ULAS 08

Chapter 8

That guy…

‘A wish that would never come true, huh.’

Improved grades.
It was the kind of wish a lazy student who hated studying but wanted better grades would make—exactly what someone like Jang Hyun-woo would wish for.

The whole thing felt off. Hyun-woo looked shocked, but the teacher and the rest of the class acted completely normal, as if nothing unusual had happened.

I turned my head toward the direction of the keychain—and froze.

‘W-what…?’

Hanging beside the desk wasn’t Hyun-woo’s bag.

It was a face.

The lifeless, pale face sent chills running down my spine.

“……”

When I blinked again, everything was back to normal.
Only the lingering goosebumps on my arms proved that what I’d seen wasn’t just my imagination.

‘Was this part of the original story?’

No. At least not in the part I’d read.

In the original, Dan Seo-hyuk didn’t attend school. He always roamed outside, so there were almost no episodes involving classmates.

‘Damn it. If that thing really is possessed, how am I supposed to deal with it?’

I was terrible with this kind of stuff, and all I could do was clutch my head in frustration.

‘Should I ask Dan Seo-hyuk?’

Whether he’d regressed or not, he definitely knew more than I did. Maybe we could think it through together.

I decided to go find him during the next break and glanced to the side.

Hyun-woo was still staring blankly at the front.

‘He probably didn’t think it would actually come true.’

Rather than scared, he looked dazed, like he was still dreaming.
At least he wasn’t panicking—thank goodness for that.

As I sighed, I felt eyes on me.
It was Yoo Chae-song, staring at Hyun-woo’s back with a completely blank expression.

‘Is she upset that Hyun-woo’s grades are higher now?’

Given how hard she studied, that would make sense.

‘Ugh. Now I’m getting self-conscious for no reason.’

Chae-song was usually nice, but when it came to grades, she was very sensitive.
Especially since we were in our final year of high school, the most stressful time of all.

I made up my mind to be careful not to provoke her and waited for the bell.

As soon as it rang and the teacher left, I jumped up.

“Hey, Cho-yeon! Where are you going?!”

“Got something to do! If it’s not urgent, talk to me later!”

I brushed past Hyun-woo before he could stop me and hurried out.
If I stayed, all I’d hear would be something useless like ‘I didn’t think it’d really come true—maybe it’s the keychain?’

‘Which class was Dan Seo-hyuk in again?’

I took out my phone and called him. After a few rings, his familiar voice answered.

—“Hello.”

“Dan Seo-hyuk! You’re at school, right? Which class are you in?”

—“What’s with the sudden call?”

Cold. And that tone—he sounded so annoyed!

‘Wow, really? After everything we went through together?!’

I swallowed my irritation and got to the point.

“I’ve got something to discuss.”

—“…Did you already find something?”

“Not what you’re thinking.”

He was probably asking if I’d gotten info about the trafficking ghost.

“Well, it’s similar.”

I decided to be a little shameless.

If I said no, he’d just hang up out of boredom.

—“Class 1.”

Click.

He hung up after saying just that.

I stared at the phone and gave a bitter laugh.

‘So much for acting all mature earlier…’

Go back to elementary school and learn some manners, will you?

Grumbling under my breath, I headed toward Class 1. It wasn’t far—his class sign was visible down the hall.

And there he was, standing by the window.

In the bright daylight, Seo-hyuk looked a little different. Still tired, but surrounded by his peers, he somehow looked his age for once.
The gloomy aura he had back in that dark apartment was a bit lighter now.

‘Actually… that makes him stand out even more.’

Maybe it was because of his looks.

He was a head taller than the other guys, with broad shoulders that made his uniform fit perfectly.

‘I can’t believe I smacked that back yesterday… brave of me.’

I muttered under my breath, feeling a bit thankful that he’d taken it without complaint.

“If you’re here, say something.”

He hadn’t even looked up from his phone, yet somehow knew I’d arrived.
He slid it into his pocket and spoke lazily.

