Crazy Woman #2

The power of a Quirk is absolute. It was a conclusion I'd reached after experiencing it multiple times.

Kwon Su-ho had gained the Vegetarianism Quirk. It clearly meant he could no longer eat meat and was probably in serious trouble because of it.

For someone as massively built as Kwon Su-ho, being unable to eat meat would cause nutritional imbalances and completely wreck his body's equilibrium. That was only natural. My goal was to exploit that opening by slipping Bong Ji-yeon into Kwon Su-ho's crew to extract all kinds of information.

But Bong Ji-yeon frowned deeply.

I was genuinely shocked that Bong Ji-yeon would casually bring up such embarrassing stories without hesitation. Did girls like her not find it awkward to talk about that stuff in front of guys? Or maybe she just hated Kwon Su-ho that much.

Yang Ju-hui, who had been watching, jabbed Bong Ji-yeon in the side.

"I didn't have any other options back then. Anyway, I don't want to. I'm not doing it."

Bong Ji-yeon's attitude was rock solid. If she refused, I'd lose the bridge I needed to keep tabs on Kwon Su-ho.

Maybe giving her more details would spark some motivation? "According to Gu Hye-na, Kwon Su-ho lured her there using a movie shoot as an excuse. But the people actually waiting for her weren't Kwon Su-ho or the director. It was the murderer Kim Hae-il."

There had to be some kind of connection between Kim Hae-il and Kwon Su-ho. That was what I believed. Since Kim Hae-il belonged to Yeonggwang Church and Kwon Su-ho was part of the Ohsung Group, it was possible there was a link between the church and the corporation as well.

I wanted to dig deeper into that. It seemed like a good idea to resolve Gu Hye-na's grudge while gathering any information that might pose a threat to me. On top of that, since Kim Hae-il was the bastard who had killed Bong Ji-yeon's older sister, she might jump at the chance to avenge her and find the missing head.

Bong Ji-yeon stayed silent for a long time, as if carefully weighing my words, before finally reaching a conclusion.

Bong Ji-yeon seemed genuinely afraid of Kwon Su-ho. It made sense. If she'd seen up close the tyrannical side of him that I'd only glimpsed once or twice, it was only natural she'd be terrified.

Yang Ju-hui chimed in as well. "I'm against sending Bong Ji-yeon too. The story of that bastard Kwon Su-ho losing his mind is insanely famous around Gaeryong. Especially how cruel he is to women."

Even Yang Ju-hui, who was usually recklessly aggressive, was showing clear reluctance. At this point, should I just abandon the plan to plant a spy in Kwon Su-ho's crew?

While I was feeling a twinge of disappointment, Bong Ji-yeon spoke up.

"Me?"

It was an option that had never even crossed my mind. That was only natural. Someone like me, Ha Yeong-won, simply didn't fit in with a popular crowd like Kwon Su-ho's crew. They even had guys who'd done time in juvenile detention, after all. A herbivore-type student like me wouldn't blend in at all, and they definitely wouldn't let me join in the first place.

But it seemed Bong Ji-yeon had something in mind.

Who was this Yujeng unnie? Suddenly, the short-haired older woman I'd seen at Kwon Su-ho's house came to mind. She had a somewhat boyish style.

Yang Ju-hui cut in. "Bong Ji-yeon, you even keep in touch with your ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend? Wow, I seriously don't understand. Is this the Animal Kingdom or something? Is it really true that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠everyone's exes and current partners are all tangled up with each other?"

It was a world I couldn't comprehend no matter how hard I tried. To think I had to infiltrate that world myself. If I actually succeeded, the possibilities would be endless.

It was definitely more reliable for me to go in directly and sniff around than to send Bong Ji-yeon as some kind of remote-controlled avatar. If I was being honest, I'd already been wondering how far I could actually trust her.

Buzz—

Soon Bong Ji-yeon's phone began to vibrate. She answered it and said, "Yeah, unnie. It's me, Ji-yeon. Yeah. You know that art model you were looking for last time? I found the perfect guy. How about it? Want me to introduce you? Mm. After finals then. Okay, I'm hanging up."

What was this about an art model? As I felt a flicker of confusion, Bong Ji-yeon turned to me first.

"This unnie's really good at painting. She's entered competitions and even won prizes. She's looking for a male model but hasn't found anyone who really clicks with her."

Bong Ji-yeon's plan was straightforward. I'd get recommended as a model, grow close to Kim Yujeng—the woman currently dating Kwon Su-ho—and smoothly infiltrate Su-ho's crew that way.

Would that actually work? If I were the kind of guy who could easily persuade women and win them over, my life would have been several times easier than this. The fact that I couldn't do that was exactly why I was struggling so much.

But Bong Ji-yeon seemed strangely confident.

"I am pretty unique, I guess."

There wasn't anyone around me quite as strange as I was. Of course, Yang Ju-hui muttered, "This doesn't seem like a good idea either... Kim Yujeng..." while smacking her lips with clear suspicion.

Rumble—! Rumble—!

It rained nonstop throughout finals week. The sky was gloomy, and rain poured down endlessly.

"Ugh! I guessed on both of those and got them both wrong!"

Even the test papers seemed to be drowning in rain. Honestly, I hadn't had much time to study lately. The environment wasn't exactly conducive to focusing, either.

"After roughly grading it, I'd say I'm looking at around second rank on average."

Yang Ju-hui, sitting behind me, teased me by humming a little tune. I couldn't understand how a delinquent like her could have better grades than me. Life really was unfair.

