Chapter 102
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: The Stolen Necklace
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"Hey! Check this out~"
"Ah, Hwang Soo-ah! Give me back my pencil case!"
The kids were racing around the classroom, causing a sudden uproar. In one corner, a group was passing around a comic book, while in another, kids were giggling uproariously.
It's the elementary school I went to.
The playground visible through the window and the lockers crammed together behind the classroom looked exactly as I remembered.
That aside, if I hadn't been seeing things earlier, Se-bin had looked right at me and spoken. Since the Gourmet's Fork hadn't reacted, it must have been part of her nightmare, not the real Se-bin.
Neither Han Jin-woo Hunter nor Cha Do-yun Hunter had spoken to me until they actually met me. In their nightmares, I was no different from a ghost.
So why could Se-bin talk to me? Just because I knew her past?
"Se-bin, why won't you play with us?"
Before I could resolve my doubts, someone called out Se-bin's name. Her seat was at the very back by the window—the spot closest to the lockers and spacious enough that kids usually gathered there to play. But Se-bin never joined in. She spent breaks either staring blankly out the window or reading her textbook.
Noticing how odd she seemed, one kid from the group spoke up first. It was a boy wearing a tacky necklace with fake gems that looked like something from a stationery store.
"Boring, huh?"
"Yeah, come to think of it, I've never seen Se-bin smile!"
The kids gradually gathered around Se-bin's desk. She stared at them with her lips pressed tight, then turned back to her textbook. She seemed flustered by the sudden unwanted attention.
"It's boring. I don't feel like smiling."
The classroom fell silent in an instant at her words. There was no malice in them—just raw, unfiltered emotion spilling out from the tension.
But all eyes turned to Se-bin, and their shadows grew, swallowing the entire room.
The surroundings plunged into darkness in a flash.
Bang!
"You stole it! Hand over my necklace right now!"
"What? I didn't take it."
"Everyone saw you take it! Hey, Eun-chan, right?"
"Y-yeah~ I saw everything~"
This time, the commotion was on another level. Several kids had surrounded Se-bin in front of the lockers. She fiddled with the lock on her locker, frowning, while the boy who'd lost the necklace flushed red and stepped right up to her.
"Hand it over already?"
"How am I supposed to give you something I don't have."
"Ah, just give it back!"
The boy shouted almost tearfully and grabbed Se-bin's bag.
Rustle.
He turned her bag upside down and shook it vigorously. Books, pencil case, and what looked like a parent-teacher notice fluttered to the floor. To make matters worse, the lid on her water bottle had come open, spilling water all over them in an instant.
"Uh, uhh..."
"Waaah!"
The furious boy faltered a bit, and the other kids watching screamed and backed away. Se-bin showed no reaction. One might expect tears or anger, but she just stood there, mouth slightly agape, staring at her ruined belongings.
"Hey! What are you all doing?!"
At that moment, a sharp voice rang through the classroom. A girl with her hair tied back in a ponytail burst in through the back door and pushed through the crowd.
Wait, that's...
"Ji-ui, what happens if you get caught going into another class?!"
It was me. A girl who looked like my friend gestured wildly from outside the back door, but young Shin Ji-ui stubbornly shook her head. Watching my younger self made my face burn with embarrassment.
I never imagined I'd have to confront my dark history like this.
Back then, I was a mess too.
It hadn't been long since I'd said goodbye to Ji-yu, so I saw every small kid as her. Se-bin was much smaller than me at the time, so I couldn't just walk past someone bullying her.
Young me glanced back and forth between the soaked books and the boy who'd lost the necklace. Then I looked at Se-bin's face. The boredom from moments ago had given way to bewilderment.
"Are you guys bullying her right now?"
"We weren't! And this is our class anyway? Get out!"
"Yeah, get out~"
The kids tormenting Se-bin yelled at young me to leave, but I stood my ground like my feet were nailed down.
"Isn't this her bag? Why dump it on the floor?"
"Ah, she took my necklace first!"
"Got any proof she did it?"
"Hey, Kim Eun-chan! You said you saw it!"
A boy with a stubby ponytail popped up from somewhere and nodded. Young Shin Ji-ui whipped her head toward Se-bin and demanded,
"Did you steal it?"
"N-no..."
"She says she didn't. You gonna believe him just like that? Is he a genius? A god?"
The barrage of questions crushed the necklace owner's spirit. With my loud voice drawing attention, the kids' ire slowly shifted from Se-bin to this Kim Eun-chan kid. Young Se-bin stared at my back with a dazed expression.
She must have been shocked. Suddenly accused of theft, her bag ruined by water, and now some random kid playing her lawyer.
"Kids! What is going on here?!"
Perfect timing—the teacher arrived. All the tensed-up kids followed him with their eyes. The homeroom teacher slowly surveyed Se-bin's bag, the spilled water bottle, and the kids around her.
"That boy was bullying her."
The teacher glanced at young me and tilted his head, probably wondering why a kid from another class was involved. Dismissing my presence, he quietly addressed the boy and Se-bin.
"We'll talk after closing ceremony. Both of you stay behind today. You too, Eun-chan."
