LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 12
“The Research Building is tucked away in a corner of the Academy.”
…and on the very top floor, in that far-right lab, was the clubroom for the Supernatural Ability Research Club.
It took me a while to find it.
No wonder students interested in the club just run away, thinking they’re lost.
But if I said that, it would seriously hurt the feelings of the only club member, Meilin, so I kept that thought to myself.
“Ah, found it! This is the Supernatural Ability Research Club. Let’s go inside.”
“Wow, this place is super hidden. Typically, club rooms are more accessible…”
But even amid that, this clueless jerk felt the need to comment.
I swear, as soon as I thought to give him a compliment, he’d instantly knock down my spirits.
I held back what I wanted to say and knocked on the door, which was promptly answered with a cheerful invitation to come in.
Fortunately, it seemed like that guy’s mumbling didn’t reach her ears.
“Welcome!!! Is this a dream…? Four research subjects?! Ouch! It’s real!!”
The one enthusiastically greeting us must be Meilin, who looked a bit like she might smell a little off.
Then the somewhat eerie, overall gloomy girl sitting over there must be Lucia.
“Why are you here? And what’s that about…?!”
Minho’s eyes widened as he saw me, instantly asking why I was here.
His blatant wariness stung a bit, but… business is business.
“Haha, well… it’s not like I followed you or anything. I saw the club flyer and got a bit curious, so I thought I’d check it out…”
Minho continued to look at me with suspicion, still refusing to believe me.
Ugh, this is killing me.
“It’s not like we’re dealing with weapons or need to master martial arts. Joining the Magic Club doesn’t work for us since we’re both special cases.”
“Th-special cases?! Two of you?! Haha, heehee…!!”
To prevent this awkward moment from dragging on, Meilin subtly spilled some juicy info that would surely excite her.
Then she abruptly interrupted our chatter, shoving some forms into our hands, insisting we fill those out if we wanted to join.
Desire sparkled in her eyes like a cartoon character.
“I don’t even know what this club does yet—”
Jinhyeon raised his hand, demanding an explanation, but Meilin shot him a cold glare and yelled,
“I’ll explain later, just fill it out for now!”
She was so hyped up.
I mean, being a supernatural geek should do that.
It’s not every day you find special cases.
As I filled out the profile, I recalled information about the club and Meilin.
First off, Meilin was the eccentric who decided to start this club after kicking herself out of the martial arts club because she thought her powers were too awesome.
Even though it was technically a one-person club, it wasn’t disbanded simply because she kept achieving results.
While most clubs at the Academy focused on honing abilities, this one was about analyzing and exploring them.
Not about making us stronger, but presenting ideas like, “Isn’t there a way to use it like this?”
Lucia wanted to erase her own abilities, while Minho joined to help Lucia while getting stronger himself.
As for why Lucia wanted to erase her powers… Let’s just say it’s a typical angsty teen dilemma.
“Look at my powers, not me, and I want to change that,” or something.
When I finished filling out the forms, I noticed everyone else was either done or wrapping up.
“All done! Hand them over!”
As soon as Meilin saw the completed forms, she swooped in to snatch them up and began reading furiously.
“Freshman, enhancement and transformation dual type, freshman, emission type, freshman, closer to emission special type… hehehe, freshman…?”
Then she stared at me with wide eyes.
“You’re… a freshman?!”
Her eyes were fixed on my body.
“Ah… sorry, sorry. Uh, anyway. A walking chemical plant… Whoa. Impressive, in many ways.”
I wasn’t exactly the typical freshman build, but why was it such a shocker?
She looked a bit deflated compared to earlier.
Did the original version have height issues? I don’t think there was ever a mention of that.
Meilin stared at me, then casually glanced at her own feet and winced, as if something hurt.
What’s up with that? Was there some lingering ailment built into her character?
“…Nah, good thought. Good thought! Anyway, welcome to the Supernatural Ability Research Club! You’re all just little chicks still, hehe.”
Meilin welcomed us and handed over the club’s plan along with access to the club chat room.
So we meet every Thursday at 4 PM in the clubroom.
“So… um, you’re free to go now. I’ll probably just spend today analyzing your profiles. Two of you is manageable, but four? That’s a lot!”
“I see… got it. Then I guess I’ll see you at the next meeting.”
Lucia replied in a still lackluster voice and exited the clubroom.
Then Jinhyeon also left, saying he’d appreciate the help.
Just as I was about to leave, Minho called out to me.
“Blanca. I wanted to talk to you for a sec, do you have time?”
“Uh, huh?”
Minho? Talking to me? He has something to say to me?
This wasn’t in my plans!
“Of course! But, uh, here?”
“Nah, it’s a bit awkward here. Let’s hit a café near the student cafeteria.”
This was totally out of my expectations, making me flustered.
It felt like someone was shocked to have their idol come right up to them.
That’s how I felt right now.
Happy, yet flustered, excited but still wanting to tactfully say I wasn’t ready.
But there was no way I could refuse.
“Sure! I’ll pay!”
With my tail stiffly erect, I found myself volunteering to take on the clueless role.
– – – –
I could tell that Minho bore friendly sentiments, not hostility.
Otherwise, there’s no way he’d order something pricey and be okay with covering my tab.
But that was it.
Why was he following me around? And how was he showing up everywhere major events were happening?
And why was he trying to approach me?
