Ch.207207 – Stories of a Summer 2

# Stories of a Summer # 2

The boy who returned home remembered that no one would be at home today.

His uncle’s family had gone out for dinner to celebrate his middle school third-year cousin Min-hui’s first-place ranking in the first semester.

“Come with us, oppa.”

“My stomach doesn’t feel well, so I’ll rest at home. Enjoy your meal with uncle.”

The boy refused to join them for dinner.

He knew that he would only feel awkward around them, and his uncle’s family would certainly feel uncomfortable with him present.

Fortunately, the boy needed this quiet time when everyone was away.

‘He was a strange person.’

In the quiet atmosphere, the boy recalled the teacher Ha Yeongwon whom he had met at the “Pirates Office.”

He had thought the man was very mature, but looking back now, he seemed more like a mischievous prankster his own age.

Like those students who hit their friends’ backs and spend the entire break running away.

‘He’ll solve my problem if I offer my most precious possession as payment?’

The boy wondered if the suspicious teacher Ha Yeongwon was just messing with him. Perhaps he had taken the conversation too seriously.

‘Ha… Yeong… won.’

When he searched the teacher’s name on his phone, numerous articles appeared about a man who had become wealthy at a young age after receiving an enormous inheritance.

His grandfather was a famous paleontologist who first discovered the dinosaur “Eternity Giganotosaurus,” and his father was a well-known missionary who traveled around impoverished countries with his wife.

“There are rumors that the bill to allow polygamy submitted to the National Assembly by the youngest elected congressman Jeongseok is related to his classmate, Chairman Ha Yeongwon—”

“Young heir’s love life? The popular internet broadcaster Kwon Sua, who transformed from a top idol to a gaming streamer, revealed her romantic partner is none other than Ha Yeongwon?”

“Meeting Ha Yeongwon, who made the world’s richest list at twenty-five—”

Judging by the flood of internet articles, he was clearly an extraordinary person. Someone who lived in a completely different world from the boy who had lost his parents at a young age and was forced to see and hear unwanted things.

Perhaps this person could really solve his problem, the boy thought. The issue was the payment. After much deliberation, he opened his desk drawer containing a few of his possessions.

Slide—

Most of the boy’s belongings were in this drawer. In other words, the boy owned only enough to fit in this drawer.

‘What I value most…’

The boy thought of the keepsakes his mother and father had left him.

There wasn’t anything particularly special, but the lucky charm—a four-leaf clover dried and preserved on elegant paper—was truly precious to him.

The paper had these words written on it:

—Happy birthday.

It was his mother’s handwriting.

Whenever life became really difficult, he would look at this to gain strength.

‘Can I return to a normal life?’

Could he stop seeing things he didn’t want to see?

The boy pondered for a long time before finally making a call.

# # #

Vroom—

About an hour later, a black car arrived at the boy’s house.

The young man who stepped out of the luxurious car was someone the boy recognized.

“Oh…”

“I’m Jeongseok.”

He was the man who had made headlines as the youngest elected congressman. His father had served as the mayor of a metropolitan city and had even run as a presidential candidate. Though he lost the election, he was still an impressive figure.

“First, I’d like to see the item.”

As the man he had only seen on TV extended his hand, the boy felt his sense of reality floating away to some distant place.

That’s why he easily handed over the four-leaf clover containing memories of his parents to the man.

‘Were my memories with my parents worth only this much?’

The boy felt slightly self-loathing about his own action.

However, the young congressman examined the charm from all angles and nodded in appreciation.

“A charm made from a four-leaf clover. This should make a good item. This is sufficient payment. Now get in the car.”

“What?”

“The quicker we handle this, the better. Don’t worry, all your problems will be solved before tomorrow’s sun rises. Now get in the back seat.”

Click—

The boy got into the young congressman’s car after he opened the door.

He was a bit concerned about getting into a stranger’s car so easily, but he felt somewhat reassured thinking that such a famous person wouldn’t harm him.

