Chapter 65
Two years ago?
At those meaningful words, I widened my eyes innocently and asked:
“Uh—so, before that, Room 303 used to be a women’s ward?”
Judging from the confused expression of the nurse at the desk, she hadn’t known either.
The middle-aged woman answered:
“Yes. There was… an incident. But it’s nothing you need to worry about now.”
Her firm tone made it clear she had no intention of telling me more.
The notebook was handed back to me. Not much gained.
‘Well… at least now I know this room used to be a women’s ward.’
That meant the patient, Im Gyeong-mi, must have been hospitalized here at least two years ago.
“Thank you!”
I bowed politely and walked away.
I had come out so determined, but the information was still lacking.
Feeling deflated, shoulders drooping, I headed to the women’s restroom.
The cleaning lady was working inside, so I waited quietly outside. She noticed me and smiled.
“You can use it.”
“Oh—thank you!”
“Shall I hold your notebook for a moment? I just wiped the shelves, so they’re still damp.”
“That would be great!”
Not only did she seem kind, she was kind.
Smiling brightly, I handed her the notebook.
But as she took it, she tilted her head.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
Instead of answering, she flipped the notebook back and forth, inspecting it carefully.
Did she recognize it?
“Excuse me… is this yours? It looks exactly like a notebook a teacher I knew used to use.”
“Oh—no! I picked it up! I’m trying to find the owner. But… how did you know? There’s no name anywhere.”
“Because of this blue ballpoint pen mark on the corner.”
Oh—she was right.
On the corner she pointed to with her gloved hand, there was a scratch-like mark made with a blue pen.
“Then… do you know where the owner is now?”
“Hmm…”
She looked troubled and averted her eyes.
It reminded me of the middle-aged woman from earlier.
‘Is it related to that “incident”…?’
What kind of incident was it?
“That person doesn’t work here anymore.”
Her pupils trembled uneasily.
I stared at her; she couldn’t meet my eyes.
If it were just a resignation, she wouldn’t react like this.
Room 303.
Park Chung-man.
Dementia patient & guardian of Im Gyeong-mi.
Suspected domestic violence.
Nurse ghost sightings.
High probability related to the keyring ghost.
I reviewed everything I knew.
None of it was normal.
“My friend is staying in 303, and the name of the other patient in the room was written in this notebook.”
“Oh, you mean Mr. Park Chung-man.”
If she knew from just the room number… that meant the staff were keeping a close eye on him.
I put on a worried expression.
“Yes. From the notebook, it looks like he used to be violent toward his family… And my friend is alone with him, so I’m worried.”
“Ahh…”
“My friend’s scared, so I wanted to ask about the situation.”
“You don’t need to worry too much about Mr. Park Chung-man.”
The cleaning lady explained carefully.
I pretended I knew nothing and asked again:
“But… the notebook says he abused a patient named Im Gyeong-mi.”
“I don’t know all the details. Everyone here thinks of you students like kids.”
She stroked the blue-marked corner of the notebook as she continued:
“But… I was close with Hyeji, the nurse who owned this notebook. After the incident, she suffered a lot. She blamed herself for everything.”
“Can I ask what kind of incident it was? I did hear that two years ago, Room 303 was a women’s ward.”
“I’m not sure if I should be telling you this…”
“I won’t tell anyone! Please—I’m really worried about my friend.”
He doesn’t know it, but I’m his best friend.
I pleaded earnestly.
The cleaning lady hesitated a long while, then looked around cautiously and whispered:
“…A female patient who was hospitalized in Room 303 at the time jumped out the window.”
“The… the woman who had Mr. Park as her guardian?”
“Yes.”
Her answer left me speechless.
She continued in a low voice, her expression pained:
“After that, for some reason… strange things kept happening to any female patient or guardian in that room, so they changed it to a men’s ward.”
She let out a heavy sigh.
I could tell she still wasn’t done.
Staring at her silently, I waited.
