Faith
I was just about to step into the broadcast room to kick off the operation when Eunhye’s voice suddenly called out from behind me, stopping me in my tracks.
Of all people, why did it have to be you right now… I didn’t have time to grumble about it internally.
“I get that you’re curious. But we don’t have time right now. Just pretend you didn’t see anything.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not even supposed to be here, and you expect me to just ignore it?”
“You already knew. You knew what I’d do for Aju.”
“I didn’t know it would be this!”
“...”
It had been a long time since I’d heard Eunhye raise her voice like that. The girl who always kept a blank expression in front of me was glaring at me with the same fury she’d shown the very first day we met.
“It’s been a while since I’ve heard you sound like that too.”
“Shut up and get out of here. If you leave right now—”
“Aju will keep getting treated the same way.”
“...Ugh.”
I knew it. I knew exactly how dangerous what I was about to do was. But there was something I wanted to prioritize even more.
I wanted to stay by Aju’s side and make her smile. But that didn’t mean I was going to let her bottle up all the negative emotions like sadness inside her.
When she wanted to cry, I wanted to let her cry her heart out. When things got hard, I wanted to help her solve everything first… and only then let her smile with her whole heart.
“You be careful too. Luckily, the CCTV doesn’t catch us here. So no matter what happens, you won’t be suspected. Still, someone might think we met because of footage from another camera.”
Since I’d entered the main building, I’d instinctively checked the positions of all the security cameras. That’s how I noticed this staircase on the way to the third floor was in a blind spot.
Of course, both of us had probably been caught on other cameras while coming here.
Just in case, if I showed myself on the first floor and told Eunhye to head to the second, people would probably believe we hadn’t run into each other.
“So you head up to the second floor. I’ll show my face on the first floor for a second, and they’ll assume we never crossed paths.”
“...”
I didn’t wait for Eunhye’s answer and stepped aside to give her room to go down. Either way, I needed to move fast. The operation was about to begin.
“I said hurry up and go.”
“...But.”
“Enough. I’ll handle my own business. And—”
Seeing her keep hesitating made me start to feel irritated. Before I knew it, I’d snapped at her.
“Unlike you, I have things I need to do for Aju.”
“!”
Looking back, I really shouldn’t have said that.
Eunhye’s eyes widened as she stared at me, and her right fist…
It was clenched so tightly I could practically hear the squeeze. Oh man. PTSD kicking in. My legs are shaking…
“...Ahem. Anyway, just go already.”
“...Go.”
“What?”
“I’m not going.”
“...What are you even saying?”
Eunhye kept glaring at me, fist still tightly clenched, standing motionless on the stairs.
Oh, come on… We really don’t have time for this.
“Fine. Do whatever you want. I’m going ahead.”
“Wait.”
“...Seriously.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“What… the?”
I’d been trying to brush past her in annoyance when something strange reached my ears.
Coming… with me? Did she just say “value”? What does that even— No, stop denying reality.
Right now, Eunhye was clearly saying…
“You’re coming… with me?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you even know where I’m going?”
“No.”
“Then how the hell are we supposed to go together!?”
“I don’t know, but… I’m coming with you.”
“Ugh…”
I’d always known she was a weird girl, but I didn’t realize she was this much of a lunatic. What did she think I was going to do that made her want to tag along?
And more importantly, why did she want to come in the first place?
“Are you planning to get in my way?”
“...It’s not that.”
“Then why?”
“I want to… share some of the responsibility too.”
“...”
Eunhye had always cared about Aju. It was a bit excessive sometimes, but I understood how much she treasured her. I knew it in my bones.
Quite literally. It had hurt so much my bones had practically screamed.
“...Are you serious?”
“Unlike you, I don’t lie.”
“When have I ever lied… Never mind, that’s not what’s important right now.”
If Eunhye was really doing this for Aju, there was no way I could talk her out of it with words.
In that case…
“...If you get in my way, we’re going to end up throwing punches again.”
“I won’t.”
“Sigh.”
And so, in the end… I ended up carrying out the operation with a sudden new party member.
And that party member was a fighter with max attack power.
I’m scared…
Broadcast Room.
This was my first time stepping inside, but I moved with familiar ease as I plugged the USB into the computer connected to the school’s broadcasting system. This should let me send video to every TV in every classroom.
“...How do you know how to do all this so well?”
“I learned.”
“...Ah.”
Eunhye must have heard about me from Daeho or Aju, because she didn’t press the issue any further. I finished preparing the school-wide broadcast to go out at exactly twelve o’clock.
And then—
“I’m going to block the door.”
“...”
“It’s not too late to back out.”
“...I’m fine.”
“Alright then.”
After confirming Eunhye’s resolve one more time, I walked over to the broadcast room door. Unlike regular house doors with round knobs, this one had a latch at the bottom. If it wasn’t locked, it would open with just a push.
In other words, the handle wasn’t a lever—it was just for pulling. The handles were shaped like the Korean letter ‘ㅕ’ and there were two doors. I wedged a long metal rod between the two handles.
“This should make it pretty hard to open with brute force.”
“...What exactly are you trying to do by going this far?”
“Nothing special. I just… want to show them what I want to show them. Say what I want to say. And make them face reality.”
“Reality?”
“Yeah.”
