45) Chapter 8. This Year for Sure! (8)
“Who did it?”
What was I supposed to say to that?
No—before that, what part of this situation made her think someone had bullied me?
No, no, no—more importantly.
It was a half‑crushed parrot. Why this of all things? I’d wondered that too.
“Oh, this?”
The parrot spoke.
“There aren’t many birds that can talk, you know? If I used a pigeon, all it could do is coo.”
“……”
“Or is it because of the superpower? Surprised someone can use multiple abilities? No, that’s not it. This isn’t my power. It’s someone else’s. I’m just trying to make sure the message gets across properly.”
The parrot suddenly stopped talking.
Then—
“Aaagh! Aaaagh!”
It screamed.
I’d never heard a parrot talk before, so I didn’t expect its voice to be that loud. A bird the size of a small dog screaming made my ears ring.
“Th‑This is… how…”
The parrot stuttered.
“…how I can deliver messages.”
So the person behind the parrot wasn’t Seo Arin. Someone else was using their ability, and Seo Arin was speaking through them.
The parrot panted for a while.
“So my reactions might be a bit slow. It’s frustrating, you know? I’m not seeing things directly. Sure, the words get passed along quickly, but the only way I can ‘see’ or ‘hear’ is through what I’m told. That’s why.”
The parrot paused again.
“‘S‑She’s packing her things.’
‘Really? How? Does she look like she’s about to go home?’
‘W‑Well…’
‘Why? It’s nowhere near dismissal time.’”
Muttering like it was performing a one‑person play, the parrot suddenly snapped its head toward me.
“With that kind of conversation, there’s only one conclusion, right? I thought the same. I’ve been forced to leave school early before.”
The parrot spun around and looked at the kids huddled near the hallway window—the ones who tried to run but didn’t make it out.
Then it stared at the broken window. At the kids near it.
“...Short black hair, slightly sharp eyes, medium build, name is…”
It listed physical traits. And a name.
I didn’t need to think hard to know what that meant.
“W‑Wait!”
I shouted in panic, and the parrot stopped.
It froze for a moment, then slowly turned its head back toward me.
Was it because it was a bird? Or because its neck was already half‑broken?
“Why?”
I tried to answer.
I wanted to say something logical—though logic didn’t work on her—but at least I needed to stop her.
I wanted to argue, persuade, anything.
But what came out was—
“Why… why are you doing this?”
“You abandoned me. You didn’t want to raise me. So why now?”
The parrot fell silent.
It didn’t look thoughtful. Not because it was a bird, but because the person behind it seemed momentarily stunned.
It wasn’t Seo Arin’s expression. It was the expression of the person controlling the parrot.
It must be hard to convey someone else’s emotions—especially resentment—when the target is the one who tortured you.
“So I left you somewhere safe.”
“…An orphanage? That’s your excuse?”
Her answer left me stunned.
The parrot fell silent again.
It wasn’t Seo Arin who was speechless—it was the parrot’s owner.
“If they weren’t going to take kids, why make an orphanage? Isn’t that what it’s for? If they didn’t want you, they shouldn’t have made the place.”
“……”
What was I supposed to say?
A lot of thoughts came to mind, but none of them would reach her. Not deep enough.
“Then why now?”
“You grew up pretty.”
The parrot paused, then continued.
“If you’d grown up ugly, I wouldn’t bother taking you. I’d have checked the school and left.”
“……”
“Isn’t it good for you? Thanks to me, you ended up in a nice house. If you come with your real mom, you get a family. If you stay, you get to live rich. Isn’t that great? Though it’s annoying you chose to stay.”
“How can you say that?”
Soi finally spoke.
Heat radiated from beside me.
“You’re funny too.”
The parrot didn’t care at all.
“You’re so close to her, right? Close enough to stop her real mom from taking her. Then why didn’t you protect her? When someone bullied her, shouldn’t you have jumped in and burned their faces off?”
“What—”
“That’s what I would’ve done. If it were me.”
“……”
Blink.
Soi’s eyes trembled.
“What? You really never thought about it? They bullied you so much, and you never once thought of revenge? With that power? The power you inherited from me? Really? Not even once?”
She tilted her head, genuinely baffled.
I bit my lip.
Because I had thought about it.
Honestly, I almost did it.
Even today.
“…Well, whatever.”
The parrot abruptly stopped rambling.
“It can’t be helped. Time’s almost up anyway. And killing everyone would ruin your school life. Right? Even if my daughter wants it, I shouldn’t ruin things that badly. I won’t kill anyone.”
I wondered if it was only because she wasn’t physically here.
But that thought didn’t last long.
“Oh, right. And when the number gets too big, I can’t control them as—smoothly—”
The parrot’s voice slowed.
Its pupils unfocused. Its movements became sluggish.
“Aaagh!”
It suddenly screamed.
As if it had forgotten it was in pain until now.
Its torn scalp flapped as it thrashed, wings beating wildly, rolling across the floor like something inside had snapped.
That was the beginning.
Flap—something large beat its wings.
“Kyaa!?”
Something flew into the classroom.
Not one.
Many.
A whole flock of birds.
The kind you’d see in the city—flying in a swarm.
“Kyaaa!!”
They dove toward the kids near the hallway windows.
The classroom turned into chaos. Kids crying and running, some collapsing and covering their heads, others tripping and hitting desks as they tried to escape.
The parrot rolling on the floor was stepped on. A few boys swung textbooks at the birds attacking them, then froze when they heard a sickening crunch.
I reached out, trying to help the kid being attacked—
…But then what?
What would I do with birds being controlled?
Kill them? Catch them?
I couldn’t catch them all. My arms didn’t stretch like Seo Arin’s. I could grab one or two at most.
Then kill them?
I could. Twist their necks. One by one.
I’d feel everything.
The sensation of bones snapping. The frantic struggle of a bird trying to live.
One by one.
“……”
Maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal.
People eat chickens and ducks all the time. Plenty of people kill birds for a living.
Maybe it would be strange to get traumatized by that.
But still.
Still—
Could I handle it? Without trauma?
I wasn’t that strong.
I had trauma from being touched, from being hugged.
If I gained trauma from holding something alive—
If I couldn’t even hold Soi’s or Chae‑yi’s hands—
“Help!”
Someone screamed.
Soi hesitated, then stepped forward. With her power, maybe she could do something.
Or maybe I should—
Thud.
Before either of us could move, the frenzied bird dropped to the floor.
Thud, thud, thud.
The flapping birds fell one after another. A pigeon that landed on a desk shook itself and looked around blankly.
The screaming quieted, replaced by sobbing.
And then—
I finally saw Chae‑yi standing by the back door.