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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: What? I Have to Go to the Academy Three Weeks Early...?
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"Hey—!!!"
Lee Yu-ri shot up from her seat and let out a furious cry.
Her brows were deeply furrowed, as if a devout religious person had just heard blasphemy.
Her chest heaved violently, letting out angry huffs.
Her lips were pressed tight, and her eyebrows shot up in a V-shape.
Her eyes were even brimming with tears.
*Hmph—*
*Hmph—*
"Gukbap-ah...?"
"Team Leader...?"
Go Yoon-seo and Choi So-yoon looked utterly surprised. They hadn't expected her to get *that* angry over a single bowl of gukbap.
Of course, I knew Lee Yu-ri would react this way.
Imagine someone who always saves every penny, eating tap water and convenience store triangle gimbap, and *finally* gets to eat out—a cheap and hearty gukbap—only for someone to pour kimchi radish juice into it.
They definitely wouldn't stand for it.
'Ah, I'm actually seeing this in person. It's even better than I imagined.'
Even though Lee Yu-ri was furious, I was actually enjoying myself.
This angry side of Lee Yu-ri.
This scene, unofficially dubbed "The Furious Kimchi-Radish Gukbap," held significant symbolic meaning for *Velvet School Life* users.
Because the exact same situation appears in Lee Yu-ri's personal story.
An episode where she and her academy party members go out for a celebratory meal after clearing a dungeon.
At the gukbap restaurant they went to, one party member suddenly dumped kimchi radish into her gukbap, saying, "It tastes even better this way!"
At that moment, Lee Yu-ri gets angry in exactly the same way she did just now.
A full-body declaration of "I am *this* angry!"
This, combined with her background, stimulated the *Velvet School Life* users' dark sadistic tendencies, quickly turning into a widely spread meme.
And that meme was then used against the *Velvet School Life* developers themselves, to scold them whenever they messed up or spouted nonsense.
"—You crazy developers! Is this patch even right? Why are you mixing this kind of garbage into *Velvet School Life*? Why don't you ask for my opinion, you bastards!"
└(Furious Kimchi-Radish Gukbap meme.)
└(Furious Kimchi-Radish Gukbap meme.)
└(Furious Kimchi-Radish Gukbap meme.)
└(Furious Kimchi-Radish Gukbap meme.)
└(Furious Kimchi-Radish Gukbap meme.)
Furthermore, this scene was also a moment of significant emotional growth for Lee Yu-ri.
Because it was the first time Lee Yu-ri, who always put up walls and kept people at a distance, revealed her true self to those around her.
Thus, in commemoration of this meme, *Velvet School Life* users gave Lee Yu-ri the cute nickname "Gukbapi" instead of her original, unappealing title of "Dirt Spoon"!
In other words, it was the origin story of Gukbapi.
'Do you think I suggested gukbap for no reason? To be honest, I'm a purist when it comes to gukbap myself.'
I gazed at Lee Yu-ri with a satisfied smile.
"W-What do you think you're doing?!"
See? She's speaking informally now.
But like someone who rarely gets truly angry, her voice sounds incredibly awkward.
Now that I'd met Lee Yu-ri, I wanted to secure her as the tank for the party I'd be forming.
Of course, I might have created some emotional debt with today's incident, but being indebted and being close are two different things.
Since there's no gacha system to pull characters here, the only way is to build personal connections.
That's why I brought up this incident from her personal story.
'Of course, it's a bit much to just pluck this one incident out without much other build-up, but at least it lets us drop the formalities.'
As I observed her furious expression, Lee Yu-ri spoke in an eerily chilling voice.
"I asked what you think you're doing."
"So, we're finally dropping formalities, huh? I like it."
"Dropping formalities or not, why didn't you even ask for my opinion...!"
"Well, you seemed to like it when I mixed various side dishes earlier...?"
"That's completely different from this!"
Lee Yu-ri huffed and puffed for a long time before Go Yoon-seo, unable to watch any longer, finally calmed her down by offering, "I'll swap with you! I actually love eating it that way!" and exchanged their gukbap bowls.
"...Never, *never* touch my gukbap again."
Lee Yu-ri cradled the gukbap with both hands, like a wary puppy hugging its precious treasure.
It was the stance of a reliable tank, determined to protect her gukbap at all costs.
"Alright, Gukbap-ah."
"Hey."
"Yeah, Gukbap-ah."
"...You're seriously insane."
'I should stop now. Any more and she'll really get upset and hold a grudge until tomorrow.'
*Click—*
I twisted open the soju bottle cap and poured it into the glass in front of her.
*Glug glug glug—*
"By the way, Gukbap-ah, when are you planning to go to the academy?"
As I casually changed the subject, Lee Yu-ri let out a scoff, as if utterly dumbfounded.
