Chapter 94: You Pissed Me Off
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 94: You Pissed Me Off
"So, you've noticed?"
The moment I heard those words, someone began pounding on the locked duty room door like a madman.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
I was speechless at the surreal situation unfolding right before my eyes.
I mean, I know this is a manga world, but are you telling me ghosts actually appear?
"Hiiiieek…!"
Ms. Mizuki, completely terrified, clung to my arm.
If I panicked along with her, we'd be screwed.
I did my best to stay calm and whispered to her that it was okay, that she could trust me.
If what Fuma-senpai said earlier was true, then as long as we didn't give it permission, the 'something' outside couldn't enter the duty room.
And it seemed he was right. The thing outside kept pounding on the door relentlessly, but it couldn't get in.
Finally, as if it had given up on opening the door, the outside grew quiet.
I glared at the firmly shut steel door and called Fuma-senpai again.
[Kim Yoo-Sung?]
"Yes. Fuma-senpai. It's me."
[Have you identified the guard?]
"Well… it seems the situation has gotten a little complicated. Ms. Mizuki was right. The one who came to the duty room wasn't the security guard, but something mimicking him."
[Is that so….]
"Senpai, what should we do now?"
[For now, it's best to stay inside the duty room. No matter how powerful that thing is, it can't enter a closed space without the owner's permission. It'll probably try all sorts of tricks to lure you and the teacher outside. You must not fall for its temptations. Not until 5 a.m.]
"5 a.m.?"
[It's what they call the hour the rooster crows. When that time comes, all ghosts and goblins lose most of their power.]
"I see."
[Are there any windows in the duty room?]
"No. All that's in here is a TV, a kotatsu, and an electric kettle."
[That's a relief. Ms. Mizuki might be a different story, but with your strong Yang energy, you're unlikely to be bewitched by it. As long as you keep your wits about you, you should be able to hold out until dawn without any trouble.]
"Thanks for the advice, senpai."
[Don't mention it. If anything, I'm sorry this is all I can do. Or should I come help you right now?]
I hesitated for a moment.
Honestly, it seemed like the problem would be solved in a flash if an expert like Fuma-senpai came.
"But if you come now, you'll miss the last train, won't you?"
[That's not much of an obstacle.]
Ms. Mizuki, who had been listening to my conversation with Fuma-senpai, suddenly jumped in.
"If that's the case, I can give you a ride home!"
"Huh?"
[Hoh, that's not a bad offer.]
While I was staring at Ms. Mizuki in bewilderment, the conversation between the two of them continued.
[Then I'll head to the school right away.]
"Okay! Okay! When you get here, knock six times in a broken rhythm!"
[Understood, ma'am.]
Before I could say anything, Ms. Mizuki had made the arrangement with Fuma-senpai. When the call ended, she finally looked a little relieved.
Well, I was hesitant to call him because I felt bad, but since she offered to give him a ride herself, I guess it's fine.
Anyway, it seemed like it would take some time for Fuma-senpai to arrive, so I, having been on my feet this whole time, suggested to Ms. Mizuki that we sit down.
She nodded and sat down on the opposite side of the kotatsu.
So much had happened in such a short time that I didn't feel like watching TV again.
About thirty minutes passed as we silently looked at our smartphones, each doing our own thing.
Then, I sensed a presence outside the door.
"Ma'am, I'm here."
It was Fuma-senpai's voice.
Ms. Mizuki shot up from the kotatsu like someone who'd just gotten a long-awaited package delivery and asked.
"The, the password!"
In response, the Fuma-senpai outside knocked on the door rhythmically.
Knock-knock. Knock. Knock-knock. Knock.
It was exactly the signal she had arranged with Fuma-senpai earlier.
Ms. Mizuki said it seemed to be him and started toward the door, but I grabbed her by the wrist and said.
"Fuma-senpai, may I ask you one question?"
"What is it?"
"How did you get here?"
Fuma-senpai replied, sounding incredulous.
"By subway, of course."
"I mean, which line? You would have had to transfer several times to get to the school."
"...I was in a hurry, so I forgot."
At that, I was certain.
"Next time, try memorizing the subway map, you asshole."
Beyond the door, it fell dead silent.
Realizing the thing had fled again, I looked at Ms. Mizuki, who had acted so rashly.
She looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.
"I… I'm sorry."
"There's no need to apologize. It was an easy mistake to make. Just don't repeat it."
