After Story. 002 ― Precognition (2)
It was the day my friends were coming over to hang out.
To greet them, I went out to meet them together with Yeon Haneul, Cha Eunsol, Nam Yuri, Lisa, and the triplets.
“Hey guys, hi! It’s been two days!”
“Hi, Eunbikkabi! Welcome!”
“Hi, Eunbi.”
Seoul, Seocho-gu, Express Bus Terminal Station.
The first to appear was Go Eunbi, a native of Seongbuk-gu.
Carrying a large duffel bag, she waved her hand toward us.
We, including Nam Yuri and Yeon Haneul, greeted her warmly.
In the midst of that, she suggested.
“I couldn’t eat breakfast, so raise your hand if you want to eat donuts with me! This Go Eunbi will even treat you to coffee!”
“Me!”
How could we refuse when Go Eunbi offered to buy for us for the first time in a while?
Even if she hadn’t, we happened to be bored and a bit hungry right then.
We humored her and headed straight for the donut shop inside the station.
As expected, the donuts were delicious.
No, how could they possibly not be delicious?
“Yum yum. Can I eat one more?”
“…You’re only eating one more, right? You’re not going to eat more after that, right?”
Cha Eunsol licking even the cream around her lips while sending a pleading look, and Go Eunbi flinching in tension.
I butted in between them.
“Just be satisfied with one. We’re going to go eat lunch later when the others arrive too.”
“The stomach for lunch is separate.”
“Stop eating, you pig.”
“I’m a pig, so shouldn’t I eat more?”
“Yeah, not happening.”
“Hmph… You’re mean.”
Cha Eunsol sulked.
As always, it was a ploy to provoke sympathy.
But there was no chance of that.
As the owner of that glutton, I coldly….
“The donuts here are delicious. I want to eat a little more too….”
“Then shall we compromise with munchkins? I’ll buy.”
If Yeon Haneul wanted to eat them, it couldn’t be helped.
She was at the height of her growth spurt, after all.
I quickly looked for a munchkin cup and headed to the counter.
“…….”
I decided to dismiss the prickling stares I felt from behind as my imagination.
That was how I brazened it out.
“Everyone, eat one each.”
“Gyeonu, you really do play favorites. Well, Haneul is your wife, so it’s only natural….”
“Gyeonu, you’re such trash!”
“Wow… I’ll just keep my mouth shut.”
Lisa glaring with bitterly cold eyes, Nam Yuri cursing me with a bright smile, and Go Eunbi clicking her tongue.
I could only laugh awkwardly at the three of their reactions.
Even so, they naturally each took a munchkin.
Meanwhile, Cha Eunsol had her lips pursed in an ‘n’ shape.
“That’s too much….”
Yeah, I’m sorry.
I made a gesture of reconciliation.
“I’ll give you the one that’s left over. You’re the only one who gets to eat two, specially.”
“Yum, I’ll let it slide just this once. I’ll enjoy it.”
Cha Eunsol quickly reached out her hand and took an extra munchkin.
Only then, after lifting her mood, did I give a bitter smile.
After that, we drank coffee while waiting for the other friends.
A short while later.
“Gyeonu oppa! Unnies and oppas! It’s been a while! It feels like break only just started, yet it feels like ages since we last met. How has everyone been?”
The first to arrive was Yu Gaeul, the Night Butterfly of the Jamyeong Yuga, a first-year junior who had taken the subway from the Gyeonggi region.
“Gyeonu, guys! Seeing you here feels really strange. Haha.”
“Sorry, were we a bit late? We took the wrong direction midway….”
Gang Hanbyeol, the young ghost hunter.
Shin Seora, his older childhood friend whose relationship with him was ambiguous, as if they were in a situationship or actually dating no one could tell.
“Do Gyeonu! Gang Hanbyeol! Have you been well? I trust you haven’t been slacking on your training?”
“Hello, unnie and oppas. Has everyone been well? And pervert oppa, I’ll be in your care in advance. I’ll enjoy my stay.”
Bark!
Yong Haerang of the Heroic Yong Clan and Ham Minju of the Ballista Ham Clan arrived almost right after each other, along with her familiars, Solar and Luna.
“Guys! It’s great seeing you during break. Anyway, it really is Express Bus Terminal Station. On the way here, I saw all the famous restaurants from across the country are here….”
Ah, Doctor was there too.
“…….”
“Sorry, you know I was just joking, right?”
We quickly comforted Doctor.
Not long after that.
“No, why is this place so complicated? It’s not even a dungeon…. Do you know how lost I got on the way here?”
