Confessions of a Vengeful Ghost
While I was briefly away, Seol-hwa stayed with Jin Chae-young, who couldn't even move, and thought it over carefully. 'She's still before turning into an evil spirit.'
She was just a vengeful spirit, not yet a full malevolent one. She hadn't hurt any innocent people, and although she'd tried to take over a body, it had ended as an attempt. All of Seol-hwa's experiences listening to spirits' worries and helping them move on without regrets pushed her toward the idea that there was no need to go as far as exorcism. Besides, this girl was still a young spirit. Not a child, but at barely twenty, society would still call her young. She believed they could resolve things through conversation.
"Hey."
"...What."
"Um, I'm not trying to pry, but... if you're okay with it, could you tell me your story?"
There had to be a reason behind her becoming a vengeful spirit. Most of the vengeful spirits Seol-hwa had met kept the wounds in their hearts hidden from others. Those piled-up scars would fester inside until, even after their bodies found rest, they couldn't let go of their lingering attachments and wandered the living world.
Seol-hwa planned to listen to Jin Chae-young's story and offer the right words of comfort. Once it was clear she had no chance of turning into a malevolent ghost, Se-hwan wouldn't consider annihilating her.
"My story? Why are you even curious?"
"Keeping worries bottled up inside isn't good for you. I thought I could at least listen if you wanted to talk."
"...You wouldn't understand anyway."
"That guy from earlier is human, so it's hard for him to empathize with us... but I'm not, right? I'm the same kind of being as you."
Seol-hwa offered a gentle smile.
"If you want, I'll listen. If it's uncomfortable, you don't have to say anything."
"......"
Jin Chae-young stayed quiet for a moment. After wrestling with herself, she carefully opened her mouth.
"Can you really understand me?"
"Yeah, of course."
Seol-hwa felt confident. The spirits she'd spoken with had always praised her for being a good listener and she had comforted many regret-filled hearts. She'd done exactly that just a little while ago.
"...I hanged myself."
Jin Chae-young's first words carried a jolt. Seol-hwa had wondered how someone so young had died, but she never imagined it was suicide.
'So she was doomed to become a vengeful spirit from the start.'
Choosing death herself meant she'd been driven into a corner with no other way out. Having regrets about a life like that was only natural. Most souls who took their own lives ended up as vengeful spirits.
"......Why?"
"I felt worthless. When I found out the one person who made life worth living was looking at another woman instead of me... it was too pathetic."
Seol-hwa's expression twisted with sympathy. Jin Chae-young's voice was so flat and empty, like someone who had already given up on everything.
'She mentioned cheating, right.'
Seol-hwa could roughly piece together what had happened. With a heavy heart, she asked, "How long had you known that boy?"
"...A little over a year, I guess."
"Not exactly a long-time relationship, then. So how did you meet?"
"He reached out to me first. I was in trouble, and even though people were around, no one helped. Only Jae-woong... only he helped me."
Seol-hwa found it slightly surprising. 'So he wasn't a bad guy from the beginning?'
Then how had things gone so wrong? Curious, she asked, "Did you start dating after that?"
"Not right away... but later I confessed first."
"Wow, that's bold."
"...Thanks. After that, I always waited for him after class and packed lunches for him every day."
"That was really devoted."
Seol-hwa thought that if she had a girlfriend like that, she'd be happy too. So why had Seo Jae-woong cheated on someone who cared that much?
"Even after you did all that, he still cheated? That's horrible."
"...That's why I wondered what the hell I'd been doing. The self-loathing hit me so hard that... in a fit of anger, I just......"
"I see......"
Seol-hwa gazed at her with pity. Right as she was thinking how tragic the story was, she suddenly remembered what Jin Chae-young had said earlier when Se-hwan was present.
"But why did you tell Yoo Se-hwan that the boy probably wouldn't know your name? No matter how awful he is... there's no way he'd forget a girlfriend who showed him that much devotion. He's gone to confront him for you, so you could've just told him the truth."
"......"
