GRR 64
The incident at the bus stop near the convenience store. The way Ju Minho, Kang Jaehoon, and Seo Heejun had fainted. And now, the sight of Go Youngjae and Im Juseong losing consciousness right before his eyes.
It was reasonable for him to start suspecting him after witnessing it all firsthand: could all of this have been Baek Kitae’s doing?
“Oh, Jion!”
He didn’t have time to dawdle. Jion scrambled to his feet, and ran toward a secluded area. He ignored the voice calling after him, pulled out his phone and scrolled for Kwon Chasa’s name.
He had to tell him. He had to say that Baek Kitae had appeared at the school and that if he wasn’t taken to the underworld soon, even more people would be in danger.
“Why isn’t he picking up…?”
The line kept ringing, but there was no answer. Eventually, the automated voice informed him that the customer could not be reached.
Maybe he wasn’t busy. Maybe he was at that hanok on the boundary between the living and the dead. Phones and internet didn’t work there.
Jion gritted his teeth and ran toward his classroom. If the phone was useless, he could summon him using the wooden plaque. He usually kept it at the bottom of his bag without much thought, but today, it would finally prove its worth.
He was out of breath when he reached the classroom. The atmosphere was normal; word of Youngjae and Juseong’s incident hadn’t reached the others yet. Jion rummaged through his bag and pulled out the plaque buried at the bottom. Oh Hyunsoo, who had just finished brushing his teeth, tilted his head at the sight of it.
“Chae Ji, what’s that?”
“It’s nothing.”
He felt sorry for Hyunsoo, but he didn’t have time to explain. Jion curtly replied and ran to the restroom. He ducked into a stall, and locked the door. He placed his hand on the plaque and closed his eyes.
Kwon Chasa, please…
No matter how many times he called out, the plaque remained unresponsive. Deflated, Jion leaned against the door. If neither the phone nor the plaque worked, perhaps he was currently in the underworld.
He appeared out of nowhere and startled me so many times, so why isn’t he here when I actually need him?
Jion sighed resentfully and banged the back of his head against the door. He heard muffled grumbling and curses from students outside, but there was nothing he could do but sigh.
In the end, Kwon Chasa didn’t appear.
The fifth period began without Go Youngjae and Im Juseong. The ethics teacher briefly stepped in to say an urgent meeting had been called and told them to study quietly before leaving.
The atmosphere in the classroom was abuzz because two people hadn’t entered. It seemed he was the only one among the third-year students who had witnessed the scene. If even one more person had seen it, rumors would have already spread.
Before the period ended, the homeroom teacher entered and handed out papers. He told everyone to check the relevant boxes and submit them. The questions were mostly health-related: whether they were in pain, how much stress they had been feeling lately, and so on.
After the teacher collected the papers, Go Youngjae and Im Juseong finally returned. Jion immediately ran to them. He asked if they were okay and if they remembered anything. They both shook their heads. They only remembered waking up in the infirmary.
Since Go Youngjae had gone home early, Jion ate dinner alone. All the way to the convenience store, he was haunted by a premonition that Baek Kitae would appear before him tonight. He tried to call Kwon Chasa and summon him through the plaque, but there was still no response.
His mind was elsewhere the entire time he worked. Even though they hadn’t made direct eye contact earlier, he worried that Baek Kitae might have spotted him at school.
Would Kitae bring up what happened today? If Jion prodded him gently, would he tell the truth?
‘Are you okay, Jion? You don’t take the bus?’
When Jion had first mentioned the incident at the bus stop, Baek Kitae had feigned ignorance. Because of that, Jion couldn’t definitively conclude it was his doing, but he couldn’t think of any other possibility. It was more likely that Baek Kitae was just playing dumb.
Jion took a deep breath and pulled out his phone. He checked the four addresses Baek Kitae had given him again and pondered the link between them and the ghost.
Could it be… that Baek Kitae was the suspect?
The common thread among the people at those addresses was that none of them had died. In Choi Heechan’s family, the mother was still alive. Lee Yeju had been hospitalized but was slowly recovering. Since the two remaining addresses were linked to attempted murders, it meant those people were fortunately still alive as well.
