Ch.51051 – Waah 2

# 051 – Baby Crying # 2

Why do babies cry?

Thinking about it clearly, it’s because they’re hungry.

They cry because they’re hungry!

“Juhui! Do something about this!”

“What am I supposed to do? Fuck off!”

But Yang Juhui was adamantly opposed to my “Baby Feeding Operation” plan.

What should I do in this situation?

Should I knock on the neighbor’s door and ask the building manager for help?

No.

That would only make me look crazy and make the situation worse.

“Baby! Waah!”

I really felt like crying my eyes out too.

How nice it must be to be a baby.

If they just cry like that, their mother will give them whatever they want.

But I was a high school student approaching adulthood, and by now I should be able to solve problems on my own.

Right! Fuck it! I can do this!

How many ghosts have I defeated so far?

“Wait!”

Baby… baby and mother…

While thinking about this, I suddenly remembered the “Mercenary Corps” system I had recently acquired.

The ghosts I’ve defeated.

Maybe there’s a hint there?

I chose “4. Under the Bed Ghost.”

If I remember correctly, this was the ghost of a mother that could duplicate itself.

It was also the ghost that Yang Juhui had defeated by beating the crap out of it.

In other words, even if my gambling strategy fails, we could still control the situation with Yang Juhui’s violence.

Dispatching the duplicating mother ghost to… Yu Dahui!

100P consumed!

All or nothing!

Now, let’s see what happens.

Ding, ding-

The sound of a bell began to ring.

“Huh!”

This was the bell sound I remembered.

“Juhui. Can you hear the bell sound too?”

“I know! Ha Yeongwon! What did you do?!”

“…I called for a mother…”

Ding, ding-

Knock, knock, knock-

The bell sound stopped in front of our house, and someone knocked on the door.

A tense situation in many ways.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

It felt like opening the door would be a terrible idea.

Between the crying baby Dahui, the bell sound, and the knocking, I wanted to cover my ears.

—Sleep well, my baby… birds in the front yard and lambs on the hill…

A lullaby began to play from beyond the door.

The voice was incredibly soft and gentle.

It was so affectionate that it reminded me of my own mother who was in the hospital.

“Hey! Yeongwon! Do you see that?”

Whoosh—

“I see it.”

Dahui’s body was being enveloped in a white light.

Soon, Dahui, who had been crying “wah wah,” collapsed onto the bathroom floor.

The baby’s crying stopped, the bell sound disappeared, and the lullaby was no longer audible. Everything was quiet.

Is it… over?

Just as I thought it was too early to let my guard down…

『Congratulations! You have defeated the ‘Baby Ghost’!』

『Beginning calculation for 3 survivors.』

『You gain 150P.』

『Your ‘Under the Bed Ghost’ has found peace.

You can no longer dispatch the Under the Bed Ghost from your ‘Mercenary Corps’.』

“Oh, shit…”

# # #

“…Why are you staring at me like that?”

Yu Dahui spoke to me after opening her eyes.

She was smiling shyly as if embarrassed.

I answered simply.

“Just looking at you.”

“I see.”

Dahui got up groggily.

It was already 7 AM.

“Dahui. Wash up and change your clothes. We need to go to school.”

Even as I said it, this conversation felt strangely familiar.

Soon, Yang Juhui, who was cooking ramen for breakfast, came into the room.

“Hey! I told you to wake Dahui up! Oh, you’re awake? Yu Dahui! You’re seriously dead! Do you know how much trouble we went through because of you last night? Huh?”

“…Trouble?”

Dahui frowned as if she couldn’t remember anything.

I asked her:

“Don’t you remember what you did last night?”

“I remember going to church… coming home and eating ramen… I felt really heavy and tired and wanted to sleep early… It feels like I had a really interesting dream… Wow, my body feels so light!”

Swoosh-

Dahui was happily rotating her shoulders.

She didn’t seem to remember anything from when she was possessed.

Anyway.

The important thing was that the possessing ghost had been successfully exorcised and the situation resolved.

