SWNOVELXO Chapter 194
“I’m going to present about the historical figure, King Sejong the Great! He created Hangul and has many other achievements. During the Joseon Dynasty, circles were called ‘Dae-rwon’… uh, King Sejong’s Min-yu-bang-bon (the people’s foundation) is one of the most representative six-circle magic spells of Joseon. Uh… Min-yu-bang-bon’s meaning is that the people are the foundation of the nation—”
As part of the performance assessment for the subject ‘Basics of Creation’, presentations about historical figures were in full swing, but now mixed with magic studies.
Choosing a figure and introducing at least two significant achievements in magic studies was not an easy topic for second graders.
I mean, even concepts learned in middle school like Pythagoras’ theorem or irrational numbers were established back in the 5th century BC, and the method of integration was dealt with in ancient Egypt.
So, trying to understand the life achievements of people from just a few hundred years ago was a challenge, even for the best talents of the Republic of Korea since the kids were still so young.
Thanks to this, the face of the friend with attendance number 1, Kang Do-hyun, seemed about to break through the A4 paper where his script was written.
Well, it wasn’t a big issue since the homeroom teacher only asked for a general explanation, but it looked like he was flustered when a word he didn’t understand came up.
To cheer up my friend whose expression was getting darker, I gave a thumbs up.
Then, the boy who was stuttering managed to read aloud King Sejong’s true masterpiece, Hangul, clearly, and completed his presentation safely.
“Uh, thank you…!”
“Yeah, you did well.”
The embarrassed friend returned to his seat, and now friend number 2, Go Kyung-won, moved to the front of the blackboard.
“I researched about King Sejong.”
Oh, here we go again, King Sejong?
But really, how much can they know? The worst they could get is either King Sejong or Yi Sun-sin, who turned his life around from a 100-won coin to a 100,000-won bill.
“Yoon Si-hoo, who did you research?”
“I did Joan of Arc.”
“Oh, you know Joan of Arc?”
Did he deliberately choose a topic from France for the creativity in the assessment criteria?
“Hey, is that true…?”
“What?”
“That uh… I heard our parents talking in the morning. You…”
“The presentation starts now. If you want to talk, do it with a pen.”
A background music introducing Korea’s first six-circle full-scale magic Min-yu-bang-bon played.
[TERROIST. Kidnapping?]
I slightly altered the word ‘kidnapping’ with an x and added below,
[Not me, but my mom.]
As I left my mark, Si-hoo’s mechanical pencil broke under his trembling hand.
He continued writing with a pen through trembling hands, scratching away.
[What about you?]
[I don’t know.]
It’s not like I remember when I was born.
[I was just trapped in a remote prison.]
[For seven years?]
Again, Si-hoo and I locked eyes.
I tried to brush it off, but this guy seemed to know a lot. News must’ve just aired this morning.
It wouldn’t do any good for kids to figure it out anyway.
[You know asking more about this is rude, right?]
“…!”
Si-hoo flinched.
As if to reassure me, he whispered a small sorry then suddenly began drawing.
[
]
[Here, cheer up. I’m really sorry…]
“Heh.”
A cute cat picture with tears streamed down.
It was cute that he was trying to comfort me.
I had to reply quickly, though, before Si-hoo’s expression turned sour.
[Thanks. I appreciate you worrying, but don’t dig too much.]
This was something adults should solve.
It was the duty of adults to allow children to live in a better future.
“Next, number 6, NoName. Uh… did you prepare for the performance assessment?”
All the classmates’ attention focused on Teacher Jacqueline’s question.
“I’ll just do it impromptu.”
Thud-
I dropped the pen and stood before my classmates after a long time.
The 40 eyes created by 20 kids sparkled.
I figured if the character I was presenting overlapped with someone else, it could be problematic, so I thought of a topic that would be hard to guess.
“The person I’m presenting is Werner Heisenberg, an essential figure when discussing quantum mechanics. A notable achievement was introducing matrix mechanics in the realm of creation—”
Thud-
Suddenly, the next presenter, Park Ji-soo, sitting in the front row, collapsed onto the desk.
