ReLife Player

[When the Fox Rain Stops (2)].

The next day, and the day after.

There were no indoor shoes in the shoe rack.

She wore her green slippers to school again today.

«Still nothing today?»

«…Yeah, hi.»

Eunha, who didn’t arrive at school until after the bell, frowned at Seona as she organized her bag.

Seona was visibly shy. She tucked her triangular ears back and forced a smile.

«I might have to carry indoor shoes in my bag from tomorrow on.»

Seona said in a soulless voice.

Eunha, seated, looked around at his classmates.

When their eyes met, the children were startled and turned their heads. Some kids stared at their desks.

The children were speechless.

Ever since Eunha had manifested his mana on Ham Chan-wook, the atmosphere in the classroom had been heavy, as if wrapped in a dark cloud.

What kind of asshole did this?

Not once, but for the fourth time.

Someone is bullying Seona.

But Eunha couldn’t figure out who it was.

The children were terrified.

Because of him.

They couldn’t be doing this because they knew what would happen to them if they touched him.

«Does anyone know who touched Seona’s shoe rack? Nobody saw anything?»

«I asked the kids this morning, but no one knew anything.»

Eunha asked Minji, who was sitting diagonally across from him.

Minji, with her indifferent face, shook her head.

She said she’d been asking everyone she knew, including the kids in her class, since early morning, with no luck.

«Hey, No Eunha. What should we do in this situation? Have you seen Soena’s face?»

«…Uh.»

Hayang is comforting Seona.

Seona could only smile weakly. She was forcibly pretending to be nonchalant.

But her ears and tail didn’t lie.

The half-folded ears and drooping tail spoke volumes about her feelings.

«She’s so….

She tries to keep it inside.

Seona was mature.

She was only twelve, but she didn’t explode her emotions like a child. She tried to handle things like an adult.

But she was still a child.

Containing emotions was not an easy task.

Seeing a child trying to contain emotions in a way that even adults couldn’t handle properly made him even angrier.

He wanted to vent the emotions squirming in his stomach.

But he couldn’t act according to his emotions…

He had to suppress his anger.

He couldn’t let it run wild and worsen the situation.

Instead, he met the eyes of his classmates.

Looking for hostility or malice in their eyes.

«…….»

The only emotion he could sense from the children was fear.

☆

«Captain, I found Seona’s indoor shoes.»

It was lunchtime.

Eunhyuk approached with a dark face.

The kids in the class ran to the cafeteria as soon as the bell rang to end fourth period.

The only kids left in the classroom were those waiting for some quiet time or others waiting for friends from different classes.

«Where did you find them?»

Eunha glanced at Seona, who was sitting in the back of the class.

Seona hadn’t heard Eunhyuk’s story.

She was talking to Hayang and organizing her textbooks.

«In the boys’ restroom on the first floor. They were in the trash bin.»

«Why would they be there?»

«The boys’ restroom is the closest to the shoe racks. I was looking for indoor shoes, but… it’s a bit awkward to tell Seona, isn’t it?»

«Of course, don’t even mention it.»

Minji cut through Eunhyuk’s hesitation.

This was not the time to tell Seona that he had found her slippers.

He couldn’t even show her the shoes he’d taken from the trash bin in the restroom.

«…I wonder who did that.»

No one answered Eunhyuk’s muttering.

The three of them were certain that someone had stolen Seona’s shoes with malicious intent.

Who? Why? For what purpose?

Though they didn’t say it out loud, all three were busy thinking about who had done it.

No answers were forthcoming.

«…I’m going to have lunch alone today.»

«Why? Where are you going?»

«I have a lunch appointment.»

«You finished all your lunch appointments. Who is it?»

«It’s just something I have to do.»

Ignoring Minji’s probing questions, Eunha left the classroom.

Instead of heading to the cafeteria, he found a secluded spot to return a milk carton.

Under the stairs where people wouldn’t notice.

Until last year, it was a gathering place for kids who smoked cigarettes.

Of course, it had been disrupted in front of Eunha.

«Sorry, I’m a little late, aren’t I?»

The person Eunha was waiting for at the bottom of the stairs was Kim Yoo ha.

As he emerged from the darkness, he fired off his camera flash to capture him standing there with a stiff face.

«Your face is so cool right now, isn’t it?»

