Chapter 255

The bangs were cut in a straight line as if measured perfectly.

The overall bushy hair, with sideburns sticking out for a long while beneath the ears, was referred to as the “bowl cut” style.

“Wow…”

“Still, back in the day, this was in vogue.”

“They say trends come and go, but I don’t think I’ve seen this hairstyle recently.”

“Hahaha! Then how about this? Professor, you looked even more grotesque back then, right?”

“Hey, calling me grotesque is a bit much…”

The blue jeans and denim jacket craze sparkled briefly in the early ’30s, but the trend of bowl cuts had yet to come back even now.

So, Professor Cheon Kyujin’s graduation photo from elementary school in 2007 was quite shocking.

Upon closer inspection, there were traces of his current appearance scattered throughout.

His prominently protruding brow and sharp gaze were particularly noticeable for a Korean.

Despite the rather quirky hairstyle, considering the era, he had a handsome appearance that likely would have been quite popular among girls. He was also taller than most of the other kids.

I had expected to see the playful antics of a mischievous child, but it seemed Professor Cheon was destined to be a scholar from birth.

“No way, Professor, how insufferable were you?”

“Insufferable?”

“He knew he was good-looking and would show off whenever he breathed in front of us.”

“I can’t quite picture that. You once told me to be humble.”

Isn’t this totally a case of ‘do as I say, not as I do’? What is this, self-hatred among kin?

According to Headmaster Ku Weonyu, Professor Cheon ruled like a king in the Academy’s elementary division.

He captivated all the teachers to his side with his outstanding academic performance, openly sleeping in class whenever he didn’t want to attend a boring lesson or skipping out to play soccer with middle school seniors.

Yet he was still quite popular among his friends, leading to the phrase “one of a kind” being coined about him.

The graduation album listed various activities that were conducted in the elementary division.

Career exploration, sports day, Academy对抗赛, the Dongsoje festival, school trips, and so on.

“Honestly, the elementary album is pretty boring, the real gem is this one—‘Middle School’! What do you think, Nameya? Don’t you want to see?”

The headmaster, eager to catch Professor Cheon off guard, promptly shut the elementary album.

If I turned just one more page, there would be a group photo of the class where Headmaster Ku was in… but I pretended not to know, as I could guess the reason.

[He attended Seviron Academy up to middle school, but found it unsuitable and graduated from a general high school instead.]

When Professor Cheon first suggested the Academy to me long ago, he mentioned that he completed middle school and then entered a general high school.

Top graduate of Seviron Academy’s elementary division, Cheon Byeongho.

His face briefly flashed one last time on the final page of the album.

Tap—

“Headmaster, why didn’t Professor Cheon continue to the high school division?”

I looked up at her.

Conversely, Headmaster Ku was looking down at me, making our gazes reverse.

She erased the smile from her lips and opened the album.

“Because he turned into a fool.”

* * *

Seviron Academy’s middle school student council president, Ku Weonyu, and vice president, Cheon Byeongho.

In the eight academies nationwide, those born in ’95 were praised as the true golden generation, but the presence of Ku Weonyu and Cheon Byeongho made Seviron Academy stand out the most.

As they led the victory against the Gangbuk Altear Academy in the competition, they were chosen as the sole candidates and elected with a 98.1% approval rate as soon as they became third years.

Thanks to their mature physiques and outstanding appearances that belied their age as middle schoolers, cheers erupted from everywhere whenever they appeared in a frame, resembling a live teenage romance movie.

As a result, rumors even spread that the student council room was their secret rendezvous place on that spring day in April.

The grade head of Seviron Academy visited the student council room to give them important news.

“A transfer student will be coming around 4 PM, so please show them around the school after class. You’re both not busy today, right?”

“A transfer student? Our school took in transfers?”

“Um, well… I didn’t know either, but it seems so. They’re joining as a mid-year student like you guys, but they’re not some small fry just because they look young, so don’t bully them, alright? And you both, huh? There’s been a rumor that you two are dating recently. I’ll be keeping my eyes wide open, so don’t think anything weird! Got it?”

“Oh, teacher! We’re not like that!”

“What’s the transfer student’s name?”

“It’s a name you all know, I think? But the kid is kind of…”

The grade head looked around, then leaned in close to the middle school kids, whispering.

“An absolute one-of-a-kind weirdo.”

* * *

Even in the same world, it seems there are times when people live in entirely different realities.

Most friends would often refer to Ku Weonyu and Cheon Byeongho in that manner.

While Ku Weonyu continuously denied it, she also seemed to feel that she might just have to acknowledge that opinion now.

It must be said about the cute girl with the pink lace ribbon that she was almost drowning in her own charm.

No matter how many times I called her name, she kept her mouth agape and didn’t respond at all.

Her eyes were completely unfocused.

It seemed her mind had ventured to another dimension entirely.

“Ham Chorong.”

“…”

“Ham Chorong! Ham Chorong Ham Chorong Ham Chorong!”

“?”

“I called your name, why aren’t you answering…!”

