I was the first among everyone taking classes to finish.
After leaving the Cultivation Hall, I checked the time on my smartphone.
‘5:42 p.m….’
It was a decent enough time to have an early dinner.
Or I could wait a little longer.
‘What should I do….’
With my schedule unexpectedly left hanging, I stood there, lost in thought.
I didn’t mind eating dinner alone, but if possible, it would be better to eat with someone.
Just in case anyone else had finished class like me, I asked in the group chat.
[Me]: Anyone done with class?
[Me]: I just finished
Usually, whenever I sent a message, the group chat would get noisy in no time, but even as time passed, it stayed quiet.
The unread marker didn’t disappear.
It seemed everyone was unable to check their messages because they were in class.
“Oh, someone read it.”
Just then, one unread marker disappeared.
Not long after, someone replied.
It was Lisa.
[Lisa]: I’m in class...
[Lisa]: The instructor says even though it’s the first day, we’re still doing the full 2 hours ㅜㅜ
Even Her Imperial Highness, raised to be a model for others, seemed to dislike classes.
Or maybe she had gotten a taste for hanging out with us all this time.
I let out a small laugh at the despair I could feel from Lisa’s messages.
[Me]: Ditch ㄱㄱ
[Lisa]: I can’t do that. What if I get caught later and the instructor scolds me?
[Me]: You have to ditch without the instructor knowing
[Lisa]: I’m different from you, Gyeonu...
[Lisa]: I don’t have the courage...
[Me]: Everyone’s like that at first. It’s fine, just close your eyes and do it
[Lisa]: Have you ever ditched before, Gyeonu?
[Me]: No, I haven’t?
[Lisa]: ;;;;;;
That was the end of it.
There were no more replies from Lisa.
It seemed she had decided to focus on class.
‘In the game, she was such an obedient kid, but if she’s checking messages even during class, can I say her personality’s changed…? Eunbi, Haneul, and the others corrupted Lisa.’
Unfortunately, no one else checked the chat after that.
It couldn’t be helped.
I’d either have to wait until their classes ended, or go eat dinner alone.
Before that, I decided to send Yeon Haneul a private message as a last resort.
‘Haneul usually doesn’t check her phone during class unless she has to… but my private messages are different.’
Both I and Yeon Haneul.
So that we could check each other’s messages right away, we had set separate notifications for each other.
Ever since we fought over a contact issue back in middle school, we had kept it that way.
Unless she was inside a Gate, she would reply soon.
Sure enough.
[Me]: Haneul, what are you doing? Are you in class?
[Yeon Haneul]: I’m in class right now
[Yeon Haneul]: Is something wrong?
[Me]: I just missed you
Was it because she was in class?
Even after Yeon Haneul read the message, no reply came for quite a while.
Then, when her reply belatedly arrived, it was extremely short.
[Yeon Haneul]: Me too :)
Just two words and an emoticon.
Had Yeon Haneul stayed silent all that time just to send that?
Or had the message been cut off midway because she was in class?
‘For that to be the case, even if I wait, it doesn’t seem like any follow-up message is coming….’
Either way, since I wasn’t her, I couldn’t really know.
But at this rate, it didn’t seem like the conversation would move on to the main point.
I decided to bring up why I had messaged her.
[Me]: My class just ended
[Me]: So if you had time, I was going to ask if you wanted to eat dinner together, but if you’re in class, I guess I’ll wait until it’s over
[Yeon Haneul]: Wasn’t it Master’s class? It ended faster than I expected
[Yeon Haneul]: I have prior plans later, so I can’t eat dinner with you today
[Yeon Haneul]: I told you earlier too, but you forgot again, didn’t you?
[Me]: Ah, right
After reading Yeon Haneul’s message.
Only then did I recall the memory I had forgotten.
Come to think of it, she had said during lunch that she had dinner plans.
She said she was going to eat dinner with a girl she had gotten close to during the entrance exam.
‘I never imagined that person would be Cha Eunsol of the Cyclic Cha Clan….’
It was something I had learned from Yeon Haneul not long ago.
