Ch.21021 – Ghost Story 3

# 021 – Ghost Stories # 3

“Do what?”

Jeongseok seemed to believe what I said.

I quickly spoke before he could change his mind.

“We need to find a book about our school’s history. It would be even better if it has information about past incidents and shamans. They say this school was originally a cemetery. That’s probably why there are real ghosts here.”

In horror movies, ghosts kill people because they have grudges. If we could learn about the Shaman Ghost and resolve its grudge, wouldn’t that solve this case too?

“But Yeongwon, the library should be locked. How are we going to get in?”

“Hey, don’t worry. I’m the Class D library representative. I know the library lock combination. Do you think I would have called you without having a plan?”

We started walking.

After picking the library lock and entering, the dark, gloomy interior of the library loomed large before us.

Ding, ding-

The bell sound from behind seemed slightly more distant now.

“Jeongseok, you’re my comrade now. Even if you run away from here, the ghost will follow you. So we need to do our best to solve this case. Our best! Our lives depend on it!”

“……”

Swish-

Jeongseok effortlessly found a book and handed it to me.

The title was “Jeong Dosan, Father of Gaeryong.”

“It’s my grandfather’s autobiography. We have tons of these books at home, but it should have information about Yeongji High. Take a look. I’ll search for other books.”

Great!

I quickly opened the book.

And I found the information I wanted!

“During the construction of Yeongji High School, unfortunate accidents continued to occur. The Cheon family, who owned the land and established the educational foundation, suggested bringing in shamans to perform a nureum gut (burial ritual).”

“We asked a local shaman to perform the nureum gut. Known as a powerful shaman, she was skeptical about building a school building on a water vein site.”

“The local shaman eventually refused to perform the nureum gut. The Cheon family brought in a young shaman from outside. She was extremely beautiful. She described herself as a head shaman.”

“There were no more accidents, and the construction was successfully completed.”

That’s it?

Is there nothing more?

While I was flipping through the book, Jeongseok approached me.

“I don’t think there are any books about Gaeryong City shamans. Did you find anything?”

Thump thump-thump thump thump-

I heard something stomping on the floor.

“…Hey, Yeongwon. It seems like there’s more than one ghost.”

“If you talk about ghosts in a cemetery, ghosts will come. If you talk about ghosts in a cemetery, ghosts will come. If you talk about ghosts in a cemetery, ghosts will come.”

“Hey, you can hear this too, right? Now? Or am I going crazy? You can hear something outside the library, right?”

Jeongseok urged me to answer, looking extremely tense.

However, as I continued examining the book, I felt like I was finally getting a clue about this phenomenon.

“Using the mayor’s authority, I asked the head shaman of the Seonangdang shrine to perform a nureum gut. Known as a powerful shaman, she was skeptical about building a school building on a water vein site.”

This was the part I focused on.

“Water vein site… Didn’t our English teacher say that this school is on a water vein site? That’s why people have nightmares or see things?”

Flash-

As if a light bulb had turned on, my mind became clear. I opened “Easy Guide to Feng Shui” and read the section about ‘water veins.’

I had a feeling that Yu Dahui’s feng shui book would help me now!

“Shit, this wasn’t a cemetery! You bastards! This is a water vein site, right? There’s no way a cemetery would be built on a water vein site!”

Don’t build cemeteries on water vein sites-

This is something every Korean knows without having to look it up in a feng shui book.

Every event has its proper cause and effect.

“If you talk about ghosts in a cemetery, ghosts will come. If you talk about ghosts in a cemetery, ghosts will come. If you talk about ghosts in a cemetery, ghosts will come.”

The causality was that real ghosts appeared because we talked about ghosts in a cemetery.

But this school wasn’t a cemetery, so ghosts shouldn’t appear even if we talked about them.

“Get out! Get out! You bastards! This isn’t a cemetery! We didn’t talk about ghosts in a cemetery! Get out, all of you!”

I was so angry, scared, and irritated that I spewed out all kinds of strange emotions like I was purging them.

