[Chapter 075]
[Until This Heart Stops Beating]
The spring chill woke him.
He must have tossed and turned violently in his sleep, as his feet were sticking out from under the covers.
…No wonder.
Eunha pulled the blanket tightly around himself.
There was still some time left, so he decided to sleep a little longer.
Surely, when the time came, his mother would wake him—
"...Ha."
An unfamiliar ceiling.
An unfamiliar space.
Realizing once again where he was, Eunha sighed and sat up.
It had already been two weeks since he left home.
A time when even an unfamiliar life should start to feel routine.
Yet, he still hadn't gotten used to this life.
He had grown too fond of the house where he lived with his family.
Can't be helped.
He was the one who had made the choice.
To become a Player.
To enter the Academy.
It was too late for regrets now.
Not that he had any intention of regretting.
"Like Mom said, starting tomorrow I should sleep with a cardigan on... No, wait, I should just blast the heating."
All of this was operated with the citizens' taxes and the support of various groups.
About to rummage for a cardigan, he instead reached out and grabbed the heating remote.
Deciding to warm the room moderately, he got up and stretched.
Birdsong drifted in from outside the window.
And mixed with the clear sounds, shouts.
The shouts of Academy students starting their morning training.
Eunha frowned at the sound he had heard without fail every day since entering the dormitory.
[I'M FINE!]
The smartphone, which had been charging by his bedside, chimed.
A latest model smartphone he had received from Han Doyoung, the second chairman of the Sirius Group.
The smartphone, equipped with a function to store some of the data listed in the Player Library, was ringing insistently from early morning.
Only his family members had their notifications set to make a sound.
Eunha quickly reached for his smartphone.
「Noona」: Knock knock~
Are you up? (06:45 AM)
「Noona」: Eunhaaa~?
Wake up!! ( *｀ω´)ゞ
(06:47 AM)
「Noona」: It's the entrance ceremony today! (06:49 AM)
A smile escaped him.
Since he moved to the dormitory, Euna had taken over the role of waking him up in their mother's stead.
After sending a brief reply, Eunha decided to wash up.
"Can't oversleep on a day like this."
The Player Middle Academy Entrance Ceremony.
This day held significant meaning for him.
He couldn't count how many days he had eagerly awaited since deciding to become a Player.
How much anticipation had he suppressed since moving into the dorms in mid-February.
"...I should go looking as clean as possible, right? Shaving... I probably don't need to yet."
The room, comfortable enough for two people, had an attached bathroom.
After washing his face and looking in the mirror, Eunha tilted his chin to check for any stubble.
No beard yet.
He was only 14 this year, after all.
"Hmm..."
Today was the day he would meet Lee Yoojeong.
As neat as possible, as tidy as possible.
If possible, make a favorable first impression.
After staring intently at the mirror for a long while, he decisively stripped off his pajamas as if he'd made a grand resolution.
There was still time, so he decided to take a warm shower.
Even though he had soaked in the bathtub for a long time just yesterday.
"The uniform is..."
He dried his hair and opened the closet.
Several uniforms were hanging there.
A blazer with a black base and prominent gold lines.
And a blazer with a white base and prominent red lines.
The black blazer was the everyday uniform worn at the Academy, while the white blazer was for ceremonial occasions.
The Academy provided one of each, and any additional ones had to be purchased.
The uniforms themselves were enchanted.
They boasted sweat-absorption and ventilation magic, as well as cleaning magic to remove most dirt, and shock-absorption magic for protection. It was a high-quality item with a texture and elasticity that wouldn't tear unless in extremely fierce combat.
The state could provide minimal support to Academy students, but not maximum support.
Therefore, sponsorships were necessary, and he, receiving full support from the Sirius Group, had enough uniforms and gym clothes to fill an entire closet.
It doesn't look strange, does it?
The pure white color felt unfamiliar to Eunha.
In his previous life, he had considered being drenched in monster blood a given, so he mostly wore drab colors where bloodstains wouldn't show easily.
Thus, this uniform, spotless, with clear, vivid red lines that seemed to flow like blood through his entire being, felt utterly foreign.
