An Ominous Glare
Lee Seyeon blinked, caught completely off guard by the sudden question. What kind of relationship? Jinwoo was… just someone from the same badminton club, wasn’t he?
“…Right? Jinwoo and I are pretty close, I suppose.”
“…Ah, is that so…?”
…?
“Ah, Jinwoo sunbae!! I came along just like you told me to!!”
“I submitted the application for you. I already brought one of my spare rackets.”
“Ah… is it one you used before, sunbae?”
“Yeah. It’s one of mine.”
There was such a thing as a woman’s intuition. Of course, it could be seen as a sexist phrase, or a stereotype born from the prejudice that women were overly sensitive, but she believed there was some truth to it.
…Is she acting? Every expression she’s making… no. Every emotion?
Having worked as a child actress until middle school, she could spot the signs. The smile was slightly unnatural, the movements exaggerated as if trying too hard to appear bright, and the way she kept clinging to Kim Jinwoo. It could simply be because they were close, or because she had a crush on him, but…
“…..”
“Seyeon sunbae. Everyone’s here now. Let’s just say hello and play a few games on the court before we go.”
“…Huh? Oh… okay.”
The shuttlecock, hit with no real strength behind it, dropped weakly onto the badminton court.
Yoo Soyeon dashed over with light steps, her twin tails bouncing, to pick it up. She crouched gracefully, handed it over with a sweet smile.
“Yay—! Jinwoo sunbae, you said you’d give me a few points earlier, but what is this?”
“…Ugh, huff… I should’ve… exercised more.”
“Are you already tired…? No way~ We still have another set left.”
“…Huff, huff… Why do you… have so much energy…”
The group of male students watched them for a moment while catching their breath. They gulped down entire bottles of water, stealing glances at the opposite court.
“Wow, who is she? She’s insanely pretty.”
“…Isn’t that sunbae her boyfriend? Watch what you say.”
“Doesn’t look like they’re dating though.”
“Hmm… Sorry, but I don’t think you should mess with her. They might not be dating, but it feels like there’s something between them.”
“…Whoa?! Seyeon sunbae?”
“What? I came to make sure you guys weren’t slacking off again. I know full well that the only reason you show up here is to hit on girls.”
“…We were seriously playing the whole time.”
“Dismissed. Since we’re done anyway, if you don’t want to stay and clean up the shuttlecocks, feel free to run away.”
“We didn’t come here to hit on anyone… seriously…”
“Yeah, yeah, I believe you. So you guys head out first.”
Squeeze—
It had been a while since she felt this kind of emotion. It was the same dark, terrifying feeling she used to get as a child when facing the corruption-riddled entertainment industry head-on.
…Should I test the waters a bit?
“…I surrender… Junior, I admit defeat…”
“Jinwoo, can you come here for a second?”
“…Haa. Yes. What is it?”
Lee Seyeon’s gaze was fixed on Jinwoo, but from the corner of her eye, she was focused entirely on Yoo Soyeon.
…No reaction at all.
Well, that was to be expected. She had almost labeled someone she was meeting for the first time as suspicious based on nothing but speculation. She relaxed her sharp nerves again, offered a bright smile, and handed Jinwoo an ion drink.
“Ah, it’s nothing much. You came out early today and set up the court, so thanks for your hard work. Have a drink.”
“Thank you.”
…Ah, what should I do when I get home? It’s been a while—maybe I’ll binge that Netflix show I’ve been putting off. The kids have all left now… I should grab something for dinner on the way back—
A chill ran down her spine.
“……Huh, sunbae. What’s wrong?”
“…Eh? Oh?”
What was that? What just happened?
Because she had let her guard down around Yoo Soyeon and turned her head, she couldn’t see what kind of expression the girl had made. But… that killing intent just now… what was it?
No. What had she even done?
“…Ah, it’s nothing. Really.”
“…You don’t look well. Should I stay and help you clean up?”
Had she simply imagined the glare? Maybe she was upset that the person she liked was with another woman… That was understandable. But why had her attitude flipped so suddenly?
“Ah, no…!! You go ahead. Go on, go first.”
“…..Oh. Okay.”
“…Jinwoo sunbae, can I walk with you?”
“Sure. We’re going the same way anyway. Let’s go together. I’ll head out first!”
“…..”
Lee Seyeon forced her stiff expression into a smile and awkwardly waved goodbye.
…Did she see us touch hands?
“…..”
Once Jinwoo and the new female junior disappeared into the distance, Lee Seyeon silently took out her phone and searched for Kim Jinwoo’s number. She opened the messenger, stared blankly at the screen as she recalled the strange sense of déjà vu she had just felt, and began typing out a worried message.
Tap— Tap tap—
…What right do I have?
Lee Seyeon tapped the phone screen a few times, then turned it off and slipped it back into her pocket. Getting involved in the romance of two people she barely knew could lead to a disaster.
The intense, strange intuition had driven her this far, but she decided to drop the thought and forget about the situation entirely.
