The Novel's Extra - Side Story 47 – Chae Nayun (2)

Chae Nayun went to the main building to look for Instructor Kim Soohyuk at six in the evening.

“A club?” Kim Soohyuk was working in his office and tilted his head in confusion.

“Yes,” Chae Nayun said as she handed him a piece of paper.

Yoo Yeonha already completed the club application form.

“It’s called the Pharmacy Club! The details are written on the club application form!” Chae Nayun said as she emphasized every syllable like an elementary kid during a presentation.

Kim Soohyuk stared at her for a while before taking the application.

“Hmm…” he scanned the paper.

Chae Nayun couldn’t help but feel nervous. After all, Kim Soohyuk was quite infamous for being strict and inflexible among the cadets.

He opened his drawer and placed their application inside. Then he said, “Alright. I’ll assign you a club room and send an advisor soon.”

“Ah! Yes! … Huh?” Chae Nayun cheered before tilting her head in confusion at Kim Soohyuk’s last few words.

“Advisor? Do we need one?” she asked.

“Why are you asking the obvious? Each club gets a room and a budget sponsored by the school, so it’s obvious you’ll also need an advisor to supervise you. The clubs you participate in during your academy days will have a huge impact on your hero career later on,” Kim Soohyuk explained.

“Ah… I see… Thank you very… much…” Chae Nayun said with a bow and tried her best to hide her disappointment.

“Alright, get going then.”

“Yes, sir!”

Chae Nayun left the staff office.

Bzzt!

Her smartwatch vibrated when she left the office. It came from her father, Chae Shinhyuk.

“Hello,” Chae Nayun answered in a bright and cheery tone.

— Hi, Nayun.

A familiar voice called her from the other end.

Chae Nayun responded in an even cheerier tone, “Yes, what’s up?”

— Ah, I just called to ask you something since I need your opinion on the matter.

“What is it?”

— A proposal to reform Cube came…

Chae Shinhyuk received a request from Cube executives since the Daehyun corporation was their largest sponsor.

Cube wanted to reform their classes and asked for Chae Shinhyuk’s opinion on the matter.

— So I was wondering what you thought.

“Ah…”

Chae Nayun recalled this event in her previous life before regressing. She vaguely remembered telling her father something like, Why would they even want to change it? The regression seemed to be gnawing away at her memories bit by bit starting from the ones that held no significance.

“I don’t really mind. Just do whatever you want,” Chae Nayun nonchalantly replied.

— Alright, study hard.

Chae Shinhyuk ended the call.

Chae Nayun looked at her smartwatch with a smile before happily skipping out of the building.

“Wow…”

The sunset outside mesmerized her as it shone over the sea and sunk below the horizon.

Cadets busily walked under the streetlights to their dormitories.

Chae Nayun stood still for a while and took in the sight around her. She could only describe the sight as one she missed, was too familiar with, and sick of all at the same time. In short, it felt complicated.

“Haaa…” she sighed at the thought of going to Cube for three years again.

She wanted nothing more than to enjoy these three years this time around. She didn’t want to deal with any tragedies, disasters, or emergencies. She didn’t want to be lonely or depressed like last time.

The setting sun shone on her before disappearing into the horizon. Chae Nayun could feel her troubled heart slowly being filled with darkness and tried her best to remain optimistic. It felt as if a large boulder was pressing down on her chest and suffocating her.

“…”

Chae Nayun fixed her hair being blown by the sea breeze. She had to face the problem she feared no matter what.

Step… Step…

She spotted the back of someone’s head. It looked quite familiar for some reason. That person had long, golden hair and walked with her head held high. It was Rachel.

Chae Nayun thought about just walking past her, but saw Rachel hiding behind a lamppost for some reason.

Why is she hiding? Chae Nayun wondered as she continued to observe.

“Oh?” she muttered and one of her brows went up.

Kim Hajin was up ahead and Rachel bit her nails while tailing him!

Chae Nayun felt something raging inside her and decided to sneak behind Rachel. Then she grabbed Rachel’s shoulders and asked, “What are you doing?”

“…!”

Rachel jumped like a frightened cat with all its fur standing.

“Hiss!”

She immediately turned around and hissed at Chae Nayun.

Chae Nayun laughed in disbelief before asking, “Who are you tailing?”

“…!”

Rachel tried to compose herself and rearranged her necktie and shirt. However, her hair remained standing and showed no signs of going down. On top of that, she broke out into cold sweat despite her best efforts to appear calm.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Rachel nonchalantly replied while arranging her disheveled hair.

Chae Nayun crossed her arms and sneered, “Oh right, you got crushed by Kim Hajin in theory class. Are you tailing him to find out his secret or something?”

“…!”

The blonde cat hissed again, but silently this time. She seemed to be glaring at Chae Nayun with the eyes of a beast. Chae Nayun couldn’t help but think, Oh… I’m shaking in my boots.

