Sibelâs expression became strange, perhaps because what I said was unexpected. What I said this time was not an unfounded statement to relieve Sibelâs mood.
I was very worried about Sibelâs reaction when I said his presence was ominous earlier.
âIâve been joking around a lot with my friends that sometimes I might say things that hurt their feelings.â
ââŠâŠâ
âIf you donât tell me anything, I might just forget about it without knowing you were hurtâŠâ
ââŠâŠâ
âEarlier⊠when I said that your presence was ominous.â
ââŠâŠâ
ââŠI-Iâm sorry about that.â
I was getting nervous because there I couldnât hear a response coming back. In particular, I felt more urgent because it was right after I said something embarrassing.
âYou get it?!â
So I just raised my voice.
âI accept those three promises.â
ââŠOkay.â
âBut to accept your apology⊠You see, Iâve already been hurt.â
Euk! So youâre saying you donât accept apologies!
âI donât want a simple apology.â
âThen, what can I do for you?â
âWill you listen to anything I say?â
âJust donât make me do strange requests.â
Sibel, who laughed in a low voice, soon beckoned me with a cheeky look.
âCome here.â
Look at him ordering me around now that Iâve given him the chance!
First of all, Iâm really sorry, so Iâll just make this an exception this time!
As I reluctantly approached him, Sibel stretched out his arms.
âHug me.â
I thought I heard it wrong at first. However, Sibel stood with his arms outstretched in a dignified manner.
âItâd better if you caress my broken heart.â
ââŠLetâs just end this with a hug.â
I left behind my petulant heart and hugged Sibel carefully. I wrapped my arms around his waist and put my hand on his back.
As we were wearing clothes, I couldnât feel his warmth. I felt this when my skin touched his a few times but his body temperature is pretty low.
At first, I couldnât even imagine holding a Sibel like this.
It seems that our relationship has improved a lot.
âRight, Sibel.â
ââŠWhat is it?â
I just remembered what Iâve been wanting to say to Sibel during this long hug.
âThank you.â
I wonder if I could use all those gifts in my entire life. Still, Iâm grateful knowing that he actually cares about my birthday.
Iâm embarrassed because I feel like Iâve been bribed, but thatâs why I donât avoid Sibel now as much as I used to.
Far from avoiding him, it seems that he also opened his heart slightly after we saw the fireworks together at the clock tower.
âI was a little touched that you gave me a lot of things for my birthday. If you tell me whenâs yours, Iâll take the time to also celebrate yours.â
I looked at Sibel and tried to pull away from him to hear his answer but he wouldnât let me go. There was something strange about it, but I decided to stay still for now because this was my apology to him.
This handsome blue beast⊠Although he has lots of veiled secrets and was a real pain in the ass, why do I think heâs worth getting close to though? Am I crazy?
Of course, the answer to that has not come out for the life of me.
ââŠâŠâ
I just kept silent and Sibel kept me in his arms for so long.
ïŒ ïŒ ïŒ
How nice would it be if I transmigrated into the world of a finished novel?
But damn it! <You in the Dark> is an unfinished novel! I donât even know why or how Sibel got his ability in the first place!
Although I succeeded in separating Sibel from Lariensa, but I failed to keep Sibel away from me.
And now if I still avoid Sibel again⊠Iâll surely be forced to tread the death route!
Sigh⊠Itâs better to get to know Sibel now that this has happened. Also, those sincere words that he had said also caught my attentionâŠ
âMarin, Marin!â
âHmm?â
âWhat are you thinking about so deeply?â
Lara pouted her lips and gave a clear sulky look.
âAre you becoming cold to me now that we have separated rooms?â
It was sad to see her being depressed these days. Feeling weak by the despondent Lariensa, I said that I will no longer separate rooms with her.
âReally? Really?!â
Uwu uwu, Lara, are you now feeling better?
I donât think Iâll be jealous of anything if I have a daughter like Lara.
I was having a lovely time patting Laraâs pretty blonde hair, but then I could feel someone staring at me from somewhere.
Turning around, I could see Sibel staring at me.
We already had a tacit understanding to pretend not to know each other in the classroom, so whatâs wrong with him?
Sibel, who had been looking at me for a long time, suddenly stood up and is now walking towards me!
Suddenly I remembered my early days at the academy. Even then, Sibel approached me in front of other studentsâŠ
âDid you go back to your dorm safely last night?â
Whatâs wrong with you, Sibel? We already made up, right?
Was it only my misunderstanding?!
âL-Last night?â
âAfter we⊠finished hugging, you suddenly ran away.â
âH-Hold on!â
âI wasnât planning on doing it butâŠâ
I could feel menacing gazes everywhere.
First of all, my friends, then my classmates, and the Sisamo!
âLetâs go out first and talkâŠâ
âThe face that you made when you were listening to the love serenade yesterday was really worth seeing.â
Oh God, I donât believe in any religion, but Iâll become a devout believer of you at this moment.
So please give me an answer. Did I do something wrong to Sibel again?
âWhatâs wrong with you?â
As I whispered to him, Sibel smiled and replied quietly that only I can hear it.
âThe more I think about you making eye contact with another man, the more I feel hurt.â
Is this really the attitude of a wounded man?!
âIf you wanted to make up for the whipping (sticks), you should have given me more carrots.â
âThatâs why I hugged you yesterday.â
âBut that wasnât enough.â
You, you, you jerkâŠ!
My face turned red, but Sibel was still smiling brightly.
