Chapter 17
I've done something crazy.
“Are you awake?”
It felt as though the thread of reason had snapped with a pop.
Thinking back, it wasn't even something worth getting that angry over.
But at the time, I couldn't control myself.
“Yes... Thanks to you.”
I glanced around.
When I looked at the calendar, an entire day had already passed. It felt as though I'd only been lying down for an hour or two.
“The doctor said you still need to get more rest.”
“I can't keep imposing on you.”
“Your parents must be worried at home, so you should contact them first. Do you happen to know their number?”
“My parents aren't around.”
The professor flinched and dropped his phone.
“I don't mean they're not at home. I mean they're not in this world.”
I told him in advance in case he misunderstood.
I threw off the blanket, folded it roughly to one side, and put on my shoes.
“If you at least tell me your home address, I'll take you there.”
“I don't have a home, either.”
What else could I do when I really didn't have one?
“If you're going to take me somewhere anyway, please take me to Arabyeol Elementary School.”
Thinking back, I had almost left without even knowing where this hospital was, foolishly unafraid. I accepted the professor's offer, and after that, he proceeded with my discharge without another word.
The professor's car was an old model that looked as though it belonged in a museum. A relic of the past that used neither mana nor artificial intelligence.
However, the interior had been furnished with a suitably antique design that matched his tastes.
“If you don't have a home, where do you sleep?”
“I stay at a PC café.”
“Do you sleep there every day?”
“It's been about half a year.”
“Do you have money?”
“I earn enough to pay for the capsule.”
When the conversation briefly fell silent, I added:
“I'm not doing anything strange. I just earn money by streaming online.”
When am I going to finish this?
Throughout our conversation, I'd continued drinking the mana potion I'd picked up from the pharmacy, but this 1.5-liter plastic bottle showed no sign of emptying.
As always, the withdrawal symptoms made it hard to notice while drinking it, but the aftertaste was truly revolting.
“You're going into second grade soon?”
“You saw my student ID. I don't mind. It must have been information you needed during the admission process.”
“To be honest, I was surprised. I never dreamed the top student in my class would be a child as young as you. How did you learn magic?”
“I learned it the way my teacher taught me.”
“That teacher should definitely be arrested for child abuse, shouldn't they?”
Despite my evasiveness, he played along with a cheerful joke.
Despite being a man full of curiosity, talking with him somehow made me feel at ease.
“Does your school know? That you're living in a PC café?”
“If they did, wouldn't they have taken action already?”
“So you do realize what you're doing.”
“But I don't want to go back to the orphanage. I don't want to play along with the children's ridiculous pecking-order games. I need to earn money for potions, too.”
Despite appearances, I was living according to a plan.
Compared to last year, when I had to play twenty games a day just to extend my lifespan by one day, this could be called tremendous progress.
Cough, cough.
Ah, bitter...
“Do you happen to like crepes?”
“Crepes?”
“The crepes sold here in Dongdaemun are really delicious. The line is shorter than usual today, so I'm thinking of buying some. I wondered if you might want one too, Name.”
He pointed through the window at a food cart with a picture of crepes added to its sign.
“...Then I'll gratefully accept one.”
“All right. Wait here a moment, and I'll buy two, including one for you, Name.”
Crepes... Since they were a specialty of the Republic of Britannia, I'd tried them once when I was sent there as a diplomatic envoy.
Were women naturally crazy about sweets?
I'd never cared for sweet things before, but even in my previous life, I couldn't work without sugar-coated snacks.
Professor Cheon Gyu-jin returned with both hands full of large crepes.
They were in small paper cups, and I hurriedly took mine from him in case the contents fell out.
“This is a little different from the crepes I know.”
Back then, I had definitely cut them up and eaten them with a fork and knife, like a steak.
“I suppose that's because this is street food. I'm sure it'll taste good. It's hot, so blow on it before you eat.”
I brought my mouth to the cream drizzled with chocolate syrup.
The sweetness and fluffiness soothed my tongue, which had been suffering from the potion.
Is that a strawberry inside? I took a small bite of the crepe together with the fruit.
“How is it? Tasty, right?”
“Yes, it's delicious. Sweet and tasty.”
“It's a place I stop by whenever I go home. It's also good as a substitute for dinner when I'm feeling lazy.”
