## Chapter 166 – The Place Where I Was Born and Raised (3)
“It’s been a while.”
For someone meeting a welcome person and initiating the conversation, her gestures and smile were awkward. Her legs, encased in a neat yet subtly alluring skirt suit, twisted nervously. Well, that’s understandable. Although we ended it amicably, we’re ex-girlfriend and ex-boyfriend. It’s our first meeting since the breakup, so it’s natural for the atmosphere to be awkward.
“…I heard you went to college. Did you come down for the weekend?”
“Oh, yeah. Just wanted to see my family for a bit…”
More than our past as lovers, we were childhood friends, a bond that connected us strongly. Feeling more fondness for the memories of our childhood friendship than romantic feelings, the girl, who had initiated the conversation, smiles awkwardly and asks how I’ve been.
Perhaps because I’m meeting someone I hadn’t expected at all,
I wave my hands awkwardly in the air, giving a clumsy reply.
“…But what are you doing here? I thought you went to college too?”
Her going to college was the reason we broke up.
As soon as I entered high school, she, already an adult, went to Seoul to study for college, or so I thought…
“Yeah, I’m still in college. Graduation is just around the corner.
I was doing my student teaching here for the past month. This week is the last,
so I’m going back to Seoul next week. I just came out for one last look around the school.”
Student teaching? Now that she mentions it, I remember she wanted to become a school teacher.
It feels strange that she worked as a student teacher at the school I attended.
“…”
“…”
After finishing our updates, the conversation dwindles rapidly, and I scratch the back of my head again.
…Of course, a lot of time has passed, and I don’t have those feelings anymore, but it’s still awkward…
Perhaps she feels the same, as she quietly turns her gaze towards the school and smiles shyly.
“…Should we meet up in Seoul sometime? I have to go in early today, so I can’t…
I’m free next weekend. How about we grab a drink together?”
“…Sure, I’ll contact you when I have time.”
In the awkward atmosphere, she approaches me and gives me her phone number.
After exchanging numbers, I wave back to her as she smiles and waves goodbye.
…I ended up making a promise without thinking, but it’s probably best not to contact her anymore.
Getting closer to her now would only be a nuisance, and I already have Chaeyoon…
I keep watching her back as she walks away from me completely,
and after confirming that her silhouette has completely disappeared into the lights of the downtown area,
I jump over the stone wall and land in the dark, empty schoolyard.
“Sorry, I’m lat…”
I brushed the dirt off my hands and looked up.
But all I saw was the school building with the lights off,
Chaeyoon was nowhere to be found, no matter how hard I looked.
“…What, where did she go…?”
———————————————
As stores start closing one by one,
the number of people around me is noticeably decreasing.
I walk through the darkened market on my way home.
“…It’s really over now. I’m going back to Seoul tomorrow…”
A short month of student teaching. I came down to my hometown after a long time,
and it was a more rewarding time than I thought, with so much to learn.
Honestly, I was feeling a bit worn out from college life, but I feel like I’ve properly healed this time.
Why do good times always pass so quickly? Just like the weekend.
“Still… I’m glad I came here.”
On the screen of my phone, which indicates the late hour, is a phone number that was just saved.
Chanwoo, whom I naturally became close to because our parents knew each other since we were young.
The day Chanwoo confessed to me, who thought of us as just a close older sister and younger brother,
I was honestly very surprised and embarrassed. At first, I couldn’t refuse, so I ended up dating him without really thinking,
and I thought that Chanwoo, who was young at the time, was mistaking his feelings for me.
I thought that later, when he got older and became a high school student and met more people,
he would quickly meet a better girl than me.
As I went to college, I naturally broke up with Chanwoo,
and spent busy days studying, working part-time, and attending lectures alone in Seoul.
When I was so exhausted that I wanted to quit, the person who naturally came to mind was Chanwoo.
I missed him. Ironically, it was me who was mistaking my feelings.
I emphasized my role as an older sister who had to take care of her younger brother and hid my feelings.
I really liked him during the two years I dated Chanwoo after he confessed to me.
When I realized that fact belatedly, I thought it was already too late.
