Chapter 144
"What? I contacted your parents, though. Let me check again...”
"Ah... no, it's okay."
When I arrived at the administration office to inquire, they told me that they contacted my parents instead of me, and as a result, I had no choice but to accept my fate. Based on the fake identities that we were maintaining, my uncle was supposed to be my father.
My uncle probably received a call but probably forgot to tell me because he was too busy. It was probably my fault, and even if it was the school’s fault, nothing would change.
It wasn’t like they could delay the exam schedule for my sake, so there was a high chance that the matter would be resolved with a simple apology, even if it was an administrative error. I felt that complaining any further would only end up being detrimental to me, so I just returned to the classroom.
"... "
The classroom was as silent as it was in the morning. All the students' eyes universally focused on me as I entered the classroom. Their gazes had glimmers of curiosity within them.
It was probably because Jun-Hyuk had disappeared due to the incident that occurred not too long ago, and I was Jun-Hyuk's friend. In addition, I was one of the five clergymen who had been revived thanks to the “miracle.”
It felt suffocating. It felt like those gazes were choking me. I tried my best to ignore those gazes as I made my way to In-Ah’s desk. She was lying on her desk, fast asleep. I planned on casually talking to her, maybe cracking a joke or two like usual, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.
How did we usually start our conversations?
Now that I thought about it, it felt like there weren’t many times when I approached her and initiated a conversation. It was always either In-Ah or Jun-Hyuk who initiated the conversation, and I would naturally end up joining in.
I returned to my seat and sat down.
[The atmosphere is quite different from usual. I guess I’m stating the obvious, though,] Legba said.
His tone was calm and dry. It even sounded somewhat sleepy. I didn’t respond, nor did I nod my head. Instead, I took out a book from my bag and opened it up. It was difficult for me to focus on the text.
Just like Legba said, the atmosphere had indeed changed.
It wasn’t just the classroom. It felt like the entire school had become a slightly different Florence Academy from the one that I was used to. I had no idea if it was the school that had changed or whether it was my perspective that had changed.
There were no classes in the morning because some teachers were still undergoing treatment. It was difficult to carry out practical training or classes as normal, and since exams were coming up, they wanted to give us ample self-study time.
I tried to focus on my book for about an hour, but I couldn't concentrate. I decided to just go outside.
***
She had a fight with Ra-Hee.
To be precise, she didn't have a fight with her. They just became a little more distant from each other compared to before. Previously, they would contact each other whenever they had time, and they would stick together regardless of what happened, but now they would awkwardly turn their heads and avoid eye contact.
She searched her memories and tried to figure out how their relationship ended up like this, but she had no idea how this happened. It seemed like their relationship started drifting apart the day after the Satanist appeared at school.
It wasn’t like either of them did or said anything wrong. They just naturally became distant, so there wasn’t any way to reconcile. The situation was even more awkward and difficult to deal with because there was no reason for this change.
As a result, she found it difficult to concentrate, so she went outside to take a break and get some fresh air. Florence Academy had a relaxed atmosphere where they wouldn’t get scolded even if they went for a walk outside during self-study time.
In order to avoid the sun, she sat on a bench under some shade. It was then that she saw a man walking aimlessly with a vacant expression on his face. Ha-Yeon only knew one person who emitted such a dark atmosphere just by walking. It was Sun-Woo.
"Oh, um...!"
She felt somewhat glad to see him, so she wanted to call out to him, but she changed her mind and stopped. It was because she suddenly remembered the moment when she was surrounded by taxidermied creatures and trapped in the chaos when he broke through the glass window to rescue them. She vaguely remembered answering in a daze when he asked her about her scars or something.
She couldn't recall the conversation that took place then because her mind had been in complete turmoil, but the lingering questions from that time still remained vividly in her memory.
"..."
Setting aside why he saved her and Ra-Hee, how exactly did he find them? She thought about it during the entire school closure period, but no matter how much she thought about it, there was only one answer.
Especially considering the obsession and madness reflected in Sun-Woo’s eyes during that time, there was no other reasonable explanation. After arriving at a certain conclusion, she couldn't figure out how to deal with him in the future. She was hesitant to initiate a conversation, fearing that it might lead to unnecessary misunderstandings, but she couldn't just avoid him completely, either.
Moreover, from Ha-Yeon's perspective, Sun-Woo was someone she eventually had to get closer to. She knew this would happen, but now that it actually happened, the situation seemed a lot more difficult than she had anticipated.
"What are you doing?"
"Eek!"
At that moment, Ha-Yeon let out a short scream in response to a sudden voice. She had been lost in various thoughts, so she didn't even realize someone was approaching her. She was so surprised that she almost fell over.
When she regained her composure, she saw that Sun-Woo was standing in front of her without any prior noise or indication of his arrival. It was as if he had teleported in front of her. Ha-Yeon leaned back, widening the distance between them.
“What... Why are you here?" Ha-Yeon asked.
Sun-Woo didn't respond. He simply took a seat next to her. He wasn’t very close, but he was by no means far away. Ha-Yeon was quite taken aback by the distance between the two of them. Sun-Woo looked Ha-Yeon up and down. His gaze stopped at one point. It seemed like he was looking at the scar on her palm.
Ha-Yeon clenched her fist to hide her wound but then realized there was no need to hide it from Sun-Woo, so she released the tension.
