Ch.87Chapter 87. Mass Shooting (3)

“Ah.”

“What is it?”

“What’s wrong, Cuss?”

On the way out of the cafeteria.

Cuss suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“I left my phone behind.”

“In the classroom?”

“Yes. I’ll go get it.”

“Do you really need to? It’s not like you’ll use it anyway.”

“I don’t know when Jinsoo might call.”

“……”

Watching Cuss’s back as she walked away, Tom and Alice were so dumbfounded they momentarily lost their senses.

Saying she needed to keep her phone with her in case he called.

Anyone who didn’t know better might mistake “Jinsoo” for her boyfriend.

“Let’s go to the playground first.”

“You go ahead. I’ll wait for Cuss.”

“Ah, why!”

“Because I want to play with Cuss.”

“……”

Looking at Alice who stood still and wouldn’t budge, Tom felt somewhat indignant.

Until now, he had never failed to be the center of attention wherever he went.

Strangely, at school, everything always seemed to revolve around Cuss.

He didn’t like that one bit.

To break this situation, he needed to make an effort to disrupt the existing order.

Tom knew well that in this case, that effort meant diplomacy.

“Hey! Don’t be like that…”

“…?”

“P-play with me too.”

He had meant to speak confidently and assertively.

But Tom was stammering without even making eye contact with Alice.

He was too embarrassed.

This was a failure.

Just as he sensed this and was about to turn away.

“Pfft! Hahaha!”

“Why are you laughing!”

“I didn’t know you could talk like that! You always act so arrogant. Okay. Let’s go play first.”

“……”

Alice giggled as she passed by Tom and headed toward the playground.

Though he had achieved what he wanted, it felt extremely embarrassing.

With his cheeks flushed bright red, Tom followed Alice while telling himself:

This was just part of his effort to reclaim leadership of the class.

Nothing to be embarrassed about.

If it’s for power, one must endure a little embarrassment.

Meanwhile, in the first-year classroom…

“Found it.”

Cuss was just taking her phone out of her bag.

When she turned it on to check, there were no calls from Jinsoo.

With slumped shoulders, Cuss walked out of the classroom.

Already, the sounds of commotion could be heard from the playground.

‘Are those two playing already?’

Regaining her energy, Cuss started running vigorously.

It would be a big problem if Cuss missed the inter-class futsal game.

Cuss, who could block more than half the goal area just by spreading her arms, was clearly the core strength of the class.

Just as Cuss ran down the stairs and reached the first floor.

Bang! Ratatang!

“…?”

Mysterious explosive sounds echoed.

Though she couldn’t tell what the sound was, she sensed something wasn’t right.

She thought she should quickly go out to meet Tom and Alice.

Waaaaaang…!

“Hmm?”

Cuss was startled by the sudden blaring siren.

She had definitely heard about this during training.

Certain siren patterns indicated fire alarms, others earthquakes, and so on.

She couldn’t remember clearly.

She hadn’t paid much attention.

Clank! Clank!

At that moment, Cuss had to flinch at the metallic sound coming from the end of the corridor.

When she turned to look, doors were closing one by one.

They were closing by themselves without anyone there.

The sight and sound of doors closing simultaneously without anyone around was so eerie that Cuss started running in the opposite direction.

Oh no. That’s not right. The entrance is that way.

Even knowing she was heading toward a dead end, she couldn’t help it.

Self-closing doors had never seemed so frightening.

She wished she could hug her shark plushie at home.

“Over here! This way!”

“…!”

Just then, a face popped out from a door at the end of the wall, shouting.

In this creepy situation, seeing a human face was incredibly relieving.

Cuss’s face instantly brightened as she ran toward it.

“Hurry! Faster!”

“Hnnng…!”

Clank! Clank!

As the sound of locks closing drew closer, Cuss ran at full speed.

Finally reaching the last door, Cuss launched herself forward.

“That’s it! Come in… Oof!”

“Huh!”

The moment Cuss entered, the door slammed shut behind her.

“Haa… Haa… Haa…”

Catching her breath and coming to her senses, Cuss found herself on top of a boy, pinning him down.

Looking closely at his face, she recognized him immediately.

