SAV Chapter 2

I wanted to help Choi Jeha.

 

But the idea that I was the main instigator of the bullying seemed like an absurd dream. Me, a victim in reality, dreaming of becoming the perpetrator? Isn’t this the real curse!

 

It was obvious that even if Cha Eunseong, the bully, tried to give hints, Choi Jeha wouldn’t listen. He’d probably suspect me of having some ulterior motive and give me a hard time instead.

 

Still, I couldn’t ignore the fact that someone was trapped. I thought I should just secretly open the door for him and then run away.

 

Not knowing when I might wake up, I needed to hurry.

 

“Hey, aren’t you coming?”

 

At the students’ call, I deliberately pointed to the alley across from the school gate.

 

“I’m going this way.”

 

“What are you talking about, you crazy bastard? Aren’t you going to the PC room?”

 

“No, I’m going to the academy.”

 

“That bastard, I’m sure he’s possessed by a ghost.”

 

“Just leave the Satan-possessed freak alone.”

 

Seeing the students turn their backs, it seemed my lie had worked. After making sure the students had completely disappeared from view, I darted out of the alley and sprinted into the school grounds.

 

Tap tap tap tap!

 

Urgent footsteps echoed through the school where only the emergency lights were on.

 

‘Where is it? Where did they lock him up, damn…’

 

They should have written the synopsis more thoroughly.

 

Sigh…

 

No matter how much I racked my brain and rolled my eyes, I had no idea where Choi Jeha was locked up.

 

‘What kind of dream makes you feel out of breath? Is this really a dream?’

 

My lungs felt like they were about to tear. This being my first lucid dream, I wasn’t sure if this pain and sensation were normal, and I didn’t have the energy to do anything else, so I stopped in the middle of the corridor. Then, catching my breath, I stared straight ahead. There was a sign that read “Teacher’s Office.”

 

In case there were still teachers left in the school, I lowered my posture and hid. In that state, I carefully thought about the scene Choi Jeha might have experienced earlier.

 

‘Even if it was a group attack, they wouldn’t have dragged such a big guy and locked him up, right?’

 

It didn’t make sense for the tallest and most muscular character among them to be quietly dragged away.

 

If they had tried to force him, he would have definitely resisted, and unless the school was completely empty, it would have surely reached a teacher’s ears. Then the incident of Choi Jeha being locked up somewhere in the school wouldn’t have happened.

 

‘That means Choi Jeha walked to the location on his own…’

 

Rather than searching aimlessly, it would be better to start from places where there might be clues. All I knew was that Choi Jeha and Cha Eunseong were in class 2, so I decided to start looking there.

 

‘I even quit smoking, what’s wrong with my lungs, really,’

 

I grumbled inwardly, clutching my chest that felt like it was tearing apart again after just a little walking.

 

Creeak,

 

When I arrived at the classroom, both the front and back doors were locked. Just in case, I pushed the window, and it opened with a rattling sound. I nimbly climbed in with my agile body.

 

I took out Cha Eunseong’s phone and turned on the flashlight mode. Then, relying on the light, I looked around for Choi Jeha’s bag, but it wasn’t visible.

 

“Did he take his bag with him?”

 

I thought if someone had called him, he would have moved without his bag, but I guess I was wrong. I pulled out a chair and sat down, tired from searching for Choi Jeha. As I sat there blankly, it occurred to me that there might be something in the desk drawer.

 

I immediately got up and started looking for Choi Jeha’s desk.

 

Finding his seat was easy. The desk was covered with profanities in various languages.

 

Just looking at Choi Jeha’s desk, one could become fluent in five languages.

 

‘These little brats, how childish.’

 

Clicking my tongue, I was about to reach into the desk, hoping for even a small clue, when…

 

Rustle.

 

My hand was blocked by something like a plastic bag.

 

‘What’s this?’

 

When I shone the phone light into the drawer, it was full of trash like snack and bread wrappers. I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

 

“Ha, these bastards, they should know when to stop.”

 

Thinking it must be the work of those who locked up Choi Jeha, I pressed my hand to my forehead and groaned softly.

 

“In this world, I’m supposed to be the main instigator of that bullying.”

 

This is really driving me crazy.

 

Shaking my head at Cha Eunseong’s group’s excessive behavior, I looked for a trash can to empty the drawer.

 

I looked around for a while, but couldn’t find anything that could be called a trash can.

 

“Do schools these days not keep trash cans in classrooms for environmental protection?”

 

But that didn’t seem right, as there was a cleaning supply box in one corner of the lockers. It was strange that there was no trash can when there was clearly a cleaning supply box. As I stood there staring at where the trash can should have been, something suddenly occurred to me.

 

‘I got it. The place where Choi Jeha is locked up!’

 

I rushed to run out through the classroom’s front door, but realizing it was locked, I climbed out the window again.

 

Assuming there had been a trash can in the classroom, I tried to deduce why it wasn’t there now. Someone must have taken it to empty it, that’s why it wasn’t in its place.

 

Thinking that way, I could roughly guess where he was locked up.

