The 31st Student Ghost Story #3

The note that read “Bullying is occurring in Class D.” gave me the hint I needed. I didn’t waste a single second before putting a plan into motion.

I tore a page from my notebook and scribbled furiously.

I kept writing on the paper.

Group chat ghost bastard! You didn’t see this coming, did you?

Digital ghosts can’t beat analog humans. It was the same logic as why a digital girlfriend could never measure up to a real one.

“……”

I looked over the note again. The biggest variable was whether the kids in Class D would actually go along with my proposal. That was why I’d dangled the huge bait of 30,000 won per person.

In an era where the average high schooler’s monthly allowance was only about 80,000 won, who could turn down 30,000 won for free? Honestly, I knew I’d be jumping for joy if someone offered me that much.

The only problem was that I was the one who had to pay it… but even that wasn’t a big issue for me right now. If this ghost story was resolved successfully, I’d get more points. Then I could unlock the Bank option in the locked menu, convert the points into real money, and hand it out to the kids.

I flipped the paper over. About twenty-five minutes remained until class ended. I checked the group chat to see ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how things were going. It was still in total panic mode—people spamming about errors and bugs.

Was there a better way? I wondered, watching the notes being passed around. I’d come up with this in a rush, so I wasn’t entirely confident. How many people could stay calm when everyone might die? Knowing that the lives of every student in Class D rested on my shoulders made it impossible to relax.

Eventually the note made its way back to me.

Only my name—the kid who sat at the very back—had been left blank. Everyone else had signed with all kinds of scribbles. It looked pretty reliable. I was especially glad that money-grubbing Kim Geon-ho had threatened the others. With him laying down the law, no one would dare mess around. Putting money on the line was the right call!

“Wait a second…”

As I scanned the list of twenty-nine names excluding Yang Ju-hui, I realized something important. It wasn’t just my name that was blank.

Shit! The teacher had said at the start of class that Jeong So-jin had gone to the infirmary! Damn it!

I quickly checked the clock. Twenty minutes left. If I ran to the infirmary, I could make it in five.

“Teacher! I need to use the bathroom! It’s an emergency!”

I shot up from my seat and bolted out of the classroom.

Thanks to all the bread-fetching sprints I’d done for Yang Ju-hui, my legs had no problem carrying me at full speed to the infirmary.

I slid the door open. The curtains fluttered in the spring breeze. The sharp smell of disinfectant hit me as I stepped inside, and I spotted Jeong So-jin lying on one of the beds.

“So-jin! Hey, read this and sign it for me? Hurry! We don’t have time!”

“……”

The class president, who had been lying down, slowly sat up. She looked at the paper and pen I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shoved at her and frowned.

“No. This is just a trick to bully me, isn’t it? While I’m stuck in the infirmary, the rest of you are planning to ostracize me, right? I know exactly what you’re doing.”

What the hell is she talking about? Was Jeong So-jin always like this?

“What are you saying?! Why would anyone bully you?!”

“Everyone hates me! Because I study well and I’m pretty. They’re all jealous. Especially the girls. I’ve known it for a long time. I know they’re jealous and they hate me.”

I knew exactly why she was acting this way.

The Quirk called Paranoia that had possessed her was making her act like this. The quirks she’d accumulated in the Nightmare Corridor had snowballed and rolled right up to my feet.

If I couldn’t get her consent for this plan, at least getting her KakaoTalk ID might let me do something. But she looked so depressed I doubted she’d tell me easily. She was like a snail tightly sealed inside its shell.

“Everyone hates me. I… I don’t even want to go to school anymore. I’m going to drop out. I’ll just study for the GED…”

With only thirteen minutes left until class ended, I felt my blood run hot and cold at the same time. There was no choice now.

“Status Window.”

I dragged Jeong So-jin’s name from the player list and dropped it into the treatment center. I currently had 111 points. I’d been saving them in case the Aunt Crow attacked again, but if I didn’t cure her quirk right now, we might all die.

The quirk was cured! Now all that remained was to convince her!

“So-jin, look at this! Look at the words here! Don’t you want 30,000 won?!”

“No… I’m an ugly bug.”

God damn it. The quirk should have been cured, but she still wasn’t back to normal! Come to think of it, when I’d cured my own Possession quirk, I’d been dazed for a while too. It had taken the sound of police sirens to snap me out of it. She needed a big shock.

