Chapter 111: When the Cicadas Cry (1)

"Wow, I've never seen a mansion like this in Korea before." 

Kwon Sua, visiting Yoo Dahee's mansion for the first time, marveled at the movie-like atmosphere. I could totally relate to her feelings.

"Even my uncle, who was a chaebol chairman, didn't live in such a lavish place. How rich do you have to be to live here? I heard the owner of this mansion was the one who took down my uncle..."

Kwon Sua was the niece of Kwon Oh-sung, the former chairman of Osung Group. I suddenly wondered what would happen to Kwon Oh-sung.

According to Ms. Hong Mi-ri, since he fell out of favor with Chairman Cheon Dae-gon, his life was as good as over. I was even more curious about the influence and limits of this Cheon family, who could take down the chairman of a major domestic conglomerate at will.

Meow-

As we entered the mansion, a white cat gracefully walked out. It was Baekseol, Yoo Dahee's cat.

As always, Baekseol approached Yang Juhee, leaped up, and climbed onto her back and shoulders.

"This one does this every time it sees me! Get off!"

Whoosh!

Yang Juhee grabbed the white cat and threw it far away. Watching this, Yoo Dahee looked slightly envious.

"Baekseol doesn't act cute with just anyone. I'm jealous. Does Juhee smell like food?"

"Maybe she smells like honey from all that sweet-talking."

"What sweet-talking are you talking about!"

Yang Juhee blushed and flared up.

Yang Juhee's angry outburst was quite scary... but she was a cute friend when she kissed my cheek. She hadn't said anything about that incident, perhaps pretending not to know, so I hadn't mentioned it either. Our relationship had definitely become a bit awkward compared to usual.

Anyway, today was the "summer vacation training camp" day for the Ha Young-won Pirate Crew.

From today, we planned to stay in this mansion for at least a day, uncovering the secrets and ghosts this mansion held.

Let's earn tons of points, do lots of enhancements, and buy lots of capsules─! That was our short-term goal.

"For now, let's unpack and do what we want, then meet at the dining room in an hour at noon."

It seemed good to start the main pirate crew activities after lunch. Looking at the group chat, it seemed Jung-seok was also on his way to this mansion.

With that feeling, our party dispersed. This mansion was wide and large like a school building, with many places to explore.

"...Young-won. There are suspicious ghosts here, right?"

Even though it was free time, Kwon Sua stuck close to me.

Kwon Sua was a girl who had been seeing ghosts since she was very young, and for that reason, she had no choice but to live a life different from others.

Kwon Sua seemed a bit scared that we were looking for ghosts in this mansion.

"We don't know for sure if there are ghosts or not yet. Our pirate crew's goal this time is to investigate the suspicious things happening in this mansion and clarify their nature."

According to Dahee and Ms. Hong Mi-ri, things kept disappearing in this mansion, or the fridge would be ransacked overnight, or strange sounds would be heard, or it would feel like someone was watching.

Even though I had dealt with the urban legend of the 'Invisible Hand', it still felt like there was someone else in this mansion.

"Noona. Have you experienced anything suspicious in the mansion?"

I approached a housekeeper noona who was cleaning the corridor. The housekeeper noona stopped dusting as she noticed me.

"What's this, Young-won? Are you playing detective? Suspicious things... well, cockroaches have started appearing lately. I don't know where they're coming from. Can you solve that? If you do, noona will give you a kiss."

Ugh!

Even this huge mansion has cockroaches?

I could handle ghosts, but cockroaches were beyond me. Regrettably, I'll have to take a rain check on that kiss from the housekeeper noona.

"I've had lots of close calls with ghosts since I was young... so I have something you might call a sense. This mansion... it's too... creepy. I already feel like there's something behind me... eek!"

Kwon Sua, who had been following right behind me, suddenly startled and trembled dramatically. 

Her jumping around shook me up in many ways too.

Meow-

By the way, what was clinging to Kwon Sua's back was the white cat, Baekseol.

Baekseol must have wanted to leave its scent on the unfamiliar person, so it clung to Kwon Sua's back.

"...A cat."

Realizing that the creepy feeling was just a cat, Kwon Sua blushed as if a bit embarrassed.

Swish-

Soon, she awkwardly reached out her finger towards the cat, but Baekseol, true to its name, seemed to have a princess-like aloof personality and ignored Kwon Sua's finger, darting away.

One might feel discouraged by this, but Kwon Sua seemed to like it instead.

"I like dogs, but I like cats too. Dogs are nice because they cling to you, and cats are nice because they're aloof. Isn't it nice when things don't go your way? What kind of animals do you like, Young-won?"

Animals? Come to think of it, I... didn't particularly like animals.

It was because I couldn't communicate with them.

That was the same reason I disliked ghosts. You can't communicate with ghosts.

Not being able to communicate means unknown, and the unknown was fear for me. It's scary not knowing how they'll react.

"I like turtles."

In that sense, turtles were docile animals.

When I have more free time later, I should get a turtle.

As I was thinking that, Kwon Sua suddenly acted up as if she had discovered something.

"G-ghost! There's a ghost outside the window right now!"

Ghost?

Wondering what it could be, I looked out the window and saw a woman walking around the outdoor area on the side of the mansion. It was an ajumma with a gaunt face, wearing something like black mourning clothes.

"That ajumma isn't a ghost, she's like the housekeeper of this mansion."

Jung-seok called that ajumma Mrs. Danvers apparently because she's similar to the villain Mrs. Danvers from the novel 'Rebecca'.

By the way, Danvers hated the new mistress who came into the mansion and was a mad character who waited for the former mistress 'Rebecca', who had already died, believing she was still alive.

