Cooperative Relationship (2)
Se-a was looking quite flustered. Was it because the woman calling out to me with clear irritation was someone she’d never seen before? That was definitely part of it, but the biggest problem was her appearance.
Whoa, an incredible beauty…! It wasn’t an exaggeration. It was real. Even Se-a, who was pretty confident in her own looks, would have to admit defeat. The woman approaching me with an annoyed expression possessed a beauty that turned heads. Rare snow-white hair, blue eyes that gave a distinctly Western impression, long model-like limbs, and a stunning figure. You’d believe it if someone said she was a trainee preparing to debut in the entertainment industry.
When a person like that spoke to me in such a familiar tone, Se-a couldn’t help but feel thrown off balance. She grew anxious, wondering when I had become close with someone like this without her knowing and what exactly our relationship was.
“Y-you’re not his girlfriend, right!?”
So she asked, blurting it out like an idiot, unable to hide her feelings. I gave her a look that basically said what the hell are you talking about?
“What girlfriend? Are you messing with me, Jeong Se-a?”
“N-no?”
“Of course not.”
Se-a let out a sigh of relief without realizing it. I was puzzled by her reaction, but the moment Seol-hwa arrived, I had to drop the thought.
“Why are you so late!”
“Ah, I was talking to her for a bit. Besides, I just walked slowly. I came right away.”
As I explained, I glanced at Se-a. It was so Seol-hwa could confirm I was telling the truth.
“Ah, yes. That’s right….”
Se-a played along and helped me out, but even while speaking she was feeling strange emotions toward the woman standing in front of her.
Has someone like this been around Se-hwan all this time?
If they had known each other for a long time, there was no way Se-a wouldn’t have seen her at least once. And even if she had, there was no way she would have forgotten. Seol-hwa’s appearance was simply unforgettable.
“Hello…?”
“Ah, hello. But who are you? Are you this guy’s friend?”
The casual way she called me “this guy” made Se-a think our relationship seemed closer than expected. The familiar tone she’d been using since earlier, plus the fact that I seemed so comfortable with her, made Se-a wonder exactly how long we had known each other.
And then.
“She’s my friend. Who else would she be?”
The biggest shock was how casual I sounded. Because of my constitution, I usually kept some distance from people. There weren’t many I spoke to this comfortably. Aside from Se-a herself, there was my friend Bae Ju-hyuk and a few other familiar male classmates. Yet here I was, talking so easily with a woman she had never seen before. Se-a couldn’t hide her bewilderment.
“You have a pretty friend like this? Don’t lie.”
“…Is there a rule that says I can’t?”
Se-a looked slightly flustered.
Pretty? Hearing a compliment on her appearance from someone who was genuinely beautiful felt strangely complicated. It felt good, but the fact that this beautiful person seemed so close to me created an odd feeling.
In the end, Se-a couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer.
“So… did you meet recently?”
“…Yeah, that’s right. We met recently.”
“H-how?”
“Um, online?”
“Huh?”
I said, “I play games, you know.”
“What does that have to do with… Oh, you met a gaming friend in real life?”
“Yeah. She lived nearby, so we decided to meet up, and it turned out to be her.”
Of course, these were all excuses I had quickly come up with, but Se-a had no way of knowing that. Seol-hwa looked confused for a second before catching on and playing along.
“That’s right. We promised to play games together after his classes.”
“Ah… I see.”
What was her name? How long had they known each other? Did “nearby” mean she lived in the Gupo-dong area where I currently resided? Se-a’s head was filled with questions about Seol-hwa.
“Wh-what game did you say you play again?”
“Why are you stuttering? It’s PlanetCraft.”
“Ah~ that one. You’re still playing it?”
“You still play that fossil of a game?”
The last remark came from Seol-hwa. Both Se-a and I froze at the same time. Even Seol-hwa, who had spoken without thinking, looked slightly flustered.
“Uh… well, it’s an old game but it’s still pretty fun, you know?”
She tried to add an excuse after the fact, but unless Se-a was an idiot, there was no way she wouldn’t notice. Se-a slowly turned her head to look at me.
