[One Hour Before the Sec-study
Meeting Disruption]
We finished the briefing and arrived at the boarding house on the 5th floor.
"Follow me."
"Joon..."
I grabbed the master key from the counter and led the members to the room at the very end of the hallway.
Then I inserted the key into the leader's room and turned it.
Click-!
"P, Prez...!"
The members called me in a low hushed voices.
"What are you doing....."
But without showing any reaction, I
simply flung the door open.
"R-Run away....."
The members flinched and tried to run
away in panic, but I calmly pointed
inside, as if telling them to look.
"Look"
"....."
Startled, the members backed away.
But when there was no sign of movement inside, they slowly began to gauge the situation.
Soon, Sunah was the first to quietly creep forward and peek inside.
"..Gasp."
She covered her mouth in shock.
Jinhee also poked her head in and
frowned.
"Huh..?"
"It's empty, Joon."
Sunah, trying to be quiet, stood on tiptoe and whispered in my ear.
I nodded.
"Yeah. That's right. This is what I wanted to show you."
The room I was showing to them belonged to that uncle-aged man who they had seen making a fuss yesterday, complaining about the noise.
It was empty.
Completely clean, without a single item or possessions inside.
"It can't be..."
What's happening?
Soon, the other members also came one by one, peeking inside with puzzled expressions.
"He definitely stormed out of here yesterday. He was yelling at us about the noise and even fought with Jinhee."
"Yeah, that's right."
The one frowning the most and looking
around was, of course, Jinhee, who had run into that guy twice already.
After briefly letting them confirm the room was truly empty, I stepped boldly inside.
Then, looking at them from within the room, I said.
"Jinhee, would you please come in?"
"Huh? Oh, okay"
Jinhee stepped in, glancing around the room, and I closed the door.
Click-
"....."
A small boarding house room.
Just the two of us inside.
I stared at Jinhee from a close distance.
"...."
"....?"
She was looking around the room when she felt my gaze and looked at me with a questioning expression.
When talking with Sunah, I usually had to look down at her, and even with Hayoon, at close range, I had to slightly lower my head.
Jinhee was the tallest among the female members, perhaps that was the reason I could look eye-to-eye at her like this.
"....."
"What."
A sullen expression.
It was time to say what I hadn't been able to before.
Since we hadn't had a moment alone after coming back, I still hadn't brought it up.
Just as Jinhee started to frown, as if
wondering what I was staring at, I quietly murmured.
"..Lee Jinhee."
"What now?"
"Don't go to work today."
"huh?"
Jinhee's eyes widened slightly. I continued with a serious expression.
"If you get fired, I'l support you. I'll give you your living expenses and everything, so don't go there today. Stay here with us."
"...What?"
Jinhee tilted her head slightly, paused for a moment, and then slowly nodded.
"...I was wondering when you'd finally say that. It's already almost evening, and if I went to the night shift today, I'd barely get any sleep anyway."
"Yeah..."
I nodded.
I owed Jinhee a lot.
Though she didn't know it at all.
"..And, thank you."
"For what?"
Jinhee asked curtly.
The serious mood seemed to embarrass her.
"Just. For everything."
"....."
Jinhee made a displeased face for some reason.
She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at me.
"Is something wrong with you?"
"No."
I trailed off.
Then, I pressed my lips together and parted them a few times.
It was a long story.
We would have time to talk about this later.
"...."
After a brief silence.
As we stayed inside and didn't come out, I sensed the members whispering among themselves outside. Feeling it was time to get things done, I silently,told myself to get moving.
'Okay, let's get started.'
'I'm a civil service exam taker.'
"....."
"....."
Silence.
No. This isn't the feeling I had.
I shook my head at myself.
Then I thought again.
'The trigger has already been met by the night watch. If I make a mistake, I could be entangled again here at any moment.'
I steadied my mind and muttered to myself again.
'I am a civil service exam taker... I am a
Noryangjin civil service exam taker...!'
"..."
"..."
But as expected, it didn't really work.
Jinhee just stared at me blankly.
This isn't how it was supposed to feel.
