Kim Eat-Chil (1)
Song Ha-yeon stared at me with those clear, sparkling eyes.
As I looked back at her, it suddenly hit me—I had another way to gather information besides the Gallery.
Who was it that tipped me off about the noise at the annex door?
Who told me where to find the lubricant?
I figured the Gallery's filters wouldn't apply here either.
Only one problem: I couldn't just blurt out random questions.
I mean, I couldn't exactly ask her point-blank where the escape route was, right?
If I did, she'd either look at me like I was crazy or the mood would turn ice-cold—one or the other.
After what happened last night—or technically this morning—I'd firmly decided to avoid any sudden moves for a while.
Better to start with some normal chit-chat.
What had she said again? Something about why I was sighing?
"I had a nightmare again today."
"Whoa, really? You okay?"
"Nah. Having them every night is killing me."
Seeing this pretty woman look at me with genuine concern made my heart melt a little.
I wish Song Ha-yeon were just a normal person with that kind of empathy, I thought.
But judging from the circumstances, she was probably some kind of youkai.
I couldn't go outside during the day, and this wasn't a normal school anyway.
She, on the other hand, strolled around these spaces like it was nothing.
That realization brought a silent tear to my eye.
Come to think of it, I wondered why she was being so nice to me.
She hadn't tried to harm me at all so far.
I'd even considered she might be hiding something, but there was no vibe of seduction or testing me.
She was just a perfectly kind, ordinary Korean language teacher—friendly even to the security guard.
"Why don't you try some sleeping pills?"
"...Huh? Sleeping pills out of nowhere?"
"They say you sleep so deep you don't dream. Looks like stress is keeping you up—might help you crash hard."
"Ah... I dunno, relying on meds feels off..."
Okay, scratch "ordinary."
Sleeping pills for nightmares? That felt a bit extreme.
Didn't you need a doctor's prescription for those anyway?
"If it's really bad, I'll talk to the nurse. Swing by the infirmary if you need some."
"...Thanks."
She was being so insistent—I couldn't very well say, "No thanks, don't do that."
Thinking about it, the infirmary was on the first floor, but I'd never bothered checking it out.
It wasn't essential for my duties, so it hadn't crossed my mind.
Maybe I'd check the rulebook after she left.
Not that I was ready to let her go just yet.
"Ha-yeon, is there a Kim Eat-Chil in your class?"
"...Pardon? Kim Eat-Chil?"
"Ah."
Shit. I'd blurted it out without thinking.
Kim Eat-Chil was just a nickname I'd made up on the spot from the duty log.
No way she'd know it.
But surprisingly, she seemed to mull it over after hearing me.
"I think I know who you mean."
"Huh?"
She got it?
Just counting the desks I'd seen while patrolling, there had to be way more than one or two students in the whole school.
Of course, I'd never actually seen any kids during the day.
I'd just assumed they didn't use the central entrance.
Now that I thought about it, that was kinda weird.
"But why are you asking about that student?"
"Oh... He got caught staying late at school last time and came to me."
This didn't count as a sudden move, right?
A security guard reporting a student's misdeed to a teacher—totally normal.
Well, "caught" was a stretch; he'd been waiting for me.
"Really? Eat-Chil might still be in the classroom. Hold on."
With that, Song Ha-yeon turned and headed up to the central entrance.
What the hell? Was she going to bring him down?
And why'd she call him Eat-Chil so casually?
Even if she did bring him, it was fine—the guard room was a safe zone.
Still, I couldn't help tensing up.
I thought she'd be quick, but it took longer than expected.
The sun hadn't set yet.
Last time, it felt like night fell right after she clocked out.
Guess she was punching out on time today.
And my one comment had kept her at school.
A pang of guilt hit me.
Even if she wasn't human, I could relate to the woes of the working stiff.
Lost in these random thoughts, I heard footsteps coming down the central stairs.
It was Song Ha-yeon. And trailing behind her was a male student, following like a lost puppy.
He had messy black hair half-covering his eyes—pretty distinctive.
"Guard, is this the student?"
"Huh?"
Someone I'd never seen before in my life.
The boy was glancing at me nervously, shrinking back.
Now what? During the day, youkai could be masquerading as humans.
So how could I tell if this was Kim Eat-Chil?
All I knew about him was his height and voice.
The height matched, more or less. Time to hear the voice.
