Night Watch in the Erotic Game (4)

With a whoosh of flushing water, Lee Ha-rin stepped out of the bathroom and staggered slowly toward me.

"Feeling a bit more awake?"

I asked in the kindest voice I could manage.

"No... sleepy."

Watching her lean her head against the side of the sofa as she said that, something deep inside me began to bubble and boil.

"Ha... rin?"

"... Mmnyah."

Now she wasn't even answering, just working her mouth open and shut.

"Ha-rin, we're on duty right now, you know?"

I reminded her of our original purpose, forcing the corners of my mouth up into a smile.

"... Zzz."

Apparently, Lee Ha-rin was testing the limits of my patience.

A-yeong, forgive me.

I swore I'd never use my fists again, but...

With that thought, I slowly raised my fist.

Lee Ha-rin, who had been watching me through half-lidded eyes and snickering, hurriedly stood up and backed away from me.

"I-it was a joke..."

"... Hoo."

This is the last time I'm holding back.

"Sit down and just watch the laptop screen."

At that, Ha-rin glanced at me cautiously, then scurried over and sat down right beside me.

"... Are you mad?"

"... No."

"... Really?"

"Yeah."

Along with those words, I rapped her on the forehead with a solid knuckle-flick.

"Ow..."

If she weren't so cute looking, I'd have wiped her out already...

I thought that and smiled a little.

"Hurry up and focus on the screen."

Ha-rin, still rubbing the spot where she'd been hit, glared at me once before shifting her gaze to the laptop screen.

"......"

"......"

Two pairs of eyes stared awkwardly at the laptop, blinking.

Tick-tock.

For some reason, even the sound of the second hand on the living room wall clock seemed loud.

... Was it because of the quiet of the early morning?

A silent dawn where even the shouts of people that sometimes drifted in at dusk, or the cars and motorcycles zooming along the road, had all fallen asleep.

In the midst of it, just the two of us sat in silence, staring at the dark corridor on the laptop screen.

In the end, unable to take it anymore, Ha-rin spoke first.

"... It's seriously quiet enough to give you chills."

I agreed with a smile.

"Yeah."

Though the screen wasn't entirely static either.

Every so often the lights would flicker, illuminating the corridor in a bright flash.

Each time, we would open our eyes wide, wondering if something we hadn't noticed might be hiding there—but as always, after a fleeting moment, the lights would go dark again.

"... It's kind of annoying."

Saying that, Ha-rin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠got up from the sofa and padded quietly toward the kitchen.

"Want something to eat?"

I thought for a moment at her question, then nodded.

I hadn't eaten much for dinner, but...

Maybe because I'd been up all night... I could almost hear my stomach growling.

So I snacked on the fruit and juice Ha-rin brought back, staving off the hunger for a bit.

While I was at it, I asked her something I'd been curious about.

"Why are you walking around so carefully?"

Ha-rin answered right away.

"A-yeong's sleeping... just in case."

It seemed like overkill to me.

She wasn't a grown man; with Ha-rin's petite frame walking around the living room, would the sound or vibration even reach the room?

Thinking that, I tilted my head and looked back at the laptop screen.

[......]

Then once again, with a click, the lights turned on.

"Weird. I knew they flickered a lot, but not this much."

Ha-rin said that as she took a big bite of a banana.

A sudden thought struck me, and I stroked my chin, sinking into contemplation.

... The reason the lights suddenly turn on.

With that thought, I checked the special notes written on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the duty roster once more.

Seized by a sudden inspiration, I gave a small shudder.

... So that was it?

I wiped my face and laughed to myself.

Ha-rin beside me was staring at me with a weird look.

"What's with you all of a sudden?"

For one last confirmation, I asked her.

"Earlier when you were on duty with A-yeong, you said the neighbor guy came out to smoke, right?"

"Ah... yeah."

"And even while he was over by the stairs, the corridor lights stayed on."

"... Yeah."

Listening to me, Ha-rin seemed to start getting an idea as well.

Her face pale, she shifted her gaze to the laptop screen.

