Ghost Story (3)

“Do what?”

It seemed Jeong Seok believed me.
Before he could change his mind, I quickly said,

“We need to find a book about our school’s history. Even better if it mentions past incidents and shamans. This school was originally a cemetery, you know. That’s why real ghosts seem to appear.”

In horror movies, ghosts kill people because they hold grudges. If we can learn about the shaman ghost and appease its grudge, maybe we can solve this case, too.

“But Youngwon. The library will be locked. How do you plan to get in?”

“Hey. Don’t worry. I’m the book committee chair for Class D. Of course I know the library’s lock combination. You think I called you here without any plan?”

We started walking.
After unlocking the library door, the dark, gloomy, and eerie interior of the library loomed before us.

*Ding, ding*

The bell sound coming from behind us seemed to fade a little.

“Jeong Seok. You’re my teammate now. Even if you run away from here, the ghost will follow you. So we have to do our best to solve this case. Our lives are on the line!”

“……”

*Swoosh*

Without hesitation, Jeong Seok found a book and handed it to me.
The title was “The Father of Gaeryong, Jeong Dosan.”

“It’s my grandfather’s autobiography. We have tons of these books at home too. There should be a story about Yeongji High School in here. Take a look. I’ll search for another book.”

Great!
I quickly opened the book.
And I was able to find the information I wanted!

“During the construction of Yeongji High School, unfortunate accidents kept occurring. The landowners and founders of the educational foundation, the Cheon family, suggested calling shamans to perform a Nureumgut ritual.”
“We asked a local shaman known for her skills to perform the Nureumgut. She was skeptical about building the school building on top of a water vein.”
“The local shaman ultimately refused to perform the Nureumgut. Mr. Cheon brought in a young shaman from outside. She was incredibly beautiful. She introduced herself as the Head Shaman.”
“The accidents stopped, and construction was completed without issue.”

That’s it?
Nothing more?
As I was flipping through the book, Jeong Seok approached me.

“I don’t think there are any books about the shamans of Gaeryong City. Did you find anything?”

*Thump thump-thump thump thump*

The sound of something thumping on the floor could be heard.

“…Hey, Youngwon. I don’t think there’s only one ghost.”

“If you tell ghost stories in a cemetery, ghosts will come. If you tell ghost stories in a cemetery, ghosts will come. If you tell ghost stories in a cemetery, ghosts will come.”

“Hey, you hear that too, right? Right now? Or am I going crazy? You hear that sound coming from outside the library, right?”

Jeong Seok urged me to answer, seemingly very tense.
But as I continued examining the book, I felt like I had grasped a clue to this phenomenon.

“With the authority of the mayor, we asked the Head Shaman of Seongangdang to perform a Nureumgut. She was known as a skilled shaman and was skeptical about building the school building on a water vein.”

This was the part I focused on.

“Water vein… Didn’t the English teacher also say this school is on a water vein? That’s why people have nightmares or see things?”

*Flash*

As if a light bulb had been turned on, my mind became clear. I opened the book “Easy Guide to Feng Shui” and read the part about “water veins.”
I had a hunch that Yoo Dahee’s feng shui book would help me now!

“Fuck, this was never a cemetery! You bastards! It’s a water vein? You can’t build a cemetery on a water vein!”

Don’t build a cemetery on a water vein…
You don’t even need to look it up in a feng shui book. It’s common knowledge for Koreans.
Everything happens for a reason.

“If you tell ghost stories in a cemetery, ghosts will come. If you tell ghost stories in a cemetery, ghosts will come. If you tell ghost stories in a cemetery, ghosts will come.”

The cause and effect of ghosts appearing is that we told ghost stories in a cemetery.
But this school wasn’t a cemetery, so even if we told ghost stories, ghosts shouldn’t have appeared.

“Get lost! Get out! You fuckers! This isn’t a cemetery! We didn’t tell ghost stories in a cemetery! Get out!”

I was so angry, scared, and annoyed that I spewed out all sorts of strange emotions.
After shouting for a while, Jeong Seok brought an old map from somewhere and said,

“There was a house here before the school was built. A big house. It wasn’t a cemetery, but a place where a house stood. Yeongji High was built after demolishing the existing mansion on this site!”

