Chapter 66
It was Sunday evening, nearing the end of the weekend. I held the ring in my hands as I sat down and diligently drew a spell array.
[It's good to have passion, but don’t overwork your body.] Legba expressed his concerns, but I didn't respond and continued drawing the spell array.
In the past two days, I hadn't left the house once. I barely slept and didn't eat properly.
Instead of wasting time on those things, I tried to draw one more spell array in an effort to find how to imbue a spell into the ring.
Of course, that wasn't the only thing I was working on. I also put in some effort to work toward achieving the 'state of acquirement' that Legba had talked about. However, I had yet to reap any fruit for my work. Both processes of imbuing spells into the ring and reaching the state of acquirement had been unsuccessful. At first, I had felt discouraged, but I had grown accustomed to failing. It seemed like I was getting closer to enlightenment rather than acquirement.
Knock, knock.
At that moment, I heard knocking on the door. The door opened abruptly before I had a chance to respond.
"Cult Leader, it's time for your meal."
"I’m going to skip it—"
"Cult Leader."
I was about to refuse because I had no appetite and thought it would be a waste of time. However, Ji-Ah cut me short and gave me a cold gaze. It was the first time she had interrupted me, so I couldn’t help but nervously swallow my saliva.
After a moment of silence, Ji-Ah spoke again.
"You have to eat."
"...Then, shall we?"
She said it so sternly that I had no choice but to eat it. I awkwardly smiled and got up from my seat to walk out of the room. On the dining table, where my uncle always left his cup of coffee and books in the morning, was a neatly prepared meal.
"Did you prepare all this by yourself?"
"Yes," Ji-Ah casually replied, showing no signs of pride. It didn't seem like a big deal to her.
I sat down and started eating. Everything, from the soup to the side dishes and rice, was incredibly delicious. It was so tasty as if the food grabbed my lost appetite by the hair and yanked it back into my body.
"Wow, this feels like the work of a chef."
"It's not that good." Ji-Ah sat across from me and answered while she was picking at her rice. It seemed like her appetite was as small as her stature.
Ji-Ah's food was so delicious that it felt like a crime to leave any leftovers, and I quickly devoured everything. As soon as the meal was over, Ji-Ah began clearing the table, so I quickly stood up and helped with the cleanup. Ji-Ah pursed her lips slightly, seeming a bit uncomfortable.
"Oh, I'll take care of it. Cult Leader, you can just relax."
"Let's do it together. It's not that difficult a task."
"What?"
While Ji-Ah tilted her head in confusion, I cleared all the dishes from the table, moved them to the sink, and immediately started doing the dishes. I was talented at household chores—cooking, washing dishes, doing laundry, you name it. Not that I was talented at them, but I had no choice other than to improve my skills since I had been living alone for the past seven years.
"Uh, um, can you just go and rest?" Ji-Ah hesitantly asked in an awkward tone behind me while I was busy washing away.
It seemed like she found receiving help awkward and unfamiliar. However, that was the same for me. Ji-Ah taking over the household chores on my behalf felt uncomfortable and unfamiliar to me, making me feel as if she was stealing my work.
"..."
Without responding to Ji-Ah's objections, I continued to silently clean. It was only then that she quietly began to help with the dishes next to me, seemingly giving up trying to change my mind. The sound of clattering plates, flowing water, and the squeaky-clean sound of soaping the dishes filled the otherwise silent room.
"Why are you helping us?" I asked.
It seemed like a random question, but it was a question that had been on my mind for a while now. With Ji-Ah's abilities, she could easily disguise herself and attend school or live an ordinary life. So, why was she helping us?
Upon hearing the question, Ji-Ah opened her mouth without any hesitation or contemplation.
"I received a favor from the Cult Leader when I was young."
"Oh, from my father?"
"No, from you, Cult Leader."
"Huh? Me?"
It was the first time I had heard this. I had no memory of performing any act of kindness toward Ji-Ah that she would be thankful for. To add to that, I don’t even remember meeting Ji-Ah before I was introduced to her recently.
I carefully searched through my memories. Even when I retraced my steps to the very distant past, I had absolutely no recollection of Ji-Ah.
