Ch.22022 – Formation of the Eternal Pirates 1

# 022 – Formation of Yeongwon’s Pirates # 1

The first meeting was at a cafe, and while we were deciding on a second location, I got a message from my mom.

“Mom’s Group Chat: Mom won’t be able to come home tonight because of work lol~ Since my son probably won’t be able to wake up tomorrow morning, I’ll call you~”

It was a text saying my mom would be pulling an all-nighter at work.

She’s been so busy lately that we barely had time to see each other.

She expects me to stay alone in a house with cockroaches and ghosts?

Every time Mom’s been away, ghosts have appeared.

It was absolutely terrifying.

“Hey guys. Let’s go to my place for round two. You might as well sleep over. Just stay at my place tonight. Mom’s not home, so there are extra rooms.”

I invited my classmates to my home while simultaneously asking them to sleep over.

If ghosts suddenly appeared in the house, having friends around would make it a little more bearable.

“Hey, you guys will sleep over, right? Please!”

I asked again while looking at the crumbling villa building.

Jeongseok sent a message to someone and calmly replied.

“I told them I might stay over.”

Great, great!

As I happily climbed the stairs, Jeongseok frowned, hesitating to follow.

“Do we really have to walk up to the fourth floor?”

“How else would we get up there? Want me to carry you?”

“…”

Is it because he’s from a wealthy family?

He looked around as if he couldn’t understand the concept of walking up four flights of stairs.

But eventually, he resigned himself and started climbing.

When we reached the third floor, Jeongseok asked:

“Is Yang Juhui okay with this? Her mom came to school when she stayed out overnight last time. If she stays out again, won’t her mom really make her drop out this time?”

Now that he mentioned it, that was true.

When Deaconess Kim Yeook stormed into our classroom with scissors, threatening to cut off Yang Juhui’s hair, we were all completely intimidated.

If she found out Juhui was staying overnight with me and Jeongseok… would she rip our heads off? Jeongseok might even get butchered.

“It’ll be fine! My mom likes Yeongwon. He’s a pastor’s son. If she knows she’s with him, she’ll actually be happy about it. She won’t mind if I stay over.”

I see.

It seemed I had unknowingly scored points with Deaconess Kim Yeook. In any church, deaconesses tend to treat pastors’ sons like their own.

“Yeongwon is a pastor’s son?”

Jeongseok looked at me with bright eyes.

“I thought you were from a single-mother household.”

“Every family has its circumstances. Anyway, come in.”

Jeongseok didn’t pry further or press the issue, keeping his mouth shut. Maybe it was because he was smart, or perhaps he just had good manners.

Beep, beep beep-

When I unlocked the door and went in, everything was dark.

Click-

When I turned on the lights, the complete mess inside became visible.

“Oh right. I left for school without cleaning all this up.”

These were the remnants of this morning’s chaotic fight with the copied mothers. I had tried to clean up a bit, but there was still sand and dirt all over the floor—a complete disaster.

“Hello.”

While Yang Juhui was taking off her sneakers to reveal white socks and confidently stepping inside, Jeongseok stopped at the shoe rack, busy looking around.

His half-open mouth could have been an expression of either amazement or shock.

“…”

He looked like a wealthy politician entering a gosiwon for the first time. Coincidentally, they both had the same surname, Jung. Wondering if they might be related, I jokingly asked:

“Hey, Seok. Is my house bigger than your shoe rack at home?”

“I’m not sure about that… AHHH!”

Jeongseok suddenly screamed and jumped up.

Shit, is a ghost already appearing?

These damn ghosts—are they just going to pop out even with the lights on and three people wide awake?

I was about to wet myself thinking they had absolutely no decency, when something went sha-sha-shak- past Jeongseok’s feet.

“A cockroach! It’s huge! Damn-“

Jeongseok seemed extremely startled by the cockroach.

I thought a guy wouldn’t be so scared of a mere insect, but I was so terrified myself that tears welled up in my eyes and I felt like foaming at the mouth.

“We need to catch it! We have to catch it! Otherwise, we won’t be able to sleep tonight! We have to catch it!”

I appealed with emotion and feeling.

I wasn’t brave enough to sleep knowing there was a cockroach as big as a human thumb crawling around near the shoe rack.

What if it crawls onto my face while I’m sleeping!

I would literally die.

“Our Yeongwon is making such a fuss over this? I thought I’d seen a ghost.”

At that moment, Yang Juhui lifted her foot and quickly stepped on the black object.

Pat-. Squish.

It was an impressive action, but at the same time, it made me feel like I was losing my mind.

“No, with your sock-covered foot…”

“I was planning to throw these socks away after today anyway. I can just wash my feet.”

Swish-

Yang Juhui nonchalantly threw her removed sock into a nearby trash can. Then she said, “I’m going to use the bathroom,” and went in.

Shwaaaaa-

Hearing the shower running, she was probably washing her hands and feet.

“…”

Jeongseok and I quietly listened to the sound of water.

I wasn’t sure about Jeongseok, but thinking about a girl from our class washing up in my house made me feel strange and somewhat titillating.

