episode_0011

… … … … …

“Then, every time the boy says thank you, I have to respond in kind.

… … There’s no need to be thankful. I’m doing this because I like the boy too.”

Teacher Wol-hee’s hands stroking my head were gentle and affectionate. I smiled shyly as I made eye contact with her.

“Ehehe… … Teacher Wolhee is kind like older sister Seoyeon.

Ah, I need to get discharged quickly and let my sister know I’m okay… … .”

“Who, me?”

At that moment, Professor Wolhee’s expression―no, her appearance changed.

First, her eyes changed. The red pupils visible through her silver hair became clearer, and the entire eyeball turned bright red.

But what was even more frightening was the teacher’s mouth. Her neat and attractive lips split open as if tore all the way to her ears, revealing sharp teeth.

The mouth looked like the jaws of a shark or crocodile, as if it could swallow me in one bite.

“… … Hee, heee… … .”

I blinked a few times in fear. Then, as if the illusion had disappeared, the horrific monster I had just seen was nowhere to be seen.

The eyes that were bloodshot to the point of blazing red, the torn mouth, the sharp teeth… … were all gone.

Instead, the usual Ms. Wol-hee was standing there. Her silver hair flowed down, reflecting the sunlight outside the window, and she looked at me with her usual calm demeanor.

Her lips were smiling gracefully as usual, and her face was as beautiful as a doll.

“… … That’s right.

The boy’s family… … should be safe too.”

Because of the sudden large amount of cold sweat, my back became damp.

Am I hallucinating? Probably.

However, the teacher Wol-hee in that hallucination was so scary. My tear glands were strangely stimulated, and my weak instincts desperately searched for a protector.

At that moment, my body moved on its own. When I came to, I was burying my face in Teacher Wol-hee’s arms.

Her body temperature, so warm that it was almost hot, was transmitted to me, and her faint scent brushed the tip of my nose.

“Huh, why is the boy suddenly like this?”

I could hear Teacher Wol-hee’s voice, but for some reason I couldn’t face her. I just desperately sought comfort in her arms.

At that moment, I could hear the sound of Professor Wol-hee’s heartbeat in my ear. The sound was incredibly fast. As if she had just run at full speed, or as if she was extremely excited, or… … as if it was the heart of a species other than human.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Teacher Wol-hee patted me on the back. Her voice was as gentle and calm as usual, but she seemed excited for some reason.

“Boy, did you have a scary dream?

Don’t worry. I’m always by your side.”

At her words, I slowly raised my head. Teacher Wol-hee was smiling brightly.

But deep within her swirling red eyes, something seemed to flash.

… … … … …

“Oh, I’m so embarrassed… … I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. The sight of the boy acting like a child was very interesting.”

“Uuuuu… … .”

Teacher Wol-hee smiled faintly and patted my embarrassed head.

“But why did the boy suddenly hug me so fearfully? What happened?”

“That, that… … I don’t know either.

Teacher Wol-hee, suddenly felt incredibly scary… … as if she wasn’t human… … .”

When I confessed honestly to her, the hand that was stroking my head stopped. Teacher Wol-hee, who seemed to hesitate for a moment, slowly opened her mouth.

“… … I see. The boy really has good instincts.”

“Yes?”

When I asked her again, dumbfounded, she let out a small sigh.

“Actually, there’s something I didn’t tell the boy.

I am a distant relative of the vampires that exist in this world.”

“Are you a distant… … relative?”

“Yeah. Hmm… … To put it simply, it’s like the difference between a tiger and a lion. They belong to the same family, but you could say they’re species that have adapted to different environments.

To explain further――”

As Teacher Wol-hee continued her explanation, I locked eyes with her. I felt like I was lost in those swirling red eyes.

“We survived in a different way than them. For example――”

Her voice grew distant. My vision became blurry and my mind began to become confused. It felt as if I was falling into a deep fog.

“As far as I know, vampires in this world choose to coexist with humans.

Same goes for me. Should I call this survival of the fittest――”

Now her voice was not audible. Her consciousness was becoming increasingly blurred, and everything around her was becoming blurry.

