Various Stories (2)

Whether she'd slept in or not, her hair stuck out in every direction. I was staring at it when Kang So-ra pressed the stray tufts flat with one hand and grumbled under her breath.

"Look ahead, would you~?"

I gave her a faint smile and turned my attention to Franc, who was wandering the classroom and peering at everyone else's tablets. Whether it was the psychological comfort of actually wearing clothes, her activity had shot up. Once she got to school she was busy roaming not only our class but the ones beside it, above it, and below it, so I'd asked if there was anything fun in all that wandering. Her answer came without a sound.

"Class is interesting. Korean history, in particular, is exceedingly fascinating, so I have been following Teacher Kang Yun-ok's lessons from room to room."

Class, interesting? I couldn't begin to say how thrown I'd been by that answer. Still, it was nice watching Franc so lively. Of course, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Franc who used to cling to me stark naked, stuck fast like a cicada, had been nice too.

After roll call, our homeroom teacher launched into morning assembly, rambling through this and that before dropping something that made the whole class perk up.

"This Friday there's a field trip to the National Museum of Korea, so assemble on-site by nine. You all went in your first year, so you know where it is, right?"

"Yes~."

"Teacher. We're third-years now, and we've already been there. Can't we just study something else at school?"

When the kid in the front row asked, the teacher shook her head, firm.

"Field trips aren't held for no reason. And a lot of the exhibits have changed."

"Tch. What's fun about looking at old junk?"

"We'll be checking attendance, and checking whether anyone tries to slip out halfway, so don't get any ideas. Understood?"

"Aww~."

She quieted the jeering class and carried on with the assembly, but the rest was nothing special. Study hard, and watch out for the test coming in the middle of next month. A field trip... Honestly, not an event I cared for. In the old days I'd rather have spent those hours gaming at home, and now, with every gaze in the place pinned on me, I cared for it even less.

Once the homeroom teacher left and the room grew noisy again, I put my back to the wall and switched on my Certifier in manner mode. That way the other kids couldn't see the screen. Franc, catching me turn it on, flew across the classroom and landed behind me, while the others kept sneaking glances at the hologram window, eyes bright with curiosity.

Was "thta" a typo? I could see Hwayeon's face, flushed red with embarrassment, clear as day. Heh.

"This is seriously amazing. Looking at this, augmented-reality hologram tech's already been developed all the way to commercial use. So why aren't they selling it?"

Kim Chang-hyun muttered as he craned his neck at the hologram, and Cho Min-ho and Kang So-ra turned their own curiosity on the Certifier at my wrist and the light it threw.

"Probably because they're expensive. For one thing, you can't even get the materials in this world, and they're supposed to be a nightmare to process."

"How much?"

"About a hundred thousand dollars?"

At that, Su Yu-ri and Han Go-eun—who'd drifted over at some point—blinked and pressed me for more. I ignored the stares of the class, and the kids still plastered to the hallway windows gawking at me, fewer than a few days ago but there all the same, and shut the Certifier off.

"A million. Just to reissue one."

"......"

In the classroom that had gone dead silent in an instant, Kim Chang-hyun's low voice carried.

"Yeah... figures it never made it to market."

When lunch came, Han Go-eun, Su Yu-ri, Kim Chang-hyun, and Cho Min-ho—the in-crowd foursome—plus Kang So-ra ganged up and dragged me to the school cafeteria. Ugh. I just wanted a quiet lunch. I was muttering that to myself when I spotted a tiny twin-tailed girl barreling toward us from up ahead, feet pattering. Was she going to latch onto me even at lunch now?

Han Go-eun must have seen her too, because she turned to Su Yu-ri in pure disbelief.

"Suri. Is the student council president even allowed to sprint down the hallway like that?"

"Probably not?"

"Heh heh heh. Tiny thing's working awfully hard to seduce Seoha."

"Must be nice, being popular~."

Ignoring Kang So-ra's loaded drawl, I watched the student council president arrive in front of me and open her mouth between gasps.

"Hah—hah! S-Sunbae-nim! P-please, for lunch, our student coun—"

"I refuse."

I cut the breathless, hand-on-chest plea off in a single stroke and walked right past. She launched herself at my waist and started hanging off me.

"Aaahn! S-Sunbae-niiim~!"

