ULAS 73

Chapter 73

“…Does that mean they passed away?”

Dan Seohyeok asked in a calmer voice than I’d expected.

Meanwhile, I had no idea what to say. I couldn’t stop trembling, wondering if I’d asked an unnecessary question.

Then someone gently stroked my back—a soothing touch, as if to say it was okay.

You’re the one who should be receiving comfort right now.

Dan Seohyeok was strangely considerate in the oddest moments. This was the kind of situation where he should’ve been thinking about himself first.

Idiot.

[To put it plainly, their survival cannot be confirmed.]

[If you wish, we can investigate further.]

Judging by the way the Quick Service Ghost turned toward me, “you” seemed to refer to me.

“Please do.”

I answered immediately. Whether the original story got derailed or not didn’t matter—finding Dan Seohyeok’s parents was more important.

“Dan Seohyeok.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure they’re safe.”

“You haven’t even found your own sibling yet, and you’re worrying about others?”

Dan Seohyeok let out a small, incredulous laugh. I snapped back irritably, wondering how he could even laugh right now.

“Since when are we ‘others’?”

A crack appeared in Dan Seohyeok’s cold, expressionless face. He stared at me blankly, eyes wide in surprise—it was a look I wasn’t used to seeing.

“……”
“……”

Now that I’d said it, maybe I’d gone too far?!

I hurriedly added an explanation.

“I mean, we’re comrades stuck in the same situation, right? We should support each other!”

“Ah.”

Only then did Dan Seohyeok relax his expression.

“That’s… reassuring.”

His tone, however, lacked any real conviction.

I meant it sincerely.

Jerk.

Anyway, we left the matter of Dan Seohyeok’s parents to the Quick Service Ghost.

In the meantime, we agreed to deal with Machohae first, since his identity could be confirmed.

“So it’s certain that Chohae is at the underground auction house, right?”

The Quick Service Ghost nodded.

“That’s strange. The reason I came here in the first place was because another ghost told me that if you’re looking for missing people, this is where you should go.”

But thinking about how long we’d ridden the motorcycle to get to the auction house, it didn’t seem related to Eden Villa—or even this neighborhood—at all.

Was I just being baited?

But then again, some of what the Internet Ghost told me was accurate… Or was there another intention?

I had no idea. Maybe I was reading too much into it.

I was about to change the subject, thinking I’d said something pointless, when—

[The underground auction house is connected from here as well.]

“…What?”

An answer I’d never expected came back.

“Is that really true?!”

[Yes. You saw the iron-barred door at the entrance, didn’t you?]

I knew it. I’d seen it on the very first day.

It looked so gloomy that I’d deliberately avoided looking at it too closely.

[If you go in there, it connects directly to the underground auction house.]

Dan Seohyeok once again wore a vacant expression. Mine was probably the same.

What the hell…?

So everything the Urban Legend Community Ghost told me was true.

It had sounded creepy, but it was legitimate information.

I clapped a hand over my mouth in shock.

“Then we can sneak in there anytime! Ah—but maybe we’d get caught right away….”

[That’s exactly why we called you here.]

“Huh? What do you mean?”

[You helped us meet, so we wanted to help you in return. More precisely, my daughter did.]

[That’s right! I have a present for the pretty unni!]

A present?

Gasp—d-don’t tell me…?!

Trying my best to hide my excitement, I acted nonchalant—but the Hide-and-Seek Ghost suddenly jumped to her feet and toddled over to me on her short legs.

[Unni, hand!]

This felt less like dealing with a person and more like handling a puppy.

Still, I silently held out my hand. The Hide-and-Seek Ghost grabbed it tightly and beamed.

Then something—like smoke—seemed to seep into my hand. Huh?

“Macho-yeon!”

I shouted urgently, checking if Dan Seohyeok could see it too. He looked worried, as if thinking it might be dangerous.

But contrary to those concerns, there was no pain, no fear.

[It’s okay, unni. It doesn’t hurt.]

The Hide-and-Seek Ghost said so herself. I signaled to Dan Seohyeok with my eyes that it was fine, and he hesitated, then stopped.

The smoke drifted toward my left pinky finger, wrapping around it and leaving behind a strange decoration.

A pink four-leaf clover pattern.

…For real?

[It’s a present that makes you really good at hide-and-seek!]

That’s the ability Dan Seohyeok was supposed to get.

