Chapter 12: A Grasping Hand

“You’re not my boyfriend, so I don’t see why you need to care about details like that.”

I’d never had a girlfriend, but even if I had, she wouldn’t react like this over a single unknown friend’s name. It wasn’t like I was suffering from delusional jealousy.

I thought I was speaking in a fairly reasonable tone, but Seo Yi-han’s expression hardened even more. When our eyes met, the smile vanished from his face, and he looked me over with glassy eyes.

“Hmph, right. You’re right. I’m not Jae-yoon’s boyfriend.”

His tone was calm, but I could swear he ground his teeth when pronouncing ‘boyfriend.’ Did I say something wrong? I replayed my words in my mind, but nothing seemed off.

Still, the chilled atmosphere showed no signs of recovering, and Seo Yi-han’s expression remained blank.

As the silence settled, the others, who had been watching, slowly stepped in.

“B-But the victim wasn’t a ghost; the perpetrator was! Amazing.”

Yoon Soo-ah spoke in a tone like she was reciting lines from a play. The last part, ‘Amazing,’ sounded like a tin robot muttering.

Han Bo-bae desperately chimed in, trying to change the subject.

“I know! Honestly, I thought Mr. Kim Joon-soo had become a ghost… Haha, isn’t that amazing? Jae-yoon, Yi-han.”

Those two should never become actors. Their acting was unbearably forced. Their pupils shook wildly as they alternated glances between me and Seo Yi-han.

Still, I was grateful they had mustered the courage to change the mood, so I subtly moved away from Seo Yi-han and added,

“Now we need to find out what happened to make that ghost the way it is. Where should we start looking?”

Internet and phones were out, so the only easy way to find old school incidents was through the class newspapers published over the years.

This school, as if proud of being a rich kid’s school, had extensive and long-standing club activities. The newspaper club, according to the story, had never been discontinued since the school’s founding.

In the old school building’s newspaper club room, there were boxes of all the class newspapers ever published.

If we found the 2008 incident there and went to the place where the ghost died to see the memory, our task in the old building would be complete.

But then the damn system suddenly appeared with a warning.

[Warning: Proceed in order! Explore the 1st grade, Class 5 classroom before the club room.]

Ugh, damn it. What was the use of that useless note? I marveled again at its nasty temper, making me find something I’d see anyway in the class newspapers.

I wondered what would happen if I ignored the main quest or warnings, but the following text made me drop that thought.

[Violation results in game over : )]

The bold red font and smiley face made me hallucinate blood dripping. If the game over was a threat… it definitely wouldn’t be good for me.

I suppressed my anger and asked.

‘Hey, when I finish the game safely, will you disappear too?’

[^^]

Now it was openly mocking me, for an inanimate object. Still, since it ordered, I had to obey.

I sighed deeply and tapped the attendance book with my index finger. On the cover, it said ‘1-5’ in big letters.

“Ah, so we go to that classroom first?”

Kim Ji-ho, who had been acting as if he’d given up on reading the mood, said. This guy picks up and drops hints as he pleases.

Irritated, I nodded, and Kim Ji-ho picked up the attendance book to prepare to leave.

“Why are you taking that?”

“Just in case…”

It was a useless item now. But Kim Ji-ho hugged it as if it brought him comfort.

I glared and snatched the thick book from him, then stuffed it into a drawer.

“What did I say about picking up things that suddenly catch your interest?”

“N-Not to pick them up…”

“Right. So forget it. If you want a bizarre experience, take it.”

Whether he understood that ‘bizarre experience’ wasn’t good, Kim Ji-ho backed away from the drawer, terrified.

The ghost fires that had been lighting the area began to drift away as we prepared to leave the teacher’s office. They were quite cute and useful; I wanted to trade one for Kim Ji-ho.

“1st grade, Class 5 is on the 5th floor.”

Han Bo-bae, who had scurried to check the emergency evacuation map on the wall, informed us. She seemed used to the situation now, not trembling and finding necessary information well. I was glad I had kept her from being caught by the ghost.

Seo Yi-han stood there like a statue even after I moved away. Kim Ji-ho timidly approached him and called out in a dragging voice, ‘Class president…’ and only then did he start moving.