«The other kids were too scared to come near me….»

«That’s because they haven’t seen hyung fighting monsters!»

Yoo-ha said cheerfully.

Eunha sat on an upside-down milk carton, eating bread Yoo-ha had brought from the snack bar.

«The reason I called you is…, I don’t have to tell you, right?»

«You said Seona’s indoor shoes were missing again today.»

Getting straight to the point, Yoo-ha asked.

Since becoming aware of <Invisible>, Yoo-ha, despite being only nine years old, had steadily gained a foothold as an information broker within the school.

Eunha was partly to blame.

He introduced him to the kids who used to follow Lee Kanghyuk around.

The kids wandering around deserted places became his eyes and ears.

«Have you found anything?»

«I’m still looking into it. I’ve been investigating people coming to school early since this morning… but there doesn’t seem to be anyone suspicious.»

Yoo-ha shared what he had investigated so far by flipping through his notebook.

But the clues were lacking.

In the past four days, they couldn’t pinpoint the culprit among the students who came to school early in the morning.

There were no witnesses who could identify who had stolen the indoor shoes.

«I’ll wait in front of Seona noona’s shoe rack tomorrow morning.»

«Eunhyuk was supposed to do that… But if you’re doing it, that’s better. It’ll be tough, but I’ll ask you.»

«It’s a request from Eunha hyung , so of course, I have to do it! Also, I have to find out who’s bothering Seona noona.»

Yoo-ha clenched his fist, full of determination.

With his gift, he might be able to catch the perpetrator up close.

«Right. Hyung, do you know about this?»

«This? What is it?»

«There have been strange rumors going around the school.»

«What kind of rumors?»

«That an Ain could turn into a monster at any moment.»

«What?»

Eunha frowned.

It sounded ridiculous.

Normally, he would have laughed it off and paid it no mind.

But this was a strange situation.

And the fact that Yoo ha had brought up such an unfounded rumor meant that public opinion was building, which was hard to ignore.

«I’ve never heard of this before. When did it start?»

«It’s not like this story hasn’t been around since I entered the school, it’s just that it hasn’t been publicized until now.»

«But it’s becoming public knowledge now.»

«Last year, when Hyung went on the retreat. Since then, it seems the perception that Ain is dangerous has spread among the parents.»

Yoo-ha explained, glancing around.

Eunha’s face stiffened.

The atmosphere in the school had changed considerably since the school trip last year.

Not only had the children, then fourth graders, been traumatized by the monsters, but there had been casualties.

Parents had been outraged.

Some of them may have harbored hatred for monsters and took out their unresolved anger on Ains.

To them, an Ain was no different from a monster.

They couldn’t allow an Ain, who they didn’t know when would turn into a monster, to stay in the same classroom with their children.

«And when Hyung had the counseling session.»

«…….»

«That seemed to be a turning point when the rumors became more widespread.»

The time of the counseling session was when the fifth graders began to fear him.

It was also the time when Minji and Eunhyuk’s influence began to wane.

It was too perfectly timed to be a mere coincidence.

It seemed deliberate, as if someone intentionally leaked the information.

«Do you know who started spreading it?»

«The rumors spread gradually, so I also caught on a bit late. I’ve been investigating, but it takes time since I have to ask around individually.»

«Check it out for me.»

He couldn’t separate what was happening to Seona from the rumors that were spreading around the school.

Perhaps the culprit tormenting Seona wasn’t just one person.

The theft of the indoor shoes might have been just the beginning.

For what purpose, though?

Then what was the reason behind their systematic harassment of Seona?

No answers came.

The world they were treading on was not the world of politics or players.

It was an elementary school.

Why would kids, who at most were just elementary students, go to such lengths to bully her?

«And about the people hyung asked me to look into last time, it turns out that Ham Chan-wook, Yeom Jae-jin, and Cho Yeona are all….»

The bell rang to end lunch.

Eunha brushed the bread crumbs off his pants and stood up.

«Let’s head back for now. Is what I asked for last time important?»

«Well… it’s not certain yet, so I’ll investigate further and let you know next time.»

«Please do. Before investigating them, find out the guy who stole Sona’s indoor shoes and those spreading false rumors.»

«Got it! Then I’ll be off!»

Kim Yoo-ha’s body melted into the darkness.