She shrugged as if giving up and continued:
“It was chaos back then. They had collected evidence of domestic violence over time, so Mr. Park was taken away by police immediately. He got probation due to lack of evidence in the end, though.”
“But there were injuries, right? Isn’t that evidence?”
“Yes, but… one hospital staff member testified that Mr. Park wasn’t the perpetrator.”
My grip tightened on the notebook.
No way.
“The notebook’s owner?”
She nodded.
A nurse who insisted on Park Chung-man’s innocence—
and who suffered guilt after the incident.
I stared at the notebook.
Everything inside was written from “Hyeji’s” perspective.
Naturally, personal opinions must’ve influenced it.
‘From Hyeji’s viewpoint, it looked like Mr. Park was the abuser…’
But what if that was a misunderstanding?
Then who was the real abuser?
“Ah!”
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my leg.
I screamed and collapsed, clutching it.
“Student! What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“N-no, it just… suddenly cramped…!”
“Should I call a nurse?”
“It’s fine.”
It throbbed as if tearing open, but I couldn’t roll up my pant leg.
My leg was covered in letters—like the keyring ghost’s body.
‘Come to think of it…’
Im Gyeong-mi had letters on her back too, didn’t she?
I blinked slowly.
A chilling thought settled in my mind.
The pain vanished.
As if the letters were asserting their existence—Don’t forget me.
“Really, I’m okay! Thank you for worrying!”
I jumped up and flailed my leg exaggeratedly.
“But…”
“Sorry for getting in the way! Thank you for everything—I’ll go check on my friend now!”
I grabbed the notebook, dashed out of the restroom, and hurried to Room 303.
When I arrived, Jang Hyun-woo looked startled.
“Whoa—thought a rhino was charging in.”
He’s joking, so he must be fine.
I glared at him and walked straight to Dan Seo-hyeok.
“Dan Seo-hyeok, can you show me the keyring doll you have?”
“The keyring? Why?”
He still asked, but obediently reached for his bag.
Why did everyone always add unnecessary sass?
“I need to check something.”
Thankfully he didn’t argue further.
Before, he would’ve lectured me about doing pointless things.
It felt strange.
Like… being trusted?
That realization annoyed me.
Was I getting used to Dan Seo-hyeok?
He placed the keyring doll on my palm.
Hyun-woo recoiled dramatically.
“I knew it! Why are you still carrying that creepy thing?! I thought you threw it out ages ago!”
“It’s fine now. …Probably.”
“That ‘probably’ is NOT reassuring!”
Ignoring him, I held the notebook and the keyring together—
and walked over to Park Chung-man.
“Grandpa.”
Even with a shadow cast over him, he didn’t move.
Not because of poor hearing or vision—
He simply didn’t care.
I addressed the wrinkled profile staring out the window.
“Grandpa.”
“……”
“Do you recognize this doll?”
I held the keyring carefully toward him.
Still no response.
I hadn’t wanted to say this part, but—
I took a breath and began:
“Then… about patient Im Gyeong-mi— kyaaa!!”
“Ma Choyeon!!”
“Choyeon-ah!”
My collar was grabbed, yanking me forward.
My upper body almost toppled over.
If Dan Seo-hyeok hadn’t rushed in and grabbed my arm, I would’ve fallen.
“T-thanks…”
He had moved impossibly fast.
Just moments earlier, he’d been standing next to Hyun-woo.
Dan Seo-hyeok said nothing, face blank, still holding my arm.
His eyes stayed fixed on Park Chung-man, wary.
“How… how do you know that name?”
Park Chung-man finally spoke.
His voice was cracked and dry, as if he hadn’t spoken in ages.
His lips were split and bleeding.
Yet his bony hand clutched my collar with desperate strength.
Seo-hyeok tried to pry his fingers off, but I stopped him.
Because—
“How…? How do you know? Huh?”
His trembling voice was overflowing with desperation.