The necklace owner gaped like he'd been sentenced to death, while Se-bin meekly nodded. Her gaze ended on young me. Feeling it, I turned and spoke to her.
"So, what's your name?"
"Huh? Uh, Ka-Kang Se-bin..."
"I'm Shin Ji-ui from Class 3. Tell me if he bullies you again."
"Uh... Okay."
Se-bin stammered out her response. Young me flashed a big grin, showing off my missing front tooth, then dashed back to my friend at the door.
"Wait!"
"Huh?"
Se-bin called me back. I paused at the back door and turned. She looked at me, lips moving, then clenched her fists and forced out the words.
"Even if they don't bully me... can I come play?"
"Of course!"
Se-bin smiled quietly at my reply, and I waved as I slipped out the back door.
Thud.
As the door closed, the classroom flooded with crimson light. Sunset streamed through the windows. The red sun on the horizon painted everything it touched, announcing its presence. Young me and Se-bin inside were bathed in the same glow.
Se-bin quietly packed her bag. She pouted as she stuffed the wrinkled books inside and zipped it up carefully. Slinging it over her shoulder, she stood in front of her locker with her name on it.
"What a hassle over some stupid necklace..."
Was she talking to me or muttering to herself? Her tone was ambiguous.
"Even the kids who said they'd be friends at the start of the semester didn't help."
"...Kang Se-bin?"
Click.
She unlocked the locker and opened the door. Grimacing, she reached deep inside, rummaging intently. When she found what she wanted, her furrowed brow relaxed. A faint smile crossed her face as she pulled her arm out.
"...Huh?"
It was the necklace. The one the boy had searched so desperately for. The tacky thing with fake gems dangled from Se-bin's finger.
Why was it in Se-bin's locker? It wasn't a false accusation—she really stole it? Why?
I backed away instinctively, my heel hitting a chair. Se-bin examined the necklace, narrowing her eyes, shrugged, and walked somewhere.
"I only swiped it because they kept picking on me, but of all things, that got found out."
She stopped in front of a desk in the middle of the classroom. A nameplate read 'Kim Eun-chan.' Se-bin slipped the necklace into the desk drawer and let out a small chuckle, like she'd heard a funny story.
She hopped up onto Eun-chan's desk, propping her elbows on her knees and chin in her hands. Her soft cheeks squished upward.
"Originally, I was gonna steal it secretly and plant it in some other kid's bag, or toss it in the trash."
"......"
"But Eun-chan caught on, so that failed."
Se-bin hopped down. Rustle—her bag contents clinked together.
"Still, it turned out pretty good in the end."
She adjusted her bag and spread her arms wide.
Clap!
The classroom scene shifted the moment her small palms met. The empty room filled with kids, and at the center, two boys were tangled in a scuffle.
"Kim Eun-chan! You stole it?!"
"I-I didn't...!"
"Then why'd it come out of your drawer?!"
The necklace victim was pummeling Eun-chan one-sidedly. The boy cried and fought back, but the size difference only made it worse. The other classmates half-heartedly tried to intervene while gossiping about what happened.
"So it wasn't Kang Se-bin who stole it?"
"What's going on?"
"Eun-chan stole the necklace."
"No! I didn't!"
It was hard to watch. Seeing someone falsely accused and suffering unjustly made my stomach churn.
"...Kang Se-bin."
And the young Se-bin who'd orchestrated it all blended into the crowd.
With a subtle smile on her lips, like she was enjoying a comic.
"Se-bin, sorry..."
A few kids around her started apologizing. Se-bin shook her head stiffly. Her cold demeanor scared them off.
"Heh."
Se-bin laughed. Her doll-like cute face turned toward me.
Pat pat.
She toddled right up to me, looked up, and stared intently. The brawl behind her contrasted sharply with her calm face, muddling my mind.
"But looking back, it was lucky it got found out."
Every step Se-bin took toward me, I retreated. Like same poles of magnets repelling, we kept our distance.
Thud.
My back hit the classroom wall. The concrete chill seemed to pierce my Aiter robe to my skin. Se-bin fixed her gaze on me, stepping closer, then hugged me. She was just tall enough to reach my chest, but her arms around my waist were surprisingly strong.
"Because getting caught let me become friends with you, Ji-ui."
I couldn't speak. I just let young Se-bin cling to me, sharing the sound of our heartbeats.
Thump.
Déjà vu hit me. This child overlapped with the Se-bin who'd slaughtered all the hunters, then hugged me confessing her wrongs.
I knew how rotten Se-bin had been in the 98th regression, how dangerous her thoughts were.
I already knew from recalling past memories that Se-bin wasn't purely good.
I just didn't know it started this young.
I'd thought her actions in the 98th were because she'd been pushed to the brink.
But the scene before me said otherwise. Se-bin had stolen from her bully for revenge and tried to frame someone else. Too calculated and malicious to dismiss as childish mischief.
A chill ran up my spine, a prickling sensation crawling from my toes. Feeling eyes boring into me obsessively, I squeezed mine shut. But the gaze didn't fade.
I gripped the Gourmet's Fork tight, waiting for it to take me to the next scene of the nightmare.