“ShinLim Station, 48th Street, Daesung Apartment Complex, 3rd floor. Find me there.”
Leaving only those words behind, Jinhee’s motorcycle, which was carrying Sunah and Hayoon behind, disappeared into the distance, raising coils of black smoke.
“Ahaha.”
“Jinhee, is so…”
The crowds of highschool girls, laughing and chatting among themselves, faded away into the distance along with the sound of the engine.
Only the male members of the Ghost Story Club, who had once again become abandoned duck eggs in the Nakdong River, remained rooted in their place.
“…Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Along with a boring, bespectacled nerd and a big otaku tagging behind, I followed down the path and into an alley with a slow, shuffling gait.
“So, what’s up Gyeongwon? Yesterday, as soon as I leveled you up, your cell phone started ringing. Who was it?”
“Oh, about that.”
Gyeongwon explained, lifting the shoulder strap of the bag that had fallen off his small shoulder.
“My parents’ called me. They hired a new private tutor for me. I don’t have time for a private tutor because of the cram school I was already attending. So they called to ask me if I was willing to quit my cram school and get private tutoring.”
“Private tutoring?”
“Yeah. In my case, I’m the type that can do well on his own without having to be tied down to a cram school, and since I actually proved it by getting 4th place in the entire school on my first highschool test, I think they thought that private tutoring would be better for me than a cram school where a group of students take sessions together.”
Gyeongwon explained calmly.
“….That’s unexpected. I thought you’d be struggling with multiple cram school sessions and private tutoring like the rich kids in movies.”
“Oh my.”
He snickered at my comment.
“Are you talking about something like the Spartan learning method? That’s a comment made without understanding. You need to rest when needed in order to study for a long time.”
[T/N: The “Spartan learning method” refers to a rigorous and intense approach to education or training, inspired by the discipline and harsh training methods of ancient Sparta.]
“That’s right.”
Gyeongwon’s parents, whom I saw when we ran into each other at the grocery store before.
At first, they gave off a very strict and old-fashioned impression. I thought they were the type to always push Gyeongwon hard to have good grades, given that he always said he was at the cram school in the evenings whenever I contacted him. But it seems they actually have a well-rounded educational philosophy.
“That new private tutor. Do you think he’s the mentor the system mentioned and assigned you to?”
“I’m not sure.”
Gyeongwon tilted his head as he said.
“I haven’t met him yet either. But apparently, my parents mentioned him having a perfect score on the CSAT last year.”
“A perfect score on the CSAT?”
“Yeah. This year, he entered Seoul National University’s Social Science Department as a freshman and part of the new batch of 2019. My father contacted him through his connection. And since he lives in a dormitory nearby, he agreed to it.”
“I see…”
As long as I know, ShinLim Station is two subway stops here from the Seoul National University Station.
Considering that most high-paying private tutoring students are often found in Gangnam, especially Daichidong, which is known as the hub of private education, ShinLim Station is quite close by comparison.
[T/N: Gangnam is a district in Seoul, South Korea. It gained international fame through the song “Gangnam Style” by Psy. Daichidong is a neighborhood in Gangnam District. Both places are notable for its concentration of private academies and tutoring services, making it a key area for high-quality educational support in Seoul. Source: Wikipedia]
‘Sunah’s mentor is Teacher Jang Hwaeun… Gyeongwon’s mentor is a high-paying private tutor who got a perfect score on the college entrance exam…’
I thought about it carefully, but I couldn’t guess what kind of result it would lead to.
‘How does gaining abilities through leveling up relate to those people?’
[Your role during this time: Watch the members struggling through at a leisurely pace!]
“….Huu.”
I shook my head.
I couldn’t find an answer no matter how much I thought about it. So I decided to watch everything by the side leisurely for now as per the system’s advice.
“Daesung Apartment Complex… It should be this.”
Dukhun went straight inside. We also checked the name on the front gate before entering.
“This should be right. Jinhee’s motorcycle is here too.”
“Let’s go in, Prez.”