Even when I was young, I was the same. For some reason, people tend to think the situation they’re in is the hardest one in the world.
Things that would normally be easy to brush off or that didn’t even need to be done suddenly feel different when you’re stuck in the middle of them.
The kids currently isolating Aju were probably no different.
Once time passed, they’d probably wonder why they’d gone that far. But that didn’t matter to me.
“They need to realize it now. That way, they’ll feel the guilt properly.”
It wasn’t enough to just screw over that bitch Choi Seung-a. Everyone who took part, everyone who helped her—I wanted to hit every single one of them with a wake-up call.
“When are you starting?”
“At twelve. So… just wait.”
I couldn’t tell Eunhye, but the assassin in our party… or rather, the cat, was currently carrying out his mission.
All I could do was trust him and wait.
And right then—
~~~~♪
The bell signaling the end of the last morning class rang.
Alright, An Daeho. Time to show what you can do.
Daeho Side.
~~~~♪
The bell signaling the end of class rang. At the same time, the previously quiet classroom filled with the sounds of movement and students chatting.
It was time.
“Hey, let’s go already.”
Just as I expected, an impatient male student opened the classroom door first. I slipped through the gap.
“Whoa! What the—!?”
“A c-cat!?”
I ignored the startled shouts from the boy and his friend and ran straight for my target. It was the spot I’d been eyeing from the window for days… the place where that girl I wanted to claw across the throat was sitting.
“Huh? What the— Kyaaaaa!!”
Choi Seung-a. The mastermind behind Aju’s isolation, and my current target.
Well, to be precise, her phone was my real target.
I’ll be taking this.
I snatched Choi Seung-a’s phone off her desk with my mouth and lifted it. She looked completely shocked at first, but quickly snapped out of it.
“Give me back my phone!”
She reached out for me, but I easily dodged and headed for the classroom door again. During all of this—
“...Huh?”
I heard Aju’s voice.
But if I stopped and looked at her now, she might realize I was Hahu, so I kept my eyes forward and headed for the door. However—
“Hey, close the door!”
At Choi Seung-a’s shout, the students near the door slammed it shut.
This bitch… She’s quicker on her feet than I thought.
“Haa, haa. Stupid cat!”
She immediately came running to get her phone back.
Too bad she’s way too slow. And this kind of tactic… only works on real cats.
I’d already reached the door. I jumped toward the closed door.
“Uwah!”
The male student holding the door jumped back in surprise. With the door guard gone, I grabbed the handle with my front paw, used my body weight, and twisted.
The door opened again.
You guys are worse than cats.
I strolled casually out of the classroom.
“Ugh, seriously! What the hell!?”
Behind me came Choi Seung-a’s furious shout and the sound of her heavy footsteps chasing after me. She really was the complete opposite of Aju.
Aju was so light that you could barely hear her footsteps.
“Haa, haa. What the hell is this!?”
Even she seemed to realize how ridiculous the situation was as she chased me in irritation, completely unaware that I was leading her on.
Before long, I’d left the main building and slipped into a storage shed in the corner. Choi Seung-a followed me inside.
“Haa, haa… No matter what, you’re still just a cat. You can’t run anymore.”
Yeah. You can’t run anymore.
“I can hear you meowing!”
I said you can’t run anymore.
The moment Choi Seung-a stepped into the shed, the game was already over.
Thud.
“Huh?”
I deliberately dropped the phone where she could clearly see it. The second her eyes locked onto it—
You idiot.
I quickly flicked the phone outside the shed with my tail and dashed past her, escaping the shed.
Then I threw my entire body weight against the door in a body slam, slamming it shut.
Bang!
Ugh.
It was a bit too much impact for a cat’s body, but before the shock even faded—
I jumped.
This needs precise control… But I practiced, so it should work!!
The moment I reached the door handle with my jump, I used the claws on my front paw to lock the shed door.
For a while, there was no sound. Then I heard rustling inside the shed, followed by the door rattling as she tried to open it. Of course, it didn’t budge. Soon, the sound of her pounding on the door echoed.
Bang! Bang!!
Hey, you’re gonna hurt your hands. Take it easy.
“Hey! Hey! Ah, fuck! What the hell is this!!”
Well, she probably can’t hear me. Or maybe she just doesn’t understand.
“This is all because of that son of a bitch!”
Sorry, but it’s a son of a cat. Don’t change my species.
By the way, the school cafeteria was in the complete opposite direction from this shed. In other words, right after lunch started, there probably wouldn’t be anyone passing by here.
Most students weren’t heading to the cafeteria anyway… They’d be in their classrooms listening to the broadcast.
“Ugh… Seriously!!! This is so annoying!!!!!!”
Man, what an ugly cry. When Aju cried, it tugged at my heart. Even though they’re both girls, some can sound like wild animals when they cry.
Whether Choi Seung-a’s crying sounded beautiful or like a beast didn’t matter to me. What mattered was that I had completed the mission.
He should’ve made it to the broadcast room safely.
Unfortunately, there was no way for me and that Riha bastard to communicate remotely. So all I could do was believe in him.
You’ll do it right. Because it’s you.
With that faith in Riha, I pressed the button on the tracking device.
Click.
A notification should have reached Riha by now. Guess it was time to head over to Aju’s classroom.
Just in case.