Retire 305

305 Youthful Girls (3)

“Forget it, what’s the point in telling you anyway.”

Soon Soon-jin muttered, sounding deflated. She didn’t seem particularly motivated, but she kept watering the flower bed all the same.

No, I suppose Kim Chae-min would never let the plants die, but still, shouldn’t they show a little more care? Watering plants doesn’t mean dumping water in one spot, does it?

And, for heaven’s sake, I wish they’d realize I’m standing right behind the curtain. It’s not like I’m eavesdropping on purpose. What am I supposed to do if I can hear them? Human nature is strange—once you hear something, you want to keep listening.

“The teachers must have their reasons,” Seo Han-seong said, displaying infinite trust in me.

Honestly, it seemed less like trust and more like he just found dealing with Soon-jin bothersome, but what matters is what he said out loud.

“But still…”

“Come on, do you really think the teachers would make us do something bad? It’s not like they’re sending us out to hunt monsters, or even making us stand watch while someone else does it.”

In truth, Seo Han-seong was never forced into a dungeon like Oh Hyun-wook, but as far as Soon-jin knew, it was different. Only I, Hong Seok-young, Lee Mi-seon, and a few Daseon Hunters knew the real story. If Seo Han-seong hadn’t spoken up, Soon-jin would probably think he was another victim of an unfair contract, like Oh Hyun-wook.

So, naturally, Soon-jin’s response was cautious.

“N-no, that’s not it…”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“……”

And Seo Han-seong was just as cautious.

Given his background, he knew things the other kids didn’t. I don’t know at what point Soon-jin ended up joining Lee Mi-seon, but now that the Myeong-dong disaster never happened, she certainly wouldn’t know. And I wouldn’t let her find out, either.

Seo Han-seong didn’t know all the details, but he’d long since realized that whatever was going on with Daseon and the Association, it was not the business of an ordinary school.

And with that intuition, he also knew this wasn’t something to talk about lightly with friends.

…Seo Han-seong would have done well in the Association. And in places like that, “doing well” usually means “dying early.”

“Or… do you want to?” he asked.

“Huh?!”

Soon-jin jumped—literally, not just in voice, but physically leaping up.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“No!”

“It just sounds like that’s what you’re saying.”

“…What sounds like that?”

“You know how in dramas or movies, there’s always that one kid who does what they’re told not to and ends up dying first.”

Seo Han-seong spoke in a rather indifferent tone.

“It’s the same in comics or novels. Of course, if everyone just sits quietly, the story can’t move forward, so it’s inevitable… But still, when the professor tells you not to wander the halls at night and you do it anyway, and end up in the room guarded by the monster—what then? What if you get hurt? What if someone dies?”

His previously indifferent voice grew more heated, while Soon-jin’s voice grew smaller.

“There’s nothing to explore around here, anyway!”

“Why not?”

“…That monster?”

“What, weren’t you the one who wanted to go check it out?”

“I just asked why they haven’t cleaned it up yet!”

Normally, when the kids are together, Lee Seung-yeon says something ridiculous and Soon-jin ends up going along with it. That’s what childhood friends are for. You could tell just by the time she lent her phone when Seung-yeon ran away from home.

So seeing Soon-jin, of all people, being the voice of reason and flustered by Seo Han-seong was refreshing. I couldn’t see their faces, so I couldn’t tell if Seo Han-seong was teasing her or not, but at least his tone was nothing but serious.

“That’s how most movies start… The kids who break the rules get killed off horribly.”

“This isn’t a horror movie!!”

At last, Soon-jin couldn’t take it anymore and shouted. Only then did Seo Han-seong let out a small laugh.

“I like kids like that.”

“…Huh?”

“If you just sit around, the story never moves. Nothing changes if you just wait. You have to try something.”

“…You’re really weird.”

“I know.”

“Ugh. I should just stop talking.”

I frowned.

Looks like I need to revise my assessment of Seo Han-seong. I thought, at least with him, I could trust that he’d behave… but as they say, it’s always the quiet ones you have to watch out for. The moment you look away, they’re the ones causing trouble.

Well, really. No sane kid would draw themselves doing volunteer work five years in the future.

I raised Seo Han-seong’s risk level. Kids like him need to be watched closely.

“Ah. I’m done watering.”

“Me too.”

“Are we even doing this right?”

It was less watering the flowers and more like dumping water in one spot, but the kids didn’t seem to notice.

Seo Han-seong hesitated a moment before answering.

“Teacher Chae-min will take care of it.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“She said we just have to empty the watering can. It won’t kill them or anything.”

Plants are sensitive. Too much water and they die, too little and they die.

But the flowers and trees in this bed are all hardy types—unlikely to die from a little carelessness. What did Kim Chae-min say she planted here? I’ve never been interested in plants, unless it’s something like magical grass.

…Well, nothing in the bed tended by Kim Chae-min is ordinary. Everything here would serve as a medium for her defensive spells in an emergency. If they died just from a little water, that would make no sense. She probably treated the water in some special way, too.

