[2019, May 7th | Tuesday, 08:53 AM]
[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts – 2]
[Ghost Story Points: 242]
[Causality Rate: 20%]
“This f*cking b*tch.”
I hurriedly chased after Jinhee, who was leaving the auditorium while cursing.
“Please control your expression, they don’t know anything yet.”
“Isn’t she that damn b*tch?”
“Yeah, right…”
I hurriedly tried to calm Jinhee down, noticing the gazes of the students surrounding us.
“…Yeah, it’s her, but calm down. We might be able to use this to our favor.”
I couldn’t understand what they were thinking when they sent Teacher Ryu Jinah here, but what we knew, they didn’t.
We already knew that Teacher Ryu Jinah was in cahoots with the school’s staff, and we’ve also uncovered the truth about the trouble she had caused to Jinhee’s friend.
If that person approached Jinhee, we might be able to turn it around and use it to find a way to dig into some information.
“But to do that, you have to act well-”
“P, President. Is that true?”
The club members approached, pushing through the students.
“Is that person the one you just mentioned?”
“Yeah, that’s her.”
Among the crowd of students, the six members of our Ghost Story Club walked together.
Soon, Gyeongwon asked me with a serious expression.
“Is she the person who tried to drug and kidnap us during the Kim Eunjung incident last time?”
“Yeah. I managed to avoid getting into the strange situation by quickly killing myself. That person is the same one who was just introduced from the podium as being our new counselor.”
“Why is she at our school……”
“That… we’ll have to wait and see.”
Our Ghost Story Club was being closely watched by the school.
If they were watching me to the point where they were even familiar with my face, then it was only natural that the counselor knew that Jinhee was in the school too.
It was without doubt that she came here knowingly.
“Pre, President. Then, I think you should hear me out……”
Dukhun cautiously called me and whispered as we followed the students out the auditorium.
“The new teacher who was standing on the podium, the one in the middle, the music teacher… She was my homeroom teacher in elementary school…”
“In elementary school?”
“Yeah…..”
Students rushed in through the east entrance.
Since the distance from the auditorium to the main building was short, they didn’t even bother to change into their shoes.
“She’s originally a music teacher, but when she briefly took on the role of homeroom teacher for a year, she was in charge of our class…”
“Hmm.”
Hearing that from him, a nagging feeling grew inside me.
I have a suspicious feeling that those people didn’t come to this school by mere coincidence.
‘To sum it up, this is their strategy.’
The three female teachers who were introduced during the national assembly as new teachers.
The first one is Teacher Han Ari, a rookie teacher who was urgently brought in after the death of the science teacher.
The second one is Chae Eun, the music teacher who was Dukhun’s homeroom teacher in elementary school.
The third is Ryu Jinah, Jinhee’s elementary school counselor. Without a doubt, she is involved with the Dogma of Void and this school.
“…Chae Eun, what kind of person was she?”
“That, just… cold and indifferent…”
Dukhun replied, seemingly flustered.
“Were you two close?”
“Absolutely not!”
He suddenly blew.
“She would always pick on me for the strangest things, scold me, and take out my comic books from my bag to show the students, making me the target of their teasing…..”
“Hmm.”
She just seemed to be a pretty teacher with a petty personality.
“Uh, what do you think……”
“Well. I’m not sure yet……”
Three new teachers arrived at the school, and two of them were people connected to the club members, and one of them was even involved with Dogma of Void.
Since it’s an autonomous private high school, the support for teaching authority completely depends on the school’s foundation and the suspicious religious organization, Dogma of Void.
Then, we can conclude that their arrival must be intentional, but we couldn’t be certain yet.
Since the teachers transfer from one school to another often, it was not that strange for a connection to be made before to become entangled again.
“If there’s anything suspicious… it must be the fact that those people who used to work at the elementary school have now come to this high school?”
“That’s right, Prez. That part bothers me a bit too.”
Gyeongwon nodded in agreement.
“Is that possible?”
“I don’t know much about that either……”
Gyeongwon showed a flustered expression, as it was an unfamiliar field to him.
“Well, since it’s not a major subject but rather music and counseling, it might be possible…..?”
“I’ll have to ask Teacher Jang Hwaeun later to be sure.”
Just as we were about to arrive in front of the classroom, this time Sunah asked with a worried look.
“Do you think all three of them are from that organization….?”
“… It’s possible. Except for Teacher Han Ari.”
In the case of Teacher Han Ari, she was a completely clumsy and easygoing teacher, just like her nickname, Chick.
The fact that she was trembling while speaking in front of students didn’t seem like she belonged to some mysterious, veiled, cult-like organization.
“First of all… We have to be careful. Especially Jinhee.”
Jinhee was about to enter the classroom, but she suddenly turned around and gave me a questioning look.
“If the counselor approaches you, please don’t hit her. Just greet her with a smile.”
“Whatever.”
She turned around, entered the classroom and sat down at her desk, then fell face down as if falling asleep immediately.
Since the class had an odd number of students, the desk next to Jinhee was still empty.
