At first, I thought that my presence was being too much of a bother but then I realized that Arkalee should not be here at all, so I stayed to watch the scene.

Coincidentally, as Hyunda seemed to be in a pitch, even though his facial expression was not symbolizing that, he looked at me, for some reason.

"Arkalee... I didn't speak to any girl, as you said."

Still in his arms, with almost her lips clashing with Hyunda's, Arkalee didn't let him off the hook.

"Oh, really? Explain the smell. I'm really so curious, sweetheart!"

Okay, it's the second time that Arkalee's addressing Hyunda with lovey-dovey nicknames. She's really assuming cargo here.

And also, this is one of those times where I might just become one with the wind, again. In other words, the state of being where my presence evaporates from existence.

However, as I was having that thought, Hyunda went ahead and made sure that I suddenly became relevant to the scene.

"I went to a shop and bought a toy. The clerk was a woman, so it couldn't be helped. Remember that I said that I got a new toy a while ago, Daniel?"

"Yes, this is true. Though, it's still not here. Did you do your reservation, Hyunda?"

"It will be mine eventually. Just a little work left, that's all."

I'm still curious about his toy, by the way. But Hyunda's being so indirectly mysterious about it. Nevertheless, Arkalee's suspicions, which should have immediately vanished, seemingly only further increased.

"How old was she? Plus, what shop did you go to? I need to check if what you are telling is true, after all. N-Not that I doubt you, just saying, but, when a clerk smells this good, you just have to wonder, right, right!?"

Arkalee's expression right now is the mixture of anxiety, doubt, depression mixed with a tad bit of eccentricity.

But, still, Hyunda didn't change his calm attitude and delivered his speech in a calm and comprehensive way, even to the likes of Arkalee, who was on the verge of freaking out.

"Arkalee, you are overthinking this. After all, I went to the shop to buy you something."

"You... did...?"

By contrast to her previous sad expression full of overflowing tears and ruined makeup, Arkalee's bright smile and red cheeks were the culmination of all of her happiness, as she saw Hyunda take a wrapped present out of his pocket.

"Here you go. I was planning on giving it to you at the end of the month, but since you are so impatient, you even caught me in the moment. The surprise is ruined now though."

To further increase the dramatic atmosphere, Arkalee placed her right hand on her mouth and allowed a stream of tears to come forward, in a moment of sheer happiness, as she received Hyunda's present.

"I... I... had no idea! Wow, I am so sorry! I should've waited! I am so, but so sorry! Look, this was my bad! You can still give me at the end of the month! I'll pretend like this never happened! Sorry! Really, really! A-And, you were trying to stay away from me in order for me to not know! Oh my god, I am so dumb!"

"You can keep it. I'll come up with something else at the end of the month. Don't cry too much. You're wasting your tears, Arkalee."

"No, no... For you, they are always worth it. I'm sorry... I really was an idiot. Can you forgive me?"

"You are forgiven."

Yeah, sure. I like to not exist too. Why am I even here? Good thing I ask that question every day when I look at my morning mirror while proceeding to brush my teeth.

There's also the fact that Arkalee just paused her head on Hyunda's chest while they are both hugging each other. By complete contrasts, Arkalee's facial expression reflects endless happiness with a drop of relief while Hyunda's expression remains the same as mine, monochromatic, bored, and simple.

"Arkalee."

Hyunda, with a serene voice, called out to Arkalee while patting her head in the process.

Arkalee, in response, slowly lifted her head and showed her teary eyes to Hyunda as well.

"Yes...?"

"I'm hella sleepy. Which means I have to sleep."

"Oh, alright... It's a bit early, but I understand. Okay, do you have your key with you?"

Glistering confusion rose to the surface as I stood there, a few centimeters away from both of them, witnessing that conversation that should not have happened in the first place.

Mainly because if Hyunda is feeling sleepy then he has all the right in the world to go to his room and sleep. That's what his room essentially serves; as a resting place.

My question is... Why is Arkalee still here despite this being the obvious fact?

"I do have it with me."

"Great! Do you want me to open it for you or...?"

