CHAPTER 3 THE FIRST WEEKEND
I opened my eyes when I felt sunlight penetrate my curtain. It took me a few seconds to realize that I was in my room at Yoora School. It felt like a dream because yesterday I was still sleeping in my room in Itaewon. A gentle breeze blew through my soft yellow mosquito net, this enchanted window was extraordinary. Apparently someone took down my mosquito net because last night I remember I just fell asleep. Ah right, Youngmin. Can I meet him this morning? I'm a little worried about him. I immediately sat up and got out of my bed. My attention was drawn to the ancient clock on the wall which showed five minutes past seven. I woke up quite early apparently, but apparently all my roommates were already awake. However, I was still the last one.
“Yuhuuu this is so much fun!”
Pornthip had just appeared in the room, and a moment later Jiwoo also appeared.
"Pornthip, you can wake Soyoon with your voice," rebuked Jiwoo.
“But Soyoon is awake.”
“Good morning,” I grinned at the two of them, “what are you up to?”
“While we were waiting for you to wake up, we took a shower and tried to slide down the hole so it would go smoothly. But we only dared to go down to Levels two and six because they were all awake too," explained Jiwoo, "it was really fun sliding and getting sucked into the hole. You have to try.”
“But maybe after breakfast? Remember, we have a tour schedule at ten o'clock," reminded Pornthip.
“You guys are right. Wait for me a moment, okay?" I asked.
I rushed to the bathroom to clean my body and change clothes. Since it's the weekend, that means I can wear casual clothes. But I remembered what Daejung oppa said that as long as we were still active in the Yoora complex, we were advised to keep wearing robes. I came out of the bathroom and saw Pornthip sitting on Jiwoo's bed along with its owner.
“Oh yes, Soyoon, you can use the cupboard closest to the hole. Sarang had put together her cupboard early this morning. She's really extraordinary," said Jiwoo at length.
"What about you guys?"
“Ah, later when we relax. Do you think we can meet Youngmin after breakfast? Maybe just around the main hall because I don't dare to walk far," suggested Pornthip.
“Ah, I thought about him too this morning. Let's have breakfast first then."
Jiwoo exchanged glances with Pornthip while I went to the hole to tap the top of the hole once, then sat down with my legs dangling.
“Like this huh…”
Before I could finish my sentence, I was sucked in, not too fast, then fell onto the bed with my butt landing first. I stood up so Jiwoo and Pornthip could take turns emerging from the hole and landing on the bed too. The common room was empty this morning, probably everyone was having breakfast.
“You guys are right, this is fun.”
“But after doing it about five times, I got dizzy like I had motion sickness,” complained Jiwoo, “or maybe it's just because I'm hungry.”
"Which way are we going to the main hall?"
I pointed to the two doors on Level two.
“I think using the underground is a bit risky because we're not very familiar with it. How about just passing under Cerberus' tail? At the same time, take a clear look at the buildings we passed yesterday," suggested Pornthip, which we immediately agreed to.
We climbed a short flight of stairs to a second level that was almost filled with sofas, tables and bookshelves. Several torches hung between the bookshelves. I headed for the door on the side of the hole we entered last night. Next to the door, there was a piece of parchment impaled on a nail sticking out.
Sogogi
The writing is small and neat.
"That means the keyword is still sogogi," said Jiwoo before pushing the door.
There is a spiral staircase behind this door. The room itself is lit with several torches. Jiwoo got on and I followed behind Pornthip. The stairs will make you dizzy if you are not fit. Jiwoo's head almost hit the ceiling when we almost reached the end. Jiwoo tapped the ceiling with her wand and the rocks on the ceiling slid open. Jiwoo had to move away from a bit of falling dust. Jiwoo immediately got on and we followed. The door to the room was closed, but we could see sunlight coming in through the crack in the door. Excitedly, Pornthip pushed the door open. No matter how enchanted the window in our room reveals sunlight, however, the real thing is still more beautiful. The air in Yoora is also very fresh, free from pollution in any form. We walked on a rocky path.
“Wow, look at Chingeng Tower. It's beautiful in the morning, isn't it," I said, turning to the east.
"I can't wait for the tour later," said Jiwoo while stopping briefly to admire Chingeng Tower.
"Let's eat first, I'm so hungry after exercising in the hole," complained Pornthip.
Guessing, we followed the rocky path.
“Room 106! That means we go left – west. Come on."
