“When are we even going to cross over to the other dimension again? Because of the heretic, aren’t we stuck waiting indefinitely?”
“That’s right.”
“Hah, what’s wrong with that guy anyway?”
I want to know that too.
Why on earth is the heretic so obsessed with my stuff?
He’s already attractive enough on his own body, so it’s strange that he’s coveting mine.
And even though he has a family and a comfortable home that I don’t have, he still envies my bleak little place.
Of course, everyone thinks differently, but that wasn’t a reason to turn a blind eye to the danger he was putting those around him in.
“We don’t even know when I’ll cross into the other dimension again through a dream.”
As I muttered with a sigh, Ban Eunhyeol patted my shoulder.
“If the System gave you a Quest like this, doesn’t that mean it’s going to help you cross dimensions through dreams? There must be a way. You still have plenty of time.”
Of course, there was still quite a bit of time left before graduation.
The Quest window appeared and it didn’t even take that long to meet the heretic through a dream, so maybe there would be a few more chances before then.
‘Yeah, restoring the city and the people who died after the S-class Gate opened isn’t exactly a simple task.’
Surely the System that gave me this kind of Quest would offer some kind of solution.
After all, swapping bodies with the heretic would probably be much easier for both sides.
“Guess I’ll just have to take it easy and wait.”
I was curious to see how the System would respond if I showed no will to complete the Quest.
It was a kind of mind game, but it seemed better than struggling alone, trying desperately to save people.
I resolved to rest comfortably for a while and leaned back against the sofa.
“Nowadays, no one’s trying so hard to find out who I really am. Once this is over, I can live quietly, right?”
In the past, it had been a hassle with the Dungeon Management Bureau constantly digging into my past in collaboration with Sagong Arin, but after I gave them a proper warning, nothing happened.
The reckless group that tried to expose me by even orchestrating the S-class Gate incident suddenly went quiet, which was suspicious, but since nothing happened, there was no need to worry much.
I had sneaked into the Dungeon Management Bureau a few times.
I even deliberately contacted Sagong Arin and subtly tried to get information from her.
But it seemed like she had completely dropped the matter, and with a change in the bureau’s director, they’d apparently backed off as well.
The days when I was constantly anxious about being discovered felt like just yesterday, and now I had to listen to the Returner’s words and move to prevent a future catastrophe.
“Why is my life on hard mode like this?”
I almost wanted to live a normal life, but when I thought about it, this life was interesting in its own way.
After all, being possessed allowed me to experience things I never could have otherwise.
Ban Eunhyeol leaned back on the sofa and looked down at me.
“When this is over, the Gate will disappear. You can live normally. No need to worry about your identity being exposed.”
“Normal might be a bit tough.”
Living in this kind of house, with this kind of appearance, and still talking about being normal.
I shot him a glare that said, ‘Know your place,’ but when our eyes met, we both burst out laughing.
Our situation was absurd, and thinking about how far from normal our everyday life was just made us laugh.
“Anyway, let’s not think about anything for now and get some rest. Summer break is coming soon; you can try whatever you want then.”
Ban Eunhyeol brushed my bangs back behind my forehead as he spoke.
‘Summer break, huh.’
I sat quietly, letting his touch linger, and started organizing in my mind the things I wanted to do during summer break.
The things I wanted to do lined up neatly, forming a clear list.
‘I’ll have to meet the heretic again quickly if I want to relax and enjoy myself.’
As I checked the list of things I wanted to do during summer break, I wondered if I should try lucid dreaming.
Ban Eunhyeol had told me to rest first, but that seemed difficult.
***
It was a hot day, not long before summer break.
“Hey! There’s a transfer student!”
Students who acted as messengers in each class came rushing in, shouting the news.
Our class’s messenger also hurried in, shouting as if he had just heard the news.
“A transfer student?”
“Where? Where?!”
“Is it a boy or a girl?!”
A transfer student all of a sudden at this point, right before summer break?
I thought the timing was curious and listened carefully to what the others were saying.
“She’s a girl and super pretty!”
Someone from the neighboring class must have heard and ran in, shouting loudly.
The classroom erupted in chaos as the students swarmed toward the second-year floor where the transfer student was said to be.
After the students flooded out like a receding tide, only the Four Heavenly Kings, Yeon Ha-yeon, and I remained, uninterested in the transfer student.
“Shall we go see the transfer student too?!”
