Chapter 32: Fantasy in the middle of the night

“Are you Lee Sia?”

Whether it was impatience or that the girl simply looked that charming, Izana walked up to her as soon as the final school bell rang.

Startled by the sudden voice coming from nearby, the girl froze mid-motion while packing her things and looked up at Izana.

Up close, her long hair, high-bridged nose, and pitch-black eyes felt even more vivid.

Izana wasn’t into girls or anything, but even she found herself momentarily drawn in. With her usual practiced smile, she gazed at the girl.

Her lips curled into a perfect, doll-like arc.

Usually, that alone was enough for people—regardless of gender—to fall head over heels for her.

“…And?”

But this girl was different.

One would expect kindness to be met with kindness.

Yet in her eyes, which had gone blurry and dull, there was a pointed hostility like sharp thorns.

A silent message that she didn’t want to waste her energy on someone like Izana. Or perhaps that she was annoyed by her.

Yes—scorn and contempt. Maybe that explained her unusual aura.

Izana watched the girl’s hostile gaze with interest.

It was the first time someone had reacted to her that way. It was intriguing. Slightly disagreeable, but intriguing.

She wasn’t scared of this girl baring her tiny spikes. One look into her faintly trembling pupils, and Izana could tell it was just bravado. Which only made her even more adorable.

It reminded her of a hedgehog. You know—those little creatures that, once you flip them over, look absurdly cute. If that’s the case, maybe this was just the taming phase.

“Excuse me, but if you’re okay with it, would you mind showing me around the school? I’m new here and still not familiar with where everything is…”

“…Why are you asking me? There are plenty of other kids around. You’d be better off asking them.”

“Well… The homeroom teacher told me to ask the class president, Lee Sia, for help. Plus, I just transferred today, so I don’t really have anyone else to turn to.”

Izana wore an expression of helplessness, as if she truly didn’t know what to do.

Of course, the teacher had said no such thing. And she had already memorized the campus layout in one glance.

It was a complete lie.

The girl pressed her lips together. Izana silently waited for her response, while discreetly observing her reaction.

She looked troubled by the request. Instead of answering, her eyes kept darting toward the red-haired girl sleeping at the next desk over. As if silently asking for permission.

‘Kang Seon-a, was it?’

Since they sat next to each other, Izana had noticed her too. Aside from being unusually sleepy, she didn’t seem like anything special.

At first glance, she looked like the type who quietly went along with whatever mood surrounded her…

“Why are you looking at me like that, Sia?”

“S-Seon-a…”

Apparently, she hadn’t been asleep at all. In a languid voice, Kang Seon-a slowly lifted her head.

Sia, flustered beyond words. Her slightly raised fingertips trembled, and her eyes wandered like a lost child.

Izana watched her squirm, her expression quietly amused. It was rude to think this about a person, but she resembled a frog caught in a snake’s gaze.

“We’re ‘friends’, aren’t we? Friends should be more open with each other. Right? Don’t you agree?”

“…Yeah.”

“Good. Anyway, I don’t care what you do after school. Show her around, or whatever.”

With that, Kang Seon-a gently stroked the girl’s wrist before standing up. But Izana didn’t miss the brief moment when her grip tightened, leaving a faint red mark on Sia’s slender wrist.

‘Friends? How ridiculous.’

Izana inwardly scoffed. She didn’t have many friends herself—and most of those were shallow, fake relationships—but she still knew what real friendship looked like.

She didn’t know these girls well yet, but one thing she did know was that this was no friendship.

If anything, it resembled a master and her leashed dog. The kind of toxic, top-down relationship where one commands and the other obeys.

“Fine. I’ll show you around. Come on.”

“Ah, thank you!”

If anything, her curiosity toward this girl—this Lee Sia—only grew deeper. What kind of secret could she be hiding, to be sticking so close to someone that aggressive?

Izana’s soft tongue flicked over her dry lips. She watched Sia’s back with an innocent smile. Her face was pure, almost childlike.

