Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Demon Fox Kang Areum 3
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After that, their conversation didn't drag on for much longer. As Kang Areum had requested, Nati gave a brief rundown on the Ghost Bridge Society. But the listener clearly felt that wasn't enough of an explanation.
So Nati took her down to the basement. It didn't take long—maybe ten minutes at most.
Kang Areum, who had been given a tour of the underground warehouse and come back up, didn't look particularly pleased, but she seemed to think at least her curiosity had been satisfied.
"I've heard rumors about a place like this, but it's my first time seeing it for myself."
"Wherever you heard it from, places like this aren't exactly common."
"It's not connected to the government or anything?"
"That's just their side of the story."
Kang Areum's face twisted in suspicion. In truth, Kang Ibi felt much the same. She knew the situation was urgent, but she couldn't help wondering if she might finally learn something about the true nature of those "Ghost Archive" letters that had been nagging at her.
But contrary to her expectations, Kang Areum just shook her head vigorously and dropped the line of questioning.
"Fine, let's move on. What's going on in this place?"
It was around 10 p.m. by then—about an hour since Kang Ibi had come to.
"We were hoping you might know something."
Kang Areum reacted with utter disbelief instead.
"You mean you had no idea what was happening in your own facility? Does that even make sense?"
"Well... yeah, we've got nothing to say to that."
"Who's the turf boss in this city? I need to meet them."
Nati shook his head.
"Can't do that."
"Why not?"
Kang Areum was getting irritated. Neither of them had particularly even tempers to begin with, so their conversation kept going in circles, to the point where onlookers were starting to get antsy.
"You know this Halloween night has been repeating endlessly, right?"
"Quit changing the subje— what did you say?"
"Exactly what I said. The same night keeps looping over and over, like someone hit rewind."
Kang Areum brought a hand to her mouth, lost in thought. Her fox ears twitched nonstop.
"I was out on a crowded street. Then I got attacked."
"Was it some creep in a hockey mask by any chance?"
"Huh? No?"
"Wearing a mask?"
"Some had them, some didn't. There were weird animal masks too... and vampires, witches..."
The more she heard, the stranger the already bizarre incident seemed to get. Was it Walpurgis Night or something?
"It was pretty weird, honestly. It definitely felt like an attack, and they weren't normal humans... but it was like people who'd been out costuming and partying suddenly turned into monsters and came at me."
"That's worth considering."
"...Anyway. I fended off the attack, but I could tell something seriously off was happening in this city. That's when I remembered this tea house and came looking. Figured you guys might know something."
With that, Kang Areum flopped back into her seat with a heavy sigh.
"That's my whole story. Now explain this 'repeating' thing."
"Truth is, this one's the one claiming it. She's a bit of an oddball, so we've decided to go along with it for now."
Nati pointed straight at Kang Ibi as he spoke. Throughout Nati and Kang Areum's long exchange, Kang Ibi had been sitting with the others, whispering quietly among themselves. Now that the spotlight had suddenly shifted to her, she felt a bit uncomfortable.
"Her?"
For the first time, Kang Ibi and Kang Areum made eye contact. Kang Areum tilted her head with an innocence that belied everything she'd shown so far, then slowly started crawling toward Kang Ibi on all fours.
"W-wait a sec..."
Kang Ibi instinctively shrank back as the other woman approached on hands and knees—it was overwhelmingly intimidating.
But Kang Areum paid no mind and pressed right up close, nearly pinning Kang Ibi down. Then, out of nowhere, she buried her face in Kang Ibi's nape and started sniffing loudly.
"H-hey, hold on. This feels so weird..."
In the midst of it, Kang Areum's scent hit Kang Ibi hard. It was a strange mix of perfume that had faded somewhat with time and the damp smell of rain.
"Oh my."
Kang Ibi couldn't make sense of it. Why was Mina suddenly lighting up with interest and blushing? Why was Aerin covering Haewon's eyes?
Fortunately, Kang Areum pulled away from Kang Ibi soon enough. She turned nonchalantly to Nati and said,
"This one's just a regular human, though?"
"Of course she is! What the hell was that?!"
Kang Ibi protested, her face flushed red, but Kang Areum just sat there on all fours, head cocked like a dog. Then she wrinkled her nose slightly.
"Hang on. There was a faint whiff of something unusual mixed in... what is that?"
At that point, Nati—who had stepped back for a moment—stepped forward again.
"Let's leave it at that and summarize for now. We've shared everything we each know."
"Here. I jotted some notes while you were serving the new guest."
Aerin slid the notebook in front of her toward them. Apparently, she'd been scribbling notes the whole time Nati was dealing with the newcomer and sorting things out.
Soon, Aerin began reading her notes aloud in her gentle voice, tracing along with her finger.
"First things first: whether it was some kind of attack or an inexplicable phenomenon, we're clearly in danger. That's our major premise. We've all faced a threat at least once. Kang Ibi got killed by that hockey-mask monster, for starters."
Kang Ibi nodded grimly. For some reason, the sensation of a blade grazing her throat came rushing back. No one in the world could possibly remember what it felt like to have their head cut off.
"We thought she was definitely dead, but when she opened her eyes, she was alive and well. Not just revived, but thrown back in time to before she died. And she claims it's not just once— the same night keeps repeating identically, over and over."
"Hard to believe."
Kang Areum muttered under her breath. It didn't seem like she had any ulterior motive; she really just meant it.
Aerin continued.
"Right after we heard that, we got attacked by the freak that supposedly killed her. Not sure if it was really out to wipe us all out or just chasing her, but it definitely came here to cause trouble."
Aerin's finger moved on. She glanced at Kang Areum and kept going.
"Miss Demon Fox here came to Woncheon City hoping for a wild weekend, but it fell flat."
"......"
"Instead, she felt threatened and came to us. The attackers' descriptions are pretty vague, but maybe they're the same type as the one that went after us with the hockey mask?"
"Possible, but... we don't have enough info."
With Aerin's summary done, Nati stepped in to wrap up. Kang Ibi turned to him.
The gaunt man was leaning back against the chair with his eyes closed, palms pressed together. He looked deeply focused—and equally troubled.
After a long stretch of thought, Nati finally spoke, choosing his words carefully.
"We've got what we've experienced ourselves, and what our new friend here shared... but still, info's way too scarce."
For some reason, his words left Kang Ibi deflated. She replied in a disappointed tone,
"I thought all that pondering would lead to some clever solution."
"I've told you not to overhype me like that."
"You also said belief is a choice."
Nati cracked his eyelids open just a sliver without moving his joined hands, slowly shifting only his gaze toward Kang Ibi. It felt almost eerie.
He stared at her that way for a few seconds, then smoothly rose from his seat. He turned first to Haewon.
"Haewon. Anything you can find out?"
Haewon shook his head glumly.
"Clouds are too thick; can't ask the parents anything. Maybe if Venus rises at dusk or dawn."
"No dice right now, got it."
Nati, still standing, scanned the room, taking in everyone inside the tea house.
"Bottom line: we have no clue what's going on or how. If we want to do anything, we need information."
He paused for a moment, then emphasized,
"Time to scout."
Kang Ibi blurted out in panic,
"It's dangerous out there!"
"Sitting on our asses here won't change a thing."
Kang Ibi had zero desire to set even one foot outside Flower Mugwort Tea House. She'd hoped someone might back her up, but no such luck. Being the only ordinary human stung that much more.
"City's not huge, and the night's not endless. Aerin, Haewon—you two fortify this place. The rest of us will do a quick sweep outside. Me included: Ibi, Mina, and Miss Demon Fox."
And so it was decided.