I hadn’t expected the Shaman Ghost to suddenly appear.

“Maybe…”

I suddenly remembered that the Shaman Ghost had been frantically searching for something in the Nightmare Corridor.

Could it be that the Shaman Ghost was looking for the ‘baby’?

Deduction:

1. The Shaman Ghost who committed suicide at school had a ‘baby.’

2. And that ‘baby’ was abandoned by its mother and became a ghost.

3. The Baby Ghost attached itself to Dahui last night(?)

I remembered that near the church, Dahui had heard a cat crying, and Yang Juhui had responded, “That was a cat’s cry?” I wondered if that was when it happened.

4. The possessing Baby Ghost was then lulled to sleep by the fake mother played by the “Under the Bed Ghost”-

Is that how it worked?

It was just my guess, but it seemed plausible.

If I use this information well, it might help when dealing with the real Shaman Ghost in the “Nightmare Corridor.”

Maybe I could bring a baby doll in there and use it as bait.

Anyway.

We ate the ramen Yang Juhui cooked and left the house.

But today, there was a black car parked in front of our house.

“Dahui. The Chairman says it’s time for you to stop this and come home.”

A man in a black suit got out of the car and spoke to Dahui.

Then he took out a phone from his pocket and handed it to her.

“……”

Dahui looked back and forth between the man and us.

Then she said rather coldly:

“I don’t want to.”

The man looked very embarrassed.

Soon, Dahui added:

“But it’s also inconsiderate to keep staying at my friend’s house. If Grandfather agrees to the proposals I made, I’ll come home.”

I wondered what proposals Dahui had made to her grandfather.

Something like receiving her inheritance before her grandfather passed away?

As I was imagining various scenarios, Yang Juhui chimed in:

“Hey. Just go home already. Running away like this is inconsiderate to your family and to Yeongwon too. How many people are being inconvenienced because of you? Seriously, you’re not a child anymore. What’s with this running away?”

It felt strange hearing such words from Yang Juhui, who was a school bully.

Soon, the man spoke as if he had made a firm decision:

“I’ll take responsibility and speak to the master. Now, everyone get in the car. I’ll drive you to school.”

Oh, shit.

Would I ever have another chance to ride in such an expensive car in my life?

I quickly got in, and Yang Juhui followed me.

Dahui grumbled, “I’d rather walk,” but she seemed to have no choice and eventually got in the back.

Swoosh-

Wow, the car rolls so smoothly, like it’s been oiled.

The ride quality is amazing.

When will I ever be able to buy and ride in a car like this?

Could I do it if I blackmailed the US President with my abilities?

While I was thinking about that, we had already arrived at school.

“Well then, Dahui. I’ll come pick you up after school. And Yeongwon.”

The man called out to me.

Why?

“I’d like to have a quick chat with you if you have time?”

“Me?”

Why?

What could he want to talk about?

Maybe he wanted to talk about Dahui.

He might even threaten me with something like “Stay away from our young lady.”

“You two go ahead.”

I decided to send Dahui and Yang Juhui to school first and listen to what the man in the black suit had to say.

I wondered what he wanted to talk about.

As I was thinking this, the man began to speak:

“I heard Dahui stayed at your house? Was everything alright?”

Everything alright…

What kind of “everything”?

The baby ghost possession?

Or some kind of romantic “everything”?

Either way, it seemed best to say nothing happened.

“Yes. Everything was fine.”

“I see. That’s how it looks. Our master… Dahui’s grandfather is quite a peculiar person who deeply loves his granddaughter. Do you know who Dahui’s grandfather is?”

Dahui’s grandfather?

Some descendant of a family that was even a count during the Japanese colonial era?

An incredibly wealthy person.

That’s what I thought, but I couldn’t say it honestly.

“I don’t know. I just know they’re extremely wealthy.”

“Hahaha. Wealthy. Yes, that’s right. Dahui’s grandfather is truly an incredibly wealthy man. But Dahui is his only family. You seem smart, so you probably understand what I’m saying?”