As someone who hadn’t paid much attention to the girl she had befriended until then, I could only be astonished.
I wondered how such a coincidence could exist.
And it was absurd that until I told her, she had only known Cha Eunsol’s identity as someone from a prestigious family.
‘Haneul and Cha Eunsol, huh….’
Honestly, their relationship felt extremely unexpected.
It was surprising that the shy Yeon Haneul had approached Cha Eunsol first, and it was hard to believe that Cha Eunsol, who had little interest in others, regarded Yeon Haneul warmly.
To the point where I wondered what on earth had happened between them during the entrance exam.
‘It’s a good thing for me, though.’
Cha Eunsol was one of Kang Hanbyeol’s party members.
Among the 145th class’s party members, she was the most difficult character to recruit after Nam Yuri.
If Yeon Haneul was close to her, it would be easier to create points of contact with her in the future.
For me, it was nothing but welcome news.
[Me]: Eat lots of delicious food and come back
[Yeon Haneul]: Yup! I plan to :D
[Me]: Get along well with that Cha Eunsol girl
[Yeon Haneul]: I was going to even if you didn’t tell me, okay?
[Me]: How about asking her to join the club with us?
[Yeon Haneul]: Club? The one you mentioned earlier?
[Me]: Yeah, the Divine Exploration Club
[Yeon Haneul]: Mm... If I remember later, I’ll ask Eunsol once
If we pulled Cha Eunsol into the club, she would be easier to manage.
It would also be easier for her to get close to the others.
I left her in Yeon Haneul’s hands and stopped messaging.
“So in the end, I have to eat alone?”
It was a shame, but it seemed I would have to eat dinner by myself today for the first time in a while.
As soon as I finished dinner, I’d go to the Training Hall and do some personal training.
It was then that the group chat became active.
[Kang Hanbyeol]: Gyeonu, are you going to eat alone? My class was so boring I was thinking of ditching anyway, so this works out!
[Me]: What, you’re really going to ditch?
[Kang Hanbyeol]: They already took attendance, so it’s fine! And I’m confident I won’t get caught
[Kang Hanbyeol]: Where are you right now?
[Me]: Your decisiveness really is top-tier
[Me]: As for where I am...
…Was it okay for the protagonist to be like this?
I was somewhat bewildered, but still.
That day, I ended up eating dinner with Kang Hanbyeol, just the two of us, and even trained afterward.
It was quite a fulfilling day.
* * *
There was no need to feel burdened just because Cha Eunsol was from the Cyclic Cha Clan.
After all, her childhood friend Do Gyeonu himself was from the Divine Sword Do Clan.
Yong Haerang, Min Arin, and Lisa, whom she was close to, also had high statuses.
If they were simply meeting as friends, there was absolutely no need to stand on ceremony.
To begin with, Cha Eunsol was not the kind of person who cared about social rank.
‘She said she arrived first….’
To meet Cha Eunsol, Yeon Haneul headed to the back gate at the appointed time.
Finding her wasn’t difficult.
Because she was pretty enough to stand out.
‘Ah, there she is.’
Wearing a yellow blouse and jeans, Cha Eunsol was leaning against the stone wall beside the back gate, looking up at the sunset.
Her green eyes, which Yeon Haneul had not seen in a while, seemed to add a mysterious air to her atmosphere.
Yeon Haneul stepped a little closer and called her name.
“Eunsol!”
“…Ah. Hi?”
Cha Eunsol, who seemed to have been lost in thought somewhere, reacted to the sound.
Turning her gaze to Yeon Haneul, she soon slowly waved her hand.
“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“I’ve been getting by. What about you? From the looks of it, it seems like you’ve been doing well.”
“Hm? Does it look that way?”
“It’s written all over your face.”
The awkwardness of meeting after a long time lasted only briefly.
Yeon Haneul felt the same impression she had received from Cha Eunsol before and relaxed.
The two of them exchanged updates and chatted quietly.
“Ah, let’s not stand around here like this. Let’s talk while we go. We might have to line up and wait.”
