When I looked into it, another lawyer was already there. Apparently a report had been filed. Anyway, there’s not enough evidence and the lawyer is competent, so he’ll be out within a few days.
A few days?
Maximum 48 hours, so about two days.
“…….”
After finally getting through and explaining the whole situation, the content of the message I received from Mom was devastating. A maximum of 48 hours. Since he was taken in Wednesday afternoon, it meant he’d be released Friday afternoon. And that day was the homecoming party. Classes would end early too, everyone would obviously be excited about the party. Everyone except Joel, who was detained.
There was a lawyer? Who?
But Joel, who lives alone in a trailer, had a lawyer? Someone who arrived faster than Mom? As far as I knew, Joel had no family or people around him. Moreover, if it was a lawyer competent enough for Mom to acknowledge…… it would definitely be a lawyer charging expensive hourly rates.
He’s a lawyer working at a nearby law firm, famous for being skilled. Don’t worry. Your friend July will definitely get out.
That wasn’t the point of my question, but anyway, since she reassured me again not to worry, there was nothing I could do about the legal issues.
Having eased my worries somewhat, I calmly looked around the hallway. The kids in pajamas seemed to have already forgotten the terrible thing that happened to Joel, laughing hahaha. I wondered which of them had reported Joel. And they were probably Bluedale Savers.
The photo of Joel uploaded to the Bluedale Saver account was really nothing special. Since Joel would never deal drugs or anything like that, the Bluedale Saver who took that photo must also know that fact.
Until now, Bluedale Saver had acted as if pursuing justice, befitting the name ‘Saver.’ Everything they’d exposed until now had all been true. Except for Joel’s case.
Bluedale Saver wanted to attack Joel. For some reason, I don’t know why. But it wasn’t particularly an effective hit. Even if Bluedale Saver hadn’t done this, Joel already had a bad image among the entire student body. He’d be released in 48 hours. Then what on earth was their purpose……
I tried hard to think of plausible reasons, folding my fingers.
“One, they wanted to buy time.”
They wanted to do something during those 48 hours but Joel was in the way, so they wanted to forcibly detain Joel. Then what does Bluedale Saver want to do? What event happens during 48 hours?
“……The homecoming party.”
There’s the homecoming party. Were they planning to do something at the homecoming party? But how would Joel get in the way?
“Mmm…….”
Joel wasn’t the type to help others or be cooperative. He probably wouldn’t even go to the party.
This might be going too far. What other purpose could there be? Not an effective attack, but still able to inflict damage, something that induces anxiety and fear……
“……Two, a warning.”
I stared intently at my extended index and middle fingers. If it really was a warning, directed at whom? At Joel? What did Joel do?
‘You definitely said you don’t know who Bluedale Saver is, right?’
ㅇㅇ
‘Where is the information you know limited to?’
I know all information about the broadcast ‘Pizza Saver.’
I asked the system inwardly, and the system answered immediately.
“…….”
All information about the broadcast drama…… Then Bluedale Saver was also a variable like me after all.
‘Then…… is there another being who entered from outside like me?’
SYSTEM
Loading…….
idk 🙁
It was just that it didn’t know, but ultimately it meant there could be one. An external being and variable that the system doesn’t know about? Does that make sense? Isn’t the system controlling this entire world?
If there really was an external being, this warning might be directed at me, not Joel. Joel just got caught up in it.
“……I did.”
Because I’m trying to change the drama’s development? ……No, I can’t be certain of this either. Let’s not settle on just one thing. I had too little information for that.
Maybe it was too simple. Bluedale Saver might have just disliked Joel normally. That would make sense because the reasons to dislike Joel were…… too many.
For now, I organized the hypotheses I’d thought of in my head and tried to find what I could do. Finding Bluedale Saver was completely beyond me.
I stared intently at the photo uploaded to the account. There were clearly two people in the photo. Joel and someone whose face was hidden and only their hand was visible. Bluedale Saver must know who both of them are. Yet they only targeted Joel. To protect the other person? Or to draw all attention only to Joel?
“Who is it…….”
No matter how much I looked, I couldn’t tell. What Joel was handing over. Who the person with Joel was.
The place where the two people were was some sparsely populated parking lot. It was quite far from school, I didn’t even know where it was. Why were the two having a conversation in such a remote place? The location gave even more of an impression that Joel was committing a crime.
