Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School
Episode 18
Bright brown hair and an oversized hoodie.
Even from a distance, the boy was quite tall.
‘Something about him feels familiar….’
Oh, I remember.
He was a boy from the class next door.
I didn’t know his name, but I’d seen him walking around with Moon Yu-jin a few times from afar.
But what was he doing up in that tree?
“It’s okay. Come here.”
He was speaking carefully to someone.
Squinting, I could make out a small kitten sitting on a branch tip, crying.
Was he climbing up to rescue a cat?
In a tree that high?
…Really?
“Take it slow. That’s right.”
He stretched his arm precariously toward the kitten.
“Huh? Oh, oh—?!”
Suddenly his body swayed violently, and he couldn’t catch his balance.
Crash!
He fell from the tree.
I had no time to react.
“Ow, ow….”
The boy landed on his back, cradling the kitten safely in his arms. So he’d managed to hold on through the fall.
Once he’d checked that the cat was unharmed, he sprang to his feet.
“Thank goodness. It’s not hurt.”
He set the kitten down carefully and turned his head naturally.
“Oh….”
Our eyes met directly.
He looked quite startled.
Well, I wasn’t exactly spying.
I hesitated for a moment, then walked over to him.
“Are you… okay?”
“Ha-ha, a bit embarrassing.”
He scratched his cheek, which had flushed slightly.
There was a faint scrape below his left eye—likely from the branches during the fall.
“Ji-hyo, why are you here so early? I thought nobody came around at this hour.”
…Wait. He knows Seol Ji-hyo’s name.
Did he know her?
My eyes widened.
“Hold on, what’s wrong with your face?”
The boy stepped closer suddenly.
Only then did I realize the state of my own face.
I lightly touched my lips, wondering if there might be blood, before answering.
“Just came from taking out the trash.”
“Trash? What kind of trash—”
“Pretty dirty stuff. My clothes got a mess because of it.”
“How did you get that wound? Did you fall?”
“Yeah, just a little.”
Even as I said this, I studied Bae Han-gyeol intently.
‘He’s speaking to me so naturally.’
From the way he treated me, it was clear he knew Seol Ji-hyo well.
…How strange.
I’d only been at Gaon for a few days, but this was the first person I’d seen treat “Seol Ji-hyo” so ordinarily.
Was he a friend?
But if he were in her year, he couldn’t possibly not know she was being bullied.
Especially not at Gaon, where everyone went from elementary through the escalator system.
“If it’s not too serious, that’s a relief. Oh! Want some of this?”
He pulled something from the deep pocket of his oversized hoodie.
…Banana Milk.
“You like this, Ji-hyo.”
My face went rigid the moment I saw his warm smile.
A memory struck me like lightning when I saw the Banana Milk he held out.
— Bae Han-gyeol? — Yeah. We’ve never been in the same class, but we happened to become close.
— But why is he—
— When he thinks I look upset, he brings me things like Banana Milk.
Right.
Ji-hyo had said something like that once before.
— You know, unnie. What if… does that mean he likes me?
Ji-hyo’s face, flushed peach-pink across both cheeks, appeared vividly before my eyes.
“……Bae Han-gyeol?”
The moment I spoke his name without thinking, the bright boy before me tilted his head with a smile.
“Huh? What?”
Oh no.
There was no doubt about it.
He was Ji-hyo’s first love.
It must have been when Ji-hyo was in middle school, eighth grade probably. I wasn’t entirely sure.
When vacation came around, as always, she’d come visit our house.
— If someone keeps helping you for no reason, doesn’t that mean they like you?
I’d been so surprised when she suddenly brought it up.
For me, who’d never even liked someone, let alone experienced romance, it was a foreign topic….
— You mean that boy you talked about before? Does it bother you that he keeps helping you?
— It’s weird. He doesn’t usually act like this.
I didn’t know what “usually” meant.
But I was quite curious what kind of person my only twin sister had taken an interest in.
— How does he help you specifically?
— …He keeps asking if there’s anything hard or difficult.
— And?
— When I look upset, he buys me Banana Milk and stuff like that.
Right. Banana Milk.
I stared fixedly at the Banana Milk Han-gyeol was holding out without taking it.
“You don’t want it?”
“Huh? Oh….”
“I bought it for you.”
Embarrassed, Han-gyeol practically thrust it into my hands.
Then he began earnestly digging through his pockets again.
“Right, wait. I think I have some Band-aids I carry around.”
…Band-aids?
Oh, so he’s looking for Band-aids because he saw I was hurt.
He must know that Ji-hyo’s Core is Regeneration.
“That’s odd. Where did they go? Hold on.”
Unable to find them in his pockets, Han-gyeol took off his backpack and began searching in earnest.
Without meaning to, I let out a small laugh.
“……? Why are you laughing?”
“It’s nothing.”
Thank goodness.
At least Ji-hyo has one person who treats her kindly.
I’m not sure exactly what kind of relationship the two of them have, but it seems like the person Ji-hyo was attracted to isn’t a bad person.
I squatted down in front of Han-gyeol, who was rummaging through his bag on the dirt ground.
At the same eye level, I tilted my head slightly as I looked at him.
“Forget about me. You’re the one who seems hurt.”
“Huh? Oh, I must have scraped myself when I fell from the tree. This’ll heal fast.”
Han-gyeol brushed dirt from his clothes.
As I watched him intently, I slowly reached out my hand.
“Yeah, it’ll heal quickly.”
Tap.
My fingers touched Han-gyeol’s left cheek.
The moment I made contact, the cheek beneath my fingertips felt a sudden warmth.
“……!!”
Han-gyeol’s shoulders jerked sharply.
His round eyes widened to enormous circles.
And no wonder—we were very close.
Greatly flustered, Han-gyeol stepped back.
“Ji-hyo? What are you suddenly—”
What? Why was he so startled?
My fingers just barely touched his face.
‘…This distance must not be normal, then.’
As for what “normal” was, I had no way of knowing. My only peer friend was my twin sister, Ji-hyo.
‘I should be more careful next time.’
I filed away this newly discovered information and calmly withdrew my hand.
“Sorry. There was something on your cheek.”
“Ah, ah….”
Han-gyeol pressed a hand to his racing heart.
To suddenly initiate contact without warning.
‘…Was Ji-hyo always like this?’
I glanced at her, but her composed expression only confused me further.
“Then I should get going.”
“Huh? U-um.”
As if nothing had happened, she walked away.
Han-gyeol stared after her for a long time.
‘My cheek still feels hot.’
He had no way of knowing that what Ji-woo had used was her Core.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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