Chapter 37
Ms. Hong Mi-ri seemed easygoing but was quite sharp. We had to endure about 10 minutes of scolding.
"Hey. Young-won. Is it okay for you to cause trouble like this when your mother is in the hospital?"
"I'm sorry."
When you've done wrong, you should lie low.
Soon, Ms. Hong Mi-ri's eyes turned to Jung-seok.
"Class D vice president. I thought you'd be different, but was I wrong? What are you thinking, being here like this? Two boys luring an innocent girl into a broken-down building!"
Two boys luring a girl into a broken-down building. It sounded strangely suggestive.
However, Dahee, who had been listening quietly, chimed in.
"I asked them to come. Young-won and Seok came because I asked. I had lost something and needed to find it, but I was scared to go alone."
"You, Dahee?"
Swish-
Ms. Hong Mi-ri's eyes narrowed.
As I thought her gaze was as sharp as a snake's, the teacher clicked her tongue.
"Fine. It's late, so everyone go home today."
Oh. Can we finally escape this scolding hell?
"Yoo Dahee, you stay. I think I need to talk to the chairman about you. I heard the chairman isn't feeling well, and he won't be happy if you cause problems like this. You know that better, right?"
"......"
Dahee looked slightly upset, like someone caught doing something wrong unfairly.
"Okay."
Whatever it is, let's just get out of here quickly.
"Seok. Let's go home now."
Looking back, it was a terrifying basement exploration. I was scared.
To shake off this fear... flexing my traits and gacha items on the status window would be best.
I should hurry home.
"Young-won. Here."
Swish-
Dahee held out something to me as I was about to leave. It was a magic wand about 30cm long.
"Give it back to Juhee."
"...Okay."
And that's how our unexpected Saturday evening courage test ended!
Here's what we gained:
Mental fatigue
A "Magic Wand" with Yang Juhee's name on it.
A wish coupon from Yoo Dahee.
"I guess this is a net positive."
Whether it's a gain or a loss depends on how I use number 3.
Jung-seok said,
"It’s a basement I never want to visit again."
"That's true. But if everything Yoo Dahee said is correct, don't you think Yang Juhee's sister, Yang Do-hee, might have gone into the old school building's basement to look for something? What could she have been trying to find?"
Today's experience could be a "missing puzzle piece."
When I asked Jung-seok, the puzzle master, he trailed off with a "Well..."
"I'm not sure."
From my perspective, Jung-seok's brain seemed paralyzed by the fear he felt in the basement.
What on earth could she have been looking for?
"According to Dahee, she came to find something like a round ball. Jung-seok, you said the high school girl's head disappearance case was 5 years ago, right?"
"...Yeah. It was winter. The whole world was in an uproar at the time."
I was living in Seoul then, so I didn't know such a big incident was happening in this city. I didn't even know much about "Gaeryong Metropolitan City" to begin with.
But now that I think about it... it seems quite related.
"And Yang Do-hee disappeared... the following spring. Could there be a connection between Yang Do-hee's case and that headless girl case?"
"Are you saying it's the same culprit?"
Jung-seok's eyes, which had been glazed over as if he was high, sharpened again.
His hatred for the 'culprit' seems real.
"No, not that the culprit is the same. Think about it. A head that disappeared in winter. And a high school girl who went missing the following spring while looking for something. Maybe..."
"Ah. Young-won, you're saying Yang Do-hee might have come into the old school building's basement to look for the head?"
"Yeah. The headless girl and the missing Yang Do-hee might have been friends or something. Jung-seok, you'd come looking for me if my head disappeared, right?"
"......"
Jung-seok had a doubtful expression.
Is he saying he wouldn't come looking if my head disappeared now? No, he probably thinks my guess is just a plausible fit without any concrete evidence.
But-
Isn't the first step in puzzle-solving to fit all the plausible pieces together and then replace them if they don't work?
"At least I think I know how Yang Juhee's sister disappeared. And it doesn't seem like Yoo Dahee was lying. I'm not sure where she disappeared to, but..."
Swish-
I waved the magic wand in my hand. I should probably give it back today.
"Hey. Let's go to Juhee's house."
"...I should be heading home soon, though?"
Jung-seok made a troubled face.
It was already 10 PM. He probably wanted to go home because it was late.
"Okay. I got it. If you have anything to say, message me. Always keep the chat room notifications on."
***
On the way to Yang Juhee's shabby apartment, I opened my status window.
[Status window details omitted for brevity]
Strangely, looking at these words calms me down.
With 577P points, I felt full even though I hadn't eaten dinner.
[Shop details omitted for brevity]
What I'm going to do today is... trait drawing! The more traits I have, the more cards I can use.
Even though the recently acquired 《Hold Breath》 seemed insignificant, it turned out to be quite useful.
"Wonder what I'll get."
Ding-!
Soon, something like a roulette wheel you'd often see in games for various draws appeared and started spinning.
"This moment is always the most tense."
Whirr-whirr-whirr-click.
It stopped!
