Ch.98098 – Girlfriend 1

# 098 – Girlfriend # 1

The darkened cave felt similar to the Nightmare Corridor.

A damp, cool sensation like cold hands caressing one’s heart.

And suddenly, a Quirk appeared.

「《Dog》: You become a dog. Woof woof.」

I suddenly felt the urge to bark like a dog.

To think I could get a Quirk without even dying in the Nightmare Corridor!

I should probably treat it quickly.

“Status Window!”

I opened the Clinic and treated my Quirk.

Yang Juhui also developed the Dog Quirk, so I treated her too.

It cost 200 points, but that was better than accumulating Quirks.

Despite this, the place was filled with barking sounds.

Having become accustomed to this atmosphere from traversing the corridor multiple times, I somehow managed to reinsert all the pillars properly.

When I inserted the final pillar, the extinguished lights returned.

“It worked…”

Whatever it was, I seemed to have succeeded.

I had become a hero who defeated the evil schemes of a chaebol chairman by singing hymns that effectively disrupted the shamanic ritual.

“Oh my, young master! You saved us!”

“To remain sane when everyone else was turning into dogs! What deity do you serve?”

The shamans showed interest in me.

They seemed to think I was someone extraordinary.

I decided to make something up.

“The cycle of life and death must continue. We will live, and they will die.”

“Ohooo. Indeed. What profound wisdom.”

“You sound young, but you’re quite a virtuous young man.”

I just parroted some dialogue from a game, but nobody recognized it.

They’re all complete frauds. My trust in shamans dropped another level.

“So what do we do with Kwon Oseong?”

“What else? Let’s be honest with the Cheon family and hand him over. Trying to open the water veins on his own… he’s a dead man if the Cheons find out.”

“…But if we’re honest about everything, we might all get dragged down with him.”

The shamans who had been completely entranced earlier now seemed quite troubled.

They realized Kwon Oseong had tried to use them for something nefarious, but they were hesitant to seek revenge since he was a major corporation chairman.

Kwon Oseong still hadn’t given up, shouting until his throat was raw.

“It’s not too late! We can try again! I’ll pay you! If we succeed this time, we won’t have to worry about the Cheons or anyone else! You worthless mongrels! You pathetic mixed-breeds! This is why you’ll never rise to the top!”

But his cries no longer reached anyone’s ears.

People tied Kwon Oseong up tightly.

“Gag his tongue and bind all his fingers. This bastard is terrifyingly good at forming curses. He’s the one who took down the guardian shaman of Gaeryong.”

The guardian shaman of Gaeryong… could that be Yu Dahui’s grandmother?

So Kwon Oseong was responsible for taking down Yu Dahui’s grandmother.

This was news to me.

I asked the heavily made-up shaman woman.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, it is. Ungrateful bastard. He stabbed someone who treated him like a mother and sister in the back. There’s no evidence, but it was definitely him. He has such a wicked heart.”

“He was going to use all of us as ghost bait today! He’s a psychopath who treats human lives as worthless.”

People were furiously angry.

Although Kwon Oseong was a chaebol chairman who dominated Korea, this was a secret idol worship gathering place that no one would find, and it wouldn’t be strange if Kwon Oseong were stoned to death here.

That’s when someone appeared in the basement.

“Everyone, wait!”

His face was familiar to me too.

He was the man who read our palms when we went hiking in Gaeryong last time.

Dr. Ji, was it?

People were surprised.

“Isn’t that Ji Dongseok?”

“Why is he showing up when he’s supposedly been in seclusion for years?”

“Isn’t he Kwon Oseong’s classmate? Did he come because Kwon Oseong contacted him?”

He was the man who helped us sort things out when we reported Gu Hyena’s body to the police.

I couldn’t believe he was Kwon Oseong’s classmate.

The name Ji Dongseok was familiar too.

Hadn’t I seen a document in the principal’s office on the second floor of the Nightmare Corridor signed “Principal Ji Dongseok”?

