Chapter 157
Sizzle—
The sound of frying pork cutlets filled the house.
Dip the tonkatsu in ketchup, and dinner's done in no time.
"You eat too."
Gari-gek-gek—
Mom gave a piece of tonkatsu to Giganoto as well.
I wondered if it was okay to give pork cutlets to a pet lizard, but then again, Giganoto wasn't really a pet lizard, more like something dinosaur-like.
Mom gave Giganoto food whenever she had the chance, and maybe because of that, Giganoto had grown larger than a palm, looking sturdy with a plump tail.
Mom offered Giganoto a piece of tonkatsu and asked.
"Want more? If you want more, go 'gek,' and if you're full, go 'boom-boo-boom-pow.'"
Boom-boo-boom-pow—
Seems like it's full.
Mom and I finished our meal too.
When I turned on the old TV, there was a program showing high school students having and raising a baby. It was a show demonstrating how difficult it is for teenage parents.
Mom clicked her tongue.
"No wonder the birth rate isn't going up when they broadcast stuff like this every day. Raising a child is such a meaningful and rewarding experience."
It hit differently coming from a mom who had a baby in high school. I suddenly became curious.
"Mom, have you ever regretted having me? If I wasn't around, you could've graduated high school and maybe even gone to college. You might've gotten a better job too."
"Not at all!"
Mom answered without hesitation.
Like most mothers, it seems she enjoyed raising me, her son. Though I'm not sure if I'm actually a son to be proud of.
I suddenly became curious about Mom's high school days. All women were once high school girls, and my mom was no exception.
"Mr. Kang Bada said you were really mean and difficult back then."
"He said that? That little—!"
Mom clenched her fist, trembling. Soon, she chuckled and asked me.
"So, how about you? Are you getting along with Juhee and Dahee? Which one do you like better? You can tell Mom. You'll have to choose one of them eventually, right? Or is it that Kwon Sua girl? She's impressive too."
"What are you talking about?!"
My face felt hot.
Somehow, Mom's words often pierced through my psychological defenses.
That's why when I'm with friends and Mom starts being annoying, I end up snapping, "Ah, leave me alone!" rudely.
Maybe moms have a skill that deals chaos damage, ignoring defenses when attacking their sons.
"You've always been like this. When asked to choose one out of two, you'd agonize until the end. It was the same when getting gifts from Santa. You might end up losing both if you keep this up."
"What? It's not like that!"
"What do you mean it's not? Mom knows everything. We're both part of the MZ generation! If you keep this up, I'll call the girls over and ask them directly."
This is really draining my mental strength. Having such young parents is a problem too.
If we keep talking, I'll just lose my cool.
"I'm going to my room!"
I quickly washed my dish and tried to go to my room. But then I became curious about something.
"Mom, what did you want most when you were in high school? Like a wish or something."
"I don't know. What was it again?"
Seems like she can't remember.
***
「Destroyer's Glove. A round leather glove. Protects the hand when hitting people or breaking objects. Can open locked boxes without a key, but the glove disappears after use」
A new item was registered in my status window.
The Destroyer's Glove. It was the item I received from Kim Cheolyong, Kim Geonho's father.
It was also the item that exorcised Kim Geonho.
'A glove that opens locked boxes without a key, huh.'
Does it mean I should just smash things while wearing it?
It seemed like a pretty good item. I'd like to give it to Yang Juhee.
"Well, I should decide on today's corridor entry team."
Four people can enter the Nightmare Corridor. Today, I planned to go with the combination I'd discussed with Jung-seok.
Me, Jung-seok, Yang Juhee, and Kwon Sua.
These four.
We chose this combination because the goal of this expedition was to search for the iron coffin that might exist in the second floor's science lab.
Jung-seok for dealing with the Yin-Yang Master, Yang Juhee as the powerhouse, and Kwon Sua as the flexible taunter.
Sua's role was especially important.
「《Attention Grabber》. An innate charisma that can't be acquired through effort. Can unreasonably steal the attention and focus of surrounding beings.」
Sua had an area-of-effect taunt skill. It meant she could hold the evil spirits on the second floor at bay.
Yang Juhee's 6 items – Box cutter, Magic wand, Escape talisman, Zippo lighter, Straw doll, Glove
My 2 items – Camera, Escape talisman
Jung-seok 2 items – Highlighter, Escape talisman
Kwon Sua 2 items – Flashlight, Escape talisman
I thought about bringing the gun but decided against it.
Since bullets were limited, it's probably best to use the gun only when Ms. Hong Mi-ri, the sharpshooter, is around.
I got under the covers.
Just as I felt drowsiness creeping in, a cool breeze woke me up. When I came to my senses, I saw the first-floor corridor.
Thud, thud, thud—
And I heard footsteps.
Jung-seok or Yang Juhee?
No, it sounded a bit too heavy for them.
I peeked at the first floor and saw a man in hiking gear walking around. It was a man I'd never seen before.
'Is this guy from random matching?'
He was holding a knife, which looked quite menacing. The man shouted.
"Is anyone there? I'm Choi Gil, a feng shui master!"
For some reason, I felt I shouldn't answer, so I hid around the corner.
I should head down to the basement.
Our meeting place was always at the statue in the basement. Gu Hyena should be there.
"......"
But the path to the broadcasting room with the hole leading to the basement was quite treacherous.
Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom.
'What's that now?'
A boy who looked about elementary school age was wandering the corridor. He was clearly not normal, with his head turned 180 degrees backward, walking backwards.
It must be a ghost.