Having attended an all-boys middle school, I had some fantasies about women.

“Yeongwon, let’s clean up first.”

Swish-

Jeongseok stepped from the shoe rack into our living room. He picked up a vacuum cleaner nearby and started pushing it across the floor with surprisingly good form.

# # #

“I’ll sleep in my room with Seok. Juhui, you can sleep in my mom’s room. And if the pajamas are too big or uncomfortable, let me know. I’ll get you different ones.”

I prepared bedding in each room and distributed pajamas and toothbrushes to my friends.

Having friends sleep over at my house was something I hadn’t experienced since elementary school, so it felt awkward and tense.

But it was also fun.

I never thought I’d get to sleep with friends.

After being chased by ghosts, I thought my life would only be marked by misfortune, but I was glad to have such enjoyable experiences.

Oh, I’m happy. I’m so happy.

“Do you have an older sister too?”

While drinking water from a cup, Jeongseok noticed a photo of me with a woman hanging in the living room. He was quite observant.

For reference, what Jeongseok saw was a photo of me with my mom at my middle school graduation ceremony.

“That’s my mom. By the way, she’s thirty-four this year.”

“…”

Jeongseok made an expression that showed he couldn’t understand in many ways.

He was probably calculating in his head—at what age did she have a child?

I decided to help him with the calculation.

“She had me when she was in high school.”

Anyway.

I sat in the living room, gathering my courage to explain my “Status Window” to everyone.

Just then, Yang Juhui, who had changed into my pajamas, touched her stomach.

“Yeongwon, I’m hungry. Can you order just one chicken? My baby says it’s hungry.”

“Pfft-!”

Jeongseok spat out the water he was drinking.

“Ugh, you’re disgusting.”

“No, the baby…”

Jeongseok seemed genuinely shocked by Yang Juhui’s comment.

Is he not immune to girls’ jokes?

Maybe Jeongseok also spent three years in an all-boys middle school.

“Obviously I’m kidding. But about the chicken… okay. I’ll treat you. What the heck. But you have to help clean up afterward. Is chicken okay?”

“Oh yes!”

Yang Juhui was extremely pleased.

She had just finished eating a whole carrot cake by herself earlier, but apparently, she still had room for chicken.

Jeongseok also chimed in.

“I only eat boneless. Do you have Ppurinkle?”

“…Wait, who eats Ppurinkle boneless? Ppurinkle is better with bones.”

Does the young master from a rich family have different tastes?

As I was thinking that, Yang Juhui asked from beside me:

“What’s Ppurinkle?”

…I see.

We ordered two chickens.

Eating chicken with friends late at night at home was really fun. We weren’t doing anything special, but I realized a day could be this enjoyable.

“Hey, this is ginseng liquor. Hey, let’s have just one glass of this!”

After eating plenty of chicken, Yang Juhui now had her eye on the ginseng liquor.

It was something my mom had received from work, in a golden shiny container with an impressive root inside.

Is Yang Juhui here to deplete all our household goods?

I thought that, but I also wanted to try a glass of ginseng liquor.

“Wait.”

Tap-

Jeongseok lightly hit the table with his palm.

It was similar to how he would get the attention of students in class.

“That’s not why we’re gathered here. Ha Yeongwon. You said you have a superpower. Explain what it is first.”

Right.

I was going to tell them about the Status Window today.

But… the Status Window was my ultimate weapon and a top secret that I needed to hide from everyone.

If rumors spread that I had a Status Window, agencies like the National Intelligence Service might kidnap me and try to open my brain.

If asked whether I could trust Yang Juhui and Jeongseok, I honestly couldn’t guarantee it.

My relationship with Yang Juhui had never been particularly good, and I could count on one hand the number of conversations I’d had with Jeongseok, the vice class president.

But I wanted to trust the friends in front of me.

The world was too harsh for me to handle all of this alone.

So I opened the ginseng liquor and poured it into glasses, one for each person.

Glug glug glug-

“Hey. From the moment we drink this, we’re truly blood allies and comrades. The secrets spoken here must be kept until the end. If the secrets aren’t kept, you could really die. This isn’t a joke.”

I handed glasses to Yang Juhui and Jeongseok.

It was a tense moment in many ways.

“Why do you keep making me repeat myself? I said I’m with you. If we can find my sister and return my mom to normal, and restore our families to how they were… Ugh, it’s bitter.”

Yang Juhui emptied her glass in one go.

She really had a tough personality.

So that left Jeongseok.

Jeongseok looked at the ginseng liquor in his glass.

In truth, Jeongseok’s connection to me was somewhat loose. Even though we had exorcised the feng shui ghost together, it didn’t mean he was obligated to go all the way with me.

Slurp-

Jeongseok emptied his glass in an instant.

“I’m in too. But what you said about your superpower helping my life—that information better be accurate. I’m going to be a prosecutor in Korea someday. Locking up all criminals—”

Jeongseok’s attitude as he spoke was surprisingly serious and somewhat intimidating.

Good.

I emptied my glass in one go too.

It was bitter and tasted awful.

