The Last Chance
“I put up with it because I was afraid they’d go after Grandpa. But looking back now… I don’t think enduring everything was ever the right answer.”
Choi Hana bit her lip, her voice thick with regret. Watching her grandfather blame himself because of her had torn her heart open.
“It’s not too late. And neither of you did anything wrong, so lift your head. If anyone’s at fault, it’s them.”
Park Su-hwan’s blood boiled as he reviewed the evidence Hana had quietly gathered through every day of school violence. The insults and isolation were only the start. They’d stuffed trash into her locker. They’d stolen her things.
“They really went all out.”
A whole pack of them, systematically tormenting one young girl.
“I guess they were scared because I’m a shaman.”
“That doesn’t make any of it okay. One more thing—does your teacher know you’ve been bullied?”
Hana’s lips parted, then she nodded.
“…Yes. He knows everything. Baek Yoon-seul’s family is well-off.”
A cold smirk curled at the corner of Su-hwan’s mouth.
“Figures. The teacher looked the other way the whole time.”
Which meant there had probably been some quiet arrangement between Baek Yoon-seul’s family and the school. Nothing in this world came free.
“What about Kwon Ha-seong? He seemed like her boyfriend.”
Hana stared at him, startled.
“You really do know everything… Yes. That’s right.”
Su-hwan hadn’t just memorized the list of ringleaders. He had mapped out the secret couples among them as well.
“Birds of a feather. Whole pairs of them running wild. Doesn’t matter. With this much evidence we can call a school violence committee and get every last one of them expelled.”
He wasn’t bluffing. Society these days came down hard on school bullying.
Baek Yoon-seul. Kwon Ha-seong. Exactly as he’d seen in the Register—they were the leaders.
The evil they had piled up was about to come flying back at them like a boomerang.
The moment Hana’s victimization was formally reported, the homeroom teacher called as if he’d been waiting for it. Before going public, he suggested a three-way meeting to clear up any “misunderstandings.”
Misunderstandings? A joke?
Bullshit only went so far.
Anyone could see he was trying to bury the case. Su-hwan accepted the offer anyway. He wanted a good look at the teacher’s face and the parents of the perpetrators while he was at it.
“This the main gate? Pretty grand.”
“Only on the outside. It’s crawling with stray spirits. Don’t you feel it?”
A fraudulent shaman like Park Su-hwan couldn’t see a single ghost. To him the place was nothing more than a silent, empty athletic field after classes had ended.
Still, he nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. The energy’s filthy. Bad feng shui. Where’s the counseling room? That’s where we’re meeting.”
“End of the second floor in the main building.”
“Alright. Let’s take our time.”
They were already thirty minutes late for the appointment, but he felt no urge to hurry. The ones with fire under their feet were the perpetrators.
“Choi Hana?”
His prediction shattered instantly.
“Hey. You the one who said you were reporting us?”
They had come prepared to escalate.
Kwon Ha-seong yanked off his helmet and swung off the motorcycle. Baek Yoon-seul appeared right behind him.
“You’re dead.”
Ha-seong clenched his fist and strode forward, threatening. The second Su-hwan stepped between them—
“Urgh…”
Su-hwan’s eyes rolled back and he collapsed.
“O-Oppa!!”
“Huuuh… Yeah. Yeah. I’m awake.”
When Su-hwan came to, Hana’s shocked face filled his vision. Beside her stood Baek Yoon-seul and Kwon Ha-seong, looking utterly baffled.
Great. Completely lost face.
Of all moments, the Register had dragged him into its world again. Still, he had gotten a clear preview of the miserable ends waiting for those two. Overall, he felt pretty good about it.
Su-hwan wiped cold sweat and pushed himself upright.
“He just collapsed by himself and now he’s making a scene. People are going to think we hit him. Hey, Kwon Ha-seong. Back off.”
One word from Yoon-seul and Ha-seong immediately retreated. He looked exactly like a mongrel dropping its tail at its master’s gesture.