“Hihi,” Chae Nayun snickered after seeing this childish version of Rachel.

This was more than enough since Kim Hajin had already long disappeared.

She tapped Rachel on the shoulder, “Just go to your room and get some sleep. You won’t be able to win against him in theory no matter how much you try.”

“Hmph!” Rachel scoffed and continued glaring at her.

Then she quickly ran away, which reminded Chae Nayun of a cat again.

Chae Nayun couldn’t help but smile as she watched the blonde cat zoom into the distance.

***

[Reformation of Cube Classes]

— Proposal to reduce or consolidate the number of classes and focus more on practical tests geared towards combat.

— Addition of practical combat score to the grading of cadets…

News of classes being reformed circulated campus the next day. They said the academy would reduce or consolidate existing classes and add a special class once a week. This didn’t exist in the original story.

It was understandable since djinns made a ruckus during the midterms. However, something about it bothered me.

“There’s no reaction at all these days…”

I looked down at my smartwatch. It used to notify me whenever things changed from the original story. This was a special privilege given to the author or something, but no notifications appeared for quite some time now.

Had my early-stage bonus ended already? This made me nervous for some reason.

Clack…

I put down my tray at the collection booth.

“Ah, that was good.”

The food at Cube tasted delicious. Not only that, it was quite cheap too. I didn’t starve to death thanks to the food costs here. A chunk of beef cost only four thousand won.

“Huh? You’re that guy, right?”

Someone poked my shoulder as I prepared to leave the cafeteria. This girl of western descent seemed to be in her second year at Cube.

She looked at my face and smirked, “You’re that gunner!”

“Huh?” I laughed in disbelief when she spoke in a rough manner that didn’t suit a refined western lady.

“Yes, that’s me,” I replied.

I had no idea who she was, but had grown accustomed to such situations. I became somewhat famous after the midterms.

“Let’s take a picture together,” she raised her smartwatch above her head and switched on the selfie mode.

A square appeared and captured us. Meanwhile, I glanced at her nametag as she busily took pictures.

[Scarlet]

She didn’t seem like a complete nobody since her name sounded somewhat familiar. I walked past her after she finished taking selfies.

“Hmm? Hey, where are you going?” she asked.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I have a theory class to attend,” I looked at my smartwatch and pretended to be in a rush.

I really was busy with theory classes in the morning and an outdoor class, [Mountain and Forests]. The latter sounded cool, but was just hiking.

Of course, there was something special about it.

— What the hell is wrong with him?

— Come on, there’s no need to get so worked up. He’s just a clueless freshman.

— How can he not know who I am? I’m Scarlet. Who the hell does he think he is to…

Yes, I don’t know who you are. I inwardly thought while doing my best to ignore them badmouthing me.

My superior sense of hearing tended to pick up strange things from time to time.

***

The theory class this morning was on one of the most notorious subjects in all of Cube’s curriculum, [Mana Theory]. Our topic for the day was mountains and mana veins. The class was quite easy for me and the professor in charge treated me favorably.

I noticed Rachel tightly gripping her pen in anger, but what could I do about it?

The class ended after two hours.

I went straight to the portal after finishing my lunch. I traveled to Pyeonganbuk-do for the next outdoor class.

The Veritas cadets showed up one by one when I was about thirty minutes away from the rendezvous point.

“Is everyone here?”

The instructor appeared exactly on time and the one hundred cadets taking part today had gathered as well.

However, I couldn’t help but feel surprised.

“Nice to meet all of you. My name is Seo Youngji. I am the hero tasked with leading the class today.”

Our instructor for today was the rank 7 hero from the association, Seo Youngji. She was a famous hero who frequently appeared on TV and social media, so all the cadets felt surprised to see her.

“I’m sure most of you are surprised by the sudden change, but things won’t be too different from the usual.”

We saw her once during the midterms, but who would have known she would show up again so soon?

I checked my smartwatch for any notifications, but nothing out of the ordinary appeared.

“You will be climbing a mountain today. It’s called the Yulak Mountain, which is infamous for its rough and difficult terrain.”

The cadets noisily murmured among themselves at the instructor’s briefing, but simply because they still felt starstruck after meeting Seo Youngji.

Seo Youngji bitterly smiled and found the attention burdensome. Nonetheless, she continued.

“Your goal is to find a mana vein. You might run into monsters or beasts in the process. However, you should be able to deal with them as long as you remain calm. I advise you not to panic or get scared. Just do…”

“Hajin.”

Someone suddenly called me. This handsome guy brightly smiled with his perfect white teeth. It was Kim Suho.

“Yeah, what?” I briefly replied, but Kim Suho still approached with a smile.

Then he whispered, “You said that you like Chae Nayun, right?”