Originally, we agreed to use Seo Yi-han’s phone as a flashlight until the battery died, but he didn’t seem willing to hand it over.

I had no choice but to take out my own and light my feet as I stepped over the threshold. But as soon as I entered the hallway, a familiar black object scurried under my feet.

“Eek!”

“Don’t scream.”

I quickly stepped on the cockroach and covered Han Bo-bae’s mouth.

In such an old building, it was weirder not to have bugs. Besides, having lived in a mountain village for a long time, a cockroach that size was adorable to me.

After nonchalantly killing it, I scraped my shoe on the floor a few times. Yoon Soo-ah shuddered and whispered.

“Wash it off!”

“It’s on the sole anyway. You probably step on things dirtier than insect corpses without knowing.”

I replied casually and removed my hand from Han Bo-bae’s mouth.

“Thank you…”

“Don’t mention it. Next time, don’t freak out over a bug. In a building like this, it’s weirder if there aren’t any.”

“I’ll try.”

She clenched her fists and answered adorably, making me scoff. She was clearly a chaebol daughter like Seo Yi-han, but her vibe was completely different.

Seo Yi-han had enough aura to not worry about inheriting bad luck or grudges from his parents, but Han Bo-bae didn’t.

‘You need to be careful in the future…’

I didn’t know if she was the first child or would inherit the family business, but usually, curses and resentment from parents target the weaker child. That might be why her grandmother got protective talismans every year.

I felt sorry for Han Bo-bae, whose only fault was her lineage. I was about to give her some friendly advice when Seo Yi-han, who had been silently following, spoke up.

“Shouldn’t we hurry? Ah, and use my phone.”

He pushed past Yoon Soo-ah and Kim Ji-ho, took out his phone, grabbed my arm, and dragged me up the stairs.

Since he took out his own phone, I put mine away and obediently followed.

‘I thought he was mad.’

His face, climbing the stairs with long legs, was as expressionless as before. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if we had fought… I didn’t even know what had upset him, but he was clearly angry. Yet, looking at his hand gripping my arm, maybe he had calmed down.

For a moment, I felt wronged—I hadn’t done anything wrong, so why was I watching his mood? But since he wasn’t usually like this… I already missed his warm, clingy side from before.

“What?”

As I stared at him without realizing it, Seo Yi-han asked, having noticed. Embarrassed, I shook my head exaggeratedly and climbed two stairs at once.

The problem was that a pale hand shot out from somewhere, grabbed my ankle, and pulled my body backward.

‘Whoa.’

If I tumbled backward, everyone behind me would get crushed. Not to mention the noise—it’d be a major disaster. I flailed to regain balance, but my body inevitably fell back.

I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for impact.

But what I feared didn’t happen.

“I told you to be careful!”

Seo Yi-han, eyes wide with surprise, firmly supported my shoulders and back. He looked at me with concern-filled eyes and whispered. Though his voice was soft, I felt like I was being scolded. Unjustly, I quickly defended myself.

“I didn’t miss my step; there was something below…”

All eyes turned to my feet. The white hand sticking out from the railing waved a few times as if embarrassed by the attention, then tried to crawl back under the railing.

It was just an ordinary, prankster minor ghost. Though that one prank nearly got us all killed with broken heads.

I quickly grabbed the fleeing hand and lifted it. The white arm, dangling, was pitifully short—only up to the elbow. Kim Ji-ho and Han Bo-bae covered their mouths again.

“How can you touch it? I have a talisman.”

The hand repeatedly clenched and unclenched its palm as if protesting. There were burn marks on the palm.

It seemed it didn’t know I had a talisman and got hurt when it grabbed me. It kept fluttering as if in pain.

I thought about using a talisman to destroy it, but reconsidered. It wasn’t particularly harmful.

I swung the arm once and threw it toward the ceiling.

The arm stuck dangling on the ceiling, wriggling and squirming. At that height, it could at most catch the tip of someone’s hair.

“Let’s go.”

I dusted off my hands and ordered the others. They followed obediently, their eyes somewhat chilly.

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