I blocked him from scolding me and shouted.
“In-sae told me to be honest,”
I continued in a gloomy tone.
“Why won’t I say what I did in middle school? And they said they’ve been curious for a while about why I’m scared of cicada sounds.”
At my words, I could hear Cho-yeon sigh. Cho-yeon asked awkwardly.
“What are you going to do?”
“And I dropped the book I dropped when I possessed this body again, and without realizing it I muttered to myself that I was glad I couldn’t go back. I did it by mistake, but they told me to say where I was supposed to go back to.”
I sat on the edge of the bed and continued.
“I’m screwed, right?”
“Pretty much. What did you do without even making excuses like usual?”
Cho-yeon was impressed. I answered that I wasn’t sure and laughed. Cho-yeon and I talked for quite a while after that. I was glad he knew about my possession. Letting out meaningless complaints made me feel a bit better.
***
I went to school with In-sae as usual. To the point where my fear that they’d ask more about yesterday was pointless, In-sae didn’t ask anything. My relief was only momentary.
A few days later, In-sae picked a day and kept sticking to me asking what it meant. Unable to bear it anymore, I asked.
“Do you have to interrogate me like this over me saying I didn’t go back?”
“There are a lot of other strange things besides that.”
In-sae said that much and held back their words.
Eventually, I ended up running away to avoid In-sae’s questions.
“I’m telling you I won’t tell you. Hey, come here.”
I ran far away and hid behind Cho-yeon. Cho-yeon seemed displeased to be caught between In-sae and me. He hesitated as if pondering whether to shake me off.
“Are you two playing tag or something?”
Cho-yeon asked while looking at me and In-sae. I shook my head vigorously in denial. In-sae made eye contact with me who was hiding behind Cho-yeon and said.
“If you tell me, I’ll stop chasing you.”
I pretended not to hear and buried my face in Cho-yeon’s back. Seeing my gesture of refusal, In-sae was disappointed. I only relaxed after confirming In-sae had left.
“They really interrogate me to the end. Are they gone now?”
“What did they ask you?”
Cho-yeon asked while looking in the direction In-sae disappeared. I answered in a deflated voice.
“That thing I told you about yesterday. They keep asking me where I didn’t go back to.”
When I didn’t tell them to the end, In-sae seemed to have become stubborn. Thanks to that, only I’m suffering. I said with mixed feelings while still standing behind Cho-yeon’s back.
“Avoiding them unconditionally isn’t the answer, but I can’t help it right now. I just have to avoid them for the time being.”
“It’s okay since everyone knows you’re hopeless. And move away a bit.”
Cho-yeon answered nonchalantly. I didn’t pay attention to what Cho-yeon was saying and continued burying my face in his back. Cho-yeon didn’t particularly try to peel me off. I felt comforted by his presence.
“As expected, it’s better after talking to you.”
I said quietly with a pleased smile.
***
Hee-ae, who had been sitting in the classroom, turned his head at my presence.
“Were you acquainted with the transfer student before? But you didn’t know they were transferring to our school.”
“We only knew each other by face.”
I answered Hee-ae’s question while taking out my books. The news spreads fast already. In the meantime, it seems the rumor that the transfer student and I went to the same school has spread widely among the kids.
“Kim In-sae looked really curious about a lot of things. They were subtly asking the transfer student a lot of questions.”
“They probably wanted to become friends.”
It’s obviously questions about me. My head hurt so I decided not to think about those two anymore. When it seemed I wasn’t more curious, Hee-ae changed the subject. It was ordinary daily talk.
While listening to Hee-ae, I suddenly had this thought without knowing it. If I revealed that I’m a possessor, what kind of reaction would they show? Even I think possession doesn’t make sense. Everyone will obviously tell me not to lie.
I finished putting away my books. By the way, I wonder if that novel is still being serialized. Maybe we appeared in passing as extras. I stopped my thoughts and focused on Hee-ae’s words.
After Hee-ae finished speaking, silence flowed for a moment. I said while watching Hee-ae’s mood.
“I recently read a novel.”
“A novel? What’s the title? Tell me about the content.”
Hee-ae immediately showed interest and asked. I answered with a sunken expression due to complicated feelings.
“I don’t really remember the title. How should I say this?”
I stopped speaking for a moment. I needed a story to make up appropriately.
