‘It’s not even confirmed yet that we’re doing the tea house, and already so many messages are coming in?’

I knew well that rumors spread quickly at Eungwang High, but somehow even graduates and students from other schools were flooding me with messages.

Especially since news had spread that the third-year seniors at Eungwang High who received the chocolates I gave performed better than usual on the college entrance exam, inquiries poured in from those preparing for major tests like certifications.

Even current students of Eungwang who could enter without invitation tickets were requesting that chocolates definitely be served at the tea house.

Of course, there was no way my gifts held such power.

That Cheon Dong-ha and Yeom Jun-yeol scored well, and other seniors improved their grades, was all thanks to their own efforts.

‘Still, I understand the sentiment. When facing exams, anxiety makes you want to try anything.’

That thought made the intense reaction understandable, but some reactions were incomprehensible.

Those were the Jin clan members who had no exams to take or need to take.

They likely had connections inside the school, but it was strange how fast the news spread, and it was odd how they were pestering me as if to collect invitation tickets I was holding.

[Seodol] Send me an invitation ticket.

[Seodol] If I want, I can get as many as I want, right? But there’s a difference between getting it directly from the Ambassador of Neuru and not.

[Seodol] Also, I want to see and adjust the cufflinks I gifted. I might need them.

If Seodol had the means to get information on Eungwang High, it would be better to hurry research on the “Eye,” but Seodol had been noisy all along.

Besides, since he was close with Wang Chan-sol, he would probably send tickets by himself to invite me to the festival, yet he insisted on getting them from me.

Annoying as it was, since I needed Seodol’s strength, I decided to comply quietly.

Perhaps having heard about the commotion through the White Tiger, I also received a message from Hwang Ji-ho.

[Hwang Ji-ho] Like last time, I can manage the invitation tickets. You know better than anyone how cleanly I handled things.

It was a tempting offer because I was a bit bothered, but I quickly changed my mind.

I only entrusted ticket management to Hwang Ji-ho last time because of connections with Jeolheukpoongnim.

However, since Hwang Ji-ho ended up managing even my birthday party, many complained to me.

As I organized my thoughts and prepared to send a “No thanks” message to Hwang Ji-ho, someone seemed to beat me to sending a message.

[Hwang Ji-ho] Baekho just sent me a message saying “Jo Eui-shin has become the top student.” Did you order that?

Of course, I hadn’t.

Seeing the White Tiger sitting opposite me in the dorm lounge grinning gave it away.

He definitely read my mind and sent the message without permission.

“I saved you some trouble. You should thank me.”

Doing things without being asked but expecting thanks.

Still, it was fine since the White Tiger delivered it.

That saved me the trouble of sending the message myself.

Before I could reply, Hwang Ji-ho, as if reading my intention, sent another message.

[Hwang Ji-ho] Jo Eui-shin, at least reply to me. ㅡ.ㅡ

Hwang Ji-ho even used an emoticon after a long time!

Since he wanted a direct reply, I decided to reply with one.

[Me] Fine.

[Hwang Ji-ho] Jo Eui-shin... alright, got it.

Even though I replied personally as requested, Hwang Ji-ho didn’t seem satisfied.

Since there was nothing more to say, I checked the next message.

The next message I saw was the kind that makes your ears ring just by looking.

[Oktoyeon] Eui-in, Eui-in! You’re doing the tea house, right? You know how popular the Dal Rabbit Rice Cake Tea House is, right? I can give good advice! When it comes to running a tea house, I’m way better than Hwang Ho!

[Oktoyeon] Also, we’re releasing a new product soon. If Eui-in asks, I might get it distributed to you first. People will flock!

Running a new product launch at the school festival tea house?

It’d be a hot topic, but I wonder if Oktoyeon got permission or if she’s trying to do something crazy.

Even without that, I thought enough people would come.

The problem was that many non-humans would probably come too.

[Oktoyeon] Oh, right. We decided to get invitation tickets from Seo Horang and Lee Hohan. But we want yours too, so give some!

Why would she want more tickets?

If I said no, they’d probably squawk, so I wrapped my answer with a plausible excuse that those who don’t come with tickets received from descendants would be upset.

Next, I checked messages from Hwangryong, who seemed accustomed to device use despite short time on land.

[Hwangryong] Jun-yeol and Yeo-rang invited me, so our family has enough tickets, but Un-ryong insists on getting one from you.

[Hwangryong] (photo)

In the photo were several pictures of Un-ryong.

Un-ryong moved his small hands to form a cloud-shaped figure symbolizing an invitation ticket.

Though the shape wasn’t perfect, Un-ryong’s effort made it recognizable.

His will and effort to express himself made me unconsciously admire him.

[Hwangryong] One ticket is enough. Please give it if you have any to spare. We’ll be waiting at the Dragon Palace.

Unlike other leaders, Hwangryong didn’t demand more tickets despite already having plenty; his attitude was polite.

Since kind Un-ryong was making such an effort, I could easily give one ticket.