Yoon-seul eyed Su-hwan’s dust-caked hanbok with open contempt.
“Hana, where did you dig up this lunatic? Instead of standing around here you should take him to a hospital.”
“What—!”
Su-hwan stopped Hana with a quiet murmur.
“Let it go. They’re pitiful kids.”
They had tormented Hana and, moments earlier, had been ready to throw punches. Not a flicker of remorse showed on their faces. Su-hwan had nothing left he wanted to say to them.
“What? Pitiful? This old man is out of his mind!”
Ha-seong snapped, but Su-hwan was already guiding Hana toward the counseling room.
Yeah. Keep shouting. You won’t be able to for much longer.
Once they stepped inside the building, Hana studied his expression and asked carefully,
“Did you… see something?”
“I did. But I’m not telling you why.”
He had no obligation to hand them their futures. Or he could simply call it a rule of divination—never reveal the full reading.
Hana stopped dead. Her face was deadly serious.
“…The General will be furious. Receiving a gongsu and deliberately shutting your mouth is deceiving the gods. You could lose your spiritual power. The shaman’s illness could come back.”
Her gaze dropped to Su-hwan’s left leg—the one slowly healing through rehabilitation.
“And that would mean you’re accumulating evil karma yourself.”
Su-hwan answered her worry with a firm look.
“No. That won’t happen.”
I’m not a real shaman like you. I’ve never received a god, so how could I receive divine punishment?
“This isn’t something to take lightly.”
“Don’t worry. Our General is broad-minded. Just keep it between us.”
“Oppa…!”
Hana was genuinely afraid for him. She didn’t care what became of the bullies, but she couldn’t stand the thought of the person standing up for her getting hurt.
“I’m really fine…”
And it wasn’t as if he could suddenly admit he wasn’t a shaman after all this time.
“How about we make a bet, then?”
“A bet…? Why would you say that now?”
Hana frowned.
“Whether the people inside apologize to you or not.”
“Just tell me what you heard—!”
“Let’s watch and see.”
Clack. Thud!
He opened the counseling-room door. Four or five pairs of sharp eyes locked onto them at once.
“Well, well. Look who finally decided to show up.”
The woman who spoke had her hair pulled back and fixed with a large ribbon pin. Everything she wore screamed expensive.
Baek Yoon-seul’s mother, then.
The same vicious look, copied perfectly onto an older face.
“You’re here. Come sit. Hello, Hana’s guardian. Nice to meet you.”
The homeroom teacher rose, bowed politely, and gestured them to seats. Su-hwan returned the greeting half-heartedly as he approached.
“Hello.”
“Hana, how’s your grandfather? I’ll bring the whole class by to visit soon.”
He offered a warm smile; Hana didn’t so much as twitch. The man who had let the violence fester was the biggest reason things had reached this point.
“This is Yoon-seul’s mother. And next to her are Ha-seong’s parents.”
Kwon Ha-seong’s parents looked every bit as comfortably wealthy as Baek Yoon-seul’s mother.
“Teacher, we’re extremely busy. Is this really the time for leisurely introductions?”
“Ah—yes, of course. You’re right, Mrs. Baek.”
“I’m rather disappointed. I never expected you to handle things this way.”
“Exactly. The kids were just fooling around a little. Tsk.”
Ha-seong’s parents nodded in firm agreement.
“That’s right. Kids act out while they’re growing up. Calling it school violence over something like that… Tsk. No point making a big deal. Let’s wrap this up nicely and move on.”
“No. I’m perfectly happy making a big deal out of it. You don’t seem the least bit interested in the victim’s position.”
Hana pulled the evidence she had collected from her bag. Crude insult messages and the raw traces of assault spilled out for everyone to see.
“Does being a shaman justify isolation and assault?”
“What are you talking about?! It was just a joke!”
“Does this look like a joke to you?!”
