Ch.3939. Why Are You There?

Chartering a cruise ship is a more impressive feat than one might think. For instance, just consider the fact that there are enough cabins for each student to have their own room, with rooms to spare.

But what kind of people are high school teachers?

It’s awkward to say this myself, but people who make their living “teaching something to someone” typically have a strange authoritarian quality embedded in their minds.

How can I be so sure of this…?

“…”

Let’s stop there since saying more would just be spitting in my own face.

Anyway, to summarize what I want to say:

‘Teachers cannot stand to see students living comfortably.’

It might sound crazy, but it’s all true. Koreans are fundamentally designed to feel their guts twist when they see someone younger enjoying life too easily.

So there’s really no difference between a military officer who makes you sun-dry yourself on a precious weekend, and teachers who cram students into quad rooms despite having plenty of empty cabins available.

For that reason, all two hundred or so first-year students of Chungha Highschool were assigned to quad rooms.

Therefore, I should have naturally been assigned to a quad room as well.

But.

Looking at this now, that’s not the case?

“…”

I was sitting on a soft, squishy waterbed.

“…Is this right?”

Muttering to myself in the empty space, I looked around, unable to believe this reality.

The cabin feels too spacious for a single person, with red-toned furniture creating quite a romantic atmosphere. Anyone could see this was a suite-style special room targeting couples or married people.

“This is ridiculous.”

But why am I using this special room alone? I asked myself, but of course, there was no answer. Seeing even the bedding is red since it’s a suite room, I can’t help but laugh wryly.

No wonder they kept evading when I asked where my cabin was. Was this why they told me to leave my luggage, including my carrier, at the counter?

Since I’ve never been on a cruise ship before, I didn’t know, but it seems I’ve fallen into the captain’s trap.

No, “trap” isn’t the right word. This is more like special treatment. While others have to sleep crammed together in quad rooms, I’ve got a double room all to myself.

“Wow.”

The reason I’m receiving such special treatment is, of course, due to the influence of the captain, who is presumably my father’s friend.

Otherwise, there’s no explanation for why I alone would be using a suite room. It’s not like I paid extra for it or anything.

“…”

Honestly, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised. But there’s no need to keep being surprised.

Let’s think positively—when else would I get to stay in a suite room on a cruise ship? As they say, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Of course, a male high school student using a double suite room alone makes for a rather strange picture, but let’s not worry about it. It’s not like anyone is watching.

“Ah, whatever.”

Feeling a somewhat bitter taste in my mouth, I got up from my seat.

I have time to kill anyway, but I should at least finish washing up before roll call.

With that thought, I entered the bathroom attached to my room.

“Phew.”

After neatly folding my school uniform and underwear, I immediately turned on the faucet.

Pleasantly lukewarm water soaked my entire body. Being like this makes me feel like all my accumulated fatigue is disappearing.

Washing away unsettling thoughts and lingering attachments with water, I finished my shower.

After roughly drying off, I changed into the white bathrobe provided in the shower room. The method of securing the front with a waist tie made the dressing process quite unfamiliar.

“Ugh.”

With some effort, I finished dressing.

After tightening the waist tie, I exhaled the breath I’d been holding and looked at myself in the full-length mirror.

“…”

The fit isn’t bad… but the overall atmosphere feels a bit off.

Standing in a white bathrobe with a red bed in the background made the scene feel extremely inappropriate. This couldn’t just be my imagination.

Come to think of it, there was a similar scene in a movie I watched recently.

A man and woman being chased by hostile pursuers stopped at a hotel to escape, when suddenly the atmosphere turned strange, and then they just, well…

“…What am I thinking?”

I shook my head left and right to clear my thoughts. Maybe it’s because I’m in an unfamiliar place, but all sorts of ideas are coming to mind. Dragging my slippers, I approached the bedside and grabbed my phone.

But something feels off. I turned it on to check the time, and found messages from someone I didn’t know.

I shouldn’t have anyone contacting me at this hour—who could it be? Maybe Hwa Nabi? With various speculations in mind, I checked the sender.

[User not registered as a friend]

Im Hansol [Han Siwoo, where were you during roll call?]

The identity of the person who sent the message was Im Hansol. How does this guy know my number? That question crossed my mind momentarily, but I soon realized.

Im Hansol is the class president of Class A. So it wouldn’t be strange for him to have an emergency contact list. He probably found my number there and contacted me.

Yes, I can figure that much out. But what does he mean, where was I during roll call? I couldn’t understand what he was talking about.

The previously announced roll call time was 10 PM, and the current time is 9:11 PM. So it’s clearly before roll call time.

Still, just to be sure, before replying, I opened the internet app to check the time.

-GMT +9:00 / 9:12 PM.

There’s a slight discrepancy, but it’s definitely not roll call time yet. Confident in this, I sent a message without hesitation.

