Ch.94094 – Those Who Bow to Idols 1

# 094 – Those Who Bow to Idols # 1

The Rhythm Ghost.

A long-necked woman who clicks with her mouth and says she’ll suck out my brain.

I vaguely thought she was the music teacher at Yeongji High.

She even called herself a teacher.

But Teacher Hong Miri told us a rather strange story.

“We tend to think ghosts have reasons for becoming ghosts, grudges, or lingering regrets that prevent them from moving on, but some might not have any of those things.”

Becoming a ghost without resentment or a tragic backstory?

Why?

Why would they do such a thing?

I couldn’t understand, but Jeongseok, who had been listening, jumped in as if he couldn’t hold back.

“That’s the difference between Korean and Japanese ghost stories. Korean ghosts usually have elaborate backstories, but Japanese ghosts don’t. They just spread disaster like natural calamities, without reason.”

Pure malice without story or cause.

It reminded me of their mocking laughter I’d heard before.

And I remembered what Gu Hyena had said when she refused to go up to the second floor.

“Gu Hyena said the ghosts on the second floor were fundamentally different from her. After hearing this, I understand a bit better.”

Gu Hyena was a high school ghost with a story that justified her becoming one.

Though dead, she retained her humanity.

But the monsters on the second floor were different.

They were literally monsters without cause or reason.

To push through such creatures, I’d need to harden my heart even more.

The sun was already setting.

Sunday evening.

After having a quick meal at the rest stop, we were heading back to our homes.

Everyone was sleeping, snoring away, probably tired of the repetitive highway scenery.

When I glanced around, even Yu Dahui and Yang Juhui, who normally didn’t get along, were leaning on each other’s shoulders, fast asleep.

Is Teacher Hong Miri okay?

If she dozes off while driving, we could all die.

As I was checking her condition, Teacher Hong Miri asked me:

“Why do you kids keep entering such terrifying nightmares? Most people would want to avoid them. Why do you rush into danger like moths to a flame?”

She was asking me, sitting in the passenger seat.

Why, she asks.

It was a difficult question to answer, but then Teacher Hong Miri changed her approach.

“Let me rephrase to make it easier to answer. What would you do if you got that incredible treasure at the end of the corridor? A treasure that grants wishes. If you had it, what would you want to do?”

It was like a teacher asking about career plans.

Actually, it was quite similar.

Getting that treasure everyone desires so much—

I hadn’t really imagined that far.

Until now, I’d been conquering the corridor with the mindset of climbing a mountain simply because it’s there, overcoming obstacles along the way.

But if things go well, I’ll eventually reach the summit everyone desires. What would I want to do then?

My dream.

The end of my journey.

I thought carefully.

“I want to restore everything that’s broken and damaged back to normal, and live a peaceful, ordinary life.”

“You’re lying, right? I thought boys your age would say they want to be surrounded by pretty girls. Be honest.”

Being surrounded by girls would be a nice wish too.

But wasn’t I already surrounded by enough girls?

Since kindergarten, this was the most I’d ever talked with girls, bumping into them, laughing naturally… it was the essence of youth.

Ironically, these moments of facing death at the hands of ghosts were the most youthful moments of my life.

That was kind of funny.

# # #

Climbing the stairs, I was too tired to do anything.

But when I got home, my mom was making a fuss.

“Yeongwon! I heard you went swimming with girls!”

Wait, how did she know?

I didn’t tell her.

Soon, mom showed me her phone.

“Mom followed Juhui on Instagram! Mom knows everything!”

I saw a photo of the girls sitting by the pool with their legs stretched out.

It seemed to be a picture Teacher Hong Miri took while Jeongseok and I were busy digging.

It had tons of likes.

And lots of comments too.

“It’s good to see Jiyeon still doing well ㅎㅎㅎ”

“Where is this? Looks nice♡”

They’re all quite popular.

Mom said:

“My son is all grown up. Going to the pool with girls! Did you kiss anyone?”

“No, I didn’t!”

I was exhausted.

I took a shower.

After showering, I felt sleepy.

I lay on my bed and checked my phone.

Looking at the photos the girls posted on Instagram, it seemed like anyone who didn’t know would think we just went out to have fun after final exams.

So many comments.

Lots of guys too.

I wonder if Yang Juhui or Yu Dahui get DMs from various guys?

They’re all pretty, so they might receive many messages that I don’t know about.

“As for me…”

On the other hand, I hardly received any messages.

My messenger friend list remained small and select.

“Jeong Sojin: Yeongwon, I heard you went to the pool with Seok! Must have been fun ㅠ”

“Noona Kim Yujeong: When are you free to model next time?”

I did have messages from women.

But… I didn’t really want to read them or reply.

…I’ll pretend to be asleep and reply later.

Are Yang Juhui and Dahui sleeping?

They looked really tired when we got out of the car earlier.

Understandably so.

Fighting ghosts really drains your energy.

It’s a miracle none of us got hurt.

“Let’s just sleep.”

Summer vacation is coming soon.

As I was putting down my phone, wondering what to do during the upcoming summer break—

Ding!

