Chapter 67: Incense Burner(7).

Cheolkeong-

“Chayeon-ah? Are you in your room? The teacher is here.”

The sound of the front door and her Unni’s voice were heard from outside the door, and a low-pitched male voice was heard faintly.

Her mind came to her senses. In front of her were Arena’s snow-white neckline and soft breasts, Arena’s soft arms were by her pillow, and Arena’s hair tickled her nose right in front of her. With the sound of Saeak-saeak- breathing, Arena’s plump breasts were repeating to swell up and go down.

Clothes that had been thrown down, and the stuffy air in the room that hadn’t been ventilated. The two girls were naked and entangled while sleeping.

0404…….

The clock was pointing to six twelve.

Ttokttok-

“Is she sleeping? Chayeon-ah, are you inside? I’m going in?”

This was a disaster.

“Wait! Just a minute! Don’t open the door!”

“Eung? So you’re not sleeping. The teacher’s here, so quickly…”

“I know, so don’t open the door!”

As she yelled, the doorknob that was going down returned to its place.

“Why is she like this. I know, so come out quickly.”

“I’ll be out soon!”

She shook Arena, who was still sleeping next to her with the same sounds, roughly to wake her up.

Perhaps because she hadn’t woken up completely yet, Arena, who was making out with her as soon as she opened her eyes, widened her eyes as she smacked Arena’s shoulder blades since she had sensed something strange.

“Time, time!”

“…Ah!”

“Unni is outside!”

As she conveyed in a whisper, Arena looked around in a fluster. No, not that she was here!

“Put your clothes on first!”

“E, ung!”

She quickly picked up the underwear and school uniform that were scattered around and put them on. The panties were sour and wet, but this wasn’t the time to care about that.

She would just take out new underwear, but Chayeon and Arena hadn’t been able to think that far in the rush.

“Chayeon-ah? What are you doing?”

“Just a minute! I’ll be out soon!”

After putting on all her clothes, she also opened the window, though it was too late. Seohee, who had her arms crossed and was tapping her index finger at the door, flinched when she saw another girl coming out in addition to Chayeon.

“Oh my, Arena came?”

“Ah, hello…”

Arena, who had a guilty conscience, greeted her with a small voice.

The creased school uniform that looked like it had dried wet clothes, the disheveled hair that was clearly wet with sweat and dried, and the smell that was wafting from inside as soon as she opened the door.

“You guys?”

“…Yeah.”

“Go wash up right now. I’ll tell the teacher.”

As expected, there was no way she couldn’t notice. Heat rose to her neck and made her hot. When she looked to the side, Arena was also completely red.

“Quickly!”

“Yes!”

“Ah, okay!”

Because Seohee raised her voice, the two girls headed to the bathroom in a hurry. What was there to be embarrassed about now, Chayeon and Arena went inside together without waiting.

Seohee went down to the living room and made a brief excuse to Heokgu. I’m sorry, Teacher.

Chayeon said she woke up and her stomach was hurting so much. Can you wait a little longer? It’s okay. Should I get you some coffee? No, it’s okay. I don’t drink coffee. Then I’ll bring you some juice.

After having such perfunctory conversations, the sun was setting as they were talking about Chayeon after bringing orange juice.

“Why isn’t she coming out.”

Just as she said those words, a voice was heard from upstairs.

“Unni! Towel and clothes!”

If she said it that loudly, what would she become, who had barely excused them.

Seohee asked the teacher for her understanding and went upstairs. He had only given answers that kept courtesy from beginning to end, and didn’t seem to care much even though Chayeon was late for the agreed time.

No, rather than that, he seemed to not care about anything.

Thinking that he was a strange person, Seohee gathered the clothes and towels that the two would wear and headed to the bathroom.

“What time is it now?”

“It’s seven. Come quickly. The teacher is waiting.”

“Has it already become that late?”

She had made him wait too long. She was sorry and embarrassed because it was purely due to their fault. On the other hand, she also felt a bit uneasy about Teacher Heokgu, who was sitting quietly in the living room even though he had been made to wait for an hour.

“Can I join you too?”

“Eung?”

