“Hmm.”
The eight flames were extinguished.
Still, no one got up to turn on the lights in the hospital room.
“…”
A cold silence descended, making the previous lively atmosphere feel like a distant memory.
“Why is everyone… like this…?”
I blinked several times, slightly flustered.
“Uh…”
“Hey, Nameya!”
“Kiik!”
“What do you mean it’s already off? We haven’t even sung yet!”
“That just means I wanted to eat the cake quickly.”
Ah, right.
Feeling embarrassed, I couldn’t bring myself to look up.
I thought it was natural to have sung the birthday song since they said it was a celebration.
I wondered why I couldn’t hear any singing, despite not being lost in thought.
“To prevent such accidents, I always keep two matches handy.”
Ji Hye’s father pulled a match from the cake box.
“This time, we can’t mess it up, right, Noname?”
“That was a mistake earlier, okay?”
As everyone raised their hands, ready to clap, the door creaked open.
The room was a bit dark, but just from that massive silhouette, I knew it was Park Shil-jang.
Upon the reappearance of the guard who had briefly stepped out, Haru waved his hand, welcoming him back.
“Ah! The wax will drip on the cake!”
“Let’s start singing quickly!”
With a clap—
The song began in time with the applause.
“Happy Birthday to you!”
The voices of Yuna and Haru rang the loudest.
“Happy Birthday to you.”
Following that, Professor Cheon’s low voice joined in. Meanwhile, I caught the manager just smirking without singing. I’ll remember this later.
“To beloved Name!”
Yoonseul, sitting beside me, leaned forward to look at my face illuminated by the dim light.
[Why?]
[It’s nothing!]
I tried to ask with my eyes, but she just smiled and focused back on singing.
“Happy Birthday! Wahhhhh!”
“Happy Birthday to you!”
A grand round of applause erupted. Now, understanding it was the right time, I blew out the candles.
Unlike before, everyone moved quickly.
They removed the candles from the cake, opened the window curtains wide, and turned on the bright LED lights.
Dull smoke climbed toward the ceiling lights.
As I rubbed my eyes to adjust to the suddenly bright environment, Haru’s voice resounded loudly beside me.
“What… what is that!”
She pointed angrily at someone sitting in the opposite corner. Park Shil-jang? No, a little further beside him.
Following her finger, I shifted my gaze to a girl around Yoonseul’s age, sitting with one leg crossed in a casual manner.
She wore a white off-shoulder blouse and cool sky-blue shorts. On her chest lay a Gucci chain bag, and she had sunglasses placed on her forehead.
Though not overly adorned, her outfit exuded elegance in every detail.
Her skin seemed even fairer than Yoonseul’s, who already had a relatively pale complexion.
For a moment, as I tilted my head in confusion.
Haru stormed across to the table.
“How did you find this place, Unnie? Did Park Shil-jang bring you here? Why are you stalking me to my friend’s birthday party? What’s up with that!”
Haru quivered, trying to shout, but it seemed ineffective.
A pair of dry eyes shifted and met mine.
“I think our dad’s daughter has a bit of a misunderstanding.”
She opened a small chain bag and pulled out a rectangular piece of stationery, holding it out in front of Haru’s shouting face.
“I was invited too, you know?”
Haru’s hand, holding the invitation, trembled uncontrollably.
“I’ll be quiet and leave, so don’t mind me.”
Sometimes, I often overlook the backgrounds of Academy students.
Firstly, their age was a major factor.
I had heard that real wealthy families purposely raise their children in a normal way to instill financial sense from a young age.
That doesn’t mean they’re raised lacking, but considering the life at the academy alone, I could relate quite a bit.
Iharu, granddaughter of the 16th ranked Sangyeon Group Vice Chairman.
It was information I had gathered from her friends during the initial self-introductions, but it was hard to find that image in Iharu as she interacted naturally with classmates.
In contrast, her older sister, Eborum, clearly emanated a vibe of “I am a chaebol” from the very beginning, making it a rather curious sight.
“Manager.”
“…”
“Catovia gulp…!”
“Shh! What are you doing…? People haven’t left yet, and you’re trying to say that nickname here…?”
“Puhaha!”
Since lunch, Eborum’s gaze had been fixed on me.
Was she afraid that I would blab about her nickname?
“Name, take care! Study hard for the finals, and I hope to see you at the academy!”
“Sure. Work hard for the finals.”
“This time, I will definitely beat you, Name! Even in one subject, hehe.”
After the birthday party ended, I continued to chat with my friends.
We discussed how Jacqueline had been while I was absent from school, what was difficult about the upcoming finals, and so on.
Detective Ma, claiming that keeping patients too long past dinner was not right, took Ji Hye and She away.
This led to farewells with the others.
The broadcast had long ended.
The last ones remaining in the hospital room were my broadcasting managers.
“Why isn’t Dae-sal oppa leaving?”
Eborum scolded.
“Oh! I should go. Oh.”
“I’m really curious; did you come all the way from Daejeon just to see Name?”
