Chapter 32: Courage Test (1)

"No. I mean, why is Yoo Dahee there?"

Yang Juhee was angry the entire way home. It was because she heard that Yoo Dahee was waiting in front of our house with Jung-seok.

"Isn't this something only you, me, and Jung-seok know about? Did you tell Yoo Dahee everything about the current situation?"

"No. I didn't."

"Then what are you going to do? We were supposed to discuss various things and make plans today. Won't it be difficult to talk about ghosts or elevators with Yoo Dahee there?"

Juhee's irritation stemmed from a somewhat reasonable question.

Today was the day when the "Ha Young-won Pirate Crew" was officially gathering after the unsettled atmosphere of the past few days.

It was the perfect day to reminisce about what had happened so far and make future plans.

In fact, I was planning to tell everyone about the "Nightmare Corridor" today. The waiting period to enter the corridor had just ended, too.

Thinking about it now, the hardships we experienced in the death floor of the elevator were... no, for us, they were quite beneficial.

That place was very similar to the "Nightmare Corridor," so it could help me explain the corridor to Jung-seok or Juhee in various ways.

You could say we got a taste of the "Nightmare Corridor" in that death floor. Or that we got a preventive shot, if you will.

I was also concerned about the English teacher. I wanted to warn Jung-seok and Juhee about Ms. Hong Mi-ri.

Anyway.

I was in a good mood today, thinking about having a lot to talk about and eating chicken together, but Yoo Dahee's sudden intrusion made me a bit flustered too. Juhee, who didn't usually think well of Dahee, was downright irritable.

"Ah geez, Jung-seok should just tell Yoo Dahee to get lost. Why is he making such a fuss? Is it that hard? He said keeping secrets was important with his own mouth. Ugh, that sucker."

I could feel Juhee's evaluation of Jung-seok plummeting in an instant. But I understood Jung-seok's feelings a bit.

A first-year high school boy. Guys going through this hormone-filled period generally couldn't be strong against girls. I know it well.

Especially Jung-seok, who went to an all-boys middle school for 3 years like me!

Such guys find it extremely difficult to refuse a 'girl's request,’ especially if it's a request from someone as pretty as Yoo Dahee!

Also, Dahee was strangely lacking in distance. She approaches suddenly as if she's known you well all along, you know?

Even I had only seen her face in the library as a library committee member, but one day she suddenly approached me, talked to me, and even gave me her phone number.

Thinking about it now... it felt like I was bewitched by some fox spirit.

It could have been just me, but...

If she approached Jung-seok just as casually and said, "Jung-seok. What are you doing there? Waiting for a friend? Young-won? That's great. I'm Young-won's friend too. Let's hang out together," could Jung-seok refuse?

No. And his is the result.

"Hello? Hey. Jung-seok. Is Yoo Dahee there? If she is, put her on. If you can't do it, I'll tell her to get lost myself."

Juhee finally couldn't hold back and called Jung-seok while we were walking. As expected, her reckless action is the best among us.

Her quirk 《Boiling Blood》 must have disappeared, but maybe some remnants remain.

"Hey, wait. Juhee. Let me talk. Let me talk. Give me the phone."

"Aish, hey! Get off the phone! Yah!"

I snatched the phone from Juhee's hand. Maybe because Juhee's breath had just touched the phone, it smelled like cherries. Was it because Juhee was chewing on cherry-flavored candy?

"Hey. Jung-seok. It's me, Young-won."

"Oh. Young-won. What should we do? Should I just take responsibility and send her back? Yoo Dahee and I were in the same class in elementary school. I didn't expect to meet her suddenly today..."

I see. So Jung-seok and Yoo Dahee are elementary school classmates.

I said to Jung-seok,

"Is she still next to you?"

"No. She said she's going to the convenience store for a bit."

"Then let's just leave it for now."

I made a decision as the leader. This might even be an opportunity.

An opportunity to uncover the secret of the sleep I always fell into uncontrollably and the strange dreams whenever I met Yoo Dahee.

I, Ha Young-won, a man who has turned numerous crises into stepping stones of opportunity.