Baek Yoon-seul’s mother shot to her feet and glared at the teacher, fury blazing over how far the situation had been allowed to go.
“I’m truly disappointed. I thought I’d been quite generous with you all this time…”
“Haha… Mrs. Baek, it’s not like that. Hana, just a moment—don’t push things so hard either.”
Su-hwan, who had watched in silence until now, finally spoke.
“They say a child is the mirror of the parents. Looking at those kids, I already assumed the parents would be much the same. I never expected an apology.”
“Are you finished talking?”
Ha-seong’s parents slammed their chairs back as well.
“You insolent little—!”
“Does anyone here know the words ‘retribution’ and ‘good rewarded, evil punished’?”
“So you’re trying to threaten us with this garbage? Go ahead. Try it. We’ll drag it out and make your lives hell.”
“M-Mrs. Baek…!”
“Enough. Stay out of it, Teacher. From now on we’ll be speaking with our lawyer. Tsk. No wonder you’re stuck cleaning up after kids.”
Su-hwan ignored them and continued exactly what he intended to say.
“There’s also the phrase ‘you reap what you sow.’ In the end, the sins you commit always come back—one way or another. I’ll give you one last chance.”
“Last chance? Ha! What exactly do you think a nobody like you can do?!”
Even under the parents’ mocking laughter, Su-hwan’s voice stayed ice-cold.
“Apologize to Hana from the heart and accept proper punishment for everything you’ve done. If you do, I’ll at least help make sure your precious children keep their lives.”
“What? Keep their lives? Are you threatening us right now?”
“Get out of here. You little punk. You don’t even share a drop of blood with her. Who the hell do you think you are, playing guardian?!”
“And you—you. I’m not letting this go. You understand me?!”
Baek Yoon-seul’s mother jabbed a finger at Hana and screamed. Su-hwan watched, let out a short snort of laughter, and turned to Hana.
“See? I won the bet.”
“….”
“All of you just kicked away the last chance I offered. Let’s go, Hana.”
“…Yes.”
“Choi Hana. Never thought that bitch would actually try to report us. Mom said she’s completely out of line. Especially that crazy bastard she brought with her.”
“He said it was the last chance, right? We’ve still got a year until graduation. We can just drag it out until then.”
“Haa… This is so stressful.”
Kwon Ha-seong pecked Baek Yoon-seul on the cheek and climbed onto the motorcycle.
“Let’s go for a drive and cheer up. Hop on.”
“With something like this hanging over us… Forget it. Fine.”
“Helmet?”
“I’m not wearing one. It messes up my hair. Besides, it’s no fun that way.”
“Haha. True enough.”
Ha-seong smirked and kicked the engine to life.
Vrooooom…!
The raw exhaust note ripped through the air as they shot onto the road. The gleaming motorcycle threaded recklessly between cars. Drivers hurled curses; the pair ignored every one of them.
“Wahaha! This is fucking awesome!”
Yoon-seul threw her head back, laughing into the wind. In that moment she felt free of everything.
“Faster!”
“Faster? Hold on tight!”
Caught up in the rush, Ha-seong wrenched the throttle all the way open. The speedometer needle surged wildly.
And right then—a sedan made an illegal U-turn and lunged into their path.
“Shit!”
Ha-seong slammed the brakes, but—
Screeeeech!!
BAAAAANG!!!!!
It was already too late. With a catastrophic roar the motorcycle slammed into the side of the car.
“Guh—!!”
“Aaaagh!!”
The impact drove Ha-seong into the handlebars before flinging him clear; his right shoulder smashed into a streetlight.
Yoon-seul fared far worse. Helmetless, her face skidded and slammed across the rough asphalt.
“Th-there’s someone—!”
“Aaaaah!!”
“Call 119! Call an ambulance! Hurry!!”
And so the scene Park Su-hwan had witnessed inside the Register of Life and Death unfolded in reality without a single deviation.