Chapter 17: CUT. I Want to Go Back (2)
by fnovelpia
The next day, on the way to school.
Yeoreum walked side by side with Yuna Yeon.
A heavy air flowed between them.
Yeoreum remained silent, and Yuna Yeon was restless as if she had committed a crime.
“Umm… Yeoreum…?”
“What.”
“About yesterday, I…”
“Don’t apologize. I have no intention of forgiving you.”
Yeoreum replied coldly.
Then, Yuna Yeon grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“Please forgive me…! I’ll do anything, anything…!”
“Kill yourself.”
“……Can’t I just make it up to you with my body or something?”
Yuna Yeon held onto Yeoreum, making him face her.
The lustful eyes looking down at him were the same ones he saw yesterday.
Yeoreum thought back to the previous day.
Yuna Yeon came through the window, embraced him.
It was trouble if things continued, so he pushed her away.
And then he kicked her out of the house like a stray cat.
He had barely managed to keep his chastity.
After Yuna Yeon left, he tidied up the fallen DVDs and video tapes.
During that, he found both the original and the reboot versions of <Evil Dead>.
He remembered Yuna Yeon had said about watching the original several times after hearing Yeoreum say ‘the original is the best’.
Suddenly curious, he watched both the original and the reboot versions right there.
It had been a very long time since he watched a horror movie.
That was what happened yesterday.
The two walked in silence.
The street was becoming bright with the beautiful sunlight.
They were getting closer to the campus gate.
This time, Yeoreum was the one to break the silence.
“…I watched <Evil Dead>.”
“Huh?”
“I watched it yesterday. Both the original and the reboot.”
“Hehe, did you review it…?”
“Review? I don’t understand what you mean. It was my first time watching them yesterday.”
Yuna Yeon suddenly stopped walking.
“Maybe… Did you lose the memory of having watched it before?”
“That’s right.”
Saying so, Yuna Yeon looked sad.
As if she was the one who had lost her memory.
In reality, it wasn’t a loss of memory but a switch of souls, but anyway, Yeoreum continued.
“Isn’t it good that I’ve seen it now?”
“Yeah, that’s true… So, how was it? Tell me your thoughts.”
“……”
They had arrived at the campus gate.
Yeoreum didn’t reply to Yuna Yeon and just walked on.
“What, what?! Yeoreum, why won’t you tell me?”
Ignoring her, he kept his mouth tightly shut.
It didn’t make sense.
Why were they teaching acting classes in a film department?
Wouldn’t it be enough to just teach techniques and directing?
But the professor said, basic acting skills are essential for directing.
You need to be able to direct actors to perform appropriately for each scene.
Today wasn’t a theory class but a practical evaluation of acting in front of other students and the professor.
It was ridiculous. He wanted to run out of the classroom immediately.
The first to be evaluated was Yuna Yeon.
She walked forward hesitantly.
“Yes, yes… Then I’ll start…”
She spoke with a voice that was timid.
Like a summer flower blooming in winter, Yuna Yeon didn’t know what to do.
It was obvious how her acting would go. She would stutter and stumble through.
Yeoreum wanted to close his eyes.
He didn’t care what happened to Yuna Yeon, but he didn’t want to see her embarrassed.
With the professor’s signal, Yuna Yeon’s acting started.
And it defied expectations.
Yuna Yeon became a completely different person.
She had a talent for acting.
No, it was more apt to call it a gift.
Her movements, vocalization, and eye contact were all skillfully harmonized.
Her beauty added to her strength.
Her tall figure and flowing hair.
Her small, white face. Her clear facial features caught the eye.
For a moment, Yeoreum watched Yuna Yeon in awe.
The crazy woman who behaved like a pervert when they were alone was not there.
Yuna Yeon shone in that moment.
The short performance ended.
The turns of other students quickly passed by.
Soon, it was Yeoreum’s turn.
Haah. He really didn’t want to do it.
“Yeoreum, fighting…!!”
Yuna Yeon, sitting behind, sent a trivial cheer.
Ignoring her, he stepped forward.
The looks from other students were cold.
Feeling their gazes, he felt like a malfunctioning robot.
Somewhere, a quiet voice could be heard.
…
“Is that kid really a college student? Looks like a grade-schooler.”
“Pfft. Exactly~ Sounds like his voice hasn’t even broken yet.”
“Haha, bet he doesn’t even have pubes yet.”
…
The conversation was between a man with tattoos on his forearm and a woman with earrings, both looking carefree.
Their mockery pierced through his eardrums and lodged itself in his heart.
His mind went blank.
This was the first time he had been insulted like this.
Back in the ’80s in America, nobody dared to insult him.
He was stronger than a grizzly bear.
Anyone who picked a fight with him was more likely to wake up in a coffin than in their bed the next morning.
But now, it’s different.
He’s become weak.
Far from being stronger than a bear, he’d be lucky to win against a chicken.
He might stand a chance against a sloth, though.
Anyway, his fighting spirit was long gone.
The taunts of the tattooed man and the earringed woman echoed in his ears.
He wanted to rush at them with an axe and split their skulls open.
He couldn’t concentrate on acting at all.
His thoughts, his expressions, his body were all uncontrollable.
He ended up completely botching it.
He slumped back into his seat.
Turning his head, he looked towards the tattooed man.
Their eyes met.
“What.”
The tattooed man spoke in a low voice, his voice mixed with the smell of cigarettes.
He wanted to curse him out, but his voice wouldn’t come out properly.
If his body were that of the ’80s American tough guy, that tattooed man wouldn’t stand a chance against him.
But now, he was in the weak body of Yeoreum.
Fear took precedence over anger.
Only after being despised as the weaker one did he understand.
When your spirit is broken, you can’t even harbor hatred.