I don't know if it suits me.
Having long since given up on the eye shape he inherited from his father, he stared at the mirror for a good while before sending a distress message to Euna.
「Noona」: It looks awe~some!
You're my little brother, but you're the best!
(07:57 AM)
"If Noona says it's fine, then it must be fine."
Euna was particular about fashion.
Especially his fashion.
Since Euna had given her approval, there was no need to worry anymore.
Having finished preparing, Eunha opened his door and went downstairs.
"Hey, Captain!"
"Why are you down so late? Noh Eunha, you overslept, didn't you?"
On the first floor of the boys' dormitory, there was a cafeteria for the residents.
Parang and Eunhyeok, who had finished preparing earlier, were eating breakfast by the cafeteria window.
After receiving his ordered food, Eunha headed to their table.
"...Hyung, are you going like that?"
"What's wrong with it?"
"Didn't you wash your hair?"
"I washed it yesterday, what's the big deal? Washing it twice a day is bad for your hair, punk."
"You could at least comb it."
Eunha sighed with an "Aigoo."
Jin Parang, with a bird's nest of hair, flicked his tail sharply as if displeased.
Even his tail was unkempt and fluffy.
"You wouldn't understand how hard it is for an Ain to manage their fur."
"...I wonder if Seona is like that too. It must have been tough getting ready every morning."
"Nah, that hyung is just lazy."
The day of the Middle Academy entrance ceremony.
The three, dressed in pure white blazers, ate breakfast while chatting quietly.
☆
The Academy entrance ceremony was held simultaneously for the middle and high school divisions.
Students gathered in the hall sat in designated seats according to their division and class.
The 031st cohort consisted of 300 students.
The 027th and 27th cohorts (likely referring to high school grades) numbered around 1500.
The seats, fanning out radially from the podium, were arranged so that they rose higher towards the back.
Thus, the Middle Academy students sat in the narrower lower section, while the High Academy students occupied the wider upper section.
To think I'm the only one in a different class.
Eunha, who had met his friends in front of the main hall, had parted ways with them on the way in.
Their class assignments were different.
Hayang and Minji were in Class 5, Parang in Class 8, and Eunhyeok and Seona in Class 10.
And he was in Class 6.
Although he was disappointed not to be in the same class as his friends, he had vaguely expected this outcome.
Would they really put the top student and the runner-up in the same class?
Hayang was the valedictorian, and he was the salutatorian.
Besides, his other friends had also achieved high scores on the entrance exam.
It might have been possible if it were Doan Elementary, which was primarily sponsored by the Alice Group, but hoping for everyone to be in the same class at an Academy backed by the ten major groups was going to be difficult from now on.
Even if we were in the same class, we'd meet in lessons anyway. More importantly...
Sitting in the front row of Class 6, he looked around.
The instructor said to be in charge of Class 6 this year greeted him warmly, but he responded perfunctorily, his attention focused on scanning his surroundings.
Class 10, Class 9, Class 8...
Then the opposite side must be Class 1, Class 2.
His gaze stopped at the area where students presumed to be from Class 2 were gathered.
Somewhere over there—
—Yoojeong is there.
His second life.
Yet, he remembered.
Because whenever Lee Yoojeong talked about her days at the Academy, there was a story that always came up.
'I was always in Class 2. Isn't it strange?'
'What is?'
'Ever since elementary school... Without fail, Class 2, Class 2, Class 2, Class 2... And in Middle Academy too, Class 2... At first, it was really boring, you know?'
'But?'
'But then... I started to think maybe all of that was so I could meet you. Do you remember when we met?'
'High Academy, first year.'
'That's right, High Academy, 1st year, Class 2. When I first met you then, I actually thought, why would such a person exist in the world? You exuded such a gloomy aura even at a glance, so it was understandable.'
'...Sorry about that.'
'You never avoided fights, you tried to beat anyone you disliked no matter what, and you didn't care about their background at all... Even thinking about it now, you lived so recklessly. Didn't you?'
'...Hmph, honestly.'
'But... meeting you back then changed my life. The days I agonized over why I had to live, whether I should keep living even when life was so hard—you changed all that.'
