By the time class ended, there wasn’t a single person who wasn’t covered in sand.
Including Min Arin and me, everyone looked as if they had unmistakably been rolling around in a sandpit.
We were a complete mess.
There was only so much sand we could brush off, so in the end we had to settle for a rough dusting and give up.
“I’m hungry. Let’s go get something to eat.”
“You can eat looking like this? Forget it. I’m going back to the dorm, washing up, and sleeping. I’m so tired I don’t think I could even swallow food. You go eat.”
“Then I’ll lose muscle.”
“…You can eat after you wash up.”
“Good idea.”
Min Arin said she felt uncomfortable because she couldn’t get the sand out of her clothes, then went straight back to the dorm.
After parting with her, I contacted the others to have lunch together.
Unfortunately, Lisa, Kang Hanbyeol, and Park Sagun said their class had ended early, so they were already having lunch.
The triplets seemed like their class would end late.
There was no word from Yong Haerang.
‘He’s probably still in class, or he just isn’t looking at his phone.’
Yong Haerang only used his smartphone as a substitute for a watch and didn’t check it often.
He was weak at multitasking, so once he focused on something, he tended not to pay attention to anything else.
Since I knew his personality, I didn’t think much of it even when he didn’t reply.
Just then, I got a Talk message from Yeon Haneul.
[Yeon Haneul]: I’m done too! Let’s eat together!
[Me]: Oki :)
[Me]: Where are you right now?
[Yeon Haneul]: The Training Hall
If it was the Training Hall, it was close to the Dimension Hall.
Instead of meeting at the cafeteria, I decided to go find Yeon Haneul myself.
There was a cafeteria nearby anyway.
Not long after, I saw her waiting in front of the Training Hall.
“You’re here? But… why do you look like that?”
“Ah, this? Well, what happened was…”
At first, she waved happily when she saw me, but then she was startled when she noticed my appearance.
I told her what we had done in morning class.
“So that’s why you’re covered in sand. That must have been tough. I probably would’ve fallen into the sand like you did too. Master made you do some pretty difficult training.”
“What class did you take? What about Eunbi? I don’t see her.”
“Me? Cops and robbers. Eunbi said she had lunch plans with someone else.”
“Cops and robbers?”
“Police and thieves. You have no idea how hard I ran around doing that.”
“So that’s why your hair was stuck to your cheeks.”
“…!”
Yeon Haneul flinched so hard her rabbit ears stood straight up.
Her red eyes widened, and she hopped back.
“What’s wrong?”
“Don’t come close…. I sweated a ton today.”
“What does that matter?”
“I smell like sweat!”
“As if you’d ever smell bad.”
Was it as if she had never sweated when we trained together as kids?
To begin with, I was the one who had always sweated a lot.
Finding it absurd, I approached her.
When I took one step forward, she immediately took one step back.
“Why are you avoiding me?”
“Then why are you coming closer!”
“Because it’s fun watching you get flustered.”
“D-Don’t come….”
“No, I’m coming.”
One step, another step, and another.
The distance between us didn’t shrink, and we meaninglessly shifted somewhere else.
Soon, the end of our battle of distance arrived.
“Ah.”
“What do you mean, ‘ah’?”
As she backed away, she hit the wall and could no longer escape.
I approached the cornered, restless rabbit.
I placed my hand against the wall, lowered my head, and gently brought my face toward the nape of her neck.
“Uuugh….”
“You don’t smell.”
“Did you… really have to go this far?”
“Yeah!”
“Seriously…. If you’re done smelling me, hurry up and move away.”
Thump.
Yeon Haneul hit my chest with her powerless fist.
I pretended it hurt for no reason and pulled away from her as she shrank back.
She furrowed her brow as if to show she was angry.
Her face dyed red.
But the tone she used when she finally spoke to me through her tightly pressed lips was gentle.
“Honestly. Come here. Were you really planning to go eat with me looking like that? Don’t you think that’s rude to me? I’ll use Clean magic on you.”
“I already used Clean magic, but I still couldn’t get it all off. I guess the sand there wasn’t ordinary sand.”
“Still, my magic is stronger, so let’s try brushing it off once. If that doesn’t work, I’ll brush it off for you myself. Who knows how much sand is stuck where you can’t see?”
“Yeah, I’ll leave it to you.”
“…Hm, even my magic can’t get it off completely. This won’t do. Come here and lower your head a bit.”
“Yes, yes.”
“What is this? There’s so much.”
Yeon Haneul beckoned with her hand.
I lowered my posture and bent my head so she could brush off the sand.
Then she leaned forward and patted my hair clean.
That aside….
‘…It’s really awkward figuring out where to look.’
My field of vision was almost completely filled.
I couldn’t see much of her lower body.
It moved.
“What is this? There’s so much.”
“…”
It moved. It moved. It mov—
I lowered my gaze even further, somehow trying to avoid looking.
Only then did I see the floor, and Yeon Haneul’s boots came into view.
“Come to think of it.”
“Hm? What?”
“Were your legs real, or fake?”
“Huh? What are you suddenly talking about?”
The curiosity I had felt during class suddenly made its presence known.
With my head still offered to Yeon Haneul, I roughly explained the situation.
Then she spoke as if she found me ridiculous.
“Are you an idiot? Can’t you see I’m wearing stockings right now? They’re black.”
“Of course I can see that. What I’m asking about is before we entered the Academy. Back in elementary school and middle school. Were you wearing them then too?”
“…Hey, is that really that important?”
“It is to me.”
