Chapter 120

In the city stained with twilight, two popular figures from school were walking side by side. A boy with a delicate physique for a male and a woman with an affectionate and gentle demeanor.

Their harmony was so picturesque that it felt as though they were posing for a photo sh**t, prompting passersby to turn their heads and stare, wondering if they were celebrities.

Even after confirming they were not celebrities, people couldn’t help but turn their heads occasionally to look at their faces again—it was a face they might not remember, but one that was too beautiful to not be associated with someone famous.

It was entirely different from Erica, whose distinct aura did not lend itself to such misunderstandings. Her appearance and demeanor were so unique that anyone meeting her would immediately grasp she was no ordinary celebrity.

Although commonly approachable, these two possessed a star-like charm that drew people toward them. To prevent any misconceptions, they kept a slight distance between them and headed for Erica’s home.

—In truth, they were less focused on their scheduled study session and more on the important matters they needed to discuss.

“Why didn’t you interfere?” Kim Ha-neul finally broke the silence. “I heard that it wasn’t necessary for you to do the study session with her. But I never expected you’d leave and let Erica stay with the Student Council President.”

The reason Kim Ha-neul found such an outcome unimaginable was simple—the woman walking beside him had despised the Student Council President to the utmost degree.

“Hmm~. It was already too late to change anything by the time I realized, so it seemed okay to not interfere.”

Kim Ha-neul gave her a questioning look since the statement was ambiguous. Yu In-na kindly elaborated for him.

“That girl, once she shuts her heart, she won’t open it again. For whatever reason, she deeply believes that she’s been betrayed by the Student Council President. Even if she changes her mind and decides to forgive and accept that betrayal, she would still make her pay, willingly or otherwise.”

Yu In-na’s explanation wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

It had been over a month since Erica had lost her memory and yet she had not tried to rekindle her old relationship with Yu In-na. Additionally, if she did reconcile with the Student Council President, Yu In-na would make her pay a forced price.

Kim Ha-neul was curious about this so-called “forced payment,” but he didn’t push the matter, not wanting to provoke unnecessary anger.

The plan to isolate her had seemed cruel enough already. Considering her tactics now, it likely was far more ruthless than anything planned before.

Thus, instead of hearing something that might sour his perception of the woman he should be aligning with, the boy tactfully steered the conversation elsewhere.

“Then, don’t we not need to check on her anymore?”

“If she opens her heart to the Student Council President and then plans to do something cruel to Erica, there’s no real reason to keep monitoring her anymore.”

Yu In-na smiled warmly upon hearing the boy’s confusion.

“Isn’t it simply because I don’t want to be hated by her?”

Her answer was a question. On her face rested the pure love a young girl might have. Yes, love—it made sense of the incomprehensible parts.

If Erica favored someone else, Yu In-na could extract her punishment. But ensuring Erica didn’t incline towards others through constant attention and vigilance was only natural for someone in love.

“I don’t want to hate her by breaking them apart again, forcing her to dislike me after she’s forgotten the past.”

“Then shouldn’t you have stopped her from meeting with the Student Council President earlier?”

Kim Ha-neul’s comment brought the conversation back to the beginning. Why had they chosen to let Erica stay with the Student Council President today instead of returning home sooner?

It was necessary to understand this reason to make better decisions later and it would also help Yu In-na advance in her romantic endeavors.

“While my previous statements weren’t necessarily lies, I didn’t feel the Student Council President would act overly ambitious today. Do you know why she wanted to become the Student Council President?”

“I only heard that her family pushed her towards it. If she doesn’t comply, she’ll be driven out, or so they say. But knowing her, she’s not the type to let family pressures influence something related to Erica, so there must have been a different reason.”

“There is that, and she mentioned that she actually likes the job of Student Council President, but she’s also requested access to some specific information only available to the Student Council President. She probably wanted to talk about that today.”

Yu In-na explained kindly, deeming the information not worth concealing from her romantic ally.

“Information? That’s necessary?”

“Yes, it is. No matter what she’s searching for, she wouldn’t let go of someone who stayed by her side during her hardships. A joyful mistake for me but indeed, it’s clear Lee Seo-ra is entirely unsuitable for her.”

While her cheerful tone hinted at an unpleasant backstory, the boy walking beside her wasn’t perturbed in the slightest.

If it weren’t for Erica, who held all of Yu In-na’s focus, attempting to cultivate any connection with her would’ve been difficult beyond measure.

This gap was an opportunity. The only human weakness in a woman who possessed both inhuman strength and heart.

Her cold, brutal judgment was reserved only for Erica. This offered vulnerabilities to exploit. Without them, courting Yu In-na might’ve been nearly impossible.