"I'm sorry, but I don't remember," I apologized with a perplexed smile.
Ji-Ah's face remained expressionless as always. Her expression didn't reveal any emotions, and I didn’t dare to guess her feelings.
As Ji-Ah rinsed the foam off the last remaining plate at the sink, she broke the silence.
"It's alright. I’m not surprised that you don't remember."
"You’re not? ...What on earth did I do?"
Thunk!
While contemplating Ji-Ah's profound words, someone slammed the door open and entered the room. To no surprise, the culprit was Uncle Jin-Sung. He was carrying something in both hands. It made me wonder why he had bought so much when usually he bought anything that wasn’t essential.
"I'm here. How have you all been?"
Uncle greeted us and placed the baskets he was carrying on the floor. The baskets landed on the ground with a heavy thud.
“Welcome home, Teacher.”
"It’s good to be back. Were you guys cleaning up after your meal?" Uncle asked as he looked at us standing in front of the sink with our rubber gloves on.
He wore a cheerful expression, and his tone was slightly higher than usual. I didn't know why, but he appeared to be in a very good mood.
Ji-Ah nodded slightly and replied, "Yes. The Cult Leader prepared the meal for us."
"Wait, you know how to cook? Hm, I guess they do say living alone improves your cooking skills." My uncle raised an eyebrow in surprise.
I got flustered and quickly shook my head.
I continued drawing spell arrays and repeatedly attempting to capture the mist of the spell in the gemstone on the ring. I also made sure to use spells on myself from time to time in an effort to attain the state of acquirement.
Although the promised deadline of 1’o clock had passed, I didn't stop. I continued my futile efforts till three in the morning.
[Didn't I clearly say 1 o'clock? Do you not even pretend to listen to my advice?]
"Let me try it one more time. This is for sure the last time."
[This is the seventeenth time you've said 'the last time.']
"...You counted each one of them?"
[Well, you kept dragging it on, saying 'last time, last time.' I counted it because I got bored and had nothing else to do.]
"Okay, then. This is the last time I tell you it is the last time. The finale. This is it."
I stayed up almost all night that night.
***
Although I had stayed up almost all night, it was only "almost” all night. Luckily, I had given myself a two-hour window to rest, so I spent thirty minutes restlessly turning in my bed and an hour and a half asleep.
Perhaps due to lack of sleep, my head felt a bit dizzy and my ears felt stuffy, but it didn't feel like my feet were being swallowed in a swamp like before.
The eventful month of March was coming to an end, and April was just around the corner. The winds had become warm enough for it to feel like spring, and the grass glistened vibrantly, thriving in the moisture.
Was it thanks to the relentless efforts I made last night, sacrificing sleep, that the fleeting scenery seemed particularly beautiful today? I felt unreasonably good.
[Look at you, feeling so happy despite getting so little sleep. You’re the second one that I find to be this weird.]
"Who was the first?"
[Your father, of course.]
I had a pointless conversation with Legba as I walked through the empty alley. Soon, I was greeted by the sight of F.A., and students, walking along with their heads looking down at the ground. Among them, I saw Jin-Seo walking with an unusual lack of energy. Jin-Seo noticed me as well. Our gazes met.
However, Jin-Seo turned her head swiftly without greeting me or acknowledging me at all. Her expression was unusually cold and filled with hostility. I had sensed it since last Friday—she seemed angry at me for some reason.
I approached her first. "You left early last week—"
Whoosh!
Before I could finish my sentence, Jin-Seo started running as if she was trying to get away from me. I couldn't see her face clearly, but from a fleeting glance, I could make out a trace of surprise. My plan to ask if she was okay and my worries about her leaving early last time became futile. Jin-Seo was intentionally avoiding me.
Once again, I couldn't fathom the reason. What did I do wrong? I couldn't recall anything I had done wrong, even after scouring my memory. In the midst of my thoughts, Jin-Seo had run away so far that I could no longer see her.
[Seems like you scared her off with that tired face of yours. I told you to sleep early.]
"..."
