Behind the round glasses, the unusual pink eyes study my face.
Right, she must know me—or rather, the former user of this body.
Her soft fingers locked into my hands pretty tight. As if afraid of someone going anywhere. Most probably the guy I took over.
A few minutes pass, and my head gets a little cooler.
The pink girl asks if there's anything she can do. She recommends that I see the nurse, even offering to carry me herself. Looking at her thin arm, I don't think that'd ever work.
"I could get someone to help," she says, her tone straining.
I have no idea who this babe is. We seem close, though. Is she one of the students here—white coat; blouse with a tiny necktie; an emblem of a book clip on her shirt—looks like it. Her pretty, youthful face, with little help from makeup, supports that idea.
Am I a student, too?
No?
"Sunbae hold my hands, okay? I'd be here until you're fine again."
Her hand tightens around my finger. Her eyes are glossing, reflecting a poor image of his (my) face. I don't remember the last time a high schooler was this close to me… or my school year's memory in that matter. What was the name of a teacher that sent me to a hospital with a textbook? I couldn't remember.
Though I swear I wouldn't ever forget that bitch.
I need space to think. The pink girl is choking my thoughts.
Our hands are still clasping. Does not look like she's going to let go any time soon. Maybe if I act more 'normal' and 'okay', she will.
"Don't worry, I just have a headache," I say without my tongue slipping or my throat cracking.
She pauses, scanning up and down once. Making sure I'm telling the truth. Her mouth presses firmly.
Her hands still confine mine.
I decide to give her a smile that says the same thing.
And that does something.
"Fuu… okay…"
That works. She sighs and returns the gesture—this one though doesn't reach the eyes. She turns her head to the door just a few steps away from us, and back to me as if for final confirmation.
She lets go.
Shortly after, we begin to move.
I follow her to the door. 'Special Class,' so the tag on the dark wooden wood says.
So if I have this right… This is the place the former user wanted to enter. For an interview with students, right? Huh, okay. Why did they put me here at this exact time? What do they expect from me? Who even are they? God? A funny god, maybe.
Everything is still a mystery to me.
Maybe, if I stick around a while longer, I could have my answer. Maybe if I go in, I'd meet the person who brought me here.
"Sunbae?"
Oh.
The pink-haired girl, whose name I have yet to get, has been holding the door, waiting.
Sure.
I'd play for a while longer.
Entering.
The room is too spacious for the little furniture it has. In the center of the room, a couple of long ruby chaise longues sit between a long white table. Behind those, a large window set with elastic-bloody drapes. The other four-fifths of the room are nothing but plain air, marble floor, and white wall. It's like I'm in some kind of experimental room.
Then these girls must be the subjects.
Only one girl turns to look at me. She has a long, layered brown haircut that hides her pale skin as much as possible. Her cute thin bangs settled on her tiny face. Cowering behind them, wide emerald eyes.
Next to her, a long-haired black Asian beauty. A Japanese, perhaps. Laptop on her lap. Her fingers are running around the keyboard and her face glue to the screen.
Slightly further away, a petite girl with abnormally long red hair—spilling from the sofa. She sits with her white bare feet up on the mattress, even sitting and stepping on some of her hair. Because of this posture, her underwear almost shows. Luckily (for her), her skirt is long enough. And just like the girl next to her, this one, I can't get a good look at her face, too, since she's covering it with a bulky black game console.
And then the last girl is dead. Silver hair. Eyes closed, her long white eyelashes standing up. Both fists above her tummy. Her pale corpse uses most of the couch to lie on. Her tranquil look was facing up to the ceiling. Is no one going to call someone to take off this body? Oh, hold on, her chest moves up and down. I was wrong. She is just asleep.
These girls have the same uniform as the pink-haired girl, except the sleeping silver-haired girl, who has a white hoodie instead.
All right… I'm done staring. Now what?
The pink-haired girl steps into the view, waiting for something, most probably words from my mouth.
"Yeah, they look good."
"Look… good?"
They are pretty. Oh, of course, including you. Five of you. You all are out of this world—my old world. Look at those eyes. Those don't look like contact lenses, like where I came from. Or it's just never is and it's been like that since you all were born?
Yes, surely this is another world now. I had a suspicion it was so when I gained a fragment of this body's memory, but now, after seeing this, it's confirmed.
Now that we're addressing the memory… Doesn't it also say that he's the third-smartest student in the Center—the city we're in? That's why he's here, trying to tutor these girls. Then, am I supposed to pretend to be that? Would cause quite a lot of trouble, don't you think so? Worse, I wasn't much of a student even back then. After all, before I inherited this body, I was nothing but a…
Nothing but a…
…
Hm, that's funny. Who was I?
Still can't remember.
I must still be in shock. Makes sense since I just woke up from a different body, after dying, of course. That was a few minutes ago.
Minutes? Is that the right time gap since then?
"Sunbae," a tug to my sleeve, "How about we take a seat?"
I find myself moving. And sit on an opposite couch from the girls. The pink-haired girl takes the space beside me. Just close enough.
The asian beauty steals a glance with her deep, dark eyes, and returns to her laptop's screen, all the while still clanking her keyboard.
"So who is this man, chief?"
The pink-haired girl replies, "Please call me Sohee, not Chief. We talked about this."
Ah, her name. So the pink is Sohee. Pink hair-eyes-lips girl: Sohee. Got it.