Tom’s brother, the weak human kid who had been thrown by her shoulder throw and knocked out by a liver shot… well, not a kid, a boy.

It was Jake.

As she silently stared into his eyes while exhaling, she could watch Jake’s face turning red in real time.

“C-can you get off me now?”

“No.”

“…?”

It was only natural for the strong to be positioned above the weak.

She couldn’t allow tall Jake to stand up and occupy a higher position than her.

She intended to let him go after maintaining this position a bit longer to satisfy her sense of superiority.

“I’ll move when I’m satisfied.”

“S-satisfied?!”

“Yes.”

“Uh… okay…”

Jake was so dumbfounded he couldn’t make a sound and had no choice but to stay still.

If he moved his arms just a little, they would touch her chest.

If he raised his legs slightly, they would touch his… third leg.

This suffocating standoff continued for about three minutes.

“Hmph.”

“…?”

Cuss gave an enigmatic smile, then flipped her hair back and raised her upper body.

Jake, still bewildered, grabbed Cuss’s outstretched hand and stood up.

“So, what’s happening right now?”

“You mean you don’t even know?!”

Jake felt a sudden headache.

He had wondered why she was so calm, but it was simply because she knew nothing.

Glancing up, he saw Cuss had already moved to the door and was pulling the handle with all her might.

“Nngh…!”

“It’s no use. It’s locked.”

“For what reason?”

“The security protocol for a shooting incident has been activated. All doors in the school will remain locked until the police arrive.”

“Hmm… So what’s a shooting incident?”

“……”

Jake had thought she might finally be scared, but due to her extraordinary ignorance, Cuss still hadn’t properly grasped the situation.

He couldn’t help but sigh.

“You should call your parents… your father. Tell him there’s been a shooting incident, but you’re in a safe place so he doesn’t need to worry.”

“Are we in a dangerous situation?”

“Yes. He must be extremely worried by now.”

“…!”

She didn’t want to worry Jinsoo.

She never wanted to see Jinsoo looking dejected because of her again.

Cuss hurriedly dialed Jinsoo’s number on her phone.

“Hmm… In a safe place… alone with Jake…”

“Ah! You don’t need to mention that last part!”

Jake felt a momentary dizziness.

His father had told him that this Jinsoo person was a rough thug.

He didn’t want such a person to suspect him of touching his daughter.

Wait, daughter… is that right? Or son?

“He’s not answering…”

“Phew.”

At the prolonged dial tone, Jake breathed a sigh of relief.

No, this wasn’t right—he should be thinking about Cuss’s father who must be worried.

Seeing Cuss sniffling as she put her phone back in her pocket made him feel slightly guilty.

“So what do we do now?”

“Well… about that…”

Jake took a deep breath and looked around.

The supply room, filled with all kinds of items, didn’t seem to be even four square feet.

There was a window, but it was for ventilation and definitely not large enough for a person to pass through.

So the two of them were trapped here.

“We just need to stay put.”

There was nothing they could do.

All they could do was wait for the police to subdue the perpetrator and open the doors.

‘That’s not it.’

Actually, all they could do was wait for an announcement that this was a false alarm and for the doors to open.

Jake prayed desperately for that.

Bang! Bang!

“Hick?!”

At that moment, loud explosions faintly echoed through the corridor.

It was definitely gunfire.

Though it wasn’t even that loud, Cuss hiccupped with each gunshot.

Feeling a strange emotion, Jake unconsciously raised his hand slowly toward Cuss’s head.

“Hng…”

There was no resistance.

As Jake’s hand gently rested on Cuss’s head, her trembling and hiccups subsided.

Due to extreme tension, Cuss exhaled roughly, feeling her heart pounding.

She was so tense she didn’t even notice her phone vibrating in her pocket.

‘No, no. This isn’t right.’

Meanwhile, Jake’s heartbeat was racing for a different reason.

This wasn’t right.

Cuss wasn’t an ordinary girl.

He wasn’t into that sort of thing.

‘Or am I actually into this?’

Looking down at the back of Cuss’s head and nape, Jake’s face flushed red again.

Feeling great confusion about his own identity, Jake ended up banging his forehead against the wall.