Lee Yu-mi throwing her whole body at me and locking both arms around my waist threw me, inwardly. Outwardly I kept walking as if nothing were wrong, and the student council president began to be dragged along, both legs trailing. At that bizarre sight, kids from the other classes flinched and cleared a path. I walked through the gap, then turned at a sudden sense that the space around me had gone hollow... and there were the in-crowd five, trailing after me at a distance carefully judged to pass them off as strangers.

Those shameless bastards!

Ah, seriously. Thanks to the vest I had on underneath, there wasn't even a weird feeling against my back—just something snagging my stride and pissing me off. Hanging off a guy's waist in front of everyone. Did this girl have no shame at all?!

The kids found the whimpering president clinging to my waist and being hauled along so entertaining that they pulled out their phones and started filming. You lot are taking pictures too?!

"Don't take pictures! I'm seriously about to lose it—I mean it, don't shoot!"

I snarled at the crowd at large, and the ones who'd been snapping photos scattered like a startled warren of rabbits. Ha. For real...

"You let go too!"

If I tried to pry her hands off by force, I might get hauled to the student affairs office on a sexual harassment charge for groping a girl's hands. I couldn't even touch her!

"We've prepared a meal over at student affairs! So if you promise to grace us with your presence, I'll let go!"

"Oh, sure. Then let's go all the way together."

"Eeeing~!"

Annoyed, I switched on Mana Mode and started taking long strides, and the student council president began whining and begging even harder.

"Sunbae-niiim~! Don't be like that, just once, just one single time!"

"Keep whining and I'll pick you up and throw you!"

I flared Mana Vision, eyes blazing, and laid down the threat, and the student council president shut up at once. At that cute sight, Franc—who'd been floating along behind us—covered her mouth and giggled. Tch.

Once upon a time I might have welcomed a cute girl plastering her whole body against me, but right now I had Franc and Hwayeon, prospective brides who'd score a hundred and twenty out of a hundred. This kind of situation was nothing but a hassle and an irritation. And in the middle of it, I could hear the in-crowd five whispering behind me.

"Hey, hey. Do we have to count that as sexual harassment too?"

"Who against whom?"

"Uh, um? Student Council President Lee Yu-mi against Seoha? Or... Seoha against President Lee Yu-mi?"

"Class prez! I'm the one being sexually harassed right now!"

I spun around and barked at that outrageous reversal of who was harassing whom, and the class president went "Ahaha~!" and hid behind Han Go-eun. I felt the student council president flinch at the words sexual harassment. Yes. It is harassment, so please just let go. But the tiny president flushed, looked back over her shoulder, and blurted out something completely off.

"Th-this isn't sexual harassment! It's part of an aggressive headhunting campaign!"

"......"

I grimaced in sheer disbelief at Lee Yu-mi's words, and the others burst out laughing at the two of us. On the way down the stairs she let go of my arm, and I thought she'd given up—only for her to tackle my waist again the instant we reached the bottom.

"Ghk?!"

Th-this pipsqueak, going for a man's most vital asset, one he hadn't even put to proper use yet...!

"Haa..."

Resigning myself, I walked into the school cafeteria with Lee Yu-mi still latched to my waist, and sure enough every eye locked onto me. No—onto the twin-tailed girl hanging from my waist. Even so, I stubbornly crossed the cafeteria and pulled a meal ticket at the counter, and at last she went "Heeng," let go with both hands, and dropped off me.

"Sunbae-niiim."

"I've said it however many times. I have no intention of just putting my name on the student affairs roster. People's hearts are greedy things. Stand, and you want to sit. Sit, and you want to lie down. Put my name on the student council and the next thing will be some other favor, won't it?"

"I-I won't! If you just let us put your name down...!"

"I don't believe you. No—I can't believe you. I've got schoolwork, and when school ends I have team training at Time River. I have to gather materials on the Phase World, and I have to train my own abilities."

I said it looking her straight in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the eye, and the student council president's face—which from any angle looked no older than a middle schooler's—crumpled.

"Your mind... it really isn't going to change?"

"It absolutely isn't."

She forced her brows into a pitiful inverted arch and manufactured a wretched expression. Did she really think I'd fall for a fake face like that? I picked up the food that had come out and spoke as I looked for an empty seat.

"Playing pitiful won't work. I'm not joining. Go back."

"Heeng."