Now he noticed that a young woman was already sitting in the passenger seat. She was very young and was chewing gum—smack, smack.

She spoke to the young congressman as if she couldn’t care less about the boy.

“Should we go to Inje in Gangwon Province this weekend? I heard there’s a haunted house where many people have seen ghosts. My intuition tells me this one’s real.”

“Bong Jiyeon, that haunted house in Seoraksan you told me about was fake too. Don’t you remember how we suffered camping halfway up the mountain in the snow? Your information is too unreliable.”

“People make mistakes! And why are you being so cold? Can’t we just go to Gangwon Province together? You went to Japan with Jin Seoyeon. You can’t even go to Gangwon with me?”

The boy listened carefully to their conversation. The woman often initiated conversation while the man responded with indifference. What kind of relationship did they have?

Were they dating?

That’s what the boy thought. It was natural for someone his age, who was becoming interested in relationships with the opposite sex, to think about romance.

Having lost interest in the man who was now focusing on driving, the woman—apparently named Bong Jiyeon—clicked her tongue and turned to look at the back seat.

“Hey. What kind of problem are you suffering from?”

“Me?”

“Yes. Is there anyone else here besides you?”

“I…”

The boy recalled his problem. Seeing things others couldn’t see, hearing things others couldn’t hear.

They were entities that could certainly be called “ghosts.”

“I could ignore them and that was the end of it. But that girl I encountered in the classroom when I entered high school was different. At first, I thought she was a classmate…”

On that first day of his freshman year, when everything was unfamiliar and awkward, the boy chatted and conversed with a female student who was unusually friendly toward him.

But he only realized that she wasn’t actually a real student when the teacher called attendance.

“I started ignoring her from then on. But it seemed like she got angry at being ignored, so she would startle me or cause disturbances…”

Because of the girl, the boy often had to shout during class or frequently go to the bathroom. As a result, he became known as the class weirdo, making it difficult for him to make friends.

“The more I ignored her, the more she tried to talk to me. As if she wasn’t bothered at all.”

Soon, the noona named Bong Jiyeon spoke.

“You’re not actually saying that the girl is real and you’re the ghost, are you?”

Swish—

Bong Jiyeon reached out and pulled the boy’s ear in the back seat. The boy immediately cried out “Aack!” from the pain, and Bong Jiyeon released his ear.

“Guess not. Anyway, you’ve been possessed by that girl. Ghosts generally try to harm the living, so it’s best to get rid of them quickly. We’ve arrived now, so get out.”

A large mansion appeared under the moonlight.

While the boy was marveling at the fact that such a mansion—like something from a movie or drama—existed in Gaeryong City, women came pouring out from inside.

“Jeongseok, Jiyeon, hello.”

“Jeong Sojin, it’s been a while. How’s the mansion work? You said it was a part-time job?”

“I’m thinking of staying for good. Gong Yerin and Lim Huiyeon want to keep working here too. The salary at this mansion is really high.”

Housekeepers, was it? Seeing the mansion filled with women wearing aprons, the boy felt slightly embarrassed. He couldn’t believe such a place actually existed.

The young congressman Jeongseok placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder and said:

“The owner of this mansion likes young women. Under the pretext of job creation, he’s collecting women who might become persons of interest. It’s like those pretty girl collection games that kids your age play.”

The boy couldn’t understand what the young congressman was saying.

However, seeing the women waiting for them in the mansion’s garden with flames lit, he felt his heart pounding heavily.

They were extremely beautiful women.

The boy had thought that Bong Jiyeon, who had been in the passenger seat, and the bespectacled housekeeper Jeong Sojin were the prettiest women he had ever seen, but the women in the garden were on another level entirely.

A tall woman with a straight posture like a model, resembling a deer.

Another woman who looked elegant like a white crane.

And a woman who was impressive in many ways.

“Now they’re even bringing kids like this as guests? Are we some kind of playground for children?”

“What can we do? We have to do whatever it takes to earn points and fix the clock.”

