School Basement (1)
“Hey... that’s... Na-hyun, right?”
“Y-yeah, uh, y-yes! Y-yes, I-I’m Na-hyun... Wh-why...?”
I’d noticed it before, but she seemed incredibly timid.
Her hair neatly braided into pigtails, a tie cinched tight up to her neck.
Foggy glasses so thick it was a wonder she could see through them at all.
Surprisingly full, well-developed breasts, and a green name tag reading Lee Na-hyun pinned to the chest of her vest.
Her skirt wasn’t shortened—in fact, it looked a size too big, hanging all the way down to her knees.
No piercings, no dye, no rings or nail polish—zero accessories.
She was the textbook image of a model student.
“Na-hyun, while you’ve been going to this school, have you ever felt anything... off?”
“O-off... like what?”
She still had no idea.
“Na-hyun, from now on, listen carefully to what the teacher and I say. It’ll be a shock, but this is the truth.”
Su-hee stepped in to back me up.
“All that sex duty rotation stuff happening at this school, the abortions... it’s all Altered Common Sense. You’ve felt it too, haven’t you?”
“...”
Her eyes wavered.
“Right, Na-hyun. The teacher was shocked at first too, but when she looked back through her memories, she realized it. The world we lived in didn’t have any of these bizarre school rules.”
Su-hee’s voice grew a little emotional, probably remembering when she’d first broken free from the Altered Common Sense’s grip. She continued.
“Y-yes... it’s... Altered Common Sense... yeah...”
She hung her head, mumbling agreement in a voice so small it was like she wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.
But unlike with Su-hee, there was no hyperventilating panic attack.
This was going way too smoothly.
“Exactly. So the teacher and I are trying to escape this world. And I’d like your help. As a library committee member, you must know something about the weird things that have happened in the library.”
“...”
Lee Na-hyun bit her lip in silence.
She seemed conflicted. Was it still too much for her to accept reality?
“Can you maybe help us...”
“Yeah. I’ll help.”
No stutter this time. When she lifted her face again, pushing aside the bangs that hung like curtains, her slightly melancholic eyes came into view.
But in those eyes, a spark of resolve gleamed.
The look of someone who’d clearly figured out what she needed to do.
“Thank you!”
“Good thinking, Na-hyun!”
Su-hee was over the moon at gaining another ally in the same boat, patting Na-hyun’s shoulder enthusiastically.
“S-so... what do you need me to do?”
The stutter returned after her brief moment of clarity, but it was already much better than before.
“First off, this book...”
I showed her the Equinox Book.
“Ugh... Wh-what’s th-that? It’s creepy...”
“Didn’t you organize this one?”
“N-no, I didn’t...”
“You didn’t? Then who arranged the books on that bottom shelf in the Fibonacci sequence?”
“Th-that wasn’t me either.”
Huh.
This I hadn’t expected.
I’d planned to grill her on when and who told her to place it there, and why someone had set up a Fibonacci puzzle to let anyone find the Equinox Book—but she genuinely didn’t know.
“So how did this book end up in the library?”
“I-I don’t know... S-sorry, I can’t... h-help...”
No point pressing her if she didn’t know. I wasn’t here to interrogate the girl.
“No, don’t apologize. Hey, do you know any way to get into the school basement?”
I asked without much hope. Unless you were on sex duty or a counseling teacher handling it, getting down there was supposed to be tough.
But Na-hyun’s eyes twitched, her gaze darting as if something had clicked.
“Why the basement...?”
“The Equinox Book mentions this evil magic circle called the Shakallu-Enshar Magic Circle. It’s a ritual where they sacrifice fetuses to pray to an evil god for wishes. I think whatever’s happening in the school basement is connected to it.”
“Oh... I get it... I think I know what you mean.”
I’d just dropped a massive secret, but her reaction was lukewarm.
Weird girl. Stuttering one minute, not the next. Timid, then bold...
She didn’t have some mental issue like Jia, did she?
“Anyway, me, the teacher, and my little sister Jia over there—we’re planning to disrupt the Shakallu-Enshar ritual. I think it’s what created this Altered Common Sense world.”
“Ah, so you want to go down to the school basement and destroy that magic circle?”
“Yeah.”
I’d explained it, but she probably didn’t have any real way in...