At the razor-sharp refusal, the student council president finally let her shoulders slump and trudged out of the cafeteria. And yet why did I have the feeling she'd be latched onto me again tomorrow?

Su Yu-ri, who'd been watching, sat down with the food she'd ordered and spoke as if she felt sorry for her.

"Poor thing."

"What's poor about her? Thinking everything will work out if you just cling on blindly is what's stupid!"

Somehow Han Go-eun seemed to have it in for the student council president. Irritably, she hacked the lunch special—a well-done tenderloin steak—to pieces and started stabbing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them up and eating. Faced with that murderous aura, Cho Min-ho swallowed hard and asked her.

"G-Go-eun, do you dislike the student council president?"

"I don't dislike her! But I hate behavior like that! What even is that! If you're the student council president, you should persuade people logically, the way a president should. Leaning on your femininity and begging like that drags down the reputation of women!"

Kim Chang-hyun nodded along as he twirled carbonara around his fork.

"From a guy's perspective, having a cute girl like that cling to you feels nice, sure. But if it's to force you into something you don't want to do, it's kinda... you know?"

"Y-yeah. And even doing all that, Seoha's never going to join..."

"Why do you think that?"

Su Yu-ri, who'd been neatly cutting her steak into small bites, opened her eyes a fraction at Cho Min-ho's opinion and asked.

"Because Seoha's personality seems a lot like Chang-hyun's... and Chang-hyun never does anything that's a hassle."

"Right, right. If I were in Seoha's shoes, I'd never join the student council. Too much of a pain."

A bitter smile rose on its own under Kim Chang-hyun's look, as if he were asking me to agree. Truth was, that was the biggest reason. It was a hassle. Cho Min-ho, with that innocent puppy face, seemed to have seen through me with surprising sharpness. I nodded at the kids waiting for an answer.

"If I had to split it by percentage, my personal circumstances and plain not-wanting-to would each take half."

At that, Kim Chang-hyun shrugged as if to say he'd been right all along. Kang So-ra, who'd been silently spooning up curry rice, opened her mouth at the sight, sounding incredulous.

"No~? That wasn't even your line~?"

"Homin's words are my words!"

For a while they bickered over the student council president's behavior, then the talk soon shifted to whatever the in-crowd was on about these days. While I cut into a steak a little bigger than my hand, it ran to which idols were pretty lately, how Seon-ara of Ashban had shot a new pictorial, how a Mid-Rank Variant had shown up in another country and thrown everything into chaos.

At the story of tens of thousands evacuating because a Mid-Rank Variant had appeared, the zombie penguin I'd caught early in my second round came to mind, and I tilted my head. It had been the lowest of the Mid Grade, and yet... it hadn't felt like the sort of thing that would send tens of thousands running. Hm. Maybe not. It had definitely stood over six and a half feet, and one swing of its arm would have smashed concrete in an instant. If the military or ability users deployed to catch something like that, the city streets wouldn't come out unscathed either, so evacuating made sense.

The thought kept going. The larger a country's land, the more trouble it would be in. The average number of ability users by nation—the gap between the country with the most and the one with the least was so enormous that the figure barely meant anything. Still, if you averaged only the countries that officially held the title of nation, it came out to about a hundred and forty thousand per country. And if the land was vast, the ground each ability user had to protect grew with it, so from Mid Grade on, where ordinary modern weapons started having trouble, there could be chaos. A full-blown mess.

The great powers could at least buy time with organized firepower until an ability user arrived. But a place like Japan, which still hadn't replenished the ability users lost en masse during the Droplet Incident, was apparently still in an uproar every time an Aberrant appeared.

After lunch with the kids, I parted from them and was heading up to the roof alone for some air when Spatial Perception picked up the student council president waiting for me on the third-floor skybridge that linked the cafeteria to the school building—legs planted wide, arms crossed, looking thoroughly arrogant. I considered detouring for a moment, but that would only be a stopgap. If Kim Chang-hyun and Cho Min-ho were right, she'd keep chasing me, so I'd have to scold her or browbeat her enough that she couldn't come after me anymore. There was a limit to how much cuteness I was willing to let slide.

I stepped onto the skybridge, and sure enough she tried to latch onto me, so I stuck out a hand, caught her by the head, and pushed her back.

"Eep?"

"Stop following me. Whether it's a hundred days or a thousand, I'm not joining the student council no matter how long you chase me. I already said no. Keep being a nuisance and I'll file a complaint with the student guidance office."

