The cafeteria building was bigger than the auditorium of most schools.
It seemed to be divided into the 1st and 2nd floors, the 1st floor was a normal cafeteria, and the 2nd floor was a high-class restaurant called 'Noble'.
It's a buffet that costs 50,000 won per meal, right?
“Wow, what is all this.”
As I entered the high-class restaurant, I felt dizzy at the sight that unfolded before my eyes.
The floor and pillars were shiny marble reflecting my face, and above the ceiling, a chandelier that you would only see in the first-class compartment of the Titanic shone brightly.
Signs that read 「SEA FOOD」, 「STEAK」, and 「DESSERT」 in each section emitted bright light, catching my eye.
Every section was full of dishes piled high on large plates.
Is this heaven?
“Can I eat whatever I want?”
I asked Geum Tae-seong, who is sociable, and he nodded vigorously, saying, “Of course!” and took out a white plate and handed it to me.
I took the plate, immediately went to the steak section, picked up five pieces of something called rib meat, and sat down at a nearby empty seat.
“How long has it been since I've eaten beef?”
Let's eat it right away!
So I cut the meat and took a bite, and just as I had anticipated, the beef juice burst in my mouth.
This is all thanks to Seo Ga-eul.
While seriously contemplating whether it would be more delicious to dip it in ketchup or put it in ramen, Geum Tae-seong, who had evenly filled his plate with fried food, rice, and soup, sat in front of me and chuckled.
“When I first ate here, I brought a lot of meat like that. I thought you’d be different since you’re from a prestigious high school, but everyone is the same.”
“It's 50,000 won per meal. Isn't meat the best to get your money's worth?”
“Actually, I think so too. But in this school, there are a lot of rich kids, so I guess they don’t think that way. Look.”
Swish-
Geum Tae-seong pointed around with his chin.
I looked closely and saw that everyone was filling their trays with salads full of grass or lettuce, as if trying to act sophisticated.
You fools.
If you don't eat meat now, you never know when you’ll be able to eat this kind of high-quality meat again after the world ends.
As I was stuffing several pieces of steak into my mouth at once, oblivious to the gazes of others, Geum Tae-seong burst out laughing.
“Hey, you're funny. Like what you said earlier.”
“What I said earlier?
What did he find funny?
I chewed the tender beef and thought about it carefully, then I remembered what I had argued while spitting during the debate.
“About organ trafficking for death row inmates?”
“...uh...no, that too, but about giving a second chance to those who try.”
“Ah─.”
“Look at me. I look like a problem child who’s far from a model student, right? That's how I actually was. Riding motorcycles, smoking-. I can’t do that kind of stuff since I entered Hero-mili School.”
As expected, Geum Tae-seong was a delinquent, just as my judgment of people was accurate.
“The past always follows you. So a new start isn’t always easy. In that sense, Hero-mili School is a pretty good restart stage.”
As Geum Tae-seong looked around with sharp eyes, I, who was moderately full, also looked around the restaurant.
I could already say that I had recovered most of the entrance fee for this high-class restaurant just by eating several plates of steak, but in fact, my real purpose for coming here wasn’t just a simple meal.
Seo Ga-eul.
If it’s this student restaurant, 'Noble', Seo Ga-eul, who is like a rich family's pedigree cat, must be somewhere here, eating.
Then wouldn't it be nice if I subtly and naturally approached her?
“......”
I looked around with that feeling, but no matter how much I looked, I couldn’t see that pretty face.
“Who are you looking for?”
“Seo Ga-eul.”
“Seo Ga-eul? From Class F? Ah, you want to meet famous people when you first come to the Stage. But as far as I know, Seo Ga-eul doesn’t usually eat here. She’s been here once or twice.”
“What...!?”
Seriously?
Why did I spend my precious 50,000 points to come to this restaurant!
I’m so frustrated that I feel like I'm going to foam at the mouth.
But! Who am I-.
I'm Ha Nam-jin, the problem solver, the leader of problem-solving!
That means I know exactly what to do in this situation.
