Chapter 193

A cool breeze blew in June.

Just the day before, the temperature had surpassed 30 degrees Celsius, but now it was only 16 degrees. Could this also be an effect of global warming?

Global warming was truly a magical term. When unusual climate events occurred, blaming it on global warming was not entirely incorrect.

Anyway, the reason the temperature had dropped was not so much global warming but rather a typhoon passing by Jeju Island and Japan.

A rain shower was falling across Seoul, and I opened my dull black umbrella and set out on my way to school.

There were various ways to get to Seviron Academy.

It was within walking distance, but taking the bus from the back gate allowed me to get off right in front of the main entrance of Seviron Academy after just three stops.

On a windy day like today, using an umbrella was unwise as the rain flew in sideways with the wind and unpleasantly soaked my clothes, so choosing the shortest walking route was a smart choice.

Thanks to that, I would also be able to meet Yuna a little earlier.

[Semaaru: I heard you’re going to school with Yuna today? Are you out of your mind?]

Semaaru, Yuna’s eldest brother and currently my V-Tuber editor.

After the competition and collaboration, dozens of messages had flown my way, but I was too sleepy to respond at the time.

Most of the messages were congratulatory wishes for winning the competition and expressing that he was tearing up, knowing I was a victim of a terror incident.

Scrolling through the latest messages, an oddly curious one stood out.

[Semaaru: Nameya, you’re looking at the chat, right? Yuna and I are on the bus together now.]

Us? Who?

That question was quickly resolved.

Across the intersection, a long, double-decker bus pulled into the stop.

It felt as if a subway was running right through the heart of the city, endless.

Despite there being quite a few seats, many were standing due to the morning commute.

As I navigated through the crowd, a man, taller than the others, caught my attention.

“Seonoel?”

With a 190cm height and a delinquent-like impression, he was Yuna’s second brother.

Next to him sat Yuna and her eldest brother, Semaaru, seemingly engrossed in conversation and hadn’t noticed me yet.

Given Seonoel’s intimidating presence, anyone looking on might think he was bullying his innocent siblings.

As the bus honked and got ready to move, it was Seonoel who first spotted me.

“Hey, Noname! Long time no see!”

Seonoel placed his hand on my shoulder.

With such a height difference, it was hard for me to look up at him.

Suddenly feeling happy, I playfully replied.

“What are you touching?”

“What?”

I only wanted to tease him for looking like a pervert, but suddenly all the passengers’ eyes turned to us.

“Uh…?”

In an instant, we found ourselves under the limelight, startling both Seonoel and me.

“Ah… no! I’m not that type of person…!”

Seonoel raised both hands in the air, his voice trembling. It was the first time I had seen him so frantic.

Suddenly, an older gentleman tried to get up, a grandfather surreptitiously raising his cane, and a high school student reaching for the umbrella in his arms.

Everyone’s gaze on Seonoel was intense.

Who knew this would happen? I never expected the ruckus to get this loud.

I quickly scrambled for a solution to defuse the situation.

If I didn’t come up with a reasonable excuse in five seconds, Seonoel’s skull would likely be shattered by free-spirited, justice-loving citizens of Korea.

* * *

On the day Noname did an interview that would shake Korea.

Unknowingly snoring beside Yuna, Semaaru and Seonoel spent another sleepless night.

Reflecting on Noname’s feats over the past week, it felt like a lie.

Until now, I had only vaguely understood how remarkable she was for her age, and I couldn’t quite grasp just how exceptional she really was.

Especially when it came to magic, which had always been the purview of a select few intellectuals, it was even more understandable.

She truly was an irregular, or perhaps an outlier even among all of humanity globally.

Otherwise, the morning news channels would not be flooded with topics about Noname all the time.

Moreover, hearing that she had been trapped in a capsule for seven years left me too solemn to speak.

“Ugh… both of you woke up early… Huh? Wow, I got a message from Noname!”

Half-awake, Yuna suddenly bolted upright and dashed over to her brothers to boast.

“Today, Noname is going to the academy with me!”

The brothers barely managed to calm the excited Yuna, who was hopping around and screaming.

“Wait, today? And by bus…?”

Did she not realize how much attention she was drawing and recklessly plan to walk the streets?

With how she appeared on the broadcasts, it was easy to mistake her for an adult, but Noname was still just a seven-year-old child.

It was only natural to feel uneasy.

“Yuna, do you want to go with your brothers today?”

“What? Why…?”

“Just thought… since Noname has become famous, she might need a bodyguard.”

“That’s right, they told me Noname is a super famous person now!”

The brothers who had stayed up all night hurried to change their clothes and get ready to go out.

Seeing the rosy-haired girl, who couldn’t wipe the grin off her face, I couldn’t help but feel a bitter smile.

Is Noname really that great?

Yuna still didn’t know about Noname’s past.

It was only a matter of time before she found out. Surely, there would be kids at the academy who had heard that news through the morning broadcast.

With a mix of complex emotions, the brothers boarded the bus and began discussing.

“Let’s treat her just like we normally do.”

“Is that right?”

“If it were Noname, she’d definitely prefer it that way. She’s really mature for her age.”

It’s not too late to provide support later when meeting her privately.

After all, they had come along the route to preserve an ordinary living experience.

For now, let’s allow her to live as an ordinary elementary school student with Yuna.

They promised to act as bright and warm as usual without making it obvious.

Despite their resolute determination…

“What are you touching?”

Noname suddenly accused Seonoel of being a pervert,

Seonoel found himself in the most significant crisis of his life.

He felt the heart-dropping sensation he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

* * *

“If I’m going to do it anyway, you should also stroke my head.”

Phew, that was a great response.

Seonoel’s large palm ruffled my head and returned to its place.

