67. A Woman's Fight
67. A Woman's Fight
67. A Woman's Fight
Time passed, and the academy, judging that the students' bodies had all returned to normal, officially permitted the first-years to resume attending classes.
The first commute in a while.
Counting the school trip, with weekends overlapping, it had been nearly two weeks of rest.
But neither my body nor my mind had actually rested.
Getting caught two-timing by Yu Ha-yeon, dealing with Lee Seol-ha's third-route treatment, and my first outing with Ban Ha-na.
Maybe because I'd been so physically active while my body was shrunken.
Throughout all of that, I hadn't rested at all.
'Getting a break will have to wait until I clear at least some of this...'
The lifespan issue, the episode-related problems, the romance problems.
I had too many issues to afford a rest right now.
I had no choice but to drag this exhausted body to the academy.
Beside me, Ban Ha-na murmured in a gloomy voice.
"Si-jun..."
"Why the long face, Ha-na?"
"Si-jun... my hands feel so empty..."
Ban Ha-na's smartphone, the one Yu Ha-yeon had thrown to the ground.
The phone that had died because it held a photo of my face and Ban Ha-na's face.
Ban Ha-na was desperate to have it back.
I patted Ban Ha-na's head and said,
"I sent it in for repairs. You'll probably just have to wait about a week."
"A... a week...? That long...?"
Ban Ha-na extended her fingers one by one, counting the days of a week.
To her, it must have felt longer than expected, because her mood grew even gloomier.
'...Yu Ha-yeon really did go too far.'
Over a single photo...
No. Not just a single photo.
A photo of Ban Ha-na and me kissing each other on the cheek.
That was something Yu Ha-yeon, given her position, could never tolerate.
A photo of the man she had singled out as hers—the man she'd taken her first kiss from—pressing his lips to another woman's cheek?
'She was lenient just breaking it enough to be repaired...'
With Yu Ha-yeon's strength, she could have shattered the phone into pieces beyond recognition, but she deliberately chose not to.
Probably because she's kind-hearted by nature, and because she saw the desperate look on Ban Ha-na's face.
I could guess that much.
a shock jolted through my hand, the one patting Ban Ha-na's head.
Thwack!
"Wh-what the...!"
The impact must have reached Ban Ha-na too, because she looked around with a bewildered expression.
When I followed her gaze, a familiar-looking woman was standing right beside me, having appeared without a single hint of her presence.
"Don't pat her with that hand. If you really want to, get my permission first."
"...Good morning, Yu Ha-yeon."
Let's retract that thing about her being kind-hearted, for now.
Yu Ha-yeon said her morning greeting with a sullen look.
After shooting a sharp glare at Ban Ha-na, Yu Ha-yeon immediately grabbed my hand tightly.
"Y-you... you...!"
Seeing that, Ban Ha-na shouted at Yu Ha-yeon, her voice full of protest.
Ban Ha-na was someone who did not forget a grudge.
"Give me back my... my phone...! Apologize to me...!!"
"Hmm..."
A courageous cry from the pink rabbit.
But contrary to her words, Ban Ha-na immediately hid behind my back.
"..."
Yu Ha-yeon stared at Ban Ha-na with a blank expression.
Blink. Blink.
Every time Yu Ha-yeon blinked, Ban Ha-na shifted further behind my back.
"S-Si-jun, help me...! That woman is bullying me...!"
"What on earth are you two doing on the way to school..."
Yu Ha-yeon and Ban Ha-na were both the type to draw other people's gazes.
Since most of the commuting students lived in the dorms, they glanced at us as they walked toward their own homerooms.
But their eyes were full of curiosity.
Getting kidnapped by villains and then clearing a gate had apparently cooled the gossip about me to some extent.
'Still, this is not how you act on the way to school.'
There's nothing to gain from letting people see a fight.
Thinking that, I moved to stop the two of them, who were waging war with their eyes.
"You gu—"
"Stay still, Han Si-jun. This is a woman's fight. If you want to interfere... you know what happens, right?"
"...You'll rip it off and throw it out?"
Yu Ha-yeon answered with a smile.
I had no desire to gamble my precious parts, so I decided to shut my mouth.
"Hey, you. Shorty."
"...I'm not short. I'm Ban Ha-na."
Yu Ha-yeon addressed Ban Ha-na, who was hiding behind me.
"School life fun?"
"...It's fun. Way more than before. But someone broke my phone. That person is definitely a villain."
An invisible battle of wills.
'So this is a woman's fight.'
Yu Ha-yeon looked down at Ban Ha-na with a smile on her face.
But I could see the irritation burning inside her—she knew full well that the girl in front of her had kissed me.
Ban Ha-na, too, seemed to have no intention of backing down—probably furious about her destroyed phone.
Yu Ha-yeon drew closer and closer to Ban Ha-na.
"Good that you're having fun. But, you know."
