Aftermath of the Abandoned House Exploration (2)
Tick. Tick. Ring ring♪
Clang!
"I'm ho─"
"Why are you so late?"
The moment I opened the door and stepped inside, my mother stood there with her arms crossed, exuding the aura of a fierce guardian deity. Her low voice carried a question that hit me like a weight.
Caught off guard by that solemn intensity, I flinched reflexively, my body stiffening.
"Well, I told you I'd be a bit late helping a friend, didn't I...?"
"That's what you said. And I gave permission."
My mother pointed to the clock on the living room wall with her finger.
"What time is it now?"
"...10:40?"
"Precisely 10:42. So, what time did I say to be back by at the latest?"
"Uh, well? I don't really remem─"
"10 o'clock."
"...I'm sorry."
This was my blunder—I hadn't anticipated it dragging on this late. We'd left around 7:30, and the trip there and back took about an hour and twenty to thirty minutes. Wandering the abandoned building should've taken no more than half an hour at most. So I'd figured we'd be back by 9:30 latest.
Who could've guessed a real evil spirit would show up...
Even with the eyes of the Necromancer King, I hadn't seen it coming.
My mother, who had been staring me down, finally let out a deep sigh.
"Seorin. Your father and I... we feel sorry for not being proper parents to you. We had no idea you were suffering that much."
"..."
"So from now on, we'll let you do whatever you want. You can hang out with friends late into the night, go to whatever college you like—med school, law school, whatever, don't worry about it."
She lifted my hand and wrapped both of hers around it tightly. Her eyes gazing at me glistened with moisture.
"Still... I might not have the right to say this, but please don't come home too late. After 'that incident,' I'm always worried something might happen to my daughter."
"...Yes, I'm sorry, Mom."
"Good, go rest now. If you think you'll be late next time, at least call."
I watched my mother's back—Baek Seorin's mother—as she patted my shoulder approvingly and walked away. And in the living room, Baek Seorin's father, who had been sitting silently on the sofa, immediately retreated to his room the moment he confirmed I'd arrived.
"...Hoo."
With a sigh, I headed to my room.
The next day.
In the bright morning sunlight, I strolled slowly along the walking path.
Shouldn't a high schooler be at school? You're right. If it weren't Saturday, that is.
The world sure has changed a lot. Back when I was alive before becoming the Necromancer King, I remember going to school even on Saturdays in Korea without fail.
Ring ring ring♪
A bland, boring ringtone utterly unfit for a modern high school girl echoed out.
The source was, of course, my pocket.
I pulled out my phone.
My one and only friend, Lee Ha-eun.
[Seoriinaaaaaah!!]
Anyone hearing that would think it was Lina of the Seo clan calling, not Seorin of the Baek clan.
"...Keep it down. I can hear you fine without yelling."
[Ah, haha. Sorry—wait, that's not the point!]
For some reason, Ha-eun's voice was thick with panic.
[I was reviewing the abandoned house footage from yesterday, right?]
"Yeah, and?"
[But the ghosts aren't visible! They were crystal clear yesterday, and viewers saw them too... Now it just looks like we're flailing at thin air!]
"...Really?"
Sorry, Ha-eun, but I had nothing to offer here. All my knowledge and experience as a necromancer came from the fantasy world—no cameras or recording gear there.
This was my first evil spirit in this world. How was I supposed to know if they show up clearly on phones?
"Not even a little?"
[Hmm... Ah! Up close, there's something like black smoke! It was so blurry I missed it.]
"I see."
My guess? In this world, ghosts usually don't show up on video. But there are spirit photos, so rarely they do. This footage falls into the latter category.
Or normally nothing records, but my Death Qi influenced it, letting the ghost appear as faint black smoke.
To dig deeper, I'd need to talk to experts in this world's spiritual fields. But why bother? Too much hassle.
"I dunno either, so handle it yourself, Ha-eun. Upload as is, edit it, or delete if it's creepy."
[Huh? For real?]
"Of course—it's your footage. Just don't forget my cut."
When we agreed to hit the abandoned house, we'd promised a share of the revenue upfront. She didn't want to exploit her friend for free.
Sounds like a good kid, right?
[Got it! Don't worry! My streamer instincts say this vid's gonna blow up! I'll hook you up big time!]
"Yeah, I trust you."
Click.
I hung up and kept walking down the street.
"Shh. Quiet."
