Ch.27Episode 6. The First Turning Point (End)

The place I took Yoo Ari was somewhere we could talk calmly. It was the dormitory where I was staying.

Honestly, I hadn’t planned to bring her to the dormitory.

But I couldn’t exactly go to a café while covered in blood.

As I was making excuses to myself, Yoo Ari was looking around curiously.

“Th-this is the instructor’s room… It definitely… s-smells like a man…”

What does a man’s smell even mean…? Are you saying I smell like a bachelor?

“…Don’t sniff around. I’ll wash up quickly. Sit there.”

I pointed to a chair at the dining table, then took out a change of clothes from the closet.

I went straight to the bathroom, changed out of my blood-spattered clothes, and washed my face and hands.

Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I sighed involuntarily.

Hmm. Was I too excessive?

…No. It was better than what Yoo Ari would have done.

Still, I felt bad about acting so brutally in front of a child with trauma.

I hope she wasn’t shocked by the performance I put on…

I slapped my cheeks twice to regain my composure and left the bathroom.

She was sitting obediently in the dining chair I had pointed to.

However, her hands on the table were fidgeting constantly, revealing her anxiety.

To me, she looked like someone who had something to say but couldn’t quite muster the courage.

“Would you like something to—”

“I-I’m sorry, Instructor!”

As soon as I opened my mouth, she jumped up from her seat and bowed deeply. Her long hair slid forward and fell onto the table.

“…You didn’t do anything wrong.”

She hadn’t done anything wrong.

Although she had attacked the man who tried to lure her, she had called me.

That was something she would never have done if she hadn’t taken my words seriously.

“You called me. You did your best, but it was a situation where you had to respond.”

I told her this while filling the coffee pot with water.

Since I had a guest, I should at least offer some instant coffee.

“So this incident is my responsibility for not handling it competently.”

“But…”

Yoo Ari straightened up and tried to object, but I spoke first.

“I don’t know about elsewhere, but if you were in danger inside the Academy, that’s my fault and my responsibility as your instructor.”

Though I said this, instructors actually had no such responsibility.

It was just my personal belief.

“Responsibility…”

“Yes. So stop worrying about this incident.”

I placed a cup of instant coffee in front of Yoo Ari.

“Drink that at least.”

I took a sip of coffee as I sat across from her.

Cheap sweetness. This taste isn’t much different whether in this world or the other.

“Instructor.”

“…Yes?”

She slowly sat down, fidgeting with her fingers.

It seemed pitiful even when I imagined it from reading the text, but seeing her restlessness in person made me feel even more sympathetic.

“I have… m-many questions… but th-there’s something I want to ask first.”

“What is it?”

“W-we’re in the special class, right…”

“That’s right.”

“Why… why do you c-care about us so much? You and w-we have only known each other for j-just over a month. R-responsibility and such… those things…”

“Does it matter how long we’ve known each other?”

“Pardon?”

Her head, which had been looking down at her cup while mumbling, shot up. Was my answer that surprising?

“What does the duration or being in the special class matter? Isn’t what’s important that we’re facing each other like this now?”

“B-but being with us makes things w-worse for you, Instructor.”

“Why are you concerned about that? You should focus on your studies and improving your abilities. Why think about unnecessary things?”

“Our special class… is full of the w-worst troublemakers. Even with the Association President’s recommendation… it’s like a d-demotion, right?”

Demotion…

Her delusion made me smile bitterly.

“I personally told the Association President that I wanted to be in charge of the special class.”

“What?! Why?”

Her reaction showed she couldn’t understand.

Certainly, if one wanted to make a living as an instructor, the regular class would be easier than the troublesome special class.

Even with more students, they were more obedient.

But I had no intention of making a living as an instructor, nor did I care about my status in others’ eyes.

“…You all are important to me.”

After a moment’s hesitation, I pointed at Yoo Ari as I spoke.

Since she would have to live in this world from now on, if the special class students became villains, I would have to kill them with my own hands to prevent ‘that development.’

That was something I didn’t want to do.

That’s why I had come to the Academy with the Association President’s help. Of course, I hadn’t actually wanted to become their instructor.

“Eh?!”

She fidgeted. The visible parts of her face not covered by her hair turned red.

Maybe I should give her some lip service at this point.

“I don’t think the special class is a gathering of troublemakers, but rather a collection of exceptionally talented individuals.”

To be completely honest, they were undeniably troublemakers.

Kids who wouldn’t listen unless they were given demerits.

And even then, they often didn’t listen well.

Still, I couldn’t just say “You’re troublemakers!” in this atmosphere.

“In other words, the special class is separated to prevent ordinary people from being jealous of geniuses.”

“…D-do you really think we’re g-geniuses?”

“You are geniuses.”

I said it without the slightest hesitation.

This was true.

Becoming villains that even heroes couldn’t handle meant that, conversely, if they became heroes, they would be powerful enough to keep villains in check.

“At the very least, I think you’ll all be at the top tier of the Korean hero industry.”

After my words, silence filled the room.

Yoo Ari held her cup with both hands and said nothing for a while.

I tried to say the most flattering things I could.

I wonder if this will improve her mood.

“Y-you said you know everything about me… right?”

As I was sipping my coffee and enduring the heavy silence, Yoo Ari mumbled.

“Yes. I did say that.”

“Then you must know… that I’m a m-m-murderer…”

Yoo Ari’s shoulders trembled.

