READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 261
At first, I was startled, thinking it was a letter left by Siyeon.
But seeing Siyeon sleeping soundly instead of an empty bed, I felt relieved.
I thought maybe she was going through some big teenage event, even running away, but that wasn’t the case…
After calming down, I realized Siyeon had no reason or motive to do such a thing.
It wasn’t until I noticed Gomteng’s cushion was empty that I finally understood the truth.
Gomteng, that pseudo-beast radar, had run away.
‘A journey of self-discovery? Yeah, right.’
A guy who’s already brainwashed and betrayed his own kind, what self-discovery is he even talking about?
Thinking that, I tiptoed into Siyeon’s room, careful not to make a sound, and poked the sea snake with my fingertip.
The creature slowly opened its eyes and stretched its long body.
I curled my finger, gesturing for it to follow me.
Making sure Siyeon didn’t wake up, I went to the living room and spoke to the sea snake.
“Did you know Gomteng ran away?”
“Huh? Seriously…?”
The sea snake, hearing the news of Gomteng’s escape, seemed flustered and even questioned me back.
After being thoroughly confused, it even peeked into my room, as if it really had no idea.
It seemed like Gomteng had acted alone, without any signs.
“Anyway, can you guys talk to each other now?”
“Yeah.”
I threw the question at the sea snake, even though I already knew the answer.
Somehow, the mascots have this telepathy-like communication method among themselves.
“I don’t care if he’s wandering around, but tell him not to get caught by people or CCTV.”
I left a one-sided message for Gomteng through the sea snake.
“Okay, got it…”
With the sea snake nodding, the situation was temporarily resolved.
I decided to leave the runaway beast radar alone for now, as it would mess up the humans’ routines if I went after him.
While preparing breakfast, I pondered the lingering feelings after the holiday.
After Chuseok, the midterm exam period of the second semester quietly approached.
It’s a tough time for students who study, but also a strange period where even those who don’t study get some consideration.
Even the Korean teacher, who usually assigns a lot of homework, kindly only pointed out the exam range during this break.
“This part will be on the test, so underline it—”
The sound of pencils scratching paper.
Click, click, the familiar sound of switching colors on a three-color pen.
Everyone was underlining as if they were studying, but in reality, less than half would actually review those parts before the test.
They just did it because leaving the textbook blank would be embarrassing.
A while later, the bell rang for break time…
As the Korean teacher left through the front door, she spoke loud enough for everyone in the classroom to hear.
“Guys, I’ve really told you everything, so at least get questions 1 to 3 right… I’ve given you all the answers.”
“Yes—”
Only the class president and a few students responded.
I don’t know if it’s just our class, but when a teacher we really dislike leaves and says something, no one responds.
Is this what a battle of wills is like?
Anyway, the classroom door closed with a clunk.
“What’s the exam range? I missed it.”
“Here and here.”
Some who had caught up on sleep during class immediately asked the smart students for the underlined parts as soon as break started.
The kind and smart student, of course, was the class president.
They effortlessly took the exam range like it was a free meal.
‘Missed it? More like slept through it.’
I muttered to myself, unable to say it out loud.
Watching my classmates take advantage of the overly kind class president, I grumbled a bit.
Even though it’s exam period, the only difference from usual is that.
Students who don’t study aren’t suddenly going to sit quietly and study during break time.
As always, the active kids run around the hallway, while the quieter ones gather in groups to chat.
I, too, lay face down on my desk, entering the no-touch sleep mode.
At that moment, something long in my pocket wriggled.
‘Eek!’
The creepy sensation of a snake sliding past my leg made me jerk in surprise.
My startled leg kicked the desk leg with a thud.
Luckily, the clattering noise was drowned out by the break time chaos, and only the class president next to me noticed.
As I fixed my messy hair, I suddenly got up and headed to the restroom.
“Mari, where are you going?”
“Restroom.”
“Oh, let’s go together!”
One of the things I don’t understand about girls’ culture.
Why do they go to the restroom together?
And there’s no special reason for it.
It’s as natural as guys choosing pork cutlet or beef for lunch.
Unlike in middle school, where it was co-ed, in high school I kind of understood the reason…
“Isn’t she really annoying?”
“Yeah, seriously… she’s so clueless.”
The restroom is like… a secret chat room, if you compare it to social media.
A place where you can subtly gossip about things you can’t say openly in class…
It’s literally the holy ground for backbiting, that’s what the restroom is.
…Or maybe it’s just awkward to be alone in class, so they stick together?
It’s usually one of the two.
After locking the restroom stall with a click, I pulled the sea snake out of my pocket.
Why was the sea snake in my pocket, you ask?
Well, obviously, today was my turn to handle monster extermination.
But with Gomteng gone, we’re stuck with two mascots taking turns each day, which is pretty ridiculous.
“…Shh.”
I put my index finger to my lips, signaling to keep quiet.
Then I tapped near my ear, signaling to whisper.
I was wondering how to ditch the class president who came to the restroom with me, thinking the monster might appear soon…
“Sorry if I scared you… I was just uncomfortable and squirming.”
“Ugh, geez.”
A whisper filled my ear, followed by an annoyed mutter.
Even though it was pretty loud, I hoped no one in the next stall heard.
Even though I got annoyed, it’s better if she doesn’t show up at school.
Pretending to be done, I flushed the toilet unnecessarily, put the sea snake back in my pocket, and washed my hands at the sink.
I don’t know why, but it’s just polite to wait.
If you came together, you go back together—an unspoken rule.
After getting some meaningless info about a classmate named Seoeun from Class 4 being clueless and unlucky, I returned to the classroom.
Once I realized the wriggling was just squirming and not a monster appearance, I could comfortably rest my cheek on the desk again.
“Don’t get distracted and go home to study—”
“Yes—”
The homeroom teacher’s nagging about studying at home during exam period.
Those who study will study, and those who play will play.
Siyeon and I fall into the latter category.
At least we’re not studying.
‘But actually, isn’t it more like working than playing?’
While others study at school, we’re on standby for monster extermination.
Trying to justify our lazy lifestyle at home, I rambled on with sophistry.
“Did anything happen?”
“Huh?”
Siyeon, looking uneasy, subtly asked me.
Which thing is she talking about? Magical girl stuff? Or school-related?
The question was too vague, so I tilted my head and asked back.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you took Baemi today…”
Siyeon whispered, probably because there were many students around us heading home.
Her breath tickled my ear as she whispered.
Couldn’t she think of a better word than mascot?
As I scratched my itchy ear with my pinky, I answered her whispered question.
“Just because.”
Honestly, the wriggling in my pocket wasn’t very pleasant.
It wasn’t like a bug crawling, but more like an earthworm squirming in my pocket.
…But I didn’t say that and just swallowed it down with a gulp.
Returning home, I flung open the front door.
“Meow—”
The only thing greeting us inside was a four-legged cat.
Only after coming home could we freely talk about magical girl stuff.
Holding her mascot, the sea snake, Siyeon brightly asked.
“What happened to the bear?”
“Dunno.”
I answered immediately without a second’s delay.
Even though it’s her mascot, I seemed completely uninterested.
“Didn’t you ask Baemi?”
Siyeon, also a bit flustered, stuttered and asked again.
The sea snake, comfortably resting in Siyeon’s palm, answered first.
“Nope, didn’t ask.”
“He’ll come back when it’s time.”
I added indifferently, throwing my school bag in front of the room.
Even though we seem uninterested, it’s because we trust each other.
How long can that guy last outside anyway…?
It was a overwhelmingly negative kind of trust, though.
‘Wonder if he’ll last a week.’