“Sure, sounds good. Let’s go eat quickly. I’m hungry.”
A food alley had formed near the academy’s back gate, where the dormitories were clustered.
The two of them went to a gopchang restaurant rumored to be delicious.
Just then, one seat happened to be empty.
After sitting down, they looked over the menu.
“Eunsol, is there anything you want to eat?”
“Everything. All of it.”
“Everything? I don’t think the two of us can eat it all.”
“My stomach is a black hole, so it’s fine.”
“You look thin, but you eat quite a lot. Do you just not gain weight easily even if you eat? I’m jealous. I’m not like that…. Look here, you can grab fat on my arm, right?”
“It’s soft and squishy like jelly, so I like it. Do you want to touch mine too?”
“Wow, there’s barely anything to grab. I’m jealous…. Ah, more importantly, should we pick the menu? Mm…. Ordering everything from the start is a bit much, so how about we order two servings first and get more if it’s not enough?”
“I like that too.”
“Mm…. How about vegetable gopchang? I came here before and tried it, and it was good.”
“Let’s add sundae, glass noodles, and rice cakes too.”
“Rice cakes are good. And for drinks…. Can you drink alcohol?”
“Do you want to drink?”
“Yeah, gopchang and soju are perfect together….”
“Then I’ll drink.”
A short while later.
The food and alcohol they had ordered came out.
The vegetable gopchang stir-fried on the large griddle sizzled noisily.
Yeon Haneul placed gopchang on a perilla leaf, wrapped it up, and put it in her mouth.
She also downed a glass of soju.
Her rabbit ears perked up.
“Ah, it’s delicious! What do you think? It’s good, right?”
“Yeah, you found a good place. I should come eat gopchang whenever I think of it. Nom.”
“Gyeonu knows a lot about this kind of stuff. Ah, if you’re wondering who Gyeonu is, remember the childhood friend I told you about last time? That’s Gyeonu. Do Gyeonu.”
Chew, chew.
Cha Eunsol chewed on the tough gopchang and nodded.
Soon, after swallowing the food in her mouth, she spoke.
“That name sounds familiar.”
“Mm, you’ve probably heard it at least once. He’s from the Divine Sword Do Clan. One of the Ten Great Clans, just like you.”
“Really? Nom.”
“He also entered as the second-ranked student this time.”
“I didn’t attend the entrance ceremony….”
“Why? Did something happen then?”
“No, I was just sleeping.”
“You shouldn’t do that.”
“But I do remember that you entered as the top student.”
“Ah! You knew?”
“You’re my friend. Nom.”
From what Yeon Haneul had realized while keeping in touch with her all this time.
Cha Eunsol seemed to be someone with an indifferent personality toward most things.
Yeon Haneul felt happy that such a girl was interested in her.
For some reason, she felt proud.
On the other hand.
‘Gyeonu told me to get along with her.’
While chatting happily with Cha Eunsol.
Yeon Haneul recalled how Do Gyeonu had subtly shown interest in her.
‘Is there something about Eunsol?’
It probably wasn’t romantic interest.
As his childhood friend of five years, Yeon Haneul could guarantee that.
That was why she didn’t feel upset at him paying attention to another girl.
‘I wish he would only look at me….’
…In truth, she was a little uncomfortable.
Even so, it was within a tolerable range.
She also wanted to proudly introduce the friend she had made to Do Gyeonu.
The problem was.
‘She’s way too pretty.’
“Nom. What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing. You’re just too pretty the more I look at you.”
“Nom? You’re pretty too, Haneul.”
The problem was that even from another girl’s perspective, Cha Eunsol’s beauty was considerable.
Her green eyes, in particular, were striking.
Compared to that, her own eyes were red, naturally calling to mind the red eyes unique to monsters.
Because of that, Yeon Haneul hesitated to introduce her to Do Gyeonu.
By any chance, if by some chance.
‘What if Gyeonu falls for Eunsol?’
Then she would end up losing both her childhood friend and her friend at the same time.
It was something she absolutely did not want.
