A Week In Korea (1)

“Beep beep beep!”

A car passes roughly. The street is full of cars.

I looked around, wondering what was going on.

It was very cloudy. The sky full of dark clouds looked like it could rain at any moment.

The street was lined with buildings.

Many people were walking past those buildings. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

It wasn’t the language of that world. It was definitely Hangul. The signs written in Hangul caught my eye. So this place was unmistakably my homeland, South Korea.

“What, what’s this?”

I was shocked by the incomprehensible situation and drew up my mana. I could feel the mana. That meant my body was functioning normally.

But where was Rurin, and why was I in the modern world?

Unable to comprehend the situation, I just started walking. I bumped into people, heard curses, and saw fingers pointed at me.

The sense of reality was overwhelming.

But the fact that Rurin wasn’t by my side bothered me. I couldn’t understand the situation unfolding before my eyes.

I looked around again.

No matter how I looked at it, it was the street I lived on. I was definitely walking down that street.

“Help me!”

“You’re noisy, mister.”

At that moment, I heard an unsettling voice from an alley. Drawn by the familiar voice, I walked into the alley.

There stood a high school girl in a uniform.

“Mister, since you touched me, it’s only natural that you should die, right?”

The high school girl stomped on the face of a man in his 40s, presumed to be a company employee in a suit, and pulled his wallet out from his pocket. Her expression was very confident and arrogant.

“You’re touching me without even having much money? How ridiculous. Ugh.”

She threw the wallet back, hitting the face of the man lying on the ground.

Thud.

“You, you… Rurin!”

But I was startled not by the act of throwing the wallet but by the face of the high school girl.

The face of the high school girl in front of me was definitely Rurin’s. Our Rurin, who looked so good with black hair.

I was very surprised and approached the high school girl. Then the high school Rurin grabbed me by the collar and frowned.

“And who are you, mister?”

“Rurin!”

“What’s Rurin? Is this a new trick?”

Hearing her own name and calling it a new trick? That’s not something Rurin, who takes pride in her name, would say.

I was momentarily confused.

Was she not Rurin?

In that situation, the high school Rurin looked at me for a moment, then snickered and pushed me away.

“Why do you look like your world has collapsed? Strange mister. Well, I’ve earned enough today, so I’ll let you go. Your face just looks like it would be annoying to mess with.”

Her tone was completely different, but that smiling face was definitely Rurin’s. It was a face I couldn’t mistake even in a dream. But her personality and tone were different.

I woke up and returned to the modern world, and on top of that, Rurin was a high school girl.

I couldn’t understand what was going on at all.

But unlike me, who was in confusion, the high school Rurin brushed her hands off, picked up the bag lying on the ground, and turned her gaze away from me.

Then she slung the bag over her shoulder and walked out of the alley.

“There she is. Finally found her!”

“What?”

At that moment, a group of big men rushed into the alley. They were clearly gangsters.

“You dare steal a wallet and run?”

“Hmm, that’s because I don’t want to get involved with perverts who drool over high school girls like you, mister. Besides, you followed me after I stole from you and got knocked out pathetically?”

“Look at this girl? Let’s see you try to die. Guys! As I mentioned earlier, take care of her.”

“With a face like that, I’ll gladly oblige. Hehe.”

The men who swarmed in started attacking Rurin without warning. It was literally a brawl. Fists flew toward Rurin.

They showed no mercy even to a high school girl.

But the high school Rurin smoothly dodged the punches. Then she kicked, knocking one man down.

She seemed quite skilled in fighting. It looked like she had been in many such situations before.

But one of the men threw sand to obscure her vision, and a fist landed directly on her stomach.

“Wait! Stop it!”

I couldn’t watch any longer and raised my voice. At that moment, a kick to the face made the high school Rurin’s nose bleed. She grabbed her nose, staggering and falling.

The men ignored my shout and grabbed Rurin by the hair.

No matter how skilled and confident she was, it was unrealistic for one girl to take on more than five thugs.

Unless she was a dragon.

But the high school Rurin didn’t use any mana. She only used martial arts.

I couldn’t let her get hit any more.

Even now, anger surged to the top of my head.

“Sigh…”

I had no choice but to draw up my mana and knock out all the men. The thugs fell unconscious without knowing what hit them, thanks to an electric shock spell that had the effect of a stun gun.

“Rurin!”

I took care of the thugs and approached the high school Rurin to help her up. But she slapped my hand away.

“Don’t touch me! I don’t know how you did it, but I don’t need your help. Anyway, you’re after my body too, aren’t you, mister?”

Rurin rummaged through her bag and pulled out a tissue to stuff her nose. But what she just said was absurd. What was I supposedly after?

“No, I’m not. Don’t make ridiculous accusations. Originally, you were the one who was after my body.”

“What? Are you insane, mister? What nonsense are you talking about? Me, after you? That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard recently.”

Rurin laughed out loud, then got up and started limping away. But she soon fell again. Her legs had given out.

The punch to her stomach seemed to have taken a significant toll.

