Chapter 21: The Second Boss Appears

‘Let’s stop.’

A warning echoed in my mind, telling me I shouldn’t think too deeply. This is just unreality, unreality. When I clear the game, I’ll go back to my original world, and that’ll be the end of it. There’s no need to hold on to every little detail.

Forcing myself to shake off the thoughts, I lightly tapped my cheeks. At the edge of the mat, the bear-shaped mood lamp Han Bo-bae had brought glowed softly.

I pressed my throbbing head with my hand and rolled my eyes to look around. The first thing that came into view was Seo Yi-han, lying neatly beside me.

When I shifted my body, Seo Yi-han, who had been lying on his side facing me, scooted closer. Why is this guy sleeping so pressed against me? Startling me.

His face, sleeping with gentle, cute breaths, felt unfamiliar.

Unlike his usual flawless demeanor, Seo Yi-han slept with his mouth slightly open. It was only a tiny gap—not even enough to fit a pinky finger—but it was unexpected.

I’d thought he would sleep like a corpse: lying straight, hands neatly clasped on his stomach, without a single toss or turn.

Driven by idle curiosity, I closed his parted lips with my thumb and index finger. Then he let out a strange moan, ‘Uuung…’ and stirred in his sleep.

Afraid he’d wake if I did more, I pulled my hand away, and his face relaxed again. His broad chest rose and fell rhythmically.

‘Does he really work out?’

He was tall and well-built, but not offensively muscular or bulky. Rather, his body lines were elegant and refined, as if a suit would suit him perfectly.

But looking at him now, his chest was… wide and thick. Of course, that came with his broad shoulders. I absentmindedly admired his rising and falling ribcage.

I knew it was shameless to ogle a sleeping person, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I didn’t even know why I was doing this.

In the end, I only flinched and looked away when Seo Yi-han turned over heavily.

I gave him a gentle push and sat up. Something light fell from my upper body with a soft sound. It was a grey hoodie, with ‘Seo Yi-han’ embroidered in black thread on the chest.

‘He should have covered himself with this.’

I neatly spread it over him and stood up. As I tiptoed to the window, raindrops traced trails outside. Judging by how fast they accumulated, it wasn’t the same torrential downpour as before.

I blankly stared at the playground visible through the auditorium window. Then, a pale, fuzzy shape that hadn’t been there before caught my eye. Along with the hateful system window.

[Second boss discovered! Begin exploration!]

The pale shape glowed faintly alone in the dark playground. A faint blue aura swirled around it. Frowning, I focused my eyes and could easily make out the shape.

It was a woman. A young woman with long hair. She resembled the female ghost I’d seen at the crosswalk before entering the game, but wasn’t the same.

Unlike the crosswalk ghost who wore a flowing white dress, the playground ghost wore a white blouse and a dark suit skirt. And above all…

‘She’s barefoot.’

Her entire body was distinct. Either she hadn’t died long ago, or her resentment was so deep she retained vivid memories of her death. It was the latter.

Since the game didn’t draw detailed illustrations of ghosts, every time I saw one with my own eyes, it felt unfamiliar. As if this was reality, an unpleasant sensation that jolted my mind swept through my body.

“…Is that one of the ‘strong ghosts’ you mentioned earlier? The one on the playground?”

As I stared out the window with a frown, a low breath suddenly touched my ear. At the same time, a deep, beautiful voice barged in, dispelling the unpleasant feeling.

“Seo Yi-han?”

“Why are your eyes so wide?”

“If you’re awake, at least make some noise before approaching!”

I covered my right ear, where his breath had touched, and slowly edged away. But he tilted his head and followed me as I retreated.

In the end, my evasion was pointless, and we continued talking at the same distance as before.

“When did you wake up?”

“Just now. More precisely, when you touched my lips.”

…That’s not ‘just now,’ you bastard.

His cheeky reply left me speechless, my mouth gaping as if I’d been hit on the head. Then he flashed another damn smiling eyes and took a step closer. This guy had no concept of personal space.

Pressing right up against me, Seo Yi-han curled his lips delicately. His eyes curved down, his lips curved up—he was making full use of his facial muscles.

“Why were you staring at my face so intently?”

“What…!”

“Your gaze was so hot, I couldn’t show any signs of waking.”

