Chapter 15
When my CSAT score report arrived, a heavy, awkward silence settled over our living room.
A single sheet of paper lay on the table. The percentile ranks and standard scores printed on it were far more brutal and devastating than I’d expected from my estimated scores.
“I figured you were just bragging when you checked your answers, but seeing the actual results, this is unbelievable. What are these scores…?”
My brother rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it, looking back and forth between the score report and me, while Mom stood frozen in the kitchen with her dish sponge in hand.
Dad? He hadn’t gotten home from work yet!
Anyway, aside from the one or two questions I’d deliberately gotten slightly wrong, my scores were nearly perfect across every subject.
They were the kind of nationwide, top-tier scores that would get me into even the most prestigious universities’ most popular departments through regular admissions without a hitch.
“This is the culmination of all my hard work. If I hadn’t been sick last year, I might not have gotten quite this far… but I still would’ve done much better.”
I’d studied whenever I had the time, but I’d also used buff spells to strengthen myself, so it was no wonder I’d scored this well.
“But… with a score like this, wouldn’t it be better not to apply through the Awakened admissions track?”
Hmm… Maybe, but you never knew what might happen.
Just as I’d gotten sick and bombed the CSAT last year, when I was in a woman’s body, there was no guarantee something similar wouldn’t happen this time.
That was why I’d applied through the Awakened admissions track as a safety net, but…
“Even with a score this good, I’ll still have to enroll through the Awakened admissions track. I’m not even eligible to apply through regular admissions in the first place.”
In other words, it was the Awakened version of getting snatched up through early admission.
“Still, I can get into a perfectly good university through the Awakened admissions track. No matter which road I take, as long as I end up in Seoul, that’s all that matters.”
“Well, that’s true.”
One thing I did regret was that I’d have to quit giving diet massages once I started university…
Well, there was nothing I could do about that. I had to go to college, after all.
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And so, I started winding down my diet massage business.
“What?! You’re quitting?! Thanks to you, I could eat to my heart’s content!”
“No, I’m telling you to control your diet. You can’t just burn off the fat and call it done.”
If steady exercise and long-term dietary control were the keys to losing weight, then the diet massages I offered only substituted for the calories you’d burn through exercise.
They didn’t build muscle; they just removed the calories stored in the body… Strictly speaking, it was more like liposuction.
But even knowing that, some people still refused to watch what they ate.
“Still, if it’s for college, I guess it can’t be helped. Everyone should go to college.”
I could only smile awkwardly at the woman’s words. A good educational pedigree was important, sure, but I didn’t think everyone absolutely had to go to college.
I’d always thought of it as just one more title I could add to my résumé.
“So, which university? What department? Since you can do such an amazing massage, you’re going into a related field, right?”
“That’s… a secret.”
Honestly, I still wasn’t sure what department I’d end up in. With early or regular admissions, I would’ve had to choose a department before applying, but the Awakened admissions track seemed to work differently, since I hadn’t been asked to choose one.
Hmm. Well, I didn’t particularly care which department I got into. They were trying to recruit Awakened people, so surely they’d let us choose whatever department we wanted, right?
Otherwise, there’d be no point in attracting such valuable people with special abilities.
“Still, it’s a shame. I liked being able to eat whatever I wanted.”
“You should start eating less from now on. You’ll ruin your health if you keep that up.”
And so, I contacted all my clients with massage appointments to let them know I was ending my business, and I also finished talking with one of Dad’s acquaintances, a junior of his who’d let me use the room.
The room’s owner was glad I’d brought in quite a few more female customers, though. The rent they’d charged me wasn’t much—more like a contribution toward the electricity bill.
Anyway, after wrapping up my massage business…
“But living in Seoul for college… I’m worried. Do you think you’ll be okay?”
“Of course I’ll be okay! I’m not a little kid forever, you know.”
Even when I didn’t have a penny to my name, I’d managed somehow, and now I had money saved from giving diet massages!
Even after a substantial amount was taken out in taxes, I’d still managed to save quite a lot!
I’d be living in a dorm for now, but I had enough saved to rent a modest place if I decided not to stay there! I was a little wary of a jeonse lease, though.
