Chapter 71
Episode 7: The Underground Auction House
The keyring ghost incident ended safely.
That shaved ten years off my life.
It wasn’t as life-threatening as some of the things I’d faced before, but considering how dangerous the keyring ghost was, it was honestly a miracle we resolved it without Millie’s help.
That reminds me—no matter how much I call her, Millie doesn’t show up anymore… Is she really about to leave me?
I stared blankly at my injured palm. The dagger that had fallen in the hospital room was slipped back into my bag while the medical staff were distracted.
Park Chung-man’s cause of death was listed as cardiac arrest. He was elderly, but it was still a sudden death, and even the hospital staff seemed taken aback.
Those of us who knew the truth could do nothing but pray for the deceased’s soul.
“What are you thinking about?”
Dan Seo-hyeok asked.
The two of us had just left the hospital room after saying goodbye to Jang Hyun-woo and telling him we were heading back.
Even though the keyring ghost problem was resolved, my mind was still in turmoil. Maybe it showed on my face—Seo-hyeok, surprisingly, didn’t press me and quietly went along with what I wanted.
On the pre-dawn streets, we were the only ones around, still wearing our school uniforms.
“Just… I was thinking that even such a scary ghost had a tragic story behind it.”
“Not all of them do.”
Seo-hyeok said this while glaring at an empty alley.
“Even if they had an unjust life when they were alive, threatening innocent people because of it is completely wrong.”
“But… to Grandpa Park Chung-man, she was probably just his granddaughter.”
“It felt like he was taking on the ghost’s sins himself.”
Seo-hyeok frowned.
“In the end, only innocent people got hurt.”
I’ve thought this for a long time—he really hates ghosts.
Knowing the reason why he felt that way, I listened to him in silence.
“Especially that keyring ghost. I hope she gets punished for what she did.”
Whether in hell, or through reincarnation.
He finished firmly.
I had also had my life threatened by the keyring ghost, so part of me understood how he felt.
I don’t know whether the keyring ghost will really be punished.
But at the very least, through the grandfather, she must have realized that what she did was wrong.
Before I knew it, my thoughts slipped out.
“Do you think the human-trafficking ghost has a story like that too?”
The keyring ghost’s unresolved anger toward her boyfriend ended up creating many victims.
If the human-trafficking ghost was the same—just a massive grudge that had lost its direction…
“Ma Cho-yeon. Don’t think useless thoughts.”
Seo-hyeok clenched his teeth.
“If I can erase that thing, I’ll do anything.”
Ah. That was careless of me to say in front of him.
I’m in the same position as him—so why are my feelings this complicated?
“We couldn’t even get close to it. We don’t know its story, or even what it looks like.”
He was right. But still…
“Not all ghosts are like that, but the ones we’ve seen all had their own grudges or wishes, didn’t they?”
Like the little kid who wanted to play hide-and-seek to their heart’s content, or the father searching for the daughter who was waiting for him.
“Once you know that, it just sticks in your head.”
“……”
“You probably think I’m frustrating.”
Feeling awkward, I glanced sideways at Seo-hyeok. At some point, he was staring straight ahead.
“That’s just who you are.”
“……”
His calm voice felt oddly comforting.
…That’s unexpected.
I thought he’d scold me for being naïve again.
For a moment, the street fell quiet. Seo-hyeok seemed lost in thought too, so we just kept walking.
“By the way, why did you come out at dawn instead of the morning? You won’t even be able to get back into the dorm at this hour.”
“Ah.”
So that’s what he was wondering.
I pulled out my phone.
“I was actually going to tell you too.”
“What is it?”
“I contacted the quick-service ghost earlier.”
Seo-hyeok flinched as he instinctively looked down at the phone I held out. His gaze fixed on the screen.
It showed the messages exchanged with the quick-service ghost.
“…You’re unbelievable.”
“I wanted to ask about Cho-hae. I sent a message, and they replied?”
“You say dangerous things so casually. No matter how safe it seems, who in their right mind talks to a ghost?”
“Me!”
“Do you think this is a joke right now?”
I even raised my hand jokingly, trying to lighten the heavy mood, but he snapped at me.
“Hey, let me finish talking. Besides, I have an ability Millie gave me, remember? The ability to distinguish ghosts from humans.”
“Distinguish… how?”
“It’s simple. There’s white smoke swirling around people.”
As I said that, I glanced sideways at Seo-hyeok. He was still surrounded by red smoke.
I pressed my lips together briefly, then continued as if nothing was wrong.
“And really dangerous ghosts have red smoke. Ghosts you should be wary of are yellow, and safe ghosts seem to be green.”
“There’s no such thing as a safe ghost.”
“But Millie, the quick-service ghost, and the hide-and-seek ghost were like that.”
“What about the keyring ghost?”
“Red.”