“Of course I took the train. Would I walk here?”
“Wow, such a cheeky way of speaking…”
“I have at least ten times more friends than you!”
“I have a hundred times more than that.”
“A billion times.”
“A trillion times.”
“A googolplex times.”
“Infinity times.”
“Right, googolplex is much larger, you fool.”
“Do you really want to act so childish at your age? My friends wouldn’t do that.”
With that, I sent off Dae-sal, who had shown a perfect comedic performance during introductions under the name Cha Eun-woo, and was left alone with Eborum.
She seemed to have something to say, her lips moving as if hesitating.
“You came all the way to a birthday party, and you’re just sitting here doing nothing?”
She had been sitting in a corner for several hours.
The only thing she did was help a little when Professor Cheon cleared the table.
Still, there was no sign of answering my question.
Changing positions, Eborum stared at my face from different angles, then returned to the chair beside the bed, lost in her thoughts.
“You don’t seem to get along with your sister.”
“Well, it probably looks that way.”
“It doesn’t just ‘look’ that way; it feels like you’re complete adversaries.”
“Yeah. I hate her. She hates me more.”
“Well, then you can just say that.”
“That would be too pitiful.”
“…?”
What is it, do you dislike her or care for her?
With a complicated expression and mixed emotions, a question mark appeared above my head.
“Then would you at least tell me the story? I can listen to stories well.”
“Wow… Did our homeroom teacher charm Haru like that?”
“Huh?”
“Never mind. And you can speak informally.”
“Okay, got it.”
It felt much more comfortable now that she offered first.
It was tiring to address the little kids with polite language.
“Hah. Normally, it’s hard to bring up these stories without a cigarette.”
Eborum sat on the chair, propping her legs on the bed.
Among them, on her socks were large cat character designs.
I felt a bit embarrassed seeing it, and she twitched her feet, hiding them under the blankets.
“Want me to give you one?”
“Huh?”
“A cigarette. If I make one for you, will you smoke it?”
“…?”
Is she one of those types who doesn’t quite understand Korean well?
Despite appearances, she had a bit of a dim-witted side.
Anyway, since I said I wanted a cigarette, I closed my eyes and concentrated to draw in the surrounding mana.
As I had done before, would apple scent be enough to satisfy?
“Wait! What are you doing!? Noname, no, Name, using magic makes it seem like you’ll create something!”
“I asked for a cigarette.”
“I… I’m in second year of high school! It’s illegal for me to smoke! Especially in a hospital!”
“Okay, okay.”
“Haah… Something’s off. This isn’t the image of the homeroom teacher I had always imagined! Hearing that you’re this young is confusing.”
“It’s fine; it’s a natural reaction. Kariri experienced it too, and others had the same.”
It would take a bit more time before Eborum became familiar with me.
Talking with people like this, I found enjoyment in hearing how each person had viewed me.
The graduate student Cha Eun-woo initially thought I was a young associate professor at a public university, and Kariri’s younger sister ‘Hoya Mya Hoya’ Seol Taeyang thought I was an unemployed college student.
Yet, Eborum’s worldview was uniquely outrageous.
She said she only realized I was female later on.
She explained that she became a fan solely based on my gameplay, coming in from the Woloa broadcasts.
She mused that if it hadn’t been for her sharp instincts and luck, she would have never been chosen as a manager.
“But still, Detective Ma is a bit…”
“I originally liked UFC a bit…”
She thought of me like a 40-year-old man in a noir film; it showed she was quite free of prejudices.
Even though I had many close-combat experiences that didn’t allow me to wield a sword because of that damn penalty, wasn’t there a different vibe coming from a female avatar?
“I really don’t smoke! I’ve tried it… well, two or three times, but after that, I never did again!”
If Seol Taeyang looked like a middle school punk, Eborum suited the typical high school delinquent style you’d find on TikTok.
“So the cigarettes earlier were just a joke, right, Name? Am I right?”
Ultimately, Eborum’s words were close to empty boasting, ‘trying to look cool,’ or ‘having a midlife crisis’—nothing more and certainly nothing less.
I hesitated to state it directly, fearing it might hurt her feelings.
“By the way, Eborum Unnie, I need to go out now, but if you still want to talk, do you want to come along?”
“Um… is that okay?”
“Of course. I’d rather not be bored.”
It was almost dinner time, but the summer sun still hung in the sky.
Gazing out the window, the lively energy from the sun didn’t seem to fade away.
With an unexpected companion, I set my footsteps toward the last schedule of the day.
“It’s so congested…”
Right at rush hour, Professor Cheon’s car came to a halt in the middle of the street.
Professor Cheon was busy listening to jazz music and admiring the distant mountains.
And quietly, Eborum, sitting beside Name, leaned closer to ask her.
“So where are we going?”
Eborum hadn’t heard the destination from Name.
“To meet Mom.”
“Aha, we’re going to see your mother… Wait, why are you just saying that now…!”
At that moment, Eborum felt as if she had descended into hell.
