Chapter 62
Dr. Ji clicked his tongue while looking at Yang Juhee's palm.
Well, it was a chance to touch a pretty high school girl's hand for free. I probably would have done the same if I were him.
I should try touching my girlfriend's hand later by offering to read her palm.
As I was thinking this, Yang Juhee quickly pulled her hand away.
"Ugh, just go away."
Yang Juhee showed obvious dislike, but on the contrary, Yoo Dahee seemed interested.
"Are you a feng shui master? Or a male shaman?"
Yoo Dahee had an unusual interest in feng shui for her age. Dr. Ji chuckled.
"No, nothing so grand. I just travel around the country, looking at land, performing rituals, helping people find burial sites, and make a living that way. Anyway, kids. You shouldn't mess with talismans on mountains carelessly."
Dr. Ji scolded us. He also seemed to enjoy talking and kept spewing out TMI.
"This Gaeryong, you know. It's actually land where people shouldn't live. There's a huge spiritual water vein flowing under this land. It's like building a house on the sea. That's why they could only build one subway line, and people go missing and die."
Didn't Ms. Hong Mi-ri say that Yeongji High was on a water vein site too?
But Dr. Ji was saying that not just Yeongji High, but this entire city of Gaeryong was on a major water vein site.
"Still, when there was a great tutelary shaman here, such things happened less. But you..."
Dr. Ji's eyes turned to me.
"You look familiar somehow."
"...Me?"
Swish-
Dr. Ji looked at my hand. Is he reading my palm?
"Student. What's your name?"
"I'm... Ha Young-won."
"Oh my, oh my. I don't know if it was your father or mother, but they gave you the wrong name. You've been lost because of the wrong name. Is Ha Young-won really your name?"
"...Pardon?"
"Or, would you like to change your name now? I do naming too. I'll give you a discount. Names are important, you know. These days, you need to choose good nicknames too."
Dr. Ji. I thought he was just a quack, but is he actually skilled?
Is he just guessing? But whatever the case, the important thing was that I was greatly flustered.
As Dr. Ji said, my original name wasn't Ha Young-won. I had a different name until I lived in Seoul.
But my dad, who was a famous pastor, caused a big incident and ended up on the news.
As a result, he went to prison, and the fallout affected me and my mom, his family. It was like guilt by association.
Even after graduating elementary school, throughout middle school, the label of being the son of a heinous criminal always followed me.
It only quieted down a bit after we came to this Gaeryong and I changed my name. That's why I didn't make a big deal out of being bullied by Kim Geonho's group.
I was afraid someone might recognize me if I caused trouble.
Compared to the looks of contempt I endured for three years in middle school, Kim Geonho's bullying was child's play. Maybe that's why I could endure it.
However-
Dr. Ji's eyes seemed to recognize me somehow. It was similar to how people in Seoul used to look at me.
He said he traveled all over the country, so he must have been to Seoul too. Maybe that's why he knows me.
I decided to pretend I didn't know anything.
"Mister, I don't believe in things like palm reading."
"Actually, I don't believe in it either. I don't believe in ghosts either. I've never seen one. But just because I haven't seen it or don't believe in it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Have you been to Africa?"
"Africa? No."
"But you know Africa exists, right? Even though you've never been there. It's the same. Palm reading, fortune-telling, feng shui, face reading! These are all statistics and science accumulated over a long time. They exist regardless of belief."
He really is a quack. I got nervous for nothing.
Dr. Ji stuck to us like someone who finally got a chance to talk excitedly after not speaking to anyone for days.
It seemed like he was planning to follow us the whole way. As I was thinking how troublesome this was, Yang Juhee, who never holds back, said to Dr. Ji,
"Mister. We need to hike, so please go away. Don't be a nuisance!"
It seemed a bit rude, but it perfectly expressed what I was feeling. However, Dr. Ji was quite skilled too.
"I'm just going the same way as you. You're going to the lodge, right? I'm going to the lodge too. Since Gaeryong lost its tutelary shaman, it's become a playground for all sorts of shamans. Look at that. Some incompetent fool set up a small shrine there."
There was something like a small tent on the hiking trail. When I peeked inside, it was full of creepy statues of Buddha and gods with cracked heads.
"Be careful. There are many bad ones among shamans and mediums. Don't touch or handle things carelessly."
"Kyaa!"
Yang Juhee, who was examining the small shrine, screamed. I wondered what happened, but there was a spider on Yang Juhee's shoulder! Yang Juhee hated spiders.
"Hold still."
I carefully removed the spider from Yang Juhee's shoulder with my palm.
