Chương 22: Departure

Ch 22 - Departure

"You stupid idiot brat!" Hye-jin shouted as she pulled hard on Evan's cheeks.

"I'm sowyyy," Evan tried to say through his deformed mouth.

"Yeah! Say that again one hundred more times!" Hye-jin snapped.

"Do you have any idea how much worry you caused me and your brother? You're lucky I only got to you now because I've been swamped with work. Otherwise, you'd be dealing with the full brunt of my anger." Evan could only silently suffer as Hye-jin continued her punishment. The three of them were currently sitting at an outdoor table in a cozy café, shaded by large cream-colored umbrellas that softened the afternoon sun.

A gentle breeze carried the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and baked pastries, while the quiet murmur of nearby conversations blended with the occasional clink of cups and cutlery.

"That's enough, Hye-jin. You're going to make his cheeks swell at this rate," Reid said.

"And you!" Hye-jin turned on him.

"I thought you would be angrier about the whole thing! Your brother literally did something incredibly stupid! Or is it because the two of you are equally idiotic that you forgave him so easily? Did you even discipline him?" Reid merely averted his eyes. Rubbing his sore cheeks, Evan thought there was no way Reid would be harsh on him over the kidnapping when the man had pointed a gun at his head after mistaking him for a demon.

"You two are hopeless," Hye-jin muttered before taking a sip of her cappuccino. Reminded of his own drink, Evan took a sip of his caramel macchiato, the sweetness of the caramel mellowing the coffee's bitterness. Glancing at the black coffee in front of Reid, it seemed Reuel's taste hadn't changed much.

"Anyway, I heard you're planning to drag your brother to District 1?" Hye-jin asked.

"Yeah. I sent the request yesterday," Reid said.

"Evan's situation is a bit different from mine, so the approval process might take longer. I should get a response within a week or so." Evan still didn't understand how that was supposed to work. As an F-rank, his application should've been rejected on principle. Reid, on the other hand, was an A-rank Healer. Doors opened for people like him. But even then, sponsoring an F-rank into Central Awakener Academy? Something about that felt... off. His thoughts drifted to Director Shin, the head of the RCB.

She seemed unusually close to Reid, and she also knew Evan. Hold on. Was this what people meant by nepotism?

"You'll be returning to District 1 tomorrow, right?" Hye-jin asked. Reid nodded.

"So I have a request. Can you stay with Evan until the admission letter arrives?" Hye-jin scoffed.

"Wow, you're really that confident your little brother will get accepted, huh?"

"Let's just say I like his chances."

"Well, I don't mind. I'll have to stay at your apartment, though. Mine only has one bed, and I doubt you'd want your little brother sleeping on the sofa for several days." Evan personally didn't see the point of bothering Hye-jin by making her his live-in babysitter, but he didn't protest. He had been kidnapped, and claiming he could handle himself and live alone after that would have been more than a little ironic.

The following morning, Reid returned to District 1 by train while Hye-jin made herself at home in the Whitfields's apartment.

"Woah, this apartment is very nice!" Hye-jin said as she sat down on the sofa, her gaze sweeping across the pristine room. From the spotless table to the gleaming windows, everything was immaculately clean and neatly organized. Evan himself wasn't overly tidy, but with Reid recently back home, the cleanliness of the apartment had returned to how it used to be. Sometimes he wondered if Reid was a germaphobe, or if he simply applied the same intense focus to everything he did, even something as trivial as dust.

"Which one of you usually cooks?" Hye-jin asked, opening a bag of chips and turning on the TV in the living room.

"My brother. But I can cook for myself."

"Cleaning the apartment?"

"Also my brother, but I help sometimes."

"Laundry?"

"We take turns, but he prefers doing the ironing."

"Did he also sing you lullabies to help you sleep?" Not bothering to answer that, Evan finished washing the last of the dishes and headed back to his room.

"Hey," Hye-jin called after him.

"You should try being more careful."

"Hmm?"

"I don't think you're oblivious or careless," she said, opening a bag of chips.

"But your brother already has a lot on his shoulders."

"I know." Evan tightened his grip on the doorknob.

"Outside of work, the number one thing he talks about is you." Hye-jin tossed a chip into her mouth.

"Evan got a full score on his test. Evan gave me this gift. Evan this, Evan that."

"What's your point?" Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"I just want to hammer it into you not to cause more headaches for your poor brother," she said with a shrug.

"And don't cause trouble that ends up dragging me into it either. You'd better not get into anything while we're waiting for your admission letter. I don't want to be the one calling Reid again to tell him his brother's gone missing." She leaned back slightly.

"And the same goes for District 1. It might sound exciting, but you know how it is. The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. So yeah. Wise up a bit, will you?"

"Thanks for the lecture," Evan said, closing the door behind him. Under his breath, he muttered, "Should've said that to the System." [(^_−)☆] Making the news of his transfer public seemed pointless, partly because he wasn't sure that the power of nepotism alone would be enough to get him into one of the most prestigious academies in Nova Terra. Still, he decided to tell Yuyan and Marcus since they were his friends.

"You're moving to District 1?!" Yuyan screeched. Evan slapped a hand over her mouth and glared at her.

"Scream louder, why don't you? The whole school hasn't heard you yet." Yuyan slapped his hand away.

"Ease up. Everyone's talking, they won't listen to our conversation." Around them, the loud chatter and laughter of students in the cafeteria backed her up.

"I still don't want you shouting it at the top of your lungs," Evan said.

"And it's not certain anyway. I'm an F-rank, so the chances of them accepting me are basically zero."

