Chapter 9 Web of Lies
Spiderweb
Chapter 10
...Huh?
I needed a moment to process what Se-eun was telling me.
Arikawa Hayase, of all people?
She was the game's ideal of a devoted heroine, the kind who went out of her way to protect and support the protagonist.
Kind to everyone but far from naive, she valued honesty and loyalty. Few characters in Journey of the Eastern Tower were as steadfast.
And yet, this paragon of virtue had deliberately tripped and pressed her chest into my hands like some wanton woman?
'She's trying to mess with me again.'
I glanced at my sister suspiciously.
'Is this another scheme of hers?'
I thought I'd hidden my doubts, but Se-eun's scowl told me otherwise.
"Fine, don't believe me. I told you because I was trying to help. If you're going to look at me like that, I won't bother next time."
"Hey, I never said I didn't believe you! Why are you getting so worked up?"
"Your face said it."
"My face?"
"Yes, your stupid face."
"You little—"
I swallowed the insult.
Still, dismissing her warning without thinking would be stupid.
I had to consider every possibility.
Besides, Optimal Progression hadn't activated during that incident for no reason.
I wanted to believe Hayase hadn't done it deliberately.
'Not Hayase... surely?'
I couldn't bring myself to believe it.
As I followed Se-eun down the corridor, a familiar woman with black hair came hurrying toward us.
Hayase.
"I-I'm terribly sorry! I should have shown you all the way to the practice hall. I had something to attend to, but I shouldn't have left you alone."
She bowed deeply. So that explained why she'd disappeared after taking us to the changing rooms.
Gulp.
Squish, squish.
'Hayase. Your sincerity alone is enough for me to forgive you.'
Some might have been annoyed, but I, being magnanimous, didn't even consider holding a grudge. A woman like Hayase, with her ample chest, must have had unavoidable circumstances.
Ordinarily, Se-eun would have complained first. Instead, she glanced at me and let me respond.
I was happy to oblige.
"It's fine, really. The gardens are lovely, so we enjoyed the walk."
I offered Hayase my most reassuring smile and softened my voice as much as possible.
It worked. She hesitated, her lips trembling slightly as her cheeks turned pink.
'So this is what being handsome feels like. I really missed out.'
A beautiful woman was flustered by nothing more than my smile. My old self would never have believed it.
'If Ha-rin weren't involved, this would be perfect.'
Yet another reason to get out from under my sister's thumb. Not that I needed one.
"We all make mistakes. Please don't worry about it, Hayase."
Se-eun shot me a look of pure disbelief.
I ignored her. Hayase deserved my full attention.
"Th-thank you."
That shy smile was almost too much.
Beside Hayase, Ha-rin seemed like a spider weaving her web through every corner of my life, leaving me nowhere to escape.
Even Se-eun, with all her constant needling, couldn't offer the easy warmth Hayase did.
'Am I falling for her?'
I had adored Hayase on a screen. Meeting her in person only made that feeling stronger.
I almost teared up. An otaku's dream had come true.
'See, Mom? I told you I'd marry a fictional character.'
Everyone here looked like an illustration brought to life. For an otaku like me, it was paradise—provided Ha-rin stayed away.
'That's it. I'm devoted to Hayase from now on.'
For one wonderful moment, I meant it.
"You're late."
Someone was already waiting inside the dojo.
#
The muggy summer air seemed to turn cold the moment we entered. It wasn't the building. It was the person waiting inside.
One presence had silenced an entire room.
A silver-haired woman knelt with impeccable posture, her long hair loosely tied back. The stillness surrounding her was almost unnatural.
The men nearby watched her with a mixture of fascination and apprehension.
Ha-rin opened her eyes when she heard my footsteps. Her golden gaze settled on me, and she smiled with impossible sweetness.
"You're late, Si-hyun."
There was a saying about cruel mothers-in-law making their daughters-in-law suffer in the summer heat. Ha-rin seemed determined to make me suffer through all of it at once.
Sweat beaded on my forehead. With her hearing, she might have caught every word we'd said.
'This is bad.'
Ha-rin looked down at her diamond-studded watch. A chill ran through me.
