32. A Soft Bed for Falling Tears
32. A Soft Bed for Falling Tears
32.
"I-it's been a while, Yu Ha-yeon."
My childhood friend, who I hadn't seen in so long.
Our reunion was the worst.
"What are you doing...?"
The air turned frigid.
Those lifeless eyes, pupils unfocused and impossible to read.
A suffocatingly heavy atmosphere.
In the middle of all this, Ban Ha-na, utterly tactless, let out a strained whimper.
"Si-jun... move... you're so heavy..."
There she was, Ban Ha-na's fragile body pinned beneath me on the floor.
To any onlooker, this position was a misunderstanding just begging to happen.
Ban Ha-na's voice made the atmosphere even heavier.
Yu Ha-yeon murmured quietly.
"In all the time I've been struggling over the past week, I never dreamed you'd have turned into a man who pounces on women..."
"No, that's not—"
Yu Ha-yeon's brain had clearly already accepted this scene as the truth.
But more importantly.
'She said a guardian was coming. Why the hell is Yu Ha-yeon here?'
Would it have been a bigger disaster if my parents had come instead?
Then again, maybe being seen like this by Yu Ha-yeon was better than my parents seeing it.
Setting aside the idle thoughts, I had to clear this up first.
I had to explain.
No matter how I looked at it, this misunderstanding had to be resolved immediately.
"C-calm down, Ha-yeon. It's not what you think!"
"...It's not?"
"Right! It's a total misunderstanding! I swear!"
I stared into Yu Ha-yeon's vacant eyes and began explaining.
I told her who Ban Ha-na was, and gave a detailed account of how she'd jumped at me and we'd fallen over.
Yu Ha-yeon listened to my explanation without moving a single muscle.
When I finished,
her overcast black eyes bored straight through me.
"So what you're saying is, you didn't jump her on purpose. You just 'happened' to fall, right when I walked in, and 'happened' to collapse on top of that woman, and 'happened' to end up holding her in your arms. Is that it?"
"..."
They say a chain of coincidences creates an inevitability.
Damned fate.
Faced with Yu Ha-yeon underscoring every last 'coincidence,' I had no comeback.
"Oww... it hurts..."
Ban Ha-na groaned as she plopped back down into a chair.
I sat down in a chair, too, and we stayed still while we waited for the investigator to return.
"..."
All under Yu Ha-yeon's murderous glare.
Just for that moment, I found myself thinking that the Black Dawn hideout might have been more comfortable.
As we sat there in silence,
the investigator, who'd left earlier, came back.
He seemed to sense the strange mood and asked me,
"What's with this atmosphere? Did something happen?"
"No, sir. Nothing happened at all..."
Truly.
Nothing happened.
"Hehe... I'm older than you..."
The only person who'd believe that story was the clueless, bright-faced Ban Ha-na.
***
About ten hours later.
The sun rose, signaling morning.
After multiple rounds of cross-checking with consistent statements,
the Hero Union concluded that while Ban Ha-na and I remained under suspicion, they had no concrete evidence to prove anything.
"...We will always be watching you. Keep that in mind."
"Yes. Thank you for your hard work, investigator."
"Good work..."
Ban Ha-na gave a sleepy nod.
The interrogation had been longer than expected, so her body and mind were bound to be exhausted.
'I'm dead tired too...'
I was in a state where passing out wouldn't have been strange at all.
The reason I'd held on was the Magic Stone Golem's core.
The Blue Stone.
The Magic Stone Golem's technique that converts its core into magical power.
'Balance. Demand stamina recovery by consuming the magic power of the Golem Core.'
Whenever drowsiness crept up, I used Balance to recover my stamina.
Like the caffeine in a cup of coffee.
That was why I was still lively, unlike Ban Ha-na.
"So, are you still not going to talk to me?"
"..."
Yu Ha-yeon.
She'd waited the full ten hours for my interrogation to finish, too.
'Pervert. Scumbag. I'm only here because of your parents. Don't get the wrong idea.'
Yu Ha-yeon had waited in the interrogation room, claiming she couldn't face my parents right now.
