Chapter 148
On the way to the old school building, I glanced at Yoo Dahee.
She was acting as if nothing had happened since then, which bothered me more.
"Dahee."
"What?"
I called Yoo Dahee while the others were busy picking the lock of the old school building. Then, I spoke in a voice so low that others couldn't hear.
"About what happened yesterday."
"Yeah."
"I think I should give you an answer as a man."
"An answer?"
"I'll make it clear when this is all over."
I told Yoo Dahee the same thing I told Yang Juhee. Soon, Yoo Dahee chuckled.
"Young-won, I think you're misunderstanding something."
I'm misunderstanding?
Click-
Just then, the lock on the old school building's main door opened. But Ms. Hong Mi-ri kept fiddling with the lock as if something wasn't right.
"Why didn't it open easily? The lock seems to be broken."
The school was old, so the lock must have been old too. I took a photo just in case.
Click-!
Whatever happened, taking photos now made me feel secure. Thanks to that, we had many photos.
"Let's decorate an album with these later."
Yoo Dahee chuckled. Bong Ji-yeon, who was standing next to her, shuddered.
"It's still brutal. Do we really have to go in here?"
It's a crazy summer with an outdoor temperature of 38 degrees Celsius, but this basement was chilly, almost cold.
"Look at the mold growing here! Eek!"
Kwon Sua was terribly scared.
"It looks just like a human face! The mold!"
"Agh, it's true. What is this!"
I was really startled when I saw the mold Kwon Sua was pointing at. It looked like the screams of hell were stuck to the wall.
"I think I'm going to develop pareidolia!"
Kwon Sua rubbed her arms under her short-sleeved T-shirt. Jung-seok said to Kwon Sua.
"They say pareidolia isn't a real phobia."
"Really? Ugh, I still don't like it."
I didn't like these horrible patterns either. Weren't these not here when we came last time?
As I was feeling afraid, Ms. Hong Mi-ri said.
"We broke down all the walls leading to the second and third basement floors and opened the doors, right? The mold probably formed because of the humid air coming from deep underground."
"I see. Because of the water veins, right? They say there's a big water vein under Gaeryong City."
"That could be. It's highly likely."
Ms. Hong Mi-ri nodded at my guess. Water veins, huh.
Even though I had fought with ghosts, I still couldn't believe in things like big water veins. It's hard to grasp, I guess.
Anyway, we kept going down, further into the basement. We finally arrived at Buldan Temple.
I still couldn't believe that such a large and ominous temple was built so eerily in the school basement.
"My sister opened her eyes!"
Just then, Bong Ji-yeon, who was carrying Bong Se-yeon's head, shouted loudly. Everyone's attention was drawn to Bong Se-yeon, who was blinking her pitch-black eyes.
"......"
Munch munch-
Bong Se-yeon said something. We still couldn't hear her voice because she had no vocal cords.
Only Ms. Hong Mi-ri, with her ghost experience, could understand this 'severed head language'. Ms. Hong Mi-ri said.
"She says this is a place in her memory. She died here."
"...My sister died here?"
"Yang Do-hee was walking around this area carrying her head... I mean, Bong Se-yeon's head. Apparently, Yang Do-hee said she would send her home. Then... they were attacked by some man..."
Attacked by some man. The same keyword came up again.
Who could it be? Could it be Kim Hae-il, the crazy Christian who killed Bong Se-yeon and Gu Hyena?
It seemed highly likely.
Rustle- Rustle-!
Just then, we heard a sound from Buldan Temple. We were greatly surprised. We couldn't help but be surprised, knowing what kind of place this Buldan Temple was.
The only things that could appear from this Buldan Temple were monsters and ghosts.
Everyone was tense, frozen like mice in front of a snake.
Swish-
Someone appeared. It was a woman with blood streaming from her forehead.
"...Gong Ye-rin?"
Her face was covered in blood, and her hair was cut short, making her hard to recognize, but the woman who jumped out of the darkness of Buldan Temple was definitely Gong Ye-rin.
Gong Ye-rin from our Class D. We were all surprised to meet Gong Ye-rin in this Buldan Temple.
So when a brief silence fell, the blood-soaked Gong Ye-rin's expression brightened.
"I... I'm alive. I'm alive! You guys! I'm so glad to see you! I'm alive!"
Gong Ye-rin approached us, dragging her legs.
Now that I looked closely, her clothes were torn and she was bleeding as if she had been beaten by a group. She was barefoot too.
"Help me! Get me out of here! Please! Please! If I stay here, I'll die!"
Gong Ye-rin cried loudly with her blood-soaked face. Seeing her pitiful and miserable state, Jung-seok said in a voice so low that only we could hear.
"Let's hear what happened."
It seemed like a good idea. I was curious about why Gong Ye-rin jumped out of this Buldan Temple. And it seemed good to hear why Gong Ye-rin was so scared, like a cornered mouse.
After all, what happened to Gong Ye-rin could happen to us in the future.
