04. Uncomfortable Cohabitation (11)

The day after the commotion in the back alley.

Certatus became surprisingly quiet throughout the day, probably because of the bitter aftermath of taking my body by force.

Are you saying that even demons don’t have infinite stamina? No, should I say willpower in this case?

Anyway, thanks to that, I was able to return home safely and finish preparing for school.

It’s been a long time since I’ve walked this path to school. The sweltering heat of summer, which had reached its peak, subsided in September, and I arrived at school with a cool breeze.

The road to school was no different from before vacation. However, it wasn’t until I arrived at the academy that I noticed something different.

“Is that him?”

“… The one I was with… “

People’s gazes towards me and whispering voices. Even if I tried to dismiss it as an illusion, there were so many that I couldn’t figure it out.

What is it? It’s the first time I’ve had this kind of interest since elementary school. Fortunately, unlike when I was young, when I was full of hostility, I wonder if most of my eyes now are based on curiosity.

Even after arriving at the classroom, the eyes did not stop. I could feel a great interest in me from the gaze that was quietly looking at me.

‘What is it?’

I’m not the type to enjoy people’s attention, and I don’t know why, and being in this situation, I didn’t feel very happy. It was even more so in that it reminded me of bad memories from my childhood.

I couldn’t be like this because I was hospitalized and went to school a few days after school started. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t imagine why it would get such attention.

I have a good friend to ask about these things. I naturally looked around to the seat next to me, but I couldn’t see Lee Byung-jun, perhaps because he hadn’t gone to school yet.

When she turned her head forward, Yoon Seo-hee and her seat were still empty.

“… ….”

I looked around the classroom lightly. A classroom without Yoon Seo-hee or Lee Byung-jun suddenly felt unfamiliar.

With only two people left, there was no one to talk to in this large classroom.

I thought a lot had changed. With a wry smile, I put down my bag and sat down, when someone hesitantly approached me.

“Hey, Kim Yi-jin?”

“Huh?”

I just nodded my head and glanced up to see the class president standing in front of me.

You seem to have a gossip-loving personality and have been close to Yoon Seo-hee.

“The teacher told me that I was admitted to the hospital. Are you okay?”

“… ?”

Thank you for your concern, but were we close enough to say hello? Until now, he had never had a proper conversation with me, but it was surprising that he had talked to me first.

Well, since it’s the class president, it could be… So he understood and nodded his head.

“Uh. It’s fine now.”

“I heard that you were caught in the terrorism at the fair, but it is very fortunate that you are safe.”

“I was lucky.”

I was really lucky. Although there was an incident where I was almost taken away by the devil, it was definitely fortunate that I was able to come back safely like this, considering the people who lost their lives there.

The police and public security who lost their lives directly to Manma-ryun, and the hunters of the large guild who cooperated with the investigation. And the hunters who got caught up in the gate without knowing anything at the fairgrounds. It was a rare incident with huge casualties.

A few days later, if you turn on the TV, news related to the terrorism at the fair comes out. What is surprising is that Yoon Seo-hee’s name is often mentioned in the news. When I saw the news where the names of Cha Soo-hyeok and Yoon Seo-hee were mentioned at the same time, I felt new.

What does it feel like when a close friend suddenly becomes a celebrity? It was such a subtle feeling that I was both proud and somewhat disappointed.

The class president responded in response to my words.

“I was shocked too when I saw the news. I heard that Seo-hee came and saved the people there? Everyone says that even though she is a student, her skills are already at S level, but I didn’t know that Seohee was so amazing.”

“Um… that’s right. Not great.”

I’m sure it wouldn’t have been that much until I defeated Lee Hyeon-woo, but it was an extraordinary growth rate. Yoon Seo-hee, who was the last aura user before returning, will become stronger in the future.

“Is that all you want to know?”

If it was a greeting, this would have been enough, but somehow I thought that the class president might have something else he really wanted to ask. Because I felt like I was talking about things I wasn’t really curious about, just to make a rhyme.

“… No, that… Jinah Lee. Are you saying I’m asking in case you don’t know….”

As expected, there was something else I was curious about. What the hell are you looking at like that to ask?

“What is it?”

The class president hesitated for a while, then put his hand on her mouth and said in a low voice.

“Is Lee Jin dating you, Seo Hee?”

“……… What?”

Dating? With who?

With Yoon Seo-hee?

… I?

What the hell are you talking about? Once strongly denied.

“Me and Yoon Seo-hee are not like that. Why did you think that?”

“Yeah… Because there are rumors.”

“Rumors? What rumors?”

“Yes, rumors. I did not know? That… You have pictures.”

“A photo?”

The class president takes a smart phone out of her pocket and shows me a picture that is not very good quality. Perhaps the scene was captured from an internet article, but in the enlarged picture, the figures of two people were blurry.

Looking closely, it was Yoon Seo-hee carrying the fainting me on her back.

What is this again?

“This photo. The article said it was lifesaving, but when I looked closely, Lee Jin looked like you. So, starting with the first year, rumors spread around the academy… Jin Lee and you and Seo Hee are like that….”