And… if it came down to it, I could always make more money with diet massages! I was a college student, so I could do it as a part-time job!
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After receiving a notice about a briefing for students admitted through the Awakened admissions track before the entrance ceremony, I took the high-speed train to Seoul by myself…
Hmm. The Seoul subway sure is complicated after all this time… How did I used to get around on it? And there are so many people… Ugh…
After enduring the packed subway, which felt like it was about to burst, I arrived at Korea University, where I’d be attending.
“The Awakened Special Admissions Track… only lets you enroll in departments related to Awakened research?”
“Yes. It was written in the information booklet for the Awakened Special Admissions Track… Didn’t you see it?”
I-I didn’t see that! There was a restriction?!
I might not have had a specific department in mind, but being forced to choose from a limited list was still infuriating!!!
Well, I could understand why the university had done it to some extent. They’d lured Awakened people into enrolling by using university admission as bait so they could research them.
Still, they could at least let us choose any department we wanted! If they needed help with research, they could just ask!
Even if I didn’t have a department in mind, I still didn’t think this was right!
“In addition, you’ll be provided with a private dorm room and a scholarship.”
Th-that is tempting, but I have plenty of money! Sure, more is always better, but!
“And after one year, you’ll be able to transfer to the department of your choice. Of course, your academic record will be taken into considerable account.”
Hmm… One year… I guess that wouldn’t be so bad. I didn’t have a department I was set on anyway, and I could take my time exploring my options during my first year at university.
The more I thought about it, the better it sounded… Well, if I really hated it, I could always submit my withdrawal form and spend my time giving diet massages instead!
“By the way, how many freshmen have been admitted through the Awakened Special Admissions Track so far?”
“So far, there are three, including you, Suyeon. More people submitted applications through the Awakened track, but during the interview process, we discovered that some had forged their documents.”
Forged documents…? Even an Awakened registration card was like government-issued ID. Were they bold, or just stupid?
Three, excluding the fakes. Hmm… As expected, that wasn’t many. There weren’t that many Awakened people to begin with. Not many were willing to enter Gates, where they could get seriously hurt, and even fewer awakened among those who did. And the number of Awakened people who’d go on to university was smaller still.
Maybe it was impressive that they’d managed to gather three at all. As expected, the country’s most prestigious university didn’t earn its reputation for nothing.
“If you don’t mind, could you tell me what kind of Awakened person you are?”
“Me? Hmm… It’s not anything special.”
“Even so, the more data we have on Awakened people, the better. If it’s not a problem, please tell me.”
Hmm. Well, it wasn’t like there was any particular problem with that.
“I have a fat-burning ability.”
“Fat?”
“Yes. It burns and uses up the fat in your body… It’s the perfect ability for losing weight.”
Of course, that was a lie.
“That’s… quite an unusual ability. Actually, it might be the first ability of this kind ever reported among Awakened people…”
“Really?”
“Yes. An ability that selectively burns only the fat in the body… I don’t know the details, but it seems to hold some kind of potential.”
Potential… Hmm. It did have potential. After all, fat-burning was just a side effect of the Vitality Conversion Method.
“I think the professors will like it. They might even choose you as a new research subject.”
“Ahaha… It’s a pretty insignificant ability.”
“No. An ability that selectively targets only fat within the body is likely much more advanced and complex than the abilities most Awakened people possess. Depending on how it develops, it might hold even greater potential.”
Of course it is!!! That’s because it’s that kind of ability! What I’d told her was only a small part of it!!
“So, once the semester starts… I look forward to working with you. I expect we’ll be seeing each other quite often.”
“Huh? Often…?”
“Yes. I’m an assistant in the Department of Gate and Awakened Research. It’s a new department that hasn’t even been around for a year yet… but we pride ourselves on having gathered the country’s best researchers on Gates and Awakened people. Even so, there haven’t been enough Awakened people, so we’ve had to bring in outside Awakened people every time… It’s a real relief that three of you have enrolled.”
Faced with the assistant’s strangely pressuring words, all I could do was force a smile and give an appropriately noncommittal response.
Is this really going to be okay…? My college life…?