"Ye-rin, what happened?"
I pretended not to know anything and asked. Gong Ye-rin started her story, sniffling.
"We... we were wandering around the school for a courage test... and accidentally found this basement... We stepped in out of curiosity, but suddenly..."
"We? Who do you mean by 'we'?"
"Ja-hyun, Hee-yeon, and Kim Geon-ho... But as soon as we entered this third floor, Kim Geon-ho went crazy and tried to kill Wang Ja-hyun...! He... he tried to rape me, so I ran... ran away."
Kim Geon-ho?
Kwon Sua, who was listening to the story, got angry.
"How can someone be so evil..."
She seemed to empathize, probably because she's a girl too. A classmate who barely escaped.
It seemed right to help as much as we could. Couldn't we at least help her get out of the school safely?
"You're saying Kim Geon-ho tried to kill Wang Ja-hyun and rape you? Is that true?"
Yang Juhee looked at Gong Ye-rin with narrow eyes. She even pulled out her box cutter, looking like she doubted Gong Ye-rin.
Gong Ye-rin trembled and answered, scared by Yang Juhee's terrifying threat that even frightened me.
"Look. He even tried to tear my clothes. I ran away desperately. He... help me. Please! I'll really die if I stay here!"
Gong Ye-rin pleaded for help with a tearful voice. Finally, everyone's eyes turned to me.
The leader was the one who made decisions at times like this.
I thought we should help Gong Ye-rin. I felt that if we ignored or chased her away here, the daily life I wanted to protect so much would break down.
It didn't seem like peaceful days would come if we refused to help a classmate. Also, if we could persuade Gong Ye-rin to our side from Wang Ja-hyun's group, it would clearly be a big help. I said to Yang Juhee.
"Juhee, let's take her outside and hand her over to the police. We can do that much, right?"
"......"
Yang Juhee sighed. She put away her box cutter as if she had no choice.
Soon, Gong Ye-rin's expression brightened.
"Th... thank you, Young-won. I always thought you were kind. I thought you were kind. I won't forget this favor. This favor..."
Tremble-
Gong Ye-rin approached us, truly grateful. And as she came close to me, she took something out of her pocket and stabbed it into my chest.
Stab-!
"...Ugh..."
I couldn't even scream.
My chest burned, and my whole body's muscles contracted as if I was being burned. Before I could even understand what had happened, Gong Ye-rin laughed loudly.
"You stole our things, didn't you? You bastard Ha Young-won. Did you completely believe me just because I cut my forehead and bled a little? You idiot. I knew it was you guys!"
"You bitch, fucking Gong Ye-rin, you fucking bitch! I knew it, you dog!"
Yang Juhee pulled out her box cutter again and got furious. But she couldn't move rashly because Gong Ye-rin was holding a knife to my neck.
"Ja-hyun! Hee-yeon! Kim Geon-ho! Come out quickly! I did it! Success! Success!"
It felt like a fireball had entered my body, my chest hurt so much. What hurt even more was that my goodwill had been betrayed.
If I stay like this, I'll die...
In the situation where my senses were dulling, I desperately clung to consciousness.
I need to turn back time.
***
『《Sloppy Clock》 is rewinding its spring.』
『100P consumed.』
『Remaining points: 610P』
"We have to go back into this creepy place again?"
Bong Ji-yeon trembled. My body trembled too.
"......"
Swish-
I touched my chest. There was no wound, but the sensation of being stabbed with a knife was still vivid.
Thud-
I collapsed on the floor. Jung-seok was flustered seeing me like this.
"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly like this?"
"Guys, I don't think we should go in here today."
I recalled the conversations I heard in my fading consciousness. Gong Ye-rin had called for Kim Geon-ho and Wang Ja-hyun. Maybe they were already lying in ambush inside.
"Ms. Hong Mi-ri. You said the lock was strange, right?"
"Yes. Why?"
I recalled something from long ago. Scenes of Kim Geon-ho snickering while picking the locks of bicycles parked at school.
I heard Kim Geon-ho used to ride stolen motorcycles too. I thought maybe picking locks and locking them again might be nothing to him.
"...That happened? That Gong Ye-rin bitch is a complete psychopath?"
Yang Juhee got angry at my brief explanation of why I chose to rewind and the situation. Thinking about it now, Yang Juhee's judgment when she growled at Gong Ye-rin was right.
But I still couldn't believe it.
Those tears and pleas were all lies? Can a person do that?
I was shocked that my trust was betrayed, and amazed at Gong Ye-rin's acting skills. Dahee gently rubbed my back.
"A woman can do anything for the person she likes."
"Th... that's right. That's a woman's heart. Devoted..."
Kwon Sua trembled as if scared. Whatever the case, it seemed dangerous to go into the old school building like this.
"Young-won, if what you're saying is true, it means those bastards have already figured out our identities."
Jung-seok made a cold assessment. His legs were trembling nervously as he said this.
If it's come to this, there's only one way.