“Aiyo! Morning, Ren. What a great day, huh? Say, what are you planning to do on your birthday?”
Asking me something like that out of nowhere, there’s no way I can think of something on the spot. “My birthday, huh? I don’t know. Since it’s the same day as the college entrance exam, I guess I’ll be studying?” Right after I said those words, Ivan looked at me with a disappointed look on his face. “Hey, Ren. I know I should be saying such things, but it's your birthday. Shouldn’t you at least enjoy yourself even for just a day?” What’s this guy saying? I just told him that it’s the same day as my entrance exam. I can’t just skip it. “Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since you got to celebrate your birthday. And for a few years now, I’m the only one who gets to receive a gift from you. That eats my conscience away every year, you know?” “If it troubles you that much, then just a gift is fine. There’s no need to celebrate, is there?” It’s true that I gave presents to Ivan every year, but it's not like he is the only I gave presents to. Though she may be irritating, I also give presents to Ema every time her birthday comes. I guess I just want to make the ones close to me happy during their birthdays. We’re still in high school, and I’m the one who has a part-time job after all, so it only makes sense for me to have a little freedom to give presents. “You really hate celebrating it that much, huh? It’s like you curse the day you were born or something. Well, I can let you off this time since it’s the same day as your college entrance exam. It can’t be helped. Yup, it can’t be helped.” While talking about my birthday, I can’t help but remember seeing Ivan that night. It’s been a few days since then so I was wondering if he got himself into some kind of trouble. I’m glad that wasn’t the case after seeing him in his usual self. The day continued on like it is everyday. That’s what I thought but as soon as we were dismissed for the day, I was called to the teacher’s lounge for reasons unknown to me. “Did I do something wrong, teacher?” I asked my homeroom teacher who was walking with me to the teacher’s lounge.“Hmmm, as far as I know you don’t have any offenses. It might be because of a request the school received a few days ago. As for the details, you’ll have to hear about it later when we get there.”I have a bad feeling about this.After hearing the initial information about the reason I was called, I have a really ominous feeling. What could it be to make me this nervous when I don’t get nervous this easily?We arrived inside the teacher’s lounge and to my surprise, almost all the teachers had gathered. They all turned their gazes towards me that instantly made me feel uneasy. I immediately greeted them and bowed my head. The head teacher who was sitting in the corner waved his hand and called for me.“Good afternoon, head teacher.”“It’s good that you’re finally here. Did Mr. Oleg tell you anything yet?”I shook my head after he told me that I will brief when I arrive here after all.“Hmmm, I guess he doesn’t want to misspoke. Well, that’s fine. Please take a seat, Ren.”The head teacher offered me warm tea. It was cold outside since it rained right before we were dismissed so it’s a good way to keep myself warm.“Thank you, head teacher.” I said and took a sip of the tea which immediately warmed my body.“I remember that you are shooting for a scholarship, right, Ren? As you already know, our school did not have any prior experience for having students like you shooting for college, so we haven’t prepared for anything. Considering how the people are living in our city, Sector D’s citizens are usually set to live their lives after they are evaluated.”I understand the head teacher’s concern. I'm aware of it myself since public schools within our city are like the home for people who don’t have dreams and just want to finish at least secondary education. And within the entire history of our high school, this year’s batch was the first to show academic abilities.It might feel honorable for us, but that spells trouble for the school which hasn't experienced such a thing in the past. They might feel troubled about the appearance of poor high school students shooting for college.“We may not be able to support you here in our school, and we may have lost faith as well, but it seems like it’s not the end yet.”The head teacher’s words surprised me. I was waiting for him to tell me to give up, however I did not expect him to speak in that manner as if there is indeed hope for me.After saying that, he handed me a letter. I reluctantly received the letter but as soon as I saw the sender, I couldn't help but feel shocked.