Jiwoo pointed to a small board stuck in the grass in front of an ancient two-story building, and when we turned left, on our right was Room 105. My vision last night was true that a two-story building was indeed slightly wider than a three-story one. Greenhouse 104 caught our attention.
“There are lots of plants inside. What's going on? It seems interesting," I said, voicing what was in my mind.
"We'll study the plants in Herbology later."
We faced left and were at the back of the main hall. In the morning, the main hall looks clearer and more magnificent. We ran a bit to get to the front door. In the front hall of the main hall, I saw two familiar figures.
“Youngjae! Seung Hoon!”
“Oh, you guys are here! Come on, let's eat," said Seunghoon.
“Where have you been? How come we didn't see you in the house earlier?" Jiwoo asked.
"Earlier we walked a little along the rocky road to get to Sinsol Tower," answered Youngjae, "but we went straight home so we didn't miss breakfast."
"Wow, that's really exciting. Are their towers good?” I asked.
“It's similar to Chingeng Tower but the exterior is still different. Both have eight floors."
The main hall was quite full of students dressed loosely - but still wearing Yoora's robes, who were busy having breakfast. While walking in the aisle between tables, I looked at the end table to look for Youngmin. Ah, Youngmin was there, sitting and chatting with his friend next to him.
"I'm going to Youngmin's place for a moment."
"Let's invite Youngmin to meet at the front before our tour schedule later!" Seunghoon ordered when I was already jogging.
The Gongjong students' eyes were somewhat directed at me when I approached their table and it made me a bit nervous. Youngmin noticed my arrival and quickly stood up.
“Soyoon!” he called as he walked closer to me, smiling very broadly, "did you sleep well?"
"Yes. But I'm worried about you.”
Youngmin was still smiling as he patted my head, “don't worry, I have a new friend. That's Keum Minsu.”
Youngmin pointed to Minsu, a handsome boy who had been sitting and chatting with Youngmin. Minsu waved and smiled at me, which I smiled back at.
“His bed was right next to mine and he was very friendly.”
"Thank God I don't have anything to worry about. Can we all meet outside the main hall after breakfast?”
“Oh yeah, sure. We have a tour at ten o'clock.”
“Then our schedules are more or less the same.”
"Eat first, we'll meet at the front later."
With a lighter heart, I returned to Chaeksong's table where the seat between Youngjae and Jiwoo was empty, so I sat between them, across from Pornthip. Our table, just like last night, was full of breakfast dishes. I reached for a plate of kimchi bokeumbap – kimchi fried rice, and a new plate containing the same menu appeared again in the empty place. Just as I was drinking a glass of pumpkin juice, Daejung oppa appeared at the end of the table.
“Your lesson schedule. Don't forget the ten o'clock tour," he reminded us.
Daejung oppa distributed one parchment to each of us.
"Thank you oppa," said Jiwoo, then read the parchment.
The parchment contains our lesson schedule which is written quite neatly, but I think I'll rewrite it in my colored ink so it's easier to read and organize later.
“We will start our Monday with a Transfiguration lesson,” Pornthip read.
“Oh look, we'll meet Youngmin in potions class on Monday,” said Seunghoon happily, “after lunch! We can go together with him."
“We're busy on Mondays, aren't we,” Youngjae complained, then bit into his jam sandwich in one big bite so that the next sentence he said was very unclear, “monster day.”
“We would love Tuesday morning. Defense against the dark arts class four houses,” I pointed to Tuesday, “imagine the crowd!”
“And fly! We'll fly out on Tuesday too!” Jiwoo exclaimed.
“And there are no classes on Tuesday afternoons!” exclaimed Pornthip louder than Jiwoo, “and we study astronomy that night, with Youngmin! Looks like a fun Tuesday!”
"On Wednesday at half past eleven it says extracurriculars... oh yes, what extracurriculars do you want to take?" Seunghoon asked, "Have you seen the extracurricular flyers on the common room table?"
“There are three classes a first year can choose from: magical theory, muggle arts and crafts and muggle performing arts,” Youngjae explained, “I'm probably not good at anything muggle related so I think I'll just take magical theory. We have to choose one and register by Monday with Hyunjun hyung at the latest."
"Maybe I'll take magic theory too," I said half-dreamily, "later after I read the brochure."
“Looks like we'll see Youngmin again on Wednesday,” Jiwoo pointed to Wednesday, “there's a History of Magic class after lunch.”
