Chapter 9
The secrets of the old school building and Yeongji High School.
I was looking for someone who could tell me about old memories, and Ms. Kang Ha-neul was perfect for that role.
After all, she was a student at Yeongji High 16 years ago! All adult women were once high school girls.
"Was there ever a shaman who visited the school?"
"Hmph, forget it! If you won't be honest with me, why should I answer your questions? I won't tell you either."
Hmph-
The teacher pretended to be overly upset, puffing her cheeks.
It was hard to believe that thirty-one-year-old Ms. Kang Ha-neul was only three years younger than my thirty-four-year-old mom, given how childish she could be.
Maybe it's the difference between a married woman and a single woman.
"But if you change your mind, call this number. It's my number. Just so you know, I don't give my number to just any guy, so you should feel honored."
"......"
"No response?"
"Yes. Ah, I'm honored."
I left the library and headed home. During my walk, I took a longer route to avoid running into Geonho's gang.
When I arrived home and found the bathroom locked, I knocked on the door and heard my mom inside.
-Young-won, is that you?
"Yeah."
-School's over?
"Yeah."
-Did you get a girlfriend at school today?
"Um... no..."
I needed to use the bathroom, wondering how long mom would stay in there.
Just then.
Buzz-
[ Young-won, mom can't come home tonight so eat dinner on your own LOL. So were there any girls you liked today? If there are, you have to introduce them to me right away, I'll treat you to dinner LOL ]
It was a KakaoTalk message from mom.
As I felt a chill run down my spine, the bathroom door creaked open by itself. The bathroom I thought mom was in... was empty!
"What, there's no one here...!?"
Who was the person that was just here?!
"Advice!"
『《Broken Clock》's Advice: Sometimes silence is the answer.』
Ah shit, sometimes the advice gives useless proverbs instead of actual advice, and of course it had to be now!
This place was already terrible with huge cockroaches, and now there are ghosts too? There's a reason why the rent is cheap!
I was terrified and couldn't calm down at all.
Thump thump-
I ran outside the building.
I didn't have a specific destination, but somewhere crowded seemed good. Going somewhere bustling with people might make me feel better. Ghosts probably can't appear in crowded places either!
"So where should I go?"
The problem was that I'd only moved to this neighborhood a few months ago and didn't know the area well. I'd lived in Seoul until middle school.
This neighborhood was too run-down with lots of back alleys and mysterious noises and smells.
Flutter flutter-
Something white fluttered and startled me.
"Holy shit!"
I freaked out thinking it might be a ghost's white dress, but looking closer, it was just a banner.
"Making Gaeryong Metropolitan City Prosperous! Revitalizing Gaeryong Metropolitan City Development! Jeong Man-sik will complete Subway Line 2! - Candidate #1 Jeong Man-sik!"
One of the banner's strings had come loose from lack of maintenance, making it flutter like a flag.
Damn, giving people a scare like that. When I get voting rights, I'm definitely never voting for this guy, ever.
"This neighborhood is too shabby."
Until last year, I lived in sophisticated Seoul.
Then we moved to Gaeryong this year because of mom's job, and I was still adjusting in many ways.
"......"
So what should I do now?
Growl-
I was hungry.
***
-Hmm, it'll take the teacher about 10 minutes. Want to go wait in a nearby restaurant? Order some food. Order the same for me too, I'll eat with you. I'll pay.
Good thing I brought my phone.
I was able to quickly contact Ms. Kang Ha-neul, who had told me to call if anything happened, and that solved my dinner problem too.
I ordered pork soup at a nearby restaurant and waited for the teacher.
"......"
But this time felt more boring than expected and also creepy.
Damn, our house was already scary enough with cockroaches, and now there are ghosts too. Do I have to live there forever?
I tried to ignore my fear by calling up the status window. It seemed good to think about how to use my accumulated points and check items I hadn't had time to verify earlier.
『Name: Ha Young-won Lv.1
Trait: 《Broken Clock》
Funds: 210 Points
Description: Once promising, you now spend meaningless days just killing time. But even a broken clock shows the correct time twice a day.』
『Shop ◀ Click to open』
『Treatment Center ◀ Click to open』
I still had 210 points left after unlocking the Treatment Center.
Seeing such abundant points made me feel full even without eating. Should I do some shopping at the store while I have time?
『Welcome to Level 1 Shop.
We sell various items to help in battles with heroes.』
『Raising shop level will add products and apply discounts.
Shop Level 1 Lv (0/100)
Trait Drawing Ticket - 100P
Capsule Drawing Ticket - 100P
Unlock Locked Item - 100P
Open Old Building 2nd Floor - 1000P』
What should I buy?
The Trait Drawing Ticket was most appealing.
I already had the 《Broken Clock》 trait, which was an excellent ability that could even be called a superpower. If I got another one like this, my life would become more abundant and prosperous.
Click-
I selected the "Trait Drawing Ticket" without hesitation.
Ding!
Soon something like a roulette wheel commonly seen in game drawings appeared and started spinning. Like a spinning wheel of fortune.
"Come on, give me hypnosis ability!"
Whirr-click-
It stopped!
The roulette arrow pointed to:
『《Breath Holding》: Able to hold breath 1.5 times longer.』
"......"
What is this? It's so mediocre.
