Moving to the New House #1
Oh Deokhui was a high school girl born and raised in a perfectly ordinary home. If you ignored her father’s annoying drunken tirades and the fact that her younger sister had hit puberty and turned rebellious, her life was relatively peaceful.
Today she had invited a friend over.
“Thanks for inviting me, Deoksoon. I’ve never been to a friend’s house before because of my Concept. Hehe…”
“Me too… I haven’t really had any friends since I transferred last year.”
Baek Yeoul and Oh Deokhui ordered chicken, laughed, and played together. When the hour grew late and they finally spread out the blankets and lay down, Baek Yeoul began chattering about how Ha Namjin had shown up that day and delivered a thoroughly satisfying smackdown to the seniors.
Listening to the story, Oh Deokhui found plenty to be impressed by.
Ha Namjin isn’t even scared of the seniors. After locking them up like that, what’s he going to do if they sue him later or the police get involved?
It was a reckless, no-holds-barred solution. Something that would be impossible for Oh Deokhui even if she died and came back to life, so all she could do was shake her head in disbelief.
At the same time, she had the strange feeling that no matter what trouble arose, Ha Namjin would somehow handle it perfectly on his own.
He really was an odd friend. And, if she was honest, a little enviable.
“Anyway, I only survived because of Namjjin.”
Ding!
Right then, a KakaoTalk notification sounded on Baek Yeoul’s phone. A message had arrived.
It was an audio file from Ha Namjin. The moment she played it, familiar voices spilled out.
“Baek Yeoul, I’m sorry! I was wrong! Please forgive me!”
“I’ll do better from now on! I’m the one who’s really sorry! Yeoul! Yeouuuul!”
“Th-that’s Jeon Somi and Jang Hyunah’s voices! They actually apologized to me! Deoksoon, did you hear that? I’m saving this so I can listen to it whenever I’m having a hard time!”
Oh Deokhui was genuinely shocked. She had never imagined that the vicious Jeon Somi and Jang Hyunah would ever utter such desperate, heartfelt apologies.
“Ugh, it feels good, but now I’ve ended up owing Namjjin again. At this rate, making lunchboxes for him every day won’t be enough to repay the debt.”
Baek Yeoul hated owing Ha Namjin. She wanted to stand as his equal partner.
After sinking deep into thought, she reached a single conclusion.
Ha Namjin liked Seo Gaeul.
But right now, that same Seo Gaeul had been kidnapped by some wicked person and was missing.
“If I catch the culprit and bring Seo Gaeul back, Namjjin will be happy, right? What do you think, Deoksoon?”
Oh Deokhui was greatly surprised. To Baek Yeoul, Seo Gaeul was a rival, a bad relationship—whatever you wanted to call her. Yet here she was, willing to find her enemy for Ha Namjin’s sake.
“But if Seo Gaeul comes back, then you and Namjin…”
“I know! My nose is three meters long! But I don’t want to benefit from someone else’s misfortune! And… I feel like what happened to Seo Gaeul might be partly my fault…”
Apparently the two of them had been the best of friends until some point in middle school. It seemed Baek Yeoul was secretly worried about Seo Gaeul.
Friends, huh…
Oh Deokhui hadn’t had many friends even in middle school. She could count them on one hand. Truthfully, she didn’t like remembering that time very much.
But seeing her friend Baek Yeoul trying so hard made her feel like she couldn’t just sit still.
“…I know someone who might be able to help find Seo Gaeul. We weren’t exactly close, but…”
Tap tap tap.
Oh Deokhui opened the StarApp on her phone and searched for a certain female student.
“…This girl. We went to the same middle school…”
The girl’s feed was filled with photos from famous overseas landmarks and elegant selfies taken in fancy lounges. She had a massive number of followers—roughly four hundred thousand.
Seeing the seemingly happy life of the girl on the screen made Oh Deokhui’s hands tremble violently.
In a way, this girl was Oh Deokhui’s own “Seo Gaeul.” The only difference was that they had never once been close; it had been a completely one-sided bullying relationship.
After all, it was because of this girl that Oh Deokhui had awakened the Silence Concept.
