御书房文学网

Chapter 21

"Now, look. You don’t really seem to understand, but you and Jin-Seo are dating. Am I right?"

"Ye-yes."

"Didn’t Jin-Seo meet another man during the school closure? What do you call this? It\'s cheating, right?

"N-no. Ji-Jin-Seo can\'t be like that. No way."

"Oh, you frustrating creature. Then shall I just report you?"

"No! So-so-sorry."

"Just get it through your thick skull, please."

Ko Jun-Min shrank at Bae Sung-Hyun\'s overbearing attitude.

"Okay, again. You and Jin-Seo are going out... Oh, this is such bullshit that I don’t even want to say it. Anyway, she’s cheating. And she’s cheating on you with Do Sun-Woo, right?”

"Ye-yes."

"Jin-Seo, that\'s... No. She met a man other than you, right?”

"Yes."

"Well then, what should you do? Are you just going to sit idly by and let another guy take your girl? You don’t want that, right?”

"N-no."

Sung-Hyun took Jun-Min\'s cell phone. Then, he sent some photos from Jun-Min\'s gallery to his cell phone.

"Wha-what are you doing?! Give it back!”

“It\'s a form of evidence that can be used as insurance.”

“Give it back! Give it back!”

Jun-Min was 159 cm tall. Sung-Hyun was 187 cm tall. No matter how much Jun-Min jumped, he could not take away the cell phone in Sung-Hyun\'s hand. In the meantime, Sung-Hyun sent various pieces of evidence to his cell phone, just in case Jun-Min betrayed him.

"Here. I\'ll give it to you, man. You\'re acting like you\'re gonna kill me for a cell phone."

"Th-this, I hope you don\'t do things like this."

"Yes, yes. If you are obedient."

Sung-Hyun continued with a cool smile. "Now, just do as I say. Okay? Then Jin-Seo will abandon him and like you again. Am I right, or am I wrong?”

“...”

"Answer me."

"Tha-that\'s right."

“Right. When is the best time?”

“Three days. Aw-award ceremony.”

“Correct.”

It was not that difficult to find out that there was going to be an award ceremony after the end of the school closure period. Finding out that Jin-Seo and Do Sun-Woo were scheduled to receive the awards was also not difficult. It might have been difficult for other people, but for Sung-Hyun, it was easy to obtain this information.

“So, have you finished writing the post?”

“Ye-yeah.”

Jun-Min nodded in fear. Sung-Hyun smiled with satisfaction at Jun-Min, who became an obedient lamb. If the situation went as planned, it would be a great opportunity to bury both Jin-Seo and Sun-Woo. Even if things went wrong, there would be no damage to Sung-Hyun.

Since Jun-Min was labeled as the figurehead, he would also be held responsible for all the repercussions. All Sung-Hyun had to do was sit back and watch the show.

\'No matter how things go, this is going to be fun.\'

Sung-Hyun didn\'t really have a big reason why he was orchestrating this. He just thought it would be fun. If he succeeded, it would be fun to watch Jin-Seo and Sun-Woo get screwed over. If he failed, it would be fun to watch Jun-Min get screwed over as well.

No matter which side was screwed over, there would be no damage to Sung-Hyun.

"Bu-but. If I do this, Ji-Ji-Ji-Jin-Seo will g-go out with m-me again, right?"

"Of course~ If you do as I say, everything will be fine. I\'m helping you with your relationship."

Sung-Hyun encouraged Jun-Min. His face was flushed and he was smiling.

‘This guy is the most disgusting.’

Jun-Min and Jin-Seo had nothing going on between each other. It was just a couple of text messages. Even those messages were purely business related. However, as his delusions reached their peak, he came to believe that he was Jin-Seo\'s boyfriend. Sung-Hyun calculated Jun-Min\'s delusions in his plan. Honestly, he was a little disgusting, but he was the perfect chess piece to manipulate.

* * *

"Hello."

There was no need to be hostile from the start. I greeted him lightly.

"Oh, hi. But why are you here?"

“Me? Here to meet someone. Why?”

“Ah. I... I see.”

He had an awkward tone, occasional stutters, a turtle neck, round shoulders, and an uncharacterized face with weak arms and legs.

