Chapter 25: Affection (2)

I want to touch.

The path followed the tree-lined street.

Arena led the way with a sullen expression.

Right beside her, Chayeon scratched her head, looking troubled.

Directly behind them, a girl with long, dark purple hair followed, smiling brightly.

“Lena, cheer up~”

“I’m not mad, okay!?”

It was closer to pouting than being mad.

Arena shouted back loudly and then stomped ahead alone again.

“Follow me! I said follow! You’re welcome to!”

Her tone sounded anything but welcoming.

Chayeon pressed her forehead and quickly followed.

They were on their way to the autumn leaves outing to the north side, as promised earlier.

Even before entering the main spot, the trees lining the street were already ablaze with maple and ginkgo leaves, covering the path below in colorful patches.

So why was Arena so thoroughly peeved?

To understand the reason, one had to go back in time.

A little earlier-

“Hmm hmm~♪”

When Chayeon arrived at the meeting spot, she saw Arena looking into a hand mirror and humming.

She kept fiddling with her bangs over and over.

“Arena.”

“Hut! Y-you’re here!? Hmph, what took you so long!?”

When Chayeon spoke from behind, Arena jumped in surprise, turned around, and quickly hid the mirror behind her back.

Was there any point hiding it behind her back when someone was right there?

Perhaps realizing this, Arena startled again and shoved the hand mirror into her front pocket.

“I wasn’t late.”

“What are you talking about! Making me wait for 30 minutes!”

“So you came out 30 minutes early.”

“Ah! No! I absolutely didn’t come out early because I was excited. I didn’t!”

Her usual self, spilling everything unprompted even when nothing was said.

Spending time with her, she understood now.

At first, she wondered how such a uniquely characterized kid had so many friends.

Arena was being unilaterally coddled.
TL Note: The original text uses “nadenade,” a Japanese term for patting or coddling.

To put the reactions of Arena’s friends in one phrase, it was ‘Aww, is that so?’.

Should one say there was a certain fun in teasing her?

Actions that would be annoying if done by others didn’t feel particularly grating when Arena did them.

‘Is it because she’s pretty?’

Looks really did justify everything.

“Let’s go.”

When Chayeon held out her hand, Arena stared intently at it.

Then, for whatever reason, her face turned beet red.

“N-no! H-holding hands! Besides, you! You’re dating Teacher Seohee! You player!”

“What nonsense. Give me the bag, I’ll carry it.”

Chayeon said, looking at the bag Arena was holding.

It seemed she had packed a lunch box as mentioned yesterday.

“…! Ah, I know! And forget it. You’re smaller than me anyway.”

With a ‘hmph’ sound, Arena strode ahead.

Come to think of it, as she said, Arena’s eye level was higher than Chayeon’s.

A tiny girl holding out her hand to carry a heavy-looking bag.

Seen from the side, it must have looked quite strange.

<<Sweet.>>
“……”

Feeling awkward, Chayeon stuck her hands in her pockets.

“What are you doing! Hurry up!”

Arena, who had gone ahead, stomped her foot when she noticed Chayeon wasn’t following.

Chayeon chuckled softly and started walking.

As they headed north, Chayeon suddenly felt eyes watching them.

‘Being followed?’

<<Seems like it.>>

For a moment, the thought ‘Arena?’ crossed her mind, but she was right next to Chayeon now.

“Arena, wait a second.”

“Hm?”

Using the same method as before, Chayeon led Arena around a corner into an alley.

However, even after waiting for a while, the follower didn’t appear.

I see. This opponent didn’t seem to be as foolish as Arena.

“What is it, what’s wrong?”

“Wait here.”

Stopping Arena, Chayeon gripped the wooden sword at her waist and headed towards where she felt the gaze.

From Chayeon’s perspective, she moved, but to Arena’s eyes, it just looked like Chayeon vanished.

“Kyaak!”

The person screamed, seemingly not expecting her sudden appearance like this.

Hmm.

Who is this?

A girl with long dark purple hair, wearing a blue jacket, had landed on her butt on the ground.

She looked familiar somehow.

It felt like she knew her, but couldn’t quite place it.

Ah, she remembered.

It was the girl she encountered on the day Arena woke up, when she first went to visit her in the hospital.

Presumably one of Arena’s close friends.

“Bye-Byeol!? Why are you here!”

Arena, who couldn’t contain her curiosity and followed, shouted in surprise upon seeing the fallen girl.

“She’s your friend? She was following us secretly.”

“Hehet.”

The girl let out a silly laugh.

“T-tailing!? Byeol, you…!”

“Sorry, Lena. But how could I not come when you were bragging so excitedly yesterday.”

“Bragging? What are you talking about!”

“You called last night and talked non-stop for an hour, didn’t you? About eating lunch together, going to see the autumn leaves…”

“D-don’t say weird things! When did I!”

Arena denied vehemently, her face beet red.

“Byeol, Byeol! I’m going maple viewing with Chayeon! What do I do!? What do I do!? What should I wear tomorrow? Ah, do you have any leftover face masks I can borrow… Mmph! Mmph!”

Arena clamped her hand over the mouth of the girl who was mimicking Arena’s voice with surprising accuracy.

It seemed to be the content of their conversation from yesterday.

So that’s what happened.

“Hey, you’ll kill her.”

Only after Chayeon pulled her away did Arena let her friend breathe.

“Hooah, so I ended up following~”

Despite being choked and turning blue just moments ago, the girl immediately beamed and spoke as if nothing had happened upon being released.

It seemed this one was just as unique a character as Arena.

“Go back! If you’re going to say weird things, go back!”

Arena shouted with her eyes squeezed shut.

“Oh? Am I really being a bother?”

