Chapter 7
Originally, there wasn't any bullying.
I was just an ordinary student in class, hardly noticeable.
But one day, Geonho said to me:
"Hey Young-won, it's April Fool's Day. I've got an interesting story, want to hear it? A loner like you would be perfect for this role. Perfect!"
It was early April, barely a month after the entrance ceremony, but Class D had already become Geonho's kingdom, who claimed he'd been a troublemaker in middle school.
Geonho kept pushing boundaries, testing how far he could go and what would be tolerated.
"Listen, Young-won, you should tell Yang Juhee..."
Refusing Geonho's proposal would obviously lead to troublesome days. Wanting to maintain a strictly 'middle-ground' life for certain reasons, I accepted his proposal.
It wasn't even that difficult of a proposal.
"Juhee, I like you. Let's date."
Before first period. Kids clapped and cheered, setting the mood.
The delinquent group laughed while recording everything on their phones.
"Date! Date!"
"Kiss! Kiss!"
"What is this, an April Fool's prank? It's not funny at all! Zero entertainment! Get lost! Stop filming! Stop it! The teacher will be here soon, what's wrong with you all!"
Even Juhee, who was always proud and confident, seemed flustered by this coordinated prank and lie from the class.
"Hey, looks like Juhee doesn't really hate it?"
"Young-won's not bad, right? He's tall. And smart too!"
"Are they really going to date? Kyah! Answer quickly!"
As the atmosphere heated up.
Just as Juhee's white face was turning red, I thought they'd set off firecrackers or something as planned─.
"Ah, f*ck this is boring. Let's stop here."
─Geonho unexpectedly jumped in and ended the situation.
"Young-won, you bastard. I told you to confess convincingly to Juhee, but your acting was so sh*t that everyone knew it was an April Fool's prank from the start. We won't get any views like this. Want to die?"
That's when it started. When I became Geonho's explicit bullying target.
I remembered this now because Juhee's current expression was identical to that April Fool's Day.
The same expression of confusion, humiliation, and embarrassment, with tears welling up.
"Hey, Young-won. What did you just say?"
"I said take off your shirt first. Or... should I take it off for you?"
I pressured Juhee to escape the nightmare corridor. Since it was my first time threatening and pressuring others, I felt nervous about my awkward lines.
Though I couldn't get the "Hypnosis App" from the shop I worked hard to unlock, I was essentially doing something similar.
Of course, this was humanitarian and righteous. To escape this place, I would gladly drink the poisoned chalice of false evil.
"No. Why should I listen to you?"
"Ha, Juhee. You think I'm doing this just for myself? We need to try anything to escape from here. If you don't want to, let's live in this classroom forever! Just you and me!"
I threatened her with the prospect of never escaping this terrifying corridor. Then, I tried sweet-talking her.
"It's not like showing or touching for a moment will wear anything out. You must have dated lots of guys, right? Aren't you used to this?"
"Do you really want to die? Now I see how you've always thought of me. You creep. You're seriously disgusting. Ugh-. Just try touching me with one finger!"
"Fine, then let's just live here. I don't care anymore. F*ck it. I like it here. No bullying, no doing others' homework! It's heaven! Heaven!"
Screech-
I pushed all the desks aside to make space to lie down, then just laid there.
For a place with ghosts, it was surprisingly comfortable. Indeed, walking is better than running, and lying down is better than walking.
About five minutes passed.
Rustle-
I heard something like thin fabric falling. Turning my head, I saw Juhee taking off her shoes.
Just the fact that a classmate was taking off her shoes in front of me was honestly provocative.
I might discover a new fetish!
"...Young-won. Promise me one thing. Are you really confident you can escape from here? If you promise, I'll let you touch... not anywhere else... just... my feet."
Can I escape from here? Honestly, it was fifty-fifty.
To be frank, my wet dream strategy might not work.
But so what?
Isn't it better to try something with the girl who bullied me before dying than just dying? If we escape, great; if not... well, can't be helped.
I was set to win either way.
Of course, without saying any of that, I put on a serious expression.
"I promise. When I wake up from this dream, I'll go to where you're sleeping and wake you up. So, can I take off your socks first...?"
Watching Sojin take off her stockings earlier had quite an effect. If I take off Juhee's socks myself, I'll get the same... no, an even bigger reaction!
"......"
Juhee was silent. She just stared at me with contempt. Still, this silence seemed like consent.
Thump thump thump thump-
My heart started beating more wildly than when I met the ghosts.
What should I do now?
Just as I reached out my hand, thwack- Juhee grabbed my wrist.
"...I really can't just let you touch me! I won't let anyone touch my body unless we're dating. If you want to touch me, you have to date me."
"Are you saying we should date?"
"And I don't like casual dating and breaking up. I believe you should only date with marriage in mind. Can you agree to that?"
Marriage? Isn't that too far ahead for first-year high school students?
I didn't know Juhee had this side to her.
"Also, if you want to date me, you have to go to church every Sunday."
Go to church?
Ah shit, I don't like that, but let me just lie.
"Okay. I've been to church a lot. So we're good now? Today's our first day. We're dating with marriage in mind. That settles it, right?"
Slip-
I pulled my wrist from Juhee's grip. Now I really need to escape. From various 'nightmares.'
Thwack-
Then, Juhee grabbed my wrist again.
"And I think it's best to start with just holding hands? There should be progression in physical contact. Even after dating, for about 100 days, just holding hands..."
