Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
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“…Your homeroom teacher couldn’t come to school today due to personal matters. So, I will be handling today’s assembly in their place.”
The classroom went quiet at the teacher’s words.
No, to be more precise, it had already been quiet from the beginning.
It was only after hearing that much that I started to grasp the situation.
Sara was kidnapped from the “school.”
And the school had cooperated in aiding Choi Na-kyung to kidnap her.
Of course, it wasn’t as if they had truly intended to help.
But, that didn’t mean they were innocent either.
Others wouldn’t know.
If it were people who saw Sara or Choi Na-kyung for the first time, they’d just assume they were mother and daughter.
So, if Choi Na-kyung came looking for Sara, they’d naturally let her meet her.
The problem was that Choi Na-kyung never treated Sara like a proper daughter.
There were often cases on the news where adoptive parents didn’t raise their adopted children properly, but Choi Na-kyung had long since crossed that line.
Even when Sara was much younger, she had already isolated her and prevented her from meeting others.
And the place that became the center of it was the school.
It had no choice but to be.
In order to hide the fact that Sara was being “abused,” she had to send her to school.
And at the school, where Sara had to spend more than half of her waking hours except during vacations, she was thoroughly isolated.
Because of Choi Na-kyung’s money and bribes.
Because of rumors that had no solid evidence.
And the teachers, who knew about it but turned a blind eye, were not innocent either.
Even if it wasn’t outright kidnapping, how could they allow Sara and Choi Na-kyung to be alone together knowing what might happen?
Whether they were investigated by the police or got scared and quickly resigned or went into hiding, this was an incident serious enough for such things to happen.
Thinking that way, I could understand why about half of the students hadn’t come to class.
Choi Na-kyung had attempted to kidnap Sara for some reason and then disappeared.
In other words, the top executive of the Eugene Group had gone missing.
And for a very illegal and unjust reason at that.
Of course, that didn’t mean the management rights would immediately transfer to someone else…
…But without Choi Na-kyung, naturally, the next largest shareholder of Eugene Electronics was me.
I wasn’t sure whether I would bear the legal responsibility or not, but I understood why they’d want to stay far away from me.
It was quite effective, actually.
I hadn’t memorized the faces and names of all the students in my class.
If they disappeared right before my eyes, I wouldn’t remember them immediately.
Yes, I wouldn’t “immediately” remember.
Not that I wouldn’t remember at all.
I couldn’t help but smile.
I didn’t like that Choi Na-kyung had kidnapped Sara.
Such things, if possible, should never happen.
But thanks to that, all relationships could be instantly sorted out like this.
The teachers at this school, and the students who had ostracized Sara too.
It would be nice if they “sincerely” repented.
Otherwise, I’ll make sure they do.
*
“…”
“…Why are you staring at me like that?”
When I looked up and said that at Nam Da-un, who was staring at me, he furrowed his brow.
“Well… are you okay?”
“Do I look okay?”
“…”
Was that too harsh?
The wrinkles in Nam Da-un’s brow deepened a little more.
In fact, it made sense for me to react like that.
Nam Da-un didn’t look like he was worried about me; he looked more like he was observing something incredibly fascinating.
Well, it’s not like he wasn’t concerned at all.
Nam Da-un was essentially a good character.
“Hm.”
“If something’s weird, I’d appreciate it if you just said it. Don’t just stare at me like that.”
“Well, it’s, uh, you see.”
With a look on his face as if it was incredibly difficult to put into words, Nam Da-un quietly stared at me and then spoke.
“You seem a bit different.”
For a moment, I almost felt a chill down my spine.
The reason it was only “almost” was that I knew Nam Da-un wasn’t the type to say something like that to hit on me.
No matter how much I was now living in a girl’s body, I had no intention of giving up my identity.
After all, I had just shared a… kiss with Sara not too long ago.
…Though I did feel a bit guilty about the large age gap.
Anyway, my gender identity remained exactly the same as in my previous life.
If a guy showed romantic interest in me, I’d just feel uncomfortable.
Seeing me frown, Nam Da-un waved his hand dismissively.
