Chapter 13: The Note

The old school building, completely neglected, was in even worse shape than the faculty office.

Windows were shattered in several places, chairs and desks scattered haphazardly.

To make matters worse, the grating sound of fingernails scraping against the blackboard continued to drift in from Class 4. Yoon Soo-ah, finding it particularly unbearable, clamped her hands tightly over her ears and snapped.

“Why does that bastard have to act up even after death?”

“Soo-ah…”

Han Bo-bae sat down in front of Yoon Soo-ah and placed her hands over Soo-ah’s ears.

I didn’t enjoy the sound either, so I wanted to search just enough to satisfy that damn system and get out quickly.

I walked to the back of the classroom, pointed at the overturned trash can, and asked Kim Ji-ho.

“Check if there’s any note or something.”

“Why me?”

A foul stench rose from the old trash. Having absorbed moisture from the rain, it emitted a peculiarly sweet, putrid smell. It was the kind of smell you’d find at a dump.

I covered my nose and lightly kicked the trash can. The contents, which had been sitting there for a while, spilled out completely. I shrugged at the feast of garbage.

“Yoon Soo-ah and Han Bo-bae are like that, and Seo Yi-han is holding the phone.”

“Then what about you, Lee Jae-yoon?”

“I’m the trash inspector.”

My plan was to have Kim Ji-ho pick up anything that looked like a note and hand it to me so I could check the contents.

Honestly, I didn’t want to touch that pile of trash, and I also wanted to get back at Kim Ji-ho for earlier. Plus, I was sick of seeing him cower behind Yoon Soo-ah whenever trouble hit.

‘You should at least do something helpful for the team this time.’ Thinking that, I urged Kim Ji-ho to hurry up.

With a sullen face, Kim Ji-ho plopped down near the trash pile and began moving his hands. He picked out papers that looked like notes one by one and set them aside.

I unfolded each one and tossed it back into the trash. So far, none of them held what I was looking for.

How long had we been at it?

“Ah.”

As Kim Ji-ho’s focused head lowered, his glasses, barely held together by worn tape, slipped off. They fell right into the trash.

The tape, which had lost its stickiness, couldn’t hold the frames together, and the glasses broke in two. He fumbled around, desperate to find them.

‘Damn it.’

Now that he was practically blind again, I or Seo Yi-han would have to search the trash. But Yi-han was shining his phone light around…

Eventually, I clicked my tongue and reached out from where I sat next to Kim Ji-ho. Since my hands were going to get dirty anyway, I decided to do him a favor and grab his glasses too.

“Jae-yoon, you hold the phone. I’ll do it.”

Seo Yi-han forced the phone into my hand and sat down beside me. Startled by the sudden change, I just stood there blankly holding the phone while Yi-han first picked up Kim Ji-ho’s glasses.

“Ji-ho, stick them properly this time.”

“Uh-huh.”

Kim Ji-ho cradled the two pieces of his glasses and went off to find tape again. That guy is seriously useless…

I shot a displeased glare at his retreating back and moved the phone around, following Seo Yi-han’s hands.

His white, slender hands rummaged through the trash without hesitation. How could a guy’s hands be so pretty? He must have been raised well. Well, he probably was.

But Seo Yi-han, who clearly had a delicate upbringing, didn’t shy away from dirty work—like when he dusted off the air earlier. He wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.

“Doesn’t it gross you out?”

“I’ll wash my hands later.”

Seo Yi-han replied nonchalantly. Still, most people would hesitate because of the ick factor. Even I had deliberately passed the job to Kim Ji-ho.

But seeing him volunteer like that made me think he was a decent person after all.

Moreover, Seo Yi-han didn’t pass the note-like papers to me; he unfolded each one himself. Then he’d ask, ‘Is this useful?’ I’d shake my head, and he’d toss it away. The cycle repeated.

After Seo Yi-han took over, my hands never got dirty.

“He died well…?”

Seo Yi-han picked up a piece of paper and muttered to himself.

That was it! What I’d been looking for. I snatched the note from him. It was scribbled in a hasty hand, clearly written by multiple people in succession.

– He died well lol

– Serves him right, who’s even sad?

– The homeroom teacher must be relieved too

I cheered inwardly, calling the system.

‘Hey, I found it! Can we go now?’

