Suspicion (13)
The chairman looked up in surprise as I handed him the key along with my report. “What?”
He had been buried in a mountain of documents again today, but my words made him snap to attention, his gaze flying toward me.
“So… Sola. What day is it since the disciplinary action started?”
“It has been three days since the disciplinary measures began.”
The short-haired female student assisting him answered instantly without even lifting her eyes from the paperwork. Over the past three days, I had spoken quite a bit with the chairman, but I had barely exchanged a single word with her.
“You finished organizing all of that already?”
“Yes. If you don’t believe me, you can check it yourself.”
“No, no. There’s no need to check.”
The chairman waved his hands frantically before I could even finish speaking.
“Why would you lie about something that would be so easily exposed? I’m sure you did a fine job. I can look it over later. Here, just sign this confirmation. Take it straight to the professor.”
The male student scribbled his signature across the paper and handed it to me. Then, a faintly regretful expression crossed his face.
“As expected, you really are an outstanding talent. My eyes never fail me.”
“…”
I had simply invested a lot of time. It was far better to wrestle with dusty documents than to deal with people who had no real interest in me. Still, the way he was praising me so highly for something as simple as cleaning the basement made it clear he still harbored some lingering attachment toward me.
“Ahaha, I was just saying that. Just…”
When I offered no particular reaction, he laughed awkwardly, as if embarrassed.
“Anyway, good work, junior. Be careful not to break any school rules from now on, alright? It’s best not to create grudges among fellow students if you can help it. Jin Yeseo is still in the infirmary… ahem.”
I knew exactly what he had been about to say. And honestly, it did sting my conscience a little. Even I had to admit I had beaten Jin Yeseo quite brutally. Of course, she had provoked it first, but I couldn’t exactly claim the dormitory supervisor had stayed completely uninvolved. I could only hope she wouldn’t bother me anymore.
“I will be more careful in the future. By the way, Chairman, may I ask you for one favor?”
“A favor? What kind of favor?”
Contrary to my expectation that he might find it annoying, he actually brightened and asked with interest. Given the current chairman’s personality, he was probably thinking that doing a small favor for someone connected to the Five Families might earn him some goodwill.
“Could I take a look at the list of past student council officers kept in the records archive?”
“Really? That’s not particularly difficult, but… why?”
His voice sounded slightly deflated, as if this wasn’t what he had been expecting.
“It’s nothing special. I was simply curious how many student council officers the Black Lotus has produced throughout the academy’s history…”
“What? That’s why? You should have said so earlier. I thought…”
“…”
But the moment I explained, the male student’s attitude flipped completely. Perhaps he thought I might change my mind after looking at the roster. He quickly sat down at his desk, pulled out what looked like a thick sheet of paper, and stamped it with a device resembling a seal. Then he spread his palm over it and began infusing it with his own particles.
Item: Temporary Copy of Records Archive Key
Duration: 7 days
Note: Single-use. Particles will dissipate after one week.
A burning sound rose from the paper—chiiiik—and soon the chairman handed me the completed item.
“This is a copy of the records archive key. You must use it within a week, or the particles will scatter. And remember, it’s one-time use only. It cannot be reused.”
“I will keep that in mind. Thank y—”
“Ugh, put it away, put it away. What thanks? Between us, something like this is…”
At his whispered words, the short-haired girl who had been focused on her work shot him a sharp glare. Noticing her gaze, the male student gave an awkward cough.
“…Ahem. Anyway, put in a good word for me with Miss Yeon Minha. And feel free to come to me anytime you need anything. Understood?”
“Yes…”
I exchanged a brief farewell with the chairman and left the student council room.
Beyond the closing door, an angry voice echoed like a ringing rebuke. I hadn’t realized she could talk that much. In any case, the chairman’s troubles were his own to bear. There wasn’t much I could do to help him, and from my perspective, that was rather fortunate.
Normally, a regular student would have to go through a fairly complicated process to access those records. But with one simple gesture from the chairman, I had bypassed all of it. With this, I might be able to uncover some of Seol Yujeong’s past activities, along with her connections to the director and my older sisters.
Lost in thought, I walked until the roof of the beech tree dormitory appeared in the distance. Even though it wasn’t my own dormitory, the place felt increasingly like home. Lately, however, that wasn’t entirely true. One particular woman kept stirring up chaos inside me.
“…You’re back?”
“Yes.”
Yeon Minha greeted me in the same utterly dejected tone as always. As usual, she immediately turned away and headed inside the dormitory. If she was going to act like this, why did she keep coming out to meet me? It only made my heart feel unsettled.
Today, too, there was no sign she intended to speak first. After holding back as long as I could, I finally opened my mouth.
“Senior.”
“…”
“Senior.”
“Y-yes? What…?”
