Chapter 61
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Subway Dream (3)
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The next day.
The long-awaited weekend had arrived.
It was the first weekend since starting school, so I wanted to take it easy and just lazed around.
I flopped onto my bed and rolled around endlessly.
It was a peaceful day, completely devoid of any strange phenomena.
If only days like this could last...
I opened the Omake Mode to check my progress.
【Unreality Progression – 27%】
...Wait a minute.
I'd opened it without much thought, but now I was doubting my eyes.
"Twenty-seven percent?"
That couldn't be right. Just yesterday, the progression rate was barely 22%.
It should have been the same as it was right after we escaped the school...
For some reason, it had jumped by 5%, now showing 27%.
Unreality was progressing.
I could hardly believe it.
Wasn't I having a perfectly peaceful day?
There had been no room for unreal entities like strange phenomena to creep in.
I carefully recalled the events of yesterday and today.
No matter how hard I thought, I hadn't encountered any strange phenomena like the ones at school.
After defeating the One-man Hide-and-seek, I'd just been relaxing.
So where did this 5% come from?
My mind was a mess. Still, no clear answer came to me.
A system display error, maybe...
Feeling uncertain, I closed the Omake Mode.
I tried to find any signs of strange phenomena after that, but there was nothing. And so, the terribly peaceful weekend passed.
It was a long-awaited break, but I couldn't fully relax.
I spent the time on high alert, not knowing when or where a strange phenomenon might appear.
The weekend flew by like that, and soon, hellish Monday arrived.
I remained tense, worried that a strange phenomenon might strike on the way to school.
"What are you doing?"
"Just something."
I didn't let my guard down even as I entered the classroom. Dayeon, on the other hand, rubbed her eyes and yawned lazily like a cat.
"I'm sleepy."
"I told you to go to bed early."
"I did go to bed earlier than yesterday."
"What time?"
"Two?"
Dayeon shamelessly held up two fingers with a flourish.
"Good grief."
I was so dumbfounded I couldn't even think of a retort.
I'd been so distracted by the strange phenomena that I'd neglected Dayeon too much.
She had stayed up late watching TV, just as I'd feared. I was thinking I might have to use force to control her when I heard a roar from somewhere.
[Let me go!]
I wondered what it was, but the sound was coming from the doll. A wail escaped as Dayeon squeezed Nabi in a tight hug.
[Do you really think you'll get away with this!]
Despite the blustering words, its pathetic appearance made it completely unconvincing.
While Nabi was chattering away, Do-yeon approached us.
"Good morning!"
She'd only said a single phrase, but I already felt drained. I quickly used Dayeon as a shield, pushing her forward.
"Hey."
"Aah! What's this! It's so cute!"
Do-yeon let out a high-pitched squeal like a dolphin and started fiddling with Nabi.
[Unhand me! I am not a being you can treat so poorly!]
Nabi resisted fiercely, but it couldn't escape the indiscriminate clutches of a high school girl who was at the peak of her cute-things phase.
"It's so~ cute! Where'd you buy it?"
[Ghk! K-heuk!]
Do-yeon pulled Nabi into a tight hug.
A strained groan escaped the doll, but she didn't seem to hear it.
It seemed Nabi's voice was only audible to me and Dayeon.
Maybe only those who were aware of the devil's existence could hear it.
Nabi suffered gleefully in Do-yeon's arms. It deserved it anyway, so I didn't feel particularly sorry for it.
Just as I was witnessing this scene of 21st-century torture, the classroom door slid open and Ju-hee trudged in.
"Ju-hee~!"
Do-yeon happily trotted over to her. Ju-hee gave an awkward smile and waved.
"Hey, good morning..."
But something was off about Ju-hee's condition.
Her hair was dry, her eyes were half-lidded, and a dark cloud hung over her face.
The dark circles under her eyes were especially pronounced, etched clearly beneath them. On top of that, her eyes were lifeless and hollow.
She wasn't like this when I saw her in the hospital room last week.
Do-yeon saw her and was startled, her face filled with worry.
"Is something wrong?!"
"I just... had sleep paralysis, so I didn't sleep well. It's nothing."
Ju-hee tried to respond with a smile, but her expression was far from okay.
Could it be because of a strange phenomenon?
An ominous feeling crept over me.
