Behind the round glasses, the unusual pink eyes study my face.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.
Don't 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.
Her head turns 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.
Have no idea how I got here. Or who put me here. Or why. Who even are they? God? A funny god, maybe.
The answer could be behind that door.
"Sunbae?"
Oh.
The pink-haired girl, whose name I have yet to get, has been holding the door, waiting.
I enter.
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 except one who has a white hoodie instead.
The pink-haired girl steps into the view, waiting for something, most probably words from my mouth.
All I have is questions.
"I'm here for an interview?"
"That, that's right Sunbae."
"And I'm Sunbae?"
"Um…"
For what I can gather, apparently. I'm here to be a tutor. No idea how that's going to end. After all, before I inherited this body, I was nothing but a…
Nothing but a…
…
Hm, that's funny. Who was I before this?
I must still be in shock.
Makes sense since I just did wake up in a different body, after dying.
That was a few minutes ago.
Minutes.
No, doesn't sound right.
"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. Clank. Clank.
The only girl who does stop and listen 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."
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.
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."
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.
"Go on. Say the reason you're here."
I do as she said.
"I think, 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 her earphones off and lowers her game console.
Deep red eyes, like a dragon portrayed in high-budget movies.
Her wrath is pointed at us.
"He thinks? Sohee, this a joke?"
"Sunbae wasn't joking."
A tiny sharp finger jabs at me, "I sort of remember a rule saying 'No men?'"
"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."
"The school do that now?"
"That is because we're out of teachers already. You people keep kicking them out after a month."
"Then why can't it be a female tutor?"
"Varrie, I don't know anyone else to call. Sunbae is the best I got."
"Tch. 'Kay. No, then."
She plugs her earphones back in. Oh, and also, her legs down.
Shizuka raises her hand. Both her hands..
"Shizuka."
"As much as Shizuka hates to be on the same side as Varrie is, she is in sort of an agreement with her."
Varrie shift slightly.
"Also, Shizuka is going to write a complaint letter about this and send it to the school. She thinks bringing a man up here is wrong. Especially without warning which is so out of Chief's character."
"So-hee."
"Nevertheless, a failure is still a failure. Maybe this time the school will listen and make a change. She is kind of bored with pink now. How about something blue?"
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 lets out a sigh, not a reply. Instead her eyes land on me, maliciously.
"Sunbae, huh?" Shizuka scans me. "Ah, like senpai…".
She 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.