Chapter 194

“Today, I will present about King Sejong! King Sejong created Hangul and he has many other achievements as well. During the Joseon Dynasty, circles were called Dae-rin (大輪). Um… King Sejong’s Min-yu-bang-bon (民惟邦本) is the most representative Six Great Rulings (六大輪) doctrine of Joseon. Um… the meaning of Min-yu-bang-bon is that the people are the foundation of the country—”

The presentation on historical figures for the subject ‘Basic of Practice’ was underway, but now with the addition of magic studies.

Choosing a single person to introduce at least two of their major achievements related to magic studies was not an easy topic for 2nd graders.

After all, concepts like the Pythagorean theorem or irrational numbers, which are learned in middle school, were proven as early as the 5th century BC, and methods for calculating areas were also dealt with in ancient Egypt.

Thus, even if these were the brightest students in Korea, the children were too young to understand the life achievements of people from just a few hundred years ago.

Thanks to that, the face of the friend with attendance number 1, Gang Do-hyun, was close to piercing through the A4 paper with his script.

Well, it wasn’t a big problem since the homeroom teacher only required a general explanation, but it seemed he was flustered by the unfamiliar words coming up.

I raised my thumb in encouragement toward my friend, whose expression was growing darker.

In the end, the stuttering boy was able to safely conclude his presentation by reading aloud the real masterpiece of King Sejong, Hangul.

“Thanks a lot…!”

“Yeah, you did well.”

The friend who shyly expressed his gratitude returned to his seat, and now friend number 2, Ko Kyung-won, went to the front of the blackboard.

“I will present about King Sejong.”

Again with King Sejong?

Well, how much could the kids really know? At most, they would only know about King Sejong or Lee Soon-sin, who turned his life around from a 100 won coin to a 100,000 won bill.

“Yoon Si-hoo, who did you choose?”

“I chose Joan of Arc.”

“Oh, you know Joan of Arc?”

Did he intentionally switch to something French to show creativity in choosing a topic?

“Hey, is that true…?”

“What?”

“I heard our parents chatting this morning. You…”

“Let’s start. If you’re going to talk, do it with a pen.”

The introduction was overlayed with background music about the first six-circle magic technique of our nation, Min-yu-bang-bon.

[Terrorist. Kidnapping?]

I made a mark to contradict the word ‘kidnapping’ and added below it.

[Not me, our mom.]

At the same time I made my dot, Si-hoo’s pencil lead broke helplessly.

With trembling hands, he clicked the pen again and continued writing.

[What about you?]

[I don’t know.]

Not everyone has memories from when they were born.

[I was just locked in a remote prison.]

[For 7 years?]

I met Si-hoo’s eyes once more.

I tried to mumble my way around it, but this guy knew a surprising amount. The news must have just aired this morning.

It wouldn’t be good for the kids to recognize such things anyway.

[I know asking more would be rude, right?]

“…!”

Si-hoo flinched.

Mumbling a small ‘sorry’ that only I could hear, he suddenly started drawing.

[😿]

[Look at this and cheer up. I’m really sorry…]

“Ha.”

A cute cat drawing with tears rolling down its cheeks.

Even comforting me felt cute because it was in a childish way.

I should respond quickly.

Si-hoo’s expression was deteriorating in real-time.

[Thanks. I appreciate your concern, but don’t try to know too much.]

This was something that adults should resolve themselves.

It was their duty as adults to ensure that children could live in a better future.

“Next, number 6, No Name. Um… did you prepare for the performance evaluation?”

At Teacher Jacqueline’s question, all the class’s attention turned to me.

“I will do it spontaneously.”

With a thud, I put down my pen and stood in front of the class after a long time.

Twenty pairs of sparkling eyes were shining at me.

I thought of a topic that wouldn’t overlap with what the other kids had chosen, as it would surely be a problem.

“The person I will present is Werner Heisenberg, an essential figure in quantum mechanics. A representative achievement of his is introducing matrix mechanics to dynamic systems—”

Thud—

The next presenter, Park Ji-soo, who was sitting in the front row, suddenly collapsed onto the desk.

