The Academy’s Deceased Ate It All

The two of us moved off to talk alone for a bit.

It wasn't so much that either of us suggested it as it was Lee Yu-na's doing—she genuinely believed Lee Ye-eun and I were brother and sister.

Lee Yu-na had insisted there was clearly something urgent we needed to discuss and that the two of us had to be given a chance to talk, and astonishingly, she managed to overrule both Han Su-yeong and Jin Ye-seul.

"It feels really weird wearing this after so long."

Lee Ye-eun, seated in her chair, kept fiddling with the sleeves of her uniform, smoothing out the fabric.

Sitting across from her, I asked right away why she'd come, since I hadn't expected her visit at all.

"What's the occasion? And in your uniform, no less…."

"What do you mean, 'what's the occasion'? What kind of question is that?"

Lee Ye-eun gave me a pouty look.

"It's just, Shin Woo-seok didn't tell me anything. Naturally I figured if the clan head was coming back to the Academy, there'd be a call or at least a heads-up."

"That's because I didn't say anything."

Lee Ye-eun said this with a little tilt of her head.

"He probably doesn't even know I'm here. Only two people do. Both of them are as tight-lipped as he is, and just as trustworthy."

"Ah, I see…."

"I did it because I wanted to see your surprised face, Ji-hyeok… but now that I'm here, it feels like it was all for nothing."

"Huh?"

"No, it's just—you don't seem all that happy that I came… if anything you look kind of annoyed…."

Lee Ye-eun stared pointlessly at the floor, swinging her foot back and forth.

There was an uneasiness I couldn't quite place in the way she tilted her head with every word, stealing little glances over to gauge my reaction.

"Every time I got a report that you were slowly recovering, Ji-hyeok, I cut into my own sleep to keep working, just so I could walk to school with you like I'd told you before… so the second I heard you didn't need the wheelchair anymore, I came rushing out here…."

Having said that much, Lee Ye-eun flicked the table with a fingernail, making a small sound.

"I'll just head back."

And with that, Lee Ye-eun actually started to rise from her seat.

Even an idiot like me knew exactly what would happen if I said, "Oh, really? Well, take care, then."

"Come on, don't be like that."

I quickly shook my head and reached out.

I'd meant to grab her hand, but I ended up catching her sleeve instead, and I tugged on it anyway.

At that, Lee Ye-eun stopped midway, frozen in an awkward half-crouch, as if she couldn't fight off my pull.

"What's this all about—and let go of that, quick."

She said this and flapped her arm as if to shake off my hand.

But I firmly readjusted my grip on her sleeve and clasped her wrist.

"Sit."

"Ji-hyeok, are you trying to test me in a contest of strength right now? I told you to let go!"

Setting aside the fact that her strength was rated A in the original, and considering that mine was still weakened by the penalty, the idea that she'd lose to me in a contest of strength made no sense whatsoever.

More than that, because of the World Tree's nature, if she truly let her strength loose I'd be powerless to defy her will.

…Of course, since I'd picked up on that fact right away, she had to be well aware of it too.

I moved before she could get embarrassed and half-forced her back down into her seat.

"It's nothing like that. I just… you said it yourself earlier, didn't you, clan he—I mean, noona? That you wanted to surprise me. I really was surprised, that's all."

"…."

At my words she looked at me still seeming angry, but with an expression a little softer than before.

Then, instead of her own drink in front of her, she grabbed my cup and gulped it down.

"Ugh, that's sweet."

Lee Ye-eun scrunched her eyes a little and gave me a warning.

"Ji-hyeok, if you only ever drink sweet stuff like this, your teeth are going to rot and you'll suffer for it later, you know? Are you brushing properly, three times a day?"

"Yes, of course."

"Hmm…."

She mulled it over, lips working dubiously, then carefully set the cup down.

And still squinting, she said to me in a sharp voice,

"Don't go thinking you can smooth things over just by calling me 'noona' whenever it suits you."

Her words made me flinch on the spot.

She'd been so favorable toward me that I'd forgotten, but she was originally someone described as so clear-cut about separating business from personal feelings that people called her downright cold.

And looking back on everything so far, she was right, no question.

Barely suppressing the self-disgust welling up at the fact that I'd somehow come to treat calling her "noona" like some kind of reward, I forced a smile.

"Haha…."

Struck right where it hurt, I laughed awkwardly and asked her,

"So what would it take to get you to forgive me?"

"That's for you to figure out, Ji-hyeok."

"…I'm really sorry. Please, help me find a way to make up for what I did."

"…."

When I dipped my head a little and spoke in a serious voice, Lee Ye-eun silently poked at the ice with her straw.

Then, avoiding my eyes, she murmured,

"Well… if you really mean it, there is one way…."

When I looked at her as if to ask what it was, she kept tapping the ice with her straw.

The clink of glass against ice was unusually loud.

As if it were speaking for the hesitation in her heart.

"You know, if you take a picture and come hang out with me…."

"A picture?"

"Not just any picture, though…."