She was incredibly upset, disappointed by our reunion.
"...I told you it's a misunderstanding. You don't believe me?"
"You have to act in a way that's worth believing. You're the one who's hiding so much from me. Don't talk to me."
She was really sulking.
If I didn't resolve this grudge, it looked like it could easily last a week.
'Well, I understand.'
Hiding my relationship with Han Yu-wol from Yu Ha-yeon.
The sudden appearance of this Ban Ha-na character.
And the bitter taste of our reunion.
For Yu Ha-yeon, who must have suffered mentally for a week, it was the worst possible reunion.
I could fully understand how she felt.
'But a misunderstanding left to fester is dangerous. I need to clear this up today.'
Thinking that, the moment I stepped out of the Hero Union building,
a blinding flurry of lights obscured my vision.
"Mr. Han Si-jun!! You've returned after being kidnapped by a villain! How do you feel right now!?"
"Black Dawn! Are the rumors about Han Yu-wol being a cannibal really true!?"
"Please give us a statement!! Mr. Han Si-jun!!"
Click. Click.
As camera shutters went off, flashes burst, and people who looked like reporters shoved mics in my face.
A completely unexpected situation.
Who could possibly expect to be mobbed the second they walk out of a building?
Flustered, I let a few words slip out.
"A-are you crazy?"
"Si-jun, it's too bright..."
How had they even gotten wind of my rescue?
They were all clamoring, asking what had happened to me and what kind of group Black Dawn was.
'I haven't even explained things to Yu Ha-yeon yet. Why the hell should I explain anything to you people?'
There's no need.
I immediately covered my face and tried to leave.
"Ha-na, let's go."
"Where are you going, Mr. Han Si-jun! Are you returning to the academy!?"
"Do you have anything to say about the academy's security!? Please, just one word!!"
So persistent.
The reporters kept shoving their cameras at me.
They were desperate to wring an answer out of me, anything at all.
Their goal was painfully obvious, so I kept my mouth shut.
'Whatever I say, they'll just spin it however they want.'
Not all reporters are like that, but most go for sensational headlines.
That's a universal truth, not just for reporters.
My image at the academy is already bad enough. The last thing I need is to trash my reputation across the whole of Korea.
In this increasingly infuriating situation,
a voice charged with magic power sounded right beside me.
"Vanish. Disappear from their sight."
A strange wave of mana washed over both me and Ban Ha-na.
"Huh? Where'd they go? They were right here a second ago...?"
"W-what?"
Even though we were right in front of them, the reporters looked around aimlessly, unable to see us.
It was as if our existence had been erased, and they could no longer perceive us.
Only one person could make something like this happen.
It could only be Yu Ha-yeon.
"Si-jun. That woman is strong."
Having sensed Yu Ha-yeon's immense magic, Ban Ha-na snapped out of her drowsiness and kept her guard up.
Yu Ha-yeon, the cause of all this, acted as if nothing had happened and walked out ahead of us.
"I'm definitely not doing this for you. Idiot. Just follow me."
Yu Ha-yeon's ears had turned a brilliant shade of red, despite claiming she wasn't doing it for me.
She just looked... embarrassed.
'Look at her, getting all flustered.'
I walked on, staring at the back of Yu Ha-yeon's ear, glowing red stark against her long black hair.
As the reporters' clamor faded into the distance, we reached a parking space with a midsize car.
A familiar female figure was standing beside it.
"Ms. Shin?"
"She said she'd give us a ride to the academy. That little girl, too."
Yu Ha-yeon placed heavy emphasis on the word 'little.'
She clearly still didn't like Ban Ha-na.
With a snap of Yu Ha-yeon's fingers, my homeroom teacher, Shin Si-hwa, finally noticed us.
Seeing that I had returned safely, Shin Si-hwa wore a relieved expression.
As we approached Shin Si-hwa's parked car, she spoke to me with deep emotion.
"Are you physically all right? Are you hurt anywhere? There isn't much time left..."
"Let's go quickly, teacher! I'm so exhausted, I can't take it anymore!"