“…Didn’t you say you were playing games together?”
At Se-a’s question, I slightly turned my head away.
“You… you just lied to me…!”
“…There are circumstances I can’t talk about. Hey, Baek Seol-hwa. Hurry up and start the engine.”
“Uh, umm….”
Seol-hwa went to start the bike she had parked on the shoulder, and I let out a small sigh as I looked at Se-a.
“The person you said was going to help you earlier… is her?”
“…Yeah.”
Since it had come to this, I decided I had no choice but to be honest and quietly nodded.
“Is she an exorcist? Then why lie? You could have just told me.”
I couldn’t look Se-a directly in the eyes.
Because she’s not an exorcist, that’s why…
How could I tell a friend who worried about my exorcism activities, “I’m going around with a yokai”? Even if I had ten mouths, I couldn’t say those words. After thinking about how to explain it, I came up with a good idea.
“She asked me to keep it a secret.”
“Huh?”
“We exorcists usually don’t reveal our identities if we can help it.”
It was to eliminate any possibility of retaliation. Sometimes the exorcism process itself created grudges.
“We can’t go around telling normal people ‘I’m an exorcist.’ So….”
“Ah… so that’s why?”
“Yeah.”
In truth, hiding it or not from normal people didn’t really matter. Ordinary people might think it was strange, but it wouldn’t cause any problems.
“We decided to start working together today.”
“…Starting today?”
“Yeah, that’s why I was waiting.”
Se-a seemed to understand the relationship between me and Seol-hwa. It was like a colleague relationship for exorcism work. At least it wasn’t the kind of relationship Se-a had been anxiously imagining, but that somehow made her even more uneasy.
If they’re colleagues, they’ll end up getting really close, right…?
That was always how it went in media that emphasized camaraderie. Sometimes the man and woman even developed into lovers.
And of all people, she’s incredibly beautiful….
She had the kind of appearance that could easily make me fall for her, and it was possible for their colleague relationship to develop further.
What should I do?
That was the thought running through Se-a’s mind.
“We’re going. Get home safely.”
“Ah? Oh, yeah! Have a safe trip!”
But no matter what, Se-a couldn’t stop me. She couldn’t hold me back like she used to, insisting we should hang out together. Saying that now would be…
“……Take care of yourself.”
“I will. Thanks.”
Because we weren’t the same as we used to be anymore.
“Hey.”
Baek Seol-hwa, who was driving the bike, suddenly spoke up.
“What?”
“Your friend. What’s her name?”
“Jeong Se-a.”
“How long have you known her?”
Why the sudden background check? There was no reason I couldn’t answer, so I replied readily.
“Since middle school.”
“So you really were friends?”
…She was still doubting that?
“What made you think we weren’t friends?”
“You may look decent on the outside, but you’re too ordinary.”
This girl really says whatever comes to mind… It was true, but it was still harsh. No matter what, there was such a thing as the listener’s feelings. But whether I made a sullen face or not, Seol-hwa was looking forward and couldn’t see it. She continued speaking while staring ahead.
“That Se-a girl looks pretty at first glance, and she seems like the type who gets along with everyone, right?”
“…You’re exactly right.”
“I have a good eye, you know~.”
“Is this the power of age?”
“Want to die?”
…I didn’t even say anything wrong.
“…So where are we going anyway?”
“Oh, right. I can use the gallery after all.”
“Huh?”
“The one who got banned was the fixed nickname ‘SnowFlower,’ not the IP. When I logged in as a guest, it let me in.”
“Ah.”
That made sense. The original site worked that way too.
“So I wrote a post.”
…She couldn’t even wait that long? I was thinking how impressive she was when Seol-hwa suddenly spoke with irritation.
“You’re thinking I’m a gallery addict again, aren’t you?”
Is she a gumiho or a mind reader?
“No.”
“…It feels like you are.”
“I said I’m not.”
“I didn’t write it to mess around in the gallery. I wrote it to listen to people’s stories.”
So that’s what it was. Anyway, if Seol-hwa had posted something, our work would become much easier. I asked her what the results were like.
