Dark Clouds Gather in the Erotic Game
It was always a pleasant time to wrap up the day.
For some, it meant finishing every class and returning to the comfort of home. For others, it was a time brimming with anticipation for plans made after school. And for still others, it was an exciting moment to reunite with a lover they had been apart from for hours.
Unfortunately, Harin’s friend fell squarely into that third category.
“So… that guy is Lee Hajun?”
Harin barely managed to summon a somewhat sloppy image of the male student from her memory.
“Yeah. I’m heading home with Hajun today.”
Beside her, Ayoung nodded shyly as she packed her schoolbag.
“…Must be nice.”
Harin watched her with a strange mix of unease and envy, chin propped on her hand atop the desk.
Ayoung tilted her head, noticing that Harin was making no move to leave even though homeroom had ended.
“…Aren’t you going home, Harin?”
When Ayoung asked so carefully, Harin let out a long sigh before answering.
“The homeroom teacher asked me to help sort these club membership application forms…”
True to her words, Harin’s desk was buried under stacks of papers labeled Club Membership Application Forms.
“Ah…”
Ayoung eyed the sheer volume of sheets for a moment.
“…Want me to help?”
No matter how you looked at it, the pile was far too much for one person. Ayoung was ready to lend a hand even if it meant asking Hajun to wait—until Harin spoke up.
“Yo, you cute thing!”
Harin gave Ayoung’s head a light thump and grinned.
“It’s fine. I knocked out a bunch during every break earlier, so five more minutes and I’m done.”
Ayoung still looked skeptical, so Harin shoved the already-sorted papers under her nose, each stack neatly divided by club name.
“It’s seriously not a lie!”
Only then did Ayoung relax, breaking into a bright smile.
“…That’s a relief.”
She meant it with all her heart. Harin found her so adorable that she yanked her into a crushing hug.
“You really are too good for this world! Should I just eat you up right now?!”
“Kyaa! Mercy…!”
Ayoung played along with the teasing, laughing the whole time. After their playful farewell, she opened the classroom’s front door and stepped out.
“See you tomorrow~!”
“Yesss!”
Harin waited until the sound of Ayoung’s footsteps had completely faded into the distance before flopping face-first onto her desk with a thud.
…That was a lie, though.
It was true she had finished sorting most of the forms. But that didn’t mean her work was over. She still had to gather the sorted sheets, file them into the correct club boxes, and double-check that the numbers matched. In other words, she had only cleared about the first chapter of her workload.
The realization drew a hollow laugh from her lips.
“Why on earth did I volunteer for this…”
Her mind flooded with regret and her mouth kept sighing, yet her hands never stopped moving.
“My mouth really is my worst enemy… absolute worst.”
By now the sun that had brightened the windows had long vanished, leaving only the deep hours of night.
“Harin, you worked so hard!”
The female teacher in the staff room pulled Harin into a tight hug.
“…I kept telling you to go home. You stayed until the very end.”
Harin forced a smile.
“It’s okay. Since I started helping, I might as well see it through.”
Of course, her true feelings were the complete opposite. Lately there had been unsettling news, so she had tried to avoid wandering around late at night… but seeing the teacher working alone in the empty staff room had tugged at her heart. She simply couldn’t leave. So she stayed until every last form was finished.
The teacher, who had repeatedly urged her to head home, was visibly moved.
“Harin, it’s late. Let me drive you home.”
Fortunately the teacher had enough sense to make the offer. Harin was about to nod gratefully when—
“Miss Kim! These numbers don’t add up!”
The voice from the next desk froze them both.
“Ah…”
The teacher’s face went lifeless like a drained zombie as she staggered toward the voice. Harin started to follow, but the teacher mouthed desperately:
Harin, at least you run!
The sincere warning made her hesitate. Then another teacher called out.
“Lee Harin! Go home right now! Students don’t need to stay any longer!”
Together the teachers gently but firmly pushed the kind girl who had stayed to help out of the staff room. Suddenly ejected into the hallway, Harin could only stare back inside in a daze.
That’s not the problem—I’m scared to walk home alone…
It would have been better to stay a little longer and ride together. The thought of walking through the silent school at night sent a chill down her spine.
Creak… creak…
She took out her phone, thinking of calling a friend, then stopped.
“…Forget it.”
After a brief internal debate she slipped the phone back into her pocket.
I’m not a child.
No matter how scared she was, calling someone just because she didn’t want to walk home alone felt… pathetic. So Harin tried to act casual, humming a recent song under her breath as she started walking.
Thankfully she made it out of the academy grounds more easily than expected.
See? It’s not that bad.
Her steps grew lighter, confidence returning—until a sudden, inexplicable shiver crawled up the back of her neck.
Instinctively she whipped around toward the source of the gaze, but—
“……”
There was no one.
Just her imagination?
Harin swallowed the unease and faced forward again.
Step. Step. Step.
Once anxiety had taken root, even the sound of her own footsteps turned ominous. The alley that should have been lively during the day was now deserted. Only black trash bags huddled in corners, weathered walls, and branches swaying in the wind. There wasn’t a single person she could call out to for help.
Step. Step. Step.
Cold sweat broke out. Despite the mild weather, beads of perspiration rolled down her forehead and her body trembled with chills.
Why am I like this? It’s just my imagination. When I looked back, no one was there…
She tried to reassure herself and kept walking, but the dread pressing against her back refused to fade. If anything, it grew stronger.
Prickle. Prickle. Prickle.
Every hair on her body stood on end, screaming a clear warning.
“……”
Harin stayed silent. The only thing she could do was walk faster.
Step. Step. Step.
Human curiosity truly is a mysterious thing. Even when you know turning around will only make the ominous feeling real, the itch becomes unbearable. Harin fought it, but the urge won. She started to glance back—only to realize the footsteps continued even after she had stopped.
What is that…? What is it?!
She couldn’t bring herself to turn around.
Step. Step. Step.
Step. Step. Step.
Before she knew it, two sets of footsteps echoed down the alley, and they were growing faster.
Step. Step. Step.
Step. Step. Step.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
The once-light footsteps had become a frantic sprint. Harin ran desperately, eyes fixed straight ahead.
I can’t get caught…
Instinct screamed the warning. Turning her head or stopping even for a second would trigger something terrible—she could feel it in her bones.
But the problem was the footsteps weren’t fading into the distance. They were closing in.
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
At this rate… I’m going to get caught!
The footsteps no longer sounded far behind her. They might even be—
Right behind her.
The moment that thought flashed through her mind, a hand shot out and seized her wrist.