Hmm… I don’t particularly like eavesdropping on other people’s conversations, but I did get to see another side of Seo Han-seong.

I suppose I can’t complain if they come and chatter away while I’m trying to work.

“So, when is the principal coming back?” Soon-jin asked, checking the flower bed.

“Are you going to ask him about his hobby, too?”

“Of course.”

“…I can’t even imagine what the principal’s hobby would be. Isn’t his hobby just training?”

“No way.”

Soon-jin burst out laughing.

Well, she really shouldn’t laugh like that.

She must have realized it, too, because she quickly stopped.

“No way. …Right?”

“Maybe Mr. Woo would know.”

“Oh, we haven’t tried his hobby yet, either!”

“But you did ask him about it.”

“Yeah.”

The first ones to take part in Soon-jin’s “exploring another me” project were, naturally, her friends. She learned to play Go from Lee Seung-yeon, played games with Seo Han-seong… At first, it was just Soon-jin, but gradually more kids joined in.

You should have seen how surprised I was when I saw them making bead bracelets with Kang Tae-woo.

After they’d all shared their hobbies, their next target was me.

“What kind of hobby needs preparation time?”

“Well… Mr. Woo might do something like yachting.”

“Oh. That suits him.”

“Right?”

…Just what kind of image do I have in their minds?

“I don’t know. When did he say he’d do it? Seriously, I’m going to see just how amazing this hobby is!”

---

“All right, today… does anyone know why Soon-jin looks like that?”

“She got attacked by a flower she was growing.”

“A flower? Did you go near Ms. Kim’s domain?”

“I wasn’t trying to go there!”

Soon-jin protested, her face puffy and swollen.

“I just wanted to try growing something besides the flower bed, so I was going to ask Teacher Chae-min!”

“You could’ve called her.”

“…Ah!”

Somehow, Soon-jin seems to be getting… less sharp as time goes on. All kids are like that, but aside from goofing around with Lee Seung-yeon, she always used to seem so put-together.

Maybe she was just nervous all along. Sometimes, students at the Academy who didn’t have any particular reason for becoming Hunters—but had the talent—would act like that.

Kids with no motivation, but plenty of ability.

When those kids entered the Academy and started mingling with others of similar skill, making friends, joking around—their real personalities would start to come out. My sister called it reverse evolution. She said that people don’t always change for the better, even when they gain insight.

It seemed like Soon-jin was experiencing that, too. My sister never liked it, but I think it’s the right way. Kids should be kids. I let the memory of Soon-jin’s will drift away again.

Yeah. Whatever you call it, this is much better.

Besides, whatever the case, the hobby exploration Soon-jin started has brought a good breeze to Yangseong High.

Even I can feel the lighter atmosphere. The adults have been swept up by the kids as well. Everyone was tense after everything that happened lately. Sometimes, passing by the lounge, I’d see a few Daseon Hunters betting snacks with the kids over meaningless games. Old—well, by today’s standards, the latest fighting games, but to me, they’re classics. Not like anyone here can actually buy snacks with money, anyway.

But sometimes, even adults want to forget all the tiresome, complicated things.

“Did Ms. Kim at least check on you?”

“Yeah… She said it was just an old spell she’d set up ages ago, and it’s nothing serious. She said it’ll go down if I leave it alone.”

“All right, everyone learned something? Never approach a mage’s domain without permission.”

The kids burst out laughing. There usually wasn’t much to tease Soon-jin about, so Lee Seung-yeon’s laughter was the loudest.

Soon-jin’s face grew even more sullen.

I tried to stifle my own laughter as I comforted her.

“It was set up before you kids even came to the school. Teacher felt really bad about it.”

“Ugh… No, it was my fault for going into her domain without permission…”

“She said she’d picked out a few easy-to-grow potted plants for you. She’ll give them to you later.”

“Okay…”

To cheer up the downcast Soon-jin, I changed the subject.

“All right, after classes this afternoon, everyone gather on the field.”

“Why?! Is there a test?”

“Do you want a test?”

“No!”

Lee Seung-yeon answered quickly.

“It’s not a test… You all said you were curious about my hobby, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m ready now, so come out after class. If you don’t like it…”

“If we don’t like it?”

I shrugged.

“It’s mandatory. Even if you don’t like it, you have to sit through it.”

“…We just have to sit?”

“That’s right. And write a reflection. You haven’t had any homework lately, have you?”

“Ugh.”

“A reflection? On what?”

I smiled faintly.

At this point, it wasn’t a famous work, so it took a while to get a translation. Of course, with enough money, nothing’s impossible.

“A movie.”

“A movie?”

“Yeah. I like watching movies.”

Everyone, including Soon-jin, was surprised. I mean, I told her about movies before—why is she acting so shocked?

…Maybe she didn’t believe me?

The kids murmured among themselves. They probably thought I was just making them write a reflection to mess with them.

As if.

If that were the case, I’d just show them any boring movie lying around. I wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of finding this particular film.