episode_0021

21.

After clearing away dinner, we gathered around the table. The sky was painted crimson by the setting sun, and a chilly wind whispered eerily through the air.

As the tension thickened, Han Hyojin parted her lips.

“I will now explain the rules.”

Hyojin’s voice, as calm as ice, injected a layer of fear into the atmosphere. Beside her, Lee Subin shuddered, goosebumps rising on her arms.

Her trembling body drew mine closer, prompting me to gently cover her thigh with my hand.

Subin, now comforted by the warmth, lightly pressed her hand against the one resting on her thigh. More precisely, she wrote on the back of my hand.

Per·vert·ed·ness?

This kid helped me out, and now…

With an impudent attitude, I furrowed my brow slightly, attempting to pull my hand away, but Subin held onto it as if it were natural.

It’s a joke! Thank you ♡

Ending with a heart?

Even though she sometimes behaved rudely, her occasional cute gestures made her impossible to dislike. If that was her charm, then so be it.

Lost in these thoughts, I heard Hyojin’s explanation in my ear.

“First, we’ll divide into pairs.”

“Huh? But there are five of us.”

“Teacher Song Mina decided to guard the tent.”

“Oh! She volunteered to guard the tent! Everyone else, feel free to enjoy playing with ghosts!”

Hyojin nodded and continued.

“The pairs will be determined by drawing lots.”

“Okay.”

“After the pairs are formed, each pair will descend the mountain at one-hour intervals and enter the school through the back gate, not the front gate.”

It seemed like there was some device set up at the back gate.

Before entering, I felt the need to prepare myself mentally.

“Once inside the school, pass by the office, go up to the second floor, find the science lab at the end of the corridor, retrieve the note, and that will be the end.”

“Oh, it’s getting serious.”

“It is. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

Subin raised her hand quickly.

“You’re the host! Have you not figured out the location and identity of the tricks? Don’t you think the gap in information is unfair?”

“I didn’t prepare; my assistant did. The gap between your information and mine disappeared just now as I explained the rules. Is that clear?”

“Yes!”

“Any more questions? If not, let’s draw the pairs. Each person will draw one.”

Hyojin retrieved a large basket from under the table. Inside were four neatly folded pieces of paper.

Park Ayoung and I exchanged glances, while Subin promptly picked a piece of paper without hesitation.

“Ta-da! I’m in Pair 1!”

“If you do this, make sure everyone except Pair 1 gets picked…”

“Why me!”

“Wouldn’t it be less scary if you went with me? Or would it be less scary if you went with the president? I personally think the latter is overwhelmingly better…”

Muttering, she picked a piece of paper.

The feeling of the paper sticking to my hand was pleasant. Feeling lucky, I chuckled and turned to Park Ayoung.

“Shall we open them simultaneously on the count of three?”

“Sure.”

“Then, one, two, three!”

On my unfolded paper was the number ‘1,’ while on Park Ayoung’s paper was the number ‘2.’ It was the moment when fate crossed paths with luck.

“Oh…”

“Doji-senpai, you look great! How do you feel about being paired with someone who wanted to avoid you?! Huh!? Bebebe! What do you think?!”

“Are you trying to mock me right now…? Two cowards ended up as a pair?”

“Oh… That’s right?”

They sat down.

I glanced at Pair 2, teasing Subin.

Park Ayoung and Han Hyojin looked visibly dissatisfied. They seemed annoyed, as if a gambler couldn’t get the hand they desired…

I tilted my head and reconsidered. Their faces showed either smiles or blank expressions, nothing out of the ordinary.

“Was that just… because of the mood?”

Today, I must be really tired.

***

A vague darkness enveloped the world.

Now was the time to start descending.

“Jinwoo, you shouldn’t run around just because you’re scared. Especially on the mountain and in the corridor, if you fall, you could break any part of your body without it being a big deal….”

“Consider my position, listening to that for the past 30 minutes…. Can I even accurately deliver the next line without lying…?”

“You worry too much…. Just fall flat on your knees.”

“Thanks for the blessing….”

Park Ayoung replied as she received the flashlight from Han Hyojin’s hand. She then illuminated the mountain path with the light and nodded to Han Hyojin.

“I’ll go ahead.”

“Um…. Thank you for your hard work.”

“There’s a long pause in the middle, right?”

“I hesitated for a moment about whether to give advice or not. I thought it might be useless to listen, so I refrained…. Are you curious?”

“I’m more curious because of the buildup.”

Han Hyojin smirked mischievously.

“The restroom at the end of the second floor is for women. Occasionally, it changes to a men’s restroom, and a sympathetic ghost pops out.”

“…”

“Here’s another piece of advice. The stairs from the first floor to the second floor have a total of 30 steps, including both up and down. If the number is different, go back without looking behind you.”

Is this really advice…?

I couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief before saying, “Don’t scare me. Subin is already scared.”

I pointed behind me to indicate Lee Subin hiding there.

Hyojin scrutinized her meaningfully and said, “Is scaring her all you’re doing?”

“What? What do you mean by that, Chairman?”

“…”

“Hey! Don’t stay silent with such meaningful looks! What? Throw in some dirty jokes! Please! Please!”