“No, it’s just that the you from a little while ago, the you from before that, and the you now all seem different.”
“What do you mean by that—”
I stopped mid-sentence, and this time, I felt a chill down my spine in a different sense.
Wait?
“I thought your personality was just changing gradually, but now that I look at you today, it seems like you’ve gone back to how you originally were. I was wondering if it had something to do with that recent incident.”
“…”
I didn’t know how to respond.
Because what Nam Da-un said was spot on.
When I started taking running lessons from him, it was me moving Sara’s body.
Until recently, it had been Sara herself moving it.
And now, it was back to me again.
…Could this person possibly have some kind of sixth sense?
Normally, all I saw was his radiant face through Sara’s eyes, and I had even gotten used to that to the point it didn’t bother me much anymore.
But now, I really didn’t want to be reminded of some fantasy setting in this world.
I turned my head to look at Ha-neul, So-hee, and Soo-ah, who had followed me here.
The three of them were looking a bit tense as if they had caught on to what Nam Da-un was saying.
The fact that Sara and I existed as separate personalities wasn’t exactly something that absolutely had to be kept secret… but it was definitely something I wanted to hide as much as possible.
Neither Sara nor I were the type to randomly lash out at people, and of course, we wouldn’t suddenly go crazy and hurt someone or draw a knife…
But if you combined the unstable behavior Sara had shown as a child and the crazy things I had done at the beginning of the semester, we’d easily become the stereotype of a “mentally unstable person.”
And that would follow us around like a label, constantly gossiping in people’s mouths.
“Uh, probably…?”
But outright lying was tricky too.
If Nam Da-un really had some ability to see through things, he’d easily catch me in a lie.
So, I gave a vague answer, dodging the question.
“Hm.”
After staring down at me for a moment, Nam Da-un shrugged his shoulders and said,
“Well, it’s a relief you don’t seem to be mentally scarred or anything.”
If he had such an incredible ability, wouldn’t it be wiser to pursue a career as a therapist or psychiatrist?
Sure, I know he’s talented in soccer, but if you had to choose between “talent” and “superpower” for making money, wouldn’t the latter be a much better option?
Well, if he decided his future based on that, it wouldn’t seem like he was the protagonist of some dating sim anymore.
“Alright, alright.”
Clapping his hands to break the somewhat awkward atmosphere, Nam Da-un spoke.
“Then as always, let’s—”
He stopped mid-sentence.
His gaze was fixed on something, so I turned my head to see what he was looking at. Someone was walking toward us.
…And it wasn’t a face I was happy to see.
“…”
The person stood about ten steps away from me, hands in both pockets.
“You seem to be doing fine.”
With an incredibly emotionless voice, they spoke.
“…What are you doing here?”
I asked Yoon Da-ho, who had come to find me.
“Don’t worry. It’s not like I wanted to come here.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
At least he didn’t have the unnerving habit of making creepy remarks like Nam Da-un.
Instead, he had a talent for ruining people’s moods on purpose.
Is this also a superpower?
In the game, he was portrayed as having a lot of money, as if that was his superpower.
Not that it was any match for my wealth.
Yoon Da-ho pulled his left hand out of his pocket to check the time on his smartwatch, then shrugged.
“I didn’t bring a gift since I figured you wouldn’t want one. Though, if any of my people ask, it’d be great if you could tell them I checked on you.”
“…Weren’t you the one who wanted to break off the engagement? Wouldn’t it be better not to do things like that?”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m working hard on my end.”
As he shoved his hands back into his pockets and furrowed his brow, I wondered if talking to me bothered him that much.
“I was here. Remember that.”
…Maybe if his people come later, I’ll just say he wasn’t here at all.
Honestly, even if I did say that, wouldn’t I still be innocent?
“Hm?”
Ha-neul, who had been watching Yoon Da-ho, let out a sound.
“What?”
I asked, wondering if she had noticed something I hadn’t, but Ha-neul shook her head.
“Uh, no, I think I saw wrong.”
“Really…?”
Well, if that’s what she says.
I shrugged slightly and began to stretch lightly before starting our run.