“It seems like you are surprised about the sender of the letter. We were as equally surprised as you when we first saw it ourselves. It appears that word about our high school having promising students reached a few places. This request is not entirely from the company, but since the owner of the company is the one requesting, you can think of it as the company’s request.”This is crazy. There is no way this is real. I was shocked. I was too shocked to even open up my mouth. If this is true then it will be a good opportunity for me no matter how I look at it. Before I get my hopes up, I need to understand why they picked me first.“Why me?” I asked.“You've been standing at the top of the rankings ever since you’ve started high school up to this day, it would be weird for someone other than you to receive it, right? As for the others, there are also minor companies willing to accept scholars. Your case is a bit different since the owner of the company himself requested you personally.”I can’t help but smile. The moment I did, the head teacher also smiled and before I knew it, the other teachers were congratulating me. I’m so happy that I can’t express it with words. The head teacher knew it and shook my hand firmly.“We're glad to have students like you studying here in our school even though we are so inadequate in so many ways. A rare gem will always show its brilliance even when surrounded and covered by mud.”Hearing that made me so happy that I couldn’t think of anything else but look forward to how my parents would react if I told them the good news. But in order for that to be good news, I need to visit the address written in the letter so I sacrificed my 1 hour in the library to head to the said address. What is surprising is that it’s a bit close to my part time job, this will surely save me time later.“Aurora BLDG, huh?”I stood in a rather impressive building. Although it’s not as great as the skyscrapers in the news, it's good enough to catch anyone’s attention as it sticks out like a sore thumb. While looking around, I realized that there’s not many people going around the area. And what caught my attention in particular was the barricades that’s closing off an entire street section.The door in front of me suddenly opened and I was surprised to see a tall man wearing an expensive tuxedo.“Are you Ren Shury?” he asked.His voice is rather deep as if he is speaking from under a really deep well. The way he stood firmly and intimidating height screams class. I have never been around such people in the past, so I don’t really know how to act nor respond other than bowing my head.“Yes. I’m Ren Shury. I read the letter and was told to come here to this address.” I told him.He looked at me as if he was trying to make sure I’m clear of anything before moving out of the way. His gaze felt like it could bore holes in my body so I was grateful that he was the only person, I was hopeful that he was the only person like that in the building, but I was wrong.Right after entering, I saw countless people wearing the same tuxedo and the same intimidating gaze and presence. It made me feel like I came here to be imprisoned or something.“Follow me, I will bring you to our master.”‘Master’ huh? If they are this intimidating when they are just employees, I can’t even begin to think about their boss. We took the elevator and shortly reached the 5th floor. Just then, another set of people in tuxedos stood from both sides of an oversized door. It was like a scene I always see in movies. I thought it was amazing but if you’re experiencing it in person, it's rather overwhelmingly unnerving.“This is as far as I can take you. Please enter, the master is waiting for you.”He slightly opened the door, enough for me to get a glimpse of what is on the other side. But before I entered, I turned to the person who escorted me.“Uhm, I know this is ridiculous to ask but isn’t there any etiquette I should look out for? I have never really met a high profile person in my entire life so maybe I might mess this up and…”I panicked. It’s true that I have not met such a person in my life. What’s more is that this person might give me a scholarship and I don’t want to mess up such an opportunity the heavens have handed to me.“Not at all. The master has already considered such a thing. Please do not make the master wait any more.”Hearing that only made me more nervous that I couldn’t stop shaking. Once I enter this door, there’s no going back. It’s now or never.I opened the door and right away, I saw a person standing beside the large glass window. I was mesmerized by the view before me. I can see everything below, the buildings, the cars, and the busy people going about their business that leave me in a daze.But as soon as I’m admiring the view, the silhouette of the person standing next to the window brought me back to my senses.