Could it be that our fact-bombing exorcism was effective?
The library exterior, which had been noisy with all sorts of sounds, became very quiet.
Jeong Seok muttered as he caught his breath,

“Is it over…?”

Hey!
You shouldn’t say that!

*Swoosh*

As if my ominous premonition had come true, a silhouette appeared at the library window.
It was a shadow with long, slender legs and voluptuous curves.

“…Shaman ghost!?”

*Click*

The library door opened.

“Hey. What is it this time? Why did you call me out at this hour? You think I’m someone who comes and goes at your beck and call?”

It was Yang Juhui.
The silhouette was Yang Juhui!

She must have come because of my message!
In the end, my legs gave out, and I slumped to the floor.

*Ding*

Congratulations!

You have won against ‘Even ghosts come when you call their name’!

Calculating the settlement for 2 survivors.

You earn 200 Points.

Fuck off!

We left the library and went to a nearby cafe.
We bought three drinks and one carrot cake, and I paid.

“Explain what happened.”

Vice President Jeong Seok demanded an explanation from me.
It was a natural attitude.
In fact, the reason I came to the cafe with them was to explain.

“You saw before too. I’m constantly being harassed by ghosts or these terrible things. The problem is, sometimes they target only me, and other times, they involve other people too.”

There was a saying about a silver lining.
Yang Juhui and Jeong Seok.
It was both a misfortune and a stroke of luck that they had both experienced the “Copied Mom” and “Feng Shui Ghost” incidents that attacked me.
After all, these surreal and abnormal experiences have a way of broadening one’s rigid reason and worldview.

“Why.”

Stirring his iced Americano with a straw, Jeong Seok asked simply.
Why…
What did that mean?

“Why do ghosts come to you? There must be a reason for that too.”

Jeong Seok seemed to consider the cause of the incidents I experienced important, perhaps because of the recent “Feng Shui Ghost” case.

If you trace the causes, it did match the timing of when I opened the shop and purchased “Old School Building Unlocked” from there…

“The reason… I don’t really know either. That’s what I want to find out.”

It wasn’t a lie, either.
To be precise, the fundamental cause was the strange “Status Window” that appeared to me, right?
I didn’t know why this status window appeared to me.

“……”

Jeong Seok frowned.
He must be feeling fear at the thought of possibly experiencing the same things again.

“I know. I know. I won’t ask you to help me empty-handed either. If you help me, I can give you money. Don’t you need money?”

“Money?”

At my suggestion, Yang Juhui’s eyes sparkled.
Who doesn’t need money?
Then Jeong Seok asked,

“Youngwon, was it you? The one who gave everyone in class 30,000 won yesterday.”

Jeong Seok, this bastard.
He’s sharper than I thought.

“By any chance, is yesterday’s group chat incident also related to what happened today?”

“Yeah. If it weren’t for me, you all would have died. Now that I can be frank, I saved your lives. I saved you.”

Honestly, I didn’t want to brag.
But I wanted to persuade my friends who had experienced the same incident. You can’t be picky in a situation like this.

It took about a minute.
Jeong Seok chugged his Americano.
Then he set down the empty glass with a *thud* and said,

“So. What you’re saying, Youngwon, is that without my knowledge, my life could be in danger somewhere. Rather than getting hurt or dying without knowing anything, it’s better to cooperate.”

“Oh. Yeah. You’re right.”

“But why me?”

Jeong Seok asked me.
I decided to be honest.

“You left a note saying there was bullying in Class D. It was a bit of an awkwardly written report. If it were me, I would have written with my left hand. But still, I thought you had some compassion.”

“Compassion….”

“While we’re on the topic, I want to ask. Why did you suddenly write that note?”

I was curious about Jeong Seok, the vice president. It’s good to get to know each other well if we’re going to be in the same boat from now on.
Soon, Jeong Seok spoke.

“It’s not really because of compassion. My dad’s in the election season, so I was trying to avoid getting into any trouble by being quiet in class. But then… my mind changed a bit.”

