Chapter 79
The power of quirks is absolute.
This was a conclusion drawn from multiple experiences.
『Kwon Suho: 《Vegetarianism》 - Humans stand on blood and meat. However, someone can no longer accept that.』
Kwon Suho had developed the 《Vegetarianism》 quirk. It meant he'd suddenly become unable to eat meat and was likely struggling.
For someone with a big build like Kwon Suho, not being able to eat meat would naturally cause nutritional imbalance and disrupt his life balance.
My goal was to exploit this weakness and infiltrate Bong Ji-yeon into Kwon Suho's fam to extract various information. But Bong Ji-yeon frowned.
"No way. Kwon Suho is a real psycho, I'm telling you. He brought other girls and did things in front of me just because I wouldn't sleep with him!"
I was quite surprised by Bong Ji-yeon's casual mention of embarrassing stories. Don't girls like Bong Ji-yeon feel awkward talking about such things in front of boys? Or maybe she just hated Kwon Suho that much.
Yang Juhee, who was watching, nudged Bong Ji-yeon's side.
"Just a few days ago, you were hanging around Kwon Suho's fam, all nervous. You were thinking about going back, so why are you acting like you hate it so much now?"
"I didn't have any other options then. Anyway, I don't like it. I won't do it."
Bong Ji-yeon's attitude was firm.
If it goes like this, we'll lose our connection to keep Kwon Suho in check. Would she be more motivated if I gave her more reasons?
"Gu Hyena said that Kwon Suho lured her under the pretext of a movie shoot. But it wasn't Kwon Suho or a director there, it was the murderer Kim Hae-il."
There's some kind of connection between Kim Hae-il and Kwon Suho-
That's what I thought.
Since Kim Hae-il is from Glory Church and Kwon Suho is from Osung Group, it might mean there's a connection between Glory Church and Osung Group. I wanted to know more about that part in detail.
It seemed good to understand information that might be a threat to me while also resolving Gu Hyena's grudge.
Also, since Kim Hae-il was the murderer who killed Bong Ji-yeon's sister too, Bong Ji-yeon might show motivation to resolve her sister's grudge and find her head.
Bong Ji-yeon kept her mouth shut for a while as if thinking hard about my story, but finally came to a conclusion.
"No. I could die too."
Bong Ji-yeon seemed scared of Kwon Suho.
Certainly, if she had often seen that tyrannical side of him that I had glimpsed, she might be scared.
Yang Juhee also added a word.
"I'm against sending Bong Ji-yeon too. The story of Kwon Suho going crazy is really famous here in Gaeryong. He's especially cruel to girls."
Even Yang Juhee, who was always recklessly bold, was expressing reluctance.
Should we give up on the plan to put a spy in Kwon Suho's fam?
As I was feeling slightly disappointed, Bong Ji-yeon said,
"Hey. If you're so worried, why don't you go in yourself?"
"Me?"
It was an option I hadn't even considered.
That's because someone like me, Ha Young-won, didn't fit at all with a group of popular kids like Kwon Suho's fam.
They say there are even guys who've been to juvenile detention there. It was clear that a herbivore-like student like me wouldn't dare to fit in, and they wouldn't let me in from the start anyway. But Bong Ji-yeon seemed to have an idea.
"Kwon Suho's girlfriend is probably Yoo-jung unnie now? I often contact that unnie, so I'll tell her to look after you."
Who's Yoo-jung unnie?
Suddenly, I remembered the short-haired noona I saw at Kwon Suho's house. She had a slightly boyish style, right?
Yang Juhee said,
"Bong Ji-yeon, you're in contact with your ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend? Wow, I can't understand at all. Is this the animal kingdom? Is it true that everyone's entangled as each other's exes?"
"It's true. If you get along, you just date each other in turns."
It's a world I absolutely can't understand, and they're telling me to infiltrate that world directly.
If I succeed, the possibilities seemed endless.
It would be more certain for me to go in directly and investigate things rather than dispatching Bong Ji-yeon and controlling her like an avatar.