“Hey…! Wow, I seriously thought my heart would drop! What were you thinking saying that!”

“I didn’t know it would come to this. Hello, Yuna, long time no see.”

“Nonamenonamenoname! I missed Noname so much…! Huh…”

Yuna welcomed me with a quivering voice, shedding a few tears.

I pinched her soft cheek lightly and exchanged greetings with Semaaru and Seonoel once again.

“How have you been?”

“Good, thanks!”

“I’m glad to hear that. By the way, did you feed Yuna properly? She seems to have lost a bit of weight.”

I stretched her cheek again. It felt like her texture had subtly changed.

“Grrr…!”

“I always buy her beef, how can you not?”

“Hm… I understand, I’ll let it slide this time.”

Yuna was tall but always too thin, which was problematic.

Especially when looking at her legs, she hardly had any meat on them, and it was always a cause for concern.

“Um, excuse me…”

I slowly turned my head towards the timid voice coming from behind.

“Yes?”

“That Noname… right? The one from the news…”

The cautious tone, probably from a middle or high school student, scanned my face, their gaze shifting to one of recognition.

“That’s right.”

“Wow, is this real…? What are the odds… in the same bus…? Oh, I’m so sorry, I’m just amazed!”

“Stay seated; it’s dangerous to stand.”

“Okay! Wow, your speech is the same…! So amazing.”

The student pulled out their phone and began tapping away with great excitement.

I then began to feel quite a few stares directed at me.

“The bus wasn’t a good choice, I was just about to say that.”

Semaaru said subtly.

Indeed, facing the overwhelming influence of public broadcasting compared to traditional media was a potent realization.

Should I request that Professor Cheon help me temporarily?

Amidst my thoughts, more people began whispering about me.

They alternated between glancing at my face and their phones, some even with mouths agape.

“You’re much smaller than in the videos.”

“Shhh! Don’t let her hear…!”

“She’s just a kid, and they say she’s Noname?”

“Did you see the morning news today? They found a survivor of the Valpurgis incident from 8 years ago…!”

“That’s her!”

“Huh?”

“That’s the kid sitting right there.”

“Wait…?”

I had been too oblivious to realize.

I must have only been in the eye of the storm at Professor Cheon’s house.

Now that I had stepped out even a little, I was surprised to see so many people who recognized me.

I should quietly stay at the academy and either call Professor Cheon or hitch a ride with Iharu when leaving school.

[This stop is the main entrance of Seviron Academy. The next stop is the entrance to the Seviron Foundation.]

There were too many people on the bus, so I waited slowly in my seat until others had gotten off.

When we felt we were almost the last ones left, Yuna and I joined hands and headed for the back door.

At that moment, the people in front of us began to pour out.

“What? Didn’t everyone get off?”

Thinking back, I realized I hadn’t entered through the main entrance since the entrance ceremony.

I had assumed there was no need to walk all the way around the large academy grounds when I could use the back gate.

So, I thought it was just a typical gathering place.

That was a huge mistake.

“Look, all those people are wearing raincoats?”

Not an umbrella, but a raincoat?

Following Seonoel’s gesture, I turned my head in that direction.

As our eyes met with one of them, it was like a scene straight out of a horror movie; the heads of the others twisted in a bizarre manner.

“There are reporters all over!”

Seonoel opened his umbrella to shield Yuna and me, but unfortunately, it seemed to attract even more attention.

“Noname, Yuna, where’s the main entrance to the academy from here?”

Semaaru quickly asked.

“Um… um… we have to walk quite a bit. About a hundred meters?”

“Alright, we’ll take you there quickly! Can you hold the umbrella?”

“Hurry, climb on!”

“What…?”

“Hurry, there’s no time!”

Yuna jumped over to Seonoel first and hopped on.

Reluctantly, I placed my hands on Semaaru’s shoulders.

“Whoa…!”

In an instant, I became a ride on Semaaru (Vehicle 1) and Seonoel (Vehicle 2), experiencing an elevated view.

“Seems about right! Over there, Noname!”

“Someone block the path ahead! Quickly, someone!”

“Noname, please wait a moment!”

The number of reporters I thought was just ten was actually much larger.

Cameramen were positioned not just at the main entrance but also at overpasses, crosswalks, subway entrances, and bus stops, all running towards us with expensive cameras.

What if they tripped and fell?

“Hold on tight, I’m running!”

“Ahhh! Run, run! Everyone, get out of the way!”

Seoyuna, 8 years old.

At the perfect age where being carried is enjoyable, she screamed like she was on a thrilling amusement ride.

* * *

“In the end, we really did sneak in!”

Director Kim Yong-sung banged on the principal’s office door repeatedly.

“Teacher Gu! Mr. Gu Onyu! I know the principal is in there!”

Bang-!

The door opened by itself.

Now, it didn’t even seem to matter.

Inside the principal’s office, only an elderly woman sipping tea in silence was present.

Through her curly white hair, one could vaguely guess how many experiences she had in her life.

“Cheon Kyujin, or Cheon Byeong-ho… there’s no way Teacher Gu Onyu wouldn’t have known about that guy. What were you planning to do if the word ‘parachute’ came up?”

Director Kim Yong-sung said, veins popping out in his neck.

The principal set down her teacup for a moment and entwined her fingers.

Her eyes bore down on Director Kim with intensity.

“Parachute? Director Kim, isn’t that an undervaluing remark about student Noname?”

“I understand that the student is impressive, but that’s not the issue at hand, is it?”

“Hm… ‘parachute’ has a bit of a bad connotation… okay. Let’s call it special forces instead.”

Principal Gu Onyu flashed a sly smile and cast her gaze back towards the commotion at the Seviron Academy entrance.