I ignored Legba's nonsense. I pondered for a while about why Jin-Seo was avoiding me, but I couldn't find an answer, so I gave up thinking about it and moved on, heading up to my classroom.
"Sun-Woo, your nose...! Huh? It's fine...? Why is it fine?" As soon as I entered the classroom, In-Ah greeted me.
I casually touched my nose and smiled. "The hospital treated me well. Apparently, I wasn’t seriously injured in the first place."
"Oh, really? That's a relief. You looked completely messed up from all the blood coming out..."
"I thought the same, but apparently not." I casually lied.
In reality, my nose had indeed been completely obliterated. I didn’t want to toot my own horn, but thanks to my god-level restoration spell, it healed perfectly.
"Oh, right! By the way, have you seen the notice board in front of the Main Building? Min-Seo..." In-Ah asked anxiously.
There was a disciplinary committee hearing about Min-Seo's sudden behavior, and she received a fifteen-day suspension of on-campus volunteer work. I was a little surprised, but I didn't care about whatever punishment Min-Seo received. So, I was relatively unfazed. While In-Ah and I were having a conversation, Jun-Hyuk sat in his seat and stared at me blankly. I wondered why Jun-Hyuk, who was always late, had come early today.
"You came early today."
"...Huh? Oh. Yeah, I did come early today," Jun-Hyuk answered somewhat nervously.
His demeanor was noticeably different from usual. He looked a little confused.
...It might be a far stretch, but the look on his face seemed similar to the kind of confusion Jin-Seo had shown. I couldn't even begin to guess why Jin-Seo and Jun-Hyuk were acting like this today.
***
After running away from Sun-Woo, Jin-Seo entered a secluded alley that she often used as a smoking spot. She slid down the wall and crouched down.
"Ugh." Jin-Seo clutched her knees and let out a sigh laced with regret.
Jin-Seo instinctively ran away the moment she heard Sun-Woo’s voice. How strange would she have looked in Sun-Woo's eyes? She thought of her bewildered expression and the pathetic manner in which ran away. Her face was burning. She felt embarrassed and pathetic.
"And what's with the ring..."
While wailing in regret, Jin-Seosuddenly looked up. Although it was a passing glance, she had noticed a ring on Sun-Woo's left pinkie that she had never seen before. Jin-Seo knew that a ring on the left ring finger symbolized a couple ring. She had no idea what having a ring on any other finger symbolized, which made her more anxious and restless.
Slap, slap.
She abruptly stood up after tormenting herself, dusting off her clothes. She immediately made her way to the Class of Charity. If she didn't know, then she just needed to ask. Jun-Hyuk was right. Keeping quiet would only create more misunderstandings and wouldn’t solve anything.
When Sun-Woo's house was on fire, there must have been a reason why he had been at In-Ah's house. In-Ah had been absent for a long time, so maybe he had gone to share notes from all the classes she had missed. But wasn’t it already over from the moment he had gone to deliver that at such a late hour?
"..."
Jin-Seo shook her head to clear her mind, but it had little effect. The nagging thoughts continued to grow uncontrollably.
Now, she stood in front of the Class of Charity classroom.
“Pheww.” She let out a deep sigh.
‘I heard you left early last Friday because you hurt your nose. I was wondering if the treatment went well. And the ring looked pretty. What significance does it have? And why did you go to In-Ah's house?’ Jin-Seo’s head was filling up with what she was going to say. ‘I just need to casually ask everything, as if I was wondering how he was doing. Just be natural, don't tremble, and don't be flustered. Just be natural.’
After all, there was no reason not to be natural. It didn’t matter to her whether Sun-Woo had hung out at In-Ah’s place or not. She was walking to the Class of Charity just out of curiosity. It had nothing to do with being interested in Sun-Woo or because she was bothered about In-Ah, who was in the same class.
Thud.
Jin-Seo cautiously opened the door and peeked inside. The first person she saw was Jun-Hyuk, and next to him was In-Ah, and in front of them, she saw Sun-Woo talking to In-Ah with a bright smile.
Bang!
Jin-Seo unconsciously closed the back door of the Class of Charity by kicking it and returned to her own classroom. The door seemed to be broken, but she didn’t care.