REINCARNATED IN "THE NOVEL´S EXTRA"

As Theo walked towards the dormitory, he felt a sudden tingling in his ear, as if someone were talking about him behind his back.

"Oh! That's what I'm talking about."

His eyes wandered along the sidewalk until they landed on a vending machine, illuminated by the soft glow of the streetlight. Theo approached it leisurely, swiping his smartwatch over the device. With a click, a can of Coca-Cola slid out, and the familiar hiss of escaping gas as he opened the drink brought him a strange sense of nostalgia.

"A cold Coke is the best thing anyone could wish for."

Theo chuckled to himself. It was a universal truth, something he had appreciated even in his previous life. He took a long sip, the cold fizz running down his throat, evoking a distant memory—not of death, but of something trivial and comforting. He remembered how he always drank Coke, almost like a ritual, and laughed at the irony of his death. It wasn't the drink that killed him, but a high-voltage wire. Life sometimes has a funny sense of humor.

"Ahaha! Remembering that sends shivers down my spine."

Before he knew it, the drink was already gone, as if time had stopped for a brief moment. Theo sighed, looking back at the vending machine.

"Let's get another one... Eh! There were only two, lucky me."

Apparently, this was the last Coke in the machine.

"Crap! It's gone!"

Just as I was about to continue my walk, I heard a murmur coming from the side.

It was a girl, who, upon seeing that the drink she wanted was gone, muttered in frustration, unaware that Theo was standing right there, watching her.

"This one..."

Yes, I knew her. She was unmistakable, even though she was wearing a mask and a cap to hide herself.

Only that long, silky black-purple hair and those slender, beautiful legs gave her away.

"Are you looking for this?"

"Kyaaaa!"

The girl, who had been searching every corner of the vending machine, jumped in surprise when I spoke to her. She had been so focused on looking for something that she hadn't even noticed me approaching.

"Ah! Hey, don't scare me like that. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

She was panting, her hand over her heart.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. I just saw you looking for something in the machine, and I wondered if it was this?"

I showed her the red can.

Her purple eyes sparkled for a moment.

"I bought it by accident. I was on my smartwatch and didn't realize I pressed the wrong button."

In one of her hands, the girl held a bag full of junk food. There was no doubt. This was Yoo Yeonha. Only this girl loved unhealthy food so much.

Of course, that was before I came to this world.

Note: Junk Food - an English term referring to unhealthy foods that are high in calories but low in nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber. The literal translation is "junk food" or "trash food."

Noticing my gaze on her hands, she quickly hid the bag behind her back.

"Yes. I was looking for that drink."

"I see. If you want, you can have it."

I held out the can towards her.

"Huh?! No, thank you. I..."

"Alright then, see you later. I'll just throw it away since you don't want it. I'm not a big fan of soda anyway."

Shrugging, I pretended not to care and turned away.

"Hey! You can't do that! Throwing away food is wrong. Give it to me, and I'll pass it on to someone else."

With hurried steps, she stood in front of me and stretched out her hand.

Even with the hospital mask, I could see a slight blush on her face.

The usually cold Yeonha was actually quite easy to handle.

"Here."

I approached her and placed the can in her open hand, but before I pulled my hand away, I noticed some cuts and scratches on her palm.

"There are some small wounds here... Could it be related to the various mental issues Hajin wrote about her?"

Among all the main characters, she was the only one with multiple mental illnesses.

For example: she had a fear of darkness, a fear of confined spaces, and a fear of spiders. Those were some of the phobias I remembered, but I knew she had many more than that.

"No, there was nothing like self-harm in the canon."

People who self-harm usually tend to hide their scars with long sleeves.

So I quickly dismissed that thought.

"You've been training a lot. Let me help you with that."

Before she understood what Theo was talking about, she saw a light along with a magical circle appear above her hand.

What he had just used was the lowest-level healing magic. Even though it was the lowest level, this magic was still capable of healing even beings who had been completely carbonized. As long as their vital signs were still active, they could be fully healed in seconds.

