Chapter 149: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 149
.
.
.
As if under the influence of drugs, in a hazy state of mind.
Hnng, a painful groan escaped.
It felt like someone was choking me, like I couldn’t breathe.
I flailed my arms.
Clawed at my throat.
I thrashed around, drowning in the agony and fear of being unable to breathe.
That’s when a voice echoed.
[Are you suffering?]
Responding with an internal scream to the voice I heard.
I said I was suffering.
Begged for help.
[Living is a constant cycle of suffering. Ah, how much pain you must have endured. I’ll help you forget everything.]
Then, along with that voice.
[To the point where you can forget all the pain, sadness, misery, anxiety, anguish, despair, the horrific reality, and even yourself.]
A moan escaped my mouth.
Not because of pain, but because of the sudden.
[I’ll make you feel good.]
The overwhelming pleasure.
The voice hit me directly in my mind, almost like a sledgehammer.
Heuk, a moan escaped my lips again without me even realizing it, my body trembling.
[So just forget everything.]
I don’t know.
I don’t know this feeling.
It’s a sensation I’ve never experienced before.
A burning heat fills my body.
A searing, intense sensation that could easily become painful if it weren’t so overwhelmingly pleasurable.
The intense heat that filled me completely made me feel nothing but good.
[Get so lost in feeling good, forget everything.]
My mind boiled and bubbled.
My whole body flushed and burned.
Reason melted away like thick honey.
Mixed, mingled.
Until it was all a mush.
[Become a toy that only listens to me.]
To the point where you can’t even remember how you were suffering.
Forget who you were, so that all you can feel is pleasure.
[I’ll keep making you feel this good forever, so why don’t you call me master?]
With the voice promising to keep making me feel this way forever.
I began, Master—
[What’s this nonsense?]
A fire blazed.
[Aww, that’s too bad.]
*
......When I opened my eyes, faint sunlight was filtering in through the window.
It’s been about a week since I fell asleep like this and woke up.
I should’ve felt refreshed since it’s been a while since I had a good night’s sleep, but I was oddly uneasy.
Come to think of it, I felt like I had a dream last night......
I couldn’t remember it clearly, but it felt like it was an erotic dream for some reason.
For some reason, these kinds of dreams never seem to stay clear when I wake up......
Savoring the strange sense of loss, I stretched and noticed the clothes I was wearing.
A pajama set covered with frills.
One of the pajamas Sylvia bought as a set for a pajama party she suggested, which I hadn’t worn and left in the closet.
......Why on earth am I wearing this?
With that question in mind, I tried recalling what happened last night,
‘Say you believe me.’
‘......Yeah, I’ll believe you.’
The moment the memory came back, I unconsciously covered my face with my palm and sighed.
Oh my, what on earth did I do......
After taking a deep breath to calm down, I looked around the room that I had trashed yesterday, and saw that it was now tidied up, looking nothing like the mess it was before.
It was obvious who had cleaned it up.
They say that when there’s someone who makes a mess, there’s always someone who cleans it up.
I felt like I should apologize to Yoon Si-woo, or rather, thank him.
I’ve received too much help in so many ways.
It was overwhelming to think about how I’d repay all this debt.
After letting out a deep sigh, I stepped outside my room and saw Yoon Si-woo sitting at the table. When he noticed me, his eyes widened slightly, and he asked how I was.
“Scarlet, are you feeling okay?”
“......Yeah, thanks to you.”
Since I had done something so absurd yesterday, it was hard to look Si-woo in the eye.
But since it had been quite an incident, Si-woo, still worried because I wasn’t meeting his gaze, asked again to make sure.
“Uh, are you really okay?”
“...I’m fine. That won’t happen again.”
“......Really? That’s a relief.”
Trying to reassure Si-woo, I met his eyes and gave a slight smile. Seeing this, he visibly relaxed and let out a sigh of relief, loosening his expression.
Feeling even more guilty, I was about to thank him when I noticed breakfast on the table.
Seeing that two sets of utensils were placed, it seemed Si-woo had set the table for both of us.
“Did you set this up for me too?”
“I thought you might wake up. You skipped dinner last night, after all. Looks like setting it up was the right call since you’re up now.”
Seeing Si-woo smile slightly as he said that made my guilt intensify.
Hadn’t I confidently said when I moved into this house?
That I’d handle all the housework like cooking and cleaning.
But look at this mess.
Somehow, I ended up pushing all the things I should’ve done onto Si-woo, feeling like an irresponsible person.
On top of that, I hadn’t been eating properly lately......
As I stood hesitating for various reasons, Si-woo looked concerned and spoke again, misunderstanding my hesitation.
“Is it because you’re on a diet or something? Even so, don’t skip meals. It’s bad for your health.”
“It’s not that......”
I shook my head and sat down at the table.
Since he had made it, I should at least eat it out of consideration for his effort.
With that thought, I took a bite of the meal.
“......”
