Chapter 61
I didn’t reply to the quick-service ghost.
It felt awkward to text a ghost, and he didn’t seem like he expected a reply anyway.
Still, thank goodness. I was afraid I might’ve meddled for nothing.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I got up from bed. I washed up quickly and changed into my school uniform—then froze.
…What do I do about this?
The writing on my leg, which had previously reached down to my calves, had now crawled up to the middle of my thigh.
I thought everything had been resolved when I escaped the nightmare where the keychain’s former owner was trapped.
“Millie, is this really dangerous?”
[It’s fine for now.]
“…Is there a way to remove it?”
[Not possible at the moment.]
Tsk.
I guess I should take comfort in the fact that at least it’s not immediately life-threatening.
“Thanks for telling me.”
It wasn’t a very helpful answer, honestly, but I didn’t want to show that to Millie.
I rely on Millie for a lot—my spiritual sight, and everything else.
Receiving that much help just because I resemble someone he used to know felt excessive.
I wanted to know what kind of person that had been—what they meant to him, for him to treat me like this simply because I resembled them.
But would he ever tell me?
I pulled on black stockings.
The colder weather gave me an excuse to cover my legs naturally.
At least it’s lucky I don’t have a roommate right now.
My eyes drifted to the empty bed opposite mine.
I hadn’t been close to that girl originally, and she rarely came back to the dorm, so I never paid much attention.
But this time, she’d been absent unusually long.
Did something happen?
Lately, my mind immediately jumped to ghost-related possibilities.
If something had truly happened, there would’ve been rumors at school, so probably not.
I heard she hangs out with delinquent kids all night long. Even her parents and teachers gave up on her.
She always looked intimidating, but she never bothered me.
She ignored me when I greeted her, though.
“Hm.”
Then again, am I in any position to worry about someone else?
I shook my head hard to push away the messy thoughts and left the dorm.
“It’s freezing!”
A sharp wind slapped my cheek.
Even with a big hoodie over my uniform, it was cold.
Since Yuchae usually waited in the classroom unless she texted otherwise, I headed to school alone.
There weren’t many students on the street yet—it was too early.
Maybe I feel weird because I was always with ghosts lately.
It felt strangely empty not having Dan Seo-hyeok or Tak Yeon-ho beside me.
I fiddled with the hem of my clothes and looked around for no reason.
Through the bare winter branches, the sky looked brilliantly blue.
Machoha’s words surfaced: how winter air always felt uniquely refreshing.
No updates from Aunt since then.
Well, of course.
No human could follow the trail of something done by a ghost.
She probably didn’t contact me because she was afraid I’d worry upon hearing they couldn’t find Machoha.
…Do Mom and Dad know?
While my parents were abroad, my aunt was essentially my guardian.
Machoha had been missing long enough that surely the police had contacted my parents.
Maybe they even shared details that they couldn’t tell me.
But the strange part:
If they did know about Machoha’s disappearance…
why didn’t they contact me at all?
Is it because I didn’t reach out first?
We weren’t the type of family to communicate often unless something big happened…
But even so, this felt wrong.
Did Aunt tell them not to contact me?
That was the most likely possibility.
She probably told them she already explained things to me, so they shouldn’t worry the stressed exam student any further.
Honestly, Aunt, I’m more stressed now, so that backfired.
My heart felt heavy.
I didn’t want to worry them…
They left partly for work, but mostly because my maternal grandmother’s health had deteriorated rapidly.
Mom must be under so much stress.
I just hoped Dad was taking care of her.
I wanted to find Machoha quickly and pretend nothing had happened.
But now that plan was ruined.
Should I call them first?
But then—
What do I even say to Mom…?
“Sigh.”
“What’s wrong? You’re going to make a hole in the ground with that sigh.”
A voice behind me made me spin around.
Dan Seo-hyeok stood there, head tilted, looking down at me.
“Why are you here?”
“Is there any reason I can’t be on my way to school?”
He spoke like I had bought exclusive rights to the road.
If it weren’t for me, this guy wouldn’t even be attending school right now!
“That’s not what I meant. The boys’ dorm isn’t this way.”
“Morning jog.”
Wearing a uniform?
Right before school?
…Really?
“You’re weird.”
He walked ahead, and I followed, stifling a laugh.
He glanced sideways at me.