In fact, I was wondering how much I could trust Bong Ji-yeon myself.
Buzz-
Soon, Bong Ji-yeon's phone vibrated. After answering the call, Bong Ji-yeon said,
"Oh, unnie. It's me. Bong-ji. Yeah. You know that drawing model you said you were looking for last time? I found someone who's perfect. Want to meet him? Hmm. Then after the finals. Okay. Hanging up."
What's a drawing model?
As I was feeling puzzled, Bong Ji-yeon spoke first.
"This unnie is really good at drawing, she even wins awards at competitions and stuff. She said she couldn't find a male model that really inspired her."
Bong Ji-yeon's plan was this:
I would be recommended as a model, become close with Kwon Suho's current girlfriend, Kim Yoo-jung noona, and smoothly enter Suho's fam.
Would that work?
If I were someone who could easily persuade and seduce girls, my life would have been several times easier than it is now. It's because I can't do that that I'm struggling like this. But Bong Ji-yeon seemed to have some confidence.
"No. The pictures that unnie draws are a bit unique. So she likes unique people. That's probably why she's dating Kwon Suho too. And you're the most unique person I've ever seen. Have confidence."
"I am a bit unique."
There was no one as unique as me around me.
Of course, Yang Juhee said, "This doesn't seem like a good idea either... Kim Yoo-jung..." while suspiciously licking her lips.
***
Rumble-! Rumble-!
It rained continuously during the final exam week.
Gloomy weather. Rain pouring from the sky.
"Argh! All the ones I guessed between two choices were wrong!"
Rain was pouring on the exam papers, too.
Honestly, I haven't had much time to study lately. And it wasn't an environment where I could concentrate on studying.
"After rough grading, looks like I'll get about an average of 2nd grade."
Yang Juhee, sitting behind me, sang teasingly. I couldn't understand how Yang Juhee, a delinquent, had better grades than me.
Life is unfair.
Jung-seok seemed to have done quite well on the exam too.
"It's amazing that I can read 1.5 times faster."
Seems like the 《Fast Reading》 trait acquired from the training ground helped. Looks like I'm the only one who failed at studying.
I hope I at least got above average.
Anyway, the final exam period passed in a way that could be considered normal, if you can call it that.
Sometimes Wang Ja-hyun would bump my shoulder as he passed by, or Im Hee-yeon and Gong Ye-rin, who followed him around, would throw a few sharp words at me, but that was just a normal day.
"You know, I approached the exam with feng shui principles and ended up getting all the questions right that I was unsure about? Young-won, don't you want to hear about it?"
...Of course, Jung Sojin bothering me during the exam period was troublesome in many ways.
How on earth did she solve the exam using feng shui? I am curious, though.
Jung Sojin seemed to be deeply into feng shui, superstitions, and fortune-telling these days.
I wonder if she had some kind of change of heart after surviving the Nightmare Corridor.
Bong Ji-yeon also got into superstitions after the body incident at the lodge. Bong Ji-yeon and Jung Sojin might unexpectedly become good friends who can talk well together.
Anyway, the final exams ended with that kind of feeling.It's busy enough exploring the corridor, and now I have to fulfill my duties as a student too.
Ding-
Just then, my phone rang.
「Bong-ji: Hey, clear your schedule after school today. Yoo-jung unnie says she wants to meet you」
"Ah."
Come to think of it, we had planned to approach the boyish noona Kim Yoo-jung and infiltrate Kwon Suho's group. Wasn't I supposed to be an art model? I had forgotten about it during the final exams.
"Hey. Are we going back into that corridor soon?"
Yang Juhee approached me on the way home.
"And my mom says she wants you to come over. If you have time, let's go to my house together. My mom keeps saying she wants to see you. She says she'll make bossam if you come?"
I had visited Yang Juhee's house once during the final exams. I remember the bossam that Deaconess Kim Yeo-ok made was really delicious. She's offering to make that bossam again?
"Can't today. I have to meet that Kim Yoo-jung noona today."
