Esso stared at Park Rain, who was sitting next to Kim Dream with her eyes closed.
"She's pretty. I bet her eyes will be just as pretty when she wakes up."
Esso shouted at the top of his lungs, loud enough to shake the entire train car.
"Wow! The seasons are changing!"
Students on the train woke up at Esso's loud voice, but Park Rain was still fast asleep.
'Ugh… still not waking up? The kid next to her woke up, though. Hmm... It's raining right now, so lighting a match just for a second should be okay, right?'
Outside the train window, rain was falling. Esso pulled a match out of his pocket and lit it. In the windless, quiet train car, the match flame suddenly flared in one direction, as if blown by a strong wind.
"Wow!! Look at this! I think we're almost there!"
Esso shouted again, this time looking at Park Rain, who was sitting beside Kim Dream in the neighboring window seat.
"They say if you follow the direction the fire points, you'll find the professor who defeated the fire spirit!"
"Student! Put that match out! What do you think you're doing lighting a match on a train?!"
The train staff rushed over to stop Esso.
'Seriously? Even now, she doesn't wake up? The kid next to her did…'
Hoping it might stir Park Rain, Esso spoke to Kim Dream instead.
"Hi! You're a new student too, right? I'm Esso!"
"Yeah, I'm Kim Dream… Are we almost there?"
Esso shouted even louder, aiming his voice at Park Rain.
"Yeah! Didn't you see? No matter what kind of fire you light, it always points toward the fire magic professor!"
"This stop is... Dream School. We are now arriving at Dream School Station."
'Huh? Still not waking up, even with the announcement? Maybe she's not even a student here…'
As the announcement played, the freshmen hurried to gather their luggage and get off the train, dragging suitcases almost as big as themselves. Walking alongside Kim Dream, Esso resumed their earlier conversation.
"Kim Dream, did you see how it changed from rain, to snow, and then to cherry blossoms when we went through the tunnel?"
"Ah… I was asleep."
"It was amazing!! What season campus do you think you'll be assigned to?"
"Probably summer."
"Oh! Me too! I hope I get summer campus!"
"Why do you want summer?"
"I used to live in California where it hardly ever rains there! But here, they say the rain is really refreshing!"
Chatting with Kim Dream, Esso made his way to the magic school. As a professor stepped up to give a speech in the central park, Esso noticed Park Rain standing far in the back, holding a wooden cane.
"Welcome to the Magic School. Dream School is..."
'Oh? That girl who was sleeping on the train… she is a freshman after all! Maybe she just sleeps a lot. Wait... she's standing there sleeping? What the—?'
The shaggy-bearded principal was speaking to the 80 new students gathered in the central park of the Four-Season Campus. Behind him stood the faculty, and from various trees in the park hung hammocks where students could nap.
"This is a school where you can sleep anywhere, anytime. Most of your classes will take place in your dreams."
The students buzzed with excitement at the idea of being able to sleep freely.
"Now then! It's time to assign each student to their campus. Please come forward one by one."
The principal began assigning students to campuses. When Esso's name was called, his eyes were still locked on Park Rain. His heart pounded uncontrollably.
'I have to end up on the same campus as her!'
He stepped up in front of the penciled drawing of a blank window. Inside it, a bright, sunny beach began to appear. An assistant measured the temperature outside the window and confirmed it was over 30°C.
"Summer Campus!"
Though Esso got the campus he wanted, he completely forgot about it—his thoughts were still on Park Rain. As he moved among the summer campus students, he searched for her. Finally spotting her still asleep while standing:
'What the—still sleeping while standing? I wish I could show her that I'm in the summer campus too... Ah! The Fire Professor is in charge of the summer campus!'
Just then, Esso spotted Kim Dream and came up with an excuse to light a match. He tapped Kim Dream on the shoulder.
"Do you know who the Fire Professor is?"
"No, probably one of those over there?"
"Wanna find out?"
Without hesitation, Esso lit a match. As soon as it ignited, the flame flew up into the air and shot toward one of the professors like a gust of wind. The match was caught reflexively by the Fire Professor. As soon as it landed in her hand, the flame blazed fiercely in her direction. Dressed entirely in black—from short bobbed hair to dark gloves—the Fire Professor clenched the match and extinguished it.
The white smoke from the snuffed-out match slowly drifted toward Esso, forming a thin string that wrapped around his raised hand and pulled it upward.
Even while being punished by the Fire Professor's magic, Esso, now the center of attention, was excited.
'At least she noticed me now, right?'
"Did you see that? Amazing! That's the Fire Professor!"
Esso said excitedly to Kim Dream, raising his hand, only for the smoke string to tighten.
"Ow! Ow! That hurts!"
The Fire Professor glared at Esso with a cold, terrifying stare. Then, the principal called out the final student: Park Rain. Esso, still bound by the smoke, locked his gaze on her.
"Now… our final student, Park Rain!"
With her eyes still closed, Park Rain tapped the ground with her cane and walked forward.
'Ah! Finally! So her name is Park Rain! But… why is she walking while asleep?'
"Everyone, Rain is visually impaired. Please be mindful of this, no matter which campus she's assigned to—"
As Park Rain stood in front of the drawn window, a volcanic scene began to appear. Lava spread out beneath the image of an active volcano that looked ready to erupt. The faculty's faces grew tense, and murmurs swept through the students. The principal, maintaining a flat expression and tone, quickly tried to calm the atmosphere.
"Summer Campus!"
'…She's visually impaired? Then why did the volcano show up...? Whatever! We're on the same campus!! This is the best!'