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Phantom Thief Neon and Goo Seulbi.
The two were very excited ahead of the picnic.
Despite their affirmation that such a childish picnic event wouldn’t muse such great beings like them, the two expressed excitement with their whole body.
After hearing about the time and place of the picnic from Kim Yuri, Year One Class Zero’s president, they became greatly distracted by the idea.
“I didn’t want to go to that theme park because there’s no one. It doesn’t feel like an amusement park.”
“But we can’t help it because our classmates invited us for the first time. Thieves don’t show up recklessly, but they also need to cherish their friends’ invitations generously!”
Phantom Thief Neon and Goo Seulbi went to the amusement park in Gyeonggi-do several times, but they’ve never been to the park in Seokcheon Lake.
The attention-thirsty duo wanted to choose the former, but if the big event is a picnic, it’s a different story.
“…It’s been a while since I’ve been on a picnic.”
When Goo Seulbi was a middle school student, she realized how miserable it is to go to a park without pocket money and even lunch boxes.
There are usually parents’ associations in middle schools that give snacks to children, but Goo Seulbi never received one when she went to middle school.
Instead of attending outside events like picnics, Goo Seulbi chose to stay in the library to study.
As a result, she didn’t get along very well with her homeroom teacher and her classmates, but Goo Seulbi wasn’t discouraged.
She never doubted that she was a special person, and she knew that she’d face a wonderful future someday.
And that time was now.
“Then, since it’s been a while, we should prepare to stand out even more.”
Phantom Thief Neon seemed to be planning to create a picnic outfit.
Instead of making clothes, Goo Seulbi decided to buy mascot costumes.
However, no matter how many times she searched for it through her device, she couldn’t find the product that she wanted.
“Gah! …All online shops are closed. If I want to one, I have to buy secondhand.”
The theme park once operated by Namgung Group was currently acquired by the Hwangmyeong Group.
In the process, Hwangmyeong wanted to replace all existing mascots, logos, and attractions.
Because of that, the existing souvenir shops in the park were closed.
“Should I go for the secondhand…”
Goo Seulbi was miserable at the thought of dealing with secondhand sellers and not being able to go to the picnic in new clothes.
When she tried to search for a site that sells used items, Phantom Thief Neon dissuaded her.
“Don’t worry. Didn’t I say I’ll prepare eye-catching clothes for us? A thief must stick to his words!”
Phantom Thief Neon floated a hologram showing a design that he drew.
The design was an arrangement of the theme park’s mascot.
All the props were made of aurora-colored otherworld fabric, which matched the aurora-colored padded jackets they wore last time.
“I prepared props that would match the padded jackets we used. I’ll get to work soon. I’ll have to prepare lunch boxes too so I’ll be very busy.”
“…I’ll help!”
The thought of wearing the most striking picnic costume made Goo Seulbi very excited.
Meanwhile, Neon was laser-focused on creating the props for the picnic.
Eventually, mascot headbands, bags, and lunch boxes were all completed by Saturday morning.
The aurora-colored props were all cool and eye-catching.
The two, who planned to go ahead and greet the Class Zero kids at the park in their eye-catching appearances, realized an important fact.
“Wait, we have a problem. We made lunch boxes but there’s nothing in them!”
The two glanced at each other.
Although they’ve only known each other for a short time, they got to know each other to some extent after they formed their alliance.
One of the things they learned about each other was that both of them were terrible at cooking.
They could boil ramen or heat instant food using a microwave, but even making a roll of kimbap was impossible for them.
They had to go to the park now, but it was impossible to prepare food as extravagant as their costume.
After much consideration, Goo Seulbi suggested something.
“Let’s put some snacks at least.”
“Hmm, alright. A thief doesn’t leave a wonderful lunchbox empty!”
It was a shame, but the two filled the lunch boxes with snacks that Goo Seulbi bought.
Cookies, macarons, and wholesale snacks were intertwined in a strange arrangement, but they successfully filled the boxes with food that Goo Seulbi liked.
The two arrived at the park, their hearts throbbing out of their chest.
Just in time, piles of unused mascot masks were stacked at the main gate of the theme park, a perfect hiding spot for the two.
Soon enough, Neon and Goo Seulbi saw Year One Class Zero wearing coordinated clothes.
In a flash, their excitement quickly turned into sorrow.
***
Phantom Thief Neon and Goo Seulbi were dressed from head to toe, their excitement for the picnic painfully obvious.
The attention-seekers were plastered with handmade props.
Did they finish making those in such a short time?
There are also lunchboxes with the aurora-colored logo of the theme park on their side.
The attention-seekers were holding them with loose fingers though.
It’s been a long time since they wanted the attention of our class, but they were sad.
“Did you invite those kids?”
“…Ah, yes. We met them when we came here last time.”
Ham Geunhyung was very happy to see the two.
Although they never formally attended class, stalked us relentlessly, broke into the faculty office, and stole the attendance records, he seemed happy that the two came to the picnic.