"Um... student?"
At my words, he flinched and stepped back.
Head down, looking all shy and timid.
But to me, it hit different.
I don't even need to hear your voice—what are you gonna do about it?
Was that mouth hidden under his bowed head smirking?
I couldn't drag this out. Saying I didn't recognize him would be weird.
But gambling without enough clues felt risky.
I couldn't pin it on height alone.
And if I said yes and it wasn't him... who knew what might happen? Kinda scary.
Think. Was there anything else I knew about Kim Eat-Chil?
Then it clicked.
"Ha-yeon, you're homeroom teacher for Class 2-2, right?"
"Huh? Yeah, that's me."
"And this kid sits up front?"
"He does, but why the sudden quiz?"
Bingo.
This sealed it.
If not, the world was just screwing me over—nothing to do but accept it.
"Yeah, this is the one."
I declared it, and the boy peeked up at me, eyes a bit surprised.
"Eat-Chil, apologize to the guard."
Song Ha-yeon prompted him.
He gave her a puzzled look.
"Why am I Eat-Chil?"
"Looks like the guard gave you a nickname."
Hearing that, he shot me a glare.
What? Eat-Chil was cute.
I tried to dodge his stare.
"Not gonna say sorry?"
"...I did last time."
"Ahem."
"...Sorry."
He bowed his head politely.
Song Ha-yeon smiled.
"Don't harass the guard ajusshi and head home on time, got it?"
"...Yeah."
He sounded reluctant.
Satisfied, she shouldered her bag.
"Well, guard? I'm heading out."
"Ah! Sorry I held you up."
"Hehe, no biggie. It's a teacher's job."
"Take care."
"Yeah. See you tomorrow."
Song Ha-yeon stepped out through the central entrance.
Which meant the boy was left here with me.
Should've asked her to take him along.
He watched her go until she was out of sight, then suddenly fixed me with a stare.
I tried to ignore it—it was intense.
Maybe because of that, he grinned.
Not creepy, but chilling all the same.
The timid kid was gone.
"Not bad, huh?"
Finally, his voice matched Kim Eat-Chil perfectly.
"...So it is you."
"Was gonna play dumb, but you nailed it."
"What're you talking about?"
"Beats me? What could it be?"
Kim Eat-Chil kept chuckling like it was hilarious.
Then, as if remembering something, his smile vanished.
"Kim Eat-Chil? What's that?"
"...Nickname."
"So what's 'Eat-Chil' mean?"
I wondered if it was safe to keep answering, but he didn't seem aggressive.
So I explained: his name looked smudged like mud, so Kim Eat-Chil.
He looked dumbfounded.
"You know what you did?"
"What'd I do?"
"You named me."
"So?"
He facepalmed like I was hopeless.
I felt wronged. How was I supposed to know what that meant?
But he didn't explain clearly.
"You kinda lifted one of my restrictions."
"Restrictions?"
"Basically, I got a fake identity."
"Fake identity?"
"...Eat me if you come out?"
He threatened me, but no real killing intent—I just flinched on reflex.
Honestly, I was frustrated too.
I hadn't meant to repeat his words like that.
Wouldn't he need a proper explanation to get it?
But he gave nothing more beyond that cryptic bit.
Let me sum up what Kim Eat-Chil said.
Youkai had location-based restrictions too.
I'd figured as much— they couldn't enter the guard room, for proof.
The issue was the naming part.
It lifted a restriction? No way to puzzle that out myself, so I asked straight up.
"I lifted your restriction, right?"
He nodded.
"Which one?"
"I can leave the third floor now."
That sounded bad for me.
Had I just upped my own difficulty?
Don't lose hope yet—maybe he'd turn friendly since I helped.
I let a hint of expectation show, but he smirked and crushed it.
"Don't get happy. Not planning to help you or anything."
"No gratitude?"
"Gratitude? You wouldn't have known without me telling you."
Fair point, but it pissed me off anyway.
What could I do if a youkai annoyed me?
Challenge him and get shredded? No thanks—the weak have to endure.
"Fine, I'll answer two questions. That enough?"
He offered like he was doing me a huge favor.
Could've been zero—this was a lifeline.
"No lying, right?"
"Obviously. But I can't answer what I don't know. Waste a question on that, it's gone."
Even asking was a skill check.
I pondered hard to make these count.