"He might seem a little dense, but he's surprisingly determined. I bet he'll bring the guy to you after talking to him properly."
"......No."
"Huh?"
Seol-hwa had only asked out of mild curiosity, but Jin Chae-young took it differently. She suddenly grew agitated, breathing hard as if cornered, and spoke in a frantic rush.
"We really, really were dating. I treated Jae-woong so well. I confessed first, waited for him after every class......"
"Yeah, I know. You just told me."
"Y-yes... I, I'm his girlfriend! Even if Jae-woong was too embarrassed to make it official yet......"
"...What?"
Even innocent Seol-hwa sensed something was off. The part about "not official" that slipped out in her excitement felt completely wrong.
"Didn't you say Seo Jae-woong cheated on you? Then why are you saying you weren't dating..."
Jin Chae-young's eyes widened at Seol-hwa's absent mutter.
"No... no, no......"
Seol-hwa stared in shock. Naive as she was, she wasn't stupid. Putting together everything Jin Chae-young had said with that strange slip... the picture became painfully clear.
"You......"
With wide eyes, Seol-hwa asked the question she already half-knew the answer to. "You never actually dated that boy, did you?"
Jin Chae-young, who had been nothing more than a vengeful ghost moments ago, had now fully become a malevolent one. The change was startling.
"You... I won't let you get away with this. If it weren't for you, I..."
Why had she suddenly turned like this...
The phone in my pocket buzzed with a notification. It was a message from Jeong Se-a, the one I'd just parted ways with.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket and looked at the malevolent ghost before me.
"Did you think that if you took over that girl's body, Seo Jae-woong would finally be yours?"
"!"
"That was never going to happen. If you don't change, what difference would a new face make?"
The words must have struck home. The malevolent Jin Chae-young screamed like she was having a seizure.
"Nooooo!!!!"
"Hey, stop right there! What the hell are you doing to innocent kids?!"
A voice shouting from the broken window caught my attention. I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw who it was.
"I was worried something had happened because I couldn't see you."
It was Baek Seol-hwa. Guess my worry had been pointless after all. I'd been concerned when I couldn't spot her near the malevolent spirit, but it turned out to be unnecessary.
"Hey! Baek Seol-hwa!"
"Huh? Yoo Se-hwan! Hurry up and stop her! She's going to swallow up kids who didn't even do anything wrong!"
"What did you do to make her turn into a malevolent ghost all of a sudden?"
"I didn't do anything! I just listened to her story...!"
"...That's exactly what did it."
"......Ah, no!"
So that's why. The soft-hearted yokai had stuck her nose where it didn't belong, and it had poked at Jin Chae-young's conscience.
"None of you... I won't let any of you get away with this. Everyone who gets between me and Jae-woong... I'll turn you all into this."
Jin Chae-young made a show of swallowing the spirit she'd been holding. Baek Seol-hwa's face twisted in anger.
"This bitch really...!"
"Baek Seol-hwa, stay back! I'll handle this!"
It was better if I took care of it than if she revealed her yoki. The windows had all shattered from this thing's yeong-gi alone. If Seol-hwa started fighting with her full power, there was no telling what kind of damage we'd see.
"There are way too many people these days who only act based on their own feelings."
"Shut up......!"
"I suppose that's possible. As long as it isn't criminal, everyone has different personalities. But you still shouldn't hurt others. If we hadn't found you, you would've caused irreversible damage not just to Seo Jae-woong but to that female student too. All because you only cared about how you felt."
I pulled the talisman from my pocket. The familiar sensation after so many years felt unpleasant, but it couldn't be helped. This was my responsibility.
"There's no room for sympathy for a malevolent ghost like you."
"Shut up!!"
Maybe she didn't want to hear any more. The malevolent spirit's arm shot out, stretching unnaturally long. It was unbelievably fast, faster than human eyes could track.
"Urk...!"
"Hey, hey!? Why the hell would you just stand there and get hit by something so obvious?!"
It wrapped around my neck in an instant. Baek Seol-hwa, watching from the window, panicked.
"Ugh, I'll just do it myself!!"
