Chapter 7: Time Stops at 3

Han Bo-bae, her expression awkward, pinched Yoon Soo-ah’s side as she spoke. Her face was pale, almost blue.

Yoon Soo-ah, seeing Han Bo-bae like that, silently let go of Kim Ji-ho and clicked her tongue.

“You’re right, Bo-bae. Let’s go to the main gate.”

Seo Yi-han agreed, and once again casually grabbed my wrist.

It seemed he was holding my wrist because I’d snapped at him in the bathroom not to hold my hand, but either way, it was just as annoying.

Why was he so fixated on my hand? And anyway, the main gate was locked—why bother going all the way there?

I dangled the arm Seo Yi-han was holding and said,

“Let’s just send a few people. It’s probably locked anyway.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“Well… I just know.”

I couldn’t say it was because I’d played the game, so I hesitated. Seo Yi-han’s eyes narrowed further. He was probably about to start on the ambulance thing again.

Just then, Kim Ji-ho, who had been slouching with a dejected look, glanced at his wrist and spoke up.

“It’s 3 o’clock, so it’s probably locked, like Lee Jae-yoon said…”

“3 o’clock?”

“What do you mean? When we met Lee Jae-yoon earlier, it was 9 o’clock, but suddenly the time… It really is 3.”

Yoon Soo-ah, who had been shouting, checked her phone screen and fell silent. The color drained further from Han Bo-bae’s face.

Everyone fell silent, realizing that time flowing this fast was impossible.

“So we were in that classroom for six hours… Is that even possible?”

“It’s not.”

Seo Yi-han cut in sharply. He checked his wristwatch and phone alternately, then clicked his tongue. The silver watch gleamed, flaunting its worth.

Seo Yi-han tapped his fingers rhythmically, as if calculating something, then spoke with a serious expression.

“…Time doesn’t seem to be moving, Jae-yoon.”

“What?”

“I just counted to sixty. But both my phone and watch—the minute hand hasn’t moved.”

I hastily checked the time myself.

Sure enough, several minutes should have passed since Kim Ji-ho said it was 3, but the screen still showed exactly 3:00.

Upon hearing Seo Yi-han’s words, Kim Ji-ho and Han Bo-bae stared at me with teary eyes. What did they expect me to do?

Time stopping at 3—I’d never encountered this setting before. The system window was, as usual, silent.

Still, seeing their gazes full of expectation, I felt I should at least share what I knew, so I opened my mouth.

“Originally, the hour of Chuk (1:30–3:30 AM) is when yin energy is strongest, and ghosts appear most frequently. Especially at 3 o’clock—it’s the time ghosts like best, so hospitals say the most people die at this hour…”

“Yah!”

Yoon Soo-ah slapped my back painfully, and Seo Yi-han covered my mouth, cutting off my explanation.

That bastard Seo Yi-han had his hand firmly over my mouth, yet he shot a dirty look at Yoon Soo-ah, who had slapped my back with a thud.

“Why do you have to hit him?”

“Aren’t you covering his mouth with your hand?”

“I’m asking why you hit him. You could just tell him nicely that you’re scaring the kids.”

What was with them? Seo Yi-han interrogated Yoon Soo-ah as if she’d beaten me with a steel pipe.

I’d noticed it earlier—this guy was excessively protective. I forcibly removed Seo Yi-han’s hand and waved my hand dismissively at Yoon Soo-ah.

“I was being insensitive. Sorry.”

At my words, Han Bo-bae, who had been stiff as a wax figure, finally relaxed. I guess I deserved the slap. It was always known that Yoon Soo-ah cared for Han Bo-bae dearly.

‘Huh? Always?’

The thought that crossed my mind felt odd somehow.

‘Always’? It had only been two weeks since I started playing that shitty game, and less than a day since I was sucked into it. But the thought came so naturally, it was strange.

Then, suddenly, a red window flashed—one that hadn’t appeared when I was shouting earlier.

[Quest: Explore the Main Gate! Go with your friends.]

[Will you accept? Reward: Insight]

There were no selection buttons after the question. This wasn’t a request; it was a forced quest.

And since when did the system kindly tell me the location? Its intentions were clear.

