Ch. 95 - Eleventh Ghost Story - The Forgotten Friend (8)

“It seems like you've gotten involved in something strange again.”

The homeroom teacher said with a relaxed expression.

How should I react to his statement?

During the incident with the science teacher, we excitedly exchanged questions and fought with each other, but that was before the time reset.

What kind of relationship do I have with this person now?

After thinking for a moment, I quietly nodded.

“…Yes.”

“Hoho.”

The homeroom teacher smiled as if he had known it.

“You’ve gotten involved in something strange, again.”

“……”

“As expected, I knew it.”

He rubbed his round belly as he said with certainty.

I thought it was fine.

The only connection I have with this person in the current timeline is the brief involvement during the incident of Dream Within Dreams.

Although there were still some lingering awkward feelings between us, it was still a situation where it wouldn't be strange to act as if we had an ordinary student and homeroom teacher relationship.

Soon, the homeroom teacher, who had been smiling and patting his belly, opened his mouth.

“Then, would you like to have some advice from me?”

“...What kind of advice?”

“Advice related to the members of the Ghost Story Club.”

The homeroom teacher showed a kind expression.

“Don’t just rely on your friends and try to resolve everything among the students.”

“What?”

“Teacher Jang Hwaeun, I’m talking about her.”

He spoke with a gentle tone and warm expression that showed his years of experience.

“Ask her for help. She's a veteran teacher with 10 years of experience before she became an English teacher.”

“……”

“Joony may not know since you're still a student, but single women with a career are often very competent individuals. It's common for them to focus on personal development during their free time.”

So he considered she had a lot of free time because she was still unmarried.

It seemed he was under such a misconception but for the time being, I decided to stay quiet.

“Teacher Jang Hwaeun is no exception. She already has plenty of time to spare, and because of her natural enthusiastic personality, she is well-known among the staff for taking on various tasks. She frequently attends training sessions and has obtained many education-related certifications…”

I see, so she's a highly competent person.

“It might be a good decision to seek her advice.”

The homeroom teacher, sitting on the chair with his belly sticking out, looked up at me with a kind smile.

I hesitated at the unexpectedly generous advice, but soon nodded quietly.

“Thank you for the advice, Teacher.”

“Hoho, it's fine. Go to class quickly.”

Soon, the 4th period, Korean History class, started.

I entered through the back door and hurriedly went to my seat, avoiding the eyes of the teacher, who was writing the day's topic on the blackboard.

“I hope everyone's present.”

‘....Teacher Jang Hwaeun.’

I glanced back and looked at the seat next to Jinhee.

No was seated on the desk next to Jinhee, but the textbook was spread out on the desk, as if someone had put it there intentionally.

And the chair, slightly askew from the desk, looked as if someone had just been sitting in it.

Jinhee sitting next to it was looking at the empty desk with a complicated expression on her face.

‘...Huu.’

I turned my head to the blackboard and thought about the homeroom teacher’s advice. Although I had no idea of his intention to give me proper advice, what he said was certainly true.

From what I could infer from Jinhee about her childhood friend Eunjung, she seemed to have some mental issues.

The teachers must have learned how to deal with such special children in college before starting working as a teacher.

But this Nakseong High School seemed like a school filled with psychopaths and lacking trustworthy and proper teachers.

Among them, Teacher Jang Hwaeun, who was a veteran teacher with 10 years of experience, was definitely on our side.

She has an enthusiastic personality with a mindset of understanding the youngsters.

She even attends training sessions related to the education of students frequently.

She was the perfect person for this case.

‘I should have asked her sooner.’

Because of the sudden unexpected situation, it slipped off my mind.

After thinking for a while, I decided to gather all the seven members of our Ghost Story Club, including the Teacher, together during lunch.

* * *

“I think the kids I'm assigned to are excluding me while hanging out together… what a sad life.”

[….]

“Yesterday, after school, the kids got together and went out to play again. But they didn't invite me…”

[Then… doesn't that mean you're being intentionally left out?]

“Right.”

[Then, why don't you bully back those kids?]

“Mom!”

Hwaeun softly yelled into her phone.

“You call that advice?”

[If you don't want my advice, do whatever you want, you idiot. You are the teacher after all….]

While leaving the cafeteria building, Hwaeun grumbled on the phone to her mother.

At the same time, the members of the Ghost Story Club, whom she was just complaining about, run towards her.

“Teacher! Teacher!”

“Oh, Mom. I’m hanging up, sorry!”

Hwaeun quickly hung up and greeted them brightly.