Seohee had a puzzled expression, as if she had thought that Arena would naturally go home or at least wait. Chayeon helped.

“Unni, let Arena stay with us too.”

“Hmm, he came for a home visit, would it be okay for an outsider to be there?”

“There’s no reason it wouldn’t be okay. And that teacher is a bit strange, you know.”

-She only came because of that-Arena added words that she didn’t need to. Seohee seemed to be thinking about something,

“In exchange, ask him directly for his understanding.”

and gave permission.

Her heart felt a little stronger. She had been feeling uneasy since a while ago, rising from the depths of her heart. Was this the uneasiness that Arena had been feeling? It seemed like that’s why Arena had said she would stay with her. Still, she felt reassured now.

Arena was here, and Unni was here too.

-This world will not collapse.

Huh?

“Hurry and come down. The teacher is waiting.”

At her Unni’s urging, Chayeon and Arena held hands and headed to the living room side by side. Teacher Heokgu was sitting with his back straight, looking out the glass door that was connected to the yard. It was dark outside, so she couldn’t see well.

It wasn’t even winter, so why was it already so dark at this time?

“Hello.”

As Chayeon greeted, Heokgu turned his head. Instead of greeting, Arena was looking at him with wary eyes. Heokgu, who had seen Arena appearing side by side while holding Chayeon’s hand tightly,

“That’s good.”

muttered meaningful words.

What did he mean that was good? Her uneasy heart welled up again.

“I’m sorry. You’ve really been waiting for a long time. I’m keeping you here until this late. Are you okay?”

While Seohee was talking, Heokgu was only looking at Chayeon while acting like he didn’t hear. As he passed Seohee, who was standing still looking embarrassed as if she was sorry, Chayeon sat across from Heokgu. Arena also followed right away and sat next to Chayeon, and Seohee took a seat a little further away.

Unlike the vague unease, Chayeon’s premonition that something was about to happen, the conversation that Heokgu started as she sat down flowed more than perfectly normally. Chayeon’s school life, grades, friendships, how she was doing at home, what her hobbies were, what she wanted to be in the future, her future hopes, the university she wanted to go to, and the department she was applying to.

Those stories came and went, sometimes through Seohee, and sometimes directly.

Even Arena, who had been constantly tense and wary of Heokgu, was listening to Chayeon and Heokgu’s stories while releasing the strength in her body at some point.

As the proportion of Seohee answering instead of Chayeon increased from some point, Chayeon was feeling somewhat bored.

‘She likes games too much, so it’s a problem.’

As she was listening to her Unni’s words, she was looking at the yard beyond the glass door, and a somewhat familiar silhouette came into her sight.

“Chayeon, where are your parents?”

It was a black dog.

That black dog that had been staring at her from the opposite alley while she was chasing the fox on that day when it was raining heavily was sitting in the yard, looking at Chayeon.

“What are you doing. The teacher is asking you a question.”

“Chayeon-ah,”

“Huh? Ah, I’m sorry. There’s a puppy outside.”

“A puppy?”

At Chayeon’s words, Seohee and Arena simultaneously turned their heads and looked outside the glass door.

“Where?”

“There, in the front yard.”

“What are you talking about. There’s no puppy there.”

…?

“Arena?”

“I can’t see it either? Where are you talking about?”

Seohee and Arena were frowning and looking around the yard. No, without even looking that hard, it was right in front of them?

“Chayeon.”

While everyone was looking at the yard, only Heokgu was talking while looking straight at Chayeon.

“I asked you earlier, but it seems you didn’t hear, so I’ll ask you again.”

Looking at Heokgu, who was only looking at Chayeon with cold eyes without caring about those around him, Chayeon had such thoughts.

Perhaps, Teacher Heokgu had been looking at that dog earlier?

“Where are your parents.”

Again, the world shook.

“Chayeon’s parents are away for a long time right now. I’m sorry.”

Seohee answers in Chayeon’s place.

What kind of funny joke was that Unni. Chayeon’s parents, what was that? Our Mom and Dad are Unni’s Mom and Dad, right. Is it that? Are we like Mom and daughter?

Heokgu, ignoring Seohee’s words, was only looking at Chayeon’s eyes. He was waiting for Chayeon’s mouth to open.

