Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 85

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

Awakener Special School, Rank 0
Chapter 85
“What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing.”
Even as Moon Yu-jin answered, his gaze barely left the Doll resting on Ji-u’s lap.
After a moment’s hesitation, he asked.
“Did Nam Rae-in give you that?”
Ji-u’s eyes followed Moon Yu-jin’s, landing on the Doll at his knee.
…Was the Doll really that noticeable?
Now that he thought about it, he probably shouldn’t have brought it along—even if he hadn’t thrown it away. The regret came too late.
Ji-u discreetly tucked the Doll away and answered.
“There was just a Doll machine on my way somewhere, and he grabbed it from there.”
“When?”
“A few days ago.”
…A few days ago?
Moon Yu-jin’s gaze lifted from the Doll to Ji-u’s face.
“It’s winter break—you didn’t go home?”
“I did.”
“You came back early?”
“Yeah. There wasn’t much to do there.”
Which meant that Ji-u, who had returned to school early, had spent time with Rae-in.
That was all there was to it.
Yet somehow, his mood sank.
He should probably change the subject.
“…What did you do at the Family Home?”
It wasn’t a particularly natural transition. His proof was the slight confusion that flickered across Ji-u’s face.
He’d noticed it during the festival too, but lately Moon Yu-jin had been prying into Ji-u’s affairs quite a bit.
Maybe he was bored from being on the boat so long. Now that Ji-u looked, he wasn’t even wearing Earphones.
“Nothing much, really. What about you?”
“Same here.”
“…….”
“…….”
The conversation had ended.
Neither of them was particularly good with words, so dialogue rarely flowed smoothly between them.
Moon Yu-jin, fidgeting with the Earphone case in his hand, wore his usual inscrutable expression.
“What do you like?”
“…What?”
The conversation resumed without warning.
Moon Yu-jin’s eyes remained fixed on the Earphone case.
“Why do you ask all of a sudden?”
“Just curious.”
Click, click.
Moon Yu-jin opened and closed the case repeatedly. Was it just his imagination, or did he seem anxious?
Questions kept coming.
“Do you like Banana Milk? The one Bae Han-gyeol always brings?”
“Not really. I might have liked it before, but not now.”
“Is that so?”
Click, click.
The sound of the Earphone case opening and closing repeated several more times.
This time, surely, the conversation was truly over.
…Or so he thought.
“What do you do on school days off?”
The conversation he’d thought was finished picked up again immediately.
“Just… take care of Som-i, or…”
“Anything else?”
“It varies. I don’t have anything set in stone.”
What is this. An interrogation?
The constant questions with that blank expression felt strange. Not that the topics themselves were difficult to answer.
…Did he just want to talk?
‘Moon Yu-jin?’
No way.
“What do you do after Missions?”
“No plans yet. I was thinking I’d probably do some Preview Study.”
“Do you need to Preview Study?”
Moon Yu-jin tilted his head as if surprised.
“To keep up with classes going forward, it seems like I should. Though you probably don’t do that sort of thing.”
Of course, the Gaon coursework was very easy for Ji-u, but that was beside the point.
For Ji-u, who’d never attended school before, to adapt quickly to classes, a careful review of textbooks was absolutely necessary.
Of course, Moon Yu-jin wouldn’t understand that.
He was someone with naturally good grades who’d received elite instruction from an early age, after all.
But then.
“Then… want to do it together?”
At Moon Yu-jin’s words, Ji-u’s eyes widened slightly.
“Do what together?”
“Preview Study.”
He hadn’t misheard.
It was certainly a good opportunity.
Moon Yu-jin was Gaon’s finest student by anyone’s measure—studying with him would be advantageous for Ji-u.
But did someone like him actually need to Preview Study?
“It doesn’t matter to me, though…”
Ji-u trailed off, watching Moon Yu-jin’s expression carefully.
The moment their eyes met, Moon Yu-jin’s widened slightly.
“Then it’s a promise.”
Ji-u’s answer seemed quite satisfactory to him.
Or rather, quite delightful.
Moon Yu-jin had been smiling like this rather often lately.
Each time, Ji-u found himself at a loss for how to respond, unsettled.