“What?” I immediately frowned.

What batshit crazy nonsense is this guy spouting?

However, I soon understood because of what I said when we were in Paris.

— I’ve been thinking about her for far longer than you and I’ve been watching over her all this time.

— So I know far more about her than you.

It seemed I created a cringeworthy moment of myself. I shuddered at my own words and vehemently shook my head to explain, “No, that was…”

Kim Suho didn’t seem interested in my explanation and cut me off, “So I was thinking… You can score some points with her. You see, Nayun decided to make a Pharmacy Club.”

“Pharmacy Club?”

“Yeah, that’s… I don’t know the exact details to be honest, but I think it would be great if you joined us too. What do you say? If you’re interested, no, give it a thought and let me know. It sounds like the perfect fit for you since you’re really smart…”

“Now, let’s start!”

Seo Youngji’s sudden shout interrupted Kim Suho.

Kim Suho flashed a cheeky smile that seemed to say, Think about it, okay? He walked away to the front.

I watched him leave before slowly walking as well.

“…?”

However, I couldn’t help but feel someone intently staring at me. I pretended to nonchalantly walk before suddenly turning around. A girl turned her head away at the same time.

It was Chae Nayun.

“Sigh…”

I guess what happened in Paris bothered her too. Why did I have to say something so crazy…

I shook my head and began hiking up the mountain.

***

“Fwuuaaa!”

Meanwhile, Seo Youngji reached the peak in less than three minutes. She yawned out of boredom.

She had never imagined becoming a Cube instructor, but had no choice since the higher-ups basically commanded her to.

Cube requested the association’s assistance to ensure the safety of their cadets. She somewhat understood why they included her.

However, the association gave her another command that was a bit strange.

“What do they want? Geez…”

She had no idea what the higher-ups intended, but she would do her best in every task.

Seo Youngji discarded her distracting thoughts and focused on the hundreds of monitors in the tent. These monitors showed every cadet in real time.

Seo Youngji boasted the highest agility among all the association heroes. She also possessed a vision that far surpassed normal humans, which allowed her to simultaneously monitor every cadet.

“Oh, it’s Kim Hajin.”

She noticed Kim Hajin out of the hundred cadets. He was at the center of attention these days. The words that described him best would be gun and orphan.

“The only orphan among Cube cadets…”

She could relate to his upbringing since she grew up without parents too. She had parents unlike Kim Hajin, but her mother ran off and her father passed away.

Both of her parents weren’t good people from what she recalled. Her mother always had a warm and gentle smile, but ended up abandoning her. Her father tried to work hard and raise her alone, but ended up meeting a tragic end.

A saying went that misery loves company. Perhaps that was the biggest reason why Kim Hajin caught her eye, but that wasn’t the only reason.

Kim Hajin possessed a strange and unknown ability among the cadets. An unknown ability was considered dangerous in this industry.

Seo Youngji analyzed the path Kim Hajin would take through the cameras. He moved alone without anyone else by his side.

“Wow, he’s quite agile. I’ll give him that.”

Flutter!

The tent’s entrance fluttered as someone entered.

It was Oh Junhyuk, another high rank hero from the association. They dispatched him just like Seo Youngji to assist Cube with classes.

Oh Junhyuk looked at the monitor, “Oh, it’s that guy.”

He pointed at Kim Hajin on the monitor.

“I was reading the analysis report on him on my way here.”

“Analysis report?” Seo Youngji looked at him.

Oh Junhyuk smirked and tapped on his smartwatch, “Yeah, the videos from the Cube midterms have already been uploaded. There are several analysis reports on him on the Mid Hero Forum.”

Mid hero referred to intermediate rank heroes and the Mid Hero Forum was a community that only those above intermediate rank could join. You could call it an advanced version of the Hero Community.

“Is that so?” Seo Youngji muttered while thinking, I should take a look later.

However, her curiosity got the better of her and her hand immediately darted towards her smartwatch.

[High Hero Community – Mid Hero Forum]

[Hot Topic: A gunslinger appeared in Cube?!]

Heroes from all over the world gathered on the Hero Community, but the gunslinger named Kim Hajin proudly took the top spot.

“Hmmm…”

“Hey… focus on the job in front of you…” Oh Junhyuk grumbled and waved over the hologram that projected from Seo Youngji’s smartwatch. He handed a piece of paper to her, “Take a look at this.”

“What is it?” Seo Youngji frowned as she took the A4-sized document.

It had some strange words written on it.

[Club Application Form]

[Pharmacy Club]

“Club application form? Pharmacy Club? What the hell is this?” Seo Youngji asked and glared at Oh Junhyuk for an explanation. Her expression seemed to be asking, Why the hell are you showing me this?

Oh Junhyuk smirked and replied, “What else is it? You’re going to be their advisor.”