Chapter 135: Long Night (1)

"Aaagh! Spiders are crawling on my body! On my body!"

Yang Juhee had a fit. She's been like this for two hours since gaining the 《Sacrificial Virgin》 trait.

Rip, rip-

Now she's even tearing her clothes as she struggles. She said spiders were crawling on her body.

"Juhee, there are no spiders! You can't tear your clothes like that!"

I tried to stop Yang Juhee, but I wasn't strong enough and was helpless.

Luckily, Kwon Sua had a spare short-sleeved shirt, otherwise Yang Juhee would have had to walk around in her underwear.

The problem was that Yang Juhee hated getting into cars too.

"If I'm trapped, I won't be able to get out! If I'm trapped! Hee!"

Maybe it's because of the scary experience of being trapped in a narrow box. Yang Juhee really hated entering confined spaces or spaces cut off from the outside.

What on earth did she experience and see inside that black box? To think that the brave Yang Juhee would be this scared and broken.

Even Bong Ji-yeon, who usually grits her teeth at Yang Juhee, was looking worried, saying, "Will she ever return to normal...?"

I was worried too. Will she ever return to normal?

『《Sacrificial Virgin》: A virgin offered as a sacrifice to lure dark spirits. She won't be attacked by dark spirits. The price is terrible』

This wasn't a quirk but a trait, so it couldn't even be treated at the treatment center. I started to think that maybe she might never come back from this.

"Get away!"

Now Yang Juhee even swung her fist at Jung-seok.

She looked terrified, and Bong Ji-yeon, Jung-seok, Kwon Sua, Ms. Hong Mi-ri, and even Yoo Dahee were backing away from Yang Juhee's forceful behavior.

"There are ghosts everywhere! Ghosts!"

Swish-

Now Yang Juhee hid behind me, trembling. The sight was pitiful and weighed heavily on my shoulders.

I was largely responsible for Yang Juhee ending up like this. I was essentially using Yang Juhee under the pretext of her wanting to find her sister.

If she hadn't gotten involved with me, she wouldn't have needed to become like this.

"Teacher. I'll take responsibility for Juhee today and stay with her."

"I'll lend you the key to my office. Stay there tonight."

Because Yang Juhee was afraid of people but also extremely disliked being left alone, I ended up staying at Ms. Hong Mi-ri's office for a day to take care of Yang Juhee.

Before parting, Jung-seok patted my shoulder.

"If anything happens, call me. I'll come right away."

"Okay."

I hope nothing happens, but...

Shudder-

Yang Juhee's state, trembling like an abandoned dog, gave me an ominous feeling.

"The toothbrush and toothpaste are here..."

Ms. Hong Mi-ri's office was where Hong Ye-ri used to stay.

Ms. Hong Mi-ri has found a separate house now, but she stayed here until just a few days ago. That meant there was enough furniture to stay overnight.

The folding bed was for one person-

There was also a sofa, a refrigerator, everything we needed.

"Don't close the door! You can't close the door! The door!"

The problem was that Yang Juhee wouldn't let me close the office door.

If I tried to close the door, she would foam at the mouth and have a fit, so I had to leave it open.

But honestly, I was more scared with the door open.

On this night when everyone had left, the corridor beyond the office looked especially empty.

Whoosh- Rattle, rattle-

The wind, unusually strong for summer, shook the office windows violently. Feeling a bit creeped out, I felt the need to use the bathroom, but Yang Juhee had a fit.

"Aaagh! Don't leave me alone! Don't leave me alone!"

"Hey! I'm just going to the bathroom! Wait for just one minute! Just one minute!"

"Nooo!"

...This is driving me crazy.

You want me to pee with the door open? 

It was very awkward and embarrassing, but Yang Juhee was even shedding tears.

I thought I had no choice and decided to pee with the door open. Yang Juhee followed right behind me.

"......"

Even if she wasn't in her right mind, peeing in front of a girl was a strange experience.

I was extremely embarrassed, my face was burning, and my skin felt tingly like ants were crawling on my back.

Is this what people with exhibitionist tendencies get excited about?

To think this embarrassment is enjoyable. I really couldn't understand it.

Click-

I turned off the light as I came out of the bathroom. Yang Juhee jumped in surprise.

"Eek!"

She jumped so high she almost touched the ceiling, just like a startled cat with its fur and claws raised.

"Aaagh! It hurts! Nails! Nails!"

Yang Juhee grabbed my shoulder, raising her nails and pulling me hard, making me scream too.

When I screamed, Yang Juhee screamed even louder.

"Don't turn off the light! I hate the dark! Don't turn off the light! You can't turn off the light! Hee!"

It seems turning off the bathroom light was the problem.

I had no choice but to leave the bathroom door open and the light on. It was a moment when every part of the office was lit up.

The problem was that Yang Juhee's clothes were now wet.

It seems she had wet herself when she jumped like a cat earlier.

...This was really awkward and troublesome.

"This... this isn't...!"

Even in a situation where she couldn't maintain her senses, Yang Juhee was still a girl. She seemed extremely embarrassed, and I decided to pretend I didn't see it.