“......What is it? Doesn’t suit your taste?”
“......No, it’s just normally good.”
Just as I said, it was normally good.
Lately, I had completely lost my appetite, and I wondered why it suddenly came back like this.
Then it hit me—I had a good night's sleep without staying up all night, thanks to those lemon candies.
Moreover, probably because of what happened yesterday, I felt psychologically stable as well.
Thanks to that, it seemed like my appetite had returned.
Feeling a bit embarrassed by how much my physical state changed just by relying on Yoon Si-woo, I quickly finished my meal and considered retreating to my room.
But instead, I sat back down.
Then, I spoke to Si-woo.
"Hey, Yoon Si-woo."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Well, um... thanks."
Instead of saying I was sorry, I wanted to say thank you.
I really wanted to convey those words to Si-woo.
"Thank you for cleaning up my room yesterday."
"......It’s fine. I couldn't just leave you in a place like that."
"And thanks for making breakfast too."
"......It’s no big deal."
When I thanked him, Si-woo blushed as if embarrassed.
I continued, facing him.
"You changed my clothes last night too, right? And you washed off the bloodstains?"
"Ugh... w-well, I couldn’t just leave you like that...... B-But hey! I did it with my eyes closed, I swear!"
"Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to scold you. I just wanted to say thank you."
Seeing Si-woo's face turn red as he looked troubled, I chuckled lightly before slowly opening my mouth again.
And then, I said.
"For rescuing me when I was kidnapped, for solving my problems when I was in trouble.
For agreeing to my difficult requests, for saying I was your friend.
For saying yesterday that you would always be there for me when I was in a bind, and for telling me to trust you."
One by one, I brought up all the things I was grateful for, things I’d kept tucked away in my heart.
Speaking them aloud, with sincerity.
"Thank you. Truly."
I conveyed my gratitude to him.
"......You don’t have to thank me so much. We’re friends, aren’t we?"
Si-woo replied, smiling awkwardly.
I looked at him for a moment, and then, on a sudden impulse, I stood up.
I walked over to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and lightly cut the back of my hand.
"Scarlet, what are you—!"
"Hey, you know."
Startled by my sudden action, Si-woo was about to rush over, but I held out my hand to him.
And the moment the pain from my hand disappeared, I saw Si-woo take a sharp breath.
"Ever since I got kidnapped by that witch, I’ve been like this. I’m more of a monster than a human now... I don’t even know when I’ll stop being myself."
I told Si-woo, with a bitter smile.
I wanted to be honest, at least with him, more than anyone else.
And then I asked.
"Even so, do you still..."
I was prepared to accept whatever answer came, but I still held onto a sliver of hope.
"Will you still be my friend—?"
"Scarlet."
And then Si-woo,
Even after seeing my monstrous body that heals itself without a care.
Even after seeing my form that anyone could tell was no longer human.
"No matter what you are, I’m your friend."
He interrupted me and answered.
And to that answer, I thought to myself.
Ah, as I thought.
You really are the only one in this world who can truly accept someone like me.
So, as long as you’re here.
As long as you, who know my secret, truly understand me and consider me a friend.
I can be happy.
And because of that.
"Yeah, thank you, Yoon Si-woo."
I said, smiling genuinely.
*
“Well, I’m off.”
“Yeah, see you later.”
I saw off Yoon Si-woo with a smile as he left for work after the holiday.
Even when he wasn’t by my side, I no longer felt the uneasy feeling I used to.
He had promised to come running whenever I was in trouble.
I believe in Si-woo, the one who said that.
I could trust him more than anyone else.
Feeling a bit more upbeat, I smiled as I returned to my room.
Maybe I’d catch up on some more sleep.
As I was pondering that, I noticed a shopping bag lying on the floor of my room.
It was the shopping bag containing the cosmetics I received as a gift from Florene.
I must have knocked it over while causing a ruckus yesterday, so I checked inside.
“Ugh......”
Each and every one of the containers had their lids off, with their contents evaporated as if they had vanished without a trace.
Had they spilled?
If they had, there would have been stains on the shopping bag, but there wasn’t a single mark, just the cosmetics with their contents cleanly evaporated, leaving me puzzled for a moment.
“......Si-woo must have cleaned it up thoroughly, like everything else.”
Since Si-woo had even cleaned the blood stains from the walls without a trace, I figured it was the same for this, so I tossed the shopping bag and the cosmetics containers into the trash without much thought.
More than anything else, all I felt was that it was a waste.
“They were expensive, so I was thinking of selling them later and buying something tasty with the money......”
Muttering to myself, I lay down on the bed and drifted back to sleep.
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Huh I wonder what happened
ReplyDeleteYou didn't read the previous 2 chapters?
DeleteI said it before and I'd say it again. Those cosmetics were sus. They were either recording devices or poisonous.
ReplyDeleteSo the next witch will be the witch of lust
ReplyDeletethose cosmetics sus af
ReplyDelete