13_
:: monster
"...Wow, I'm screwed.... Seriously..."
Jeon Jungkook eventually went into the forest as well, leaving me standing alone and miserably at the entrance. My cane seemed to have completely lost its sense of awareness, not even daring to speak in the light, and I just had to wait for that rude Kim Nam-ssa-gaji with a dejected expression.
"...Wait a minute, all we need is a light, right?"
Eureka! My 23-year-old mind finally kicked in. Light... then why don't I just make a torch and go inside? I sprang up and started rubbing branches together to create a fire. Though, my hand almost caught fire before the branches did.
"Ughhhhhhh!!!!"
Whoosh~...
"Okay... fuck..."
Well, I rubbed it like crazy and it caught fire with a whoosh. I set a nearby branch on fire and stomped out the rest. Then, with a look of pure bliss on my face, I went into the forest. My steps felt lighter at the thought that I could now help that jerk Kim Nam.
"..Tsk, did I come in for nothing?"
The forest was darker and spookier than I had expected. The only things I could rely on were my torch and my staff, which wouldn't listen to a single word I said. Just as I felt myself moving further away from the entrance, I heard the sound of wind coming from deep within the forest, and a cold breeze swept past me.
"Oh...it's freezing..."
"...But why is it so dark?"
A chill ran down my spine. Unlike when I came in earlier, the surroundings had become pitch black. Looking up at the torch with a heart trembling like hell,
Uh, shit, I'm screwed.
Where had the blazing flame gone, leaving only gray smoke? I was reminded of what Jeon Jungkook had said earlier. He had said that without light, we would be devoured by monsters. However, surrounded by such silence, I couldn't help but raise a question mark in my head.
"...Did Jeon Jungkook lie? No way?"
With a truly spine-chilling silence, I walked back into the forest with a look of disbelief. Come to think of it, this is the real-world Ji Yeo-ju; I had beaten up all the teachers dressed as ghosts during the courage training, so I was the school teachers' exorcist for a short while. Just as I was chuckling to myself, reminiscing about the past, someone placed a hand firmly on my shoulder.
"Huh? Kim Nam-ssi-jja-ji-n..."
"...Hmph..."
Because it's human hands, Kim
I thought it was a jerk, but it wasn't. It looked like a human, but something was seriously wrong with it. It was taller than a tree, had no eyes, and its mouth was stretched all the way to its ears. It was somewhat similar to Slenderman. Judging by the way the monster was fumbling around my shoulder, it seemed to still mistake me for a tree.
I held my breath and didn't move until the monster just passed by. No, actually, my body couldn't move due to such overwhelming fear. For the first time, I wanted to see the main characters. Tears welled up, and my heart pounded even harder.
"No.....,jaak.....n,noo..,....ja.."
"..."
"....N-no.....oh....yes.....ugh..I can't see.....yes..."
"...?"
For a moment, I thought I was hearing wrong. Listening closely, I saw a monster saying something in a bizarre voice. "Let's play... let's... let's play... let's play? You want to play?" From what I could hear, it kept repeating "Let's play" and "I can't see" while fumbling at my shoulder.
"...You want to play?"
"N...Let's... play... ..that..but....ah...I can see...."
"You want to play but can't see me?"
"D...o...maang....j.i...ma..."
"...Don't run away?"
The monster nodded slightly and plopped down beside me. I blinked and sat down next to the monster as well, and the monster smiled slightly, as if it had heard the sound of me sitting. Oh, what is this? Now, even a monster looks cute to me. No, actually, it was a mistake to even understand what that monster said in the first place.
"..My name is Jiyeo, no, Chaerin."
"C...a...riin..."
"you?"
"O... no... up..."
Don't have one? Then shall I build one for you?
"...huh.."
"Hmm... how about you... Tall Guy? You're super tall!"
"Ki...da...ri..."
"Yeah, how is it?"
As if he liked the name, the monster smiled happily, and I smiled too. Although he looked scary, he just seemed like a younger cousin. I picked a flower nearby, made a flower ring for the tall one, and slipped it onto his long finger. The tall one asked what it was, and I answered him while making another flower ring.
"This is a flower ring!"
"..m..u...son...sek..."
It's a mix of purple and blue, it's really pretty!
"O...o....ye....beo..."
"Yeah! And the flower ring I'm making right now is yellow!"
As we were playing and making flower rings for a few minutes, Tallari smiled and patted my head with his big hand. I burst out laughing at his awkward pat, so I stood up and patted Tallari's head back.
"...J...Joa.....Chae...riin..."
Me too, but can't you see anything?
"B...light....eye ...b...look...o..yeo..."
"...Are you afraid of the light?"
Tallie nodded slightly at my words. He said that if he sees light, he recognizes it as a human and runs away. That raised a question in my mind. Why he had said he eats children, and whether that was actually true.
"But people said you eat people who come in without light?"
"...I...m...s...s...m...s...s...o..."
"..."
"Ah... p... ah....."
He said that while it was true he ate them, he didn't just eat them out of nowhere. He explained that just as humans defend themselves when threatened, Tallari eats everything within his grasp to protect himself. That was Tallari's way of defending himself. He said that he only wanted to play with someone, but it hurt every time he was struck by magic and collapsed.
"..."
"N...naa.....ch,,Chae...riin....jo...a..."
"Yeah, I like it too!"
"...swimming...."
"We're friends now! If I come by sometimes and call you Tall Guy, you have to come!!"
"D...daang....yeon...ha..a....jii..."
I got up and gave Tallari a tight hug. How scared and terrified he must have been. Thinking about how he was attacked and in pain by people in a place where he couldn't see anything, I felt like I was stupid for being afraid of Tallari earlier.