Yet Na-hyun’s eyes flashed again.
“I’ll help. I have a way.”
“...What?”
“Huh!? Really, Na-hyun?”
Su-hee and I were stunned in unison.
“Y-yes... really. See... library committee members have to take books down to the basement once a week. It’s tomorrow.”
I exchanged a glance with Su-hee.
Is she for real?
She shook her head, but there was no conviction in her eyes. Not doubt—just that she didn’t know either.
Made sense. Given Su-hee’s age, she couldn’t have been at the school more than a year.
And she didn’t have any internal position to speak of.
“Hmm... so when does this book delivery happen?”
“After school, 6 PM. You push a cart with the book list from the counseling office down to the basement, deliver it, then load up last week’s books and come back out.”
Pretty detailed info.
“Sounds like you don’t have much time. Drop off the books and out—maybe five minutes tops?”
“Yeah.”
“How big’s the cart?”
Na-hyun silently pointed to one in the corner of the library. Big enough for an average adult guy to squeeze into if he hunched down.
Hiding in there could get us in... but with only five minutes? No room for error.
As I pondered, Na-hyun fidgeted before speaking up.
“If I stall, I can buy you up to ten minutes.”
Ten minutes. Still tight, but doable...
“Let’s do it.”
“Hold on, Yuhan.”
Su-hee grabbed my arm, her face worried.
“Na-hyun, the teacher’s gonna talk to Yuhan real quick.”
“O-oh... okay...”
She dragged me over to where Jia was standing, still holding my arm.
“Yuhan, isn’t this plan way too half-baked?”
“It is, but we don’t have any other options.”
“Huh? Oppa, oppa, what’re you talking about? Tell me too.”
I quickly explained Na-hyun’s plan.
“Yuhan, let’s think it over again. It’s too rushed.”
True enough.
But without taking risks, we wouldn’t get anywhere. I wanted out of this world ASAP. If we could smash the ritual creating the Altered Common Sense, game over.
“If it’s that risky, I’ll go with you, oppa.”
Jia jumped in out of nowhere.
“You?”
“Yeah. If it’s that size, I can curl up at the bottom, and oppa can hug me close on top, right?”
We’d be pressed tight together, but it’d fit.
And bringing Jia would be a huge help. Her powers made her nearly invincible against unsuspecting humans.
“Alright. We’ll go together.”
“Hey, you two...!”
“Mom, trust us. I’ve got a good feeling. Strike while the iron’s hot—let’s ride this momentum all the way.”
Su-hee squeezed her eyes shut, clearly reluctant.
“Haa... fine. If you’re set on it, who am I to stop you? But I’ll stay at the school too. Ten minutes, right?”
“Yes.”
“If you’re not out in ten, I’ll pull the fire alarm on the stair landing. That should help.”
Smart. A fire alarm would create chaos. Non-monsters were basically human at heart, and humans fear fire. The whole school panicking in the blaring alarm? Perfect distraction for an escape if things went south.
Good call making her an ally.
“Thanks, Mom. You’re the best.”
“...Sigh. Be careful, okay? You’re all I’ve got to rely on. You know that, right?”
“I do.”
Talking with Su-hee like this made my chest tingle warmly. Sharing secrets completely, leaning on each other—it felt like this.
“Mom! Ugh... why don’t you worry about me!? Why’re you only sweet-talking oppa!? It’s pissing me off!!”
Before Jia could throw a bigger fit, I grabbed her ass hard.
Squeeze♡
“Ahhhn...?♡”
I already knew all her freakout switches.
“Be good, Jia? We’re gonna be all cramped and cozy in that cart—let this slide.”
“Nngh♡ Y-yeah...”
I nodded to Su-hee and took Jia back to Na-hyun to hash out the details.
We’d go down with her.
Rattle—rattle—
Ruuuumble...
“H-haa...♡ Hnngh...♡”
Flat on her stomach like a flattened frog at the bottom of the cart, but somehow she knew exactly where my dick was, grinding her ass right into my crotch.
“Quit wiggling your ass, brat.”
“Heehee♡ Ahhn...♡ Nooo~”
Goddamn it...
“Um... we’re heading down now.”
Na-hyun’s small voice came from outside the cart.
While we’d been whispering, we’d already reached the drop-off to the school basement.
Time for the real underground exploration to begin.