Chapter 2: Kim Soo-jin's First Impression

A loud ringing of the alarm clock woke me up early in the morning. I drowsily searched for my phone to turn off the alarm but couldn't find it. Annoyed, I got up from bed and looked for the source of the sound; it was 10 meters away from my bed on the study table.

Turning off the alarm, I glanced at today's date: it was February 10, 2024, and the time was 7:00 am.

Yes, finally, this was the day I was going to leave that damn university. Today is a special day I have been waiting for four years to come. That's why I plan on dressing up nicely.

After washing up, I opened my closet and removed the neat and ironed clothes, which were nicely placed farthest down. These were the only clothes left that looked nice, and they were the ones I treasured the most. Inside was a formal cream-colored shirt and blue pants. Seeing these clothes reminded me of Soo-jin.

Anyway, after dressing up, I started to pack my things. Evening after the ceremony ends, I am going to leave this house and start a new life. Well, there is not much stuff to pack, just some clothes that are still wearable, some canned food, and daily essential things.

Knock knock!

As I heard the knocking sound, I thought it would be another maid here to give me breakfast, but I was utterly wrong. The person I saw in front of me was Butler Han. This person was my father's right-hand man.

"Good morning, sir. Here is your morning breakfast."

When I didn't move to take the tray, nor did I speak anything, Butler Han, after a few seconds, started to speak again.

"I have instructions from master to tell you about the last chance and..."

I cut him off mid-sentence, anger on my face. I didn't want to hear about the last chance and all that nonsense because I had already given up. I said,

"There is no need to tell me. I am in a hurry, so you can go now."

As he glanced inside and saw my packed bags, he was trying to speak again.

"You knew already..."

I cut him off once again and said forcefully,

"You can go now."

"But sir, breakfast."

"I will eat it outside."

As this sentence fell, I closed the door.

"Good morning, Joon-ho. You know, you should have heard him at least."

When I heard this sweet voice, unknowingly a smile formed on my face, and my mood lifted up further.

"Yeah, yeah. Did you sleep well last night?"

"I don't need sleep. I only slept when I needed to save energy on the ship."

That made me think: Was she watching me when I was in the shower? Probably not; she is a girl after all. I asked,

"Were you watching me in the shower?"

"Yes."

After hearing this response, a big 30-second silence followed, and my agitated and rageful voice echoed in the room:

"Don't you have any sense of shame or decency? How can you watch me naked?"

As my rage intensified, I heard her apologize:

"I am sorry, Joon-ho, but it was unavoidable. I share all your senses: I hear what you hear, I smell what you smell, I taste what you taste, and I feel what you touch. I can also speak with your mouth what I want, you know."

"I am sorry, Joon-ho."

As I heard her apology once more, my rage cooled down, and I asked,

"Can't you just sleep while I am showering?"

"I cannot do that. I am consciously filtering and converting electrical energy. If I sleep, I am as good as dead because there is no technology on Earth currently that can wake me up if I sleep."

Hearing that, I sighed and remembered to blindfold myself while showering and using the bathroom.

As I glanced towards the ring, I thought about how much energy she must have in this tiny metal-like ring. So I asked,

"How much energy do you have left, and do I need to charge you up like a phone or something?"

"I have 0 energy left. I am surviving on the minute electrical energies you are producing."

Oh yeah, I have read somewhere that a human body produces minute amounts of electricity.

"So I don't need to charge you, huh?"

"Yes."

Anyway, as I finished packing, I opened the door, moved out, and locked it. I started to move towards the nearest bus stop.

While walking, I heard Nexus speak,

"So, where are you going?"

"We are going towards the nearest bus stop of Hannam-dong neighborhood. It will take about 10 minutes of walking to reach there."

"Hannam-dong, isn't this one of the luxurious areas of Seoul? Joon-ho, do you come from a rich family?"

As I heard Nexus, I wasn't surprised. How did she know this is a luxurious area? Because last night she said she had downloaded the whole internet. And of course, this information must definitely be on the internet.

"You see, Nexus, I come from a nine-generation rich family, and my father is the ninth-generation family head. But the thing is, he never recognized me as his son. While giving birth to me, my mom died, so my father thinks that I killed his treasured wife. That's why he only gives me the bare minimum to survive."

Now that I think about it. He never treated me kindly, but neither did he treat me the worst. He just pretended that he only had two kids, not three, and closed his eyes around me, never bothering if anything ever happened to me.