"No, I'm good. I can do it myself. But, I can't right now, Arkalee."

"Oh, why, love?"

She's really coming out, my god.

"You're hugging me too tightly. To the point where I can't exactly move. So, can you move away for a bit and allow me to open my door lock?"

"I'll have to deny it... Why don't you give me your key? Or rather... Shouldn't we name it 'our key'? I think that would make a lot more sense. Like, at the end of the month, we should go and get a key done that is the same as your room's! Ah, but that would mean that we would also have to get one done that has the same as my room's! Not to worry. We won't. Here. Have mine."

In order to give Hyunda her room's key, she had to stop hugging him while pulling out her room key from her skirt's pocket.

However, Hyunda didn't take it and just replied back.

"You have a very vivid imagination, Arkalee."

"T-Thank you..."

And then she looks at the ground, embarrassed and embraces a shy stance as if Hyunda's words are holy to her and that all the evil in the world is everything else.

"But, I'll have to refuse. Because, by normal standards, I can't just walk into your dorm and go to your room. You shouldn't be able to do it as well yet here you are."

Finally, Hyunda decided to open his room's door; however, neither Arkalee nor me saw anything that was inside of it, as Hyunda simply opened a tiny, minuscular, fraction of it.

Arkalee, on the other hand, kept walking in the same way as Hyunda, while not uttering any words in response to his previous sentence, which forced Hyunda to face her respectively, as she got closer and closer to him.

"Arkalee, only on occasion."

"Um, why though? Are you worried that others might find out? Daniel, I am going to sleep in Hyunda's room. Do not tell anyone, or I will kill you in your sleep."

"Hyunda, I'm gonna call King George. Had enough with this bitch's malevolent actions."

Then, as I attempted to go down the stairs and call out to King George, Hyunda stopped me from doing so with just a few words.

"Don't do that. There's no need to, Daniel."

"Yup! We are going to sleep together and that's it!"

"No, we are not. You do know that you get a warning for dorm invasion, right? Just be a good girl and go to your dorm, Arkalee. Or do I need to say the same words as last time?"

"N-No! Please no! But... Ugh, why? Why? Why? Why?! We already d---"

Arkalee attempted to say something, but Hyunda tapped her mouth in response, for some reason...

"No is no. If you insist, then you can forget it."

"Forget what!?"

"Our time at the end of the month."

"Oh my god! Don't say that! Please, even as a joke, that's way too much!"

Back to crying in his arms, she goes... How would she react if she saw Hyunda injured? Would she kill everyone in sight?

At this point, seeing her reactions is peak comedy to me, henceforth, I'm holding myself back in every conversation as I don't want to interrupt this hilarious drama queen from spewing her overexaggerated sentences based on her passionate feelings.

"It's not a joke. It's the truth. Also, I might have to ask the present back at this rate, since you are getting too persistent."

"Please don't get mad... I...I...! It really was with the best intentions! I just want to be with you! You can understand that, right?!"

"I'm not mad at you, Arkalee. And yes, I can understand. But tomorrow will come. And tomorrow, we will talk with each other. I am not your lifeline."

I mean, is she actually gonna go away though? Holy shit, like, what the fuck? I knew that I was bound to meet some fucked up individuals when I got here, but Arkalee went completely off my radar yet as things stand, she's by far the worst lunatic!

Which makes me wonder if there are worse individuals in our class...

Am I too normal? Though... I could demonstrate psychotic behavior if I wanted to. I'm just too lazy to do so.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

"Yes, we will indeed talk tomorrow. I can guarantee you that. However... Is there really no other way? Can't it be like that time?"

What is she referring to?

"That was an occasion. An occasion is an event that doesn't happen frequently."

"Okay, I get it! But, it's been a while so..."

"Arkalee."

"Okay, look, fine... But I'm not leaving until you kiss m--"

Without a doubt, Arkalee was about to say that she wouldn't leave unless Hyunda kissed her, but, in a split second, Hyunda forced his way onto Arkalee, as he pushed her body to the parallel wall while applying hard pressure with his mouth to mouth kiss.

