Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Yoo Chae-hwa
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To my left sat Erina.
And to my right—the window seat where Baek A-rin was supposed to be sitting.
But when I glanced toward the window...
A voice came, soft yet chilling.
"Is something the matter?"
Instead of Baek A-rin, Instructor Yoo Chae-hwa was in the seat.
"Why are you looking over here! Did you think I'd chicken out like a wimp just 'cause you're an instructor?!"
Instructor Yoo Chae-hwa gave Erina a light once-over before replying.
"If Kim Si-woo hadn't warned me in advance about your condition, you'd have lost points for that inappropriate behavior."
"Wh-what?! Condition? What do you mffh!"
I clamped my hand over Erina's mouth as she tried to argue with the instructor.
"Sorry about that, Instructor Yoo Chae-hwa. As you know, our Erina's kind of infamous as a loose cannon."
"It's fine."
Erina kept mumbling into my palm. Only after a while did she finally calm down, shooting me a dissatisfied glare.
How did things end up like this?
We'd been seated together because Instructor Yoo Chae-hwa said she needed to look into the airport incident casually.
Erina, who'd been watching, threw a tantrum insisting there was no way that could happen and demanded to sit next to me.
'And this is the result.'
I felt eyes boring into the back of my head. When I turned, Professor Kang Geom-seon was grinning at me, teeth bared.
With a look that said, 'Don't worry, disciple!'
The 'investigation' was probably just an excuse.
She'd already asked everything I'd told her before.
Knowing it was the Purity Faction's doing, he'd stuck her by my side just in case.
And Erina here clearly didn't like Instructor Yoo Chae-hwa one bit.
There was no upside to getting on her bad side.
"Grrrrr."
"Quiet down. You a dog or something?"
Was she just perceptive, or plain stupid?
I was just as uneasy.
Instructor Yoo Chae-hwa—who hadn't appeared in the original story yet—was joining the club retreat.
And now she was sitting next to me under the pretext of investigating me.
How was I supposed to take this? If it was just surveillance or protection, that'd be a relief.
But if not...
I tried to calm my throbbing head amid the swirling thoughts.
'The problem is I know nothing.'
I had no idea how Yoo Chae-hwa ended up siding with Lee Seong-hyeon in the original.
It literally wasn't in the story.
'She just suddenly started helping him like it was the most natural thing.'
The incident at the club retreat where Lee Seong-hyeon meets Ameris. After getting Ameris's heart, his power surges dramatically.
'For such a key event, maybe he's brought Yoo Chae-hwa to keep me in check so she can help him.'
But Lee Seong-hyeon first meets Ameris in the 5th round.
Should I play dumb? Or test the waters now?
With that in mind, I side-eyed Instructor Yoo Chae-hwa.
The seat wasn't cramped at all, but with Erina on one side and her on the other, her breast pressed against my arm.
'Perfume?'
A faintly alluring scent wafted from Instructor Yoo Chae-hwa.
She seemed oblivious, her cold eyes fixed on the clouds.
'Not particularly interested in me, then.'
As that thought crossed my mind, she sensed my gaze and turned.
"Something on your mind, Kim Si-woo?"
"Haha. Your perfume smells nice. I was just wondering what kind it is."
"Perfume?"
Caught off-guard by her sudden question after my lame excuse, she eyed me suspiciously.
Shit.
Was that such an unnatural question?
Was she gonna kill me?
"Yeah, it totally suits my taste."
I answered, a bit tense. She replied in her icy tone.
"I don't wear perfume."
"Pardon?"
Her response genuinely surprised me, so I asked again. She smirked mockingly.
"If it's not perfume, maybe it's the plane. Or my natural scent."
"Haha..."
No way. If it was her body scent, that was impressive in its own right.
As I thought that, she unbuttoned the top of her shirt, seeming a bit warm.
The alluring aroma I'd mistaken for perfume enveloped my nose, carried on warm air.