While walking, I saw a convenience store. Getting in and greeting the store owner, I grabbed kimbap. It was 2000 won. Normally, I would never eat outside to save money, but today is a special day. That's why I am not planning on skimping and will be generous to myself for once.

Placing the kimbap on the counter, the store owner scanned the packaging and said,

"It's 2000 won, please."

As I placed 2000 won on the counter and took my breakfast, I heard the store owner speak,

"Pleasure doing business with you."

As I was eating while walking, I asked the most crucial question to Nexus,

"Can I speak to you using telepathy too?"

"No, you cannot do that. The human body is incapable of doing that."

"So, can you read my mind, like the things I want to say to you, I will say in my mind, and you can read it, something like that?"

"No, I am incapable of doing that. Anyway, aren't we communicating fine? Why do you want to change it suddenly?"

I was kind of disappointed hearing that.

"Well, until now, while we were talking, no one was watching, but soon, there will be many people surrounding us. If they hear me speaking to myself, I will be branded as a psycho."

"Yeah, that's a problem. I think you should put on your earphones and pretend that you are attending a call."

This is not a long-term solution, but as I heard her advice, I put on my ear pods. Anyway, I don't want to be seen as a psycho. Anything is better than nothing.

As I neared the bus stop, I saw the 421 bus coming, so I ran not to miss the bus. Fortunately, I was able to get on the bus. While tapping the T-money Card on the card reader, I scanned the seats where there were fewer people, and sat on the last seat near the window, looking outside. I heard Nexus's voice again.

"Where are we getting off?"

"You don't know? I thought you were with me since the day before yesterday while you saw me getting beaten."

"At that time, while merging with you, I was merely a brain with no eyes and limbs. All the essential parts got burnt and destroyed while coming here."

As I felt the downcast mood from her voice, it was not a proper time to ask such delicate questions, so I answered her question from before.

"We will be getting off near Konkuk University. Today, I will be graduating from this university."

"Konkuk University, which major are you in?"

"I am in the design major."

"The next stop is Konkuk University Front. Please prepare to disembark."

When I heard this announcement, I prepared to alight from the bus. As it stopped, I tapped the T-money card on the card reader and got off.

When I looked at Konkuk University, the four years of memories from this university started to flood in.

I especially remember the first day at this university because, on this day, I met Kim Soo-jin for the first time. That's why it was the best day of my time here, and I remember it as if it just happened yesterday.

On the first day of university, March 10, 2020, I was late for my first class. Running fast towards the direction my fellow senior had told me, I hurriedly opened the door, praying that the professor had not arrived yet.

But I was utterly wrong. He was standing there, staring at me, and said:

"Are you Kim Joon-ho?"

When I heard him call my name, I assumed he had already taken the attendance and nervously replied, "Yes."

"Go sit in the back and follow me after class."

When I heard him say "follow me after class," I sighed lightly. After all, it seemed that this professor was strict, and I wouldn't be able to escape punishment with the first day as an excuse.

While I sat near the window seat on the last bench, I heard the professor speak. It was uneventful; he was just talking about university rules, how we have to submit our assignments on time, how scoring good marks can secure our future, and so on.

"This concludes my speech. Kim Joon-ho, follow me."

While everyone was screaming in joy,

I was confused not at the professor's last sentence, but because there were still 20 minutes left for class to end, and he was leaving so early.

As I was pondering why and what punishment awaited me, I followed him out of the class. On the way, he gave me one of the two bags he was carrying.

While walking, I was surprised because we were not heading towards the staff room but towards another major, the acting major.

After walking in, as I was outside, the professor told me to come inside and sit in the back.

This time around, I heard the professor's name:

"I am Professor Lee Min-seok. You can call me Professor Lee."

After that, he took everyone's attendance. One woman was absent; it was Kim Soo-jin. Rarely would anyone be absent for their first class, and while I was thinking about that,

The class door opened, and there was a beautiful girl standing outside. She had long black hair and deep black eyes. If you stared long enough, you could also see her eyes shine. She had a beautiful face, typical of someone from the acting major. With her black T-shirt and light blue jeans, she looked stunning.

When she looked at the professor despairingly, he said:

"Are you Kim Soo-jin?"

As she nervously spoke with the same expression I had when I was in her shoes:

"Yes."

When I was amusingly watching the show, the professor's voice fell yet again, exactly like before:

"Go sit in the back and follow me after class."

The rest of the class was the same as before, but the last sentence was different this time. As I heard the professor speak, a smile gradually formed on my face:

"This concludes my speech. Kim Joon-ho and Kim Soo-jin, follow me."