"Haa, haa, haa..."
I hurriedly dashed out of school and fled.
And then, standing in the middle of a nearby street, I clutched my chest and gasped for breath.
"What, what, what.."
At the same time, my phone started ringing.
[KakaoTalk~]
I held my breath and looked at the Screen.
There was a video that Hayoon had posted in the group chat.
[In Hayoon: [Video]]
And at the same time, an unidentified person was invited to the chat room.
[In Hayoon has invited Lee Joon 2.]
[Lee Joon 2: Do you think you can escape just by running?]
I gasped for breath and pressed the video with my hand trembling uncontrollably.
Then, in the video, I saw myself from moment ago in the clubroom, fumbling in a pathetic state.
In the video, I was completely pixelated, as if an amateur had clumsily edited me, blending into the surrounding background.
It was a strange sight, barely recognizable as a human.
[Su, Sunah... You, you believe me, right..?]
[....]
[You... hey, don't you like me? Huh? Can't you tell just by looking...? I'm the real one...]
[Catch him]
[Crash-! Bang-!!]
At the sound of another Lee Joon's voice, the mosaic-covered figure threw open the door and ran out.
And right behind, Hayoon's phone camera chased after it.
[Chase him, chase him!]
[Catch him, catch him!]
But the next moment, as soon as I turned the corner, I had already disappeared.
In the blink of an eye.
The camera, as if to confirm that I had
disappeared, carefully panned over the area under the stairs and the window, and then it ended.
And at the same time, floods of KakaoTalk messages started pouring in.
Buzz- Buzz-
[Lee Joon 2: Haven't there been times when you arrived somewhere strangely early?]
[Lee Joon 2: How did you get to the National Police Agency? Did you take the subway? What about on the way back?]
[Lee Joon 2: Haven't there been times when perfectly fine electricity suddenly cut out, or machines started malfunctioning?]
Throb-
"Ugh..."
I clutched my forehead as a sudden, throbbing pain shot through my head.
KakaoTalk~ KakaoTalk~
[Lee Joon 2: You'd better check your
transportation card usage history right now. From Friday onward, there won't be anything recorded.]
[Lee Joon 2: Just press the button. I've installed the app for you.]
After shaking my dizzy head, I tapped on the app list.
There, at the very top, was a Mobile T-money app that I didn't even remember installing.
And at the same time, countless voices came flooding back like a panorama.
"Oh, Prez, you're early. You said you were just leaving."
"Did you fly here or something?"
"You got here fast."
"It's urgent. It's already Sunday evening you know."
"I'm back~"
"Why is someone with an exam tomorrow going in and out so much?"
[Please hold the handle again.]
"What?"
"Let me try, wheeze. "
"Does it Work better when you're all Sweaty?"
"No, no..."
I shook my head.
"Bullsh*t, don't tallk nonsense...."
Tap, tap-
Sensing something unusual, I first turned on the light in the clubroom.
Click, click-
The light didn't come on.
"Mom, my light is broken."
"What~? Didn't you just replace it recently?"
Click-
"It turns on just fine."
"Isn't there any CCTV or something in the place where the evidence is stored..?"
"Coincidentally, it stopped working at that time tine."
"After being seen, if one tries to chase it down, it usually vanishes mysteriously without a trace. In modern times, even when people try to capture its appearance with cameras or other equipment, it is common for the timing to coincide with a power outage or a device malfunction..."
"Detective. I'm asking how you got in
there."
I looked at my police uniform reflected in the window and brushed my hair.
Today, I looked particularly handsome.
"But I'm not the kind of person who would do that without a reason."
"I think there must be a reason why I sent you back without telling you anything. "
KakaoTalk~
[Lee Joon 2: Now that you understand.]
KakaoTalk~
[Lee Joon 2: Can you just get lost?]
"Don't make me laugh, you sh*t. F*ck. You b*stard, eeeeeeeaaah aaahwaaack!!!"
I shouted at the top of my lungs right in the middle of the street.
KakaoTalk
[Lee Joon 2: You have to die like that for me to be me.]
At the same time, the sound of two gunshots echoed from near the school.
Click- Baang-
The first shot was a blank, the second was live ammunition.