I can do it with who I am now!

Click-

I hung up and returned my phone to Juhee. Juhee opened her narrow eyes, looking at me.

"What? You're not going to send Yoo Dahee away?"

"From my perspective, she seems a bit suspicious. I'm going to try to figure her out today."

"......"

"Don't you think it would be better for you to have at least one female friend?"

I heard about Juhee's school life from Jung-seok during the days I couldn't go to school. He said Juhee was subtly ostracized in our Class D.

There wasn't any overt bullying, but the girls would talk behind her back or subtly badmouth her nearby.

Even during PE class, she was the only one without a partner and had to pass the ball with the teacher.

Don't girls like to form groups? They usually go around in groups of three or four.

Originally, Juhee used to have Im Hee-yeon and Gong Ye-rin, the 5th prettiest girl in the class and someone I had a slight crush on, following her around like handmaidens... but now she's completely fallen from grace.

The trigger was when it was revealed that Juhee's family was actually very poor.

Anyway, Juhee was being ostracized. Even though she has me and Jung-seok, wouldn't it be good to have at least one friend of the same gender?

My life became much easier after becoming friends with Jung-seok too. We play League of Legends together and all.

"What are you saying? Is it time for a loner to worry about making friends for his noona? Ha Young-won. You've been getting cocky lately. You're running wild. It's your world. You're like a fish in water."

That was true. Somehow, I feel more fulfilled in life now that I'm encountering ghosts than before. Suddenly, I became curious.

"Juhee, why do you dislike Yoo Dahee so much? Were you in the same elementary school?"

"No. I just don't like her."

Swish-

Juhee turned her head to the side as if there was nothing more to say. There's clearly something there, though.

...Women.

To me, who had spent 3 years in an all-boys middle school, they were more complex beings than ghosts or urban legends.

***

"Hey guys, hello! The weather's really nice today!"

When we arrived in front of Taegwang Villa, Jung-seok and Yoo Dahee were waiting for us.

Yoo Dahee's casual clothes were similar in style to her school uniform, the difference being that she had taken off her stockings and was wearing sandals.

Her outfit was neat, unlike Juhee who wore sweatpants or dolphin shorts.

"Young-won. You're here. How's your mother?"

Jung-seok was holding a convenience store bag full of 1.5-liter drinks and snacks. I answered briefly.

"Mom seems to be in good condition. More importantly, what's all that?"

"It's snacks and drinks Dahee bought. We can share them later."

Jung-seok looked at me and Juhee with an awkward expression and tone. This guy must have been struggling in his own way in front of the villa.

"You said we're going to play games together today, right? It's going to be so fun. LoL? Are you playing LoL? I know what LoL is. You move with the mouse, right?"

Yoo Dahee around 10 AM was more cheerful than expected.

Just looking at her appearance, you'd think she'd be cold and aloof, but this lack of distance and casualness disarms people's hearts.

You know, when you find out that someone who looks really scary is actually fun and has a good personality, it makes you like them even more for some reason.

Anyway. We decided to go inside the house. But... it was my first time inviting Dahee to my house, so I was a bit nervous.

My mom hasn't been home for a few days, so our house is a complete mess.

There's probably a pile of dishes to wash too.

"Do we have to climb stairs to the 4th floor?"

Dahee asked us as we were about to climb the stairs. For some reason, me, Jung-seok, and Juhee all stopped in our tracks and tensed up.

Don't you feel... déjà vu?

"...Why?"

Jung-seok asked. His voice was somehow tense. Soon, Dahee chuckled.

"My legs hurt! I've been standing all this time."

...I see. That makes sense.

Then Juhee said,

"If you don't want to climb the stairs, you can go home."

It's probably a joke, but why doesn't it sound like one? Suddenly, Dahee's story came to mind at the mention of 'home'.

Didn't she say they don't let her hang out with friends much and especially don't let her talk to boys?

"Dahee. Is it okay for you to hang out at our house today? Won't they worry at home?"

I asked Dahee as she was climbing the stairs. Then Dahee said,

"I think it'll be fine now. I had a bit of a fight at home yesterday. I'm not a kid anymore. I should be able to decide where I want to be and what I want to do."

