The Shaman Ghost Who Laughs and Dances (1)

“Hey. Jeong Seok. It’s you, right? You wrote this note.”

*Shhk*

I asked in a voice that could only be heard by vice class president Jeong Seok, who was distributing the money.
Jeong Seok’s gaze flickered like a candle in the wind when he saw the photo captured on my cell phone.

“What are you talking about? I don’t get it.”

Vice President Jeong Seok made an excuse.
He must not want to be caught as the snitch of Class D.

I could fully understand his avoidance.
He must have seen when Kim Geonho said, “Find out which bastard wrote the note.”

What do you think Kim Geonho was planning to do after finding the snitch?
It’s obvious.
That’s why everyone was either neglecting or going along with the bullying in Class D.

“Your handwriting is exactly the same, so what do you mean you don’t know?”

*Shhk.*

I showed Jeong Seok’s signature, which said “Confirmed.” on the hidden quest.
The handwriting was neat as if it was typed on a computer.

Finding the snitch by handwriting-.
In a way, I got the inspiration for this simple yet orthodox method from teacher Kang Haneul.

Teacher Kang Haneul had said, “Youngwon, you write too terribly to be the one who wrote this note.” That’s why I also tried to find the snitch by their handwriting.
I thought it would be easy to find someone who writes as neatly as if drawn with a ruler.

When I was thinking about how to compare the students’ handwriting, the “Group Chat Death Game” ambushed us, and thanks to that, I was able to collect the students’ signatures.

Turning crisis into opportunity!
Reversal!
These words suit me perfectly now.

“Hey. What are you talking about with the handwriting? Don’t pick a fight for no reason.”

Objection.
Of course, vice president Jeong Seok was still making excuses.
He must have thought that this “Evidence Submission” from attorney Ha Youngwon was insufficient.

“I have more evidence. Look at this.”

Take this!
I pointed with my finger to the remaining commonality between the note and the signature, besides the handwriting.
Then Jeong Seok flinched as if the clue to his crime had been exposed.

“Hey. Vice president. Do you think I am a real pushover just because I play one under Kim Geonho? You’re looking down on me too much.”

I am Ha Youngwon, the book committee chair of Class D.
I’ve read so many books that I can call myself a literary boy.

And people who read a lot of books inevitably end up writing books…

I’ve also scribbled some short stories before, and I had one habit that came from this.
It was a sort of Eccentricity that I couldn’t stand not putting a period at the end when I finished a sentence!

Habits are really scary.
“Bullying is happening in Class D.”
The use of spelling and punctuation was perfect in this short sentence.

It was the same on the signature part of the hidden quest.
“Jeong Seok: Confirmed.”
While other kids scribbled their signatures randomly or played pranks, only Jeong Seok put a period at the end with his neat handwriting.

“You. You have a habit of always putting a period when you write a sentence. It’s an Eccentricity that people who have written quite a bit have. And you’re the only one in this class who has it.”

The delinquents at Yeongji High School don’t have this kind of habit.
But… it’s also true that this alone is not enough evidence to prove his guilt.
I don’t have a decisive piece of evidence.

But Jeong Seok’s attitude was unusually flustered, and that alone confirmed that he was the snitch.
I said to him.

“Hey. If you were going to write this kind of accusation, you should have changed your handwriting first by writing with your left hand or something. Of course, you probably didn’t think someone would compare handwriting or look for habits.”

“…What….”

“Don’t be scared. I won’t tell anyone you wrote it. You should also say it wasn’t you if someone else asks, just like now. From now on, let’s say I wrote this note. Got it?”

The reason I called Jeong Seok was to tell him never to reveal that he was the one who had written this note. It’s me who wrote it… That way, I can screw over Kim Geonho quietly and effectively.

*Ding dong dang dong-.*

The bell signaling the end of the break rang in the classroom and hallway.

“Hey, damn, Geonho. Let’s go smoke! Or should we skip class? We got 30,000 won!”
“No. The teachers from the old school building are patrolling these days.”
“Ha, Kim Geonho, you bastard. Why are you acting like such a coward these days?”

