READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 237
The beginning of June, the starting point of the final exam period.
A weekday morning, a time when two humans have to leave the house simultaneously.
Just before stepping out of the front door, Junie, who can’t follow outside, comes out to see them off.
Siyeon, crouching down, pats Junie’s head and leaves a morning greeting.
“See you later?”
“Meowww.”
Junie, knowing from the attire that they’re leaving, expresses sorrow with a long cry.
No matter what, bringing a cat to school is out of the question.
Even the most outrageous parents haven’t yet requested to bring pets to school.
Honestly, having a cat on your lap instead of a thin blanket in midwinter sounds nice.
“Hahaha, guard the house alone, you four-legged beast!”
“Shut up and go inside.”
Hearing Junie’s sorrowful cry, Gomteng peeks out from the pocket and challenges the cat.
Just as I grab the front door handle to leave, I scold Gomteng for sticking out and reach for my pocket…
Junie suddenly jumps, bites Gomteng’s face, and pulls him out of the pocket like flowing water.
“Whoa.”
“Huh?!”
It happened so fast; Gomteng was dragged into the master bedroom without a chance to react.
Even though he’s a speechless animal, he probably understood the mocking tone.
“Gyaaak-”
Gomteng’s desperate screams faintly echoed from the master bedroom, but I didn’t pay much attention and slightly leaned my head inside the front door.
“Anyway, Siyeon’s in charge today, so I’m just leaving-?”
Today’s an even day.
Since Siyeon’s in charge of monster extermination, there’s no need to take Gomteng.
After shouting loudly enough for the whole house to hear, I look at Siyeon and say briefly.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
“Wait a second…”
“The door is locked.”
The creaking front door firmly closed with a metallic click.
The ruthless mechanical sound of the door lock buries the desperate voice asking to wait.
Regardless, today’s an early day, so I head to school with lighter steps than usual.
After dispersing to our respective classes, sitting down and having a light morning chat with friends.
“Mari, you’re raising a cat now, right?”
“Ah, did you see it in the chat?”
A small trend in our class.
Posting pictures of pets in the chat.
What started as a light conversation spread like wildfire, blending the chat and reality.
Especially those raising cats, they seemed happy about the new cat owner.
“Yeah, what’s the cat’s name?”
“Junie.”
“Jihoon? Sounds like a person’s name.”
Often, when I say Junie, they mishear it as Jihoon.
I wave my hands and correct the name.
“Not Jihoon, Ju-nie.”
“Ah, Ju-nie?”
After explaining with pauses, my classmate finally understands.
Talking for a while in the classroom filled with pet bragging syndrome, the first period, English, arrives.
The biggest feature of English mock exams is that most multiple-choice questions are listening tests.
The violin sound, unchanged through generations.
Fresh, bouncy music, but also a sound that brings tension to students.
“Number 1, listen to the following and choose the most appropriate purpose of the woman’s speech. Hello dog lovers…”
After barely understanding the first three English sentences, my mind goes blank.
They keep mumbling, but I can’t tell if it’s guidance or rap.
Black is writing, white is paper.
What is this… After the tenth phrase, I give up on interpreting, and the broadcast dings.
I don’t know what they said, but the explanation seems to be over.
After the ding, the sound of rustling papers and sharpeners.
Moving fingers with the mood, but ultimately relying on a one in five chance.
After solving all multiple-choice questions like that, I pretend to solve the subjective questions, which I can’t even approach.
At least to avoid being labeled as ‘a lazy bitch who doesn’t even try subjective questions.’
No point in being too noticeable to the teachers.
Lying face down, using the remaining 10 to 20 minutes for sleep…
‘Huh?’
A faint alarm sound from far outside the window.
To anyone, it’s a monster alarm, and of all times, during the mock exam?
‘How will Siyeon handle it alone…?’
If it were a regular class, maybe, but now it’s during the mock exam.
It’s not easy to slip out with usual acting skills.
Tap tap, my legs tremble with anxiety.
“There’s an alarm outside, but it’s far from school, so we’re not evacuating.”
‘Insensitivity to safety…’
The faint but continuous monster alarm.
The alarm, showing no sign of stopping until break time, makes me look at the sky outside the window with trembling legs.
Shortly after the break bell, a small hole appears in the high clouds.
Seems like I couldn’t slip out during class.
