The long-awaited time to leave school had arrived. As soon as the bell rang, Mika sprang up from her seat and gathered her things. Not that there was much to gather—just a few books and writing utensils—so it didn't take long. She threw her things into her locker faster than anyone else, then took out her smartphone and launched MomoTalk.
The name that floated to the very top.
[Siwoo♡].
The reason Mika had set Siwoo's name like this wasn't anything grand. It was simply because she liked him, and she wanted to one day call each other by nicknames. If he ever found out about these feelings, it would be a little... no, very embarrassing, but she still couldn't change it.
Because she liked him. Just seeing this name made the corners of her mouth curve up irresistibly. How could she possibly change it?
Mika let out a 'kuk-kuk' laugh and tapped on Siwoo's profile. Then she immediately sent him a message.
[School's out! I'm coming right now!]
The reply didn't come back immediately. Of course. It was just past 5 PM, so Siwoo was probably getting ready for his shift. He'd probably reply once that was done. If possible, she hoped he'd reply to her before Nagi-chan or Seia-chan. Thinking this, Mika tucked her smartphone into her embrace.
Just then, someone called out to her from behind. It was one of the students who usually followed Mika around.
"Mika-sama! I heard a famous dessert shop opened near the school recently!"
"Huh? Really? Thanks for telling me~"
"Yes, yes! So, um... Would you perhaps like to go with me today?"
"Sorry, I'm busy today. Next time!"
"Ah... Okay."
"Okay☆ See you tomorrow!"
Mika gave her a perfunctory farewell and dashed toward the school's main gate. There were people approaching her along the way trying to start conversations, but Mika ignored them all. What was important now wasn't talking to them, but meeting Siwoo. There was no time to waste.
After running quickly, she arrived at the school's main gate to find no one there. It seemed she was the first to arrive. She was usually late no matter how much she hurried, but today she got lucky. Smiling slyly, Mika left a message in the group chat with Nagisa and Seia.
[I'm first☆ So Siwoo is mine today!]
After the incident with Nagisa's drunken confession, the three had made one promise. No matter how much we're love rivals, we should at least act like friends in front of Siwoo.
Of course, it wasn't well-kept. None of them—Mika, Seia, or Nagisa—had the temperament to quietly watch another woman flirt with Siwoo right before their eyes. So the promise to act like friends in front of him had never been properly fulfilled, even in front of him.
Hence, a new rule.
Let's meet at the school gate and all go to see Siwoo together. But the person who arrives first gets to monopolize Siwoo for the day.
It was a fair promise decided yesterday after they all put their heads together and agonized over it. Today was its first day.
[Don't lie.]
[Seia-chan, jealous? Sorry~ But I really was first, right? Yeah, first.]
[I am Siwoo's first, Mika-san.]
[Shut up.]
[Zip it.]
[Fufu, jealousy is a scary thing.]
Mika furrowed her brow and ignored Nagisa's words. She could have refuted any other point, but she had no rebuttal for that word 'first' from Nagisa. Because it was the truth. Because she really was the one who took Siwoo's first kiss.
It was a fact she really didn't like, but it's not like she could change the past. It made her so angry she wanted to smash everything in sight, but clinging to something that had already passed was also foolish. So instead, Mika imagined future events.
Right, the world is full of acts beyond kissing, so why obsess over a kiss? Especially when it was just lips touching. It wasn't even a French kiss. They didn't even line up their stomachs. Yeah, so a lot of Siwoo's 'firsts' are still left. The rest are all mine. I won't give them to anyone.
Sticky, lewd desires filled her thoughts. Mika fantasized about various acts with Siwoo and let out a heated sigh. At the same time, Seia and Nagisa arrived. Seia was second, and Nagisa was third.
Seeing Mika standing at the school gate, Seia frowned.
"...You really did get here first."
"Why would I lie about that? Ahaha, Seia-chan, you need to learn to believe people first? A woman who's always suspicious is tiring, you know?"
"Water flowing downhill is a natural law. It is the principle of nature and the law of the world. But there is clean water and dirty water. Mika, you are the dirty water. If you didn't lie normally, I would have believed you."
"Ahaha! You talk too long, I didn't really hear you!"
"...Haah. Fine. Let's just hurry and go."
Seia said with a sigh. Mika and Nagisa agreed. Rather than engaging in pointless bickering, it was better to see Siwoo's face even a little sooner.
The three of them walked through the streets at a slightly faster pace. About 20 minutes later, they arrived at the convenience store where Siwoo worked. But Siwoo, who was usually sitting in the convenience store chair, was nowhere to be seen.
"I wonder where he went for a moment."
"Maybe he went to the bathroom or something?"
At Mika's words, Nagisa shook her head. But even after the second hand on the clock had made ten full rotations, he didn't appear. By then, the three felt an inexplicable sense of unease. Something... something felt wrong.
Mika hurriedly took out her smartphone and checked the notifications. It was well past the time he should have sent a reply, but there was no contact from Siwoo. The other two were the same. The moment they confirmed this, they called Siwoo. But all that returned was the calm voice of the TTS.
"Why, why isn't he picking up? Why?"
"..."
Leaving the flustered Mika behind, Nagisa got up and entered the convenience store. Store Manager Shiba, sitting at the counter, saw her and widened his eyes.
"Uh... you're..."
"Excuse me, Manager. Do you happen to know where Siwoo went?"
"Siwoo...? He left early today because he wasn't feeling well. Didn't he tell you guys?"
"Ah, yes. That was the case. Thank you for telling me."
"...Yeah."
The manager nodded with a dubious expression. No matter how he thought about it, it was unlikely Siwoo would have left without telling them for no reason.