"There!"

"It's nothing, just a small healing spell."

She looked at her hand, the same one she used to hold the whip's handle. The numbness and tingling she had felt before were gone.

"Thank you! I overdid it with the training." She genuinely thanked him.

Yeonha, being a cadet who could manipulate mana, certainly wouldn't suffer from scars due to small cuts, simply because mana helped heal faster than a normal person.

But still, no woman would want something that mars her beauty, and Yoo Yeonha was no different.

"I told you, it's nothing... See you in Veritas class!"

Leaving the drink with her, he walked away. But those last words made the girl freeze in place.

"Veritas, he just said Veritas class. He knows who I am."

For him to know that she studied in the special class that was Veritas, he definitely knew she was Yoo Yeonha.

"Aaah! I'm screwed!"

The future queen of Seoul, for the first time in a long time, felt terror.

...

"Huh? Nothing too special."

I had already arrived at my dormitory, staring at the space that would be my home from now on until graduation.

At Cube, dormitories were allocated according to rank. The top three received first-class dormitories, while the others got great dormitories. As a rank 10 cadet, I also ended up with a great dormitory.

"It's so empty..."

It was big... A large space with nothing to decorate it. Living room, two bedrooms, kitchen, and bathroom. The bedrooms were each over 3 meters long.

"I know! Hehehe!"

Before my family died, I was an avid video game collector. But after they passed away, that desire stagnated. After all, there were more important things to worry about.

"First, let's create some shelves."

...

"Aaaarg! I'm exhausted! Glug! Wow, this is delicious."

Three rooms to the right of Theo's room, Yeonha continued to complain and delight in the food she had bought. Her thoughts were stuck on the earlier encounter.

"Hah! This is so good."

Anyone who saw her now would ask if this was really the cold Yeonha who only showed her teeth to Jonghak.

"I need to talk to him and make sure my identity hasn't been exposed."

If something like that had happened, then she would have to take some harsh measures to keep him quiet.

"...But what was that feeling earlier?"

Yes, it was something she couldn't forget. It was the moment that light shone over her hand.

The feeling was so comforting and good that it made her forget about her problems outside of Cube.

Even more so, that beautiful vision sculpted by the heavens.

"Aarg! What am I thinking?! Hmph! He's handsome and all, but that's it. Appearance isn't everything. Shin Jonghak is also handsome..."

Even with her bed covered in food wrappers and sweets, Yeonha lay down, holding her right hand against her chest. She could feel that, for the first time in a long time, a peaceful and good sleep awaited her.

***

6:33 PM.

"All done! Now let's take a shower."

After doing a lot of research online, Theo used his creation magic to create various consoles. He made versions of PlayStation, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Tomorrow, he planned to create more... After all, now he could have all of them without paying a dime. Collectors would surely die of envy knowing this. Or not, since my creations wouldn't be unique items.

"Who cares! I just wanted to bring life to these empty spaces."

Musing to himself, Theo headed to the bathroom.

Some time later.

"Now, this is more like it."

Even though I have magic that can clean any dirt off my body, a shower is definitely the best option. Taking a shower is like washing your soul.

"Since I have plenty of time, let's study a bit. With Anos' intellect and mine, it'll be easy to take first place in theory along with Hajin."

Not to brag, but my intellect was so great as a child that my parents wanted to send me to Harvard when I was 10 years old. If you think that's an exaggeration, then go complain to the people who worked for the Pentagon.

With my plans in mind, I sat in front of several screens, all of them scrolling text at a speed no normal human could dream of keeping up with.

"If Anos read nearly 2,000 books in mere moments, then this is child's play."

My eyes glowed slightly, but just as I was about to start studying, I felt my wristwatch vibrate and then ring.

"Bling!... Bling!"

"Huh? A call. Could it be her?"

There was only one person I had given my contact to. After confirming the call, a screen popped up in front of me.

-Hum! Hello Theo, were you already asleep?

"My dear god! Are you trying to give me a heart attack, Nayun?"

...