I repeatedly zoomed in and out of what Joel was handing over in the photo. What on earth is it, what is it…….
“July, don’t use your phone on your bike.”
“……Hyung?”
On the way home, as I was loosely riding my bike while looking at my phone, I heard a familiar voice and looked up. Right nearby, I saw someone sticking their head out from the driver’s seat of a stopped car. It was Hyung.
“Hyung, what brings you here?”
“I have to stop by home for a bit. I’ll load your bike for you. Get in.”
Since I didn’t have the energy to ride anyway, I loaded my bike in Hyung’s back seat and got in the passenger seat. Then, as I immediately looked at my phone, Hyung glanced at me and laughed.
“You’re still a kid after all. Seeing how you’re always glued to your phone.”
“……It’s not like that.”
You don’t even know what important work I’m doing. I grumbled awkwardly and changed the subject.
“But why are you going home?”
“To pick up the additional order of wedding invitations.”
“They’re out already?”
“They are. They came out last week and I said at dinner that I’m already handing them out.”
“Ah…… right.”
I didn’t remember at all but pretended I vaguely recalled. Hyung laughed again and poked my cheek with his index finger.
“Cute.”
“……Hyung, I’m eighteen.”
“Eighteen-year-olds can’t be cute? You still look like a complete baby to me. Ah, you’re already a graduating senior.”
“Hyung, you’re going to love it when you have a baby.”
“I would. But right now Winter has to study and work, so that’s a distant future thing.”
Hyung seemed to already be imagining the face of the child between him and Winter, giggling foolishly, poof, pfft, hup! constantly letting out laughter. That sight was funny, so I forgot my worries for a moment and laughed along.
As the brothers burst out laughing crazily side by side like that, we arrived home before I knew it.
While Hyung put the car in the garage, I hopped out first and walked to the house. There was a delivery box in front of the door. Was this the additional wedding invitation order Hyung mentioned?
As I bent down to pick up the box, thud! My phone that was sticking out of my coat pocket fell. And as I moved to pick it up, I ended up kicking it with the tip of my foot. Because of that, the phone flew all the way to the yard in front of the garage.
“Hyung, don’t step on it! Pick up my phone!”
I urgently shouted at Hyung who was just coming out of the garage. After glancing down to check, Hyung dusted off the phone and came over to hand it to me.
“It’s a picture of that friend?”
“What?”
“On your phone.”
“……Ah.”
The screen must have been on the whole time. Joel’s photo uploaded to Bluedale Saver was displayed on the phone. He’ll misunderstand even more that he’s my boyfriend, what do I do about this? I was thinking when Hyung took the delivery box from me and held it while asking.
“But why was something like that taken?”
“I didn’t take it…….”
“Dave and that friend must be close too.”
Whether he didn’t hear my quietly muttering voice, Hyung cut off my words and rummaged through his pockets. Clatter clatter! After the sound of metal clinking, Hyung successfully pulled out his keys and opened the front door. My head was blank. Why is Dave being mentioned? Suddenly, why on earth?
“Is that why he asked me to set aside one invitation separately?”
“What are you even talking about?”
I couldn’t understand Hyung’s muttering either. I urgently grabbed and pulled Hyung’s arm, and because of that, thud! the delivery box fell hard to the ground. I was concerned about Hyung’s surprised face with wide eyes, but I wasn’t in a state of mind to care.
“What about Dave, and what about the invitation?”
My voice became too loud from being too excited. I ended up shouting as if scolding him. Hyung looked at me blankly with a dumbfounded expression, then moved his lips.
“That photo……. Isn’t Dave giving our wedding invitation to that friend……?”
“Why, why do you think that?”
“He’s holding an invitation……. This hand is also Dave’s.”
Hyung tapped the thing Joel was holding in the middle of the phone screen. Right, this wasn’t a photo of Joel ‘handing over’ something but ‘receiving’ it. And this person whose hand was at a similar height to Joel, tall enough……
“Dave…….”
“His fingers are slightly bent because he’s a football player, it’s definitely Dave. And his hands are really big. He said Dave’s big hands are good for playing sports.”
The owner of this hand, slightly larger than Joel’s, was David Evans.