I followed Jeong Seok’s back as he went to his seat among the students.

Vice President Jeong Seok.
What kind of guy are you?

May.
Warm spring.
Although it’s about two months into the semester, I was a bit of an outsider, so I still didn’t know much about the students in my class.

Jeong Seok.
At first glance, he seemed like a well-mannered young master type.
He was also quite tall for a first-year high school student and was good at ball sports like soccer.

His midterm exam scores… were they 5th in the whole school?
It meant he was the smartest kid in our class.

But to me, he was just another bystander, and I wasn’t very interested in this guy named Jeong Seok.
Mutual indifference.
You could say that.
But now, I was curious about the reason why he ended up writing this note.

*Buzz*

Then my cell phone rang.
I wondered what it was, and when I checked, there was a message from Jeong Sojin: lol.

…Damn, what’s this?
Class president Jeong Sojin sent me a message even though the class had started.
Was this the beginning of a new harassment?
She might send me a retaliatory message for slapping her in the infirmary.

Jeong Sojin: What are you doing?

“……”

What the hell, there’s more!
This girl must have found it fun to harass me!
I decided to reply briefly.

Listening to class.
Jeong Sojin: Kkk, you're lying. I can see you looking at your phone right now.

“……….”

Hey, Jeong Sojin.
What are you trying to do now?

How did you even know and save my number in the first place?
…Well, actually, it’s not strange for Jeong Sojin to know my number.
She’s the class president, so she must have something like an “Emergency Contact List” for the class.

I remember Jeong Sojin going around at the beginning of the semester, saying, “Can you write down your cell phone number here?” and handing out papers to the students.

“The class president….”

Since she has that position, wouldn’t she know this and that about the students in our class quite well?
I thought I should take this opportunity to ask.

Hey, do you by any chance know what kind of guy vice president Jeong Seok is?
Jeong Sojin: Of course I know.

The reply came so fast that there was no time for the “1” confirmation mark to appear.
This means Jeong Sojin is constantly looking at my private chat room!
It was scary and burdensome but also surprising.

Jeong Sojin: Jeong Seok is my cousin, why?

Vice President Jeong Seok is class president Jeong Sojin’s cousin?
Now that I think about it, I realize that they were both from the Jeong family.

Were they monopolizing the class president and vice president positions as cousins?
What is this, the Fifth Republic?

Jeong Sojin: Seok's dad used to be a prosecutor, he's a really scary person so don't get caught doing bad things later lolol.

Jeong Seok’s father was a former prosecutor. Past tense?
This is quite helpful information.

Jeong Sojin: If I tell my uncle that you slapped me, you'll be in big trouble lolol.
Jeong Sojin: Jk lol.

This girl, Jeong Sojin.
Living up to her two-faced nature, even her jokes, gave me goosebumps.

I'm out of battery, text your boyfriend if you're bored.
Jeong Sojin: I don't have a bf lol.

Fuck off!

*Shhk*

I covered my phone with the excuse of being out of battery.
I felt like my lifespan would be shortened if I kept texting her.
In a way, Jeong Sojin was scarier to me than the gangsters.

Anyway…
The day slowly drew to a close with that feeling.

“Hey! Geonho! Let’s go smoke! Or should we skip class? We got 30,000 won!”
“No. The teachers from the old school building are patrolling these days.”
“Ha, Kim Geonho, you bastard. Why are you acting like such a coward these days?”

Today, my day was more peaceful than ever.

Kim Geonho also shrank, unlike usual, and didn’t harass me, and Yang Juhui, who sat behind me, didn’t particularly act up or anything, perhaps mindful of the class’s gaze.

It was fortunate for me.
Frankly, my mental and physical strength was a bit drained from fighting the “Death Game” from the first period.

The time to leave school was approaching.
The frequency of Yang Juhui’s body shaking behind me also increased.

She must be getting stressed thinking that she might have to fight the kids from Class C in the old school auditorium after school today.
But I was sure that something like Yang Juhui getting beaten up wouldn’t happen today.