Of course, Baek Yeoul knew none of that. She simply thought the girl in the photos was very pretty and immediately took a liking to her. The cold, refined appearance, long straight hair, and the beauty mark by her eye reminded her of a character from one of the comics on Oh Deokhui’s bookshelf.
“She looks exactly like Tomielli from Ilto Junji’s horror comic! Her name is… Jin Eunbyeol? I feel like I’ve heard that name before. Where have I heard it…? Jin Eunbyeol… Is she an Awakened?”
Jin Eunbyeol.
Oh Deokhui recalled those cold, curled lips and the terrifying Concept that had made everyone walk on eggshells.
“Fuck, that bitch Jang Hyunah. Because of you I’m now… Because of you I won’t be able to get married!”
“…Why is this my fault?”
The two naked women hurriedly gathered their clothes and dressed. Using Emotion, it was clear they were feeling extremely humiliated and insulted.
“According to Ppang-daeng-i, she can’t tell which of you two apologized more sincerely. I agree. I can’t pick a winner. Neither of you has even a speck of sincerity.”
Jeon Somi and Jang Hyunah had not apologized to them with genuine hearts. Apologies were a matter of talent—not just anyone could do it properly.
Still, since they now had solid footage of the two doing naked dogeza, the profit was more than enough. With their large StarApp followings, the video would make for excellent negotiation material.
“If you try anything funny, this video goes straight onto the internet. My life might get a little twisted, but you two will become instant superstars. Sounds good, right?”
Flinch.
At my threat the women trembled. It seemed they really didn’t want their faces attached to embarrassing videos circulating online.
“From now on, you two are going to create a natural opportunity for me to approach Wang Jayeon. If things go well, I’ll delete the video. Okay?”
“…Fine.”
“…Yeah.”
They were completely broken.
Name: Jeon Somi
Possesses: 《Slipperiness Lv.2》 – Slippery like the finest loach.
Status: 《Great Rage》 – Furious at the misfortune she is experiencing. At the same time, her desire for revenge against Wang Jayeon and Jin Eunbyeol—who had deceived her—is growing stronger.
Name: Jang Hyunah
Possesses: 《Vibration Lv.3》 – Can produce vibrations as precise as construction machinery.
Status: 《Fear》 – Desperate to prevent the humiliating video from spreading. Terrified at the thought of having to pay massive penalties if countless advertising contracts are cancelled due to scandal.
Reading their inner thoughts, it seemed they would cooperate nicely. The Emotion Concept really was useful.
We left the Great Labyrinth like that. It was around ten at night.
When I received the Cage of Miniaturization from them, Jang Hyunah spoke in a chilly voice under the dark moonlight.
“There’s a birthday party for Jin Eunbyeol soon. It’s an event where only people from political and financial circles or their children are invited. Wang Jayeon had invited me. He said he really wanted me to come.”
Jin Eunbyeol. The daughter of the Samjin Group. As she spoke the name, Jang Hyunah showed clear signs of fear.
“If you mess with Wang Jayeon, you’ll inevitably clash with Jin Eunbyeol. Are you sure that’s okay? It’s better to avoid becoming her enemy.”
So even the proud Jang Hyunah would yield to this girl. Why? It only made me more interested.
After returning home, finishing up various tasks, and lying down, I thought I’d be able to sleep like a baby since I had solved the problem that had been bothering me the most lately.
But just as I was thinking that, someone pounded violently on the front door.
“Student Ha Namjin, correct? We received a report and need to search the house.”
“Check the house in front, behind, and next door without missing any! Student, do you have a basement in your house?”
The police were investigating? Even the basement and the neighboring houses? Who the hell reported this?
For a moment I thought of Jang Hyunah and Jeon Somi, but quickly dismissed it. Those girls didn’t have the guts to report anything to the police.
If it was someone with that kind of courage, then it was probably—
Seo Docheol. That bastard.
“Senior! There’s a basement in the house next door! It’s locked with a padlock!”
Late at night. Inside the chairman’s office of the Seonam Group.
Under dim lighting, a female student with a cold expression sat before Seo Docheol. He didn’t let a single emotion show on his face. The girl in front of him was a witch.