Feeling his presence receding, Eunha returned to the classroom.

And when he returned to the classroom─

«All of you, take off your shoes, climb onto your desks, and kneel down.»

Im Dohon scolded the kids.

☆

It was lunchtime.

Seona said she didn’t feel well and wouldn’t eat lunch.

The children couldn’t force her to go, so they went to eat lunch by themselves.

Seona’s face was pale from the morning, and although she answered dutifully when they spoke to her, she would just sit there sullenly when she was still.

Even though Hayang had been by her side all morning, Seona couldn’t seem to cheer up.

«Let’s go buy some bread for you!»

«That would be great!»

«Choi Eunhyuk , you’ve been saying the right things for a while.»

The kids did as Eunhyuk said and picked out bread for Seona at the canteen.

It was nearing the end of lunchtime, so the school store was relatively quiet.

The three of them divided the money and paid for the items.

As they chatted cheerfully, they headed back to the classroom, but…

«I didn’t do it!»

«How can we believe you? You were the only one left in the classroom until the end!»

As soon as they entered the classroom, they encountered a scene where the kids were gathered around Seona, raising their voices.

«What’s going on? Why is everyone gathered like this?»

Eunhyuk and Hayang didn’t understand the situation.

Only Minji, who sensed the atmosphere, squeezed through the kids and stepped forward, protecting Sona.

«What’s happening?»

Minji moved in front, shielding Sona, who was taller than her.

The kid who was arguing was Cho Yeona, the vice president of Class 3 in the fifth grade.

She was a central figure among the girls.

Kids who were close to her were clustered around her.

«Seona stole Miseon’s wallet.»

«What?»

«I told you it wasn’t me!»

Minji reached out, stopping Seona from advancing.

Looking around, she found a teary-eyed child, clutching the wallet in both hands.

«Explain in detail what happened. Seona wouldn’t do something like that.»

«Yeah, there’s no way she’d do it in front of all of you. But Minji, you’d be surprised if you heard, right?

Between the time we went to lunch and came back, Miseon lost her wallet, and it was found in Seona’s locker. Do you still think she didn’t steal it?»

«I didn’t steal it! I have no idea why it was in my locker! Why would I steal Miseon’s wallet?»

Minji glared at Cho Yeona, who lifted her chin defiantly.

It was too artificial, too obvious.

There were more than a couple of holes in this story.

«But how did you guys know that Miseon’s wallet would be in Seona’s locker?»

«How? Seona stayed in the classroom instead of having lunch. The kids who left the classroom last saw Seona still inside.»

«That’s right.»

«I saw it. I was the last one to leave.»

Cho Yeona looked at the other kids for support.

The kids huddled around her nodded, each giving their testimony.

«So? Just because Seona stayed until the end, you’re accusing her of being a thief?»

«It’s not accusing her of being a thief. Miseon’s wallet was found in Seona’s locker for real.»

«But who suggested searching Seona’s locker? Cho Yeona, as vice president, do you have the right to search Sona’s locker?»

«Why? I’m the vice president. A theft occurred in our class. And Seona stayed in the classroom until the end. Don’t I have the right to check her locker?»

«Why specifically Seona’s locker? Even if Seona stayed until the end, there could have been other lockers, drawers, or bags. Why do you think it must have been in her locker?»

«Well… that…»

For a moment, Cho Yeona was speechless.

Minji seized this moment, not missing Cho Yeona’s hesitation.

She stretched out her hand, reaching for the truth.

At that moment, someone shouted from the midst of the kids.

«I saw it! After eating, when I came to the classroom to get the soccer ball, Seona was in front of her locker!»

«That was when I was trying to take out the textbook for the fifth-period class. And even then, there was no wallet in the locker!»

The kid who suddenly raised his hand and spoke up was Yeom Jae-jin, the president of the fifth grade class.

Seona protested that it was a misunderstanding, but Ham Chan-wook and the others accused her before she could say a word.

«Shut up!»

Minji shouted, trying not to lose the argument.

With a red face, Minji glared at Yeom Jae-jin.

«Don’t you think it’s a bit much to accuse her of being a thief when you didn’t even see it yourself? She said she didn’t do it, and someone else could have put the wallet in her locker!»