Furthermore, it wasn't just any kiss. Hyunda looked to be going way deeper than that, but that was beside the point that was necessary to take.

Arkalee, instead of just taking the deep kiss and leaving, decided to wrap his back with her own two legs as well as envelop her own two arms around his neck while also kissing him.

Noticing that this was happening, Hyunda took his lips off her lips and spoke to Arkalee.

"Arkalee, that's enough. Don't push your limits."

"Mhm... Yeah... We should do this more, by the way. Bye-Bye!~"

At long last, after indulging herself on Hyunda's lips with tremendous lust and passion, Arkalee left the dorm with haste.

Which makes me wonder if she realized something or if she really just wanted to open that gift. Because she was really looking at it as she left.

"Sorry, man. Must've been awkward as fuck just having to stand there and witness that."

So he noticed.

"I don't know how you do it, man. If it were me, I would just tell her to throw herself down from the rooftop or just give her a bitchslap. So fucking annoying. All that drama almost made me puke."

"Hahahahaaaaaa... Well, it's only normal."

"Why do you even keep up with this? If you don't speak your mind then I'll never know and you don't really do that."

Before he could go into his room fully, he laid out his final words.

"I lack the motivation to explain myself, sincerely."

Unable to see what was beyond that door, I grew a sudden sensation of mystery to know how his room actually looked like, as Hyunda spoke those words to me and ended the conversation at the same time.

Also, I never knew that you could lack enough motivation to explain yourself.

With that in mind, I went to sleep in my room.

Thus, with mediocrity filled within a couple of subsequent days, the last day of the festival had arrived.

March 27th. 7 am.

At the usual eating area, where we usually have breakfast, parallel to each other, Hyunda and I started to eat.

I was eating a simple bread with little butter inside it and drinking a glass of water.

Hyunda, on the other hand, was just eating onions. He even brought a couple of onions along with him.

Specifically speaking, four. Also, he was already done eating the first one, surprisingly. He eats them like pure raw apples and devours them with great ease; almost as if the sporadic raw taste doesn't faze him.

"Why so many onions? It's usually just one."

"That's because this might take a while and so, I need something to give me stimulation."

"Wait... Onions give you stimulation...?"

"Do you want to know the process? It's quite peculiar, but I promise it makes sense."

"Do we even have time? But sure, I'm all ears."

Maybe I'll finally get the answer behind why he eats onions and how he achieves this so-called stimulation.

"Have you ever wondered why you cry when you look at onions? For example, try to glare at this onion that I'm holding for ten seconds."

"Alright."

While eating the top of my bread, I firmly glared upon the white onion that Hyunda was holding in his right hand and it did not extend to ten seconds, as in the first four seconds, tears started to appear.

"Why the hell does this happen...? I'm not feeling any emotion, so what gives?"

"It's not an emotional response, Daniel. Actually, tears, are, ultimately, only a physical response. In an emotional situation, if you start crying, then that's your brain telling your body that it's necessary for you to be on your guard. In other words, a way of your body protecting itself. Uncontrollable tears created as a defensive mechanism. That's what's happening right now. However, there's a little bit more to that."

I see. So that's why. All this time, I thought that it was some sort of emotional response. There was this time where a kid insulted me and called me a crybaby at a supermarket because I was staring down at an onion and started crying, so I beat that kid to a pulp because that was not true. There was no emotion to it.

However, this makes more sense, but Hyunda still has yet to say a bit more, apparently.

"I did mention that this was a physical reaction and it steems from the fact that your eyes absorb syn-propanethial-s-oxide."

I had to interrupt him as soon as I heard that monstrosity.

"A what? Dude, how do you even spell that!?"

"Yeah, I can get behind your struggle, but hear me out. That liquid contains aerosol, which directly stimulates your eye nerve. Hence, the reason as to why you actually cry once you glare down an onion. Plus, glaring at an onion will damage your cells, so more the reason for the tears. They are telling you to protect your cells."

I mean, if that's the case, then...

"How can you look at onions properly then?"

He's not shedding a single tear while looking at the onion that he has in his hand, which is his second onion.