“How did the negotiations go?”
“Ah, right. The negotiations…”
Yeon Minha answered in an unusually flustered manner.
“…It didn’t go badly. In exchange for yielding the first-year representative position to Jin Yeseo, I secured two recommendation tickets for executive committee members.”
“I see. That’s good to hear. Who are you planning to recommend for the committee?”
“One is Suhee. I’m still thinking about the other…”
The name sounded familiar. It belonged to the senior who had acted as Yeon Minha’s second-in-command, commanding the students in her stead when we went down to the south. It sounded like very good news. Two people who could support Yeon Minha’s power would be joining the student council.
“…”
Yet Yeon Minha continued to wear a dark expression. That groundless gloom kept bothering me.
“Senior. Also…”
“I-I just remembered I had an assignment… Let’s talk later, okay…?”
Bang!
I had intended to clear up this uneasy feeling today, but before I could even finish speaking, Yeon Minha vanished into her bedroom in the blink of an eye. Once again, I was left standing alone in the hallway.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out why Yeon Minha was avoiding me. I wondered if I had picked up the damp smell of the basement, but when Yena had sniffed me earlier, she said I didn’t smell like anything. She had also claimed the slight redness on my cheeks was due to a mild cold.
“…”
Why does she keep avoiding me? Just why?
Thump… Thump…
My heartbeat pounded violently, like a hammer striking the abyss. The resonance was more than enough to stir up fragments of memories submerged at the bottom of my mind.
Despite going to bed early, Yeon Minha still couldn’t fall asleep properly. Before long, a pale dawn broke outside the window. The morning sunlight pouring through the wide panes began to tickle the bridge of her nose.
Yeon Minha focused her senses outward. The dormitory was deathly quiet, with not a single sign of life. Unlike the second-years who were granted some autonomy, first-years were forced to attend morning training to instill proper habits. He must have left the dormitory long ago.
“Haa…”
With a sigh, Yeon Minha finally rose from her bed and began getting ready. Then, suddenly, a terrible loneliness pierced through her entire body. In just a few short days, she had become addicted to the touch of his hands brushing through her hair. To think that avoiding him for a mere three days would cause such side effects. He was becoming an irreplaceable existence to her more and more with each passing day.
Yeon Minha felt that truth sink into her bones once again. However, Baek Seoyeon’s words continued to torment her mind.
Yeon Minha stared at her haggard reflection in the mirror. Anxiety continued to burn through her head. It was clear that the two of them had shared some deep relationship in the past. Moreover, Baek Seoyeon still harbored an overwhelming amount of lingering attachment toward him. And despite outwardly acting cold and businesslike toward Baek Seoyeon while standing with her, he had been carefully carrying around an old portrait of Baek Seoyeon inside his coat.
If, by some chance, he were to leave her and return to Baek Seoyeon…
“…Ugh.”
Yeon Minha bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood. That was why she had been avoiding Lee Hyun. In her current mental state, she simply didn’t have the confidence to face him.
“…Come to think of it, today is the ranking match drawing ceremony…”
Yeon Minha suddenly recalled Lee Hyun’s schedule that she had memorized. Though her thoughts were still a mess, she couldn’t let such an important event pass without a word. Deciding to at least offer him a word of encouragement, she finished preparing and stepped out of her bedroom into the hallway. Just as she turned to head down the stairs, a low, deep voice suddenly rang out in the dormitory that should have been empty.
“Did you sleep well?”
“…Hic.”
A chill ran down her spine. Yeon Minha slowly turned only her head. The masked male student was leaning against the railing beside the door, staring directly at her. Swallowing hard, Yeon Minha opened her trembling lips.
“Th-there was definitely no one here…”
“Hiding my presence is easy enough. More importantly, just a moment—”
“L-later! I’m busy right now…!”
The moment he opened his mouth, Yeon Minha frantically dashed down the stairs. She was startled by the sudden encounter, and she still hadn’t properly organized what she wanted to say to him.
“Kyaa!”
But before she could even descend halfway, a large hand that felt like thick, solid chains grabbed her left wrist and restrained her. Then it forcibly spun her body around to face him.
“L-let go…! What kind of rude behavior is this toward your senior—hic!”
Yeon Minha struggled, trying to pull her arm free. But the masked student violently shoved her against the wall on the opposite side of the staircase. He then seized both of her wrists in one hand, lifted them above her head, and pinned her completely against the wall. In an instant, Yeon Minha had become like a mouse trapped in a cage.
“I treated you with sufficient courtesy.”
“How is this courteous…!”
“Would you prefer I broke down your door instead?”
“Hic…”
Only then did Yeon Minha meet the gaze behind the mask directly.
“Let’s have a talk, shall we?”
Once clear and blue, his eyes now glistened with thick, murky emotion.