“Well. I must have… felt it wrong. For a second it looked like she wanted to kill me. Hmm…”
“By the way, you tied your hair in pigtails today. Didn’t you usually wear it down?”
“…Ah, yes. It’s been a while since I exercised, so I wanted to try something a little different! Why do you ask?”
“…Huh. No reason. It’s just… interesting.”
“Hmm… Really? Does it look okay?”
“Yeah, it suits you. But I think your usual style with your hair down looks better.”
“…Ah, I… see?”
“Was that too nosy? Sorry…”
“…Ah, no…!! Please be more direct with me. I’ll adjust however you like.”
“…Adjust what?”
Flutter—
The hair tie came loose, and Yoo Soyeon’s hair spilled out, dancing in the wind. She looked at him again with that same sweet smile.
“…Everything. Whatever sunbae likes, I can match it all.”
It looked like a scene straight out of a movie. If there was a female lead in a romance webtoon, they would have cast her.
She kept that bright, smiling expression, gesturing for him to come closer as if urging him on.
No matter how terrible he was at romance… that line just now.
…Isn’t that something you’d say when confessing?
“…Hey, what do you—”
“Hehe… I’m just kidding! Should we stop by the convenience store on the way?”
“…”
He let out a long sigh, then gave a small, wry laugh.
“…Sure. Being with you makes me feel like I’ve aged ten years. It’s the weekend now, so I’m just going to hole up at home and not move an inch.”
“…Weekend… Then, I’ll see you again on Monday?”
“I suppose so?”
“…Do you have any plans? Someone you’re meeting…?”
“Not really. Though I do have a night shift at the convenience store over the weekend. Why?”
“…Huh?”
“Hehe… It’s nothing. Let’s go inside.”
A restructured apartment erased from the world’s memory. A completely untraceable space where no one—not the police, not GPS, not any tracking system—could ever find her. In other words, a Non-existent Space.
In the dark room, she clutched the man’s clothes with trembling hands, slowly regaining her composure. It was like a broken attachment doll from her childhood; this act brought her happiness. For her, whose mind had been rewired into such a damaged system, shame no longer existed.
“…Ah, sunbae… I like you… Haa… Sunbae…”
What kind of person was Yoo Soyeon?
In her second life, she had been called a Saintess. In her thirtieth life, the hope of humanity. In her three-hundred-and-twenty-fifth life, she had been a slayer. A technician. A witch. An anomaly. A hacker… A scientist, among others.
They were the results of her desperate struggle to survive in a world heading toward destruction.
Then what should she be called now, after cutting off that tiresome cycle of regression and returning as an ordinary human?
Click— Click—
“…Hehe. So they really… have no relationship at all…?”
Staring at the monitor farthest to the right among the four active screens, she began accessing the database. Personal information of all kinds—SMS chat logs, phone contacts, nearby CCTV footage, and even movement patterns. Everything.
She didn’t like it.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Jinwoo. She would never misunderstand the man she was meant to live her entire life with. Still… people could never rule out the possibility of “what if.”
Because of the woman who had suddenly appeared nearby, the murderous impulse she had sworn never to feel again had risen unbidden.
Yoo Soyeon lay sprawled across the double bed, blankly trying to shake off the incoming wave of trauma that felt like evil spirits. Once again, she began thinking of Jinwoo to push them away.
Leaning against the badminton racket he had given her, she tried to recall even the slightest trace of his presence. From his head—his eyes, nose, mouth, arms, legs.
“……Ah—”
I miss him. …I want to meet him again and talk to him.
I want to touch him. I want to feel again that Jinwoo is alive right in front of me…
She stared blankly at the ticking clock. It was 3 a.m. Saturday had only just begun, and she still had to wait a full forty-eight hours before she could see Jinwoo sunbae again.
“…”
She knew she shouldn’t, but the tiny hidden camera she had sworn never to use again—the one installed in sunbae’s old studio apartment—called to her.
Like she was possessed, Yoo Soyeon lifted her disheveled head and reached toward the power button on the leftmost monitor. But she caught herself at the last moment, crawled back into bed, curled up, and buried herself deep under the covers.
…She hated it. She hated this crushing emptiness so much.
She had waited hundreds, thousands of years. Why did she have to wait any longer? Why?
Even when she kept dying to save this rotten world, even when she suffered the agony of flames and the torment of trauma, it had been bearable as long as Jinwoo was there. He had been her final pillar, the one who accepted all her whining and selfishness.
But the life after the 781st round had been an eternal hell for her. She had lost even her last sanctuary—the one who understood and comforted her. She was nothing more than a baby chick that had fallen from its nest, plummeting through the vast sky.
From the moment she had committed suicide seventeen times, she had already strayed far beyond the bounds of a normal person.
“…Let’s… go see him…”
She remembered he said he was working the night shift at the convenience store over the weekend.
Reason and desire were walking a dizzying tightrope.
…I don’t want to show him this side of me.
She gripped her trembling hands, put on a mask, and pulled her hood down low.
About 1.5 kilometers… It was the BB Convenience Store.
Reading the direction indicated by the GPS, she began walking quietly through the deep night.