Ch.111111 – When the Cicadas Cry 1

# 111 – When the Cicadas Cry # 1

“Wow, I’ve never seen a mansion like this in Korea before.”

Kwon Sua, visiting Yu Dahui’s mansion for the first time, stuck out her tongue in amazement at the movie-like atmosphere. I could completely relate to how she felt.

“Even my great-uncle, who was a conglomerate chairman, didn’t live somewhere this luxurious. How rich do you have to be to live in a place like this? I heard the owner of this mansion was also the one who took down my great-uncle…”

Kwon Sua was the niece of Kwon Oseong, who had been the chairman of Oseong Group.

I suddenly wondered what would happen to Kwon Oseong.

According to Teacher Hong Miri, since he had fallen out of favor with Chairman Cheon Daegon, his life was as good as over.

I was increasingly curious about the influence and limits of this Cheon family that could so easily take down the chairman of one of the country’s leading conglomerates.

—Meow.

As we entered the mansion, a white cat elegantly walked toward us.

It was Baekseol, the cat that Yu Dahui kept.

As always, Baekseol approached Yang Juhui, leaped up, and climbed onto her back and shoulders.

“This thing does this every time it sees me! Get away!”

Whoosh-!

Yang Juhui grabbed the white cat and threw it far away.

Watching this, Yu Dahui seemed slightly envious.

“Baekseol doesn’t show affection to just anyone. I’m jealous. Does Juhui smell like food?”

“Maybe I smell like honey since I’m so sweet.”

“What honey am I supposed to be tasting?!”

Yang Juhui blushed and snapped back.

Though she could be quite scary when angry… she was quite cute when she kissed me on the cheek.

She hadn’t mentioned that incident, perhaps pretending not to know about it, so I hadn’t said anything either. But things between us had definitely become a bit more awkward than usual.

Anyway, today was the “summer vacation training camp” day for Ha Yeongwon Pirates.

Starting today, we planned to stay in this mansion for at least one day to uncover the secrets and ghosts hidden within.

Earn lots of points, get lots of upgrades, and buy lots of capsules—!

That was our short-term goal.

“Let’s all unpack and do whatever we want, then meet at the dining room at noon, an hour from now.”

It seemed best to start our pirate crew activities after lunch.

According to our group chat, Jeongseok was also on his way to the mansion.

With that, our party dispersed.

This mansion was as spacious and large as a school building, with many places to explore.

“…Mr. Yeongwon. There are suspicious ghosts here, right?”

Even though it was free time, Kwon Sua stuck close to me.

Kwon Sua was a girl who had been able to see ghosts since she was very young, which had forced her to live a life different from others.

She seemed a bit scared about our search for ghosts in this mansion.

“I don’t know for sure if there are ghosts or not. Our pirate crew’s goal is to investigate the suspicious occurrences in this mansion and clarify what’s really happening.”

According to Dahui and Teacher Hong Miri, things kept disappearing in this mansion, the refrigerator would be ransacked overnight, strange sounds would be heard, and it felt like someone was watching.

Even after I had dealt with the “Invisible Hand” ghost story, it still felt like there was someone else in this mansion.

“Miss, have you experienced anything suspicious in the mansion?”

I approached a housekeeper who was cleaning the hallway.

When she noticed me, she abruptly stopped dusting.

“What’s this, Yeongwon? Are you playing detective? As for suspicious things… lately we’ve been getting cockroaches. I don’t know where they’re coming from. Can you solve that? If you do, I’ll give you a kiss.”

Ugh!

Cockroaches in this huge mansion?

I might be able to handle ghosts, but cockroaches were beyond me.

Regretfully, I’d have to take a rain check on that kiss from the housekeeper.

“I’ve been tormented by ghosts since I was young and nearly died many times… so I have something like a sixth sense. This mansion is… so… creepy. I already feel like there’s something behind me… eek!”

Kwon Sua, who had been following right behind me, jumped in surprise and trembled dramatically.

Her jumping around made me feel unsettled too.

Meow~

By the way, what was clinging to Kwon Sua’s back was the white cat, Baekseol.

The cat had apparently wanted to mark this stranger with its scent and had attached itself to Kwon Sua’s back.

“…a cat.”

Realizing that the creepy feeling was just the cat, Kwon Sua blushed as if embarrassed.

Swish-.

Soon she awkwardly reached out her finger toward the cat, but Baekseol, with a princess-like temperament matching its name, ignored her finger and quickly ran away.

Though this might have been disheartening, Kwon Sua actually seemed pleased.

“I like dogs, but I like cats too. Dogs are nice because they’re clingy, and cats are nice because they’re aloof. Isn’t it nice when things don’t go your way? What kind of animal do you like, Mr. Yeongwon?”

Animals?

Come to think of it, I didn’t particularly like animals.

Because I couldn’t communicate with them.

That was the same reason I disliked ghosts.

Ghosts don’t communicate well.

Not being able to communicate means something is unknown, and the unknown was frightening to me.

I’m scared of unpredictability.

“I like turtles.”

In that sense, turtles were docile animals.

When I have more free time, I should get a turtle.

As I was thinking this, Kwon Sua suddenly became agitated as if she’d discovered something.

“Gh… ghost! There’s a ghost outside the window right now!”

Ghost?

Wondering what she meant, I looked out the window and saw a woman walking around the side yard of the mansion. She was a woman with a gaunt face, wearing what looked like black mourning clothes.

“That lady isn’t a ghost; she’s like the housekeeper of this mansion.”

Jeongseok called her Mrs. Danvers.

Apparently because she resembled the villainous housekeeper Danvers from the novel “Rebecca.”

