# Chapter 35
I stood in front of the large main gate, looking around. I was standing in front of Hanguk University, where Ha Suan attended.
Can I just go in without a visitor’s pass?
Having no knowledge about universities, I felt unnecessarily tense just standing at the main gate. When I visited Hanguk Girls’ High School last time, I had to fill out a visitor’s pass to enter, so I wondered if I needed to do the same here. I observed how others were entering and exiting.
Everyone was bustling through the gate without any special procedure. Among them were people wearing outerwear with their school and department names, as well as people dressed normally. It didn’t seem like they had to prove they were students to enter. I quietly slipped in among them and passed through the main gate. Fortunately, no one stopped me.
“Phew.”
After completely passing through the main gate, I unconsciously released the breath I’d been holding. Now that I was in the school, all that remained was meeting Ha Suan.
[Me: I’m inside the school now. Where should I go?]
[Ha Suan: Oh, already? My class ends in 5 minutes!]
[Ha Suan: First, come to the Social Sciences building!]
“What is… Social Sciences building?”
It obviously wasn’t referring to fruit, but seemed to be university terminology that I couldn’t easily infer.
“Well, I’ll probably see it as I walk.”
I just followed the path aimlessly. Perhaps because it was lunchtime, there were many students moving around the campus. I felt a different kind of energy compared to when I visited Hanguk Girls’ High School. I could understand what people meant by “youth.”
Everyone was walking around the campus in their own way, but I could sense a common sense of belonging among them. It was something I had never experienced.
“…”
I wondered if I should have come all the way to the school. Somehow, I felt like an outsider from a different world.
If I had lived a more stable and ordinary life than now, I might be enjoying a university campus right about now.
Considering my high school grades, I could have gone to a mid-to-upper tier university, if not Hanguk University. Not going to college was my choice, so I don’t regret it. It’s just a bitter envy for things I haven’t experienced.
I walked slowly, taking in the fresh campus scenery and students. I still couldn’t figure out what the Social Sciences building was, and the campus was larger than I expected, making it difficult to know where I was heading. Just as I thought I should contact Ha Suan and took out my phone from my pocket, someone grabbed my shoulder from behind. I turned around to see who it was. It was Ha Suan.
“I’ve been looking for you for a while. Why didn’t you check your phone or messages?”
“Ah… I had it on silent mode, so I didn’t know.”
“The Social Sciences building is right next to the main entrance. Didn’t you see it?”
Ha Suan gestured with his chin toward a signpost installed nearby. The signpost read “Social Sciences.”
So it was an abbreviation.
I almost ended up just aimlessly exploring the campus. I smiled awkwardly out of embarrassment.
“Shall we go eat then? The restaurant is near the school, so we can walk.”
“Sure.”
I followed Ha Suan, who led the way, trying my best not to look like an outsider.
Ha Suan took me to a restaurant near the school. He had said he would treat me to something expensive and delicious, and indeed, all the food on the menu cost over 10,000 won.
“You can order whatever you want.”
Isn’t this too much just to repay for some cake? Is it okay to spend this much on me?
The suspicion I had temporarily set aside began to creep back, but I’d heard that cult members and multi-level marketers don’t spend much money on their targets.
Then why?
Perhaps reading the suspicion on my face, Ha Suan smiled broadly.
“I’m buying this because I like you, so don’t worry too much.”
“Kuh, kuhak. What?”
I almost spat out the water I was drinking. I hurriedly swallowed the water in my mouth and looked at Ha Suan.
“Do you… like men?”
In my surprise, a direct question popped out. Ha Suan laughed out loud at my question, which could have been rude.
“Oh, did it sound like that? I meant I like you as one person to another. I’m really good at judging people. I knew right away that we could be good friends.”
“…Sorry, but do you follow any religion?”
“I’m not religious.”
“Then, do you perhaps sell things as a side job?”
“No. Just attending school is overwhelming enough.”
None of his answers matched what I had suspected. Did my fortune this year include a sign for attracting people? I’ve always believed such things were superstitions, but I seriously thought they might be true. Otherwise, there was no way both Heerim and now Ha Suan would be interested in me.
“Don’t tell me you think I’m trying to sell you some jade heating pad? Wow. I’m hurt.”
“Then why on earth are you trying to become friends with me…?”
“Do you make friends with intentions, Jaeo-ssi? I just wanted to get close to you.”
“You say you want to be friends? Fine. Let’s be friends.”
His question reminded me of what I had once said to Heerim. It felt like he had caught me off guard.
In reality, Heerim and I maintained our relationship for each other’s purposes. This probably couldn’t be called a real friendship. The people Heerim would call real friends were probably the Director and Jeongmun. Their world that I couldn’t enter. In contrast, my world had nothing except for Jaeyeon.