“Just that much?”

I was a little surprised when such a picture was taken, but I was just curious that rumors were circulating that they were only dating that much.

“That’s not all! According to rumors, Seo-hee ran to the fairgrounds to save you?”

“… What?”

“That, and! When the gate boss shows up in the library!”

B-class gate boss escape case. It is an incident that was suddenly re-examined as Yoon Seo-hee became famous for her fairground terrorism.

It was because it was belatedly revealed that the identity of the ‘unidentified academy student’ who stopped her boss was Yoon Seo-hee.

She said she was one of the students and she was actually the one who killed the boss, but the truth didn’t matter to the press that was bombarding her with provocative reports.

The media wrote a novel as if Yoon Seo-hee hunted the gate boss alone, and because of that, the already famous Yoon Seo-hee’s name became a hot topic.

“I heard you were on duty that day? So, the kids say that Seo-hee ran all the way to the library to save you?”

“No….”

How the hell did you know that?

And the kids? Who the hell are these kids, who are creating rumors that the people involved have no idea about?

The reason Yoon Seo-hee came to the fairgrounds was because she contacted her in advance to prevent terrorism. The escape of the gate boss was also because Baek Ji-soo and Yoon Seo-hee, who knew that the boss would come out in advance, patrolled the city in advance.

Of course, we can’t talk about regression. But she felt her head spin, wondering if it could be seen that way by people who didn’t know the circumstances.

I explained, pressing down on my throbbing forehead.

“You must be wrong. It’s a coincidence, Seohee and I are just friends. Wouldn’t it be okay to ask Seo-hee about this in the first place?”

The class president should be closer to Yoon Seo-hee than me, so why ask me about this?

“No, even Seo-hee said no, but….”

“I did?”

“The reaction is a bit… Is that so?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Yoon Seo-hee What was the reaction like?

At my face full of doubts, the class president, who had a strong temperament, opened his mouth in a whisper with a slightly excited expression.

It seemed like he was talking quietly, but most of the class was looking this way, as if it was loud enough to be heard by the Awakened with keen hearing.

“When I asked Seohee, my face turned completely red-“

“- Ahyoung.”

“Kyaaa!!”

Yoon Seo-hee appeared without a sign and put her hand on the class president’s shoulder. The class president must have been very surprised by her sudden appearance and jumped up with a shrill scream.

Surprised… Of course I was surprised too. I never thought it would come in so suddenly.

Yoon Seo-hee patted her class president’s shoulder with a bright smile as always. She gestured softly, but strangely, her class president’s expression grew pale.

“Good morning. Were you talking about anything funny besides me?”

“Eh, huh!? No, no! I just didn’t say much!”

“Hmm… Right. The bylaws will start soon, so shall we go sit together?”

“Is that so?”

The class president nodded her head eagerly.

And Seohee Yoon turned her head towards me and smiled brightly.

It wasn’t a smile of anger like the one before, but a smile of sincerity.

“Hello, Lee Jin-ah. Nice to see you at school.”

“Me too. But are you late today?”

“Yes. It was difficult because there were many people who kept recognizing me on the way.”

“Weren’t you trying to move to a dormitory?”

“Me? To the dormitory? Why?”

No, because her grades were good, I thought she would move to the dormitory.

Come to think of it, she never directly said that Yoon Seo-hee would move to her dormitory. It must be very inconvenient for her to go to and from school every day from the station to the academy.

“No. It must have been a lot of trouble. Wouldn’t it be hard to do that every morning?”

“Yeah, that’s right. So, she has another place in mind besides the dormitory….”

Yoon Seo-hee, who was saying that, suddenly looked at me.

What is it? Are you hiding anything from me?

“Well, I’ll tell you later when it’s confirmed. Then see you later!”

“Huh? Yes.”

Yoon Seo-hee waved her hand and greeted her lightly, then took her class president and sat down at her seat.

Actually, I wish she lived nearby.

It might be cumbersome when going to and from school, but I hoped that I wouldn’t have to leave Seohee Yoon alone like during the fair.

She is like Baek Ji-soo. If she lived in a dormitory, she could call them right away when there was an urgent matter, and it seemed that it would be good for both of them.

If it’s not a dormitory, would it be a studio near here? But the rent near the academy must be very expensive.

As I was thinking about that, Lee Byung-jun belatedly entered through the back door of the classroom.

“Oh wow, I was almost late. Uh? Jin Kim! Are you here?”

“Hello Byungjun. Long time no see.”

As I was greeting Lee Byung-jun, who barely escaped being late, the bell rang and teacher Song-ha entered the classroom.

“Guys. Let the ordinance begin! Everyone take your seats!”

Teacher Songha, whom I haven’t seen in a long time since the hospital visit, greeted the classmates happily.

“Wow, did you hear that? A transfer student is coming to class 1 today? He said he came from Germany. The name… Was it Yuna?”

It was the sound of my academy’s second semester starting in earnest.