Ch. 40 - What do you think you're doing right now?

I only have a limited amount of time during breaks and lunch, so I decided to look for the monster even during class hours."Hey, teacher. I'm not feeling well, do you mind if I go to the nurse's office?"

Lee Jung-Seok, who was teaching, eagerly told me to leave. He must think I'm dedicated since I'm searching for monsters even during class.

We had already been informed that we were allowed to wander around during class hours. So, I walked around the school with confidence.

The monster is disguised as a student, which makes it tricky to find. However, it doesn't mean that they can blend in perfectly.

If there are two of the same person in a class, they'll be spotted immediately.

That's why, in the original manga, when the monster isn't in class, it's killing time elsewhere in the academy.

Where could the monster be hiding?

It could be in an empty classroom or sleeping in the health center pretending to be a sick student. But the best place to hide is the roof.

Since no one goes up there, I decided to check the roof first. If I saw a student on the roof at this time, there was a high probability it was the monster.

With that in mind, I went to the roof. As I expected, there was indeed a student.

But the face was very familiar.

"Huh? What are you doing up here?"

The delinquent student I met yesterday was standing on the roof. When he saw me, he looked very surprised.

"You should have been in class by now. What are you doing up here?"

I asked, genuinely curious. No normal student would be on the roof at this hour.

"I just couldn't be bothered to go to class," he replied with an annoyed look on his face.

So he was up here killing time because he didn't want to go to class? Hmm...

"What about you? Did you skip class like me?"

"Yeah, well. It was math class, and I didn't want to go. I used the excuse of going to the nurse's office and came at the rooftop."

"Heh, you're such a delinquent, transfer student."

"You shouldn't be the one saying that, no?"

I chuckled and walked over to his side. As I approached, he flinched a little and took a step back.

He seems to be avoiding me for some reason. Why is he doing this?

To be honest, I'm a little suspicious of this boy now. Maybe he's actually a monster.

It's possible that he's just a delinquent skipping class because it's bothersome. He's a bad student who smokes and drinks inside the academy, so it wouldn't be strange if he were here now.

But what if he's a monster? What if he's just pretending to be a delinquent?

I can't pass up even the slightest possibility. I'd do anything to get out of this academy as quickly as possible.

"Hey, was there someone else on the roof besides you?"

"Someone besides me?"

"Yeah. I was wondering if there was another delinquent student skipping class like us."

"...There wasn't."

"Hmm, really?"

I ran in a single step to his side, who took a small step backward as I approached.

I grabbed his hand, just in case he was really a monster and would try to run away.

"So it's just the two of us here?"

Whether this guy is a monster or not, should I test him?

"So it's just the two of us here?"

I was surprised by Lee Hye-Yung's behavior as she smiled and grabbed my hand.

Are girls so straightforward these days? Do they take the hand of a boy they've only known for a day?

I don't think so. Then what is this? Is she trying to seduce me?

Is she flirting with me right now?

"W-why are you holding my hand? Let go."

"But you've been avoiding me for a while now. That kind of reaction is a little hurtful."

Despite my grumbling, Lee Hye-Yung gripped my hand harder.

What's with this girl, actively flirting with me like this? As I suspected, she's a queen bee who's been through several men.

"Get off me. If you don't let go, I'll make you."

I was already avoiding Lee Hye-Yung, but it was quite overwhelming when she approached me like this.

I waved my arms and protested, but she just laughed and wouldn't let go of my hand.

"Why don't you try if you can?"

"......"

She urged me on confidently.

I felt shivers up my spine at her bold response. How can she be so confident even when a bully threatens her?

I strongly suspected that she was indeed as scary as I felt.

At that moment, I gave up resisting and kept my mouth shut. If I stayed silent, she would get bored and leave on her own.

"Hey, I asked you this yesterday. What's your name?"

"......"

"I don't know what to call you because I don't know your name. Can you tell me?"

"....."

"Don't keep your mouth shut like that. What's your name, huh?"

"...What do you need to know my name for?"

But she kept talking to me until the end.

No matter how much I ignored her, she wouldn't stop talking, so I finally spoke up.

"I just want to get to know you. Maybe we can be drinking buddies in the future."

"Did you really mean what you said yesterday?"

"Of course, I don't have any drinking buddies around me."

"......"

I thought she would ignore me if I told her I drank, but that wasn't the case at all. Instead, I found her empathizing with me.

"I don't want to be friends with a bad girl like you."

"Oh, that's too bad. But......"

Yikes.

Lee Hye-Yung was getting closer and closer. I think her chest is touching me.

"I want to know more about you."

Wow, look at you, you fox. She's flirting with me outright now?

I don't know why she's doing this to me. I don't know why she's doing this to a guy she just met yesterday, and a delinquent at that.

Is she really interested in me? I don't think this boy is good-looking. Is this the kind of bad-boy charm I've heard about?

I'm playing a bad boy, and a girl falls for me.

I've been through a lot in my life.

I've been human, I've been a monster, and now I'm being seduced by a girl, even though I'm a woman.

"I think we're going to be seeing each other a lot. What do you think?"

"......"

I was trying to figure out how to respond to Lee Hye-Yung's unexpected forwardness when the bell rang throughout the academy.

It was the end of the class.

"It's recess. I'm going back."

Taking advantage of the break, I started to make my way down from the roof. I swung my arm a little strongly to make Lee Hye-Yung let go of my hand.

I'll have to disguise myself as another student after this.

"Hmm."

After bothering him this much, he still didn't tell me his name. Normally, he should give me his name.

There are two reasons for this.

Either he doesn't want to give me his name, or he can't.

If he's a monster, it's probably the latter.

"That's really suspicious."

I can't let this boy go. I need to know his true identity.

If I keep following him, I'll find out if he's really a student or a monster.

"Hey, let's go together!"

I quickly followed the boy and walked right beside him.

"Why are you following me again? You should go to your own class."

"Aren't you going to ditch your next class anyway? Let's play hooky together."

"If you're going to play, play by yourself. I'm going to chill alone."

The boy walked away at a fast pace, as if to avoid me. I caught up to him and grabbed his hand again to make sure he didn't get away.

Even if this guy really is a monster, he can't escape my grasp.

"W-what are you doing?! Stop bothering me and get the hell away!"

"All you have to do is tell me your name."

It's pretty easy to tell if someone is a monster or not if you know what grade and class they're in. If you go up to them and say, 'Hey, didn't you hang out with me last night?' you'll know right away.

"I'm not letting you go until you tell me who you are. Got it?"

I pulled the boy towards me with that declaration.

No matter how I look at him, he's suspicious. I'm going to have to follow him around all day and see what he's up to.

"Are all kids nowadays carnivores like you? What do you think you're doing right now?!"

"I don't know what that means, but don't you dare try to get away from me."

The boy tried to force himself away from me, but I tightened my grip and didn't let go.

We struggled in the hallway for a while.

"......Huh?"

I heard a very panicked voice up ahead. I turned around and saw a girl in front of us. Sᴇaʀᴄh the NʘvᴇlFirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

It was Jung Ha-Yeon, who was disguised as a student.

"W-what are you doing......?"

With an expression that looked like she had lost everything in the world, she looked back and forth between me and the male student.