Song Ha-yeon (1)
One question worth asking popped into my head.
Song Ha-yeon had worn the exact same outfit from the moment I first saw her right up until now. White shirt, blue tie, gray-tinted jacket. If you judged by appearances alone, it suited an office worker more than a teacher. Sure, you could call a school a company too, but teachers in full office attire weren't that common. Han Min-ji, the one I'd met last time, had been in regular casual clothes.
"Why are you spacing out like that?"
Song Ha-yeon had apparently finished patrolling the entire classroom and was suddenly back in front of me. In the meantime, I'd been blankly mulling over her outfit. The rulebook clearly said not to fall for temptations. Objectively speaking, she did have a pretty face. But if you asked whether she'd done anything seductive, nothing came to mind. Her outfit was long-sleeved formal wear that sealed off any skin below the neck. She hadn't even tried any subtle physical contact. My heart was pounding a little right now, but that was from fear. Anyone whose heart raced with excitement or anticipation while talking to a youkai had to be insane.
"No, it's just... you wear the same clothes every day."
"Oh, my outfit? Hmm... but it's not comfortable standing around chatting, right?"
Song Ha-yeon gave a slight eye smile and beckoned me to follow. Then she slipped into the back of Classroom 2-2 by herself. I panicked. No way I had to go in there, right? But before I could worry, she came dragging out two chairs, one in each hand.
"Huh? Give me one."
"Thanks."
My body snapped forward on instinct, grabbing one of the chairs she was pulling. It was an automatic social reflex ingrained in me. Luckily, touching a chair didn't cause any big issues.
Song Ha-yeon pressed her chair right up against the wall and sat down.
"Have a seat."
I started to sit naturally like her, but the rulebook flashed in my mind. Class 2-2 Rulebook.<Class 2-2> You're safe as long as you don't sit on chairs or desks. This was the hallway, but this chair had come from Class 2-2. Did sitting on it mean I'd lose a life just like that?
Song Ha-yeon just watched me hesitate, a natural smile on her face.
I racked my brains for a quick excuse. No matter how I thought about it, there was no need to risk it.
"Ah... I'll just stand."
"Why?"
Why? What a tricky question. I couldn't exactly tell the truth.
Song Ha-yeon kept looking at me with that same natural expression. At least the mood hadn't soured, but this was scary in its own way. Come on, think of a decent excuse already.
"Well... my guard uniform's all dusty! It'd be rude to sit on a student's chair."
"Is that so? Guess there's no helping it then."
Crisis averted smoothly. I let out a mental sigh of relief. In reality, the wardrobe youkai cleaned it spotless every day, so there wasn't any dust.
"But you didn't do laundry before coming?"
The second crisis hit. She was saying I'd made an appointment with her but hadn't even washed my clothes. They were clean, but admitting that would loop back to the chair issue. We hadn't even started talking properly, and I was already hitting roadblocks.
"Well... uh..."
I couldn't even make the excuse that I was too busy. Recalling my first chat with Han Min-ji, it seemed the teachers knew my schedule. I'd gone straight to the Counseling Room today without a break, but I couldn't reveal that either.
I was screwed. My machine-like rationality overloaded and broke down. My hardware wasn't top-tier. My vision went white.
"Pfft!"
Suddenly, Song Ha-yeon burst out laughing right in front of me. I hadn't expected her to laugh, so I was caught off guard. She must've found my agonized expression hilarious.
"Why so serious? You had your reasons, right? I get it."
"...Thanks."
"Anyone would think I was about to eat you alive."
That wasn't out of the question. Of course, I didn't say it out loud. After running into two mind-reading youkai back-to-back yesterday and today, even my inner thoughts made me tense. For a second, I wondered if Song Ha-yeon could read minds too. But her reaction didn't suggest she could.
Come to think of it, mind-readers so far had been off-spec entities. If Song Ha-yeon were one, Soonbaek-i wouldn't have shared info so freely.
"You asked about my outfit, right?"
"Yeah. Don't you wear anything else every day?"
"Nope? I have multiple of the same outfit, so I change into a fresh one each time."
"Whoa... one-outfit guy, huh. Any special reason?"
