Chapter 283

I unexpectedly found myself going to In-Ah's house.

The reason why I readily accepted her sudden invitation was not only because I had no other plans after school, but also because I had plenty of reasons to visit her house.

I wanted to check on Yoon-Ah's condition and I also wanted to study together with In-Ah to prepare for the upcoming exam.

While I could probably get a high score on the final exam with Legba's help without studying, I still preferred to study.

This was because there was no guarantee that Legba knew all the answers to every problem.

[Do you think there will be something that I don't know?] Legba said. He seemed to disagree with my thoughts.

However, there were things that even Legba didn't know.

There would definitely be problems that I wouldn’t be able to solve with Legba's help alone. When I encountered such a problem, I would have to solve the problems with my own determination and abilities.

When I was almost at In-Ah's house, she suddenly looked at me with her brow furrowed and said, "But something's a bit strange. You have better grades than me, so why are you learning from me? Isn't something wrong with this?"

"You are better at studying than me. Grades are a separate thing," I replied.

"What are you talking about... If you have better grades, then you are better at studying too."

"Getting first place last time was just luck."

"You always say it’s luck. I can’t tell whether you're being humble or arrogant... Anyway, this is what annoys me about you." In-Ah replied bluntly.

I stared blankly at her and said, "Why do you always say you're annoyed?"

"What? When did I always... Do I always say that...?"

"Yes."

We exchanged a meaningless conversation as we entered her house. The living room was neatly organized, and there was no sign of any noise or activity in the house.

There was one door in the corner of the house that was tightly closed, and beyond it, faint rustling sounds could be heard. It seemed like that was Yoon-Ah's room.

The sound of the door opening would have undoubtedly been heard inside her room as we entered, but Yoon-Ah didn't show up at all.

In-Ah stared at the tightly closed door, clicked her tongue, and then said, "I’ll tell my sister to come out. She was the one who requested me to bring you, and yet even after I’ve brought you here, she won’t come out.”

She walked briskly to the door and pushed it open. Then she had a conversation with her sister inside. I couldn't hear what they were talking about.

Meanwhile, I pulled a chair from the living room and sat down. I waited for the two of them to finish their conversation.

"Ugh, seriously..."

Finally, after their conversation ended, In-Ah let out a frustrated sigh and came out of Yoon-Ah's room. Yoon-Ah still wasn’t showing herself. In-Ah shook her head and sat across from me.

"Is she not coming out?"

"Yeah, she said she'll come out later... Forget it. I don't want to talk to her anymore. Her tone of voice is rude."

"She takes after you."

"What?"

It was a joke, but In-Ah seemed genuinely angry. I quickly reassured her that it was nothing and shifted the topic of the conversation to studying.

In-Ah, who was looking at me with a slightly displeased expression, let out a deep sigh and took out a book from her bag.

"Let's study. If there's something we don't know, let's ask each other."

I nodded at her words and took out two books from my bag. One book was for studying for the exam, and the other was a book I usually read.

In-Ah quietly started studying, and I also studied next to her. When I wasn’t able to concentrate very well, I opened the book I usually read and started reading.

Although In-Ah said that we should ask each other if there was something we didn't know, we hardly asked each other anything.

Even if there were parts I didn't know, I tried to solve them on my own without asking her. And it seemed like In-Ah didn't have any parts she didn't know.

In the deep silence, In-Ah suddenly said, "Sometimes it feels scary."

I glanced up to look at her. She was still focused on her book, her hand movements indicating that she was neatly underlining passages.

I tried to decipher the meaning behind her words by looking at her face, but In-Ah’s face didn’t reveal any expression.

Because of that, I couldn't understand what she was trying to say, nor was I able to figure out at what times she felt scared.

“Scared of what?” I asked.

In-Ah didn't answer immediately and instead continued to look at her book. Then, she flipped through the pages of her book with her slender fingers and said, "Just, this and that..."

"This and that?"

"...Maybe it's the situation, or maybe it's the era."

In-Ah's words were filled with profound meaning. To be more precise, it was difficult to understand what she was saying. She spoke while keeping her gaze fixed on the Romanican Sacred Science textbook.

"People die too easily, and these things will continue to happen in the future as long as the Voodoo Cult, the Satanists, or other cults continue to exist."

"..."

"But I'm starting to feel like I’m getting used to it."

I didn't respond to her words. I closed my mouth and just listened to her while keeping my eyes on the book.

"Several people in our school have died, and I even attended their memorial service, but I just thought, 'Oh well,' and moved on. I just felt relieved that it wasn't my close friends who died."

In-Ah continued, "...I guess I've just gotten used to it. There were so many things that happened after all.”

I raised my head to look at her. I couldn’t detect any emotion in her expression.

She simply mechanically read through the contents of her book as she silently and persistently continued to study.

