In the end, I didn't accomplish a single thing all day, right up until it was time to leave work.
No, to be more precise, it would be accurate to say I couldn't do anything.
After all, it wasn't a situation where I could work normally in the first place.
"…I'm home."
"Welcome back, Teacher."
When I opened the door and came inside after work, Saori came out to the entryway to greet me, just as she had yesterday, welcoming me warmly.
I hesitated for a moment before asking her.
"What about dinner?"
"I haven't eaten yet. I was waiting so we could eat together once you got home."
Saori puffed out her chest proudly as she said that.
She seemed to be fishing for praise, but I had no choice but to betray her expectations.
"Sorry, but I think I'll have to eat alone today."
"Why? Did you already eat out?"
"I just don't have much of an appetite."
But Saori didn't give up easily.
"Don't be like that. Eat just a little. No matter how little appetite you have, you have to eat every meal properly for your health's sake."
It felt just like a mother's nagging, but thinking of the effort she'd put into preparing dinner, I felt I should at least try some, so I told her I understood.
"Then I'll get it ready right away!"
Delighted by my acceptance, Saori ran to the kitchen.
'Is it really that good?'
Watching her retreating figure with a bitter smile, I went to the bedroom, changed into comfortable clothes, and came back out.
"I prepared something special today."
In the meantime, she seemed to have finished preparing. With a confident expression, Saori placed on the table a ttukbaegi I couldn't even remember buying.
Of course, since a white lid was covering it, the contents couldn't be seen.
"Open it and see."
At her urging, I carefully lifted the lid.
"…Kimchi jjigae?"
I was completely bewildered by the appearance of a dish I had never expected.
I had thought she only knew how to make Japanese food.
And as if she had read my thoughts, Saori smiled confidently and said,
"They were selling meal kits at the mart, so I decided to try one. I just followed the instructions on the back, and it wasn't that hard to make."
Hearing her explanation, I nodded and carefully picked up my spoon.
Then I scooped up some broth and took a hearty mouthful.
"…How is it?"
Saori asked for my thoughts with a nervous expression.
But I couldn't answer right away.
"……."
Because no matter how hard I tried to hold them back, tears kept streaming down, making it impossible to speak properly.
The sorrowful emotions I had been holding back all this time burst forth like a flood at a single bite of kimchi jjigae that reminded me of home.
Perhaps because she hadn't expected me to suddenly start crying, Saori looked flustered.
But even as I shed streams of tears, I didn't stop eating the kimchi jjigae.
The kimchi jjigae I was tasting after so long was different from the one my mother made, but it held a warmth beyond even that.
When I could eat no more, my throat choked up, and I set down my spoon after eating in silence, Saori—who had been at a loss, not knowing what to do—soon approached me without a word and embraced me.
And so I remained in her arms until my sobbing subsided.
***
Since we were in no state to continue eating, Saori and I eventually moved to the living room.
"Teacher, have you calmed down a bit?"
"……."
When I nodded with a face flushed from embarrassment, Saori let out a small sigh and held out a mug of hot water.
"Teacher, you lied to me yesterday, didn't you?"
As I took the mug, my eyes met hers, and I couldn't help but flinch.
Because she was looking at me with eyes that suggested she already knew everything.
Perhaps she had been pretending not to know, waiting for me to bring up my worries first.
In the end, I realized there was no point in hiding anymore, so I opened my mouth honestly.
"…That's right. I said I was fine when I really wasn't."
"Why did you do that?"
"…Because it's not very adult-like to pour out your worries to a kid more than a decade younger than you."
The 'me' she thinks of is the 'Teacher' depicted in the game.
An ideal adult who leads by example and guides all the students.
In a way, the Teacher depicted in the game might have captivated all the students so easily because he is the most steadfast and the kindest being there is.
But the real me is a fake adult who can't compare to such a perfect grown-up.
I don't have any particularly excellent qualities, my heart isn't much different from when I was a child, and I've only grown in body, forcing myself to play the part of an adult.
That's why I didn't want to be found out.
