Chapter 158
At the beginning of the semester, I once had a crush on a girl with glasses.
It was our class president, Jung Sojin.
She was friendly and approachable, making people think, "Maybe I have a chance?" But that same Sojin quietly became one of the people who excluded me.
That led to my first exploration of the Nightmare Corridor.
It was truly hell back then.
I didn't know what was going on, ghosts appearing everywhere, and Sojin suddenly going crazy and pushing me towards the ghosts. Even thinking about it now, it was absolute chaos.
After that, I used Sojin as a member of the exploration party. Although Sojin was a nasty girl, she was incredibly good at finding items.
She was kind of my ace character.
Maybe that's why I felt a sort of inner closeness to Sojin. Like how a gamer feels about their favorite game character.
The problem was that I encountered Sojin again in this Nightmare Corridor.
As I just mentioned, the first and last time I came to this corridor with Sojin, I almost died after being pushed towards a ghost. Remembering that made me dizzy.
Is there any guarantee it won't happen again this time?
Jung-seok, Sojin's cousin, is here, but that girl is a warrior of ruthlessness, ready to sacrifice others whenever her own life is in danger!
"Guys, say something."
Don't say anything, everyone!
I tried to give silent signals while recalling Sojin's character sheet.
『Name. Jung Sojin Lv.4
Trait. 《Mind's Eye》
Disposition. Cunning
Quirk. None
Possession. Class President's Glasses
A popular and outgoing girl who serves as the class president of Class D. While her ability to respond in crisis situations is poor, her versatility might make up for it. Difficult to handle due to the difference between her outward appearance and inner nature.』
『《Mind's Eye》. A higher-level trait of 《Attentiveness》. Increases the probability of discovering the bizarre and taboo. Can see hidden bizarre things. Easily detects lies.』
Sojin had the 《Mind's Eye》.
If we tried to tell a clumsy lie here, she would surely see through it.
"I get it. You guys are scared, right? It's okay. I'll help you get out. It might not be possible for everyone to leave, but some people should be able to get out safely. With this talisman."
Flutter—
I now noticed Sojin was holding a talisman. That's probably the talisman for this first floor.
It was a tricky situation in many ways. Sojin looked at me and chuckled.
"Young-won, why are you so stiff? You must have seen a lot of ghosts."
I'm stiff because of you!
Of course, I couldn't say that. As I was pondering what to do, Jung-seok spoke up.
"Sojin, I'll be honest. We already know about this corridor. We'd like to ask for your cooperation."
...Jung-seok, you jerk! Suddenly going for a frontal assault?
As everyone was flustered, Jung-seok calmly sighed.
"She'll find out anyway. Sojin has always been incredibly good at detecting lies. It's better to be upfront than to lose trust by trying to hide things."
...Do we even have any trust to lose?
I was bewildered in many ways, but Sojin's reaction was more ordinary than expected.
"What, you guys were exploring this corridor too? I thought I was the only one from our class, along with Ms. Hong Miri. If I'd known, we could have talked about this earlier!"
Sojin showed me her palm. It didn't seem like she was showing off her palm lines; she probably wanted a high-five.
Slap—
I raised my hand and clapped it against hers.
***
The key was how much information to reveal. Fortunately, Jung-seok was someone who knew how to use his brain.
"We just wander around this corridor. Collecting talismans to escape. Since there are many of us, we're aiming for the second floor or higher."
Jung-seok concealed information to the extent that our secrets weren't too exposed. It was like a card game where you hide your hand while trying to see your opponent's.
However, Sojin was more honest than expected.
"You really want to go up to the second floor? You'd better not. There are a lot of scary ghosts there. It's not even comparable to this first floor. You could all die, you know?"
Her attitude was relaxed, like a veteran adventurer.
Was it confidence from having the escape talisman, allowing her to leave this place anytime?
Of course, we couldn't let our guard down. Sojin was the type who could pull off incredible trolling when cornered.
"But I owe Young-won a debt. If Young-won asks me for help, I might not be able to refuse. Hmm..."
