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☆21. can't control myself anymore, pt.2
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[ACT. 2]
« Now it's like a chessboard »
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AFTER SPENDING AN HOUR thinking about her behavior, the teen finally headed for the gymnasium. It was the first time she'd needed to see Sunghoon so badly.
He was the only person capable of understanding all her misfortunes; thanks to him, she didn't feel alone in the face of this immense tsunami of bad things.
Nana opened the door and and saw him sitting on a bench, taking off his ice skates.
The boy seemed out of breath, so she deduced that he'd been skating for a while. She approached him and waves her hand.
"Hi, miss me?"
Sunghoon teased her, but he was also happy and reassured to see her.
"Ghost again, huh? How did it go?"
She noticed that his hair was blonde.
"It was pretty simple, I felt life leave my body another time. But it was a great experience and I don't have any wounds anymore."
"That's good to hear."
Seeing him soothed was the only good thing to come out of the day.
She smiled shyly and slumped next to him, taking some distance now that physical contact was forbidden again.
"What's wrong?"
He was quick to notice that his friend wasn't well.
"I don't even know where to start."
"Start with the one that bothers you the most."
He had said in a soft, encouraging voice.
Precisely, the slightest thing bothered her and made her even more anxious and weak. It was hellish, like a domino effect; behind every problem was an even stronger one.
The young woman felt tears welling up in her eyes, took a deep breath and began to express herself calmly, without giving in to the pressure.
"The killer's definitely back, it wasn't a joke. They're going to claim a new victim."
"What? How..?"
"Last night, a girl got mugged in front of the school. I don't know anything more but it looks really bad."
"And you sure the killer did this?"
"There's a good chance. Even the students are linking it to the vandalism of your locker."
"Fucking hell."
He buried his face in his hands.
"I can't just do nothing, my classmates are in danger."
"You already thought of that last time and I'll say it again, you're not a superhero."
He emphasized the last word.
"I know, that's crazy but..."
In a flash, the heroine had managed to think about something concrete. Sunghoon was afraid of discovering this idea or anything that might put her in a bad situation.
"...But?"
Seeing her silent, still thinking, the skater was getting impatient.
"I mean, I can do something simple. Like prevention, we need to make the students understand that there's a threat in the school."
"You'll get noticed by the killer again, very bad idea."
"No, don't worry."
Her smile slowly faded as she felt her headache return. "Oh. That's the other problem, my headache."
"Still in pain? Must be serious."
"It's weird, I think the pain only goes away when I'm angry or frustrated. I feel so different."
She couldn't help thinking about her best friend, the way she'd treated her to the point of tears.
Even if Junko had betrayed her, she knew that under normal circumstances she would never have behaved like that.
The person who insulted Junko a few hours ago wasn't her.
"Actually I had an argument with Junko today, and it's the first time I've ever spoken to her so badly."
"Seriously? Why?"
"I saw her kissing Jake this morning, they're together."
The blond man's jaw dropped and his eyes bulged.
"You didn't know—"
Nana glared at him, offended, and frowned.
"Because you do?"
"When I was alive they already flirted a lot but everyone knows Junko's been crushing on him for years."
The protagonist crossed her arms and pouted.
Their love story had existed for a long time. It had been right in front of her all this time and she hadn't seen a thing.
"Well... I said horrible things to her because of that but I didn't even mean it!"
"You were shocked and upset."
"That's the point. I know myself and even when I'm furious, I stay calm. With her, it was like someone's talked for me."
"I think you're a little on edge and that's okay with everything that's happening to you right now, it's not easy."
She sighed, maybe he was right.
After all, it's true that her life had taken a different turn and hadn't been quite so eventful.
Filled with ghost stories, the paranormal and killers on the loose... Her mind was scared to death.
She'd finally snapped, and it's normal for human beings to express their emotions when they need to. Maybe it was just that...
Before the next class, Nana decided to put her idea into practice. After thinking about it briefly, it was time to find out if it would work and prevent the killer from doing anything.
She was determined to compete with while showing them that they would also be facing imminent danger.
The girl stopped daydreaming and abruptly opened the office door.
Mr. Lee, who had his feet up on the table, gasped and sat up properly, embarrassed and surprised to see her.
"H-Hello Mrs. Suzuki!"
She bowed and settled down in front of him.
"Sorry for the inconvenience."
"It's okay, how can I help you?"
Her lips stretched into a nervous little smile. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and sighed heavily.
"I wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday."
His expression changed, he suddenly became more serious and attentive. He put his hands on the desk and crossed his fingers.
"I see that everyone knows."
He arched an eyebrow, "Don't worry, the police are taking care of everything."
"The police have never been much help. They were incompetent for the murder of a student, so will they be helpful for an aggression?"
The headmaster said nothing, and if Nana couldn't get him to confess, her plan wasn't going to work. She needed his help for that, and so she had to go even further.
"You know it Mr. Lee. So much that to save the school you've had to buy it—"
"As an adult I think I know what's best for the school. Don't get caught up in this."
"I'm sure you don't know what you're doing."
"I know perfectly well what I'm doing, actually." He clenched his jaw.
"And I'm telling you... You don't."
Heeseung's father glared at Nana and leaned back against his chair, visibly angered by her words, which were beginning to upset him.
"If you've come to question my work while meddling in a matter that doesn't concern you, I strongly encourage you to go back to class."
It was clear Mr. Lee was annoyed but the young woman continued to stand up to him.
Her aim was to get him to admit he didn't know what he was doing, so she could establish the beginnings of her plan.
"...I always knew something weird was going on in this school, I just want to help."
"You're a student, Suzuki. Students study and that's it. I don't need your help."
"You've probably heard what people think about this case. They think it's closely related to the vandalism of Park Sunghoon's locker."
"That's for the police to decide."
"And you, as headmaster, what are you going to do?"
"I don't have to tell you."
"Correct."
She smiled nervously, "Why say something you don't know? That's why I want to help you."
"Fine. What do you want Suzuki?"
Mr. Lee sighed in exasperation, indirectly admitting that the student was right.
Nana was confident and finally satisfied. In addition to Sunghoon, her priority now was the safety of the whole school. The killer had to be stopped.
It was all starting to become a game, like chess. Who would fall first?