The Red Rope
The walk to school was as familiar as ever.
Except for one thing: the white mist that followed at a constant distance behind me.
'This is so awkward...!'
Kang Jina kept her eyes forward, widening her stride to avoid looking back. That was Mr. Choi, my brother’s employee and chauffeur. To Jina’s eyes, he was nothing more than a wisp of mist that vaguely maintained the shape of a person. He couldn't speak, and he couldn't be touched.
She glanced sideways.
Sure enough, the white mist was trailing her, keeping its distance. It felt like a loyal, large dog, or perhaps an inseparable shadow.
'He’s a ghost my brother brought home, so he can’t be a bad person.'
Just as she tried to put it out of her mind, her gaze drifted across the street while waiting at the crosswalk. In front of the crowded convenience store at the bus stop, there were faint wisps of mist she would have ignored if she hadn't known better.
But now, she understood.
'Those mists... they’re all ghosts, too.'
They weren't as clear as Mr. Choi, but they were definitely the same kind of existence. Her brother had said that most vengeful spirits were just residual thoughts, their grudges diluted to the point of vanishing.
'What kind of stories do those ghosts have, to be left behind in a place like that?'
The thought made her chest ache. It felt as if she could faintly sense their lingering emotions—sadness, resentment. But strangely, the mists soon dissolved, melting away like snow under the sun. Jina felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of relief.
'But Mr. Choi is different.'
Jina became conscious of the white mist behind her again. She felt none of the sadness or resentment she sensed from the others. He was so pure that his mere existence felt strikingly clear.
'He doesn't have any negative emotions at all. That’s actually kind of romantic.'
It was the moment she finally understood her brother’s words about how he had remained in this world solely out of love.
'I should find a cool guy who only thinks of me, too.'
Thinking that, Mr. Choi felt a little less awkward.
By the time they reached the distance where the school gate was visible, Jina muttered quietly, "Don't do anything weird." She passed through the gate, and the mist behind her hesitated for a moment before following her inside.
Then, the classroom.
As Jina opened the back door, the noisy chatter of the classroom died down as if by magic. The kids who were talking shut their mouths; those who were playing froze in place. Dozens of eyes locked onto her simultaneously, then scattered in every direction as if burned by something hot.
It was the result of the school’s invisible hierarchy being reshuffled. The kids who once looked at Jina like she was a bug—especially the ringleaders who had bullied her—now couldn't even meet her eyes, dodging her path.
In the awkward silence, someone spoke up, sounding hesitant.
"Um, Jina?"
Jina turned her head to see one of the members of the group that had bullied her most viciously, standing there with an awkward smile.
"I, I watched the Damyang broadcast. You and your brother were on it..."
The girl struggled to continue, holding out her phone screen. On it were images of Jina and Kang Jinwoo.
"People are saying it was all staged... but it was really amazing."
The girl gripped her phone tightly and looked up at Jina. What appeared in her eyes wasn't admiration or curiosity.
It was fear.
"...It wasn't staged, was it?"
The fear of someone who had personally witnessed a judgment beyond human common sense—something only those who had experienced it could understand—was written all over her face. But Jina had no desire to empathize with that fear now.
"I don't know."
She cut the conversation short, not even sparing the girl a glance.
"...Sorry."
The girl hesitated for a moment before returning to her seat. Jina indifferently set her bag down and sat at her desk.
Time flowed on, indifferent. Korean class ended, English class passed. Finally, it was math class, the last period before lunch.
"Alright, everyone, open your textbooks to page 85."
As the math teacher, dressed in a baggy dress, stood at the podium, Jina opened her book with an expressionless face.
'If I do this, they won't see me, right?'
She naturally stood the book up vertically to create her own little fortress and tilted her head slightly.
'Ugh, what on earth is that?'
There was a faint mist around the math teacher, too. A dark, murky mist.
Jina shifted her gaze to the white mist, to the corner of the classroom by the window where Mr. Choi stood. But a quick glance yielded no reaction.
"Ahem."
She cleared her throat to get his attention, then carefully pulled her phone out of her pocket. Hiding it behind the book on her desk, she opened her memo app.
Tap, tap.
Jina held her breath, staring at the screen. A moment later, letters began to appear.
'It worked!'
Jina clenched her fist without realizing it. But the next message threw her into confusion.
If it wasn't a soul, what was it? Mr. Choi’s next message was even more bizarre.
'Pregnant?'
Jina stared intently at the math teacher over her book. Because of the baggy dress, it was impossible to tell if her stomach was protruding. Furthermore, she didn't feel the typical aura of a pregnant person at all.
'Was her stomach always that big?'
Jina shook her head and typed.
After a moment of silence, a message appeared on the screen again.
Jina swallowed a gasp, her breath hitching. A red rope. The ominous image of it coiling inside a stomach and poking out of the body made her spine chill as it burned into her mind.
Ding-dong!
"Enjoy your lunch."
As the bell signaling the end of class rang, Jina quietly stood up and followed the math teacher.
"Hmm?"
The math teacher, Park Seonju, stopped and turned around, perhaps sensing someone behind her as she headed to the staff room.
"...Jina? Do you have something to say?"
Park Seonju sighed inwardly the moment she saw Jina’s face. It was undoubtedly a peer-relationship issue. Having recently learned of her pregnancy, she wanted to stay as far away from school stress as possible.
"Jina, don't you think it would be better if you tried to get along with your friends first?"
Park Seonju treated Jina with a tone that shifted responsibility, telling the victim to make the effort first. Naturally, Jina didn't like her.
'Should I just pretend I don't know?'
It had nothing to do with her, anyway. But what had the baby in her stomach done to deserve this? Having been saved thanks to her brother, she couldn't be another bystander.