After devouring the last bite of the crepe, familiar scenery gradually began to fill the view outside the window.
“Arabyeol Elementary School is a right turn.”
“Ah, I must have taken a wrong turn.”
“You're not very good at lying, Professor.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you heading toward the orphanage?”
I spoke with certainty.
He had never intended to take me to the PC café in the first place.
“That doesn't change my mind.”
“That's not what this is.”
“Then what is it?”
“Name, by any chance...”
The professor suddenly trailed off. The man who always maintained his composure cleared his throat for the first time and even clenched his fists tightly.
“Would you consider letting me adopt you?”
“What?”
“I'm absolutely not asking you to treat me as your father.
Just as we are now, as professor and student.
I just thought it would be good for you to live in a somewhat better environment.
I rambled, didn't I? I'm sorry I couldn't express it better.”
“This is unexpected. I've never thought about it before.”
If I were adopted by someone, it would be because something about me had appealed to them.
For example, the man who adopted Minwoo and Arin had seen their effort and potential before taking them in.
He never showed it, but every time he came to the orphanage, he couldn't hide the way he took stock of several children.
Of course, Professor Cheon Gyu-jin might also have thought highly of my abilities, which were extraordinary for my age.
But wasn't the same true of me? I couldn't remember how long it had been since I'd met someone who could discuss magic with me on equal terms.
After spending a long time doing nothing but thinking, I realized the car had arrived at the orphanage's main gate.
The professor kept his hands on the steering wheel without looking at me. He seemed a little nervous, too.
The crepe he had been unable to eat while driving had melted in the heat, causing the batter to turn soggy.
Whether he was sincere or not, what difference did it make?
People couldn't be judged hastily after only a few meetings.
The only certain thing was that the sweet taste of chocolate still lingered on my tongue.
“Aren't you too old now to be called a father, Professor?”
* * *
The adoption process was completed swiftly.
Auntie Park Yeong-hui, who had always overseen the orphanage, took care of everything.
Even when I left behind nothing but a note and suddenly disappeared, and even when I said I was going to be adopted by a white-haired old gentleman, she remained nonchalant.
She really was a fascinating person.
“Oh, Detective Ma Beom-il came by asking where you'd gone. And who was the other one? Some male college student came looking for you, too.”
With that, she returned to her office without even seeing me off.
Professor Cheon Gyu-jin's home was farther away than I had expected.
We traveled south through Seoul via the urban expressway. Seoul's nightscape as seen from above was beautiful.
It was also quite a novel sight to see several drones busily maintaining the defensive magic circles without colliding with one another.
“You chose the true path of an educator by not starting a family.”
“Is that a compliment or an insult?”
The home of a professor in his late fifties was bleak.
It looked to be about forty pyeong, but with only one person living there, the loneliness felt twice as strong.
“You really don't have any luggage?”
“My school uniform is everything I own.”
“I can't begin to imagine how you've lived.”
“If you think I'm dirty, that's rude... I always keep Clean magic wrapped around me except when I'm sleeping. It's a somewhat old-fashioned spell, but nothing keeps you as clean as this.”
“From now on, let's try to conserve mana and shower every day instead.”
“I told you, it's absolutely not that I dislike washing.”
He seemed to have a terribly rude misunderstanding about me.
“Here are your pajamas. There's also a bathroom beside your room, so go wash up and get ready for bed.”
“It's only ten o'clock.”
“You need to go to bed early to grow taller.”
This man was playing dirty by using my height against me.
I had no choice but to take the clothes and toiletries he handed me and crawl into the room.
The room was still sparsely furnished, containing only a bed, a chest of drawers, a wardrobe, and several enormous boxes whose contents I couldn't identify.
Apparently it had originally been an empty room, so he must have been using it as storage.
I took a quick shower and dried my long hair in an instant with heat-treatment magic. Using a hair dryer would have taken forever.
The mirror reflected my unsightly body, reduced to little more than bones. I really was far too thin.
This was all because of mana addiction. Drinking potions filled my stomach with water and drove away whatever hunger I had.
‘What is this now...’
He'd said he had simply picked out some pajamas at a children's clothing store that fit my build, but there were rabbit ears attached to the top of the pajamas.