The Fox at the Cafeteria
Thanks to arriving at school faster than if I'd taken public transportation, I managed to avoid an absence—even if I couldn't dodge being late. The professor's lecture came with a side of scolding, but it was still better than pointlessly missing class entirely. The professor's tone suggested it was preferable to the students who hadn't shown up at all. The remaining class time passed quicker than expected. Given the hour, lunch came right away….
“Must be nice, going alone.”
Bae Ju-hyuk must have arrived at school late too, because the moment I stepped out of the lecture hall, I ran into him in the hallway. After hearing his short, bitter remark, there was only one thing I could say.
“…Yeah.”
All I could do was smile awkwardly and tell him the truth. Along with the professor’s warm message, of course.
“Student Bae Ju-hyuk, who missed class, will have to add one extra portfolio page to the existing assignment.”
As expected, Ju-hyuk’s reaction was explosive.
“You traitorous bastard!!!”
Whoa, that’s loud.
“Couldn’t be helped. We couldn’t both go down, right?”
“Didn’t you learn any damn camaraderie in the military?”
“Nope. I’m a civilian, so I wouldn’t know about that.”
“You discharged late as hell and you’re calling yourself a civilian?”
…He was bragging about being discharged just one month earlier than me. After trading meaningless banter for a while, I decided the pointless bickering could end here and it was time to eat.
“Enough chatter. Let’s just go eat. I’m starving.”
“Ah, sure!”
True to his love of food, he quickly calmed down and headed to the cafeteria with me.
“Oh, right. Yoo Se-hwan, who was that woman who gave you a ride on her motorcycle earlier?”
“Huh? Ah, just someone I know.”
“Someone you know? Since when do you know any girls besides the ones in our department?”
…This guy knows me too well. And not in a useful way. Listening to him, I felt a little strange. I’m a decent-looking guy—can’t I have at least a few female acquaintances? Of course… the sad part is that he wasn’t exactly wrong.
“Tell me the truth.”
“About what.”
“Where the hell did you meet a girl that hot?”
“Hot? Come on… forget it. A guy like you has zero chance.”
“You know her, so why couldn’t I?”
…Where does he get that confidence? It was a bit ridiculous, but seeing Ju-hyuk so full of himself made me feel bad about shattering his delusions. So I gave him a roundabout answer.
“I’m saying even I have zero chance. We’re seriously just acquaintances.”
“You had a connection like that?”
“Yeah. Not for very long.”
“Where’d you meet?”
“Why are you so curious?”
I spoke in a tone that implied he was doing a background check and should ease up. He seemed to catch on and didn’t press further. The number of people on the street increased. It meant we were getting close to the student cafeteria.
“I should’ve tried talking to that woman in front of the student center earlier.”
“Do you know what department she’s in? I don’t think I’ve ever seen her around campus. Was she even a student?”
“She seemed like an outsider. If she went here, she’d already be famous.”
The scenery on the way to the cafeteria was no different from usual, but today the conversations of people passing by kept catching my attention.
‘…An outsider woman?’
Thinking something felt off, I walked a few more steps and soon the building housing the student cafeteria came into view. As we headed there, Ju-hyuk suddenly spouted more nonsense from beside me.
“Hey. Se-hwan, isn’t that the woman who gave you a ride earlier?”
“…What?”
Normally I would’ve dismissed it as nonsense, but the conversations I’d overheard earlier made me wonder if there was something to it.
…No way.
I quickly turned my gaze in the direction Ju-hyuk was pointing. And there….
“Hmm? Ah, you’re here?”
Baek Seol-hwa was really there. When she waved at me with a bright, welcoming smile, the eyes of everyone who had been watching her swung toward me.
“…Who the hell are you really.”
…And the guy next to me was the same.
“What’s your relationship with her?!”
“…Please don’t overreact. There’s nothing between us.”
“Then why is she still standing there waving at you like she’s been waiting for you?!”
This guy must watch too many dramas.
“Maybe she’s trying to mess with me.”
“What?”
“Looks like quiet lunch is off the table. Sorry, Ju-hyuk, but you’ll have to eat alone today.”
“Huh? Hey! I hate eating alone!”
Occasional solo meals aren’t that bad. And if I didn’t shake him off now, he’d definitely get loud too. Ignoring Ju-hyuk’s desperate voice, I walked over to Baek Seol-hwa, who was sitting on a bench in front of the building.
