Chapter 38: Suspicious Movements

For almost ten minutes I stayed fixed on the same page. I read the sentences over and over, but not a single one truly made it into my head. I drew a breath, forcing myself to focus again.

“An atlas is a collection of maps compiled in book form, but it can also be found in multimedia form. An atlas contains geographic information, national boundaries, geopolitical, social, religious, and economic statistics.”

Geographic information? Geopolitical statistics?

I frowned. Those terms felt unfamiliar to me.

“A globe is a scaled-down replica of the Earth made to make it easier to understand the original shape of the planet.”

Without realizing it, my thoughts drifted to the globe on the teacher’s desk back when I was in elementary school. I often touched it and slowly spun it, observing the colors that wrapped around its surface. The globe was always mounted at a slant, as if it had been positioned that way on purpose.

This book explained why. “A globe is not mounted upright because it is adjusted to the tilt of the Earth’s axis, which is about 66.5 degrees from its plane of orbit, known as the ecliptic.”

I let out a rough breath. My head already felt full. Explanations about the various types of maps, the meaning of colors, and world maps with country names printed in tiny letters made my head feel heavy.

Making maps turns out not to be an easy job. Everything has to be drawn by taking scale into account. The larger the comparison number, the smaller the size of the map.

Impressive, isn’t it?

Not everyone is capable of doing it. Only those with special expertise.

Since I was little, I have always been fascinated by maps and by people who can draw and arrange them in such detail. Unfortunately, that sense of admiration was never enough to make me truly understand them.

Determining direction on a map might be easy. But applying it directly in the field always feels far more complicated.

I closed my eyes for a moment. Enough. I give up.

My brain felt too dull for memorization, especially when it came to types of maps. On top of that, my mind was crowded with a single name that kept spinning without pause.

Kenn.

I closed the book with a quick motion and slammed it onto the table.

Bang!

Oops.

Only then did I realize I was in the library.

Almost everyone turned to look at me. Their expressions varied, from startled to annoyed.

“Sorry,” I said quickly, forcing an awkward smile.

A few minutes later, the library’s calm shattered again. The theme song of my favorite childhood anime, Ninja Hatori, suddenly blared throughout the room.

I froze.

Disaster.

That was my phone’s ringtone.

Laughter immediately erupted here and there. Some people covered their mouths, while others openly giggled.

I panicked. My hands moved aimlessly, my head turning left and right, searching for the source of that embarrassing sound.

Ah. The phone was in the pocket of my uniform skirt. I quickly grabbed it and immediately rejected the incoming call.

Silence fell again, but it was no longer completely calm. There were still remnants of laughter, whispers, and gazes stuck on me.

I straightened up and examined the faces around me.

Almost everyone laughed or smiled in amusement. Almost everyone, except one person.

A bespectacled girl with her hair braided into two plaits sat at a table several rows away from me. She was reading with a serious expression, as if what had just happened had never occurred. Her gaze did not lift even slightly from the pages of her book.

I was briefly curious. What kind of book could absorb her attention so deeply that even the noise failed to shake her concentration?

But it was impossible for me to approach her now. Too many eyes were still directed at me, too many restrained smiles that made my face feel hot.

I let out a soft snort.

So embarrassing. Such a great song, yet it was laughed at. Could they even be as amazing as Ninja Hatori?

My attention returned to the phone screen in my hand.

Tomi.

I clenched my teeth. Why was he calling now? Didn’t he know I was in the library?

Annoyed, I rejected the call and quickly turned off my phone before the library’s occupants truly scolded me.

I picked up the book I had been reading earlier, then walked quickly toward the shelf in the corner of the first row. With hurried movements, I slipped the book back into its place.

Before leaving, I bent forward slightly as a gesture of apology. My face felt hot. Without waiting for a response, I broke into a small run toward the door. I just wanted to get out of this place as fast as possible.

Oh my God. I really wanted to disappear right now. Today felt unlucky from start to finish.

But just as my foot was about to step outside, a body crashed into me hard. I lost my balance. I was pushed backward and fell right in front of the library door.

Bang!

“Ow.” I grimaced. Honestly, my backside hurt like hell.

Damn it. Who was that careless person? Didn’t they have eyes?

I tried to get up even though the pain was still spreading. No wonder. The ceramic floor was hard as stone.

While rubbing my backside, I looked up at the person who had crashed into me.

My eyes widened immediately. “You?”

“Ck. So you’re the one who ran into me?” The guy shot me a cynical glance, both hands casually tucked into his pants pockets.

“Don’t talk nonsense. You’re the one who made me fall,” I snapped irritably.

One of his eyebrows lifted. “I didn’t know there was a small creature standing in front of me.” A crooked smile curved on his face, blatantly mocking.

Cursed mouth.

Being near him always managed to spike my emotions without warning. Every word that came out of his mouth felt deliberately designed to provoke my anger.

And I was sure that anyone who saw us right now could already guess who the annoying guy who had just knocked me over was.

Yes, that’s right.

Kenn.

That jerk who nearly made my head explode like a bomb, especially after I found out who he really was.

“Watch your mouth,” I shouted emotionally. “Even if you’re the son of a thug, a minister, or whoever, I’m not scared of you.”

Kenn fell silent for a moment, looking at me expressionlessly. A second later, he let out a soft snort, as if tired of dealing with me.

“You’re just wasting my time.”

My head felt like it was boiling. The guy in front of me was truly irritating, from the tip of his hair to the way he spoke.

I shot him a sharp glare. “Demon king. You jerk—”

“Can you two be quiet? This is a library!” the librarian snapped, standing up from her chair.

Damn it.

If this weren’t a library, I was sure our argument wouldn’t end anytime soon. Maybe it would last until a day that never existed.

I snorted in annoyance. As I walked away, the sharp gaze of that overly fussy librarian caught me mercilessly. In contrast, several pairs of girls’ eyes were fixed on Kenn, their faces full of admiration.

I stormed out with long strides, deliberately stomping my feet to vent my frustration. That insolent guy. Annoying beyond belief. It made me want to smash that face of his that always looked so annoyingly calm.

But my steps suddenly halted behind the library’s glass window.

An idea suddenly crossed my mind.

I glanced inside through the clear glass. From here, almost the entire room was visible. The bookshelves, the reading tables, the people who had sunk back into their activities, as if the incident earlier had never happened.

My gaze slowly swept across the room.

Then my eyes caught something.

A movement that felt odd and suspicious.

He…?

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