“So? How did it go?”
“I don’t know.”
“Huh?”
“I haven’t checked yet. I wrote it and you arrived before I could look at the comments. So take a look for me.”
“Ah, okay.”
I wrapped one arm around Seol-hwa’s waist and used the other hand to turn on my phone. Seol-hwa slowed the bike down and drove carefully so I wouldn’t fall off.
When I opened the Ghost Gallery app, the familiar login screen appeared. As soon as I logged in, I looked for the post Seol-hwa must have written.
[First Time in the Gallery, Can Someone Teach a Newbie?][15]
[Where in the World Would There Be a Memorial Table Without Meat?][35]
[I Want to Play Games][2]
[The Important Thing Is an Unyielding Heart][8]
[Ghost House Volunteer Work, Thoughts?][17]
“Huh?”
Among the various posts, one caught my eye and I clicked on it as if possessed.
I burst out laughing immediately.
“…Pfft!”
“What are you doing?”
“No, this is hilarious.”
“Stop messing around in the gallery and look for it!”
Oh, right.
“Then you have to tell me the title.”
“I wrote ‘I’ll Listen to Your Stories.’”
“Simple enough.”
When I searched for “stories” in the search bar, several posts came up. I also saw the fixed nickname “SnowFlower” that I hadn’t seen in a while. Among them, the post Seol-hwa had just written was near the top. The comments…
“Oh, there are a few.”
About four comments had been left. The reaction wasn’t particularly hot, so it seemed she hadn’t been caught as SnowFlower. Since other authors besides SnowFlower showed up when searching for “stories,” it looked like Seol-hwa wasn’t the only yokai who gained spiritual energy this way.
I don’t know if it’s because they’re as pure and kind as her, but…
Once again, I realized that not all yokai were out to harm people. I clicked on the post to check the comments.
Aside from one, all three seemed to be spirits with concerns. I asked Seol-hwa.
“About three people asked you to listen to their stories.”
“Where?”
“One says they’re in Daegu so that’s too far… The other two didn’t write their location.”
“Ask them.”
“It’ll look suspicious if I use my IP.”
“My phone’s in my jacket pocket. Take it out and draw the pattern.”
How was I supposed to know her phone pattern?
“Just draw three lines straight on the right side.”
“…Simple. But didn’t I just say nothing?”
“You didn’t. You wouldn’t know unless I told you.”
…She had a point. Her senses really were sharp. I put my own phone away and reached into her jacket pocket as instructed. The phone was there. I entered the pattern she told me, launched the Ghost Gallery app on her screen, and went into the post she had written.
“Should I ask if they’re in Busan?”
“Don’t reveal it right away. First just ask where they live.”
“Got it.”
I left comments for the other two as Seol-hwa instructed. Soon, one of them replied immediately.
“They say they’re in Haeundae-gu.”
“Okay, we should head there. Tell them we’re coming.”
“How are we going to get the exact location?”
“We’ll go to Haeundae-gu first and then ask through an open chat.”
She clearly wasn’t new at this. I left a comment for now.
When we arrived in Haeundae-gu, we parked the bike in an alley for a moment. Seol-hwa immediately turned on her phone and seemed to be chatting with the spirit through comments. She then created an open chat right away.
“By the way.”
“Yeah?”
“How does a spirit even use a phone?”
It was a question that suddenly occurred to me. Yokai were still living beings, so they could touch and use phones, but spirits couldn’t do that. After all, the reason we describe ghosts as being able to pass through walls isn’t for nothing. Spirits basically remain in this world but aren’t part of it, which causes that phenomenon. They had become bodies unbound by the obstacles of the physical world. Therefore, it was only natural they couldn’t touch phones that existed in the physical world. So how were they using the gallery?
“From what I’ve heard, some kind of window appears for them.”
“Huh?”
“You know how in novels and comics there’s often something like a ‘status window’? It’s apparently similar to that. They say it lets them use the gallery, take pictures, chat, and do all sorts of things.”
