02. A visitor from the future (2)

Afternoon class is over.

I witnessed an unexpected scene where an unknown female student was being taken to the health room, but I didn’t pay much attention.

It wasn’t something that could be solved by worrying about me, and I thought it would be okay since Songha was by my side.

But I guess the other students didn’t think so. When I returned to the classroom, the atmosphere was noisy and noisy.

I wanted to know what was going on, but I didn’t have to worry about it, so I sat down in my seat.

Lee Byung-jun, sitting next to me, spoke as if he had been waiting.

“Kim Yi-jin, did you hear? Class 2 Baek Ji-soo suddenly had a seizure and was taken to the health room.”

“… ….”

Why does he keep talking only to me?

At first, I thought that it was because of the drying in front of Lee Hyun-woo, and at first, unlike his dark impression, I thought that he was far away, but after watching for a few days, it seemed that no one else in the classroom was friendly except for me.

I guess he doesn’t have any friends either.

That’s why you’re talking to me who doesn’t seem to have any friends.

I nodded in agreement to myself.

“Who is Jisoo Baek?”

Lee Byung-jun looked at me with an absurd expression.

What kind of kids are there? It was the face that revealed the thought.

“First year combat department chief! I don’t know? You gave a speech as a freshman representative at the entrance ceremony.”

“Ah.”

I guess her name was Baek Ji-soo.

I didn’t know the existence of the second seat, but there’s no way I remembered the name of the chief.

I recalled the entrance ceremony, recalling vague memories.

A female student with her pure white hair and bright red eyes.

Because of her petite frame, I remember barely seeing her head above the podium. There was a height difference due to looking up from under the stage, but even taking that into consideration, it was quite small.

“Why did you collapse?”

“That… I don’t know.”

I wonder if everyone was talking about Baek Ji-soo without knowing why.

I didn’t like it because it seemed like it was talking about other people’s misfortunes based on interest. Personally, I don’t like that very much.

As if my displeasure was revealed through my facial expression, Lee Byung-jun cautiously opened his mouth in a slightly subdued tone.

“Everyone is doing this because they are dead. I was a bit surprised because it wasn’t that kind of image.”

“Image? What image?”

“What should I say? Perfectionist? Doesn’t it bleed if you stab it? I don’t know what he’s thinking because his expression hasn’t changed… I wonder what the hell was going on when a kid who was always in that mood collapsed while having a seizure.”

Mmm.

Certainly, the condition at that time did not look serious.

The hair clinging to his forehead in a cold sweat, his expression contorted in pain.

What must happen for an awakened person with a stronger body than ordinary people to collapse like that?

As I was immersed in contemplation with such thoughts, teacher Song Ha opened the front door of the classroom and came in to say goodbye.

“Quiet! Guys, it’s funeral time. You should have a seat.”

“Sir! When Baek Ji-soo in class 2 collapsed, the teacher went to the nursery room carrying her on her back. Is that true?”

Sensei Songha has a friendly atmosphere, so the classmates don’t hesitate to ask about rumors.

The teacher looked at the children with a puzzled expression and sighed deeply.

“Has that already spread? Rumors are so fast.”

“Where are you sick? Or what are you thinking?”

“Even the teacher doesn’t know. Even if I knew it, I had no intention of talking carelessly about other students. So, this story ends here!”

The ordinance passed quickly.

The class president gets up and greets the teacher, and the children quickly lose interest and each pack their bags and leave school.

I also woke up in a cluttered atmosphere with my bag on. Lee Byung-jun, who was seated next to him, hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Hey, Kim Yi-jin. Where are you?”

“… ? It’s a 10-minute walk from here.”

“Really? I’m also around here, so….”

“Lee~Jinah!”

A light tap on the shoulder.

When she turned her head, Yoon Seo-hee was standing behind her with a smile on her face.

“Shall we go home together?”

Why does he keep asking me to go with him while riding the shuttle bus anyway? Now you must have many friends besides me.

However, there was no reason to refuse the invitation, so she nodded.

“Yes. Come with me.”

“Yes! But who is he?”

Yoon Seo-hee looks at Lee Byung-jun next to me with a puzzled expression. When Byeong-jun met Seo-hee’s gaze, he froze and trembled at his father’s words with a hard expression.

“Uh, me, I….”

Yoon Seo-hee The expression on her face was clearly visible, saying, ‘Is there a kid like this in my class?’

At first, he didn’t even know my face or name, but in fact, I don’t know if he’s less interested in the people around him than I am.

“This is Byeongjun. Byung-jun Lee.”

“Ah~ I see. Hello, Byungjun.”

“Ugh, yes! Oh hello Yoon Seo-hee….”

“Is Lee Jin your friend?”

Lee Byung-jun’s shoulders tremble at her innocent question.

Then, as if restless or withdrawn, the eyes lost their way and wandered.

A bowed head.

“That, yet….”

“Uh. That’s right.”

He nodded his head in affirmation.

When Yoon Seo-hee got caught up in Lee Hyeon-woo’s dispute, she held on to me and tried to dissuade me.

Teacher Songha said that she would tell her well, so she told her to come later.

Was it because she was worried about me that she went out without reason even though she didn’t have to?

“Good boy.”

At those words, Lee Byung-jun’s eyes widened momentarily as if he had heard that he hadn’t thought of it.

“Hey, Kim Yi-jin. You….”

“Byeongjun Lee. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, yes.”

I lightly greeted Seohee Yoon’s next friend and left the classroom with Seohee.

She walked behind me and slowly looked back and forth between Lee Byung-jun and me.