Boom-boom-boom!
And a fireworks effect I'd never seen before flashed brilliantly!
"What's this? Did I get a rare trait? Did I succeed in the gacha!?"
Where the roulette machine's arrow pointed, it read:
『《Strong Heart》: Your heart becomes stronger. Stamina greatly increases and you become immune to all heart diseases.』
"Oh. Oh shit. Oh, shit!"
I had felt something when I got 《Hold Breath》 too.
When I acquire these traits, I understand their abilities as if I've seen the answer key in my head.
It's like it becomes part of my body, just as people easily use their hands and feet normally.
Thump. Thump-
When I put my hand on my chest, I felt my heart beating more strongly than usual.
Immune to all heart diseases for life.
That's great! Stamina increased too?
Does that mean my virility has increased?
Let me focus on my lower body. Then suddenly, I realized it wasn't all good news.
"...I won't be able to avoid wet dreams anymore."
Somehow, I knew this.
My passive skill 《Wet Dream Prevention》 worked by waking me up through extreme fear and a racing heart when I was about to have a wet dream.
But my heart had become incredibly strong... and it was clear it wouldn't race over mere wet dreams anymore.
"...I'm screwed. My cheat key for escaping nightmares!"
As I was making a fuss like this, I soon arrived at Yang Juhee's house.
I called Juhee.
-Soft soft my heart-
-Like clear stream water-
-Stream stream stream water-
What a bizarre ringtone, no matter when I hear it.
Click-
Juhee answered the phone.
"What."
"Come down. I'm in front of your house. I have something to give you."
"What is it."
"It wouldn't be fun if I told you. Anyway, come down quickly. Here's a hint: it's thick and long. And pink. Hard too."
"What the hell, damn it."
The magic wand with "Yang Juhee" written on it… I wondered how Juhee would react when she saw this.
I waited with some anticipation.
About 5 minutes passed? A girl wearing red sweatpants over dolphin shorts came down from the apartment.
Meeting the prettiest girl in class on a weekend evening. Come to think of it, what I was doing felt a bit surreal.
"What."
Juhee glared at me with narrow eyes.
She seemed to still be in a bad mood since she yelled at Dahee and left earlier today.
Swish-
I held out the magic wand to Juhee.
"Hey. Is this yours?"
"Isn't that the Princess Magic Wand?"
Juhee's expression suddenly brightened.
There was a video of a grumpy hedgehog with all its quills raised suddenly relaxing and eagerly eating an apple when given one. Juhee's attitude was just like that.
"It is the Princess Magic Wand!"
What's this Princess Magic Wand? Is it a set item with the Princess Sketchbook?
Juhee snatched the magic wand from me and examined it closely.
"This has my name on it? It's mine! Where did you get this?"
"Gack!"
Juhee suddenly grabbed my collar and shook me, making me choke.
Juhee's strength was stronger than I thought, shaking my body back and forth violently.
"Where did you get this, I said!"
"Y-Yoo Dahee..."
"Yoo Dahee?"
"I went to the old school building with Dahee. We got it in the basement. Dahee said to give it to you. Why? What's this all about?"
"......"
Juhee silently looked at the magic wand.
Click. When she pressed the button, the jewel at the end flashed brightly.
"This. It's something my sister took from me the last time I saw her. My sister liked taking my things. Pencil cases. Erasers. Toys..."
So Juhee's habit of taking things was a skill learned from her sister. Juhee had taken a lot of my things too, like my box cutter, eraser, pencil case, and so on.
"I got this magic wand for my 7th birthday. When she tried to take this too, I got so angry and said harsh things to her. That was the last time..."
I see.
It seems it was a meaningful object.
I told Juhee about exploring the school basement with Dahee and Jung-seok.
And I also slipped in my theory that Juhee's sister, Yang Do-hee, might have explored the school basement to find the head of the "headless girl."
I wondered how Juhee would react to this.
"The headless sister... I know her too. She used to come to our house often. Bong Se-yeon."
"Bong Se-yeon?"
"That headless sister. She's the older sister of Bong Ji-yeon, the bully from Class C. Didn't Jung-seok tell you that?"
He hadn't told me that. Partly because I hadn't asked...
Come to think of it, it was something I could have easily guessed.
The headless sister was the one who lived next door to Jung-seok.
And Bong Ji-yeon was actually Jung-seok's childhood friend who often came to his house and bothered him.
Bong Ji-yeon, the Class C bully, lived next door to Jung-seok!
"My sister went to look for Se-yeon's head... Now that I think about it... my sister always had something strange about her. She'd talk to herself while looking at empty spaces. Sometimes she'd suddenly get sick."
"Like someone who could see ghosts?"
"Yeah. And then she disappeared."
Juhee's maternal line was said to be hereditary head shamans. If her sister, Yang Do-hee, really had such a 'talent'?
The ability to see ghosts… A seer. Watcher. Observer (注視者).
Could that be what an observer is?
A cool, refreshing sensation burst in my head as if someone had poured cold carbonated water into it.