Somewhere, Lee Joon had just killed himself.
Soon, a message from the system appeared before my eyes.
Pop-
[You are dead.]
[You'll restart from the previous checkpoint.]
[Loading....]
"I'm not dead! I'm perfectly alive and breathing!"
I opened my eyes wide and looked around in a fluster.
I'll go back first!
I'll die first, so I'l be the one to go back first!
I didn't know what was going on right now, but something definitely got messed up starting from that day! If I died first, things would change!
Just then, a garbage truck came rushing straight toward me.
I sprinted forward with all my strength and threw myself toward the truck.
HỌO00ONK-
Thud-!
Along with the impact that twisted my entire body, a message appeared before my eyes, overlapping with each other.
[You are dead.]
[You'll restart from the previous
checkpoint.]
[Loading....]
And then, after the sensation of my
consciousness frantically wandering
Somewhere came to an end, I immediately sprang to my feet.
Scrap-!
Club members in the clubroom stopped studying to look at me.
Teacher lang Hwaeun [#2/100]
I threw my phone away, ran around the desk, and grabbed Gyeongwon by the collar.
"Call him!"
"....!?"
"Call that b*stard right now!!"
At that, Gyeongwon, who had frozen for a moment with a slight flinch, soon smirked as if he understood what I meant.
"I don't want to, though?"
"What do you mean you don't want to, you son of a-"
Just as I was about to throw a punch at him.
Suddenly, Jinhee from the side jumped up and stopped my fist with a smack, grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, and flung me to the floor.
Crash-!
"Ugh, kuuuugh.."
Along with a pitiful sound, I tumbled together with the chairs.
I quickly tried to get up and lunge at her, but before I could even straighten my back, Dukhun pressed his weight down onto my chest with a thud.
"Ugh- let go, let go, you b*stard-"
"Hey, let him go."
Jinhee coldly commanded.
Jinhee unzipped and threw off the PE jacket she was wearing over her school uniform, then cracked her wrists.
"What. What are you trying to do."
"Haa, haa."
"Why do you want to call him?"
Jinhee tied her hair with a rubber band and cracked her neck with a cracking Sound.
I wiped the drool at the corner of my mouth that had trickled down while I was tumbling about, then exhaled roughly.
"Shut up and call. That b*stard. Right now."
"Come."
Jinhee took a martial arts stance and wiggled her finger.
In the clubroom, silence flowed except
for my rough breathing.
I wiped the corner of my mouth once more and glared at Jinhee, who was standing in front of Gyeongwon.
"Come my foot, tell that b*stard to call me right now!!"
"You're quick to throw punches at people weaker than you, but you're scared to face me? Come on."
Jinhee took a stance again and wiggled
her finger.
Even as I breathed heavily with anger, I was flustered.
Soon, Jinhee lightly stepped forward and shook her head expressionlessly.
"Can't do it?, Come and try. You were good at screaming back during that TV accident too."
"You are really, you f*cker.. Aaaargh!"
I let out a roar and charged at Jinhee.
In an instant, Jinhee stepped forward one beat faster than my rushing stride, then bent at the waist and struck my neck with her hand.
Smack-
"Gk-"
With a squeal like a pig being slaughtered, my neck snapped backward, and my body lifted into the air.
Then, before I could fall to the ground, Jinhee smashed her elbow into my face in midair and slammed me straight into the floor.
Thud-!
With Jinhee's elbow lodged in my face,
the back of my head hit the floor before the rest of my body did.
I couldn't even scream, and for a moment I thought I was really going to die, but only convulsions ran through my entire body, and no message appeared.
Even in the midst of nearly blacking out, as soon as I confirmed that I wasn't dead yet, I reflexively lifted my upper body.
At the same time, Jinhee's knee slammed squarely into my face at a perfect 90-degree angle.
Smack-
"Uuuugh-"
I couldn't even resist once before tumbling over again and trembled violently.
"This b*stard can't even get up once."
Jinhee relaxed her stance and shuffled over, then suddenly grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me up instead.
Hauled up by the collar like that, my trembling feet scraped and scratched the floor.
