Chapter 10: I Became the Last Place in the Academy

The morning was a bust.

When lunchtime came, Yun Hamin looked around and took me to a snack bar.

To think the day would come when I'd eat pork cutlet.

I cut the pork cutlet and put it in my mouth, and the unique sauce filled my mouth.

Clink, clink. As I cut the next piece, Yun Hamin, who was sitting across from me, cautiously asked,

"...By the way, where do you usually eat?"

I froze for a moment at the sudden question.

I felt a whirlwind of emotions that I couldn't describe.

I didn't really want to tell him where I ate, so my mouth felt parched.

But as if he didn't really want to know, he stopped his hand and hesitated.

It felt like he was hesitating to say something.

I had no idea what he was trying to say, so I watched his face for a moment, and the awkward silence was soon broken.

"No, it's not a weird story..."

"I just eat at home. Why?"

I answered indifferently.

More than that, I wondered why he was asking where I ate.

Yun Hamin didn't seem to expect that answer from me, and he made a groaning expression before sighing.

"It's nothing."

The meal resumed.

I didn't really want to have a sincere conversation, so I was content with just eating.

The search continued in the afternoon after the meal.

Yun Hamin seemed to be looking around, and after checking that there was no one around, he cautiously spoke to me.

"Hey, Kanna."

"What?"

"Would you like to eat with me at school from now on?"

Hearing those words, I thought back to the conversation we had during lunch.

I realized that the question of where I usually ate wasn't asking if it was at home or in a restaurant, but where at school.

I was glad that I had answered vaguely earlier.

If I had imagined myself buying bread and milk and going into the bathroom to eat, and then thought, 'I can't say that,' the atmosphere would have already turned sour.

Anyway, more importantly, I wondered why Yun Hamin suddenly wanted to eat with me.

He used to just leave me alone, so what wind had blown him to be so kind to me?

It might have been just paranoia, but as someone who had been abandoned once, I wasn't very happy to hear those words.

"Why all of a sudden?"

Perhaps that's why my voice became a little curt.

Yun Hamin seemed a little taken aback and looked at me carefully.

Then, in a slightly subdued voice, he replied,

"...We need time to talk to decide where to go next..."

I pursed my lips at those words.

I was the one who asked him to trust me first, but now that Yun Hamin was taking the time to help me, it was causing me trouble in its own way.

I wanted to make sure everyone survived, but I didn't want to be hated.

But, if everyone could live, I could handle being hated.

Orca would definitely be angry if she found out that Yun Hamin's grades had dropped because of me.

She might even say something like, 'Why is someone like you always getting in the way of the top student?'

Because it would be like shattering her desire to rightfully claim the top spot.

Still, I didn't want to die, and I didn't want anyone to die.

Above all, weren't those the emotions you could only have if you were alive?

"Thank you."

So I said honestly.

"...Thank you for trusting me, even though there's nothing to trust..."

Why? Why did I suddenly feel so emotional?

Ah, right.

It was because I had nothing until now.

No one had ever trusted me, but suddenly someone was trusting me without any conditions or rewards, and I was so happy.

"...Ugh."

I felt choked up, and tears welled up in my throat.

It was the first time I had felt someone's kindness since I was dragged here, and I didn't know how to handle the overwhelming emotions, so I turned my head away.

"Kanna, are you okay...?"

Yun Hamin asked me cautiously, but I didn't seem to be okay.

I just cried quietly like that.

Completely forgetting that this was a street where people were walking.

Today was another bust, but I was too depressed and filled with other thoughts to be sad about that.

Would it be a little better to say that I felt like I had become a little closer to Yun Hamin?

In a situation where no one trusted me, I realized once again how happy it was to be trusted by someone, and I went home with a trembling heart.

***

Saturday was a bust, and so was Sunday.

But thankfully, Yun Hamin continued to help me.

Even though there was no evidence that anything would come of it, he trusted me and took what I said seriously.

Were there any cracks in the walls, were there any suspicious people or totems?

We repeated that without playing on the weekends, and we talked, which calmed my heart more than before.

And then Monday came again.

Because I had been with Yun Hamin during the weekend, I had forgotten about the cold gazes directed at the bottom rank, and I was once again enjoying them.

