Chapter 39.1

“Sunbae, come this way.”

Gloria sunbae was walking by with a serious face. I grabbed her hand and led her towards the back gardens.

“What is it?” sunbae asked, her curiosity visible on her face.

“Ta-da!”

When we arrived at the back gardens, I smiled while pointing at the familiar bushes. As if saying hello, the white cat meowed at me.

“Aww.”

I covered my mouth, feeling touched. Maybe the cat felt sorry for scratching me the other day; now that we had become close, it would always come to me first.

“Whoa, it’s a kitty! I love cats!”

Gloria sunbae’s serious face had melted away, and she was now patting the fluffy cat with a mushy look on her face.

Hold on, why are you staying still?

I glared at the cat that was meekly accepting pets from Gloria sunbae.

“But the Academy…… I don’t know if we are allowed to keep pets here.”

“I am not raising it. I just see it here everytime I pass by. It’s amazing, it doesn’t seem scared of people. Ah!.”

I pursed my lips, disappointed, as I looked at the cat that ran off into a corner of the bushed the moment I raised my hand towards it.

“It only hates when I touch it. The other time, it followed Noah sunbae everywhere.”

“Ah. I see.”

As I grumbled, Gloria sunbae crossed her arms and mumbled.

“Animals love that guy. Like he’s Snow White or something,” she griped, her hand cupping her chin now.

“Who’s Snow White?”

“Just some random person,” she half-heartedly answered, before carrying on.

“Even my cat acts cute only when it sees him. I have raised it for 8 years, and I have never seen even a hint of aegyo from that cat.” [1]

“Umm……”

That’s probably just instinct, isn’t it? I once heard that animals like pretty things too.

The next moment, I looked at Gloria sunbae with wide eyes and asked, “sunbae, you have a cat?”

“Yeah, I do. A very chubby one, with a terrible attitude. To be precise, it’s my mum’s. She said it was better to raise it than having some sorry excuse for an offspring.”

“Uh……”

I pretended not to have heard the family details that had come up suddenly and turned my head. But Gloria sunbae, being mischievous as she was, smiled naughtily and went even further.

“My family is just a long, cringey soap opera. Probably everyone knows.” [2]

“Oh.”

Is it okay to say that?

Unexpectedly finding myself learning about sunbae’s family, I was astonished, but I continued listening carefully.

“I have two younger siblings, both of whom are so cute.”

Sunbae told me she had two younger half-siblings, and that growing up, the relationship between her parents had not been good. As she spoke, she smiled cheerfully, as if it was no big deal.

“Sunbae, you……”

Are you okay?

I had wanted to ask that as soon as she finished, but I decided to keep my mouth shut instead. Before she had said she was reborn or something, which I didn’t completely believe. But it did mean she was an adult on the inside. So there was no point asking if growing up in such an environment was difficult for her.

“It must have been very hard.”

Although I thought so on the inside, my mouth seemed to move of its own free will and uttered those words. At the unexpected words, sunbae blinked, so I made a hasty excuse.

“I didn’t mean that like I’m pitying you, so don’t take it the wrong way.”

“Haha,” she laughed, stroking my hair.

“Kate, you are such a sweet child.”

“Thank you.”

As soon as I replied, she murmured grimly.

“Which is why it would be such a waste to let Noah have you.”

Things were going so well; what is she saying now?

I feigned a smile in response. We had been squatting, and now some of the books I had in my hands fell.

“Can I take a look?”

“Sure.”

When Gloria sunbae picked up the books and asked, I nodded easily. The notebook had some important personal research written in it, but since the research was still  in early stages, it was fine for Gloria sunbae to take a look.

“Wow…… this looks difficult.”

She frowned as she looked at the bevy of formulae, text and magic circles, and said her head hurt. Obviously, it would be difficult. Magic wasn’t something you invoked just by snapping your fingers.

I pointed at the magic circle pattern and said, “I am trying to find a way to interlock two squares so that they turn together.”

“Ah, for a practical skill evaluation.”

“No, it’s not for evaluation. I am personally interested in this field. I might continue researching it.”

I hugged the notebook after she returned it to me.

“But it’s…… well, it’s a very new field, so there is very little material to refer to, and it’s also hard to implement. I am having a bit of a hard time.”

“Really?”

As I sighed, Gloria sunbae patted my back and gave me some advice.

“In that case, why don’t you ask your sunbae for some help. I think you have quite a large framework, and already have the theory down. Wouldn’t it be okay to get a little help? You said it was for your own studies, not for evaluation.”

“Sunbae? You do magic?”

“No, not me.”

When I asked suspiciously, she smiled subtly.

“You know there’s a magic genius around you.”

I gave a short sound upon hearing her.

“Ah.”

* * *

Notes:

[1] Aegyo: ; acting cute and charming. According to Naver Open Dictionary, it is “most often used to describe the affectionate mannerisms of a woman toward her male friends, boyfriend or husband.”

[2] long, cringey soap opera: ; I think this is the equivalent of ‘dog-blood’ used often in C-novels. Think of those k-dramas where the daughter is lost, loses her memory, found and then disinherited or something like that. Best makjang scene that comes to mind is the Kimchi Slap (lmao).