As a side note, Danvers hated the young woman who became the new mistress of the mansion and was a mad character who waited for the former mistress, “Rebecca,” believing she was still alive despite her death.

Similarly, this woman disliked Yu Dahui, the granddaughter of Cheon Daegon, because of her Yu surname, and she insisted that the true owner of the mansion would return.

With her long black hair, pale face, and black mourning clothes, she looked like a witch who might practice black magic.

“Maybe that lady is up to no good in the mansion. I’ve encountered ghosts since I was young, so I can tell! That lady is suspicious!”

Kwon Sua was showing an enthusiastic attitude toward our pirate crew activities.

Come to think of it, this morning there had been a big news story about “Dorangmul Girlz Suddenly Disbands.”

Their agency was part of the Oseong Group, which was currently in chaos, and there were rumors of discord among the members.

Perhaps Kwon Sua needed something to focus on, to distract herself from these real-world problems, and that something might be our “pirate crew activities.”

“Let’s follow her!”

Whoosh-!

Kwon Sua started chasing after Mrs. Danvers, and I followed behind her.

# # #

Finally reaching the garden, we discovered a flower bed full of blooming flowers behind the mansion.

Rather than a flower bed, it would be better to call it a garden.

In the middle of the garden stood a small, modest one-story building, and I wondered what it was. Vines were wrapped all around it.

Did the lady disappear in there?

“It’s a suspicious place! My instinct tells me so!”

Kwon Sua shouted.

I wasn’t sure if I should trust Kwon Sua’s instinct, but reaching Master tier as a mid-laner in League of Legends was certainly impossible without good instincts.

I also wanted to approach the vine-covered building.

But there was a problem.

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, Kwon Sua started retching.

An idol throwing up!

“Are you okay? What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

“I, I don’t know! Suddenly my stomach… urgh…”

Unexplained nausea?

I suddenly remembered a rumor that one member’s “pregnancy” was a key issue in the disbandment of Dorangmul Girlz.

If that member was Kwon Sua…!?

This could be morning sickness!

Just then, I heard someone clicking their tongue beside us.

“It’s lily of the valley allergy. These lilies of the valley are specially cultivated, so despite looking dainty, they contain powerful toxins. That’s why just being near them causes poisoning symptoms.”

It was Mrs. Danvers.

She rummaged through something in her arms and held out a small round object.

It looked like rabbit droppings.

“It’s an antidote. The Cheon family’s maids and servants always had to keep this medicine on hand. Eat it.”

“Ugh, it tastes like rabbit droppings.”

“The taste isn’t great, but bear with it. If you eat this, you won’t be affected by the lily of the valley scent or ingestion for the rest of the day. The Cheon family has built their power by creating medicines and poisons since ancient times. Impressive, isn’t it?”

“Ugh…”

Unlike Mrs. Danvers, who seemed quite proud, Kwon Sua was clearly suffering.

But the medicine worked quickly, and she soon felt better.

“Oh, I feel fine now!”

“Oh.”

“You kids. Didn’t I tell you not to wander around this mansion? If I hadn’t been nearby, this girl would have suffered all day. Haven’t you heard that curiosity killed the cat? You thieving cats.”

“……”

“This time you’ve brought a bunch of friends to rummage through the mansion. The Chairman is too soft on that Yu Dahui, that’s the problem.”

We were thoroughly scolded for wandering around the mansion carelessly.

But even while being scolded, I thought it best to ask what I was curious about.

“Do you know anything about the strange things happening in this mansion?”

“There’s nothing strange happening. Just eat your lunch, play, and go home.”

Nothing strange happening?

That was a lie.

The evidence was right there.

“It seems strange to have a building constructed among poisonous plants that cause allergic reactions just by approaching them. What is that vine-covered building?”

“That’s the Chairman’s study and private room. It’s not a place for little brats like you to approach and touch with your dirty hands. Now, go to the dining room.”

Chairman Cheon Daegon’s study?

My interest was piqued.

At the same time, my curiosity intensified.

“Why put a study among poisonous plants? Even if the antidote works well, it’s dangerous, isn’t it?”

Don’t medicines develop resistance over time?

What if the effectiveness wears off later?

Soon, Mrs. Danvers laughed ominously.

“Sometimes people are born who are immune to both poisons and medicines. Such people were often born in our Cheon family lineage. Our Chairman Cheon Daegon is such a person.”

I see. Since he doesn’t have allergies, he planted dangerous flowers around his study.

He created a natural barrier to prevent people from approaching his study carelessly.

Why?

Is that place so precious?

Is there something that shouldn’t be seen by others?

“Now get out of here! Before I kick your behinds!”

At the woman’s command, Kwon Sua and I were startled and ran away.

That woman would definitely kick our behinds if we didn’t, so we had to flee.

Only when the suspicious garden was out of sight did we catch our breath.

“That lady seemed to be hiding a lot!”

“She’s a scary lady. I get scolded every time I come to this mansion. She seems to particularly dislike me.”

While she barely said anything to Yu Dahui, whom she supposedly disliked for being a Yu, or the other kids, that woman always caught me like a mouse.

Am I the easiest target?

As I was feeling a bit wronged, Kwon Sua spoke.

“But I don’t think she’s a bad person. If she hadn’t given me the medicine, I don’t know what would have happened to me. My throat was swelling, and I felt nauseous.”

Was it that serious?

Come to think of it, I wasn’t affected by the lily of the valley pollen. I had always been resistant to allergies and colds, except for my ghost allergy.

That meant… I could be the one to break through that natural barrier and search the Chairman’s study. Should I sneak in tonight when everyone is asleep?