Ch.129129 – Flood 2

# 129 – The Flood # 2

According to the internet, arachnophobia is the most common phobia in the world.

It’s so common that more people suffer from it than acrophobia.

One in nine adults has arachnophobia.

In our pirate crew, Yang Juhui had arachnophobia.

For our team that needed to conquer the third floor, Juhui’s poor condition was the worst possible situation.

“What is it?”

Seemingly displeased about being called behind the secret base building, Yang Juhui asked indifferently.

She kicked a random stone on the ground with her sneaker.

I looked around.

There were no ears or eyes besides Yang Juhui and me.

“Right now, it’s just you and me here. So be honest. Juhui, why are you afraid of spiders? I really need to know the reason today.”

“Everyone has things they’re afraid of.”

Hmph.

Yang Juhui snorted primly.

As she said, everyone has weaknesses and things they fear.

But I recalled Yang Juhui’s reaction on the third floor last time.

When I asked about her fear of spiders, she suffered as if experiencing severe nausea.

I didn’t think this was just a simple phobia.

“You want to find your sister, right? If you can’t overcome your fear, we could all be in danger. Juhui, you know you’re our key player.”

Slowly, Yang Juhui opened her narrow eyes and looked at me.

Her crossed arms conveyed a sense of exclusive rejection.

Yang Juhui’s heart was unusually tightly closed.

She had an attitude of not wanting to talk about her weakness.

Yang Juhui was tough on the outside but soft on the inside.

Unlike her cool appearance and behavior, she had many worries and secrets in her heart.

She was the opposite of Yu Dahui, who appeared delicate but was strong inside, and different from Kwon Sua, who seemed fragile both inside and out.

“Fine. I’ll tell you why. But on one condition. You have to tell the truth about what happened with Yu Dahui. If you want to hear about someone else’s shame, you should reveal your own.”

“Dahui?”

“I’m talking about what happened in elementary school.”

So that’s her approach.

Just as Yang Juhui feared spiders, I feared things from the past.

For me, the past was like a box where I discovered something frightening inside and closed the lid.

Yang Juhui’s words were essentially asking me to lift that lid and show the contents to everyone, which made me feel uncomfortable and uneasy.

Honestly, it’s not easy.

“Sharing fears…”

We had shared our dreams at Yu Dahui’s mansion.

But we didn’t know what each other feared or what thoughts we carried through life.

Suddenly, I remembered something an elder pastor in Seoul told me. Those who want to talk about heaven should also be able to talk about devils and ghosts.

If we wanted to talk about dreams, we should also talk about devastating failures and fears.

After much deliberation, I made my decision.

“Alright. After we drive out the ghosts from Sua’s house, I’ll tell everyone everything I remember about what happened during summer vacation in sixth grade. You do the same.”

I extended my pinky finger to Yang Juhui.

After contemplating for a while, she uncrossed her arms and linked her pinky with mine.

# # #

This was my second visit to Kwon Sua’s house.

The first time was because of Kwon Suho, wasn’t it?

“Come to think of it, how is Kwon Suho… your cousin brother?”

I asked Kwon Sua about her cousin brother Kwon Suho.

For me, Kwon Suho was close to being a bad connection.

Objectively speaking, he was a bad guy.

But Kwon Sua had said that Suho was a good family member in many ways.

“He’s still in the hospital. He hasn’t regained consciousness.”

Unconscious, huh.

This wasn’t something I could ignore.

If two Quirks accumulated, we might end up the same way.

“Look at that. The utility pole has fallen.”

Bong Jiyeon pointed to a collapsed wall and utility pole.

The sight of crows perched on the chaotic garbage dump also seemed ominous.

A mess.

Was there a better word to describe the current state of the world?

Honestly, it was impossible not to feel responsible.

I felt like I had made the world this way.

What would happen if everyone found out?

It’s frightening.

But that’s precisely why I couldn’t stop moving forward.

Whatever happens, I’ll go all the way and take responsibility.

They say if you go to the end, any wish will be granted.

Ding-dong.

Ding-dong.

As we opened the door and entered, the Shiba dog Wangwang barked.

“Woof woof!”

“My daughter, welcome home. Are these people your friends?”

An older man sitting on the sofa stood up to greet us.

He was a man wearing glasses, and his face seemed familiar.

Was he Kwon Sua’s father?

“Hello. My name is Ha Yeongwon. We are indeed Sua’s friends and also…”

Meeting a friend’s father was an unfamiliar experience, making me awkward.

While I was fidgeting, Bong Jiyeon asked:

“Hey. What are you mumbling about?”

“What do you mean? Sua’s father is right here…”

Gasp.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that others might not be able to see what I was seeing.

I started to feel scared, and cold sweat ran down my back when Kwon Sua said:

“My father passed away when I was in elementary school.”

Then what is that?

A ghost pretending to be her father?

Should we exorcise it?

Kwon Sua had said the ghost she saw at home was a young female ghost with a high school girl vibe.

As I was confused, Kwon Sua sighed deeply.

“Let’s go into the room. Those girls… they’re probably in my room.”

We opened the door to Kwon Sua’s room and entered.

I felt complex and subtle emotions thinking about entering the room of a girl who was once a popular idol, though now retired.

A feeling of fear mixed with various expectations about the ghost that might be inside.

Creeeeak.

Such expectations immediately vanished when we opened the door and were hit by the smell that wafted out.

“Ugh, what is this smell?”

I felt like vomiting from the unexpected stench attack.

It was a smell I had never experienced before, and everyone seemed to feel the same way.