It looked like Ju-hee hadn't slept properly for the past three days.
The memory of the One-man Hide-and-seek must have become a trauma, tormenting her even in her dreams.
Ju-hee's condition, along with that 5% progression, was bothering me. I thought I needed to look into it more closely.
[Kyahahahahat!]
An unpleasant laugh came from somewhere.
Which bastard was cackling so annoyingly?
I looked to see who it was, and it was none other than Nabi.
[It's finally starting...?!]
Nabi muttered some incomprehensible words to itself, snickering all the while.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
[As if I'd tell the likes of you?! Just sit back and suffer...!]
Nabi scoffed in a petulant, affected voice.
Hmm, I didn't know what it was, but I had a bad feeling.
Honestly, I hadn't been that curious before, but seeing that thing act up made me want to find out by any means necessary.
However, this thing wasn't the type to spill the beans willingly. So I called its natural enemy.
"I'm counting on you."
"Leave it to me."
Dayeon nonchalantly cracked her knuckles. Nabi, who had been cackling, immediately shut its mouth.
[...]
As if sensing its fate, it cried out urgently in a trembling voice.
[W-wait—!]
Soon, a whimpering groan echoed through the classroom. It was a beautiful melody.
The interrogation continued after that, but Nabi never revealed why it had been cackling.
It only added one cryptic remark.
[I-it has nothing to do with me! Heueut—!]
What on earth did that mean? It seemed to be hiding something, which was puzzling.
"Should I do more?"
"No, it's not going to talk."
"Okay."
And so, the interrogation concluded. Dayeon used Nabi as a cushion, placing it on her chair before sitting down.
The muffled 'Mmph!' I heard must have been my imagination.
Class would be starting soon. I could see Ju-hee's seat at the very front.
With dark circles under her eyes, Ju-hee was chugging some kind of canned drink.
It was a high-caffeine energy drink, the kind you'd occasionally have when pulling an all-nighter to study.
'She's drinking that?'
It even had the modifier 'Super Strength!' attached. It was definitely not the kind of drink Ju-hee, who followed a strict schedule, would normally have.
But Ju-hee drank the energy drink without hesitation. Her dark circles stood out starkly.
Her pupils were dilated and unfocused, and her face looked like she'd already pulled an all-nighter.
It seemed Ju-hee hadn't slept properly since we visited her in the hospital.
Has it been about three days?
If she'd stayed up for three whole days and nights, her condition would make sense. That's why her current state was all the more puzzling.
It was as if... the Ju-hee right now was intentionally trying not to fall asleep.
...But why?
To call it a side effect of the strange phenomenon felt... incomplete. I had a nagging suspicion.
Was there some reason she couldn't sleep?
I observed Ju-hee more closely to find out.
Beyond the hand holding the energy drink, I noticed a mess of bandages plastered on her fingers.
They were too severe to be everyday cuts.
Come to think of it, didn't she have minor cuts on her fingers when she was hospitalized last week?
Compared to then, the number of cuts had increased drastically. They were clearly severe.
This confirmed it. Something had happened to Ju-hee over the weekend when we weren't around.
Otherwise, there was no way the usually meticulous Ju-hee would end up like this.
And it was probably related to the 5% progression that occurred over the weekend.
I wanted to run up to her and ask what happened, but the bell for class had already rung.
'Dammit...'
I had no choice but to twiddle my thumbs and wait desperately for class to end.
The lesson didn't register at all. I kept my gaze fixed on the front seat.
Then, Dayeon poked me in the side. I turned to see what she wanted and found her scribbling something with a pencil.
It was a drawing of a man grunting, pinned under a woman.
What was I supposed to do with that?
Was I supposed to praise her for drawing well?
But no matter how I looked at it, the drawing was just a doodle.
Still, Dayeon seemed satisfied with her artistic skills, nodding her head.
I tried to ignore her and looked forward again. Ju-hee, despite drinking the energy drink, was starting to doze off as sleepiness overcame her.
As expected, staying up for more than three days wasn't something a person could handle. Ju-hee looked unwell as she slumped onto her desk.
It seemed the fatigue accumulated over the weekend was too much even for an energy drink.
It might be better this way. If she gets a good nap, she might feel a bit more refreshed when she wakes up.
I could ask my questions then.
