The reason Samajak disguised her gender to enroll in Cheonmu Academy stemmed from a little bit of bravado.
“Girls should learn to be proper and tidy rather than focus on studies to earn the love of their future husbands.”
“But Mother, I prefer reading books over weaving at the loom.”
“You’ll understand when you grow up. A woman’s true happiness comes from serving her husband and raising children.”
Since childhood, her mother always said such things to her who loved reading.
A woman’s happiness comes not from books but from building a family.
Samajak couldn’t understand her mother’s words.
Why can’t girls study? Why can’t girls venture into careers?
With a small rebellion against her mother’s words, Samajak ran away the night after her coming-of-age ceremony.
And the place she fled to was Cheonmu Academy.
Here, she could prove to the world that even a girl like herself could do as much as any boy, especially since her admired cousin Jeongalgeondam was here too.
Determined, she took the entrance exam, only to score second place instead of first.
Some might say second place is still good.
But for Samajak, who needed to prove to her mother that she was right, second place was unacceptable.
Thus, she declared to the top student that she would definitely win next time.
That part was fine.
However, she never expected that the dormitory wouldn’t have private rooms and that she would have to share with her rival—the very same top student she had provoked.
Feeling tense as she waited on her bed for her roommate, Samajak experienced firsthand what it feels like for the world to fade to white when she realized the person who walked in was Ichilbok.
*
“……”
An uncomfortable air flowed through the room.
To be precise, it was Samajak who was feeling extremely uncomfortable.
After all, she never imagined she would be sharing a room with the person she had confidently declared as her rival just a few hours earlier.
If it were me, I’d think of it as a lifetime’s worth of embarrassment.
“Um…”
“Uh…”
When they both spoke at the same time, Samajak jumped back in surprise.
“M-M-M-M-M-you go first!”
Having been given the floor, I sighed softly and said,
“If you’re uncomfortable because of what I said earlier, I really don’t mind, so feel free to relax.”
Samajak hesitated before asking,
“Does that mean I’m not even in your thoughts?”
“That’s not what I meant. It’s literally that I have no thoughts about it.”
“…Well, that’s fine.”
Thus, the conversation was awkwardly cut off again.
Feeling the silence, I took the initiative to speak again.
“Uh, we’re going to be sharing a room for a year, so we can’t stay like this, right? How about we just pretend what happened earlier didn’t happen?”
“…Really?”
Fortunately, the gloomy Samajak bit the bait.
I nodded and reassured her that everything was okay.
Then, Samajak looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, “You’re actually a good guy…!”
‘I don’t have any memory of doing anything bad, though.’
I murmured internally and responded, “Yeah, right, I’m actually a good guy,” going along with Samajak’s statement.
So how about opening up now?
As I shot her a sincere look, Samajak seemed to start trusting me, reverting to her former bold self as she said,
“Then let me introduce myself again! I’m Samajak, the youngest son of the Samasega family! I entered Cheonmu Academy because I admire my cousin Gundam!”
Hmm…?
I suddenly froze at the familiar name that popped out of her mouth.
“Are you referring to Jeongalgeondam, the grandson of Teacher Jeongalgyun?”
“That’s right! You know Gundam too!”
Samajak suddenly brightened up, leaning forward eagerly.
Of course! As the student council president, it would be odd not to know! My goal from now on is to become the new student council president of Cheonmu Academy, following in Gundam’s footsteps!”
In Samajak’s eyes sparkled a clear admiration for Jeongalgeondam.
“But how are people from the Jeongal family and the Samase family related?”
Aren’t the two families usually at odds?
As I asked this, Samajak shook her finger and replied,
“While it’s true the two families were rivals, it’s been over 20 years since they’ve somewhat mended their relationship. And Gundam is practically a symbol of that reconciliation.”
According to Samajak, Jeongalgeondam’s parents were like a martial arts version of Romeo and Juliet.
The ill-fated relationship between the two families traced back to the Three Kingdoms era, and while those two weren’t initially close, they fell in love and got married despite the fierce opposition of both families.
As I listened to the tale tangled with family drama, I realized I had gotten a lot closer to Samajak.
Indeed, people get closer through conversation.
After talking about our common interest, Jeongalgeondam, for a while, it seemed Samajak noticed she had gotten too carried away, and she glanced at me nervously.
“Um, I hope I haven’t bored you by talking non-stop?”
“Not really. I actually enjoy listening to other people’s stories.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I decided to ask another question that had been gnawing at me.
“By the way, how old are you?”
Samajak froze for a moment and replied,
“I’m fourteen. Are you upset because I spoke informally to you?”
“No, not at all. I’m actually the same age as you.”
Since she looked smaller than average, I wondered if she had entered school early or something.
But then Samajak’s face contorted into an upset expression.
“Don’t say I’m small! It’s not like I wanted to be small!”
Seems being smaller than her peers was a sore spot.
I didn’t expect such a passionate reaction.
“I guess if you want to get taller, you need to eat more.”
As I said this, I placed my hand on top of her head, and Samajak slapped my hand away while saying, “How rude!”
Seeing her face flushed, it looked like she was indeed angry.
I quickly apologized, saying “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” and after calming her down, I extended my right hand to her, saying let’s get along well.
Samajak hesitated before shaking my outstretched right hand.
We made a silent agreement to put aside any bad feelings we had towards each other.
*
The next morning.
‘…This is a strange ceiling.’
The first night spent in Cheonmu Academy’s dormitory was less than pleasant.
Maybe it was because I had changed my sleeping place?
I tossed and turned until late at night before finally dozing off, and when I woke up, my body felt heavy like I hadn’t slept well.
“Yawn!”
As I stretched my body awake, the first thing I noticed was the combined wardrobe and desk right in front of me.
The clunky furniture, reminiscent of military lockers, bore the marks of thoughtful design for maximizing the tight space.
Raising my body from the bed, I glanced over at Samajak, who was sound asleep in the opposite bed, before deciding to step out to wash up.
If this were a inn, I could just send someone for service, but since it’s a dormitory, I had to do it myself.
After fetching cold water from the shared well next to the Tamrang building, I poured it into a brass basin and splashed my face.
“Ah, finally, I feel more alive.”
With a towel I had brought from the room, I wiped my face and even brushed my teeth with bamboo salt, feeling refreshed before heading back to the room.
Bang!
“Samajak, are you still asleep?”
As I spoke while opening the door, what greeted me was a pale face.
“Whoa!”
Startled, Samajak hurriedly put on her clothes.
“If you’re going to come in suddenly, at least make some noise!”
Samajak hurriedly tied her clothes together as she said this.
“What kind of girl are you? Embarrassed about changing in front of another guy?”
As I closed the door, Samajak turned her back to me, looking shocked.
“Even if we’re guys sharing a room, shouldn’t we maintain basic manners?”
“I’m from a lowly background, so I don’t really know about that stuff.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I hung the wet towel over the chair’s back and asked,
“By the way, what are we doing for breakfast?”
“…We have to eat.”
“Then let’s go together. I noticed the dining hall was already open when I passed by.”
“Go ahead first. I’m not fully ready for class yet, so I’ll catch up once I’m done.”
“If you take too long, breakfast might get cold.”
As I said this and opened the door to step out, Samajak stuck out her tongue and muttered, “I won’t be late!”
Still thinking he lacks charm, I headed toward the cafeteria on the first floor of the dormitory.