Seo-hyeok’s eyebrows twitched. It must have sounded like a classification system that made sense to him.
“So you contacted it. What’s the conclusion?”
“I said I had something I wanted to ask, and they said if I contact them, they’ll come pick us up.”
“So that’s why you came out at dawn?”
“Ah, they didn’t say it had to be dawn. But there’s no reason to wait until tomorrow.”
I placed my finger on the phone and sent a short message: Is it possible right now?
“No matter what, do you really think they’ll come immediately just because you contacted them?”
Bzzzt.
The phone vibrated.
<From: 444-4444>
I’m departing now.
It was an incredibly fast, positive reply.
“…This ghost seems strangely fond of you.”
“Oh, come on. Just because they replied quickly?”
“The timing’s like they were just waiting for your message.”
Seo-hyeok frowned, clearly uneasy. Soon, a familiar motorcycle sound came from afar.
Green smoke billowed.
The quick-service ghost had arrived.
[Sss—Quick Service.]
The pink helmet appeared, greeting us bluntly as always. I thought this every time, but the contrast with the black leather jacket was enormous.
“Hello.”
I bowed politely.
Between the green smoke and the way they came so readily, the quick-service ghost was now firmly classified as an ally in my mind.
Then courtesy was only proper—ghost or human, especially toward someone older than me.
[……]
The quick-service ghost slowly nodded back.
I hadn’t expected them to return the greeting.
Seo-hyeok looked dumbfounded, but I lightly ignored him.
“Thank you for coming so willingly, even though I made such an unreasonable request!”
[Not at all.]
[Your request is special.]
[You may contact me anytime.]
Special treatment?
I felt like a VIP customer to the quick-service ghost.
[You said you had questions. I would like to suggest moving locations.]
“Moving locations? Where to?”
[Eden Villa.]
“That place… there are other ghosts there, so it’s dangerous. Especially at night.”
The moment I heard the name “Eden Villa,” a chill ran down my spine. I remembered the first day I’d almost been chased by the elevator ghost. I had no desire to relive that.
[It will be fine.]
If we rode the quick-service ghost’s motorcycle, would we be able to avoid running into the elevator ghost?
I glanced at Seo-hyeok. As expected, his face was full of distrust.
“Um… would it be okay to bring him along too?”
I poked Seo-hyeok in the side as if to say, You’re coming too, right?
He didn’t respond at all—like a statue.
The quick-service ghost turned their head to look at Seo-hyeok. Even though their face was hidden by the helmet, it was obvious.
[……]
Why does the atmosphere feel colder than when they’re talking to me?
N-no, that’s just my imagination, right?
[If it is the customer’s request.]
So if it wasn’t my request, they had no intention of bringing him.
Relieved, I poked Seo-hyeok in the waist again, signaling him to behave himself.
“Then please take us both.”
Since he didn’t object, he must have planned to come along anyway.
After all, finding the victims of the human-trafficking ghost mattered to Seo-hyeok too. Moving together and getting even small bits of information was more efficient.
[Please get on.]
The quick-service motorcycle seat was narrow. Even though I’m small, the other two are big—would this be okay?
Should I sit in the middle? Or at the very back?
Even at high speed, it didn’t seem like we’d fall off the quick-service ghost’s bike.
I gestured to Seo-hyeok.
“You sit in the middle.”
“…Me?”
“Yeah. I’ll sit at the back. It’s not like I’ll fall anyway.”
Seo-hyeok looked at the quick-service ghost.
“…….”
[……]
Both of them stayed terrifyingly silent.
Uh… why?
“You sit in the middle.”
“Huh?”
“That guy would probably rather have you holding on than me.”
Honestly, it just sounded like he didn’t want to touch a ghost.
It was ridiculous, but I didn’t want to waste time arguing over this, so I nodded.
I quickly climbed onto the motorcycle and wrapped my arms around the quick-service ghost’s waist. A helmet was automatically placed over my head.
As I blinked slowly, Seo-hyeok climbed on behind me—but I didn’t feel any hands touching me.
Confused, I looked back.
“What are you doing not holding on? Even if you won’t fall, you still have to hold on.”
“…I know.”
Seo-hyeok slowly placed his hand on my shoulder. His hand was larger than I expected, resting there without hurting me.
[Departing now.]
The motorcycle started smoothly. As expected, it was moving so fast that I couldn’t clearly make out the scenery around us.
Even so, there was no violent shaking—only my hair fluttered softly in the wind.
“……”
But why did Seo-hyeok’s hand on my shoulder keep twitching?
…Is he scared?
That was possible. The quick-service ghost had given me a helmet, but not Seo-hyeok.
To reassure him, I lightly tapped the back of his hand resting on my shoulder.
“……!”
Seo-hyeok flinched again.
He really was a scaredy-cat.