After shouting for a while, Jeongseok brought an old map from somewhere and said:

“There was a house built here before the school. A big house. It wasn’t a cemetery but a place where a house was built. Yeongji High was built after demolishing the original mansion!”

Was our fact-bombing exorcism effective?

The previously noisy area outside the library became very quiet.

Jeongseok muttered while catching his rough breath:

“Is it all over…?”

Hey!

You shouldn’t say that!

Swish-

As if my ominous premonition had come true, a silhouette appeared at the library window.

It was a shadow with long legs and deep curves.

“…Shaman Ghost!?”

Click-

The library door opened.

“Hey. What now? Why did you call me at this hour? Do you think I’m someone who comes and goes whenever you want me to?”

It was Yang Juhui.

The silhouette was Yang Juhui!

So she came after receiving my message!

I finally collapsed, my legs giving out.

Ding-

“Congratulations! You have defeated ‘Speak of the Ghost and It Shall Appear’!”

“Beginning settlement for 2 survivors.”

“You gain 200P.”

Fuck off!

# # #

We left the library and went to a nearby café.

We bought three drinks and one carrot cake, and I paid.

“Explain what happened.”

Vice class president Jeongseok demanded an explanation from me.

It was a reasonable attitude.

The reason I came to the café with them was actually to explain.

“You saw it earlier. I’m constantly tormented by ghosts and other horrible things. The problem is that sometimes they target only me, and other times they involve other people too.”

There’s a saying about fortune in misfortune.

Yang Juhui and Jeongseok.

It was both unfortunate and fortunate that they had both experienced the ghost incidents that attacked me – the “Copied Mother” and the “Feng Shui Ghost.”

After all, these surreal and abnormal experiences tend to broaden one’s rigid reason and worldview.

“Why.”

Jeongseok asked simply while putting a straw in his cold Americano.

Why-

What does he mean?

“Why do ghosts come to you? There must be a reason.”

Whether it was because of the recent “Feng Shui Ghost” incident or just his personality, Jeongseok seemed to consider the cause of my experiences important.

If I were to trace the cause, the timing of when I opened the Shop and purchased “Old School Building Opening” perfectly coincided with the ghosts’ rampage…

“The reason… I don’t know either. I want to find out.”

It wasn’t a lie.

To be precise, the fundamental cause was the strange “Status Window” that appeared to me.

I didn’t know why this Status Window had appeared to me.

“……”

Jeongseok frowned.

He was probably feeling afraid that he might continue to experience things like this.

“I know, I know. I’m not asking for help without offering anything in return. I can pay you if you help me. Don’t you need money?”

“Money?”

Yang Juhui’s eyes sparkled at my offer.

Who doesn’t need money?

Then Jeongseok asked:

“It was you, Ha Yeongwon. You’re the one who gave everyone in class 30,000 won yesterday.”

Jeongseok, this guy.

He’s sharper than I thought.

“Is yesterday’s group chat incident related to what happened today?”

“Yes. If it weren’t for me, you all would have died. I’ll be blunt since we’re here now – I saved your lives. I saved all of you.”

Honestly, I didn’t want to brag.

But I wanted to persuade these friends who had experienced the same incident. This is no time to be picky.

About a minute passed.

Jeongseok gulped down his Americano.

Then he put down the empty cup with a thud and said:

“So, Ha Yeongwon, what you’re saying is that things are happening that could endanger my life without me knowing. Rather than dying or getting hurt without knowing anything, it’s better to cooperate.”

“Oh. Yes. You’re right.”

“But why me specifically?”

Jeongseok asked me.

I decided to be honest.

“You wrote that note about bullying in Class D. It was a bit clumsy, though. If it were me, I would have written with my left hand. Still, I thought you were someone with at least some altruism.”

“Altruism…”

“Since we’re on the topic, let me ask you. Why did you suddenly write such a note?”

I was curious about the person called ‘Jeongseok,’ the vice class president. It’s good to know each other well if we’re going to be comrades on the same boat.

Soon Jeongseok said:

“It wasn’t really because of altruism. I was just trying to stay quiet in class to avoid troublesome issues during my dad’s election season. Then… my thinking changed a bit.”

