Park A-yeong
When Han Mir and Kim Gwang-cheol came back to the classroom, Kim Gwang-cheol looked like something inside him had cracked for good. His face was paper-white, and he kept muttering under his breath.
"I... I actually did that. I... I..."
Lee Chi-myeol and Shin Ji-yoon, still wrecked from Lee Si-a's beating, sat with their heads hung low and did not make a sound. The rest of the class, blindsided by how completely the tables had turned overnight, kept their mouths shut and watched their step.
"Oh, you're back?"
Lee Si-a greeted Han Mir with a bright, sunny smile. He nodded, satisfied, and dropped into his seat.
"What on earth happened between you two in the bathroom?"
Han Mir answered with a mischievous little smile.
"Want to know?"
"Mm, no. I have a feeling I'd regret hearing it."
"Excellent choice."
A shadow fell across them. Han Mir turned his head, and there stood Park A-yeong. She fidgeted with her fingers, looking uneasy, her face flushed as she carefully opened her mouth.
"Um. Hey."
Lee Si-a frowned and cocked a fist.
"What? You here to mess with Han Mir too?"
"N-no! I just... I wanted to talk to him about something..."
Han Mir quietly pushed Lee Si-a's fist back down.
"Talk about what?"
"W-well..."
Park A-yeong flicked a nervous glance at Lee Si-a, then spoke.
"I want to talk to you alone. Is that okay?"
"Sounds like a hassle."
"Th-then I'll buy you something good from the snack shop later!"
"Not really feeling it."
As Han Mir kept brushing her off, Lee Si-a found herself inexplicably pleased and smiled.
"That's right, that's right. Mir says it's a hassle, so why do you keep pushing?"
"Th-then I'll buy you fried chicken after school!"
"Deal."
"Huh?"
At the mere mention of fried chicken, Han Mir accepted on the spot. Lee Si-a was so dumbfounded she nearly slammed her forehead into the desk.
Park A-yeong's eyes went round, and she broke into a huge smile.
"R-really!?"
"Yeah. It's a pain, so let's wrap this up before class starts. Follow me."
Han Mir headed with Park A-yeong toward the deserted stretch behind the school building. Even as they walked, she kept glancing around, looking anxious, as if something were hunting her.
"So what's this thing you wanted to say?"
Park A-yeong swallowed hard, confirmed no one was nearby, and spoke carefully.
"I-it's about what happened yesterday."
Had her memories not been erased after all? Curious now, Han Mir studied her.
"You got rid of the ghost that was clinging to me."
"Ah. That."
"Yeah. Can you see ghosts too? And unlike me, you can even exorcise them, right? Right?"
"Ghosts, huh. It'd be more accurate to call them monsters with the properties of a spiritual body than ghosts. Well. I can get rid of them, yeah."
Park A-yeong did not quite follow his answer, but that was not what mattered. What mattered was that Han Mir could drive the ghosts away. She clasped her hands together and looked up at him with pleading eyes.
"I'm begging you! Please help me! I'll do anything, so... won't you be my bodyguard?"
Han Mir raised one eyebrow.
"What kind of brand-new bullshit is this?"
"Wh-when I'm with you, the ghosts don't cling to me. Ever since yesterday, except for a handful of them, they won't even come into the school. I've been tormented by ghosts since I was little. I couldn't even sleep properly. I thought I was going to lose my mind. But thanks to you, everything changed overnight!"
So that was why her dark circles had been so deep. Looking at her today, she did seem more alive than usual — like she had actually gotten some sleep.
Han Mir swept a glance around them. In the distance, several bizarre-looking monsters were watching. More precisely, they were staring at Park A-yeong, drooling.
"So I'm begging you! If it's money, I'll find a way to get it somehow — just please protect me!"
Han Mir suddenly pursed his lips and furrowed his brow. Then his cheeks puffed rapidly with air until he could not hold it anymore, and it burst out of him.
"Pfft! Bwahahahaha!"
He clutched his stomach and wiped at his eyes. Park A-yeong stared at him blankly, then scowled.
"Are you making fun of me right now? Does my asking for help because I'm suffering sound that ridiculous to you?"
"Ahh, yeah. It's hilarious. Seriously — pfft! I'm crying, it's so funny."
Han Mir caught her by the shoulders and leaned in. In a deceptively gentle tone, almost a whisper, he spoke.
"Just how thoroughly did you scarf down every last scrap of decency, that you can forget you spent all this time treating people like insects and then come up with the idea of asking me for help?"
"Wh-what...?"
Park A-yeong's pupils shook. The smile had vanished from Han Mir's face. She instinctively stepped back under a pressure she could not name.
