Namgoong Ruby.
By this point, it wouldn’t be strange to call it a tenacious bond.
Well, I had some inkling that I would meet Dokgorin again after hearing about her impressive skills, but I never expected our reunion to happen so swiftly.
Although she entered through a special recommendation program, not a single person sent her a disdainful glance.
And why would they? The recommendation system of Cheonmu Academy is notoriously harder to get through than a needle’s eye.
Yet, she had boldly passed it on her own, so instead of looking scornful, everyone gazed at her in awe.
As soon as Namgoong Ruby sat down in the empty seat, our class mentor, Soyucheon, looked around at the students and spoke.
“Today is the first day of school, and there will soon be dorm assignments, so I’ll keep this brief. Starting tomorrow, you will all receive education as proud students of Cheonmu Academy for the next four years. As your homeroom teacher, I will do my utmost to support your learning, but fundamentally, your studies will be of no use unless you put in the effort. Right now, you are the ones in power (甲), but remember that with our performance evaluations every three months, you can easily become the ones at a disadvantage (乙). I hope you will live every day with diligence. That is all.”
After finishing her speech, Soyucheon dismissed the class.
It seemed the students were not expecting things to wrap up so quickly, as they exchanged glances before standing up. Once one of them stepped out of the classroom, they all rushed out like a receding tide.
Looking around the now empty classroom, Dokgorin, Tang Sosu, and Namgoong Ruby approached.
“Chilbok! You’re heading to the dorm now, right? Let’s go together!”
Namgoong Ruby barreled in with that remark.
If a capybara, the socialite of the animal kingdom, became human, it would definitely feel like this.
For someone like me, who has a tendency to be a loner, and for Dokgorin and Tang Sosu as well, Namgoong Ruby’s relentless positivity was practically poison.
Even when I was simply chatting with a girl, Dokgorin’s eyes would burn with jealousy, making her hide behind me.
Tang Sosu, who still had some resistance left, spoke up on our behalf.
“Hey! Aren’t you even a bit embarrassed? If two people say they don’t want to be friends like this, you should probably back off.”
“Back off is something you say when you’re counting cabbages.”
“Phhht—”
Hearing that made me laugh uncontrollably.
Ah, my pride is wounded.
Luckily, it seemed Namgoong Ruby didn’t hear me, as she regards Tang Sosu with a gentle smile and said, “When I was young, I was weak and lay in bed all the time. I wanted to make friends, but I couldn’t get out of bed, so I was always alone. That’s why I vowed that when I became healthy, I would make a hundred friends. And these two right here are the first ones I really want to befriend. Could you easily give up on such people?”
“Kyaaaak!”
In the end, even the mentally strong Tang Sosu seemed unable to withstand Namgoong Ruby’s sad story; she squatted in a corner of the classroom, starting to berate herself like a vampire struck by sunlight.
“I’m trash… human trash….”
Namgoong Ruby extended her hand to Tang Sosu.
“You are actually a kind-hearted person. Want to be friends with me?”
“…Really?”
“Of course! I prefer good kids.”
Seeing Tang Sosu, as if entranced, take Namgoong Ruby’s hand made us step back, but unfortunately, there was nowhere to run.
“Okay, you all should be friends with me too.”
“Kyaaak!”
*
“Hmph, that’s too much.”
Fortunately, a socialite monster like Namgoong Ruby could be repelled with just one sweet smack.
“What’s too much? You should have stayed away while I was being nice.”
I shot her an admonishing glare, but Namgoong Ruby, rubbing her head, looked completely unrepentant.
“I will definitely make you my friends someday!”
“If you can, that is.”
As I shrugged, Tang Sosu, now best friends with Namgoong Ruby, looked at me in disbelief.
“I think you guys are the worst! How can you refuse to be friends after hearing such a story? Do you maybe have something other than blood running under your skin?”
In response to Tang Sosu’s one-sided accusations, I waved my index finger.
“Sosu, did you know there’s such a thing as ‘momentum’ in rejection?”
“What’s that?”