“It's a fun combined class,” said Pornthip with satisfaction, “and another astronomy class in the evening.”
“Look at Thursday, we're going to meet Youngmin twice instead, in History of magic class again after breakfast, and Potions after lunch. Even combined classes in Potions!” Seunghoon exclaimed.
“But Potions class is two hours,” Youngjae complained, “imagine if you're stupid in that lesson.”
“The good news is we'll be flying again on Friday morning,” I said, scrolling through the schedule.
"And met Youngmin again after lunch in defense and herbology class," said Jiwoo with sparkling eyes.
"Chaeksong is quite compatible with Gongjong, we don't meet Chingeng and Sinsol every day unless the fourth class of the house joins us," Pornthip traced the schedule carefully.
"And of course the most fun is the free Saturdays and Sundays," Seunghoon smiled broadly, "let's just hang out all weekend."
"I'm full," said Youngjae while stroking his stomach, "let's go out, when you've finished eating, we'll wait for Youngmin at the front."
I downed my pumpkin juice again before heading out with another. In the front hall, we met Jungsook eonni who had just walked in with a boy, whom she introduced as Kim Youngchul, second grade too, Kim Sarang's oppa. We waited for Youngmin on the snowy ground near the main hall entrance. Not long after, Youngmin met us with Keum Minsu.
“You guys didn't wait long, right? Oh yes, let me introduce my friend, this is Keum Minsu, my roommate," said Youngmin, then pointed at us one by one, "these are my Chaeksong friends. Kim Soyoon, Park Jiwoo, Pornthip, Seo Seunghoon and Lee Youngjae.”
“Nice to meet you, I'm Keum Minsu,” said Minsu, raising his hand and smiling at us, “there's still more than an hour before our tour schedule. How about we tour on our own first? You don't need to go far, maybe just look at each other's front doors of the house."
“Good idea!” shouted Youngmin, who led us around the main hall.
"Have you been thinking about what extracurriculars you want to take, you two?" Pornthip asked Minsu and Youngmin.
"I think I'll take magic theory, I think it will be easier than studying something related to muggles," Minsu said shyly.
We have turned east and passed greenhouse 104, room 105 and room 106 again. We stopped for a moment in front of the buildings.
"This Yoora is very interesting," said Youngmin, full of admiration.
“You have to walk west and then north. There are more and more buildings like this and several greenhouses too," explained Seunghoon, "those ones, which are a bit close, do you see? They said it’s the northwest tower, and a little behind it is the Sinsol Tower."
"Oh, our astronomy class for Tuesday will be in the northwest tower," said Youngjae, "this is written in our class schedule."
“Wow, that's certainly interesting, but that seems a bit far, "we'll go there later on tour."
"Speaking of the lesson schedule, everything is extraordinary, because none of our classes are held in the same building. Even the same lesson on a different day, the room is different," I muttered while reading the lesson schedule as I walked.
“But we will meet every day. You've seen it, right?" Pornthip asked excitedly.
“Yeah, I saw that too. We can go to class together later," answered Minsu, who sounded excited too.
"Our house turns this way," Jiwoo walked at the front and turned south, "actually our house is the closest to the main hall and we don't need to walk this far if there is no bush area blocking the main hall and our house."
Jiwoo is absolutely right, the bush area that borders the main hall and the Chaeksong house is quite wide and dense, of course we don't want to risk injuring ourselves in trying to penetrate this.
“Well, this is our house,” I said, pointing to the entrance, “but kids from other houses aren't allowed to visit each other's houses?”
"They said we couldn't," complained Minsu, "that's a shame, isn't it?"
“The gate looks simple, right?” Seunghoon asked, “but the underground is really amazing. They said the basement can penetrate into the main hall and the buildings we passed earlier."
"If we take this rocky road to the east, it will take us straight to Chingeng Tower," Pornthip pointed to the east, "that's the entrance you can see."
"Later, when we get to know Yoora a lot, let's hang out together often," said Jiwoo.
"Of course. Hopefully, even though our houses are different, we can still be together," said Minsu, nodding, "so let's go towards Gongjong Hall."
We were still walking on the rocky path and returned to the front of room 106, but this time we continued east and passed room 107.
"If we don't memorize the location of the building, we will definitely get lost in our classes," complained Youngmin, "look, all these rooms have the same building shape, only consisting of two floors and one with three floors. And they kind of duplicate themselves.”