“Are you telling me not to be friends with her?”

“No. The opposite. Please continue to be good friends with Dahui, and if anything happens, contact me here.”

Slip-

I carefully put the paper with the phone number into my pocket.

It seemed to be the man’s number.

I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but lately, older men keep giving me their numbers.

Then I suddenly became curious.

“If Dahui is her grandfather’s only family… what happened to Dahui’s parents…?”

“I only joined five years ago, so I don’t know much. But I heard that Dahui’s grandfather lost his son and daughter-in-law… in unfortunate circumstances. Dahui is a child with a lot of pain, so please treat her well.”

# # #

A modern mansion built like a castle.

In the most splendid and luxurious room of a building designed by a famous architect who reinterpreted a castle in modern engineering terms, sat a man.

He appeared to be in his 70s.

With white hair and wrinkled eyes, he had a rather stern-looking face.

In front of the man was a nameplate carved from ivory.

“Yeongji Foundation Chairman Cheon Daegon”

Cheon Daegon.

He was undoubtedly a person of influence in Gaeryong City.

This man sat in his chair, looking at a frame placed on his expensive mahogany desk.

“Are you thinking about your son?”

Someone spoke to him.

When he looked up, a woman wearing red high heels was standing in front of him.

It was quite a feat to appear without making a sound while wearing heels so high they looked difficult to walk in.

It was Hong Miri, the English teacher at Yeongji High School.

“If only your son were here, everything would have worked out well. That’s what you’re thinking, right? Why don’t you try contacting him?”

“Miri. Watch your words. My son is dead. How many times have I told you not to mention that bastard in front of me? He’s dead.”

Cheon Daegon closed his mouth.

Hong Miri didn’t irritate the old man’s mood any further.

Instead, she had something else to say.

“Since we’re on the topic, I should mention that the pastor from Yeong-gwang Church might contact Seoul. If people come from Seoul, we won’t be able to keep things secret anymore.”

“…What about Dahui?”

“According to Kim the driver, fortunately, it seems she’ll come home today. By the way, kids are difficult, aren’t they? If only that shaman woman hadn’t gone and died at school, things would have been resolved much earlier. It’s unfortunate that the situation has become complicated and we have to rely on Dahui.”

Swish-

The old man rose from his seat.

Then he slapped Hong Miri’s cheek with all his might.

Slap!

English teacher Hong Miri lowered her head from the unexpectedly strong force.

“Watch your mouth.”

“…Did I say something untrue? Just leave it to me instead. Chairman. Master. I’m confident I can do better. I can definitely—”

“No. You lack talent. If it had been the other twin, perhaps. You’re only half. You know better than anyone why I’m saying this.”

Grr-

English teacher Hong Miri looked more insulted than when she was slapped.

Of course, Cheon Daegon didn’t care whether Hong Miri got angry or irritated him with sarcastic remarks.

Cheon Daegon stroked Hong Miri’s head and said coldly:

“A dog should act like a dog. Don’t try to sit at the same table as your master. Just guard the house.”

Cheon Daegon wasn’t interested in Hong Miri.

Very few things in the world could capture his interest.

Come to think of it, there was something that had been bothering him recently.

“You mentioned that Dahui has a male friend recently? Not that mayor’s son.”

“That coward? His name is Ha Yeongwon. There are many other boys, but I don’t know why Dahui chose to befriend someone like him. I don’t think he’s anyone special to keep an eye on?”

“…A coward, huh. Yes. Blood doesn’t lie. Dahui’s mother liked that type too. But fear, you know, is the source of survival and evolution, the measure of all things. Cowards live longer.”

“……”

“Tonight, let’s invite Dahui’s friends over for dinner. Invite them all to the house. I want to see what kind of boy has become friends with Dahui.”

“What if they say they have appointments or need to go to academy?”

“……”

Cheon Daegon sat back in his chair without saying anything more.

Hong Miri also stopped making sarcastic remarks.