I spent so much time worrying about what to do at Ban Eunhyeol’s villa that time flew by without me even remembering that Ji Seongbin had transferred schools today.
As soon as I saw Ji Seongbin in front of the school gate, the Four Heavenly Kings, Yeon Hayun, and I all glanced nervously at Ji Ganghan.
Out of respect for Ji Seongbin’s wishes, we decided not to get anywhere near her and walked at a distance.
We left the crowded school playground, turned into an alley, and kept our distance even when we reached the uphill path leading to Jangnam High.
Suddenly, Ji Seongbin stopped in her tracks and sharply turned around, shouting with a sharp tone, “Stop following me!”
At her words, Ji Ganghan flinched and straightened up from behind a car parked on the roadside.
“Did you know?”
“Of course I did!”
Seeing Ji Ganghan unconsciously trailing behind his sister, we had all inadvertently ended up following her, and now we all exchanged wary looks.
Ji Seongbin glared at Ji Ganghan, placing both hands firmly on her hips.
“I’m going to the rooftop of Jangnam High to have a date, so you guys go inside first.
The same goes for you, oppa and unni, don’t follow.”
“Uh, sorry,” Han Jibin apologized first and took a few steps back.
But Ji Ganghan didn’t look like he would leave easily.
“Isn’t the rooftop of Jangnam High too dangerous? There are plenty of other places to have a date.”
“It’s safe there, so don’t worry. After the S-rank gate opened, they sealed off the rooftop door.”
Everyone looked at Ji Seongbin with puzzled expressions.
She glanced at us as if surprised we didn’t know.
“There was a boss monster that came out from there. Of course the school sealed the rooftop door.”
“No, no. If the rooftop is sealed, how are you planning to go there?”
Since her boyfriend was also a non-awakened, and his physical abilities weren’t extraordinary enough to break in easily, it made no sense.
Noticing our confused looks, Ji Seongbin explained how she could have a rooftop date.
“They locked the rooftop door, but since people stopped going there because of a weird feeling, the lock has gotten a bit loose. Sometimes it’s open, so I check and go in then.”
The couples in the simulation game would probably think picking the rooftop lock is no big deal, but thankfully my assumption was wrong.
‘Yeah, forcibly breaking into a rooftop that’s locked for being dangerous would be too much.’
Though checking if the door’s open and entering isn’t exactly proper behavior either.
“What do you mean by ‘weird feeling’?”
Ji Ganghan sharply questioned, catching on to the part of Ji Seongbin’s words that didn’t sit right with him.
Until a moment ago, his restless attitude towards Ji Seongbin shifted, causing her to flinch in surprise.
“I don’t really know, but they said it felt like a strange, unfamiliar sensation. Similar to when the S-rank gate opened, I think.”
“On the rooftop?!”
Hearing that, Ban Eunhyeol and I jumped forward simultaneously and asked.
Until now, I hadn’t even considered going back to Jangnam High.
Since the quest only said to cross over to the other dimension through a dream, I never thought there might be another way.
Now, I had hope that maybe we could cross dimensions through the Jangnam High rooftop, just like last time.
Ji Seongbin, who had just been standing quietly behind us, looked startled at our sudden movement and pointed towards the rooftop.
“Uh… want to come together?”
It was music to my ears.
Without hesitation, we followed Ji Seongbin toward the Jangnam High rooftop.
‘If we can really cross dimensions from the rooftop too, then the system’s been cheating us.’
We sneaked past the eyes of Jangnam High students on our way up to the rooftop.
I thought about it quietly and got annoyed enough to curse the system inwardly.
There was no way the system hadn’t detected the strange energy even non-awakened Jangnam High students could feel.
‘How much longer does it want to make me run around?’
If Ji Seongbin hadn’t transferred here, I would have never even considered crossing dimensions through the rooftop, and I’d probably just keep sleeping every day.
Because you have to sleep to dream.
The more I thought about it, the more resentful I became, and my steps grew heavier.
“Shall I open the door?”
When we reached the rooftop door, Ji Seongbin cautiously asked, reading my expression.
I probably looked angry all of a sudden, so she seemed to be careful for whatever reason.
“Yeah, open it.”
As soon as I answered, Ji Seongbin pushed the rooftop door wide open.
At first, I didn’t feel anything unusual as I stepped onto the rooftop.
“Huh?”
“It’s real.”
“I don’t know what exactly it is, but I can feel a foreign energy. It’s a little different from the S-rank gate’s.”
Among my friends, who looked around wide-eyed, Eunbadah coldly analyzed the situation.
