Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Destined Community
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28.
Grip!
“Th-this… What a coincidence! Haha.”
“See… We really are fated… partners!”
Fated partners, my ass!
We’re just cursed to keep crossing paths! Cursed!
A reunion with the living Grim Reaper.
What sin did I commit in a past life for this trial to befall me…?
Heading instinctively toward Exit 1 of Seongsu Station was my first mistake.
If my legs had any sense, I might’ve yelled at them.
No, I definitely would’ve flicked them hard.
But…
Even if I accept that I ended up at Seongsu Station, why the hell are you here, Kim Ha-eun?!
Swipe.
I barely managed to move my hand to check the time on my smartphone.
AM 10:48
Why is this woman here at this hour?
The Ghost Story Pawnshop’s entry time passed four minutes ago, even.
If she wasn’t planning to go to the Ghost Story Pawnshop, then why?
“Um…”
“Yes?”
“Mind if I ask what time you got here…?”
“10 PM the night before!”
…Pardon?
“I was so excited, I lost track and came way too early.”
“…”
‘You don’t mean 10 AM by mistake, right?’
According to Kim Ha-eun, she’d been waiting in this spot for a full twelve hours straight.
If not for the Ghost Story Pawnshop…
That meant she was waiting for someone here.
=======
Kim Ha-eun has no one she could call a friend. (All of them ended up in her hands…)
=======
I desperately shoved aside the truth flashing through my mind.
She must’ve been waiting for someone else, not me.
That’s what I wanted to believe.
“I-I was waiting… for you.”
Her trembling voice suddenly struck my ears.
Our eyes met as she looked up at me, her gaze sparkling even redder today.
“…Saying it out loud… it’s a bit… em, embarrassing.”
Her flushed face contrasted sharply with my own, gone pale and stiff.
“…I was waiting for you.”
“…………”
‘Did we have plans?’
Not that I remember.
And what if I hadn’t shown up? Just waiting blindly like this?
Kim Ha-eun, this woman’s too much.
Stuck like this, who knows what she’ll do to me.
Focus on escaping her first.
This reaction of hers is just how she treats old acquaintances.
Grip.
…Though it feels a tad excessive for that.
I can still slip away from Kim Ha-eun. Pivot to something like having urgent business, like last time.
Then I can escape… or so I thought.
“…Um. Today, I…”
“‘Um’? Call me by name.”
“…Pardon? My name?”
“You know it. You called me by name in the shop back then. Why not now?”
“…”
Somehow, her stutter vanished, replaced by an eerie vibe.
Grip.
Zap!
‘Ow, that hurts!’
Her arms around my waist tightened, pulling harder.
At this rate, my waist’ll snap.
Just ten seconds ago!
“…Kim… Ha-eun. Ha-eun-ssi! Right, Ha-eun-ssi! S-sorry.”
“……Hehe. You’re such a te- tease.”
“H-hahaha.”
“Hehehe.”
Tease, my foot!
I nearly died in your grip just now!
That was straight-up blackmail!
If I hadn’t said her name, tomorrow’s morning news would’ve reported a murder near Seongsu Station.
And when did I ever call her Kim Ha-eun?
This woman’s delusions are off the charts.
My waist is about to break at this rate.
I grabbed Kim Ha-eun’s shoulders—still hugging me tight—and shoved her back with a grunt.
Hup!
“Ha, Ha-eun-ssi!”
“Yes?”
Success. I pried her off me.
Now for the important part.
“…My stomach’s a bit off. I’ll hit the restroom nearby real quick.”
“Ah! I-I held on too long. Sorry.”
“No worries. Be right back.”
My feet moved like I’d mastered the Shrinking Step for the first time in my life.
Leaving behind Kim Ha-eun, beaming innocently at my back.
I ran.
I bolted as far from Seongsu Station as I could, reaching a nearby park ten minutes away on foot—barely escaping at my sluggish pace.
“…Th-this should be far enough, right?”
This distance ought to do it.
No sign of anyone tailing me.
“Any… restrooms around here…?”
“!!!”
What the hell is this woman?!
“Ha, Ha-eun-ssi?”
“Sorry. I just… thought you were heading somewhere other than the restroom I know.”
“…”
“I thought you were running… from me… Right?”
“…No way.”
Her blood-red eyes gazed up at me, gleaming innocently.
I’m terrified.
This woman scares me way more than any ghost story.
Her voice no longer trembled, her red gaze deepening as it fixed on me.
Like a warning.
No tolerance for a second mistake—her killing intent pressed down.
Maybe Kim Ha-eun is a ghost story herself.
I desperately wanted to sic the GRA Agency on her.
But if I did…
I’d probably be a cold corpse by then.
Lame excuses won’t cut it anymore. Try that restroom trick again cluelessly…
And I’m done for.
Man, from this morning till now.
Too damn hectic.
Tied up in more crap than a weekday—tears welled in my eyes.
My tear-blurred vision…
Felt like a glimpse of my future.
After that, my left arm stayed sealed in her embrace.
No entering shops.
No trying to split off.
Just wandering aimlessly… endlessly… without destination.