"Kim Yoo-jung..."
Yang Juhee's expression changed slightly.
After thinking for a while, Yang Juhee seemed to make up her mind and dropped a word to me.
"Kim Yoo-jung isn't normal either. You. Be careful."
"What? What's not normal about her?"
"She's kind of self-destructive, I guess. I don't understand why she's dating Kwon Suho in the first place. That unnie is... well... um... We went to the same middle school... um..."
I'm not sure what she's trying to say, but I could tell Yang Juhee was worried about me.
"Thanks for worrying. You're really the only one who cares about me, Juhee."
"...What are you saying?! I'm leaving then!"
Whoosh-!
Yang Juhee blushed and left.
When I came out to the corridor, Bong Ji-yeon was waiting for me. Standing with one leg crossed and arms folded, glaring at me, she looked just like a girl trying to extort money.
It was actually similar. Bong Ji-yeon said to me,
"Hey. Let me give you some advice. When Yoo-jung unnie is drawing, you absolutely must not move or speak. Absolutely not. Got it?"
"What happens if I move?"
"Jeez! If I say don't do it, just don't do it! And even though I recommended you, that unnie can be a bit picky. Actually, the success rate might not even be 50%. Also, never laugh at or pretend to know about the pictures that unnie draws. Her concept is that she's an artist who draws souls, you know?"
"Souls...?"
"I know. It's fucking ridiculous, right? She says she sees through to the essence and draws that, but anyway, she hates it most when people laugh at her drawings, so keep that in mind."
I inputted that into my brain for now. Drawings that see through to the essence...
It reminded me of the talk about Observers I had with Ms. Hong Mi-ri.
I walked with Bong Ji-yeon.
As we passed by Class A, I met eyes with Yoo Dahee, and she waved at me saying, "Hi! Did you do well on the exams?"
But I... have felt a bit uncomfortable seeing Yoo Dahee for the past few days. So I just replied "Yeah" halfheartedly and quickly moved on.
At the entrance to the schoolyard. A tall noona with a sophisticated face was leaning against the entrance, standing slightly askew while looking at her phone.
Her hair was quite short for a woman, and her skirt was equally short.
"Unnie! Did you wait long?"
"No. I just got here. More importantly, who's the model?"
"It's him. Unnie, you like drawing unique things, right? What do you think of him?"
Swish-
The slightly cold-looking boyish noona frowned. Her expression was like that of a sushi chef appraising a fish on a cutting board.
"Oh... you're..."
At that moment, Kim Yoo-jung's expression changed. Did she recognize me?
"Hello. I'm Ha Young-won. I've always wanted to try being an art model. If you'll have me, I'll do my best."
"Pass."
Oh. I passed.
Whatever that means, it must be good, right?
"Well then, unnie, I'm off. You two have a good chat!"
Whoosh-
Bong Ji-yeon left me alone with this unfamiliar noona and took off. I felt like a cat abandoned at a stranger's house.
This is awkward as hell.
Kim Yoo-jung noona didn't say a word. She just kept looking at her phone.
After about 5 minutes of silence like this, as I was fidgeting, looking at my phone, then at the tips of my shoes, a taxi arrived.
Kim Yoo-jung noona got in the back seat of the taxi, and I got in too.
The taxi headed to a building that could be called an officetel. Kim Yoo-jung noona strode up and opened the door lock of a place on the 3rd floor.
Inside, I saw a fairly spacious area with lots of paintings and frames hanging.
"Wow."
There really were a lot of paintings. And most of those paintings... were very bizarre and incomprehensible.
Deconstructivism? Picasso? That kind of feeling. Of course, there were also some photorealistic paintings.
They were nude paintings of women. But they looked like someone I knew.
The hair is long, but isn't this Kim Yoo-jung noona?
Did she paint her own nudes? There were many such paintings. Mostly naked paintings.
Soon, Kim Yoo-jung noona, who had been silent until now, spoke.
"Then take off your clothes and stand over there."