With no clues on anything, I was determined to at least dig deep enough for satisfying answers today.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
Minho looked oddly excited yet a bit tense.
“Oh, it’s nothing much. Just a few questions. About the entrance exam and the entrance ceremony, if that’s okay?”
I watched for any odd reactions, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.
“Sure.”
“Okay, so… what exactly happened during the entrance exam?”
“Ahh… that. Well, looking back I feel a bit embarrassed, but…”
Minho turned away for a moment, trying to act nonchalant as he began to recount his story.
But it was definitely not the kind of story you could just casually tell.
He mentioned how, in order to knock out all the competition and make a lasting impression on the Academy officials, he had released sleeping gas right from the get-go.
So it was him, huh?
No wonder the monster attack during the entrance ceremony got canceled.
I didn’t ask whether he pulled that stunt on purpose to sabotage the entrance exam; that felt a bit premature.
“Isn’t that kind of dangerous?”
“Oh, of course, I adjusted it so it wasn’t toxic. Don’t worry, I’m pretty used to that kind of thing.”
He said it like it was no big deal.
“I’m really glad you’re not a villain, but aiming to be a hero.”
This was an unfiltered, pure reflection of my feelings.
If I had to deal with villains with such powers and skills…
I didn’t even want to think about it.
“Eh? Yeah. Right?”
He seemed awkwardly amused, as if he took my rather rude comment as a compliment.
“Well, now I get what happened during the entrance exam. I can see why the other students were upset. That said, how did you know something was going to go down during the entrance ceremony?”
“Uh… yeah?”
Minho’s face turned bewildered as I brought that up.
“Uh, hold on. How’d you know about that? And how’d I know about it?”
“We were seated next to each other during the entrance ceremony, right? There’s no way you wouldn’t notice the power levels rising that close. You knew something was brewing.”
Minho fumbled toward his words, clearly unsure how to respond.
…Though I didn’t want to think about it, if Minho had knowledge like me, from the original work.
If someone had that kind of knowledge, they would hesitate to respond to such direct queries.
If someone was caught looking at answers to the exam, they wouldn’t admit to it.
I had just thought back then that it was information acquired through some means, but now I felt I really needed to uncover her true identity.
If she had seen the same answers I had…
…
Minho fell silent.
That silence felt like an eternity to me.
“I felt this chill down my spine, like my heart had turned to ice. Normally, that means something bad is coming…”
Then he tapped his ears, saying he sensed something was off.
“I just felt like something was about to happen, and I could be wrong, but… luckily, nothing did, right?”
“Ah, so that’s your specialty, huh?”
Perception. Indeed, it’s noted that people from certain lineages are often depicted as having heightened senses.
Some were even said to have instincts akin to gut feelings.
If he found out because of that, then it made total sense.
However… there was still a nagging discomfort within me.
What was it? What was I missing?
I mused over it.
And suddenly, it hit me.
The reason was so simple it almost made me laugh.
How does one sense something that wasn’t even going to happen?
Instincts are meant to prepare you for things that could possibly occur, not warn you about things that won’t take place.
In other words, there’s no way you could sense an event that was canceled before it ever started.
Especially not if there wasn’t even an assailant in the first place.
There was no reason for instincts to react.
Moreover, the expression on her face back then.
It was definitely a mix of surprise and disappointment.
As if a long-prepared project had just fizzled out in an instant.
I could swear it.
She was lying to me.
Was it to hide how she obtained that information, or was she trying to conceal that she was possessed… I couldn’t be sure.
But one thing was clear: she was hiding something from me.
And the strange interest she appeared to have in me just added to the suspicion…
…No, that’s going too far. That’s absurd.
I wiped away those baseless speculations and focused solely on Minho again.
“So, your senses really are exceptional.”
“I guess so…? But not all of us are like that. I may just be a bit special.”
Still, I felt he wasn’t trying to obstruct me.
Based on my guess, Minho’s intentions didn’t seem malicious.
If he had planned it that way, there’d be no need for him to feel disappointed.
It would have felt more natural for him to think, “Of course, this is how it all plays out.”
Good. For now, I knew he was hiding something. That’s one down.
“Then next… why are you being so nice to me?”
That was the next puzzle I needed to figure out.
Why was he being so friendly towards me?
This could easily be brushed off as him being the heroine.
There are heroines in the original work who, at first sight, could fall head over heels.
But that was certainly not Minho’s style.
That’s why I wanted to hear whatever excuse he had, even if it was just a lie.
“Well, when I was a kid, there was a girl who used to help me. You remind me of her somehow.”
There’s no way that’s true. I mean, doesn’t that sound kind of dumb?
He said that while taking a sip of coffee.
I couldn’t verify whether he was being truthful.
Most likely a made-up story.
But that didn’t matter. I had learned what I needed.
He had a purpose for contacting me. And he didn’t want to become our enemy.
By answering my direct question outright instead of walking away rudely was proof enough.
So was Minho on my side or was he an enemy?
…Honestly, I couldn’t tell.
But maybe I should ease up on my defenses a bit.
It might be best to just hang out while I uncover his secrets.
Once my thoughts cleared, my weighty concerns lifted slightly.
So much so that a rather silly question popped into my head.
“By the way, is it okay for you to drink coffee?”
I remembered reading somewhere that caffeine was toxic to cats.
“I’m not a cat!!!”
Ah.
Right.