'Damn, so that's what it really was.'
I was genuinely impressed when she asked me.
"First time on a plane, I take it."
Apparently, my dumb question had piqued her interest.
More importantly, 'this time'?
This time? Hell, I'd never flown in my life.
"Yes, that's right."
She paused, as if recalling something, then asked again.
"You're a first-year, right, Kim Si-woo?"
"Yes."
Her tone didn't suggest she knew much about me.
Nor did it feel like she was probing.
'Was I overthinking?'
She nodded and continued.
"A first-year serving as club president? Impressive."
"Haha, yeah... just happened."
"Thank you."
As I replied, something seemed to click for her, and she spoke lightly.
"The club you started was called Ebony... right?"
A split-second silence. Then I answered, flustered.
"Ah, yes. That's right."
"I see."
What was that just now?
My imagination?
The moment she uttered 'Ebony,' I tensed up instinctively.
No—not tensed. A chill like a cold blade at my throat froze me solid.
I glanced at her without thinking, but she looked the same as before—nothing out of the ordinary.
Dizzy from the unease, I pulled myself together and smiled naturally at her.
"Why'd you volunteer for the club retreat, Instructor?"
"Volunteer? No such thing. Instructors follow orders from above."
"I see."
Lies. The original instructor was passionate about the club.
If she hadn't volunteered, they'd be here.
Hard to think she was tied to Lee Seong-hyeon already.
If not, then why...?
Wait. Why was Instructor Yoo Chae-hwa...?
My thoughts reached a conclusion. I looked at her.
...!
"I-Instructor Yoo Chae-hwa?"
The moment I did, her eyes were vacant, staring at me.
My heart pounded.
I swallowed involuntarily.
Her pitch-black eyes fixed on me as she spoke.
"I'm just here to find what I lost."
What she lost?
"This time, I have no intention of getting in your way. Don't worry."
Getting in my way? What did that mean?
-We are the lighthouse shining deep from the abyss. Sweet dreams.
And we earnestly hope the captain never wakes from that dream.
Before I could process it, she smiled—chillingly cold, yet somehow wistful—and snapped her fingers.
Snap—
The view of clouds beyond the airplane window.
Maybe because I couldn't see the ground, there was no sense of peril—just a strange peace blooming in my heart.
It felt like being in a world detached from everything, loosening me up without realizing.
'Haven't had a chance to relax lately.'
Even Erina, who'd been growling, had worn herself out and was dozing off with soft snores.
Death, apocalypse—it all felt like distant tales. Honestly, not a bad experience.
'Airplanes, huh.'
Maybe because of her question about it being my first flight, I lost myself in idle thoughts.
When would I have ever flown? My previous life was just work and more work.
Scraping by for my sister's hospital bills, she couldn't even leave the hospital. No memories of trips, let alone planes.
Well, I'd been on a boat.
Alba didn't cover it, so I'd borrowed from loan sharks and crewed on an offshore fishing vessel once.
So yeah, plane was a first.
As I mused, old memories flickered by.
'Wait, not entirely.'
Before my little sister's condition worsened. When I was too young to remember clearly, my parents had taken me on a flight.
Ancient history, barely recalled.
'Get it together.'
Maybe dredging up old memories left a fishy, unpleasant aftertaste that wouldn't fade.
Then, through the window, a massive island faintly appeared. Amid the endless blue ocean, an alien black mass.
I nudged Erina awake.
"Wh-what is it, Si-woo? Where's my kimchi carbonara burger?"
What the hell was she dreaming about?
Still groggy, I told her.
"See it? Right there."
"Wha... what're you..."
Erina peered out the window half-asleep, then perked up in surprise.
"W... WOW."
Yeah, yeah.
This was Jeju Island—Korea's largest island and top tourist spot.
One difference from the Jeju I knew: ghouls roaming everywhere instead of tangerines.
And soon, the unprecedented disaster when the Ghoul Field opens to civilians.