“Hi~ It’s Joon and his friends! What’s up?”

[2019, May 1st | Wednesday, 12:37 PM]

[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts - 2]

[Ghost Story Points: 67]

[Causality Rate: 14%]

After a quick lunch break, we gathered together in the clubroom on the 5th floor.

Using the remaining lunchtime, we told Teacher Jang Hwaeun the story up to that point.

The Teacher became silent after listening to the story.

She soon leaned her shoulders on the chair and interlocked her fingers.

“…But your Teacher clearly remembers. Eunjung was part of our club from the beginning. She also went out with you all yesterday.”

My gaze naturally turned to Gyeongwon.

“Why the difference in the situation, Gyeongwon?”

“I don't know.”

Gyeongwon showed a thoughtful look.

Even though we were in the same Ghost Story Club, why don’t the students remember Eunjung, but the Teacher does?

“… Perhaps the difference is whether or not you knew about this story when the ghost story actually occurred.”

“I think so too.”

Dukhun folded his arms and nodded.

“We already heard the story yesterday through Lee Jinhee, so our memories couldn't be manipulated. But the teachers and our parents didn't know anything about Kim Eunjung, so their memories were manipulated in a way that they think it's normal to know her.”

“You want to say my memories are manipulated?”

The Teacher showed a shocked expression by Dukhun's explanation.

I nodded firmly.

“Yes. Even right now, reality is being manipulated in real time.”

“How is that possible…”

I held out both hands to calm the Teacher who seemed still confused.

“If you don’t believe me, go around the school right now and look for Kim Eunjung. There’s no such student with that name.”

“That’s why that doesn’t make more sense!”

Teacher Jang Hwaeun stood up abruptly as she exclaimed.

“Because Eunjung is sitting here with us right now!”

The eyes of all the members’ instantly turned to the place where the Teacher pointed.

A rectangular table, with enough seats for a total of eight people, including one at the head and the other at the foot, to sit.

In the middle, an empty chair was sticking out unnaturally.

I was seated at the head of the desk and Teacher Hwaeun was sitting at the foot.

Three people could sit on either side of the long desk.

The empty chair was situated between Sunah and Gyeongwon, who was sitting next to me.

“Right over there… Huh? Where did she go?”

The Teacher pointed to the empty chair with a blank expression.

“She was just here…”

I resisted the urge to groan and looked at the members.

The Teacher being mistaken could be understandable since her memories have been manipulated. But why did we, who were fully aware of the ghost story, ended up sitting in such a strange arrangement in the first place?

It wasn't like Sunah and Gyeongwon never interacted with each other. There was no way for them to leave a seat between them empty.

It was like.

They naturally left the seat empty because they assumed someone would definitely sit in that seat.

‘....It’s getting more serious than it looks.’

The worst-case scenario would be if, at some point, we ended up recognizing Kim Eunjung as a friend, with all our previous memories being manipulated.

What if we fall into the delusion too, unable to hold on until school ends 4 hours later?

Instead of going to Jinhee's elementary school to uncover the truth, we would be heading straight home, smiling like fools.

Thinking that the unidentified person was our friend.

If we by any chance move on to the next ghost story with our corrupted memories and a checkpoint is set there, it would be impossible to turn back.

“....We have to hurry. It feels like we are gradually becoming part of this distortion too.”

I abruptly stood up from my seat.

“B, but we can’t leave school right now. We decided to hold on until we go to Jinhee’s elementary school after school and find out what’s really happening about this Kim Eunjung, right? What should we do right now…”

Gyeongwon and the members were anxious.

I bit my lips.

“We can't wait any longer. Let’s call that elementary school right now.”

“Right now?”

“Jinhee, take out your phone.”

I urgently instructed Jinhee to find the phone number of the Undang Elementary School administration office online and make the call.

“....Hello? Yes, I’m a graduate from your school. Could you please connect me to Counselor Ryu Jinah? Oh, really? Then when… Yes.”

Jinhee quickly hung up the phone in a sullen mood.

“They said she's not at school because she has gone to visit her home. She won’t be back until the afternoon.”

“Idiot, you should have at least asked for her cell phone number!”

“Idiot? Who are you joking with….”

Jinhee kicked Gyeongwon on the shin under the desk.

“Ouch.”

Gyeongwon flinched back at the kick and lowered his head dejectedly.

“Okay, that’s enough. Call again quickly and tell them to give her cell phone number.”

“Okay, just a moment…”

Jinhee called the administrative staff of the school again and asked for the teacher's number.

“Yes, thank you.”