14_
:: Electric Magic
"This is a leaf, and it's green!"
"Na...muut...ip..."
"And this is..."
While I was playing with the blind tall boy, giving him leaves and flowers to hold one by one, he suddenly slit his mouth open, transformed into a terrifying figure, and hid me behind him. Startled, I looked in the direction he was looking and saw a twinkling light.
"S-Sa...raam.......Wi...heom..."
"Hey, monster. If you don't want to get hurt, let Park Chae-rin go."
"..Kim Taehyung?" (Female Lead)
"Chaerin!!" Summer
"...Ah..." (female protagonist)
The children pointed their wands at Tall-legged and worried about me. Tall-legged was still hissing ferociously, so I ran forward and assumed a defensive stance. Honestly, I was scared of taking those spells, but I couldn't bear to hurt Tall-legged, who had been treated so unfairly.
"Park Chaerin, what are you doing?"
"Don't attack Tall Guy!! He's a really gentle kid... as long as you don't attack first..!!"
"Nightons!!*" Jimin
*Knights: A spell that attacks the opponent with lightning.
The moment Jimin cast the spell, Tall Man was struck by lightning flying from the staff. Seeing Tall Man in agony, letting out a grotesque cry, Jimin felt a pang in his heart. He's not usually like this... He's just so pure...
Starting with Jimin's attack, Seokjin and Hoseok also began to attack, and the tall guy suffered even more.
"Stop it!!! I said stop it!!!" (Female protagonist)
"You'll get hurt! Get out of the way!!" (Seokjin)
"Aaaargh!!!"
Even in his distress, Tallari fumbled around looking for me, trying to protect me. I ran and grabbed Tallari's hand, and the moment I did, someone swung a cane at him.
"Knights!!!" Summer
"Kaaak!!"
"Ugh..." (female protagonist)
"Park Chaerin!!" Jungkook
As the lightning magic attacked the tall man, electricity shot through me, even as I held his hand. Overwhelmed by splitting headaches, I slumped to the ground and flinched, vividly feeling the electric shock running through my entire body.
"Han Yeoreum!! What are you doing!!!" (Namjoon)
"N-I just...!!" (Summer
"But if you use lightning magic...!" (Namjoon
"Episki!!!*"???
*Episki: Healing magic
Along with someone's voice, my breathing returned to a regular rhythm, but all the energy drained from my body. Before closing my eyes, I glanced up at the person who had saved me.
"Ughhh..." (female protagonist)
"Cherry, are you okay?!"
"Wow... damn, (female protagonist
Well... he's really handsome....
15_
:: Another extra
"Ugh..." (female protagonist)
Did you wake up?
"...Wow, damn, your face looks really funny..." (female protagonist)
"huh?"(???
"No, I said you're handsome" (female lead)
"...Are you okay? Did the kid faint and hit their head...?"(???
"OMG, did I faint?" (Female protagonist)
The damn handsome guy nodded at my words. Just as I thought, "Wow, I almost got a nosebleed..." something trickled out of my nose, and when I wiped it with my hand, real blood came off.
"Hey! You have a nosebleed!!"
"Wow, you're seriously handsome. I'm even getting a nosebleed." (Female Lead)
"Block it with tissue paper!"(???
"Thanks, but who are you?" (Female protagonist)
"..."(???
At my words, the man's face hardened in an instant. I thought it was another male lead, but there were definitely only seven. He let out a sigh, tucked my hair behind my ear, and spoke kindly. "You idiot, did you forget me too? That's too much, Cherry."
"...Cherry?" (Female protagonist)
"Did you forget your nicknames? You're Cherry, and I'm Strawberry."(???
"...Are you... Cha Eun-woo?" (Female lead)
"You remember now that I've told you the nickname,(???
Cha Eun-woo. He's an extra, just like Park Chae-rin. The only character who helps Chae-rin whenever she gets hurt or is in danger. Eun-woo disappeared from the novel far too quickly. To be precise, he died protecting Chae-rin from a monster. I remember both the readers and I sobbing over that... so why... died perfectly fine...
"..Eunwoo, you.. definitely...."(Female lead
"Why are you crying... are you still in pain?" (Eunwoo)
"I... I'm not crying...?" (Female protagonist)
"Cherry, you shouldn't have lied. Nosebleeds, tears... what a mess."
"You stupid... bastard, ah... Hwaaaaaaah..." (Female protagonist)
At first, Eun-woo seemed pitiful and foolish for foolishly sacrificing his life for unrequited love. But now that I see him in Chae-rin's body, I can see it all too clearly. The affection and tenderness radiating from Eun-woo's eyes. Perhaps Chae-rin was everything to Eun-woo in his world. After all, she was the savior who rescued him from abuse.
"Now... I... (sobbing) will protect you..."
"That's enough. Cherry, just stay by my side." - Eunwoo
"Hoooooh..." (female protagonist)
"Stop crying, you're ruining your pretty face" Eunwoo
That bastard is toying with his older sister's heart.
You think I'd like it if I did that?
If you thought so, that's totally correct.
{Obsession that bloomed in midsummer}
:: Characters ::
:: Extra ::
Name: Cha Eun-woo
Club: Ravenclaw
Characteristics: He is kind only to Chaerin. He prefers learning about herbs to magic.
I'm very late, I'm sorry.
I apologize for not posting this at dawn.
I'm sorry it wasn't fun.
I apologize for the lack of screen time for the members.
Actually, I finished writing it at dawn, but I fell asleep without realizing it and almost half of it was gone, so it took me a while to rewrite it... haha...
I'll try to bring something a little more fun next time...!