The path was an extremely narrow alley where only one car could pass through. The illegal vehicles parking here and there made it impossible to move through in a straight line.
It was an alley with tall buildings standing close side by side, making the path narrow enough for buses or other big vehicles impossible to pass. We had to walk for a while to reach our destination.
Eventually, after finding the building where Jinhee lived, we walked up the stairs to the third floor. A wide open door entered our vision as soon as we reached the third floor. It was as if the door was open to invite us in, so we walked towards it.
“Oh~ You guys are here. I’m sorry, but I can’t find them.”
Shit.
“I’m sure I clearly put them here? But now that I checked them again, they’re all 100 won coins.”
Jinhee said in a flat tone while casually rummaging through the desk.
“I’ll look for some more. Take a break.”
“….Okay.”
We turned around and entered the room beside it which appeared to be the living room.
Jinhee’s house was a complete mess.
It was a two-room apartment with each room attached together. The sink of the kitchen was full of dirty dishes.
Adidas pants, T-shirts, underwear, and other things strewn about carelessly in front of the washing machine….
Sunah, with a flushed face, nudged a pair of bras lying on the floor with her foot to one side.
“Have you fought a war here…”
Dukhun, with a look of disbelief, stood in the living room with a dumbfounded expression and surveyed the surroundings.
A desk full of cosmetics, nutritional supplements, and tumblers.
Shopping bags from unknown brands were piled up in the corner. Boxes and bags of countless delivery foods accompanied them beside.
Hayoon covered her nose and asked Jinhee.
“Do you live here alone? No one says anything?”
“I live with my sister.”
Jinhee, who was rummaging around in her room, answered loudly.
‘I heard that girls’ rooms are usually messier… but it’s really beyond imagination.’
However, Sunah’s room was very clean although the apartment building was old and a bit worn.
Perhaps it was mostly due to Jinhee’s indifferent personality.
“Sorry, there aren’t any.”
Jinhee came out of the room, panting for breath.
“….There were?”
“Yeah. Huuu.”
She strode straight through the pile of trash and fell flat on the living room sofa.
“There definitely were. This is strange.”
“….When did you collect them?”
“When I was in elementary school…”
Jinhee counted on her fingers as she replied.
Gyeongwon shook his head helplessly and answered for her.
“It has been more than 6 years.”
“Oh my God.”
I resisted the urge to groan.
It wasn’t something she checked even last month. She dragged us all the way here to her home to show us something she had collected most probably 6 years ago.
With that amount of time, it wouldn’t be surprising if it had disappeared along the way even if she did collect some.
Especially in a house that’s so messy and disorganized like this.
“How can this be! I walked for 20 minutes!”
Dukhun got angry and began to grumble.
“Oh, I’m sorry~ I’m sorry~ I’m sorry~”
Jinhee rolled her feet on the sofa while lying down, not seemingly sorry.
Lee Jinhee, with a rather careless and impractical personality, is an extreme mood-driven type and a school bully.
[Your understanding of the character Lee Jinhee has increased by 5.]
“Ugh… That’s okay. If it’s not here, it can’t be helped. Is there anything else? Something interesting you can show us.”
“Something interesting?”
I glanced around the living room that looked like a battlefield.
“There might be a relic hidden there.”
“Hmm….”
Jinhee crossed her legs while lying down on the sofa with her stockings on and thought deeply.
“Should I show you the diary that my friend in the front seat used to write when I was in middle school?”
Why do you even have that?
“Or the comic book I borrowed from my friend sitting behind me.”
Dukhun, who was already angry for coming so far for no reason, snorted as he said.
“It must be that you stole it, not borrowed it.”
We looked at each other, shook our heads, and changed the subject again.
“Then tell us a scary story.”
“A scary story?”
“That’s a good idea, Prez. Jinhee seems to be the type to have been in a lot of mishaps.”
At that, Jinhee, playfully wiggling her feet, thought deeply.
“Hmm… a scary story… an accident.”
“….Hmm?”
With a sudden ‘ah!’ she shot up from the sofa.
