Chapter 69
"Second floor? You can't go to the second floor. The stairs are blocked by something transparent."
Yoo Dahee looked at me with eyes that couldn't understand why I wanted to go to the second floor. I said to her,
"Dahee. Do you trust me?"
"Yes. I trust you."
Yoo Dahee nodded without hesitation or thought. Her attitude was as if I were a long-time friend or lover.
I suddenly became curious. Why does Yoo Dahee trust me so much? Why is she so willing to give me her escape talisman?
Because I found her cat, Baekseol? Could that alone be enough for this? Or is there something I don't know about that Yoo Dahee still has?
In conclusion, I wanted to bet on various things because of the trust Yoo Dahee showed towards me.
If the suspicious girl Yoo Dahee becomes my ally, there's nothing more reassuring than that.
"Dahee. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say and remember it well. And you must never tell anyone else about this. I actually have a mysterious ability like you."
"...A mysterious ability?"
"I mean I can enter this Nightmare Corridor at will, just like you."
"...!"
Yoo Dahee was shocked.
"Enter at will? I come here regardless of my will."
I see! So that's how it is.
It seems Yoo Dahee is like an irregular player who participates consistently whenever the Nightmare Corridor opens.
I suddenly became curious.
"Why? Why is that?"
"That... I don't know well either. But grandfather clearly loves me because I have this constitution. He hopes I'll find a special object somewhere in this corridor."
"A special object, like this luxury bag?"
"No. I don't really know if it's an object or what it is. Just that if you get it... you can achieve everything you want. So... everyone wants to enter this corridor."
There are people who want to enter this ghost-filled corridor? They must be completely insane. I actually don't want to enter even if they pay me.
But I could understand why Ms. Hong Mi-ri was so happy to become a player in this corridor.
At the end of this corridor, there must be a treasure that grants someone's wish, like a magic lamp.
According to Ms. Hong Mi-ri, the Shaman Ghost and the Head Ghost were guardians, right? Maybe they're guarding that treasure.
"If you, Young-won, can really enter this corridor at will... that's truly amazing. And I think you should definitely keep it a secret. Your life might be in danger."
Yoo Dahee, befitting a student from the special A class, understood quickly. And she freely shared information I didn't know.
If I had known it would be like this, I should have been honest from the start. But until now, I wasn't sure if I could trust Yoo Dahee.
Then, seeing her try to sacrifice herself for me, I wanted to trust her.
In fact, even now, there was no guarantee that I could fully trust Yoo Dahee. But I just wanted to believe so.
Actually, it was the same with Jung-seok and Yang Juhee. I trusted them. It was a kind of faith.
Anyway. I explained everything to Yoo Dahee in detail, and it took quite a long time.
Finally, I briefly told her about what happened today.
How Hong Mi-ri and Kwon Suho fought. Everything I found out from them.
"If I fail to escape and forget everything that happened today, make sure to tell me about the conversation we had today."
My telling Yoo Dahee the truth was also a kind of insurance. You could say it's a backup for when my gamble fails and I forget everything.
"Let's go back to '1-4' and make a plan."
Ding-ding-
Just then. We started to hear the bell sound.
"Dahee. I think we should hide for now."
I opened the map. There was a school store nearby.
So the old school building had a school store on the first floor of the main building.
As we were about to enter it, we discovered that the school store was completely covered in black hair.
The Head Ghost, Gu Hyena, was inside.
"......"
We're screwed. The only space we can hide in right now, and the Head Ghost is lurking there?
Gu Hyena, you bitch! I get that you died pitifully, but why are you causing so much trouble as a ghost!
If Yang Juhee were here, she could have saved our lives for one turn with her box cutter.
Ding-ding-
The bell sound got closer and closer, and finally we could see the Shaman Ghost's candle with our own eyes. Yoo Dahee and I crouched in the corridor and held our breath.
Ding-ding-
Finally, the Shaman Ghost brushed past us and glanced in our direction.
"Here they are here they are here here hehehehehehe!"
Damn, how did she know? Is it because of the blood smell all over my body?
"Aaargh!"
I screamed in terror. Soon, Dahee lunged at the Shaman Ghost.
"Young-won! Run away!"
Thud-!
Yoo Dahee's full-body tackle.
The Shaman Ghost stumbled but soon grabbed Yoo Dahee and started rubbing her face vigorously with her fingers. Soon, the Shaman Ghost's hand went into Yoo Dahee's left eye.
Pop-!
"Kyaaaah!"
Yoo Dahee screamed. The Shaman Ghost took the plucked eye and inserted it into her own empty eye socket.
"Kihihihihihi! Found it found it found it found it!"
The Shaman Ghost now had one eye.
"It's a perfect fit!"
And I couldn't help but be shocked at this situation.
Wasn't Yoo Dahee the Shaman Ghost's daughter!?
What kind of crazy mother plucks out her own daughter's eyeball! Maybe the Shaman Ghost wasn't Yoo In-na after all!
The only thing certain was that if we stayed like this, Yoo Dahee would die.
"Dahee! Escape! Tear the talisman! Tear the talisman and escape!"
"But... but... Young-won, you'll... be left... alone..."
"I'll be fine! I'll figure something out somehow! Escape! If you die like this, it'll be a disaster! You'll become a high school girl ghost! I can't handle that! Get out quickly! Dahee!"
I shouted with a feeling like my guts were being torn out.