Guess the heat got to her because it’s summer.
*
“Waaahhhh!”
As the class ended, Ji-soo dashed out into the hallway, tears streaming down her face.
The poor presentation script in her hand was crumpled and crushed.
To console her, the other girls rushed over and patted her back.
“It’s okay! You said three sentences!”
I couldn’t quite lie and say she did well, and her pure friends ended up hurting her feelings even more.
“Why am I number 7 on the attendance list…?”
With many presentations still ahead, this meant she would be compared to NoName continuously.
Today was the day Ji-soo had never regretted being a Park.
She couldn’t even finish half of her painstakingly prepared script before being timed out in her presentation.
Sure, she was sad about not getting a score, but more than that, the nausea she felt during her presentation continued to haunt her.
Thanks to her friends trying so hard to comfort her, she could shake off her tears.
“By the way, my mom asked if NoName is doing well this morning.”
“Oh, you too? My dad suddenly asked if I was in the same class.”
“Why?”
At this point, there was no second grader in Class A who didn’t know that NoName frequently appeared on the news lately.
Yuna and Seori had been talking non-stop about how amazing NoName was.
And now that NoName was back at the academy after a long time, she was receiving an extravagant welcome from the morning.
It seemed now she was called into the principal’s office again.
But this morning, I noticed a common theme of worry from the parents of the children regarding NoName’s safety.
The only two who knew all the truth were Yoon Si-hoo and Lee Ha-ru.
Feeling guilty talking about NoName in her absence, Lee Ha-ru whispered to the curious kids.
“Trapped in a capsule…? How does one get trapped there?”
The children didn’t understand what it meant to be physically trapped in a capsule.
After all, it was just a capsule that would open if you pressed a button or pushed it.
Many had never even used a capsule after being born.
“What do you mean? Trapped…?”
Yuna, who had been eavesdropping from the back, approached and asked.
“Oh, Seo Yu-na…”
No one in class didn’t know that Yuna was NoName’s best friend.
It turned out Seo Yu-na didn’t know this fact, so I hesitated to share what I had heard.
At that moment, Si-hoo, who had come out into the hallway after Yuna, was about to speak.
“This should be the right place?”
“Quickly go ahead!”
“Hey, don’t push!”
“You’re making everyone wait behind!”
“No, I really can’t get detention…!”
“Come on, hurry!”
“Stop! Don’t push!”
At the end of the hallway, a group of upperclassmen was approaching.
The second graders froze at the appearance of seniors they rarely saw unless it was for school commutes.
“Hey kids, ha ha… hey, is NoName in your class right now…?”
“Why can’t you speak properly! Is NoName in your class right now?!”
With a purple name tag on their chest, it was the sixth graders.
“Uh, I think she went to the principal’s office for a bit…”
“Too bad!”
“Hurry up and move to the back! What are you going to do if the teacher comes?!”
“Don’t push me back there; there’s no seat!”
We had no choice but to watch the mayhem of the older students with our eyes wide open.
Then, a low ‘Ooh’ sound echoed down the hallway against the wall.
“Why are the older students here? Please clear the way to let people pass.”
That chaotic crowd instantly organized and parted ways.
Currently, the hot topic raging through Sephiron Academy, NoName.
NoName strolled through the center with a frown as if she didn’t understand what was going on.
“Wow, how amazing…!”
“So tiny!”
“Do they think she’s first grade or something?”
“Hey, who’s a genius, her or the top student in our grade?”
“What are you saying! Of course… she’s a genius.”
“Kyahhh!”
“Whoa! I almost cursed! What was that all of a sudden?”
“She’s just so cute!”
“Are you crazy?”
On the other hand, some students looked at NoName as if they had seen a monster.
“If you study hard, can you become like her? I asked my brother who goes to Seyun University.”
“And?”
“He said being reborn is faster.”
“Whoa… that was a harsh thing to say.”
“That just means she’s a monster.”
“I’ve never seen a monster in my life before…”
“Hey, NoName isn’t a monster, you know?”