“Haa.”
I let out a sigh.
I wondered if Jinhee, who was like a wild horse, would be able to manage her temper well when facing that old psycho teacher.
‘I hope she can do well.’
The club members each went to their respective seats and sat down. I also went to my desk to prepare for the next class.
* * *
[2019, May 7th | Tuesday, 11:53 AM]
[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts – 2]
[Ghost Story Points: 242]
[Causality Rate: 20%]
“Prez, let’s go have lunch.”
“Where’s the Jungler… Huh? Uh, uh……”
[T/N: Jungler refers to a term used in gaming, particularly in MOBAs (Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas) like League of Legends, where the “jungler” is a player who focuses on navigating the jungle area of the map to help their team by farming neutral monsters and assisting lanes.]
I slept straight through until the fourth period, but Gyeongwon shook me up.
The students in the class were already rushing out the classroom door.
When I lifted my head, Sunah and Gyeongwon were both looking at me.
“Huaam..… What’s going on? I’m surprised you woke me up.”
“I’m curious about the money bag you hid in the clubroom. I wonder what method the Prez used.”
“So that’s why you woke me up today.”
Hehe, Gyeongwon smiled while pushing up his glasses.
“I thought you were finally starting to take care of me.”
“Yoon Sunah takes care of you though.”
“Let’s go quickly, Joon……”
I got up, following Sunah, who was whining like a baby bird.
As I confidently stepped out of the classroom, the two followed me like my devoted underlings.
“Honestly, I was too proud to ask.”
“About how did I hide the money?”
“Yeah. I thought about it all holiday, but I still couldn’t figure it out. What’s the method you used?”
I smiled at Gyeongwon, who was looking at me with a serious expression.
“After lunch, you can see for yourself. But I’m not 100% sure it’ll work. I’ll have to have lunch first then go to the clubroom and test it myself to find out.”
“I’m curious, huhu.”
“It’ll be fine, I guess.”
* * *
The three of us walked down the hallway to the cafeteria. After filling our trays with grilled flounder and some rice, we found that Hayoon, Jinhee and Dukhun were already seated there.
Hayoon was quietly eating, while Jinhee and Dukhun were bickering back and forth about something.
“I don’t understand. The delinquents read webtoons? Not even ones that glorify delinquents, but ones with weak and forced developments? Lee Jinhee, you’re absolutely wrong!”
“Ha~ You idiot really don’t know anything. They know they can’t mess with people in real life, so they act all tough, but secretly reads webtooons or comics, and that’s what’s funny. A lot of my friends read them too, but you dare to argue with me?”
“Shit……”
“Geez!”
Jinhee poked Dukhun’s chest with her thumb.
As Dukhun flinched and shrunk back, the miso soup in his bowl splashed around.
“Ah~ Don’t do that!”
“Don’t be such a baby~!”
“… Jinhee really is a capricious person……”
I nodded, silently agreeing with Sunah, who was muttering softly next to me.
* * *
A while later, in the clubroom.
When Hayoon came back after brushing her teeth, all six members of our Ghost Story Club were silent after entering the clubroom.
“The clubroom… It seems to have gotten wider again……”
“Hmm, it’s been a while. What did the President do again?”
“Okay, everyone, focus.”
I gathered the members, who were murmuring to themselves as they looked around the clubroom, and hurried them to sit down for a moment.
“Everyone is here, right? Then, it’s the perfect time to show you.”
“What?”
“Some of you may know, and some may not.”
When I said the word ‘some may know,’ I glanced at Gyeongwon, especially, at Hayoon.
“I went to Busan alone during this holiday.”
“Why……?”
“Because of this.”
Instead of explaining, I showed my phone’s screen to everyone.
[Cash Bundle of 11 Billion Won Found in a Garlic Field in Gangseo District]
The members carefully looked through the internet news article.
The first one to raise their head with a shocked expression was surprisingly Jinhee.
“… Hey, you……”
Perhaps because of her family’s condition that she started working early and understood the value of money.
Having worked part-time and struggling from a young age, Jinhee must have had this thought countless times already.
Now seeing this kind of article, she must be thinking, “Oh! If I had that money, I wouldn’t have to suffer like this and could live comfortably for the rest of my life.”
“….So what’s the big deal? It happened just a few days ago.”
On the other hand, Dukhun, who had never really indulged in such fantasies and was still an ordinary student, took a bit longer to understand.
“……?”
Judging from Sunah’s blank expression, it seemed like she was also slow to understand.
I spoke in a calm tone, as if making sure everyone was paying attention.
“Three days ago, without telling you guys, I secretly went to the location mentioned in the news by myself. Then I dug up 1 billion won there and hid it in the clubroom.”
“……”
“Really.”
“……”
“It’s true.”
The club members raised their heads as a look of utter shock took over their expressions.
Except for Gyeongwon, who was already aware of it and smiling proudly as he pushed his glasses, as if enjoying everyone’s reaction.
Hayoon just narrowed her eyes and gave me a sideway glance.