She fidgeted strangely, still watching my reaction.

I looked at her in a way that said it was fine, go ahead and say it.

"You know, when you came along with Evangelline Loengreen that time… I want to go like that, the way you looked then."

"…."

She glanced over, then quickly tacked on the formal speech.

"…Please."

[Whoa.]

Sbeungali let out a sound of genuine, pure admiration at Lee Ye-eun's request.

I looked at her without a word.

For a moment it crossed my mind that maybe this was the reason she'd shown her displeasure and snapped at me earlier, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

"I don't mind, but it'll be tough without Evangelline's help…."

"Ah, you don't have to worry about that. She told me she'd help out anytime if I ever asked."

Lee Ye-eun cut in quickly, her eyes sparkling.

"And she said she'd do it in a different appearance too, if I wanted."

At her words, delivered with a strangely confident smile—as if she were declaring "Checkmate"—I had no choice but to nod.

Only then did Lee Ye-eun lean back against the chair, looking satisfied, and let out a small sigh.

"Now I can walk to school with you from here on out, and I've even locked in a date. All that working myself to the bone really did pay off."

It was just a fleeting moment, but I caught her wearing a giddy little smile.

"A younger brother's great, but having a younger sister was a dream of mine too, and to think it'd come true like… hm?"

While my attention was caught up in Sbeungali's roaring laughter, Lee Ye-eun lowered her head and looked down.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh… no. Maybe it's just me? I thought I felt something making a racket down below."

Lee Ye-eun murmured that.

Following her lead, I lowered my head too and looked down.

[…….]

This time as well, the only thing in sight was Henir's Shadow.

"…."

I started to say something, then gave a small shake of my head and lifted my head back up to look at her as before.

As I did, I took out the USB I'd kept in my pocket and set it on the table.

"Did you check it?"

"No. It wasn't compatible. I just kept it plugged in until the download finished, exactly like the note that came with the scarf said."

She nodded at my words.

"Good work."

"But why would you have me…."

"It's a mousetrap. A very tempting mousetrap."

Lee Ye-eun said this and glanced around.

A barrier had been set up around us at some point by Shin Woo-seok, who'd arrived without my noticing.

It had been raised right around when we started talking.

"Keep this just between us, Ji-hyeok."

Lee Ye-eun said this, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"There's one person I've planted among the Six Stars."

"Among the Six Stars?"

"Mm-hm."

She nodded.

"Through that person I've been able to hear all sorts of things… especially the details of why they're after you, in particular."

"Because of Milited's Children, right?"

"Mm. And from what I can tell… the Six Stars right now are basically a one-man team run by Choi Jun-hyeong alone. Supposedly the other members have barely made any contact with Milited's Children."

"So you're saying to keep our focus relatively trained on Choi Jun-hyeong, then."

"Right. The other members of the Six Stars aren't in any position to move right now. Choi Jun-hyeong and the rest of them will probably be too swamped cleaning up the messes that blew up to do anything for a while."

She nodded quietly.

"That is, except for one—Yoon Seul-hye, was it? That little junkie."

Lee Ye-eun said this and tapped the table with her fingers.

"From what I hear, she got Maxim Goldenberg—another member of the Six Stars—to make a hefty donation to the Academy on her behalf. And while she was at it she slipped in a few requests, and this is the really baffling part."

Lee Ye-eun let out a small, incredulous laugh as she spoke.

"She wants them to hold a concert?"

"A concert? Don't tell me—the kind where she sings idol songs?"

"Well, the way they dressed it up is fancier, but that's what it is, really."

Lee Ye-eun said this and worked her fingernails as if playing an instrument, making little sounds.

"Boosting the students' morale, some measure of compensation for the disappointment over the festival falling through, public outreach to show the world that the Academy came out of the freak accident unharmed… anyway, the excuses are all very nice. And on top of that she strongly offered to pull her own connections and invite a few singers at a discount, so it looks like things are going to flow exactly the way that girl wants."

"…I really can't begin to understand what the people up top are thinking."

"That's just how it goes. Even I'm like that sometimes."

She gave a small smile.

"And like you said, Ji-hyeok, I sent an investigation team out toward the Baltic, but there don't seem to be any clear results yet. Unfortunately, we couldn't find anything on the other Seven Calamities either."

"Hm."

"For now, let's give it a bit more time and wait. More than anything, your condition's improved a lot, Ji-hyeok, but you're not fully healed. And we've set the mousetrap, so we wait until someone takes the bait."

"…You're right. I think it'd be better, too, to gather a bit more information before we make a move."

When I nodded in agreement, Lee Ye-eun suddenly burst out laughing and said,

"Aww, so well-behaved. I don't know whose little brother you are, but you really do listen well."

"…."

"Mm, anyway. I've gotten through all the important stuff, so I'll be off."

"You're leaving already?"

"Yeah. It's only natural—you were in the middle of hanging out with your friends, weren't you, Ji-hyeok? I can't be tactless and keep you tied up for too long."

She rose from her seat with a giggle.