Jeong Seok seemed to have done quite well on the exams too.

"Being able to read books one and a half times faster is pretty amazing."

The Speed Reading trait he'd acquired at the training ground must have helped. It looked like I was the only one who had failed at studying. I just hoped I'd managed to stay above average.

Anyway, finals week passed by in a relatively ordinary fashion. Occasionally Wang Ja-hyeon would slap my shoulder as he walked by, or Im Hui-yeon and Gong Ye-rin—who followed him around—would shoot a few sharp comments my way. But even that counted as normal daily life.

"Hey, you know what? I used feng shui principles to solve the test questions, and all the ones I was unsure about ended up correct! Yeong-won, don't you want to hear about it?"

...Of course, Jeong Sojin constantly bothering me during exam period fell squarely into the "troublesome" category. What did she even mean by solving test questions with feng shui? I was kind of curious, though.

These days, Jeong Sojin seemed completely absorbed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in things like feng shui, superstitions, and fortune-telling. Maybe surviving the Nightmare Corridor had changed something in her mind. Bong Ji-yeon had also become deeply superstitious after the torso incident at the mountain villa. Surprisingly, Bong Ji-yeon and Jeong Sojin might actually get along well as friends.

With that kind of atmosphere, finals finally came to an end. Between exploring the Corridor and having to fulfill my duties as a student, it felt like too much.

Vibrate—

My phone buzzed at that moment.

"Ah."

Come to think of it, I had come up with a plan to approach the boyish older woman Kim Yujeng and infiltrate Kwon Su-ho's group. I'd have to work as an art model, right? I'd completely forgotten about it during finals.

"Hey. Are you going back into that Corridor soon?"

On my way home, Yang Ju-hui came up and spoke to me.

"Also, my mom told me to invite you over. If you have time, let's go to my house together. She keeps saying she wants to see you. She said she'll make bossam if you come?"

I had visited Yang Ju-hui's house once during finals. The bossam that Lady Kim Yeo-ok had made was incredibly delicious. If she was willing to make it again...

"I can't today. I have to meet that Kim Yujeng unnie."

"Kim Yujeng..."

Yang Ju-hui's expression shifted slightly. She seemed to wrestle with her thoughts for a while before finally spitting out a single sentence as if she'd made up her mind.

"What do you mean? How is she not normal?"

"She's kind of self-destructive, I guess. Honestly, I don't even understand why she's dating Kwon Su-ho. That unnie... well... um... We went to the same middle school, and... um..."

I couldn't quite tell what she was trying to say. But I could tell that Yang Ju-hui was worried about me.

"Thanks for worrying about me. As expected, you're the only one who does, Ju-hui."

With a sharp turn, Yang Ju-hui's face flushed red as she hurried off into the distance.

When I stepped out into the hallway, Bong Ji-yeon was waiting for me. Standing with her weight on one leg, arms crossed, glaring at me—she looked exactly like a delinquent girl about to shake someone down. Which wasn't far from the truth.

Bong Ji-yeon said to me, "Hey. Let me give you one piece of advice. When Yujeng unnie is painting, you absolutely cannot move or speak. Absolutely. Got it?"

"What happens if I move?"

"Souls...?"

I mentally filed the information away. Paintings that pierce through to the essence... It reminded me of the conversation I'd had with Hong Miri about Watchers.

I walked with Bong Ji-yeon. On the way, we passed by Class A and I made eye contact with Yu Da-hee. She waved at me and said, "Hi! How did your tests go?" But lately... seeing Yu Da-hee had started to feel a little uncomfortable. So I just gave a vague "Mm" in response and quickly walked away.

At the entrance to the sports field, a tall, sophisticated-looking older woman was leaning against the gate, standing at a slight angle while looking at her phone. Her hair was quite short for a woman, and her skirt was equally short.

"Unnie! Did you wait long?"

"No. I just got here. More importantly, who's the model?"

"This guy. You like painting unique things, right, unnie? What do you think of him?"

Slide—

The slightly cold-looking boyish woman frowned. It was the same expression a sushi chef might make while evaluating a fish on the cutting board.

"Huh... you're..."

At that moment, Kim Yujeng's expression changed. Had she recognized me?

"Hello. My name is Ha Yeong-won. I've always wanted to try working as an art model. If you give me the chance, I'll work hard."

"Accepted."

Oh. Accepted. I didn't know what that meant, but it was probably a good thing?

"Then I'll be going, unnie. You two talk nicely!"

Whoosh—

Bong Ji-yeon tossed me to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this unfamiliar woman and left by herself. I felt like a cat abandoned at someone else's house. This was incredibly awkward.

Kim Yujeng unnie didn't say a single word. She simply stared at her phone. After about five minutes of mutual silence, while I was awkwardly checking my own phone, looking at my shoes, and fidgeting, a taxi arrived.

Kim Yujeng unnie got into the back seat, and I followed. The taxi took us to a building that could easily be called a studio apartment. Kim Yujeng strode up the stairs and unlocked the door to a unit on the third floor.

When I stepped inside, I saw a fairly spacious area filled with countless paintings and framed works.

"Whoa."

There really were a lot of paintings. And most of them... were extremely bizarre and difficult to understand. Deconstructivism? Picasso? That kind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of feeling. Of course, there were also paintings rendered with photographic realism. They were female nudes. And they looked familiar.

The hair was long, but... wasn't that Kim Yujeng unnie? Had she painted her own nude? There were many paintings like that. Most of them depicted naked figures.

Soon, the woman who had remained silent until now spoke.