Maybe it was the summer heat getting to her.

* * *

“Waaaaah!”

When class ended, Park Ji-soo ran out into the hallway with a tear-stained face.

In her hands, her presentation script was crumpled.

The female students sprinted over to pat Ji-soo’s back to comfort her.

“It’s okay! You said three sentences!”

I couldn’t bring myself to lie and say she did well, so the pure-hearted friends caused her even more hurt.

“Why do I have to be attendance number 7…”

With more presentations lined up ahead, this would surely lead to continuous comparisons with No Name.

Ji-soo had never felt as resentful of her surname Park as she did today.

Not even halfway through her well-prepared script and ended up with a time-out.

While there was definitely sadness about not being able to earn points, more than that was the emotion surged during the presentation, which stemmed from her sudden stage fright.

Thanks to her friends earnestly comforting her, however, she managed to shake off her tears.

“But this morning, my mom asked if No Name was doing well.”

“Oh, you too? My dad suddenly asked if our class had No Name.”

“Eh, why?”

In the 2nd Grade A Class, everyone knew by now that No Name had been frequently appearing in the news.

Yuna and Seory were proudly talking about how great No Name was until their mouths hurt.

And now No Name, who had returned to the academy after a long time, was being welcomed with a grand ceremony since morning.

Now it seemed they were being called to the principal’s office.

However, this morning, there had been a commonality among the parents worrying about No Name’s well-being.

Only two people knew the entire truth about this: Yoon Si-hoo and Iharu.

Perhaps feeling guilty about talking when No Name wasn’t around, Iharu whispered to the curious kids.

“Trapped in a capsule…? How does one even get trapped in there?”

The kids couldn’t understand the meaning of being physically trapped in a capsule.

It was just a capsule that could open with a button press or simple push.

Many had never even used a capsule since they were born.

“What does that mean? Trapped…?”

Yuna, who had been eavesdropping from behind, came closer and asked.

“Oh, Seoyuna…”

Everyone knew Yuna was No Name’s best friend.

However, since Seoyuna didn’t know this fact, I hesitated to share what I had heard.

Si-hoo, following Yuna into the hallway, was about to speak.

“I think this is the right place?”

“Go quickly!”

“Don’t push, please!”

“You’re making everyone wait behind!”

“No, I seriously can’t get points…!”

“Come on, quickly!”

“Stop! Don’t push!”

The group of upperclassmen coming from the end of the hallway.

The second graders froze collectively at the sight of the seniors, only running into them during arrival and dismissal.

“Hi there, kids, ha ha… hello. Is there someone in your class…”

“Why can’t you speak properly! Is No Name there right now?”

A sixth grader with a purple name tag on his chest.

“Oh, I think she went to the principal’s office…”

“Too bad!”

“Hurry back, what if the teacher comes!”

“You’re the one pushing me, there’s no space behind!”

They could only watch the commotion of the upperclassmen with open eyes.

Then, a low ‘ooh’ resonated along the walls of the hallway.

“Why are you guys here? Please clear the way for people to pass quickly.”

The complex crowd suddenly organized and split into two paths.

The person causing the current buzz at Seviron Academy was No Name.

No Name wandered through the center with brows furrowed, apparently not understanding the situation.

“Wow, so amazing…!”

“Really small!”

“Looks like a 1st grader.”

“Hey, who’s more of a genius, her or our class’s top student?”

“What are you talking about! Of course… she’s the genius.”

“Oooooh!”

“Whoa! I almost cursed! What’s up with this?”

“It’s just that she’s too cute!”

“Are you crazy…?”

On the other hand, some students looked at No Name with fear, as if they were looking at a monster.

“If you study hard, can you become like her? I asked my older brother who goes to Seoyun University.”

“And?”

“He said it’s faster to be reborn.”

“Whoa… that’s really harsh.”

“That just means she’s that much of a monster.”

“I’ve never seen a monster in my life…”

“Hey, No Name is not a monster!”