'...'
'Thank you, Eunha. If I hadn't met you then, the me I am today wouldn't exist.'
Lee Yoojeong, a promising talent since Middle Academy.
Noh Eunha, who entered High Academy with no background.
The two, who would normally have had no particular reason to connect, grew close due to an accidental incident.
Somehow, she had gotten embroiled as a witness in a violent incident he caused.
The instructors, using that as an opportunity, had asked her to mentor him, as he was known as a problem child at the Academy.
Personality, behavior, mindset.
The two, who had nothing in common, continued to meet and became exceptionally important to each other.
So, he hoped to forge a special bond with her in this life too.
[We will now commence the Seonryeok Year 9 Player Academy Entrance Ceremony. First, we will have the pledge of allegiance. All Academy students, please rise and face the Taegeukgi on the podium—.]
He didn't know how much he had missed her.
There were so many things he wanted to say when they met.
Why had she been so devoted?
Why had she loved him so much?
And why had she gifted him a new life?
Even at the cost of her own.
[—It's a pleasure to meet you. However, I cannot say I welcome your admission. I believe none of you entered the Academy seeking a welcome either.]
The Academy principal's words didn't register at all.
Eunha kept his eyes fixed on Class 2, still lost in memories.
I need you this time too.
The only partner in his previous life to whom he could entrust his back without worry.
He needed her in this life as well.
Her help was crucial for the thorny path that lay ahead.
To protect Ha Baekryeon.
Lee Yoojeong was an indispensable person to him.
That's why he planned to approach her first.
[—Lastly, I will say this. Fight to live. For those who fight to die, only death remains.]
The entrance ceremony ended.
He shot up from his seat and pushed through the crowd towards Class 2.
"Hey! What the—?"
"You bumped into me and didn't even apologize!?"
"That guy..."
He ignored the people he bumped into.
He shoved past the obstacles, heading for Class 2.
...Yoojeong-ah.
What should he say first?
Would his appearance be alright? He had just checked in the bathroom mirror a moment ago.
Would she be frightened?
But it didn't matter.
Eunha shook off the myriad of thoughts涌올라오는 and scanned the faces of the Class 2 students one by one.
"Yoojeong-ah."
"Lee Yoojeong."
"...Yoojeong-ah."
She wasn't there.
He grabbed girls who were about to leave the hall, checking their faces, and was flustered each time he was met with a different one.
Nevertheless, he didn't give up, calling her name and checking everyone around him.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing! What class are you in? What class gives you the right to cause a ruckus in Class 2?"
The Class 2 instructor snatched his wrist.
The Class 2 instructor was startled.
When he tried to twist Eunha's wrist, it wouldn't budge, as if he were gripping steel.
"Instructor."
Eunha slapped away the Class 2 instructor's hand and grabbed his shoulder.
Gripping his shoulder so tightly that a tic appeared on the instructor's face, Eunha asked in a pleading tone.
"Is there a student named Lee Yoojeong in this class?"
"What? What are you talking about?"
"..."
"...In this class... there's no such student, so let go of my hand right now!"
Impossible.
Yoojeong couldn't not be here.
Eunha swiftly snatched the roster the Class 2 instructor was holding.
Despite the instructor's attempts to stop him, he frantically searched the roster for Lee Yoojeong's name.
"..."
She wasn't there. Lee Yoojeong.
Eunha stared blankly at the roster, his face a mask of devastation.
He stood there dumbfounded until the instructor angrily snatched the roster back, then ran towards the instructors still remaining in the hall.
...She's not here.
Why isn't she here?
She's not here either.
Not in Class 1, nor Class 3, Class 4, Class 5....
The instructors tried to stop Eunha, who was handling the rosters without permission, but seeing his expression darken with each list he checked, they couldn't bring themselves to say anything.
Finally, when most people had left the hall, Eunha managed to check all the rosters.
"...She's not here."
He couldn't find the name he had so desperately searched for in any of the rosters.
"..."
Lee Yoojeong was nowhere to be found.
Nowhere in the Academy.