“You sure live dangerously.”

“Are you trying to give me advice now? Are you a cop or a teacher, mister? Your face looked somewhat familiar, so I let you be… Wait, what are you doing!”

As I approached, the sitting Rurin showed intense wariness and backed away while still sitting.

“No, I’m not trying to advise you. If you’re going to live so dangerously, shouldn’t you be stronger? Do you think you can navigate this harsh world with this level of skill? You were actually in danger just now.”

I said that and then picked up the high school Rurin. She didn’t resist, seemingly too weak to do so.

“Normally, I wouldn’t get caught by those kinds of guys… But today… it’s… because…”

“Because of what?”

“More importantly, put me down right now! Mister, do you want me to scream? Do you want to be labeled a sex offender in broad daylight?”

“I’ll put you down if you answer.”

“…Mister, you’re the worst. You actually want to hear me say it. It’s…!”

“Because of what?”

The high school Rurin started pulling my hair, seemingly annoyed. Her legs were weak, but her hands were fine.

“Ow, that hurts!”

“Then put me down!”

“No, no, I told you I’ll put you down if you say it.”

“Ugh! It’s… that time of the month… you pervert…”

Then she repeated the line.

Her ‘Ugh!’ was very loud, but the rest of her words were so quiet I could barely understand them. Of course, after slowly mulling over her words and understanding their meaning, I regretted asking.

“Oh, I see.”

“Now that I’ve told you, put me down!”

“No, in your current state, you’ll be attacked just walking around. Let’s at least go while I’m carrying you.”

“Where are we going?”

“Your home. I’ll take you there.”

“Mister, aren’t you being too blatant? You might as well say you want to do something to me. Saying you’ll take me home is ridiculous.”

“No, I’m serious. I’m taking you home. Are you scared? Earlier, you talked about men as if they were all beneath you.”

“…You’re a strange man. Of course, I’m not scared. Actually, if you wanted to do something, you should have tried when my legs were weak. Once I recover, you’re a dead man.”

“Then go ahead and do it. So, where’s your home? You can recover on the way.”

The high school Rurin suddenly stopped talking.

“Hey?”

I asked again, but all I heard was breathing from behind. And my back felt wet, as if she had drooled. It seemed she had fallen asleep.

It was absurd.

It was definitely Rurin. This high school girl was definitely Rurin in disguise.

The feel of carrying her, everything was the same.

Even her high school age.

She was identical to Rurin a month before she reached maturity.

Moreover, no one but Rurin would fall asleep so easily on my back.

So I couldn’t let this high school Rurin go. I couldn’t understand the situation I was in at all, but since this high school Rurin was Rurin herself, I felt like everything would end if I let her go.

By the way, why did she fall asleep so suddenly after being so wary? It was so typical of our Rurin.

I had no choice but to wander around and then place Rurin on a bench in a quiet-looking park.

Swoosh!

After a while, to make matters worse, it started to rain. The sky had been full of dark clouds, so it wasn’t surprising, but why did it have to be now?

Despite the rain, the high school Rurin was sleeping soundly. She had such a peaceful face. Yes, it was a face I knew all too well.

The face of her rolling around in bed, not wanting to get up.

I just watched her quietly. Like I sometimes did in the restaurant.

Watching Rurin sprawled on the table while cooking was a kind of happiness. I didn’t want to admit it, but it was definitely a big part of my happiness.

The rain continued to fall.

And soon, that moment ended.

Because the high school Rurin suddenly opened her eyes and looked up at me. Then she jumped up and stepped back from the bench.

“What, what’s this…?”

“Hmm?”

“Me, falling asleep on another man’s back, that’s impossible! It doesn’t make sense. Mister, you must have given me some kind of sleeping pill!”

“If I did, would I have laid you here and watched over you? I would have taken you somewhere else.”

“Huh…?”

I quickly caught up and held an umbrella over Rurin’s head. The high school Rurin looked confused.

Because what I said was the undeniable truth.

“This… is strange. Mister, what exactly do you want to do?”

“I told you. You look so much like the most precious person to me. Our Rurin…”

“A precious person? Rurin? What kind of name is that? Haha…”

That’s your name, you fool.

I felt an urge to record this scene. Rurin mocking her own name.

“It’s strange that you didn’t do anything while I was asleep. You’re weird.”

“What’s so strange about that? Isn’t that just normal? What exactly have you been through with people around here?”

“Hmm, normally I would have beaten you up and gone on my way, but this is really strange. I don’t feel like hitting you? Even though you forcibly carried me… I don’t hate it, and I even fell asleep on your back…”

That’s good news. It means some of the information regarding me is retained inside this high school Rurin.

As expected, I must not let go of this high school Rurin.

“So, can we go to your home for now?”

The high school Rurin silently stared at me for a while, then walked out of the umbrella and started running. When I started running with her, she suddenly began walking.

This felt like a stalking situation. But, since I was certain the person in front of me was Rurin, I couldn’t give up.

Whether it meant being a stalker or anything else.