Prologue Story

It was the last night of the festival.

Following the campfire, fireworks shot up into the sky. Beneath the dark sky, the fireworks spread out in various shapes and colors. It was more like magic being launched into the sky than ordinary fireworks. Lee Eun-hee watched this scene quietly from the rooftop. Then, she opened her mouth and spoke.

“Our juniors are really something. Just from hearing a little bit, I could tell how talented they are.”

‘Of course, it’s not perfect, but who would’ve thought they’d already be able to measure someone else’s magic capacity.’

Lee Eun-hee recalled the time when her young junior, Yoo Eun-ha, had clumsily tried to comfort her. Looking back, she realized how incredible those small words actually were. For a first-grader to measure someone else’s magic level was almost unheard of.

Creating a magic crystal at that age was equally remarkable. Lee Eun-hee smiled gently.

“…Senior.”

Joo Ji-hyun had been watching Lee Eun-hee from behind. His gaze wavered with the light of the fireworks. Lee Eun-hee turned to look at Joo Ji-hyun.

“Why?”

The magic, which had shot into the sky, now fell like rain. Blue sparks drifted down, lighting up the surroundings. Joo Ji-hyun hesitated, then spoke.

“I like you, Senior.”

Lee Eun-hee wasn’t surprised by his confession. She simply looked at Joo Ji-hyun calmly, then softly opened her lips to reply.

“…Sorry.”

☆

In early November, Eun-hee unnie and the student council retired, and under Senior Ji-hyun’s lead, voting began for the new council. For high school, the tradition was to vote between a candidate recommended by the current president and any other voluntary candidates.

As usual, the candidate recommended by the student council president had the advantage. More often than not, the recommended candidate ended up being the next student council president, as they were always among the most respected and powerful students in the school.

So, by mid-November, student councils were replaced in the high school, as well as in the elementary and middle schools.

As expected, Senior Ji-hyun became the high school student council president, with Senior Chunho as vice president. Others in the top 20 ranks filled positions as treasurer, secretary, and accountant. Although I only knew most of their names, Min-hee seemed to have seen all their faces at least once.

After the student council changed over, I didn’t see Eun-hee unnie for a while. The new student council was temporarily suspended, too. Adult magicians passing by seemed busy or anxious, and the senior third-year middle schoolers, who were soon turning adults, were either excited or tense. Teacher Joon-hwi and Teacher Min even paused their lessons. There was more time for self-study during class.

In-ha’s parents and my mom looked busy, too. Although they rarely went out to work, they holed up in In-ha’s basement every day.

It made sense. This period was critical for adult magicians. A few weeks from now, December 1st would mark the day of the worldwide Mage Rank Exam.

It was the day when the current abilities of all magicians around the world would be clearly defined.

Over a hundred years ago, a magician created a virtual system for this test, which has since become the most standard and widely used method to gauge a magician’s skill.

Utilizing the virtual system, artificial intelligence, and advanced technology, it accurately quantifies abilities, including magic power, into a fair assessment. The only requirement to qualify for this test was to be a magician over the age of 15.

Even those without ID could register for the test as long as they applied. Applications were accepted from March through October, either online or by mail. Of course, some didn’t apply, but most adult magicians took this exam every year.

The rankings were based on the results of this rank exam. There were two ways to hold a ranking position: scoring high in the Mage Rank Exam or challenging the current rank holder to a duel and winning. However, a witness was required, and the procedures were complicated, so most magicians secured their rankings through the rank exam.

For reference, every magician who works in management at the ranking company is at least a C-rank, and the current general manager is an S-rank magician. Ranked 178th in the world, Railey Ricart, is 35 years old and reached S-rank at age 30. She is one of the few geniuses in the world, and she is the second generation.

The founder who created this system, who is still alive after nearly 300 years, is also an S-rank magician. Her power surpasses that of other S-rank magicians. Railey Ricart, the second generation, is her daughter.

The founder, Selena Ricart, currently holds the 11th rank. She is like a living legend among magicians. In fact, all magicians ranked within the top 50 worldwide are similar. Starting at S-rank, magicians earn the title of “Transcendent.”

The rarity of disputes or objections within the ranking management company is likely thanks to these strong administrators. The ranking exam holds its respected position in society largely due to the manager’s reputation.

