I Became the Hidden Mastermind

021 – Ghost Story #3

021 – Ghost Story #3

“What should I do?”

Jeongseok seemed to believe what I said.

I quickly said, “We need to find a book about the history of our school. It would be even better if it’s a book that talks about the incidents and shamans from the past. They say this school used to be a graveyard. That’s why it feels like real ghosts are coming out.”

In horror movies, ghosts have a grudge and kill people. If we can gather information about shaman ghosts and undo that grudge, maybe we can solve this incident.

“But Hayoungwon, the library is probably locked. How are we going to get in?”

“Don’t worry. I’m a member of the D-class library committee. I know the library lock code. Did you think Jeongseok would call you without having a plan like that?”

We started walking.

After picking the library lock and entering, the dark and gloomy library interior loomed large.

Clank, clank.

The sound of a bell ringing from behind was getting fainter.

“Jeongseok, you’re my colleague now too. Even if we run away from here, the ghosts will chase after you. So we have to do our best to solve this case. Do our best. Our lives are at stake!”

“……”

Swoosh.

Jeongseok handed me a book without any trouble.

The title was “Jeong Dosan, the Father of the Dog Dragon.”

“It’s our grandfather’s memoir. We have a lot of copies at home, but this one should have stories related to the spiritual realm. Take a look. I’ll search for another book.”

Great!

I quickly opened the book.

And I found the information I wanted!

“During the construction of Yeongji High School, unfortunate accidents continued to occur. The Cheon family, who owned the land and established the educational foundation, suggested calling shamans to perform exorcism rituals.”

“We asked the local shaman to perform a ritual. She was known as the powerful shaman in the area and was skeptical about building the school on top of the ley lines.”

“In the end, the local shaman refused to perform the ritual. Cheon called a young shaman from outside. She was incredibly beautiful and introduced herself as the head shaman.”

“After that, there were no more accidents, and the construction was completed without any issues.”

“Is this the end?”

“Is there nothing more?”

While I was flipping through the book, Jeongseok approached me.

“I don’t think there’s a book about the shaman of Gae-ryong City. Did you find anything?”

Thump, thump, thump.

I heard a thumping sound on the floor.

“Hey, Hayoungwon. It seems like there’s more than one ghost.”

“When you talk about ghosts at the cemetery, they come to you. When you talk about ghosts at the cemetery, they come to you. When you talk about ghosts at the cemetery, they come to you.”

“Hey, can you hear that too? Right now? Or am I going crazy? Can you hear what’s happening outside the library?”

Jeongseok urged me for an answer, looking extremely tense.

As I continued to search through the books, I finally felt like I had grasped the key to this phenomenon.

“We asked the head shaman of Seonang-dang, under the authority of the market, to perform a ritual. She was known as the powerful shaman in the area and was skeptical about building the school on top of the ley lines.”

This was the part that caught my attention.

“Ley lines… Didn’t the English teacher also mention that this school is built on ley lines? And that’s why people have nightmares or see strange things?”

In a flash, my mind cleared up as if a light bulb had been turned on. I opened the book “Easy Guide to Feng Shui” and read the section on “ley lines.”

I had a feeling that Yoo Dahee’s book on Feng Shui would be helpful to me now!

“This damn place, it wasn’t a graveyard here! You bastards! Saying there’s a ley line here? There can’t be a graveyard on a ley line!”

Don’t write a graveyard on a ley line-.

Even without the need to consult a feng shui book, it’s a story that every Korean knows by default.

For everything, there is a proper cause and effect.

“If you talk about ghosts in the graveyard, they come. If you talk about ghosts in the graveyard, they come. If you talk about ghosts in the graveyard, they come.”

Because I talked about ghosts in the graveyard, a real ghost appeared – that’s the causality.

However, this school wasn’t a graveyard, so talking about ghosts was not allowed.

“Get lost! Go away! You bastards! It’s not a graveyard here! I didn’t talk about ghosts in the graveyard! Get lost!”

Frustrated and scared, I vented various strange emotions as if excreting them.

After yelling for a while, Jungseok brought an old map from somewhere and said.