There was no expectation, trust, or hope.

Only ridicule, contempt, and the perception that I was a hopeless case.

I walked blankly on that gaze like a carpet.

Knowing that I couldn't walk on that kind of gaze with a sound mind.

When I arrived at the classroom, Yun Hamin was there.

The protagonist of this world with black hair and golden eyes.

The one who was under all the spotlights.

He greeted me.

"Hi, Kanna."

Everyone focused their attention on us at that voice.

I was blank for a moment before smiling bitterly and replying.

"...Hi."

Everyone seemed horrified by the natural greeting.

After all, it was a different atmosphere from when I had asked him to be my friend before.

It wasn't a friend who was doing it because he was asked to, but a really natural form of friendship, so it seemed natural that such an atmosphere would arise.

I felt a little better.

The start of the week, which I thought would be depressing, seemed a little better.

That's because those gazes that I dreaded facing had changed a little.

As the class started, I was able to focus on the lesson.

Of course, my weakness was practical skills rather than writing, but my writing wasn't perfect either, so I moved my pen to make up for it in those areas.

I couldn't just keep receiving from Yun Hamin forever.

The fact that I had the time to study like this right now was also because Yun Hamin was helping me.

He had offered to eat lunch with me, and he said he would help me after the academy's work was done, so the biggest advantage was that I didn't have to mope around wondering what to do alone.

And, as expected, when the bell rang to announce lunchtime, Yun Hamin watched the kids leave for a bit, looked at Orca once, and then turned towards me.

"Kanna, I heard the school cafeteria food is really good today."

"Really?"

Orca smiled bitterly when I replied.

"It's nice to see you getting along so well. And it seems like you're working hard."

"...Ah, yes."

I replied stiffly.

I don't know if it's because Orca is so sharp and upright, but whenever I hear these words, I feel like I'm being told to study by my mom.

Still, it would be nice if I could build a little friendship with her.

"Yes, I'll work hard."

I don't think there's a better answer than this.

I just hope that this one word will leave a good impression on her.

Anyway, I nodded at Yun Hamin's suggestion, and the three of us were able to eat together.

I felt a little better knowing that I didn't have to go to the last stall in the bathroom with bread and milk.

And at the same time, I was so happy to be able to face the academy's luxurious cafeteria food.

I didn't have to worry about being heard and quietly chew my food.

I shoved the delicious food into my mouth again today.

It was a touching moment that made my nose tingle.

"...But, Kanna."

"Yes...?"

I was eating deliciously, but Orca seemed a little uncomfortable with it and gestured cautiously.

I was about to ask why she was doing that while I was eating, but when I looked around, I realized that I was the only one shoving food into my mouth until my cheeks were bursting.

Ah... Thank you, Orca.

I struggled to swallow the food I had crammed into my mouth and drank some water.

Tears welled up in my eyes. I gasped for breath and pounded my chest.

Then Yun Hamin, who was sitting next to Orca, held out the cup of water he had brought earlier.

I nodded once and then pushed the food stuck in my throat as if drinking an oasis in the desert.

"Haa... I'm sorry. Th, thank you."

I apologized to Orca for attracting attention and thanked Yun Hamin for giving me water.

Then we continued our meal.

Unlike before, I tried to eat carefully and as elegantly as possible so that people wouldn't stare.

Of course, I couldn't imitate Orca, who was born and raised elegantly.

Yun Hamin glanced at me for a moment.

He was watching me, and it seemed like he was actually trying to ask about and decide on the plan for after school today at this moment.

But he seemed so sorry that he couldn't do that because Orca was next to him.

I knew this would happen because Orca didn't want to be separated from Yun Hamin in the first place.

Lunchtime was leisurely, so it didn't matter if we did it then.

I just felt so good that I could eat so comfortably that I didn't care.

"...Nom."

I shoved the last piece of meat into my mouth.

Delicious.

I'm so happy.

It was so nice to have someone next to me so I didn't have to be so self-conscious.

The feeling that I hadn't felt since I came to this world surrounded me, and the corners of my mouth turned up on their own.

At this moment, I could forget for a while that I was the bottom rank and being ostracized.

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