Ch.17017 – How Nice to Have Two Mothers 1

# 017 – How Nice to Have Two Mothers # 1

“I’m home.”

The atmosphere was quite chilly when I returned home.

Mom must be working overtime.

I went to my room and opened my Status Window.

I wanted to enter “Nightmare Corridor” again now that the re-entry waiting period had ended.

『Chapter 1. Starting Nightmare Corridor.』

『Please select players from the list below.』

『You can select up to 4 players.』

It’s been several days already, but I still haven’t gotten used to this game-like system.

It’ll probably take quite some time to get accustomed to it.

「Player List」

First, I examined the list of players I could send into the corridor. There were familiar names like Yang Juhui, Jeong Sojin, and Kim Geonho, as well as names I hadn’t seen before.

Kang Haneul, Bong Jiyeon.

I wonder why Kang Haneul and Bong Jiyeon were newly added? I had spent a day in the same house with Teacher Kang Haneul.

As for Bong Jiyeon, I didn’t really have any connection with her except for almost having my underwear pulled down today.

There must be some criteria for becoming a player.

Or maybe they’re just randomly selected from people around me.

So who should I send to the corridor today?

While I was thinking about this, I noticed that the names Yang Juhui, Jeong Sojin, and Kim Geonho had a “NEW” mark next to them in the “Player List.”

Let’s click on it.

「Name: Yang Juhui Lv.2

Trait: 《Tool Use》

Disposition: Brave

Quirk: None

Possessions: Yeongwon’s Cutter Knife, Zippo Lighter, Multipurpose Room Key

A unstable delinquent girl with many secrets. Her personality is bold, adventurous, and proactive. In dark and sinister journeys, this girl will generally be a reliable companion.」

「《Tool Use》: Can enter the corridor with up to 3 tools. Tool durability increases by 1.5 times.」

「Possession: Yeongwon’s Cutter Knife

Can stab a ghost once to temporarily stun it. Disappears after use.」

「Possession: Zippo Lighter

An ordinary lighter. Dimmer than a lantern but less likely to be detected by ghosts. For some reason, it has unlimited gas.」

「Possession: Multipurpose Room Key

A key that leads to the multipurpose room. It doesn’t seem to have any other use.」

Oh, shit…!

It felt like I was reading a game character description.

This wasn’t here last time, I wonder why it appeared now.

Jeong Sojin and Kim Geonho had them too.

Maybe this is something that only appears for people who have been to the corridor once.

I should check Jeong Sojin and Kim Geonho’s profiles too.

「Name: Jeong Sojin Lv.2

Trait: 《Attentiveness》

Disposition: Cunning

Quirk: None

Possession: Class President’s Glasses

A popular girl who serves as the class president of Class D. In most situations, this cunning girl will be an excellent companion. At least as long as she feels safe.」

「《Attentiveness》: Increases the probability of discovering ghosts, taboos, and tools.」

「Possession: Class President’s Glasses

Sophisticated and expensive glasses. Custom-made. Increases the probability of discovering hidden or concealed ghosts.」

Jeong Sojin possessed “Class President’s Glasses” and had the trait 《Attentiveness》.

I was particularly drawn to the trait that increased the probability of discovering ghosts and taboos.

Come to think of it, Jeong Sojin mentioned seeing another ghost besides the Bell Maiden and the Head Ghost during our last corridor trip. It might have been the result of synergy between the effect of “Class President’s Glasses” and her trait.

「Name: Kim Geonho Lv.2

Trait: 《Destroyer》

Disposition: Arbitrary

Quirk: 《Coward》

Possession: None

A delinquent who looks down on the world and adults. His physical abilities are exceptionally good, making him effective at surviving in various places. However, it’s hard to guarantee he’ll be a good companion.」

「《Destroyer》: Can destroy locks and locked boxes without keys. Takes time and makes very loud noise, which may attract ghosts’ attention, so caution is advised.」

「《Coward》: Once bitten, twice shy.」

Kim Geonho had no tools but had a quirk instead.

《Coward》.

An arbitrary coward.

Taking someone like him into a corridor full of ghosts would likely lead to disaster in many ways.

But his trait 《Destroyer》 looked quite good.

Being able to destroy locks and locked items without keys.

Considering how Jeong Sojin and I had trouble with 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 that “Takes time and makes very loud noise, which may attract ghosts’ attention, so caution is advised.”

I remembered Kim Geonho being torn to pieces while trying to break the multipurpose room lock. He must have died after being discovered by a ghost because of the loud noise.

“This really is like a game.”

I felt a slight thrill and excitement, my heart pounding.

To be honest, I had been feeling vague fear and frustration about tackling the Nightmare Corridor.

But now, hope blossomed that conquering the corridor might not be impossible if I could form a party by combining each player’s traits and tools.

I wonder if there’s a description about me too?

『Name: Ha Yeongwon Lv.2

Trait: 《The Broken Clock》 《Holding Breath》

Quirk: None

Funds: 311 Points

Description: Once promising, you’ve been spending meaningless days killing time. But even a broken clock shows the right time twice a day.』

「Tool: Battery Lantern

A flashlight powered by batteries. Brighter than expected but has a high probability of being detected by ghosts.」

My description was the same as my Status Window.

The only difference was the “Battery Lantern” in the tool section.

If I start the Nightmare Corridor like this, will I wake up with this “Battery Lantern”?

“Alright. Let’s form a party.”

I dragged names from the list.

But unlike what I expected, my hand stopped moving, stiff like a machine that had forgotten to be oiled.

“Do I really have to go there again?”

