I heard the sound of the student council president letting out a small laugh.
“I was just exchanging greetings with sunbae. But you seem to be quite close with that sunbae, more than you look. No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like an ordinary friendship.”
“I told you. Hayoung is our side’s representative.”
“Ah, is that what you call loyalty?”
Although the ability Cha Woodan currently possessed was a mental-type ability, his physical functions themselves weren’t much different from his twin Cha Jeoh. So if the two clashed physically in this situation, the probability of Cha Woodan winning was high. Nevertheless, the reason Cha Woodan was acting as if gauging the situation rather than rashly threatening was first because he didn’t know what ability the student council president had awakened, and second because I, who couldn’t move freely, was behind him.
Swallowing a dry breath, I focused my ears even more on the two people’s conversation. I’d rather pass on using needless conflict as a signal flare to create major friction here.
“…Seong Taehyeon.”
“As if I’d say anything out of fear. I really didn’t come here to pull any strange stunts.”
“Today in particular, I really want to rip that blabbing mouth of yours, sincerely.”
“I just came to talk. To be precise, to request a deal.”
The student council president, who lightly chewed through Cha Woodan’s murderous warning, continued speaking.
“Come to the main building with your representative. How about we have a proper, mutually equal conversation there?”
‘Why bother going all the way to the main building?’
Cha Woodan, who had the same question as me, sharply pointed out.
“If you’re that desperate, do it here. Don’t you dare order Hayoung to come and go.”
“The environment here isn’t great. I’m trying to move over to the clean main building and at least serve you a cup of tea.”
“Really? A building where you piled up corpses you couldn’t even bury in one place must be really clean.”
“Don’t worry. We swept through cleaning once and threw everything outside. After all, the smell was ingrained so we had no choice.”
Going to the main building just the two of us with Cha Woodan, without Cha Jeoh who had combat-type abilities… If Lee Gojun knew we were moving to the main building, he’d follow along too, but the ability he awakened also wasn’t suited for fighting. Moreover, rather than gaining any benefit from going, we might fall into a trap instead, so considering various aspects, the safe choice would be to drive out the student council president rather than follow him as is.
However, before showing the direction I’d concluded, the student council president added.
“You don’t know this, right? That we have a very detailed map.”
Map. That word bored into my eardrums.
“It’s a map with the geography and commercial locations of this district written in detail, and we have several. Since there’s no one else to distribute them to, we’re managing them all.”
No matter how long you lived in one area, you only knew rough roads and locations, not every single place you hadn’t paid attention to normally. That’s why the twins were also tracing their memories to think of places with good conditions to stay, and searching for a new dwelling by combing through those vicinities one by one.
In this period when even cell phones with completely drained batteries couldn’t be used anymore, a map could be quite a valuable tool. And using that valuable tool as bait, the student council president was requesting that we just come to the main building and have a conversation.
‘…It is tempting, but.’
From the student council president’s position, there would inevitably be more loss than gain. Yet the fact that he volunteered to make such a proposal to us meant he had his own ulterior motives.
I reached out and tapped Cha Woodan’s back. It was around the time I was fidgeting with my hands, wondering how to exchange opinions with him as he immediately turned his body toward me.
“…I think I can win.”
I lifted my head obliquely at the words that suddenly came.
“At this time, Cha Jeoh should return before long too.”
Cha Jeoh would return soon. Until then, he could hold out alone.
Chewing over those words, I reached out a hand that made several futile gestures in the air and tapped his wrist.
‘Then it would be better to go and receive the map.’
Cha Woodan, who noticed my intention, skillfully lifted me up. Settling into position again in those secure arms, I gestured with my chin toward the direction where the student council president seemed to be standing. Cha Woodan, who was watching me, conveyed the words instead.
“Let’s go. To the main building.”
“…I like how decisive you are. Then I’ll lead the way. Of course, you both know the school structure excessively well.”
Even while saying that, I felt the student council president, who didn’t readily take a step, scrutinize me intently. Since I’d been in a similar position last time in the student council room too, I’d become more accustomed, but that didn’t mean this sensation wasn’t unpleasant.
It was only when it was time for me to faintly frown that the student council president began moving his steps, telling us to follow him. Feeling Cha Woodan move slowly following him, I rhythmically tapped that shoulder where my hand was placed.
