Chapter 66
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Monster Tale Specialist Office: The Invisible Person (1)
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“School ghost stories? Those don’t exist anymore.”
Woli had meant it as a scolding, but Boyoung just nodded seriously.
“Exactly.”
Then why bring it up?
Woli clamped her mouth shut in disbelief, and Boyoung turned to Seol, who had been quietly listening.
“What do you think?”
Seol blinked a few times before asking,
“The invisible person? You mean the one we saw last time?”
“What are you talking about? How do you see an invisible person? If you can see it, it’s not invisible.”
“Huh? Oh, no.”
Seol made an awkward face.
‘My mistake…’
The story sounded so harmless that she’d let her guard down.
No matter how you looked at it, it was just a wholesome tale.
No one died or got hurt from ignoring it—it was just rumors about an invisible person doing nice things here and there.
Lost in that thought, she’d spoken as if Woli were the only one there.
“What’s that about? That’s weird.”
Seol considered brushing it off as a slip-up, but it was already too late. Boyoung’s eyes were sparkling. She’d caught a real lead.
‘…This is bad.’
Seol froze, unsure what to do, when Woli jumped in.
“Hey, spill it honestly.”
“Spill what?”
“You’ve been trying to ask about something from the start, haven’t you?”
“Ugh, that’s why I hate sharp people.”
Woli shot Boyoung a weary look.
“Everything you’re into is some mystery no one knows.”
“Well, yeah!”
Boyoung readily agreed. Maybe feeling a bit bad for pressing Seol, she scratched her nose and said,
“I’ve already looked into most of it. Turns out almost all of them were just someone’s good deeds. Like anonymous whistleblowing or throwing a blanket over someone they like.”
“Almost all? So there are some you can’t explain?”
Seol tilted her head.
At Seol’s question, Boyoung scratched her head and answered. This must have been what she’d wanted to talk about from the beginning.
“Yeah, I can’t figure out a few.”
They were minor things, but not knowing the cause bugged her, Boyoung said.
“Aren’t they just someone’s silent good deeds?”
Woli still saw it as no big deal. Even Boyoung couldn’t know everything.
“That makes sense normally. But these few cases only add up if you assume an invisible person exists. Rather than thinking I’m missing something!”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Woli frowned, but Boyoung stayed breezy.
“Honestly, if you two hadn’t reacted, I probably would’ve just let it go.”
Boyoung grinned.
“But seeing Han Seol’s reaction, I knew there was something~”
“Leading the witness! Leading the witness! Isn’t that a violation of some agreement?!”
Woli protested, but Boyoung just kept smiling.
“What agreement? That’s from the criminal procedure code. And technically, this is more like leading questioning.”
“Huh? Aren’t those the same?”
While Woli floundered, Boyoung smoothly turned back to Seol.
“So, why’d you slip up like that? Tell us.”
Seol looked embarrassed. No quick lie came to mind, and a bad one would get caught anyway.
Cornered, Seol opened her mouth.
“On my first day transferring in, something weird happened.”
She had one odd experience unrelated to her eyes, so she could share that.
Seol spoke with an awkward expression. She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, so the memory was fuzzy.
“Your first day transferring?”
Boyoung glanced at Woli, as if asking if she knew the story.
“First I’m hearing of it. There was something like that?”
“On my first day, there were more people in our class than the attendance numbers.”
Woli looked baffled at Seol’s words.
“What? Isn’t that just because you were new?”
Woli answered first, but Seol shook her head.
“No. I’m number 21, the last one. When I first counted, it was definitely 22 including me. But it felt off, so after first period, I counted again—back to twenty-one.”
Someone who shouldn’t have been there had been, then vanished at some point.
“You just miscounted the first time, right?”
“I thought so too, that’s why I didn’t mention it at first.”
She’d assumed it was a mistake. But wandering the school later, she’d spotted a faint shimmer, so it hadn’t been.
Seeing Seol’s face, Woli got a feeling and asked stiffly,
“Why didn’t you say anything?!”
“I thought that’s just how this school was!”
The school life had been so uneventful, she figured it was normal.
“Anyway, was it really twenty-two?”
Boyoung asked back—not suspiciously, but like she’d suddenly remembered something forgotten.
“Yeah, probably? If I didn’t miscount.”
“You miscounted. You have to have.”
Woli squinted. She had a gut feeling this would get annoying. But it was already too late; Boyoung knew.
“It might not have been a miscount.”
