Chapter 11
"No, I heard a man and woman fighting! Teacher, stop it! And you know, a Yeongji High student went missing recently. Maybe..."
"No, from what I heard, it wasn't fighting, it was that kind of sound! You know, between a man and woman!"
Police officers responding to neighbors' calls knocked on the door. So there really was a neighbor who called the police.
Of course, Ms. Kang protested her innocence.
"No, I really didn't do anything! And Young-won is my student! How could I do anything to a student...!"
The voices kept getting louder.
A female teacher bringing a student home and committing violence - such a news headline flashed through my mind and disappeared.
What would happen to the teacher at this rate? Various rumors would spread, and she might get fired from school or, in the worst case, go to jail.
Ms. Kang seemed to know this too, as her face gradually turned tearful. That expression looked more like my female classmates than an adult.
I felt a moral responsibility. So, I took a deep breath and said:
"I did it. While teacher stepped out, I drank the alcohol in the house. I turned the TV up loud and talked nonsense while drunk. Neighbors, police officers, I'm sorry!"
Bow-
I apologized to everyone with a deep bow.
"I'm really, really sorry! If you smell my breath, you'll smell the alcohol!"
Haaah-
I breathed whiskey breath toward the police. The very young-looking officer wrinkled his nose.
"Ha, look at this kid? His breath really reeks of alcohol. Senior, there's a whiskey bottle over there too. Looks like he just poured and drank it."
"Really? Kids these days... Anyway, you said you're a teacher? Why did you bring a student home at this hour?"
Slide-
The officer called 'senior' looked at the teacher and me with narrow eyes.
"Eh? Um, that's..."
"It's because of me. I'm being bullied. They call me fatherless. Teacher has evidence of it. She was trying to counsel me about the bullying. Teacher, show them the note! Quickly!"
"Huh? Ah... the note...!"
"Bullying is occurring in Class D."
"That's the note I wrote."
The police officers looked at the note the teacher showed them and nodded as if everything made sense. It meant my lies were working well with law enforcement.
Besides, not everything was a lie.
The auntie ghost did force alcohol into my mouth, so I really did drink, and the teacher was trying to counsel me about 'bullying.'
Lies mixed with the right amount of truth are sometimes more convincing than either complete truth or lies.
The police, perhaps not wanting to make a big deal on a Friday night before the weekend, closed the case.
"Secretly drinking at the home of a teacher who's worried about you and causing trouble. Well done. Still, if you need help from adults outside school for school problems, contact this number. I'm also a Yeongji High alumnus."
Scribble scribble-
The senior officer wrote down his phone number for me and left. It had been quite a stormy night.
"Teacher, I'm sorry for causing trouble. I should go home now. I'm so ashamed. I'm really sorry."
"...It's fine. Didn't you drink? Where do you think you're going? Go to the room and sleep."
Ms. Kang sat at the dining table and gave me a coy look.
I was used to such looks from Juhee, but... an adult woman's gaze had a different intensity.
"...But teacher. You said rumors would spread if you sleep in the same house as your student?"
"What kind of teacher would I be if I sent a drunk kid out at this hour because I'm afraid of rumors? Don't worry about that. How's your stomach?"
"Feels like I'm dying."
Actually, I was feeling quite dizzy. Maybe because the tension had released, the alcohol's effects were suddenly hitting me.
Is this what being drunk feels like?
It wasn't pleasant. I felt nauseous and queasy.
Is this how adults feel? Why do adults drink if it feels this awful?
Slide-
I went to the bed and lay down.
Ms. Kang sat close to my head and spoke:
"Young-won, you're quite good at lying."
"Lying?"
"This note isn't from you. The handwriting is different. I saw your handwriting in the poem you submitted. Your writing is terrible, isn't it? Just like a kindergartener."
That was a fact. My handwriting is pretty messy.
"The reason I liked your poem was because both the content and handwriting felt pure, like a real child wrote it. Well, you are a child."
"I'm not a child."
"No. You're still a child, Young-won. And adults usually know when children are lying. You're not the type to drink alcohol on your own. There was lipstick on the glass. Who were you with?"
"......"
I hadn't noticed the lipstick on the glass. When I kept my mouth shut, the teacher placed her hand on my forehead.
"We know when you're lying but usually pretend not to notice. To avoid trouble. That's what I did earlier too. I shouldn't have done that as a teacher. Guess I'm still far from being a real adult."
Her hand felt cool on my alcohol-flushed face, and somehow comforting.
"You remind me of my brother. He was also bullied in high school... Suddenly doing things he never did before, drinking..."
Drowse-
Listening to Ms. Kang's warm voice, I couldn't fight the drowsiness and finally fell asleep.
***
Saturday.
After sobering up, I left Ms. Kang's house. She also had to leave early for a "Teachers' Meeting."
"Goodbye! Ghost house!"
I quickly fled from the apartment, remembering my fierce battle with the auntie ghost.
That's how my weekend started.
As usual, my weekend was ordinary with homework and games.
"Enemy Nasus farming freely? Stack over 500? Easy Plat promotion?"
Nothing was particularly special about the day.
Any ordinary high school student would spend their weekend like this. If there was anything special about me, it would be this:
"Status window."