Despite the plea, Han Hyojin remained unmoved. Instead, she pushed my forearm away and signaled for me to leave.

Reluctantly, I led Lee Subin, and we set off.

Thump-thump-

The sound of footsteps echoed strangely loudly. The pressure of gazes on my back had suddenly disappeared.

Now, all I could sense was Subin’s heavy breathing, as if she were about to vomit violently.

“…”

Since there was no conversation, silence seemed appropriate. Using the hand without the flashlight, I touched Subin’s side.

“Eek! I-I have no taste!”

“You probably don’t have taste because you lack flesh.”

“You were Doji-senpai…? Whew…. I thought I was going to die…! Why are you touching a lady’s body without a word!”

“I didn’t call you, but since you raised your voice, I tried to act. I guess that’s my win for now, right?”

“What are you saying!”

The nonsense eased the tension in Subin’s muscles. As her steps and breathing returned to normal, our conversation flowed.

However, Subin continued to unleash a barrage of criticisms without acknowledging my efforts.

“Anyway, Senpai! Huh?! When a skinny junior like me! Huh?! Trembles in fear! Huh?! You should comfort and hug me! Huh?! Instead of scaring me! Huh?! Are you trying to scare me?!”

“Uh, I understand everything. Remove some of the interruptions in between. It disrupts readability.”

“Trash! Idiot! Jerk! Moron! Sympathy!”

“Do you have to go that far? It’s not like I’m sending condolences to ghosts who died from sympathy.”

“Gasp…. I-I’ll be quiet. I’m sorry.”

Subin bowed her waist into the air.

Her 90-degree bow held a politeness that even Park Chunja, the 17th-generation grandfather, wouldn’t show.

It was a passage that indicated how much she feared ghosts.

I quickly changed the subject, realizing Subin was getting overly scared.

“Don’t you have any interesting stories to share?”

“If you ask for something like that, it won’t just come out easily. Am I a box that spits out whatever you want?”

“If not, how about sharing some current concerns or thoughts?”

“Oh! If that’s what you’re asking for, then yes, I have one.”

Subin proudly spoke up.

“My current concern is whether the authentic recipe for pufferfish sashimi is truly martial arts!”

As mentioned by the word ‘spoke up,’ it was a pointless and time-wasting concern, full of empty talk.

I opened my mouth, but I firmly believed that all the blame lay with Lee Subin for bringing up such a topic.

Even when I was ready to make a statement in the National Assembly, Lee Subin’s story continued.

“Why do martial arts novels often involve learning evil magic? They realize their own shortcomings and pass them on to the next generation.”

“Yeah….”

“Similarly, the recipe for blowfish stew has been passed down through generations. After numerous sacrifices, it has evolved into the ultimate skill known today as the Heavenly Demon Technique!”

“Wow….”

“I will teach the chairman the recipe, transform the corrupt political world into authentic martial arts! Defeat enemies with the Heavenly Demon Technique….”

Nonsense overflowed. Even if a dam collapsed, it wouldn’t have this level of killing power, I dared to guess.

I wiped away the blood trickling from my ear and then, thwack— I smacked Lee Subin’s forehead with the back of my hand. Just like that, tape seemed to stick to the dam, as if by magic.

Lee Subin, rubbing her head quickly, shot me a glare.

“…Why did you hit me?”

“Just because.”

“Did I seem too easygoing just because I’m short? You can’t even fight properly, why do you keep picking on me!”

Chiwa barked.

Ignoring her would be fine.

In her eyes, a faint glimmer of “fear,” which I thought had subsided, appeared.

Perhaps the crazy talk stemmed from this. No, in reality, it was about 99.98% likely the right answer.

I brushed off her words and asked, “Are you okay?”

“What’s wrong!”

“Are your head and body okay?”

“They’re fine.”

“Lying. You’re so scared even though you’re talking confidently. I’ve never seen someone more fearful than me.”

…”

Lee Subin’s lips remained sealed. It was a piercing truth, making even her audacious self unable to retort.

I chuckled and ruffled Lee Subin’s hair.

“You were trembling since the chairman spoke. If you don’t have the courage, why participate in the courage test?”

“It looked fun….”

“Your reasons are so typical of you.”

With the hand I was using to ruffle her hair, I lightly tapped her forehead.

“If you’re going to hit me, don’t touch me….”

“Just touching is fine?”

“No…. It’s less scary when you touch me. I don’t feel so alone….”

What’s this? Is it some kind of placebo effect or something?

Lee Subin seemed as cute as a cat.

My head was spinning with fear….

Since fixing my hair was too much trouble, I simply acknowledged it and offered my hand to Lee Subin.

She alternated between my outstretched palm and my face, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Do you want me to hold your hand or something?”

“Oh, correct.”

“Am I a puppy? If you want something, just ask!?”

Although her words were full of petulance, her hand was already holding mine.

“You’re honest about your feelings.”

“…So what.”

“Accept it?”

“…So what.”

And thus began the sensitive daughter version 2.

If this thought were to be revealed now, I’d probably be ridiculed, so I must keep it hidden until graduation.

Hiding my thoughts deep in my mind, I shared my warmth with Lee Subin through our joined hands.

Through this shared touch, we unwittingly descended the hill and found ourselves facing the school.