Someone messaged me.

Who could it be?

I was about to fall asleep, but I checked my phone and saw an unfamiliar number.

“Sua: Hello?”

“Who is this.”

It was someone not even on my friends list.

Sending me a message out of nowhere.

“?”

“Who is this?”

“Sua: Aren’t you Ha Yeongwon?”

“Yes, but who are you?”

A message from a stranger.

I tensed up, wondering if this was some terrifying ghost like the “Death Game” rumor that once appeared in a group chat.

“Sua: I’m Kwon Suho oppa’s cousin, Kwon Sua. I heard you’re a friend my cousin met recently”

Kwon Suho’s cousin sister, Kwon Sua.

For a moment I couldn’t place who she was, but then I remembered Kwon Suho saying, “My cousin sister is an idol, I’ll introduce you!”

Kwon Sua, the youngest member of Dorangmul Girlz that Yang Juhui likes.

A celebrity I’d only seen on the internet was contacting me.

“Oh.”

My sleepiness suddenly vanished.

The fatigue that had been weighing me down like heavy iron disappeared.

After all, I’d received a message from a celebrity.

I couldn’t help but feel curious and excited.

Honestly, it didn’t feel real.

“What’s this about?”

I asked with a slightly pounding heart.

About five minutes later, she replied.

“Sua: Let’s talk tomorrow in person”

“Sua: Keep it a secret from others”

An idol who becomes popular with every new song release is proposing to meet me first.

The hot summer of youth has finally come to my life.

Of course, I couldn’t be too optimistic.

What reason would Kwon Suho’s cousin Kwon Sua have to contact me first?

Most likely, it had something to do with Kwon Suho.

Why keep it a secret?

Maybe because if a famous idol meets a guy, dating rumors would start and cause trouble.

Anyway, after sleeping well with those thoughts, the next day.

The final exam rankings were revealed.

“Ha Yeongwon…”

I found my name among the list.

Around 102nd out of 250.

“Good, above average at least.”

Considering I was being attacked by ghosts and going through all sorts of things, being above average was good. Honestly, I didn’t study at all at home.

If I did this well just from listening in class, I deserved praise.

For reference, Jeongseok was 2nd.

He probably didn’t have time to study either, but his grades were remarkably high.

Yang Juhui was 56th.

Considering she was around 30th in the midterms, she’d dropped quite a bit.

“Ah shit, my grades dropped.”

Yang Juhui complained behind me.

Of course, 56th was still high in my opinion.

I still can’t believe Yang Juhui is good at studying.

Yu Dahui was 9th.

Dahui must be smart.

And Bong Jiyeon was below 200th.

For those below 200th, the exact rankings weren’t disclosed, probably to protect the students’ image. It wasn’t surprising that Bong Jiyeon wasn’t good at studying—it was obvious just by looking at her.

Anyway, with finals over and summer vacation starting next week, classes were boring and the weather was hot.

The season of cicadas buzzing.

“Summer vacation…”

I gazed at the blue sky outside the window, momentarily lost in thought.

My first summer vacation since entering high school.

I heard other schools make students come in to study even during vacation, but at our school, only the special A class had to do that.

It meant we were free to play as much as we wanted.

Of course, if I really just played around, I’d ruin my college entrance exams.

“Hey, Ha Yeongwon, what are you doing today? I’m going shopping for summer clothes, want to come? You need to carry my bags. Bong Jiyeon and Yu Dahui said they can’t come today.”

After class, Yang Juhui slapped my back with her palm.

She was planning to go clothes shopping.

She clearly intended to use me as a porter.

But today I had to decline.

“I have plans.”

If I told her I was meeting idol Kwon Sua, Yang Juhui might faint.

Kwon Sua asked me to keep it a secret.

But I owed Yang Juhui a great debt.

Thinking about how she gave me a talisman and died still moves me.

I shouldn’t lie to Yang Juhui, at least.

With that in mind, I carefully said:

“You know that idol group you like, the one that sang ‘Nymphinity Love’? Dorangmul Girlz.”

“What about Dorangmul Girlz?”

“Their youngest member, Kwon Sua. I’m meeting her today.”

“WHAAAAT?!”

Yang Juhui screamed loudly.

Everyone in the class who was preparing to leave turned to look at us.

Yang Juhui, embarrassed with a red face, lowered her voice:

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I am. She told me to keep it secret, but I’m telling you specially.”

I was the captain of the Yeongwon Pirates.

It meant I had a duty to take care of my crew.

I hoped she would realize how specially I thought of her and cared for her from what I just said.

But for some reason, Yang Juhui got angry.

“Who are you to meet Kwon Sua? What are you? Did you do something weird with that status window of yours?”

How would I use the status window to meet an idol?

Yang Juhui has quite an imagination.

“Actually, I don’t know why she wants to meet either. Want to come along? She asked me to keep it secret from others, but she didn’t say I had to come alone.”

Since you never know what might happen, having Yang Juhui with me would be reassuring in many ways.

Yang Juhui’s pupils shook violently as if there was an earthquake, and finally she nodded.

“Okay.”