Jina slowly raised her head and looked Park Seonju straight in the eye.
"Teacher, are you pregnant?"
"Uh...?"
Park Seonju’s eyes widened. She was clearly flustered. "How did you know? It's still early, I haven't told anyone."
"Teacher, I still hate you."
"..."
"But I don't hate your baby."
Jina added one last thing, leaving the flustered teacher behind.
"If anything strange happens, please make sure to contact me."
She hesitated for a moment, then emphasized, "Make sure."
With that, Jina turned and disappeared without a second thought.
'...What was that?'
Left alone, Park Seonju found herself carefully stroking her stomach.
That evening. Park Seonju sat across from her husband, Kim Minhyuk, at the dinner table. It was a simple meal as usual, but her heart felt uneasy throughout.
"Honey, something strange happened at school today."
Kim Minhyuk, who had been using his chopsticks, looked up. "What happened?"
"There's a student in my class named Kang Jina, she has a lot of problems. But she suddenly came up to me and..."
Park Seonju carefully recounted what happened. Kim Minhyuk thought for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Maybe you've gained a little weight lately and it showed."
"Is that so...?"
"Still, you're the prettiest to me."
Park Seonju tried to smile at her husband’s joke, but the discomfort in the corner of her heart remained. This baby had come after such a long wait. When she was about to give up after years of waiting, she had slept with a talisman her mother-in-law had gotten for her under her pillow, and soon after, she heard the news of her pregnancy. It was a miracle.
'Nothing will happen.'
But because it was a miracle that had come so easily, she felt all the more anxious. Park Seonju tried to forget Jina’s words and went to bed.
And that night, she had a terrible nightmare.
"No!"
A red rope appeared from somewhere, binding the tiger she had been caring for so dearly, and began to drag it away madly.
"No! No!"
Park Seonju desperately grabbed the rope and held on. Her hands felt like they were tearing, her arms like they were being ripped from their sockets, but she screamed and clung to the rope.
But she couldn't overcome that force.
"Grrr...!"
"No!"
The tiger, being dragged along, was eventually sucked into a black jar visible in the distance. The tiger’s cries grew smaller and smaller until they vanished completely.
And behind the jar.
"Finally, finally, it's in my hands!"
A shaman in white mourning clothes was looking down at the jar, laughing strangely.
"Gasp!"
Park Seonju woke up screaming. Her whole body was drenched in cold sweat, and her heart was pounding like crazy.
"Ah, it hurts..."
Her two arms, which had been pulling the rope in her dream, ached with a dull throb. The sensation in her arms made it impossible to dismiss Jina’s warning as mere nonsense.
Park Seonju picked up her phone with trembling hands. Two in the morning.
"...Thank you. Mr. Jeong."
It was late, but she called a colleague to get Jina’s contact information.
Ring, ring.
"H-hello? Is this Jina?"
"Yes, teacher."
"...Can I ask why you said that to me yesterday?"
The answer from the other end of the line froze Seonju’s heart.
"Your baby is in danger."
Thud.
Her grip loosened, and the phone fell onto the bed. Park Seonju stared blankly at the phone vibrating on the blanket, then picked it up again with trembling hands.
"What should I do? Please, tell me, Jina!"
But what she heard next wasn't Jina’s voice. It was a cold man’s voice.
"If your own child is precious, you should know that other people's children are precious, too. You have no conscience."
"W-who is this?"
"I'm Jina’s brother. I have no time to help, so I'm hanging up."
"W-wait!"
"Honey, what's going on?"
As Park Seonju cried out desperately, Kim Minhyuk, woken from his sleep, rubbed his eyes and sat up.
"Please, please help me! I was wrong! Please!"
"Honey! Who are you talking to on the phone!"
But Park Seonju seemed unable to hear her husband’s voice, clinging only to the phone and begging.
"I'll go right now. There is a condition."
"I'll pay you whatever you want!"
"I'll need to turn on an internet broadcast. If you don't like it, forget it."
"N-no! I understand!"
"Send me the address."
As soon as the call ended, Kim Minhyuk tried to soothe her. "Honey, you're sensitive because you're in the early stages of pregnancy. Don't let a nightmare..."
"Our baby is in danger!"
"Calm down, honey. What..."
"Shut up!"
At her firm, convinced words, Kim Minhyuk shut his mouth, his brow furrowed. It was the first time he had seen his wife so agitated.
Tick, tick.
Only the sound of the living room clock’s second hand filled the silence between them.
And then.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell broke the silence.
'Damn, what do I say?'
Kim Minhyuk headed to the front door in his pajamas. Checking the intercom screen, he saw a young man and a young girl standing there.
"Um, my wife is in the early stages of pregnancy, so she's a bit anxious..."
But the moment Kim Minhyuk opened the door and started to make excuses.
"Move."
The young man pushed past him lightly and stepped inside.
"Hey!"
Kim Minhyuk protested, but the young man ignored him and headed straight for the living room. He scanned the house, then asked in a low, heavy voice.
"What on earth did you bring into this house?"
"What? What do you mean..."
"What are you doing!"
As Park Seonju and Kim Minhyuk asked simultaneously, the young man spoke to the empty air instead of answering.
"Mr. Choi, you see it? Bring it here."
"W-what are you doing? Who are you talking to..."
Before Kim Minhyuk could finish his sentence.
Whoosh!
Something floated up from the bedroom and flew toward the living room. A yellow piece of paper. It was an old talisman covered in red writing.
"Eek!"
Park Seonju screamed at the sight of the floating talisman, and Kim Minhyuk stumbled backward.
The talisman landed perfectly in the young man’s hand.
"Your child’s soul has been dragged somewhere—where did you get this?"