At the Player Military Academy training grounds.
The high school students of the Player Military Academy are on summer vacation, yet they conduct a voluntary training session.
Nevertheless, almost all cadets were gathered at the training center dedicated to the first-year cadets.
This is because of Jang Namwook’s proposal.
At first, the others thought, “We’re not even soldiers yet. It’s our first vacation as first-year high school students too. Do we really have to train?”
However, all the cadets who were in the same class as Jang Namwook showed loyalty by participating, and the other cadets soon followed too.
Whistle!
When the alarm rang to signal the start of a short break, many cadets collapsed or fell straight on the training ground.
Do Sihoo was one of the first to lie down on the ground.
Unlike the cadets who stretched their bodies because they were really tired, Do Sihoo complained with a snicker.
“…Ah, how tiring. I’m sure Soohyuk and the others are having fun on Joo-Oh Island. We could’ve been there too.”
It’s just as Do Sihoo said.
Joo Soohyuk invited students and teachers who were involved in the recent youth retreat incident to Joo-Oh Island, but Soohyuk actually invited some cadets from the Military Academy too.
As Do Sihoo and Jang Namwook were there during the Kimopolea incident, Joo Soohyuk promised to invite them to the island too.
Joo Soohyuk also didn’t forget the promise that he made to the two.
— I’m planning to rent Joo-Oh Island. You guys want to go before the vacation is over?
— The kids from our class are coming, so you should invite other cadets too! We have Eungwang High’s Cheonja as our transportation, and all daily necessities will be provided by the resort with Joo-Oh brand’s management. All you need to bring is yourself!
However, Jang Namwook declined the invitation after much consideration.
He refused, saying that the plan to visit Joo-Oh Island wasn’t properly matched with his schedule, and he’s also mindful of the training at the military academy.
Fortunately, Joo Soohyuk completely understood and just said “Let’s go together next time.”
But Jang Namwook felt heavy because he felt like he was telling a lie.
It’s not really because of the training that Jang Namwook refused the invitation without consulting the other kids.
‘…The Seed of Curse is still planted in Sihoo. If something happens at sea and he gets seasick badly, Sihoo might get in trouble.’
There’s nothing much going on with Do Sihoo yet, but Namwook feels frustrated whenever he sees some fragments or signs of the Seed of Curse’s existence.
Do Sihoo whined that he wanted to go to Joo-Oh Island, not knowing that Jang Namwook refused the invitation because he was worried about him.
Perhaps it’s better for him to just whine about it.
“Take me to Joo-Oh Island, pleaseeee-Joo-Oh! Hahaha!”
The childish Do Sihoo made a pun that was enough to make anyone angry.
The others wondered why he was like that.
Instead of ignoring Do Sihoo and his pun, Jang Namwook spoke.
“I’m sorry I turned down Soohyuk’s invitation without consulting you guys.”
With Jang Namwook’s apology, the other cadets surrounded Do Sihoo.
“You crazy bastard. You’re talking about going to an island when you can’t even ride a boat properly.”
“Oho, look at this guy talking when you’re the one who borrows the Navy Curriculum class materials from me!”
“This crazy guy still hasn’t come to his senses.”
“Show me your enrollment form for the second semester. You didn’t secretly enroll in the Navy Curriculum did you?”
“The application period’s passed quite a while ago, but we’ll never know with this guy. Let’s check it again.”
“Let’s do that.”
The cadets who surrounded Do Sihoo reached their hands out to him.
Normally, Jang Namwook would’ve stopped them, but he turned a blind eye this time.
Instead, Jang Namwook took out ion beverage bottles and frozen cups from the ice box and began to distribute them to the cadets, saying that they all need to rehydrate after the training.
“Oh? Oh, yeah there’s no way he’s holding his enrollment form during training. Wait a minute, ahk!”
The other cadets caught up when Do Sihoo ran away.
And soon, they found a note saying ‘Guidance for Application for a Change to Out-of-period Course’ in one of his pockets.
With that, Do Sihoo can’t make any more excuses.
It’s because one of the subject codes on the back of the notice was for the Navy Curriculum, and it was highlighted.
The faces of the cadets who were just trying to tease Do Sihoo suddenly became stiff.
The expression on Jang Namwook’s face, who was distributing the drinks and belatedly realized the situation, also disappeared.