He was a feng shui master who used to be the principal of old Yeongji High.

He looked around and spoke respectfully.

“Seniors and juniors. May I take care of this? I came on the Chairman’s orders. If you hand over Kwon Oseong to me, I’ll make sure everything is handled properly.”

“Isn’t he just trying to help Kwon Oseong because they’re classmates?”

“No, I heard they’re mortal enemies.”

The atmosphere was chaotic.

Soon everyone’s eyes turned to me in my squid mask.

As I was feeling slightly flustered, the heavily made-up shaman woman laughed.

“I think we should ask the young master who handled today’s situation so well.”

“Yes, good idea.”

“The young man’s spiritual power is amazing! Kwon Oseong tried to burst his heart with alcohol, but he didn’t even flinch!”

“I saw it too. The young man has a Strong Heart.”

Everyone praised and liked me.

Whatever it was, I seemed to be impressive.

The claim that Kwon Oseong tried to burst my heart was honestly news to me.

Did he have a gun hidden somewhere?

That’s terrifying.

All I wanted was to get out of here.

“I am Kwon Oseooong! I’m the best in Korea! I aaaaam!”

The chaebol chairman Kwon Oseong was struggling with his limbs in a very unsightly manner.

He crawled over to Kwon Suho’s motionless body, buried his face in it, and cried.

Kwon Suho wasn’t dead—he was still breathing.

But he didn’t seem to be in a living state either.

“Huuuurk! Huuuurk!”

It was the first time in my life I’d seen a middle-aged man crying so disgracefully.

It didn’t feel good, and when everyone fell silent, the man called Ji Dongseok approached Kwon Oseong.

“Oseong. They say if you want to curse someone, dig two graves. One for your target and one for yourself. What’s happening to you now is just the return of all the harm you’ve done to others. It’s over. It’s all over.”

Is it really all over?

Whatever the case, I didn’t want to stay in this horrible cave.

I thought it would be best for Yang Juhui and me to get out of this place quickly.

I didn’t want to get involved in any more troublesome situations by staying here too long.

“I think it would be best if Dr. Ji Dongseok handles this matter.”

My whole body was damp with sweat, and the smell of the squid mask was terrible.

Dr. Ji Dongseok, who said he came on the Chairman’s orders, seemed trustworthy, and I wanted to delegate everything to him and leave.

“Ahem, well, it’s almost curfew time in the domain, so I must go now. Reiko-san. Let’s go. Ms. Sua, we’re leaving. Sayonara.”

Hurriedly—

That’s how we successfully escaped.

We ran so frantically that I wondered if someone might be chasing us.

Pududududududut—

After running for a while, when the Oseong building was no longer in sight, I was finally able to take off the squid mask.

The air was so sweet.

“Hey! Whatever it was, I think we did it! Whatever it was, I think we accomplished something!”

I was so happy that I held out my palm toward Yang Juhui.

Yang Juhui took off her fox mask and gave me a high five.

“When I kicked him, the chaebol chairman went flying! I beat a rich person!”

It seemed Yang Juhui had also taken advantage of the darkness to beat up Kwon Oseong.

How many chances do you get in life to hit a chaebol chairman?

I wish I could have hit him too.

“No one realized I was a fake shaman! It’s hilarious!”

“The big company chairman almost wet himself looking at me!”

Yang Juhui and I had no idea what exactly had happened, but we were in a great mood and burst out laughing together.

As we were thinking this, Kwon Sua came running from a distance, panting.

“H-hey! I think it went well!”

Kwon Sua evaluated today’s events as successful.

I thought it went very well too.

So what happens now?

As I was thinking about this, Kwon Sua fidgeted.

“A-amazing. I was too scared to do anything… Honestly, even just covering my ears and keeping my eyes shut tight was so terrifying…”

To be honest, I was scared too.

Didn’t she see my legs trembling because I was so frightened in the darkness?

