Iljin Games #1
These days, Class D had been pretty quiet. Kim Geon-ho, the king of the mudfish who stirred up the class the most, hadn't been coming to school. His lackeys like Kim Young-ho, Lee Jin-seong, and Park In-bae had been loud at first, but their influence had gradually withered away. They either slept through classes or skipped them entirely. It meant I, Ha Yeong-won, was finally free from the days when I was constantly bullied. In a way, this was an achievement I'd brought about myself.
But did that mean my life had become a little more peaceful? Not exactly.
"Yeong-won. Hong Miri said she'd buy ice cream for Class D during English class and told me to go get some from the store. I don't think I can carry it all by myself. Will you come with me? She specifically said to go with you."
At Jeong Sojin's words, my face twisted into a scowl. Lately, I'd been under constant attack from Jeong Sojin in every direction. Why was she doing this to me? Ever since I'd slapped her in the nurse's office to snap her out of her paranoia, she'd been like this. Maybe she'd started liking me after thinking something like, "Whoa, that cleared my head! Ha Yeong-won's the first guy to ever slap my cheek!" This was really troublesome.
"Did Hong Miri really say to go with me?"
"Yeah! Let's go! Hurry up!"
Jeong Sojin grabbed my hand and yanked me forward without hesitation. She sure didn't mind grabbing a guy's hand. Remembering how she'd shoved my chest toward the head ghost with this same hand sent a chill down my spine. At this rate, I figured I should just get the ice cream errand over with quickly.
"Carrying ice cream like this reminds me of when we moved textbooks together at the start of the semester. Yeong-won, we already have to start preparing for finals? Time really flies, doesn't it?"
Jeong Sojin was trying to make small talk while holding the ice cream bag. The nerve of her, acting all friendly after trying to kill me in the Nightmare Corridor… Of course, she didn't remember any of that. That was probably why she could act this way.
"If Kim Geon-ho comes back to school and bullies you again, just tell me! I'll go straight to the principal and report it. Bullying? Ugh, how childish."
Jeong Sojin spoke with such bravado. In my own theory, she'd been involved with Kim Geon-ho in the old building. After I caught her in that situation, hadn't she even pressured him to "bully Ha Yeong-won more"? And now she was saying this. It really proved that humans were scarier than ghosts.
I asked, pretending to know nothing. "Why hasn't Kim Geon-ho been coming to school lately?"
"Who knows. Who cares. That pathetic coward. Always picking on people weaker than him. I hate cowards like that the most. Acting all tough like some alpha male."
"……"
"Yeong-won, you were getting bullied but kept quiet so your mom wouldn't worry, right? That's really impressive. Now that's what a real man does!"
Getting praised like this didn't feel good at all! Still, I couldn't just tell Jeong Sojin to "get lost." If I made her an enemy, she'd be the type to make things lethally dangerous. It was better to keep her on my good side if possible.
"I think I'm a real man too."
I played along with her opinion. Jeong Sojin burst into laughter like she'd just heard the funniest joke ever.
"Oh my god! Saying that about yourself? That's hilarious!"
"I guess I am pretty funny."
After chatting like that, we arrived at the classroom. I handed out the ice cream to my classmates. Everyone cheered at Hong Miri's generosity.
"Shit, who the hell picked ten Bibibigs?"
"Ha Yeong-won, are you insane?"
"One out of every three people has to eat Bibibig!"
Hey, I didn't pick those, you crazy bastards! I'll remember the faces of whoever just cursed and throw them all into the corridor later. Anyway, English class was pretty fun. English teacher Hong Miri had a terrifying true identity, but she taught well, had a tough personality, and most importantly, she was pretty. Even I couldn't fall for a ghost that had chewed up girls alive, though.
"Alright, number 25, read and translate this paragraph."
Click. Click. After having the students read the passage, Hong Miri wandered around the classroom. As she walked between the students in her high heels, some of the boys couldn't focus on their textbooks and kept glancing at her. A few even stared openly at the thighs exposed beneath her short suit skirt. That included me. I was trying my best to examine every inch of exposed skin on the teacher, not because I was a pervert, but to find the butterfly-shaped birthmark somewhere on her body. In my theory, there had to be a butterfly-shaped birthmark somewhere on Hong Miri's body. And that butterfly-shaped birthmark… probably moved around like a real butterfly.
Hong Miri approached my area. When a strong perfume scent wafted over, she poked Yang Ju-hui, who was sleeping face-down at her desk.
"Wake up, you little brat. Is this a motel? You think you can sleep here?"
The class erupted in laughter. I couldn't help but feel tense. During our last corridor exploration, Yang Ju-hui had been killed by the third ghost, the "Red Woman." That meant Hong Miri had killed her! How could Hong Miri act so casually toward Yang Ju-hui, the girl she'd killed—probably chewed up alive? Yet the teacher Hong Miri was doing exactly that.
"Yang Ju-hui. You read from here. And translate it."
"Of course…. This is discriminatory behavior towards fairy. Please call a lawyer. This is discriminatory behavior towards fairies. Please call a lawyer."
Yang Ju-hui might have been a delinquent, but she was good at studying. Click. Now the English teacher approached me, sitting in front of Yang Ju-hui. Hong Miri must have seen me escaping from the nightmare last time. What if she brought up running into me in the corridor?
"Come to the teachers' office after class. I'll call Vice President Jeong Seok too."