“Why’d you rush off so suddenly yesterday?”
“Oh, the quick-service ghost said he was looking for his daughter.”
“Daughter?”
“Yeah. He had cute drawings on his helmet and motorcycle, and his keychain was adorable. I thought he had a little kid at home. So I made small talk to lighten the mood.”
Seo-hyeok stared at me like Why would you talk casually with a ghost?
He shook his head.
“He had a daughter? Then she would probably look different now from how he remembers.”
“That’s what I thought too. But yesterday, when I saw the hide-and-seek ghost…
I kept remembering things the quick-service ghost said.”
Seo-hyeok’s eyes widened slightly.
Like that possibility hadn’t even crossed his mind.
“Don’t tell me that ghost was his daughter?”
“I had a feeling, so I told the quick-service ghost. Based on the thank-you text he sent this morning, I think I was right?”
“…Wow.”
He looked at me like he couldn’t believe it.
Amazing, right?
Even a regressor didn’t know this—I felt pretty proud.
He clicked his tongue at the way I puffed my chest a little.
“…Anyway. Meddling again. So, since the sun was up and you couldn’t see the ghost anymore, why’d you rush like that?”
“Oh—Spring. It’s her birthday soon. He said he wanted to give her a toy microphone. She likes singing.”
Thinking about the hide-and-seek ghost made me feel like I needed to hurry, so my anxiety had spiked.
I murmured that last part, worried he’d mock me.
A gift for a ghost?
After everything?
Wouldn’t he snap at me?
“…Really.”
He stared at me, then turned his gaze away, muttering almost too quietly to hear:
“You always do things I never expect.”
“…Is that an insult?”
“No. Well, it’s not exactly praise either.”
He looked at me again.
“I just find your choices interesting.”
What did that mean?
“Choices? Oh… you mean how I deal with ghosts?”
“Yeah. You do things I’d never even think of.”
So basically:
He’s saying my behavior is so different from his that it’s fascinating.
But he’s a multiple-regressor—he’s never had something like this happen?
Well, true.
Dan Seo-hyeok isn’t the type to talk to ghosts.
I rolled my eyes.
“I don’t get it.”
I said honestly.
I couldn’t pretend to know anything about regression.
He didn’t explain further.
He simply shrugged, like don’t worry about it.
“So… does that mean I annoy you?”
“…Honestly, at first, yeah. But now…
I’m curious enough that I want to keep watching you.
Because you do things I’d never do.”
Helping ghosts.
He exhaled like the idea itself exhausted him.
I recalled the original Seo-hyeok.
Cold, calculating—using ghosts for power and abandoning them once he no longer needed them.
But really, anyone would be like that.
I only helped the quick-service ghost because he helped me first… I’m not generous toward everyone.
The hide-and-seek ghost was scary, but he didn’t harm me, and he was just a poor child.
That was all.
Feeling embarrassed, I scratched my head.
Seo-hyeok walked past me and muttered:
“That’s why I want to see where your path leads.”
“…Huh? Ew, cheesy. Since when do you say stuff like that?”
“It just means watching from the sidelines isn’t so bad.”
Then he strode ahead.
Watching from the sidelines…
That sounds like he intends to stay with me for a while…?
No way.
In the original, he was always alone.
There’s no way he’d open up to me this quickly.
It probably meant nothing.
I hurried to catch up with his long strides.
He walked so fast!
No consideration for someone with shorter legs!
Pouting, I pulled out my phone to check the time—but right then, a new message came in.
Sender: Jang Hyun-woo
<Hyunwoo: Choyeon, can you help me?>
<Hyunwoo: Something’s weird.>
<Hyunwoo: After you left, the keychain disappeared and things were okay for a bit, but…>
<Hyunwoo: It’s happening again.>
<Hyunwoo: (photo attached)>
<Hyunwoo: The hospital feels weird and there are strange letters on my hand.ㅠㅠ No one else can see them. Can you see them?>
The photo showed Hyun-woo’s left palm.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
Since I’d stopped walking in shock, Seo-hyeok leaned over and looked at the screen.
He frowned instantly.
Strange symbols were written on Hyun-woo’s hand.
The same symbols that were written on my leg.
But more horrifying was what appeared between his fingers—
Mud-white, cloudy eyes.
The keychain ghost.
