Chapter 17
“P–Please…! Urgh!”
“Hey, Dan Seo-hyuk! Ease up, man! He didn’t mean anything by it—he didn’t know!”
Tak Yeon-ho’s face turned beet red as his airway was being crushed.
I hurriedly grabbed Dan Seo-hyuk’s arm to stop him.
Even though I wrapped both arms around him and tried to pull, he didn’t budge an inch.
‘Just how strong is he?!’
I’d thought he was just some high-schooler who dealt with ghosts, but that was a huge mistake.
I should’ve known from the moment I saw that tall, broad-shouldered build.
‘At this rate, he’s gonna kill a person before he kills a ghost!’
The protagonist can’t turn into a murderer!
Besides, the one he’s got by the collar right now is supposed to be his teammate!
“Hey! Yeon-ho! Say you’re sorry already! The first missing people—that was Seo-hyuk’s parents!”
Wait, he’s in the same class and never heard the rumor?! What, does he not even have friends?
Oh right… he didn’t in the original story either.
Maybe that’s why he always trailed after Dan Seo-hyuk so desperately.
‘Still, how could he not have heard the class gossip?!’
Yeon-ho’s eyes widened at my words, as if it was something he couldn’t have imagined.
As expected.
“I-I’m sorry! Hic, I r-really didn’t know!”
Even with his voice strangled, he managed to stammer out an apology.
It must’ve sounded sincere, because I could feel genuine remorse in his tone.
“……”
Dan Seo-hyuk said nothing for a long moment.
The strength in his grip finally weakened, and Yeon-ho’s color began to return.
‘Still angry?’
I rolled my eyes toward him, carefully gauging his expression.
His face was unreadable—but at least that murderous aura from before was gone.
“Dan Seo-hyuk.”
When I called his name softly, his black eyes turned toward me.
“…Are you okay?”
I wasn’t trying to scold him for overreacting.
Yeah, it was a bit violent, but I couldn’t blame him for feeling that way.
‘If someone said something like that about Cho-hae, I’d have blown up too.’
Especially with her fate still unknown…
“……”
He still didn’t answer.
Instead, he just let go of Yeon-ho’s collar, limp with exhaustion.
“Ugh… I thought I was gonna die. S-Sorry, man. Even if I didn’t know, that was messed up of me.”
Yeon-ho’s face twisted up in shame.
At least the kid had enough sense to own up.
“…Let go.”
“Huh?”
“I said, let go of me.”
Then it hit me—I was still clutching his arm from when I tried to stop him.
Crap!
I released him quickly and wiped my hands on my clothes out of reflex.
Seo-hyuk gave a short, incredulous laugh.
“I’m the one who should feel disgusted here.”
“Disgusted? That’s harsh, dude!”
“And wiping your hands like I’m filthy isn’t?”
“Uh, guys… could we not fight again? This is my fault, okay?”
Yeon-ho’s small, nervous voice made me realize how many eyes were on us.
People had already started gathering in the hallway in front of Class 1-1 the moment Seo-hyuk grabbed him.
‘Good thing this ended before a teacher showed up…’
No point adding fuel to the fire, so I forced myself to calm down.
Seriously, whenever I talk to Seo-hyuk, it always ends up like this.
Once things cooled off, Yeon-ho wiped his sweat and spoke again.
“So you two want my help with the Eden Building ghost story, right?”
“That’s part of it. But we also ran into something… weird.”
I briefly explained how Jang Hyun-woo had bought the keychain off a secondhand site and what happened afterward.
“That sounds like a cursed object.”
So at least he’d heard about Hyun-woo falling off the roof. Good.
“From what you’re saying, it’s not just a normal ghost—it’s an evil spirit.”
Yeon-ho’s expression grew serious.
“I’ve heard of spirits causing accidents by making people hallucinate… but one that directly interferes like this? That’s dangerous.”
“The original owner said to burn or throw it away, but… would that even work?”
“I doubt it.”
He shook his head gravely, and my brief hope fizzled out.
“If it’s that malevolent, destroying the object might only make it cling harder.”
“Then what do we do? Maybe it’ll leave if we make a wish?”
“I think it’ll force you to. Like… promising to help find the missing people, or something like that.”
That made sense.
If a ghost approached you like that, you’d probably take the bait—especially if it meant confirming Cho-hae’s safety.