“No, why?”
“I feel like I was tricked.”
“Huh? You know…. Sometimes I really don’t know what you’re thinking. Just when I feel like I understand you, you confuse people like this.”
“I am kind of a difficult man.”
“Yeah, difficult to date.”
“What did you say?”
“Sigh…. Isn’t it obvious if you look? If there’s a sheen on the legs, then they’re wearing stockings. And there isn’t a single blemish visible.”
“…”
“No, you don’t even need to think that hard. If the outline of the legs is glossy and….”
“It’s not like I ever examined them closely. And your legs always shone to begin with. Blemishes? I don’t know about that. In my memory, they were just smooth….”
“Stop! Don’t embarrass me!”
“…Don’t tell me you were always wearing them? Ah, do you put on stockings? Or wear them?”
“No! I wasn’t! And you put them on! You don’t wear them! They’re not clothes!”
“So… I’ve never seen your real legs….”
“I said that’s not it, seriously….”
“Then when did you put them on, and when didn’t you? Tell me what you remember.”
“…Why do I have to tell you?”
“Huh?”
“I don’t want to tell you. I’m not going to tell you. That’s not something I should explain to you. You should notice it yourself.”
“…”
“So? Do you think you know?”
“…I’d need to know what your bare legs look like to compare them or anything. They always shone, so how was I supposed to notice?”
“I told you not to embarrass me! Or are you doing it on purpose!? Are you teasing me right now!?”
“No, what did I do?”
“Seriiously…. Are you an idiot? Do you really not know? Your observation skills are usually so good, so why does your intelligence drop so much whenever it has something to do with me! Are you an idiot? A moron? A sea anemone? Or are you impo—!”
“Impo? Impo what?”
“…impossibly old-fashioned.”
“Fine, sorry I’m an idiot. I don’t know why I get like this when it has to do with you either. You’ll have to understand.”
“…I told you not to embarrass me.”
“Have I ever embarrassed you?”
“Sigh…. I really want to hit you.”
“You’ve been hitting me this whole time.”
“That’s not what I mean…. No, fine. Are you that curious about my bare legs? Are you dying to know the difference between my bare legs and my legs in stockings?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re going to be the death of me….”
“Why? I live because of you.”
“…Stop joking around. Don’t make someone’s heart go into serious trouble.”
“Serious trouble?”
“If you’re that curious…. Fine. I’ll show you. Specially. Only to you.”
“Huh? …Really?”
“Of course it’s real. What, did you think it was fake? See me in the first-floor lobby tonight. I’ll bring stockings and show you how different it is when I have them on and when I don’t.”
“I knew childhood friends were the best.”
It had been worth getting hit by Yeon Haneul.
I beamed with joy.
“Wait.”
“What now?”
“If a rabbit puts on stockings… does that make her a bunny girl?”
“…”
“Haneul? Why are you leaving without saying anything?”
“Why did I ever fall for someone like this….”
As if she found me pathetic.
Yeon Haneul sighed.
I quietly followed her, needlessly watching her mood.
* * *
Another day at the Academy began.
After washing up quickly, I hurried outside to go jogging.
I ran one lap around the Academy grounds.
‘Was it like this yesterday too?’
Was it because the environment of Academy City was unusual and special?
The sky seemed brighter than yesterday.
The morning sun was rising.
It seemed as if the length of the night had shortened in just one day.
Academy City’s late winter had passed, and early spring seemed to have settled in.
Just then, I sensed people nearby.
“Oh! Do Gyeonu! Another strong and powerful morning today!”
“Gyeonu, good morning!”
“Hi. I heard from Hanbyeol. I’ll be running with you starting today too.”
“…Good morning to all three of you.”
Yong Haerang, Kang Hanbyeol, and Park Sagun greeted me.
I matched my pace to theirs.
But the three of them weren’t the only people who had come out jogging today.
Voices came from behind.
“Hi, guys!”
“Gyeonu, good morning.”
“Good morning, everyone.”
Go Eunbi was waving her hand widely.
Beside her, Yeon Haneul and Lisa, who unlike usual had tied her hair up instead of braiding it, were running side by side.
And behind them.
“Huff, huff…. Can we go a little slower…?”
I could also see Min Arin chasing after them, breathing hard.
‘They all said they didn’t want to jog, but in the end, they came out and ran first thing in the morning.’
I looked back at them and chuckled.
It wasn’t just me; Kang Hanbyeol, Yong Haerang, and Park Sagun beside me also let out laughter, as if they couldn’t help finding it funny.
Soon, we gradually slowed down and joined the girls following behind us.
Since so many of us had gathered, the conversation continued endlessly even as we ran.
The laughter didn’t stop.
“Do Gyeonu! You’re only coming now!?”
“We got up first and were already running!”
“Guys! Good morning!”
Before long, we were able to meet the triplets too.
From what I heard, they had come out ahead of me and were running first to surprise me.
In any case, with the three of them jogging with us as well, the area around us became even more bustling.
Before we knew it, the sound of us chattering was louder than the birdsong.
Noisy, but warm.
‘The weather’s really nice today.’
The morning sun drove away the darkness of dawn, and the sky turned blue.
Around the road, trees and thickets covered in dew came into view.
Flowers filled with the air of spring slowly lifted their heads and stretched.
The clear blue lake reflected the sunlight and sparkled beautifully.
And so, a new day dawned again.
We gradually grew used to life at the Academy.
[A clear energy dwells within your body.]
[Luck has increased by 1.]
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Middle Boss