"I'm sure your brother's word carries some weight." Marcus took another bite of his pad thai.

"He's an incredible Healer, by the way. My cousin made a full recovery after he treated him."

"Eh, I doubt it." Yuyan pointed her chopsticks at Evan.

"Maybe if he were someone like the legendary Healer Jung Hwa-yeon. But he's still just a newly awakened Healer. For an F-rank like you to get in, you'll need connections, man. Connections." Evan didn't bother mentioning that he technically already had one and instead continued eating his lunch.

"By the way," Evan said, "how was Captain Whiskers? Did the cat finally come back?"

"Oh! He did." Marcus grinned.

"A nice old lady found him and has been taking care of him all this time. She said he got trapped inside a storm drain and was yowling until she came. My cousin cried when he returned."

"How is your cousin? Any lingering effects? Nightmares?" Evan finally asked what he really wanted to know. Even a minor curse could leave lasting effects, especially on someone Tyler's age.

"Hmm… he said he has some nightmares, but nothing too serious," Marcus replied.

"That's good," Evan said. At least for now, the curse didn't seem to have done anything beyond concealing Tyler's memories of Isaac and the strange Rift. He only hoped it stayed that way until they found a way to remove it. When the school bell rang, Evan had planned to go straight home thanks to Hye-jin's threat and order, but Marcus and Yuyan dragged him to a nearby mall, pulling him from one shop to another before finally bringing him to a game arcade.

Rows of machines lined the floor, mixing classic fighting cabinets with newer VR setups. Evan, having never had spare money to visit an arcade, or even access to PCs or consoles, was intrigued and let the two drag him around to try various games. Yuyan was a master at rhythm games while Marcus was good at VR; Evan, though, was good at getting the lowest score. Even so, a smile still appeared on his face as Yuyan and Marcus laughed at his terrible gaming skills.

"With you in District 1, there's no way we can hang out like this anymore," Marcus said, sinking another shot into the basketball arcade hoop.

"Well, we'll have to go our separate ways eventually anyway," Evan said, tossing his own ball. It bounced off the backboard without going in.

"Once we graduate, we'll all be busy with work." Yuyan slapped Evan's arm.

"How can you say such cold things when we literally spent years together?"

"I'm just being realistic," Evan said. Yuyan scrunched her nose and shot her basketball, but it bounced off the hoop rim.

"Geez, when did you get so depressingly gloomy?" Cursing internally, Evan berated himself for failing to keep up the charade. The other Evan was someone who seemed cheerful and outgoing, and while they had some similarities, that kid who was well loved growing up would not be a bitter man like him. Flashing a smile, he said, "Oh, sorry, I—""Don't worry, I understand. It's hard being an F-rank." Yuyan gave him a pitying look. Marcus nodded, patting him on the back.

I take that back, you two can go to hell, Evan thought, giving them the middle finger in his head.

"That's why we, the generous and kind best friends we are, decided to give you this!" With a flourish, Yuyan pulled a rectangular box from her shopping bag.

"That's…" Evan blinked. He'd seen Yuyan buy it at the mall earlier, but he'd assumed it was for herself. It was one of those handheld gaming devices every kid seemed to want. He'd even seen one throw a screaming fit in an electronics store after being told no.

"It's the latest Orion Deck!" Marcus said.

"This one's even better than mine." Yuyan eyed the box with a hint of envy. Holding it in his hands, Evan looked up.

"Why would you buy me this?"

"So we can play together, duh." Yuyan planted her hands on her hips.

"You've always wanted one, right?"

"Yuyan and I split the cost," Marcus added. Looking down at the gift in his hands, Evan remembered that the other Evan had never owned anything like this. His desk had always been piled with textbooks instead of games. Reid had never been stingy with him, but his little brother had known better than to ask for something so expensive.

"So what do you think? You better like it! That thing is expensive!" Yuyan said. For a long moment, Evan simply held the box in silence. This was the first gift he had ever received in his life. As an orphan, he had never had parents to buy him presents, and as an overworked minimum-wage worker with no free time, he never had friends who cared enough to give him one. To think he would receive something like this in another world.

A small part of him reminded him that this was for the other Evan and not him, yet even so, a smile still bloomed on his face and he said, "Thanks. I love it."

Days passed after that, and somehow, Evan found himself clutching an admission letter to Central Awakener Academy. The paper was thick and slightly textured, with an embossed crest pressed into the top that caught the light at certain angles. His name wasn't printed in a standard font either, but written in an elegant script that looked personally verified. Seeing how official it looked, Evan doubted it was a fake or a prank.

"So you did make it," Hye-jin whistled.

"Congrats then. Need help tidying up?" Shaking his head, Evan walked toward his bedroom. Reid had assured him that he'd be accepted, so he'd packed his belongings and even had his train ticket ready. Despite all that, the situation still didn't feel real. He was really going to Central Awakener Academy. Him, an F-rank? This had nepotism written all over it. Even as he stood on the train platform the next morning, Evan still couldn't quite believe it.

Hye-jin, who had come to see him off, waved as the train pulled in and its doors slid open. Just then, his phone buzzed with a message from Reid. [On the train?] [Yeah] Evan replied. [Good, I'll wait for you at the station when you arrive.] [Kay] A sigh escaped as he gazed out the window. The city outside blurred as the train slowly picked up speed.

District 20, which had slowly become familiar to him, was now slipping farther away, and his destination was District 1, the Core District just below the Tower itself. His gaze drifted toward the colossal white structure rising into the sky on the horizon. The heart of Nova Terra. He wondered how it would look up close.