“Fuck, I remembered it now that you mentioned it.”
“What is it?”
Jinhee started with a rare serious expression.
“I had a friend I played with when I was a kid. She was a really naughty kid. She used to get into a lot of accidents.”
“More than you?”
“Uh-huh.”
Maintaining the serious expression, she nodded.
“She was a total psycho. I’ve seen her hurting animals and laughing like a maniac.”
“….I see.”
When Jinhee said the kid was naughty, I wasn’t sure how naughty she had been. I thought it could be that she was the kind of mentally unstable kid that you find in every school.
“Was she autistic?”
“No. She’s usually fine. She actually acts really nice, usually.”
“Hmm.”
Certainly, Jinhee has a bold and intimidating personality, but that was just a kind of school violence-type of intimidation.
She definitely didn’t appear to be a psychopath who enjoys bullying animals or something.
“But here’s the strange thing.”
Jinhee sitting cross-legged on the sofa, straightened her posture.
“We all had a group of friends with whom we used to hang out together when we were kids, right? I also had one, about five people. We would skip school all the time and go play around the train tracks. But now, strangely, no one remembers her.”
“….Wow.”
Gyeongwon pushed up his glasses with sparkling eyes.
“A childhood friend that no one remembers….”
“That sounds interesting.”
Everyone gathered closer with an expression of interest.
Just as I was about to sit down to slowly focus on the story with an expression of interest.
“….I, I’ll stay standing up. I think a cockroach might jump out from somewhere.”
“Oh, me too.”
“Me, me too…”
The club members who almost sat down following me without thinking, muttered to themselves.
I stood up again and focused more on listening to the story.
“Let’s see… I was in the 4th grade of elementary school, so when I was 11…”
Jinhee, sitting down on the sofa while we were all standing, began explaining with a serious expression.
As if recalling the old memories that were at the verge of forgotten, her gaze moved up to the sky.
③
After their parents divorced, Jinhee and her older sister moved to an appointment complex near the ShinLim Station with her father.
It was a story about her deskmate who was particularly kind to her from the very first day at the elementary school she transferred to-
“-Wait. Which elementary school?”
“….Undang Elementary School.”
I interrupted Jinhee, who was about to start her story, and asked instead.
“Undang Elementary School on Bongcheon street?”
“Uh-huh. Why?”
“No, I just wondered where the story took place. Since we all live in ShinLim, I thought we might know each other.”
“What was the name of your elementary school?”
“Seoul Southern Elementary School.”
Our conversation suddenly diverged to something different as we chatted.
“Seoul Southern? I don’t know a school like that.”
“It’s right nearby… you don’t know?”
“Mmhm.”
“Okay… Sorry for interrupting you. Please continue your story.”
“Ahem.”
After her parents got divorced, she and her sister followed her father to this apartment building near ShinLim Station…
“….But don’t we have anyone here from the same school? The six of us live in ShinLim after all.”
Perhaps due to her lack of focus or because her train of thought was interrupted, Jinhee looked around and asked.
But the club members shook their heads.
“No one? Where have you all come from?”
“I moved here in middle school, so I don’t know much.”
“Me too.”
Gyeongwon and Dukhun, who had moved here at the same time, answered.
“I went to ShinLim Elementary School…”
Sunah answered hesitantly.
“Hayoon, what about you?”
Suddenly confronted with my question, Hayoon, who had been standing with her arms crossed, maintained a moment of silence before soon opening her mouth to answer.
“I went to a private elementary school. It’s a little far away, so you wouldn’t know even if you heard.”
“You didn’t move here?”
“I’ve lived here since I was young.”
“I see.”
[Your understanding of the character In Hayoon has increased by 5.]
Ah, understanding has also increased.
“Let’s continue with the story.”
“Okay, fuck, no one interrupts. I’ll start.”
Jinhee coughed in vain as she started.
“But I’m thirsty.”
“Oh, come on…”
“Okay, okay.”
Jinhee chuckled at the members grumbling before starting her story again.
