37. Between Reason and Instinct
37. Between Reason and Instinct
37. Between Reason and Instinct
After the incident.
As Yu Ha-yeon headed to the training room and I turned back toward the dormitory, she spoke.
"Anyway, starting today, you and I are dating. Is it okay if I tell other people?"
"Tell people?"
"Why? Don't you want me to?"
"Hmm..."
If I made the relationship public, what kind of effect would that have?
I thought about it for a moment.
'Hey, those two are dating.'
'What? Seriously? The girl could do better...'
'Even if the guy is good-looking, he's basically helpless, right?'
Old memories.
My middle school days, constantly compared to Yu Ha-yeon, flashed through my mind.
I decided it was better not to reveal the relationship. After all, it was fake.
"Probably best not to say anything. It's just practice, anyway."
"...Practice. Right. It's practice."
Yu Ha-yeon repeated the word, her expression disappointed.
She seemed to think it over, and apparently concluded that broadcasting it everywhere wasn't a good idea.
"Then... can I tell my really close friends?"
"That much... should be fine, I guess."
If they were friends who could keep a secret, it should be okay.
I figured that much wouldn't hurt—she wanted to use this practice relationship to get used to other people's attention, and it wouldn't turn into gossip.
'It's not like anything major will happen.'
It was just a boy and girl dating during school.
And one that would be kept almost completely secret at that.
That definitely wouldn't cause a huge incident.
'If I told everyone, I wouldn't be able to extend my lifespan.'
Who in their right mind would go after someone already taken?
Maybe Ban Ha-na, who had no moral compass or common knowledge, but otherwise people wouldn't pursue someone with a partner.
The news spreading widely would work against me.
"I could've claimed you in front of everyone..."
"What?"
"Ah... nothing...!"
What did she mean by "nothing"?
I didn't quite catch Yu Ha-yeon's muttered words.
And so, despite the fake-dating label, we walked along together like any other day.
"Bet you were bored without me, right?"
"No way. I did just fine on my own. Idiot."
"...I don't think so."
We teased each other just like always.
As we walked, we talked about a lot of things.
What had happened at school while I was gone.
How the students who thought I was dead had put white chrysanthemums on my desk.
Little things like that.
"Those bastards really... I thought about killing them. How can they assume someone's dead just because they got kidnapped? Their brains make no sense."
"Well, they probably just didn't like me to begin with."
"Still, the ones who realized they were wrong said they wanted to apologize to you. What was his name... Ahn... Ahn..."
"Ahn Ji-ho."
He'd been in my group project, not a bad tank.
According to Yu Ha-yeon, Ahn Ji-ho wanted to apologize for misjudging me.
"Seems like I'm the one who should be apologizing..."
"Huh? Why? Did you do something wrong?"
"I did do something wrong..."
In my panic, I'd announced I would steal his girlfriend.
That was clearly my fault, so I was the one who owed him an apology.
I mean, I wasn't really going to steal her.
But even in the chaos of being kidnapped, the look on Ahn Ji-ho's face when I declared I'd take his girlfriend—I couldn't forget it.
Chattering about things like that, we arrived at our destination before we knew it.
"...We're here."
"Yeah, that felt fast."
We'd been so focused on talking that the walk barely registered.
I gave Yu Ha-yeon my usual farewell.
"Alright, I'm heading in. See you next time."
The same goodbye as ever.
But today, Yu Ha-yeon's voice came from behind.
"W-wait! Hold on! Idiot!"
Who's the idiot here?
I turned around to say just that.
Smack.
But because of the sensation on my cheek,
I couldn't speak.
"Y-you... what are..."
"...Lovers say goodbye like this, you know. Didn't you know? You're hopeless at romance. Pervert."
A sugary gesture paired with such a sharp tone.
Yu Ha-yeon's black hair swayed as she fled away from me.
"Hey, where are you going!"
"To... to train!"
After that spontaneous move, Yu Ha-yeon quickly vanished from my sight.
What the hell.
It was incomprehensible, but the faint sensation of her lips lingered on my cheek—moist and soft.
I suddenly felt a spark of curiosity.
"...What do lips taste like? No. What am I thinking... Yu Ha-yeon is family..."
Ah.
I can't taste anything anyway.
That curiosity quickly vanished from my head.
But the feeling on my cheek, and the indescribable emotion, didn't go away so easily.
"We've done this before. So why is it so different...?"
Is Yu Ha-yeon... a woman, not family?
A seed of doubt I didn't want to acknowledge began to sprout.
But I used my willpower to settle my emotions.
"Thinking of Yu Ha-yeon as a girl is kind of annoying."
That Yu Ha-yeon who was always so harsh with me... a girl?
It shattered my image of her.
I didn't like it at all.
—Human. Pushover. Reproductive organ. Existence? Frustrating.
"What is she going on about..."
I ignored Fenrir's cryptic words and walked toward my dorm room.
It was at the end of the second floor.
'Nobody should be there.'
