It Must Be Nice Having Two Moms (1)

“I’m home.”

The atmosphere was pretty chilly upon returning home.
Mom must be working late.

I went to my room and opened the status window.
It was to re-enter the Nightmare Corridor now that the re-entry waiting time was over.

Starting Chapter 1: Nightmare Corridor.

Please select players from the list below.

You can select up to 4 people.

It had been a few days, but I still hadn’t adapted to this game-like system.
It would probably take a considerable amount of time to get used to it.

Player List

I first looked at the list of players I could send to the corridor. There were familiar names like Yang Juhui, Jeong Sojin, and Kim Geonho, and also names I hadn’t seen last time.

Kang Haneul, Bong Jiyeon.

Why were Kang Haneul and Bong Jiyeon newly added? I had spent a night under the same roof as Kang Haneul once.
As for Bong Jiyeon, other than almost having my pants pulled off today, we have no real connection.

There must be some criteria for who can become a player.
It could also just be randomly selected from people around me.

So, who should I send to the corridor today?
While thinking that, I noticed “NEW” tags next to the names of Yang Juhui, Jeong Sojin, and Kim Geonho on the Player List.

Let’s try clicking.

[Tool User]:

Can enter the corridor with up to 3 tools. Tool durability increases by 1.5 times.

Item: Eternal Utility Knife

Can stab a ghost once to temporarily knock it out. Disappears upon use.

Item: Zippo Lighter

An ordinary lighter. The light is dimmer than a lantern, but there is less chance of being discovered by ghosts. The gas somehow lasts forever.

Item: Multipurpose Room Key

A key that leads to the multipurpose room. It seems to have no other use.

Oh, shit…!
It felt like looking at game character descriptions.
This wasn’t here last time, so why did it appear now?

Jeong Sojin and Kim Geonho had it next to their names, too.
Could it be an entry that only appears for people who have been through the corridor once?
I should check Jeong Sojin and Kim Geonho’s descriptions as well.

[Attentive]:

Increased probability of discovering ghosts, taboos, and tools.

Item: Class President’s Glasses

Stylish and expensive glasses. They are custom made. Increases the probability of spotting ghosts that are hiding or concealing themselves.

Jeong Sojin had the Class President’s Glasses and the trait [Attentive].
The trait that increased the probability of discovering ghosts and taboos caught my eye first.

Come to think of it… Jeong Sojin said she saw one more ghost besides Doorbell Girl and Scissor Ghost during the last corridor trip. Could it be the result of the Class President’s Glasses effect and her trait creating synergy?

[Destroyer]:

Can destroy locks and locked boxes without keys. It takes time and makes a lot of noise, so caution is needed as it may attract the attention of ghosts.

[Coward]:

Once bitten, twice shy.

Kim Geonho had no items, but he did have an eccentricity.
It was [Coward].
A self-willed coward.
If I take this guy to a corridor full of ghosts, it’s highly likely to go wrong in many ways.
But his trait [Destroyer] looked quite good.

Being able to destroy locks and lockboxes without keys.

Thinking about how Sojin and I struggled because of the Head Ghost blocking the entrance when we were trying to get the multipurpose room key last time… not needing a “key” was a huge merit.

However, there was also the penalty of “It takes time and makes a lot of noise, so caution is needed as it may attract the attention of ghosts.”
The moment I recalled Kim Geonho being torn to shreds while trying to break the multipurpose room lock. He must have been discovered by a ghost because of the loud noise and died.

“It really is like a game.”

I felt a slight thrill and excitement.

Honestly, I had been feeling a vague fear and frustration about conquering the Nightmare Corridor.
If we can compose a party by combining each player’s traits and items like this, conquering the corridor might not be impossible after all. I wonder if there’s a description for me, too?

Item: Battery-Powered Lantern

A flashlight powered by batteries. It’s brighter than you’d expect, but there is a high probability of being discovered by ghosts.

My description was the same as the status window.
The only difference was the “Item” section with the Battery-Powered Lantern.
If I start the Nightmare Corridor like this, will I open my eyes holding this Battery-Powered Lantern?

“Okay. Let’s put together a party then.”

I dragged names from the list.
But unlike what I had thought, my hand stopped moving stiffly like an unoiled machine.

“Do I really have to go there again?”

I thought I had steeled myself, but thinking about actually entering that nightmare full of ghosts made me nervous.

I didn’t necessarily have to go in myself.
I could just throw other people in without any relation to me.
However, I had personally experienced how much of an impact the “eccentricities” acquired from the corridor had on a person, and I knew well that it cost 100 points to resolve them.

Can I just ruin other people’s lives as I please?
But if I don’t explore this corridor, I may continue to be attacked by ghosts like Lady Ghost, Death Game, and Placebo every day without knowing why.

My life.
Others’ lives.
After much deliberation, I came to a conclusion.

