Chapter 5
The hair ghost spoke.
"We're just standing still even though we're in front but how should we do this Geonho I have a good idea─."
"Is this the hair ghost...!?"
It was a terribly shaped head with hair growing wildly.
Looking closely, its forehead was bleeding, as if torn by something sharp. It looked so frighteningly scary that I felt like I might cry.
"Wow, shit, the visual is really brutal. But how is it talking without vocal cords?"
"Aah... No! Why is it here of all places! Why in front of the staff room!"
Sojin covered her face, almost screaming.
The story about the hair ghost not reacting to sound and sight seemed to be true, as it remained still despite Sojin's scream.
I briefly considered how to remove this ghost.
Actually, since hearing about the hair ghost's characteristics from Sojin, I had been thinking of ways to lure it away.
Should I throw a stone as bait to move it?
I was about to put that plan into action when...
"Crunch grind grind Jung Sojin you bitch how could you do this to me let's run away Geonho let's run away Yang Juhee when she went to her now it's now Geonho let's run away Geonho quickly that slut fell let's go just the two of us no the door is locked we need a key─"
"......"
Perhaps due to the ghost's unpleasant muttering, a scene played out in my mind.
Class president Jung Sojin pushing Yang Juhee down, and in that moment, Sojin and Kim Geonho approaching the multipurpose room door.
"Jung Sojin, you didn't..."
Just as I looked at Sojin...
"Young-won, I'm sorry!!!"
Wham-!
Something forceful pushed my shoulder hard.
The two palms thrust forward were filled with the weight of one person, plus malice and selfishness.
"Agh!"
Although I was weak at sports, I wasn't weaker than Sojin, who looked like she only studied. Thanks to that, I didn't fall, and instead ended up in a position as if I was embracing Sojin.
"Hey, Jung Sojin!!! You bitch!!! What are you doing all of a sudden!!!"
"Don't swear! It's Yang Juhee's fault! Does it make sense that I, who only studies, get lower grades than Yang Juhee who smokes and hangs out with boys? I didn't do anything wrong! I didn't do anything wrong!"
"What? So you pushed Yang Juhee towards the ghost? And now you're trying to push me too because you slipped up? You're a complete psychopath! It's chilling to think someone like you was our class president, damn it!"
"Shut up! You loser! Let go of me!"
Sojin, seemingly flustered at being caught out, struggled to push me away.
"Let go, you bastard! Damn it, I said let go! Where are you touching! It's creepy! You loser!"
"What am I touching! I thought something was off when you said Yang Juhee gave you the lighter! Yang Juhee hates you, Jung Sojin!"
I had felt uneasy about Sojin's story about the lighter and had been on guard in case she did something unpredictable.
Thanks to that, I didn't fall even with her sudden attack.
"I already knew you were two-faced! You liar! Was it also a lie that you went to the old school building to stop Kim Geonho and others from smoking?"
"What!?"
I used to run errands for Kim Geonho between the school store and the back of the old school building.
And once, I saw Kim Geonho and Jung Sojin together in a secluded place near the old school building.
At first, I thought the class president was trying to warn the delinquent, but then they kissed.
Thinking I shouldn't see what would follow, I hurriedly left.
A little while later, when Sojin, who was loitering behind the old school building, met my eyes, she was startled and asked, "Young-won, why are you here? Did you see anything?"
I said, "No. I didn't see anything."
But after that, Kim Geonho's bullying got worse, and I learned from Yang Juhee that it was on Sojin's instigation.
Sojin hadn't believed my story from the beginning back then.
This was also why I put Sojin as a player in the Nightmare Corridor.
"Even though I really tried to help you, you betray me like this? You're the one fooling around with boys!"
"Damn it! It's disgusting! You pervert! You bastard! Why am I a slut! You son of a bitch! Why am I a slut!"
Wait, I didn't call her a slut?
Sojin, like a person who had completely lost it, hit and bit me.
She was almost like a crazy person, and this was torturous for me with my weak physique.
The more she did this, the tighter I held onto her.
"Stay still! Just stay still for a moment!"
"What are you trying to do to me, you bastard! Let go!"
The scent of cosmetics wafted strongly from Sojin, and the sensation of something soft pressing against my body became even more vivid.
So this is how small, delicate, and fragile a woman's body is. In contrast, how sad a man's body is, reacting in various ways regardless of one's will even in this situation.
"You pervert!!! You loser!!!! You fatherless bastard!!!"
My actions weren't because I was a pervert as Sojin said. I was trying to protect Sojin in a humanitarian sense.
There was hair spread out like spider webs all around, so one wrong move could be disastrous.
"I said let go!"
But Sojin was almost insane, and finally broke free from my arms-.
"Ah-."
Thud.
She fell.
Sojin sat among the hair spread like spider webs on the floor, like a flower blooming amidst them.
***
"Let go you bastard damn it let go where are you touching you bastard what are you trying to do to me let go aaaaaah why am I a slut eeeeeek."
The hair ghost, with only its head remaining, lunged at Jung Sojin, who struggled like a butterfly caught in a spider's web.
"Kyaaaaaaaaah!!!! Help me! Young-won, save me! I was wrong! Save me! Ugh, uuugh, uwek─."
It was truly horrifying to see Sojin repeatedly gagging as hair seeped into her eyes, ears, and nose. She begged to be saved, but it was already too late for me to do anything.
"I'll, I'll date you! Young-won, you like me, don't you! We made eye contact every break time! Save me! Save me! Save─."
Sojin's body suddenly floated in the air, then moved like an awkward puppet show, joints cracking.