To give examples from people I know: Dad is F-rank, my mom is C (CC+)-rank, Uncle Jungmin is B (B+)-rank, Auntie Suna is S (S+)-rank. My friends, including In-ha and I, are naturally unranked. Teacher Joon-hwi is B (B+)-rank… Oh, come to think of it, I’m not sure about Teacher Min. When I asked him recently, he just laughed and didn’t answer. Teacher Min has always been like that—pretty petty. Yeah, totally petty.

Among other adults we know… as for the seniors, Eun-hee unnie is C (CCC+)-rank, Senior Ji-hyun is B (B+)-rank, Seonghu oppa is B (B-)-rank, Chunho oppa is C (CC+)-rank, and Senior Yeon Yoon is C (CC)-rank.

Usually, rankings start within the A-rank range. By the way, Han-soo’s mother is apparently ranked within the top 500 globally. She’s A-rank.

Auntie Suna is ranked 92nd. All S-rank magicians are ranked within the top 200. Considering the universe has about 10 billion humans, with 70% of them being magicians, that makes around 7 billion magicians—only 200 of whom are at the S-rank level.

Anyway, all the adults around us were busy preparing for the rank exam, and the seniors were too. Every training room, gym, and space in school where magic could be practiced was occupied by seniors or teachers. Some even borrowed the elementary school training room, so practical classes for students were greatly reduced during this period. Of course, it didn’t affect our grade. We hadn’t learned any magic that required practice rooms or labs yet.

“Eun-hee unnie was determined to make it into the B-rank this time.”

When I remembered what Eun-hee unnie had said and laughed softly, Min-hee also smiled and nodded.

“My brother, too. He said he couldn’t let Eun-hee unnie and Seonghu oppa catch up to him, so he’s been training really hard.”

“Ji-hyun Hyung? That’s rare.”

“Hmm~. Not really. My brother actually gets pretty intense when it comes to Eun-hee unnie or Seonghu oppa.”

“I see.”

Shia and I both nodded, deep in thought. Hmm… So, Senior Ji-hyun gets worked up about Eun-hee unnie and Seonghu oppa?

‘Could this be a love triangle?’

Then, my romance instincts started kicking in. For instance, what if Senior Ji-hyun likes Eun-hee unnie! And what if he’s rivals with Seonghu oppa? That would explain why he gets so heated over matters involving Seonghu oppa and Eun-hee unnie. Or…

‘The opposite?’

Considering how close Eun-hee unnie and Senior Ji-hyun were, Ji-hyun Senior could be close to Seonghu oppa, too. Eun-hee unnie seemed to have a bit of a rivalry with Senior Ji-hyun, and Ji-hyun and Seonghu oppa seemed like genuine friends.

So, could it be like this? Maybe Senior Ji-hyun actually likes Seonghu oppa! And Eun-hee unnie also likes Seonghu oppa! And they know they both like him! So they’re rivals!

I snickered to myself. You know, a lot of people tend to link others’ actions to romance, right? I was like that, too. Whenever I read comics, novels, or watched anime, I would pair up characters I liked without worrying about their genders. I was a dedicated fangirl. Yep, totally gone.

But a part of me thought I might not be entirely wrong. I was mostly thinking of the first scenario. It’s just… Senior Ji-hyun seemed to really look up to Eun-hee unnie. He always had such a gentle smile whenever he was with her.

I let out a small chuckle, realizing these were silly thoughts.

“But with the teachers also preparing for the rank exam, class time is so boring. Don’t you think?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

I agreed lightly with that. We’d have our semester exams soon, and as always, I was the only one in this group studying or reading textbooks… I sighed.

☆

Winter arrived after the festival season.

The inside of the school was warm with heating, but I kept wearing my coat.

The reason was simple. This coat had heating magic embedded in it.

Even though it was only early winter, cold was still cold, so I walked around with my coat tightly wrapped around me.

Usually, I dislike going outside in cold weather, but recently, there’s been a lot I want to check out, so I’ve been going out more often.

Today was one of those days. After studying a bit, I used my lunch break to buy some things at the shopping district.

Today, I bought a landscape photo book.

I held the photo book as I walked. Lately, I’ve also been collecting photos from the internet, holographic images, and virtual videos.

For the virtual system, I was collecting it in CD format.