“If possible, I’ll start with the ones I’d feel less guilty about throwing into a nightmare….”

Let’s not go in this time and see how the situation unfolds.

Kim Yeongho, Lee Jinseong, Park Inbae.
I found the names of Kim Geonho’s lackeys, who treated me like a sandbag and bothered me on a regular basis from the player list. I also dragged the name of Bong Jiyeon, who tried to take off my panties after school today and put it in the player section.

Should I send the class president in one more time? I’m curious what changes there would be upon entering a second time.
Class president Jeong Sojin, you go through it one more time as the representative of the 1st round party.

There were points waiting when I woke up in the morning.
My total points were now 521P.
I don’t mean to say this, but it felt like I had left an auto-hunt on.

It weighed a little on my conscience that I had thrown the bullies who tormented me into a scary nightmare.
But honestly, getting points so abundantly like this was better than I expected.

What I was most concerned about was Jeong Sojin, who entered the corridor for the 2nd time.
Jeong Sojin acquired a “map” item on this journey.

Item: Map

A detailed map of the old school building’s 1st floor. It looks like someone drew it painstakingly with an unskilled hand. With this, it may be possible to go deeper. But… who drew such a thing?

“Oh yeah.”

Obtaining a map item of the corridor is great news!
Jeong Sojin is more capable than she looks.

The 4 who died acquired eccentricities.

• Kim Yeongho ◀ Select to view
• Lee Jinseong ◀ Select to view
• Jeong Sojin ◀ Select to view
• Bong Jiyeon ◀ Select to view

The 4 explorers acquired eccentricities.
They were [Gambling Addict], [Fanatic], [Gambler], and [Androphobia] respectively.

So they all died in the corridor in the end.
I don’t know what happened in last night’s nightmare… but I mourned for them for a moment.

“……”

I had no time to spare since I overslept a little. I quickly washed up and changed into my school uniform.
I should eat breakfast.

Thinking that, I went to the living room, but Mom was crouching under the kitchen table, trembling while holding a kitchen knife. She was like a cat shivering after suddenly being doused with cold water.

“…Mom. What are you doing there?”

“Youngwon, there’s someone in the bathroom! Youngwon be careful! There’s something! Something!”

…There’s someone in the bathroom?
I was the only male in the house without Dad.

Though I was terribly scared, I grabbed a nearby flowerpot with the thought that I had to protect Mom.
It was a big flowerpot.
When I slowly opened the bathroom door with a weapon in hand, my head was stained with tension and confusion.

“…Mom, what are you doing there?”

“Youngwon, there’s someone in the kitchen! There’s something under the kitchen table!”

There was Mom in the kitchen and Mom in the bathroom.
I was suddenly confused and frighteningly scared that Mom had become two.
I looked back and forth between the kitchen and bathroom again.

The mom in the bathroom and the mom in the kitchen were spitting images of a 34-year-old housewife.

Did Mom have a twin?
No, I’ve never heard that before!

Then there’s only one answer!
It’s a ghost!
One of the two was definitely a fake mom!
To think this situation would occur first thing in the morning.

I really wanted to cry buckets, but there was no one to lament to.
Now that it’s come to this, I have to solve this myself.

“Mom. Come out for a sec.”

I called the mom in the bathroom and went to the living room.
And I also took away the knife from the mom crouching in the kitchen.

“I’m… I’m the real one! Youngwon, can’t you tell it’s Mom?”
“I’m the real one! I’m your mom, Youngwon!”

A situation where they both claim to be the real one.
I pondered for a while and had a good idea pop into my head.

“The kitchen mom also says she’s real. The mom who was in the bathroom also says she’s real, so honestly, there’s no answer. So cut me in half and take half each.”

*Shook*

I placed the kitchen knife on the table and thought.

King Solomon told the ladies who came with a baby, each claiming to be the mother, “Cut the baby in half!”
The fake mother agreed, “Let’s do that!” but the real mother cried sadly, “I’ll give up instead!”

This story was the same.
The real mom would be surprised and say, “How could you do that!” and the fake mom would try to stab me with a knife to split me in half.

*Shook*

Then, the kitchen mom picked up the kitchen knife.
Her eyes were not ordinary.

“Hey. You take the lower body. I’ll take the upper body.”
“No. I’ll take the upper body. You take the lower body. Or let’s split him left and right.”

“Huh?”

Oh, fuck!
I was shocked out of my wits and chose to run away to my room for now!

“Son! Come out! You have to go to school!”
“I’m human too! Human! Please come out of your room! I believed in you!”

*Bang bang, bang bang bang bang.*

The moms knocked on the door incessantly.
I was so scared and thought I needed to somehow request help from outside!

Hey! Hey! Come to my house! To my house! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!

Yang Juhui: ?????
Yang Juhui: Is this because we met in your dream yesterday? Pervert, haha

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