“Huh?”
They both looked at Boyoung. She stared at Seol with eyes like she’d spotted something eerie.
“I don’t remember every student, but I do remember the total when we enrolled.”
At least she knew exactly how many second-years there were.
“And no one in our grade transferred out midway—only two transfers in: you and Han Seol.”
“So? What’re you getting at?”
To answer Woli, Boyoung continued.
“I miscounted once too. Or at least, I brushed it off as a miscount back then.”
She remembered the entrance ceremony in the school auditorium.
“There were definitely two hundred people at the entrance ceremony.”
“How many now?”
“One hundred ninety-eight.”
The numbers didn’t add up. Woli frowned.
“So with me and her transferring in, it should be two hundred, but there are only one hundred ninety-eight?”
“It was a question I had before, but I just figured I’d miscounted then.”
Woli clicked her tongue. Another person might gloss over it, but not Boyoung.
And with two people having similar experiences, it was hard to call it a mistake.
Two similar incidents, plus the rumors spreading at school. Whatever it was, it didn’t feel normal. Woli was sure of it.
“So it’s real? That invisible person thing?”
* * *
That evening, Woli slumped over the café table.
“...and that’s what happened.”
The school talk had ended there. Even knowing something was off didn’t mean they could solve it right away.
But they were convinced something was there. So the moment they got back, bags still on, they asked.
“What do you think?”
“A school ghost story about an invisible person—definitely a bit intriguing.”
“A bit intriguing?”
Woli asked, surprised Taeju called it intriguing.
“For a ghost story, it’s not exactly textbook.”
Schools were prime spots for ghost stories, but this one was unusually mild.
“Plus, it being real was a fluke.”
So yeah, intriguing, Taeju nodded.
“But how does that girl know all these weird details?”
“Boyoung? No idea. She’s been like that since we met.”
Woli now understood how Boyoung investigated. Taeju nodded.
“Anyway, this does sound like something odd. I don’t know her, but I’d like to meet her sometime.”
“Dunno… Maybe it’s better not to.”
For various reasons, Woli didn’t want him meeting that unreal friend. It felt like something overwhelming would happen.
“She’s already poking into so many places. If she starts getting curious about our kind of stuff, it’ll be too much.”
Seol watched their exchange from the side.
“So, what should we do about this?”
“Hmm?”
At Seol’s question, Taeju shrugged.
“What? You’re not helping?”
“How can I?”
“It happened at school. I can’t just go investigate. If it were a client request, sure, but.”
Taeju looked exasperated. Woli deflated but couldn’t argue.
“Plus, if you think about it, it started because of Seol’s slip-up.”
“Eek…”
Seol flinched. Taeju shrugged.
“Not blaming you. Try handling it yourselves! I’ll help if you need anything.”
Seeing his chance, Taeju pushed them to practice.
“Saying that out of nowhere throws me off…”
Woli looked sullen.
“You can drop it if you want. It’s not life-or-death. But doesn’t it bug you?”
“It does bug me…”
“I should handle it? Since it’s my fault.”
“If you want to, give it a shot. Experience is everything.”
Seol nodded at the word experience.
“But what does ‘solving’ it even mean?”
The goal was unclear.
“This case? Or in general?”
Taeju clarified. He couldn’t advise on this one—he didn’t know either. Seol knew that and answered.
“In general, how do you set goals?”
“Depends on the case.”
Taeju thought a moment.
“I think it’s about giving the client a satisfying conclusion.”
“The client, huh.”
Seol repeated it, pondering.
“But there’s no client this time.”
“True for now, but one’ll probably show up soon. Or maybe not. But someone’s bound to be having trouble with it.”
He said it confidently. Basic reason.
“All ghost stories are made by people. Big or small, unfinished or complete.”
Even the stuff with the ghost quantity or curse videos had been.
“Whoever’s involved—one person or many—someone’s there. Things like that don’t happen with no one around.”
Hearing Taeju, Han Seol thought a bit and said,
“So first, find that person?”
“Might be more than one, but yeah. You catch on quick. Unlike the friend next to you, who forgets every time.”
“Pick on me when I’m not here, please.”
Woli growled at Taeju’s jab. Sorry, he said, and offered to buy her whatever she wanted—asking for her order. Soon they were deep in that talk.
Seol still had questions, but their chat was so lively she couldn’t butt in.
“Hmm…”
So Seol sank into thought alone.
“An invisible person…”