She leaned in close to Ban Ha-na's ear, speaking quietly so the other students couldn't hear.
Since I was nearby, I could hear her voice clearly.
"If you want to keep attending this school, you'd better behave."
"Wh... what do you mean...?"
"Don't forget. I'm letting you stay alive."
"...!!"
A voice laced with warning.
A statement implying she could easily erase someone like her.
Yu Ha-yeon wouldn't actually kill anyone, but Ban Ha-na was also aware of the gap in their strength.
Yu Ha-yeon seemed to realize that the naive Ban Ha-na would fall for that kind of bluff.
"S-Si-jun...! That woman is a villain...! She's trying to kill me...! She's a villain...!"
Ban Ha-na pointed her finger at Yu Ha-yeon and cried out, "A v-villain...!"
All I could do for Ban Ha-na was hold her hand.
'Ha-na. I've accumulated a lot of bad karma.'
I'd inevitably built up a mountain of karma, and I was planning to pile on more since I had to seduce one more person.
Holding her small hand tight was the only thing I could do.
Yu Ha-yeon curled her lips into a smile.
"Whether I become a villain or not depends on you. Got it, Ha-na? Let's get along from now on...?"
The unspoken warning was clear: you never know what might happen if you get on my nerves.
At those words, Ban Ha-na flinched.
Of course, meeting the person your partner cheated with was bound to make things this ugly.
'...It'll be a disaster if things get too ugly though...'
Had Yu Ha-yeon read my mind?
Right as I started worrying, she delivered good news to the stiffened Ban Ha-na.
"Oh, right. And I'm sorry about the phone. I saw something I shouldn't have... Do you want something? I'll at least buy you that."
Yu Ha-yeon had already paid the phone repair costs.
Since she was the one who broke it, that was only natural.
'...Must be nice having money.'
Before Yu Ha-yeon came to live with us, she'd been living next door.
Of course, they sold that house when they moved in with us.
So Yu Ha-yeon had considerable funds and could easily cover a repair bill like this.
"Hmm... something I want...?"
Ban Ha-na stole a glance at Yu Ha-yeon, then shifted her gaze toward me.
Then she let out a disappointed sigh and said,
"Buy me chicken... Si-jun has no money... can't buy me chicken anymore..."
"...Sorry, Ha-na."
Normally, I'd just fill my stomach with bread or whatever.
But ever since Ban Ha-na started living in my house, my expenses have doubled—no, tripled.
I can't taste anything, but Ban Ha-na had recently gotten into these eating shows, and she kept demanding all sorts of different foods.
'Si-jun...! Look at this! White stuff comes out of the hard armor!'
Ban Ha-na, eyes sparkling at me as she watched a lobster video on YouTube.
When I told her I didn't have money and refused, she stared at the screen as if her soul had left her body.
'Woow... looks so gooood...'
How could I not buy her lobster after seeing that?
Even me, with a Will stat over 9, couldn't refuse after seeing that expression.
And so those incidents piled up, one after another, until my money finally ran out.
Yu Ha-yeon looked at me and spoke with confidence.
"It's fine, Han Si-jun. I'll earn the money."
"...Well, I sure wouldn't mind that."
"In exchange, your body belongs to me?"
Retracted.
I acted like I hadn't heard a word Yu Ha-yeon said and walked toward the classroom.
As fast as possible, because we could end up late at this rate.
"Han Si-jun, don't hold her hand!"
"I d-don't want to stop!"
The first commute to school in a while was a truly chaotic day.
***
Class 1-A.
The atmosphere was the same as always.
Students chatted as if nothing had happened, and if anything, they seemed to have grown closer.
They say bonds deepen through crisis, don't they?
Anyway, I figured that was the vibe.
I watched those students from outside the door for a moment, then slid it open and stepped into the classroom.
Rattle...!
Seeing Yu Ha-yeon and me, the students began whispering—the talk was about how the ones who cleared the gate were here.
Not whispering in a bad way, though. It was laced with gratitude.
'...Not bad.'
I usually didn't pay much attention to what others thought, but having a positive story like that spread around felt surprisingly nice.
"...Han Si-jun. Your expression looks really punchable."
"Si-jun... you look greasy..."
Right.
What kind of face was I even making?
As I was directing that question at them,
someone started walking toward me from the far end of the room, as if she'd been waiting for me.
A woman with yellow hair and a butterfly-shaped pin.
She was someone who had a place in my lifespan extension plan.
"It's been a while, Han Si-jun."
"...Na Yu-na."
Na Yu-na was staring at me with a blank expression.
Then she asked me, in a voice devoid of emotion,
"I have something to say. Can you spare me some time?"
A robotic tone of voice.
Talking like that, she lowered her voice so only I could hear.
"It's important. I'd really like you to make time."
Na Yu-na, as serious as always.
What could she want to talk to me about so gravely?
Holding onto that question, I nodded to her.