“Hey, answer me…”
“Where are you?”
“I’m at home.”
“You didn’t go out?”
“I’ve just been sleeping all day. Looks like you came to Seoul?”
“Ah, all because of that damn fake Grade 5 Gate.”
The news that the Grade 5 Gate actually wasn’t a Grade 5 had already been all over every broadcast while I was asleep.
The Dungeon Management Director apologized for causing anxiety among the people due to an incorrect measurement, but it was inevitable that he got a ton of criticism.
Ban Eun-hyeol seemed pretty pissed about that too. He must have rushed up to Seoul from Busan, so it made sense.
“I heard you went to Busan and swept up some cash.”
“I swept up a lot, that’s for sure.”
“I’m jealous. Buy me an ice cream.”
“Come out if you want one.”
I just threw it out there without thinking, but Ban Eun-hyeol readily told me to come out.
Usually, he’d say something like, “Don’t you have any money?” so I thought he’d say that again, but his answer was unexpected.
“Now?”
When I asked in surprise, Ban Eun-hyeol said he was near our apartment and told me to come out in five minutes, then hung up.
What’s up with him today?
Feeling dazed, I went outside and saw a tall guy riding the swing at the playground in the apartment complex.
“Hurry up, or your ice cream will melt.”
“It’s winter, it won’t melt.”
I took the ice cream Ban Eun-hyeol handed me and sat on the swing next to him.
The coldness of the ice cream tingled in my hand.
It was a pleasant chill.
“Is ice cream all it takes to make you happy?”
“Mmm. Thanks for the treat.”
We spent time chatting about nothing in particular as we ate our ice cream.
Residents passing by looked at us eating ice cream and talking in the middle of winter and said things like, “Ah, youth,” as they walked by.
After I finished my ice cream, I was going to head straight home.
But Ban Eun-hyeol didn’t seem to have any intention of getting up from the swing.
He just sat there, quietly looking at me, his eyes slowly scanning me from head to toe.
“Why—”
“………Just checking if you spilled ice cream on yourself like a klutz.”
I thought we’d have a nice conversation and then go home, but he always has to say something like that before he’s satisfied.
I snorted, showed him my clean hands, and pulled my padding forward to show nothing had gotten on it.
“Yeah, looks like you’re fine.”
“Then I’ll get going now. I need to sleep.”
“You’ve been sleeping all day, haven’t you?”
“Sleep is the kind of thing you always want more of, no matter how much you get.”
“Then go sleep. I’m off.”
Ban Eun-hyeol randomly patted my head, then turned around, waved once, and walked away.
He really got weird after coming back from Busan.
He actually came all the way here just to eat ice cream and then left right away.
I stared at his retreating back in disbelief, then went inside.
***
Since there were no classes, we just watched movies the teachers put on to pass the time, and before I knew it, the morning of the end-of-term ceremony had arrived.
Even up until the end-of-term ceremony, I hadn’t gotten to do any Dawn Guild activities.
Yeon Ha-yeon said we’d start in earnest once she got a little rest and vacation began, so that was why.
“I was sure she said that…”
But what’s up with Yeon Ha-yeon today?
Even though the ceremony ended quickly, Yeon Ha-yeon was late, and there were blood splatters on her school uniform.
It seemed best not to ask, so I kept my mouth shut.
The other classmates seemed to have the same idea.
They kept glancing at Yeon Ha-yeon’s uniform, then quickly looked away with frightened expressions.
It was easy to see.
“Ha-yeon, is that your blood? Are you hurt?”
At that moment, Eun Ba-da asked with a tone that couldn’t have been more gentle.
Everyone was curious, but just as we were thinking, “She must’ve gotten in a fight somewhere,” someone finally had the courage to ask.
She herself didn’t seem to care much and just looked genuinely worried that Yeon Ha-yeon might be hurt.
“Of course not. There was just someone who needed to be taught a lesson.”
“Ah, that’s a relief.”
Hearing that it wasn’t Yeon Ha-yeon’s blood, Eun Ba-da smiled in relief.
For a moment, it felt like his face was shining alone in the schoolyard.
It was just a hallucination, but if the original world people saw these guys, they’d probably ask if they were celebrities.
I was once again impressed by how good-looking my friends were as I checked the text I just received.
[Want to go to the aquarium tomorrow? – Do Ihyeon]
It was a simple text.
Until now, we’d only exchanged numbers and hadn’t really contacted each other, but he messaged me first.
Just how much does he like aquariums?
Honestly, I thought he would’ve forgotten by now. It had been a while since the school trip, and even longer since we talked about going to the aquarium.
But for him to text me on the day of the end-of-term ceremony…
Was he really waiting for this day?