“Do you dislike being friends with me?”
Ha Suan cautiously asked. I hesitated for a moment before answering.
“No… I don’t dislike it.”
“Then are we friends from now on?”
I nodded while raising the corners of my mouth, following Ha Suan who was smiling mischievously. It’s not that I didn’t want to make friends. It’s just that having “others” was a luxury for me. That’s why Heerim was both burdensome and constantly on my mind. But when I was curious about Heerim, he drew a line and pushed me away. The others at the Earth Peace Research Institute were the same.
There was no way I could completely open my heart to those who kept an invisible distance from me. I said I wasn’t hurt, but in fact, I was very hurt. Now I felt a desire to properly build my own world where I could share bonds with others, just like them. If possible, I wanted to become close with Ha Suan.
Through our conversation during the meal, I learned several things about Ha Suan. He was the same age as me, and surprisingly, he also had no parents. When he said he grew up in a relative’s house without parents, my guard completely crumbled, selfishly enough. Although I couldn’t bring myself to say that I grew up in an orphanage, just sharing a similar past greatly reduced the distance between us.
“I’ll buy the coffee.”
“Really? Then I should order something expensive.”
Ha Suan said with a giggle. Since we were the same age, we decided to speak comfortably with each other. Come to think of it, since my school days, I hadn’t spoken so freely with anyone other than Jaeyeon. It suddenly struck me how limited my relationships had been.
Since I had been treated to an expensive lunch, I was prepared for an expensive dessert café, but the café Ha Suan entered was an ordinary franchise café commonly seen around.
“One iced Americano and… what will you have?”
“I’ll have a chocolate vanilla frappuccino with espresso whipped cream, topped with caramel drizzle, and add java chips.”
Ha Suan recited as if casting a magic spell. As a former café part-timer, I knew how sweet that would be, which made me grimace involuntarily. He said he would order something expensive, and I wondered if this was his way of getting his money’s worth.
“That’s going to be extremely sweet. Are you sure? That drink is plenty sweet without the extra options.”
“I know. I ordered it that way on purpose. I like sweet things.”
The mention of liking sweet things suddenly reminded me of Heerim. Heerim also liked sweet things to an alarming degree. I was surprised to find another adult man who enjoyed such sweet drinks as much as Heerim.
After receiving our drinks, we sat at a suitable spot in the corner of the café. As if to prove that his claim of liking sweet things wasn’t a lie, Ha Suan unhesitatingly sucked up the drink that looked sweet just by looking at it.
“I feel like I’m going to get diabetes just watching you…”
“Haha. It’s a taste I developed as a child, so it’s not easy to change.”
“What did you grow up eating?”
“When I lived with my relatives, I had to take medicine regularly. It was incredibly bitter. So I instinctively sought out sweet things to eat, and that taste preference has remained with me.”
If he had to take medicine regularly since childhood, he must have been very weak. While I was secretly amazed at Ha Suan’s physique, which now seemed far from frail, I overheard a conversation from students studying at the adjacent table.
“Hey, hey. Did you see the broadcast about the major rift?”
“The one that aired earlier? Yeah.”
“They say it’s level 10. What do we do? It’s so scary. If that breaks out, aren’t we all going to die?”
“What’s there to be afraid of when we have Espers? I’m more scared of tomorrow’s exam.”
“Will the Espers really handle everything?”
“Didn’t you see the broadcast earlier? The NECC Director said they’ll handle it without disrupting citizens’ daily lives. So just study.”
“True… my GPA is more important.”
The student who had been making a fuss about being scared closed his mouth at the cynical friend’s words and focused on their textbook. Ha Suan, who must have heard their conversation too, opened his mouth with an interested expression.
“Aren’t you scared, Jaeo? They say a major rift is occurring.”
“More worried than scared? The previous rift was level 7, but this one is level 10, so I wonder if it’ll be okay.”
“That was 20 years ago. Technology has improved in many ways now, so it’ll be fine. If we just trust the NECC, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Is that so…”
I nodded vaguely while drinking my Americano. Like the students sitting nearby, most people seemed to think like Ha Suan. It was a bit surprising that they trusted an organization with almost no known information to this extent.
“The NECC must have many S-class Espers, right?”
“That… I don’t know either. Why?”
“Nothing. Just that, as you said, it seems we don’t need to worry.”
I remembered Heerim confronting the monster inside the rift last time. Since Heerim alone dealt with a giant three-headed monster, if the NECC, where all the Espers are gathered, steps in, even a level 10 major rift might not be a problem. Thinking that way made me feel more at ease.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