Whether my cry got through to her or not, Yoo Dahee tore the talisman she was clutching tightly.
Swish-
Yoo Dahee's body disappeared like dust. Now all that remained were the Shaman Ghost, the Head Ghost, and me.
Regret was already starting to wash over me.
The Shaman Ghost rolled her one eye to look at me. Her widely split mouth and long protruding tongue were so horrifying that I felt like wetting myself.
"Give me yours too!"
Finally, the Shaman Ghost lunged at me.
I shouted with an all-or-nothing feeling:
"Yoo In-na! Yoo In-na! Take this! The ring! The engagement ring you matched with Kang Bada! The toy jewel ring!"
What I pulled out of my pocket was the toy jewel ring I got from Mom.
The Shaman's mad dash towards me came to an abrupt halt. She slowly reached out and took the ring from my palm with her bony fingers.
"...Found it. The ring I lost... My treasure..."
As I thought! The ring belonged to the Bell Woman! This ring was indeed what the Bell Woman had been looking for!
It was the moment when the Shaman Ghost's identity became clear!
The woman Yoo In-na that I vaguely suspected was indeed the identity of the Shaman Ghost!
What will happen now?
As I watched with a slightly expectant gaze, the Bell Woman's body disappeared like dust.
Clink-
And only the bell she was holding remained in place.
"Oh. Nice loot."
I was happy to have defeated the Shaman Woman and obtained an item. But there was a problem.
"Yoo In-na Yoo In-na Yoo In-na Yoo In-na Yoo In-na Yoo In-na Yoo In-na Yoo In-na─"
The crazy Head Ghost started moving on its own.
Roll roll roll-
"You bitch! This is cheating!"
Damn, why! I didn't even step on the hair? The Head Ghost rolled wildly towards me!
Why on earth!
While holding back the urge to pee, I searched for a plausible reason. There's always a cause and effect for everything.
Could it be that because the Shaman Ghost disappeared as if she had attained enlightenment, this Head Ghost entered some kind of berserk state?
I don't know! Shit!
The important thing was that if I stayed like this, I might be horribly killed by the Head Ghost.
"Screw this!"
I really, really didn't want to die.
Because I'm a coward, even if it's a nightmare, if I die here, I might really die of a heart attack in reality.
No joke, I was confident I could die of a heart attack.
Let's run away first! Think of a solution while running! Then I remembered.
"Status window!"
I had the Mercenary Group! Although my ultimate move "Placebo Dinosaur Ghost" was gone, I had other ghosts!
『Mercenary Group List』
[List of ghosts omitted for brevity]
From here... the most helpful one here must be! This is the only option!
"Headless Rider!"
I dispatched Gu Hyena's body to me as a mercenary.
What will happen now?!
As I was thinking this while running wildly, I started to feel an eerie presence in the dark corridor of "1-4" ahead.
It was a headless body. The headless body and the bodiless head finally met.
What on earth will happen now!
Clutching my pounding heart, I observed the situation as Gu Hyena's body, which we had picked up at the Gaeryong Mountain lodge, slowly reached out and grabbed the Head Ghost! And the Head Ghost's hair also started to enter Gu Hyena's gaping neck. It looked like a fusion scene.
The head got a body, and the body got a head.
Complete unity. Soon, the Head Ghost's cracked eyes, which had been wobbling around, looked at me. And opening its mouth, it said,
"This is better."
***
The fusion of the Head Ghost and the Body Ghost.
As a result, a real "High School Girl Ghost" was born. It was unbelievable, but it was actually happening right before my eyes.
"What are you?"
The High School Girl Ghost, Gu Hyena, asked me. Her voice was slightly cold. A haughty feeling.
But she didn't seem to be hostile towards me.
However, the "High School Girl Ghost" might suddenly get pissed off and lunge at me.
I decided to fully display the submissive and harmless attitude I had cultivated as a lackey of bullies.
"I'm... Ha Young-won."
"Never heard that name. More importantly, why is it so dark here?"
Flick-
I lit the lighter. The visuals of the High School Girl Ghost Gu Hyena were... startling enough to make my legs tremble.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
...You're not human.
I held back from saying that, fearing Ghost Gu Hyena might go crazy and kill me. Soon, Gu Hyena asked,
"What's this? Isn't that my bag? Why do you have my bag?"
"...Ah. This. I picked it up on the way. I'll give it back to you."
I handed the luxury bag to Gu Hyena. Gu Hyena chuckled.
"This. It's the first bag I bought with my own money. I thought I'd never see it again."
She seems to be talking more normally than I expected...? I felt a bit more courageous.
"Um... You're Hyena, right...?"
"So what?"
"Do you remember everything that happened? Like why you're here or..."
"Hmm..."
Gu Hyena frowned. I was really terrified.
"I don't know."
Don't know? Does she not even know she died and became a ghost? Gu Hyena said,
"But you. Why do you keep looking at me like that? Why are you looking at me like that? Why! Why! Why why! Why!"
"Aaargh!"
I'm not kidding, I jumped at least 3 meters high.
No one would have remained calm when a high school girl ghost suddenly went crazy, opening her mouth wide with white eyes and shouting.
Soon, Gu Hyena burst into laughter.
"Hey! I'm kidding. Actually, I know everything. I died and became a ghost, right? It felt like a half-dream, half-awake state, but I definitely remember. How uncomfortable it was without a body. Phew. Now I can finally live a bit. My back of the head was itchy, but I couldn't scratch it─"