“I was an ordinary student, but it turns out I’m an SSS-rank protagonist in a novel?”
“Is that really the content? Where did you read such a book?”
Hee-ae asked back with a dumbfounded face. I found Hee-ae’s flustered expression secretly amusing. Should I talk more about it? Then I shook my head and lightly hit the desk.
“No, that’s not what I want to say. While reading, there’s something I got curious about.”
I paused for a moment. Then, pretending it wasn’t my story, I carefully asked.
“Someone comes to the protagonist and tells them this is inside a novel, right? Just, what would it be like if someone said the place we’re living in is also inside a novel, something like that.”
Without knowing it, my gaze shifted away from Hee-ae. At the end of my line of sight, In-sae appeared, followed by Cho-yeon. I trailed off and looked at Hee-ae again.
“What kind of question is that?”
Hee-ae sighed as if it was absurd, then answered in an indifferent tone.
“It would feel really bad. It’s futile, isn’t it?”
Hee-ae, who had completely leaned his body against the chair, shook his head alone. I had expected this kind of reaction. As expected, is it difficult to speak honestly?
“What do you think about the person who told them this place is a novel?”
“You’re asking really seriously. I think I’d blame them for telling me why they told me this.”
Hee-ae answered to the end while making a displeased expression. As expected, it seems not saying anything is the good choice. But if I do that, on the other hand, I’ll keep worrying about it.
“But you’re asking all these questions, did you read it immersively?”
“No, I didn’t read it that enthusiastically.”
I answered quietly and fell into thought with a wilted appearance. Hee-ae looked at me like that with an expression of disbelief. It seems I asked quite seriously.
At some point, Hee-ae was staring at me intently. I felt a subtle feeling and then soon became embarrassed. I raised my head and looked at Hee-ae. Hee-ae smiled.
Hee-ae seemed to be continuously mulling over the questions I had thrown. After a moment, he had a darkly sunken face. Hee-ae nodded readily and said.
“Thinking about it that way is kind of scary.”
“What is?”
“Someone saying this is inside a novel and I’m a character, that’s scary after all.”
Hee-ae answered casually. He made a frightened expression for a moment then smiled broadly. Only I was hurt by the words thrown in passing. My hand reaching for the pencil case stiffened. Will Hee-ae also find out someday that I possessed someone? If so, I thought Hee-ae would absolutely not react well.
Not knowing such things, Hee-ae changed the subject and made eye contact.
“I was so curious about what Kim In-sae has been asking around, so I asked the transfer student.”
“Even you?”
I was completely fed up. Hee-ae observed my expression for a moment then continued speaking.
“You in middle school seem really different from now. They didn’t seem to know properly either though.”
“Of course. Even back then we only knew each other by face.”
“I couldn’t even ask properly. They seemed annoyed to answer. They said they’d give me the contact of a kid who was close with you, so I should ask directly.”
Hee-ae lowered his eyes gloomily.
“Did you get the contact?”
“No. How can I call someone I’m meeting for the first time? Even if I got it, I wouldn’t have anything to do with it.”
Hee-ae answered as if it were obvious. I don’t know what In-sae would have done. If it were them, they’d probably call without hesitation and introduce themselves saying, ‘I’m Yu Shi-dan’s friend.’
Then right now, how much does In-sae know about me in middle school? I don’t know what I did here a year ago. I only know things like class and grade.
In-sae might know things I don’t know. Now they probably know my middle school days better than I do. Now I understand the words about there being many suspicious points.
I could feel my heart pounding. I might be found out soon, I think I need to prepare myself mentally in advance.
It was not long after that. In-sae was just parting with the transfer student.
“What else did you ask? About me?”
“Yeah. At first it was just curiosity, but as I kept investigating…”
“Right, it’s suspicious again.”
My words didn’t come out nicely at all. I blurted it out bluntly and immediately regretted it. I guess I’ve become sensitive lately. In-sae grabbed my wrist and said.
“Even so, I don’t know where the place you’re going back to is. That thing you said wasn’t something to say while looking at a book.”
“Why not? That was something I said while looking at a book.”
I raised my head sharply.
“It was something I said worrying the book cover would come off. That book is really old. If I drop it wrong, it’ll break, so I have to be careful.”
I answered while frowning. I’m glad I prepared an excuse in advance. In-sae looked at me without saying anything.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
