The Academy’s Deceased Ate It All

"Here."

"Oh, thanks."

When I handed her the handkerchief I'd soaked in cold water, Yu-na took it carefully and pressed it to her eyes.

We'd moved somewhere out of the way to talk, and the spot was so out of the way it didn't even have a bench or a trash can.

"Sit on this. The ground's going to be freezing."

I gave her a small smile as she made to perch on the edge of a flowerbed.

The blanket Lee Ye-eun had given me as a gift was inside the bag I was carrying.

I'd brought it along to warm up with after training, and as I held it out, I thought I'd never expected to use it like this—but she shook her head firmly.

"No, you're still a patient, Ji-hyeok. You can't let yourself get cold. So just use it yourself."

"Don't lie when it's that obvious you're…ah."

Then, as if something had just clicked, she took the blanket from me and tucked it under herself.

A moment later, with a soft rustling sound, she pulled out a small blanket of her own from her bag.

She held it in both hands, hesitated for a second, then offered it to me.

"Here. You use this one, Ji-hyeok."

"Huh? Oh, okay."

I ended up taking the blanket from her almost without thinking.

It occurred to me that we could have just used the ones we'd each already had to begin with, but it wasn't worth worrying about, so I let it go.

"All right then… where should we start…"

It wasn't that I had any real reluctance about telling her.

This wasn't the first time I'd shared my secret, and Yu-na was someone I knew I could trust.

It was just that, now that I was actually about to start, I had no idea where to begin.

While I was thinking it over, something she'd said earlier came back to me, and I asked her carefully.

"Hey, before that, can I ask you something?"

"Hm?"

"That thing you mentioned… about me talking in my sleep a lot? And how did you figure out I had a sister?"

At that, Yu-na looked at me silently for a moment.

"You're the one who told me you had a sister, Ji-hyeok."

"I did?"

"Yeah, that time you were making food at our orphanage. You said, 'I have a sister.' But you clammed up right after, so I figured you didn't want to talk about it."

At her words, the memory came back to me clearly.

When she saw me give a small nod, she made that pursed-lip expression of hers and went on.

"And the sleep-talking… yeah, most of it was about your sister."

"…What kind of stuff was I saying?"

"That you were sorry she ended up like this because of you. And that you were sorry for thinking some weird thoughts."

"……."

There was nothing I could say to that.

The first part I could understand, but for that other stuff to come out in my sleep…

'Maybe I should ask Sbeungali for some help with this.'

While I was thinking that, Yu-na asked.

"Is it… okay if I ask about your sister?"

I sat still for a while, then nodded.

"What's her name?"

"Yu Ji-na. We share the 'Ji' character."

"Ji-na, Ji-na… that's a pretty name."

Yu-na said this with a small smile.

And for some reason, the way she smiled struck me as similar to that kid.

Lee Yu-na and Yu Ji-na.

By coincidence, even their names sounded alike.

"What's she look like? Does she take after you, Ji-hyeok?"

"No. She's prettier than me by miles."

"Huh?"

"She's a little shorter than I am. Unlike me, she was great at sports and great at her studies. On top of that, she had a good heart, she was sweet, and she had a ton of friends. And she—"

"Ah, okay."

Yu-na nodded with an awkward look on her face, then blinked and asked.

"H-how much of an age gap is there between you two, then?"

"Six years. It's a pretty big one."

"Oh, so that's why…"

Yu-na murmured this with a look of understanding.

"So she'd be in elementary school?"

"…No."

"Huh?"

"She's in college. Our Ji-na. She's twenty-two now. Unlike me, she got into a four-year university. She was always saying that once she got a job, she'd take care of her older brother and spoil him rotten."

"Huh? What?"

Looking at Yu-na's bewildered face, I gave a wry smile.

"And I'm twenty-eight. I worked at a factory."

"Ji-hyeok, what are you—"

Looking at her—at how lost she was—I carefully said what I'd never imagined I'd end up saying so many times.

"I'm from a different world than the rest of you."

I took my time and told her everything, slowly, in a quiet voice.

That I was someone from a different world, not from this one.

That I'd been older originally, but I'd been made younger.

That to get back, I needed to take down the Seven Calamities.

And that my sister, Ji-na, also seemed to be in this world…

When I'd finished going over the broad strokes, I looked at her and let out a small sigh.

"…That's all of it. The stuff I've been hiding from you this whole time. Sorry I couldn't tell you sooner."

For a moment, Yu-na seemed at a loss for words, one hand pressed over her mouth.

I watched for her reaction.

"It wasn't that I was deliberately trying to hide it… it's just, you know, it's hard to bring up in the first place, and even if I did say it, it's hard to believe."

Then Yu-na reached out and took my hand, as if to tell me to stop talking.

"I'm sorry."

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry. I… never in a million years would I have guessed it was something like this…"

After murmuring that, Yu-na lowered the hand covering her mouth and clasped mine in both of hers.

"How did you get through all this on your own this whole time…?"

"……."

"It must've been so hard, right?"