Is this crazy guy insane? When did I ever look at his face with a hot gaze?

And when he said I touched his lips, it sounded like I did something perverted. I just found it playful and closed his parted lips. The real perverted act was…

‘No, that’s not it.’

I just looked at his body because it was nice. Ask a hundred people on the street—if you see a body that fit and good-looking, your eyes naturally go there!

Seo Yi-han, apparently unaware that I’d been scrutinizing his body, misinterpreted my actions based solely on me touching his lips.

He grinned and teased, ‘Huh? Why did you do that? What exactly did you like so much that you stared?’ With each word, he closed the already short distance between us.

When his face was right in front of me, I finally let out a groan of defeat and covered his face with my palm. Since he seemed to have no sense of shame, it was a predetermined battle that I, a normal person, would lose.

“Don’t say weird things. I wasn’t looking at your face—I was looking at your body!”

To be precise, I looked at both his face and body, but I paid more attention to his body. I was wondering what kind of exercise he did.

But as soon as I said it, even to my ears it sounded shameless. That wasn’t what I meant, but his ever-closer face had panicked me into blurting it out without thinking.

Apparently, it didn’t sound strange only to me. Seo Yi-han’s expression, which had been playful, turned peculiar. He raised his hand and touched his earlobe, as if doubting whether he’d heard correctly.

And my shame didn’t end there.

“…So Lee Jae-yoon was admiring Seo Yi-han’s body while he slept?”

Yoon Soo-ah, who had woken up at some point, even used the word ‘admiring’ to misinterpret my statement.

f*ck, I just said I looked—how could she hear it that way? She clearly had some weird filter in her ears.

Hiding my burning neck, I desperately made excuses.

“Crazy, when did I say it like that! I just… because his body was nice… I was curious about what exercise he does!”

“As for exercise, aside from jogging with you in the evening, I don’t really…”

Seo Yi-han scratched his head and replied. Just jogging and he had that physique? For a moment I was envious, but his next words shattered that feeling.

“Hmm. So my body is pleasing to the eye?”

He puffed out his chest confidently with a smug smile. Yoon Soo-ah burst out laughing, holding her stomach. I realized vividly that this guy had a natural talent for making people embarrassed.

Yoon Soo-ah’s frivolous laughter woke Kim Ji-ho and Han Bo-bae, who rubbed their eyes and got up.

Fortunately, Seo Yi-han and Yoon Soo-ah didn’t tell those two about the earlier incident. Because the kids, now fully awake, looked out the window and all freaked out.

“A virgin ghost?”

“It wasn’t there a moment ago—why did it suddenly appear?”

“It’s quite far… but I can see it really clearly.”

They each shared their impressions and then simultaneously looked at me. Their eyes clearly said, ‘Explain what that is.’ Now, the image of them smoothly progressing through the game without me felt distant.

“It’s the ghost I mentioned earlier. The strong one on the playground.”

There was no need to painstakingly make up explanations to persuade them like with the Ah-gwi case. I’d already hinted that there was a ghost on the playground, so I didn’t need a complicated explanation.

Those brief words were enough for the kids to understand that another ghost had appeared and that they’d have to run around to exorcise it. Their expressions hardened.

“They really don’t give us a proper break.”

Yoon Soo-ah massaged her temples and lamented.

Well, since the clock had stopped, we couldn’t even calculate how long we’d rested. Besides, only I knew that this auditorium area was set as a safe zone. The other kids must have fallen asleep without fully relaxing.

Of course, I’d emphasized several times that there seemed to be no ghosts in the auditorium and the shop, but unlike me, who had the system’s confirmation, the kids only had my word to rely on.

‘After resting here a few more times, they’ll naturally accept it.’

I had no choice but to let them learn through experience. Instead of looking at the tired Yoon Soo-ah, I turned my gaze to Seo Yi-han.

He, perhaps still amused by the earlier incident, was beaming with a radiant face amidst the exhausted kids.

Seeing his brightly upturned lips reminded me of my earlier slip, and I naturally lowered my head. If a blanket had been at my feet, I might have kicked it mercilessly and roared.

If I could, I wanted to smash my head against the wall a few times to forget. Might as well smash Seo Yi-han’s head too.

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