‘What can I do?’
A student who can leave the classroom during exams or mock exams.
The condition is being able to perform vivid expressions even when exposed to minor discomfort and pain.
Or just collapse? Without those two, it’s tough.
‘Ah, it’s gone now.’
After about 7 minutes into the break, the alarm stops.
The faint but continuous and repetitive sound stops, and classmates start discussing it.
“Wasn’t the alarm unusually long today? 20 minutes?”
“Yeah, what happened?”
Murmurs, even if it’s far, it’s within the same area.
If a fire breaks out three blocks away, even the most indifferent person would worry about it affecting them.
What happened?
Well… it’s because I couldn’t leave the classroom during the mock exam.
While pondering this unknown truth, after finishing the remaining exam, I join Siyeon and head home.
Since there was no need to use the blackboard during the mock exam, there was no need to change the water.
A worry-free day returning home.
Leaving the student-dense school area, waiting at the crosswalk, I casually ask Siyeon.
“Was it hard to leave during class?”
“Huh?”
Siyeon, momentarily not understanding, opens her eyes wide and utters a questioning sound.
I thought she’d understand if left alone, but to speed it up, I mention the alarm during the English exam.
“Why, um… today, the alarm was a bit long.”
“Ah, that…”
Then, as if remembering, Siyeon utters ‘Ah’ and trails off with two short words.
Ah, this is the reaction when something’s bothering her.
Quickly, I move behind Siyeon, hold her shoulders from behind, stand on tiptoe, and whisper quietly.
“Tell the truth.”
“I, I fell asleep…”
“Hmm, I see.”
Under sharp pressure, Siyeon spills the truth.
Even if I hadn’t asked, Sea Snake would have told me at home, but the fact that she confessed herself is significant.
Detaching from Siyeon, I walk back to my original spot.
Following the changing crosswalk signal, we walk together.
A news article on the frequently visited search engine on my smartphone.
[Incheon monster extermination delayed by 18 minutes on average, what happened?]
Snorting, I dismiss the obvious human malice and arrive home.
As I step inside the front door, I feel my shirt being pulled from behind and turn around.
Siyeon, beyond sullen, almost crying.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
Was there anything to cry about from the earlier mood?
Panicking, I wipe the moisture from Siyeon’s eyes with my fingers, and she replies in a watery voice.
“You didn’t say anything…?”
“Why would I say anything? About what?”
“About being late for extermination…”
Turns out… feeling guilty for no reason about the question at the crosswalk, thinking I was angry, she hadn’t said a word.
Well, falling asleep and being late for duty could be seen as negligence…
But during a mock exam, slipping out isn’t easy, and I wasn’t ignoring it on purpose, so I wasn’t angry at all.
If she thought the delay was her fault, maybe, but I wasn’t even a bit angry…
I don’t get girls’ crying points.
“Geez, you thought I was mad about that?”
Wiping her eyes as if it’s no big deal, Siyeon nods silently.
With such a kind heart that feels guilty over such a small thing, I probably wouldn’t get truly mad at Siyeon unless it’s a joke.
The problem was elsewhere…
“What’s with the state of the house?”
My room’s torn blanket with stuffing sticking out.
Soaked and torn toilet paper rolls.
A scene hard to believe was caused by just one cat and a mascot, I ask expressionlessly.
“Well, um… you see.”
“I clearly closed all doors except the master bedroom.”
“Due to unavoidable circumstances, while trying to evacuate, failing to block external lifeforms resulted in this tragic outcome, for which I deeply regret…”
Not even listening to the end of the official-sounding response, I kick him.
“You little brat!”
“Ugh!”
After a long time, a sincere kick sends him bouncing off the wall and falling to the floor.
His mouth is as smooth as flowing water.
Returning from school to torn, soaked toilet paper, ripped blanket covers, and other miscellaneous messes, we start cleaning.
Rustling through trash bags and other items, Junie, who along with Gomteng turned the house into a mess, shamelessly comes over and meows.
“Meowww-”
“Hey, you’re not a toy.”
Junie, biting soaked toilet paper or tearing it with claws.
Quickly snatching it and putting it in the trash bag, she lifts her head and wails with a dissatisfied cry.
“Meow-!”
Now stubbornly holding onto the bag and stretching.
Honestly, if they weren’t cute, humans would have wiped them out long ago.