As I thought about when to visit the Dragon Palace before the festival started, the White Tiger suddenly spoke.

“Jo Eui-shin, that message you just saw is Hwangryong’s attempt to lure you to the Dragon Palace. Pass invitations through dragon descendants or the Dragon King’s shaman.”

“Would Hwangryong do something like a hojok?”

“He would. Hwangryong and Hwang Ho are alike.”

I was at a loss for words.

I had expected the answer ‘Hojok never did that,’ but the White Tiger firmly agreed.

It was awkward to respond, but on second thought, rather than going directly to the Dragon Palace and disturbing the dragons, wasting their time, it seemed better to relay through Yeom Jun-yeol or Yoon Yeo-rang.

When I said I’d send through them, Hwangryong simply replied “Understood,” unlike Hwang Ji-ho who added unnecessary words.

I thought the White Tiger ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ had been mistaken after all.

[Heukma] Send me an invitation ticket.

Heukma got straight to the point without any preamble.

Getting such a blunt message without any long explanation felt oddly relieving.

I gladly replied that I would send an invitation ticket to Heukma.

[Somyeon-ui Yang] You’re doing a tea house at the festival, right? Any plans to open a branch in Jeju Island?

[Somyeon-ui Yang] I went last year but don’t want to this year. Would you come if I asked?

Opening a branch? No way.

Somyeon-ui Yang didn’t ask for tickets but made a more annoying request.

Come to think of it, Somyeon-ui Yang had come to last year’s Eungwang High festival.

He came to hear the haegeum player Jeong Hae-su’s performance and give a gift of supernatural instruments.

Although Jeong Hae-su was crazy, his performance was quite good, so it was worth visiting from Jeju.

But I wasn’t sure how our class’s tea house would be.

For now, I decided to make it clear that we had no plans for a branch.

‘Where did Somyeon-ui Yang get tickets? He came last year, so he must have some connections.’

The next message was also from a Jin clan member.

The sender was Jecheon Daeseong.

But the message came not from the usual group chat with Mujigi, but from a one-on-one conversation.

‘Why are they messaging me one-on-one instead of the group chat with Mujigi?’

It was odd, but I decided to check.

[Jecheon Daeseong] My younger sibling is waiting desperately. Don’t forget to give it! Of course, including my share.

Mujigi hadn’t asked directly for the ticket but was waiting.

Jecheon Daeseong quietly reached out to me so I wouldn’t forget.

He seemed to have put thought into not mentioning it openly in front of Mujigi to induce a good reaction.

Feeling the brotherly care warmed me.

I would have done the same for my siblings.

“They’ll come even if you don’t give it. Jecheon Daeseong has interacted with Eungwang High students at irregular luncheon meetings. He must have tons of tickets.”

Before I could think further, the White Tiger interrupted.

The White Tiger said Jecheon Daeseong would receive many tickets, but Mujigi didn’t socialize much at the luncheons and mostly talked with me.

So I decided to personally look after Mujigi’s ticket.

“Those trying to deal with Jecheon Daeseong won’t forget Mujigi’s share.”

“So what?”

Although the White Tiger was right, I ignored him and decided to send the tickets.

Even though it hadn’t been decided that we’d have a tea house, everyone’s expectations were high.

Reflecting this, our class’s opinion gradually leaned toward doing a tea house.

As the festival approached, we often held meetings during breaks.

“Hahaha, we’re already getting many inquiries for sponsorships. Looks like we don’t need to worry even if the scale grows.”

“Sponsorship? Then shouldn’t we talk with Miro’s agency?”

“It’s okay. I’m not a class officer. If the agency interferes now, they’ll butt in whenever Eungwang High does something.”

Meanwhile, Guseulbi and Ong Gildong, who had insisted on performances, began to change their minds a little.

The turning point was that the festival committee allocated a large space to our class.

“If we have that many people, they’ll be able to see us well.”

“Hm, if it’s the gymnasium, the ceiling height is enough to have a floating stage! We can do what we want without disturbing the café.”

“The magic show at Rena’s birthday was great. I hope to see it again. If it doesn’t fit the tea house atmosphere, we can skip it.”

Encouraged by Sawol Seyum’s words, Guseulbi and Ong Gildong brainstormed ideas for a tea house where even a flashy show would fit.

Thanks to their concession, our class’s festival booth theme was finalized as a tea house.

Now the question was what theme the tea house would have.

Various ideas were suggested, ranging from retro to experimental and avant-garde.

Opinions were hard to narrow down, but Hwang Ji-ho’s suggestion resolved the situation.

“Then let’s do all of them.”

As a result, our class decided to open a café with changing themes every hour.

Looking at the number of props, materials, costumes, and the resulting budget made my head spin, but Hwang Ji-ho, who was paying, seemed to have no worries.

Whether immediately or due to a school proposal, this festival received more than twice the usual budget, so our class could do everything they wanted.

After the third-year final exams, which came earlier than the first and second years, Eungwang High stood on the brink of the festival.