“A clock that breaks again after granting one wish. So inconsistent, just like Master Yeongwon.”

Soon, the young teacher Ha Yeongwon arrived.

“Hey, it’s been a while. Two days, is it?”

“Yeongwon, look. I did balsam flower hand painting with Nayoo!”

“Please delete that recent article! The claim that I did undisclosed advertising is just speculation!”

While the women were greeting him with great enthusiasm, teacher Ha Yeongwon looked at the boy and asked:

“Are you ready?”

Ready.

At those words, the boy recalled everything that had happened. If he could drive away the girl who had attached herself to him and live a normal life…

Nod—

As the boy nodded, teacher Ha Yeongwon headed to the school with him. The boy felt a bit scared as they entered the darkened classroom of “1-C.”

It felt like they were doing something wrong by entering the school late at night.

“Stay in this classroom with Ha Yeongwon. We’re going to summon the ghost that’s possessed you and get rid of it. No matter what happens outside, don’t answer or leave this classroom.”

Before closing the door, the deer-like tall woman said:

“You said that girl wanted to play hide-and-seek with you, right? You say it. Tell her you want to play hide-and-seek. And can I cut a bit of your hair? I have a hairdressing license, by the way.”

Snip—

With his bangs cut, the boy watched through the classroom window what was happening outside.

Whoosh—

When the women burned the boy’s hair in the corridor, a strange soot-like substance billowed up, filling the corridor.

Ding, ding—

The crane-like elegant woman shook a bell in her hand from top to bottom. Then, a shadow-like figure appeared far down the corridor.

The boy said:

“Let’s play hide-and-seek.”

“You? Want to play hide-and-seek with me?”

The shadow-like figure approached gradually.

It had the appearance of the female student the boy knew well. As if they had been waiting for this moment, the women pounced on the girl.

And they began to beat her mercilessly with their fists and legs.

“Kyaaa! Wh-what’s happening?!”

The girl was truly being beaten badly.

The boy, watching from inside the classroom, was greatly shocked. He hadn’t expected something like this to happen.

“It hurts! It hurts! Help me! Help!”

The girl was in great pain and suffering as she was being beaten. Watching this, the boy felt no satisfaction. It was completely different from what he had imagined, and it wasn’t pleasant at all.

“No… I haven’t found you yet…”

The boy could see the girl’s body becoming increasingly faint.

Though he didn’t fully understand what these people were doing, he could tell that if things continued like this, the girl would disappear.

“Wait…!”

As the boy tried to leave the classroom, teacher Ha Yeongwon’s hand grabbed his shoulder. It was quite a strong grip. The teacher said to the student:

“You can’t go out now. Didn’t you dislike her? Because she was a fake that others couldn’t see. Because it was all a lie.”

“But…!”

“That’s why I told you. That I would take your most precious thing.”

The boy was terrified by the darkness that fell over the teacher’s face. It felt like he had met someone he shouldn’t have and made a promise he shouldn’t have made.

Wasn’t it this man, not the girl, who had deceived and lied to him? The moment he thought this, the boy couldn’t bear it anymore and wanted to run out of the classroom, but the man’s hand wouldn’t allow it.

“L-let go! Let go!”

“Hehe, I can’t let go!”

“Help! Save me! Someone! Please save me! Someone!”

The boy shouted as he struggled.

Hearing his voice, the girl who was being beaten by the women suddenly raised her body.

“…Wait! I’m coming!”

“She’s still fine after being beaten like that?”

“She’s stronger than we thought.”

“She’ll give us a lot of points! Let’s catch her again!”

However, the women stopped hitting the girl.

They just stood with their arms crossed or hands behind their backs, watching.

The girl soon limped to the classroom door, opened it, and finally faced the boy.

“…My friend, I found you!”

“Let go!”

The boy also shook off the teacher’s hand.

Finally, as the boy and girl met and embraced each other strongly, affirming each other’s existence, the dark classroom brightened with light and beautiful cherry blossoms bloomed.