This blue beast that Iâm currently raising really has⊠a rotten personality, too rotten.
ïŒ ïŒ ïŒ
Iâm running now. I donât know why but Iâm currently running as fast as I can.
âStay right there, Marilyn!â
âMarin, why are you running away?â
âHow dare you keep secrets from us?â
âYouâre such a traitor!â
Oh, right. I was being chased. Also by my dear friendsâŠ
Emily, Lariensa, Violet, and Natalie were chasing me with a frightening force.
If it were just my friends, I would have gladly talked to them, but behind them were the members of Sisamo!
âStop right there, Marilyn! I want you to confess whatâs going on with you and Sibel!"
âWhy did you hug Sibel last night?â
âThereâs no way that you two are in a relationship!â
As I ran, I cried out explaining to them even though I knew they wonât believe me in the first place.
âWeâre not in that kind of relationship!â
The scariest of them all were Emily and the Sisamo chairman, Hailey.
The two chased me with tremendous speed that if I slowed down a little bit, Iâd surely be caught in no time.
Look at the crowd! Itâs already impossible for me to beat all those people alone.
âDonât lose sight of her!â
âGet her!â
Isnât this a romance novel? Why am I now shooting an action movie?
âYou guys are gonna regret doing this to me!â
Because Sibel and I arenât really in that kind of relationship you think we are!
But the Sisamo and my friends werenât easily scared.
âLetâs see if itâs really a misunderstanding or not.â
âDonât worry. Weâre going to let you go after torturing you.â
Youâre saying that youâre going to torture me first before you listen to what Iâve got to say?
And you guys. Since when have you been close with the Sisamo? I suddenly feel lonelyâŠ
âWhen have you guys been friends with the Sisamo? Have you guys got no loyalty?!â
âYou kept a secret from us first, you traitor!â
Fortunately, the other pursuers are gradually falling behind but I still canât slow down here. Because Emily is one of my pursuers!
Just in time, I saw a big trash can next to the hallway.
âTake this!â
I knocked down the trash can, and thanks to it, I was able to widen our gap⊠was what I thought would happen.
Not until I saw Emily jump over the trash can.
Somebody! Please, stop Emily!
âMarilyn! Are you guys currently having a race? That looks fun.â
AHHHHHHH! Esco! Does this look fun, huh?
âEsco! Help me!â
Esco, smiling brightly across the hallway, stiffened his face when he heard my cry for help.
âEmily is about to kill me!â
Dash! Tak, tak, tak!
I can hear Emily running from behind.
When I looked back, Emilyâs eyes wereâŠ
I can assure you at this moment.
Facing Emily is scarier than facing Sibel!
Esco nodded his head with a serious look on his face when our eyes met, signaling that he would help me.
But Esco is always beaten up by Emily, so how can he help me�
The method was simpler than I thought.
âTake this, Emily! Itâs a freshly-baked egg tart!â
At the same time, Emily jumped at me. But when the egg tart flew in, Emily instantly stepped on the wall and turned around to catch it!
That mind-blowing athletic ability of hers!
âThank you, Esco!â
I turned around the corner and completely left my pursuers out. But if I keep running in this long hallway, Iâll eventually get caught again!
Looking around, I decided to hide in the library.
âWhere did she disappear to?â
âEmily! How could you get distracted by an egg tart?â
âMarinâs gone!â
My heart was still racing fast as I leaned against the library door, listening to their conversation outside.
âDid she perhaps went inside the library?â
V-Violet! Why are you only so sharp at times like this? Use that sense when you study!
âThatâs impossible. Marilyn hates books. Even if sheâs being pursued, thereâs no way she would hide inside the library.â
âThatâs right, Marin always tells me not to go to the library and not to approach the guy whoâs always in there.â
Guys, I avoided coming to the library because of Sio, not because I hated books! And Lara, I didnât even tell you to avoid SioâŠ
âAnyways, Iâm sure sheâs not in there.â
âWait a minute!â
Everyone was about to leave the library when they heard Haileyâs voice.
âYou guys donât need this to know, so I wonât tell you, but let me just tell you that the library is one of the places that Sibel often goes! If Marilyn Launer is found to be hiding in the library now⊠then their relationship is definitely more suspicious now.â
You said you wouldnât tell them, but you just told them everythingâŠ
âAll right, letâs do a search.â
I could feel the door slightly opening at Violetâs words in which I hurriedly blocked with all my strength.
Rattle! Rattle!
âStrange, the door wonât open.â
âIsnât the library always open?â
âLetâs try opening it together.â
Clatter!
I canât back down like this. Even though Iâm already sweating profusely from blocking the door, I can never back down!
I know so well that if the door opens like this, Iâll be tortured by these girls!
âYou guys are so weak. Get out of the way.â
Damn it! Emily finally stepped up!
âLetâs just give up on the library. I think the door is locked.â
âIf itâs locked, then we can just break it.â
If something breaks somewhere in this academy, Iâm sure the professors suspect you immediately even if you werenât there on the scene of the crimeâŠ
âAnd my gut tells me that this is not locked. Someoneâs blocking it.â
âŠWas Emily always this sharp?
âThereâs only one person I can think of other than me who can block the door with such strength.â
âDonât tell me...!â
I can feel it...
Emilyâs getting close! What to do? I canât beat her!
I was all alone in a cold sweat. Mindful of Emily and the other girls beyond the door, I didnât even notice the presence that was approaching me.
ââŠStep aside.â
I heard a manâs voice from behind and turned aroundâŠ