Chapter 100 – Ghost (2)

Chae Nayun lazed around at 9 P.M. Cadets became more active on social media after finishing one exam.

[Uyeonha] [It was difficult, but I’m glad it turned out great. Good work everyone. #Cube #Exam #OurTeam]

Yoo Yeonha’s team finished with three wins and celebrated at a café. She uploaded a group picture of them eating together. Chae Nayun felt jealous because of her gloomy team.

“Uuun.”

Chae Nayun and Yoo Yeonha hadn’t spoken since their last fight. She wanted to make up since she started it. Ding.

[♡] [NYChae and 4593 others liked this post.]

Chae Nayun subtly apologized by liking her post. Then she scrolled down and saw Shin Jonghak’s.

[jonghak2] [3 wins 0 losses #Cube #ShinJonghak #Jonghak #Exam #Hero #OverwhelmingVictory]

Shin Jonghak also posted a group photo, but it carried a different atmosphere from Yoo Yeonha’s. He looked like a ruler surrounded by his lackeys.

“I wonder when this guy will be cured of his eighth grade syndrome.”

Chae Nayun snickered and continued scrolling.

“Huh?”

She found a rather interesting photo from Kim Suho, who had over 20,000 followers.

[With Master Sharpshooter Hajin, Cube’s sole gunner]

“Is this guy… kind or evil?”

The photo seemed to have been taken after the archery competition, but the difference between their faces…

[leonidas357: it’s nice to see you smiling.] [Yunseung_A: I also monitored this year’s class competitions ^^ Hajin and Suho both did amazing.]

“Haha, what is unni doing here?”

Yun Seung-Ah clearly had ulterior motives. Chae Nayun left the app after making fun of her and switched to her messenger.

“Huh?”

She thoughtlessly scrolled when she discovered a party hat emoticon next to Kim Hajin’s profile.

“Today is his birthday?”

Chae Nayun murmured. She was going to continue scrolling, but then she entered a gift shop. She wondered what to give him, but nothing caught her attention.

“I guess a cake will do… no, maybe I should give him something in real life rather than online… no, why would I? I’m not crazy… just a text message is enough.”

Chae Nayun quickly sent a message.

[Kim Hajin, it’s your birthday today?]

He didn’t reply even after 5 minutes. Chae Nayun added another line.

[Happy birthday lol Why aren’t you responding?]

[Thanks]

He responded almost immediately this time.

“Why’s he so cold?”

Chae Nayun pouted and put down her smartwatch.

***

Midterm exams finally ended on Thursday. I took a total of four exams. Two of them in teams and the others individually. I didn’t do so well by myself, but I obtained enough points from the team exams to enter the top 200. I should receive a bigger room next year.

Now wasn’t the time to worry about academics.

“Will this be enough?”

I purchased a pinnacle grade magic bag that looked like a normal duffel bag. However, it could carry up to 200 kilograms and cost 40 million won. I stuffed it full of all sorts of items: an icebox, tent, cooking wares, ramen, pork chops, etc…

Woong—

My smartwatch rang.

[Cube will be on break next week.] [Cadets will receive a 70% discount on foreign travels when using cadet cards.]

Classes would be canceled next week due to an external investigation. The djinns would lay low, but investigators wouldn’t find anything.

[The Jinsung Foundation will sponsor a field trip next Thursday. First years will be allowed to join on a first-come, first-serve basis.]

During this field trip, the main cast would encounter a wicked ghost called the ghost of the past.

This ghost would transport them to the year 1970, soon after Outcall. Of course, it wasn’t the real past. However, this would be a necessary event for them. Not only Kim Suho, but also Shin Jonghak and Yoo Yeonha…

“Aaaaang!”

Evandel’s shout interrupted my thoughts. She stared at Hayang in shock. I followed her gaze and spotted the boneless chicken in Hayang’s mouth.

“Hayang… Hayang you… put that down now!”

Evandel tried to run, but Hayang quickly bit the chicken. She immediately stopped at the sight.

“Ah! O-Okay! Okay, Hayang. Let’s calm down. Calm down…”

Huu, huu. She acted like it was a hostage situation and raised her hands.

“Right, calm down… that’s not something a cat can eat…”

Chomp. Hayang chewed on the chicken and ignored Evandel. I glanced at Evandel’s empty plate. It seemed like Hayang ate the last piece of chicken.

“Iiiiing! H-Hayang, you…!”

Evandel chased after Hayang. However, Hayang was too quick. She ran into my arms and sobbed.

“Hajin! Hajin! Hayang ate my chicken…”

“Don’t worry. She won’t die.”

Hayang wasn’t a normal cat. She had a noble bloodline with a grade 4 mana affinity. Animals with higher mana affinity could recover faster, live longer, and had higher intelligence. Some people also called them mystical animals.

