Transfer Student (1)
"Teacher, what is that monster?"
"Monster? That's the janitor teacher, dear. He erases people who break the school rules on campus."
Up to here, it's the same.
"School rules?"
"Yeah. School rules... Uh...?"
Su-hee wore an expression like she'd just realized something.
Since I'd come into the classroom alone, she still had no idea about Kang Jia's existence. From her perspective, I was the only one who could have broken the rules.
"W-Who are you?"
Just like in the previous loop, I honestly laid out my current situation.
But unlike back then, she wasn't buying it easily.
What had changed was the atmosphere.
Unlike before, when our bodies and minds had synced under the shared threat of death's terror, I was completely at ease now.
"You're saying you've been imprisoned by a stalker who controls people with her voice? And you can't even die...? How could I possibly believe something so absurd?"
What should I say to convince her?
Was there some piece of info only a regressor like me would know—something others wouldn't?
Ah, maybe that.
"By any chance... do you have a dog named Coco?"
It wasn't much, so I didn't expect a big reaction, but contrary to my expectations, she jumped in surprise.
"How do you know about that...? Coco was the dog I had when I was in elementary school..."
The memory Su-hee recalled right before dying had been from far further back than I'd imagined.
Good. The ice was broken.
Now, point out the Altered Common Sense she was overlooking.
"Su-hee, think about it carefully. Back when you had Coco. When you were living a normal life with your mom, going to school like any other kid... Were there ever school rules this twisted? Did class duty involve sexual service? Did the school force abortions and perform human sacrifices with the fetuses? Any of that insanity?"
She flinched.
Her eyes grew hazy as she recalled the past.
"Think hard. About how utterly Altered Common Sense the world is that your teacher self is living in right now."
With those words, the chains of Altered Common Sense finally began to break.
"N-No, that can't...! Guh, urk, uweeeek!"
She flung open the cleaning supply closet and bolted out, dry-heaving at whatever scenes flashed through her mind.
"Ugh... Haa... Haa... You're right. It's wrong. Completely Altered Common Sense."
Perfect.
She'd fully snapped out of it now.
"How did you notice the Altered Common Sense, Yuhan...? No... I get it. If what you said is true, you must have figured something out in a previous loop."
She caught her breath and met my eyes.
"And for a normal teacher like me to approach you again and shake off the Altered Common Sense... that means you want something from me, right?"
She called herself a normal teacher, but her ability to analyze and organize the situation was anything but ordinary.
Even in a scenario that would send most women into panic, she was calmly assessing her role.
Maybe it was tied to whatever Altered Common Sense power she'd been granted.
But more importantly, time to get to the point.
"Exactly. I see you as a comrade to uncover this world's secrets alongside me and escape this place."
"I'm glad you think that way. So, what do we do from here?"
And there it was. Time for the ridiculous request.
"...By the way, how old are you, Su-hee?"
"Me? I'm 25. And you?"
25 meant she'd probably passed the teacher certification exam on her first try and gotten assigned right away.
"I'm 24..."
And now I had to ask this 25-year-old teacher to adopt me as her 24-year-old foster son.
My face burned red on its own.
I thought I'd been through every crazy thing imaginable, but saying this to her face was making me lose it.
Still, no choice. This was the most peaceful way to proceed.
"Um... I have a favor to ask."
"Sure? A favor? Go ahead—I'll help however I can."
Her eyes sparkled with goodwill.
"W-Would you... be my mom?"
The cool cat-like face twisted into something bizarre.
"...Pardon?"
"I mean... m-mom..."
"Ah! You want me to help find your real mom? Of course! I'd be happy to!"
She flashed an awkward smile, spouting nonsense as if what I'd just said couldn't possibly be real.
"No, I mean be my mom..."
I had no idea what past-me was like, but I figured I was confident enough not to stutter—yet dumb words tumbled from my mouth.
"W-What on earth are you saying? H-Have you not fully escaped the Altered Common Sense yet?"
She hugged her arms around herself, edging backward.
"No, that's not it!"
I explained my weird relationship with Kang Jia and the 'contract' we'd made on August 1st.
"Haa... So, if I become your mom, I can move freely without that psycho stalker girl interfering, and your life will be safer too... That's what you're saying?"
She got it.
"Yes."
"Ugh... Seriously! Why didn't you just say so earlier? I thought you had some weird fetish or something..."
Su-hee rubbed her temples and dry-washed her face a few times.
"Sorry. I never imagined I'd be saying something this insane either..."
"Pfft... Fine. If that's all, I'll help. I'll just think of it like playing house from when I was a kid."
Fortunately, she didn't seem too repulsed.
"So, what should I call you?"