――Exactly!

With the sound of Teacher Wol-hee snapping her fingers, my mind cleared. As if I had suddenly emerged from the water, I could see my surroundings clearly.

“… … Do you understand?”

“Ah… …yes, yes.”

Something was confusing. What happened? I felt like Professor Wol-hee had given me a very important explanation just a moment ago, but I couldn’t remember exactly.

“Okay. In summary, I am a distant relative of vampires, but I never attack humans. Please trust me.”

Teacher Wol-hee’s expression was serious. There was a mixture of anxiety and anticipation in her red eyes.

But her anxiety was for nothing, because I intended to trust her unconditionally.

“Yes, I believe you.

Teacher, you saved me and treated me so kindly. It doesn’t matter whether you are human or not.”

A look of relief crossed Teacher Wol-hee’s face at my words. She patted my head again.

“Thank you, boy. It’s reassuring to hear you say that.

If you hadn’t accepted me… … I would have been really miserable.”

When the teacher said, “If you hadn’t accepted me,” I suddenly felt a chill, but that feeling quickly disappeared.

… … … … …

The nightlight in the hospital room was dimly lit, and the city lights were twinkling outside the window.

Jin Wol-hee sat on the sofa in the VIP ward, looking at her ‘boy’ who was asleep… The boy was sleeping peacefully with a beautiful face.

“… … … .”

Jin Wol-hee remained silent and lost in thought. The events that had happened with the boy today came to her mind one by one. The boy’s reaction, the boy’s expression, the boy’s words… … .

Yes, the boy’s condition was not normal. I’m not talking about his appearance. The problem was his mind.

“The flow of magic, strangely high hypnotic aptitude. As expected, the boy is… … .”

Someone. Jin Wol-hee concluded that it must have been the person the boy called ‘sister’ who was playing with his head.

I guess it’s just my nature to trust others so easily.

“Sister… … Sister… … Who the hell are you?”

As far as Jin Wol-hee knew, there wasn’t a single woman of an age who could be called ‘older sister’ by a boy who had awakened a psychic ability.

In the first place, those awakened to the psychic realm are not that common, and because of their abilities, they are not trusted by others, so most of them live alone. If you live with such a cute boy, you will be noticed right away.

A cold anger rose up inside Jin Wol-hee’s heart. Just thinking about the abominable being the boy called ‘sister’ made her feel like the flames of hatred would burn her body.

Jin Wol-hee clenched her fists so hard that her nails dug into her flesh and drew blood. Her red eyes flashed in the darkness.

“Don’t worry, boy. You’ll be… …much safer by my side.”

Jin Wol-hee reached out and stroked the boy’s hair as she muttered. But then, she suddenly realized one thing.

“Why… … ?”

A hoarse voice leaked out from her mouth, which had been silent for a while. Why was she trying so hard to protect this boy?

“I want to eat… … No. I don’t eat intelligent beings… … .”

If Jin Wol-hee’s beliefs were something that could be easily broken in the first place, she would not have let him live and would have eaten him at the first meeting.

No, that’s not it. If I had eaten it then, it would have been a hassle to clean up afterwards. Rather, now is the time to eat it. Without leaving a single drop of blood, I would eat it whole――

“Tsk!”

Jin Wol-hee covered her face with both hands. Her ego immediately denied the temptation of instinct and established logic.

It makes no sense to protect a boy so desperately just because of cannibalistic desires. There must be some other reason, something fundamentally different from such a lowly thing.

But no matter how much Jin Wol-hee thought about it, she couldn’t come up with a reason. She tried to look at her own actions objectively and infer her feelings, but the more she did, the more confused she became.

The night grew deeper and deeper. The city lights visible outside the window also began to fade away, one by one.

However, Jinwolhee’s confusion has not yet subsided.

She looked at the boy’s sleeping face once more. Her heart shook violently at the sight of the boy sleeping soundly.

“Boy. I love you――”

Jin Wol-hee closed her eyes without finishing her words. Without finding an answer, she ended up putting the lid on the jar in her mind filled with agony.