Beep-beep—

At that moment, the neighbor's front door opened and a man walked out.

Unlike yesterday, he was dressed in a suit for work.

And then...

He stopped for a moment and stared toward the stairs.

"......"

"......"

The moment every mystery was solved.

I'd worried it would end up as a meaningless sleepover.

But it had been a more valuable night than anything else.

We arrived at the academy for classes around late lunchtime.

After getting enough rest, we headed straight up to the club room during lunch.

"... Hello."

There, club president Go Ju-yeon greeted us with a peculiar expression.

"Senior..."

At the voice calling her, Go Ju-yeon closed the book she'd been reading with a soft thump, then smiled gently as if she'd already guessed something.

"Did the camera work well?"

I nodded at that.

"... Thanks to you."

If not for the camera, we never would have realized the strange phenomenon happening in that corridor.

The senior met my eyes for a moment, then asked quietly.

"So what exactly happened?"

"Well..."

I slowly began explaining the bizarre events of last night.

"At first I thought it was just a simple sensor glitch."

Around the time the neighbor guy came home from work.

The corridor light had turned on again, but even then I'd just assumed, like Ha-rin said, that the sensor was reacting sensitively.

"But once it got to the middle of the night... things kept happening where no one was on the camera screen, but the lights would turn on over and over, you know?"

I pushed the paper with the special notes I'd prepared over toward Ju-yeon.

She skimmed the contents briefly, then asked quietly.

"How far did the camera's range cover?"

Surprised a little by the sharp question, I answered.

"From the front door of the house toward the elevator."

I sketched the rough camera angle on the paper I'd brought.

Looking down at it, the senior tapped the table twice with her finger, then smiled and said to me.

"Go on."

I continued the explanation.

"After that, A-yeong and Ha-rin... witnessed the neighbor guy coming out and going to the stairs to smoke... and the corridor lights turned on several times then too."

"And?"

"Even when I was on watch with A-yeong, the lights kept turning on frequently... and the most decisive thing was."

Finally, I slapped my palm down on the table and said,

"In the morning, when the guy came out of the next apartment and was looking toward the stairs."

In that moment I could be sure.

The corridor lights turning on wasn't a simple error.

The sensitive sensor lights were detecting movement on the stair side that the camera couldn't catch.

"......"

Having finished the whole story, I looked at the senior like a student waiting for a graded test paper.

"That was some pretty sharp deduction, Ha-jun."

She gave that evaluation.

... So it was the right answer?

If only I'd set the camera angle the other way so the stairs were visible... I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wouldn't have needed this kind of reasoning.

I muttered that to myself a little.

"... Maybe I should film it again today."

Hearing that, the senior shook her head.

"Even if you film with the camera again, it won't change much."

Her eyes held a violet gleam.

"Even if the culprit is circling around Ha-rin, they haven't actually harmed her directly yet..."

Even if we luckily got a photo of them pacing the corridor with the camera... it would still feel insufficient to report to the police.

And even if things somehow worked out and they got booked for something like stalking, they'd be released soon enough for sure.

In that case, it would only end up fanning the culprit's hatred and wariness.

"Then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what should we..."

We put our heads together, groaning over the answer that wouldn't come.

Watching us, the senior asked,

"You said before that someone followed Ha-rin in the alley, right?"

"... Yes."

"And that they even came all the way to the house and rang the doorbell..."

"... Yes."

Assuming they were all the same person.

Having drawn out all those answers, the senior tilted her head.

"So why this time do they just linger in the corridor without taking any action at all?"

I knew the answer, but couldn't open my mouth.

Instead, Ha-rin answered for me.

"... Because her friends are next to her?"

"Correct."

Saying that, the senior gazed at us steadily.

"... So what should we do?"

Safety, or a challenge that risks danger.

"To catch a fish, you need bait, after all."

With those words the senior fell silent, and the time for decision was slowly approaching.

What choice should I make?

Stay glued to Ha-rin's side like this, keeping the uncertain danger at a distance?

Or take the risk and lure the culprit out to get solid evidence?

I thought for a moment, then opened my mouth.

"I..."