Someone suddenly thrust something out.
Judging by the thick black, blue, yellow, and purple drawing paper filled with dense writing, it looked like a Rolling Paper.
‘Are those the Four Heavenly Kings’ hair colors?’
My guess proved correct, as Shin Sena handed each member of the Four Heavenly Kings a sheet matching their hair color.
As I watched that scene absentmindedly, something suddenly came to mind.
“Didn’t you used to like Hyungwang?”
Shin Sena, who had once been a devoted fan of the Four Heavenly Kings, was now an ardent fan of Yeon Hyungwang.
I thought she’d switched allegiances a while ago, so I wondered why she’d prepared something like this all of a sudden.
My question was answered right away by Shin Sena’s reply.
“I do now, but you guys were a big part of my school memories. So, this is kind of like a final farewell.”
With an expression as wistful as could be, Shin Sena turned her back.
Her friends, who always stuck to her side, joined her and walked away.
The Four Heavenly Kings, looking at the Rolling Papers in their hands, headed toward the classroom without much change in expression.
They looked used to receiving things like this—calm, almost indifferent.
Except for Han Ji-bin, who was always excited to check gifts or letters.
“Wow, there’s no way all of this will fit in my bag.”
Han Ji-bin tried to pack the gifts he’d received on the way to the classroom into his bag like Tetris blocks, but finally gave up when he saw the ones left.
It really didn’t look like there was any room left.
“I’ll just have to carry the rest.”
I watched with curious eyes as the gifts piled on the desk.
Since he had a girlfriend, I thought Ban Eun-hyeol and Eun Bada’s popularity would have gone down a bit, but judging by the number of gifts, that clearly wasn’t the case.
We were just gathering up our presents to leave the classroom when it happened.
This time, Ji Seong-bin and Yeon Hyungwang were waiting for us outside.
“What are you doing here?”
Even though his precious younger sibling had come to visit, Ji Kang-han didn’t look the least bit pleased.
He probably didn’t want anyone to find out Ji Seong-bin was his sister, so he acted as if they weren’t siblings.
Still, it was obvious he was happy to see her, as his voice was just a bit livelier than usual.
“Why else? It’s the last day before break, so I came.”
Ji Seong-bin answered calmly, glancing at the students staring at us wide-eyed, then continued.
“Graduation is coming soon, so what’s the big deal if people find out you’re my brother? Once we graduate, no one’s going to cling to me anymore.”
Ji Seong-bin shrugged, looking at us as if to say, ‘Right?’
‘I don’t think so.’
Will the fans of the Four Heavenly Kings really stop just because they graduated?
Maybe I would have thought so before, but now things were different.
The Four Heavenly Kings were famous not just for their coolness at school, but as high-ranking Awakeners.
Sure, the Gates are gone now, so people can’t see them in action anymore, but the videos from back then are still everywhere.
Even after the Four Heavenly Kings graduate, I bet there will be plenty of fans left at school.
Yeon Ha-yeon, seemingly sharing my thoughts, tilted her head and said,
“I doubt it. If you don’t want the hassle, you should pretend you don’t know us even now.”
Yeon Ha-yeon whispered kindly, perhaps worried someone might overhear, with a small smile.
Ji Seong-bin, frozen in the same posture, rolled her eyes around at her surroundings.
Then she grabbed Yeon Hyungwang and said,
“Why did you bring me here anyway? I have plans with my boyfriend, so I’m leaving first!”
Ji Seong-bin walked away from us at a truly impressive speed.
At her words about meeting her boyfriend, Ji Kang-han’s expression instantly turned fierce, but he quickly went back to a blank face, aware of the students watching.
“Wow, she used Hyungwang as an excuse.”
Eun Bada, truly impressed, quickly shut her mouth at Ji Kang-han’s glare.
Yeon Hyungwang didn’t seem to care at all, quickly losing interest and looking at us.
Glancing back and forth between us and the classroom, Yeon Hyungwang said with a regretful look,
“Now, even if I come here, there’s no one to hang out with. That’s a shame.”
“If you’re so sad about it, you should hurry up and graduate too.”
It seemed like a sentimental mood was about to set in with the last day before break, but Yeon Ha-yeon’s words broke it right away.
Yeon Hyungwang clearly wanted to hang out with us.
But since we were planning to pack up and head straight to Jeju Island as soon as we got home, there was no time to stay at school.
We told Yeon Hyungwang to meet up during break and all went our separate ways.
“Wow, there was a place like this in Jeju?”
I couldn’t close my gaping mouth as I looked around the extravagant villa.
Even for me, who used to rake in cash and live alone in an expensive home before my possession, a villa like this was unfamiliar.
