Ch.91091 – The Drowned High School Girl 1

# 091 – High School Girl Water Ghost # 1

I grew up in a Christian household.

And Korea was a conservative Confucian country just a century ago.

Christianity and Confucianism.

Though these two are difficult to reconcile, they share one commonality—they both emphasize women’s respect for men.

It’s in the Bible too.

Man is the head of woman, so women should obey men.

Of course, this was a relationship of mutual respect, with men also told to love women as their own bodies, but…

Even just 21 centuries ago, women were pitiful beings, discriminated against and ignored without human rights.

What about during the Joseon Dynasty?

I was someone who saw women’s existence as beautiful, having loved my mother and harbored crushes on countless girls, but men of the Joseon Dynasty probably didn’t feel the same way.

And Joseon female ghosts would fundamentally retain that fear of “men.”

I wanted to use that fear to attack the Joseon female ghost who had grown up brainwashed to regard men as heaven.

“You outdated Joseon wench! How dare you dance so impudently before a man as high as heaven! Don’t you know men and women shouldn’t sit together after age seven? You ignorant woman!”

If the tomb ghost was a Joseon-era woman, my attack would surely work.

I was convinced of that.

“You wench! Come here and pour me a drink! No, come here and serve me in bed!!!”

I shouted furiously.

And it seemed my words had some effect, as the ghost dancing on the tomb stopped dancing and laughing.

Then she looked at me with contempt, like Bong Jiyeon looking at Jeongseok.

I had succeeded in offending the ghost who had been mocking me!

I had manipulated the ghost’s emotions!

I can control ghosts!

Just as I was beginning to feel a strange exhilaration from the ghost’s contemptuous gaze—

The tomb ghost suddenly disappeared, and all the ghosts in white funeral clothes vanished too.

It was nighttime.

I shouted, heaving rough breaths.

“Hey! Don’t run away! Don’t run away! That means I win! I won! I won! Just try coming back! I warned you!”

Of course, no text appeared before me saying the ghosts had been exorcised.

Nevertheless, I felt the joy of victory in not having been helplessly defeated.

“Hey! Let’s go quickly! Guys! Let’s go!”

I urged my dazed teammates and we all got into the car.

Completely exhausted.

I felt like a salted mackerel.

Ms. Hong Miri, who sat in the driver’s seat and started the car, looked at me and laughed.

“Wow, Yeongwon, you were totally the embodiment of a Confucian man back there. Are you the type who hits women too? Like Kwon Suho? I’m scared to drive next to you.”

“…Teacher, you know that wasn’t my true self.”

I didn’t have the energy to explain further.

I just wanted to sleep.

Everyone else seemed to feel the same way, including Ms. Hong Miri who was driving.

What if we all die on the highway like this—

As I was thinking that, Yu Dahui spoke up.

“Why don’t we all rest at my grandfather’s villa first? It’s nearby. I think it would be better to sleep at the villa for a night than to dangerously head home like this…”

A villa… the villa where the water ghost appears?

# # #

The villa had two floors, was wider than I expected, and had better facilities than I thought.

There was even a swimming pool.

“Wow, look at that pool.”

Bong Jiyeon, the most materialistic one, showed interest in the swimming pool.

“Yang Juhui, want to bet lunch at the rest stop tomorrow on a swimming race?”

“Hey, you can’t beat me. My nickname in kindergarten was ‘Little Mermaid of the Children’s Swimming Class.'”

“Can I join too? I’m good at swimming! I even won an award in an elementary school competition!”

Giggle giggle—

As the girls laughed energetically, my mood, which had been dampened by the ghosts, improved a bit.

A woman’s laughter makes the world so beautiful.

A world where women laugh happily is truly the right kind of world.

That’s when I noticed a fence set up at a distance from the swimming pool.

It was a pond.

The width of the pond was about 3 meters.

It was large if you considered it large, small if you considered it small.