…Even the spirits had fully embraced IT. Had the King of the Underworld started the fifth industrial revolution after the fourth? If the exorcists heard about this, they’d probably faint from shock.
“Spirits these days seem to live pretty comfortably, huh?”
“I guess so. Anyway, did you get in touch?”
“Yeah.”
Seol-hwa turned off her phone screen and told me.
“It’s in Udong.”
Not the noodle dish. Anyone from around here would understand it referred to combining the most famous neighborhoods in Haeundae-gu: U1, U2, and U3-dong.
“Where exactly?”
“Centum City.”
They must have lived in a pretty nice area when they were alive.
“L-let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
Seol-hwa drove the bike a little further, and we finally arrived at Centum City. Even though I came here fairly often, the bustling atmosphere still hit hard. Maybe it was because of the BEXCO convention center, a facility you wouldn’t normally see in regular commercial districts… It gave off an even stronger feeling.
“Where to now?”
“Follow me. We’re going to park the bike in a parking lot for a bit.”
Not knowing the way, I followed where Seol-hwa led. She guided me between some fairly tall buildings, then suddenly turned into an alley.
“…Here?”
“Yeah. It’d be inconvenient if people saw us.”
Still, it felt a bit too much like a back alley. Sandwiched between tall buildings, almost no sunlight reached here. Maybe because she was a yokai, she wasn’t scared at all.
“We’re supposed to meet here…”
“I should take a look too.”
I lightly touched the silver necklace. My vision changed completely, and things that had been invisible before came into view. Especially…
“Hey, move your tail out of the way.”
“What?”
Nine fluffy tails that looked like they would feel incredibly soft were completely blocking my view.
“I can’t see.”
“……Can’t you make it so only the spirit is visible?”
“There’s no convenient system like that.”
Seol-hwa moved her tails as if she had no choice. The nine tails that had been spread out gathered together in a fascinating way. One remaining tail still slightly obstructed my view, but it was much better than before.
“Now I can see properly. We just have to wait for the one we’re meeting.”
“Yeah. We agreed to meet here but they haven’t arrived yet.”
“Hey, isn’t that them over there?”
At that moment, I saw a spirit entering the alley from the other side. I could tell immediately it was a spirit because everything below their knees gradually became transparent until there was nothing there. Seol-hwa turned that way, waved lightly, and said,
“Are you Mr. Si-hyuk?”
“Ah, yes….”
It was a male spirit who looked fairly young, but older than me. He seemed like the age of someone who would have worked at an ordinary company while alive. Even now as a spirit, he was wearing a suit.
Seol-hwa greeted him warmly.
“Hello, I’m Baek Seol-hwa.”
“I’m Yoo Se-hwan.”
“Um… the person here looks like an ordinary living person. Is that correct…?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
He was slightly wary of me. It was a natural reaction. A living person had seen a spirit and greeted him, so of course he would find it strange. I needed to reassure him that I had come to help.
“I’m the person who helps this girl. So I’ve also come to resolve your lingering attachment.”
“Ah… I see. My name is Seong Si-hyuk.”
After the simple introductions, we decided to get straight to the point.
“You said you don’t know what your lingering attachment is, right, Mr. Si-hyuk?”
“I skimmed through the gallery and it said there’s a reason souls remain in this world, but I don’t know what it is… I feel like I’m almost forcibly tied here.”
“Then we just need to find that attachment.”
It was unusual for a spirit not to know their own lingering attachment, but such cases did happen occasionally. It included events right before death or cases where they had lost some of their memories from when they were alive. Usually, there was one common reason for these situations.
“Mr. Seong Si-hyuk?”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry to ask this, but it would help if you could answer. Do you remember how you died?”
Seong Si-hyuk’s eyes widened. He thought for a moment, then muttered as if something was strange.
“Huh… now that you mention it, I don’t remember.”
Just as I thought. In most cases where someone became a spirit after losing some memories from their life, including the moment of their death…
“That’s odd. Usually people remember what happened when they died.”
“…It’s because of a head injury.”
“What?”
It was a case where he had suffered a serious wound to the head, damaging the brain, and died.