Exam Period (4)
I'll give myself some time to make excuses first. I'm not some creep obsessed with women. It just means I didn't fall head over heels for a youkai disguised as a pretty girl. The reason I was drawn to Song Ha-yeon's offer was purely for gathering information. If there's a friendly youkai, shouldn't I approach them actively to get intel? Like Kim Eat-Chil. In a world where you can talk to youkai, that's how you survive.
"What are you thinking about?"
Song Ha-yeon asked as I suddenly zoned out. I reflected on my rudeness for spacing out mid-conversation.
"Oh, nothing. I'll head up when I have time."
"It's a promise, right?"
A smiling eye has the power to captivate. Hers looked so purely innocent that it made her seem harmless. Maybe Song Ha-yeon was a youkai like a carnivorous plant—luring you in with sweetness until you're trapped in its jaws with no escape. What if I broke that promise? Of course, I was curious but had no intention of testing it.
I lay on the bed and closed my eyes, but that was it. I needed to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come. I'm screwed. I'd be the first to earn the title of chronic oversleeper who'd never once posted on the Gallery. Worst of all, not knowing the time tormented me. What time was it now? Once the sun rose, all the monitors powered off, leaving me without any way to check.
I had no choice but to get up and leave the break room again. Sitting idly in the guard room wouldn't change anything. It was brighter than at night, but aside from Song Ha-yeon and Kim Eat-Chil, I'd never seen a single youkai pass by. There were entrances on the left and right, but was this even possible? Come to think of it, there weren't even the usual bustling student noises you'd expect from a school. Dead silence. Were there students wandering around, even if they were youkai?
Time to sort my thoughts. Let's call it career planning.
First up: the meeting with Song Ha-yeon. I had zero clue what we'd talk about. With a human, it'd be casual small talk to kill time, but she was a youkai. I couldn't even fathom her intentions for suggesting a chat right outside the guard room. Skip for now. No point dwelling on unsolvable puzzles.
Second: the noose in the gym storage. The predecessor had recorded a reminder about this one-use item. I hadn't forgotten, but to cut the noose from the ceiling, I needed something sharp. I'd been scouting during door checks, but no luck finding anything blade-like. The infirmary might have something, but I didn't want to go near it for a while. Even though it was invalid now, recalling the terror and pain made me shudder. Only if I was definitely sick.
Last: the counseling room. No idea what it was, but it held some major secret. Entry condition: go exactly at 7. Downside: skip main gate lockdown and forfeit the shift. So I'd pushed it to the back burner until I had no other goals.
But then I noticed something odd. It was exam period now. During exams, lockdown was at 10. Meaning I could visit the counseling room without ditching duty.
Suddenly, I had a clear goal. Should I check out the counseling room?
Knock knock.
I jumped. Lost in thought, I hadn't noticed anyone approaching. Maybe because the guard room felt so safe, I'd let my guard down here more than anywhere.
I glanced over— it was the female teacher I'd bumped into during self-study last time. What was her name? Han Min-ji, right? Her long black hair suited her icy demeanor perfectly.
"What do you need?"
Han Min-ji still looked at me like I rubbed her the wrong way, same as before. What was her problem? Did I have something on my face? I wanted a mirror, but there wasn't one here. Actually, there were no mirrors anywhere. Maybe add that to the search list.
"I have something important to discuss. Mind if I come in?"
"Pardon?"
Her words caught me off guard. Wasn't this too bold? A woman entering a lone man's room. Even if it'd been Song Ha-yeon, I'd have shut it down flat. I'd die. Cause unknown.
"Can't we talk here?"
"It's embarrassing to say outside."
She didn't look embarrassed at all. I couldn't understand why this teacher was gunning for me like this. I'd never provoked her. Had I messed up somehow? Racking my brain, nothing came up. Sure, I'd turned my back during talks or winked, but that wasn't wrong, right?
"Come on, open up."
Stubborn. Inflexible. We could talk, but not communicate. Han Min-ji edged closer to the glass. Now it was getting creepy. The glass kept me safe, but scary was scary—like the second-floor hallway that couldn't hurt me physically but terrified me anyway.
How to escape this? Locking myself in the guard room was an option, but the backlash worried me. She might target me every night out of spite.
"Is 'come in' really that hard to say?"
Say that and I die. Any youkai, please come take this psycho away.
"Teacher?"
A voice from the hallway. It was Kim Eat-Chil.
"Min-ji teacher? The vice principal's calling you."
"……"
Han Min-ji stared at me without responding, then turned and climbed the stairs without a glance at Kim Eat-Chil.
Kim Eat-Chil approached the guard room.
"What're you up to now?"
"Heard a commotion passing by, so I checked. Why'd you handle it like that?"
"What was I supposed to do?"
"Like when we first met?"
"Oh, that..."
He meant when I'd channeled old-man energy and scolded him on day one. That was do-or-die desperation. Here, with absolute safety, my survival instincts were dull.
"How do you talk to a teacher like that?"
"??????"
"You're a student."
"Can I come in?"
"No."
The Kim Eat-Chil who'd terrified me on day one was now bantering. Though if I said yes, it'd turn into UFC real quick.
Come to think of it, he was the only one I could spill secrets to. The Gallery censored constantly, other youkai didn't communicate, and Song Ha-yeon was still iffy. Kim Eat-Chil made a perfect secret-keeper.
Time to share what I'd learned from my first death.
"Eat-Chil, you know a girl with black hair and black eyes?"
"……"
He shut his eyes and mouth at my question.
"Eat-Chil?"
"No."
He shut it down firmly.
"I can't say anything. So don't ask."
"……"
I watched a youkai tremble slightly. Unthinkable. This kidnapper youkai feared something even bigger.
After Kim Eat-Chil left, I headed into the guard room to avoid more weirdness and forced myself to sleep. Keep eyes shut long enough, maybe it'd work. But thinking about insomnia made me toss and turn—until my face hit the hard floor. I'd been on the bed; when did I roll off? I'd slept so deeply I'd forgotten falling asleep.
I'd overslept, as expected, but the monitors were still off. Stepping from the break room to the guard room triggered nightfall instantly, like it was waiting. CCTV flickered on, showing 7:00.
This was my first death post on the Gallery since arriving. Just as they'd warned, a successor had come. "Yeokmuwon" suggested they'd worked at a historic train like their nickname. The flood of RIPs had the new guy freaking out like I had. Trusting others to handle the intro, I left the guard room.
Swung by the admin office, tossed the key bundle in the guard room, and headed up the left stairs. Counseling teacher, your last client of the day is on his way.
At the counseling room door, I gripped the handle. Unlike last time, it turned smoothly. Heart pounding with anticipation, I took a deep breath and opened it.
The world turned pure white. I'd been on the fifth-floor hallway, but now it was an endless white void.
"Do you have worries?"
A soft, melodic voice came from one side. Turning, I saw a girl crouched in midair—snow-white hair like fresh powder, pure white eyes. The pose was identical to the kidnapper youkai, just inverted colors.