Like walking a dog, she kept moderate strength on my arm, ensuring no escape.
Finally, Park Yeon-jeong could coldly assess his plight.
‘I’m screwed.’
‘Just give up and it’ll be easier’ flitted through my mind.
Accept this moment, view it coolly…
It might not be so bad.
Kim Ha-eun topped popularity polls on the [Ghost Story Archive] online—universally acknowledged as charming.
Bonus points for her pure, one-true-love devotion, plus notes on her stellar housework skills.
Especially her cooking with kitchen knives.
Even a top global corp deputy manager in the making.
Assuming this woman has a huge crush on me, revisiting the situation…
ㄴAm I even a guy?
ㄴNah.
ㄴEunuch? Aight.
ㄴPathetic… wanna assassinate.
Listing all those merits, rethinking now…
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Everyone (male/female) who met Employee Kim Ha-eun met the same end.
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Death.
…Yeah, decision made.
Even if the world ends, I’ll escape Kim Ha-eun.
By any means.
I wanna live.
*****
How long had we walked?
My knees ached.
PM 03:45
About five hours into this walking hell for the duo.
“Hehehe.”
I knew Kim Ha-eun had insane stamina, but she showed no fatigue.
Even.
She’s smiling.
Her face brimmed with bright joy.
Conversely, Park Yeon-jeong’s state…
Drag.
Not walking like a person.
More like being dragged.
My form evoked a corpse, birthing Park Zombie.
Something caught my eye as my legs might not hold out.
Perfect timing—a bus at the stop.
‘…Bus… bus!’
A flash of inspiration hit like possession. I grabbed Kim Ha-eun’s arm.
“Ha-eun-ssi, let’s run.”
“Huh?”
I dashed first toward the idling bus.
Kim Ha-eun followed in surprise, but upon seeing it…
Screech!
She halted.
Even releasing the arm lock unbroken for five hours.
But I spoke to her as kindly as possible.
“I’ve always dreamed of riding a bus with a girlfriend.”
“!!”
“You’ll ride with me, right, Ha-eun-ssi?”
“…”
Kim Ha-eun hesitated.
Yes, hesitate.
No law says you must die. This bus proves it.
Among Kim Ha-eun’s listed traits.
-Dislikes.
One: Public transport. (Bus, subway)
Reason’s simple.
Crowds.
Power introvert Kim Ha-eun dislikes crowded spots or transit.
Especially after nearly puking on a bus as a kid from that queasy ride—she’s avoided them since.
That bad memory.
Now my sole escape route.
Thus, this golden chance demanded I push hard.
“Honestly, if I ever got a girlfriend… I’d wanna do bus dates!”
“D-d-de-date… on a b-bus?!”
Total lie.
An outrageous gambit.
To others, it’d seem a roundabout rejection.
But because it’s Kim Ha-eun.
She pondered my bold play seriously.
“If I had a girlfriend, we’d do bus dates once a week, no doubt.”
“W-weekly… once…?”
To her, that’s basically “drop dead.”
Vroom.
Bus engine revved.
If she says no here…
-Yeah! Can’t do buses, huh… I really wanted to with you, Ha-eun-ssi, but guess we’re not fated. Bye then.
Then board the bus behind me and bail.
Sure, she might retaliate later.
But not now.
Past victims couldn’t handle her intense love and dumped her first.
So she saw abandonment and delivered “death” as farewell, repeatedly.
But now’s different.
Her refusing her beloved’s wish—a unique case for her.
She who’d do anything for her love, denying it herself.
Not me rejecting her.
She’d see herself rejecting me.
Only possible because it’s Kim Ha-eun.
Morning soap material she’d dismiss as “too much”—yet she agonized earnestly.
So my line was set.
“You don’t wanna ride the bus with me, Ha-eun-ssi.”
“Y-yes! N-no… not that… it’s not…”
“Guess… we’re not fated… Take care.”
Wistful tone, slumped back turned in perfect performance.
Flawless.
This’ll do it.
Park Yeon-jeong advanced toward the bus—salvation from long Kim Ha-eun chains.
Beep-
Noise’s card worked as transit pass, luckily.
…Done. Really done.
Freedom.
Escaped the yandere girl’s clutches.
Relief that all shackles were broken.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
Beep-
But then another card beep.
My downward gaze stretched to the bus door.
Black hair draped forward, gleaming eyes through tangled strands.
Fixed fiercely on one man.
“…I’ll never… ever… let you go.”
“…”
Eek!!
Horror movie scene flashed—protagonist barely flees killer, sighs in relief…
‘Found you.’
Then slain. Overlapping now.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Kim Ha-eun approached my seat slowly—truly the pinnacle.
In the worst way.
Despairing eternal entrapment in her swamp…
【Bus 4444 departing.】
Bus announcement brushed my ear.
But my eyes locked on her ragged breaths nearing.
Unnoticed.
What bus I’d boarded.
【This stop: ‘This World’.】
【Next stop: ‘Greed’.】
【Passengers, please check your name lists in advance. Don’t mistake your stop.】
【This route is one-way only.】