Ch.146146 – Recycling the Severed Head

# 146 – Recycling a Severed Head

A strange, peculiar smell wafted from outside the shop.

Thanks to my experience at the mansion, I recognized it as gunpowder.

When I ran toward the source of the sound, I found Ms. Hong Miri and Yang Juhui breathing heavily.

“What happened to everyone?”

“A ghost appeared, so we shot it. It was a strange man.”

Was it an onmyoji?

Onmyoji were beings who could recite strange incantations to force us to use our talismans.

“Is that guy… dead?”

“He screamed and ran away.”

I was relieved that everyone seemed to be safe.

We also discovered that guns were effective against the monsters on the third floor, which was a significant gain.

We returned to the shop carrying the “Spider Woman’s Arm.”

I intended to sell this arm that had fallen from the Gandara shaman to the shop.

When I placed the arm in the basket, text appeared.

『Would you like to sell this item? Once sold, items are permanently lost.』

『Yes/No』

“Yes.”

Clink-!

And instead of the arm, shining coins fell into the basket. Well, to be precise, I only heard the sound of coins falling, and the payment was deposited directly into my status window.

『You have successfully sold the “Flower Tattoo Arm.”』

『You have acquired 1,000P.』

『Funds: 1,160』

Wow, what the-!

1,000P?

I felt great about receiving so many points, whatever they were.

On the other hand, I wondered, ‘Could this have been an incredibly valuable item?’

‘Maybe I should have kept it instead of selling it.’

It was too late now.

This shop had no refund system.

I decided to use the accumulated points to purchase Bong Seyeon’s head.

「Someone’s Lost Head: This is someone’s lost head. With a special method, you might be able to hear an interesting story. 1,000P」

Clink-!

The exact amount I had received from selling the arm disappeared.

It was disappointing in many ways, but obtaining the head was our objective, so…

“It’s been purchased, right?”

Swish-.

Yang Juhui picked up Bong Seyeon’s head.

Bong Seyeon’s head still didn’t move at all.

I suppose it was fortunate that the head wasn’t moving around.

“How can we hear a mysterious story from this head? What’s the special method? Does anyone have any ideas?”

I asked everyone around me.

At one point, my eyes met with Dahui’s, and it felt awkward.

My face started burning up.

It was because I remembered what happened earlier.

Dahui had said she would curse me so I wouldn’t be able to forget about her. I really felt like I was under some strange curse.

“……”

Yang Juhui looked at me with narrowed eyes.

She glanced back and forth between Yu Dahui and me, then made an expression of displeasure.

Could she have found out about Dahui kissing me?

No, that’s impossible.

It’s not like there are CCTV cameras here.

But why did I feel like I had done something wrong?

It reminded me of when I secretly took a 1,000 won bill from my mom’s pocket when I was young—that feeling of doing something I shouldn’t have done in secret.

“……”

“……”

While Yu Dahui and Yang Juhui were looking at each other with their mouths shut, creating a strange atmosphere, Ms. Hong Miri spoke up.

“Wait a minute. I might be able to do something.”

Ms. Hong Miri had a choker resembling a black ribbon around her neck.

When she removed it, a mark appeared where her head had been severed by something very sharp.

“Teacher, what are you trying to do?”

“Hong Yeri is so noisy that I lend her my body for about an hour each week. Maybe I can do the same with this head? Wait a moment—”

Crack, crack-crack-.

Ms. Hong Miri pulled her head upward as if removing a helmet.

A terrifying sound came from the severed surface, more horrific than I had imagined, and finally Ms. Hong Miri’s head fell off and landed in her hands.

“Ugh!”

I was so shocked I almost stopped breathing.

Wait, is that even possible?

Ms. Hong Miri soon handed her head to me.

She didn’t say anything, but it felt like she was saying, “Hold this for me.”

I was so scared I thought I might wet myself.

Having to hold Ms. Hong Miri’s head like some rugby ball!

Swish-.

After handing me her head, the teacher connected Bong Seyeon’s head to her neck.

As everyone tensed up wondering what would happen next, Bong Seyeon’s eyes suddenly opened wide.

They were terrifying eyes, completely black with no whites visible.

“Eek!”

When I gasped, Bong Seyeon’s face turned toward me.

Soon after, she looked at her hands and arms with confusion and said:

“This isn’t my body?”

…She can tell it’s not her body?

It was amazing that she could speak at all.

“Um, you’re Bong Seyeon, right?”

“Who are you?”

“I’m… Ha Yeongwon. You know Jeongseok, right? I’m Jeongseok’s friend. And I’m Yang Juhui’s friend, and sort of Bong Jiyeon’s friend…”

“Jiyeon’s friend?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m sure this situation is very confusing for you. It must be hard to understand.”

“Where’s Dohui? Where’s Yang Dohui? She was with me.”

Yang Dohui?

Yang Dohui was Yang Juhui’s sister’s name.

Was Yang Dohui with Bong Seyeon?

This was truly fascinating information.

“Dohui is…”

“…My sister is alive, right?!”

Yang Juhui reacted intensely.

Bong Seyeon flinched as if greatly surprised, then her lips trembled.

“I can’t remember clearly. What happened? I only remember Dohui being grabbed by a strange man and going down the stairs…”

Grabbed by a man and went down the stairs?

I wanted to hear more, but Bong Seyeon’s head suddenly fell to the floor.