“I’m Ren Shury. Thank you for having me,”I blurted out in panic. The other guy told me that I don’t need to watch out for my etiquette while facing his master, and my attempt may have already left a ridiculous impression on me.“Welcome, Ren Shury. There’s no need to be that nervous. I won’t eat you or anything. Please, take a seat. I would be greatly troubled if I leave my guest standing.” I sat on the chair just as I was asked to. The room is unexpectedly spacious. Now that I managed to look around, I realized that there is no other furniture aside from the large office table and the chairs that we’re using. “Have some tea to calm you down. We can’t discuss things if you’re on the edge of your seat, am I right?” He’s right about that. If I can’t calm myself, I wouldn’t be able to understand anything. I took his offer and surely enough just as he said, the tea calmed my nerves. It worked like magic. And as soon as he saw I calmed down, he immediately went straight to business. “I have heard of your achievements. It’s impressive to find someone like you in that kind of school. Sure, most of the public schools here accept students from all walks of life. But usually most of them accepted their fate in doing dirty work as their livelihood in the future. So when we moved here, I immediately got interested in the student whose grades are on par with fortunate students from private schools, and that student is you, Ren Shury.” It’s almost the same as what our head teacher told us earlier. Their words somehow match in some ways. Did they discuss things way before I was told to come here? Rather than that, I am more curious as to what I needed to do to get the scholarship. “May I ask the reason why I’m here?” Instead of answering my question, he handed me 2 pieces of paper. Upon reading further, I realized it was a contract. “Please read it to your heart’s content and tell me what you think.” This is not good. I’m getting nervous again and so to calm myself down, I took another sip of tea and read the contract. The content is surprisingly easy to understand without a single thing that could harm me. “I just need to tutor someone? Aside from the scholarship, will I also receive a paycheck depending on my performance?” I asked. “I see that you understood it well. Indeed, that’s all you need to do. You will receive a scholarship and you will also be compensated for your tutoring. That’s not a bad offer, am I right?” I took another sip of tea. I can’t seem to calm myself down after reading the contract. I mean, it’s not a bad offer by a mile. Not at all. If I were to be serious, it's too good of an offer for me. Apart from the scholarship, I’ll also be compensated for tutoring someone and the rate is by day at that. “Excuse me, sir. I don’t want to be rude or anything but this is just too good to be true. There isn’t any catch, is there?” He looked at me and chuckled as if I said something funny. “You’re quite an interesting one. Of course there’s no catch. This place hardly has any good students let alone a teacher, so when I learned about you, I just couldn't pass and took the opportunity. Don’t worry about the compensation, I just want my daughter to have a good tutor.” “Huh? Daughter?” I muttered in surprise. “Yes, you’ll be teaching my daughter. 1 hour of tutoring for $100 is not a bad deal, right? When do you want to start?”Related Chapters
Irregularity New Experience
‘Boring’ That’s how my life has been for a while now. Everything is so easy to get as long as you have money. Luxury cars, branded clothes, latest model phones, and even people. I can confidently say that I have everything. Everyone I know is doing everything they can to get what they want even when they already have everything and they are happy. So I thought I’d do the same, and my father would immediately give me what I demanded. That’s how you can make yourself happy, by getting what you want. I was happy. The joy of getting what you want is satisfying and fulfilling, but that did not last long. And soon, I realized how boring and dull my life has been to have granted everything I wanted without doing anything nor working hard to get what I want. As soon as I heard that we needed to move because of the nature of my father's work, I felt relieved and hopeful that this would somehow make me realize true happiness. “Young miss, we are going to arrive soon.” I looked at the world
Irregularity New Experience II
