The Hanged Teacher
Creak... creak...
With every step down the hallway, the gaps between the wooden floorboards seemed to squirm.
Creak... creak...
It was a minor thing, but the sound grated on the nerves.
"As for me... my heart always aches. Not only the children, but a teacher went missing as well."
Seo Jong-myeong led the way, and the group followed close behind.
—What was the order?
"...Excuse me? The order?"
Seo Jong-myeong tilted his head at the truck's question.
—Did the children go missing first, or the teacher?
"Ah, yes. The children went missing first. That's why people whispered. They were sure the teacher was the culprit. But..."
—In the end, the teacher went missing too.
"Yes. Some assume it was suicide. Everyone in the village suspected her, after all. It's bitter."
Nothing to feel bitter about.
The teacher was likely the first victim, long before the children.
—Which class did the missing children belong to?
Seo Jong-myeong shone his flashlight on a classroom sign.
"This way. All four children were in Class 3-1."
"One child disappeared while cleaning, another while staying late to wait for family, another while returning to grab something they forgot... The scene itself has been preserved."
Seo Jong-myeong unlocked the classroom door. The desks and chairs were incredibly low.
"Well, I'll leave you to it. If anything happens, please contact me with this walkie-talkie."
Seo Jong-myeong handed the walkie-talkie to Lee Jun-ho.
"Got it."
Lee Jun-ho clipped it to his waist.
"I'll be in the guardroom."
—Ah, Mr. Seo Jong-myeong.
The truck stopped Seo Jong-myeong as he was about to leave.
"Yes?"
—Where are the phones, by any chance?
"There's one on each landing. There's also a payphone on the first floor."
—Yes. Thank you.
Seo Jong-myeong left. Lee Jun-ho looked around the classroom and muttered under his breath.
"Is this set in the past? My school didn't have payphones."
—I'm going in first.
The brave toy truck rolled into Class 3-1, its headlights illuminating the interior.
—I don't feel any ghost energy.
"Can a truck even feel ghost energy?" Kate asked skeptically.
—Right now, this truck is basically my body. That's why my knees hurt and all. Hurry up and farm. I'm starting to lose my temper.
"...You already have a bad temper."
—Not as bad as yours.
"Ha... I'll check the windows."
—I'll check the desk drawers.
The Seol Truck used its robotic arm to rummage through the desk drawers, Kate searched the windows and ceiling, Kang Hyun checked the lockers, and Lee Jun-ho searched the cleaning closet and the hallway.
"Here. I think I found something."
At Kang Hyun's words, the truck rattled over.
—Let me see.
It was a diary.
Trrrrring!
Suddenly, a loud, jarring sound echoed through the school.
The first ring.
"Shh."
Lee Jun-ho pressed a finger to his lips. This situation was mentioned in the sixth rule of Wolryeong Village.
6. If you are walking and a strange phone rings three times at a payphone, you must answer it. If it rings four times, you must ignore it.
Trrrrring!
The second ring.
Trrrrring!
The third ring.
It didn't ring a fourth time.
In that instant, Lee Jun-ho bolted.
Whoosh! With one stride, he leapt out of the classroom. With his second, he kicked off the wall to propel himself upward, and by his third, he had reached the landing and snatched up the red receiver.
"Hello!"
—Yawn... Yes. Who is this?
"...What?"
It was the voice of a man who had just woken up.
Why did he sound so relaxed?
"What do you mean, who is this? You called me."
Rattle, rattle. The truck and the rest of the group caught up.
—What call... Wait.
A tense swallow echoed from the other end of the line.
—Don't tell me... you guys... this number... are you at Jeoldong Elementary right now?
"Yes."
—Are you insane?! Why did you go in there?!
"Look, who are you?"
—...Didn't you see the articles about Jeoldong Elementary? You went in without knowing?!
Lee Jun-ho searched his memory.
Five More Missing at Jeoldong Elementary... A Mystery Continuing Since Last Year.
According to witnesses, they heard "the sound of a ringing payphone inside the school." Police have decided to halt further search operations.
"Are you... a witness?"
—Yes. Sigh...
The man let out a heavy sigh.
—Damn it. Now that you've answered this call, you're in the same boat I was back then.
Thud!
The main entrance downstairs slammed shut with a heavy bang. At the same time, the world outside the windows plunged into pitch blackness.