“I did earlier, don’t you have to say it again?”

“When did you do that! Argh, so frustrating!”

Ku Weonyu couldn’t believe it.

“How on earth is this girl considered a genius?”

However, the specifications she showcased on television were of a superhuman level.

Just four years ago, Ham Chorong, at only 11 years of age, earned dual degrees in Theoretical Spell Formation and Philosophy in just 16 months.

The year before last, she not only developed a standard ‘B++’ rank Unique Magic, but also took down many fearsome seniors at the National Sports Contest last year and made it to the semifinals.

While they might be merely exchanging basic magic with the middle schoolers from Altear Academy, she had demonstrated her powers in an official national competition.

In other words, among those under 18, she was one of the top four in Korea.

A mutation in humanity.

A slimy drool trickled from her lips.

“Hmm? Sluurp.”

“This must be a dream… it has to be a dream…! What on earth, aargh!”

While Ku Weonyu pulled her hair in denial of reality, this time Cheon Byeongho approached her with a question.

“What… were you looking at?”

It wasn’t that her focus was lost.

Her pupils were small but exhibited constant movement.

“The sky, the shape of the clouds, the sunlight.”

“Is she not just a fool?”

“Sun rights. That building violates building codes. 500,000 won fine.”

“Eh?”

“The direction of the chairs, the backpack, the chocolate, the Polaroid photo, stockings, you like this boy, right? His name is… Ku Weonyu. And you are… Cheon Byeongho.”

Ham Chorong deduced each student’s name from the name tags on the pencil cases and from the badge on the coat hanging in the corner of the student council room.

Geniuses think deeply.

Due to the overload of information, it took time for her brain to process it all.

In an instant, not only did she see through the entirety of the small student council room, but even unveiled Ku Weonyu’s private thoughts, which were hidden from Cheon Byeongho.

“Hey! Just because we’re seeing each other for the first time, do you have to say that out loud?”

To stop the endlessly chattering girl, Ku Weonyu reached out his arm.

It was in that moment.

Ku Weonyu thought she sensed cherry blossoms fluttering in the air all around her.

Small leaves swirled around, wrapping her arm.

The moment the tip of Ku Weonyu’s fingernail touched Ham Chorong’s cheek, the whirlwind exploded.

“Uh?”

Her body spun counterclockwise and flew across the student council room.

“AAAAAAAH!”

“Hey! Ku Weonyu!”

“Eep?”

Cheon Byeongho hurriedly jumped from his seat and dashed toward her, while Ham Chorong, who had merely been blinking, finally realized her mistake.

Fortunately, a pile of empty boxes for the sports day cushioned her fall.

Ku Weonyu clutched her lower back and hips, managing to get back on her feet.

“What the hell? Were you trying to kill me?”

“No, I’m really sorry, Weonyu.”

“Is saying sorry all there is to it?”

“Do you want to fight me then?”

“What… what?”

That pink aura was once again glowing ominously from her right hand.

Only then did Ku Weonyu recall the grade head’s words.

“A true one-of-a-kind weirdo…”

Her clear eyes still sparkled brightly.

That was the first meeting with Ham Chorong.

* * *

“Unbelievable…”

“Definitely…”

Having been left speechless after seeing Ham Chorong’s practice spar with the grade head in the gym.

When I asked her why she returned to the Academy after having already earned a bachelor’s degree, the response was even more astonishing.

“My parents made me. This year’s goal is to win the national martial arts championship.”

How selfish must her parents be?

They classified Ham Chorong’s elimination in the semifinals as a “blemish in life.”

That was, by all means, ridiculous.

Many students prepared for that single competition from the time they entered the high school division.

To participate in a competition with barely a few months of preparation and not be satisfied with finishing in the semifinals but instead seek out a victory…

Ku Weonyu and Cheon Byeongho couldn’t shake off the thought that this was child abuse.

“Have you seen Ham Chorong’s reality show?”

“Yeah.”

“They must have watched it too, huh?”

“Gold chain.”

“Yeah. A person wearing that strange leopard-patterned coat.”

As a child, I only thought of her as a kid born into a lavish family, but as I grew older, the reality became clearer.

Her parents were nouveau riche.

And it was all money earned through Ham Chorong.

Both of her parents being wage workers as magic users was an even more shocking revelation.

Indeed, Ham Chorong deserved to be characterized as a mutation.

“I’ll go and fight her once.”

“What? Cheon Byeongho, are you crazy? You’ll really get hurt!”

“I’m just curious. Where does that power come from?”

Ham Chorong didn’t have a concept of moderation.

It wasn’t something you could even casually practice; there were very few people who would charge at something full force as if driven to the brink of death.

The problem was that Cheon Byeongho was also the kind of person in that category.

“Well… just take care and come back safe. Don’t get hurt.”

Ku Weonyu would regret not stopping Cheon Byeongho that day for a long time to come.

And Cheon Byeongho, feeling the overwhelming shame of experiencing a defeat for the first time in his life, continued to challenge Ham Chorong.