...That idiot was about to ruin everything again.
"Kuh..."
I needed to finish this before she revealed her yoki. I'd known the attack was coming and let it hit on purpose. It hurt like hell for a moment, but it brought the malevolent ghost's body close enough.
I quickly slapped the talisman onto the hand gripping my throat.
"!"
"Lightning Strike Talisman"
⟨ Thunder ⟩
The single syllable scraped out of my choked throat.
"......Thunder."
The characters on the talisman blazed with light. And then—
KWAAAAAANG!!!
Lightning crashed down from a clear sky.
No matter how powerful the malevolent ghost had become in that moment, she couldn't withstand a talisman optimized for spiritual strikes—one strong enough to wound even a Great Yokai. Jin Chae-young's grotesque, enlarged form after devouring the other spirits was now charred black. Not a trace of yeong-gi remained in her soul.
The hand gripping my neck vanished along with the rest of her. I could finally breathe again.
Damn... my neck was definitely going to bruise.
"Yoo Se-hwan! Are you okay?!"
"......"
My throat hurt too much to speak, so I circled both arms to signal I was fine. Baek Seol-hwa understood and didn't press further. She disappeared from the window, apparently coming down. A moment later she came running down the stairs and grabbed my shoulders, shaking them hard.
"Hey! Are you insane?! What if you'd died doing that?!"
"Ow, that hurts."
"Of course it hurts!!"
"You idiot, it's hurting because you're shaking me."
"Ah."
Baek Seol-hwa quickly let go. The girl was shaking my shoulders when my neck was injured.
"...What happened to her?"
"What do you mean? She's been annihilated."
"No, I mean before that. After talking to her... it seemed like she never actually dated that Seo Jae-woong guy."
"Yeah, this happened because you did something unnecessary. You should've just watched quietly instead of poking at her."
"......Ugh."
Baek Seol-hwa looked guilty. At least she knew she'd messed up and didn't try to make excuses.
"I don't know how much you heard, but it was pure one-sided obsession. From what I gathered, Seo Jae-woong never actually gave her permission to do any of that. He politely rejected her confession too."
"...It probably started as gratitude, but that feeling got twisted beyond recognition."
"Gratitude?"
"She said no one else would help her when she was in trouble, but he did. I think that's when her feelings started..."
...So there had been a trigger like that. Not that it earned her any sympathy. If anything, I felt sorrier for Seo Jae-woong, who had helped her only to be treated like that.
"That's... sad."
Baek Seol-hwa's voice was full of pity. She wasn't defending the girl's actions, just lamenting the broken mental state that had led to them.
"Collect her spiritual energy."
"You're the one who annihilated her. There's nothing left to collect."
...Right. When you destroy a spirit with a talisman, the spiritual energy disappears too.
"...Then we'll have to go purify her after all."
"What, is it suddenly too much trouble now?"
"I didn't say that. I'll head out after class. I keep my promises."
I still had another class after the liberal arts lecture I'd skipped. I needed to attend that one, at least.
"......Sigh."
Baek Seol-hwa let out a sudden sigh. When I looked over, she pulled a neatly folded scarf from her pocket and wrapped it around my neck.
"What are you doing?!"
"How are you going to sit through class looking like that? It's covered in hand-shaped bruises."
"Uh..."
"I know guys don't usually wear scarves, but just pretend you have a cold."
She had a point. Showing up like this would shock the professor and every student in the room. Baek Seol-hwa tied the scarf loosely and stepped back.
"...Thanks."
"If it's uncomfortable, wrap a bandage around it later. Anyone who sees those marks is going to freak out."
"I'll do that."
I touched the scarf covering my neck. I hadn't even thought of it, so the fact that she had made me genuinely grateful.
"See you later."
"Yeah."
Baek Seol-hwa walked off, probably heading to wherever she'd parked her bike.
"Guess I should get ready for the next class."
The vengeful ghost incident at school ended without any major damage aside from the broken windows. As for those broken windows...
"...I didn't do it, so it's not my problem."