Seeing the faces of Jang Namwook and the other cadets after he was unintentionally caught, although Do Sihoo hasn’t really pushed through with taking the course, it’s obvious that he still has lingering feelings about it.
“This kid is really crazy.”
“No, it’s just… I had no intention of adding this subject at a later time. I just wanted to keep this note. It’s true, I’m…”
“Shut up.”
Hit!
Starting with one cadet, they lightly punched Do Sihoo in the abdomen.
Those who hit Do Sihoo were handed an ice cup by Jang Namwook as if they were getting a reward.
When it was finally over and Do Sihoo laid down on the ground to stretch his body, the cadet who first hit Do Sihoo spoke.
“Hey, Jang! He’s laying here for you to hit his face.”
“Yeah, we stopped Kyuyeon from striking him first.”
“Alright, let’s start training again after one last hit.”
At some point, it seemed that whenever Do Sihoo had an incident, Jang Namwook would always hit Sihoo’s face.
It’s almost like a tradition at this point.
Jang Namwook didn’t refuse.
Jang Namwook stood up from his seat and looked at Do Sihoo.
He pretended to be feeling sorry for Sihoo but his words meant the opposite.
“Sihoo-ya, do you want me to hit the left side or right side of your face?”
“I guess the captain deserves a special double-sided strike.”
“Alright!’
In the end, Do Sihoo was hit on both sides of his face.
* * *
From Incheon Port, Joo-Oh Island was much farther than Sokmo Island.
Also, in consideration of the students who weren’t able to enjoy the voyage aboard the Cheonja, the boat moved at a fairly slow speed.
As we leisurely enjoyed the voyage, we arrived a bit late and it was almost dinner time when we got off the ship.
“When I saw the reviews of Joo-Oh Island on social media, all the foods looked delicious…! I can’t wait to see what we’ll have for dinner!”
“Whatever comes out, I’m a hundred percent sure it’s better than what we had during the retreat.”
Joo-Oh Island is commonly found under #CelebTracker, but it’s also found in #MukbangTerror.
Among the posts with that tag were photos of foods that looked delicious even on screen.
With the kids getting off the ship with expectant faces, there was still that one guy who hasn’t come to his senses.
It’s none other than Mok Wooram.
“…Lena-nim has a beautiful voice and a beautiful heart. As expected, her tone is not the only thing that’s beautiful about my muse.”
Still, under the guise that he’s not feeling well, Mok Wooram eventually moved his body slowly and followed us.
This guy says that this trip with Kwon Lena is so wonderful that he can’t bear to stay right next to her.
Although Kim Yuri is our class president, I can’t just let her take care of this dangerous guy especially since she had just been discharged from the hospital.
So, it was me, the vice-president, and Professor Ham Geunhyung who took charge of Mok Wooram.
“…Lena-nim? Muse?”
Professor Geunhyung had a complicated facial expression.
He seemed to slowly realize that the new addition to Class Zero was another nutcase.
“I have a habit of talking to myself… What if Lena-nim feels uncomfortable while staying at the hotel for 4 days and 3 nights?”
His question doesn’t seem like a rhetorical one.
Mok Wooram, as if he belatedly realized something, gasped.
“Come to think of it, I’m staying in the same dormitory building as Lena-nim again! In the meantime, I’m going to avoid Lena-nim and…”
I’m not so sure what Mok Wooram’s worried about.
For now, I decided to reassure him since I’m the one he’s been able to talk to before.
“The place for us Eungwang High students is completely soundproofed and equipped with energy wave to keep everyone safe. You won’t hear anything from the outside at all unless you leave a window open or break a wall. The same goes for the resort here.”
“Ah, is that so? That’s a relief! I’ve been having that trouble on my travels.”
Mok Wooram lived in shabby accommodations because he was robbed during his travels.
Underdeveloped facilities are not so good for players who plan to stay in one place for a long time.
Both Eungwang High and the Joo-Oh Group strictly comply with building laws related to player accommodation facilities, so there’s going to be no problem with that.
Even when it became noisy on the first day of admission due to the incident with Kwon Lena, if no one had their windows open, no one would’ve heard her and she would’ve passed there without anyone knowing.
As I walked with Mok Wooram, I heard Joo Soohyuk’s voice in the distance.
“Hey, Euishin-ah! I need to talk to you about the room assignments…”
“Go ahead. Leave Mok Wooram to me.”