He had no urge to rip off the tattooed man’s skin or gouge out the eyes of the earringed woman and kill them.
It felt like despair had filled the void left by his drained venom.
Beneath hatred was despair.
As soon as the lecture ended, he ran out of the classroom as if escaping.
He went to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water.
As he continuously drenched himself in cold water, his senses slowly began to return.
He looked up at the mirror.
His skin was pale enough to look sickly.
Dark circles under his eyes.
Delicate and fine features that could make him seem like a girl at a glance.
Cold water dripped down his slender jawline.
He stood there in front of the mirror, dazed for a while.
He left the bathroom.
Outside the corridor window, he could see the landscape below the building.
Two people smoking in front of a smoking booth, that looked like a bus stop, caught his eye.
It was the tattooed man and the earringed woman.
…How great it would be to have a sniper rifle. He was confident he could hit both of them from here.
While he was thinking this and looking down from the window, someone approached the tattooed man and the earringed woman.
“What, Yuna Yeon…?”
What is she doing there?
Yuna Yeon is a nonsmoker. Why is she at the smoking booth?
Yuna Yeon spoke to the tattooed man.
Too far away to hear anything.
Maybe… she’s standing up for him?
Maybe she’ll sharply tell them, ‘Apologize to Yeoreum!’.
That would be so embarrassing. Extremely so.
But the atmosphere didn’t seem like they were arguing or fighting.
Yuna Yeon was expressionless. No sign of anger or excitement.
She simply extended her hand towards the tattooed man, apparently asking for something.
The tattooed man took something out of his pocket and handed it to Yuna Yeon.
It was a lighter.
Borrowing a lighter. Why?
Could it be Yuna Yeon is a smoker?
At least she’s not standing up for him. That would have been mortifying.
Relieved but feeling a sting inside.
Yuna Yeon silently held the lighter.
0.25 seconds later.
The fist holding the lighter struck the tattooed man’s jaw.
Crack-!
The man fell from the unexpected punch.
Falling, he knocked over the ashtray, covering himself in cigarette ashes.
His earringed girlfriend screamed.
“Kyaa! What, what are you doing…!!”
This time, Yuna Yeon targeted the woman.
Her clenched fist hit the woman right in the solar plexus.
It was a merciless blow.
The woman fell, vomiting clear gastric juice.
In the meantime, the man staggered to his feet.
“Ugh… you f*cking b*tch…!”
He lost his reason upon seeing his girlfriend down.
Trusting his own strength, he charged at Yuna Yeon.
But it was the wrong choice.
Yuna Yeon stood at 185cm, a full 10cm taller than the man, and was just as much stronger.
She hit the man’s face with her elbow.
Seizing the moment he staggered, she landed a clean middle kick to his side.
The man lost his balance again and fell.
Falling, he crashed into the glass of the booth.
Crash- the window shattered into pieces.
At the same time, the man’s consciousness scattered like the broken glass.
It ended in an instant.
Yuna Yeon looked down coldly at the fallen couple.
Her expression was emotionless, consumed by anger.
“…Never speak to Yeoreum like that again.”
Yeoreum dazedly looked down at the scene below the window.
Yuna Yeon had demolished the tattooed man and the earringed woman.
She smashed them like a broken vending machine that took her money.
He was flustered.
For some reason, his heart raced, and his face turned red.
All the sharp feelings he had towards Yuna Yeon melted away.
He hadn’t known she was that strong.
Well, she did have the physical agility to climb up to the third floor using building pipes.
A woman that strong…
Wouldn’t it be alright to give her his purity?
…Wait a minute. What was he thinking?
Something must be wrong with his head.
Yuna Yeon was the woman who tried to force herself on him.
Having a relationship with such a woman goes against the pride of being a serial killer.
Cooling his heated head, he went downstairs.
Yuna Yeon was waiting in front of the main entrance.
She acted as if nothing had happened, despite the smoking booth behind her being a mess.
However, she couldn’t hide the sweat beads forming on her white forehead.
“Ye, Yeoreum…!”
Yuna Yeon, waving her hand with a bright smile, seemed unusually tall.
Her height was more real to him now.
Even on the way back, Yuna Yeon didn’t mention the one-sided beatdown (assault) that happened at the smoking booth.
It was a tender silence.
Walking beside Yuna Yeon, Yeoreum thought.
She’s a weird woman.
Crazy and perverted, always looking for a chance to pounce.
…But, a pretty decent friend.
“……Yuna Yeon.”
“Huh?”
“Between the original and the reboot of <Evil Dead>, which do you like more?”
Yuna Yeon answered without hesitation.
“The original!”
It was a continuation of the conversation they had in front of his door yesterday.
Originally, Yuna Yeon preferred the reboot, but after hearing Yeoreum say ‘the original is the best’, she watched the original countless times.
In the end, she came to like the original more.
“Yuna Yeon. Tell me the truth.”
“Th, the truth…? This is the truth.”
“It doesn’t feel like it.”
“……”
“I want to hear your honest opinion. Between the original and the reboot, which do you prefer?”
“But you said the original…”
“The truth.”
Yuna Yeon confessed in a meek voice.
“…I found the reboot more entertaining.”
Yeoreum nodded in satisfaction.
“Me too.”
“…What?”
“I also preferred the reboot.”
The original and the reboot of <Evil Dead> he saw yesterday.
He found the reboot more entertaining.
Connecting on a genuine level brightened Yuna Yeon’s expression.
Her smile bloomed like a flower.
She walked with Yeoreum, not the original but the rebooted Yeoreum.
Instead of warping each other to fit predefined molds, they sought common ground.
That’s the first step towards getting closer to each other.
The distance was shortened, but Yeoreum’s goal hadn’t changed.
He would kill Yuna Yeon.
Someday, definitely.
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