Ch.86086 – Beginning 1

# 086 – Above # 1

“Kids! Open the door quickly! I’m scared! Open the door now! I saw you all go in there! Let me join you! I’m part of Dahui’s fam too!”

Bang bang bang bang bang-

Bong Jiyeon kept pounding on the principal’s office door.

Of course, no one could guarantee that the person outside was really Bong Jiyeon.

What were the chances it was a ghost mimicking Bong Jiyeon?

I’d seen plenty of ghosts that imitated other people.

“Hey, Jeongseok! What are you doing? What are you waiting for? Open the door quickly!”

Bong Jiyeon’s voice called for Jeongseok.

Jeongseok was fidgeting anxiously, looking like a magpie that had dropped its baby bird from the nest.

I was nervous that Jeongseok might say “We need to save Bong Jiyeon!” and recklessly open the door.

With his level of devotion to Bong Jiyeon, he was perfectly capable of rushing into anything for her sake.

I suspected Jeongseok was the type who would even cosign a loan if Bong Jiyeon asked.

So both Yang Juhui and I were watching Jeongseok with anxious eyes.

Then Jeongseok spoke as if he’d made up his mind.

“Prove that you’re the real Bong Jiyeon.”

“Hey! Who has time for that? It’s so scary out here! Open the door quickly! Jeongseok! You said you wanted to watch a movie with me! I’ll watch it with you, okay? Just open up!”

Bang bang bang-!

The Bong Jiyeon beyond the door was completely unreasonable.

But Jeongseok spoke firmly, as if he’d gained the upper hand.

“You’re fake. I definitely asked the real Bong Jiyeon to go see a movie with me. But the real Bong Jiyeon cursed at me and asked with contempt why she would ever go see that with me.”

“What?”

“If you were the real Bong Jiyeon, you wouldn’t offer to see a movie with me even in this situation. She’s too proud for that. Therefore, you’re fake. You fake! Fake Bong Jiyeon! Get lost! I can tell!”

“What nonsense! You total loser! What are you saying? Just open this door!”

The pleading voice of Bong Jiyeon from beyond the door was close to a wail and sobbing, sending chills down my spine.

To think a ghost would act this far to deceive us.

Crazy ghost bastard!

But Jeongseok seemed to have softened at Bong Jiyeon’s voice and asked one more question.

“What was Bong Jiyeon’s weight when she represented Gaeryong City in the women’s short-distance race in middle school? If you’re really her, you’d know. Answer me.”

“What? Weight? Ha, you’re really a crazy psycho. 47! Happy now?”

47kg.

Considering Bong Jiyeon’s height was barely 160cm, it seemed like a fitting weight.

Jeongseok clicked his tongue.

“Wrong. Bong Jiyeon’s weight in middle school was 51kg. You’re fake. You fake!”

“What? You crazy psycho bastard! Who are you to decide that? Hey! Open the door! Quickly! Quickly! Quickly! Something’s coming from over there! Please! Hurry!”

Was this the pattern of a ghost panicking after being exposed?

Just as I was thinking that all this noise might attract other ghosts, Yang Juhui opened the principal’s office door.

“What?!”

I was shocked.

Why would that crazy Yang Juhui do that!

“Heuuuh!”

Something shot through the open door like a bullet and tumbled onto the floor of the principal’s office.

It was Bong Jiyeon.

At least, it looked like Bong Jiyeon.

Jeongseok and I were so startled by what appeared to be a ghost imitating Bong Jiyeon that we backed away until we were practically one with the wall, but Yang Juhui remained calm.

“She’s real. The real Bong Jiyeon is a total coward. She’s been scared of everything since forever and could never watch horror movies. And Bong Jiyeon always claimed her weight was 47kg.”

This Bong Jiyeon was real?

Just to be sure, I said to Yang Juhui:

“Ghosts don’t have heartbeats! Feel her chest quickly!”

“Fine, I will.”

Swish-

Yang Juhui placed her hand on Bong Jiyeon’s chest.

Being another woman, she seemed to find the location of the heartbeat immediately.

“It’s beating fine.”

“I told you I was real! You guys are complete psychos. You make me come here and then accuse me of being fake? And Jeongseok, you’re really something. Wow. Seriously.”

Bong Jiyeon gave Jeongseok a look of contempt that could extinguish a thousand years of love.

She frowned with her lips slightly parted, wearing an expression of such disappointment that even I felt sad and hurt.

Jeongseok stammered, “Well, it was a necessary verification process…” but Bong Jiyeon was so upset that she didn’t care about his reasons.

Of course, I sympathized with Jeongseok.

“If Bong Jiyeon had been a ghost, we’d all be dead. Well… actually, maybe just me since I don’t have a talisman…”

“What are you saying? Am I a ghost?”

Anyway, Bong Jiyeon had joined us in the principal’s office.

And this meant a big problem.

There were four of us.

We could only get three talismans.

One of us had to die.

More precisely, either Bong Jiyeon or I, who didn’t have talismans, would have to die.

# # #

“Wow, seriously, I’m so fucking disappointed. Jeongseok. You called me a ghost. Really. I can’t believe it. What was that about my weight? Don’t talk to me anymore.”