"You... like... mom... I... don't want to... study... don't want to be... a doctor... Geonho... before someone sees... quickly... ah... aah... aah..."
Were the hairs penetrating her brain touching nerves? Sojin listed incomprehensible words before only being able to say "aah."
Whoosh-.
The smell of liquid flowing down Sojin's thighs from under her school uniform skirt snapped me back to reality.
"The key."
I need to find the key to the multipurpose room in the staff room-.
With that thought, I moved my legs and entered the staff room.
"Bitch. And I even had a crush on her at the beginning of the semester."
Jingle.
Despite my bitter and complicated feelings, I steadily got hold of the "Multipurpose Room Key" from the key cabinet.
But the unfortunate thing was that I didn't know where the multipurpose room was in this strange corridor.
Thinking about it now, Sojin hadn't told me the location of the multipurpose room.
She just said she knew where it was.
Considering Sojin's cunning nature, she might have intended to use her knowledge of the multipurpose room's location to gain an advantage in our relationship.
She might have even been planning to use me as bait for the hair ghost if necessary.
And that's exactly what she tried to do before she died.
"Is this karma?"
Glancing outside, I saw that the hair ghost had disappeared somewhere with Sojin.
Unlike spiders that build webs and stay in one place, does the hair ghost move after a successful hunt?
It was a somewhat reasonable theory.
It seemed the hair ghost was in front of the multipurpose room when Sojin pushed Yang Juhee.
Suddenly, I thought of Yang Juhee.
If she was caught by the hair ghost, did she end up like Sojin just now? Wetting herself at the end?
"Hey...! You're Ha Young-won, right?"
"Mom, shit!"
I was really startled by a voice coming from an unexpected place. Even a cat suddenly seeing a cucumber while eating wouldn't have been as surprised as I was.
I was so shocked, my heart pounding, when something soft suddenly covered my mouth.
"Shh, be quiet...!"
Whoosh-.
There was a scent of cosmetics.
And a sweet and sour smell too.
I knew this smell well.
"Yang Juhee...!?"
Even with eyes accustomed to the darkness, Yang Juhee's yellow hair was clearly visible.
Yang Juhee was alive.
How was this possible?
Wasn't Yang Juhee supposed to have died by the hair ghost?
***
"When the ghost lunged at me, I took out a box cutter and stabbed it. Thanks to that, I was somehow able to escape. Then I hid in this staff room. The hair ghost probably followed me and came up to the front of the staff room."
The hair ghost couldn't enter the staff room.
Looking closely, there were talismans plastered all over the staff room, just like in Class "1-4."
"I see. Attacking with a box cutter..."
The blood flowing from the hair ghost's forehead wasn't decoration for horror, but a trace of Yang Juhee's violence.
The hair ghost can be damaged by physical attacks─that might be useful information.
It takes guts to swing a knife at a ghost.
"The box cutter? The one you took from my desk, right? Where is it now?"
"I don't know. I lost it after stabbing the hair ghost. That's why I was trapped in this staff room. I found this flashlight while searching the staff room. I was looking for a usable weapon."
"Ah, I see."
"Anyway, that bitch Jung Sojin is dead, right? That damn girl. I've hated her for a long time. Acting all coy like a fox. Pretending to be innocent while being so flirty! Always flirting with the boys!"
Yang Juhee spent almost a minute cursing Jung Sojin.
For Yang Juhee, Jung Sojin was someone who had tried to use her as bait.
"Oh, right. Our Young-won liked Jung Sojin, didn't you? Huh? You didn't even know she was dating Kim Geonho. Did you know that Jung Sojin, who you liked, was dating Kim Geonho?"
"What are you talking about, I never liked Jung Sojin. I don't like girls with glasses."
"Really? Well... I'll let you say that. More importantly, what the hell is going on here..."
Yang Juhee slumped down.
Though she didn't show it, she seemed relieved to meet me after being tense for so long.
Maybe because she was so close, I could smell her sweet and sour scent.
When I unconsciously licked my lips, Yang Juhee asked.
"What's that, Young-won? Are you eating something?"
"What would I be eating?"
"Really? Suspicious. You really don't have anything to eat?"
"No, really, I don't. If I did, I would've eaten it already. I'd love to have a cool glass of cola."
"Ah geez, I've been trapped in this staff room for two days already and I'm hungry. Now that you mention cola, I want some too. Take responsibility. Young-won, I'm thirsty. Go buy some cola from the school store."
Take responsibility... Hearing those words reminded me of the dream I had recently.
But there was a more important keyword in Yang Juhee's words just now.
"Two days? You've been trapped here for two days?"
Isn't something strange?
By my calculations, it shouldn't have been even 24 hours since people like Yang Juhee and Jung Sojin started wandering this corridor.
It was suspicious in many ways, but something did occur to me.
"Could this place be..."
Jingle, jingle-.
At that moment, the sound of bells made both Yang Juhee and me close our mouths.
Jingle, jingle, jingle-.
The bell sound grew louder and finally passed by the front of the staff room.
This place is safe-.
With that thought, the tension left my body.
And the sleepiness I had forgotten about came rushing back.
I know it's funny even to myself, but I was really sleepy.
After all, I had woken up in the middle of the night and gotten into this mess!
"Juhee, do you know where the multipurpose room is?"
"Maybe? I'm not sure. I just ran blindly while escaping from the hair ghost."
Good.
For me, who knew nothing about the location of the multipurpose room, it was better to have Yang Juhee with me.
But I kept feeling like I was 'missing something.'
It might be good to take out some insurance just in case.
"Juhee."
"What?"
"I have a favor to ask."