Dad’s in the election season?
Is he a politician?
Come to think of it, didn’t his grandfather’s autobiography mention something about a mayor?
As I was thinking, Yang Juhui, who was eating the carrot cake, spoke up.

“Ah. I knew I’d seen him somewhere. Jeong Mansik. Jeong Mansik, the Mayor of Gaeryong! He looks like him!”

Jeong Mansik…
The person on the placard fluttering in front of my house the other day?

“Wow, Jeong Seok, you were a huge golden spoon. Your dad’s the mayor. It’s my first time seeing a politician’s son. Can I touch you for a bit?”

“…No, did you spread rumors knowing that?”

“I only knew he was a former prosecutor, not the current mayor.”

“……”

For some reason, Jeong Seok looked betrayed.

“Keep it a secret.”

Jeong Seok seemed to want to hide the fact that his dad was the mayor.
If it were me, I would have bragged about it.
If I were the mayor’s son, even the teachers would have kissed up to me.
If I said, “Water-,” the sophisticated English teacher would have brought water to my desk.

“I really wanted to avoid any trouble this year. So I ignored you getting bullied too, Youngwon. I thought I was lucky not to get involved.”

Well…
I thought that was understandable.

“Hey. But you came today. You didn’t ignore it today. That’s what matters.”

I thought it was a pretty cool thing to say.
While I was feeling moved by my own words, Jeong Seok alternated his gaze between me and Yang Juhui.

“…But how did you two become friends?”

The delinquent and her sidekick.
He must have noticed that our relationship wasn’t defined by just that.
As I was thinking about how to explain, Jeong Seok calmly added,

“A lot must have happened. Same for me. After getting targeted by Bong Jiyeon’s gang and getting beaten up, I realized it was tougher than I thought. So my mind changed a bit… That’s why I wrote the note too.”

Why did Jeong Seok, the mayor’s son, end up getting beaten by Bong Jiyeon’s gang?
There were many things I wanted to ask, but it didn’t seem like he would answer easily.

The important thing is that Jeong Seok and I became teammates today!
It really felt like we had formed a team.
Should we come up with a name for our team? As I was thinking that, Jeong Seok said,

“By the way, Youngwon. Last time, you arrogantly deduced that I wrote the note. Your claim was only half correct. You said next time, I should write the note with my left hand to hide my handwriting?”

“I did.”

“That note was written with my left hand from the beginning. I’m left-handed.”

Oh-ho. He’s got a bit of a temper, I see.
I also learned the TMI¹ that Jeong Seok is left-handed.

“Nice. Great. Anyway, you’re all in the same boat as me now.”

*Growwwl*

I was hungry, maybe because I felt relieved.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t had dinner.

I was about to try the carrot cake, but it was gone.
Yang Juhui had eaten it all.

“Youngwon. Buy me some more cake. It’s delicious.”

“……”

Since it’s come to this, should we just go eat a late dinner?
With that thought in mind, I bought the cake and left the cafe.
Jeong Seok asked me in a small voice,

“By the way, Youngwon. You’re hiding something else, aren’t you?”

“Hiding something?”

“You said you’d give us money if we helped you. As far as I know, Cheonmun-dong, where you live, is where people in the lowest income bracket of Gaeryong City reside. And you’re from a single-parent family. You can’t be well-off.”

“……”

“But you talked as if money would suddenly appear from somewhere. There’s something, isn’t there? Like when you gave everyone 30,000 won that time, and today you said you’d give us 100,000 won?”

…Oh-ho, look at this guy? He’s got better deduction skills than I thought.
Well, I did give him a lot of hints.

I looked at Yang Juhui and Jeong Seok.
Would it be okay to tell them about the status window?

“Okay. You pass. I actually have a mysterious superpower. Depending on the situation, my superpower could be really really really helpful for your lives too. Sounds like a tempting offer, right?”

It seemed difficult to keep it a secret forever anyway.
I should emphasize that it will definitely benefit them if they stick with me.

Now that it’s come to this, I should use some of the 821 points I’ve accumulated.
Let’s see what this “Capsule Draw” is all about.