“They’re on a business trip.”

She opened her mouth and conveyed the truth. Her parents were away for a long time right now. They were busy. So her Unni was greeting the teacher instead, right.

“Is that so. Since when have your parents been away from home?”

“…That’s.”

When was it? Was it yesterday? What was she talking about. Then was it the day before yesterday? No. Ah, was it a week ago? No, they weren’t there then either. A month ago?

Uh… Was it further back? Two months? Three months? Was it before she entered high school? Before she graduated from middle school, still.

Huh? Her Mom and Dad didn’t come to her graduation ceremony? They had clearly gone on a business trip, but when had they gone? A year ago? Two years ago?

Huh?

“What’s wrong.”

“I, I can’t remember…”

Since when had her Mom and Dad left home? She had thought it hadn’t been long, but it was so distant when she actually tried to remember. Her head was foggy as if a humid fog that couldn’t see even an inch ahead had fallen.

“Is that so. Then do you remember your parents’ faces?”

What kind of stupid question was that. Who was the daughter in the world who didn’t know her parents’ faces. Of course. Of course…………?

“Come to think of it, there aren’t any pictures here. I guess you didn’t take any family photos separately?”

Heokgu looked around the living room quickly. Family photos? Right, family photos! Her head was dizzy.

The outside was pitch black like a quagmire. If she looked at the photos, there would be her Mom and Dad’s faces.

Why couldn’t she remember? While looking around with Heokgu, she saw framed photos placed on the shelf. She didn’t want to remember it, so. When had she taken those? She didn’t know, but let’s bring them anyway.

She quickly got up and brought a small framed photo. There was a yellowed photo inside.

“Here! This is our family photo!”

Why was her heart so anxious? Her heart was pounding. Why was her heart beating so fast? She didn’t know.

She had to show the photo to Teacher Heokgu first. This was her family. An ordinary family that was everywhere.

A Dad and Mom who loved their daughters, as usual, and her Unni next to them. Come to think of it, when had she taken this? It had been a while. It seemed like it was when she was young, but she didn’t remember.

“Quickly!”

She handed the photo to Heokgu. She wanted to show it to him quickly. Look at it quickly! This is our family! Our Mom, Dad!

Heokgu was quietly looking down at the photo.

“Is it when you were young? You don’t seem to be old enough to enter elementary school yet.”

“Yeah.”

“Where’s your Unni?”

…Huh? Come to think of it. Seohee Unni wasn’t seen in the photo. At this time, Unni wasn’t there?

When she looked up, Seohee was looking at Heokgu with cold eyes.

“Okay, speak. Where did Unni go?”

“What are you all of a sudden!? Why do you keep asking questions like that?”

She felt Arena putting her arm around her and pulling her to the side. Ah, it felt good. As expected, Arena’s chest was big. It was cozy, soft, and squishy. Arena’s arms were warm.

“Speak, Chayeon.”

Heokgu wasn’t letting go of her heart, which was trying to calm down.

“Where did Unni go?”

“That’s.”

Think. Where was Unni at this time? Unni? Say something. Don’t you remember? Where were you at this time?

“I’ll ask one more thing.”

The surroundings turned dark. The darkness that had been full beyond the glass door was crawling into the room little by little.

“What did your ‘father’ look like?”

Another strange question. She could tell by looking at the photo. Of course, like this, huh?

What was this. Why couldn’t she see his face? In the photo, there was a young her in the middle, a large Dad on the left, and a skinny Mom on the right. Ah, that’s right, Dad’s body was big.

That’s why she couldn’t see his face because his body was big. Those were such obvious things. Huh? What was she saying. Why couldn’t she see his face when his body was big. Ah! She could see it.

Right, that’s how he looked. Wait a minute, that’s Heokgu. Why was Heokgu’s face attached to Dad’s neck. It didn’t suit him. It was ridiculous.

“Did he look like this.”

Heokgu’s bass voice rang out. Enveloped in an unknown anxiety and impatience, Chayeon slowly lifted her head.

Her ‘father’ was looking at her from across the table.

Chayeon, don’t turn your eyes away.

It’s time to face your wounds.