Considering what Kitae had asked him to write on the notes, the circumstantial evidence was damning.
[I’m glad you’re alive. But someday, when you die, we’ll meet again. I’ll be waiting.]
A message left for those he hadn’t managed to kill with his own hands. A curse and romise to wait until their final breath.
Jion shuddered. Ultimately, it meant that Baek Kitae was the one who had killed Choi Heechan and Nam Seunghee.
“Hi, Jion.”
Startled by the sudden voice, Jion turned his head toward the sound. Baek Kitae approached with a bright smile. He had suspected as much, and as expected, here he was. Jion hid his trembling hands and managed a forced smile.
“Hello, Hyung…”
His biggest mistake was not questioning Baek Kitae the first time they met. It was a blunder to trust a ghost who claimed he would leave for the afterlife as long as his request was granted. But there was no turning back now. He had to handle this situation.
“Seems like there aren’t many customers here.”
“Ah… yeah, during my shift, it’s usually like this.”
He had to maintain a facade of calm. He couldn’t let Baek Kitae find him suspicious. Baek Kitae nodded and paced around the store once before returning to stand in front of Jion, who smiled as if nothing was wrong.
He was glad he’d tucked the plaque into his pocket while putting on his vest in the staff room. Jion slipped his hand into his pocket. He wanted to try summoning Kwon Chasa one more time. Just then, Kitae suddenly hopped onto the counter and looked down at him.
His gaze was fixed exactly on the pocket where Jion’s hand was hidden. Jion pulled his hand out with an awkward laugh.
“Hyung, you’re not supposed to sit up there…”
“What does it matter? It’s not like anyone else can see me.”
Baek Kitae shrugged with a smile. Right then, a customer entered, picked out some snacks and beer, and set them on the counter. Throughout the transaction, the customer obviously couldn’t see Baek Kitae; Jion was the only one casting nervous glances in that direction.
Baek Kitae, who had been tapping his fingers on the counter, stopped the moment the customer left. Even then, he continued to watch Jion. Because Kitae was sitting in a spot where he could see his every move, Jion didn’t dare make a reckless maneuver.
Just as Jion was growing more nervous, Baek Kitae asked a random question.
“But aren’t you curious?”
“Huh? About what…?”
“About how I died, who those people I asked you to deliver gifts to are, why I can’t leave this place… things like that?”
His tension skyrocketed when he heard those words. Jion managed a smile as he replied.
“I mean… of course I’m curious.”
“Then why haven’t you ever asked?”
“Sometimes I have to ask first, but… usually, if someone feels wronged, they tell me before I even have to ask. So I figured if you didn’t bring it up, you must have your reasons. I didn’t want to pry.”
“Hmm… I see. Is that why you didn’t ask me? Because I didn’t say anything first?”
“…Yes. You said you just needed your request granted, so I thought I didn’t need to know the details…”
That complacent judgment had led to this. Jion felt bitter. He should have asked at least once. He should have found out what happened to him or how he died, even something simple. Even if he might have lied, Jion should have asked.
Baek Kitae grinned and began tapping his fingers on the counter again. It couldn’t be called tapping since his fingers passed through the surface; no sound came from the movement.
“It was a car accident.”
What Baek Kitae suddenly said matched what Jion had guessed when they first met.
“I was on my way home. It was a dark alley because the streetlights were broken. I was just heading out of there… and as soon as I hit the main road, a taxi rammed into me. It felt like my body flew so far.”
“…”
“I don’t remember anything after that. I think I just died the moment I hit the ground. The grim reaper was already calling for me.”
If Baek Kitae was the culprit behind the murders, it would explain why they had become cold cases. Since the killer was already dead, they could never have found him. Jion asked a question to try and glean one more clue.
“Then why… didn’t you leave then?”
It seemed as though a glint had flashed in Baek Kitae’s eyes for a moment. At the chilling gaze, Jion bit his lower lip.
“Because I died so suddenly, I didn’t get to finish my work.”
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