Chapter 71
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Monster Tale Specialist Office: The Invisible Person (6)
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[That was the story from our last listener, "Invisible Man." Lunchtime is almost over, so I hope everyone has a great day. The song title is "Invisible." Did you choose the ID "Invisible Man" just to request this song?]
"The broadcast went well."
Seuli nodded.
"But do you think the Invisible Man actually heard it?"
No one answered. To be precise, both of them were in no state to answer. Seuli glanced at Woli, who was wilting away, with a slightly troubled expression.
"You're going to get yourself hurt one of these days, pulling stunts like that. I told you all you had to do was point out the spots without CCTVs, so I figured you had some plan. But climbing up a wall? Are you out of your mind?"
"...I was in my right mind..."
Woli had been listening to the nagging for a solid ten minutes now. Boyoung, who had grabbed her the moment she slunk back, was tearing into her with scary intensity over what kind of lunatic would do something so dangerous.
"You're just plain crazy. Sneaking in through a window and out the same way? Why not? Newspapers are doors too, right? Next time you can make the headlines: 'High School Girl Dies in Inn!' Sound good?"
"No... I didn't get hurt..."
It had been ages since Woli last heard nagging like this, and her head was spinning.
Anyone else wouldn't bother nagging her. Worrying over someone with Woli's physical abilities was pointless.
Plus, Boyoung was only this mad because she cared. Woli wasn't cold-hearted enough to just brush off words spoken out of concern.
"Getting hurt or not isn't the point! So attempted murder is nothing, huh?"
"Hey, you can't compare that to murder..."
"What's the difference between acting like that and attempted suicide? Letting it slide would make you an accomplice to suicide."
Boyoung said it with deadly seriousness. Feeling guilty for worrying her, Woli stayed quiet. But her eyes were fixed on Seuli.
'Help me...'
Seuli could read the plea. She felt a twinge of guilt. If she'd deflected better, this wouldn't have happened.
So Seuli chimed in tactfully.
"Hey, isn't that enough?"
"What?"
"Uh, I mean, we haven't even talked about the messages yet."
Boyoung checked her watch and clicked her tongue. She hadn't nagged to her satisfaction, but time was short.
"Fine. Let's pause for now."
"Whew."
The sigh was way too obvious. Boyoung shot her a glare, and Woli flinched again.
"Anyway, yeah. No time, so we gotta get to that."
"...Think they figured it out?"
At Seuli's question, the two looked at each other.
"Not yet."
"Yeah, let's wait a bit more."
"But what if they never catch on?"
The poster was an acrostic—first letters of each paragraph spelled out the message. Read normally, it just looked like nice words.
Their goal: deliver the message to the "Invisible Man."
In that sense, maybe the Invisible Man hadn't noticed, and it was a failure. Seuli worried. But Boyoung said with a serious face,
"The message delivery was a success, at least. That's what I think."
"What if they didn't get it?"
"Maybe. But it'll stay up a while, so they'll notice eventually, right? We'll send stories to the broadcast club tomorrow and the day after too."
"Ugh, today's was about the front and emphasizing the head, right?"
Woli asked, her mind still a bit fuzzy.
"Yeah, and the nickname's Invisible Man, so they probably realized it's about them."
Fifty-fifty chance they'd get it. Keep trying, and it'd click eventually.
"If we broadcast with similar nicknames every day, they'll hear it once, right?"
"What if no reply?"
"Then... no choice. Write them off as nonexistent or come up with another way."
"Oh yeah, that!"
At Boyoung's resigned words, Woli piped up like she'd just remembered.
"When I went to school yesterday... Hey, let me talk."
The second Woli started on infiltrating the school, Boyoung's eyes flashed with fury.
"Ah, sorry, really. But we have to talk about this. I think I met the Invisible Man yesterday."
Even Boyoung couldn't get madder at that.
"What?"
* * *
"There was definitely someone who locked the window from inside."
Woli recounted everything that happened. She'd toned down the unrealistic parts, but the school incidents were pure truth, no embellishments.
"So someone was definitely inside the school..."
Boyoung said, looking grave.
"Could it have been someone else closing it? Like the night duty teacher, for example."
"...No way."