Jinhee then reached out with her other hand, grabbed my broken nose, and twisted it left and right while squeezing tightly.
Snap-crack-crack-
"Aack, aaaaaaah-"
"Hey, is it fun picking on the weak?"
She twisted my nosebone mercilessly, looking at me with a blank expression.
"Is it fun? You relieve your stress by busting the nose of some p*nk-sized kid?"
"Aaaaaaaaaa-"
"Why can't you do it to me? Go on, try it On me."
"Aaaagh-"
"Go on, do it. Hey. Try it on me."
"You f*cking b*stard, don't think I can't!!!"
I had been pretending to be overpowered, and screaming more dramatically than necessary, but suddenly I widened my eyes and swung my fist at Jinhee in front of me.
Whack-
Because the distance was so short, Jinhee couldn't dodge it and got hit right in the face.
With a playful oomf, she let go of my collar.
Thud-
"How does this b*stard keep scheming even when fighting?"
"Haa, haa, haa....".
"So you're not just the type who picks on the weak and fears the strong? You even threw a punch at me?"
Jinhee loosened her hands again and circled around me.
The club members watched the fight with complicated expressions on their faces.
Only Gyeongwon was smirking, as if he was happy.
"Hey."
Smack-
"Hey, let's have a proper match. Hey."
I clumsily pretended to stagger to my feet, but then instead, I suddenly lunged and grabbed Jinhee by the waist.
Because I knew if I stood properly and
took a fighting stance, I'd just rush in like before, get beaten up, and collapse.
Crash-
But even as Jinhee fell to the floor with me, she instantly slipped her leg between mine and wrapped it around me, then tried to put me in a joint lock so fast I couldn't even tell how she got into position.
Crash-
Squeeze-
We fell together just like that, but in reality I was already subdued as we rolled across the floor.
My whole body was being squeezed by Jinhee's solid muscles, and unable to move an inch, I screamed.
"Aaagh- Somebody help me-Somebody-"
"Ah, damn it."
Jinhee grabbed my face, turned it, and forcefully pressed it against her chest.
My mouth, which had been screaming, was suddenly muffled shut.
Jinhee muttered in an irritated tone.
"You really do have a damn clever head. How do you even live like that? Huh?"
"Mmmph- mmph-"
"How can you even be like that? Think you can get out of this? Try it. Go on, try."
"Mmph, mmph-"
I struggled, trying to scream, but my nose and mouth were firmly pressed against Jinhee's school uniform-covered chest, and all that happened was my blood rushing uncomfortably to my head.
With my arms and legs tightly entangled between her legs and armpits, she restrained my entire body so tightly that even my breathing was being cut off.
I flailed my arms and legs, unable to breathe and only making muffled 'mmph, mmph' sounds, but at some point when the lack of air started to feel overwhelming, instead of anger, a strange sense of calm washed over me.
"Uwp... Uummph... Mmph..."
Squeeze- squeeze-
"Mmph... Mmph..."
Unable to breathe, the world before my eyes turned white, and my consciousness slipped away.
I slowly let go of my strength.
"Mooom..."
"What?"
"Mommyyy.."
My consciousness began to fade due to the lack of oxygen.
Being tightly restrained by the strong
Jinhee, unable to move at all, I instead
felt a strange sense of comfort in the
situation.
Before I knew it, my eyes had gone completely unfocused, and with my whole body fully relaxed, I was limp in Jinhee's grip as she squeezed tightly, surrendering myself to her muscles.
"What, you b*stard?"
"Mom...."
"Want me to choke you more?"
Jinhee squeezed me even tighter with a squelching sound as I drooled and nodded.
Before I knew it, I was feeling happy for being overpowered and squeezed by such the strong Jinhee.
"Are you an idiot?"
"Mom, mom...."
"Looking for your mom? Crazy."
It felt like I wasn't actually looking for my mom, rather I was calling Jinhee 'Mom'.
Jinhee looked down at me, completely out of my mind, and let out a hollow laugh.
Then, without changing her posture, she slightly lifted her head and asked.
"Hey, what should I do now? Keep bullying him?"
[No.]
My voice came through Gyeongwon's phone on speaker, which had been turned on at some point.
[I'm coming. Wait.]