"T-The door just closed."
—The vengeful spirit is there. It has found you.
"A vengeful spirit...?"
—Yes. The missing teacher.
"How do we stop it?"
—You can't. The scale of her grudge... is too massive. Even a mountain god would bow to this ghost. First, if it gets close, you'll hear crying, so—
Click.
The call cut off.
"What the..."
Lee Jun-ho looked at the sticker on the front of the phone.
Call your parents~
3 Minutes Free!
"You cheap bastards. Can't even spare more than three minutes for kids?"
—Ghosts are divided into vengeful spirits and souls.
The Seol Truck, which had rolled up beside them, spoke.
—Most likely...
But the truck stopped mid-sentence. Its camera lens darted between the three of them.
"What? Speak."
—.......
"Don't tell me you don't trust me—us? Do we look like ghosts?"
Lee Jun-ho's face contorted in annoyance. Kate and Kang Hyun also stared intently at the truck.
"I'm asking you."
—Don't speak casually to me.
The truck toyed with the pistol in its cargo bay using its robotic arm.
"...I'm asking you."
The truck clicked its tongue.
—Tsk. Right. You guys could be fakes too. But, or rather, because of that, we should share information. I... think the culprit is someone who uses a Human Skin Mask.
"A Human Skin Mask?"
—A goddamn talent where you wear someone's skin and literally become them.
Originally, the Human Skin Mask was a type of Polymorph magic, but occasionally, there were those born with a natural, twisted talent for it.
—Seo Jong-myeong, the guard, said the children went missing first, and the teacher last, right? It's probably the opposite.
The truck pointed to a photo pinned to the classroom wall labeled 'Class 3-1 Teacher'.
—The teacher was sacrificed first. The culprit stole her body and killed the children. That's why the teacher became a vengeful spirit. Because her own body was used to slaughter her students.
Whoosh. A cold draft seemed to blow through the sealed hallway. Lee Jun-ho rubbed his arms to chase away the goosebumps.
—We need to find the connection. Trace the trajectory of the murders. If we do...
"We can reach the culprit, is that it?"
At Kate's words, the truck blinked its headlights. It was a sign of agreement.
"Hyung. There's something here."
Kang Hyun handed over the diary.
"It's a diary belonging to a child named Kim So-yeon. The entry right before she went missing is strange. If you read only the letters written in red, it says 'S-C-E-I-N-C-E-L-B-A-F-I-N-D-M-E'. Rearranged, it spells 'Science lab. Find me.'"
—.......
But Seol Ha-woon remained silent.
Was he lost in deep thought?
The truck sat in silence for a long time, before—
—Uh. Uh. Come in.
Suddenly, he muttered strange words to the empty air.
Startled, the three of them backed away and pressed themselves against the wall.
—Right. Welcome.
Lee Jun-ho asked in a trembling voice.
"What... what are you doing?"
Kate released her mana toward the direction the truck was facing. There was nothing there.
"What are you looking at..."
—Lodging, one brass coin. Meal, one brass coin.
"...Huh?"
"What?"
The three of them looked utterly bewildered.
—Even if you don't have brass coins, I'll let it slide the first time. Instead, I'll write it in the ledger... Ah, you have them?
The truck blinked its headlights.
—Great. I received two brass coins. What, four days' worth? You must have earned a lot. If you pay in advance, I'll give you a discount of one coin. Yes, just give me seven coins. Sure.
Kate and Lee Jun-ho narrowed their eyes.
"Unbelievable. Are you seriously running your business right now?"
—Is there anything else you'd like to eat?
"...Let's just discuss this among ourselves. Gather round."
Lee Jun-ho called the other two over.
"Is there anything else you'd like to eat?"
Slowly but surely, explorers were starting to visit the Used Bookstore. This was the power of infrastructure.
"Um... there's no menu, right?"
The customers were Kim Woo-hyun and Jo Woon. They were a polite duo who had paid seven brass coins upfront on their very first visit.
"No menu, but feel free to ask."
"Do you... have beef brisket, by any chance?"
At Kim Woo-hyun's words, Jo Woon let out a dry chuckle.
"Woo-hyun. How could they have—"
"I do."
"Wait, really?"
I had plenty of meat brought over from the butcher shop.
I turned on the portable stove.