“They say many young women drowned in this pond. That’s why it’s called Nakhwamot, meaning ‘Fallen Flower Pond.’ They say that’s why the water ghost appears.”

Yu Dahui spoke eerily while looking at the pond.

Maybe it was because we were seeing it in the pitch-black night, but the pond looked like a hole punched into the ground.

It also looked like a section of an unfathomably deep sea.

“Water ghost…”

Maybe it was because we had just seen the queen ghost at the tomb, but the water ghost didn’t seem that scary.

No, that’s a lie—it was terrifying.

What if I get entranced and drown in the water too?

Water would enter through my nose, mouth, ears, and eyes, filling my lungs, and I’d die in excruciating pain.

It was horrifying just to imagine.

“Hello.”

“Oh my, it’s Dahui. When did you grow up so much? You’ve become a proper young lady. Ready for marriage!”

“Honey, don’t say that. Let’s get the kids cleaned up and fed first.”

At the villa, there was a kind-looking middle-aged couple in their late 40s.

They were the caretakers who normally stayed at the villa, managing the facilities and cleaning.

For us, who looked like salt-shocked mice, the lady and gentleman brought gowns we could change into and provided towels, toothbrushes, and other toiletries without missing anything.

Swoosh—

Jeongseok and I entered the spacious shower room to wash up.

Jeongseok looked at me and nudged my side.

“Hey, you were really amazing back there. Not even flinching in front of that scary tomb ghost.”

“Well, I do what needs to be done.”

Creating opportunities in crisis situations.

That’s the role of an ace and a leader.

Jeongseok nodded in agreement.

“That’s true, but it’s surprising that such a method worked.”

“Still, this incident was my mistake. I underestimated the tomb ghost. We should have prepared better before fighting. It’s a miracle no one got hurt. But I’ve got a sense of how to win. I just know it. If I had points, the tomb ghost would have been nothing. I just need to earn points.”

“Really? I had no idea what to do.”

After putting on the new sweatsuit the caretaker gave us, we went to the living room where the girls, who had showered earlier, were sprawled out in massage chairs set up in what could be called the reception room or living room.

I was so tired that I wanted to sit in a massage chair too, but no one showed any sign of giving up their seat.

Everyone was exhausted.

As I was wondering what to do, a good idea came to mind.

“I wish Juhui, who dances better and is prettier than idols, would give up her massage chair seat.”

“……”

Yang Juhui, who was lying down like dried pollack, glared at me.

Then she slightly got up from her seat and gave it up.

Drrrrr—

The massage chair pounding my entire body felt quite good.

I wish we had one of these at home.

Suddenly, I felt thirsty.

“I wish Juhui, who’s prettier than idols, would pour me a glass of water too.”

“……”

Yang Juhui glared at me.

Then she headed toward the water purifier.

Watching her, Bong Jiyeon said to me:

“Wow, so patriarchal. When you were yelling at the ghosts earlier, half of it was genuine, right?”

“Oh, come on. I told you it wasn’t.”

I wasn’t in my right mind then.

Looking back now, I acted recklessly and fearlessly, like someone whose heart or liver was hanging outside their body.

But thanks to that, didn’t we somehow survive safely?

“Who would have thought the caretaker was a ghost too. If the perceptive Yang Juhui hadn’t noticed, who knows what would have happened to all of us.”

Swish—

As I received a cool glass of water from Yang Juhui, I shared my honest thoughts.

I had no idea the caretaker was a ghost.

Yang Juhui has really good instincts, like how she was the first to hear the baby ghost’s crying.

However, Yang Juhui asked me somewhat curtly:

“What now? What do you want me to do this time?”

It seems my sincere compliment was taken as flattery.

I stretched my feet toward Yang Juhui and said:

“I wish Juhui, who’s the most perceptive and dependable among us, would massage my feet too.”

“Fuck off!”

“Ouch!”

Squeeze—

Yang Juhui pinched my thigh hard and quickly disappeared.

