Chapter 1 - The Boy's Abyss (1)

21st-century high school is a class society.

For example, Sojin, the class president of Class D, was at the top of the school's social hierarchy.

"Hey, everyone! Don't leave yet! The homeroom teacher has something to say before lunch! Come on, stay put!"

Even with glasses, Sojin's pretty face couldn't be hidden. She had good grades and was popular among both peers and teachers. I heard her parents were executives at a large company, so her family was well-off.

If we were to rank people on a percentile scale, Class President Jung Sojin would undoubtedly be in the top 5%.

"Alright, I have something to say," the homeroom teacher began. "Someone left a letter in the staff room saying there's bullying in Class D. Does anyone know who this might be about?"

"Teacher! We'll be late for lunch if this takes too long!"

"Please wrap it up quickly! There's no bullying in our class!"

"I thought so too, but I wanted to make sure. Okay, everyone close your eyes. If you know anything about this letter, raise your hand... I see. No one."

As the library committee member for Class 1-D, where did I, Ha Young-won, fit in the school's hierarchy?

I thought I was right in the middle.

At least, that's how it should have been...

Thwack!

I was trying to catch a quick nap before lunch when something hard hit the back of my head, making me see stars.

"Ouch, sh*t!"

"What? Did you just swear at me? Did you guys hear that? This punk's talking back. Class D's really going downhill."

A male student with dyed red hair and flashy earrings was holding a danso like a kendo sword.

He was wearing a tracksuit over his uniform, which was against school rules, but his build made him look like an athlete.

"Hey, Ha Young-won. You wrote that letter to the staff room, didn't you? Saying I'm bullying you? Are you out of your mind? Can you handle the consequences?"

"No, Geonho. Why would I write a letter like that? It must have been someone else."

I looked around, trying to avoid Kim Geonho's threatening gaze. When others met my eyes, they quickly looked away. Everyone seemed to want to avoid getting involved in troublesome situations.

"Ha... Young-won, just behave yourself so we don't have any unnecessary problems. Got it? Find out who wrote that letter by the end of this week. If you don't, I'll assume it was you."

With a rumble, the group of intimidating male students left the classroom.

As the tension dissipated and the classroom began to buzz with chatter again, someone approached me with light steps.

"Hey, loser. Are you sure you didn't write it?"

It was a girl with long, dyed blonde hair wearing a tight-fitting uniform. She had her hands behind her back as if hiding something, which emphasized her chest. The name "Yang Juhee" was written on her swollen vest.

"No, Juhee. I'm telling you, I didn't write it."

I maintained a submissive attitude towards Yang Juhee, who was a head shorter than me.

This way, I'd get beaten up less!

I even lowered my eyes to look as pitiful as possible!

As a result, I caught a glimpse of Juhee's white legs and thin ankles beneath her short skirt.

I recently overheard her gang talking about how Juhee had earned a million won doing some kind of shoe modeling. Her legs were indeed worthy of a model.

Pretty, relatively smart, and popular among the cool kids.

I wondered how enjoyable life must be for people like her when Juhee spoke.

"Why not? When you're bullied every day, you'd want to rebel at least once, right? You're a guy after all. Speaking of which, why don't I check how much your little friend has grown?"

"Ow, stop it! And why would I write a letter to the staff room? I want to know who wrote it too. There's no bullying in our class, right?"

"..."

Juhee frowned.

But her cloudy expression quickly changed to a sunny smile.

"This is why I like you, Young-won. Really. Whenever I see you, I just want to bite you and pinch you. So, did you buy me a new lighter? I thought Zippo lighters were cool."

"Here. I scraped together what little money I had to buy it. It's a 5,000 won one. I bought it with my dinner money, so you really need to pay me back..."

"Aww, Young-won, you're the best! I'll pay you back later, okay?"

The classroom door slid open, and a scruffy-looking boy with red hair appeared, urgently addressing Juhee.

"Hey, Juhee! Geonho says he needs to talk to you by the old school building. He says it's really important, so come quickly!"

"Ugh, who does Kim Geonho think he is, ordering people around? Young-won, let's talk later. Meet me behind the auditorium after school. Don't run away like last time, okay? Got it?"

Juhee threatened me with an angelic voice, pocketed the box cutter on my desk, and left the classroom.

I don't know why she took the box cutter, but I probably won't get it back. This isn't the first time my belongings have disappeared like this.

"That was my cutter... And I didn't even get paid for the lighter."

At this point, anyone would understand.

I, Ha Young-won, was the punching bag for Class D's bullies!

You could say I was at the very bottom of the school's hierarchy, a 'slave'!

But right now, I couldn't stop smiling.

"Hehehe. Look at Kim Geonho freaking out. Seems he's a bit scared of getting caught by the teacher. Serves him right. And Yang Juhee too, that girl, always taking my stuff..."

Normally, I wouldn't dare say such things even to myself for fear of being overheard.

But today was different!

There was a good reason for that!

Taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention to me, I quietly whispered:

"Status window."

***

『Name: Ha Young-won Lv.1

Trait: 《Broken Clock》

Funds: 99 Points

Description: Once promising, you now spend your days in meaningless routine, just killing time. But even a broken clock is right twice a day.』

『Advice from 《Broken Clock》: Save up funds to open the "Shop"! You automatically gain 2P per day, and can earn additional points through unusual activities.』

『100P required to open the Shop』

Thanks to these words that appeared after the entrance ceremony, I was able to spend my days a little differently from others.

The reason I could endure the humiliation from Yang Juhee as a punching bag was because of this strange status window.

Today was also the day when the funds I had been saving at 2 points per day since the entrance ceremony would reach 100P.

"The price to open the 'Shop' is 100 points."

I didn't know what would be in the "Shop" of this status window, but it surely wouldn't be ordinary, and it shouldn't be.

Maybe they'd sell something like a "Hypnosis App."

Or perhaps a magic book that could awaken superpowers?

Still, I'd prefer the "Hypnosis App."

I'm confident I could use it really well.

"Come on, lunchtime, hurry up!"

I had figured out that the points came in at fixed times: noon and midnight.

So I waited endlessly for lunchtime, and finally - tick-tock - I could acquire 100 points!

"Damn it, God, Buddha, please... Please..."

『Using 100P to open the Shop!』

『Welcome to the Level 1 Shop.

We sell various items to help in battles against heroes.』

Did the "Hypnosis App" pop up!?

From now on, I'm the king of Class D!

『Leveling up the shop will add products and apply discounts.

Shop Level 1 (0/100)

Trait Drawing Ticket - 100P

Capsule Drawing Ticket - 100P

Unlock Locked Item - 100P

Open Old School Building – 0P』

"..."

Looking at the list of items for sale in the shop, my mind went blank for a moment.

Since it was called a 'shop,' I expected it would sell something in exchange for payment, but the prices were so high that I couldn't afford anything.

"This is too much."

100 points is what I'd have to save for 50 days, right?

Do they want me to keep acting like Pikachu and being a punching bag for another 50 days?

No way.

The only thing I could do with no points left after opening the shop was "4. Open Old School Building 0P."

Thinking I had to do something to escape slavery, I moved my hand.

Ding-

『The lock on the Old School Building has been removed.』

『Chapter 1. The Nightmare Corridor begins.』

『Please select players from the list.』

『You can select up to 4 players.』

"Oh..."

The list of names that appeared included many familiar faces.

***

Yeongji High School barely qualified as a general high school, with a low quality of students.

As a result, the area behind the old school building, which was rarely frequented, often became a lawless zone during break times.

"Hey, did you hear? Someone saw Kim Geonho hanging out with the English teacher in Jimun-dong last weekend."

"Wow, really? Isn't Jimun-dong full of bars and motels? Kim Geonho with the English teacher? There's like a ten-year age gap...!?"

"Man, I'm so jealous of that bastard Kim Geonho. I really liked the English teacher... Is she crazy? With a student?"

"Ugh, the cigarette smell is so strong."

As a girl with dyed blonde hair appeared, the groups of boys stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to her.

For these hormone-filled teenage boys, every move of Yang Juhee, one of the prettiest girls among their peers, was overly stimulating.

"Juhee's single, right? Should I try asking her out?"

"Wow, did she make her skirt even shorter? She's really pretty..."

But even these teenage boys couldn't casually talk to or act friendly with Yang Juhee.

Partly because Juhee, rumored to be from a rich family, gave off an unapproachable vibe, but also because Kim Geonho, who ruled Class D like a king, had taken a liking to her.

Among the male students, only Kim Geonho and Ha Young-won, Juhee's punching bag, could talk to her.

This was also why Ha Young-won faced additional bullying from other male students.

"Hey, where's Kim Geonho? Why did he tell me to come here?"

Juhee asked. The boys smoking cigarettes all rushed to answer, competing with each other.

"Geonho should be in the old school building! I think he called you about that shoe modeling job?"

"Or maybe he's going to confess to you again? Juhee, honestly, you and Geonho would make a great couple. Why don't you just date him?"

"With Kim Geonho? No thanks. I've said it before. I like strong men."

The boys looked confused.

After all, there were very few people at Yeongji High who could fight better than Kim Geonho.

They wondered if she meant that senior from the third year... While they were thinking this, Juhee took out a lighter from her pocket and lit a cigarette.

All the boys watched her, mesmerized.

"But why did he want to meet at the old school building?"

"Geonho's been trying to pick the lock on the old building for days now. Says he wants to make it his hideout. Teachers don't patrol there, so you can smoke freely and stuff..."

Juhee disliked the old school building.

She got an eerie feeling from that abandoned structure.

There were even rumors about it being haunted.

In fact, Juhee was one of those who had 'seen a ghost.'

Though she was still unsure whether it was a dream or reality...