『Name: Ha Young-won Lv.2
Traits: 《Broken Clock》 《Breath Holding》
Quirks: None
Funds: 111 Points
Description: Once promising, you now spend meaningless days just killing time. But even a broken clock shows the correct time twice a day.』
I examined the unfamiliar parts in the now familiar but still amazing status window.
Level 2. I had reached level 2!
"I just skimmed over it then because of the chaos. Didn't it say traits might change with level? Doesn't seem like my current traits have changed..."
Also, didn't this text appear when I leveled up?
『Probability of being tracked by supernatural entities and watchers increases.』
What could this mean?
I pondered about it from time to time. At least I had firsthand experience with 'supernatural entities,' so that didn't need much explanation.
The ghosts I met in the Nightmare Corridor, the auntie ghost that attacked me in reality. The probability of such things finding me would increase.
"F*ck... my life is ruined."
Does this mean I'll have to experience such terrifying things multiple times? At this rate, I'll either die by ghosts or, if I'm lucky, become mentally ill.
"Well, supernatural entities aside... what are watchers?"
Watchers. 注視者 (Watchers).
Searching the internet showed it literally means "people who watch something." In English, it's translated as "Watcher" or "Beholder," like the eye monster in games.
"Whatever it is, it can't be good for me."
I had many questions but no one to answer them.
Damn, I should have asked the auntie ghost more questions. At least she gave proper answers.
In the end, I didn't learn anything about the old school building from Ms. Kang either.
All I learned from that ordeal was Ms. Kang's underwear preferences, her taste for younger men, her hysteric tendencies, and that she's more girlish than expected while still being a good teacher.
This might be useful information for someone, but it was meaningless to me.
"I guess..."
『Eventually, you will reach shocking secrets and strange taboos...』
"I have no choice but to go back to the corridor."
Exploring the Nightmare Corridor in more detail… I made this my first principle.
The reason for my status window and answers to my questions must be hidden there.
But I wasn't exactly thrilled about the process. Am I crazy to go to that ghost-filled place where I might die?
It was creepy how Juhee, who was alive in Classroom 1-4, was marked as deceased. There's still something I don't know about in that corridor.
Why did I get this status window and have to go through all this? This was nothing short of a curse.
"Advice."
I habitually spent a point to seek advice.
『《Broken Clock》's Advice: Try unlocking the 'Bank' from locked items! You can exchange points for cash at the bank. Current rate 1P = 10,000₩』
"Sh*t...!?"
One point equals 10,000 won?
My temples throbbed, my hair stood on end, my feet and back tingled, and it felt like ants were crawling all over my body.
"I'm rich now...!!!"
The status window was indeed a blessing! I'll earn lots of points, escape this shabby villa, and become a building owner!
"Just entering the corridor earns points. And bonus points for acquiring items? Juhee's flashlight was 100P... one million won!?"
I liked that surviving earned 100 points per person. It meant surviving was more profitable than dying in there. How can I increase the survival rate?
"...Thinking rationally, the wet dream escape method wouldn't work for anyone but me. Though I didn't realize it then, there must be a proper way to escape the corridor."
The wet dream method was like a 'bug' in a game.
I suspected there must be proper strategies or methods to escape the "Nightmare Corridor" correctly.
"To earn more money... I need reliable companions who can survive together."
I looked at the One Piece figures on my desk.
While most were scantily clad female characters, there were also male companion characters like swordsmen with swords or chefs with flaming legs.
Companions. Adventure. These two things made my still-boyish heart flutter.
Friends who could be my companions. Would there be any? Everyone in Class D is trash.
No, there might be one if I think about it.
There is! Definitely! That person!
"Who are you?"
The school I so desperately wanted to avoid suddenly became appealing.
I spent time waiting for Monday to come-
"Nasus stacked 800? Enough to destroy our nexus too?"
Finally, Monday arrived. The classroom was chaotic.
While kids were buzzing about the weekend's events, Geonho came to me.
"Hey Young-won. So did you finish the homework I gave you? I told you to find out who wrote that note to the faculty office. Did you find out?"
"No. But I think I'll know today. I'm really curious too."
"Bullying is occurring in Class D."
Whoever wrote this note and caused trouble…
Though I don't know who wrote it, this could be seen as someone taking my side. At least someone with a minimum of conscience.
Smack-
Geonho hit the back of my head with his palm.
"Hey. Didn't I say if you couldn't find out who wrote it by last week, I'd assume it was you? What's making you so cocky these days?"
Oh? This guy's hitting me?
My temples suddenly burned hot.
Should I make Geonho take another look at the corridor?
...No, that would actually kill him.
While Geonho bullying me was wrong, it wasn't something that deserved death as payment.
Besides, I could use his quirk to make him behave right now without going that far.
Slide!
"Hey! Juhee came to school! She's in the faculty office! Let's go look! This is crazy! Crazy!"
The students rushed out to see the superstar who must have been the talk of the school during Friday and the weekend. Geonho was among them.
Lucky bastard.
I watched their backs while thinking.
"Find out who wrote the note by today..."
...and I'll take care of Class D's Geonho within this week!
I can do it with what I am now!
I had definite plans for both!
To be precise, I had a way to solve both problems at once!