And no wonder—the Moon Yu-jin Ji-u had observed over the past few months wasn’t like this at all.
“…Did you always do Preview Study like that?”
Ji-u deflected, trying to mask his awkwardness.
“Sometimes. When I need to.”
“Really? That’s unexpected. Do you do it with Bae Han-gyeol?”
“Sometimes, yeah.”
Humming thoughtfully, Ji-u ran his fingers through his hair, then suddenly turned back to Moon Yu-jin with a good idea.
“How about all of us do it together?”
“…All of us?”
“Yeah. When school starts, I’ll ask Rim-sa too.”
“…….”
“Moon Yu-jin?”
“…….”
He’d suddenly gone quiet.
Moon Yu-jin stared hard at Ji-u as if he had something to say, then.
His gaze shifted away.
“I don’t want to.”
Don’t want to?
As Ji-u blinked in surprise, Moon Yu-jin added.
“I don’t really like being around a lot of people.”
A lot of… people?
The fact that Moon Yu-jin disliked crowds was easy enough to notice when you looked at him.
But even with Bae Han-gyeol that was only three people, and with Rim-sa included just four.
And hadn’t the four of them eaten lunch together quite a few times already?
“Just the two of us then.”
Ji-u nodded awkwardly.
Well, there was no need to push something he didn’t want.
“By the way, you…”
Ji-u’s lips were just beginning to move.
“Ji-u, you should start preparing.”
Someone suddenly approached.
It was Tae Ga-yeong, who’d been sitting in the back seat.
“We’re arriving at the target point soon. You and I will disembark first. Moon Yu-jin will continue inland on Jeju Island with Joon-hyeok.”
“Ah…”
Ji-u grabbed his bag from his lap and stood up.
As he carefully stepped past Moon Yu-jin, who sat by the aisle, their eyes met one last time.
Moon Yu-jin glanced briefly at the ugly Doll dangling from Ji-u’s bag, then moved his lips slightly.
“Don’t forget the promise.”
It was barely a whisper, but it reached Ji-u’s ears clearly.
“Ji-u?”
“Ah, yes. Coming now.”
Snapping back to attention at Tae Ga-yeong’s voice, Ji-u stepped past Moon Yu-jin.
But even right up until he left the boat, he found himself turning back repeatedly.
Probably because of…
‘Moon Yu-jin’s been acting strange lately.’
The unmistakable change in Moon Yu-jin recently was the reason.
* * *
Right beside the boat Ji-u had been riding in was a Yellow Rubber Boat moored.
Though calling it a boat, it was more like a tube—shabby in appearance.
Ji-u and Ga-yeong, wearing Life Jackets, climbed aboard the rubber boat.
“What were you and Moon Yu-jin talking about? You both looked quite happy.”
Tae Ga-yeong asked while rowing.
“Nothing special, really. We just agreed to do Preview Study together later.”
“Hmm. It’s fortunate Nam Rae-in isn’t with us.”
As Tae Ga-yeong swung the oars, the sound of water splashing below the boat was audible.
“Now that I think of it, Ji-u, you didn’t dance with anyone at the festival.”
The festival. The moment that topic came up, Ji-u tensed slightly.
“…Yes, it just worked out that way.”
“Was there no one who caught your fancy?”
“Rather than that…”
Ji-u trailed off, his gaze falling to the water below the boat.
“I’m not sure, really. I got to thinking that the superstition about dancing at the bonfire leading to dreams coming true was probably just something far removed from my world.”
“I see.”
Tae Ga-yeong didn’t add anything more.
Looking down at the black water rippling beneath the boat, Ji-u spoke softly.
“I feel apologetic toward you, sir.”
“Apologetic? How so?”
“You gave me advice back then. But in the end, I couldn’t follow your counsel.”
“The advice to enjoy your youth?”
“Yes.”
It was true that he’d been tempted by that advice for a while.
For a time, he’d even considered accepting Han-gyeol’s offer to be his partner.
– Why are you acting like you’re guilty? If it’s fun, just enjoy it. What’s wrong with that?
Nam Rae-in had told him that.
But…
“Enjoying it” was simply too hard.
Ji-u understood his own situation well. The situation Ji-u was in, too.
So such things were a luxury.
“Hmm.”
Splash—
The oar struck the water’s surface with a clear sound.
“I didn’t expect to receive an apology for something like that. It was just nagging, really.”
“…What?”
Eyes wide, Ji-u looked up.
Tae Ga-yeong smiled softly.

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