Problem Child – 1

The soft sensation, the electronic sound assaulting my ears.

Even with my eyes closed, I could tell I was in modern times.

And the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes wasn’t an unfamiliar ceiling, but rather,

[Dimensional Shift Count: 9]

A familiar message.

“Ah… what kind of world is it this time?”

A slightly high-pitched voice reached my ears.

It seemed to be my voice.

My head throbbed as if I had drunk heavily the night before.

It felt like the world was spinning. I supported myself on the mattress with my palm and lifted my heavy body.

It was a dark room, not much different from having my eyes closed.

-Ding Dong Ding Dong

The loud electronic sound rang again.

I somehow managed to move my leaden body. Just getting my legs off the bed and onto the floor took a lot of effort.

The cold temperature of the floor was transmitted through my soles.

I put strength back into my arms, raised my body, and took a step.

Something caught on my foot. I heard the sound of a small plastic object rolling on the floor.

Before dealing with the noisy electronic sound, I pulled back the curtains to brighten the dark room.

As the curtains moved, sunlight streamed in. It was a stinging sunlight, beyond warmth.

Perhaps because my eyes hadn’t yet adjusted to the light, they hurt considerably.

-Ding Dong Ding Dong

The electronic sound persisted, and I realized it was the doorbell.

As if to answer the call, I turned around, and the state of the room, illuminated by the sunlight, gradually came into view.

The expression “pigsty” perfectly described the state of the room.

A similar situation to when I possessed the body of a middle-aged man.

Liquor bottles scattered and rolling around, cigarette ashes and traces of extinguished butts on the floor.

And small, circular plastic containers, and unidentified pills spilled from their open mouths.

“What is it this time…”

Knowing at a glance that it wasn’t the room of a normal person, a deep annoyance welled up from my core.

I’m already struggling because of the obsessive woman, I wish the person I possess would be a little more normal.

Or, is it because the person has flaws that the obsessive woman is attracted to?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg… I entertained useless thoughts.

-Ding Dong Ding Dong

The doorbell rang again.

I looked back and forth between the door and the room, lost in thought.

I thought it would be right to tidy up this miserable room before greeting the visitor.

I leaned against the window again and looked outside.

A young woman stood in front of the gate, composed.

As the woman pressed something with her finger, the doorbell rang.

-Ding Dong Ding Dong

Since there was no response from this side, the woman seemed to sigh deeply.

And then she looked at the second floor where I was.

Our eyes met.

The woman’s eyes narrowed, and she rummaged through her bag.

Just as I thought something silver was coming out, she stuck it in the gate.

With a clanging sound, the gate began to open with a rusty metallic screech.

“Seriously, what’s the point of ringing the doorbell when you have a key?”

The woman’s gaze was still fixed on my side, and she opened the gate and began to enter the house.

First, let’s clean the room.

I hurriedly moved away from the window and looked for a bag to put things in.

Of course, there were no standard garbage bags in sight, so I grabbed a convenience store bag lying around in the room and roughly shoved the trash into it.

The small bag quickly became full, and I tied it up and put it in the trash can.

As I was putting trash in another bag I found, I heard the sound of the door lock on the first floor opening.

Someone had entered the house, and I could feel the footsteps getting closer to the second floor where I was.

I had cleaned up the big pieces of trash to some extent, but there was nothing I could do about the smell remaining in the room.

I waved my hands, trying to get the cigarette smells out, and realized that this was a meaningless act.

The footsteps got closer.

As soon as I felt a presence outside, the door opened without warning.

The woman, who was about my height, had brown hair braided and draped over her left shoulder.

Her clothes were plain casual, giving the impression of a college student.

“The smell! What is this smell?”

She frowned deeply and glared at me.

She strode over and threw open the small window.

Since there was not much change even after opening the window, she sighed as if she had given up and turned to look at me.

Our eyes met.

“Hello.”

Overwhelmed by the sudden awkwardness, I bowed my head and greeted her.

“What are you doing?”

It was a look similar to seeing a cockroach politely greeting you.

Hmm… is that not it?

Not knowing what to do, I stood there blankly, and the woman in front of me sighed deeply and unfolded a folding chair next to the desk.

With a clatter, the old folding chair was placed on the floor, and she sat down on it.

“You obviously didn’t do your homework… and you obviously didn’t prepare for class…”

She muttered to herself, taking a workbook out of her backpack.

“As always, I’ll be talking to myself for two hours…”

I was bothered by her muttering, so I pulled out the chair in front of the desk and sat down.

“…?”

She frowned and looked at me as I sat down at the desk.

I didn’t avoid her gaze and looked back at her.

“What is this?”

She asked as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have.

“Aren’t we… having class?”

I asked back.

Her hand, which had been taking textbooks out of her bag, stopped.

She tilted her head as if she found it strange and brought her face closer to mine.

She raised her hand and placed it on my forehead.

A cold sensation cooled my forehead.

“That’s strange… you don’t have a fever?”

She muttered as if she really didn’t understand.