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Si-hyun returned to school right away and went to find Shin Woo.

“Where did you two go, skipping the morning class?”

“How did you know Hana was with me?”

“Sophie told me.”

Si-hyun recalled the girl she had bumped into in the dorm and nodded.

“I told you before why I hurt Hana, right?”

“…You talked about your ability.”

“That’s right. My thoughts haven’t changed since then. So I took Hana with me to check it out myself.”

“Check it out? Where?”

Should I really tell the truth?

The basement of the main building is a secret unknown to regular students.

Even Sehee, my older sister, warned me not to mention it to just anyone.

But Shin Woo can hardly be considered just anyone.

After all, the reason I’m doing all of this is for Yu Hana.

Yu Hana and Kim Shin Woo are inseparable.

“In the basement of the main building.”

“…The basement of the main building?”

“I’ll explain the details slowly later. What’s important now is that I checked Hana’s ability there.”

“So you found out her ability? What happened?”

Shin Woo focused intently on the conversation.

“I wasn’t able to see it.”

That was a somewhat deflating response.

Just as the tense Shin Woo was about to let out a sigh, her words continued.

“It was blocked off as a level 1 secret.”

“…Level 1 secret? Why?”

I couldn’t understand.

What could be so special about Hana that she was treated like this?

“I don’t know yet. What’s certain is that Hana isn’t just an ordinary powerless person; she has something hidden.”

“…”

This was not something to take lightly.

Shin Woo, having heard all of Si-hyun’s words, fell deep into thought.

“I’ll ask my sister. You try to find out information on your own.”

“But how am I supposed to do that…?”

Unlike Si-hyun, Shin Woo had no connections or believable information.

“Yu Hana is an orphan, right?”

“…Hey.”

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way. But it’s true, isn’t it?”

While it wasn’t wrong, the nuance felt quite odd.

“Then in the end, you’re the only one closest to her.”

“That is true.”

“So that makes you the easiest person to find out about Hana’s abilities. Because abilities are usually influenced by a person’s life experiences.”

“…I understand what you mean.”

The burden of responsibility felt overwhelmingly heavy.

Could I actually handle this?

Right now, I’m not of any help to Hana at all.

If anything, that damn science teacher is more helpful…

The recent series of overlapping subtle situations had unknowingly created layers of frustration and inferiority in Shin Woo.

Si-hyun looked at Shin Woo, then pulled something from her pocket.

It was a small note.

“Here.”

“…What’s this?”

As Shin Woo unfolded the note, she found letters she couldn’t understand and tilted her head.

מָשִׁיחַ

“This is the only information related to Hana’s ability. I wrote it down hurriedly as soon as I saw it.”

“What is…?”

“I still don’t know what language it is. I’ll look it up, so you check it out too. Don’t just keep making that dumb face.”

Though her words were rude and sharp, there was a hint of kindness within them.

Shin Woo began to understand a bit about Han Si-hyun’s personality.

And in that moment, Shin Woo unexpectedly made eye contact with Hana, who had just peeked her head through the back door.

A brief silence followed.

Then Hana started rambling excuses.

“No, I was just curious since you two were gone for a while…!”

“I didn’t say anything special. Just…”

“It’s okay! I didn’t see anything at all! I definitely didn’t see you two exchanging love letters! …But wait, are you two already on that level? Isn’t it too early…?”

“…What?”

Shin Woo momentarily didn’t understand what Hana was talking about.

It would be more accurate to say that her brain couldn’t accept it.

“No! Anyway! I’ll support you!”

And with that, Hana’s head disappeared.

In the hallway, Shin Woo stood there blankly, holding the note and staring at where the girl had just vanished.

On the other hand, Si-hyun seemed unfazed and said casually.

“Well, I’ve said everything I needed to, so I’ll take my leave.”

“…”

Left alone, Shin Woo felt overwhelmed with how to clear up this misunderstanding.

*

The Friday classes were over.

After a lot of ups and downs, they had completed the week at the academy.

Of course, I skipped out on Monday to harm myself, fainted in the first period on Thursday, and missed all of today’s morning classes shooting a spy film with Han Si-hyun—just a few minor issues.

I just want to hurry back to the dorm and rest now.

I don’t want to get involved in any more incidents.

I just want to spend some quiet time with Sophie.

As I hurriedly packed my things and slung my backpack over my shoulder, Kim Shin Woo called out to me.