“Hey, NoName? NoName?”
One student called out to NoName.
“What is it?”
“Could you… could you sign something for me?”
“Why would you need my autograph?”
He was at a loss for words at such a naive question.
Instead, the friends beside him scolded his actions.
“Don’t you watch the news!”
“Sorry, I’m sorry…!”
“How could you say that to her!”
“Wait, what did I even do…!”
At this point, Sephiron Academy was an absolute mess, a total chaos.
Especially since, due to the imbalance of information, students cluelessly getting excited and approaching NoName were met with iron maces from friends who knew the truth without exception.
“Hey, hey, aren’t you guys from Class A? I’m gonna tell the homeroom teacher about this!”
Eventually, the homeroom teacher of Class D for second graders was called out, and the situation was barely calmed down.
*
[Well, Yu-na…]
This morning, Yuna felt more excited than ever.
NoName was an irreplaceable precious friend to her.
[I heard she got trapped in a capsule and couldn’t get out…]
She had heard that a streamer called NoName had solved a significant math problem.
Seo Maru explained to her that person is her friend NoName. Even if her oppa hadn’t told her, Yuna would’ve been able to figure it out.
Every time NoName’s name was mentioned in the news, her heart raced with the desire to shout.
‘NoName is 7 years old, not 14!’
‘The person who proved the problem is my friend!’
Thus, Yuna kept waiting for the day NoName would return to the academy.
[Huh? Well? Probably since the moment she was born for 7 years…]
But there were also nights she couldn’t sleep worrying NoName might not come back forever.
Yuna often imagined what she would talk about with NoName when she came back, or what they would play together.
‘Perhaps NoName even knows what may appear on the final exam!’
‘Should I ask to play the air game again? Or trampoline jumping?’
And when NoName finally arrived at school, she was surprised by the unexpected atmosphere.
Teacher Jacqueline, who would always shout how she missed NoName, seemed so awkward that she could barely speak properly.
The group that thought they were closest to her, including Yoon Si-hoo and Lee Ha-ru, didn’t openly celebrate her return either.
Was it true just because NoName was too outstanding that jealousy brewed? This idea only existed in Yuna’s mind.
[To survive, she had to eat nothing and drink no water, just play games.]
“Seo Yu-na? Why are you out in the hallway? The next class is about to start; let’s hurry inside.”
“Ah… ugh…”
“Why does your face look like that? Did something happen? Did someone hit you?”
NoName stared at Yu-na’s face for a while and then tilted her head again.
The days Yuna had spent with NoName flashed in her mind like a rapid slide show.
She recalled, without knowing, being jealous of NoName, mistakenly thinking she was from a wealthy family, and she felt her face flush with the memory of past mistakes.
Perhaps it was also the fact that she often took potions because of her poor health…
“Are you crying?”
“Ah… no, I’m not crying… sniff I’m really not…”
With tears streaming down without a break, it didn’t even serve as an excuse.
Beyond her blurred vision with tears stood the friend Yuna admired.
NoName, with her slender fingers, wiped the droplets from Yuna’s eyes, comforting her.
Every single touch was filled with thoughtfulness and kindness.
Even attempting to guess the pain and hardships NoName had endured was unimaginable to Yuna with only her 8 years of experience.
“Do you need to go to the nurse’s office? Hmm?”
And even now, this girl, despite having such painful pasts, wasn’t showing it and was instead caring for others.
If NoName had fully intended to keep everything hidden, would anyone have known?
Yuna couldn’t be sure about this question.
That was why Yuna started to have doubts about their current relationship, ‘friendship.’
The reason Yuna continually craved love and attention stemmed from her mother being busy working since childhood and her deceased father. However, that didn’t mean she solely wanted NoName’s one-sided kindness.
‘I guess I don’t deserve to be next to NoName…’
As these thoughts crossed her mind, Yuna rejected NoName’s gentle touch and dashed back to class.
As if they wouldn’t see each other again forever…
*
“You’re sitting behind me.”
“Ugh, don’t talk to me! sniff…”