“It means once you start rejecting, the momentum makes it difficult for the person who refused to change their stance. Social face plays a role in it too.”
“…I can tell what you’re saying is nonsense.”
“Such foul language. I was just trying to help.”
In truth, I did know it was nonsense.
I was just tossing around a convenient excuse.
I used to reject her out of fear that Dokgorin would get jealous, but now there was actually no reason to refuse anymore.
After all, Dokgorin and I had already become a couple.
Of course, it felt a bit wrong to flip my stance so quickly after previously refusing like turning a palm over. But mostly, the firm refusal had been due to her mocking my name as being tacky.
“I don’t mind if you say my name is tacky; it’s true.”
But I simply can’t stand being teased for it!
They say a gentleman’s revenge takes ten years, but I’m nice enough that I’ll only hold on to a grudge for about a year.
As I walked and chatted with the three of them, we soon arrived at the dormitory grounds of Cheonmu Academy.
“Wow, it’s huge.”
Could it be said to be the largest and best educational facility in the orthodox martial arts world?
The dormitory grounds of Cheonmu Academy were even larger than an ample estate.
Given the distance from home, most students lived here, so it was only natural that the inside was as spacious as it seemed from the outside.
“The Cheonmu Academy dorms are a total of seven, named after the Big Dipper: Tamrang Hall, Geomun Hall, Nokjun Hall, Mungok Hall, Yeomjeong Hall, Mugok Hall, and Pagun Hall. Among them, Pagun Hall isn’t currently in use due to its ominous name; they only use the other six dorms now.”
“Wow…”
Hearing Tang Sosu’s explanation made me unintentionally gasp.
I knew she was knowledgeable, but I honestly didn’t expect her to be this well-informed.
Isn’t she basically a walking encyclopedia?
“Hehe, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I’ll tell you everything.”
Feeling good, Tang Sosu said this with her nose up, and at that moment, Namgoong Ruby applauded her, saying how impressive she was.
Then, the quiet Dokgorin spoke up.
“So, can boys and girls share rooms?”
“What…?”
“I’m engaged to Chilbok, so we can share a room, right?”
After hearing that, Tang Sosu’s face went as red as a ripe tomato.
“Th-th-th-that’s dirty!”
Namgoong Ruby also seemed embarrassed.
“U-uh, are you two really like that?”
In response to her question, I scratched my cheek and awkwardly turned my head.
To be honest, I had thought Dokgorin seemed too well-behaved on our way here, but I never imagined she was plotting something behind the scenes.
On the other hand, regardless of how flustered Tang Sosu was, Dokgorin, who was waiting patiently for an answer, spoke again.
“So what’s your answer?”
“I don’t know! Ask the dorm head instead of me!”
Tang Sosu was still being swayed by Dokgorin’s my-pace attitude.
*
Finally arriving at the dormitory after much effort.
Before Dokgorin officially received her room assignment, she asked the dorm head the same question, but the answer was predictable.
“No matter how engaged you are, you can’t share a room. Allowing one exception would disrupt the academy’s moral conduct.”
“That’s too bad.”
“And also, the boys’ dormitory and girls’ dormitory are separate, so there’s no extra room available anyway.”
The dorm head said this while handing me a key that was beside Dokgorin.
“I know it’s a boiling age, but please hold back while you’re in the academy.”
“…Yes.”
The one who questioned was Dokgorin, so why was the embarrassment landing on me?
I thought about it while quietly receiving the key.
“Then, see you tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“Head in.”
“Good night!”
After receiving our room assignments, I parted ways with the three in front of the dormitory.
Now alone, I headed towards room 203 in Tamrang Hall.
Clack—
“Huh?”
As I opened the door, I felt a presence inside.
It seemed my future roommate for the next year had already arrived.
Though it was our first meeting, I thought I’d at least greet them, so I peeked my face inside, only to see a familiar little kid sitting on the bed.
“Oh?”
“You!!”
A little kid pointed at me, shocked.
The identity of the roommate who would be spending a year with me was none other than Samajak, who had just declared me her rival earlier.