"You are right. Room 107 is exactly the same as room 105," Jiwoo also complained.
We were now at a kind of crossroads, as the rocky road split north, east and south.
“It looks like this South one will take us to Chingeng tower,” Minsu pointed out, “if it's true to what you said about the rocky road in front of your house, it's in the right position. Look, we can see where the tower is from here. But if we continue east, we don't know where we will go. We'll go there later. Well, the one to the north is to our house."
Greenhouse 210... I read the sign before following the others along the wide rocky road between room 107 and greenhouse 210. The road was quite empty and the area on either side was empty, just snowy ground, after we passed the two buildings in front of us. Then we saw a very large building, it seemed two or three times the size of the main hall. In general, you will feel like you are seeing the exterior of an ancient inn. The board above the gate says "Gongjong Hall" in snaking writing too.
“Wow, this looks really big,” said Pornthip with her mouth agape.
“I guess it shouldn't be much different from your basement?” Youngmin asked.
"Hmm, because your Gongjong Hall only has one floor like this, I think in terms of land, you must be wider," I explained while examining the building, "because our dungeon has eight levels... Nine, if you count the surface, our dungeon looks straight in. Besides, each level actually only has two rooms."
“Soyoon's explanation makes sense,” Minsu said with a nod, “whereas Gongjong had to cram fourteen rooms and a common room on one floor.”
“And we will fly here for Tuesday Lessons. It says here 'to the west of Gongjong Hall and in front of room 410.'"
I walked on the snow and peeked at the area in question, a fairly large empty area.
“By the way, I'm very curious,” said Youngmin, “how do you guys get up and down in that dungeon? Going up and down stairs? Imagine a seventh grader, it must be so tiring!”
“No, we play like some kind of slides and can get sucked in too,” laughed Jiwoo which made Youngmin gasp.
We walked again on the rocky path and this time to the south, intending to peek at Chingeng Tower, while Jiwoo explained to Minsu and Youngmin about the mechanics of our dorm hole, to which Youngjae and Seunghoon responded lively. On this road, we passed room 211 which has two floors, and we walked closer to Chingeng Tower.
“You guys… aren't Chingeng's children, right? Are you lost? First grade?"
Our steps were stopped by someone who had just come out of Chingeng Tower, a boy who seemed to be from the top level because he was clearly taller than all of us. This boy is handsome… I think I've seen him before… oh, he was the one who asked Professor Yoo before we boarded the Alicorn yesterday!
“No, hyung, we're just hanging out, we're not lost,” Seunghoon answered, “we're from Chaeksong and Gongjong. First grade."
The boy smiled kindly, "ah, apparently the neighbor's son. Have fun looking around, then.”
Then he left, I don't know where he was going, but he took the road that passed our house. Jiwoo looked shocked.
"You don't know who he is?" Jiwoo asked, "oh wait a minute, maybe Pornthip, Seunghoon and Youngmin don't know. But you don't know either, Soyoon? You guys watch Quidditch, right? Local competition? And you, Youngjae? You too, Minsu? Don't you know him?"
I widened my eyes.
"Wait a moment…"
“An Hyungjoon?” Youngjae guessed which made Minsu also gasp, "God, he's An Hyungjoon?"
"What? Who? What is Quidditch?” asked Youngmin who was curious again.
It is true that there is no electricity used in the wizarding family's house. But in my half-muggle family's house, we use a normal television to watch muggle broadcasts, but wizards have other unique ways to watch. We always watched broadcasts from a mirror that was equivalent to a muggle version of a 50 inch television. Appa had to say this and that spell to get the television to turn on and needed another spell to change the television channel. We watched the local Quidditch broadcast. Quidditch is a popular wizarding sport, similar to basketball and football but you play it on a broomstick. Well, there are local leagues in our country too and there are a total of sixteen clubs competing.
“An Hyungjoon, the lightning-fast Chaser, is what people praise. He just joined Chulhoon Club earlier this year, but have you seen him play in last month's match? He's great, right?" said Minsu at length.
“They say he is the youngest player at the club. And he's very handsome," said Jiwoo.
"No one wants to explain to us what Quidditch is?" Seunghoon asked impatiently.
As we walked back to the main hall, Youngjae was excitedly explaining to Seunghoon and Pornthip about Quidditch. We had to part ways with Youngmin and Minsu because they would start the tour from in front of Gongjong Hall, but we promised to meet again tomorrow after lunch and then plan our activities later.
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