“Hey, a police car came outside?”
“Why again? Is it because of the missing person case?”
“Ah shit, is it because I scammed on Karrot Market?”

The police came to Yeongji High School.
No matter how notorious the delinquents are, they’re still first-year high school students.
It was natural for the atmosphere to become strange with the appearance of the police.

With this atmosphere, it would be impossible for the Class C kids to beat up Yang Juhui behind the auditorium.
No matter how much of a punk they are, would they have the guts to cause trouble with a police car parked at the front gate?

“Geonho, why are you shaking so much?”
“Hey, you bastard, you think they came to catch you?”
“…Shut up, you piece of shit!”

I was admiring my own wisdom a bit while looking at my cell phone with the contact information of the Yeongji High School “senior police officer” I acquired during the “Lady Ghost” incident.
I was also surprised that the police actually dispatched in response to the text I sent saying, “There might be an assault incident at school today.”

There are many trustworthy adults in the world.
As I passed by the front gate on my way home, I made eye contact with a familiar-looking police officer.

What if he calls me or stops me? Then it might be revealed that I’m the one who reported to the police… Then the rest of my school life would become annoying for sure.
I was worried about that, but unexpectedly, the officer didn’t call me or stop me.

Soon, the vice principal came out to the front of the school and bowed to the police officer.

“Oh my, detective. Thank you for your hard work! With you coming to patrol like this, the school atmosphere feels safer, too! This is the first time we’ve met since that… incident, right?”
“From now on, we’ll patrol like this frequently. It’s also the law that additional incidents must not occur─”
“Oh, let’s go inside to talk about such matters.”

I see.
Well, I guess I can say I protected Yang Juhui to this extent.
Should I go home today and think about the players to put in the “Nightmare Corridor”?

With that feeling, I was following the winding alleyway home.

*Clatter clatter-.*

I saw a familiar group of students entering the alley.

A girl with short hair, braces, and a skirt shortened to the point of bursting caught my eye.
Judging by the white socks on her ankles in sneakers, she seemed to be Bong Jiyeon, the tyrant of Class C.

“Hey, bitch, follow me quietly. You’re dead today.”

Where is Bong Jiyeon’s group dragging someone into the alley?
Could it be Yang Juhui?
Glancing into the alley, I could see… vice president Jeong Seok of Class D heading somewhere with Bong Jiyeon! What is he doing there?

“What about you? Jiyeon, do you know him?”

Then, someone grabbed my shoulder. *Pat*
It was an unfamiliar male student, but I could tell he was from Class C.

“Oh, I know him. Isn’t he Kim Geonho’s minion? Since it came up, should we search his pockets? How much do you have?”

You’re going to take my money?
No! The money in my wallet right now is the blood, sweat, and tears I earned through Points!

“Huh? Look at this guy? Is he resisting now? Do you have a lot of money or something? If you don’t want to get searched, take off all your clothes? Even your underwear? Stand at attention. Huh? This won’t do. Take off this guy’s pants and underwear.”

Bong Jiyeon narrowed her eyes.
She crunched candy with her braces, making me shudder.

At a glance, I could tell. Unlike Yang Juhui, this girl Bong Jiyeon is not the type of bully to joke around!
She really intends to make me take off my pants and underwear!

*Shrrk*

My pants fell down pathetically.
Shit! I thought my mind was filled with such thoughts.

“Hey!!! Bong Jiyeon!!!”

Someone shouted.
What happened next was so sudden that I doubted my eyes.

*Smack!*

Yang Juhui, who appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Bong Jiyeon’s hair and strongly slapped her cheek with her palm!

*Slap slap*

“Kyaah! Wha, what! What is it!”

A girl charging at a group of five, including boys.
When I wondered if this was possible with common sense, I remembered the Eccentricity Yang Juhui had gained.

Yang Juhui: [Boiling Blood]

The blood that boils hot like a furnace can sometimes cloud judgment. Do you know that courage and anger stem from this heat?’

Yang Juhui’s body shaking all day wasn’t because she was scared.
It was because she was angry due to her boiling blood!

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