御书房文学网

Chapter 200

"What? She disappeared again?"

The receptionist seemed a little surprised, but considering that a patient had disappeared, their reaction was quite calm. Moreover, the fact that they used the word again meant that this was not the first time that Jin-Seo had disappeared. The receptionist began tapping on the keyboard before glancing at Yu-Hyun and me.

“But there was no one scheduled to visit Jin-Seo today... May I ask what your names are?” the receptionist asked.

The receptionist’s face was filled with suspicion and caution. There was a brief silence.

As I tried to find a suitable excuse, Yu-Hyun took something out of his pocket and handed it to the receptionist.

He smiled affably and said, “We came here because we had something to deliver to her from the school... But we didn’t know there was a procedure that we had to go through. We’re really close friends, so we knew her room number.”

What Yu-Hyun handed over was his Florence Academy student ID. The receptionist looked back and forth between the ID and his face, then nodded with a small smile.

"I understand. Next time, please come to me first before visiting, or make a reservation by phone. Is the person next to you also from the same school?"

"Yes, he\'s also from Florence Academy. This is a secret, but he\'s the boyfriend of the admitted patient."

"Really?"

The receptionist seemed surprised as they looked at me with wide eyes. I was so taken aback that I was unable to speak. I couldn\'t understand why Yu-Hyun was saying such nonsense to the receptionist.

Yu-Hyun maintained an affable smile and innocently said, "Yes, we wanted to surprise her, so that’s why we came here without any prior notification... However, we didn’t know it would turn out like this.”

"Ah... then, should I contact you during the visiting hours that are available tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?”

"Yes, I would appreciate that."

The receptionist handed us a piece of paper. Yu-Hyun wrote his phone number on the memo with a pen.

He casually handed the memo to the receptionist but suddenly stared at the receptionist\'s face and said, “By any chance, could you call us with your private phone instead of the hospital phone?”

"Huh? Um... it\'s possible, but why?"

"I don\'t have a girlfriend yet, you see."

After belatedly understanding Yu-Hyun’s words, the receptionist’s pupils shifted left and right due to being flustered.

"...I will contact you using the hospital phone during visiting hours."

"Ah... yes, I understand for now," Yu-Hyun said with a smile.

It was difficult to call it a relief, but due to Yu-Hyun’s nonsense, I made it through this dilemma without being questioned or having to verify my identity. However, it was hard to say that the predicament had been resolved well because the nonsense that Yu-Hyun had spouted was bothering me.

As soon as we left the hospital, I asked, "What were you thinking? Are you insane?"

"Why are you suddenly swearing at me?"

"Why did you tell that unnecessary lie?”

"Oh, that?"

Yu-Hyun took out his phone and aimlessly stared at it as he said, "The receptionist was pretty, so I tried to rizz her up a little. And in situations like this, leaving a favorable impression on the other person is more comfortable and faster than approaching it logically.”

"Is that so? But it seems like you didn’t leave a favorable impression either.”

"Well, it doesn\'t matter. We made it through that situation, so all is well that ends well.”

“All I’m saying is that using me to get through that situation just felt messed up.”

"Then next time, you can use my name too. If you use it well, you can get through most situations, you know?"

"..."

I decided to stop talking to him midway through the conversation. There was simply no way to get through to this guy.

Yu-Hyun silently stared at me, and then he grinned by raising one side of his lip in a bizarre manner. "But you do this kind of thing often too. Am I wrong?"

"Get lost if you don\'t want to die."

"Alright. I don’t really want to die yet.”

We parted ways after that conversation. I returned to the dormitory and tried calling Jin-Seo, but she didn\'t answer. I thought about leaving a message but decided against it. Judging by the receptionist\'s reaction, it didn\'t seem like something big had happened to her, but I still felt uneasy for some reason.

[Are you worried?]

"No... actually, maybe a little."

I tried to deny Legba\'s question but changed my mind and agreed with him. It was true that I was a little worried. The demon that had appeared at the practical examination site had been openly targeting her. At that time, I managed to overcome the crisis by establishing a contract with Damballa, but I had no idea when the demon would appear again and attack her.

Damballa slithered up onto my bed and said, [When that happens, use me, kid.]

Her head, in the form of a small snake, swayed from side to side. At first, it was a little scary, but the more I looked at her, the cuter she seemed.

I carefully stroked Damballa\'s head with my finger and said, "I\'ll assess the situation and make a decision. I don\'t plan on using you right away."

[Alright, feel free to do so. But why are you petting my head without my permission?]

"Am I not allowed to do so?"

[It’s not that you aren’t allowed to do so. It’s just that it’s unpleasant.]

I continued to pet Damballa\'s head. In the past, I had been only scared of her, but now, I somehow felt that she was friendly and even a little cute. When I was young, such a thought would have been unimaginable. It was quite surprising.

***

I thought that there would be a lot of leisure time right after the exam period had ended, but after arriving at school, I found out that there was actually quite a lot to do. During break time, I was called to the teacher\'s office, and I had to catch up on the work that had piled up during my absence. They were minor tasks such as distributing newsletters or delivering notifications relating to the exam.