But she's a good kid, so she still answered properly.
"...Next Monday."
"Huh? That's just a few days from now. Why are you going so early? Aren't you clearing any more dungeons?"
I asked, my voice laced with surprise.
"Of course, today's the last day. That's why that runaway damage dealer knew I couldn't chase her and ran off with my money."
"...Of course? There's still a month until the entrance ceremony, isn't there?"
There was definitely still a month left until the academy entrance.
So I was planning to test how high of a dungeon rank we could hunt together until then...
'She's going *that* early?'
"What, Jin Yu-ha. You really don't know?"
"Know what?"
When I asked back, it was Lee Yu-ri who looked flabbergasted.
"There's a three-week basic training period before the entrance ceremony, you know."
"...Basic training?"
That's what Lee Yu-ri explained.
Velvet Academy gathers prospective students for a three-week basic training period before the entrance ceremony.
During that time, they assess and test the prospective students' abilities.
In other words, it's like going to Nonsan Training Center before being assigned to a unit in the military, if you compare it to my original world.
Even though it's a game where beautiful girls laugh and chat together, since it's ultimately a school that teaches combat skills, it subtly reeks of military discipline.
'Damn it, how was I supposed to know this? *Velvet School Life* never mentioned such background settings.'
Still, it's a good thing I found out in advance thanks to Gukbapi, otherwise I might have ended up in jail before even enrolling.
'Wait, then I need to send the miscellaneous items and Alice items from my studio apartment to the dorms, too?'
In times like these, Gukbap-aemon is the one.
"Gukbap-ah. So, what about personal belongings? Dorms are assigned on the entrance ceremony day, aren't they?"
"They'll be kept in the training center's storage for now, and then everyone picks them up after the training period ends."
"Ah..."
"You really don't know anything, do you?"
I need a moment to organize my thoughts.
Dorm assignments after the training period.
That means everyone will be living together in a communal setting during that time.
'There are definitely a few high-performance characters among the batch entering with Gukbap-ah... Ah, communal living! Then, maybe I can even meet *that* person, who's usually hard to find at the academy?'
"Did he really follow me into Velvet Academy...? Without knowing anything?" she muttered.
While I was deep in thought, Lee Yu-ri mumbled something under her breath, but I couldn't quite hear it.
"So, how does the training proceed?"
"Ahem! The first week is by p-position, the second week is joint training. And on weekends, it's sparring."
Lee Yu-ri answered with a somewhat boastful expression.
'So that's how it is...?'
Perhaps, during the training period, I might be able to recruit a natural 5-star, meta-defining character.
* * *
After hearing information about Velvet Academy from Lee Yu-ri and cross-referencing it with my own knowledge, we finally started drinking in earnest.
Lee Yu-ri, perhaps drinking for the first time, took a big gulp and then stuck out her tongue, declaring it bitter.
"Ugh. It's bitter... Why do people even drink this?"
Go Yoon-seo, as if she was a heavy drinker from the start, put the bottle straight to her lips and gulped it down.
"Phew, Gukbapi, you think alcohol is bitter? To me, it tastes better than soda."
As expected, Choi So-yoon sipped her drink sparingly.
The drinking session deepened.
"Uwahahaha, Gukbap-ah... Don't forget me when you go...?"
"Have a good trip. Team L- Leader, *sniff*. Yu-ri-ya."
"Unnie... You have to stay healthy and come back well."
Hmm, it felt like a family seeing off a child going to the military.
Go Yoon-seo and Choi So-yoon ended up hugging Lee Yu-ri and crying, then getting a bit tipsy and making a scene. It was the common ending of them getting completely drunk and Yu-na having to carry them home on her back.
From the next day, I was incredibly busy.
Because this Jin Yu-ha, about to head to the academy, hadn't handled any of his loose ends.
If there hadn't been the training center, I could have handled things quite leisurely, but with only a few days until departure, I had no choice but to rush everything.
First, I sent all my remaining items to the training center via parcel delivery, canceled my studio apartment contract, and tidied up my bank accounts.
I also prepared various training center necessities with the money Lee Yu-ri sent me, which she called "gate settlement funds."
And so, before I knew it.
Monday arrived.
The day to head to Velvet Hunter Academy dawned.
*Honk— Honk—*
A loud horn blared from outside.
Stepping outside, I saw Lee Yu-ri waiting in a truck in front of my house.
"Jin Yu-ha, did you pack everything?"
She rolled down the window and spoke to me informally, as if I were a casual friend.
Indeed, putting kimchi radish in her gukbap was a good idea.
"Yeah, mostly."
"Then let's go."
And so, with a pounding heart, I set off for Velvet Hunter Academy with Gukbapi.