Chapter 93: The Genre is Just Rom-Com
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 93: The Genre is Just Rom-Com
Now that she mentioned it, she was right.
Even though we were in the middle of a conversation, I hadn't heard the jingle of keys at all.
"Nah, you must be mistaken. Or maybe he heard the scream and came running in such a hurry that he forgot them."
Getting scared over a little thing like not hearing keys… It seemed the teacher was the easily frightened type.
But Ms. Mizuki, her face still pale, shivered and refuted my words.
"No, that's impossible. To get here from the security office, you have to pass through a firewall door. How could he get here without a key? Unless he passed through a wall, that's impossible…!"
I swallowed hard.
"So, what you're trying to say is… the security guard from before wasn't actually a security guard, but something 'imitating' one?"
"That… might be it."
Hearing her words, I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! Come on, Teacher! I know you're just trying to mess with me. It's getting late, so I'm going to head home now. I told my parents I was just stepping out to the convenience store, so they'll worry if I'm too late."
As I said that and hurriedly tried to open the duty room door to leave, the teacher clung to me with a desperate look on her face.
"W-wait! Just 30 minutes! Please, just stay with me for 30 more minutes! He said he'd be back soon, so just stay and confirm his face with me before you go!"
"It's already 10 PM! What if someone finds out a teacher and a student are together at this hour!"
"I'd rather be misunderstood like that!"
She was still a teacher, so I couldn't bring myself to use force. I tried my best to resolve the situation with words.
But Ms. Mizuki seemed to have no intention of letting go, sticking to me like a leech.
In the end, my resolve weakened, and I sighed, slumping back into my seat.
"Fine, just 30 minutes. After we see the security guard's face, I'm really leaving."
"Hic… Thank youuu…" Ms. Mizuki said, her voice thick with tears.
It seemed she was genuinely terrified.
Just in case, I called home and told them I was at a friend's house and might sleep over, so they shouldn't wait up for me.
Ms. Lee Mi-ja just said "Okay" and hung up first.
It seemed she wasn't particularly worried about her son not coming home late at night.
Anyway, now that it didn't matter if I was late, I looked at Ms. Mizuki, who seemed to have calmed down a bit.
"By the way, Teacher, why were you so scared?"
Ms. Mizuki took a sip of her now-cold green tea and replied.
"Well… ever since I was little, I've had a sensitive constitution. The type who sees strange things more often than others."
"Is your family's home a shrine or something?"
"Huh? How did you know?"
For real…?
As a setting I'd seen countless times in shonen manga popped up, I couldn't help but let out a sigh.
Then again, this was the world of a manga. In a place where the underworld and ninjas existed, it wouldn't be strange for ghosts and monsters to be real, too.
Fuma-senpai did mention before that she takes on jobs from people in the underworld, like exorcisms.
"…Huh?"
I then remembered that I had Fuma-senpai's phone number.
We had exchanged contact information when I went to her house for a meal that one time.
"Teacher, hold on a second. I know an expert."
"…An expert?"
"Yes. A third-year student named Fuma Yukika."
"…I know Fuma-san. She's one of the academy's three great beauties, isn't she?"
Wait, the teachers know about that nickname too…?
In any case, if they knew each other, things would be quicker.
"Fuma-senpai might be able to resolve your anxiety."
With that, I made a call with my smartphone.
After a few rings…
Click!
[Kim Yoo-Sung? What's going on all of a sudden at this hour?]
Fuma-senpai answered the phone.
*
After putting my phone on speaker and explaining everything that had happened, Fuma-senpai on the other end of the line fell silent for a moment before asking Ms. Mizuki a question.
[You said your family home is a shrine? To be precise, which god does your family line serve?]
"Uh… I don't know exactly. Naru… Naruikazu?"
[Naruikazuchi-no-kami, one of the Yakusanoikazuchi-no-kami who serve Izanami, the goddess of the underworld.]
"Is that a good thing?"
[Beyond good or bad, it wouldn't be strange for the daughter of a priestly family that serves a thunder god to have spiritual abilities. Especially since Naruikazuchi-no-kami is one of the gods who serves Izanami, the goddess of Yomi, the land of the dead.]
"…So you're saying it could really be a ghost?"
[I can't be certain until I see it with my own two eyes. However, spirits, or rei, cannot recklessly enter a space they haven't been permitted into. That's why they lure their targets with words. If what came to the duty room was truly a ghost as you say, Ms. Mizuki, it wouldn't be able to invade without you or Yoo-Sung opening the door.]