"Th-that's..."

"And if that doesn't work, I'll go to the principal's office and take it up with the principal."

"Urk."

Completely deflated by my hard line, the student council president didn't approach me again that day. But something about the unconvinced look of her retreating back made me think she'd be back.

When school ended and the kids called me to hang out, I lifted my left wrist to show them I had things to do, caught a taxi, and headed straight for the Time River Building. Mm. I ought to start carrying a phone, too. I figured I'd be late again today and wanted to call Mom, but I was too conscious of other people's eyes to even turn the Certifier on.

And when I arrived at the Time River Building, I sighed, doubting the performance of my own head.

"Do I seriously have a goldfish brain... I forgot the pass again."

I let out a deep sigh, and Franc smiled awkwardly and pointed at my Certifier.

"Telephone Hwayeon, and ask her to pass word along to the secretaries."

"Guess I should."

I turned on the Certifier in front of the building and called Hwayeon, and she picked up at once.

Behind her, dressed in an ordinary women's gray suit, I could see her office. In the hologram she was looking at me—calling from outside—with a puzzled expression. People passing by glanced my way, but thanks to manner mode they wouldn't be able to see who I was on with. Behind me stood the Time River Building's sculpture.

"I'm in front of the building. I don't have a pass, so I can't get in."

"Okay."

Right after that she hung up. I shut off the Certifier and spoke to Franc.

"Didn't Hwayeon seem a little down to you?"

"She did. I wonder why. If she wore such an expression even upon seeing you, it must be a matter weighing on her considerably."

"Could it be that business about a death?"

"Ah, that may well be. It is a sorrowful thing, that someone has passed..."

I scratched my head at Franc's words. Someone I didn't know living or dying bothered me less than Hwayeon being in a low mood. I'd had a similar thought last time, too. If it were the old me, I probably would have offered at least some private sympathy, some mourning. Was this a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠change that had come with becoming an ability user? Maybe my humanity had dried out a little. I should bring it up in front of Franc and Hwayeon.

After a short wait, I saw the secretary come hurrying out of the building, looking this way and that. I walked over, and she spotted me and approached with a bright expression. Ah. This was the one who'd looked my body over while pretending she wasn't.

"Here. This is Mr. Jung Seoha's access identification."

She carefully handed me a gold card, business-card sized, with a fine leather cord attached. Taking it, I found my ID photo set into the pass, and on the back my name in full alongside a barcode.

"The boss is waiting on the twentieth floor. You may go straight up."

Leaving those words behind, she turned right around and went back inside. I hung the pass around my neck and stepped in after her. Only now did it feel like I'd actually become a member of Time River.

When I arrived on the twentieth floor, Hwayeon was coming out of the dressing room, having changed. Today she wore a silver silk blouse and a white buttoned pencil skirt that fell to her knees. No stockings—bare legs—and that only made her more attractive. I took in the pretty sight of her and pressed the bell, and a shrill brrring carried even through the door. She'd said she'd fix it last time. Looked like she'd replaced it.

She checked her appearance one more time in front of the door, then opened it. And when she saw me coming in, her face filled with expectation. Was she hoping for a compliment? For some reason a laugh threatened, so I forced it down and looked away.

"What'd you call me over for today?"

"Ah? ...Mm. No, it isn't anything much. I should tell you how last week's Energy Eater matter was handled, and about yesterday's consultation with the Ability User Association, and..."

At my blunt reaction as I walked toward the sofa, Hwayeon visibly wilted, then followed behind me without any energy, murmuring as she came. Franc must have thought I was being strange, because she flew in front of me, read my expression, and gave a wry smile.

"Aaah. Seoha really is a mischief-maker."

Well, of course.

"That's not nothing, though."

"Ah? R-right... It isn't nothing. And Mother's reaction has me a little uneasy, too."

Only then seeming to realize what she'd said, Hwayeon flushed a little and quickened her steps, trying to come up beside me. So I walked faster too.

"...!"

At that, she made the face of a baby whose snack had been snatched by her mother, then wilted all over again. She looked down at her outfit and murmured as if whispering, but I was watching her face through Spatial Perception, so I could read her lips clear as day.

Ghk. So cute I can't stand it. But if I want to see Hwayeon's face go red, I have to hold out.

"So? Did something happen to the Energy Eater?"