***
Lee Gojun attached himself to our side as we left the annex building, and of course through the natural course of events, his younger brother chased after his older brother.
Lee Gojun, who seemed to be looking at the student council president ahead with suspicion, approached me stealthily. Lee Gojun approached again, not caring about Cha Woodan who stepped back one step to the side while holding me, and whispered quietly.
“Is it really okay to just follow him? Isn’t something dangerous going to happen?”
“What danger could there be for Hayoung? When I’ll be stuck by his side.”
Even without seeing it, I could clearly feel Cha Woodan’s face wearing a cold smile as if to say he dared to worry without knowing his place. However, true to Lee Gojun who no longer cowered even when threatened by Cha Jeoh, he continued speaking while ignoring Cha Woodan.
“Hayoung-ah, if anything happens, call me right away. Even if I have to sacrifice this whole body…”
“How about stepping back first before sacrificing your whole body like that? Don’t you care at all what Hayoung’s expression is like?”
Only after Cha Woodan specifically mentioned it did Lee Gojun discover my subtly distorted face. I felt Lee Gojun become dejected and droop, but unfortunately, it wasn’t my concern.
Swallowing a sigh, I turned my head toward somewhere beyond the playground. Although my eyes were still firmly closed, it was possible to roughly picture the geography outside my eyelids, and above all, I could read the presence of monsters more clearly than that of people. I swept over the presence of monsters that seemed particularly more numerous than last time.
“Why, Hayoung-ah?”
Cha Woodan turned to follow me and asked quietly. At that, I tapped his shoulder to mean it was nothing much.
The increase of monsters in and around the playground wasn’t a strange problem. After all, weren’t the twins who had been in charge of wiping out the inside of the main building and its vicinity no longer there? There was no way they, who had left the main building wearing the unpleasant price of sin, would participate in the wiping out of their own accord under the name of service or sacrifice.
‘Besides, the twins have been busy going around outside for the past few days.’
The things due to the twins’ absence were gradually beginning to show. No matter how much the main building survivors had considerable experience confronting monsters, it would always have been the twins who stood at the forefront, so now it would inevitably be burdensome to take responsibility for the core of combat. Of course, even if they fought hard, whether it was their skills or results, they wouldn’t be able to keep up that much.
‘Stupid people.’
A few days ago, the way they cornered and coerced the twins in the student council room was clearly a mistake among mistakes no matter how many times I chewed it over. Even if they had their own reasonable justification, saying they’d pressure the twins or threaten them, the judgment that they were excessively hasty couldn’t be erased.
‘Everyone’s too swayed by emotions.’
This wasn’t even an ordinary and peaceful world, and if they wielded such meaningless anger and resentment like that, they’d soon be driven into a corner.
“It’s not that you can’t see at all, is it?”
I flinched at the voice that intruded abruptly. Soon recognizing a beat late that the owner was the student council president, I turned the direction of my head.
“Just. You seemed to be examining the playground.”
“……”
“If you really couldn’t see anything at all, there’d be no reason to examine the playground’s movements, right?”
Strictly speaking, I had looked at the playground because I felt it rather than saw it, but there was no benefit in giving the student council president additional information. Since neither I, who couldn’t voice words, nor Cha Woodan, who had the same thoughts as me, were keeping our mouths firmly shut, this time the student council president changed targets and threw his words.
“Come to think of it, that sunbae is that middle schooler’s older brother, right? This is the first time we’re greeting each other face to face, isn’t it?”
“Ah…”
“After all, the atmosphere in the student council room was what it was.”
I felt the gaze that had been persistently clinging to me and stabbing at me since leaving the annex fall away. I raised the back of my hand for no reason to rub my cheek, noticing that Lee Gojun’s younger brother’s eyes, which had been glaring at me fully, had moved to the student council president.
Contrary to the remark he’d fired at me when he first came to the annex last time, that younger brother seemed to find the student council president, the main building’s representative, equally uncomfortable. It was just amazing how from his personality to his actions, there wasn’t a single similarity with his older brother.
‘Not all siblings are alike, huh. The Cha twins are excessively identical.’
Of course, there are subtle differences in their innate temperaments.
‘Other than that…’
…Of course, there are slight differences in body temperature or the unique feel of their skin, or the way they smile or burst into laughter.
As I recalled Cha Woodan and Cha Jeoh in turn, I slowly raised my palm to cover the area around my mouth.