 

I needed a key to open where Choi Jeha was locked up.

 

I headed straight for the teacher’s office where all the school keys and master keys were kept. Since even the windows of the teacher’s office were locked, I had to pry open the door.

 

‘This isn’t a bad thing. It’s a well-intentioned action to save a trapped friend.’

 

For a bad guy to become a good guy, he must endure bone-deep pain. But I felt a bit wronged because I had become a bad guy for something I didn’t do.

 

After much struggle, I grabbed the keys from the teacher’s office and hurried to the recycling area. The recycling area was a huge container detached from the main building.

 

‘But if Choi Jeha asks how I knew he was locked up, what should I say?’

 

I stopped abruptly as all sorts of thoughts raced through my mind.

 

It was unclear whether Choi Jeha knew that Cha Eunseong was the main instigator of the bullying. If he knew, I could say I felt guilty and promise never to bully him again, but if he didn’t know, unnecessary words could make the situation worse.

 

‘How about saying I heard him crying for help as I was passing by?’

 

Since I didn’t know whether Choi Jeha had called for help or cursed, this couldn’t be an excuse. Then how about telling him that this is my dream and I’m an omniscient being who knows the plot of this world?

 

‘Even I think this sounds too ridiculous.’

 

As I was thinking of excuses and moving forward again, I heard a rustle from the recycling area.

 

‘Could it be the security guard?’

 

I hadn’t figured out what to say to Choi Jeha yet, and I might be suspected of prying open the teacher’s office door, so I quickly hid. Then, sticking to the corner of the wall like a leech, I cautiously peeked out.

 

As I wandered my eyes around trying to find who made the sound, the flickering black shadow suddenly disappeared.

 

‘Huh, what the hell! Is it a ghost?’

 

Every school is said to have at least one ghost story.

 

‘Ah, damn. This is why I hated coming to school at night.’

 

Associating school with ghosts sent a chill down my spine even in the spring breeze.

 

I need to rescue Choi Jeha quickly. Two are better than one in dangerous situations… but this was just a precaution, definitely not because I was scared.

 

I arrived at the recycling area in no time with quick steps. After checking the surroundings, I inserted the key I’d taken from the teacher’s office into the firmly locked padlock.

 

Creeak.

 

As I pulled the handle, the eerie sound of the iron door opening echoed. The dark interior was truly impenetrable to the eye.

 

I left the door open and hid behind a tree a little distance from the recycling area. From there, I waited for Choi Jeha to walk out.

 

“…?”

 

After a long time with no sign of anyone, I wondered if I’d guessed wrong and headed back to the container.

 

“Is anyone there?”

 

Just as I was thinking I should check if it was definitely empty before looking for the next location, I shone my phone light inside.

 

Wham!

 

A huge shadow leapt out of the darkness and pounced on me in an instant.

 

I stepped back to avoid falling from the sudden force. But the guy was nearly twice my size, and I couldn’t withstand his strength.

 

‘How can he be this big even before his differentiation or whatever?’

 

I fell on my backside, but the guy’s hand gripping my collar didn’t let go. However, I completely understand this guy who’s behaving so rudely to me right now. Anyone trapped in a place reeking of garbage, surrounded on all sides, waiting for the door to open, would have every right to be angry.

 

“Was it you?”

 

Though he seemed to be suppressing his explosive emotions, pronouncing each word precisely, there was a slight tremor in his voice.

 

“Cha Eunseong, even bullying has its limits.”

 

“…I know. I know, and I understand what you’re thinking right now, but it wasn’t me, okay? So first, let go of this. I can’t breathe.”

 

Even though it was just a dream, I spoke as gently as possible, suddenly feeling empathy and pity.

 

The eyes trapped between strands of dark, shaggy bangs glinted faintly in the distant streetlight. Just then, a spring breeze blew, lifting the guy’s hair that had been covering his face.

 

For a moment, a straight, clean forehead was revealed.

 

‘Is this really Choi Jeha’s face?’

 

I had read about his appearance in the character details, but I didn’t know it would be like this.

 

It was said that his high-prescription glasses made his eyes look much smaller than they actually were, and he always covered his face with his bangs, so usually more than half of his face wasn’t visible. And while he was supposed to be the most handsome man in the world after his differentiation, before that he was described as just “decent-looking”.

 

It seems my sibling might have misunderstood the meaning of “decent-looking”.

 

The face of Choi Jeha I encountered was too exquisite to be described as merely decent.

 

Maybe because he wasn’t wearing glasses, his eyes were more visible. His horizontally long eyes were filled with sadness. His long, lush eyelashes, which could be described as “windswept”, were slightly wet, like those of a child who had just stopped crying.

 

The high bridge of his nose, running down the center of his face, made his eye sockets look deeper. His lips, reddened from crying, were slightly upturned at the ends, which often led to accusations of sneering even when he wasn’t doing anything.

 

Those crazy bastards. They bully him because of that? My overall impression of the guy was…

 

‘Wow, he’s totally like a celebrity.’

 

That’s what I thought.