The thing lurking outside, waiting for its chance, was no amateur.
To think it could mimic Fuma-senpai so quickly.
If it hadn't arrived too quickly for someone who supposedly took the subway, I might not have noticed.
Considering it knew everything Ms. Mizuki and I had discussed inside, it was a cunning one.
Anyway, I had now figured out most of its methods.
It was 11:30 p.m., so we just had to hold out for another five and a half hours.
Just as I was about to ask Ms. Mizuki to help me study for my exams to lighten the gloomy atmosphere...
"Ryu-chan, it's so cold here."
Rika's voice came from outside the door.
"…"
It failed to tempt the teacher, so now it seemed to be targeting me.
"Please open the door. I'm scared."
I didn't bother to answer.
Frankly, I didn't feel it was worth my time.
The creature must have changed its strategy, because this time, it used Karen's voice.
"Kim Yoo-Sung, let's go to my house right now. I'd like you to help me study again, like last time."
As if to mock me, it began cycling through the voices of people I knew.
"Ohohoho! Kim Yoo-Sung-kun! I, the student council president, have arrived! What are you doing not coming out to greet me?!"
"Kim Yoo-Sung, come outside. Your father says he wants to see you."
"Yoo-Sung-ah? You said you were going to a friend's house, why are you at school? Let's go home with Mom."
"…"
The temptations grew more and more persistent.
Just in case, I called Fuma-senpai.
The phone rang, and Fuma-senpai answered.
[Ah, Kim Yoo-Sung. I'm on my way now. I'll be at the school soon, so bring the teacher and come down to the first floor.]
It was the same voice as before.
But I knew instinctively.
The one who answered the phone was not Fuma-senpai.
I spoke to the 'something' on the other end of the line.
"This is your last warning. If you disappear now, I won't do anything. But if you continue with these shitty games, I will find you, and I will kill you."
[…]
Then, without any warning, the call disconnected.
Ms. Mizuki looked up at me, her face anxious.
"Kim-kun?"
I glanced at her and said.
"Are you okay, Ms. Mizuki?"
"Ah, yes. I'm fine. It's just that you don't look so well, Kim-kun."
Hearing that, I touched my own face.
Tense muscles.
My expression must be dead serious right now.
I'd tried to brush it off, to act like it was no big deal, but it seems I really didn't like it using the voices of the people around me.
I could feel the Yang energy flowing through my body stirring with anger.
Before, I couldn't even sense its existence, but after training steadily with the Honwongyeong Fuma-senpai gave me, I could now control it to some extent.
Of course, since there was no real reason to use ki in my daily life, I'd never actually used it before.
I looked at the clock.
It was already well past midnight.
Seeing as Fuma-senpai, who said he was coming, still hadn't arrived, it was possible that the 'Fuma-senpai' who spoke to Ms. Mizuki was also an imitation.
Should I hold out for another five hours, or should I try to escape the school at night with Ms. Mizuki?
I mulled it over for a long time.
Just then—
A new voice came from outside the door.
"Oppa?"
The moment I heard that voice, I flinched.
And for good reason—
Unlike all the other voices, which had been in Japanese, this one was in Korean.
And it was a voice I missed dearly.
It was the voice of my younger sister from my past life, before I possessed Kim Yoo-Sung's body.
And the creature spoke to me in my sister's cheeky voice.
"You're in here, right? Why are you hiding in a place like this? Did you commit a crime or something? Open the door. I have something to say to your face."
"…"
I had endured everything else.
I had Fuma-senpai's advice, and Ms. Mizuki was right next to me.
But this, I felt, was something I couldn't let slide.
"Ms. Mizuki."
"Huh?"
"Go to a video-sharing site and play either the Heart Sutra or a hymn. Put it on loop."
"Huh? O-Okay."
Though bewildered, Ms. Mizuki nodded and quickly pulled up a hymn on her smartphone.
Listening to the hymn, I stood before the firmly shut door of the duty room and took a deep breath.
Then, without another moment of hesitation, I opened the door.
"Oppa, you finally opened it."
Floating in front of the duty room door was a 'White Mask'.
It hovered in the darkness, mimicking the voice of the sister I could never meet again, as if to mock me.
I clenched my right fist.
"Yeah. I'm here to keep a promise."
Then, I unleashed orange Yang energy from my entire body and said.
"I am going to kill you."
The moment the words left my mouth, I slammed a straight punch into the white mask hovering in the air.