Ah, Han Ji-bin seemed a bit interested.
Seeing her jump up excitedly, I thought it best to go with her.
When I stood up, Ban Eunhyeol also rose.
With two of us standing to go, Ji-bin’s face brightened instantly.
She must have thought no one would go with her.
“I’m touched… even Eunhyeol’s coming too?”
“Maybe I shouldn’t go after all.”
“Hey, come on. Let’s just go down once.”
Feeling the intense look in Ji-bin’s eyes that said she was moved, Ban Eunhyeol averted his gaze.
Seeing him hesitate whether to sit back down, I linked arms with him and nodded toward the back door of the classroom.
As soon as I linked arms, Ban Eunhyeol froze stiff but silently strode toward the classroom’s back door.
“Then let’s go too, why not.”
“I’m out.”
“What? No way. Come on.”
As Eunbada stood up, Ji Gang-han tried to lie down on his desk but was stopped by Yeon Ha-yeon.
Yeon Ha-yeon pulled on Ji Gang-han’s arm and gave his back a smack.
“Feels like there’s a hole in your back.”
When Ji Gang-han was dragged by Yeon Ha-yeon down to the second-year floor, the crowd of students looking to see the transfer student split in two, their gazes meeting ours.
There were eyes curious about the transfer student and eyes staring at us.
We pushed through the crowd and headed toward the classroom where the transfer student was.
“This is Hyunggwang’s class, isn’t it?”
I said, looking at the familiar green head sitting in the classroom.
Yeon Hyunggwang, chatting with his friends, suddenly turned his head sharply.
“Hey, noona!”
Then he ran over to us with a friendly face.
“There’s a transfer student in your class, right? Where is she?”
“Ah, you didn’t come to see me, did you? The transfer student is sitting back there.”
He seemed a little disappointed for a moment but then smiled brightly and pointed to the back of the classroom.
Following his finger, we all turned to look and instantly stiffened.
‘Ji Seong-bin…?’
She had transferred from Jangnam High to Gamseong High.
She hadn’t said a word to Ji Gang-han.
Ji Gang-han, who usually never showed much emotion, was standing there looking genuinely shocked.
At that moment, Ji Seong-bin glanced our way.
We waited, expecting her to recognize us and come over, but she turned her head coldly and rested her chin on her hand, staring out the window.
Then it hit me.
Seong-bin didn’t want to be noticed and didn’t want her connection to Ji Gang-han or her family revealed.
“Uh… shall we go back up?”
At my suggestion, Yeon Ha-yeon and Han Ji-bin grabbed Ji Gang-han on either side and started pulling him along.
Ji Gang-han looked back repeatedly with an incredulous expression as he was dragged away.
Back in the classroom, no one said a word, but we all subtly watched Ji Gang-han’s every move.
“Finally, she’s here.”
“Yeah.”
“At least it’s reassuring that she’s at the same school. It’s better than, you know…”
Eunbada awkwardly smiled, just pointing toward Jangnam High without saying it.
“…That’s true.”
Ji Gang-han, who had been staring blankly out the window, finally spoke hesitantly in agreement.
‘Better than having my little sister cross-dress and attend a boys’ high school, that’s for sure.’
Until now, I had tried lucid dreaming occasionally, but aside from that, life had been pretty ordinary.
Suddenly, another event came up.
I couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking that life in this dimension was really nothing but a continuous series of storms.
“Ah! Let’s talk about what we want to do during summer break!”
Han Ji-bin, who had been eyeing Ji Gang-han all this time, clapped her hands and brought up a perfect conversation topic to break the awkward silence.
Everyone immediately shifted the topic to summer break plans as if they’d been waiting for the chance.
“First off, it’s settled we’re going to Eunhyeol’s villa.”
“Huh? We’re going to the villa?”
I asked Ji-bin, who spoke as if the plan was already set, and he looked at me and Yeon Ha-yeon.
“You’re both first-timers! We always spend about a week at Eunhyeol’s villa every summer break. There’s a valley nearby; it’s really nice!”
“Oh…”
“That sounds great!”
It was a tempting schedule.
Spending a whole week surrounded by nature there would probably make my mind peaceful.
Seeing our positive reactions, Ban Eunhyeol smiled faintly.
“Let’s make a plan. We have to prepare in advance.”
“Sounds good!”
And just like that, another summer break plan was added.