I think I even messed up the hymn’s melody.

Looking back, I probably got the lyrics wrong too.

But as long as the result is good, that’s what matters, right?

Just as I was starting to feel a bit proud, Kwon Sua said:

“Um… this might sound a bit funny given the situation… but Yeongwon, could we talk privately for a moment?”

# # #

Kwon Sua asked if we could talk privately.

We went to a quiet café near the Oseong Group building.

People stared at us because of our outfits, which was a bit embarrassing.

“What did you want to talk about?”

Maybe she’s going to offer me money?

Since I helped her today, there should be some compensation, right?

That’s capitalism.

That’s how everyone lives.

Kwon Sua was just sipping her iced chocolate latte through a straw.

As I was feeling unnecessarily tense, Kwon Sua asked:

“Hey!”

“Yes?”

“Do you… have someone you like?”

“……”

What’s her purpose in asking me this?

“Do you have someone you like?”

If not, would she say “then date me”—could such a dream-like conversation be about to unfold?

No, that seemed too convenient and biased an imagination on my part.

The probability of a popular idol member I met today falling for me and confessing was as slim as someone dying from a heart explosion caused by a chaebol chairman stabbing a straw doll he kept in his arms.

It was close to 0.

It might even be exactly 0.

“…I don’t… really have anyone I like?”

But humans can’t help but have expectations.

All men live with the confidence of “What if it’s me?”

It’s thanks to such confidence that we’ve been able to preserve our species.

“I see.”

Kwon Sua visibly relaxed.

Meanwhile, I started feeling tense and my heart began to race.

My heart was pounding so hard, I wondered if it was because of Kwon Oseong’s curse.

Just as I was getting very nervous about what conversation might start, Kwon Sua, having finished her chocolate latte with only ice remaining, sucked on the empty cup with her straw.

The atmosphere was infinitely awkward.

Unable to bear it any longer, I asked:

“What did you want to say?”

“Um… would you like to date me?”

Boing—

It felt like my eyeballs were springing out of my head.

The convenient scenario I had imagined was actually happening!

No way.

This simply couldn’t be reality.

Is this a dream?

Maybe I was still trapped in the basement of the Oseong Group, asleep and dreaming that I was sitting in a café with an idol.

Or maybe Kwon Sua’s true identity was an idol ghost trying to enchant people and suck out their brains.

As I was lost in thought, Kwon Sua looked at me like a rain-soaked puppy.

“…Is that a no?”

Is it a no?

The reason I’ve been unfortunate until now must be because of this very moment. I’ve been unfortunate until now to balance out the excessive luck of this moment.

And on the other hand, I was puzzled.

“Why me…?”

I was an objective person.

With my charm, it would be difficult to attract even Jeong Sojin or Bong Jiyeon.

But now an idol was confessing to me.

It was natural to be suspicious.

Soon Kwon Sua said:

“Because it’s the first time I’ve met someone who’s had the same experiences as me. I feel like we communicate well. Just being able to talk about these things makes me so happy and excited…”

Ah, if that’s the case, I could understand.

If I nodded now, would I become an idol’s boyfriend?

I also wondered if it was okay for an idol to date, but Kwon Sua had surely already considered such concerns.

She must have thought about various factors and concluded that she wanted to date me.

In that case, I needed to think seriously too.

“…Do I have to decide today?”

“No! You don’t have to. A lot has happened today, so your mind must be all over the place…”

Idol Kwon Sua was hesitating.

However, an idol always shines like a mountain idol wherever they go, and the few people in the café recognized her.

“Excuse me, aren’t you Kwon Sua from Dorangmul Girlz? Right?”

“Wow! Could I get your autograph?”

“Can I take a picture with you?”

People started gathering around.

Many people began to surround Kwon Sua, and fearing my face might end up in the media, I had to quickly escape.

As someone whose father was the perpetrator of a major incident five years ago, I wanted to avoid having my face appear in the media at all costs.