I grabbed Ban Eunhyeol’s sleeve, feeling both familiar and foreign energies at once.
“Feels right, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
Of course, only the energy remained, and it might still be impossible to cross dimensions through the rooftop.
But if we could find a way, we wouldn’t have to cross dimensions through dreams.
The Four Heavenly Kings and Yeon Hayun, who were listening to our conversation, seemed to roughly understand what we meant.
Ji Seongbin went off to meet her boyfriend waiting on the rooftop, oblivious to all this, but none of us could stand there lightly.
“How did you cross dimensions last time?”
“By opening that door.”
Ban Eunhyeol pointed firmly at the tightly shut rooftop door.
“Think it’ll work this time too?”
Eunbadah placed her hand on the rooftop door handle and looked back at us.
Last time, it worked because the gate had engulfed Jangnam High, but now that there was nothing, it might be impossible.
‘If only the gate would open here one more time, I could confirm it.’
I looked around, half hoping for some sudden gate to open.
But instead of the usual damp, foreign atmosphere that comes with a gate, only the hot summer breeze brushed against my face.
“Well, I’ll try pulling it once.”
With a determined expression, I stood before the rooftop door and pulled the handle.
The door slowly creaked open, revealing the corridor beyond.
Last time, I had dimension-shifted from Jangnam High to my original dimension at Seonam High.
So even if I saw the school corridor through the door, it was still possible I had crossed dimensions.
I deliberately pulled the door fully open in one swift motion.
And blinked when I saw the person standing on the other side.
“No, I thought it was locked? Wait, aren’t those Gamsung High students?”
Bang!
I was so surprised I slammed the door shut without realizing it.
“Why are Gamsung High students here?! Can’t you close this door right now?!”
Apparently, the Jangnam High student affairs teacher had personally come up to check the rooftop door.
Ignoring the shouts from across, I turned to look behind.
Ji Ganghan quietly pointed back with his thumb.
“Let’s run.”
“How?”
“I can summon a spirit.”
“Oh, right!”
Come to think of it, Ji Ganghan could use the power of the Wind Spirit, allowing him to fly through the air.
Instead of summoning a visible spirit, calling on the invisible Wind Spirit was much safer.
“Let’s go!”
Holding the door handle tightly, as soon as Ji Ganghan summoned the Wind Spirit and I let go, I felt the spirit envelop us and suddenly lift us into the air.
Just as the Jangnam High student affairs teacher frantically tried to open the door while rattling the handle,
we were already hidden just above the rooftop door.
“Right!”
Han Jibin looked at us with shaking pupils as if remembering something important.
More specifically, he whispered quietly, looking at Ji Ganghan.
“What about Seongbin?”
Ji Ganghan, caught up in the urgency, seemed to have forgotten for a moment. He looked visibly flustered and lowered his head.
I saw Ji Seongbin clinging tightly to her boyfriend, hiding from the teacher’s gaze.
“Hah…”
Ji Ganghan sighed and rubbed his forehead.
He was about to use the spirit to distract the student affairs teacher and get Ji Seongbin out.
But the teacher noticed Ji Seongbin hiding first, even before Ji Ganghan sent out the spirit.
“Hey, what’s that?!”
We all held our breath and watched the situation unfold silently.
“Ah, ah, teacher! Just a moment!”
“You weren’t supposed to come up here, yet you snuck up with your girlfriend?”
The boyfriend was grabbed by the ear and dragged out by the student affairs teacher, while Ji Seongbin anxiously followed behind.
It seemed the teacher didn’t recognize Ji Seongbin as a former student here.
I supposed that was a small relief.
We had come to check if crossing dimensions was possible from the rooftop, but unexpectedly caused a commotion.
‘Ji Ganghan cares about his sister so much, this is bad.’
Since he cared about her so much, there was no way he’d be happy about being caught.
Sure enough, the atmosphere around us grew much darker, showing just how disappointed Ji Ganghan was.
“Hey… hang in there.”
Ban Eunhyeol patted Ji Ganghan’s shoulder lightly, implying he should talk it out at home.
His shoulders trembled noticeably.
‘Oof… I can’t even bring myself to say anything.’
Knowing how bad his sibling complex was from the simulation game, I could roughly guess how crushed he must feel.
Anyway, if we hadn’t tried to open the door, we might not have been caught and could have stayed hidden.
We exchanged glances with Ji Ganghan before quietly slipping off the rooftop.
For now, it looked like we’d have to be extremely nice to Ji Ganghan.
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