As I hurriedly cut her off, Shin Si-hwa quickly glanced at Yu Ha-yeon with an 'uh-oh' look on her face.
Just how many people did I have to clear things up with?
"Haah..."
I sighed and got into Shin Si-hwa's car.
I took the passenger seat.
The back seat was for Yu Ha-yeon and Ban Ha-na.
"..."
"..."
Watching the two of them looking visibly awkward through the rearview mirror, I was finally able to return to the academy.
***
"...You're saying she wants to enroll?"
"Yeah! I'm good at fighting! I've never done it before, but I'm good!"
On the way to the academy, Ban Ha-na had been shouting that she absolutely wanted to enroll.
Shin Si-hwa seemed a bit taken aback by her words, but she surprisingly mentioned that Ban Ha-na's enrollment might be possible.
"First, you're exhausted right now. You should rest, and then we'll need to get you properly identified and check if you meet the threshold. Although, in the case of a mid-semester transfer, you'll have to score even higher than the standard cutoff."
"I don't care! I'm going to enroll!"
"Ahh... my head..."
Ban Ha-na was mindlessly insisting on enrolling.
Shin Si-hwa felt a slight twinge of dizziness and pressed her fingers to her temples.
With an expression that seemed to ask, 'What am I going to do with this one?', she took Ban Ha-na away.
Ban Ha-na looked a little anxious, but at my words, "See you in a little bit," she bravely followed Shin Si-hwa.
"See you soon! Si-jun! Next time we meet, you have to speak politely! Got it!?"
"..."
Without saying a single word, I just waved and smiled as I saw her off.
No matter what, speaking politely is a bit much.
After the two of them left, the only people remaining were me and Yu Ha-yeon.
And I was left with Yu Ha-yeon, who was deeply upset with me.
We walked, as if on a predetermined path.
"Are you still sulking?"
"I'm not sulking, I'm angry."
"Okay, are you still angry, then?"
At my wordplay meant to lighten the mood, Yu Ha-yeon shot me a sharp glare.
Her gaze carried a hint of performance.
Looking at the subtle quiver beneath her eyes, she was intentionally keeping up the force.
That told me she was only pretending to be upset right now.
'How many years have I spent with this girl?'
Even without Yu Ha-yeon saying it, I could tell.
And this sentiment went both ways.
"Idiot. Getting yourself kidnapped, and being so pathetically weak..."
Yu Ha-yeon's anger melted away like snow.
She lightly pounded my chest with her fists, whining.
"And who's that woman...! We finally meet after so long... it was supposed to be a touching reunion... *tsk*..."
"...That hurts. Are you trying to kill me?"
Should I use the Golem Core to heal?
The baptism of Yu Ha-yeon's fists was growing stronger.
"Dummy. Fool. Weakling. Pervert!"
Yu Ha-yeon scolded me, using all sorts of words.
But those words gradually began to turn inward, aimed at herself.
"A dummy who can't even protect what's precious. A fool who just stands still. A weakling who couldn't do anything..."
Tears began to fall.
Even with her immense power, her failure to protect me had clearly turned into a sense of guilt for Yu Ha-yeon.
It wasn't something she needed to feel guilty about.
Yu Ha-yeon hadn't done anything wrong.
This was the perfect moment for me to just say, '...Hey, I'm back now.'
But they say childhood friends grow alike.
Unable to be honest in that moment, I tried to lighten the mood with a joke.
"Well, maybe you should have protected me better, then."
A joke mixed with a laugh.
My inability to be honest.
It was Yu Ha-yeon who ended up being the honest one.
"From now on, I will protect you. So that no one can ever take you away from me."
Yu Ha-yeon hugged me tight, as if refusing to hand me over to anyone.
"You can't go anywhere without my permission. I'll protect you."
Yu Ha-yeon murmured words that didn't make complete sense.
I just quietly held her.
And so, the long, long incident of being kidnapped by a villain came to an end...
...
"So, what exactly is your relationship with that woman?"
"...Friends?"
Because that situation was impossible to explain with the word 'coincidence.'
To my regret, I couldn't wash away the stigma of being a pervert.