“Thank you. I’ll be going ahead. See you later.”
The goal of this trip is to make my classmates and my playable characters happy during the summer vacation.
I went to Joo SOohyuk, promising myself to make the conversation short so that Ham Geunhyung could rest too.
Around Joo Soohyuk, the president and vice-president of each class were gathered.
Whether it’s because of their rich behind-the-scene stories, or because it’s the first time they met since the retreat, Ahn Dain and Kwon Yuri were blooming like flowers.
‘It wasn’t easy to visit Yuri in the hospital, and Dain was busy with her own stuff, so it’s been a while since I’ve seen the both of them.’
As the title heroine, Ahn Dain was as busy as Joo Soohyuk.
She had a lot on her plate and her story has progressed a lot even though I’m not really involved in it.
Ahn Dain carried out many quests during the summer vacation, including stopping the assassination of a retired politician and helping some players who were lost in a labyrinth-type place during a collision of the two worlds.
‘Ahn Dain’s quests go much smoother here than in the game. Perhaps it’s because Kim Yuri is alive, as well as her friends, or perhaps because there was no Choi Pyeondeuk to torment her?’
Ahn Dain, who has a reputation for being like an ice flower, was currently under the sun, smiling like a sunflower.
And while Joo Soohyuk was looking at Ahn Dain with a happy face, Moon Saeron seems to be itching to take a photo of the two.
“You’re here.”
“…Yep.”
It’s been a while since I’ve seen Yoo Sanghoon in person after the typhoon.
I’m sure Yoo Sanghoon knows of my conversation with Jang Namwook, so I’m contemplating how I should approach this situation.
‘I’m sure Namwook told him that I was the one who caused those nightmares.’
That day, I told them bravely that they won’t have those nightmares anymore.
I even apologized, so I bet they’ve deduced that I had something to do with why they had those nightmares.
But there’s a difference between them just guessing and me telling them the truth myself.
It’s difficult to predict how they’d react.
However, taking their personalities into consideration, I don’t think they’d be mad or demand another apology.
Still, for some strange reason, I can’t bring myself to talk to him about it.
‘Will things still stay the same once I tell him I’m the cause of his nightmare?’
After deciding on the room assignments, I couldn’t bear to talk as I walked back to the other Class Zero kids.
* * *
Our first activity after leaving our luggage in our own rooms was to have a barbecue by the beach.
We had a lot of refreshments aboard the Cheonja, but my stomach quickly ran out of juice once we reached our destination.
In that short period of time, the kids had already played around on the beach so their physical strength quickly depleted, and their stomachs pleaded to have the meal served quickly.
It’s already past 6 o’clock but the sun is still up, so we set up a brazier and grill on the beach to grill some meat.
There was beef, pork, lamb, king crab, shrimp, mushroom, whole corn, and asparagus to cook.
“Hahaha! I think it’s time for me to step up.”
The student chosen to be the chef was none other than Hwang Jiho.
Anyway, it kind of suits his age.
He mixed the seasoning wonderfully and grilled the meat and vegetables well.
The barbecue party was in full swing.
And then…
Hwang Jiho, the teachers, and some students sensitive to energy wave shouted at the far side of the sea.
“…Something’s coming!”
“Get out of the water!”
Several students who were splashing around at the beach were rushed by the teachers to run out.
From the other side of the sea, there was something approaching us at a rapid pace.
“What is that?!”
“…There were energy traps installed in Joo-Oh Island before. It’s impossible for it to ride the tide and come all the way here!”
The students quickly pulled out their weapons and prepared for battle.
It was a sudden situation, but the kids who went through the retreat incident seemed to have gotten a little used to this situation.
“Hmm, I don’t think it’s a good idea to attack it.”
Hwang Jiho said as he used his glare skill to look at the ocean while still focusing on what he was cooking.
Something about to land on the beach might be Hwang Jiho’s acquaintance.
“W-what the? Is that a native person?”
“Is it a primitive man from the other world?”
The figure looked like that at first glance, but looking closely, it seems like someone that I know.
I’m not the only one who knows him.
He’s probably a famous figure that everyone in our school knows.
“Food… meat… save me…”
The figure who was scrambling to the sandy beach was wearing a Eungwang High summer uniform.
The identity of the zombie-like person looks like he escaped a boot camp on an uninhabited island.
It was none other than the class president of Third Year Class Zero, Woo Kihwan