I felt like the compliment strategy wouldn’t work anymore.

Anyway.

We really enjoyed the ramen the caretaker lady made for us.

It was truly the most delicious ramen I’d ever had in my life.

Salty ramen after sweating profusely.

It gave me a strong sense of being alive.

Those ghost bastards can’t taste this. How pitiful.

“Kids, I’ll prepare the blankets for you to sleep. And it’s best not to wander outside at night. You might fall into the pond in the dark.”

The kind lady prepared our bedding well.

She also warned us not to approach the pond.

She said animals like deer, birds, and wild boars fall into the pond and die at least once a month.

Everyone was exhausted, and we went to bed early without even having time to look around the villa.

The bed was so soft and comfortable, but strangely, I couldn’t fall asleep.

Maybe it was because today’s events had fully charged my adrenaline.

So I ended up fiddling with my phone.

“…Tomorrow is Sunday.”

While playing with my phone, I thought about the events of today.

Today, I came to exorcise ghosts and acquire points, but the ghosts were stronger than I expected, and things didn’t go well.

Indeed, the Jang Huibin ghost that even shamans avoid.

It’s not an easy ghost that can be defeated without a plan.

On the other hand, I also felt a desire to collect.

If I could recruit her into my mercenary corps, she might help in conquering the second floor.

How can I defeat the tomb ghost…

That’s when I heard it.

Splash—!

The sound of water splashing.

When I raised my head and glanced out the window, I saw something floating on the black pond below the second-floor window.

It had long hair and was wearing a light blue gown.

Splash, splash splash—

“Oh, that…”

Feeling a familiarity with the person struggling in the water, I quickly ran toward the pond.

As I approached the pond, wasn’t that Yu Dahui struggling in the water!

“Dahui! What’s going on!”

“Yeongwon! Help me! I fell in!”

Yu Dahui falling into the pond!

I was wondering what happened, but just as I was about to reach out my hand to save her quickly—

Wait, what if it’s not Yu Dahui?

They said a water ghost appears in this pond.

What if it’s the water ghost?

“…Yu Dahui said she’s good at swimming. Didn’t you say you won an award in an elementary school swimming competition?”

“……”

As if the splashing just now had been a lie, Yu Dahui’s struggling stopped.

Yu Dahui’s body floated a bit more on the water’s surface.

Yu Dahui, with her body revealed above the water surface up to just below her navel.

The silk gown she wore instead of pajamas clung to her wet body, revealing elegant curves.

She didn’t have the sturdy feel of Bong Jiyeon who did track and field, nor was she slender like Yang Juhui, but she had a delicate, porcelain-like curve like a crane’s neck.

Yu Dahui laughed, “Puhehe—”

“Actually, it’s a joke. It’s fun to tease you, Yeongwon. Come in here too. The water is really cool and feels good.”

For some reason, Yu Dahui, wet from the water, was trying to pull me into the pond.

And I wasn’t foolish enough not to know why.

Water ghost!

The identity of the woman in the water was clearly a water ghost pretending to be Yu Dahui!

Trying to deceive me.

A chilling shiver ran down my spine.

And I got angry.

Do I look easy to fool?

Why are ghosts so desperate to torment me?

Why won’t they leave me alone!

But… this was also an opportunity for me.

If I exorcise a ghost, I get points, right?

I desperately needed points right now.

So how should I exorcise the water ghost?

I pondered for a while.

Whether knowing my concerns or not, the water ghost Yu Dahui splashed water at me.

“Ah, cold!”

“Doesn’t the cold feel good? It feels even better inside. Come in. I’ll do something nice for you. Something you’ve never imagined. I might do it if you come into the water.”

She’ll do something I’ve never imagined?

I really couldn’t imagine what it might be.

But her attempt to seduce me was vexing.

I won’t just keep getting pushed around by ghosts all day.

“I might come into the water if you show me your chest.”