At her words, I found myself nodding reflexively before I knew what I was doing.

Just as I was startling at my own reaction, she patted the back of my hand and spoke.

"But you said your sister's in this world too, right? Haven't you been able to find any trace of her, anything at all?"

"It's… looks like she didn't actually end up in the same time period as me."

"What?"

"It's only recently that I even found out she was in this world at all. And today… I found out she's in a different time than me."

"Ah…"

When I mumbled this weakly, Yu-na let out a small breath.

I ended up murmuring the worst-case scenario that had been circling in my head, before I could stop myself.

"…She might already be dead."

I heard Yu-na suck in a small breath.

"Or she could've been dropped a few hundred years in the past. Or she might end up appearing centuries from now… I really don't know anything. I came into this world ten years younger than I was, so there's no guarantee it didn't happen to her too."

Minerva had said the kid had been sealed away—that her body and mind had even been sealed separately.

Or more accurately, the me she'd known had told her that, and stated it as fact.

…Which probably meant I'd find out about Ji-na sometime soon.

About my sealed-away sister.

"……."

Sealed. Sealed away.

There was no way someone in that state was okay.

I mean, why on earth would a regular person have their body and mind sealed separately—a sealing method I'd only ever heard of being used on the Seven Calamities, or at the very least on natural-disaster-class monsters?

"……."

She'd probably been through something I couldn't even begin to imagine.

I couldn't picture what she might have gone through.

And the fact that I hadn't been there when it happened—the fact that I hadn't even known anything about it up until a few days ago—gnawed at me harder than ever, like something eating me from the inside out.

"It's going to be okay."

That's when Yu-na's grip on my hand tightened.

"I'll help you."

She looked at me with steady, unshaken eyes.

"It's not because of any debt I owe you, or because I owe you more than I could ever repay in a lifetime."

"It's because I'm your friend, and your comrade. And because I'm your first right-hand and aide. So let me help you."

"No—let me help you."

I gave a small smile at the look on her face.

"Thanks."

But Yu-na kept looking at me with an expression that seemed to say poor thing.

Then she carefully tapped my shoulder, the way you'd soothe someone.

"It's been really hard, hasn't it?"

"……."

Something welled up in me at her words, and before I knew it, I'd shut my mouth and lowered my head.

Watching me, Yu-na let out an even more sympathetic breath.

"It's okay… it's going to be okay. It's not just me. Everyone's going to help you, Ji-hyeok. You've done well up to now, right? So you can do this. Yeah, you absolutely can."

Here she hesitated for a second, stumbling over her words.

"So don't lose heart, hang in there—O—O—"

For an instant, I thought I heard a small pop from somewhere.

"…Oppa."

"What?"

"Eep!?"

I jerked my head up to make sure I hadn't misheard, and there was Yu-na, her face flushed red as a ripe persimmon, flailing as she practically toppled sideways away from me.

"What did you just—"

"N-no! I'm sorry if that bothered you!"

Yu-na waved her hands frantically, as if making absolutely sure I knew she hadn't meant anything by it.

Her face was still bright red.

"It's just, you said you were older than me…! And uncle or mister felt too weird…"

"…You can just call me by name like usual. It's easier for me too."

At my answer, Yu-na nodded as if she understood.

But then, looking at her, I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Maybe it was because I'd suddenly started laughing—Yu-na's face only got redder and redder with embarrassment and humiliation.

I was honestly amazed she could even get any redder than she already was.

"Thank you."

"Huh? Oh, n-no… for what?"

"For saying you'd help."

Feeling a lot lighter than before, I spoke honestly.

"Truth is, Yu-na, you really are someone I need."

"…Huh? What do you mean?"

"There's nobody as strong or as talented as you are."

"O-oh, ohhh… I was wondering what you meant."

Caught off guard, Yu-na's eyes went round as a rabbit's for a second, then she nodded as if she'd figured it out.

Oh, that's what he meant… she mumbled, sniffling lightly through her nose.

"Even so."

She gave a small smile.

"I'm glad this time worked out, unlike last time."

I immediately caught what she meant by "last time" and let out a wry chuckle as I nodded.

"Yeah, really."

She murmured quietly.

"I wish it had gone like this back then too."

After saying that, she lifted her head without another word and gazed at the flowerbeds spread out around us.

I sat beside her and looked at the same view without saying anything either.

We stayed like that, without a word between us, for a long while.

"The mousetrap's been triggered."

At the report from the female student wearing a ribbon in the color that marked her as a fourth-year, Lee Ye-eun nodded.

Orhe Academy had members of the World Tree clan, or people the clan had brought into its fold, scattered throughout—everywhere from students to staff to researchers to professors.

This student was one of them.

By nature, Lee Ye-eun wasn't the type to openly build up a faction or parade an entourage around, but this time she didn't intend to indulge in that kind of luxury.

She'd essentially strong-armed the Academy into handing over an empty lecture room, and she'd been using it as her de facto office. Yet no one could bring themselves to complain about it.