Perhaps it was because she was nervous right now, but it felt like her actions were stiff. But why was she nervous? ‘The nervous one should be the other person over there, not me.’
There was no time for her to ponder the sudden question that came to mind. Sun-Woo pointed at Ha-Yeon's palm and said, "The scar has gotten bigger."
"Ah, yes. At that time..."
Ha-Yeon briefly touched her own palm. She originally only had one scar, but now she had multiple scars on her hand.
When Sun-Woo was dying due to the black magic spell, Ha-Yeon had inflicted a wound on her palm in an attempt to activate the blessing of purification. However, since the black magic spell did not get purified, she inflicted more wounds to let more blood flow out.
After regaining consciousness, she realized that her palms were completely covered in cuts. The doctor used the expression, ‘The palm was completely obliterated.’
They stitched up the wounds and alternated between medication and sacred healing, but it was impossible to completely eliminate the scars. The best they could do was make them faint enough to not be too noticeable.
She didn’t know why she was so desperate to save Sun-Woo. Perhaps it was partly due to the guilt she felt over her past misdeeds or the fact that he possessed the blood of purification, but it seemed like the main reason was that she felt she had to save him and because she had the means to save him.
Come to think of it, perhaps part of the reason why Sun-Woo survived was thanks to her. While thinking such things, Ha-Yeon couldn’t help but unconsciously smile, and Sun-Woo looked at her as if she were a weirdo.
"Why are you... smiling?"
"Oh, um. No, it's nothing. Is your body alright?"
Ha-Yeon awkwardly covered her mouth with her hand in an attempt to cover her smile as she quickly changed the subject. Sun-Woo lifted his head with a strange expression on his face as if reminiscing about something.
For a while, he continued to look up into the sky while remaining silent. Then, with a troubled expression on his face, he eventually let out a deep sigh. He then tightly closed his eyes before opening them again.
"Thanks to you, I'm okay. Thank you," he said.
"Huh? Thank you?"
"Is there something wrong with saying thank you?"
"...Because there's no reason for you to be thankful to me."
"Why not? Your hand ended up like that because of me, right?"
"That's true... but ultimately, it didn't really help."
"Just the fact that you tried to save me is enough for me to be grateful."
"..."
Ha-Yeon wondered whether she had misheard Sun-Woo as she stared at him with a dazed expression for a long time.
He was thankful?
There was no way that that person could say such words so easily. His personality, and above all, his aura, was completely different from usual. It was as if he had become a different person.
Now that she thought about it, she was reminded of a similar development that had occurred in a novel she had read before.
A terminally ill person miraculously survived and then seemed to change into a different person. It turned out that a different soul was inside their body. She remembered that the plot was something like that.
...Could this person also be?
"Are you really Sun-Woo?"
"What?"
"No... never mind."
Her delusions seemed to be a little too excessive, so she quickly backpedaled away from that idea. Maybe it was just her, but her face felt a little flushed. There was no way that it was a different person. Just like how people said that a person would change when they fell in love, perhaps his personality slightly changed because of some sort of catalyst.
Putting that aside, it felt good to hear words of gratitude. She didn’t really know why this person suddenly said such things, but it felt like she was receiving recognition for her efforts. If it were someone else, then it probably wouldn’t have been a big deal, but it felt special to be acknowledged by Sun-Woo.
Feeling confident, Ha-Yeon crossed her legs. Then, with a smug laugh, she said, "Anyway, there's no need to thank me. I just did what I had to do."
"Yeah. Very impressive..." Sun-Woo nodded and obediently played along.
In the past, he would have openly shown his dislike and made a disgusted expression, but throughout the conversation today, he had a faint smile on his lips. Even his tone of voice was quite affectionate.
Sun-Woo had been scanning the floor with lowered eyes when he suddenly looked up and stared at Ha-Yeon. The gaze was cold like usual, but at the same time, there was a strange heat emanating from it.
Ha-Yeon quietly held her breath. She felt her body stiffening as if she was getting overwhelmed by the gaze.
"I have something to ask," Sun-Woo said.
He then paused for a moment as if trying to gauge Ha-Yeon's reaction. There was clear determination in his eyes, and she could also sense some hesitation.
At that moment, Ha-Yeon felt a foreboding. This was clearly a situation where he was about to confess or say something equally heavy. She had to stop Sun-Woo before he opened his mouth again. Hearing such words from Sun-Woo wouldn't necessarily upset her, but she wasn't ready for it yet. Above all, if she heard such words during the exam period, they would distract her from studying, and it would undoubtedly have a negative impact on her grades.
"You gu─"
"Wait, ju-just a moment!" Ha-Yeon urgently interrupted Sun-Woo's words.
Sun-Woo stared at Ha-Yeon with a puzzled expression on his face. Not caring about the fact that she was stuttering, Ha-Yeon quickly said, "Studying! You should study. It's a student's duty to study... What if you get caught playing outside like this during self-study time?"
"...What nonsense are you spouting? You're also playing outside."
"I just took a short break from studying. G-go inside and go back to studying quickly." Ha-Yeon rambled on in a frenzied manner.
Sun-Woo had his mouth open halfway as if he was flabbergasted. His expression eventually stiffened, and he said, "But who are you to lecture me? You're terrible at studying."
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