"Your average walking speed is 4.237 kilometers per hour, Si-hyun. The changing room is 221 meters away. Accounting for the round trip and time spent changing—even with Se-eun accompanying you—you should have arrived in approximately seventeen minutes. It's been twenty minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Why?"
I couldn't answer.
Her smile brightened.
"The three of you... no, the two of you. What exactly were you doing on the way here?"
Her voice was gentle. The threat beneath it was anything but.
Beside me, Se-eun's lips trembled.
Hayase glanced between us, evidently unaware of the danger she'd walked into.
'So this was your plan.'
Ha-rin wore a tailored kendo uniform instead of the standard issue. The fabric looked expensive enough to belong in a luxury boutique. Even here, she couldn't bear to dress like everyone else.
'Of course she agreed to let me come. She was planning to follow me from the start.'
Still smiling, she turned her attention to Hayase.
It hadn't mattered that Se-eun pretended to have chosen the dojo on her own. Ha-rin had never trusted the story.
She'd let us show our hand while making sure she was here to catch us.
Whispers spread among the other students.
"Does your older sister always calculate things like that?"
"Mine forgets our mom's birthday. She'd never measure my walking speed."
"What's going on?"
"Nothing good, that's for sure."
Ha-rin paid the whispers no attention. She closed her eyes, rested her hands on her knees, then rose with effortless composure.
Even I had to admit her movements possessed a grace befitting someone trained in traditional etiquette.
"Aren't we here to practice?" she asked pleasantly.
#
A smile could conceal a great deal. Eyes were harder to disguise. Hayase had learned that a week earlier, when she'd first met Ha-rin.
She'd been cleaning the dojo after practice when she straightened and found a silver-haired woman standing nearby.
The stranger was so beautiful that Hayase stopped breathing for a moment.
She hadn't heard the woman enter. She hadn't sensed her presence at all.
Standing with her face turned toward the garden, Ha-rin looked almost unreal, as though she might vanish if Hayase blinked.
Then Ha-rin turned, and their eyes met. Hayase's impression changed completely.
Her golden irises shone, but there was no warmth behind them. They seemed hollow, as if something vast and dark had settled in their depths.
Cold. Empty. Unreadable. Even her voice seemed to deepen the silence when she spoke.
"It's a lovely place. May I enroll?"
Now that same woman wore a smile brighter than anyone else's.
"It's nice for us to spend time together outside the house. I think it's even doing my health some good. Don't you agree, Si-hyun?"
The beautiful boy practicing nearby went rigid. Misery flashed across his face before he forced himself to smile.
"Y-yes! I'm glad you're enjoying it, Sis!"
"What would you do without me? I haven't been feeling very well, so I may not be able to come often. Won't you get lonely?"
"Well, that's just your pers— I mean, of course I'll miss you. I'll have to hurry home to see you."
"Oh, Si-hyun, you say the sweetest things. What would you like for dinner? I'll make whatever you want."
Her eyes full of affection, she reached out. Her hand, covered in flashy manicured nails, slid behind the boy and embarrassingly kneaded his backside.
"Tell big sis everything you want, Si-hyun♡"
Tilting her head, Ha-rin's eyes gleamed with a lustful glint.
"R-right... I'll think about it later."
Si-hyun's smile was painfully strained. No matter how hard he tried, his eyes betrayed his fear.
Se-eun, standing on his left, kept her eyes fixed straight ahead as she practiced. She seemed determined not to meet either sibling's gaze.
...
Ha-rin's presence had made the entire practice session tense. Hayase couldn't stand by and let it continue.
"Ms. Park, you're standing too close to Si-hyun. We're practicing our stances right now, so please focus," she said carefully.
For a heartbeat, Ha-rin's eyes turned so cold that Hayase almost recoiled. Then the expression disappeared.
Ha-rin smiled again and approached with measured steps.
"!?"
Before Hayase could react, a hand settled on her shoulder.
She moved to brush it away.
But then—
The pressure increased without warning. Ha-rin's grip felt impossibly heavy, and Hayase froze—partly from the force, partly from fear.
Ha-rin leaned closer and whispered.
"Then stop staring at my little brother."
Hayase searched her eyes and found only a darkness deeper than the sea.
"Or I might kill you."
Hayase's eyes flashed with anger.