“This place had a house built before the school was built. A big house. It was a place where a house, not a graveyard, was built. They demolished the mansion and built a school on that land!”

Did my and Jungseok’s fact-based exorcism work?

The outside of the library, which had been noisy with all sorts of sounds, became very quiet.

Jungseok, breathing heavily, muttered.

“Is it all over…?”

Hey!

You shouldn’t say that!

Swoosh-.

As if my ominous premonition had come true, a silhouette appeared on the library window.

It was a long-legged and intricately contoured shadow.

“…Shaman ghost!?”

Thunk-.

The library door swung open.

“Hey. What’s going on again? Why did you call me at this hour? Don’t you know Youngwon is someone who comes when I say come and leaves when I say go?”

It was Yang Joo-hee.

The silhouette was Yang Joo-hee!

She came after receiving my message!

In the end, my legs lost their strength, and I hesitated, sitting down.

Ding-.

『Congratulations! You have won from “Even Ghosts Come When I Call”!』

『Settlement for the lives of two survivors begins.』

『You gain 200P.』

Damn it!

# # #

We left the library and headed to a nearby cafe.

We bought three drinks and a carrot cake, and I handled the payment.

“Explain what happened.”

Vice Captain Jung Suk demanded an explanation from me.

It was the expected attitude.

After all, I came to the cafe with these guys to explain the situation.

“I’ve seen it before. I keep being tormented by things like ghosts and other horrifying entities. The problem is that it targets not only me but sometimes entangles other people too.”

There was a saying that in misfortune, there is fortune.

Yang Ju-hee and Jung Seok.

It was unfortunate yet fortunate that both of them had experienced the incidents involving the ghost of the “copied mother” and the “feng shui ghost” who had attacked me.

This surreal and abnormal experience expands a person’s rigid logic and worldview.

“Why.”

As Jung Seok inserted a straw into his cold Americano, he asked simply.

Why.

What does that mean?

“Why do ghosts come to you, and sometimes, with a reason?”

It seemed that Jung Seok considered the cause of the incidents I faced, whether it was because of the recent “feng shui ghost” incident or my inherent nature.

If we look at the cause, it coincided perfectly with the time I opened the store and purchased “Kyungsa Open” from there, and the turmoil caused by the ghosts….

“I don’t know the reason. I want to find out.”

It wasn’t a lie.

Strictly speaking, the strange “Status Window” appearing to me is the fundamental cause, isn’t it?

I didn’t know the reason why this status window appeared to me.

“…”

Jung Seok furrowed his brows.

He must be feeling fear at the thought of possibly continuing to experience similar events like just now.

“I get it. I get it. I won’t ask for help barehanded. If I help, I can give you guys money. Don’t you need money?”

“Money?”

Yang Joo-hee’s eyes sparkled at my proposal.

Who doesn’t need money?

That’s when Jeong-seok asked.

“Oh, it’s Hayoung-won. You were the one who distributed 30,000 won to each of us yesterday.”

Jeong-seok, you bastard.

You have better instincts than I thought.

“By any chance, is yesterday’s group chat incident related to what happened today?”

“Yeah. If it weren’t for me, you guys would all be dead. Now that it’s over, let me be frank. I saved your lives. I saved you guys.”

Honestly, I didn’t have any desire to act like a hero.

But I wanted to convince my friends who had experienced the same incident for once. It wasn’t about hiding in hot or cold water.

About a minute passed, I suppose?

Jeong-seok downed his own cup of americano.

Then he put down the empty cup with a thud and said,

“So, what you’re saying, Hayoung-won, is that something could happen that puts my life in danger in a place I don’t know about. Instead of dying or getting hurt without knowing anything, it’s better to cooperate.”

“Oh, right. You’re right.”

“But why was it me, of all people?”

Jeong-seok asked me.

I decided to be honest.

“You wrote me a note saying you were being harassed in Class D. It was a bit clumsy as an accusation. If it were me, I would have written with my left hand. But I thought you were someone who had at least a bit of empathy.”

“Etasim….”

“While we’re at it, may I ask why you wrote that note all of a sudden?”

I felt curious about a person named ‘Jeongseok,’ the assistant squad leader. Since we might become colleagues on the same boat in the future, it would be nice to know each other well.