When I approached, she gave me a bright smile. Her face was pretty, so the smile looked quite lovely—but I could see the hidden emotion behind it.
“You… what the hell are you doing here?”
“Who knows~?”
The mischievous, playful emotion of someone clearly trying to mess with me. What is she, a kid? Pulling pranks like this. Her identity might be a yokai, but visually she was the kind of person who’d draw everyone’s attention just walking by. And when someone like that greeted me so warmly, how could the people around us not pay attention?
The returning student who had been living quietly like a dead mouse had instantly become the celebrity in front of the student cafeteria.
…How do I handle this.
“Did you really think I’d be this troubled?”
“You already look pretty troubled, though? Pfft.”
“Not really.”
The more the person being pranked reacts with discomfort, the more fun the prankster has. In times like this, the best move was to act confident. Since things had already come this far, I figured being a little bold might let me counterattack Baek Seol-hwa instead. Just as I was about to put thought into action, she spoke first.
“By the way, there are a lot of young spirits here. Kids who look like middle or high school students.”
“…Huh?”
“You really don’t see them at all when you’re on campus?”
“…It’s uncomfortable. You know that. There’s nothing good about seeing them.”
Baek Seol-hwa nodded in understanding, then suddenly raised a hand she hadn’t been holding anything in and said,
“Look at this.”
“That’s…”
It would be completely invisible to normal people, but I could see it. A faint, translucent smoke glowing a pale blue. It was precisely the vital force that yokai lived on….
“Spiritual Energy.”
“I just helped one spirit pass on a moment ago. That’s what I received.”
“…The counseling you mentioned last time?”
“Yeah. These kids here don’t have particularly strong regrets keeping them here. Most of them weren’t even originally from this place.”
Baek Seol-hwa gently stroked the spiritual energy, then softly clenched her fist. The energy scattered like smoke and was absorbed into her body.
“The kid I talked to earlier was the same, but it seems they all wanted to visit a university at least once. Makes sense. They never got to while they were alive.”
“……”
“This place is nice. When I’m in a hurry, I can come here, listen to their worries, and resolve them.”
I stared at her blankly for a moment. I’d come to complain about how she’d put me in an awkward spot, but then she immediately told me she’d done another good deed for people… so I couldn’t say anything. In truth, it wasn’t unheard of for yokai to obtain spiritual energy through spirits. Gumiho had more efficient methods so they usually didn’t, but quite a few yokai devoured souls to absorb their energy. Naturally, gumiho could absorb spiritual energy this way too. There was no need to go through the hassle of counseling—if she just swallowed up spirits left and right, the problem would be solved. The fact that she deliberately didn’t do that meant….
…She was ridiculously kind for no reason.
“…Is one enough?”
“Of course not. I told you, the amount you get this way is small.”
“Then we’ll have to stick to the original afternoon schedule.”
“Obviously. Don’t tell me you were thinking of backing out after saying you’d help?”
“That’s not it.”
Baek Seol-hwa looked at me with slightly suspicious eyes for a moment, but when she realized I had no intention of breaking my promise, she quickly looked away.
“I’m hungry.”
“What? You just absorbed some.”
“Not that kind. I want real food.”
“……?”
Why are you coming to me for that, you idiot.
“Just eat. Like you normally do.”
“They said you need a student ID to eat here.”
“What? You’re eating here?”
“Can’t I? Don’t people sometimes bring friends from other schools to the student cafeteria?”
How does someone who’s never attended college know that? She was right—there were cases like that. All I had to do was order two meals. But….
“…Just eat outside.”
“The cafeteria’s right here, why?”
“I’ll go with you, so let’s just leave. Okay?”
If I ate with her in the student cafeteria, who knew what rumors would spread. I really hated that kind of annoying hassle. Just as that thought crossed my mind, I suddenly realized something a beat too late. I had momentarily forgotten why this damn gumiho was here in the first place. Maybe she noticed my discomfort, because the corner of Baek Seol-hwa’s mouth curved up in a slightly wicked smile.
“Ah~! Se-hwan! Let’s eat quickly!!”
“Hey, lower your voice!”
“I’m hungry!!”