"Just 'son' or whatever. I don't really know since I'm an orphan."
"Oh..."
Her expression stiffened, like she hadn't expected that.
"Sorry..."
"N-No, don't worry about it. It's really fine."
"Ahem... Then you have to call me 'Mom.' Try it out? We need to make it natural so no one gets suspicious."
It was a simple request—just call the woman in front of me 'Mom'—but it felt like something was lodged in my throat, blocking the word.
Heat rushed to my ears, cold sweat dripping down.
Damn... How did I end up tangled with Kang Jia, forcing me to call my one-year-older 'sister' my mom...?
"M-Mom..."
I bowed my head in extreme embarrassment, unable to meet her eyes.
"H-Hoho... Y-Yes, my s-son~"
In this absurd situation straight out of some comic, neither Su-hee nor I could speak for a few seconds.
We were wrapped in awkward silence when—
Knock knock knock.
—"Oppa~! Jia took care of the janitor guy! Did you meet Mom? Can I come in?"
The lukewarm awkwardness from moments ago vanished in an instant.
Su-hee and I locked eyes and nodded.
'Ready?'
'Y-Yeah!'
Slide!
"Oppa! Heehee♡"
Whoosh!
The door opened, and Kang Jia charged straight at me, throwing her arms around me.
"That's our mom?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Hi, Mom! Heehee♡"
She peeled off me and scampered over to Su-hee, hugging her tight.
Su-hee was visibly tense, frozen stiff—or at least, I could tell.
And for good reason: Kang Jia's body was splattered here and there with grotesque chunks that looked like they came from the janitor.
"Y-Yes~ Th-That's right, Mom's happy to meet you too."
"Waaah... Hehehe, I have a mom now!"
Kang Jia rubbed her face wildly against Su-hee's massive breasts.
Still cradled in Su-hee's arms, she pulled something from her pocket.
'Smartphone?'
"Let's make one of these! A family group chat! Uheheh, I've always wanted to try!"
I had my smartphone too, but should I take it out?
Eh, whatever. Kang Jia couldn't hurt me anymore anyway.
"Sure. Wanna exchange numbers?"
It was ridiculous—we were supposed to be family, yet here we were swapping phone numbers—but Kang Jia looked thrilled.
"My number's this!"
We swapped phones and inputted each other's numbers.
But my phone had no carrier signal or network. What was the point of a group chat?
Those worries proved unfounded, though—a popup appeared right away.
I double-checked—Wi-Fi and signal were still dead.
It was like my smartphone was directly linked to Su-hee and Kang Jia's phones, old-school local multiplayer style.
Just another flavor of Altered Common Sense.
Su-hee and I sent short replies.
Bzzz bzzz. Kang Jia's phone vibrated.
But her demeanor was off. Her shoulders trembled slightly. Droplets plopped onto the screen.
"H-Huh? A-Are you... crying?"
Su-hee, right in front of her, was flustered and at a loss.
"Yeah... 'Cause I'm happy... Heehee... Mom! Mommy! Hehehe♡"
She buried her face in Su-hee's breasts again.
She treated me—who wasn't related by a drop of blood—like her real brother... How badly had she craved a family?
I'd grown up without parents or siblings too, but I never yearned for it that much.
The pure joy radiating from Kang Jia was so intense, I almost smiled without thinking. Don't let your guard down.
Anyway, we'd cleared the trickiest hurdle.
"Ahem. Alright, Jia, come to Oppa now. M-Mom's looking uncomfortable."
"Yeah! Heehee♡"
This time, she stuck to me.
Rub rub.
"Hnnng... Haa... Oppa's scent... But still, I like Oppa best. Oppa's the best, hee♡"
Creepy girl.
"O-Okay...! So, family meeting?"
Su-hee threw out the random suggestion.
"Huh?"
"We're all trying to escape this Altered Common Sense world, right? And Jia wants to live happily with Mom and her kids. Ho, hohoho... Right?"
"Yeah! Right, Mom♡"
As I blinked in slight confusion, Su-hee gave me a look.
'We'll go with that.'
What a woman.
Given the situation, she could even take the initiative.
"So... what should the son do from now on?"
With Su-hee fully on board as a comrade, a new route had opened.
"The school. I want to investigate it."
That bizarre tentacle alien cult ritual from my dream.
And the abortions and human sacrifices happening inside the school.
They felt connected somehow.
"M-Mom, got any good ideas? Like meeting up at night, just us?"
I died a little every time I said 'Mom.'
Su-hee's cheeks were a bit flushed too.
Only Kang Jia beamed innocently.
"Ahem... M-Mom has an even better idea. Wanna hear it?"
An even better idea?