"Sun-Woo, how does this look? Do you think this difficulty level is appropriate for a pop quiz?"

Occasionally, the teachers in charge of the Understanding the Holy Books or the Romanican Sacred Science classes called me to seek advice on the difficulty of the pop quiz or the class.

"Hmm... it seems a little easy."

"Really? This should be good enough, then."

"Huh?"

"It needs to be a little easy for you for the other students to have a chance of solving it, my boy.”

I wasn’t all that great at the other subjects, but I was getting fairly good grades in Understanding the Holy Books and Romanican Sacred Science, so the teachers often sought my advice. For the sake of the future, it seemed like it would be a good idea to get on the teachers’ good side, so I tried to answer the questions that they asked sincerely.

When I was coming out of the teacher’s office and about to return to my classroom, I encountered Jin-Seo. She was standing below the stairs, supporting herself with a crutch and with a cast on one of her arms. It seemed like she was having trouble going up the stairs because of the cast and the crutch.

"..."

Eventually, she noticed me. Her expression was not as easy to decipher as usual—it seemed to me like she was surprised. She stared at me for a while, then used her crutch to approach me.

She handed me her crutch out of the blue and said, "Carry this for a second.”

It was a simple request, so I held her crutch for a moment. She spread her arms out wide toward me and said, "Okay, now carry me."

"...Why should I?"

"I hurt my leg and can\'t go up the stairs."

"..."

Actually, despite having a cast and a crutch, her condition wasn\'t that serious. I could tell by her walking posture. She seemed to be in good enough physical condition to climb the stairs alone. I didn\'t think there was a need to carry her, so as a sign of refusal, I returned the crutch to her. However, she didn\'t accept the crutch.

"Aren’t you going to carry me?"

"You can climb up by yourself, can’t you?"

"I can’t believe the Holy Name of Charity is just abandoning an injured person on the streets."

"You\'re supposed to be the Holy Name of Patience. Just endure it."

After hearing my words, Jin-Seo shut her mouth and glared at me.

"You’re really being harsh here..."

"Don\'t pretend like you\'re sulking."

"I\'m not pretending," she said sullenly, as if she were really upset.

I didn\'t notice from afar, but up close, I saw a few band-aids on her face. Looking at Jin-Seo, who was looking at me with a pitiful face, my heart weakened, and in the end, I caved in. She climbed onto my back as if she had been waiting.

"Ugh."

Her weight settled on my back.

"Don’t make such an exaggerated grunt. I know I’m not that heavy.”

"You’re heavier than I thought."

"...It’s because I’m tall," Jin-Seo said as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Why are you wrapping your arms around me?"

"It\'s more comfortable this way. Isn\'t it more comfortable for you too?"

"I guess so."

It was definitely easier to carry her like this. However, it felt uncomfortable to have her body pressed against mine. I carried her up the stairs. I had told her earlier that she was heavy, but in reality, she was quite light compared to her build, so I could climb the stairs without difficulty.

She pressed her chin against my shoulder from behind and said, "But I’m a bit disappointed."

"Why?"

"Because you never came to visit me at the hospital."

"I went, but you weren\'t there."

"Huh... really?"

I nodded.

"Where did you go? I asked the receptionist, but they didn\'t know where you were."

"...Um, I went for a walk?"

"Why’d you go for a walk when you were injured?"

"It\'s like exercise for rehabilitation."

“If you wander around like that and then get...”

I stopped talking at that point. Everyone knew that she had been hospitalized after getting injured, but only I knew that demons had injured her. I might spark unnecessary misunderstandings or suspicions if I spoke too hastily. After a moment of silence, I faintly heard Jin-Seo laughing.

"Why are you so nosy? Are you obsessed with me?"

"What? Who said that..."

"So, did you wait for me at the hospital?"

"Why would I wait? You weren\'t there, so I went back out."

"That\'s a shame."

"I was a little worried, though."

I honestly expressed the emotions that I felt at that time. I thought that if I said this, she might be more careful in the future.

At this point in time, we had already arrived in front of Jin-Seo\'s classroom. I carefully helped her down and handed her the crutch I was holding. She took the crutch and looked at me intently with a strange expression.

"What’s wrong?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Huh? No, nothing," she said, lowering her gaze.

Then, she murmured, "...This is really bad."

"What’s really bad?"

"It’s worse than I... um, never mind," Jin-Seo said, shaking her head.

Then, she walked toward her classroom. She was walking in a much more natural way than before. In fact, it was a healthier stride than most students. I had vaguely known that her condition was alright, but seeing it with my own eyes made me feel betrayed.

"Hey, you\'re walking just fine."

"Yeah," Jin-Seo casually replied. "I wanted to get carried around just once. Thanks."

She smiled and waved at me. Then she entered the classroom.

I glanced at the hallway for a moment. Her smile still lingered in my mind. It was the first time she had shown such a carefree smile.