“Let me guess, you don’t have bills?” I shook my head. I got so used to the cashless life back in Sector B that the idea of bills went out of the window.“It’s fine. It can’t be helped since you don’t have any cash. The meal, just think of it as my treat.” He said with a smile. “Follow me, it would be dangerous for you to go through the entrance. You should take the backdoor instead, it’s much safer and the people outside will not notice anything since its in the same direction of the restroom,”He led the way, and the owner noticed us and gave us a confused look.“Something came up, Mr. Kim. Please deduct her meal from my paycheck.”The owner just gave him a thumbs up.“I don’t know if you’re just visiting Sector D but make sure not to do that again. You're fortunate that you did that here in our shop otherwise things would have turned ugly. Do you know how to get home?”“Of course, I’m not a kid you know?”Th
Irregularity Troubled Hearts
“How is she doing?”Steppen instantly prostrated himself in front of the company owner right after his inquiries all while bathing in cold sweat. An unexpected reaction from someone who was feared by his own subordinates.“This is all my fault! If only the ground floor was guarded tightly, then all of these wouldn’t have happened and the young miss wouldn’t be put in danger! Please allow me to apologize for my men’s lacking ability!”The company owner just looked at him blankly and buried his face beneath his palms.“It’s not like I’m pinning everything on you, Steppen. Sure, I’m angry that my little princess was injured but I’m glad that it was the only thing she suffered. Rather than that, I’m far more concerned about her mental health. She hadn’t sulked like this before, locking herself up inside her room and not eating her meal. That’s far more concerning for me.” The company head said, putting his pen and paper down.“She didn’t tell me anything about the young man who save
Irregularity 'Please be my tutor'
This really came to me as a surprise. I did not expect to see her hang around in the same place where she nearly got harmed. I can’t tell if she’s plain foolish or brave at all. I sat on the seat right across from her and looked at her. Our gazes met but for some reason, she quickly averted her gaze from mine. It caught me off guard. A few moments ago, she had no problem locking eyes with me. Did I do something wrong perhaps? “Hello, we meet again,” I said, greeting her with a smile like I usually do. When I did, she turned to look at me again. This time, she did not avert her gaze away and greeted me back. “W-We meet again. How are you?” It just came to me at that moment. The reason why she averted her gaze from mine earlier might be because of the band aids. She must have felt responsible for what happened to me and could not help but turn away in guilt. I quickly tried to remove the band aids from my face, but she immediately threw me a remark, stopping me from removing them o
Irregularity Unusual Irregularity Breaks
It’s been a few days since my tutoring sessions with Ceri started. The first day was an exception since Mr. Lucius threw a celebration. The day after that was when the real tutoring session started. At first, Ceri was all shy and wouldn’t talk to me nor come near me. Considering the nature of what I came to their place to do, it made things a bit difficult for me.But after I asked her about the problem the next day, she didn’t explain and returned to how she was when I first met her. Maybe she was still trying to get used to the sudden change. I was told by their butler, Steppen, that this is the first time someone was asked to be her tutor. So I can understand her to a certain extent.The tutoring session was a good chance for me to review what I learned and started to enjoy myself. I used to tutor Ivan whenever he got in trouble with his grades, so tutoring another one is but a simple task for me now.While thinking about that, a voice came from behind me and grabbed my shoulder.“
Irregularity Sleeping Pill?
A few days have passed and I haven’t asked Ivan about his meeting with a shady man in the dead of the night. I tried to bring that topic up, but I couldn’t muster up the courage to do so. Despite us always walking up to school every morning, I find it hard to ask him something personal.Just like today. I’m walking alongside him, but I can’t bring that topic up. It’s just too heavy and the prospect of it being a mistake and ending up straining our friendship scares me.He is one of the few friends I have in school. If I were to lose him because of my curiosity, I’d greatly regret it for the rest of my life. I know it.I let out a frustrated sigh. I saw him looking at me with a serious expression on his face. It wasn’t his usual cheery and enthusiastic face. I seldom see him being serious. And once he shows that face, it will take a while till he reverts back to his usual self.“What? Is there something wrong?” I asked.I can’t be too obvious that something is bothering me. Otherwise,
Irregularity Balance