“Tae-seong, do you want to eat one more plate?”
I'll not only get my 50,000 points worth, I'll pull out the pillars of the restaurant.
As I got up from my seat to get another plate, Geum Tae-seong shook his head.
“It’s better not to eat too much, right? We have practical training in the afternoon, so it’s good to keep your stomach moderately empty. If you eat too much, you’ll throw up while moving. Cleaning that up is a real pain.”
Practical training?
I couldn’t quite picture what kind of practical training it would be, but what Geum Tae-seong said didn't sound like nonsense.
It’ll probably be something like combat, exploration, or sparring.
I couldn’t meet Seo Ga-eul.
I couldn’t eat until I was full.
It can’t be helped.
I looked around and luckily found a plate piled high with packaged pudding.
「White Sugar Chocolate Pudding」.
Where have I heard the word 'White Sugar' before?
What was it?
No, that's not what's important right now.
“Hey, Tae-seong. Keep an eye out.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to grab some pudding! It’ll be easy to grab because it’s packaged!”
“What? Muhaha! Hey! You can’t take that! You’ll be in big trouble if you get caught!”
Geum Tae-seong burst out laughing.
He stood behind me and hid the plate with his tall height.
Swish- Swish-
I took advantage of the opportunity and successfully stuffed five puddings into my old, loose school uniform pockets.
My skills from stealing potatoes from Mr. Kim Jang-dong's potato field haven’t gone anywhere.
“Hey, Nam-jin. Grab one more for me. You can do that much for keeping watch, right?”
“Okay.”
So, six puddings filled my pockets.
Even though I couldn’t meet Seo Ga-eul, could I say that I got my money’s worth from coming to this high-class restaurant, Noble?
Next time, I should bring a container and sweep up all the meat and kimchi.
# # #
On the way back to the classroom after leaving the restaurant.
Geum Tae-seong received a pudding from me and said.
“Nam-jin. Don't you want to change seats? The seat next to me is also empty. It’s in the front row. It’s good because you can hear the instructor well and see the blackboard clearly.”
What? I doubted my ears for a moment.
The front row?
This guy, a delinquent, why is he sitting in the front row?
For me, who was planning to sit in the back row and do other things or doze off during class, the front row was the worst place, as bad as standing in front of Sauron's burning eyes.
Of course, I refused.
“I like the back row.”
“Really? Then it’s fine. That girl sits next to you.”
“That girl? Yeo-ul?”
“Yeah, Baek Yeo-ul. Would it be okay to sit next to her?”
Would it be okay to sit next to Baek Yeo-ul-.
What does that mean?
Simply put, it means that 'a case where it might not be okay to sit next to her' could arise.
It means there's some kind of disadvantage.
I vaguely understood that the window seat in the back row of high school was a coveted spot, like a prime location for adults.
Such a place was empty─?
When I thought about it carefully, it was very suspicious.
“Didn't Baek Yeo-ul tell you herself? Ah, damn it. Then it's a little awkward for me to say.”
“Why? What is it? Tell me.”
“No, it's okay. I don't like talking about people behind their backs.”
This guy, Geum Tae-seong.
Is he really a former delinquent?
His personality is quite manly and cool. In many ways, he's similar to me.
We might get along well in the future.
“And I think you'll soon find out why I said that. Today is the day we have practical classes.”
I can’t stand it when I’m curious.
I'll have to ask Bangdeng-i directly.
When I returned to the classroom, the kids greeted me.
“Transfer student! How was your first lunch?”
“You went to Noble, right?”
“Were you really going to take off your pants earlier? I was really going to take a picture if you did!”
“I was really going to take them off. I wore cool underwear today, so I was confident.”
Giggle- Squeal-
I passed by the chattering kids and returned to my seat, and Bangdeng-i was lying face down, snoring away next to my seat.
She slept like this the whole lunch break?
“Hey, didn't you eat? Hey.”
Poke-
I poked her side with my finger, and Baek Yeo-ul jumped up from her chair like a cat doused with cold water.
