"..."

"Baek Yu-Seol! Wake up and come forward."

"Uh...yes?"

Baek Yu-Seol, who had been dozing off at the back, stood up with a dazed look, stared blankly at the board for a moment, and then let out a yawn.

As wrinkles formed at the corners of the professor's eyes, Baek Yu-Seol, who had just woken up, asked hesitantly.

"Um… but..."

"Why can't you solve it?"

When the professor gave a smirk as if to say, "Well, that's expected," Baek Yu-Seol asked in confusion.

"Can you tell me the conditions for the calculation environment?"

"Conditions? What about the acceleration due to gravity?"

"... What?"

"Is it assumed to be under the conditions of 1 magical force pressure and 1 atmospheric pressure? What about air resistance and friction?"

Upon hearing that nonsensical question, the professor sighed and shouted.

"Ignore all of that. Assume there is no friction, no air resistance, and no acceleration due to gravity, and solve it!"

Upon hearing this, Baek Yu-Seol pondered for a while and cautiously spoke with half-asleep eyes.

"Um..."

"What's the problem now?"

"If there is no friction, the Earth Sphere would stay in place and rotate in the air, so it wouldn't be able to move forward..."

The professor grabbed his forehead in frustration.

After the lecture, Baek Yu-Seol was about to leave the classroom, but the expressions of some students changed.

It was lunchtime.

They approached him subtly, intending to have a meal
together.

Lately, there was a trend among students to study while having a meal, and many students wanted to get some help or advice from Baek Yu-Seol, regardless of his attitude in class.

His note-taking ability was among the top.

Before they could, Eisel hurriedly approached him.

‘I've been struggling a lot lately, too!’

Although she felt sorry for the other students, she hoped that maybe they could study together since they were closer.

She was about to tap his shoulder, thinking that way.

"Do you have any lunch plans, Commoner?"

Hong Bi-Yeon, who was waiting outside the classroom, approached him.

Stiff.

All the students who were approaching Baek Yu-Seol seemed to freeze in time. Eisel, too, froze in the same posture, with her arm stretched out.

"... It's not for personal reasons. I want to talk about something important."

"Something important?"

"Yeah. If having a meal with me is uncomfortable, you can go back."

"No, well, it's not uncomfortable to that extent."

‘An important... conversation?’

Eisel remained silent like a dumbfounded person and stared at the back of Baek Yu-Seol for a while. He stood there, making eye contact with Hong Bi-Yeon, and finally parted his lips.

"Black Pork Lunch Special Set."

… It was a mischievous voice filled with humor, not much different from how he usually treated her.

"I'll treat you."

"Let's go."

Just like that, their appointment was fulfilled in an instant, and the students turned back with regretful steps.

However, Eisel couldn't easily lift her feet.

Something felt strange and... a peculiar emotion.

It was a truly embarrassing and eerie feeling.

A sense of loss.

Until now, she had thought his presence was natural.

He approached without hesitation, easily breaking down the walls she had put up.

And then... he occupied a very significant place within her heart.

So she had thought that Baek Yu-Seol being with her was natural, for as long as she could remember.

Just as she followed him, he guided her.

But... was that just a one-sided belief?

‘... What am I thinking?’

Suddenly, feeling embarrassed about such thoughts, Eisel snapped out of it and turned on her heel.

"For today's lunch... I should have the cafeteria food for a change."

She gathered her major-related books and was about to leave when someone blocked her path.

"Hello?"

"Yes?"

It was a girl with wavy, chestnut-brown hair that cascaded beautifully like ramen noodles. Her name was Hariren, a name Eisel had heard from time to time.

Though not a famous student, she had a particularly distinct charm. She was quite relaxed, which made her stand out in the intense atmosphere of Class S~A.

Hariren was in the Class B, and being from a noble background, she didn't pay much attention to social status.

For that reason, Hariren was known as someone who got along with everyone regardless of social status, and Eisel occasionally looked at her with envy.

Just an ordinary high school student.

She had a lot of friends in a very ordinary way.

With nothing to worry about, her life revolved around studying and friends.

"I've been hearing a lot about you lately."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. My friends want to get to know you. Would you like to have lunch together?"

"They want to get to know me? That's..."

"I'm serious, you know? Well, ahem. I can't deny that some of them have ulterior motives. Many of them want to hear about you directly... and you're really good at studying, right? Isn't that true?"

"Well, yeah... I suppose."

"We'll have lunch and form a study group. It's more comfortable studying with peers than asking teachers, right? So, I want to learn from you."

"Oh..."

As Eisel hesitated, Hariren gave her a menacing look and spoke.

"If anyone dares to insult you or act crazy, I'll break their noses. Can you trust me just this once?"

"You… Using such aggressive language isn't good!"

"Huh? Ahaha! So you have a cute side that's different from the rumors? Anyway, let's eat together, okay?"

After a moment of hesitation, it was still difficult to refuse.

Eisel looked blankly at the empty seats where Hong Bi-Yeon and Baek Yu-Seol had disappeared.

What could those two be talking about? What exactly is a "significant conversation"?

Eisel seemed nervous and mad due to the fact that Baek Yu-Seol was with the woman she hated the most, but she managed to keep her composure and spoke to Hariren.

"Well then... let's go together, just this once."

"As expected! Come on, let's go! The others are waiting!"

And so, Eisel ended up having a meal with Hariren's very ordinary friends.