“Ugh. That tastes bad. Anyway, now we’re all members of Ha Yeongwon’s pirate crew. Let me tell you all. I have something called a Status Window. If I were to draw it, it would look like this.”

# # #

Scribble, scribble-

I drew the characters I had always seen in my notebook.

“One day, this appeared. To be exact, it was on Yeongji High School’s entrance ceremony day. There’s a score that accumulates 2 points per day. I collected 100 points and opened a shop.”

Scribble-

I also showed everyone the shop window I drew.

Jeongseok asked me:

“Can you convert those points to money or buy money with them?”

“Yes. 1 point equals 10,000 won. Also, if I fight and defeat or exorcise ghosts, I get points. The rules for this are a bit inconsistent. I think it depends on the difficulty level or something.”

I explained that I currently had 821P.

Soon, Yang Juhui’s eyes lit up.

“So you have 8.21 million won? That’s amazing.”

8.21 million won.

It was a huge amount for a first-year high school student.

However, Jeongseok shook his head.

“I’m against withdrawing points as money. If all this is true, the value of 1 point is honestly more than 10,000 won. I think it would be better to unlock the locked items in the shop first. It broadens our options.”

That was a reasonable thought.

“Or we could level up the shop first. You said leveling up the shop applies discounts to products, right? These things should be purchased early to maximize benefits.”

This guy Jeongseok.

He’s smarter than I thought!

I decided to follow Jeongseok’s advice.

I spent 100P to level up the shop first.

Then, with a ding- sound, the shop changed!

“Welcome to the Level 2 Shop.

We sell various items to help heroes in their battles.”

“Leveling up the shop adds products and applies discounts.

Shop Level 2 Lv (0/500)

1. Trait Drawing Ticket – 90P

2. Capsule Drawing Ticket – 90P

3. Unlock Locked Item – 90P

4. Open Old School Building 2nd Floor – 900P”

“Oh. All items have become about 10 percent cheaper. And to level up the shop again, we need 500 points this time.”

Spending 500 points to upgrade the shop seemed a bit wasteful.

I had 721 points left.

According to Jeongseok, unlocking a locked item would be good because it would broaden our options.

“Spending 90P to unlock a locked item.”

“Training Ground is now open.”

“You can train players in the Training Ground.”

“You can acquire traits by spending 100 points.”

“To unlock more locked items, you need a Level 3 Shop.”

Training Ground!

Training!

Acquiring traits by spending points!

I see.

I could now gift traits to companions like Yang Juhui or Jeongseok by spending 100 points!

“A Training Ground appeared in the locked items. It says you can get traits through training? And to unlock the next locked item, we need to raise the shop level to 3.”

“Traits? Honestly, I still find this hard to believe. Can I also get some kind of special ability?”

Yang Juhui showed curiosity despite her indifferent attitude.

Jeongseok also showed great interest.

“Try using it. Tell us what happens.”

Is he suggesting we use Yang Juhui as a guinea pig?

Swish- I dragged Yang Juhui’s name and put it into the Training Ground.

“Yang Juhui – Training List!”

“Push-ups 0/1000 times”

“Run at a speed of over 2Km/h for 0/100Km”

“Reward: ‘Fast Legs'”

“‘Fast Legs’: You can run 1.5 times faster for 10 seconds.”

“This is what came up.”

“Requirements and rewards. Just like a game quest.”

Jeongseok evaluated.

I agreed with his expression.

Yang Juhui, the person in question, frowned as if something was off.

“1,000 push-ups and running 100km? That’s a bit intense. Running 1.5 times faster for 10 seconds… is that worth all that effort?”

Is it?

That’s when Jeongseok got fired up.

“No, this is incredible! The average high school girl’s 100-meter sprint time is 20 seconds! The top-ranked Shin Euiju runs it in 12.1 seconds! But if you improve just 1.5 times from average, you’d run it in 13.3 seconds!”

“Wow, really? I ran 100 meters in about 16 or 17 seconds in PE class last time. If I become 1.5 times faster… does that mean I could run it in the 10-second range?”

“For reference, the women’s 100-meter sprint world record is 10.49 seconds!”

“Damn, that’s amazing! With just a little exercise, I could go to the Olympics!”

Yang Juhui was extremely pleased.

However, I was a bit concerned that Jeongseok knew so much detail about women’s sprint records.

Do even smart guys usually know that much?

Is he a pervert?

Come to think of it, I think Bong Jiyeon, the class bully from Class C, was on our school’s track team…

“Ha Yeongwon! This is amazing! This could really change someone’s life! Can you do it for me too? How many people can enter the Training Ground at once?”

Jeongseok was so excited that it was hard to believe he had maintained a calm attitude until just now. His nostrils were flaring, and he was even snorting—it was almost scary.

“Okay. But before that, can I try a capsule drawing?”

I was really curious about the capsule drawing.

I spent another 90 points.

Now I had 541P left.

Something like a capsule toy machine appeared before my eyes, and round capsules started rattling.

I wondered what would happen.

“The item has been placed at the entrance.”

“15 steps northeast.”