She seemed afraid of being rejected by someone who knew her past.

Well, revealing one’s trauma to someone is a considerable burden both for oneself and for the listener.

Therefore, what I could do in this situation was to create an environment where she could speak as comfortably as possible.

“Oh, you mean when you used your ability to kill the burglar who broke into your home and almost killed you?”

I looked straight at her and spoke casually.

“So what?”

“Pardon?”

She seemed dumbfounded, probably not expecting such a light reaction from me.

First, I needed to change how she viewed her past.

I needed to make her realize that what she was carrying wasn’t as heavy as she thought.

Of course, this wouldn’t free her from her trauma.

But it might help her feel a little, just a little, more at ease from the pressure that had been weighing her down.

Besides, Yoo Ari’s trauma wasn’t from the fact that she killed the burglar, but from her parents’ reaction.

“Th-that’s not something to answer so simply…”

“If you hadn’t killed him, you would have died. I’m not going to say you were right, but at least I don’t think you were wrong.”

While appearing to take it lightly, I gave a serious and definitive answer.

I mixed in words she wanted to hear as a bonus.

My answer needed to show that I had given it serious thought.

If I gave a flippant answer while taking the matter lightly, she would think I wasn’t someone she could trust and talk to, and the distance between us would only grow.

“…You knew everything all along…”

“Yes.”

“And still… you s-stayed by my side?”

“If I had intended to turn my back on you for that, I wouldn’t have come to the special class in the first place.”

Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, though her eyes remained hidden. She pressed her lips together, then bit them.

She seemed to be debating whether to speak or not.

As I waited with the cup to my lips, Yoo Ari clutched her arm and slowly began to speak.

“That day… when I was in middle school… a burglar broke into our home.”

It was the full account of the incident.

She expressed her resentment, saying that when the burglar saw her awake due to a noise at dawn, he attacked her, and she had no choice but to kill him to survive.

Her words made sense.

Middle school students aren’t taught how to use their abilities. Naturally, they don’t know how to control them.

In that state, it would have been impossible to subdue a villain without killing him.

As she stumbled through her story, her grip on her arm tightened.

“M-my parents… when they saw that I had killed the burglar… they c-cursed at me and tried to abandon me. O-other people were the s-same. They all r-rejected me, saying I had committed murder. F-fortunately, it was recognized as self-defense so I didn’t have to go to prison… but they tried to p-put me in a m-mental hospital…!”

Her breathing became rougher and her voice rose as she spoke, as if recalling the incident was painful.

“Was I… really… w-wrong?”

Yoo Ari experienced this when she was in middle school.

Being still immature, the emotional impact she felt would have been much greater.

“The judge who determines right and wrong ruled it as self-defense. That means you weren’t at fault.”

That was an objective result.

Despite accepting this result, her parents despised Yoo Ari. This was purely a problem with her parents.

“And if you become a hero, you might unintentionally kill villains. There are actually quite a few such cases. Do people call those heroes murderers?”

She silently looked at me, waiting for my answer.

“Absolutely not. Rather, they would be praised as heroes who took down villains.”

“W-why is that?”

“Because they’re heroes.”

The reason was simple.

Righteous beings who protect the world from villains.

For that reason alone, they could be forgiven by the public.

“Just because they’re heroes… e-everything is f-forgiven?”

“In the end, it depends on the meaning people assign to it.”

What if her parents had taken her side and embraced her in that situation?

Surely Yoo Ari wouldn’t have been this broken.

“And if you react like this every time, you won’t be able to work as a hero.”

Thud.

I put down my cup and spoke matter-of-factly.

“So adapt.”

“…If it were that e-easy, I wouldn’t be worrying.”

“I’m not telling you to be strong. If it’s hard, you can lean on someone.”

“Lean on someone… who would a-accept someone like m-me—”

“I’m right in front of you, aren’t I?”

I cut off her self-deprecating words.

“I’m confident I’ll be on your side no matter what you do. Ah, of course, unjustified crimes are off-limits. That would get you labeled as a villain.”

Let’s not cross that line, okay?

“…I’m a t-troublesome person.”

“I know.”

“If I s-start depending on you, it m-might become unbearable.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’m i-immature and might not be considerate, and m-might even act s-spoiled…”

“That’s fine.”

“And also… also…”

“Yoo Ari.”

I called her name with some force.

I couldn’t keep listening to her self-deprecation that was eating away at her self-esteem.

“Y-yes?”

“You’re a good person.”

To help someone full of self-hatred lead a normal life, you first need to raise their self-esteem.

Otherwise, they’ll constantly crave others’ attention, and in that process, repeated disappointments will rot their mind and heart.

In the end, if you don’t love yourself, attention and comfort from others is like pouring water into a bottomless jar.

“So don’t talk like that.”

“Y-you might regret it… accepting a b-bothersome person like me…”

“You can bother me. That’s why I’m here as your instructor.”

Tears leaked from the eyes visible through her hair. After wiping the tears flowing down her pale cheeks, she bit her lip.

“…Okay.”

She lowered her head.

She began to cry while suppressing her sobs.

At this point, I felt we had passed the first turning point.

However, I had never seen Yoo Ari in a “normal” state in the original story.

I only knew her as someone who had become desolate, broken, and turned to darkness.

I felt both curious and anxious about what version of Yoo Ari I would see, having chosen a different path from the original story.

Still, I didn’t feel that my choice was wrong.