I suppose I thought she would be disappointed in me if she learned the truth.
And when I revealed these inner thoughts, Saori smiled bitterly and said,
"I never imagined Teacher was worrying about such things."
But after hearing your story, my perspective has changed a little.
"You were holding it all in, after all. Just like the old me."
Saori looked at me with a gaze steeped in memories as she spoke.
She was probably referring to her childhood as depicted in the game.
The past Saori, who couldn't trust anyone from a young age because the side effects of her psychic powers let her hear the thoughts of everyone around her.
Her severe misanthropy made the girl known by the nickname 'Queen' feel utterly alone even in a crowd.
And it was the Teacher who had dispelled Saori's misanthropy.
In some ways, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the Teacher was the benefactor of her entire life.
That was why I no longer wanted to hide anything.
"Saori, there's one more thing I need to confess to you."
"What is it, Teacher?"
I swallowed hard.
Then, steeling myself, I spoke.
"…Truth is, I'm not the Teacher you know. To be more precise, I'm a being that is the same yet different—someone who only possesses the memories of having had those experiences."
At that, Saori chuckled softly and replied,
"I've known from the very beginning."
"…What?"
"Did you think I wouldn't notice something like that? But to me, Teacher is the same Teacher. Even if the world you live in is different, even if your memories are slightly different, that doesn't change."
Saying that, Saori showed me a single photo from her phone's gallery.
Astonishingly, the person in that photo was 'me.'
In the photo, I was smiling brightly and making a peace sign together not only with the Saori standing before me now, but also with the other students from Red Asterisk.
"If you think that memories alone define a person's existence, then I'll deny that fact. A person's essence doesn't change just because they lack memories. So Teacher is the same person as the Teacher I know. The one and only adult in the world who saved me when I was lost in despair, thinking dark thoughts, and led me back to the right path."
"……."
"So if something is troubling you, this time I'll help you. So please, just say the words—'help me.'"
Saori looked at me with a gentle smile as she spoke.
That smile was so dazzling that I felt my heart weakening.
Was it really okay to ask her for help?
Was it okay to reach out to someone who had nothing to do with this matter?
The conflict was long.
But it didn't take long for a conclusion to be reached.
If her meeting me was fate,
then her offering a helping hand at this decisive moment must also be fate.
"Help me."
And so, swallowing my shame, I said those words to Tachibana Saori.
***
The next morning.
I went to work at my company in Pangyo with Saori.
It was the company lobby that I always entered alone.
But today, Saori was by my side, as good as an army of thousands.
"Student, only authorized personnel are allowed beyond this point."
A building security guard approached us and said that upon seeing Saori, who clearly wasn't an office worker. But instead of replying, Saori simply stared intently at the guard's face.
Then his eyes unfocused, and the guard stepped aside with a polite attitude as if nothing had happened.
"Ah, my mistake. Please, go right in."
"Thank you."
Accepting the guard's greeting as if it were only natural, Saori passed through the first-floor security checkpoint and asked me coolly while I stared at her with a dumbfounded expression.
"What's wrong, Teacher?"
I finally came to my senses and asked,
"How did you do that?"
"I simply planted the suggestion in that guard that I'm the daughter of one of this company's executives."
"But you didn't do anything."
Don't you usually need some special movement or words to hypnotize someone?
"For an ordinary person without any protective measures, it's possible to hypnotize them just by making eye contact."
Having said that, Saori suddenly clapped her hands loudly right in front of me.
Clap!
In that instant,
everyone walking through the first-floor lounge stopped moving all at once.
As if they had become mannequins.
"And if I mix in gestures like Teacher mentioned, this is also possible."
"Ah, I get it, so please release them quickly."
"Hehe."
When she clapped again, the company employees began moving again as if nothing had happened.
As I sighed in relief watching them, the elevator arrived on the first floor.
Ding!
When the doors opened, there was no one inside.
Saori, who had stepped into the elevator first, mimicked an elevator attendant and asked me,
"Which floor, sir?"
I looked at her incredulously, then soon cleared my throat lightly and answered,
"Sixth floor, please."