She couldn't exactly say she'd heard snoring the whole time, but she could vouch for this much.
"If someone was patrolling, I would've noticed."
But Boyoung still looked unconvinced.
"If not, it doesn't add up, does it?"
"If it's the Invisible Man, they could close the window without being seen."
Woli said, but Boyoung shook her head.
"First off, I'm not calling them Invisible Man because I believe they're literally invisible."
To Boyoung, "Invisible Man" was just a metaphor. That core difference in perspective made it impossible to bridge.
"Even if we assume an Invisible Man exists—which is a huge stretch—why would they stay at school?"
And it was a fair point.
"Why reveal themselves just to close one window? An invisible person?"
"...No idea why."
"Exactly. So how am I supposed to buy into that with no reason?"
Boyoung frowned.
"I can accept irrational events. But tales of possibility versus impossibility, or rational versus irrational? I stick to what's possible and rational."
It was the first time the three disagreed. And with what they had, no way to reconcile.
"For now, let's table that."
"Table it? You?"
"What, you think I'm some fire truck that never stops?"
Boyoung looked uneasy but let it drop.
"Anyway, we still have stuff to discuss."
"Huh?"
Boyoung grabbed Woli again. This time, Seuli got dragged in too.
"Wasn't that over?"
"It was a 'pause.'"
Woli got chills. Seuli did too.
"Hey, why me?"
"You're just as bad."
Boyoung grinned. Her eyes weren't smiling.
"Knowing and not stopping it... is that normal?"
In the end, Seuli wound up getting nagged alongside her with a feeble protest.
Boyoung's lecture lasted until the pre-bell rang for the end of lunch.
"We gotta head back, so I'll stop, but seriously, no more dangerous stunts. Fix it, or I'll shut everything down and flip out."
Boyoung laid down the law.
"I've said it a million times: this is for fun. Not worth risking your life."
It was just poking into something unknown at school. Hardly a life-or-death mission.
"...Sorry."
"Anyway, next time..."
Woli shuddered at Boyoung's trailing threat.
"I won't."
Boyoung huffed off. The main bell rang before thirty seconds passed.
The two finally sighed in relief.
"...Good... good friend."
Seuli smiled, head still fuzzy.
"Yeah. She acts all cold sometimes, but she's not. That's partly why I wanted to introduce her."
Woli smiled softly.
* * *
"Sorry, I said. Won't happen again."
Even after school, Boyoung wasn't over it.
Of course, Woli planned to do it again, but she reflected that next time, she'd avoid worrying her.
"Not convinced."
No trust in her expression. Woli had no choice.
"...I'll at least tell you."
"If you don't, don't think I won't notice."
Boyoung sighed, as if that was progress.
"Oh, the poster's just ahead."
"Any reply?"
Seuli asked curiously.
"Dunno, it'd be nice... but same day? Doubt it."
Boyoung checked behind the poster.
"Nope."
There was a tiny gap behind the posted paper, visible only on close inspection.
"Yeah, expecting a reply in one day is greedy."
But Boyoung smacked her lips anyway. Whoever or whatever it was, dialogue would solve a lot. Shame.
"Yeah, maybe it was too subtle."
"Or they got it but don't wanna reply. Or they're hesitating."
Disappointing, but no reason to quit.
"Eh, let's go. No point sticking around."
"Yeah."
No big gains, so the three headed home. Tomorrow and the day after existed. No rush.
"Take it slow. We can try other methods too."
Boyoung didn't buy it, but Woli was sure of the presence, so no harm.
"Yeah. Reply tomorrow or next, maybe. Anyway, got stuff to do, so I'm out first?"
Boyoung bolted with that. The two watched her thunder down the stairs.
"...Isn't that dangerous?"
"Looks riskier than me wall-climbing."
Boyoung kept clattering to the end.
"So much to do?"
Woli shook her head.
"Anyway, let's go."
At Seuli's words, Woli prepped to head to the office.
"What's this?"
Opening the shoe locker, Woli found a note.
She pulled it out carefully. A bad feeling hit.
"This is definitely a reply, right?"
They'd understood the message. It wasn't no reply.
‘Leave me alone’
The reply had come long ago.