It was Jun-Min.

He sat down on the bench, pretending to be calm. Cold sweat flowed down his forehead, and his gaze wandered into the air. His hand, which had nowhere to go, awkwardly touched his nose.

All those actions were evidence and signs of his anxiety.

Jun-Min was most likely the writer of the post. That was probably why Baron Samedi told me to come here at 8 o\'clock. However, there was no way of proving it. Even if I pressured him to confess, he didn\'t seem to be the type of person to admit his wrongdoings willingly. In the first place, it was unclear whether Jun-Min was the writer.

Nothing was certain, and I only had countless faint suspicions that didn’t reveal anything substantial. In order to demystify things filled with confusion and uncertainty, it was necessary to use the most distinct emotion that humans had.

Anger.

"Are you close to Jin-Seo?" I asked.

"Jin-Seo?"

Jun-Min must be close to Jin-Seo. No, rather than saying he was close to Jin-Seo, it was more accurate to say that Jun-Min unilaterally imposed himself on Jin-Seo. In any case, it was clear that Jun-Min felt blind respect and favor toward her.

To put it bluntly, it was a feeling that was no different from love, although it was a distorted form of love.

"Are you close to Ji-Jin-Seo? Why do you call her without her last name?"

"Huh? You call her without her last name as well. That’s why I thought it would be alright."

"It\'s because I\'m close to Ji-Ji-Jin-Seo. An ass-asshole like you—!" Jun-Min screamed and raged while clenching his fists. His vague feelings gradually became easier to see as he got angrier.

Distorted love was usually based on a desire for monopoly. Jun-Min wanted Jin-Seo to only look at him. He probably wanted to use the affectionate term ‘Jin-Seo’ for himself. So, when I disrupted his monopoly, he growled like a dog that had its toy stolen.

"I\'m close to Jin-Seo too. I\'m here to meet Jin-Seo right now as well."

I emphasized the word ‘Jin-Seo’ and constantly attempted to provoke Jun-Min.

Jun-Min\'s face turned red and then white. The rate at which his lips were quivering was impressive. Honestly, I thought that the method that I was using right now was a little childish. But it seemed to be effective.

"You, you!"

Jun-Min stared at me with his fist clenched tightly.

It still wasn’t enough. I still needed a decisive remark to aggravate Jun-Min\'s feelings further.

"Oh, and the jelly that I got from Jin-Seo was delicious. Did you get one too?"

Jin-Seo was the type of person to not even talk to men, let alone give them presents. Giving me jelly was also a token of gratitude for attaching her finger. Jun-Min had no real connection to Jin-Seo, so the probability of him also receiving a jelly was virtually nonexistent.

As expected, Jun-Min\'s face began to distort little by little. His fists were trembling, and his lips vibrated furiously. His eyebrows twitched intermittently.

It was a clear sign of anger.

Jun-Min strode up to me while biting into his lips halfway. The gaze toward me was solid and unmoving. He was thinking of hitting me.

"What are you doing?"

At that moment, a crystal clear voice dispersed the accumulated tension. The voice was sharp but gentle. When I turned my head around, Jin-Seo was there.

She did not have any makeup on, and she was dressed in a sweatshirt and training pants.

"Ji-Ji-Ji, Ji-Ji-Jin-Seo?"

Jun-Min\'s face became stiff.

***

Jin-Seo knew that Jun-Min was the author of the post. It was because the ‘edit’ and ‘delete’ buttons could be seen in the picture of the post that Jun-Min sent to Jin-Seo. Only the author had the authority to edit and delete the post. It meant that Jun-Min was the author.

[At 8:15, can you come to the city park?]

She also sent a text message, and Jun-Min agreed to meet her without batting an eyelid. She intended to ask Jun-Min to take the post down. It wasn\'t just because of Sun-Woo.

She had prepared roughly as she didn’t have to look good in front of Jun-Min anyway. If Jun-Min saw her face without makeup, she hoped he would cut off contact with her on his own accord.

As such, when she reached the city park, a shocking sight unfolded in front of her.

"Ji-Ji-Ji-Jin-Seo?"