Me [What are you talking about? It’s not roll call time yet.]

The reply came quickly.

Im Hansol [What are YOU talking about? Our roll call time changed to 9 o’clock, remember?]

Me [What? I didn’t hear about that.]

Im Hansol [Huh? You didn’t? I posted a notice in the Class A group chat an hour ago. Did you turn off your notifications?]

“…”

My mouth clamped shut at the sent message.

There’s a Class A group chat…? This was the first I’d heard of it.

Me [I’m not in the group chat.]

Im Hansol [Oh, really? I must have forgotten. Want me to invite you now?]

Me [No need. More importantly, what happened with roll call? Isn’t there a commotion since I was missing?]

Roll call is literally a procedure to confirm that all students are alive and well, so it’s not something you can just skip because it’s bothersome. I sent the message, feeling somewhat anxious.

-Ding.

The reply was almost immediate.

Im Hansol [No, don’t worry about that. I covered for you, saying you went to the bathroom.]

Ah, so that’s what happened. No wonder I didn’t receive messages from anyone else. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Normally, my phone would be blowing up in a situation like this, but it was strangely quiet, which meant Im Hansol must have handled it at his discretion.

Me [Is that so? Thanks.]

Im Hansol [No problem. I’m just glad to confirm you’re okay. Are you feeling alright?]

Me [Yeah, I’m fine.]

Im Hansol [That’s good. Still, if you feel unwell, even in the middle of the night, contact me. I don’t know if I can help, but I’ll come right away.]

“…”

This definitely wasn’t something one would typically say to someone of the same gender—anyone who saw it might mistake it for something said to a lover.

But hasty misunderstandings should be avoided. This is just how this guy is. Im Hansol is the type who says things that could be misinterpreted regardless of who he’s talking to, without any self-awareness.

Well, I suppose that’s what it takes to be called the “Throne King” who seduced twelve women in a year. If anything, it might not be enough.

Me [Hey, can I ask you something?]

If he said yes, I was planning to ask, “Do you have any girl you’re interested in these days?”

It’s April now. According to the original story, Im Hansol should be in the middle of pursuing a new female student, and I was curious about his progress.

So I sent the message and was waiting for a reply when—

-Buzzzzz.

“What now?”

A call came in from someone. Looking at the caller ID, it was an unknown number.

“Who is it?”

I don’t have anyone who would call at this hour… Is it Im Hansol? Why would he call when we could just text? I answered the phone without much thought.

“Hello?”

[Ah, hello? Han Siwoo? Is this Han Siwoo?]

“…?”

But the voice on the other end was a woman’s voice. And it sounded familiar, like I’d heard it many times before. Uncertain, I asked:

“What is it? Who are you?”

[What? Han Siwoo, you don’t know my number? It’s Jin Heui. Class A, Jin Heui.]

“…What? Who did you say?”

[Ah, hello? Can you hear me? I said it’s Jin Heui!]

“No… I heard that part.”

I thought the voice sounded familiar. But why would she call me? That question only intensified with Jin Heui’s next words.

[Okay, good. Han Siwoo, I’m sending a gift to your room soon. You have to accept it, okay?]

“What? A gift? What are you talking about?”

Calling in the middle of the night and suddenly telling me to accept a gift—it’s not like someone knocking on my window while I’m sleeping.

I couldn’t understand at all, but the call ended abruptly.

“…”

I just stared blankly at the phone after the call disconnected.

And then, I mentally reviewed the conversation I’d just heard.

‘I’m sending a gift to your room soon. You have to accept it, okay?’

“…What kind of nonsense is this?”

No matter how hard I try to understand, I’m only left with more questions. My mind went blank for a moment.

No matter how I think about it, Jin Heui had no reason to send me a gift.

“What’s going on…?”

Normally, one should feel excited about a gift, but for some reason, my stomach was rapidly turning cold.

Moreover, these kinds of bad premonitions tend to be spot on, which makes me even more anxious.

“…”

With the sudden tension and chills running down my spine, I gulped.

At that moment.

-Knock, knock.

From outside the closed door, someone was knocking politely.

“…Who is it?”

I walked carefully, not making a sound with my footsteps. Then I looked outside through the peephole on the door.

-….

But there was no one outside. Did I mishear?

—Just as I thought that, once again.

-Knock, knock, knock.

“Ah, geez.”

The sound of someone knocking on the door somewhat irritably. I was startled and took a step back. I hadn’t misheard. There was definitely someone outside the door.

“…But why can’t I see them?”

-Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock.

The moment I muttered that, whoever was outside began frantically knocking on my door.

Startled, I quickly opened the door. And realized something was wrong.

I should have run away instead of opening the door…!

But it was too late. I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact….

“…Huh?”

“Ah, hello, Siwoo-ssi.”

…Why are you here?