Were there ghosts like this on the first floor originally? Not that I knew of.
"Who's there!"
Mom.
The man who identified himself as a feng shui master and the elementary school ghost with the twisted head encountered each other.
Just as I wondered what would happen, the child ghost lunged at the feng shui master.
Why did you abandon me!!!!
"Y-you crazy thing!"
Pitter-patter—
The feng shui master started running away frantically.
Taking advantage of the chaos, I slipped into the broadcasting room and headed for the basement.
Splash, splash—
The water in the basement had risen to knee level.
Wasn't it supposed to be ankle-deep?
Wading through the water was unpleasantly damp.
"Welcome, Ha Young-won."
The water level had risen in Gu Hyena's cave too. Hyena, sitting on the statue, waved at me.
"Long time no see."
"I've been coming at the same intervals, you know. More importantly, things have changed, right? There were unfamiliar ghosts and people wandering around on the first floor. And why is there so much water here?"
"That's what I'm saying. I don't know what's going on."
It seems Hyena doesn't know about the changes in the corridor either.
I've felt this before, but just when you start to get used to this old school building, something always changes.
Splash, splash splash—
Soon, Yang Juhee and Kwon Sua appeared, cutting through the water.
They were both holding their shoes, apparently having taken off their socks and shoes to walk barefoot, not wanting to get wet.
"Good to see you. Haven't seen Jung-seok?"
"We thought he'd be with you."
"This water feels totally weird. There's hair floating everywhere!"
"That hair is mine."
The high school girl ghost, Gu Hyena, waved at Juhee and Sua. Juhee seemed indifferent, but the easily scared Sua trembled like a rabbit.
"A ghost...!"
"You're Kwon Sua, right? I saw you at the broadcasting station when I was filming a drama. We even greeted each other as same-age friends. Do you remember?"
"......"
Sua froze at the ghost's attempt to be familiar. It seemed there was a connection between them, but Sua couldn't remember.
But if she said that outright, the high school ghost might get angry, so she probably didn't know what to do. Sua said.
"I... I remember!"
"Really?"
"No, actually I don't. I'm sorry! Please don't eat me!"
"Well... I was in the entertainment industry too, though not as big as you. I'm a ghost now, but if I come back to life, we might see each other often. Let's get along then, okay?"
Nod nod nod nod—
Sua nodded vigorously.
As we were chatting with Hyena, Jung-seok appeared. He looked very tired and scared.
"Hey, what's wrong? Did something happen?"
"There were a lot of unfamiliar ghosts on the first floor."
Jung-seok was the type who performed well in strictly controlled situations.
He lived up to his name, which means "standard move" in Korean. In other words, he wasn't great at dealing with sudden variables.
"I saw a really creepy one. Like a naked old man... It took time to shake him off. It felt like he was chasing me the whole time."
Ugh—
It sounded horrifying just imagining it. It seemed like exploring the first floor wouldn't be easy because of the increased number of ghosts.
"Hyena, can't you drive away the ghosts on the first floor?"
"I can't. I can chase away humans, but not other ghosts. And the ones wandering around the first floor now are really low-level. I can't even communicate with them."
If Gu Hyena was a 'rare' ghost, were the ones on the first floor 'common' or 'normal' grade ghosts?
By the way, the evil spirits on the second floor were 'unique' grade in my mental ghost ranking system. The ones on the third floor were 'legendary' grade.
"Well, let's go to the first floor."
I removed the talisman Hyena was guarding.
Freed from her restraints, Hyena stretched and quickly ascended to the first floor.
We also went back up to the first floor through the broadcasting room. As always, Juhee stepped on my shoulder with her bare feet, but it felt a bit different than usual.
"Juhee, have you gained weight? You feel a bit heavier."
"What are you saying?! Just stand still! You're wobbling! I'll kill you if you look up!"
After various complications, we returned to the first floor. But something jumped out from the darkness of the broadcasting room.
"Let me in!"
It was a naked old man.
"Aah!"
Jung-seok fell backwards and tumbled back into the basement. Sua and I screamed in surprise too.
"Oh my god!"
"Save me!"
"......"
Though she didn't show it, Juhee seemed startled too.
An unexpected ambush. The old man opened his mouth wide and shouted.
"Let me in!"
I didn't know where he wanted to get in, but it was surely something terrible. It would be big trouble if he caught us.
I quickly grabbed the camera and took a picture with a flash.
"Screech!"
The naked old man made a sound like a salted slug and scattered like dust.
Did I exorcise him?
"This camera is more impressive than it looks."
Although it consumed a "battery" each time I took a picture. "Batteries" weren't hard to find in the drawers of this corridor.
There seemed to be about two per floor.
"Ow, my back hurts. I think I'm injured."
Jung-seok, who had fallen into the basement, came back up to the first floor, wincing in pain. He seemed a bit hurt.
"Let's look for some bandages. It'll get better if we wrap it. Hang in there."
As we were thinking of doing some farming while we were at it, we encountered an unexpected situation while wandering the first floor.
"...What are you guys doing here?"
As we were rummaging through the teachers' office on the first floor, a girl with glasses came in. It was an all too familiar face.
"......"
I felt the blood drain from my body.
It was an even more bewildering and awkward situation than when the naked old man ghost lunged at us making weird noises. To think we'd encounter Jung Sojin in this corridor.
"Don't tell me you guys are trapped here too? You woke up and found yourself here, right?"
Sojin approached us, asking questions.
Jung-seok and I exchanged glances, and Sua and Juhee did the same.