ULAS 06

Chapter 6

A brief silence passed before the Red One suddenly threw both arms up and began bouncing on her feet.
She must have been trying to draw our attention, seeing how serious the air between me and Dan Seo-hyuk had gotten.

Neither of us, however, had the time or patience to care about her antics.

Clicking his tongue irritably, Dan Seo-hyuk finally muttered,

“Do whatever you want.”

I already was doing whatever I wanted, but still, I knew he only said it because he was worried about me — and I was grateful for that.

Well, yeah. He’s had too many run-ins with ghosts. Trusting one again must be hard for him.

He wasn’t the only one desperate for information. I was too.

The “Human Trafficker Ghost” was a massive urban legend — far too big for me to handle alone. I needed as much information as I could get.

So I held my phone out toward him. He glanced at it suspiciously, eyes sharp and annoyed.

“Give me your number.”

“Why.”

“You need info too, right? If I get any clues, I’ll share them.”

He turned his head away. Looked like a clear refusal. I was about to give up and pocket my phone when—

A large hand suddenly snatched it away like a thief.

“Send me your brother’s name to that number.”

He called the number — his own, apparently — then hung up and added,

“…If I find out anything, I’ll tell you too.”

Oh? So that means I’ve made it into Dan Seo-hyuk’s potential ally list, huh?

Well, I’m not even in the original story, so at best I’ll be ‘Informant #1.’

I nodded, saving the call log under the name “Dan Seo-hyuk.” Then something struck me, and I looked up.

“But we go to the same school, right? How come I’ve never seen you before?”

It was just innocent curiosity. With his looks and that unique surname, there’s no way he’d go unnoticed.

“I don’t go.”

What? He dropped out? I didn’t remember any mention of that in the original story.

“I don’t have the headspace for school.”

So basically, he just decided not to go.

“You’re insane.”

Even if he’s looking for his parents—

“You still have to graduate, you idiot!”

“Is that really important right now?”

“What do you think your parents will say when you finally find them? ‘Good job skipping school to find us’? Think they’ll pat you on the back for that?”

I smacked him hard on the back — the kind of disciplinary smack I used to give my kid brother. Never thought I’d be doing it to the main character.

His eyes went wide at the sudden hit.

“Huh? Well? Do you think your parents would want that?”

“Ah—!”

Smack!

“Finding your family is important, but that doesn’t mean you should throw everything else away!”

“You’re one to talk— Ah! Stop hitting me!”

Smack!!

Before he could argue, I delivered one last strike of justice.

“I’m going to attend school properly. Even if exam prep is too much, I’ll at least graduate.”

I didn’t know how the original story ended, but since this was my reality now — and Dan Seo-hyuk was standing right here — I figured I had to teach him how to face reality properly.

Especially for a regressor like him, that would be a hard but necessary lesson.

For now, step one: finish high school.

“School feeds you, gives you a bed if you’re in the dorms… Be honest. What are you eating and where are you sleeping lately?”

“That’s—!”

I ignored his flustered tone and pressed on.

“More importantly, being part of something means protection. You think you can do everything alone, but you still need help and safety — just like I do.”

Judging from his troubled face, something had sunk in.

[P… please don’t resort to violence…]

Red’s weak protest echoed down the alleyway.

* * *

Eventually, tired of my nonstop nagging, Dan Seo-hyuk snapped that I should mind my own business and stormed off.

Red, who had been covering her ears and watching us back and forth, also vanished, saying she’d come again later.

Guess I got too worked up.

A little embarrassing, but still — it was something he needed to hear.

I could still picture his angry expression and the awkward way he retreated.

He looks all grown up, but he’s still just a kid.

Reality’s brutal. If he doesn’t find his parents and ends up alone, who’s going to pity him?

‘I couldn’t graduate because I was looking for my parents’? Yeah, good luck getting sympathy for that.

I said it like I knew everything, but honestly, my only real-life experience came from a few years as a rookie office worker in my previous life.

If not for that, maybe I wouldn’t be any different from him.

With a sigh, I trudged back to the dorm.

I’d only signed out for a short outing, but since I came back after curfew, the night-duty teacher scolded me severely.

“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”

Even so, lying down on my bed felt heavenly.

I’d dozed off a bit in the elevator earlier, but now my body melted into the blankets.

I knew I should shower… but my eyes were already closing. If Dan Seo-hyuk were here, he’d probably freak out, calling me filthy.

In the novel, I thought he was the clean, cold, no-nonsense type…

But in person? Totally different. Short-tempered, impulsive — and yeah, that mouth of his causes all kinds of misunderstandings. Still… deep down, he’s got a kind heart.

…Doesn’t mean he’s any less annoying, though.

Yawning, I shut my eyes.

There’s still time before school starts.

Just a quick nap, I told myself, setting my alarm.

I was out like a light in seconds.

Ep. 2 — A Suspicious Free Giveaway

Jang Hyun-woo, a third-year student at Dongsan High, was killing time as usual during self-study period.

Games were boring, webtoons were stale.

He tapped around aimlessly on his phone until his thumb landed on the secondhand trading app. Not because he had anything to sell — just out of boredom.

Would be nice if someone gave out a free coffee coupon or something.

He was scrolling lazily through the listings when—

“Huh?”

—one particular post caught his eye.

[Title: Free Giveaway (+ 1,000 won)]

One thousand won? Why not just make it free then?

It looked like the seller had intended a free giveaway but changed their mind at the last minute.

Clicking his tongue, Hyun-woo opened the post anyway.

What’s so special that they’re charging for it?

Just curiosity.

[Title: Free Giveaway (+ 1,000 won)]
Content: “It’s a keyring plushie I got from a local claw machine. Was going to give it away for free, but a weird person messaged me, so now I’m asking 1,000 won.”
(Photo attached)

The photo looked ordinary enough — a small, black, furry plushie resting on a thin, pale woman’s palm.

Even through the picture, the plush’s fur gleamed. It was shaped like a hedgehog — round and plump, maybe too well-fed.

What the…?

There was something oddly captivating about it. Hyun-woo couldn’t take his eyes off the screen.

Guess some creep messaged her after seeing her hand in the picture.

Some pervert, probably. And of course, guys like that ruin it for everyone else.

Even if she’s charging 1,000 won, creeps will still come crawling.

Hyun-woo rubbed his chin, half bored, half intrigued.

Well, it is kinda cute the longer I look at it.

And since keyrings were in style these days— why not?