"How about a beef brisket platter set?"
"T-That sounds great!"
"Absolutely! That's perfect!"
Kim Woo-hyun and Jo Woon nodded eagerly.
"Okay."
I grilled the beef brisket in a frying pan, cooked a pot of rice, boiled some soybean paste stew, and chopped up lettuce, peppers, and garlic. I arranged everything neatly on a tray and served it.
"Wow. Hyung, you're amazing."
"To be treated to such a feast in a ghost village... Thank you, Seol Ha-woon."
"I'm getting paid for it, so don't mention it."
The two of them dug in, practically burying their faces in the food.
"*Yawn*..."
Just then, Yun Hwa-rim woke up. She sniffed the air, her nose twitching at the scent of meat.
"...Oh, beef brisket."
She drooled as she rummaged through her pockets, but they were completely empty.
"Ah... I don't have any brass coins left."
In this village, brass coins weren't easy to come by.
So, I had a proposal.
"Listen. You guys listen while you eat too."
I patted Jo Woon and Kim Woo-hyun on the shoulders.
"Investigate the village residents. Write down their names, ages, and stories in detail. For every resident you investigate, I'll give you one meal ticket."
Yun Hwa-rim jumped up.
"Whoa! Je-Mal-Olh! Je-Mal-Olh! Can I get an advance?!"
"......."
I stared at her in silence.
"...Just kidding! I'll go investigate right away!"
"Wait. Yun Hwa-rim, investigate this person first."
I picked up a blank sheet of paper.
"There's nothing on it?"
"Not yet."
I opened my eyes wide. At the same time, I recalled the photo of the Class 3-1 teacher, Lee Se-eun, that I had seen through the truck's eyes.
Sequence.
I channeled mana through my retinas, projecting the visual information stored in my memory onto the blank sheet of paper—
Flash!
The face of Lee Se-eun appeared on the paper.
"Investigate this person."
"Heol. Mr. Mal-Olh, where did you learn to do that?"
"Just go. We don't have time. I'll give you two meal tickets for this one."
"Wow! Got it. I'll go alone. Those guys are just dead weight anyway."
Yun Hwa-rim pointed at her party. The other three were still fast asleep, clearly exhausted.
"Sure."
Back on the landing of Jeoldong Elementary School, near the red phone, the three of them huddled together, discussing their next move.
"So, for now, we either wait for this phone to ring again, or—"
—Let's go. To the science lab.
The truck had finally reactivated. Lee Jun-ho crossed his arms.
"Why? I thought you were busy running your business."
"Jun-ho. Is that any way to speak to Hyung?"
"......."
Lee Jun-ho glared at Kang Hyun in disbelief.
We were literally just gossiping about him five minutes ago.
"Hyung. We get free meal tickets too, right?"
So that was his angle.
—Just get ready to move.
"The science lab is on the sixth floor. The ghost is lurking around here."
—I know. I heard everything. But look at the clock.
The truck pointed to the clock in the hallway.
—Even hours are dangerous, odd hours are safe. In this village, one minute is quite long. Personally, I estimate it's between twenty minutes to an hour, but it just turned fifty-nine, so we have to move fast.
"...Look who's talking."
Lee Jun-ho pouted.
—I was gathering information. Besides, even if I'm not around, you should know how to handle things on your own.
The truck, having swapped out its wheels, began to climb the stairs. The other three quickly followed.
The sixth floor, the science lab.
Click. The truck picked the locked door.
"It's been a while since I've been in a place like this. The smell of alcohol is strong."
Lee Jun-ho scanned the science lab.
Frog specimens preserved in formaldehyde, human anatomy models, and various lab equipment filled the room.
As they were searching the interior—
Sob... sob...
A chilling sob echoed around them like surround sound.
It was 2:00.
And the sound was incredibly close!
The truck pressed itself against the wall near the door and gestured. The three of them hurriedly rushed over and crouched down beside it.
"Children..."
Thud. Thud. Footsteps and a voice slowly drew nearer.
"Children..."
Kate rolled her eyes upward to look through the window.
There was a long neck.
A neck tightly wrapped in rope, stretched out long. If the neck of a hanged corpse were left abandoned forever, abnormally deformed, would it look like that?
In that split second, the ghost's giraffe-like neck twitched. Kate squeezed her eyes shut.