‘I should have bought at least one villa.’
It was a moment when I found myself missing the money I’d left behind in the other dimension.
That money was probably being spent lavishly by the outcast who lost the duel and went back.
We toured from the first floor, heading upstairs.
This villa was almost as luxurious as Ban Eun-hyeol’s mansion. There was a pool, of course, but also things like a theater and a game room.
‘What’s that door?’
While following Han Ji-bin around, I spotted a door he hadn’t introduced yet.
He seemed to skip over it naturally, so I guessed it was a room they didn’t use.
But for some reason, my gaze kept drifting to that door.
At that moment, Han Ji-bin grabbed my wrist and, with an awkward expression, said,
“Th-there’s nothing in there! Anyway, shall we go downstairs? Let’s go swimming!”
“In this weather…?”
The pool water was warm, with steam rising off it, but outside, wind and rain were raging.
It was suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
There must be something beyond that door, but since this wasn’t my villa, there was no reason to go digging, so I decided not to care.
Unable to go outside, we decided to spend our time inside the villa.
First, we decided to eat something to fill our hungry stomachs.
“Huh? Where’s the yogurt I left here?”
Yeon Ha-yeon searched high and low on and under the dining table, looking for her yogurt.
“You left it there? I don’t see it.”
“No, I’m sure I put it here. I was going to drink it later.”
Then Han Ji-bin hurriedly took a yogurt out of the fridge and handed it to Yeon Ha-yeon.
“This? I just put it in the fridge to keep it cold. Hehe…”
It was the first time I’d seen Han Ji-bin laugh so awkwardly.
‘What is this? He’s acting suspicious today.’
Han Ji-bin seemed off in several ways, but since they were all minor things, no one paid much attention.
After a simple meal, we decided to watch a movie while digesting.
We went straight to the theater, picked a hero movie, and settled into our seats.
We were in the middle of watching the movie when—
“Remember watching movies at Eun-hyeol’s house like this? And the conversations we had?”
“About what it’d be like if a friend was a hero and kept it a secret?”
The sudden topic made my hands twitch in surprise.
Popcorn jumped up, falling like rain onto the Four Heavenly Kings and Yeon Ha-yeon’s heads.
“Oh, it’s a popcorn shower.”
Ji Kang-han, who’d been quietly watching the movie, commented.
Ban Eun-hyeol leaned close to me and whispered,
“Relax.”
I gave a small nod and tried to act calm. But inside, I wasn’t.
‘Whew, that startled me.’
Since closing the S-class Gate and returning to a peaceful world, we’d never talked about this sort of thing.
So I’d never confirmed exactly what my friends remembered.
I was worried that if the conversation went the wrong way, someone would ask, ‘What are you talking about?’ and if they regained their memories, things would get complicated.
Luckily, the part where I was startled coincided with the villain’s appearance in the movie, so my friends didn’t think anything of it.
They just assumed I got surprised by the film and didn’t seem to care.
“Remember how only Bada had a different opinion back then?”
“Oh, right. Everyone else said it’d be fine, but Bada said she’d feel betrayed?”
“Yeah, that’s how it went. Haha.”
Everyone laughed and chatted, but Ban Eun-hyeol and I stayed quiet.
Just listening to their conversation, it felt like I could figure out how much they remembered.
‘We really have been avoiding topics related to “Nada” or the Gates.’
Ban Eun-hyeol and I had both deliberately steered clear of talking about “Nada” or anything about the Gates.
Back when the Gates had just disappeared, even thinking about them brought up painful memories.
And after that, I’m not sure why.
Maybe we just wanted to talk about ordinary, everyday things, without the Gates.
“That’s how it was back then.”
Eun Bada scratched her cheek and laughed awkwardly. From the way she spoke, it seemed her thoughts had changed.
‘Huh? In that case…’
If her thoughts changed after learning my true identity, that meant my friends probably knew I was Nada.
‘I can’t even remember her name now, the girl who clung to Eun-hyeol and exposed my secret.’
I’ve never been good at remembering other people’s names, so I couldn’t recall the name of that troublesome girl either.
Just thinking about that time still made me grit my teeth.
“Eat.”
Ban Eun-hyeol, sensing what I was thinking, stuffed my mouth with popcorn.
“But it doesn’t matter now. I think I understand how that hero felt, too.”
At that moment, Eun Bada’s gaze turned to me.
A shadow suddenly appeared on the screen, blocking our view of the movie.
The shadow was clearly human-shaped.
“What the heck is that?”
It was a critical moment in the film, so Ban Eun-hyeol turned his head in irritation.
The shadow that had been blocking the screen just moments ago had completely disappeared.