The look of a child discovering a brand-new toy.

“And this place is…?”

“This is the infirmary. If we keep going a bit farther…”

Nothing special happened as they toured the necessary parts of the first and second floors.

Sia spoke in a strictly formal tone as she guided Izana Greze, and Izana followed along obediently.

Was the school tour really her only purpose?

Sia found herself turning her head, looking toward Izana beside her. Izana, noticing the glance, gave her a flawless smile.

It felt like being pricked with a needle under her heel. Uncomfortable, yet she couldn’t pinpoint exactly why.

That mechanically perfect smile—Sia found the very existence of Izana unsettling.

Of course, it wasn’t because Izana Greze was a bad person. In the original story, she was a bit eccentric but fundamentally kind-hearted. In fact, she was one of the few characters who ever showed genuine affection toward the protagonist.

An easy person to grow close to. Which was exactly why Sia wanted to stay away. Because beside her, that monster was still roaming free.

The monster she hadn’t been able to stop. The one that devoured everyone, indiscriminately.

Yes, a monster. Not a person. Just something that happened to be wearing human skin.

“Sia? Your face doesn’t look too good. Are you feeling unwell?”

“…It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

The memory surfaced: a decapitated corpse. The stench of death still clung to her body, even now. She could recall it clearly, if she tried.

She didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of her. She definitely didn’t want anyone to die. Even thinking about it made her feel sick. Horribly sick.

Sia forced her stiffened expression to relax and kept walking.

The school grounds, covered in extravagant spending, were ridiculously wide.

But moving her legs with purpose, she reached the next location fairly quickly. Fortunately, most of the nausea had passed by then.

“This is the cafeteria. We come here to eat during lunch.”

“Wow! So this is where they raise the pigs? Pretty fancy for a pigsty.”

“If anything, it’s a pen for humans.”

“Horrifying!”

Their banter didn’t even qualify as a comedy skit, but Sia glanced at her watch anyway. The school was so large that, even though they hadn’t seen much, nearly an hour had passed.

They had toured most of the key locations, and now only one place remained: the music room. Once that was done, she wouldn’t have to spend any more time with this girl.

Eager to get it over with and head home, Sia quickened her pace. Izana hurried to follow.

Five minutes later—

“Hah… Hahh… T-This place is…?”

“…The music room. And seriously, how are you already tired?”

“It’s your fault for walking so fast!”

The cafeteria wasn’t even that far from the music room. Clicking her tongue in irritation, Sia opened the door. Her plan was to give a quick glance at the room and go straight back.

But as she turned to say they should leave, the girl who had stuck to her side like a chick had vanished.

“Wow, is this a piano?”

“What do you think you’re doing…? Don’t touch it.”

“Not as nice as the one we have at home, but it’s still a decent piece. What’s the Korean word for this? Fake?”

“Cheap, probably.”

At some point, Izana had taken a seat at the piano. Her pale index finger pressed a white key, sending a clear note ringing through the room.

She giggled like a ten-year-old child.

“Enough with the nonsense. Let’s just head ba—”

Before she could finish, the performance began. An unexpected recital for an audience of one.

Sia swallowed her words, her ears gradually enveloped by a lighthearted melody.

She couldn’t recall the name of the song, but she’d heard it before. Bach… no, maybe Mozart?

Unconsciously, she found herself listening.

The girl who had been chatting foolishly just moments ago now played something so beautiful, it made one forget her earlier antics.

But even more beautiful than the music—was the girl playing it.

Her golden hair shone in the sunset streaming through the window. Her porcelain skin glowed like marble.

With eyes gently closed in focus and her slender waist straightened in perfect posture, her school uniform looked more like a dress.

Maybe that was an exaggeration.

Or maybe not.

Sia didn’t know when it had started—but she was staring at Izana, completely entranced.

It was childish to put it this way, but right now, she looked just like a fairytale princess