I see...

Beep, beep beep-

While I was talking with Dahee, Juhee, who had arrived at the 4th floor first, opened the door on her own.

Ever since I told her the password when we were attacked by the copied mom ghosts, Juhee always opened the door lock like that.

Maybe she finds the door lock interesting because her house uses a key structure without a door lock.

Anyway. I wonder how Dahee, who's coming to our house for the first time, will react?

"Wow."

Dahee opened her mouth slightly and looked around. It was a similar attitude to Jung-seok when he first came to our house.

Is this how all well-off kids react?

Just then, Juhee, who had gone in first and put her bag and phone on the dining table, said,

"Ugh, hey. Do the dishes as you go. This is why you get cockroaches!"

No… I know, but I've been out of it for the past few days...

Splash-

Juhee turned on the water and started doing the dishes. She seemed quite familiar with it, and seeing this, Dahee commented,

"Juhee must come over often."

"No. Well, not that often. Hey. Just leave it. I'll do it."

In this way, the messy dish-washing and atmosphere-settling ended.

Maybe because the house is small, with four people in it, it feels like it's about to burst from being so full. I went into my room and turned on the computer.

Whirr-

Just then, Dahee said,

"Ah, a blanket. I'm going to lie down for a bit. My legs hurt from standing for so long."

Plop-

Dahee lay down on the unmade blanket. She didn't seem to care at all about her clothes getting wrinkled or anything getting on them.

But I was actually worried!

A girl lying on my blanket! When did I last wash the blanket? I hope it doesn't smell weird or anything!

"Young-won. Should I log in with my ID first? I've already bought the game. The file size isn't that big, so it should download quickly. I'll download it to the C drive."

Click click-

Jung-seok downloaded the game with a familiar attitude.

In the process, he seemed to have discovered my "Direct Hit" folder, but he pretended not to see it. He's a guy who knows the code of men.

The file finished downloading. When Jung-seok started the game, graphics that weren't exactly great but had a somewhat nostalgic feel appeared.

[Abyss corridor]

The title is in English. Dahee, standing behind the chair looking at the monitor, asked,

"Abyss corridor? Jung-seok, what kind of game is this?"

"Uh... It's a horror game where you run away and escape from a corridor with ghosts. You also uncover various secrets in the process. A lot of internet broadcasters play it, so there are many videos. Haven't you seen it?"

"First time seeing it. Can we play together? Games can be played together, right?"

From what I've noticed today, Dahee's knowledge of games was almost non-existent. Did she grow up just reading books at home?

Soon, Jung-seok answered.

"We can't play together. Basically, these horror games are single-player."

"Single-player. So couples can't play?"

Juhee chimed in.

It was a very crude joke. The surrounding temperature felt like it dropped 2 degrees, just like when encountering a ghost. She wouldn't have made jokes like this normally.

Juhee, you've really hit rock bottom. This is how ostracism ruins people.

"Single-player means a game you play alone. Alright, I'm starting. I'll set the difficulty to normal. Also, before starting, the protagonist can take one item to use in this ghost-infested corridor. I'll choose 'slippers' for now."

"Slippers: Eliminates noise when running."

That's a good item. It might be useful if there were items like that in my "Nightmare Corridor" too.

Anyway. This is how the Abyss Corridor gameplay began.

And Juhee screamed incredibly loudly.

"Hey! It's chasing you! Hide! Hide! Hurry up and hide! Aaaaah!"

She wasn't even this scared of real ghosts, but Juhee was practically having a fit over the ghosts chasing in the game.

Jung-seok wasn't very good at the game.

He kept dying, panicking every time a ghost appeared. In reality, Jung-seok did get scared and fall whenever we encountered ghosts.

"Hey. This looks easy, but it's actually hard. You'd understand if you tried it."

Then Dahee asked,

"Can I try playing this?"

Dahee wants to play the game?

Jung-seok looked at me with a "what should we do" expression.

I had a feeling that the time had come to see Yoo Dahee's true worth.