“…….”
Finally, Min Arin appeared as well.
After exchanging greetings, she snorted and chattered away.
To summarize her long prattling, it was about how passionately she had cleared her schedule to come meet us.
“Seriously, be grateful that I put off all my plans to come here. Especially you, Yeon Haneul!”
‘For someone who says that…’
We probably all shared the same sentiment as we stared intently at Min Arin, who was still shooting off her mouth.
To be exact, at her luggage.
‘Why did she bring so much stuff…’
Min Arin had a hiking backpack on, duffel bags slung over both shoulders, and was dragging a large rolling suitcase.
Without a doubt, it was overwhelmingly more than the luggage of the others.
‘Even Eunsol, Yuri, and Lisa weren’t at that level…’
Did she come to live at our house?
I clicked my tongue.
In any case, the person who had looked forward to today the most was undoubtedly Min Arin.
“I came because I made up my mind! I’m a busy person, you know!?”
Uh, sure….
It was so like Min Arin.
* * *
Both because there were so many people and, more than anything, because there was so much luggage, it was too difficult to move to the house like this.
So after eating lunch together, we used a rental car.
“Alright, Hanbyeol. I’m leaving the driving to you.”
“Got it! Driving is my specialty, after all.”
“Here too, we’re riding in Hanbyeol’s car. Thanks for driving.”
“I’ll take the passenger seat.”
Gang Hanbyeol’s Gift, Resonance Hands, granted him the ability to handle every tool with his hands at a level close to that of a master.
That was why he was our best driver, Gang Hanbyeol.
We, including Yeon Haneul and me, entrusted him with the driving with peace of mind and got into the van.
For reference, Shin Seora took the passenger seat.
“Gyeonu, set the navigation for me.”
“Okay. …Done.”
“Great, then let’s depart!”
“Hanbyeol-dubyeol! Play some music! The cookie I made~”
Right then and there, we headed home.
After greeting the family at home, everyone unpacked their luggage in their assigned rooms….
After that, we went out to the downtown area to hang out.
As for what we did for fun….
Honestly, it was nothing special.
We went to cafes, walked through parks, spontaneously visited coin karaoke booths, took pictures at sticker photo studios, went to arcades, and so on—just like when we hung out in Academy City—we had fun in various ways.
Then, before we knew it, it was evening.
For dinner, we ate meat.
“Yum yum. The samgyeopsal here is delicious.”
“You say everything is delicious wherever we go.”
“That’s not true….”
“Hmph, meat is always the truth.”
Everyone ate until they were full.
To the point where Cha Eunsol, of course, along with everyone else, patted their stomachs in satisfaction.
“Ah, I’m stuffed.”
“Oppa, I can’t eat anymore….”
Ham Minju and Yu Gaeul whined dramatically but still picked up another piece of meat and ate it.
They even happily munched away on the ice cream that came out for dessert….
“But it’s a bit of a shame we couldn’t drink alcohol and only had carbonated drinks. Though we can drink when we get home….”
“We can’t drink alcohol since we brought cars too. By the way, Gyeonu, Haneul. Is it really okay to let you treat us like this? We got lunch from you earlier too…. Though we did pay for everything else….”
Go Eunbi smacked her lips, and Lisa cautiously expressed her concern.
I answered nonchalantly.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. You’re here to hang out, so we should treat you.”
“Haha… Yeah, that’s right….”
Yeon Haneul chimed in awkwardly as well.
She subtly turned her head as she did so.
Meanwhile, among those worried about us were the triplets.
“Hey, Do Gyeonu. Did something happen? Did you win the lottery or something?”
“Do you know how much the meat cost just now….”
“Are you really okay? Or have you finally gone crazy?”
The triplets each spoke up.
I answered nonchalantly this time as well.
“I told you, I’m really fine. Don’t worry. I have enough money to feed you guys meat. Shall we get up now?”
I finished paying with my card and came outside with my friends.
We headed to the parking lot to get in the car.
Soon after, Gang Hanbyeol, who had started the van’s engine, asked on everyone’s behalf.
“So we’re going home now? Should we buy alcohol on the way?”
“No need to buy any separately. I bought it all yesterday.”
“Oh, you’re well-prepared. Nice. Then we’re going home?”
“But can everyone even drink when they’re so full? I think we need to digest first….”
“Hmm… Then how about we walk for a bit at the park near the house?”
Gang Hanbyeol made a wise suggestion, but I shook my head.
“No, there’s a place even better for digestion than that.”
“Ah, really? Lead the way.”
