Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 63

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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
Chapter 63
“…I think you’ll be fine now.”
A woman in a white coat set down her stethoscope.
Before her lay a printout—the student information of Seol Ji-hyo, first year of the high school division, class 2.
“Ji-hyo, was it?”
“…Yes.”
The answer came brief.
The woman picked up the printout.
She’d already skimmed it several times before the examination.
Average grades. Unremarkable conduct records. Even upon another review, nothing in her personal details stood out.
Except for one thing.
Grandfather: Seol Jung-gwon, Chairman of Seol Hwaje Pharmaceuticals.
Without that, she was simply an ordinary student with nothing remarkable about her.
The woman examining the printout lifted her gaze to look at the girl before her again—Seol Ji-hyo.
“Are you certain you don’t need a detailed examination? I know you’ve recovered, but there’s always the possibility of complications. It would be wise to run the full tests while you’re here.”
This child, who had danced on the edge of death for two full days after the exam, opened her eyes clearly—as befitted a Regeneration Core holder.
On the surface, it was a “full recovery,” but…
‘Her CVI is far too unstable.’
CVI—Core Vibration Index.
Core resonance frequency.
In simpler terms, it was the measure of how stably an Awakener controlled their own Core.
Seol Ji-hyo’s CVI, confirmed through a specialized vital monitor, was unusually precarious.
Of course, it could be a temporary condition. She had watched on the monitor how heavily this child had drawn upon her Core during the exam.
But something told her there was more to it than that.
It was only intuition, so she hadn’t voiced it aloud.
“Do you frequent hospitals? I mean, before you enrolled at Gaon, or perhaps when you go home during breaks.”
“….”
Seol Ji-hyo didn’t answer.
The woman sighed softly, exasperated.
An honest medical professional would have insisted on running the tests here regardless.
But…
—Mom, Ji-hyo is the first friend I’ve ever had.
Another heavy sigh escaped the woman’s lips.
If it weren’t for her daughter, Rim-sa, she wouldn’t be here at all. After all, she was assigned to the Research Wing, not the Medical Wing.
Yet here she was, taking responsibility for Seol Ji-hyo’s care—all because of her daughter’s stubbornness.
‘That child only seeks me out when it’s convenient.’
It had been so long since she left the Medical Wing to marry the girl’s father.
She wondered if her daughter had any idea how it felt to be suddenly dragged back to her old workplace and pressured to change assignments.
The woman, pressing her brow, flipped over the printout she’d been examining.
“Go on, then. I’ve already completed your discharge paperwork, but take it easy for a while yet.”
“…Thank you.”
“If anything becomes difficult in your daily life, don’t hesitate to speak up—to anyone, even a friend if needed.”
The woman added this as she watched Ji-hyo’s retreating form leave the examination room.
“No one will know if you don’t speak.”
“…I understand.”
And so Ji-hyo—Ji-u—bowed her head slightly before slipping out of the examination room.
* * *
During more than two weeks confined to the Medical Wing in the wake of the exam, the calendar had slipped into late June.
Since Ji-u had arrived at Gaon in place of Ji-hyo back in April, nearly two months had passed.
The day after her discharge, Ji-u resolved to return to school at once.
The doctor had advised her to take it easy, but restoring Ji-hyo’s damaged grades came first.
Click.
As she opened the back door, the classroom came into view—familiar yet distant.
The slightly cool smell of the floor.
The curtains swaying gently with each breeze.
The moment she stepped inside, the murmur of conversation ceased momentarily, only to be followed by eyes turning in her direction.
Whispers swarmed toward her like dark clouds gathering.
Yes, nothing had changed—
“Ji-hyo!”
Someone rushed toward her.
It was Rim-sa.
“I heard you were discharged. You’re already well enough to come back?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Ji-u’s gaze drifted awkwardly downward. Facing Rim-sa felt oddly uncomfortable.
Which made sense—she had spoken harshly to a worried Rim-sa during the exam, and yet Rim-sa had quietly looked after her interests since then.
Which only deepened her guilt…
“Everyone’s been waiting for you.”
…What?
As Ji-u lifted her head slightly, she noticed other eyes fixed on her.
As if they’d been waiting, they began shuffling toward her.
“Hi, it’s been a while.”
“You’re already discharged?”
“Why are you only coming back now? We thought you’d dropped out.”
Surrounding Ji-u were five or six classmates—familiar faces she’d never really spoken to before.
People she’d barely exchanged words with.
So why, suddenly, were they acting like this?
“There’s a festival in July, so we were in the middle of a class meeting to prepare for it.”
Rim-sa added this explanation, but it didn’t quite clarify matters.