"If it really is a ghost, is there a way to deal with it?"
[You can use your Ki. Especially you, as the owner of an Extreme Yang Body, should be able to beat it down with your bare hands using Ki, even without any special incantations. Normally, minor ghosts can't even get close to someone with strong Yang energy, but today is a full moon, so there might be a bold one out there.]
"Okay, I get it. Thanks for the advice."
[Should I come help if it seems dangerous? I just finished my part-time job and am on my way home.]
"I'll try to handle it for now. Thanks to that item you gave me, the Honwongyeong, I've gotten the hang of controlling my Ki to some extent."
[Understood. It's 10:15 now, so call me back at 10:35. You should have confirmed the security guard's identity by then.]
"Okay. I'll be sure to call."
[Then I'm hanging up.]
Click.
The call ended, and silence fell upon the duty room.
I looked at the teacher, who had been listening with bated breath beside me, and said.
"Well, you heard her."
"A-are you sure the two of us will be okay?"
I firmly grasped the teacher's hand, which was still trembling like a leaf.
"Don't worry. If things get dangerous, I'll be sure to protect you."
"Yoo-Sung-ah…"
Ms. Mizuki looked up at me, her expression touched.
Realizing my words were a bit cringey, I awkwardly scratched my cheek.
Somehow, being in this situation felt like I was just following a cliché horror movie script, which left a bad taste in my mouth.
Usually, a macho character like me is the first to die.
Should I call Fuma-senpai right now and ask her to come over?
As I mulled it over, I noticed my phone battery was down to 10%. After asking the teacher for permission, I plugged it into the charger.
The security guard would be back in 15 minutes.
Then we'd find out if he was human or a ghost.
Hoping it was just the teacher getting worked up over nothing, I decided to watch a variety show on TV with her to forget my needless anxiety.
*
Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock!
The second hand, which had been moving bit by bit every second, finally passed the halfway point. The time was exactly 10:30 PM.
It was time for the security guard I had sent away with a lie to return.
With about five minutes left, the teacher, who couldn't focus on the TV screen out of nervousness, pressed up against me with a tense expression.
Her anxiety was starting to make me nervous, too.
And then—
"Teacher? I'm back."
The security guard's voice came from outside the door.
I glanced at the teacher. She swallowed hard and then opened her mouth.
"You said you had something to tell me earlier. What was it about?"
The security guard replied in a good-natured tone.
"Ah, it's nothing much. I just thought you must be having a hard time working alone, so I brought some red bean jelly. A friend gave it to me to eat while working at night, but it seemed like a bit too much for one person."
It was a surprisingly normal reason.
It must have been the teacher's mistake after all.
But Ms. Mizuki, still unable to shake her suspicion, stared intently at the door and said.
"If that's all, please just leave it in front of the door. I'll grab it when I go on my patrol in a little bit."
The security guard on the other side of the door replied.
"Don't be like that, just take it now, Teacher. I didn't wrap it or anything, just brought it on a plate. It might get dusty out here in the hallway, you know?"
"I-it's fine! I'm in my comfortable clothes right now, so it's a bit awkward to talk face-to-face!"
The security guard on the other side fell silent for a moment, then spoke in a disappointed tone.
"I didn't take you for this kind of person, Ms. Mizuki. This is really too much. I may be just a lowly security guard, but to think you'd try this hard to avoid even seeing my face."
Suddenly, Ms. Mizuki was being painted as a bad person who discriminates based on profession.
I mean, given the situation, I could see why he'd feel that way, but wasn't he being a little persistent?
Just as I was beginning to feel suspicious of the guard's insistent attempts to hand over the red bean jelly, Ms. Mizuki swallowed hard and said.
"Alright, I'll take the red bean jelly. So, could you just shake your bundle of keys for me once?"
"Pardon? All of a sudden?"
"Yes. If you do, I'll open this door."
"Well, that's not hard."
Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle!
A clear metallic sound echoed from beyond the door.
I stared at the teacher with a look of horror.
And for good reason. Until the moment the security guard had knocked on the door—
There hadn't been a single sound from outside.
As the teacher covered her mouth with both hands, speechless, the 'something' beyond the door spoke in a chilling voice.
"You've noticed, haven't you?"