It's a wolf spider. It was quite a large spider among those you can see in Korea.
"Did you get it off? Did you get it off?!"
"Yeah."
"Ugh! Spiders! I really hate them!"
Anyway. On the way to the lodge, there were traces of burned talismans, bells hung up, and five-color strings attached to trees by someone.
Is this like a practice ground for shamans?
If the hiking trail is such a mess, shouldn't the officials clean it up?
As we walked like that, we finally arrived at what was supposed to be the closed lodge.
It was a house built on flat ground. The size was similar to a warehouse for storing sports equipment. The creaking sign that said "Ramen, Rice, Water" was quite eerie.
"By the way. Why did you come here?"
Dr. Ji asked me. I wondered what I should say, then decided to ask back.
"What about you?"
"Me... It's a secret. Anyway, you kids. Don't touch anything. Especially don't touch talismans. And don't even look at talismans written in black ink."
Swish-
Dr. Ji took out his water vein detector and started examining here and there. He did his own thing as if he didn't care about us anymore.
We decided to do our own thing too. Bong Ji-yeon asked,
"...So what do we do now?"
Bong Ji-yeon thought we came to this mountain today just for hiking.
The same was true for Yoo Dahee. Only I, Jung-seok, and Yang Juhee knew the details.
But is it just my imagination, or does Bong Ji-yeon's expression look a bit off?
Flash-!
Just then, a blinding light flashed.
Boom!
There was also a thunder sound like something compressed exploding.
***
Whoosh-
Heavy rain started pouring as if a hole had opened in the sky.
"What's this? The weather forecast definitely said it would be clear today."
Jung-seok was greatly flustered, looking at the rain pouring outside the lodge. We were all equally surprised.
Sudden rain.
Boom, boom-
Lightning and thunder struck mercilessly. It was barely noon, but the world was as dark as if it were evening. Yang Juhee, who was looking at the sky, said,
"It seems like a sudden shower. We can't go out now. If we go out in this state, we'll slip and fall to our deaths. The rocks and stairs will be extremely slippery. Let's wait until the rain stops."
Yang Juhee was right. This place where the lodge is located is an expert hiking course. Going down a rain-soaked rocky path would be too reckless.
That's when,
"Hey. Bong Ji-yeon. What's wrong with you?"
Jung-seok checked Bong Ji-yeon's complexion.
I wondered what was going on, and saw Bong Ji-yeon sitting on an old chair in the lodge, frowning.
"You..."
Swish-
Yang Juhee approached Bong Ji-yeon and took off her left sneaker. When she removed the sock too, Bong Ji-yeon's swollen, reddish ankle was clearly visible.
"Hey. What's this now? Did you hurt yourself today? Bong Ji-yeon. You're really something else. If it was this bad, you should've said something earlier, you idiot."
"This isn't from today, it's always been like this. It just gets like this if I overdo it. It'll be fine if I put on some pain relief patch and rest."
As far as I knew, Bong Ji-yeon had quit track and field after injuring her ankle.
Was that injury not fully healed yet? It seemed to have worsened after she ran around the mountain while feeling competitive with Yang Juhee today.
When I frowned with concern at the sight, Bong Ji-yeon got angry instead.
"What?! I don't smell!"
No. I didn't say anything about smell. Now that she mentioned it, I couldn't help but start worrying about it.
Swish-
Just then, Jung-seok took out a spray-on pain relief patch from his bag.
"Bong Ji-yeon. I'll spray the patch for you."
Psssht-
As he sprayed the patch on her ankle, Bong Ji-yeon's expression improved a bit.
"Hoo. Ha. Hoo."
Bong Ji-yeon breathed through her mouth like a pregnant woman doing breathing exercises. However, unlike Bong Ji-yeon's improving ankle situation, the rain was getting heavier.
Whoosh-
It was so heavy that we could barely see outside the window. Yoo Dahee, who was looking out the window, asked,
"I wonder where Dr. Ji went? With the rain like this, he should be taking shelter inside."
That was true. Where did he go with the rain pouring like this?
I thought he'd be back soon, but there was no sign of him returning even after quite some time had passed.
A quiet lodge. Two guys, three girls.
A world where we only hear the sound of rain if we keep our mouths shut. The atmosphere was quite eerie.
"A lodge in the rain. Feels like a ghost might appear."
Jung-seok mumbled quietly.
Jung-seok was good in many ways, but he had this weird habit of wanting to mutter scary stories whenever he felt scared. In my opinion, Jung-seok was definitely a masochist.
"Isn't it a bit cold?"