Baek Seol-hwa deliberately spoke loudly so that everyone glancing at us could hear. Anyone watching would think I was some cheapskate refusing to buy her a meal. Having created this situation, she looked at me and smiled brightly.
“You’ll buy me food, right?”
This… this damn yokai brat….
“Ooh~ The menu is interesting. But it doesn’t feel very consistent.”
Of course. The menu changes every day here. Basic home-style meals come up often, but Chinese, Western—everything’s different day to day. People passing by couldn’t help but stare for a moment at Baek Seol-hwa as she examined the menu in front of the kiosk with a fascinated expression. She was pretty, sure, but her appearance was also striking. White hair and blue eyes. A combination you rarely saw anywhere in Korea. It was only possible because she was a yokai; it wasn’t a combination that appeared in ordinary Koreans. Not without dye and colored contacts, anyway. In any case, she was drawing attention in all sorts of ways. Excessive stares from people were just as tiring as stares from spirits. Already exhausted, I hurried her along.
“…What are you going to eat? Pick quickly so we can go. There are people behind us.”
“Ah, okay. I’ll have this Chinese set meal.”
“Got it.”
I ordered the exact same thing for myself, took the tickets, and we entered the cafeteria. Everyone was eating, so there were fewer stares than before, but there were still plenty of eyes on us.
“…Let’s sit in the corner.”
“There aren’t any seats.”
“Ah…”
Corner seats were always popular. It was currently the busiest time between twelve and one, so naturally the good spots were taken first. The stares were so burdensome that I couldn’t even think of something this simple. The only seats available for two were near the entrance. Sitting near the entrance would draw every kind of attention possible, but stealing a window seat from the solo diners felt wrong too….
“We can sit here.”
“…Yeah.”
I checked her expression to see if she was uncomfortable, but Baek Seol-hwa just looked excited about the meal. Her face said she didn’t care about other people’s gazes at all. With all these eyes on us, was she really fine?
“You must be used to it.”
“Hmm?”
“People staring.”
“Hmm? Well… yeah, that too. I don’t really pay attention to it.”
“How is that possible?”
“Why should I bother caring about other people’s stares?”
Must be nice living that freely. It wasn’t sarcasm—I was genuinely envious. Even if I wanted to ignore it, I couldn’t anymore. The trauma I got when I was very young still made me extremely conscious of other people’s gazes. It hadn’t come from people—it had come from spirits. Back when I couldn’t control my ability to see them, there were all sorts of incidents involving yokai and spirits. My parents hadn’t known I could see spirits at the time, so they never gave me the silver necklace. I was so young I didn’t even realize it was dangerous and never told them, thinking it was normal. A few incidents from back then still left aftereffects. That was why I viewed yokai and spirits negatively—there were reasons behind it. Of course, I knew I should fix that… but I still couldn’t get used to it when so many eyes were on me.
“Hey, hey.”
“…What.”
“Can you get into the gallery?”
“I can.”
“Ugh, I can’t get in.”
“Huh? Why?”
The gallery had been noisy yesterday because of us, but since I’d posted the verification post the armband had demanded, I hadn’t been banned. But Baek Seol-hwa had?
“I was out of it yesterday and only half-finished posting.”
“…Are you stupid?”
“Haa, exactly! That’s why I’m so frustrated I could die.”
“Why do you even care about the reactions?”
“That’s not it! I can’t browse the gallery!”
This crazy gallery-addicted yokai….
“Can’t I just look on yours? Or you can look and show me.”
“…Wait a second.”
Since I was the reason she’d been banned, I figured I should at least do this much. I turned on my phone and tapped the Ghost Gallery app.
> Logging in......
> Welcome to the Ghost Gallery, a community for yokai, monsters, and ghosts.
I checked the posts in the all-posts tab.
It wasn’t at the level of yesterday where the gallery had been flooded with our story, but we were still a hot topic. One post in particular caught my eye.
[I should go eat both of them]
“This guy…”
It was the old nickname who had written cringy uncle-like posts yesterday about doing it with a young girl and how her thighs tasted good. Now he was saying he’d come eat them—what the hell was he planning….
“Ah, that one seemed real.”
“Huh?”
“That one. Tiger Great King.”
“What about him seemed real?”
“What do you mean, what?”
Baek Seol-hwa looked at me like I was the idiot for asking.
“I mean he really looks like he eats people.”