He really wants to go to the aquarium, huh…?
That was some serious persistence. I started thinking that if I went this time, I should show Do Ihyeon the giant octopus and the jellyfish, and before I knew it, the ceremony ended quickly.
As for the Four Heavenly Kings and Yeon Ha-yeon, we all decided to gather at Ban Eun-hyeol’s house over the weekend.
According to the Four Heavenly Kings, there’s nothing they don’t have at their place.
Last time I went, I only studied in the room and didn’t get to look around the house.
This time, I planned to properly tour the house and have fun with my friends as a way to celebrate vacation, so I was looking forward to it.
If the hallucinations I experienced in the Dungeon weren’t fiction but reality, and if I really had to choose between the two, I was glad I chose to hold Yeon Ha-yeon and Ban Eun-hyeol’s hands.
I never even crossed over to the world I used to live in, but I felt relieved to be back in this one.
“Dan-ah! I really wanted to hang out tomorrow, but let’s meet on the weekend!”
“You have plans tomorrow?”
“Mm, it’s a continuation of what happened today.”
“Ah…”
As we walked to the school gate, Yeon Ha-yeon linked arms with me, sounding genuinely regretful.
I felt the same, but since she said it was related to today’s events, there wasn’t much more to say.
I didn’t even have to ask what she was doing tomorrow—I already knew.
After Yeon Ha-yeon said goodbye and got in her car, I saw off Han Ji-bin, Eun Ba-da, and Ji Gang-han in turn.
Ban Eun-hyeol just kept saying goodbye until they all left, but didn’t get in a car himself.
“Why aren’t you getting in?”
At that, Ban Eun-hyeol stuck one hand in his pocket, pointed to his own car with the other, and said in a casual voice,
“Get in. I’ll drive you.”
“What’s with you? You’ve been acting weird since you got back from Busan.”
“Shouldn’t you say I’ve been acting more weird, not just weird?”
On the way to his house in Ban Eun-hyeol’s car, he declared that this time, he’d really give me a tour of the place.
With nothing else to say, I watched the scenery passing by outside.
It was winter, and the bare tree branches were wrapped in little Christmas lights.
Even if they didn’t look like much now, I bet they’d be beautiful at night.
“Those trees… I bet they’d look pretty at night.”
“Wanna come out and see them? Tomorrow.”
“Ah, I have plans tomorrow.”
When Do Ihyeon texted me during the end-of-term ceremony, I’d already promised to meet him at the aquarium tomorrow.
“Plans? With who?”
“Do Ihyeon.”
He paused for a second, like his brain was buffering, then asked again with a suspicious look.
I answered extra clearly, making sure to pronounce it right.
“Do. Ihyeon.”
And then there was silence.
I thought Ban Eun-hyeol was just nodding and staring out the window, but he was actually sitting with his arms crossed, staring seriously at the back of the front seat.
“What are you doing?”
Was he having a staring contest with the seat?
There was no one sitting there.
I turned my head, thinking he was weird as usual, and then I heard his voice, a little lower than before, from beside me.
“So what are you two doing?”
“We’re going to the aquarium. You know, the one inside the shopping mall.”
“Ah, that place? If it’s there, I can clear it out so there won’t be any other guests.”
“Wait, your family owns that mall?”
“Yeah.”
Wow, what an amazing family.
If he cleared the place out for me, how much money would that cost in lost revenue?
At this point, I’ve gotten so used to his background that I just worry about the loss instead of being surprised that he could clear out the whole aquarium for me.
Not that there’d be any reason to say no if he really did clear it out, but I didn’t think it was necessary.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to clear it out.”
“Can I go too if I clear it out?”
“You? Why?”
His sudden suggestion caught me off guard, and when I asked, he gave me an answer I couldn’t believe.
“………Because I want to see the penguins.”
Why are these two both obsessed with the aquarium? I really can’t figure them out.
I thought about telling Do Ihyeon and asking him about it, but then something important occurred to me.
He knows I’m ranked 0. That means he probably knows I’m the Hoodie Girl too, right?
Recently, the theory that Hoodie Girl is an outsider from another dimension has been gaining a lot of traction.
I wondered if Do Ihyeon thought that way too.
The evidence supporting the theory seemed pretty convincing, so I was a bit worried.
Just getting caught as the top rank was bad enough—if they found out any more, it’d be a real problem. Seriously.
“If you want to see penguins, go by yourself. I have something important to talk about with Do Ihyeon.”
I wondered if he knew about the theory or what he thought about the evidence, so I planned to ask him subtly.
As I was thinking that, I suddenly felt a chill from beside me.
When I turned, Ban Eun-hyeol was staring straight at me with a serious expression.
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