Ever since Ivan confirmed it, I was not able to get it out of my head. To think that someone was spreading something like that here in the city. That alone is dangerous.If what they talked about was true then the drug or whatever it is has a deep connection to the abnormal appearances of Irregularity Breaks that’s happening all over the city. For now, the Exterminators are still able to contain the Irregularity breaks, but what if it continues to grow in numbers? Will the Exterminators be able to keep up?Now I understand what my fellow classmates were talking about. I also have grown restless. And if this continues, my college life and my hope for graduating college will be at stake.I’ve decided. For the sake of my life, my family’s life, I will do everything I can in my power, though small, I have to do this for me and my parents.I told myself that, I have resolved myself to do that, yet I was immediately hit with the biggest problem.“How can I do that? Will that cost money
Irregularity Balance II
It's been a few days ever since Ms. Owen gave me a prescription. I thought it wouldn’t be accepted by the pharmacies since it came from someone who works in our high school, but I was wrong. They easily accepted it without batting an eye, just like when I gave them all the excuses I can think of.This made me wonder if they really needed the prescription at all. Anyway, that made things easier for me. Thanks to Ms. Owen’s prescription, I was able to purchase the cheapest sleeping pill from the nearest pharmacy. To think that they use this kind of trick to make sure they’d dispose of expensive sleeping pills by having the cheap ones needing prescription while the expensive ones do not.“Have you been getting sleep now?”A voice called out to me as I passed by the hallway as I entered the school building. I turned to the direction where the voice came from and saw Ms. Owen’s blinding beauty. For someone looking so perfect, It made me wonder why she’s in a place like this. The way she
Latest Chapter
Sleepover IV: Revisiting Paradise
‘What the hell is going on?’ Is what I want to ask after suddenly falling into a kind of situation where I don’t even know how to deal with. This is the very first time that I’ve slept in the same room with someone of the opposite sex. And it just had to be Ivan’s cousin of all people.Not only that I don’t know how to act in this particular situation, it’s also thanks to the noises they’re making that makes the atmosphere between me and Elishia awkward. Just listening to the busy duo is putting me on the edge. And it’s not just me, I think Elishia feels the same.I turned to look over to her direction, to the bed. And to my surprise, I saw her staring back at me. I immediately turned around as if I saw nothing.Why was she looking at me? Is she perhaps uncomfortable sleeping in the same room with a man? Yes. That must be the reason why.“Elishia, are you asleep?” I asked, softly.There’s a chance that I was just seeing things. After all, we’re all drowsy earlier. She must have falle
Sleepover III
Right after eating, Ivan and Silvia prepared the table in the living room. It was Ren’s first sleepover and since there’s no one to tell them what to do, Ivan prepared everything they needed to have an enjoyable night. The awkward air around Ren and Elishia has finally disappeared and they have become comfortable with each other’s company, good enough to wash the dishes together. “What do you think Ivan is trying to pull?” Elishia wiped the dishes with a dry cloth, “I know I’m his cousin so I should know how his brain operates and I do. But that is before he entered high school,” she turned to him, waiting for his response.“His plans, huh? Ivan can be difficult to figure out sometimes. His mind operates on a rather difficult wavelength, after all. Although I’ve seen some crazy things today, I don’t think he will pull something on the same level.” Ren smiled, surprising Elishia because of his certain level of trust for her cousin.“You trust him that much, huh?” said Elishia.Ren no
Sleepover II
Ren steeled himself as he stood outside Ivan's front door. He had a familiar feeling that something similar to earlier was about to happen. So before that happens, Ren hit the doorbell, one he had not done earlier.Just a few seconds later, the door slightly opened, displaying Ivan's cousin's face sticking out between the space of the door and the wall. The moment she realized it was Ren, she opened the door completely, inviting him in. "So it was you. You should've come in without ringing the doorbell." She walked back. Ivan’s cousin was wearing an apron. So it was not far-fetched to think that she was at the very least working in the kitchen before she opened the door. With that in mind, Ren wondered where his friend could be at this hour."I'm sorry that you had to leave the kitchen to open the door for me. I'm just not fond of the idea of barging into someone else's house as if it were mine." Ren smiled awkwardly.She found Ren's excuse rather amusing, and she let out a chuckle.