«Min-ji, do you really think that makes any sense? What makes you think that kids in your class would do something like that? Don’t you think you’re being like that on Seona because she’s your friend?»

Cho Yeona grabbed Minji’s hand.

The gaze of the class changed.

At first, they thought it was a funny sight, but when Minji said she was suspicious of them, they became uncomfortable.

She was the one who brought up the idea that they might have done it.

«Even if it was, the lockers are all locked with keys. Do you really think anyone else would be able to get into Seona’s locker?»

«…….»

Minji was silent.

Everyone in the class has an assigned locker key.

But that doesn’t mean they can’t open other people’s lockers.

There are only a limited number of keys.

There are countless lockers on school that can be unlocked with a single key.

That means she’s not the only one who can open them.

But Minji can’t bring herself to say anything to the kids glaring at her.

To do so would be to turn the entire class against her.

Who the hell would do that?

Most of all, she didn’t know the true intentions of the person who had done this to Seona, even though she had the common sense to know better.

«I didn’t think she was like that. I thought she was a good girl.»

«She was making fun of us behind our backs.»

«She’s a fox, after all. Foxes are cunning creatures, you know?»

«But why would she do that?»

«Why? She lives in a church. Where do you think she would get the money?»

«That’s right. Sometimes she even wears second-hand clothes… «

By the time she regained her senses, whispers were heard from all around.

«No! She doesn’t steal anything! You don’t understand! When have you ever seen her steal anything?»

«I didn’t see her steal anything, but…. but I did see her flirting with Eunha and tricking you.»

«She’s a fox. Look at Eunhyuk and Hayang. They say it’s not Seona even though the evidence is right in front of them.»

«This is why Ain is…. I can see why my mom didn’t want me to play with her.»

«No! She’s not the girl you think she is! Something’s wrong! Don’t you guys think so? Who would want to this…. to her?»

«Jung Hayang, who in the world would do something like this to pick on Seona? How is that possible? You’re so blinded by the books you read that you can’t see reality.»

«My dad said Ain lives in a place called the slums. He said the people who live there take stealing for granted, so he told me to stay away from them.»

«I’ve seen an Ain player before, and they look really scary. Don’t you think Jin-seona would be like that?»

«Honestly, Seona’s a little…, I mean, we’ve been close because of you guys, but hasn’t she been secretly looking down on us?»

«I never did that!»

«That’s right, I’ve noticed it a little bit, too. She’d go to the bathroom with Hayang and Minji, but when I’d ask her to go, she’d get distressed. It makes me feel bad.»

«A little…, yeah. Seona doesn’t talk to the other girls much.»

«Yeah, it’s kind of like that. She doesn’t look down on us, but she kind of pushes us away.»

«I don’t know, I don’t think she’s any good….»

«Just because she hangs out with them, she thinks she’s something special. But she’s just an Ain… mom used to say that. Kids like her can’t even earn a living properly.»

«Honestly…. I’m scared of her. Just looking at her reminds me of what happened at the retreat!»

«That’s right, she’s scary! Why do you have ears on your head? Why do you have a tail? And why are your eyes red?»

«I’m…I….»

«Jin seona, your tail is touching my arm!»

«Hey! Watch out! You might end up like her!»

«It’s the Jin seona virus! Guys, don’t touch her! You’ll turn into monsters if you do!»

«…I don’t…I don’t think that’s…!»

«Look at her tears.»

«That sucks, really, why do you have to make us the bad guys?»

«That’s her pretending to cry, can’t a fox who’s been laughing behind your back pretend to cry?»

«Ah! You’ve got a virus! Hurry up and pass it on to someone else or you’ll turn into a monster!»

«…I…am…I…am… not a─.»

«─Monster.»

Someone else chimed in.

Then, the kids, too many to determine who started it, joined in and poured out insults.

«Freak.»

«Monster.»

«On the subject of monsters!»

«Monster.»

«You’re a monster.»

«Monster!»

«I’m scared.»

«Oh my God.»

«I hate you now!»

«Monster.»

«Help me!»

«Monster!»

«She is a virus!»

«Get away from me!»

«Don’t look this way!»

«I’m scared.»

«The monster is crying!»

«Run away!»

«How do monsters cry?»

«Kiek!?»

«I wish things like you were dead.»

☆

«─All of you, take off your shoes, climb onto your desks, and kneel down.»