Slap!

I reached out and smacked her across the cheek. The sound was louder than I expected. Behind her crooked glasses, Jeong So-jin’s eyes flew wide open.

“Get a grip! You’re not a bug! I need your help!”

“……”

The infirmary clock ticked loudly. Gradually, clarity returned to Jeong So-jin’s eyes. She looked at the paper I’d given her. Only about two minutes remained.

She checked her phone. I opened the group chat and pre-typed the example sentence, ready for anything.

The sunlight was vividly licking the leaves.

“So-jin. The second hand on the classroom clock and the one here in the infirmary run at slightly different speeds. When everyone starts spamming the same message, just type it as fast as you can around that time.”

The messages began ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flooding in.

This is it! The chat scrolled upward at blinding speed. There was only one number that hadn’t typed the sentence.

Number 4 calmly admitted it. Just as I wondered what would happen next, text floated before my eyes.

“Oh?”

Settlement for 29 survivors! I thought it would be 2,900 points…!? I was so shocked I couldn’t speak. But the actual amount that came in was 290 points.

“Huh?”

I’d assumed defeating one monster would always give 100 points per person. 290 points was still a lot, but it felt disappointing. It looked like the points varied depending on the monster. Maybe it was based on difficulty.

Come to think of it, this Death Game had been easier than the Aunt Crow. And Number 4 had been the one who said at the very beginning, “4: Anyway I invited everyone in our class except Yang ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ju-hui lol.” The host of the chat room had been the monster all along.

The group chat was being dismantled without a hitch. It was finally over.

Well, not quite. I still had to pay 30,000 won to everyone who had participated. It was a little painful to part with the money… but running away with it would be the worst possible move. There was no telling how many more of these situations would come up. If the kids started thinking, “He probably won’t actually pay anyway,” it would ruin everything.

I needed to give them the experience of completing a hidden quest and receiving a reward.

I spent 100 points to unlock the Bank.

I decided to test it with 90 points first.

A low hum sounded.

My school locker? I wanted to see what had happened as soon as possible. I had to get back to the classroom.

“Yeong-won.”

As I was about to leave the infirmary, Jeong So-jin called out to me from the bed. Her cheek was bright red. Only then did I remember that I had slapped her. I hadn’t held back as much as I thought. I hoped it wouldn’t cause any annoying problems later.

“Yeong-won, what did we learn in math today?”

“……”

Apparently the slap didn’t bother her at all. She was asking what we’d covered in first period. How would I know? I hadn’t been paying attention either.

“So-jin, I’m kind of busy so I’ll… uh… I have to go buy bread for Yang Ju-hui.”

I slipped out of the infirmary, leaving her behind. I heard her call “Hey—” from behind me, but that wasn’t important right now.

I hurried back to the classroom, quietly opened my locker, and found a thick white envelope inside.

This is insane!

Should I just hand the money out like this? No. If I personally gave it to them, everyone would figure out that the mysterious person who posted the quest was me, Ha Yeong-won. That would make things incredibly complicated. If the school bullies started coming after me saying, “Ha Yeong-won, you’re loaded? Hand it over,” it would be a total mess.

It was better to keep my identity hidden. That was why I’d left my own name blank on the Hidden Quest Note—so it wouldn’t look like I’d written it.

“Hmm.”

I thought for a moment, then wrote another note and attached it to the envelope.

Jeong Seok, the model student. I walked past his desk and casually slipped the envelope inside.

About five minutes later—

“Hey everyone. I’m going to hand out 30,000 won to each of you.”

The classroom erupted.

The only one who didn’t seem to fit in with the excited atmosphere was Yang Ju-hui.

“What the hell? You’re ostracizing someone like this? Class D kids really are childish.”

Since she hadn’t been in the group chat, she couldn’t understand what was happening. I felt the same way—sad, that is. My 840,000 won…

Still, if I tried to look on the bright side and control my mind, I had gained a lot. My points had increased dramatically, and I’d identified the informant.

When Jeong Seok came over to hand me my 30,000 won, I spoke quietly.

“Hey. Seok. It was you, wasn’t it? The one who wrote the note about bullying in Class D. Don’t even think about denying it. I already have all the evidence.”

The report note and the signature he’d written on the hidden quest. The common handwriting between them was pretty damning proof.