Why me, instead of the protagonist Dan Seohyeok? What was this twist?
Well, I wasn’t complaining!

And in the original story, wasn’t it two pink dots on Dan Seohyeok’s wrist, not a clover pattern like this?

It looked like I was wearing a toy ring or something—but it was cute, so I was satisfied.

[For about a day, it will erase your presence so humans and most ghosts won’t notice you.]

[You can use it again after a week! You’re pretty, so you get a bonus!]

The Quick Service Ghost explained the ability on the Hide-and-Seek Ghost’s behalf. It matched exactly what I remembered from the original story.

[However, while hiding, you must press down firmly on the mark, and you must keep yourself out of the seeker’s line of sight.]

So hiding was still up to the user!

Thankfully, those weren’t difficult conditions.

[If it’s a ghost this ability doesn’t work on… we can only hope you never meet it.]

That sounded terrifying.

Hoping with all my heart that we wouldn’t encounter such a ghost, I looked at the Hide-and-Seek Ghost. She stood proudly with her hands on her hips, looking immensely pleased—absolutely adorable.

“Thank you. For giving me this ability.”

[Because pretty unni is my hide-and-seek friend!]

[You’ll play hide-and-seek with me again next time, right?]

“Of course.”

Satisfied, the Hide-and-Seek Ghost grinned and ran back into the Quick Service Ghost’s arms. Dan Seohyeok, who had been watching in a daze, scratched his head.

“At this rate, I’ll just end up being bait.”

“That might not be such a bad thing?”

“What?”

He shot me a sharp glare—cold enough to chill.

“I’m joking. Hey, Hide-and-Seek Ghost, would it be hard to give this oppa the same ability you gave me? He played with us back then too, didn’t he?”

[Huh? This oppa too?]

The Hide-and-Seek Ghost tilted her head. Resting the back of her head against the Quick Service Ghost’s broad chest, the child stared at both of us.

When there was no immediate response, I started to worry she might refuse.

Then—

[Okay.]

Permission granted.

Dan Seohyeok and I let out sighs of relief at the same time.

“Huh?”
“What.”

What was the point of acting grumpy when his ears were turning red?

“So you were jealous of me, even if you didn’t say it?”

“That’s ridiculous.”

He avoided my gaze—but still subtly extended his left hand toward the Hide-and-Seek Ghost.

His words and actions really never matched.

[Oppa and unni, are you playing house?]

Playing house?

…Was she mimicking a wedding march or something?

Dan Seohyeok seemed to think the same, because his face twisted immediately.

“No.”
“There’s no way!”

[Oh.]

[Then maybe I won’t do it.]

The Hide-and-Seek Ghost withdrew the hand she’d extended, looking dejected. Dan Seohyeok’s large hand twitched.

Next to the Hide-and-Seek Ghost’s maple-leaf-like hand, his looked even bigger.

[I thought unni and oppa were playing house.]

[You’re not?]

This was bad. If we denied it, it felt like he wouldn’t get the ability.

Dan Seohyeok and I exchanged looks in midair.

Thankfully, the Quick Service Ghost watched our silent scheming without saying a word.

“We are playing house!”

[Really? Then are you the mom and dad?]

Damn it.

Grinding my teeth internally, I plastered on the brightest smile I could manage.

“Yeah, that’s right. Unni is the mom, and oppa is the dad.”

[I see! Then it’s ‘dantadan’!]

[Right, oppa?]

This time, the Hide-and-Seek Ghost turned to Dan Seohyeok, clearly expecting an answer.

It felt less like a game and more like listening to wedding vows.

“…Probably.”

[There’s no ‘probably’ between a married couple!]

She wasn’t wrong.

The Quick Service Ghost nodded to himself, as if thinking the same thing. I couldn’t see his face under the helmet, but I could almost picture a proud smile.

“…Yeah. I’m the dad.”

Dan Seohyeok answered in a tone of complete resignation.

The Hide-and-Seek Ghost beamed.

[Then you two should kiss!]

“What?!”
“What?”

[Mom and dad kiss each other!]

[That’s how babies are made!]

Damn it.

Caught in a situation I never imagined, I laughed awkwardly. Then, smiling like a ventriloquist, I urgently whispered to Dan Seohyeok.

“Hey, this is impossible. Let’s just give up.”

“Give up what?”

“Getting the ability.”