Professor Ham Geunhyung’s happy face was still quite scary because of his naturally sharp features, but he looks less scary today, perhaps because of what’s written on his shirt.
Professor Ham shouted at the attention-seekers who looked at our class shirts with tearful faces.
“Goo Seulbi, Ong Gildong! Welcome. Come greet us properly!”
“Geuhk!”
The harmless call of Professor Ham made Phantom Thief Neon scream and collapse.
It was a greatly exaggerated gesture, shouting like a main character dying in a tragedy.
“For my real name to be revealed like this…!”
Phantom Thief Neon, no, Ong Gildong cried out in a voice full of sorrow, bewilderment, and despair.
…Though Ong Gildong is very similar to a character.
(T/N: Neon’s real name is very similar to Hong Gildong, a fictional character similar to Robin Hood.)
Maybe Ong Gildong’s parents saw his future as a thief when he was young.
Looking at his reaction now and how he used the name Luis Perrena when he first introduced himself, he doesn’t seem fond of his real name.
For me though, Ong Gildong suits him better than his aliases.
Goo Seulbi seemed to agree.
“Ong Gildong sounds better than Neon or Luis though.”
Goo Seulbi looked surprised and then nodded.
Perhaps it was her first time hearing his real name.
They stole the attendance records together so she should’ve known, but Neon must’ve hidden his personal information right away.
The kids warmly welcomed the despaired Neon.
“Ah, if you prefer to be called Luis then we’ll do that!”
“I heard that you lived abroad for a long time so you have English names…”
“His real name is easier to remember than Lu– something.”
“Really? Doesn’t seem like it though.”
“…Daesok’s real name is gonna be Song TB at this rate.”
Kim Yuri and Kwon Lena were most considerate, but anyway, Neon looked grateful.
I guess because he thinks the kids won’t tease him for his name.
“…Thanks.”
Although Professor Ham Geunhyung called the two over and we exchanged greetings, Goo Seulbi and Ong Gildong still didn’t look so happy.
I think it’s because of the class shirts.
The two’s clothes stood out very much, but at the same time, it seems like they were alienated.
They stared at the class shirts, not making eye contact throughout the conversation.
Ah, Seulbi and Gildong– I mean Luis, there are also class shirts for you! Do you want to see if the sizes match?”
“I’m confident that it’s correct. I’m good at measuring figures by eye.”
Mok Wooram spoke confidently.
Mok Wooram wrote the phrase Song Daesok – 25 cm for Min Geurin, and surprisingly, his measurement wasn’t even a centimeter off.
So we left it to Mok Wooram to choose the shirt sizes for the two.
“It’s a class shirt!”
“We have ours too? You should’ve said it sooner!”
When Saeum of April handed them the shirts, Ong Gildong received them with stars in his eyes.
“Thanks, ‘Chicken?’.”
“Chicken?! Can you call me by my name?”
“But you call me Luis so…”
Saum of April looked down at his shirt with the word “Chicken?” written on it and cried.
Because Saeum of April’s name was unique, it seems like Ong Gildong thinks he’s returning the favor since the kids call him by his alias.
As soon as the attention-seekers got the shirts, they quickly changed.
The aurora-colored props were not given up as they were placed on top of their shirts, but they made the words written on their shirts visible.
‘Luis Perrena’
‘The Great Druidess’
We put in their shirts what they first introduced themselves as.
They seemed to like it very much, the look of sorrow being instantly blown away as they smiled brightly.
The kids asked Goo Seulbi and Ong Gildong a lot of questions, and the two enjoyed the attention for sure.
“Okay, I’ll give you today’s schedule! We’re going to go on a ride together before lunch.”
We then toured the theme park with Kim Yuri’s lead.
Since we were the only ones in the park, we enjoyed it to our hearts' content without having to wait in line.
“I want to go into the castle too. Who wants to go with me later?”
“It’s under construction so it’ll probably only be seen from outside.”
The kids began to chat while we rode on the monorail around the park and enjoyed the scenery.
It was slower than I thought, so the chat got longer.
At some point, Hani quietly asked about the schedule.
“What are we going to do for ‘recreation’ during lunchtime?”
“Oh, that one?”
Kim Yuri looked back at Yong Jegun, who was alone in the back row, with a subtle face.
Yong Jegun was smiling, his cyan hair shining in the sun.
He didn’t bother hiding his original hair color since the picnic started.
“I’ll host that one. As the assistant homeroom teacher, I feel like I should do something for you kids.”
Except for the two attention-seekers who weren’t familiar with Yong Jegun, and Hwang Jiho who knew him very well, everyone in the class had subtle faces.
Everyone was worried about what Yong Jegun would do.
“There was a game that I played with my friend a while ago, and it was so fun. I wanna try it with other people.
“Ahaha… Can we ask what game it is?”
Kim Yuri anxiously asked Yong Jegun, and the latter replied with a sly smile.
“Treasure hunting.”
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