“Hey, No Name…?”

One of the students called out to No Name.

“What is it?”

“Can I have your autograph…?”

“Why do you need my autograph?”

The older student was taken aback by such a naïve question.

In contrast, his friends scolded him for his behavior.

“Don’t you even watch the news!”

“I’m really sorry…!”

“How can you treat her like that!”

“No, what did I do…!”

Seviron Academy was completely in chaos, or rather, in turmoil.

Especially due to the imbalance of information, students who excitedly approached No Name without knowing the truth were met with a crushing response from friends who knew the reality.

“Hey, hey, aren’t you all going back to your classes! I’ll tell the homeroom teacher!”

In the end, the 2nd Grade D Class teacher was called out, and the situation could finally calm down.

* * *

[Um… you know, Yuna…]

This morning, Yuna felt more excited than ever.

No Name was a precious friend that she treasured above all.

[Didn’t they say No Name was trapped in a capsule and couldn’t get out…?]

Yuna had heard that the Korean streamer, Unspecified Gender, solved a challenging math problem.

Semaaru explained that this person was her friend No Name. Yuna could understand even if her brother didn’t have to tell her.

Every time No Name’s name came up in the news, Yuna wanted to shout her pride in her friend.

‘No Name is actually not 14, but 7 years old!’

‘The person who proved the math problem is my friend!’

So Yuna kept waiting for the day No Name would return to the academy.

[Huh? Perhaps for 7 years since birth…]

But there were times she couldn’t sleep out of worry that No Name might never return.

Thus, whenever No Name came back, Yuna imagined what they would talk about or play together.

‘Maybe No Name knows the questions for this semester’s finals.’

‘Should I ask her to play air games again? Or trampoline games?’

When No Name arrived at school, she was quite taken aback by the unexpected atmosphere.

Teacher Jacqueline, who always shouted how much she missed No Name, suddenly seemed awkward and couldn’t even speak properly, and groups of friends like Yoon Si-hoo and Iharu, who she thought were closest to her, didn’t openly seem happy to see her.

Was there a semblance of jealousy toward No Name’s talent? That was purely Yuna’s misunderstanding.

[She said she couldn’t eat or drink anything for survival and just played games.]

“Seoyuna? Why are you out in the hallway? Next class is starting soon, let’s go back inside.”

“Um… uh…”

“Why is your face like that? Did something happen? Did someone hit you?”

No Name stared seriously at Yuna’s face, tilting her head in concern.

The memories of the days spent with No Name flashed like a slide show in Yuna’s mind.

The times she had envied No Name without knowing, thinking she must come from a wealthy family, past mistakes suddenly came rushing back, causing her cheeks to heat up.

Even the fact that she had been taking potions due to health issues…

“Are you crying?”

“Uh… no, I’m not crying… sniff… really, I’m not…”

Tears poured so freely that they couldn’t even be used as an excuse.

Beyond the blurry view caused by her tears stood the friend Yuna adored dearly.

No Name wiped the droplets that had formed near her eyes with her slender fingers, offering consolation.

There was a sense of meticulousness and care in each of her touches.

Even trying to imagine what pains and trials No Name may have gone through was beyond the grasp of Yuna, whose life experiences spanned just eight years.

“If you’re sick, do you want me to take you to the nurse’s office? Okay?”

And despite having such a painful past, this girl didn’t show any signs of it, instead caring for others.

If No Name had truly decided to hide everything until the end, would Yuna have ever found out?

Yuna couldn’t be certain about that.

Because of this, she started to question this friendship she had with No Name.

Yuna’s longing for love and attention stemmed from her busy mother who worked from a young age and her deceased father. However, it wasn’t that she only wanted one-sided kindness from No Name.

‘Perhaps I don’t deserve to be by No Name’s side…’

As those thoughts crossed her mind, Yuna rejected No Name’s gentle touch and ran off towards the classroom as if they would never see each other again…

* * *

“You sit behind me, you know?”

“Ah, don’t talk to me! Sniff…”