“Are you close with him?”

“Hmm. So so.”

Yoon Seo-hee’s eyebrows curved.

“More than me?”

“… What are you talking about, all of a sudden.”

Of course, I think of her as being more friendly.

But I didn’t want to put it into words, so I shook my head and hurried on my way.

–

On the way home after parting with Yoon Seo-hee at the front gate.

Suddenly, her ringtone rang and she checked her smart phone to see that her grandfather was calling.

Beep.

“Yes, Grandpa.”

[Lee Jin-ah. Is school over?]

“Just now. What are you doing?”

[It’s no big deal, why don’t you go in with your grandfather today? Let’s go see a market on the way.]

“That’s fine. Where are you now?”

[Where is this….]

My grandfather was also nearby, so I turned around and joined him around here.

Then, I headed to the mart I always visited to buy groceries.

As dinner time was just around the corner, the inside of the mart was full of housewives and self-employed people shopping.

“Do you want something to eat?”

“It’s me, Lee Jin. Anything you do is fine.”

“Then, let’s make kimchi stew and braised flounder today.”

Since I grew up alone with my grandfather, I have been in charge of the housework in order to lighten the burden of household chores on my elderly grandfather.

Kimchi jjigae and boiled fish are also her grandfather’s favorite foods, so she chose them.

My grandfather cautiously opened his mouth while watching me from the side, accustomed to choosing fresh ingredients.

“Lee Jin-ah.”

“Yes?”

“Are you doing well with Seo Hee?”

“…… ? Yes, sure. I’m doing well.”

It was strange to suddenly ask about Seo-hee, but it wasn’t something to hide, so I answered honestly.

Her grandfather also seemed to like Seo-hee.

“The sword is very good. You made it for him, right?”

“Yes. I’m glad I met the deadline. How much effort did you put into making it….”

The hardships they went through to make golden eggs flash in front of their eyes.

To the point where I want to work a little more comfortably the next time I make a sword.

Thought so, I laughed lightly. Next time, originally, I was fidgeting because I couldn’t make just one bag.

After making a sword for Yoon Seo-hee, I thought that at some point I was thinking of the next sword to make.

“You’ve come to have a much better expression, Lee Jin-ah.”

“Is that so? Well… Yes. I think so.”

I feel that my expression has become richer these days.

It’s not that my personality has changed, but it’s because the lives around me have changed a lot.

Unlike the past, when I was just pounding iron alone at school, at home, and at the workshop, I made more friends.

I went to a cafe that I had never been to before, and I also had a different experience of making a sword for someone.

Maybe that’s why I’ve been talking a lot lately. In the past, the only person I could talk to was my grandfather.

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Grandpa seemed to be very happy with the words, and gave a proud smile, but for some reason, his expression gradually turned bitter.

“Seo-hee. He seemed like a very talented kid.”

“Yes, that’s right. At that age, he had already come and pulled out his sword.”

“I see. That’s great.”

It was something to be happy about, but Grandpa didn’t look like that.

It was difficult for me to guess why.

Since I had all the ingredients I needed, I finished shopping and stood at the checkout counter. Beep, beep. A dry mechanical sound continued from the cashier.

“Then will Seo-hee become a hunter later?”

“Maybe? I said that my future hope is to become a great hunter.”

“Then you will climb the tower someday.”

My hand as I tried to take the card out of my wallet stopped.

My heart sank and I turned my head to look at my grandfather.

My grandfather was also smiling bitterly at me.

“Guest? It is 27,200 won.”

“… Oh, I’m sorry. Calculate here.”

I finished the checkout and picked up the shopping cart.

No further conversation ensued between my grandfather and me on the way home.

“… ….”

My parents.

So, I heard that the only son and daughter-in-law of my grandfather were hunters.

And when I was very young, the two of them died while climbing the tower.

The body never returned.

Even now, the tombs of the two are empty.

That’s why grandfathers don’t visit their parents’ graves.

He just spends a very long time in his son’s room that he hasn’t cleaned yet, looking at pictures of the two of them.

Although he never expressed himself in front of me or expressed it with his mouth.

My grandfather hates hunters. To be precise, the Hunter who climbs the tower.

“… Well, it’s not like being a hunter these days to climb the tower. Private rescue… I heard that there is also a public security hunter.”

“So what?”

“Yes. I heard that there is also an idol hunter. I’m not sure, but wouldn’t it be possible to become a great hunter with something like that?”

“Heh heh. Yes… Thank you for your words.”

My grandfather and I exchanged empty words.

My grandfather must have known that I didn’t mean it.

Every hunter climbs the tower. It is natural. Rather, to the extent that hunters who are only focused on crafting like me and do not climb the tower are considered more outliers.

So, someday, Yoon Seo-hee will also climb the tower.

My grandfather was concerned about that. I’m afraid that I’ll get too close to her Yoon Seo-hee and lose her one day, just like her parents. Because you already know that the shock of that heartache is so hard.

A soft sunset was setting in the sky before I knew it.

After a conversation like this, the grandfather is depressed at the thought of his son who has already passed away. So, I’m going to pay more attention to this evening.

Let’s make it delicious, when I arrived at the house with that thought in mind.

“Lee Jin-ah. I… Aren’t those your school uniforms?”

“Yes?”

A girl in an academy uniform who collapsed in front of the front door of the house as if passed out.

I wondered what the hell was going on, so I hurried away with her grandfather.

It wasn’t until I got closer that I noticed that the face looked familiar, as if I’d seen it somewhere.

“Joo Baek… ?”

Baek Ji-soo was lying unconscious in front of our house.