“No, not that! She stole my food!”

“Oh, that’s the problem?”

***

I left the dorm and walked to the park after calming down Evandel. I had a few appointments this evening.

“Over here.”

Yoo Yeonha waved from a remote area of the park. She wore sunglasses even though it was dusk. I could see the suitcase next to her. Yoo Yeonha spoke as she handed it to me.

“Here are the bullets. Each magazine carries 45 bullets. There are 900 bullets in here.”

“Great, thanks!”

“Ah, wait, there’s something else.”

Yoo Yeonha handed me some sort of protector.

“What’s this?” I tilted my head as she grinned.

“A wrist protector. Your birthday was on Monday, right? It’s quite expensive, so use it well. I planned to give it to you on Monday, but everyone was busy with the exams.”

“Ah, um, thank you.”

I took the wrist protector and put it on.

“Oh, it’s great.”

It stuck to my skin and felt high quality. Yoo Yeonha looked at me satisfied and turned back.

“Then I’ll be leaving now.”

“Yeah, thanks again.”

I waved as she left. Next was karaoke. Cube had an entertainment district for mental health. It featured karaoke, a LAN café, a bowling alley, a pool hall, and other arcade facilities. Most cadets gathered here after exams. My teammates waited for me as I arrived.

“Yo! Kim Hajin.”

Jin Hoseung waved. Everyone wore casual clothes except for me. Rachel’s outfit looked especially eye-catching. Her pink sweater and blue jeans perfectly suited her.

“The main character always shows up late, eh?”

“Ah, sorry, I had an appointment before this.”

I felt confident since I still had my singing gift.

“Now that Hajin is here… let, let’s go.” Rachel reluctantly pointed to the karaoke bar.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Jin Hoseung took the lead. Cadets filled the different rooms and loudly sang.

“…”

Rachel peeked through the windows and observed them. She looked a bit mystified by the scene. Jin Hoseung went to the counter and showed his cadet card.

“For six people.”

“Thank you. You may use room 17.”

Rachel marched forward as she murmured, room 17, room 17. It wasn’t far off as Rachel went in first. The door to room 16 suddenly opened when I was about to enter too.

“Eh?”

A person came out of room 16 and looked at me in surprise. I reacted the same.

“Kim Hajin? You’re also here?”

“Yeah… you too?”

“I’m here with my friends. What about…”

Chae Nayun peeked through the half-opened door of room 17 and saw Rachel. She nodded with a somewhat disapproving look.

“Well, have fun…”

“Ah, wait, Chae Nayun. You’re going to Jinsung Foundation’s field trip, right?”

“Huh? Um, yeah, I am. Why? Are you also going?”

“I have nothing better to do, so I applied.”

Someone pulled on my sleeve as I talked with Chae Nayun. It wasn’t Rachel, but Tomer.

“What?”

“…”

Tomer spoke with her eyes.

“Ah, okay. I’m going in now.”

“Yeah, bye.”

Chae Nayun shooed me away as I spoke shortly with Tomer before we entered room 17. Jin Hoseung searched for a song with the remote while Rachel oddly held two tambourines in each hand.

“Alright, I’ll sing first as we discussed in the group chat. Rachel will go next, right?”

Rachel’s shoulders shook. Trrr. The tambourines in her hands also shook as Jin Hoseung’s song began.

“Horse, let’s run.”

His shoulders moved up and down as he sang an exciting rock song. However, he stopped after the first verse. Jin Hoseung mischievously smiled as he handed Rachel the remote. She nervously pondered for a while before selecting a song. The accompaniment rang out as we held our breaths in anticipation.

“Th, this- bru-shing wi-nd”

“…”

Her voice sounded pretty, but that was it. She ignored the beat and melody and sang like reading a book. Pft. I heard someone’s mocking laughter from outside. Chae Nayun laughed as she held her belly.

“Huu… I’ll also stop after the first verse.”

Thankfully, she only sang the first verse. Rachel wiped the sweat off her forehead and handed me the remote with a satisfied expression. Did she think she sang well?

“Here.”

“Ah… yes.”

I took the remote and entered a song. After I placed it down, Rachel stealthily took the remote again. She seemed confident and planned on going again.

Rachel sang a total of six songs that day, which caused quite some pain for our entire team.

***

Next Thursday finally arrived. The field trip organized by the Jinsung Foundation would serve as the main story’s turning point. The participants remained the same as the original story except for me.

“What good weather.”

The clear autumn sun shone down. I barely arrived at the Seoul portal station on time.

“Ah, Kim Hajin’s here.”

Five individuals pointed at me as I ran up to them.

“You’re two minutes late.”