I heard that Chanwoo had become an adult and went to college,
and then I felt too embarrassed to contact him…
To think that I would meet him here like this by chance…
My heart is pounding so much. I wonder if my face being red was obvious?
“…Hehe…”
Now that I’m going to meet him next weekend, I should buy some new clothes for the first time in a while,
and maybe I should clean my room just in case? No, that’s too much…
I fidget with my phone, imagining what will happen next weekend.
I try to hold back the laughter that keeps leaking out by biting my lip tightly,
and was crossing the darkened market with a much lighter step than before…
“You look like you’re in a good mood?”
Turning my head to the voice that suddenly came from beside me, I saw a woman standing tall in the alleyway.
Her brown hair was tied up, making her look mature, but her youthful face caught my eye.
If you don’t look closely, she looks like a high school student, but at most, she looks like a cute, puppy-like face who just turned twenty.
…She’s a very pretty girl, that’s the first thought that comes to mind.
But she definitely seems to be calling me right now… What is it? She doesn’t look drunk…
Just in case she might be talking to someone else besides me, I look around.
But the only people standing in the darkened market alley are me and the woman standing in the dark alley.
“…Are you, by any chance, talking to me…”
“Yes, that’s right. You looked like you were in a good mood.”
…What on earth is this person… A voice that sounds angry, yet also sounds happy.
Is she angry? But her voice seems too excited, an incongruous and chilling voice.
And this woman, who sharply raises her round eyes and scans me from head to toe.
…Something feels wrong…
“Th, thank you. Well, I’ll be going now…”
“An intellectual and kind-looking impression with beauty, my master has always had high standards since childhood.”
I tried to quickly pass by the side of the woman blocking the alley I had to go through,
but the woman blocked me and brought her face close to my cheek, creating a strange atmosphere.
“…I, I have to pass by… Please move aside… Kya…! Mmph…!!”
“…Certainly, someone like you would be a suitable offering for my master to be satisfied with.
Be happy? Because you are also one of the humans chosen by the new creator.”
After turning my head to avoid the woman’s gaze, I tried to squeeze through the gap,
but the woman, unlike her youthful appearance, pushed me against the wall with tremendous force.
I was startled and tried to scream, but my voice was blocked by something that covered my mouth in an instant.
Before I could even grasp the situation, a bizarre sight came into view.
The eyes of the woman, who had been scanning me with a sticky gaze, were glowing with a deep red color,
and she licked my cheek with a tongue of a length that I couldn’t believe was a normal person’s tongue.
Something rough and sticky brushed against my cheek, and goosebumps started to rise all over my body.
W, who the hell is this person… A m, monster…?
“…Hieeup…!! Eugeup…!!”
No matter how hard I kick, no matter how hard I try to remove whatever is holding my arms, it doesn’t budge.
I want to raise my voice and ask for help, but the voice that can’t escape my mouth echoes in my throat.
“Ahahaha, don’t worry. You are our master,
as you were a human cherished by the creator, I have no intention of treating you carelessly.
Far from hurting, you will be filled with pleasant and happy feelings…♡”
The woman, whose name is Chaeyoon, has been muttering strange things like master and creator since earlier.
No, this is wrong. This woman is not in her right mind right now…!
What is she trying to do to me? I don’t like it…! Someone, please save me…!
“…I will make you, a chosen creation, into a ‘flowerpot’ to contain me, Lee Chaeyoon…♡”
The woman named Chaeyoon licks her lips, and behind her, I see something long.
A tentacle that is wriggling in crimson, with a texture that looks similar to a tongue,
and besides that, a thin tentacle that came out of her mouth is slowly approaching me.
“Hieueup!! Eugeugeup!!!”
Hic! I don’t like it! S, save me. Someone…! Chanwoo…!
“Then first, let’s start by organizing your head♡”
The tentacle quickly extends towards my forehead.
As it touches my forehead, I hear a sound like something piercing into something with a ‘thud’.
Momentarily, sight, ox?♡ Higieek?♡ ?♡
M, m, my, my head, from inside♡ C, crawl, go. Seo?♡
