HIDDEN CARD: Hidden Card

ESPER: Psychic [06]

After a long time, I came down to the cafeteria for breakfast. Since I arrived at dawn, before the sun had risen, there were no students in the cafeteria. Yeoju picked out her favorite side dish, took her plate, and sat down in the corner.

Eat as fast as you can, get out as fast as you can. Whether it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner, this was the rule in Yeoju's cafeteria.

김남준

"Oh, hello? You came down early?"

김여주

"……."

박지민

"Oh, what? There was someone there."

Oh, why is it so hard these days? Ever since I met these people, my daily life has been a mess.

I nodded, thinking that if they greeted me, they would just sit down and eat amongst themselves before leaving, but why did they have to sit in front of me?

The woman didn't hide her discomfort and ate nervously. A smile played on Namjoon's face, perhaps aware of her presence.

김남준

“Do you usually eat at this time?”

김여주

“…No. I just wanted to eat it after a long time.”

김남준

"So you don't usually eat it?"

김여주

“Yeah, well… something like that.”

박지민

"I know you, do you know me?"

Oh, seriously, I'm trying to eat something, but you keep talking.

I'd just finished my second spoonful of rice, but the two men kept asking me questions, so I couldn't even get the spoon near my mouth. I stared at her with a frown, but Jimin, seemingly undeterred, stared at her as well.

김여주

"Park Jimin. S-class water powers. 173cm tall, 58kg. Likes calico cats. Dislikes mushrooms."

박지민

"Ah, hey!!! Wait, wait!! I'm 174cm tall? Why are you reducing my height by one? I'm really sensitive?"

김여주

"Oh, I know. I just shortened it once."

박지민

"……."

김남준

"Crazy. Hahahahahahahaha the big shot was here."

I also knew Jimin was sensitive to height. Stunned by the confident attitude of the female protagonist, Jimin remained silent. Only Namjoon, sitting next to him, laughed heartily and snickered.

"Now I can finally eat properly." Yeoju dipped her spoonful of rice into the soup, then popped it into her mouth. When she had no appetite, this was the best.

김남준

"But, heroine, it seems like there's no green food on your plate?"

김여주

“…I hate the color green, no, I hate it a lot.”

김남준

"Hey, it's bitter to hate something that's not yours. Here, I'll give you some for me. Eat a lot."

I was eating well enough with rice, soup, and kimchi, when suddenly, a strange food appeared on my spoon. Spinach. I stared at it for a long time without even eating it, and somehow, it seemed to change color from green to blue.

박지민

"Are you a picky eater? I'll give you mine too. Eat a lot."

김여주

"……."

What had once been just one on the spoon became two. Wondering if I should really eat this, I shifted my gaze between the two. One was looking at me as if soothing a child, while the other was looking at me with a teasing gaze.

Ah. Shit. I feel like swearing. The female protagonist placed the spoon that had the spinach on it down on the table with a loud clank, then used her chopsticks to grab a handful of stir-fried mushrooms from Namjoon's plate and stuffed them into Jimin's mouth as if she was feeding them to him.

박지민

"Whoa, whaaa ...

김여주

"Well then, enjoy your meal."

The moment she put the mushroom in her mouth, she spat it out on the floor and let out a squeak. Yeo-ju lightly ignored Jimin and bowed to Nam-joon. It was a perfect exit.

With two hours still left until the training session, Yeoju headed to the S-Class training grounds with a sense of familiarity. To Yeoju, the S-Class training grounds felt like home.

It was a place she stopped by before school, after school, during recess, and even on weekends. The training center, where she stopped by whenever she had the chance, was like home to Yeoju.

Surely there's no one here... Since last night, someone had been invading Yeoju's personal space, so Yeoju couldn't help but be on edge.

Yeo-ju, who cautiously opened the training ground door and entered, slowly closed her eyes at the loud noise that rang in her ears. Ah… Who is it this time… .

In the south, there was no S-Class other than Yeoju, so I couldn't express the awkwardness of thinking that someone else was using the space I had used alone.