As I drew closer to my destination, the director's resentful spirit started acting up, so I forcibly calmed it.
"Haa... This is no way for the Necromancer King to carry on."
In my prime, I'd have absorbed a mere resentful spirit like this in seconds, turning it into nourishment for my soul.
What can you do? I'm grateful just to be alive.
Step. Step. Step.
As I neared the target, they conveniently emerged from the building.
"Shut it."
I grimaced, pressing my throbbing forehead.
'Kill.'
Not mine—the director's resentful spirit's emotions surged wildly.
'Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kiiiiiill!!'
'I want to kill! Let me kill! I'll kill! I'll chew, tear, rip them apart in agony!!'
'Heaven's punishment on those beasts in human skin!!'
I thrust out my right hand, and thick jet-black smoke poured from my palm. Even under sunlight, it was so dark and ominous it seemed to devour the light itself.
I clenched it hard.
The smoke writhed in agony, like fire doused with water.
Death Qi Suppression
Resentful spirit restrained.
Krrk, grrrk! Kughhh!!
As the flames of hatred in my mind subsided bit by bit, I could finally exhale in relief.
"I'll give you what you want soon enough, so calm down."
Once the resentful spirit settled, I approached the target—very cautiously, with ordinary footsteps.
A couple. Mid-to-late thirties, give or take—your average pair.
They smiled at each other. From here, they looked like the picture of a lovey-dovey pair.
"Honey, anything you wanna eat for dinner tonight?"
"Hmm... It's been ages since you made that pork cutlet?"
Knowing what they'd done in the past, their hypocrisy turned my stomach.
Step. Step. Step.
One step, another.
Closing in on the couple. Too busy chatting, they didn't notice me.
"Our anniversary's coming up, right? Anything you want?"
"Come on, that's gotta be a surprise!"
Ten steps. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.
Swoosh.
"Hey, you didn't like the surprise gift last time. Let's get something you actually want this time."
"Hmm, maybe?"
Thud.
"Ah."
"Sorry."
I bumped the wife's shoulder lightly and passed by.
"What the?"
"Some high school kid. Let's go."
"Yeah."
Dismissing it as nothing, the couple moved on.
I watched their retreating backs with my Spirit Eye.
"..."
Confirming the black smoke clinging to their bodies, I left as if nothing had happened.
That couple, by societal standards, was a rarity these days—a pair maintaining honeymoon bliss for over ten years.
No need to delve into how they became a couple.
What matters is the "two fatal mistakes" they made—or so they called them.
The first: botching contraception.
They never planned on kids. Parenting's a hassle, costs a fortune... Plus, neither liked children much. They'd agreed pre-marriage: no kids.
But they slipped up, and boom—pregnant.
Naturally, they tried to "handle" it.
'Pregnant? For real?'
'Hoho, grandchildren for us? Hohoho!'
'With a kid, this cramped place won't do. How about a bigger apartment?'
'For our grandkid, we'll chip in!'
But the in-laws overheard, derailing their plan.
Not bad, though. An apartment for one kid? A sweet deal, in their eyes.
But... unprepared, uninterested in parenting, would they raise the child right?
No chance.
Then came the second, unspeakable mistake.
'Wh-what? Wh-what do we do with th-this?'
'Honey, calm down. It's... just a mistake.'
They covered it up. Back to normal life.
One pesky person knew, but they "handled" that wisely.
Five years of happy days followed.
Until that day.
Thus, the couple who neatly resolved their mistakes lived blissfully...
"Urgh..."
"Ow, my head hurts... Honey?"
"Honey?"
In a space of pitch-black walls, the couple opened their eyes.
"Wh-where are we? We got kidnapped or something?"
"Honey, I'm scared..."
They clung to each other, bewildered, scanning around. Eyes trembling like in an earthquake, foreheads slick with cold sweat.
No windows, no light—this place instinctively terrified.
"Eek!"
"Wh-what! Who's there!"
A nauseating sound erupted. No human could make it—madness laced the voice. The couple clung tighter.
Thud. Thud.
Crunch. Cruuuunch.
Before them appeared a spine-chilling sight: a middle-aged woman grinning ear-to-ear, mouth torn wide.
"Y-you?!"
"How are you...!"
They recognized her instantly. Impossible to forget.
She was the Sunshine Kindergarten director—the one who'd hounded them until her death five years ago.