Chapter 118: Shooting Star (1)

「'Monkey's paw'. Dae-gon called it that, but no matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem like a monkey's hand. It had one more finger and joint than humans or monkeys. Such a creature couldn't possibly exist.」

「Granting wishes. My younger brother Dae-gon still believed in such childish things. Maybe that's what made her love him. Dae-gon is bright and cheerful. In contrast, I'm dark and gloomy, even surprisingly so to myself. I have many illnesses and allergies. I, Cheon Tae-gon, have been cursed since my mother's womb.」

「They were about to get married. I had a very ugly desire. If only her affection could be directed at me just once... At that moment, I heard something snap. The little finger of the monkey's paw I had carelessly thrown on the desk was broken.」

「Everything changed after that day. I made two final wishes on the fingers. Not to harm my family. To only listen to my family's stories. No one died after that day.」

"Monkey's paw...?"

Jung-seok frowned.

"I've heard of it. It's an object that grants wishes. But it grants them in strange and bizarre ways, leading people to ruin. Like if you wish for a lot of money, your loved one dies and you receive a huge insurance payout. It's a twisted object like that."

Was this related to how the monster Cheon Tae-gon was born?

But looking at it, something seemed off.

"This is Cheon Tae-gon's diary, right? But something's strange. Something..."

I felt a sense of discomfort.

The Chairman. The monster. A woman named A-yeon. Self-portrait. Wedding. Names carved on a tree. Twins. Ms. Hong Mi-ri whom the Chairman liked.

All these things... felt like they were intertwined and connected. After untangling the knotted thread in my mind for a while, I realized something.

"Jung-seok. You said the monkey's paw grants wishes, right? But you said the way it grants them is horribly twisted, so people end up unhappy in the end."

"That's right. Why?"

"Mrs. Danvers said Chairman Cheon Dae-gon doesn't have an allergy to lily of the valley. But look at this. There's an antidote on this desk."

An antidote was placed on the desk in the study that only the Chairman could enter and exit. Only the Chairman could take it.

If my deduction was correct, the Chairman would have had to pass through the lily of the valley flower bed every day to enter and exit his study.

And that process... must have been dangerous enough for the Chairman to risk death.

"The twin brother Cheon Tae-gon, who became gloomy due to frequent illnesses and allergies. But... that monster lived in the basement of this Chairman's office and crossed the flower bed without any problems."

I came to a conclusion. It was because I had experienced something like this before.

Cheon Tae-gon and Cheon Dae-gon had switched places.

"The monster isn't Cheon Tae-gon. The monster is actually the lively younger brother, Cheon Dae-gon! The current Chairman's name isn't Cheon Dae-gon, but his older brother Cheon Tae-gon!"

A story of twins switching their names and fates. I already knew this well from Hong Mi-ri and Hong Ye-ri's case.

Maybe... the reason the Chairman kept the Hong Ye-ri and Hong Mi-ri twins by his side was because he saw himself in their eyes?

"Hey, so what if the identity of that monster is Dae-gon or Tae-gon? We haven't figured out how to take down the monster."

Yang Juhee was a bit irritated. But I had a sense of it.

"Jung-seok, is there a way to defeat the monkey's paw?"

"I'm not sure if it can be defeated. But usually in these stories, you have to focus on the limitations of the 'hand' as a body part. One wish per finger. After making five wishes, all the fingers break and you can't make wishes anymore, so that might be considered defeating it."

According to the diary, this "Monkey's Paw" had 6 fingers.

The owner of this diary made a total of 3 wishes, so there are 3 wishes left. But the monster I saw had 2 intact fingers on its right hand.

"Guys, even if it grants wishes in a twisted way, what kind of wish would have the least damage and backlash? Think about it! Quickly!"

We shouldn't make wishes lightly on the "Monkey's Paw".

If I said "I want to be rich," a cash transport plane might accidentally crash from the sky and kill me by burying me under an enormous gold nugget.

A wish that wouldn't be affected even by such pranks.

Two of them. Everyone fell silent, seemingly lost in thought at my suggestion to think of two wishes.

"Guys, think quickly!"

I urged my friends. Because the terrifying monster was starting to appear beyond the Chairman's office window.

Jung-seok said.

"There's a problem even if we think of wishes. The diary's owner already set conditions like 'Don't harm family' and 'Only listen to family's stories'. We probably can't make wishes."

"That's not a problem! Just think of one!"

"Actually, wouldn't any wish be fine?"

Yang Juhee said nonchalantly. What did she mean?

"The owner of this diary made two more wishes after that. But there's nothing written about side effects of these wishes, right?"

Thinking about it, that was true.

Yang Juhee's simple yet clear thinking sometimes shone like this.