After a moment of hesitation, I reached out my hand to her.
"Lee Jinhee. Could you lend me your
hand for a moment?"
"...?"
Jinhee stared at my outstretched hand with an unamused expression.
"Come on."
Jinhee's face showed reluctance, but she soon reached out her hand, gently placing just the tips of her fingers on mine.
"What's wrong with you, doing this since a while ago...."
"There's a way I can try to find the man who lives here."
Perhaps from washing dishes for so long dring her night shifts, the tips of Jinhee's fingers were slightly chapped.
I gently held those warm fingertips and once again screamed inside my heart.
I'm a civil service exam taker! I'm a
Noryangjin civil service exam taker!'
"....."
'I want to stay here with Jinhee longer!
I want to spend more time with her!'
I want to chat with her quietly! Open up our hearts! I want us to become much closer!"
Then slowly, a fluttering feeling began to grow in my chest. An odd, unfamiliar sensation.
I felt that strange impulse again, the same one I had felt on the first night when Sunah was in my room.
And then, I repeated to myself one last time.
I'm a civil service exam taker.
I'm a Noryangjin civil service exam taker.
Whack-
I came to my senses only after Jinhee punched me in the face.
"Are you crazy you f*cking piece of sh*t!?"
Jinhee, her face slightly flushed, fumed in a hushed voice.
Before I knew it, I had grabbed Jinhee's
right hand with both of mine and brought it to my cheek.
"S-Sorry."
I quickly let go of her hand and looked around.
Then, right beside us on the bed.
'Just as I thought...'
"Phew~ ha... phew~ ha..."
The spot that had been empty just moments ago, now there he was, the uncle-aged leader of the study group, fast asleep.
This b*stard, with his flipped day and night schedule, was still sleeping here like nothing had happened.
So all that sensitivity he showed before wasn't because he was just naturally sensitive to noise, it was because, when he was awake, he was always pressing his ear to the door like some kind of creep. Now, he was fast asleep, completely unaware of our presence.
I rubbed my nose, which was numb from being hit, and pointed at the man to Jinhee.
"See?"
".....?"
"Touch him."
I took Jinhee's hand and guided it toward the man.
But her hand passed right through him, as if she were touching a hologram.
In contrast, my hand couldn't pass through, stopping right at the man's blanket.
".....?"
Still unable to see him, Jinhee narrowed her eyes in confusion.
Rubbing my sore nose, I looked around the room.
Just as I thought.
As I suspected, this room was never truly empty.
It simply held a man who had vanished from the world.
A room belonging to a transparent, long-term exam taker, forgotten by his family, forgotten by his friends, and forgotten by society, pathetically clinging to a study group as his only form of self-validation.
Before I knew it, books and all sorts of
miscellaneous clutter had appeared
everywhere.
But since I was coming back to my senses, the items were starting to fade, as if the room was about to return to being empty, so I quickly rummaged through the room.
...Here. This is it.'
I founda wallet on the cluttered desk and held it in my hand.
"Huh? Ah?"
Jinhee looked dumbfounded as she stared at the wallet that suddenly appeared out of thin air.
I gave a quiet shush then stepped out of the room.
Click-
"Joon...."
"Prez..."
When I came out with Jinhee, the other members looked at me with worried
expressions.
With a triumphant look on my face, I held up the wallet in my hand and gave it a little shake for them to see.
'Success.'
'Wow.....'
Sunah cheered weakly.
"Okay, let's go to the counter. Time to finish what we started...."
"Yeah....?"
I quickly headed to the counter with the club members.
Then, I checked the Excel file on the computer to find the initial check-in years of the residents staying here.
"...Okay. There are about two people who checked in less than three months ago. They're probably still normal. Gyeongwon, copy these contact numbers and send them to the Detective. He'll contact the police and get them out in advance."
"Got it, Prez."
"Also, don't forget to include a summary of everything that's happened so far."
"Okay."
Gyeongwon took the Detective's contact info from me and got to work.
Meanwhile, I checked again to make sure the CCTV footage was properly transmitting to the 4th floor through our private channel.
