310 – EP.11 The End of a Long Puberty-2
***
CSAT D-25.
The increasingly emaciated appearance of Kim Seong-ah made Kang In-ho worried.
“There’s definitely something there.”
I noticed the strangely calm appearance of my housemate a few days ago.
Since the child, who had been going to school fine, seemed to be in low tension ever since she left school, it was clear that something had happened to her at school.
“Everything else is the same as usual, but the expression is just dead…”
We eat together and talk well. That made Kang In-ho’s head complicated.
As he steamed his ribs, he sat at the table and thought.
“I guess there’s a water vein flowing in the house, but I haven’t been able to sleep well lately either.”
He may have been influenced by the evil forces that appeared day and night, but he had been unable to sleep well recently.
He had a dream every day, and if he traced his vague memories, it was always the same.
“Master keeps appearing.”
The content of the dream was that his teacher, Namgung Soyu, came to him every night.
He couldn’t remember exactly what they did, but he mostly remembered talking or making out.
“It’s understandable that you’re having dirty dreams because you’re frustrated, but… Are you hungry for conversation? It seems like you talk a lot with Master.”
[Have you been secretly planning anything lately?]
[What is your true purpose?]
I vaguely remember my teacher’s face persistently asking me something.
“There was something strange about his personality, though.”
His teacher in the dream seemed distant from the young Namgung So-yu and Cheonma, the supreme figure of the Black Heavenly Religion.
In some ways, his appearance was exactly the same as Namgung Soyu in my memory, but when I looked at his speech and behavior, he was similar to Seongah.
“If the teacher’s face has Seong-ah’s personality… Wow…”
A chill ran down his back, and he woke up shivering.
It was tempting to have doubts about that strange gap, but he thought it was a result of his own unconsciousness.
Perhaps it would be even more strange to think that a child who had been abandoned every night would snuggle into one’s bed.
“It’s a special rib stew… I hope you eat it and gain strength.”
He muttered, thinking of Kim Seong-ah, who would be arriving shortly.
CSAT D-20.
“Why are you so nice to me?”
These were the words I heard from Seong-ah, who was studying late into the night, and brought her some fruit.
“What can I do for you?”
“Things like this. Bringing fruit and things like that.”
She pointed to her plate, which was placed within easy reach of her hand.
“I guess you forgot, but you bought all of this with your own money?”
When Kang In-ho spoke with her serious face, Kim Seong-ah showed a polite, weak smile.
“The sincerity of buying fruits with that money and bringing them to you like this is your kindness.”
“You speak well. I guess you studied the language a bit.”
“Language? Oh, you mean Korean?”
“Korean language? It’s not a language area?”
Kang In-ho blinked his eyes a few times.
“Frame.”
Kim Seong-ah smiled and put her apple in my mouth.
The apple was sweet and she smiled, but there was still a feeling of discomfort on one side of her face.
“Anyway, study hard. Go to bed early. Managing your physical condition is also important.”
“Yes. When do you sleep?”
“Me? I think I’ll sleep in an hour. I haven’t been able to sleep well lately.”
“……You’re not going to wake up or anything, are you?”
“I don’t wake up, but I seem to dream often.”
“Hmm….”
“Why?”
“No, I’ll eat the apple well.”
She put one of the apples back into her mouth.
The door to the room closed with a crunching sound.
Kim Seong-ah, who was listening to his steps as he walked away, leaned against the backrest and let out her long sigh like smoke from her cigarette.
“In the end, you don’t tell me, why are you so nice to me?”
***
CSAT D-13.
“Sorry, are you hungry? I’ll make it right away.”
Kang In-ho, who had just returned home, said to Kim Seong-ah as he entered the kitchen where ingredients were scattered around.
She had just come home and was dressed neatly in her school uniform.
“It looks like there was an attack.”
She asked, looking at his sweaty forehead and the chopped vegetables.
The shadow on her face grew darker day by day. Kang In-ho tried to tell her about it, but she immediately shut her mouth.
It was clear to her that if she asked anyway, she wouldn’t get an answer.
She decided to answer the question on his behalf.
“Uh, I was making dinner and suddenly…”
Hearing his words that she was sick of it, Kim Seong-ah sat down at her table without even changing her clothes.
“But the raid on the fortress seems a bit strange.”
“Is it strange?”
“They tend to appear in places where there are a lot of people. So, until they use the power of stars to manipulate their memories, videos are circulated on the news and on the Internet.”
Kim Seong-ah said her words with a look on her face that said she did not understand.
“Yeah, but?”
Kang In-ho picked up her knife and started chopping her vegetables again, replying roughly to her words.
“But these days, there is no such news. There is no emergency alert or anything.”
“I took care of things quickly, but I think it’s because all the recent attacks took place in high places.”
As he spoke, recalling the battle so far, Kim Seong-ah’s expression became even darker.
“That’s right. I’m really concerned about the sudden change in location. It’s like they don’t want you to know that they are attacking you.”
“Isn’t it just a whim? They have no reason to do that.”
“I don’t know, maybe they want to have a secret meeting.”
Kim Seong-ah glanced at Kang In-ho’s face. Kang In-ho’s face, absorbed in cooking, did not change one bit.
Kim Seong-ah gritted her teeth slightly.
“Mister, aren’t you tired? There are attacks day and night…”
“It was hard at first, but I got used to it as I did it. Hey, but how did you do this over the years? It’s amazing, it’s amazing.”
He turned on the gas stove and shook his head.
This is because I realized once again that the position he was representing was a big burden for a 20-year-old child to take on.
“If it’s hard, I can do it again.”
“Let’s finish the CSAT first.”
“…Okay. Then, I’ll change my clothes and come back.”
“Uh, I’ll call you when dinner is done. It will take some time.”
“Yes.”
Kim Seong-ah returned to the room and slowly unbuttoned his clothes.
The white school uniform top falls on the bed, and the checkered skirt falls on the floor.
After she unhooks her tight bra and puts it in her laundry basket, she puts on a boxy t-shirt.
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“…If there is no response even after doing this, isn’t it okay?”
She puts into her mouth the conclusion she wants to affirm.
But still, the scene of the day he met the Four Heavenly Kings comes to mind again.
“Then why did you say that?”
The worst conclusion suddenly appears.
She flung herself onto the bed and buried her face in her pillow.
And she screamed as loud as she could. The frustration, frustration, and anger that had been building up inside came out little by little through my shouting.
Take a few minutes to let out your emotions. She rolled her flushed face away from her pillow and laid back on her bed.
“…Is that the only way?”
***
That night.
Kang In-ho, who went to bed early to make up for the lack of sleep, suddenly woke up with a stabbing sensation in his neck.
“…What…?”
Even though his eyes had not yet adapted to the darkness, he could clearly see the sharp metal object pointed at his neck.
“What, what is it?”
When my consciousness was being pulled from the deep sea of dreams to reality, I heard a voice.
“[Purity of starlight, separate truth from lies. Libra.]”
As soon as the words were spoken, a green scale sparkling like starlight appeared in the dark room.
“Swear by looking at the scale. I swear by the scale that I will tell only the truth.”
“…What?”
“I want you to swear.”
As soon as her words fell, a metal ball began to press lightly on her neck.
If you apply a little more force, it will penetrate right through your throat.
He swallowed.
“Swear.”
“Seong-ah, why suddenly…?”
“Swear it!”
Mysterious purple eyes that suddenly glowed in the darkness were trembling.