This ajumma also disliked Yoo Dahee, the granddaughter of Cheon Dae-gon, because she was a Yoo, and she was an ajumma who boldly claimed that the owner of this mansion would return.

With her long, flowing black hair, pale face, and black mourning clothes, she looked like a witch ajumma who might like black magic at first glance.

"Maybe that ajumma is up to no good in the mansion. I can tell because I've suffered from encountering ghosts often since I was young! That ajumma is suspicious!"

Kwon Sua was enthusiastically showing an active attitude towards our pirate crew activities.

Come to think of it, I remembered the news about "Dorangmul Girls' Sudden Disbandment" that had caused a stir this morning.

Their agency was also part of the Osung Group, which was in chaos as if hit by a nuclear bomb, and there were rumors of discord among the members, causing a lot of problems.

Perhaps Kwon Sua wanted to find something to focus on and distract herself from these real-world issues, and that might be our 'pirate crew work'.

"Let's follow her!"

Whoosh!

Kwon Sua started chasing Mrs. Danvers, and I followed behind her.

***

Finally reaching the garden, we discovered a flowerbed full of blooms behind the mansion. It might be better to call it a garden rather than a flowerbed.

Among the garden stood a modest one-story building, making me wonder what it could be. Vines were wrapped all around the building.

Did the ajumma disappear in there?

"It's a suspicious place! My intuition is telling me so!"

Kwon Sua shouted.

I wasn't sure if I should trust Kwon Sua's intuition, but reaching Master tier as a mid-laner in LoL was indeed impossible without good instincts.

I also tried to approach the vine-covered building, but there was a problem.

"Ugh!"

Suddenly, Kwon Sua started retching.

An idol was throwing up!

"Are you okay? What's wrong all of a sudden?"

"I-I don't know! Suddenly my stomach... urgh..."

Unexplained nausea?

I suddenly remembered a rumor that one member's 'pregnancy' was a key issue in Dorangmul Girls' disbandment.

If that member was Kwon Sua...!? This could be morning sickness!

Just then, I heard someone clicking their tongue next to us.

"It's lily of the valley allergy. These lilies of the valley are specially cultivated, so even though they look cute, they contain a strong poison. That's why you show symptoms of poisoning just by being near them."

It was Mrs. Danvers.

Mrs. Danvers rummaged through her pocket and held out something round. It looked like rabbit droppings.

"It's an antidote. The Cheon family's maids and servants always had to keep this medicine on hand. Eat it."

"Ugh, it tastes like rabbit poop."

"The taste is a bit off, but bear with it. If you eat that, you won't be affected by the lily of the valley's smell or if you eat it for the rest of the day. The Cheon family has been making medicines and poisons to build their power since long ago. Isn't it amazing?"

"Urgh-"

Unlike Mrs. Danvers' proud attitude, Kwon Sua was really suffering. But the medicine seemed to work well, and she quickly felt better.

"Oh, I feel fine now!"

"Oh."

"You kids. Didn't I tell you not to wander around this mansion? If I hadn't been nearby by chance, this girl would have suffered all day. Don't you know curiosity killed the cat? You little stray cats."

"......"

"This time you've brought a bunch of friends and are snooping around the mansion. The Chairman is too soft on that Yoo Dahee, that's the problem."

We were scolded harshly for snooping around the mansion carelessly. But even while being scolded, it seemed good to ask about what I was curious about.

"Ajumma, do you know anything about the strange things happening in this mansion?"

"There's nothing strange going on. Just eat your lunch, play, and go home quietly."

Nothing strange going on, she says.

This was a lie. The proof was right there.

"It seems a bit strange to have a building constructed among poisonous plants that cause allergic reactions just by approaching. What's that vine-covered building?"

"That's the Chairman's study and private room. It's not a place for little brats like you to approach carelessly and touch with your dirty hands. Now, off to the dining room with you."

Chairman Cheon Dae-gon's study?

My interest was really piqued. At the same time, my confusion amplified.

"Why put a study among poisonous plants? Even if the antidote works well, it's still dangerous, isn't it?"

Don't medicines have side effects and such? What if the effect wears off later? Wouldn't that be a big problem?

Soon, Mrs. Danvers laughed sinisterly.

"Sometimes, people are born who are immune to both poisons and medicines. Such people were often born in our Cheon family lineage. Our Chairman Cheon Dae-gon is such a person."

I see. He doesn't have allergies, so he planted a bunch of dangerous flowers near his study. He created a natural barrier to prevent people from approaching his study carelessly.

Why? Is that place so precious? Is there something that shouldn't be seen by others?

"Now get lost before I kick your butts!"

Startled by the ajumma's roar, Kwon Sua and I ran away. We had to run away quickly because that ajumma would definitely kick our butts for real.

We caught our breath only when the suspicious garden was out of sight.

"That ajumma seemed to be hiding a lot!"

"She's a scary ajumma. I get scolded every time I come to this mansion. She seems to dislike me especially."

While she barely says anything to Yoo Dahee, whom she dislikes for being a Yoo, or the other kids, almost neglecting them, that ajumma always catches me like a mouse.

Am I the easiest target?

As I was feeling a bit wronged, Kwon Sua said.

"But I don't think she's a bad person. If the ajumma hadn't given me the medicine, I don't know what would have happened to me. My throat was really swelling, and I felt nauseous."

Was it that bad?

Come to think of it, I could be unaffected by the lily of the valley pollen. Except for my ghost allergy, I've always had a constitution that rarely gets allergies or colds.

That means... I could be someone who could break through that natural barrier and search the Chairman's study. Should I try sneaking in tonight when everyone's asleep?