Yang Juhee shivered. She looked around and found a stove spot in the center of the lodge.
There was no stove. Instead, there were lots of discarded magazines and papers.
Whoosh.
Yang Juhee used her lighter to set fire to the papers, making a makeshift bonfire. It wasn't difficult to keep the fire going because there were dry firewood in the lodge too.
"Sitting around a fire like this, it feels like we're camping! I have some beef jerky, should we grill it?"
Swish-
Just then, Yoo Dahee took out some beef jerky from her bag. She was cheerful even in this situation.
Come to think of it, I've never seen Yoo Dahee look scared. Is there nothing she's afraid of?
Anyway. We shared the food we brought.
We boiled water in the lunchbox Jung-seok brought and all ate cup noodles together, and I'm not exaggerating, but it was so delicious I could cry.
I'll never forget today. Even in this situation, it's enjoyable.
As I was thinking this,
"Ugh. Uuuugh-"
Bong Ji-yeon started vomiting.
Even while we were all sharing ramen, Bong Ji-yeon alone hadn't touched anything. What on earth is going on?
Jung-seok asked.
"Hey. Bong Ji-yeon. What's wrong?"
"You guys... Don't you smell anything? This stench!"
Smell? What smell is she talking about?
I sniffed around.
But besides the smell of rain, ramen, and a faint smell of pain relief patch, there wasn't anything I could call a stench. However, Bong Ji-yeon was on the verge of fainting.
"Actually, I've been smelling it since we started climbing the mountain. A really terrible smell. It's hard to describe what kind of smell it is... I've smelled it before, ugh... It's really strong in this lodge!"
"Hey. Isn't it your sweat smell?"
Yang Juhee asked, but Bong Ji-yeon shook her head.
"No. You really can't smell this? Ugh... Ah. Even breathing through my mouth is reaching its limit."
I remembered Bong Ji-yeon reacting sensitively to smells since halfway up the mountain.
What smell is she talking about?
Just in case, I sniffed around like a dog. Then my nose caught a scent that was indescribably pungent.
"Ugh, damn."
There was a smell. Really.
The lodge was really reeking of something.
Why did I only notice this now?
"Ugh."
It was a smell that could make you throw up everything you just ate. As I dry heaved in the corner, Yang Juhee and Jung-seok also started dry heaving.
"Shit, what the hell is this smell?"
"Ugh... I'm dying. Open all the windows!"
We opened the windows wide to ventilate. Rain poured in heavily, but we didn't care.
The only one among us who remained calm was Yoo Dahee.
"......"
Yoo Dahee silently clenched her fist and knocked on the floor.
Knock knock-
Knock knock-
I wondered what she was doing, but there was a spot where a strange sound came from where Yoo Dahee was knocking.
Thud thud-
It sounded as if it was hollow beyond that point.
Yoo Dahee pulled hard on the carpet covering the floor, and we could see a square iron door installed in the floor.
Creak-
The iron door was firmly locked with a padlock.
But Yoo Dahee brought a nearby brick and smashed the padlock repeatedly, and finally, with a clank, the old padlock opened.
Screech-
Yoo Dahee opened the iron door that led to the floor below.
At that moment, black things started crawling up. They were spiders and centipedes.
"Aah, damn! Shit!"
Yang Juhee jumped up and clung to me. Swarms of spiders and centipedes were gushing out from the floor like a hot spring!
Yang Juhee, almost going crazy, forcibly climbed onto my back and even pressed her large chest against my back.
"Spiders! Chase them away! Hurry!"
Chase them away, yeah right.
The spiders and centipedes, as if not interested in us at all, escaped through the open windows. Seeing this, Yoo Dahee said,
"They're escaping. After being trapped in there. There must be something in there that even insects are afraid of."
Swish.
Yoo Dahee, seemingly fearless, went down the stairs to the basement.
Click-
When she shone her phone light, we could see a rectangular space about 13 square meters with red talismans stuck all over. They were talismans with black eye shapes drawn all over red paper.
It looked like the room had countless eyes sprouting on it.
And in that room full of talismans, there was a travel carrier that looked like someone had abandoned it. It was a very large item with wheels, and its zipper was half-open.
This must have been the source of the stench.
"Gasp!"
That's when it happened.
Bong Ji-yeon fell backwards as if having a seizure and started shaking. Her eyes were filled with fear and she was sweating profusely.
"Th-that..."
Bong Ji-yeon, her legs seemingly giving out, crawled up. We also got goosebumps and went back up to the first floor with Bong Ji-yeon.
"Th-that... b-body... It's a body... J-just like my sister's..."