It was so painful to enter the room that tears came to my eyes.

“Hey! What do we do? I can’t go in!”

“It’s a strong smell.”

Only Yu Dahui, with her elegant dignity, offered a modest comment.

“I’ll go in.”

Yu Dahui alone would go in?

I looked around for any potential dangers.

Then I took a frying pan from the kitchen and placed it in Dahui’s hand.

“If anything happens, hit it hard with this!”

Nod.

Yu Dahui went into the room.

After a while, we heard women screaming “Aaaack!” followed by metallic sounds like someone hitting a gong or cymbal: clang-clang.

『Congratulations! You have defeated ‘Nameless High School Girls’!』

『Beginning settlement for 6 survivors.』

『You gain 300P.』

Only 300 points for six people?

Of course, 300 points was a significant number, but I thought it would have been nice if we could have earned 600P.

These must have been minor ghosts that don’t give many points.

So there were no injuries and no real problems…

I looked at the man sitting in the living room.

More precisely, the ghost of a man.

“Wow, our Sua brought all her friends home. Dad wants to do something for you, but I’m not sure what would be good.”

Kwon Sua said her father was dead.

Is that the ghost of Kwon Sua’s father?

Or an imitation?

Either way, it was a ghost.

If we defeated it, we could earn points.

I pulled out a golf club that I spotted nearby.

I wasn’t sure why there was a golf club in an idol’s officetel, but it was perfect as a self-defense weapon.

“No!”

At that moment, Kwon Sua ran to me and grabbed my arm.

The enormous pressure on my arm snapped me back to my senses.

“Why?”

“……”

Kwon Sua didn’t speak.

But I could vaguely understand her feelings.

Jeongseok said:

“If that’s Sua’s father, wouldn’t it be better to exorcise him? Ghosts remaining means they haven’t found peace. Using the Mercenary Corps system in the status window, we can help ghosts find peace.”

Exorcise Kwon Sua’s father and then use the Mercenary Corps system to help him find peace—

It was indeed a judgment worthy of a cool strategist.

But Kwon Sua shook her head vigorously.

“No!”

“……”

“……”

We could only stare at each other’s faces blankly.

For us, ghosts were always something to be exorcised.

Yang Juhui frowned and said:

“If we leave it like this and it becomes dangerous… Even if it’s her father, there’s no law saying ghosts can’t harm living people. Ancestral ghosts torment the living if they don’t receive proper ancestral rites or if they don’t like their burial place.”

“No!”

Kwon Sua’s will was firm.

Come to think of it, Kwon Sua had mentioned being uncomfortable with high school girl ghosts hanging around her house, but she hadn’t said anything about her father.

She doesn’t want to see him being exorcised.

Soon, Yu Dahui spoke:

“Wouldn’t it be okay to leave him be for now? We’re keeping Blackie, who’s also ghost-like.”

Blackie?

I thought it was a strange name, but I realized it was Yu Dahui’s name for our lizard ‘Giganoto.’

She was saying that Giganoto is also somewhat ghost-like, but we keep him—

She seemed to be asking what’s wrong with a former idol high school girl keeping her father’s ghost.

Hearing that, it made sense.

Our house’s Giganoto was also somewhat ghost-like, but he was a good creature that chased away cockroaches.

If we left Giganoto alone but drove away Kwon Sua’s father… that would be hypocritical.

Can’t be helped. Let me consolidate opinions like a proper leader.

“Then let’s decide by vote. Raise your hand if you think we should beat Kwon Sua’s father with a golf club.”

No one.

That’s how Kwon Sua’s father survived.

“Hello. My name is Ha Yeongwon.”

“There’s cola and ice cream in the refrigerator, help yourselves.”

“Um… could we talk for a bit?”

“Only take one ice cream each.”

Our conversation seems oddly misaligned.

Is it not possible to have a conversation?

It was a bit eerie.

“If you’ve finished your ice cream, go to Buldansa. That place is the best to avoid the flood in Gaeryong. When I was young, I used to play there with my brother.”

Flood?

What flood?

I felt like I’d heard the name Buldansa somewhere before.

Then I remembered the disaster text message.

“Guys, didn’t they say Buldansa was a non-existent temple?”

“That’s right.”

“Then what about the address? What was the address from the disaster text?”

“That’s our school address. Sacheon Road.”

I was surprised by Bong Jiyeon’s indifferent comment.

Really?

I didn’t know.

But if “Buldansa” was a real temple as this ghost man said?

I wanted to go to the school.

“Guys, let’s go to the school. Quickly!”

Of course, the school I was referring to was the actual Old School Building.

There must be something more there that we don’t know about.

We caught taxis and headed quickly to the Old School Building. Yang Juhui asked:

“Hey, what is it? Why are you moving so hastily?”

“Actually… I thought it was strange. About your sister. She said she went to the school basement to find something round, right? Why the basement? Why? I was thinking about that. Why the basement—”

Yu Dahui said she had met Yang Juhui’s sister in elementary school.

They explored the Old School Building’s basement together.

The Old School Building’s basement.

I thought it was nothing special…

“Hey, are we really going in here? It’s locked! Let’s just go back! This place gives me the creeps!”

Bong Jiyeon trembled.

The Old School Building with crows perched on it in broad daylight must have looked eerie, like a giant tombstone rising from hell. I thought so too.

But there was something I wanted to confirm.

“Ghosts are the opposite of living things, right? In reverse. This Old School Building and the Old School Building we explored in the Nightmare Corridor are connected. If it’s the opposite, then…?”