As Ji-u awkwardly took her seat, she noticed the class president, Moon Yu-jin, standing by the podium and writing something on the blackboard with chalk.
‘Ah.’
Their eyes met.
In that moment, she felt Moon Yu-jin’s eyes narrow, ever so slightly.
“….”
Ji-u quietly averted her gaze.
—The class meeting she’d joined midway soon ended.
They decided to sort out the remaining details this afternoon, and one by one, students rose from their seats. It was lunchtime.
But then.
“J-Ji-hyo, would you maybe want to have lunch with us?”
As Ji-u was preparing to head to the cafeteria, someone suddenly approached her.
A girl from her class.
She’d never really interacted with her before, didn’t even recall her name.
“Who are you?”
“I sit diagonally in front of you…”
The girl blushed slightly, embarrassed by her own sudden change in attitude.
Had everyone in the class eaten something strange? Why were they suddenly acting this way?
Behind the hesitant girl, Ji-u could see Rim-sa hanging back uncertainly.
Ji-u stood up from her seat.
“Sorry, but I already have plans to eat with Rim-sa.”
“…Oh, I see.”
Ji-u passed the girl and walked directly toward Rim-sa.
“Let’s go.”
“O-Okay…!”
Rim-sa followed her like a little chick.
The two of them chose to avoid the crowded cafeteria and instead sat on a bench in the Back Garden, eating boxed lunches from the school shop.
“You were surprised, weren’t you?”
Rim-sa asked, picking at her rice with chopsticks.
“You were amazing in the last exam. Everyone’s seeing you differently now. I’m kind of proud, honestly… Ah! I know it’s sad that you got hurt, but what I mean is—”
“I know.”
Ji-u, watching Rim-sa’s rambling, offered a faint smile.
“Thank you.”
“…Huh?”
“For treating me kindly even after I spoke harshly to you that day.”
And for not asking me about any of it.
Did this girl understand how much comfort that had given her?
Rim-sa’s dark eyes blinked, and her cheeks flushed a soft peach color.
“Of course. Y-You’re my friend, after all.”
…A friend.
Ji-u stared blankly up at the sky.
She wasn’t entirely certain that she and Rim-sa were truly ‘friends.’
But at least.
Coming to Gaon and meeting this girl had felt like its own kind of fortune.
Even if one day she would have to return this place to Ji-hyo and go back to that house.
Still, Rim-sa might be someone she would think of from time to time.
“From now on, I’ll help you whenever you’re in trouble. I’m not sure what help I can offer, but I’ll do my best.”
That said—
Rim-sa swallowed once before continuing.
“So if I’m any use to you… please tell me when things are difficult, Ji-hyo.”
At that, Ji-u laughed softly.
It was all she had to offer in return.
“…Right, I never did hear a proper explanation about the festival.”
After finishing lunch, Ji-u and Rim-sa headed back to the High School Dormitory together.
The next class was physical education, so they were heading downstairs to the 1st Floor Shoe Lockers to change into their gym clothes and retrieve their sneakers.
“The high school division has a festival every July.”
“What happens at the festival?”
“Well, students set up small food stalls and sell snacks, there are performances like plays and dances… I’ve heard some people dress up in cosplay as famous anime characters.”
“Hmm…”
“You’re not interested?”
“I’m not sure.”
Ji-u’s lukewarm response caused Rim-sa’s shoulders to droop in disappointment.
Then, struck by a thought, she perked up again.
“But here’s the thing—students say the real highlight is actually the evening of the festival itself.”
“The evening of the festival?”
“Yeah. You know the lake on the northwest side of Gaon’s grounds? They hold a campfire there in the evening.”
Rim-sa’s story went like this:
At the campfire held by the lake in the evening of the festival, people dance with opposite-sex partners.
Believe it or not, there’s a rumor that any boy and girl who dance together there are destined to end up together.
So people take the opportunity to ask their crushes—or whoever they’ve been building chemistry with—to be their partner.
As they descended the stairs toward the 1st Floor Shoe Lockers, Rim-sa continued to rattle on about the festival.
Since festivals weren’t particularly important to Ji-u, she only pretended to listen out of courtesy.
“Actually, my parents are Gaon alumni too. They danced together at the campfire.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Apparently, the tradition is to slip a letter in a red envelope into your partner’s shoe locker as a way of asking.”
Just as Ji-u was nodding idly along and reaching for her locker, she froze.
“…!”
Her fingertips trembled slightly.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
As Rim-sa tilted her head curiously and tried to peek into Ji-u’s locker—
Bang!
Ji-u, flustered, slammed the locker door shut without thinking.
‘What the—’
Ji-u’s eyes wavered as she gripped the closed locker door.
…Why is there a red envelope in my locker?

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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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