I thought I had steeled myself, but I felt tense at the thought of entering that nightmare full of ghosts.

I didn’t necessarily have to go in myself; I could just send other people.

But I had personally experienced how much the ‘quirks’ from the corridor could affect people, and I knew it cost 100P to resolve them.

Was it okay for me to destroy other people’s lives as I pleased?

But if I didn’t explore this corridor, I might continue to be attacked by ghosts like “Ajumma Ghost,” “Death Game,” and “Placebo” every day without knowing why.

My life.

Others’ lives.

After weighing the options for a while, I came to a conclusion.

“If possible, I should start with people I’d feel less guilty about putting into the nightmare…”

This time, let’s not go in directly and just observe the situation.

Kim Youngho, Lee Jinseong, Park Inbae.

I found the names of Kim Geonho’s lackeys who usually treated me like a punching bag in the player list.

I also dragged Bong Jiyeon’s name, who had tried to pull down my underwear after school today, and put her in the player section.

Should I send the class president one more time? I’m curious about what changes might occur after entering twice.

Class president Jeong Sojin, you go one more time as the representative of the first-round party.

# # #

『Ghost Encounters: 3 times + 30P』

『Deaths: 4 people + 30P』

『Item Acquisition: [Jeong Sojin – Map (Rare) + 100P]』

『Nightmare Corridor Progress: 10% + 50P』

『Total: 210P Acquired』

When I woke up in the morning, points had been added.

My total points were now 521P.

I’m not sure if I should say this, but it felt like I had set up auto-hunting.

Even though they were bullies who tormented me, I did feel a bit guilty about putting them into a terrifying nightmare.

But honestly, getting this many points exceeded my expectations.

What I paid most attention to was Jeong Sojin, who had entered the corridor for the second time.

In this journey, Jeong Sojin had acquired a ‘map’.

「Tool: Map

A detailed map of the first floor of the Old School Building. It seems someone drew it diligently with an amateur hand. With this, you might be able to go deeper. But… who could have drawn such a thing?」

“Oh yeah.”

Acquiring a map item of the corridor is extremely good news!

Jeong Sojin is more talented than she looks.

『4 deceased people acquire quirks.』

『Kim Youngho ◀ Select to check』

『Lee Jinseong ◀ Select to check』

『Jeong Sojin ◀ Select to check』

『Bong Jiyeon ◀ Select to check』

The four explorers developed quirks.

They were 《Gambling Addict》, 《Fanaticism》, 《Gambler》, and 《Androphobia》 respectively.

So they all died in the corridor.

I don’t know what happened in last night’s nightmare, but… I took a moment to mourn for them.

“……”

I was running late because I overslept a bit. I quickly washed up and changed into my school uniform.

Time for breakfast.

With that thought, I went to the living room, only to find my mom crouched under the dining table, trembling while holding a kitchen knife. She looked like a cat that had been suddenly doused with cold water.

“…Mom. What are you doing there?”

“Yeongwon, there’s someone in the bathroom! Yeongwon, be careful! Something’s there! Something!”

…Someone in the bathroom?

In a house without my father, I was the only male.

I was terribly scared, but with the thought that I needed to protect my mom, I picked up a nearby flowerpot.

It was a large flowerpot.

When I slowly opened the bathroom door with the weapon in hand, my mind was filled with tension and confusion.

“…Mom, what are you doing there?”

“Yeongwon, there’s someone in the kitchen! Something’s under the kitchen table!”

There was a mom in the kitchen and a mom in the bathroom.

Suddenly having two moms, I was confused and terrified.

I looked back and forth between the kitchen and the bathroom.

Both the mom in the bathroom and the mom in the kitchen looked exactly like my 34-year-old married mother.

Did Mom have a twin?

No, I’ve never heard about that!

Then there’s only one answer!

A ghost!

One of them must be a fake mom!

I never expected this situation to happen first thing in the morning.

I really wanted to burst into tears, but there was no one to complain to.

In this situation, I had to resolve this myself.

“Mom. Come out for a moment.”

I called the mom in the bathroom to the living room.

And I also took the knife away from the mom crouching in the kitchen.

“I’m… I’m the real one! Yeongwon, don’t you recognize your mother?”

“I’m the real one! I’m Yeongwon’s mother!”

A situation where both claim to be the real one.

After thinking for a while, a good idea popped into my head.

“The kitchen mom says she’s real. The bathroom mom says she’s real too. Honestly, there’s no answer. So cut me in half and share me.”

Swish-.

I put the kitchen knife on the table and thought.

King Solomon brought a child and told two women who both claimed to be the mother, “Cut the baby in half!”

The fake mother, lacking maternal love, agreed saying, “Let’s do that!” But the real mother cried and said, “I’ll give up instead!”

This story was exactly the same.

The real mom would be shocked and say, “How could you do that!” while the fake mom would try to stab me and cut me in half.

Swish-.

At that moment, the kitchen mom picked up the kitchen knife.

That look in her eyes was unusual.

“Hey. You take the lower half. I’ll take the upper half.”

“No. I’ll take the upper half. You take the lower half. Or let’s divide left and right.”

“Huh?”

Oh, shit!

I was startled and decided to run to my room!

“Son! Come out! You need to go to school!”

“Moms are people too! People! Please come out of your room! Mom trusted you!”

Bang bang, bang bang bang bang-.

The moms kept knocking on the door.

I was so scared and thought I needed to get help from outside somehow!

「Hey! Hey! Come to my house! My house! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!」

「Yang Juhui: ?????」

「Yang Juhui: Is this about meeting in our dream yesterday? Pervert lol」