GRR 58

“You must be busy going to school and working part-time… Plus, aren’t you taking the CSAT soon? This is the time you should be focusing more on studying, but it feels like I’m taking away your study time.”

“…….”

“I’ll take my time sorting out my feelings until you have some free time. That should be fine, right?”

Jion nodded. If Baek Kitae could come to terms with his situation and leave this world, there was nothing better. Forced to smile with a heart full of support for Baek Kitae, Jion opened his eyes wide, which kept threatening to close. He couldn’t understand why he was suddenly feeling so sleepy.

“Well then, I’ll be going now, Jion. See you again next time.”

“…….”

“Get home safe.”

Baek Kitae stood up from his seat after pretending to pat Jion’s back. He waved to him and vanished from sight.

Baek Kitae was the most agile of all the ghosts he had met, and his senses were keen. It was as if he was so imbued with the energy of the living world that he had become completely free even in his movements within it.

He was pretty sure the movements weren’t this natural when they first met…

It did not seem like he had been in this world for very long, but it was best to send him to the afterlife as soon as possible. If he remained like this, no one knew what he might do. Even if his will manifested in a good way, it would ultimately result in the destruction of the order between this world and the underworld.

Jion struggled to lift his body. He looked at the bouquet in his hand, and threw it into a nearby trash can. Now that he knew it was Lee Yeju’s house, he couldn’t leave the flowers and note behind.

Jion took a deep breath and began to walk toward home. Feeling as though he might fall asleep at any moment, he had to keep his eyes wide open and pinch his forearm periodically.

Ah, I have to study when I get home… Why am I so sleepy…

Thoughts spun through his head. They formed and dissolved before they could fully take shape.

***

Jion, who had fallen asleep almost as soon as he arrived home, skipped both lunch and dinner that day and woke up only to the sound of his alarm the next morning.

His grandfather, who had come home after closing the cafe, had briefly woken him to suggest he eat dinner. Apparently, Jion, too sleepy to think, had mumbled that he’d just sleep instead. Since he had no memory of it, he was still half-asleep and just bewildered throughout breakfast.

Was it the aftereffect of running around all weekend? Jion, who had been dozing off at school all day, slumped onto his desk after the fifth period ended. He felt even more weary, perhaps because he had just eaten lunch. Just as he closed his eyes for a quick nap, he heard a conversation that chased away all his sleepiness.

“Hey, I heard Seo Heejun collapsed.”

“Huh? Seo Heejun? Class 4?”

“Yeah. I just saw someone from Social Studies carrying him.”

“Why did he suddenly collapse? He was perfectly fine just at lunchtime.”

“What’s going on lately? Should we perform a shamanistic ritual?”

Jion immediately sat up. It hadn’t been that long since Ju Minho and Kang Jaehoon of Class 5 had fainted, so it was understandable that everyone was buzzing at the news that Seo Heejun of Class 4 had suddenly lost consciousness this time. As he remembered Kwon Chasa’s words, even his drowsiness vanished completely.

‘If it really is the work of a ghost, it’s not a good sign. It’s highly likely that it’s looking for a body to possess.’

‘Ordinary humans can neither see nor feel ghosts, so naturally, they cannot accept them. Even if a ghost tries to enter, it bounces back. The human absorbs the entire shock, causing them to lose consciousness momentarily.’

Could the ghost wandering around here really be looking for a body to possess? Had the people not been able to accept the ghost because their spiritual eyes weren’t open, and had they lost consciousness after absorbing all the shock, just as Kwon Chasa said? Jion bit his lip nervously.

Why does this keep happening? As if Baek Kitae wasn’t enough to worry about more than one thing…

Just as Jion was wondering if he should mention today’s event to Kwon Chasa, his gaze inadvertently drifted toward the blackboard. To be precise, it [unauthorized copy]was because he sensed a strange energy emanating from there.

“Hi, Jion.”

There was Baek Kitae standing in the middle of the blackboard. Seeing Jion turn pale, Oh Hyunsoo raised his hand and waved it in front of his eyes.

“Chae Jion, what’s wrong? What are you looking at?”