Sleepover I
Ren's worry came true when his mother allowed him to have a sleepover at Ivan's place. Although it compromises her son's security, she wanted him to enjoy his life as a teenager. At first, Ren wasn't convinced. He was sure that they'll all be asleep by the time he comes back from his part-time job. To his surprise, his part-time job is suspended for the time being due to the renovations."Weren't you listening the other day.... wait, you left right after your shift was over." said Mr. Kim, scratching his head. "Business has been good for a while now and a lot of customers have been coming lately. So I figured that I need to expand the shop a little bit to cater many customers at the same time. I know that it will be hard with only a few of us. Don't worry, I will look for other part-timers as well."Ren looked lost for a moment. He did not expect to miss such an important announcement. Ren just decided to come early to his part-time job to get away to get a breather for the time being
Accidental Discovery
It's been a few days since I heard that from The Voice's words but I still can't bring myself to enter that world again. There are still a lot of things that I don't know about. And since I am free to enter it whenever I want compared to the 'tutorial', where I was forced to enter, I didn't even consider entering Paradise. For a long time, I wished for my power to be useful but now that it's working properly, I wish it didn't. The experience I had at that time was just surreal, I thought it was reality. After recalling what happened that time, I realized the injuries I've sustained while fighting that goblin in my dreams is also reflected to me in real life. My muscles were sore and I was hurting all over. That mostly contributed to my hesitation to enter Paradise. Not to mention the new power I acquired from the candy unknowingly. [Amplify] I still can't figure out how to use it. The word itself is easy to understand but the method of harnessing that power is still unknown to me
Blossoming Feelings
"How was your first day of school?" my father asked as soon as I got back."It was nice and somewhat new. It's an experience that's completely new to me." I told my father. He smiled and patted my head out of nowhere. It surprised me at first but I didn't mind it. He tends to do that out of nowhere. It's his way of saying 'that's good to hear'."I wasn't expecting you to come to me with that proposal. Surely, it slipped my mind. Your father is thinking about a lot of things nowadays, after all." said father. "Will you be alright?""Yes. The lessons are a little behind compared to the private school here but it's good. The teachers are not slacking off in teaching. The only problem is the students, they don't care about studying at all." I told him."Well, since you're going to the same school as Ren, maybe get to enjoy some competition. For him and you too." I nodded my head. Although I transferred out of a private school after moving here, there wasn't much competition at all. The s
Confusion
Morning classes had already ended and it was time for lunch. I haven’t recovered from the shock since earlier. Thanks to that throughout the entire time after that, I basically ran on autopilot.Until now, I still can’t believe what I’ve seen earlier. Is something like that even possible?I turned to the person sitting beside me, “Hey, Ivan. Is The Voice capable of lying?”“The Voice? I don’t think The Voice is capable of lying at all. There’s not a single news story about The Voice lying, right? Did something happen?” asked Ivan, stuffing his face with his sandwich.“Not really-”“Wait! Before that! I heard that the transfer student is in your class! What’s more is that people say she was the one from back then!”I thought he understood that it was all a misunderstanding so why is he bringing it up now?“Yes, I guess so. But you know it was all a misunderstanding, right? What’s the point of bringing it up now?” I asked.Ivan surprisingly looked calm compared to his usual demeanor. He’
A Glimpse Of Strength
Morning came and Ren continued on his daily routine. Eating or missing breakfast, taking a shower, and changing to his school uniform. This routine has become his daily routine ever since he started high school to pursue his dreams. But after the unfortunate event, his parents worry that he had succumbed to despair upon missing such an important event.Ren’s mother, worriedly, stares at her son preparing for school. She turned to her husband, who, for the first time had not left for his work early, shared the same expression. Both of them can’t find the right words to comfort their son, despite wanting to. They know whatever they say will never reach his heart after what happened.“What should I do? What is the best thing to do in this situation?” Ren’s mother thought, “He went home last night and locked himself in his room.”Ren’s mother tightly clenched her fist, “For such a thing to happen on such an important day no less, nothing can be more frustra
Dream World 'Paradise'
[Requirements are met!Physique: Mid-LevelAge: 18Near Death Experience: Achieved][The Voyager has met the requirements to enter Paradise][Would you like you enter Pradise?][YES/NO]Ren stared in empty space. Staring at the confusing words floating made him remember the time when he turned 15. It is the time when humans receive their powers from The Voice, a system that communicates to anyone who reach 15 years old.After receiving his power, The Voyager, Ren has not heard The Voice up until now. He is convinced that he had the useless power of all and did not bother himself about it.“What in the world is this? I’m sure I was sleeping a few minutse ago.” said Ren, trying to make out of his current situation. “More importantly, where the hell am I? Did that man abduct me or something?”Beside the floating words in front of him, Ren could not a see anything else. His surrounding is enti