"Before we begin, I want all of you to stop what you're doing and listen," Sohee says.
Click. Click from the console game. The red-haired girl can't listen; her ears are plugged. Music spilling out.
Clank. Clank. Keyboard. The asian beauty did hear; she just didn't want to stop.
Fuu… a girl is asleep. She either listens in her dream or does not.
The only girl who stops is the brown-haired girl. In fact, she stops so well that she becomes a statue. In other words, she is not breathing.
We both realize that.
"Nelly," Sohee leans forward to the statue girl, "breathe."
Nelly. Brown hair, emerald eyes, shows little to no skin: Nelly. All right.
She breaks free and starts breathing in air again. Then her whole body turns sideways, away from me. She might not like me very much.
"Soh, Sohee…" Nelly's voice, slipping past her hair. "Is he…"
She speaks, but I can't hear anything. Neither does Sohee, judging by her concerned expression.
"I can't hear you, Nelly."
The asian beauty, instead, raises one of her hands while the other is still typing. "Nelly asked the same question, Chief."
The said person nods, ever so slowly.
"I told you to stop calling me that, Shizuka."
That to the asian beauty. So she is indeed Japanese. Black long silky hair, dark eyes, laptop: Shizuka. Okay, two more.
Sohee sighs, watching the girls. "Can't you guys just behave for once?"
No one gives her a reply.
Her face turns to me. Our eyes meet, and we stay for a while. She nods.
Huh, is she expecting something? I'm sorry, Sohee, right? I don't know much about this world yet, is telepathy a thing here? If you're sending me a message via your mind, I can't hear you. Can you hear me?
She raises her eyebrow.
Yeah?
"Sunbae?" She tilts her head.
I guess that's a no.
Oh, I get it. All right, all right. You want me to answer their question, is that right? Fine then, I did say I'd play a little while. What was it again?
Who am I?
"I think," I begin, "I'm to be your new tutor."
Click. Clank. And then no more. They stop.
As if I have cast a spell.
Either it was magic that froze them, or what I said was a slam to their head.
Sohee looks satisfied, though, nodding with a slight smile.
The red-haired girl takes them off. Her earphones. And lowers her game console. Deep red eyes, like a dragon portrayed in high-budget movies. Her anger is pointed at Sohee and me.
"He thinks? Sohee, this a joke?"
So she was listening?
Sohee replies, "Sunbae wasn't joking."
A tiny sharp finger jabs at me, "I sort of remember a rule saying 'No men?'"
Whoa, now, let's not be quick to judge gender here. For all I know, I could be an XX haver. Let's see… okay, never mind. There's something between my legs.
"There has never been a rule, or an agreement such as that," Sohee says, "I think you misunderstood. All previous teachers of this class are all female, yes, however, it does not mean we don't allow men to teach."
"He ain't even a teacher, right?"
"Sunbae comes as a tutor, yes."
"Why'd school send us a tutor now?"
"That is because we're out of teachers already. You people keep kicking them out after a month."
"Fine. I'll take that. But you could've just picked something we are, like, good with. A man all of the sudden. You know how they are. Look at him. Guessin' he already has two or more plans all so he's chance to fuck one of us. "
I'm sorry I didn't even have one, yet.
–control yourself, are you an animal?
Who's speaking?
Nobody in the room fits the voice of a man that just spoke to me. Something is wrong with this head.
"The F word, Varrie!" Sohee raises her voice, "Need I remind you we're still in school? Do you want me to take you to the disciplinary teacher again?"
Is that her name? That is unique. Red hair, dragon, games: Varrie. One more to go.
"Tch. 'Kay, ain't no one here likes to hear what I gotta say anyway. Sohee, my answer should be obvious."
She groans and plugs her earphones back in. Oh, and also she puts her legs down.
Shizuka raises her hand. Both her hands now.
"Shizuka."
"As much as Shizuka hates to be on the same side as Varrie is, she is in sort of an agreement with her. Also, Shizuka is going to write a complaint letter about Sohee and send it to the school. She thinks bringing a man up here is wrong. Especially without warning which is so out of Sohee's character. Nevertheless, a failure is still a failure. Maybe this time the school will listen and make a change in the person in charge of her. She is kind of bored with Sohee now."
This one speaks in third person… and weird.
Sohee crosses her arms, "Really? Okay, Shizuka. With Shizuka's failing grades and low attendance score, does Shizuka still think the school wants to hear a student like that complaining? And to let this Shizuka know, the School Administration has already approved Sunbae's presence here. So I have done nothing wrong."
Shizuka let's out a sigh, not a reply. Instead her eyes land on me, maliciously.
"Sunbae, huh?" Shizuka scans me. "Ah, like senpai…"
Hm? Sunbae is not a name? I had a feeling it wasn't; have I heard that word somewhere before? So it is a seniority title after all.
Shizuka gives me a little smirk.
"So, Sunbae? What does he think? Should Shizuka be grateful that he has come here to try to be Shizuka and friends' tutor?"
Sohee cuts in, "Of course you do. He was a top student in the Center a few years ago. The school did a lot to have him come here. And he didn't say anything about being your friend."
Yeah, about that...
"Is that right?"
"That is right, humu" Sohee puffs out a breath of pride.
Sohee, if you try to protect the former user of this body's honor any more, I might feel bad for you. He's gone now—well, not that you'd believe it if I told you that. He's technically dead, and now you've got me.