Part of that was because she'd pulled together dozens of people in just a few days, but more than that, it was because she wasn't the kind of person who'd let herself get gossiped about or give anyone an opening to find fault with her.

"Did you confirm the person's face?"

"Yes. One of the technicians from the facilities team."

"Bold of him."

Lee Ye-eun muttered, half-mocking, and gave the upperclassman a curt jerk of her chin in lieu of an order.

"Leave him alone for the time being. There's a few real pieces of intel mixed in there, so let him chew on those for a while."

"Understood."

"Then I'll leave it to you."

"Yes, then…"

"Yeon-kyung. Any word from that person?"

Lee Ye-eun glanced sideways at Kang Yeon-kyung, who was glued to her side like a secretary.

Despite standing there as if she didn't quite belong, Kang Yeon-kyung nodded in answer and leaned closer to whisper in her ear.

"…Actually, a message just came in. They're calling it urgent, so you might want to take it yourself."

At her words, Lee Ye-eun quickly checked the report Shin Woo-seok had sent her.

Then she gestured for Yeon-kyung to take a look too.

"What do you think?"

Kang Yeon-kyung had an expression that said why are you even asking me?—but she went along with it and looked at the phone screen as Lee Ye-eun wanted.

A contact request has come in.

A senior figure from the Association's side. According to him, he's an executive in Red Case.

The information checks out, and he's had prior contact with the young master.

He insists it's time-sensitive and asked for a reply as soon as possible.

"Hmm…"

Kang Yeon-kyung thought about it for a moment. She glanced around the room, which was usually crowded with people but now held only the two of them, and nodded.

She'd been by Lee Ye-eun's side for years now—essentially her only real friend—so she had every reason to be confident she had a good read on her.

"Honestly, at first I thought it might be a trap…"

"But?"

Lee Ye-eun's eyebrow twitched slightly.

Kang Yeon-kyung pretended not to notice and carried on calmly.

"It says he's had contact with Ji-hyeok—I mean, the young master—right? So if you check it out and the word comes back that you can trust him, it might be worth meeting with him."

She shrugged and offered exactly the words she figured Lee Ye-eun most wanted to hear.

"I mean, the young master isn't exactly an ordinary person."

"Mm, mm-hmm."

Lee Ye-eun nodded.

Then, with an oddly pleased smile, she said to Kang Yeon-kyung.

"Honestly, that's what I think too. If you feel the same way… can you reply for me first? And also—!"

Kang Yeon-kyung had been about to say it was no big deal when she noticed Lee Ye-eun cut herself off mid-sentence.

What followed was a photograph that had come in as part of a report—a picture of Yu Ji-hyeok and Lee Yu-na holding hands—and Yeon-kyung found herself watching Lee Ye-eun's face out of the corner of her eye.

As mentioned earlier, Kang Yeon-kyung prided herself on knowing Lee Ye-eun better than anyone.

Which was exactly why she also knew that Lee Ye-eun harbored complicated, subtle feelings for Yu Ji-hyeok.

"……."

Lee Ye-eun held the photograph in silence, staring at it as if she meant to glare it down.

Watching her from the side, Kang Yeon-kyung opened her mouth as cautiously as she could.

"…What do you want to do?"

At her question, Lee Ye-eun set the photo down.

Then she answered in a quiet voice.

"What do you mean, what do I want to do?"

"Hm?"

"Just leave it alone. It's not something I can interfere with—not something I have any right to interfere with."

With that, she picked up the cup beside her and took a pull of juice through the straw.

"It's not like they're little kids. And on top of that, the girl in this photo is Ji-hyeok's right-hand—there's obviously some reason for it. Plus, look at their expressions and the mood in the photo. It's pretty obvious he's not having some secret tryst with her—he's comforting her about something."

At her composed attitude, Kang Yeon-kyung gave her a look of mild surprise.

Lee Ye-eun didn't seem to notice, and took another sip through the straw as she spoke.

"The person I assigned as Ji-hyeok's escort is the one who took this photo, right? Give them a few stern words from me. I put them on him to discreetly protect him, not to pull this kind of stalker-photo crap. And let them know that if they pull anything else that comes off as digging into his private life, I won't let it slide."

At the icy edge of Lee Ye-eun's warning, Kang Yeon-kyung nodded.

"Yeah. Got it. I'll make sure it's drilled in."

"What's next?"

"Ah, here. This one's a report saying the branch families have been acting strange lately…"

As she said that, Kang Yeon-kyung happened to catch sight of the cup Lee Ye-eun had set down.

The straw poking out of it was covered in bite marks.

It had been chewed so hard the straw was bent off to one side.

Kang Yeon-kyung remembered that, ever since they were younger, Lee Ye-eun had had a habit of biting her nails or chewing on things whenever something was bothering her, and she silently prayed that nothing would come of this.

Young master… no, Ji-hyeok. Throw me a lifeline here… please.

Lightly rubbing at the burn rising in her stomach, Kang Yeon-kyung pulled out the next set of documents without letting any of it show.

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