“...Hic!”
Perhaps because she made a loud noise, everyone's attention was suddenly focused on us.
The problem was that a female student walking near me seemed to have been startled by the loud noise and threw the water cup she was holding into the air.
Splash-
Something hot was poured all over me, from the top of my head to my chin.
“Guuack!”
I was so surprised that I ended up screaming.
Is it lava with a sweet smell?
Lick-
Ah, it tastes like hot chocolate.
Delicious?
“Hey! Hey! Transfer student! Are you okay?”
The female student who dropped the cup took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped my face. Her touch was so soft that I liked it. She smells good too,
and her nails are nicely decorated.
She has yellow hair, so is she a bit of a rebel?
“You're completely soaked!”
When was the last time I received such kindness from a girl my age?
I thought I wouldn't mind being hit with hot chocolate one more time, when the girl with yellow hair frowned and shouted at Baek Yeo-ul.
“Hey! Baek Yeo-ul! Why did you suddenly yell like that!”
“B-But my side...”
“What! Please be careful! How many times has this happened! Your concept is just causing trouble!”
“...My side...”
Baek Yeo-ul pouted.
She looked like she had something to say, but she seemed intimidated by the gazes around her and closed her mouth.
It seemed that Baek Yeo-ul had been scolded by her classmates quite a few times like today. I’m a master of reading the room.
I can feel the atmosphere in the classroom turning cold!
As expected, I need to step in.
“Yeong-mi, it’s okay. I wasn’t seriously hurt.”
“Really? That’s a relief. Still, you should go to the nurse's office just in case, right? My hot chocolate must have been quite hot. And my name isn’t Yeong-mi, it’s Kim Jin.” [TL]Yeong-mi is a generic name, like "Jane Doe". [/TL]
Puhaha- Everyone laughed.
Except for one sad face.
# # #
After washing my face in the restroom and returning to the classroom, the commotion had subsided and the atmosphere was calm.
Instead, Baek Yeo-ul glared at me and complained in a very, very small voice.
“...Hey! Because of you, I got scolded for nothing!”
“Bangdeng-i, I didn’t know you were so ticklish. Should I call you 'Side' instead of Bangdeng-i from now on?”
Swish-
As I raised my index finger, thinking of poking her side again, Baek Yeo-ul flinched and covered her side with her hand.
“Get lost...!”
She’s having a fit.
Honestly, her reaction is kind of funny.
But if she screamed again, it seemed like something bad would happen, so I took out a pudding from my pocket and handed it to her.
“I woke you up because you seemed hungry.”
“Ugh, our store's pudding!”
「White Sugar Chocolate Pudding」.
Now that I think about it, ‘White Sugar’ was the dessert business run by Baek Yeo-ul’s family.
“It’s chocolate flavor? My favorite...”
Baek Yeo-ul looked at the pudding and me with suspicious eyes, then tore open the package and hurriedly ate the pudding with the enclosed spoon. She looked like a hungry raccoon.
That’s what happens when you skip lunch.
“Hey, dieting is good, but if there’s something you want to eat, eat it when you can.”
Later, you won’t be able to eat even if you want to.
Actually, it wasn’t that far in the future.
One year.
In just one year, all of this would be turned upside down.
“...Diet...”
It was when Baek Yeo-ul, who had finished eating the pudding, was muttering in a very small voice.
Creak--
The classroom door opened and the one-eyed teacher with the captain's insignia came back into the classroom and shouted.
“Alright, as announced, this afternoon will be practical training. For reference, today's training will be conducted jointly with Class F, so don’t fight like last time.”
Afternoon practical training.
I don't know what it is, but my ears perked up at the fact that it was being conducted jointly with Class F.
Class F is Seo Ga-eul’s class!
The problem was the next part.
“Today's training will be conducted in groups as usual, so from now on, form groups of 5 people with those you are close to. Since Nam-jin has transferred, there are exactly 30 of you, so you’ll be divided into 6 groups.”
Group work with close friends for me, who just transferred?