“They say not to name or talk to dolls. What does that mean, exactly?”
Seo-hyuk’s question cut through my dark thoughts.
“Oh, that’s because of the rumor that dolls become possessed when they think they’re alive.”
“…So it’s nothing special, then.”
Guess the owner’s warning stuck with him more than I thought.
Funny how she didn’t even remember saying it clearly herself.
“Anyway, that woman’s suspicious. Don’t trust her. I’ll check out the site myself, but for now—keep an eye on Chae-song, okay?”
“Keep an eye on her?”
“Yeah. Telling her to just stay away from the keychain won’t work. You might get hurt if you’re careless.”
“Got it.”
“There’s gotta be a way to safely separate your friend from it, so don’t worry too much!”
A moment ago he’d looked all intrigued by the mystery—
but now he was genuinely concerned.
‘He’s actually kind of nice once you know him.’
No wonder, in the original story, Seo-hyuk couldn’t bring himself to push him away.
That thought, along with his sincerity, made me smile.
“Thanks.”
“H-Huh? O-Oh, sure! No problem!”
…Was he stammering just because I smiled at him?
I watched him leave the classroom awkwardly, still scratching his head.
Then I felt a piercing gaze and turned around.
What the heck—what’s with that rude, hostile glare?
“Seriously.”
Seriously?
“Tiny little brats sure have a lot of nerve.”
…What?
Without another word, Dan Seo-hyuk muttered something incomprehensible and strode back into class.
“…‘Tiny little brats’?”
That’s basically a personal attack!
* * *
Just like Yeon-ho suggested, I kept a close eye on Yoo Chae-song.
Well—“close” as in, occasionally glancing at her back from my seat behind hers.
‘I don’t see the keychain.’
But she definitely wasn’t the same as before.
‘Even when someone talks to her during break, she cuts them off saying she has to study…’
Like someone being chased by something invisible.
Her dark circles were so bad that even the teacher asked if she was okay.
Was she really fine?
“Chae-song.”
“Mm.”
I called her softly during class, keeping my voice low enough that the teacher wouldn’t notice.
She didn’t even glance away from the board as she replied.
Since she’d started ignoring me during breaks, I figured this might be the only way to reach her.
“You look really tired. Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
So she could still answer—good sign.
Encouraged, I kept chatting in a whisper.
Even though my voice grew a little louder, no one—including the teacher—seemed to notice.
Oddly enough, that made me relieved.
“But seriously, you’ve got huge dark circles, and you’re studying like you’re possessed. I’m just worried about you.”
At that, Chae-song finally turned her head toward me.
She tilted it slightly, as if about to whisper something back.
I leaned in closer, smiling—
“I said I’m fine!”
A sudden shout.
A crushing grip seized my face, and a thunderous scolding followed.
My heart dropped with a thud.
When I opened my eyes wide again—
“Cho-yeon, what are you doing sleeping in class?”
The teacher stood beside me, clucking her tongue.
‘Sleeping? I was… asleep?’
I hastily straightened up.
Sure enough, my head had been resting on my desk.
But… when? I was just talking to Chae-song!
“Are you feeling sick? You’re drenched in sweat.”
As I turned my head, the teacher reached out a hand—probably to wipe my forehead.
But the sensation felt… wrong.
“Are you okay?”
Instead of the soft touch of a palm, I felt something rough, bony—like knuckles, wrinkles, even nails.
“Are you okay?”
I looked up.
The teacher’s hand was backward, palm facing up, as she dabbed at my forehead with a too-kind smile.
Was she even human?
“Are you okay?”
“Are you okay?”
“Are you okay?”
Was I still dreaming?
I turned toward Chae-song’s seat.
But she wasn’t there.
In her place sat that same grinning ghost I’d seen at Jang Hyun-woo’s hospital room—
The corners of its mouth torn up to its ears, crudely stapled shut with bits of metal that dangled as it smiled.
Black letters crawled across its skin, and even its tongue—blood-red and covered in incomprehensible writing—looked pitch-black when it flicked out.
The sound of its shrill laughter filled the empty classroom.
Somehow, everyone was gone—
only me, the ghost, and that thing mimicking the teacher remained.
“Hey.”
The ghost whispered softly.
“Your friend says to mind your own business.”
Ah…
I couldn’t tell anymore if I was dreaming or awake.
The world went black.