“So, what’s this similar thing you wanted to discuss?”

“Wouldn’t it be better not to talk here?”

“The break’s not that long anyway.”

Fair point.

Seo-hyuk scanned the area slowly. A few curious students glanced our way, but not close enough to overhear.

“Go on.”

“Well… my seatmate got a free keychain from a stranger.”

He nodded, focusing as I leaned closer.

“And you know what that person said?”

“What?”

“They said it would grant a wish—but bring misfortune in return.”

“…?”

“And it actually happened! He got hurt, but the wish came true!”

Seo-hyuk lifted his head and met my eyes.

“So what are you trying to say?”

“That keychain’s cursed, right? Do you know how to deal with it?”

“You called me just for that?”

Just for that?!

Hyun-woo got injured, and Chae-song—the model student—had her grades ruined because of it!

Maybe he saw how serious I was, because he straightened up and looked down at me with an exasperated expression.

“I’m an idiot for expecting anything else.”

“If the owner makes another wish—or if someone else gets involved—it could get dangerous!”

“Not my problem.”

“If you’re too lazy to help, at least tell me what to do! I’ll handle it myself.”

“Peanut.”

“Ow!”

He flicked my forehead, hard. It really hurt.

“That’s called meddling.”

“Hey!”

“You and I shouldn’t be wasting our attention on stuff like that.”

“But still…”

“If you really need help, then use what you’re good at.”

What I’m good at?

When I blinked, he smirked and pointed at my wrist—where I wore a scrunchie to hide the strand of hair tied there.

He was telling me to ask the internet ghost again.

“Or go summon one yourself with Bunshinsaba.”

He said it with a mocking tone, clearly irritated.

He was still mad that I kept trusting ghosts despite his warnings not to.

‘Ugh. I was planning to ditch the comment-section ghost anyway.’

Maybe the Bunshinsaba ghost would actually be useful this time.

At least he’d given me a lead—even if he’d freak out if I actually followed it.

Still, I didn’t act on it right away. I just… kept the option open.

‘This is tricky.’

The break ended soon after, and we parted ways without much progress.

Back in class, I sat down and thought hard.
If I wanted to find my missing sister, I’d need to try something new.

I couldn’t just rely on Red—who knew when she’d show up again—and wandering around alone wouldn’t help much either.

‘To find someone taken by a ghost… using another ghost.’

If I’d known I’d end up living inside this story, I’d have finished reading it to learn how Seo-hyuk found his parents.

Clicking my tongue, I sat down. The seat next to me was still empty.

Class was about to start—where did Hyun-woo go?

“Where’s Jang Hyun-woo?”

As the teacher walked in, I whispered to Chae-song behind me.

She looked up briefly from her textbook.

“I don’t know.”

She was holding a tissue to her nose, like she had a nosebleed.

“Wait, Chae-song, are you bleeding?”

“No, it’s nothing. I’m fine.”

She answered calmly and buried her face back in the book.
I couldn’t bring myself to press further.

‘Hyun-woo’s probably just in the bathroom or something.’

It felt off, but I brushed it aside.

Only his bag remained at the desk—its hedgehog keychain dangling quietly.

Why did that thing always make me so uneasy? It was cute enough, objectively…

“That.”

I froze when a voice spoke from behind.

“Don’t touch it.”

I turned.
Chae-song was staring straight at me. Her eyes looked empty, hollow.

“It’s Hyun-woo’s.”

Right. It wasn’t mine to touch anyway.
But for some reason… her tone sounded like she was saying “Don’t touch what’s mine.”

“…Got it.”

Probably just my imagination.

I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly—

—and that’s when it happened.

Out of the corner of my eye, through the window, I saw someone falling.

“KYAAAA!!!”

A scream pierced the room.
The teacher shouted for everyone to stay away from the windows.

My heart pounded violently.

‘No way.’

The one who fell—

—was Jang Hyun-woo.