[Quest Complete! Insight +5, Current Insight: 10]

(TN: 30 more insight to start seeing amygdalae lmao)

Whether the system was satisfied with my effort in the stench to find a single junk item, it generously boosted my insight.

I smiled in satisfaction and stood up, holding the note. Seo Yi-han followed suit. The others, who had been doing their own things, scurried over and started asking questions.

“What’s that?”

“A note? The content is creepy…”

“More importantly, can we get out of here? I can’t stand that sound anymore.”

As if responding to Yoon Soo-ah’s words, the screeching from the blackboard grew louder. Ordinary ghosts tend to act more mischievously when provoked or when they sense attention.

The piercing noise made everyone cover their ears, not just Yoon Soo-ah.

“They must have nothing better to do.”

As if hearing Yoon Soo-ah’s mutter, a sharp scree—! came from the next classroom, like a rebellious child deliberately making a shrill sound.

Yoon Soo-ah frowned deeply but kept grumbling.

‘She adapted fast, which is good…’

Her natural fearlessness played a part, but still, that was too quick. If left alone, she might charge into the next room to argue with the ghost.

I blocked her path and pushed her to leave quickly.

Seo Yi-han, as if conscious of his dirty hands, didn’t touch me. He didn’t grab my wrist or arm like he usually did, and walked a certain distance away. His phone was still in my hand.

Kim Ji-ho had somehow found tape and wound his glasses back together, but the smell was indescribable. The stench from his hands and the glasses that had been buried in the trash combined into a synergy.

My own hands were a bit grimy from handling the paper scraps, though not smelly—but still unpleasant. I desperately wanted to wash them.

Kim Ji-ho, also disgusted by his stinky glasses, hesitantly asked.

“Does the water work in the old school bathroom?”

“It does.”

I answered confidently, having used it earlier. And conveniently, as we turned a corner in the hallway, the bathroom appeared.

Unlike the first-floor bathroom where I had woken up, the fifth-floor one looked intact from the outside. Actually, ‘intact’ wasn’t the word—the door was firmly shut.

The place exuded a damp, ominous atmosphere, as if telling us not to open it.

“M-maybe we should wash with rainwater from the window instead…?”

Yoon Soo-ah glanced sideways, questioning whether we’d really open that door. Kim Ji-ho and Seo Yi-han also seemed hesitant.

But this was the only bathroom on this floor, and I didn’t want to bother going downstairs. Who knows what we might run into on the way.

Reluctantly, I pulled out a talisman from my pocket and said.

“Stay close to me. We’ll just quickly wash our hands and get out.”

After all, the talisman was already slightly singed from the earlier contact with the ghost. I figured I’d just discard it here instead of earlier.

Kim Ji-ho stood to my left, Seo Yi-han to my right. I swallowed once and carefully opened the door.

“…….”

Contrary to my nervousness, nothing was visible at first. But the relief was short-lived—from one of the stalls came the sound of something being gnawed, crunch-crunch.

“Don’t look back.”

The talisman was burning quickly. Whatever was in the stall seemed no ordinary entity.

I whispered, barely audible, then stuck the half-ash talisman on the door of the stall where the sound came from.

Then I rushed to the sink and turned on the water. Fortunately, the water flowed steadily, though the pressure was a bit weak.

And so, three grown men crowded around the small sink, washing their hands with anxious faces. Even while lathering with a tiny sliver of soap, I kept glancing at the stall door to see how much of the talisman remained.

Seo Yi-han and I managed to roughly dry our hands, but Kim Ji-ho, who needed to wash more than just his hands, was dragged out with only soap on his glasses. The talisman had completely turned to ash and scattered, leaving no choice.

“That was close.”

I quickly closed the bathroom door and wiped away cold sweat. Just as the door shut, the stall door creaked open.

Kim Ji-ho stood there with a dazed expression, clutching his now fragrant glasses. They were covered in slippery soap foam, unusable and un-carryable.

Seo Yi-han patted his back comfortingly and said gently.

“Ji-ho, wash them with rainwater like Soo-ah said.”

It sounded almost sarcastic, but with such a warm tone, he must genuinely be concerned for Kim Ji-ho.

Kim Ji-ho’s face looked pale, but I ignored it and turned away. In the end, he wiped the soapy glasses once on his clothes and put them back on.

A whimpering sound came out—probably soap in his eyes—but no one paid attention.

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