Jeongseok soon spoke.

“It’s not really because of Etasim. I just wanted to avoid any trouble during election season, so I stayed quiet in the squad. But then… my thoughts changed a bit.”

Election season because of Dad?

What kind of politician is he?

Come to think of it, didn’t their grandfather mention something about the market in his autobiography?

While contemplating, Yang Joo-hee, who was enjoying a carrot cake, spoke up.

“Oh, I remember where I saw him. Jeong Mansik. Mayor Jeong Mansik! He looks just like him!”

Jeong Mansik…

The figure on the placard in front of our house back then?

“Wow, Jeongseok, you’re from a wealthy family. Your dad is the mayor. I’ve never seen a politician’s son before. Can I touch you?”

“No, I didn’t spread the word intentionally, you know?”

“I only knew he was a former prosecutor; I didn’t know he’s the current mayor.”

“….”

For some reason, Jeongseok seemed disappointed.

“Keep it a secret, okay?”

Jeongseok seemed to want to keep his dad being the mayor a secret.

If it were me, I would have bragged about it.

If I were the mayor’s son, the teachers wouldn’t have dared to chatter so much.

If I said, “Water-” even the sophisticated English teacher would come up to my desk to fetch water.

“I wanted to avoid any troublesome incidents this year. So, I pretended not to see Hayoungwon being harassed. I thought it was fortunate that it didn’t get complicated.”

Well…

I thought that could be possible.

“Hey. You came today. You didn’t pretend not to see today. So, it’s settled.”

Even I find my words somewhat impressive.

While I was admiring myself, Jungseok looked alternately at Yang Juhee and me.

“…But how did you two become friends?”

Iljin and the lackey.

They probably realized that our relationship couldn’t be defined by just that.

When I was thinking about how to explain, Jungseok calmly added,

“There were various things. I went through some tough times too. Getting beaten up by Bong Jiyeon’s gang was more painful than I thought. So, I changed my mind a bit. That’s why I wrote the note.”

Why did Jungseok, the mayor’s son, end up getting beaten up by Bong Jiyeon’s gang?

There were many things I wanted to ask in various ways, but he didn’t seem likely to give easy answers.

The important thing is that Jungseok and I became colleagues today!

It really felt like forming a pirate crew.

Should we name the pirate crew? When I was thinking about that, Jungseok spoke.

“By the way, Hayoungwon. Last time, you proudly deduced that I wrote the note. Your claim was only half right. From now on, if you want to conceal your handwriting, write the note with your left hand, okay?”

“That’s right.”

“That note was originally written with the left hand. I’m left-handed.”

Hmm. More distinctive than I thought.

Jeongseok also shared the TMI that he’s left-handed.

“Great. Good. Anyway, everyone has sailed with me now.”

Chuckling.

Maybe because of the relief, I felt hungry.

Come to think of it, I haven’t had dinner.

I thought about trying carrot cake, but it was gone.

Yang Ju-hee had finished it all.

“Youngwon. Get more cake. It’s delicious.”

“….”

With things turning out this way, should I go grab a late dinner?

With that thought, I bought a cake and left the cafe.

Jeongseok asked me in a low voice.

“But Heyngwon, is there anything else you’re hiding?”

“Hiding something?”

“I said I’d give you money if you help. Cheonmundong, where you live, is where people in the lowest income bracket live. And you come from a stepfamily. It’s not exactly an affluent situation.”

“….”

“But you talked as if money comes to you out of nowhere. Like the 30,000 won back then and today saying you’ll give 100,000 won?”

…Hmm, look at this guy. His deduction skills are better than I thought.

Well, I did give a lot of hints.

I looked at Yang Ju-hee and Jung Seok.

Should I tell them about the status window?

“Okay. You’re in. Truth be told, I have a mysterious superpower. Depending on the situation, my superpower can be very, very, very helpful in your lives. Intriguing proposition, isn’t it?”

It seemed difficult to keep it a secret for a lifetime anyway.

It’s better to emphasize that being with me will definitely be beneficial.

Now that it’s come to this, I should spend some points, including the 821 accumulated today.

Let’s see what “Capsule Drawing” is all about.