Chapter 11
At that time, the counseling room door opened, and Shyle and Mana came out sniffling.
Behind them was Megan.
When I stood up, the two children slowly approached me, hesitating.
Perhaps Megan had talked to them well. Shyle and Mana politely apologized to me.
“……Sorry, Lopez.”
“We thought it was okay because you were a bad kid who was annoying before you lost your memory… and even framed others. I’m really sorry.”
Seeing Shyle and Mana change after only two counseling sessions, I looked at Megan with respectful eyes.
Megan smiled softly and patted Shyle and Mana’s heads.
“Good job. Now it’s Lopez’s turn.”
I already intended to forgive them if they apologized.
They were still young and had enough room to improve, so I spoke first.
“Thank you for apologizing. And if I was mean to you before I lost my memory, I’m sorry. I won’t do that anymore.”
After thanking them and apologizing for my past mistakes, Megan looked at me with a proud expression.
“…We won’t do it again either.”
So I and the two shook hands and made up.
As expected, children can understand well if you talk to them properly without using punishment.
“Thank you, teacher.”
I bowed slightly, and Shyle and Mana also lowered their heads.
As we went down to the classroom together, Bill followed behind me and said to Shyle and Mana.
“Bad kids.”
Shyle and Mana flinched.
I looked at Bill and shook my head.
“No. They apologized, so now they are good kids. You said something bad, so apologize.”
Bill obediently apologized to them again.
“…Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
Shyle and Mana shook their heads, then gave me a quick eye signal and rushed into Class 2.
Bill grabbed my hand and looked up.
“I apologized too.”
“Yes, good job.”
I patted his head.
Then my nose started feeling itchy, and I soon coughed heavily.
“Achoo! Keugh.”
I sniffed.
It felt chilly…
‘It’s a cold.’
Earlier during counseling, Megan had given me cold medicine and warm water, so I had taken it, but it didn’t seem to work.
“Ugh-choo!”
Snot ran down.
“Ah! Gross!”
Bill let go of my hand and ran away.
The child was really cold-hearted.
* * *
Lopez fell ill and collapsed in bed.
Lisa and Sally wanted to nurse her and rushed to the infirmary, but the health teacher, Gale, immediately chased the children out.
This was because Watson had warned that the cold must not be spread to other children.
So now a paper saying “No Entry” was stuck on the infirmary door.
While the infirmary could not be used, minor injuries were treated by Megan.
As a result, Lopez was isolated alone.
Megan, who came to check on her condition for a moment, felt sorry for Lopez, who was groaning alone.
“…It would be better if he spoke more kindly. Why is the director like that?”
“It can’t be helped. Teacher Megan should be careful for a while too. Although Teacher Anna was clearly wrong, because of that, you fell out of the director’s favor.”
Anna had exposed Megan’s actions, saying she wouldn’t die alone.
Because of that, it was revealed that Megan secretly gave snacks to Class 3 children and even taught them.
To someone like Director Watson, who disliked spending money on the slow Class 3, Megan’s actions were annoying.
Megan sighed.
“I used my own money for everything.”
“I know, I know. But it’s better to stay quiet for a while.”
“…Ha.”
“I also don’t understand the director’s method. But what would happen to the children here if we left too? I’m here because Teacher Megan is here.”
Gale smiled kindly.
He really liked Megan’s righteous personality.
Megan smiled back at him.
“Thank you, teacher.”
“You’re welcome. I will take good care of Lopez, so please go back to the classroom.”
The two finished their conversation with bright faces and returned to their places.
Half-conscious, Lopez nodded while lying down.
‘Youth…’
At that moment, snot stuck out, and Lopez blew her nose loudly.
Paaang!
“Ah!”
The sound startled Gale, who had been staring sadly at the door after Megan left.
‘A very hearty sound.’
After blowing her nose again with a dazed face, Lopez lay down again as the curtain slightly moved and Gale peeked in.
Sweating nervously with a warm face, he stuttered.
“L-Lopez, since when were you awake?”
“Just now. Because my nose kept running.”
Only then did Gale’s face brighten.
Although she hadn’t heard anything too serious, she hoped the children wouldn’t know deep conversations.
“Go back to sleep. I will wake you when Megan brings porridge.”
“Good night, teacher.”
When Lopez bowed slightly, Gale panicked.
“No, I still have work to do…”
Lopez mumbled, using Gale’s last words as a lullaby, and fell asleep again.
* * *
Medina was secretly watching from the window.
She covered her mouth with both hands and giggled.
She was worried about Lopez, but entry to the infirmary was forbidden, so she was peeking secretly.
Fortunately, Lopez didn’t seem very sick.
If she could even play tricks, it was fine.
“Medina, let’s go now.”
Klein pulled Medina.
Medina asked calmly while holding back her laughter.
“You were worried too. You don’t have to keep watching?”
“What worry!”
When Klein shouted with a red face, Chester beside him covered one ear.
“I can hear it inside the infirmary.”
“I shouted so you would hear it.”
Looking at the two who were about to fight again, Medina sighed.
Then Klein and Chester flinched.
“We were just talking, Medina. We weren’t fighting.”
“R-Right! Nothing like that.”
“Really?”
Medina narrowed her eyes on purpose. The panicked Klein and Chester nodded rapidly.
Seeing their cute behavior, Medina chuckled and linked her arms with theirs, moving away from the infirmary window.
“Let’s pray Lopez gets better soon!”
As Medina was pulled away, Klein looked back slightly.
‘Her face was really red.’
Ah, forget it.
She would handle it herself.
* * *
Lopez kept tossing and coughing lightly.
She couldn’t sleep.
“Haah…”
Finally giving up on falling asleep quickly, she opened her eyes slowly, blinking.
The wind seemed strong outside, because only the sound of the window being hit repeatedly could be heard in the quiet infirmary.
While staring blankly outside, a burning smell suddenly came through the slightly opened window.
‘Burning trash…’
She tried to think it was nothing, but a bad feeling lingered.
‘It’s not trash burning day today…’
She frowned while looking at the shaking window.
It was dangerous to burn trash in such strong wind.
Then a faint voice was heard.
“……Please! S-Save me!”
Along with that voice, the burning smell became stronger.
Her previously relaxed eyes suddenly opened wide.
“Save you?”
Looking outside carefully, she saw faint gray smoke rising from one corner.
Like it had been waiting, a blurry scene from the novel flashed in her mind.
‘Fire!’
She had forgotten because she was sick.
This important thing!
‘Why did I remember this only now?’
She tried to jump up from her seat but staggered due to dizziness.
After sitting for a moment and waiting, the spinning floor calmed down.
Once she regained her composure, she quickly stood up again.
‘If someone is asking for help, it means they are already trapped!’
The cause of the sudden fire was Carrington.
He was a man who worked with Watson to actively participate in illegal adoption.
At the same time, he secretly kept documents and weaknesses of Watson and used them to threaten him.
In the original story, this incident started when Carrington secretly smoked near the incinerator and carelessly threw away a cigarette butt.
And on that day, the trash disposal duty was assigned to Chester and Medina.
Because Medina was with Klein, she forgot her duty, so Chester went to the incinerator alone.
While Chester was throwing away the trash, the fire spread 크게, and he could not escape until Medina arrived later.
But because they rushed in without even pouring water, both of them suffered burns on their arms.
All crises in this novel were devices to make the male leads become more obsessed with Medina.
‘But I can’t just watch and do nothing just to follow the original story.’