Oh Hyunsoo turned his head toward where Jion’s gaze was directed. However, all he could see was the class monitor erasing the blackboard.

“Hey, don’t tell you’re about to suddenly pass out too!?”

Jion managed to turn his eyes away after hearing the words spoken by Oh Hyunsoo. He replied to Oh Hyunsoo while trying his best not to look at Baek Kitae.

“I’m perfectly fine. I’m just tired.”

“Why are you always tired when you sleep in so damn late?”

“I’m sleeping in because I’m tired. You got the order wrong.”

Their brief, meaningless conversation ensued. Jion finished speaking in a nonchalant tone and glanced visit our siteat the blackboard. Baek Kitae had left.

Where did he go in that brief moment? Jion turned his head to look around, but Baek Kitae was nowhere to be seen.

A ghost wandering this neighborhood in search of a body to possess. Seo Heejun, who suddenly collapsed. And… even Baek Kitae, who appeared at the school.

He started feeling anxious as everything fell into place. He simply couldn’t sit still.

“Chae Ji, where are you going?”

Jion rose from his seat and stepped out into the hallway, ignoring Oh Hyunsoo’s question. He looked around but Baek Kitae was nowhere to be seen. Since he was already able to move freely in the living world, he didn’t know if Baek had already left the school.

Jion bit his lip and cautiously walked toward Class 4. The hallway was also overflowing with a chaotic atmosphere. It was perhaps only natural, considering someone had suddenly fainted.

Jion cautiously peeked through the gap in the door and surveyed Class 4, but he could not see any beings capable of threatening humans, including Baek Kitae.

Then I should feel relieved, but why am I so anxious? Jion pressed down on his heart, which was pounding irregularly, and turned around.

I hope all of this turn out to be needless worry. That nothing bad happens to anyone else anymore.

He earnestly prayed.

***

Jion would take out his phone whenever he had a spare moment while working his part-time job. There were many things to check, such as whether any incidents had occurred in Sillim-dong and Jagok-dong, excluding the two addresses Baek Kitae had given him where he already knew whose house it was, whether they were murder cases, and whether the culprit had been caught.

Upon checking, he found that there had been one attempted murder case each in Sillim-dong in February and Jagok-dong in July. Jion swallowed dryly, his throat burning dry. There was even a follow-up article dated about two months ago stating that the culprit in the Sillim-dong attempted murder case had still not been caught.

If Baek Kitae is really involved in this case… is he a victim or a perpetrator?

If he were a victim, he likely would have looked at him first to plead his innocence, but Baek Kitae didn’t do that. His objective was clear, and since Jion had obediently followed his instructions, there was no reason to hear his side of the story. He thought all he needed to do was grant his request quickly and help him go to the underworld.

It was frustrating, as if something was within reach yet he couldn’t grab it. Lost in thought the entire time he worked, Jion left the convenience store listlessly after handing over to the next shift. He was about to turn straight toward home when he sensed a familiar presence, causing his gaze to naturally drift toward the terrace.

Kwon Chasa was there.

“Hello, student.”

“Uh, uh… hello….”

As Jion greeted him, taken aback by the unexpected encounter, Kwon Chasa rose from his seat.

“Wait a moment.”

He walked into the convenience store. Jion blinked absentmindedly as he stood there.

How long had he been here? If he came, he should have come inside. Why was he outside? If he had come in, I could have seen him a little earlier…

Disappointed, Jion peeked into the convenience store. He saw Kwon Chasa paying at the checkout counter. The moment he confirmed that the item in his hand was banana milk, he felt his energy drain away.

So he came to give me spring water. Then again, he isn’t the kind of person who would show up without a reason… no, the kind of grim reaper. Jion burst into hollow laughter, wondering what he had been expecting.

Not long after, Kwon Chasa came back outside. He placed the banana milk on the terrace table, removed the lid, opened a small bottle he had taken from his pocket, and poured the clear liquid into it.

“Drink.”

Jion politely took the banana milk with both hands and gulped it down without a word. After drinking it, a bitter taste that he still couldn’t get used to filled his mouth. It really tasted awful.