Dukhun and Jinhee had gone outside to adjust the CCTV cameras, making sure the cameras were facing the hallway.
"Prez, I've explained it to the Detective. He said he'll come to Noryangjin in the evening and discreetly remove any normal people under the pretext of an investigation."
"Good. And do you have any cash? There's barely any money in this stolen wallet. I used up all my spare cash this morning booking the study lounge."
"i've got 200,000 won from my dad, I'll put that in. He gave it to me to eat something nice since I told him I was preparing for a competition."
"Good, thank you. Sunah and Hayoon,.you two go to a nearby Daiso and buy a rubber hammer and some soundproof mats. Put the mats up on the walls of my room. So that the thief repeat girl doesn't get startled by the noise we make and run away while she's
stealing the wallet."
"Okay...."
After giving all the instructions, I set off
alone to the school to get the money.
It was because I figured I would need a lot of things for the nighttime exorcism ritual after I had them cancel the drinking appointment.
Of course, even while I was taking a taxi to the school, I kept checking the group chat from time to time to see if the guy were doing well.
[Ahn Gyeongwon: Prez, we've set everything up, and we're all gathered on the 4th floor. We're watching the CCTV footage to see when the repeat CSAT girl will come in to steal it.]
[Lee Joon: Okay. Keep going.]
The reason we were handling things so quickly and simultaneously was because I wasn't exactly sure when they had gone out for drinks.
I know it was in the evening, but from my perspective, it happened a few.years ago.
Even though it didn't really feel like it was years ago, more like a faint dream.
That's why I hurriedly pushed the club members to work and get things done quickly.
If we couldn't stop it there, we would have ended up spending the night blankly like a dog that lost the chicken it was chasing.
"Please, please stop here. I'll be back in
10 minutes, so please wait right here."
"'Sure, go ahead"
Perhaps because I offered a double fare deal, the taxi driver kindly waited.
I quickly got out of the car and ran toward the main gate.
Already conscious of the early evening as the sun was setting, I ran quickly across the schoolyard toward the clubroom.
**
Fortunately, nothing had happened at the school.
Maybe because it wasn't nighttime yet, the security guard just gave me a quick glance and didn't pay much attention.
As soon as I arrived at the clubroom, I opened the shop window and ordered
the money, grabbed the bundle of
50,000 won bills that appeared from the outer space. then quicklv got back in the taxi and returned to Noryangjin.
"Good evening"
"Yes, hello."
Back in the study lounge.
After giving a quick nod to the part-timer who greeted me, I headed to the seminar room, where I could hear the club members whispering.
"They're fighting. They're fighting."
"Hey, otaku, sit down. I can't see."
"When's Prez coming? This is the best part."
"Shouldn't someone stop them...? This is getting bad..."
"Don't worry, Yoon Sunah. If Prez told Us to stay put, there must be a reason. Let's trust him and wait."
"Wow, did you see that guy just now? He blocked the way so no one could escape!"
Click-
I stepped into the seminar room where the members were whispering.
As I closed the door and greeted them, the members warmly turned to me.
"How's it going? Is everything on track?"
"Ah, Prez. Welcome. We were just about to reach the climax. Hurry and sit down,"
"Joon... these people are fighting..."
They were watching the CCTV footage
from the 5th floor when they noticed me and greeted me.
I set down the envelope of money I'd
brought from the school and began
unpacking.
And as I watched the study group members in the CCTV footage tearing each other down and fighting, I thought to myself.
'i'll return everything.'
The boarding house study group that
became minions of the ghost story.
And our Ghost Story Club that came to eradicate that ghost story.
In the first battle, we fell apart, divided, tearing each other down, and fighting. But this time, it was the complete opposite.
This time, it was them who were cursing at each other and breaking apart.
[Special ability Lip Reading has activated.]
["Jae Subin, do you wanna go to the cops! Huh? If you don't wanna end up there, then it's better if we talk it out!"]
["W-why do I have to be with an ugly b*stard like you? Sister Siyoung, please help me, please...."]
["You really think you're in a position to call for me right now? You had plenty of guys who liked you before. Why don't you go ask them for help, huh?"]