I finally made a firm decision and left the Chairman's study.

"Hey, will you be okay? You said it's a monster that even guns can't hurt!"

Jung-seok asked in panic. I said to Jung-seok.

"It'll be fine. I'm Luke Skywalker."

"What are you suddenly talking about?"

"You guys, hide in here well."

Pop-

I closed the door and stepped into the lily of the valley garden. The monster was slowly approaching me.

But if my prediction was right, the monster... probably wouldn't attack me.

It had been that way from the very beginning. I didn't die from the poisoned dinner. Not in the burning mansion, either.

And even when the ajumma and noonas were fighting with guns, the monster didn't kill me.

It couldn't kill me - that's probably the better way to put it. If it killed me, it would go against the wish made by the diary's owner.

"Stop right there. This is my wish."

I wanted to stop the monster.

My voice was trembling and my legs were shaking pathetically, but I somehow gritted my teeth.

A once-in-a-lifetime gamble. At the tense moment of wondering if it would work, the hairy man stopped abruptly.

Crack-

I heard something snap.

Only the index finger remained on the right hand. I steadied my breath and asked.

"Why did you try to kill people today? Why today of all days? Answer honestly. This is also a wish. The last wish."

The man was beast-like. His uncut hair and beard were so shaggy that he looked like a person with long fur.

A monster. But until now, this monster must have been living relatively well in the mansion.

So why did he start killing everyone today of all days?

Grin-

The man showed his white teeth and smiled.

"You wished for it. For incidents and accidents to continue endlessly. You wished for it while carving on that tree."

"......"

I suddenly felt dizzy.

I thought it was strange. The diary's owner had made three wishes, but the man I saw had four broken fingers.

It meant someone had made one more wish, but to think it was me.

It's true that I felt the days of defeating ghosts and exploring the corridor with everyone like shining youth.

I thought it would be nice if everyone could gather, laugh, and chat, and for those days to continue.

I also wished this vacation would continue forever, fearing that today's memories might fade when we all become adults.

To think that my feelings ended up killing everyone.

Rustle rustle rustle-

The man's huge body turned to dust and scattered in the summer breeze.

It crumbled ephemerally, like a cicada that fell exhausted from the scorching sun and dried up.

Soon, text appeared before my eyes.

"Congratulations! You have defeated the 'Monkey's Paw'!"

"Starting calculation for 9 survivors' share."

"You acquire 900P."

***

Evening came quickly.

Yoo Dahee and the housekeeper noonas came back with their hands full of meat.

"Guys, we're having a barbecue in the garden for dinner tonight!"

Yoo Dahee chuckled.

The housekeeper noonas and Mrs. Danvers started setting up the barbecue grill in the garden, and everyone seemed excited as they lit the fire and turned on the outdoor lights.

"Ugh, there are so many mosquitoes."

Slap-

Yang Juhee hit her own shoulder. As I was looking at her gloomily, someone held something cold to my face.

"Ack!"

"Why are you so gloomy? Didn't everything work out well? Honestly, I still can't believe what happened."

It was Kwon Sua. I took the ice-cold cola can from Kwon Sua.

As Kwon Sua said, we in the mansion had survived the threat. We also earned a ton of points.

I now had 1124P.

My wallet was pretty much at an all-time high, but I couldn't help feeling a bit down.

There was a sense of emptiness - was it supposed to end this easily? - and guilt, thinking it was all because of me after all. Of course, even in that situation, I was hungry and the meat tasted delicious.

Buzz buzz buzz buzz-

Night fell. It was still a summer evening with cicadas crying loudly.

I realized once again that the situations I was experiencing were by no means pleasant or enjoyable. All I had to do was end this abnormal and extraordinary situation as soon as possible.

Even if, as a result, I'd end up living a boring, tedious, and lonely daily life.

"Ah, guys! Look at that!"

Yoo Dahee raised her hand and pointed at the sky. Everyone looked up at the sky, and exclamations of "Wow" spread here and there.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh-

In the clear night sky, countless stars were shining like a river or sea. And many shooting stars were falling like rain.

Whoosh-

The scene was so majestic and powerful that I felt almost crushed by the vast night sky. It was the first time in my life I'd seen such an amazing sight.

"Guys, what are you doing! You should make wishes on the shooting stars!"

Yoo Dahee shouted cheerfully.

The word 'wish' made me feel a bit flustered. We shouldn't make wishes carelessly.

Even so, the sight of stars falling with long tails was beautiful enough to make me feel like all past misfortunes were being washed away.

"I wish my family could be happy like before. And I want to become a hair designer."

Yang Juhee said, looking at the sky.

I already knew she wanted to regain her family's happiness, but wanting to become a hair designer was unexpected.