Of course, that would never happen, but the fact that she could not completely deny the possibility frightened her.
“….”
“Nom nom.”
Watching Cha Eunsol eat gopchang heartily.
Yeon Haneul fell into deep contemplation.
In her heart, she hoped that Cha Eunsol and Do Gyeonu would remain strangers to each other.
However, it was her childhood friend’s request.
There was no way she could refuse his request.
“Sigh….”
“Nom? What’s wrong?”
In the end, Yeon Haneul made her decision.
While putting a large wrap into her mouth, she made a suggestion to Cha Eunsol, who was tilting her head.
“Have you decided what club you want to join? If you haven’t, do you want to join one with me?”
“Club? What club?”
“I’m joining the Mystery Exploration Club with my childhood friend and some others.”
“That sounds like a pain….”
“According to the club members, they go around observing mysterious phenomena every weekend and look for good restaurants—”
“I’m in.”
Without asking or arguing any further.
Cha Eun-sol agreed at once.
* * *
She had thought that attending the academy would mean one fresh, stimulating experience after another.
Contrary to her expectations, life at the academy was not particularly satisfying.
It had only seemed fun at first; as time passed, it ultimately became nothing more than a series of repetitive days.
“This is boring.”
She was getting sick of it. She was bored.
But that did not mean she could act however she pleased in pursuit of her own amusement.
After all, there were norms and rules in this world that one had to follow as a human being.
To live as a human, one must not violate that order.
‘It’s stifling. Suffocating. Annoying.’
For Nam Yu-ri of the Yeonseong Nam family, who considered herself lacking in humanity, it was an unbearably oppressive thing.
Back in her family, at least, she had been able to indulge in deviations as much as she liked.
She had left her family and come to the academy to savor freedom, never imagining that she would feel even more oppressed than she had at home.
Her stress piled up.
‘Should I just use coins and enter a Gate?’
Since she could not kill innocent people for no reason, she wanted to kill every monster she could find until her mood was completely relieved.
No, animals would do as well.
She wanted to feel the reality of being alive by killing living things.
Nam Yu-ri spent each day harboring such impulses.
If there were some sort of trigger—
‘Why are those kids laughing like that? What’s so fun? I’m this bored. Ah, I just want to kill them all.’
The impulses she had suppressed felt as though they were about to explode.
When that happened, she would become not a human, but a monster.
Nam Yu-ri held on to her wavering reason and passed by the students promoting their clubs.
‘What’s my next class….’
She did not want to think about it. It was boring.
It was probably a class she had already learned from her family anyway.
She decided to skip the rest of her classes.
By committing such a small act of deviation, she would at least feel some stimulation.
Because if things continued like this, she felt as though she might die.
It was then.
“Is there anyone interested in the mysterious phenomena happening in Academy City!? We are the Mystery Exploration Club, which tours Academy City to observe mysterious phenomena—”
“Hm?”
Perhaps they had been pushed out in the competition for spots by the other clubs, but the students promoting their club in a poor location happened to catch her eye.
Nam Yu-ri stopped without thinking.
Soon, what they were saying piqued her interest.
“After we observe mysterious phenomena, we’ll all go visit good restaurants together! Our club president is extremely knowledgeable about that! We’ll be holding a trial session this week, so if you’re interested, please come by!”
“…Good restaurants?”
A single phrase stirred her memory.
It was a memory from when she had taken the entrance exam.
The memory of playing the question game with Do Gyeon-u in the banquet hall of the Dreamlike Hotel came vividly back to her.
—What do you do when you feel depressed or irritated?
To the question written on the card back then.
What had Do Gyeon-u answered?
—I go for a walk. When I come outside and walk around, maybe because I get some fresh air, my head clears. Or I go find something delicious to eat.
—I see.
—You should try it sometime too.
“Gyeon-u said something like that….”
At the answer she had drawn out from her memory.
Nam Yu-ri was moved on impulse and walked toward the students.
She smiled brightly and said,
“I’d like to participate in the club trial session. What should I do!?”
And so.
An inevitable coincidence occurred.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss