Chapter 163
After being dragged to the nurse’s office, a sign on the door stated that the nurse was away.
However, Seo Dawon, as if it was nothing, entered the infirmary by pressing the password onto the door lock attached to the office and stepped inside. I felt like I had seen that relentless drive before, but that thought didn’t last long. It was scattered by the strength of Seo Dawon’s grip.
Seo Dawon pulled me into the desolate infirmary. Simultaneously, the door closed behind us; I could hear the sound of the door locking.
“W-What? Why’d you lock the door…” I said.
“We snuck in here. Why would I leave it open?” Seo Dawon brazenly said as he led me to one of the two cots in the room.
I was dumbfounded–how could he say that so calmly after breaking in in the first place–but, when I saw him willfully rummaging around the cabinets and retrieving a pain reliever and a cup of water from the water purifier, the words died in my throat. Furthermore, the water he brought me was perfectly lukewarm, and I felt too ashamed to cold-heartedly rebuke him.
The Seo Dawon within this [Vengeful Ghost memory] was a bit weird, but, in some ways, he was similar to the real Seo Dawon. The Seo Dawon in reality would also take care to regulate the temperature of the water he brought me for meals because he knew I wasn’t fond of drinking cold water…
“Hey, Are you joking with me…” Eventually, swallowing a deep sigh, I lowered the cup and looked at him standing in front of me. Seo Dawon was still making a strange face, so I felt a little frustrated. Honestly, why of all times would he be playing around now…?
“Was Woo Ragi summoned? And where are we…” I asked.
“Woo Ragi?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s that?”
“What?! He’s your friend…”
“My friend?” However, Seo Dawon’s reactions were too strange to be passed off as a joke.
Any other business may be different, but would he act this way during a [Vengeful Ghost Summon]? As soon as I thought that, Seo Dawon’s expression that seemed to say he had never heard of Woo Ragi’s name before didn’t feel like an act.
I had a strong feeling that something went wrong; I wet my lips, suddenly anxious, and tried to continue talking. However, before I could spit out my words, Seo Dawon approached me first.
And, our lips met.
“W-What…!” I pulled my head back quickly due to the sudden contact, but Seo Dawon didn’t seem to particularly mind.
Rather, he pulled my arm towards him and made me lean closer into his embrace. My heart beat like crazy at his unexpected touch; my eyes trembled.
Seo Dawon, though, simply looked down at me and said, “Are you going to keep talking about weird things?”
“What…?”
“What made you so upset again today?”
I couldn’t understand what Seo Dawon was saying; I looked up at the other man. Instead of patiently explaining anything, he licked my lips again. His touch was overwhelmingly lascivcious. Seo Dawon’s lips did not stop there; they trailed down to my rigid neck, pressing down on the fluttering pulse underneath the skin.
Startled, I pushed him away, but he cleverly avoided me. So, instead of maintaining distance, I ended up being drawn closer into his embrace.
Seo Dawon massaged my wrinkled forehead with his thumb. In that way, he continued to fondle my face.
It was just as if we were dating.
This skinship was far too intimate. The Seo Dawon back in reality had never touched me in this manner. Bewildered and slightly embarrassed, the inexplicable palpitations I felt confused my mind.
Meanwhile, Seo Dawon grabbed my weakly shaking arms and burst into laughter. It was completely different from how, in reality, coldness and contempt underlined his smiles. If…all that betrayal had never happened… Was that why the past Seo Dawon could laugh like this…?
Shocked by the unfamiliar appearance, I shut my mouth; Seo Dawon hugged me tightly, as if he were a clamp. Then, in a kind voice that firmly staked its position and refused to be shoved off, he whispered, “What friends do I have? Who was the one who said I shouldn’t make friends and should, instead, play with him?”
I couldn’t help but instinctively respond because he kept looking at me. “I-I did?”
“You kept on crying about how jealous you were. Are you testing me again?”
Of course, I’d never said something like that. Unless they were shot in the head, a grown man would never say something like that. However, instead of answering me, Seo Dawon messed with my hair. It was as if he were soothing me–trying to convince me to relieve my anger and stop complaining.
I found him so cheeky, so I opened my mouth to try and tell him to stop his nonsense. However, just before I could spit my words out, a strange headache pressed down on my brain, and I shut my mouth.