“Hana.”

“Uh, yeah?”

What could it be?

I’d prefer if he would lose interest in me and just happily date someone.

By the way, when did they start dating?

In the original story, they don’t connect until the latter half.

It might be a harem, but with so many heroines, there must be plenty of rivals as well.

Well, it’s hard to even call Yu Hana a rival.

Could it be that I was affected by this when I came to this world?

This is why the butterfly effect is frightening. I feel that deeply now.

“Do you have time tomorrow?”

“Um. Why tomorrow?”

Of course, I have all the time in the world.

I definitely don’t have any plans.

But I don’t want to spend time with Kim Shin Woo.

“If it’s okay, would you like to go outside together?”

“…Outside? Outside of the academy?”

“Yeah. It’s been a while since we’ve been home. I haven’t seen the kids or the teachers for a long time.”

I hadn’t expected to receive such an offer.

Yet, it didn’t feel strange.

Since we’re both from the same orphanage, you could say we’re practically family.

But why did they neglect Yu Hana in the original story?

More than neglect, it should be that they became too familiar and indifferent.

Isn’t there often a case like that in real life?

Making a huge fuss over trivial concerns from friends, while overlooking the pain of a family member like a mother.

It’s a sad situation.

Now, Kim Shin Woo being so obsessively concerned about Yu Hana could also be seen as an extension of such circumstances.

As if realizing the value of something only after losing it, he was shocked to hear about Hana’s pain from a total stranger.

…What a foolish child.

He should have done better when she was still around.

Once again, I forced a smile.

As always, especially at moments like this, I felt sorry for both Kim Shin Woo and Yu Hana.

It felt like I was dirtying their shared memories.

But it couldn’t be helped.

If I were to reveal all the facts, it would only lead to an even worse disaster than now.

All that would remain would be shadows tainted with regret and despair.

So I smiled.

I forced a smile.

“Sorry. I have plans with Sophie tomorrow…”

“Huh? Me?”

“…Uh, so, Sophie? Didn’t she go to her room?”

I clearly saw her leaving the class and thought of that to make up an excuse.

“I was waiting to go with Hana!”

“Ah…”

“But were you and Hana just talking about me?”

“That’s…”

Just as I was about to make up an excuse, Kim Shin Woo jumped in first.

“Could you possibly postpone your plans with Hana for tomorrow? I’d really appreciate it.”

“Um…”

Sophie looked at me.

What would she think about my making up an non-existent plan?

I just squeezed my eyes shut, not knowing what would come out of Sophie’s mouth.

“Alright. I’ll make a special exception for you.”

“Really? Thank you!”

“But there’s a condition.”

Sophie smiled slightly as she looked at me.

“I want to come too. Is that okay?”

“…Uh? Uh. Yeah, that’s fine.”

In a frenzy, I agreed.

This isn’t what I intended.

What happened was that I ended up going to Yu Hana’s hometown.

And now, it’s going to be the three of us, with Sophie joining as well.

*

On the way home.

I couldn’t help but ask Sophie.

“Why didn’t you tell Shin Woo?”

“About what?”

“…About the promise you made. That was a lie, right?”

“Hehe. Was it?”

Sophie turned around, a smile on her lips.

She glanced back at me as she walked ahead.

“I thought you looked troubled. So I went along with it!”

“…Is that all?”

“Yeah? Isn’t that all there is to it?”

Is that so?

Considering how trivial it sounds, I felt like I was the strange one.

“This isn’t something that’s nothing between friends.”

“Friends…”

“What? Aren’t we friends? We agreed on that!”

“Friends…right. We are friends.”

“Hehe. I’m relieved. I thought I was the only one under the delusion of friendship; that scared me.”

There was a moment of silence as the conversation halted, and we quietly walked back to the dorm.

The streets were now drenched in evening twilight, bathed in orange hues.

A few days ago, I had seen this view with Kim Shin Woo.

Today, Sophie took that place instead.

“Troubling, right?”

“Uh? Ah, it was a bit troublesome.”

“Is it troublesome being with Shin Woo?”

“That…”

I was left speechless.

Touché.

But how could I admit this?

Shin Woo and Yu Hana are childhood friends known by everyone in our class.

“If that’s the case, I can help you.”

“…Huh?”

“It’s fine. We’re friends, after all.”

Sophie’s bright smile began to blend into the hues of the sunset.