I tried to reattach it, but it wouldn’t work.

With no other choice, I returned Ms. Hong Miri’s head to her body.

It felt exactly like swapping head pieces on a Lego figure.

Ms. Hong Miri said:

“The compatibility with the body wasn’t good, so it fell off quickly. Hong Yeri and I are twins, so we have good compatibility, but Bong Seyeon is a stranger.”

I see.

How fascinating.

Anyway, I pondered what I had heard from Bong Seyeon.

“Grabbed by a man and went down the stairs—. This seems like it could be a hint.”

Went down the stairs.

Does that mean they went to the second floor?

Or…

“It might be referring to the old school building in reality. In the real old school building, you can go to the next floor via descending stairs. It might mean they went further down to the basement of Buldan Temple in reality…”

It was just my deduction, but it seemed quite plausible.

So what should we do now?

Should we continue searching the third floor?

I thought hard about it and made a decision.

“I’m going to escape for now.”

Getting the gun and the head was already a significant achievement.

It seemed like a good idea to retreat at this point.

###

“Congratulations! You have safely returned from the Nightmare Corridor!”

“Beginning settlement for 4 survivors.”

The settlement began.

Clink-clink-clink-.

With the sound of countless coins falling, text appeared before me like ending credits.

I gained 400P as the basic reward for 4 people escaping.

And the progress rate for the Nightmare Corridor increased significantly.

“Nightmare Corridor Progress Rate: 10% + 100P”

“Total: 550P”

I earned 550P from this expedition.

And my Nightmare Corridor progress rate is now 75%.

I guess you could say I’ve conquered about three-quarters of the corridor.

After escaping the corridor, my funds were 710P.

Thanks to the rabbit piggy bank, I gained 100P, bringing my total funds to 810P.

“This is going more smoothly than expected.”

Compared to when I first entered the corridor and struggled with everything, many things were familiar now.

I even had 10 escape talismans.

“I’ve grown.”

With a surprisingly light and refreshed feeling, I came out to the living room where Giganoto, the lizard clinging to the rectangular aquarium, welcomed me.

He opened his mouth wide and wagged his tail from side to side, which was cuter than I expected.

“Have you been well?”

—Geck-geck-.

“Did Mom go out?”

—Gecko.

On this hot summer morning, feeling restless, I used my phone to summon the pirate crew members to our secret base.

I planned to tell them about the results of yesterday’s expedition.

Ding-dong-.

Just then, our doorbell rang.

Wondering what it could be, I opened the door and found a box placed outside.

It was a rectangular styrofoam box.

When I opened the packaging, a human head emerged from inside.

“Holy crap!”

It was a real human head.

Bong Seyeon’s head!

I had been feeling refreshed until just now, but the head nearly made me wet myself.

To think they would deliver it to reality.

‘Was it sent from the “Winding” shop?’

How could I receive an item obtained from the corridor in reality?

“Oh, geez…”

I carefully placed Bong Seyeon’s head back in the box.

This… would probably make Bong Jiyeon happy.

While trying to calm my heart, which was beating so hard it hurt, and changing my clothes, someone rang the doorbell again.

When I opened the door, Yang Juhui was standing there casually, showing off her legs in short hot pants to keep cool.

“It’s so hot!”

“Yeah, it is. Come in. It’s even hotter inside.”

“What are you saying!”

Today’s perceived temperature was supposed to be around 37 degrees Celsius.

I was thinking how fortunate it was that our secret base had air conditioning when Yang Juhui asked me:

“Yesterday. Something happened between you and Yu Dahui, right?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Something happened, didn’t it? When Ms. Hong Miri and I were bringing back the arm.”

Yang Juhui’s intuition was truly uncanny.

I heard her grandmother was such an impressive shaman that she had studied in Japan.

Perhaps Yang Juhui inherited some of that intuitive ability.

“Tell me honestly. If you tell the truth, I won’t get mad. But if you lie or try to hide it and I find out, I’ll be angry. What happened?”

Yang Juhui sat in a chair at the dining table with her arms crossed and asked me.

Tap, tap-.

The colorful socks on her feet were swinging in a rather irritable manner.

I decided to be honest.

“Dahui kissed me.”

“You crazy bastard!”

“Hey! You said you wouldn’t get mad!”

“I’m not mad right now! If I were really mad, you’d be rolling on the floor by now!”

“That’s true. Anyway, I didn’t initiate it—Dahui did! Don’t misunderstand!”

“I know! Like you’d have the courage for that? That Yu Dahui is something else. That fox-like girl. I never understood what she was thinking.”

The relationship between Yang Juhui and Yu Dahui was still not good.

Despite crossing many life-and-death situations together, they showed no signs of becoming closer.

If this continues, our unity will break.

This is why they say not to date in college or at work. When people in a group start fighting over romantic feelings, there’s really no solution.

I should try to comfort Yang Juhui.

“A kiss isn’t a big deal. Juhui, you kissed me on the cheek before too.”

“…!”

Yang Juhui’s face turned bright red.

I added a few more words:

“Don’t you remember when we bathed together and shared the same blanket? I think I’ve spent deeper time with you than with Dahui.”

“…Forget about that!”

If I provoked her any further, Yang Juhui might really get angry.

Her face was extremely red, like a tomato.

Yang Juhui was so angry and embarrassed that her eyes were even welling up with tears.