Ding Dong–
Simultaneously, the school bell rang, announcing that break time had ended. Seo Dawon brightly removed himself from me, and I hastened to keep my gaze on him. It was at that moment I thought I needed to ask him for a proper explanation.
However, when he saw me hesitating, Seo Dawon grumpily muttered, “Do you want to stay here forever?”
The gleam in his eyes told me he would jump on top of my body if I nodded. I hurried to stand up; Seo Dawon grabbed my hand as I staggered. He didn’t release that hand, claiming he was supporting me, until we reached the classroom door.
* * *
‘I was fooled again…damn.’
Seo Dawon’s lie was immediately revealed during the next break. Every break, Seo Dawon was surrounded by his friends from other classes, casually chatting and playing around.
‘No friends? Bullshit…’
Furthermore, a slim and pretty girl perched on Seo Dawon’s desk, giggling as she watched Seo Dawon play a game on his cell phone. Anyone could see that she was trying to flirt with Seo Dawon.
The girl sitting next to me at our conjoined desk was also a cute, short-haired girl; she continued to talk with Seo Dawon only. It wasn’t just girls, this tall, delinquent-looking guy was–though I had no idea what he found funny–busy laughing at whatever Seo Dawon said.
I turned my head and slightly glared at Seo Dawon, sitting in the center of that noisy crowd. At that moment, Seo Dawon looked up. I had no idea that we would lock gazes, so I froze; Seo Dawon, after briefly pausing, soon smiled deeply.
In a hurry, I turned my head forward and, as if I were pretending to sleep, leaned over my desk. Contrary to my expectations, Seo Dawon didn’t bother me nor engage me in conversation. Though I was relieved, I felt a bit unhappy.
While my emotions were fluctuating, someone in the crowd spoke with a loud voice, “The lunch for today is damn gross. Should we eat off campus?”
“Myung Il-gak, Let’s go?”
“Go???”
I didn’t want to eavesdrop, but I could hear everything the swarm of people surrounding Seo Dawon said, even if I was slumped over on my desk. It seemed that eating out was already a foregone conclusion; everyone was already choosing what they wanted to eat from the menu.
I slightly chewed my lower lip, paying attention to the throng behind me. Soon enough, though, a clear voice cut through the noise.
“You guys eat by yourself,” Seo Dawon said.
“Why? They have Grilled Atka Mackerel today though…?” 1
“There’s someone I’d like to eat with.”
“Who?”
I shrugged my shoulders, hiding my neck, thinking, ‘There’s no way,’ but Seo Dawon replied straight away with no hesitation, “Or, do you also want to eat out?”
Then, he lightly tapped my back with his fingertips. I tried to ignore him, but soon I could hear the chair dragging against the floor. I could sense Seo Dawon standing by my side.
Faced with no choice, I raised my head; this unfamiliar Seo Dawon was sitting in front of me.
After he saw me startle, he asked once again, “You want to eat out?”
“……Not really.”
“Alright,” Seo Dawon simply responded, playing mobile games on his phone once again. Of course, I couldn’t be as nonchalant as him. I didn’t dare look behind because, somehow, I could feel hateful gazes trained on my back.
However, I couldn’t back down either. Obviously, I aimed to enter someone’s memories to summon Woo Ragi, but, suddenly, a fabricated version of my school days was playing out in front of me.
Furthermore, I was sure that this bizarre occurrence must have something to do with Seo Dawon. Therefore, even though I felt my cheeks flush, I looked straight at Seo Dawon’s forehead and continued to speak, “Let’s eat…just the two of us.”
“……”
I swear I had no other ulterior motives. I just wanted no other hindrances around so I could fully grasp this strange phenomenon… However, the conveyed nuance seemed to paint me as a spoiled child.
But, I couldn’t have expected Seo Dawon’s reaction. The guy turned his head almost immediately. The game that he had been focusing so much on was ignored–a [Game Over] stamped on his screen.
“Shall we?” Seo Dawon said.
I found his happy smile so unfamiliar.
TL: Hi guys! Quick chapter before I’m drowning in finals! Sorry I’m posting slow, but for this 1.5-2 weeks, I’ll be fairly busy!
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