Jun-Min was holding his fist as if he were trying to hit Sun-Woo. Even with his fist in front of him, Sun-Woo stood still without any signs of fear. Was it a fight? If so, why did it happen? Was it something that could only be resolved through a fight?

Jin-Seo felt perplexed by her doubts.

"Jun-Min... Let\'s talk,” Jin-Seo said as she sat on a bench. She sent Sun-Woo away with an appropriate excuse. It was clear that Sun-Woo would be shocked if he found out that the writer of the post was Jun-Min.

Sometimes, ignorance was bliss.

Jin-Seo remained completely silent the entire time in front of Jun-Min and opened her mouth when Sun-Woo completely disappeared from view.

"You wrote it, right?"

Jun-Min shivered at Jin-Seo\'s words. “Ah, no? What are you talking about?”

“The picture you sent me.”

Jin-Seo picked up her cell phone and showed the picture sent by Jun-Min. There was clear evidence that Jun-Min was the writer.

Jun-Min shifted his eyes left and right. He seemed to be looking for a way to escape the situation somehow.

Jun-Min remained silent for about ten seconds, but soon, he slowly apologized.

"I\'m sor-sorry."

It was an apology that popped out of his mouth.

"I’m not the person you should be apologizing to. I\'m fine, so let\'s take the post down. What do you say?"

"Po-post. Take it down?"

Jun-Min agonized. He couldn’t take the post down yet. He didn’t know what Sung-Hyun would do to him if he took the post down. Jun-Min was afraid of Jin-Seo since she was questioning him, but he was more afraid of Sung-Hyun.

"That, I c-can’t.” Jun-Min lowered his head.

Jin-Seo slowly resumed her persuasion while feeling frustrated inside but not losing her smile. Her patience remained strong.

"Then why did you post that?"

"Th-that’s because you should have been the only one who received the reward. He was getting it with you. Something was fishy.”

"The teachers are the ones who judge, and Sun-Woo’s performances were sufficient—"

"An-and! He caught you smoking! I\'m trying to he-help you, as a boyfriend!"

Jun-Min flailed about.

Jin-Seo suddenly got goosebumps. Her complicated doubts tangled up and gave birth to new suspicions. How did he know that she smoked? What the hell did he mean by ‘as a boyfriend?’

"Smoking? What do you mean? And what do you mean by boyfriend?"

Jin-Seo\'s face, which always had a smile, lost its cheer. Her eyes were cold, as if she were looking at something disgusting. It was a situation where she couldn\'t manage her expression. It was not a situation where she wanted to manage her facial expression in the first place.

"I\'m your boyfriend, aren\'t I? Aren’t I?”

"What are you talking about? Why are you my boyfriend...?”

Jun-Min\'s eyes quivered.

"Huh? Ah, no. I’m your boyfriend, ri-right? Yes?”

Jun-Min took out his cell phone from his pocket and showed it to Jin-Seo.

"Look. We-we even took a picture together, didn\'t we? As for the smo-smoking... During that time. I was talking about that time. Right?”

Jin-Seo was on the phone screen. Jin-Seo was sitting down with her knees bent, and she was smoking with tears in her eyes. There was even the image of Sun-Woo passing by.

They were pictures taken in secret.

‘When did he take this? Was he stalking me? Why on earth would he do this?’

Her hands shook. Fear, disgust, anger—all kinds of negative emotions piled up and relentlessly overwhelmed her.

Smack!

Jin-Seo forcibly snatched the cell phone from Jun-Min\'s hand, and she erased the picture right away.

"Huh...?”

When she deleted the picture, the following picture was revealed.

It was a picture of her leaving the gym while soaked with sweat.

When she deleted it, the next picture popped up.

It was a figure of herself entering her house. And then there was the next picture.

It was glimpses of her face showing through the window in her house.

Next.

She was heading to the convenience store in shabby clothes.

Tap.

The cell phone fell from Jin-Seo\'s hand. The cell phone that crashed onto the floor made a dull sound. The sound soon echoed in the park filled with silence.

Jin-Seo just trembled while staring blankly into the air. Her body stiffened with fear, and she couldn\'t even turn her head. Her mind was blank. She couldn\'t think of anything.

"What\'s wrong?"