Her eyes used to well up with tears whenever she talked about something like this, but now they were dry and lifeless.

"I guess so. Becoming a clergyman will involve such things," I responded with a nod.

As I did, she lifted her head from the book, looked at me, and asked, "Will I be able to become so accustomed to it that it wouldn't bother me even if you died?"

"Why are you suddenly asking that? I can't focus on my studies."

"I just had that thought all of a sudden," In-Ah said.

She shifted her gaze back to her book and continued, "Would you prefer it if I didn't care if you died?"

"Well..."

I hesitated for a moment. Was I hoping that In-Ah wouldn’t be emotionally affected if I died or left her?

I could die someday, or I might end up having to silently leave her side. I was the leader of the Voodoo Cult, and In-Ah was also a member of the Romanican Church, just like Jin-Seo.

Therefore, I couldn't guarantee anything to her, nor could I wish for anything from her.

After much contemplation, I replied, "I think I’ll be good if you don’t feel sad enough to collapse.”

It was the most honest answer I could come up with. Upon hearing my words, In-Ah seemed to ponder for a moment, and then she grinned.

"You're saying it in such a cringe-worthy way."

"The topic itself was cringeworthy. And why are you saying such things in the first place?"

"I just said it because I didn't want to study. Don't think too deeply about it."

Creak.

Suddenly, the door that had been closed opened, and Yoon-Ah came out while we were studying. She sat facing us across the table. Her gaze, which darted back and forth between In-Ah and me, eventually settled on me. Yoon-Ah just stared at me silently for a while.

I greeted her first.

"Hello," I said.

Yoon-Ah blinked her eyes, which were wide open like saucers. Then, as if belatedly regaining her composure, she quickly lowered her head and said, "Nice to meet... No, I'm sorry.”

“No need to apologize. What are you sorry for?" I said with a chuckle as I watched her hastily greet me.

Seeing Yoon-Ah speaking normally, I naturally burst into laughter.

Suddenly, memories of when Yoon-Ah was still a zombie flooded my mind. Back then, she couldn't speak at all, and it was a relief if she didn't bite my arm while screaming.

Although she had been in such a state, she was now talking like a normal person, in a way that was not all that different from In-Ah. I couldn’t help but get a bit emotional.

There was a time when I was frustrated that I couldn’t reveal to anyone that I was the one who had treated Yoon-Ah.

But not anymore. Just seeing that Yoon-Ah was healthy was enough to put my mind at ease.

"I apologize for my late greeting."

In-Ah glared at Yoon-Ah and scolded, "Yes, you were too late. You can't just lock yourself in the room after calling someone over."

Yoon-Ah glanced at In-Ah and then bowed deeply to me before going back into her room.

"That little... I went through all the trouble of calling you over just for her to say that... I'm sorry. I asked you to come because of my sister, but in the end, you weren’t able to see my sister for that long."

"It's okay, it's enough," I said with a nod.

The nod was to indicate that it was completely fine. There was no need to hear a long thank you. Just seeing Yoon-Ah living and speaking normally was truly enough.

***

I continued studying with In-Ah, and when it got dark, I left her house. Perhaps because it was winter and the days were getting shorter, it quickly became dark outside.

Even though I said it was fine, In-Ah still came out of the house to see me off.

"Hurry back inside. It's cold," I said as I gestured for In-Ah to go back inside quickly.

She shivered from the cold but smiled and said, "You traveled a long distance to get here, so I should at least do this much. I wish I could walk you back."

"Traveled a long distance my ass. The dormitory is right in front."

In-Ah waved to me as she said, "Still... Anyway, be careful going back."

After waving my hand toward her, I turned around and walked away. Even with the streetlights lighting up the way, it was still a dark night.

I pondered on when it would be the right time to meet Sung Yu-Da as I headed toward the underground chapel.

“...”

Suddenly, I felt a gaze and a presence from behind. It seemed like someone was following me. Was it one of Joseph's subordinates who was assigned to monitor me?

However, it seemed too sloppy to be Joseph's follower. They were tailing me in a very careless way as if they weren’t even trying to hide their presence.

Nevertheless, it wouldn't hurt to be cautious. I changed my direction from heading toward the underground chapel to the dormitory. I couldn’t enter the underground chapel when someone was following me.

I continued walking as I gradually closed the distance between the person who was following me. And then I took advantage of a moment when they wouldn’t be able to hide their appearance from me to quickly turn my head.

"Huh?"

The person who had been following me the entire time was truly a surprise. The person not a spy sent by Joseph, nor a clergyman of the Romanican church. It was none other than Yoon-Ah.

She was hunched over, seemingly startled by how I had suddenly turned my head. I approached her.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't think I thanked you earlier," Yoon-Ah said.

After saying that, she hesitated for a long time before finally looking straight at me as if she had made a big decision.

"...And, I wasn’t able to say long time no see," she added.