Phasic – bang!!!

In that moment, there was the sound of something exploding, accompanied by the sound of electricity. When the heroine opened her eyes again, the electricity had already gone out.

전정국

"……."

김여주

"……."

Being underground, sunlight was already blocked, and the light didn't come on even when I flipped the switch. The female protagonist put her hand to her head and sighed briefly. At the same time, a crackling sound was heard again, and a thin ray of electricity surged up from the ceiling.

It wasn't a particularly bright light, but it was enough to see about a meter away. Sensing Yeoju's presence, Jeongguk rolled the electricity in his hand and looked at her. Yeoju was also looking at Jeongguk, so their eyes met.

김여주

"You should have taken the toad house down and practiced. The electricity was out."

전정국

"……."

김여주

"If you're done practicing, you can leave now. I need to fix the light."

전정국

"……."

김여주

"I told you to get out?"

I knew he wouldn't speak, having seen the documents in advance, but seeing it in person was frustrating. If you were going to say something, you should at least open your mouth properly.

I was so angry that I just stared at him, blinking my eyes, without saying a word. I was already so angry, but it was like adding fuel to the fire.

김여주

"hey."

전정국

“…Kim Yeo-ju.”

김여주

"uh?"

Oh, I was surprised. I didn't expect him to actually speak. A little flustered, I trailed off, and Jeongguk turned to Yeoju and continued. What he heard next was truly remarkable.

“With me….”

"Let's have a showdown."

Electricity surged from Jeongguk's hand.

bang-!!!

김여주

“Ahh….”

전정국

"……."

What kind of bastard is that strong? The female protagonist, who had been fending off Jeongguk's attacks without using any of her abilities, was sent flying towards the wall at the far end of the training grounds.

It was fortunate that the S-Class training grounds had special walls. If they had done this in the A-Class training grounds, the walls would have been destroyed. Jungkook asked quietly, trudging across the middle of the training grounds.

전정국

“…Why don’t you use your abilities?”

김여주

"……."

전정국

“…You’re an S-class too. Why aren’t you using it?”

김여주

“…it’s my heart.”

전정국

“If you don’t use it… you’ll die here.”

김여주

"Ah ...

Even if he was an S-class esper, unless he used his abilities, his body was just like a normal one. Jungkook unleashed electricity on the defenseless heroine, and the electricity poured down from the ceiling, touching every muscle in her body.

I could feel my nerve cells twitching and getting damaged. I could smell the burnt squid on the tips of my hair. I chuckled. I had completely overlooked the fact that this guy was also an S-Class.

김여주

“You… are not joking, are you?”

전정국

"……."

Blood burst out from within him and he spat it out onto the floor. It seemed like he'd suffered internal injuries. If he continued like this, without using any of his abilities, he really... felt like he could die, just like Jeongguk had said.

김여주

"Whew... It's a bit embarrassing to say this now, but I never said I wanted to fight you. You just suddenly attacked me unilaterally."

전정국

“…use your abilities.”

김여주

"I said it's my heart?"

전정국

"……."

I saw Jeong-guk's once-straightforward brows quirk into a mountainous shape. He must have been displeased with Yeo-ju's attitude. As Yeo-ju bent down and exhaled, a pair of clean sneakers appeared at her feet.

Taking a deep breath, the heroine slowly raised her hips and faced Jeongguk. They were about a meter apart. Electricity still coursed through her body, warmly pulsing. If Jeongguk used his powers one more time in this state... the results were uncertain.

전정국

"Try it."

김여주

"no."

전정국

"I miss you."

김여주

"……."

If I hadn't overheard their earlier conversation, I would have thought he was telling his lover he missed her. The woman, who had been secretly wary at the gentler tone of his voice, was once again on guard at the words that followed.

“…I saw it then. The day I found a cobra on the mountain behind the school.”

"You were up in the tree, weren't you?"

The electricity of the government surged around the hand of the female protagonist who was frowning.

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