Chapter 14
After Jang Hyunwoo collapsed and his guardians arrived, only then were Dan Seo-hyuk and I able to leave the hospital.
“Hyunwoo will be okay, right?”
“He wasn’t dead—his breathing hadn’t stopped.”
The faces of Hyunwoo’s parents as they rushed into the ward after getting the urgent call were still vivid in my mind.
“Should we not have come?”
The unease weighed heavily in my chest, and I let out a deep sigh.
“You’re not really in a position to be worrying about someone else right now.”
“Because of what it said—‘you’re next’?”
“Yeah. You seem surprisingly calm.”
“Not exactly. I’m just… more worried about Hyunwoo right now.”
What was I supposed to do now?
‘It said not to burn it… and not to undo it either.’
Then what was the dagger for? Was it telling me to stab something with it? Maybe it was actually some kind of sacred weapon that could exorcise evil spirits!
“Let’s find its original owner.”
I was still lost in that ridiculous thought when Dan Seo-hyuk’s calm voice broke in.
“Huh? But Hyunwoo was the only one who knew who the original owner was—and he said he was blocked. How?”
“We’ll have to use the same secondhand trading site where he met them.”
“Yeah, but how… wait, are you seriously planning to keep helping me with this?”
Seo-hyuk looked at me as if to say, What kind of question is that?
“I mean, honestly, I didn’t expect you to be this proactive.”
He’d already done more than I could have imagined.
‘He even covered my eyes so I wouldn’t see the ghost—what if he’d been marked instead?’
Thanks to that, I avoided a near heart attack.
‘He’s such a weird guy.’
Usually so cold, but sometimes unexpectedly kind. Completely unpredictable.
“Based on what that guy said, I think there might be other missing people connected to that ghost.”
“You think it’s related to the spirit that kidnapped your brother and my parents?”
“I think it’s possible.”
So that’s why he was getting involved so seriously.
‘That’s so like him.’
Knowing he had a clear reason actually eased my discomfort.
“Okay, I still have that app installed. Want me to try something?”
We sat side by side on a park bench near the hospital. I showed him my phone, and he took it.
“I’ll handle it.”
The post he wrote went like this:
Title: Looking for the original owner of a black fur keyring I received for free
Author: macho_king
Content: I’m a family member of the student who received this keyring for free. Ever since then, strange things have been happening to my younger sibling. I’d like to ask for advice. Please contact me.
If you don’t, I’ll have to come find you in a way you won’t like.
That was basically a threat.
“‘A way you won’t like’… you mean before the ghost comes find them, they should just come forward themselves.”
“Exactly. Other users won’t get it, but the real owner will know immediately.”
“But what if they’ve stopped checking that site?”
“That’s possible.”
He handed the phone back to me.
“But do you think someone like that could just go back to a normal life so easily?”
That was practically a curse.
‘Still, if it were me, I’d keep checking—just to make sure.’
Would the original owner really think it was all over after giving it to Hyunwoo? Or would they, like Seo-hyuk, keep tabs in case of revenge?
“But who knows when—or if—they’ll even reply. Just waiting like this feels…”
Ding!
A notification popped up from the trading app.
“…That was fast.”
For a second I thought it was a rocket delivery alert. I opened the message right away, Seo-hyuk leaning closer to read the screen.
Our heads bumped lightly, but that didn’t matter right now.
really_sorry: Hello.
“Is that them?”
“Ask.”
macho_king: Are you the owner of the keyring?
really_sorry: Yes.
“No way—it actually worked!”
“Give me the phone.”
A chill ran down my spine. Could it be the ghost’s doing? When I hesitated to type, Seo-hyuk grabbed the phone himself.
His long, steady fingers flew across the screen.
macho_king: I heard you blocked my brother.
macho_king: Did you know what would happen when you did that?
“Hey, don’t be so stiff—they might ghost us.”
If they blocked this account too, we’d have no way to contact them again. I could make a new one since I remembered the username, but still.
really_sorry: I’m sorry.
really_sorry: How is your brother doing?
macho_king: He’s hospitalized. He fell from a rooftop.
They must’ve realized it wasn’t something he did willingly.
No response for a while. I bit my lip and muttered, “Maybe they’re scared and backing out?”
“If they really believe it’s haunted, they won’t run. They’ll know that if this goes wrong, we could all end up dead.”