We rested in the principal’s office until Bong Jiyeon calmed down.

Bong Jiyeon was still agitated, and Jeongseok’s shoulders kept sinking lower and lower until it seemed like he might disappear into the ground.

I tried to comfort Jeongseok.

“Hey. I’ve done that too. I shouted at Yu Dahui, asking if she was a ghost.”

When I saw Yu Dahui waiting in front of my house, I nearly wet myself.

I yelled at her, asking if she was a ghost… Thinking about it now, Jeongseok’s outburst toward Bong Jiyeon was actually quite mild in comparison.

Of course, Yu Dahui’s attitude then was different from Bong Jiyeon’s now. She was playful, but at least she didn’t look at me with such contempt.

In that sense, Yu Dahui was a very nice person.

Maybe it was because she was rich and had room in her heart for generosity.

In a capitalist world, the size of your bank account often corresponds to the breadth of your heart.

Anyway.

Bong Jiyeon had joined us.

Jeongseok seemed to be contemplating something for a while, and finally spoke as if he’d reached a conclusion.

“I admit my judgment was wrong. This was my fault, so I’ll give you this.”

Swish-

Jeongseok held something out to Bong Jiyeon.

It was a talisman.

The escape talisman.

“Forget it. Get lost. Do you think this will make me forgive you?”

Bong Jiyeon was clearly annoyed.

But she didn’t refuse the talisman and put it in her pocket.

I asked Jeongseok:

“Hey. That’s your talisman.”

“It’s fine. This time I’ll… stay here. Yeongwon, you should escape too. You’ve given up talismans for me before. I’m a man too. Let me take responsibility for my mistake.”

What’s gotten into him?

Taking responsibility?

That’s basically saying he’ll die here today.

But Jeongseok seemed determined.

He had the expression of a man who wasn’t a coward.

“Alright. If that’s what you want, I won’t stop you.”

If I could survive… honestly, I’d be glad.

I’m such a coward that I thought I might die of a heart attack even without accumulated quirks.

Of course, thanks to my “Strong Heart” trait, I wouldn’t get a heart attack… but maybe a brain hemorrhage… anyway, I might die from some disease like that.

But it wasn’t certain yet that I could escape.

The real challenge would begin after getting the talisman from this second floor.

“Shall we head out now?”

We needed to leave the safety of the principal’s office and explore the second floor.

I thought it would be good if we could find more items.

Since someone had drawn a map of the first floor, I felt like we might be able to find a map of the second floor somewhere.

Jeongseok said:

“Let’s take a notebook and pen. If there’s no map, it’s not a bad idea to draw one ourselves. I’m confident in drawing floor plans. I’ll draw it without any errors.”

Good idea.

We all walked slowly down the second-floor corridor.

With four of us, it was a little less scary.

No.

That’s a lie. I was so terrified I wanted to go back.

As we walked, we came across a place labeled “Science Lab.”

Science Lab.

I thought I could faintly smell chemicals. The door was locked, but there was a hole in the corridor wall big enough for one person to crawl through.

“Should we go in?”

Yang Juhui asked.

Was she volunteering to go in?

Just as I was thinking that, Jeongseok clenched his fist and said:

“I’ll go.”

What?

What’s going on?

Jeongseok, who usually hesitated at places like this?

“I’ll go. Wait here.”

I honestly felt respect for Jeongseok’s courage.

If it were me… I definitely wouldn’t have gone in first.

Maybe he wanted to impress Bong Jiyeon by showing courage?

That made sense.

Crawling on all fours, Jeongseok soon went in.

“Hey? How is it? Do you see anything?”

There was no response from Jeongseok who had crawled in.

After about 20 seconds of ominous silence:

“Guys. There’s something amazing in here. You need to come see for yourselves. This! You really need to see this in person! No, wait. I’ll come back out first!”

Crawling on all fours, Jeongseok came back out to the corridor.

And with a rather pleased expression, he said:

“You can’t imagine what I saw in there. Let’s go in quickly. Before other ghosts come.”

Jeongseok was urging us so much that there must be something amazing in there.

Just as I was wondering what it could be, Jeongseok drew a large circle on the science lab corridor with his pen. Was he marking this room?

It was a perfect circle.

He’s quite skilled.

Swish-

Yang Juhui knelt down.

She was probably going to crawl in and see for herself.

Bong Jiyeon grabbed Yang Juhui’s shoulder.

“Wait. You’re not Jeongseok.”

I thought this was out of nowhere.

Was she trying to get revenge by doubting Jeongseok the same way he had doubted her earlier?

“Jeongseok is left-handed. But you just drew that circle with your right hand!”

Come to think of it, Jeongseok was left-handed, and the Jeongseok just now drew the circle with his right hand.

Could a left-handed person draw such a perfect circle with their right hand?

“…Hey, Jeongseok. What are you? Are you really not Jeongseok?”

I asked Jeongseok with fear in my heart.

Then Jeongseok raised the corner of his mouth in a creepy smile I’d never seen before.

“I’m not? But now I am Jeongseok? Hahahahahahaha! Hahahahahahahahaha! You all come inside too! I’m reflecting from all directions! Hahahahahahaha!”