Mistaken for a Demon at Lunchtime
Lunchtime. Hyein looked up from her meal. Again. Her gaze drifted that way.
Table one. A noisy bunch. The transfer student with the golden blonde hair was struggling with her chopsticks. Harin said something, and the transfer student looked flustered. Seha watched and laughed. Hyein's eyes lingered there.
……
The one who'd beaten her in sparring earlier. The one who'd neutralized four skeletons with a single strategy. Hyein fiddled with her own hand. The sensation of that grip after the match still felt fresh. Rough, callused. Tough, unlike her delicate appearance.
It felt like… someone who works hard.
She kept glancing over. Why? Was it resentment from losing? No, not really.
Actually, I think she's amazing.
Hyein picked up her spoon and took a sip of soup. Her gaze wandered again. Seha was handing some side dishes to the transfer student. The girl bowed awkwardly in thanks. A strange discomfort stirred in Hyein's chest.
……
What was that just now? Her heart had skipped a beat, maybe.
No way.
Hyein shook her head vigorously. No. It couldn't be. She was just fixated on the loss from sparring. That was all. She told herself as much.
"Hyein-ah."
"!"
Her friend called from beside her.
"What're you doing, stopping mid-meal?"
"Something over there? You've been staring forever."
"N-no! It's nothing!"
Hyein hurriedly shoveled rice into her mouth.
After the meal, Dahong stood in front of the vending machine. Beep. She casually scanned Seha's student ID and pulled out a canned coffee. Seha was oblivious.
Click. Gulp. She cracked it open and took a sip. A warm spring breeze blew. Just another peaceful day.
Then.
"Excuse me."
Awkward Korean. Dahong turned. Ariella. The new transfer student. The girl who fought by letting spirits descend into her body—a unique technique. Dahong had thought she resembled a magical girl.
Ariella clenched her fists, looking tense.
"What?"
"I have something to say."
Dahong took another sip of coffee and turned to face her. Quite a height difference, but Ariella didn't back down.
"You…… aren't contracted with Yoo Seha, right?"
……
Dahong narrowed her eyes.
"I can see it. If there's a soul contract, there should be threads of light. Ruby? I see them on that cat. But on you…… nothing."
Dahong didn't answer. Ariella pressed on.
"Why…… are you pretending to be a summon?"
……
"If you're deceiving Seha and using him……"
"And if I am? What then?"
"……Pardon?"
Ariella faltered. Dahong flaunted Seha's student ID.
"Th-that……?"
Beep. She scanned it again, and the buttons lit up. Dahong pressed one while staring at Ariella. Clunk. An orange juice tumbled out.
"Here."
Dahong tossed it to her.
"……?"
Ariella caught it reflexively, looking baffled.
"Now you're an accomplice too."
"Eek?"
Dahong finished her coffee, tossed the can in the trash, and walked off the other way.
"W-wait! I didn't ask for this! Uh, how do I…… put it back? Wait!"
Ariella dithered between chasing Dahong and returning to the machine. Dahong chuckled and left her behind, heading back inside.
"Hmph~ Hm-hmm~."
She strolled down the hall. Noon sunlight streamed through the windows. What an amusing girl.
Spirit warrior, was it?
Letting spirits descend into her body. An unimaginable method. With that, she could easily surpass human limits. But it would require absolute trust from the summon in their summoner—essentially lending her body.
Pure as snow, upright as a tree.
That must be why the spirit hiding in her chest lent its power so willingly. Dahong turned toward the classroom hallway, thinking that.
Then.
……?
In front of the classroom. She sensed Seha. She stopped instinctively. He wasn't alone. Someone else.
A girl?
The one from the sparring match. What was her name…… Anyway, the two were facing each other, talking. Seha scratched his head, looking flustered. The girl bowed her head.
"Then…… please, when that time comes……"
"Uh, yeah, got it."
The girl clasped her hands shyly and ran off the other way. Seha watched her back awkwardly.
That clueless nape of his neck irritated her for some reason.
……Huh?
Dahong felt one side of her face twitch. No way……?
After school. Seha and Dahong walked side by side.
"The new teacher's feedback was surprisingly spot-on. I thought he'd be sloppy, but nope."
……
"Dahong?"
"Yeah."
"You listening?"
"I am."
Seha looked at her. Same expression as always. But something was off. Quiet? Cold? She was usually quiet, but today felt especially so. All day, in fact. It reminded him of when she'd gone out over the weekend.
…… "You feeling okay?"
"Fine."
……
Seha tilted his head uncertainly, then shrugged it off as his imagination and continued.
"Oh, and that Jo Hyein from sparring today."
Dahong's eyebrow twitched.
"She came by at lunch to say thanks. Said my advice helped a ton. And then……"
"Yoo Seha."
"Yeah?"
"What's for dinner?"
"……Out of nowhere?"
"Just curious."
"Hm…… thinking meat and potatoes in stew. Anything you want?"
"Doesn't matter."
"O-okay……"
Definitely not her usual self. But with no clue why, Seha let it slide. Dahong glanced at the kid peeking at her nervously. That anxious face, gauging her mood—it was ridiculous.
What the hell does this kid have going for him……
Short, still scrawny despite recent gains. Folds at the slightest pushback. Total pushover. Face was decent, sure. And he'd shown some spine coming after her before. But still.
Not even remotely worth considering as a male.
It irked her. She couldn't even have a normal relationship anymore, not with her body like this. Thinking that way made her feel unjustly slighted. No proof he'd gotten a confession yet. But asking outright annoyed her too.
Thwack. She kicked his calf. Lightly—just a nudge, or his leg would've vanished.
"Ow! Why?!"
"Just 'cause."
"You can't just hit people!"
"I'm a demon."
"……! Okay, that sounds kinda cool, but still—no!"
"Shut it."
Thwack. Again.
"Ow! If you're mad, say so! Don't kick!"
"Not mad."
She feigned another kick, and Seha tried dodging by lifting his leg. Exactly as she'd planned—he got hit a beat late.
"Argh, seriously!"
She'd kick him a few more times before they got home.
Dismissal time. Students streamed out the gates in groups. Second floor, end of the hall window. A girl stood there. Hyein.
She gazed out vacantly. At the gate, Seha and Dahong walked side by side. Seha said something. Dahong kicked his calf. He yelped, clutching it. Dahong walked on ahead, pretending ignorance. Lively pair.
Hyein watched blankly. Lost in thought? Or not thinking at all?
Seha and Dahong passed through the gate and vanished. Hyein stood there a while longer.
Then. Footsteps from down the hall. Slow ones. Her expression shifted. She blinked. Once. Twice. Like waking from a dream.
Baek Sian approached down the hall, one hand clutching a file folder, the other in his pocket. He spotted her from afar and stopped. His half-lidded eyes scanned her. Hyein shrank involuntarily under that unsettling gaze.
"Jo Hyein."
"Y-yes? Yes, sir."
"How's your condition lately?"
……Huh?
Sudden? She'd only seen him today. No reason for concern like that. Sure, homeroom teacher, but…… still too out of left field. And she wasn't even unwell.
…… "Nothing unusual, sir."
She stepped back as she answered.
"Good. Sleep okay?"
"Y-yeah…… sleeping fine."
"Right."
Sian tapped his nape with the folder, satisfied, and passed her.
"Don't dawdle. Head home."
…… "Yes, sir."
Hyein watched his back. A chill ran through her. She gripped her bag strap tight and hurried down the hall.
Baek Sian glanced back at the empty hall where she'd stood.
……
His hollow eyes stared at the spot.