Sojin's eyes sparkled strangely behind her glasses. She owes me a debt?
"What debt? There's no debt between us, Sojin. You know that."
"You saved me. When I was alone and scared in the infirmary. And last week, you saved me from a dream where I was being eaten by a dinosaur. The week before that, you pulled me out of the sea."
What are you talking about?
Sojin used to have a quirk called 《Paranoia》. I did wake her up from that quirk by slapping her cheek, but all that talk about saving her in dreams afterwards was nonsense.
Maybe just as Yang Juhee hasn't completely escaped from her 《Boiling Blood》 quirk, Sojin might not have fully recovered from 《Paranoia》.
Glance—
Yang Juhee glared at me. It was as if she was asking, "Is that true?"
I felt wronged.
When I couldn't answer, Juhee snorted and said to Sojin.
"Hey, stop messing around and go to your boyfriend Kim Geonho."
That's quite direct. But Sojin shouted, sounding very displeased.
"What are you talking about? Why would he be my boyfriend?"
"The rumors were already out, you know? That you and he were like that."
"Flighty girls like you only have such things in your head. There's nothing between me and Kim Geonho, okay? I wondered who was spreading such rumors, and it was you! Yang Juhee, you crazy bitch!"
Yaaah!
Suddenly, as if Sojin had gone mad, she lunged at Juhee.
She grabbed Juhee's long hair and they became entangled. Juhee, not expecting Sojin to suddenly attack, was pushed down and pinned to the floor.
A fight between girls.
I thought we should break it up somehow, but it was more vicious than expected. Neither Jung-seok nor I could do anything but hesitate with our palms out. Seeing this, Kwon Sua chuckled.
"...No, it's just that you two look like you're controlling each other."
I felt like I was going crazy in many ways. At this point, there was no choice.
"Hey! I'll handle Yang Juhee! Jung-seok, you take care of your cousin Sojin! Let's separate them quickly!"
Pop—
I hugged Juhee from behind, putting my arms between her armpits and pulling her tightly.
"Hey! Let go! Let go! I'm really losing it! I said let go!"
Struggle struggle—
Juhee flailed her long legs, looking like she might lunge at Sojin again at any moment. On the other hand, Sojin quickly regained her composure, adjusting her glasses.
"I really can't go along with this. Me dating Kim Geonho? What nonsense. My ideal type is someone like a prince who saves me. He should be good at studying too."
"What are you talking about? People say they saw you kissing Geonho."
"Is that all? Anyone can kiss. By that logic, Jung-seok and I would be married!"
"......"
Jung-seok fell silent. He seemed flustered. I asked Jung-seok what was going on.
"What's she talking about?"
"Sojin's family lived in the Dominican Republic when she was young. So she's more used to South American culture than Korean, freely giving kisses on cheeks or lips. We played house a lot too..."
Do you mean the Dominican Republic? Is this some Latin American style?
No, that wasn't important right now. I just wanted to sort out this situation.
"Guys, stop fighting. And even if we're in the teachers' office, making too much noise will attract ghosts. Looks like we're done farming, so let's head to the second floor."
I grabbed two batteries from the teachers' office.
We were lucky.
"I know the way."
Sojin led the way to the second floor. And so, we arrived at the second floor.
Our destination is the "Science Lab." It seemed best to avoid the music room where the long-necked rhythm ghost was likely to appear. We need to move as stealthily as possible, keeping watch.
"Young-won, I'm scared. It's my first time on the second floor."
Sojin, walking behind me, grabbed my side.
I was scared, too.
...Scared she might suddenly push me from behind.
Sojin kept talking to me.
"Young-won, you don't seem scared of this second floor. You're so reliable."
This feels like déjà vu.
Perhaps because our misfortune of meeting Sojin was so great, according to the "Law of Constant Happiness Ratio," an equal amount of luck was with us. We managed to reach the science lab without encountering any ghosts.
Now we just need to enter the science lab.