“Ah, th-that’s…”

“Well, yeah. A girl who tags along uninvited when her friend is on a date is kinda…, right?”

“D-date!? What date!?”

Arena repeated the same word twice.

Her eyes were spinning.

“Looks like Lena really wants to be ‘alone’ with Chayeon-ssi.”

“So the bother will disappear.”

“Th-that’s…”

“I wanted to hang out with Lena too~ What a shame. Maple viewing, sounds fun~”

“We can go together! Come with us! Let’s go!”

Finally, Arena declared surrender.

This girl knew exactly how to handle Arena.

It wasn’t her first time doing this.

“Fufu, so it turned out like this. Please take care of me, Chayeon-ssi.”

The girl gave an eye smile.

She looked like she’d charm many people when she grew up.

<<Looks like she’ll become a Gumiho when she grows up.>>

Even a real Gumiho acknowledged it.

Thus, the autumn outing unexpectedly increased from two people to three, and Arena had been in that state ever since.

Anyone could see she was in low spirits.

Whether she knew it or not—no, she probably knew better than anyone.

The girl followed Chayeon and Arena with a bright smile.

“You said your name is Byeol?”

“Yes, it’s Han Byeol, a single-character name. You can speak comfortably.”

“That’s a bit much for a first meeting.”

“Oh my, but it’s not our first meeting?”

Byeol tilted her head.

“The first thing Chayeon-ssi ever said to me was ‘scram’. It feels strange hearing polite speech now.”

Fufufu- Byeol covered her mouth and laughed.

Ah, could it be we were in the same class during the first year after enrollment?

No wonder she looked familiar since the hospital.

“Alright, then. Anyway…”

Chayeon moved closer to Byeol and whispered in her ear.

‘Do something about that.’

‘That?’

‘Don’t pretend you don’t know. Arena’s totally in low spirits right now.’

‘Fufu, isn’t she cute?’

‘Well, yeah, but.’

Arena’s true value shines when teased.

“What, you two got really close?”

Arena glared, seeing the two whispering closely together.

She was about to quickly pull away, but Byeol took it a step further and moved even closer.

“Yeah, Chayeon-ssi and I get along well, huh? Lena, come here too. Let’s talk together.”

“N-no thanks!”

With a strange ‘eugeugeuk’ sound, Arena spun around and stomped off.

If she didn’t soothe her soon, she feared the consequences.

‘Leave it to me.’

As she pondered, Byeol spoke beside her and trotted over to Arena.

Beside Arena, who snorted with a ‘hmph,’ she whispered something, and Arena, who had been looking away, widened her eyes and soon listened intently.

She even nodded vigorously.

“I’ll let it slide just for today!”

She didn’t know what exactly she was letting slide, but Arena’s face had relaxed into a silly grin.

What magic did that girl weave?

While they were chatting, the three arrived at the park entrance at the end of the tree-lined path.

The park’s name was written on the entrance sign.

[Naekseun Park]

She heard it meant ‘maple’ in the language of ancient spirits.

True to its name, from here onwards unfolded the Forest of Maple, one of Jindal’s famous spots. And,

“There are more people than I thought?”

It was also a forest of crowds.

More people than expected were gathered.

“It’s popular. Maybe because it’s the season.”

“No way! I didn’t hear it was this crowded!”

“Indeed. It’s strange for there to be this many people.”

Arena exclaimed as if wronged, followed by Byeol’s addition.

“Ah, come to think of it!”

As if remembering something, Byeol clapped her hands and said.

“Someone very famous was supposed to come to the academy today, maybe they came here?”

Naekseun Park, the famous spot on the north side, was located right next to Jindalmok, the entrance to the academy.

“A celebrity?”

At the word ‘celebrity,’ Arena’s eyes sparkled.

Her curiosity seemed piqued.

“If it’s a celebrity, could it be an entertainer? I’ve never seen one in real life!”

Logically thinking, it was unlikely an entertainer would visit Jindal, which secretly gathered individuals with supernatural abilities, but Arena’s thoughts didn’t seem to reach that far.

‘A celebrity at Jindal? Who could it be?’

Chayeon also became curious, for different reasons.

“Let’s go see too.”

“Jeon Chayeon, so you’re curious too since it’s a celebrity!”

As Chayeon went ahead, Arena followed, puffing air from her nostrils.

The celebrity’s location was easy to find.

The crowd entering the park was heading towards one spot, so all they had to do was entrust their bodies to the flow.

“I’ve never seen one before. What do I do? I’m nervous.”

“Wow, I never thought this day would come.”

Excited voices could be heard from the surroundings.

Who on earth could it be that draws such a crowd?

She grew increasingly curious.

Following the crowd, they finally passed the long line and arrived at a place where many people were gathered.

People formed concentric circles around a single point.

The famous person seemed to be in the center there.

“Looks like it’s over there! Let’s hurry!”

Unable to resist Arena’s urging, Chayeon and Byeol were speeding up when it happened.

<<…! This…!>>

Heukgu, who had been quiet, suddenly shouted, making her head ring.

‘What is it, what’s wrong.’

<<Chayeon, get out of here.>>

‘Why, what’s going on.’

She felt puzzled by Heukgu’s abrupt words but prepared to move anyway.

From experience, when Heukgu spoke this urgently, it was best to listen obediently.

“Hey,”

The moment she was about to suggest turning back, their eyes met.

In the very center of the circle formed by the crowd.

There stood a woman wearing a white hanbok reminiscent of a wedding dress.

Her hair, with reddish tips here and there, fluttered in the breeze.

Overall silver, but with only the ends dyed red, that hair color somewhat resembled Chayeon’s own.

<<Trouble’s brewing.>>

Heukgu’s words echoed.

<<It’s the Baekgumiho.>>