Now that it had come to this, I had no choice but to wait for Ju-hee to wake up.
I averted my gaze from the front seat and idly clicked my pen, killing time.
First period was Korean, a subject I already disliked, so the lesson went in one ear and out the other. I was just blankly waiting for break time when it happened.
"Kyaaaaaaah!!"
In the middle of the boring Korean class, a bloodcurdling scream echoed.
"...Huh?"
Everyone flinched at the scream. Even me and Dayeon.
From the Korean teacher, who had been diligently explaining something no one was paying attention to,
to the delinquent student who had long since given up on class and was sleeping soundly in the back row.
Everyone's eyes focused on one spot. The front row.
The person who had just screamed loud enough to shake the classroom was none other than Do-yeon.
"What is it?"
"What's wrong with her?"
"Did a bug show up or something?"
All the students in the class started murmuring. I was just as bewildered.
Soon, Do-yeon's face, contorted in pure horror, began to quiver. Shaking as if she'd received a massive shock, she screamed.
"J-Ju-hee!!"
Hearing that name suddenly in this situation, I doubted my ears.
I immediately shifted my gaze to Do-yeon's side. I could see Ju-hee's back as she sat still.
She looked perfectly normal, no different than usual.
And that was what was suspicious.
...Even though Do-yeon had screamed, Ju-hee was just staring straight ahead, normally.
'No way...'
A chill ran down my spine. Something must have happened to Ju-hee.
*Thump, thump, thump—!*
I bolted to the front row. I grabbed Ju-hee's shoulder and pulled her back.
"Han Ju-hee!"
Without me even realizing, Ju-hee fell backward. There was no resistance at all.
She collapsed numbly, like a domino toppling over at the slightest touch.
And so, Ju-hee fell toward me. But she was strangely light.
And wet. A red, sticky liquid dripped down, soaking my body.
I was bewildered.
It wasn't because of the blood that soaked my lower body and pooled on the floor.
I suddenly checked Ju-hee's body. And just as I feared,
the Ju-hee I was holding had no lower half.
"Huh...?"
Wondering what was going on, I turned my head to where she had been sitting.
Only her lower half remained, sitting on the chair. Ju-hee was already...,
dead, split into an upper and lower half.
"Kyaaaaaaah!!"
As soon as everyone grasped the situation, screams erupted from all over.
Some retched where they stood, while others cursed.
Even the veteran Korean teacher with 30 years of experience was in a state of panic, as if this was the first time a student had died during his class.
The classroom had turned into pandemonium. I stood in the middle of it all, blankly holding Ju-hee's corpse.
"...What the hell."
What in the world had just happened?
My head ached.
It ached so much my thoughts went blank.
As I stood there motionless, Dayeon quietly approached and slapped me across the face.
*Smack—!*
My cheek stung.
And then, my mind snapped back.
"Uh, huh...?"
Through my dazed vision, I saw Dayeon with a complicated expression.
"Get a grip."
"Uhh... thanks."
Thanks to Dayeon, I came to my senses. Belatedly, I regained my composure and assessed the situation.
Still, the absurd reality made my mind go faint again.
I tried to figure out what was happening, but my brain wouldn't work.
"Do you understand what's going on?"
"No, not at all..."
My head throbbed and my stomach churned. I couldn't think of anything. Dayeon looked at me seriously.
"Look at me."
"...Okay."
"Can you do it?"
What on earth was she asking if I could do?
I had no way of knowing.
But I had a subtle feeling that Dayeon would offer a solution I didn't know.
I didn't know what she was planning, but I trusted her and nodded silently. Then,
*Shink—!*
Dayeon pulled a box cutter from her pocket. And slowly, she approached me.
...Huh?
A strange sense of foreboding washed over me.
What is she trying to do?
The thought 'no way' crossed my mind. Then, I felt a killing intent that sent a shiver down my spine.
"W-wait—"
Just as I waved my hands to stop her,
*Shluk.*
Dayeon plunged the blade into my neck with all her might.
'…?'
It happened so fast I didn't even realize.
Not even the pain.
...It was an instant kill.
As my consciousness faded, Dayeon's face flickered in my mind.
"Good luck."
For some reason, her eyes looked unusually sad, different from her usual self.
[You have died.]
[Restarting from the last checkpoint.]