“True… that actually makes it worse.”
My fingers went to my nails out of habit, and he caught my wrist, lowering my hand.
“You’re distracting me.”
Excuse me, I’ll chew my own nails if I want!
I gave a weak laugh, but then his expression hardened—another message.
really_sorry: He didn’t die, then. That’s good.
“‘That’s good’? That’s what you say to the victim’s family?”
really_sorry: That doll—I got it as a free giveaway too. The person who gave it to me warned me:
‘Never name it or talk to it.’
So it wasn’t about making wishes?
really_sorry: It was just a normal doll. Until I caught my ex-boyfriend cheating and said to it, ‘I wish he’d just die.’
Oh.
Seo-hyuk and I exchanged a look.
So that offhand comment had been taken as a wish.
really_sorry: He died.
Even without a subject, we knew who they meant.
‘But really? Killing someone only costs two thumbs?’
Hyunwoo had nearly died just for wishing for better grades. Sure, losing fingers was a lifelong injury—but still.
really_sorry: After that, I started seeing it too. It followed me everywhere. It didn’t hurt me, but it was terrifying.
really_sorry: I found the person who gave it to me and asked them what to do.
macho_king: And they answered?
really_sorry: No. They ignored me. So I made another wish.
really_sorry: I lost my thumbs because of it, but…
I flinched.
‘So that’s why she lost them.’
Then what did she pay when her ex died?
really_sorry: But it didn’t work. That person went missing.
macho_king: Missing—as payment?
really_sorry: I don’t know. Their family said they vanished from where they were sitting, leaving behind just a puddle of water.
really_sorry: Anyway, if you want to get rid of the doll, burn it or throw it away.
‘What?’
That was different from what the ghost told us.
really_sorry: I tried passing it on to someone else, but it still followed me.
That didn’t make sense.
She’d given it away—wasn’t that the same as throwing it out? It clearly hadn’t worked.
And she hadn’t burned it herself either. So where was she getting this advice?
Should I even believe her?
‘Logically, a human’s word should be more trustworthy than a ghost’s… but why does this feel off?’
“What now?”
“I’m not falling for a story with zero credibility.”
Classic Seo-hyuk—calm, rational, unswayed. If I could think of this much, he definitely had too.
He typed again.
macho_king: Let’s meet in person and talk.
macho_king: I’ll come to you—just tell me the address.
really_sorry: Okay. But first, can I ask something?
really_sorry: Your tone sounds a bit stiff.
really_sorry: Are you… a guy?
I froze.
‘Her tone just changed.’
On that site, female users had pink circles, and males had blue ones next to their names.
‘Since it’s my account, she’ll assume it’s a girl. But why ask that specifically?’
macho_king: I’m a girl. I don’t know how old you are, after all.
Seo-hyuk lied smoothly.
really_sorry: I see.
really_sorry: I live near the alley beside the Fiorum Café in Eden-dong.
really_sorry: Are you coming now?
macho_king: Yes.
“You’re going now?”
“The longer we wait, the more chance they’ll do something reckless. We need to move fast.”
He’d decided without even asking me. Still… having him there made it less frightening.
If the other person really was just some woman, Seo-hyuk—tall and solid as he was—wouldn’t be easily overpowered even if things got sketchy.
really_sorry: Are you coming alone?
“…That feels off. You’ve heard the stories, right? Scammers pretending to be lost kids or helpless grandmas to lure people out?”
Maybe that’s why she was asking about gender and whether he’d come alone.
I said it nervously, and Seo-hyuk stood up.
“I’ll go alone.”
“No—let me come too. Like you said, if this ties into those disappearances, I should see it.”
The café was actually close—since the hospital was in Eden-dong too.
As we walked toward it, I couldn’t shake a growing unease.
‘She killed her ex… so what did she give up for that? And what if this is a trap for human trafficking or something?’
Human trafficking was something far scarier than ghosts—because it was real.
Being careful wouldn’t hurt. Seo-hyuk, though, didn’t seem to know much about that kind of horror.
‘Well, he’s the type who can’t handle horror movies anyway.’
In the original story, an occult-obsessed partner had been added later to balance out his lack of supernatural knowledge.
‘We’re going to start dealing with real ghosts soon. I’d better find that partner when this is over.’
When will fl use that dagger ? 😑