I counted it as a stroke of luck that I hadn't run into any other students on the way.
I opened the firmly closed door.
Creeeak...
I took off my shoes inside, but an odd sensation made me pause.
'I definitely turned off the lights...'
The light was on in my room, even though I'd turned it off.
Inside the dormitory room,
from the far end, I could hear signs of life.
"Hmm-hm~ hmm-hm-hmm~"
Someone humming a tune.
She sounded excited about something.
A very familiar voice.
Only one person in the world would hum so cheerfully like that.
"...What are you doing?"
"Huh...? Si... Si-jun, you're... back?"
As I stepped inside, I saw Ban Ha-na's pink hair.
How did she get in here?
Obviously, she'd used her ability.
But the fact that she'd broken in wasn't the real issue.
The real issue was the wall in front of her.
"Ha-na."
"Huh?"
"Explain that. Why is there a hole in the wall?"
"..."
A hole big enough for a person to pass through—not a physical hole, but something dimensional, clearly Ban Ha-na's doing.
Ban Ha-na stood still for a moment, pretending to think hard, then blurted out,
"I—I think it's a mistake...!"
Wasn't it a little too blatant to call a mistake?
It definitely didn't look like an accident.
***
Perhaps realizing she'd been caught, Ban Ha-na immediately knelt down and put her hands up—without explaining what the hole was for.
"Explain."
"..."
"Explain. Answer me."
"Th-that's..."
She kept her head down, glancing up at me sidelong.
She clearly didn't want to tell me what the hole was for.
"Tsk."
So that's how you want to play it?
Then I've got no choice.
I'd show her with actions.
"N-no! Si-jun! You can't go in there!"
"If I'm not supposed to go in, what is it? Now I'm even more curious."
Assuming that a spatial rift secretly installed in my room by Ban Ha-na wouldn't be too dangerous,
I ducked my head and crawled through the hole exactly her size.
Whoosh...
The bizarre sensation of spatial movement.
Once I passed through, everything went quiet.
"...What is this."
A silent, empty room.
It resembled my dormitory but had a slightly different layout.
A room that showed absolutely no sign of human presence.
As I looked around, Ban Ha-na popped out of the dimensional hole.
"Uwaaah..."
She wore a 'busted' expression as she stared at me.
Now she'd talk.
I demanded an explanation.
"What is this, Ha-na? Why did you make a hole connecting our rooms? I'm really curious, you know."
"Th-that's..."
I closed in on her, demanding she explain.
With nowhere left to run, Ban Ha-na finally confessed her plan.
"I-it's scary alone... I'm out for the first time... I don't know anyone... S-so, I made it to secretly sneak over to Si-jun's room... I was going to hide it with a mirror so you wouldn't find out... B-but why did you come back so soon!!"
She'd been explaining relatively well until she suddenly shrieked at the end.
According to her, this was her own dormitory room in the girls' dorm she'd gotten after enrolling in the academy.
And it was connected to my room.
Still, this is too much.
"Ha-na. Is this really the right thing to d—"
"I don't care! I hate you, Si-jun! You old geezer!"
The moment I tried to lecture her,
she shoved me, calling me an old geezer, and yelled,
"You brought me here and you won't take responsibility! I thought you were a prince! You're a traitor! A villain!"
"Ah..."
She must have had a lot bottled up, because she shouted at me, fuming.
It was true—I was the one who brought her to this world.
And if she'd slept alone in this room last night, I should have thought about how she must have felt.
'This is my fault.'
I'd been too careless. I might have neglected Ban Ha-na too much.
I was the one who pulled her out of that den of villains.
If I didn't look after her, Ban Ha-na would end up isolated all over again.
I hugged her, as she was struggling not to cry.
"...I'm sorry. I was wrong. I was too thoughtless."
"...Because I'm nice, I'll forgive you right away. Si-jun."
Even though she was a little sulky at the moment, she'd get over it right away. I suddenly found myself admiring Ban Ha-na's gentle nature.
'How could a kid with such a kind heart do something like that in the future?'
Ban Ha-na's future self didn't match at all.
A being who would drag an entire city into destruction—
I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that she was this delicate.
But then.
"What are you doing, Ha-na?"
"Mmm...!"
She kept standing on tiptoe, leaning closer to me.
She was offering me her pink lips.
I knew exactly what she wanted, but I didn't understand why.
I asked her, "...Do you want a kiss?" and she nodded confidently.
"Why?"
Ban Ha-na's train of thought was completely lost on me.
In that situation, she exclaimed like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Si-jun. The prince who saved the princess has to kiss her, obviously...?"
So this is why parents monitor what kids watch in dramas.
Most of Ban Ha-na's education had come from fairy tale books, so her common sense seemed warped.
"J-just do it quickly. Si-jun."
Blushing, she rose on tiptoe and offered her lips.
'This is insane...'
The memory of Yu Ha-yeon's kiss surfaced, and I stared at Ban Ha-na's glossy pink lips as they drew closer.
Those small, shiny lips were gradually approaching me.