Gang Hanbyeol, and of course the other friends, didn’t suspect me.
Thanks to that, I was able to take them to the destination without much difficulty.
It was going according to plan.
And just where that place was!
“…Gyeonu? It must be my imagination, but surely you don’t mean for us to warm up at a Gate, right? Please tell me it’s not!”
“I do.”
“…….”
Go Eunbi pointed at the green Gate floating in the night sky with her finger.
Upon hearing my answer, she let out a screech.
The others’ reactions weren’t very good either.
“We’ve been tricked….”
“We’ve been had…. No wonder he was treating us so much today….”
“So there are no free lunches in this world. Hmm….”
“This is fraud…. We have to sue…. Call a lawyer….”
Doctor’s glasses slid down, and Yu Gaeul smiled soullessly.
Yong Haerang seemed to have realized something, and Ham Minju glared at me as if she could kill me, consumed by a sense of betrayal.
I did my best to ignore them.
Then, Lisa sharply lashed out.
“Gyeonu. Unfortunately, we’re students, so we can’t clear Gates, you know? Of course, it’s permitted for third-years, but we’re not third-years yet. We haven’t even officially advanced yet. So give it up.”
As if I wouldn’t know that.
I replied nonchalantly.
“I already got permission, you know? I took measures in advance just in case.”
“What?”
“I said I already got permission.”
Lisa asked back in confusion.
Her pupils shook.
“F-from whom….”
“Who else would it be? From the chairwoman. Chairwoman So Hyeyul, the Witch of the Stars.”
“W-why would the chairwoman….”
“You know we’re close.”
“Ugh… Haneul… Haneul must have known this would happen too, right?”
“Haha… Sorry, guys….”
Yeon Haneul, who had approached me to avoid the friends’ glaring eyes, also became Lisa’s target.
Under Lisa’s resentful gaze, Yeon Haneul apologized awkwardly.
Soon, Lisa returned to the topic and tried to persuade me again.
“Gyeonu, you really need to think this through. You know artificial Gates and real Gates are completely different, right? There’s a difference in the difficulty of clearing them. Furthermore, that Gate is green-grade right now. Green, the one after white, gray, and yellow! It’s the fourth from the bottom, and the fourth from the top.”
“It’s fine. It’s not a Gate we can’t clear at our current level.”
“We don’t even know what the world inside the Gate is like. It’s too dangerous.”
“That’s fine too. I already got information from someone who entered and cleared the Gate once.”
“No way… You really planned this out.”
“And the difficulty will drop even lower.”
“How on earth?”
“Because we have you.”
“…….”
I gave a thumbs-up.
Lisa let out a deep sigh.
“I thought Gyeonu wouldn’t do something like this… So you’re the same as everyone else after all. No, Gyeonu was always like this….”
“…….”
“I just forgot for a moment… In the end, Gyeonu only let me stay at your house because of my body, too.”
“N-no… Excuse me?”
“To think you’d dirty my pure heart… I believed only in you, Gyeonu….”
“…….”
Excuse me? Lisa?
Why are you saying things that could be misunderstood if others heard?
Haneul is looking at me strangely too….
“Gye… on… u?”
“Haneul, I’m really innocent, okay? You know it too.”
Though I had done nothing wrong, I had to explain myself to Yeon Haneul.
Moreover, not just to her, but to the other friends as well….
I couldn’t help but feel wronged.
Then, Lisa, who had ultimately failed to break me and had moved under the Gate, came into view.
She stuck her tongue out slightly.
Nyah.
‘Wow… So she was weak after all. She was that kind of girl?’
I was at a loss for words.
Meanwhile, Lisa turned her back to me and activated her Gift.
〈Gift: Grace of Platinum〉
Fwoooosh!
The light erupting from Lisa dyed the Gate above their heads.
The Gate’s rank dropped.
The Gate that had held a green light was now holding a yellow light.
“It’s done. Since it’s not an artificial Gate, I could only lower it by one level.”
“Thanks, that’s more than enough.”
“So are we really going in?”
“Of course. We need to digest what we ate, right? Ah, Seora-noona is an ordinary person, so please wait in the car.”
And you have to work as much as you ate.
I snickered as I looked at my friends.
‘Sorry, but it couldn’t be helped. Because I looked into the future with my Precognition…’
After passionately encouraging my friends, I moved with them.
We moved toward where the Gate’s light reached.
When a Gate first forms, people within its area of effect are forcibly sucked in, but for those entering afterward, a friendly message appears.
We checked the message.
[Will you enter the Gate?]
[Yes (Selected) / No]