"Having trouble following along? You and Kim Gwang-cheol and his little cronies tormented me relentlessly. You even bestowed the nickname Earthworm on me. What exactly about you is supposed to make me want to help? When I helped you back then, it wasn't sympathy. It wasn't even a shred of pity."
One corner of his mouth twitched as he twisted his face in disgust.
"That was just a change of heart. There was something filthy and stinking, so I cleaned it up. That's all. Got it?"
"B-but I never directly bullied you! Sometimes when it went too far, I-I even tried to stop them, because I didn't want that!"
"And that changes the fact that you bullied me? Even if you never laid a hand on me, you hit me where it hurt. You talked shit behind my back, mocked me, and snickered at the sight of me suffering — and now you're trying to sell yourself as better than the others?"
"I-I, no, that's... I-I'm sorry."
She bit down hard on her lower lip and spoke in a trembling voice.
"I-I really do think I was wrong. I... I shouldn't have bullied you. I-I actually knew it was wrong. But the ghosts that had been hounding me since I was a kid were driving me insane. I think I bullied you just to feel some kind of comfort. I-I'm really sorry."
Park A-yeong folded at the waist in a full ninety-degree bow. Han Mir swept his hair back and looked down at her with lifeless eyes.
"That mind of yours reeks. Suddenly playing the victim with a tragic backstory and asking to be let off. People like you make me want to throw up. Want to know why? Because you think the 'I'm the weak one' label means you'll be forgiven for anything. You use being weak to justify tormenting someone even weaker than you."
"I-I'm sorry. I-I have no excuse..."
Still bent at the waist, Park A-yeong's shoulders trembled. Han Mir clicked his tongue, annoyed.
"Tsk. Let me ask you something, then. If I hadn't gotten rid of that ghost for you, would you have apologized to me?"
"......Th-that's..."
"No. You wouldn't have. People like you only bow your heads to someone who can actually save you."
"......"
Park A-yeong had nothing to say. Everything he had said was true. If he had not changed overnight and helped her, she would still be mocking him, still looking down on him.
A selfish girl who played the victim to rationalize her own cruelty. That was who she was.
"......Yeah. You're right. I'm a selfish piece of trash. If you hadn't had the power to help me, I would have ignored you. I get why you despise me this much."
Park A-yeong suddenly dropped to her knees and grabbed his pant leg.
"But I really need your help! Fine! Call me a selfish bitch all you want — hit me if you want! Take every bit of revenge you can think of, tell me I have to feel every ounce of the pain you went through! If it lets you blow off even a little steam, I'll do anything! You want me to lick your shoes? I'll lick them. You want my body? I'll give you that too, as much as you want! So please — I'm begging you — help me!!!"
Watching her boldly advertise that she was trash and still beg for help, Han Mir let out a short laugh.
"Didn't expect you to come at it this shamelessly. Not bad. I can't stand the kind of vermin that just run and hide from everything — but vermin like you, who admit what they are? Those I can at least look at."
"Th-then that means...?"
"Yeah. I'll help you. On one condition."
A golden light flashed in Han Mir's eyes.
Sage's Eye
Reveals the true essence of all things
The landscape reflected in those eyes was a storm of alien energy, raging violently through Park A-yeong's inner self. It had been a while since he had used the power of the Sage's Eye. A faint dizziness washed over him, but he did not break his concentration.
Park A-yeong nodded so hard it looked like her head might come off.
"Anything! I'll do whatever you want! Just say it!"
The contractor shall serve as Slave Number Two of Han Mir.
No right of refusal shall exist against any order issued by the Master.
This contract remains binding until the day of the contractor's death.
"From this moment on, you are my Slave Number Two. You have no right to refuse any of my orders, and this contract lasts until the day you die. How about it?"
"Okay! From now on, I'm your slave!"
Park A-yeong was mortified. To be treated like this by Han Mir — that pathetic loser who used to be nothing — was something she never could have imagined. But her top priority was not some fragile pride that would shatter under a little humiliation.
Peace. She wanted true peace. If she never had to be tormented by ghosts again, if she could have Han Mir as her shield, she really would do anything.
Han Mir set a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.
"Since when does a slave talk to me like that?"
"Ah! I-I'm sorry!"
"You need to add 'Master' at the end."
Park A-yeong's face burned crimson. The thought of having to constantly say a title she had never once uttered out loud made her brain feel like it was melting. But she had no other choice.
"M-Master."
"Good, good. Then I'll give you your first order."
"W-what kind of order is it?"
A wave of dread washed over Park A-yeong. She swallowed hard and looked up at him.