"You need proper functional lacrimal glands in order to produce tears."

"I skipped way too many chemistry classes..."

"Chill. No way they ever teach you this stuff in school. But, who knows. Either way, there's a driving point that enables the acid that the onions hold in their own property to stimulate the brain and furthermore, to enhance long-term memory. What helps the long-term memory is a flavonoid called fisetin. Onions can also help your concentration grow because they contain quercetin and anthocyanin. Ultimately, also being rich in sulfur, onions can safely stimulate the hippocampus while drastically increasing spatial navigation. Well, I explained the side effects. The components aren't that relevant, the side effects are. So, there it is."

"What the hell! That's mind-blowing! I never knew that... Who told you that?"

"..."

Weirdly, despite my enthusiastic reply, Hyunda posed a short silence, almost as if ignoring my question on purpose, while devouring his onion.

"More importantly, today's the day, Daniel."

"Yeah. I'm doing pretty good in the events as I have been nailing almost every single one of them with ease, but now that we are finally going to face the mandatory ones, there's bound to be a lot of competition. You are included too, you know?"

"I don't care about that. Mandatory or not, they are entirely optional, if you think about it. I will be absent from them and it won't matter. The result is still the same; my failure."

"True..."

I do see his point. Although they are technically mandatory, the side-events previously have been equally mandatory for us. The only difference is that the events today would be fully loaded with students.

Perhaps, the contrast will be so huge that it will be tough for me to come out on top.

"Daniel. This is so meaningless. You already have more than ten wins, right? You can just skip the whole day and it doesn't make a difference. This festival is so boring if you think about it. What do you even gain by going to the events today? Absolutely nothing. You can just chill out. The irony of this exam is so ridiculous that I find myself losing brain cells whenever I think about it. If we are allowed to just take ten wins and then clear the previous exam away like that when we can attend side-events while those side-events are considered as optional to the rest of the students, then you have to question the rationale of those behind this stupid exam."

"Yeah, you make a solid point. I'm more into this because Kawahara plans on crushing the rest today, that's all. But, aside from that, it's just really... boring, isn't it?"

"It's as if the ones that came up with this exam don't think that we have any chances of succeeding. Because, whenever you think of criminals who have our age, you'd usually think of savages who have little to no civility in their veins and who live without a care. And while that might be slightly accurate, that doesn't apply to all. Thus, we have to suffer from the endless waves of boredom that will continue to come."

"Yeah..."

"...Or not."

Hm?

"I would have to question my rationale if I was this bothered with the way things are progressing around me. You can only get so disturbed if you truly care about the triviality that everybody just decides to endlessly preach."

"You're something else, man. There are probably going to be failures at the end of this exam who will be subjected to the penalty yet here you are, ready to embrace defeat like no other. It's strange, Hyunda. How can you just embrace defeat like that? Most of the students in our class probably see this special exam thing as a competition and you are fine with being at the bottom. Why is that?"

For the record, even though I'm speaking about this, I don't feel the necessity to view it as a competition as I only want to assure that my position is safe and that's about it.

I'm just curious to know how he can maintain such a state of mind when he's going to be vulnerable to danger soon enough.

Doesn't he feel threatened? Not even a bit?

"Daniel, you can know the answer to that question by reverting the question here."

"Huh...?"

"...Why would I not be fine with being at the bottom? I already explained that even if you have three supply exams accumulated; it doesn't matter."

"No, but, like, how can your mind just accept that?"

"Because it doesn't feel like losing. You don't actually feel threatened when you know that you can just prepare yourself and succeed in an exam. Surely, the last exam was rough in that department, but nonetheless, with the right preparations, there shouldn't be any room for failure. So, there's the reason. The sentiment is absent."

I think it's a little bit more than that.

You do not have this sensation of security based on logic alone. I do understand that everything he says makes sense, but Hyunda, you probably just don't feel fear or anything of that sort.

Maybe that's why you actually don't believe you can lose even if the situation highly suggests it.

"However, what I really actually wanted to talk about is that this day is important. No, not due to the exam itself, but due to the events that will happen today. The climax has ended. The endgame is to follow and so, I will need your cooperation. You still want your relationship with Yulia to be over, right?"