Nagisa had a similar thought. The years she'd stuck with Siwoo were well over a decade. Naturally, she knew his personality. Siwoo was not the type to hide important facts for no reason.
"..."
Nagisa's eyes turned cold.
"Na, Nagi-chan. What did he say?"
The moment she left the store, Mika asked. Seia also waited with a serious expression for Nagisa to open her mouth. Nagisa looked at the two of them alternately and spoke.
"He left work early because he wasn't feeling well. He probably went back to the kindergarten first to rest or is even taking a nap. That's the most likely story."
"What if he's not there?"
"..."
"L-let's go see first. Like Nagi-chan said, he might be sleeping because he's not feeling well, right?"
At Mika's words, the two nodded. They immediately got up and headed for the kindergarten where Siwoo stayed. Even during this, the calls and messages to Siwoo didn't stop.
Thus, they arrived at the kindergarten.
The main gate was locked. But using a spare key, they could enter without much difficulty. The three walked firmly past the areas used by the small children, heading for the room where Siwoo stayed. His shoes weren't in the shoe rack.
The unease grew.
Mika pushed past the others and went inside first. Opening the door, the scent of Siwoo heavily covered her nasal passages. It was a scent that would have normally made her swoon, but not now. She quickly turned her gaze to check the bed Siwoo used.
He wasn't there.
Siwoo was nowhere to be seen. Only a few shirts and pants left behind, and a blanket that seemed to have been tossed aside, lay scattered on the bed.
"...No way."
Mika muttered. Seia clenched her fist tightly with an expressionless face, and Nagisa bit her fingernail with a *kka-deuk*.
Siwoo had disappeared.
"We have to find him."
Nagisa spat out. *Kkadeuk*. A fingernail split in half tumbled to the floor. Teeth that had dug in a bit too deep tore through the skin. Blood welled up, but Nagisa paid it no mind. She roughly wiped the blood on her clothes and once again recalled the routes Siwoo frequented that she had been thinking about.
The convenience store, the shopping district alley, the residential street entrance, the gym, the shooting range, the kindergarten. The real estate office he'd been frequenting lately. The studio apartment building he visited often, as if planning to move.
Siwoo had left work early today. The reason was that he wasn't feeling well. So, even if he had free time, he probably wouldn't have gone to places that required physical exertion. That ruled out the gym and shooting range.
The real estate and studio were the same. There was no reason to visit a studio he hadn't even finished moving into while not feeling well. The real estate office was similar.
Then what remained was the shopping district alley and the residential street entrance. Among those, the residential street entrance was fairly large. If someone suddenly disappeared there, there would surely have been some commotion. But the shopping district alley wasn't like that. It was dark there, with no sunlight, and since it wasn't a path people normally walked, encounters were rare.
In short, a dangerous path. But a shortcut. Siwoo often used that shortcut.
"Let's split up."
Having finished her thoughts, Nagisa spat out bluntly. The gazes of Mika, who was making an anxious expression, and Seia, who had her eyes closed as if trying to sleep, turned toward her. Nagisa looked straight at the two and continued.
"Mika-san, please head for the shopping district alley Siwoo-san often uses. Seia-san, please head for the residential street entrance."
"...I had a similar thought. We must first find his traces there."
Nagisa nodded. Mika also put down the smartphone she was clutching and agreed to Nagisa's plan.
That was when it happened.
-Ddee-ring!
All three smartphones rang simultaneously.
The sender was Siwoo. It was a notification that they had been invited to a group chat.
The moment they saw it, the three began typing. Are you okay? Is something wrong? You're not at the kindergarten, where are you? etc. They poured out everything they wanted to say all at once. But Siwoo was silent. Even though he was the one who invited them, he himself said nothing.
Even so, the three felt relief. The unease that had been wrapping around their entire bodies until just moments ago melted away like snow.
And so.
Right around the time their expressions were gradually loosening.
Siwoo sent a message.
It was a picture. Feeling puzzled, the three checked the picture.
A short-haired girl with horns, smiling brightly. Siwoo, forced into a shoulder hug with her, tied to a chair, grimacing as if in pain. His slightly swollen ankle peeking from between his pants and shirt hem. A shirt covered in dirt and stone dust.
"..."
The fingers of the three, who had been typing, all stopped at the same time.
A few seconds later.
Nagisa moved first. With an expression that had frozen coldly, she saved the picture Siwoo was in and enlarged it.
She stared at the terrain and objects vaguely visible in the photo. The scenery beyond the window. The pattern of the wallpaper. The shape of the floor. She compared them with various locations within the Trinity district. Fortunately, the number of possible locations that came to mind gradually decreased.
As it did, the grip strength in her hand increased. With a *crack*, *crack-crack* sound, the screen of the smartphone she was holding shattered.
-Kku-deuk.
Blood dripped from Seia's hand. It was because she had clenched her fist so hard that her fingernails dug into the skin of her palm. A sharp pain was felt, but Seia paid it no mind. She just stared at the woman photographed with Siwoo with pupils devoid of any light.
Her fox ears gradually sank downward. The blood flowing from her hand overflowed enough to form a puddle on the floor.
Mika twisted the corners of her mouth. Her fine amber eyes turned turbid, then stained with murderous intent and madness. Her eyebrows slightly raised and furrowed.
She checked the uniform of the brightly smiling girl. Boldly, on her chest was pinned a Gehenna Academy emblem. That emblem looked exactly like the corpse of a squashed cockroach.
-Crack-crack!
Mika crushed the smartphone she was holding in her hand. Machine fragments turned to dust in an instant fell to the floor with a *whoosh*. Mika stepped on the fragments and whispered softly.
"I'll kill her."