions.

[Yeon Mi-rae placed various dishes on the table.]
[She really put effort into it for our exchange, Gwon-woo and Ha-eun.]

…Whether you call that a lunchbox or not, all the food she prepared was excellent.

There was enough for not just us but also for those nearby.

And above all…

‘…Honestly, Yeon Mi-rae cooks better than my mom.’

My mother isn’t bad at cooking. Otherwise, Sophia and Yeon Mi-rae wouldn’t have been eating at our house every morning.

But despite not cooking often, Yeon Mi-rae cooks better than my mother.

So, I decided to leave the lunchbox preparations to her.