Mhm...

She's been kinda... nice, lately? Really thoughtful too.

So, maybe...

"Yeah, I do. In the end, I still think she deserves better than me."

"...What?"

"What what? I'm just saying my honest opinion. Man, you and me, we probably won't ever actually fall in love. Are we destined to die like this? Is this some sort of curse? Sometimes, I think I get jealous of Arkalee and her ability to just go crazy over someone. I don't have that. Yet I wonder what it would be like to have that."

"Discard those thoughts. That sort of sentimentality is useless. Sentient creatures always fail and fail. You are so fine as you are. Don't become like the rest. Necessitent and dependant on their feelings in order to strive."

Hyunda's really emotionless on the surface and apparently, on the inside too. I do feel the same way as him, regarding that.

It's just, I get curious every now and then. Of what it would be like to be on the other side. But that would be embracing the weakness that the other side has to offer.

"I know. Don't worry. I do want our relationship to end. But, do you think that I am being sentient because I want her to have a better chance with someone?"

"Yeah, you are. She has served her purpose. She holds no reason anymore. She's done for. That's it."

"You are putting it in a malicious way. The relationship is just gonna end, that's all."

Yet he's speaking like her life's gonna end or something. It's really just the relationship, at the end of it all.

Already on his third onion though, Hyunda didn't exactly reply to this as he just moved forward.

"Those whose purpose has been upheld and resolved yet still remain despite being irrelevant to any motion at the moment are unnecessary. Getting rid of such impertinent impostures that only ruin the flow of time is only necessary if not mandatory. But... Enough with that. Today's a great day! After all, this day will be marked! Yes, can you believe it? The whole class will be reminded of this day for as long as they remain alive. About time, right?"

"Really? What will happen today? Ah, are you referring to Kawahara's plan? You know, right?"

"No, god, no. I'm talking about marking something that will surely be a clear reminder of this day alone. March 27th."

He's just speaking so many words without actually saying what will happen...

Plus, he got up from his seat and started eating the last onion, as he attempted to walk out of the area yet before he did, he spoke one last time.

"Pay attention to your phone. You will play an extremely relevant role. After all, although you are not the main piece in today's play, you do hold contagious relevance. Later."

Once again speaking words of mystery, Hyunda left the hollow canteen and started to walk into unknown places.

As for me, I just formed a quick silence while finishing my bread.

Around the time that I had finished such, Kawahara sent a message to the group chat and summoned all of us that were in his team to the hideout.

Cafeteria. 8 am.

At the usual cafeteria, I and Sana met up in the morning, after we had traded a few texts and decided to meet up here.

Around 7 am, Daniel had called me saying that he would meet me up later, as he and Kawahara had some things to do.

Not wanting to be too insistent, I simply agreed. As long as he's having fun, then I don't mind!

"Hey, Yulia! You know what movie you have to totally see?! Joker! I am going crazy over it! Don't tell this to Arkalee, but--- Um, actually, nevermind. I was about to say something that I shouldn't say in the first place..."

Skeptical about her poor choice of words, Sana looked slightly guilty while saying them.

That alone worried me, as she looked down in spirits when talking to me, just now.

"Sana? Is everything alright?"

"Y-Yeah, why wouldn't it be...? Anyway---"

Then, Sana's eyes were completely stolen by the solo entrance of someone walking into the cafeteria, alone, which on that premise nowadays, was incredibly rare yet Sana just wouldn't stop looking at him, as he confidently walked right up to us.

Although I've been trying to forget his words over the past few days, sincerely, they might need more time to be eliminated, but I'm confident that they will eventually go away.

As for the individual, who had a very majestic stance and undeniable valor in his stride, with his hands on his pockets, he looked at both of us, who formed a quick transient silence and spoke to us.

"Sana? Yulia? You two are here in the morning? What a strange bizarre coincidence."

Unbeknownst to myself, at that time, an obscure dark omen was already set in motion with Hyunda's presence alone being the main source of its initial progression.