"And besides, the person putting up this barrier right now seems pretty mad, so I need to say a few words to smooth it over. He surprisingly holds a grudge for a long time once he sulks."

Then she gave me a wink with one eye and said,

"See you tomorrow on the way to school, then? I'll get going."

As she pushed her chair back in, she added, as if she'd almost forgotten,

"And don't you dare forget we agreed to go on a date."

She wore a smile that carried a certain pressure to it as she whispered,

"I'm famous for paying back favors and debts down to the last bit, so if you play dumb on me, I really won't let it slide, got it?"

"Oh dear, I'm sorry. Did you wait long?"

"No, it's fine."

Stepping out of the barrier, Lee Ye-eun gave a warm smile to Lee Yu-na, who stood there as if she'd been waiting.

Earlier, before she sat down to talk alone with Yu Ji-hyeok, Lee Ye-eun had already given Lee Yu-na a quiet heads-up.

That if possible, she'd like the two of them to have a moment to talk privately.

"So, what did you want to…."

Lee Yu-na asked with a giggly—and, in a way, almost groveling—smile, as if the bold attitude she'd shown last time had vanished without a trace.

But Lee Ye-eun already knew full well that Lee Yu-na, despite a hamster- or squirrel-like exterior, was a person utterly unlike that appearance—practically a wild beast.

She was certain there had to be more than a few people who'd looked down on her based on her looks alone and ended up badly hurt for it.

"Hm, first I wanted to thank you."

With those words, Lee Ye-eun gave a deep bow.

Lee Yu-na seemed quite flustered, as if she'd never imagined being bowed to.

"For looking after Ji-hyeok—no, my little brother—so devotedly, I'm truly grateful. I only got a rough account of it, but I could tell you cared for him with everything you had, your devotion in no way diluted by the retelling."

"Th-that's because I'm Ji-hyeok's employee…."

At that, Lee Ye-eun gave a slight smile.

"I only wish I could have met someone who gives their whole heart the way you do, Yu-na, even under nothing more than the pretext of being an employee."

That seemed to ease Lee Yu-na's nerves a little.

Though the very next thing she heard made her shoulders flinch.

"That's why I asked to meet you—to express my thanks for all your efforts up to now. There's no longer any need for you to wait on Ji-hyeok at his side. And along with that…."

Lee Ye-eun nodded.

"You said it was eighteen billion, was it? I'll be settling that too, as part of this matter…."

"W-wait, just a moment!"

Lee Yu-na cut Lee Ye-eun off in a frantic voice.

Her face had flushed red, and Lee Ye-eun had no trouble reading that it was from anger and bewilderment.

"F-first of all, the debt is something I have to repay to Ji-hyeok, not to you. And I didn't do anything to earn that kind of huge sum. So please, just pretend the money talk never happened."

"…Are you sure?"

"Yes. Please."

Looking into Lee Yu-na's wide, fierce eyes, Lee Ye-eun nodded as if she understood.

"On top of that, Ji-hyeok still hasn't fully healed. So just a little longer, with me at his side…."

"Yes, which is why I intend to assign a professional."

Lee Yu-na fell silent for a moment.

Not letting that opening slip, Lee Ye-eun fired back,

"Surely you're not going to tell me that the people I've personally chosen aren't reliable, or that compared to you, whom Ji-hyeok chose himself, they fall short of the qualifications… I trust you won't say anything like that."

"That's—that's not it."

"And besides, this is truly rude of me to say…."

Lee Ye-eun looked at Lee Yu-na slowly as she spoke.

"I'm also a little worried about having a girl as charming as you stuck right by his side."

"Ji-hyeok isn't that kind of person! And neither am I!"

Lee Yu-na blurted it out in a flustered, hot-tempered voice before she could stop herself.

At that, Lee Ye-eun nodded as if she already knew.

"Yes, that was a little rude of me. I didn't mean it that way."

"Then…!"

"What I mean, in short, is this, Yu-na."

Lee Ye-eun looked her straight in the eye with somehow sorrowful eyes.

"How much do you really know about that boy?"

"…What?"

"No—how many people are there who know him in any real detail at all?"

"What do you…."

Lee Yu-na murmured, unable to make sense of Lee Ye-eun suddenly mumbling in such a sorrowful voice.

Weren't the two of them brother and sister?

"What do you mean…?"

"…I'm sorry. I said something I shouldn't have."

Lee Ye-eun put on a smile in an instant, as if her manner a moment ago had been a lie.

But that very sight dredged up a memory Lee Yu-na had forgotten.

Now that she thought about it… back then, in the orphanage kitchen.

Hadn't Yu Ji-hyeok said something then about having a younger sister?

A younger sister…?

"Anyway, this is what I wanted to say, Yu-na."

Lee Ye-eun spoke quietly, as if offering advice to the lost-in-thought Lee Yu-na.

"What… do you mean?"

"I meant, don't end up with regrets like I did."

Lee Ye-eun nodded.

"Because once you find out, it's already too late."

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