Most home virtual reality machines work by inserting a CD or MD into the main body.

To start virtual reality, you just put on something like headphones over your ears and head, press a button, and that’s it. Combined with magic, it’s truly a convenient world.

“Hoo….”

Out of habit, I breathed out.

It’s not yet cold enough for my breath to be visible, but somehow, I still want to blow out my breath when it gets chilly.

As I walked along the path through the park, I suddenly stopped when a familiar voice reached my ears.

“…You didn’t confess?”

I turned my gaze, curious about who was discussing something so interesting.

Across the path, on a bench, I saw a familiar face—Eun-hee unnie and next to her…

‘Ah! That’s Eun-hee unnie’s close friend… Senior Kim Juyeon!’

Right, she was the senior who used time-related magic.

Feeling proud, I recalled her name.

“It’s not like I can help it. Confessing… it’s really not an easy thing to do.”

Realizing the nature of their conversation, I felt a bit flustered.

But why were they talking about this in such a place? They should be in a more private area, like their own rooms, where people couldn’t hear them…

I looked around, then stopped moving and sat down on a nearby bench.

There were bushes behind the bench, a wide curve beyond that, more bushes after that, and then another bench where Eun-hee unnie and Senior Juyeon sat.

Other than the faint sound of the wind, I could hear the two of them quite clearly.

Moving now might make a sound. That would surely startle them, and it would be embarrassing for me, too.

Rather than face such an awkward situation, I chose to hold my breath.

Since I was a small child, as long as I sat down, they wouldn’t be able to see me from over there.

Besides, I was somewhat interested in their conversation.

“What if you miss your chance? You know Seonghu is really popular!”

I listened quietly, then my eyes widened in surprise.

Whoa…

‘So Eun-hee unnie actually likes Seonghu oppa!’

Although I was shocked by the realization, it didn’t seem all that surprising.

Should I say it made sense?

Honestly, I’d suspected something before. When a guy and a girl are close friends, it’s natural to be a bit suspicious.

Seonghu oppa was handsome and kind. If someone spent time with such a guy and felt nothing, it would be even stranger. Unless they had a strong emotional barrier like me or some other reason, it’s hard to imagine that happening.

At the same time, I wondered if I should be hearing this and stifled a sigh.

I’d like to use barrier magic to completely hide my presence, but it was too late for that now.

“Juyeon! Hey, Kim Juyeon! You’re being too loud…!”

“Oh, so frustrating! Seriously, Seonghu’s an idiot, too! Eun-hee, do you know how popular you are? Why hasn’t he noticed yet? I feel like blurting it out to him!”

“What are you talking about?! That would be so embarrassing!”

I wished I could see their faces or postures, but they were sitting back-to-back, so it was impossible.

I resisted the urge to turn around to avoid making any noise, and just focused on listening.

“When are you planning to confess?”

“When I finally reach B-rank properly this time.”

There was a brief silence from the other person. I thought I heard a faint sigh.

“Honestly, Joo Ji-hyun is better. He confesses to you every time, even though he knows he’ll get rejected. This is the fourth time, right? He’s been confessing since third year of middle school… it’s the fourth time, isn’t it?”

This time, I was genuinely shocked.

What? Senior Ji-hyun has confessed four times? And he’s been rejected every time?!

‘Whoa, even that stoic-looking guy confessed multiple times knowing he’d be rejected…?’

Whoa… really, just whoa. Senior Ji-hyun is an impressive guy in his own way. He’s handsome, popular, and strong. Now I feel kind of sorry for him.

At a loss, I just fidgeted with my fingers.

“Don’t talk like that. I really feel bad for him. Even though he’s annoying and arrogant, he’s still a close junior.”

“I know, I know.”

“I had no choice but to reject his confession four times…”

“Yeah…”

“…”

I sat there with a blank expression on my face.

Just then, the two people who had been sitting quietly on the bench over there stood up. I heard the sound of their footsteps.

Just in case, I closed my eyes and stayed still. If they noticed me, I’d pretend to be napping.

Luckily, though, they didn’t come any closer and their footsteps faded away.

“Well, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just have to make things work.”

“Yeah… I suppose.”

As their footsteps faded, so did their voices.

When the sounds completely disappeared, I slowly opened my eyes and looked down at my feet.

For a while, I was speechless.