Jun-Min\'s voice was calmer than ever.

Jin-Seo couldn\'t help but wonder whether she should run away or call the police or a paladin. She was out of breath, and her vision was blacking out.

"Why are you so, af-afraid? Ji-Ji-Jinseo."

Jun-Min reached out with his hand to Jin-Seo\'s shoulder, but she instinctively swatted his hand away. With a dull thud, Jun-Min\'s hand was thrown back.

"Are you an-angry? Huh? You\'re up-upset! Haha. My-my bad. We\'re dating, right? Oh, you were just saying that we weren’t because you were angry earlier, right?"

Jin-Seo bit her lip until it bled. She felt nauseous and felt like throwing up at any moment. Her head was full of thoughts of wanting to get out of this position. She just wanted to get some rest. She wanted to go back to when she was lying in bed and rolling around without thinking.

"Let\'s talk later again. At the moment, I\'m too, ah."

Jin-Seo got up from the bench. Her legs were shaking. Her head was dizzy, and her vision was blacking out.

"Wa-wait a moment!"

Jun-Min grabbed Jin-Seo\'s arm with a blank expression Jin-Seo turned her head and looked at Jun-Min\'s empty eyes. His eyes were so dark and eerie that it was impossible to gauge their depth.

"Let me go, what are you...!”

"What\'s wrong with your ex-expression? Ah, no matter how angry you are, you shouldn\'t do this to me. Right?”

Jin-Seo\'s face was stiff.

She practiced smiling. She smiled when she was happy of course, but also when she was sad or angry. People thought she was a good girl because she smiled a lot. She knew how to laugh, but she didn\'t know how to cry. The tears she couldn\'t spill clogged up her heart, but she didn\'t know how to release them. So she left them as they were. And now, Jin-Seo even forgot how to smile. There was nothing resembling an expression on her face. It was only distorted by disgust.

"A-as much as I think of you. I wanted you to think of me, too. Huh? B-by the way, if you are hanging out with other guys. You thought I wouldn’t know? Y-you shouldn’t do this to me. Do you know how much I, uh, how much—!"

"Don\'t delude yourself. There\'s nothing between us. Let go. Let go!"

Jin-Seo attempted to shake off his arm. However, Jun-Min did not let go.

The force was strangely strong.

"Ah, what do you mean nothing between us? Delude myself? I’m not. What are you talking about? Huh?”

At some point, Jun-Min stopped stuttering.

"Ah, so that\'s it. Transfer? So you’ve switched? You’ve switched to Sun-Woo. I’ve been so nice to you. How can you do that to me?”

"Huh? Ju-Jun-Min. Calm down and let go of me. What\'s wrong with you all of a sudden...”

Jin-Seo was in tears.

"Shut up, you filthy!"

Rip. Crack. Crunch.

Flesh was torn, and bones shattered. New flesh and bones sprouted in their place. Jun-Min was discarding his human body and being reborn as a demon.

In front of him, Jin-Seo couldn’t do anything but stay still. Her body went cold. Her legs didn\'t move.

A demon.

It was not a fake demon used for training. It was a real demon, like the one that tore her mother to death when she was young.

Flop.

Her legs gave out, and she sank down where she stood.

Jun-Min\'s body was torn apart and then mended itself, growing larger in the process.

"Ah, crunch, crunch, heh. What, do, you, think? Do I look cool? If you apologize now, I\'ll forgive you. Huh?"

Jun-Min muttered incomprehensible gibberish while his body continued to grow in size. He eventually grew into a monster. He had a bizarre form with black flesh and bone fragments all over his body.

The monster lifted Jin-Seo with his crude and dirty hands.

"Ah, argh...!”

Jin-Seo\'s neck was being strangled by a black and dirty hand. She struggled with pain, but no one could help her.

Boom.

As Jin-Seo\'s consciousness drifted away, an explosion rang in the park. What exploded was Jun-Min\'s forearm, which was holding Jin-Seo\'s neck. The forearm was severed as if it was cut off by a piece of stone that came from somewhere.

"Ugh."

Sun-Woo was standing on the other side. He trembled as he saw Jun-Min, who had turned into a hideous monster.