I was secretly hoping for something like 《Hypnosis App》 and couldn't hide my disappointment. An ability to hold my breath longer?
Sure, having it is better than not having it, but it felt underwhelming for my 100P. I wish I'd gotten an ability that could help me make money.
"Inhale-"
Still, since I got the ability, I tried holding my breath as a test.
Usually, I'd start struggling at about 1 minute, but now I could easily hold my breath for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
"Exhale"
I had 110 points left. I considered drawing another trait or trying this "Capsule Drawing," but stopped.
"Young-won!"
Ms. Kang Ha-neul was entering the restaurant, so I didn't have time to manipulate the status window anyway.
It wouldn't hurt to keep some points in reserve just in case.
Ms. Kang Ha-neul drove a silver car. As soon as I got in the passenger seat, I was hit by the fresh scent of air freshener. It smelled nice.
"Teacher, I enjoyed the meal."
"Bzzt! Saying it that way makes it sound like you ate the teacher deliciously. Korean is a language where subject and object are important. Next time, say you enjoyed the soup."
"......"
Is this because she's a Korean language teacher? I got corrected in a way I never expected.
"Shall we go to a cafe now? You had something to say, right? Finally ready to be honest with teacher about everything?"
Ms. Kang Ha-neul seemed to think I called her because of the bullying and ostracism mentioned in the 'note.'
Well, that's because I didn't say "There's a ghost in my house!" I doubted she'd believe me even if I told her honestly.
"I have a lot I want to talk about... and several favors to ask... Teacher, could I stay at your place just for tonight?"
"What?"
Ms. Kang Ha-neul frowned. Her expression said 'what is this kid talking about?'
"What are you saying right now?"
"I don't want to go home. At home... it's hard to explain but..."
I tried my best to look pitiful and submissive. It was one of the skills I'd developed while being bullied by Ju-hee and Geonho. However, Ms. Kang Ha-neul was quite conservative.
"You want to stay at teacher's house without even explaining why? Do you know what kind of rumors would spread if people heard a female teacher let a male student stay overnight?"
"I'll really keep it secret. Please. Teacher. Please. Think of it as saving my life. I might really die. Really... Really... I might die. Ah..."
This wasn't a lie. Mom said she wasn't coming home today either.
Who knows what might happen to me if I go home now?
***
Ms. Kang Ha-neul's home wasn't far from school.
It was an apartment with corridor-style access, and the hallways were quite dirty with trash and various junk left in front of each unit.
"Young-won, you must never tell anyone about today. Quick, come in while no one's watching. Hurry! The neighbor lady is nosy, and if she sees you, rumors will definitely spread!"
Swoosh-
I quickly slipped through the open door.
"Letting a student into my home. What am I doing…?"
Ms. Kang Ha-neul's apartment had three rooms and one bathroom about 25 pyeong in size.
In the living room, there was a clothes drying rack with various underwear─
"Wait, turn your face away! Quick!"
"Yes."
The drying rack in the living room quickly disappeared. The place had various signs of daily life.
So this is what a 31-year-old single woman's home feels like. I was slightly nervous being alone with an adult woman in her home, but the teacher seemed unbothered.
"Young-won, don't make too much noise, okay? Tomorrow's Saturday, so all the neighbors will be home. This building is old and the soundproofing is bad, so rumors about me bringing a man home could spread easily."
Ms. Kang Ha-neul seemed strangely concerned about the neighbors.
"What happens if rumors spread?"
"You're a minor, Young-won. If something goes wrong, teacher could go to jail. Even if not that, it would make it hard to get married. You're too young to understand."
I suddenly remembered overhearing students saying "Geonho went to a motel with the English teacher─." And the face of the sophisticated 27-year-old English teacher.
"You can sleep here tonight. It used to be my brother's room, and though it hasn't been maintained, it should be fine to sleep in after some cleaning. Here's your pajamas. Want some warm milk?"
I changed into the pajamas the teacher gave me in the room.
If these were her brother's pajamas, they seemed oversized for me in many ways. But it seemed better than staying in my uncomfortable uniform.
Knock knock knock-
The teacher knocked on the door while I was taking off my uniform.
-Young-won, can teacher come in? I'll clean up what's inside.
"Not yet. I'm still changing."
-How about now?
"No, I said not yet. Please stop rushing me."
-Then can I come in now? With a young man in the house, teacher... can't hold back anymore...
What can't she hold back?
Does she need to use the bathroom but is trying to clean my room first? Her voice mixed with tension and sighs in a suggestive way made me wonder if it was something more serious.
I hurriedly finished changing.
"Okay. You can come in now."
I waited a bit, but there was no answer. I got goosebumps from a familiar sense of déjà vu.
What if I open the door and the teacher isn't there again? Like the ghost imitating my mom in the bathroom!
Clench-
I made a fist ready to swing if needed and went to check the living room.
Fortunately, Ms. Kang Ha-neul was sitting at the dining table, sipping alcohol, though her attire was eye-catching.
She was wearing such a thin see-through nightgown that you could see the underwear that had been on the drying rack earlier.
"Uh..."
I turned away in embarrassment. Just being here felt like I was doing something wrong.
Then, the teacher spoke:
"Surprised? This is how teacher usually dresses at home. Anyway Young-won, sit here."
"Why?"
"Just sit down quickly. If you don't listen, I'll throw you out right away."