She hung up after getting the number and called on the number she had gotten.

Tut- Tut- Tut-

“… She’s not answering.”

“Haaa.”

The members all groaned in frustration.

“Everyone, focus.”

I stood up from my seat and walked towards the whiteboard.

"We all hoped the call went through, but for now, there's nothing we can do. Let's keep trying to contact the counselor, and if that doesn’t work, we'll stick to the original plan and visit the elementary school after school. The urgent issue is how to handle the situation right now. We need to discuss that part thoroughly.”

“But, Prez!”

Gyeongwon shouted with an urgent expression, slapping his knee loudly.

“We have no idea what’s the real situation with Kim Eunjung, so how do we make plans?”

“Even if we don't know about her real situation, I think it's pretty obvious. She’s either alive or dead.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

It would have certainly been better if the counselor had been available and responded immediately. We could at least have some headstart, rather than knowing nothing at all.

But even if we could get some information, it didn't seem like it would have much of an effect on eradicating the ghost story right away.

The lunch break was coming to an end. We must come up with an urgent plan.

"We must plan something for now, the situation is urgent. Focus."

All eyes soon turned to me.

I organized the current situation on the whiteboard with a marker pen, as if I was giving a lesson.

As we just realized the fact from the empty chair, we were gradually being affected by the ghost story. What was most important right now was to stay clear-headed and not let our memories get manipulated.

We needed to somehow go through the upcoming 5th and 6th periods.

“There is no guarantee that our perceptions will not change in the next moment. Even while I'm saying this, the very next moment I can ask, what are we doing here? Okay, let’s go back to the classroom with Eunjung.”

I suddenly put down the marker and trudged out of the clubroom.

Passing by the members, I went out into the hallway and descended the stairs.

When I got to the 3rd floor, the club members seemed to come to a realization and suddenly chased after me with panicked expressions.

“T, the President is possessed by Kim Eunjung!!”

“Hit him! Hit him!”

They ran straight at me and began hitting me.

Smack- Smack-

“Aaah, f*ck, wait a minute!”

I protested desperately.

“I was trying to show you that this could happen, this could happen! Ahhh…”

“……”

“See, just as I showed you through the example, your perception can change in the next moment. Do you understand?”

I took the members back to the clubroom and began explaining.

“I did that on purpose to show you that. Your perception can change in an instant. By the way, who was it that hit me in the back of the head?”

“....Joon, sorry….”

Sunah trembled as she raised her hand. I waved my hand, gesturing to her that it was okay and told her to put her hand down.

"So Prez, I understand that it's dangerous and that we need to come up with countermeasures. But how do we deal with something that has no physical form...?”

“Just because it doesn’t have a physical form doesn’t mean we can’t deal with it. On the contrary, among the ghost stories we’ve encountered so far, there were more ghost stories that didn’t have a physical form.”

Sometimes, the very idea of a strange phenomenon turned out to be a ghost story to us.

“T-That’s true.”

Ahn Gyeongwon, as it was usual for him to panic whenever a strange phenomenon occured, showed a panicked expression.

“Oi, the President must have thought of something. So listen to him patiently.”

“S, sorry…”

Soon, their gazes turned back to me. But Hayoon's clear voice was suddenly heard at that moment.

“Have you planned something good?”

“Not that good.”

I tugged my sleeves with a slight sense of unease.

“It would be great if there were some sort of solution or something like that, but nothing new is coming to mind at the moment. However, there is an old method I used in the past, I think we can try it again.”

“What is it?”

Hayoon asked me with an expectant look.

“Do you all remember the story about resolving a ghost story that imitated my mother before?”

The members slowly nodded their heads.

“I remember.”

“Of course.”

Although it happened at home, not at school, I shared the incident with the members after the midterms.

So they were aware of the Mother Dilemma ghost story.

“Do you all remember how I resolved the story back then?”

“I remember.”

Sunah nodded as she answered.

“You pretended to be its mother-in-law…”

“....That’s right.”

I nodded as well.

“At that time, I pretended to be its vicious mother-in-law-”

“Pfft.”

Just as I was about to continue the explanation, Hayoon let out a small laugh, causing me to pause for a moment.

“Sorry.”

Hayoon turned her head away.

“Ahem!”

I cleared my throat to signal them to focus and then resumed the explanation.

“The reason why I pretended to be its mother-in-law back then is-”

While I was explaining, I glanced at Hayoon, and noticed that she was turning her head away from us and covering her mouth.

I couldn’t see her expression because her hair was obscuring it, but it seemed like she was smiling.

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