“For this reason, I’m not too worried about today’s events. Her heart won’t be directed towards Lee Seo-ra anymore.”

Though the woman confidently made these assertions despite the boy’s thoughts—somewhere deep within, she seemed anxious. Like someone aware of a flaw in their own reasoning but unable to pinpoint its location. Or perhaps someone who recognized a misjudgment but refused to admit it.

*

“Here’s the information you requested in the past.”

I was led into the Student Council President’s room, a place usually not visited unless there was something specifically required. Sitting at the table, Lee Seo-ra slid a paper toward me.

“What is this?”

I never asked the student council president for any specific information. This must have been something the former Erica requested, but my memory lacked any relevant guesses.

“Since you mentioned someone forcibly brought you to this school, these are some materials intended to predict the thoughts of that ‘elder sister.’”

Taking the document, I quickly realized it was hard to understand without further explanation. Among the words, the school and academy were somewhat recognizable.

There was no way for me to fully comprehend these documents at a glance. Placing the paper back on the table, I looked at Lee Seo-ra. Did her persuasion techniques work on my bright eyes as she began explaining?

“The country does not prohibit the use of supernatural abilities unless it involves committing m*rder. At first glance, it seems as if the nation doesn’t control the activities of supernatural ability users beyond preventing m*rder, but if that were true, there’d be no need to establish branches of the Association in each region.”

“Therefore, the Association must be established for reasons beyond controlling ability users. Let’s hypothesize, based on the premise that the Association selects specific people and brings them together in schools for a certain purpose: the Association is a group that gathers and manages supernatural ability users in schools for a specific purpose.”

“The purpose behind the Association’s involvement in various schools may vary from branch to branch. Just as the group of students led and controlled by the branch manager in the Busan school differs greatly from the ranking-based battles among students in the Gwangju Academy, our school is run under a completely different system. It makes sense to assume that each school managed by its respective branch has a specific goal in mind.”

“While I usually don’t enjoy hypotheses built on assumptions, given your current situation, this is likely what you needed to hear. You don’t need perfect answers now; rather, you need more questions.”

A woman who possessed the supernatural power of wisdom. Or more accurately, a woman chosen by the ability of wisdom.

Only now did I realize I might have underestimated her, mistaking her lack of awareness of my body’s change for ignorance.

However, her momentous deductions upon hearing my story enlightened me. This might have been because the phenomenon of possession never crossed her logical mind, but once she knows about it, her deductions will likely shift towards me.

“Considering that in other schools managed by the branches, some students stand out, it’s possible to infer there are students our Association has targeted for their own purposes. Like a student named Eun-gwang who resolved the Black Fog Incident a few years ago.”

“So who’s ‘Eun-gwang’?”

Of course, after hearing that there were students chosen by the Association for specific goals, it was clear who they were referring to—Kim Ha-neul, who had gone ahead for the study session, and the Student Council President sitting before me.

Given they were the protagonists and the main heroine of this world, it was natural they would be related to the objectives the Association had for this school.

“…Unless this is already someone you are acquainted with, and even though you knew their identity before your memory loss, I shouldn’t spread it further. Actually because it’s you, I can’t say anything either.”

Was this person someone I had an unfriendly relationship with?

The first name that came to mind was the self-proclaimed “elder sister” of this body, but she couldn’t be since she wasn’t from this school. If ‘Gwang’ meant what I suspected, and someone had an unfriendly relationship with me yet wielded ‘Gwang’-related abilities, it could only be one person whose identity I started to discern.

“Even if you don’t tell me, it’s fine. I think I already know. But why do you use honorifics with me even if we’re alone?”

“That’s because I sense a distance from you.”

“From me? When did that happen?”

“If you wouldn’t even contact or visit me, how could I speak casually with you?”

Wait, didn’t I think she didn’t care much about it? Apparently, she was quite concerned.

The reason I avoided further contact was because

this person was Kim Ha-neul’s partner.

Let them love each other well.

“No. It seems like I was acting spoiled, expecting some kind of reward for doing something. But all I’ve done is list mere conjectures.”

Even though she said this, from the information written on the paper, it was evident that her words weren’t merely conjectures.

But like last time, I couldn’t simply tell her to speak freely. After seeing her nearly unsettling insight, I feared she might detect that this body was no longer its original owner.

[You have obtained part of the information related to the main storyline. Obtaining more main storyline information will allow you to pre-view the story’s content before the main scenario begins.]

As the room filled with an awkward silence,

I only stared blankly at the face of the Student Council President, who was overwhelmed with guilt. She felt guilty for the body she was unaware had been replaced.