I'd reached the sofa, but I deliberately didn't sit. I spoke while looking back and forth between the window and the stretch of wall I'd half-destroyed—anywhere, in other words, that wasn't her. Now. Time for her to get mad. The bit isn't finished until Hwayeon blows up!

"...Th-the Energy Eater's traits have changed completely. The disposition that coveted Phase Power is gone, and its hostility toward humans has vanished entirely. It has become something like a pet at the research institute."

Huh? Its traits changed completely?

"Is that because of the TP I fed it, after all?"

"...I believe so. What hidden effects your ability to use TP might possess is a mystery. It would be good if we could study it, but we cannot, so... Mm. At present it is living at the institute, accepting various foods... or so I hear."

"An Aberrant ought to be hostile toward humans and ability users. If it's gone gentle like a pet, I can't even picture what it looks like."

"There is talk that we ought to... dissect it, to confirm. But I am told they have settled on keeping it alive and analyzing it over time. Before it became an Aberrant, the Energy Eater would have been a creature raised by human hands, so they are taking that into account as well."

The more we talked, the wilted look faded, and a slowly gathering anger began to take its place.

"I see. I'd like to see it again."

"In my judgment, it would be better if you did not meet it. We cannot know how the Energy Eater would react."

"All right. If that's what you think, I'll follow it. The rest is about the consultation? What's it about?"

"........."

I asked, but no answer came back. Yes. Time for her to get angry.

"...Turn around."

"Huh?"

"Why won't you speak while looking at me? I-if the clothes are strange, I will go and change... Please talk to me while looking at me..."

She said it to my still-turned back, voice a little tearful. Uh-oh. I hadn't planned on this reaction. The plan had been that she'd blow up at me for being rude, I'd blow up right back and shamelessly yell that she was too pretty to look at, and then I'd smirk and enjoy the sight of her face going so red it might explode. But crying?!

...Fine. Change of plans.

"No."

"What? Wh-why? Do you dislike the outfit so much you don't even want to look at me?"

At my words she was visibly flustered. She looked down at herself and wore an expression of genuine, deep disappointment. Wow. So cute I could die of it.

"Looking at you hurts my eyes."

"What? What do you mean by—"

"...!"

Only then, realizing it wasn't because something was wrong with how she looked, she flushed hard and turned her head away.

"Why'd you have to dress up so pretty I can't even look you in the face. Honestly. Grumble, grumble."

"Nngh!"

Even though I packed the words full of obvious mischief, Hwayeon didn't catch on, and didn't know what to do with her embarrassment. Watching her hands flail without direction and her body fidget, I thought the corners of my mouth might ascend straight to heaven.

"Pfft. What are we to do. Miss Hwayeon is far too cute!"

Right?

"S-Seoha, you... hm?"

I turned to her with a grin, and only then, as if she'd realized it was a joke, she went bright red all over again and started getting angry.

"Aaah, honestly! Seoha, your mischief has gotten even worse!"

"Ahahaha. That's when you're supposed to pretend you lost, come snuggle up, and pout. Aigoo, Hwayeon, you still don't know the first thing about dating, do you?"

"Ngh...!"

Looking at her scrunching her face as if she were truly wronged, I imitated her voice.

"'Did I coordinate this wrong... doesn't seem to be Seoha's taste,' she says. Hwayeon, you're too cu—?!"

"Mmph! Stop that!"

She closed in like lightning, clamped a hand over my mouth, and shouted with her eyes squeezed shut, as if she might die of shame. E-excuse me. Your grip is so strong my lips are about to get mashed.

I hurriedly protected myself with Mana Mode, then caught the hand pressing down hard enough to crush my lips and lowered it. As her hand went down, her face turned aside with it. At the sight of her flustered, unable to meet my eyes, I just pulled her in by the waist. Whoa. Her waist is thin.

"You really are pretty. When the door first opened, I thought an angel was standing in front of me, you know?"

Because of her shoes, Hwayeon stood a good four inches taller than me. I pulled her waist in tight, pressing our stomachs together, and looked up—and she, red-faced, glared at me, then stole a light kiss from my lips.

"Seoha, you are even more spiteful than Siha."

"Well, that's because I love you even more than Noona does. And siblings take after each other, don't they?"

"...If you cannot say anything decent—mmph?!"

This time, I stole Hwayeon's lips. Deeply.