There was a dog-sized hole in the science lab, big enough for one person to crawl through.
"I'll go. I'll use the magic wand to create a barrier, then shout for you to come in."
Yang Juhee took a deep breath, holding the magic wand. As we all watched her tensely, Juhee crawled into the science lab.
"Now!"
Let's get in quickly!
We all crawled into the science lab together. Inside, Juhee was panting heavily.
"Are you okay?"
"Those mirror ghost bastards, I chased them all away for now. Phew..."
That's a relief.
But this science lab. It was similar yet different from the one we saw in the real old school building.
It was the same in that it was full of mirrors, but the floor was concrete.
"What? There should be a wooden floor with the coffin buried underneath."
Jung-seok was flustered.
He must have been planning to dig up the wooden floor to get the coffin. But the floor in this nightmare science lab was cold, hard concrete.
"This can't be..."
Jung-seok seemed confused. We were all confused, and Kwon Sua was in a panic.
"The... the mirror smiled at me! The mirror smiled! And my chest looks smaller in the reflection! This doesn't seem like a real mirror! Eek! There's a hand behind me!"
The mirrors filling the science lab were creepy.
Perhaps due to the multiple reflections caused by mirrors facing each other, this science lab had transformed into a wider, more eerie otherworldly space.
When I looked at the mirror in front of me, I saw a hand approaching behind my reflection. I turned around startled, but there was nothing there.
"What should we do? Hey! Jung-seok! I think we should get out of here!"
"No, it must be here. Should we dig up the concrete floor? We don't have tools. It must be somewhere here... A hidden space..."
Jung-seok nervously tapped his temple with his finger. Then, he shouted as if he had realized something.
"The mirrors! The mirrors are the answer! Remember what Ms. Hong Mi-ri said! There's a mirror where hands come out and pull people in! It's inside the mirror! The coffin is inside the mirror! That's why they put mirrors in the science lab!"
The mirrors are the answer?
Jung-seok's logic was often hard for me to follow, but he seemed to have some idea.
"It's one of these mirrors! There must be one mirror that's different! How do we distinguish it? How... Ms. Sua, can you try to draw the attention of the mirrors?"
"How am I supposed to draw the attention of mirrors!"
Sua shouted.
Thinking it was foolish to stay in a panic, I decided to take a gamble on Jung-seok's words.
"Sua! Just try something! Anything! You're an idol, right?"
"Ugh..."
Boom-chik boom-chik—
Sua started dancing, swaying her hips. She danced with a face full of fear, and Yang Juhee marveled at the sight.
"That's the Dorangmul dance."
What's that?
The important thing was that all the mirrors around us, defying the laws of physics, reflected Sua's dancing figure. It was like a monitor focused on the main idol in a performance.
In that situation, Sojin's glasses gleamed.
"Oh, that mirror isn't reflecting Sua."
Sojin pointed to one mirror. Jung-seok immediately shouted.
"That's it! Yang Juhee! Break all the other mirrors!"
"I'm not sure what I'm doing, but okay."
Juhee pulled out a glove from her designer bag. It was the Destroyer's Glove we had just acquired today.
Crash!
Screech!
As Juhee, wearing the glove, punched the mirrors, an ear-splitting scream was heard.
But Juhee's destructive and sadistic fists didn't stop, and finally only one mirror remained in the science lab.
...Mirror? Is this really a mirror?
When it was hidden among many mirrors, we couldn't tell, but looking at it now, this wasn't a mirror.
"This... it's iron polished to a shine..."
It was an iron plate polished so clean that we could see our reflections clearly. Its size and shape looked just like a coffin lid.
"The coffin we saw in the real school didn't have a lid, right? Could this be it...?"
Sua looked like she had discovered something terrifying. She was half crying.
So was I.
We thought it was a mirror, but it's actually an iron plate?
To think that the true identity of the mirror ghost was actually the lid of the iron box believed to contain the Yin-Yang Master.
"Wait, there's something written here."
Flash—
Sojin's glasses gleamed.