A witch wearing the shell of a beautiful human. Jin Eunbyeol.
“I didn’t expect Chairman Seo to contact us first. My father told me to assist Chairman Seo in any way I can.”
“Miss Eunbyeol, we’re both busy people, so let’s get straight to the point. With your Concept, can you tell where Gaeul is?”
“It’s simple. In return, no matter what questions I ask from now on, you must not answer.”
Jin Eunbyeol took a sip of tea and let out a soft laugh. She unfolded a long fan to cover her face. Just as her coquettish laughter slowly faded, a strange phenomenon began.
The lights in the room started flickering, and the windows rattled as if shaken by an untimely wind.
“—Seo Docheol.”
A thunderous voice came from beyond the fan.
“Seo Docheol.”
It was far too eerie to be the voice of a girl the same age as his daughter. It sounded like the Immovable King shouting from the deepest bottom of the underworld.
Seo Docheol kept his mouth shut and did not answer the call. He waited with quiet anticipation to see what would happen.
Soon, a gloomy voice shouted from beyond the fan.
Cloudy southern basement.
For a moment Seo Docheol thought of the geographical south, but then shook his head and changed his train of thought.
‘South’ might not refer to direction, but to Nam Taegeon or Ha Namjin. Coincidentally, both names contained the character “Nam.”
“Chairman, have you found Miss Gaeul?”
While Seo Docheol was stroking his rough chin to hide his complicated emotions, Jin Eunbyeol asked again from beyond the fan.
“Chairman, have you found Miss Gaeul?”
“Have you found her, Chairman?”
“Kick kick kick—”
The constant questioning displeased Seo Docheol. He wondered what would happen if he answered.
“I haven’t found her yet.”
“Liar.”
“Murderer.”
“Devil.”
“Docheol-ssi— Save me—”
At the single strand of voice that came from beyond the fan, Seo Docheol’s mind snapped awake. The voice begging to be saved was far too familiar.
“…Who are you?”
“I am the black star.”
Tap!
At that moment someone grabbed Seo Docheol’s shoulder.
“Chairman, are you all right?”
When he turned his head, Jin Eunbyeol—who had just been sitting across from him with her fan open—was now standing beside his shoulder, looking down at him with narrow eyes.
Seo Docheol felt as if he had been possessed. In fact, he probably had been.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re sweating buckets. I clearly told you not to answer no matter what voice you hear. Sometimes in life, the correct answer is simply to ignore ‘certain things.’”
The girl’s eyes seemed to look down on a man several times her age. Perhaps she really was.
“Chairman, since I was asked by my father and my godfather, I will definitely find Gaeul, so please don’t worry. In return, I’ll leave the press releases and press conference to you.”
Advice from a girl much younger than him. Seo Docheol accepted it humbly and decided to offer a small repayment.
“Miss Eunbyeol, I will also give you one piece of advice. If you happen to run into a student named Ha Namjin while searching for my daughter, I strongly suggest you avoid him completely or ignore him.”
Jin Eunbyeol muttered to herself, “Ha Namjin…?” then smiled brightly. It was a beautiful smile, yet somehow sent a chill down the spine.
“Is that so? He’s the one who should be avoiding me.”
With those words, Jin Eunbyeol left the chairman’s office. The strange darkness that had lingered in the room seemed to lift.
Suddenly, he grew curious. If a mad dog and a witch were to meet, what would happen—and in the end, who would end up avoiding whom?
Whether such a thing would ever happen was unknown.
—Your daughter has been taken by a tiger and is trapped in the cloudy southern basement.
Recalling the words he had heard from beyond the fan, Seo Docheol picked up his phone and called his secretary.
“Manager Kim, this time focus the search on basements. That Ha Namjin bastard has been bothering me. Make sure to thoroughly search his house and all the nearby basements.”
Seo Docheol, who had ordered the police to search Ha Namjin’s house and surrounding area, was now almost certain that Ha Namjin was the kidnapper.
One hour later, Manager Kim called.
“Yes, Manager Kim. How did it go? Did you check all the basements… What?”
How was this possible?
“…There’s nothing there?”