"Juhee, I think you need to go in and wash up first."

I can handle the cleanup. So I guided Yang Juhee to the small shower booth attached to the office.

The shower booth was just the right size for one person, with glass walls and a drainage system installed on the floor.

The glass walls were slightly opaque, so you could only tell that someone was inside. But Yang Juhee didn't want to go into the shower booth either.

"No..."

Yang Juhee looked sad.

I was very curious about what Yang Juhee had experienced inside the box, but I couldn't just ask her about it.

"Should I turn back time after all? Should I just make it like it never happened?"

I didn't expect Yang Juhee to struggle this much. Since it's come to this, let's use 100P.

Just as I was thinking that, Yang Juhee grabbed my arm.

"No...!"

After saying that, Yang Juhee mumbled something. Does she want to say she can endure it?

"Ugh."

No-

She just wanted to throw up. I cleaned the office thoroughly.

Yang Juhee was still standing in front of the shower booth, her face red.

"I... I can't go in alone..."

"......"

***

Whoosh-

When I turned on the water, it was really cold. Yang Juhee screamed as if having a fit.

"...It's cold!"

"Ah, sorry. I'll change it to warm water."

I couldn't tell if it was cold or hot water because I had my eyes covered. I was now inside the shower booth with Yang Juhee, my eyes covered.

It was really cramped with two people in a space that felt slightly tight even for one person. It meant our skin had to touch.

'...What am I doing right now?'

I had no choice.

Yang Juhee said she absolutely couldn't shower alone, but she said she was embarrassed for me to go in with her.

In the end, we compromised with me going into the shower booth with her with my eyes covered.

Whoosh-

I turned on moderately warm water, and we were both under the same water.

Rustle, rustle-

The sound of Yang Juhee lathering up and washing herself seemed especially loud to me with my eyes covered.

That wasn't all.

The feeling of wet hair touching my chest, or the smooth things occasionally touching my thighs, felt even more intense on my skin that had become sensitive from having my eyes covered.

"...Something got bigger! I'm scared! Eek!"

"...Hey! This is unavoidable!"

What am I really doing? How did it come to this?

I tried to think about when things started to go wrong, but I couldn't figure it out.

"...Uu, sorry."

Was it because I shouted?

Yang Juhee sniffled under the shower.

I... felt like I had done something extremely embarrassing, and my mind calmed down.

"Juhee. You don't have anything to apologize for. It's all my fault."

"...Right! It's all your fault! Ha Young-won, you're the bad one!"

"No, even so, agreeing so quickly is a bit..."

"Then it's my fault! I... I fought with my sister! I bullied you, Young-won! I didn't listen to my mom!"

Struggle struggle-

Yang Juhee panicked inside the shower.

I thought we should finish washing and get out quickly, but Yang Juhee's body was still covered in soap.

If we stayed like this, we might have to be in the shower all day. If that happened, we might both end up as bloated drowning victims.

"Juhee, I'll wash your hair for you."

Scrub scrub scrub-

I moved my hands to wash Yang Juhee's hair and rinsed off the soap with the shower. I came out and changed clothes.

I helped Yang Juhee change clothes too. Since Yang Juhee and Ms. Hong Mi-ri had similar builds, we borrowed the teacher's underwear too.

"Teacher, I'm sorry, but I'm going to open the underwear drawer and borrow something from there..."

I borrowed a thin shirt and shorts too.

It was already around 4 AM. I thought it would be good to close the office door, but Yang Juhee was still throwing a fit.

"...No!"

"Okay. Then let's sleep with the door open. If we run the air conditioner with the door open, the electricity bill will be high."

I laid Yang Juhee on the folding bed, but Yang Juhee refused to lie on the bed alone.

"You can't leave me alone!"

"Hmm, that bed isn't designed for two people."

I had no choice but to lay a blanket on the floor.

The blanket was a bit thick, but I could feel the cold creeping up from the office's cold stone floor. The problem was that when I tried to cover us with the blanket, Yang Juhee would kick it away.

"Inside the blanket..."

"You mean there might be ghosts inside the blanket?"

Nod nod-

The current Yang Juhee was a coward, and I understood a coward's heart well.

We had no choice but to endure the cold air conditioning without covering ourselves with the blanket.

We couldn't turn off the air conditioner because it would be too hot.

Rustle-

Yang Juhee, who had kicked away the blanket, must have been cold because she started burying her face in my side and armpit. It was ticklish and made me laugh, but it also felt strangely new.

"Who would have thought six months ago that this would happen to us?"

I remembered the day of the entrance ceremony.

I was surprised when text suddenly appeared in front of me. Could that version of me have even imagined the current me?

My life was changing surprisingly with each passing day.

What would it be like when the vacation ends and the second semester starts, or when the second semester ends and we become second-year students?

"We'll probably be in different classes when we become second-years, right?"

"Uu... I don't want that. I'm scared to be alone...!"

"Ow! Don't bite my side! Okay! I won't talk about that!"

It looks like it's going to be a long night.