# # #
"Hey, Yeong-won. Why do you think Hong Miri is calling us?"
"No idea."
"If what you said is true, Hong Miri is our enemy. She's probably calling us because of what happened in the corridor, right?"
Jeong Seok had come to a similar conclusion. Whatever the case, we headed to the teachers' office and heard an unexpected story from English teacher Hong Miri.
"Ha Yeong-won. Jeong Seok. You two were sneaking into the old building's basement before, weren't you? Write a reflection paper about it."
The teacher didn't say anything about me and Jeong Seok entering the Nightmare Corridor. Was she bluffing? Deliberately hiding it? Or… did she not remember? Or was the "Red Woman" not Hong Miri after all? I was certain my memory wasn't wrong. So I stared intently at Hong Miri teacher's legs as she sat in her chair.
Flutter. Flutter. Sure enough, there was a black butterfly flying on her left thigh. It was a birthmark, but one that moved like a living butterfly. It was slightly smaller than my palm.
"Hey, Ha Yeong-won. Are you listening to the teacher?"
"Yes?"
"Tell me what I just said."
"To write a reflection paper?"
"Not that."
What else had she said? Damn, I must have missed it while staring at the butterfly on the teacher's thigh.
"Are you really not going to pay attention? Ha Yeong-won, your mind has been wandering lately. I told you the chairman invited you all for dinner tonight, so keep your schedule clear."
"Oh—"
The chairman's invitation? What was that about? But what surprised me more was that the butterfly was now flying around Hong Miri's neck. It was circling near her choker. Flutter. Flutter. If it was flying around so openly, wouldn't people notice? As I was slightly panicking, Hong Miri asked me,
"Why? Ha Yeong-won. Is there something on the teacher's face?"
"…No. If it's a dinner invitation, am I the only one going? Or can my friends come too?"
For some reason, I thought it was better to pretend I didn't know about the butterfly.
"You can invite more friends if Da-hee has any. The chairman seems curious about what kind of friends Da-hee hangs out with."
Hong Miri looked at me with slightly narrowed eyes but didn't ask any more questions. We left the teachers' office to prepare for the next class. Once we were a bit away, I asked Jeong Seok,
"Hey, Jeong Seok. Did you see it too? The butterfly flying around the teacher's neck?"
"Butterfly? I didn't see anything like that."
"It was flying around so openly, and you didn't see it?"
What? It had been flying right out in the open. Jeong Seok seemed more interested in something else.
"If Hong Miri really is a 'Watcher' or 'Hero,' what could her goal be? Why is she catching and killing students in the corridor? I'm also curious about how she enters the corridor in the first place."
"I don't know either."
We weren't the only ones who could enter the Nightmare Corridor. For some reason, Yu Da-hee could too. And so could Hong Miri. Also, if my guess was right… I pulled out the business card I'd been keeping in my pocket and showed it to Jeong Seok.
"It's Sakura's president's business card. Kang Ba-da. The Morse code you translated, 'Watch out for the sky,' was written on this card. This guy's game was incredibly similar to the Nightmare Corridor, right? Like he'd experienced it himself."
"It would've been impossible unless he was an experiencer. I think that guy has probably been in the corridor before too. Wasn't he Kang Ha-neul's older brother?"
Jeong Seok seemed slightly wary of the sudden appearance of 'Kang Ba-da.' So was I. A man who might be targeting my mom. A guy who looked shady somehow. And someone who might know about the Nightmare Corridor. It was natural to be suspicious.
"Watch out for the sky. Does that mean we should watch out for Teacher Kang Ha-neul?"
I asked. Jeong Seok pondered for a moment before saying,
"It could be, but 'sky' might mean something else. For example… the Cheon family, Yu Da-hee's relatives. There are many possible interpretations. The only way to be sure is to ask directly."
I had the business card. That meant I could contact him if I wanted to. Crash! Just then, I heard something breaking. When I turned my head, chaos had erupted in Class C.
"This crazy bitch! Have you lost your mind!"
"Get lost! Aaaah!"
A male student was on the floor, bleeding. A female student holding a chair was screaming like she was possessed. That girl was… Bong Ji-yeon!
"Get out! Just get lost!"
"Do you want to die? You've been skipping meetings lately! Who covered for you with the seniors, and now you're hitting me? Ah, my nose is bleeding…. You. This fucking bitch. You need to get stomped on by seniors like back in middle school to come to your senses?"
"Get lost!"
"Bong Ji-yeon, you're dead today. I don't care anymore. Su-ho hyung has been ignoring my calls too."
While Class D had become peaceful, Class C was still in the middle of a war. This was what a delinquent high school was like. Jeong Seok was looking at Class C with a rather serious expression. It was the kind of face that said, "I need to help Bong Ji-yeon." He soon looked at me and asked,
"Hey. It looks like Bong Ji-yeon is getting ganged up on by seniors. Shouldn't we help?"
Getting involved with bullies from another class? I had enough problems of my own, but the issue was that Jeong Seok wanted to do it. If I refused and he got sulky, saying "I'm not helping you anymore," that would be bad for me in many ways. Jeong Seok usually seemed smart, but when it came to Bong Ji-yeon, his rationality seemed to shut down and his judgment became clouded. I had no choice.
"Fine. I'll take care of it."
With the Mercenary Group system, honestly, if I got serious, a bunch of bullies wouldn't be scary at all.