“Wh, where? Where……”
“In this clubroom, but it’s in a special location that only appears when loading for Space Expansion.”
And the only person who can take the club in that state is me, the one chosen by the system.
“In other words, it’s a space that only I can access in the whole world.”
This 1 billion won belonged to me.
“Oh, I know! That’s why you asked me that question back then……”
Dukhun spoke up with a surprised expression.
I nodded and opened the Store window.
“And now, I’m going to bring some of that money here. Gyeongwon, could you go out to the hallway and keep a watch?”
Gyeongwon nodded, then immediately opened the door and began looking around the hallway.
“Then let’s start.”
Click-
[Apparel / Appearance / Merchandise / Food / Products / Furnishings / Lifespan / Health / Hire / Technology / Home Appliances / Computer / Sports / Leisure / Vehicles / Books / Tickets / Travel / E- couporns / School Facilities]
I carefully reviewed the plan I had made in advance.
In the first place, this function of the Store.
Is it to truly create something out of nothing?
Or does it just instantly transport an actual existing product to here?
‘Whichever it may be, the conclusion is that it manipulates reality to bring an actual product here as if it was paid for.’
And just how far does the range of items that can be purchased as ‘products’ go?
Various questions about the function of the Store swirled in my mind.
The answer was in the items I had purchased for experimentation up until now.
① First, right after the midterm exams ended.
I had used the Store function to see if I could buy delivery food.
‘The conclusion was that it’s impossible.’
Basically, the items handled by the Store function are those that are typically shipped via courier from online shopping malls.
So food delivery was impossible.
② Then what is the scope of an online shopping mall?
In reality, there are sometimes products sold on Auction that aren’t sold on Coupang.
[T/N: Auction and Coupang are both popular online shopping platforms in South Korea.]
That means not all shopping malls sell the same items.
So to what extent does this store floating in front of me handle?
‘Conclusively, everything.’
Whether it’s Auction, Gmarket, Coupang, Interpark, or even items from foreign shopping malls that can only be purchased through overseas direct buying, all of them are included.
If it’s something being distributed somewhere in the world as a product, no matter what it is, this Store handles it.
③ So what exactly is an online shopping mall?
This is the most important question.
An online shopping mall is not a place where one huge business operator sells products.
Rather, it’s a place where hundreds or thousands of individual businesses come together to sell their products.
The collection of their products is what makes up an online shopping mall.
And among them, there are many individual sellers who do not belong to any companies.
‘Just like me.’
Pop-
[♥ Children’s Piggy Bank with 50,000 Won Balance ♥ – 1 point]
Generally, in order to list your own products on an online shopping mall, any individual needs to register as a business operator.
‘And the process is quite complicated, so it’s not something an ordinary high school student like me can secretly obtain.’
However, among the countless shopping mall sites on the internet, there are many that simply connect sellers and buyers without being involved in the actual sale.
‘For example, sites like Itemvenia.’
It’s a site that mediates the trading of game items, and when Dukhun and I went to an internet café before, he mentioned that he could buy and sell items from Dungeon & Fighter here and make a decent amount of pocket money even as a student.
This site has grown so large that now it handles a variety of items, from game coupons to electronics and even furniture.
Perhaps because of the complex nature of the site, it was being treated as a shopping mall within the system.
After confirming that various physical items listed on Itemvenia also appeared in the Store window of the system when I searched, I created an account here.
Then I registered as an individual business operator to sell children’s piggy bank toys in one corner of the site’s marketplace.
[♥ Children’s Piggy Bank with 50,000 Won Balance ♥]
Since all products with related keywords are searched at once in the Store window, I added hearts on my product name so that I wouldn’t confuse it with similar names from other shopping malls.
And that name was searched exactly the same way in the Store window.
‘The reason why this is possible is simple.’
If someone finds my hidden item in the corner of this site and clicks to purchase it out of curiosity.
I was actually willing to send that person the money by courier.
‘This is a gamble, honestly.’
When I first uploaded it on the site simply for the Store’s function, it didn’t appear in the system’s search.
But if someone really lucky enough buys it by chance, I was prepared to send the amount of money they ordered, so I registered my phone number and real name in the membership information.
I even posted a picture of the outside of the money bag as the product image, which would perhaps be incomprehensible to strangers, and only then did it start appearing in the Store’s search.
‘Anyone who wants to try their luck, feel free to look for it.’
With a sly grin, I pressed the invisible purchase button.
[Purchase has been completed]
[Current Ghost Story Points: 242 – 1 = 241]
At the same time, Gyeongwon quickly snatched the bundle of money that appeared in the hallway, making sure no one saw, and brought it into the clubroom.
“Prez! It worked!”
“Where, where!”
“Let me see!”
The members rushed to Gyeongwon, who was waving the fluttering bundle of money.
At the tips of Gyeongwon’s fingers, 100 golden 50,000-won bills were tied together with a paper string, shining brilliantly.
‘Oi, how dare you mess with my money?’
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