Finally, the crisis passed, and we were back to normal topics. Of course, I had no idea if the conversation would stay normal, so I kept my guard up.
"Ah... truth is, I was unemployed for a long time. Embarrassing, but yeah, a total bum. Living like that, I developed this romantic idea about office workers."
"A romantic idea?"
I figured long-term unemployment could do that. But wasn't Song Ha-yeon a youkai? A youkai bum?
"Yeah. Plus, I'm from way deep in the countryside. The kind where light barely reaches."
"Real boonies, huh."
"Right? Growing up there, I often dreamed about it. One day working at a proper city office job."
"Aha... dream come true, then."
"Yep. That's why I'm happy every day."
Song Ha-yeon gazed into space with a wistful tone, lost in sentiment. Her expression didn't seem fake at all.
"So that's why you rock the same look every day?"
"Hehe. Weird, right?"
"Nah? It's cool. Suits are great—clean and sharp."
I was definitely in a youkai-infested death trap. Yet her conversation pulled me into this bizarre, peaceful illusion. The classroom behind her was pitch black, though, snapping me back to reality.
Was Song Ha-yeon acting right now? It didn't feel scripted—her words all lined up logically.
"What about you, guard?"
"...Huh?"
"Any reason you're a security guard?"
That's how conversations work. You share yours, they share theirs. I'd forgotten that basic rule. Never imagined I'd be chatting peacefully like this in this world. Reason for being a guard? Obviously none. If anything, to survive. Kkamang-i had kidnapped me and forced the role on me. I was just masquerading as one to stay alive.
"Me... I do it to survive."
"To survive?"
No point in scrambling up some weird lie now—it'd get seen through. Better to bull straight ahead. Not spilling every detail, of course. No need to bare the full truth.
"Life doesn't let you just do what you want, right? I've done this and that to get by. Snapped out of it one day, and here I am as a guard."
"No dreams?"
"Dreams? Well..."
Even if I had dreams, they meant nothing trapped in Kkamang-i's world. If I had to pick one, escaping this place. Ideally with the whole Gallery crew. What a pipe dream. Dozens were stuck here, unescaped.
"...I want freedom."
"Freedom?"
Song Ha-yeon looked puzzled at my words. Probably not the answer she'd expected.
"Yeah. Free from the chains binding me."
"Who's binding you?"
I glanced at her face. Was she fishing? She just had that same innocent look.
"Bindings aren't always people. Could be money, responsibilities."
No lie there. My binders weren't human—they were youkai.
Song Ha-yeon pondered my words for a bit, then spoke.
"Do you want freedom now, guard?"
"...Huh?"
"You said you want freedom."
"......"
She emphasized "now" a little. Like she could grant it anytime if I just asked.
Freedom to me meant escaping this world. I'd take it right now. Could she really give me that? Or some form of it? Free me from these trembling days of fear?
The rulebook came to mind. Don't fall for temptations. I'd thought it meant rational seduction. Forgot temptations weren't just honey traps.
Never expected this angle.
"I'm good for now. Wanna keep it as a dream a bit longer."
"......If it gets tough later, tell me. Your face looks rough right now."
"......"
"Hang in there."
Was this temptation too? She wasn't human. Soonbaek-i confirmed it—a youkai. One that preys on humans. Yet her comfort soothed me. Her sincere tone muddled my heart.
Could Song Ha-yeon be a good youkai? Kim Eat-Chil was friendly now too.
"Ah! Guard. Got a question for you."
"...What? Ask away."
She'd torn down my walls with that comfort play. I was willing to fall for it. As long as it wasn't too sensitive.
"Been wondering since day one. Is that name yours for real?"
Nope, cancel. Thought it was WWE, but she switched to UFC. The from her comfort dried up instantly.
"...Huh? What do you..."
"The previous guard was named Choi Kyung-bi too."
"......"
"Weird, right?"
I'd miscued the genre for a second. This school was a death zone anytime. The lapse in vigilance hit me hard with tension. My heartbeat, which I hadn't noticed, rang clear now.
"Is your name really Choi Kyung-bi?"
She wasn't smiling anymore. Song Ha-yeon stared at me with a blank expression.