The sec-study group was shouting, cursing, and fighting in chaos.
After replying to Jinhee, I sat down
next to Hayoon, who was smiling in
satisfaction.
Just as she asked, we were going to return it to them exactly the way we were wronged.
**
That night.
'Ugh, so annoying. Why can't I focus on my studies?'
Siyoung, the civil service exam candidate, flipped through her books in her room with a distraught expression.
After an intense fight with her study group members, the drinking plans were canceled, and she had nothing else to do.
She flipped through her basic exam prep book back and forth, without purpose.
After holding her head in her hands for a while, she decided to try watching an online lecture and pulled out her PMP. However, she just blankly stared ahead as the instructor's voice went in one ear and out the other.
[-I'm explaining now. It's 'Light On, right? So let's brighten things up a bit. Okay, everyone, Light~ On!]
[Whoa!]
"..."
[Alright, lights~ on!]
[Whoa!]
[Now, lights~ on!]
[Whoa!]
[Open wide, wide~ shot!]
[This is your goal point. Wahahaha...]
"....."
In the end, Siyoung let out a sigh and pulled out her earphones.
'I can't focus at all.'
A lonely evening where no one called her.
Sitting there all alone like that, Siyoung
sighed once more.
...Haa."
Outside, only the occasional sound of someone clearing their throat could be heard.
In the lonely boarding house room, the only sound was the trickling of water from the neighbor's shower.
Siyoung suddenly felt as if life itself was empty, lonely, and lost without direction.
"Just a little while ago, I thought we were all going out for drinks tonight..'"
Back then, she thought they'd just drink hard and have fun together that night.
But before she knew it, she was the only one left behind, all alone.
Because of what happened earlier, everyone was now just killing time in their own rooms.
"it's because of that damn thief Jae Subin, that idiot."
Why the hell did she suddenly steal the leader's wallet and ruin the whole meeting?
'It's not like it's her first time stealing, is it? There are things you mess with, and things you don't.'
Anyway, they see each other every day. If she had iust endured it a little or stolen something else, she could have understood. But because of that thief b*tch...
Why'd she have to get caught now...
With that thought, Siyoung let out another deep sigh.
It was pointless to say anything now, since the mood for drinking had already been ruined.
For now, they should just sit quietly for a few days and think things through.
After all, she'd still have to keep seeing
these people around here anyway.
I'll just order something for dinner.
Even in this miserable state, Siyoung still hated eating alone outside more than anything.
Maybe that rat-like habit was what kept pulling Siyoung toward social gatherings with others.
She took out her phone, opened a delivery app, and started browsing through all kinds of options.
Chicken, pizza, sweet and sour pork, hamburgers...
Siyoung smacked her lips as she quickly flipped through the menu.
Her mind was already filled with thoughts of delicious food.
'Tonight, I'm gonna go all out with something greasy!'
Among the passing thoughts of food, studying was completely out of her mind.
She even thought a draft beer to go with the meal would make it perfect.
'Maybe it's because of that movie Extreme Job lately, but I heard Suwon King Galbi Whole Chicken is trending. I should try that. Or maybe...About 30 minutes later.'
While waiting for the chicken, Siyoung was watching Netflix on her laptop when she pulled out her earphones at the sound of someone.
(She not only has a PMP and a smartphone, but also a laptop because of the flimsy idea to separate devices for studying purposes.)
"Has the delivery arrived?"
A sound could be heard near the entrance.
The test-takers here didn't even make that kind of noise.
'The only sounds of footsteps were from delivery workers or newcomers. Those who stay here gradually lose even their traces of existence.
"Here, I'm here"
Siyoung smiled and opened the door slightly.
"I ordered chicken here~ over here~"
She smiled and poked her head out, but unfortunately, the person she saw wasn't the delivery worker.
There were just the members of the Ghost Story Club carefully moving a large machine.
".....?"
"Carefull..."
"Huff, huff..."
The members of the Ghost Story Club were cautiously moving a large machine, as tall as a person's waist, into the counter.
"..."
It was a karaoke machine.