"Ah, geez. Since when did the great Yang Juhee become such a chatterbox? Are you some kind of 'marriage before sex' person or something?"
"...You mean abstinence before marriage?"
"Same difference. Are you a T?"
I felt irritated for no reason. But... thinking about it again, holding hands seemed quite appealing.
Who knows? While holding hands, the mood might lead to touching elsewhere─.
They say kids these days do everything after just one day of dating. As one of those modern kids, I might be able to do various things.
No, I can do it! I definitely can!
"Then, I'll touch."
Slip-
I held Juhee's hand that was gripping my wrist.
"Ah... why are you holding my hand like that...? Just like the creep you are..."
Juhee trembled slightly.
Her hand was slender, warm, and soft. Her nails weren't painted but were well-maintained.
"How am I holding your hand?"
"...Like a pervert."
I thought I was holding it normally.
More than that... a girl's hand is this small, slender, and delicate. How can the hand that hit me so fiercely be this soft?
If her hand is this soft, then those large breasts must be─.
"Ooh─"
At that moment, I felt my body melting.
This feeling was dangerous.
***
"...Just from holding hands?"
The first thing I did upon waking was check my pants. Fortunately, I didn't need to change my underwear.
"7 o'clock...!? I'm late!"
I rushed to the living room.
A huge American cockroach flew straight at my face while roaming around the kitchen.
"Whoa, sh*t, that scared me!"
It was really terrifying.
Having a thumb-sized American cockroach fly at my face was more horrifying than being chased by ghosts in my dream.
I calmed my startled heart and quickly got dressed for school.
I arrived at school around 7:30.
The school was already bustling. Police were at the old school building, and students were murmuring.
"Well, thankfully it wasn't a missing persons case. Teacher, we'll be going now. Since it wasn't serious, the school can handle the rest..."
"Yes. Thank you so much. You kids! What were you thinking?! Sleeping in a place like this! What would have happened if I hadn't come to school early and found you!"
At a glance, a woman in a black suit with neat short hair was sternly scolding the students. She was the first-year Korean language teacher.
Thirty-one and single, her elegant beauty made her popular among male students. I liked her a bit too.
"Ah, damn. Why was I sleeping in a place like this? My head's killing me. Teacher, could you be a bit quieter? My head hurts."
A male student who seemed well over 180cm tall was scratching his head and shivering. Next to him was a girl wearing glasses.
"What time is it... Huh? 7 AM!? This is bad! My mom's going to kill me! What do I do! Really!"
It was Geonho and Sojin.
So they were both alive after all. I felt a heavy weight lift from my chest.
And beside them...
"...Ah, what the hell. My uniform's all wrinkled. Why did I fall asleep in a place like this?"
There was Juhee, her hair sticking out everywhere, complaining irritably. Everyone seemed confused about why they'd fallen asleep in the old school building.
Naturally, the school was in an uproar.
Were you drinking─Did you huff glue─Teacher, these days students even do drugs, not just glue─mumble mumble─.
"Wow. Did you hear? Geonho, Juhee, and Sojin stayed overnight in the old building!"
"Damn, they're brave. In that haunted-looking place?"
Before first period, Class D’s students were chattering about the morning's incident.
Slide-
Soon the classroom door opened and Juhee and Sojin entered, making everyone fall silent.
The teachers must have told them to attend classes first after questioning.
Did Geonho go home? Well, I don't care about that bastard anymore.
I smiled slightly at Juhee as she sat behind me.
To think she's my girlfriend starting today…
It was hard to believe, but I felt good.
"What are you looking at? Creep."
"Hey, Juhee, is that how you talk to your future husband? Don't you know the Bible says wives should submit to their husbands because the husband is the head? For someone who goes to church every Sunday, your attitude is really..."
"What? Future husband? Are you crazy? Where'd this confidence come from, you loser? How do you know I go to church? Have you been stalking me...!?"
Juhee's sudden outburst startled me.
Is she pretending not to remember last night? Wanting to keep our relationship secret? I decided to test her.
"Juhee, what do you think about only holding hands for the first 100 days?"
"Hey, what nonsense are you spouting? I'm already in a bad mood this morning. Did Geonho put you up to something again? Tell you to confess as a joke?"
"No, I had a girlfriend. She said we should only hold hands for 100 days..."
"You had a girlfriend? Who?"
"Not anymore... I just got dumped."
"Hahaha, that's more like it! But who was she? Want me to go beat her up? Who dumped our Young-won! Huh? Who is it? Someone from our class? Our school? Must be an ugly one?"
Juhee seemed to have no memory of the dream.
Of the "Nightmare Corridor."
Of all our conversations.
I... felt like I'd lost a girlfriend I'd never even had.
A precious person, someone I didn't want to forget. Someone I shouldn't forget.
Where could I express these feelings…?
Was it all just my dream?
It was frustrating.
If it was really just a dream, I should have at least touched her chest.
"Status window."
In my dejection, I tried projecting the text into the air.
Ding!
For better or worse, the text appeared.
But the displayed text was slightly different from usual.
『Congratulations! You have safely returned from the Nightmare Corridor!』
『Beginning settlement for 1 Survivor, 3 Deaths.』
『3 Deaths will acquire quirks.』
『Kim Geonho ◀ Select to view』
『Jung Sojin ◀ Select to view』
『Yang Juhee ◀ Select to view』