Dad’s election season?

Is he some kind of politician?

Come to think of it, didn’t his grandfather’s autobiography mention something about a mayor?

While I was thinking, Yang Juhui, who was eating the carrot cake, spoke up:

“Ah. I thought I’d seen him somewhere. Jung Mansik. Gaeryong Mayor Jung Mansik! He looks like him!”

Jung Mansik…

The person on the banner fluttering in front of my house?

“Wow, Jeongseok, you’re really a gold spoon. Your dad is the mayor. This is my first time meeting a politician’s son. Can I touch you?”

“…No, I thought you spread rumors knowing this.”

“I only knew he was a former prosecutor, not that he’s the current mayor.”

“……”

Jeongseok somehow looked like he felt deceived.

“Keep it a secret.”

Jeongseok seemed to want to hide that his father was the mayor.

If it were me, I would have bragged about it.

If I were the mayor’s son, teachers would have been intimidated by me.

If I said “Water-,” the sophisticated English teacher would bring water to my desk.

“This year, I really wanted to avoid troublesome issues. So I pretended not to see you getting bullied, Ha Yeongwon. I thought it was fortunate not to get involved.”

Well…

I could understand that.

“Hey. You came today. You didn’t ignore it today. That’s enough.”

I thought that was a pretty cool thing to say.

While I was feeling impressed with myself, Jeongseok looked back and forth between me and Yang Juhui.

“So how did you two become friends?”

A bully and her lackey.

He must have noticed that our relationship couldn’t be defined by just that.

While I was thinking about how to explain, Jeongseok calmly added:

“A lot must have happened. Same for me. After getting beaten up by Bong Jiyeon’s gang, I realized it was tougher than I thought. So my mind… changed a bit. That’s why I wrote the note.”

I wondered why Jeongseok, the mayor’s son, would get beaten up by Bong Jiyeon’s gang.

There were many things I wanted to ask, but he probably wouldn’t answer easily.

The important thing is that Jeongseok and I became comrades today!

It felt like I had formed a real pirate crew.

Should we name the pirate crew? While I was thinking about that, Jeongseok said:

“By the way, Yeongwon. Last time you proudly deduced that I wrote the note. Your claim was only half right. You said next time I should write with my left hand to hide my handwriting, right?”

“That’s right.”

“That note was written with my left hand from the beginning. I’m left-handed.”

Well, well. He’s feistier than I thought.

I also learned the TMI that Jeongseok is left-handed.

“Nice. Good. Anyway, you’re all in the same boat with me now.”

Grumble-

Maybe because I felt relieved, I was hungry.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten dinner.

I thought about eating some carrot cake, but it was gone.

Yang Juhui had eaten it all.

“Yeongwon, buy me more cake. It’s delicious.”

“……”

Since it’s come to this, should we just go get a late dinner?

With that thought, I bought cake and was leaving the café when Jeongseok asked me in a small voice:

“By the way, Ha Yeongwon. You’re hiding something else, aren’t you?”

“Hiding something?”

“You said you’d pay us if we help you. As far as I know, Cheonmun-dong where you live is a place where people in the lowest income bracket of Gaeryong City live. And you’re from a single-mother household. You can’t be well-off.”

“……”

“But you talked like someone who suddenly has money. There’s something going on, right? Like how you gave everyone 30,000 won then, and today you’re saying you’ll give 100,000 won?”

…Well, look at this guy? He’s better at deduction than I thought.

Well, I did give a lot of hints.

I looked at Yang Juhui and Jeongseok.

Would it be okay to tell them about the Status Window?

“Alright. You pass. The truth is, I have a mysterious superpower. Depending on the circumstances, my superpower could be very, very, very helpful in your lives too. Tempting offer, right?”

It seemed difficult to keep it a secret forever anyway.

It would be good to emphasize that there are definite benefits to being with me.

At this point, I should spend some of the 821 points I’ve accumulated.

Let’s see what this “Capsule Draw” is all about.