Shin Jonghak spoke as he pointed at his watch. I also checked the time. He was right. It was currently 6:02 A.M. I clasped my hands and sincerely apologized.

“Sorry.”

“…”

Shin Jonghak waved it off. I spotted the limousine waiting for us. The six of us went inside the spacious and luxurious interior. It had a high ceiling like the ones in the movies and the seats stretched from one end to the other. I sat in a random spot.

“Hajin, do you want some?”

Kim Suho sat next to me and offered me some gummy.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Then give it to me.”

Chae Nayun snatched a gummy. She nibbled on the gummy bear and asked Shin Jonghak.

“Hey, what are we doing there?”

“Lots of things. Wind Mountain is the Jinsung group’s property, so we’ll meditate at the peak and spar a bit.”

Wind Mountain resided on the outskirts of Seoul 800 meters above sea level. It was dense in mana and had been created after a magic power explosion 50 years ago.

“Ooh, that sounds fun.”

I didn’t know about fun, but I knew it would be quite a spectacle. I looked around the limousine at Kim Suho, Chae Nayun, Yoo Yeonha, Shin Jonghak, and Yi Yeonghan. They all looked out the window like they expected a picnic.

However, they greatly suffered from a lack of drinking water and food in the original story. They would thank me later.

“Cough.”

I crossed my legs. The duffel bag behind me couldn’t feel more reliable.

“What are you doing?”

Yoo Yeonha asked with a quizzical look. I grinned and crossed my arms as she frowned.

***

[Seoul Outskirts, Wind Mountain Entrance]

The black limousine stopped at the foot of the mountain as the driver got out first to open the door for everyone.

“Huaa.”

Chae Nayun breathed in the mountain air as she stretched.

“Doesn’t it feel like we’re going on a picnic?”

She struck Kim Hajin’s shoulder as he yawned next to her.

“Yeah.”

Kim Hajin reacted dryly. He seemed somewhat arrogant as he looked at the mountain.

“Pft, did you catch Shin Jonghak’s illness?”

“Huh? No, no way.”

He quickly returned to his usual self after Chae Nayun’s remark. Shin Jonghak’s secretary finished talking to him and stood in front of the cadets.

“There’s a cabin prepared in the mountain. The master that Jinsung Foundation invited will be arriving tonight.”

“Ooh. A master? Who?”

Shin Jonghak grinned at Chae Nayun’s question.

“You’ll be surprised when you meet him. Let’s climb the mountain for now. We have to reach the peak by 3.”

The hike began without much thought. The six cadets climbed in the following order: Yi Yeonghan, Yoo Yeonha, Shin Jonghak, Chae Nayun, Kim Suho, and Kim Hajin.

Rustle, rustle. Leaves covered the ground beneath them. The steep mountain posed no problems as they laughed and talked.

“Ah, the air feels great. It’s nice to be in an area with high mana concentration. It feels like magic power is pumping into my lungs.”

“Cough, well you know, Chae Nayun, if you’re with me, you can enjoy places like this whenever you want…”

“Oh! A dragonfly!”

They hiked for around 90 minutes and should’ve reached the summit by now, but seemed nowhere close.

“The mountain’s pretty tall, or did we take a wrong turn somewhere?”

“I don’t know. Let’s keep going.”

Something felt off, but they continued walking. The joyous atmosphere slowly disappeared as they continued climbing for another 30 minutes. A strange sensation coiled around them.

“Hey, doesn’t it feel a bit eerie?”

Chae Nayun muttered, unable to endure any longer. Yoo Yeonha also slowed down and joined them. Goosebumps appeared on her arms. Yoo Yeonha asked in a quivering voice.

“Jo… Jonghak, does it normally take this long?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t think we took the wrong path.”

Shin Jonghak looked around. Chwaaa— A cold wind blew against the leaves. Yoo Yeonha trembled at the sound. Strange. Something felt strange. Then Kim Suho explained what they all felt in a low voice.

“We’ve been walking on flat ground for the past 30 minutes.”

Everyone immediately stopped and held their breaths. The uncomfortable feeling spread throughout their bodies. They realized that he was right. They were climbing a mountain, but had been walking on flat ground. Furthermore, no one noticed until Kim Suho mentioned it.

“Don’t worry, Wind Mountain is rich in mana, so a spell might’ve naturally—”

“Wait.”

Kim Suho interrupted Shin Jonghak. He quickly looked around in fear.

“Hajin, where’s Hajin?”

“Huh?”

The rest of the group also looked back and forth. However, they couldn’t find Kim Hajin.

“What… he… he disappeared,” Yoo Yeonha muttered with a pale face.

“Hey! Stop messing with us and come out!” Chae Nayun shouted, but her voice didn’t even echo. A heavy silence descended.

“…”

One of the six had disappeared. The remaining five stood blankly without moving.