It wanted us to go to the gate, which was obviously locked, and do meaningless training. The reward would probably be a paltry amount of Insight.

Insight and Exorcism Power were the main stats in the game. Insight was gained when you found clues needed for boss fights or discovered facts related to the story.

If you maxed it out, you could immediately identify the name and weakness of a boss ghost.

At first glance, it seemed generous for a crappy game, but Insight was capped at 20 per round, with a max of 100.

That meant you had to collect 20 Insight from each of the five boss fights to just barely learn the name and weakness of the final boss. If the game had any conscience, this stat should have been deleted.

Exorcism Power was essentially game progress. You had to steadily advance the story and raise this stat to 100% to fight the boss ghost of each round.

For reference, I currently had Insight 3 and Exorcism Power 10%.

‘…Why did Insight go up by 3?’

[+2 for giving appropriate advice to friends, +1 for explaining the hour of Chuk!]

‘You deliberately set the time to Chuk, didn’t you? Screw you?’

The lack of response confirmed it. Someday, I swear I’ll destroy this virtual system. With that resolve, I opened my mouth to fulfill the quest.

“Let’s go check the main gate first.”

“Earlier you said to send just a few people.”

Ah, seriously. Did Seo Yi-han have a special talent for remembering every word I said? Embarrassed, I deliberately narrowed my eyes.

“Time has stopped. Do you think that’s normal? We should try every possible escape method. If the gate is locked, we need to find a way to open it.”

“But the school gate locks automatically at 12, and the security system—”

Kim Ji-ho, who had been listless like a wilted scallion, perked up as if he’d thought of something brilliant. He began explaining excitedly.

“If you try to force open a secured door, an alarm always goes off!”

“That’s right. The security company that manages our mansion said the same thing.”

Han Bo-bae agreed with Kim Ji-ho and stood up abruptly.

But I was more focused on how naturally she referred to her home as a ‘mansion’. Come to think of it, she’d said her mother received talismans from mine every year. Of course, it wasn’t cheap.

I was curious about what kind of family Han Bo-bae came from.

Was it on par with Seo Yi-han’s? I knew from the game that Seo Yi-han was the grandson of a famous steel company chairman.

Yoon Soo-ah gave off the vibe of a political family. Kim Ji-ho seemed to be from a wealthy professional family, as nothing about him stood out.

From a young age, watching the guests who came to my mother, I’d developed a sense for differentiating politicians and tycoons—their aura and smell were slightly different.

Politicians smelled of rotten wood. Tycoons had a smell of aged iron. My mother said those were the scents of stubbornness and desire manifested.

And no matter how kindly their faces appeared, looking at what they carried behind them was unsettling. They all came with at least one resentment-filled energy or ear.

Still, such people had strong ancestral spirits or innate energy, so they didn’t have to worry about dying in this life. It was their next lives or their children’s generation that would have problems.

Anyway, unlike Yoon Soo-ah, who had a faint woody scent, Seo Yi-han and Han Bo-bae had a distinct smell of iron—proof they weren’t from ordinary families.

“I don’t know why, but there are no ghosts around the field… Perfect. Let’s go!”

Yoon Soo-ah swept her gaze across the main gate beyond the field and set the course of action cheerfully. Seo Yi-han also rose from his seat and held out his hand to me.

I considered standing up on my own, but there was no need to refuse the favor, so I took his hand and stood up. Seo Yi-han’s face bloomed into a smile.

He was such a strange guy. I knew he considered me a close friend, but wasn’t he a bit too affectionate?

I’d never had a peer act so intimately toward me before, so it made me restless. That’s why, even after I was fully standing, I didn’t scold him for continuing to hold my hand and silently started walking.

***

I’d told everyone not to step on the field no matter what, and they listened too well. Seeing them follow my words like a law made me realize what power felt like.

Of course, in this abnormal situation of ghost sightings, it was the power that came with the title ‘son of a shaman’—even though I hated that title, this kind of power wasn’t bad.

We circled the field and arrived at the main gate, but as expected, it was firmly locked. It wasn’t just a stainless steel gate like in ordinary schools—white marble pillars, nearly two stories high, stood majestic and imposing.

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