Chapter 134: (2)

“Teach...” I couldn’t finish my sentence.

My heart was pounding. In a split second, numerous emotions mixed together, turning my heart into a rag. If I squeezed it hard enough, all of my dark emotions would come out.

Teacher. I was fortunate to meet my peony who had become my teacher.

“Mother.”

Teacher looked at me. Her always serene eyes were trembling. It was the first time I called her Mother, and her first time being called that, too.

Teacher put down her stubby pencil. “...This is odd.”

It seemed that she was in the middle of her writing. Manuscripts with Teacher’s handwriting were scattered on the living room table.

“I don’t know how long it’s been since you called me that.”

She would never get to finish her story now. Some words simply couldn’t become sentences. Red manuscript papers filled with discarded paragraphs were lying on the table.

“It’s been ages since I heard you call me Mother. No, ages isn’t the right word. It’s as if...”

“I love you, Mother.”

Teacher stopped moving her fingertips.

“I wanted to see you again,” I said. “You see, I found someone to love for the rest of my life. Turns out that it’s possible to truly love someone and be loved in return. I... wanted to hold Raviel’s hand and introduce her to you before anyone else, Mother.”

“...”

“You and Raviel would have gotten along well. I’m sure of it. I’m... I’m alive and well. I am living well. I’m trying to live well. There are many days when I think about what you told me, Mother.”

Teacher.

“I wanted to see you again.”

Teacher slowly stood up and came to me. Her thin, long fingers wiped the corners of my eyes. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“I’m having a nightmare right now.”

“Life is no different from a dream, but it doesn’t change anything. If you say malice is cold, that doesn’t make it good. Will the wounds heal if you excuse your faults as a result of ignorance? My son, don’t let words fool you. You always have to look in your heart. Do not entrust it to empty words and shallow sentences.”

Teacher put her arms around my shoulders.

“Whether you call me mother or not, I shall remain in your heart as myself, just like you remain in mine. What makes us human isn’t simply being able to memorize a few words or recite a couple of sentences, but the connections we make with the ones who have made their way in our hearts.”

I was small, so Teacher could embrace me completely in her arms. My mouth opened and closed several times before I finally managed to say, “Yoo Soo-Ha... There’s no way you would have raised your child like that, Mother.”

“Yes.”

“He throws punches just because he gets angry... You wouldn’t invite someone like that to the dinner table. You would have kicked him out of the house before that. No, you would have reformed him before kicking him out. Actually, he would have grown up to be a good person because he had you.”

“I see.”

I continued, “So... you aren’t actually Soh Baek-Hyang.”

Teacher smiled. “Live your life, Gong-Ja. Be strong.”

The arms around my shoulder were gone. The smile on her face lasted until the last moment. She collapsed, leaving behind only a shadow of her former self.

—■, ■■■ ■■■.

The shadow had no face, but a blurry outline. It went back to its spot in the living room like a giant earthworm.

That was the bare face of my mother. Another layer of the world had been peeled off.

“

Ugh.

”

I ran to the bathroom, embraced the toilet seat and lowered my head. The feelings of loss and guilt made the black water of emotions flow back up in my throat, so I vomited out my heart.

I heard a voice coming from behind the bathroom door. “Hey, did you get food poisoning or something? Why do you throw up as soon as you get home? Dude, it looks like you bought some awful food again. I told you that nothing else matters in life other than eating delicious food. You should have listened to your big brother. Anyhow, do you want me to help you stand up?”

“Yoo Soo-Ha.”

“What the heck? Did you also vomit up your brain? Little brother, I sense some defiance here.[1]”

I sat down on the bathroom tiles and looked up at Yoo Soo-Ha. He was standing at the door, chewing on a dry squid leg.[2] “You fucking bastard...”

“You didn’t just vomit your brain. You poured it all out. Hey, in life, you end up hurting people from time to time! Yeah, I also panicked a little because of the news yesterday. Mom and Dad gave me an earful for it too. Still, we’re a family, so we have to support each other, right?”

“You crazy bastard...” I muttered, holding the toilet bowl. “You’re a fucking piece of shit.”

“

Hah

?”

“If you just hit your stalker, I would have called you an angel. But you’re the bastard who would hit the back of your stalker’s head to death, bury them under a mountain, and then start a fire.”

“What...? That’s psychotic behavior. Is that what you think of me?”

“You

are

a psychopath, you son of a bitch!” I felt dizzy. “An idol singer? Do you think you could ever have a job like that? You don’t know anything about fan service. Cursing in every interview is normal for you. And cursing someone else’s parents is a bonus. There is no way you can become an idol singer. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Uh...”

“You say Mother and Father scolded you? Do you seriously think you would let others scold you? It’s actually fortunate you didn’t slap your parents on the cheeks. Shit! Fuck...! Yoo Soo-Ha, you’re definitely not the type of guy who would help your younger brother stand up after he throws up. You just aren’t. If you were at least that kind of guy...” I glared at him. “...I wouldn’t have killed you.”

“...”

“I wouldn’t have killed you, you son of a bitch. I wouldn’t have. If only you could do at least that much... Just to kill you, I...”

No, to not kill him, I...

“...I did some things you would not be able to think of, but you...”

I sometimes had a dream.

“H-hey, Mr. Hunter!” I said. “Please help me...!”

“Huh?” Yoo Soo-Ha looked at me.

“I got attacked by the wolves... Oof. Please help me. Do you have a potion you can spare...?”

“Ah, shit. What? You already messed with the monsters in this area? Fuck, I won’t be able to hunt anything today.”

“P-please... Do you have any potions—”

Yoo Soo-Ha clicked his tongue but still gave me a potion. “Ah, be careful next time. Fuck. It looks like I won’t get anything done today.”

Other times, I had another dream.

“How much are you going to give me for my potion, Mister? If I leave you, you’ll die, mister. ”

“F-forty gold...”

“Just give me everything you have right now.”

So I gave him everything I had.

Yoo Soo-Ha handed me a potion.“Good. Be careful next time, Mister.”

In those dreams, the Yoo Soo-Ha from eleven years ago was still the same greedy bastard, but he didn’t hurt the weak. After all, he had once been my hero, so I didn’t have to kill him. I had those dreams only from time to time, but I... I...

“You son of a bitch...”

Yoo Soo-Ha’s black hair swayed.

“Get lost. Your place is in my shadow. If you’re thinking of moving your address to this kind of hell and getting a clean slate, give it up already,” I growled.

His black hair collapsed.

—■■, ■■ ■■■.

My

older brother

turned into a specter and spoke in a gloomy voice. Yes, he was now a specter. It didn’t even get to be an ordinary ghost and simply stopped existing in this world of trauma. Now that all my family members had stopped looking like people from my memories, they were nothing but mere shadows.

I washed my face in the sink. Tap water dripped from my eyebrows.

“Okay.”

Only my mutterings echoed in the haunted house.

“It’s okay. You can do it. Kim Gong-Ja, you can do it.”

This wasn’t my home or my world. It was just that the man whose life I wanted to take was trapped in this hell.

I left the house and brought back the Constellation Murderer.

“Ah... ”

The Constellation Murderer didn’t seem to perceive the specters as their true selves. In his eyes, they seemed to be my father, mother, and older brother.

No, maybe it was the other way around.

—■■■?

—■■ ■■■.

From the beginning, my father, mother, and older brother may have seemed like specters in the Constellation Murderer’s eyes. To him, the humans of this world may have been no different from specters. So, all the sounds humans made would have been nothing more than noise to the Constellation Murderer’s ears.

“Hello...”

“Don’t,” I said firmly. “You don’t have to be polite.”

I grabbed the Constellation Murderer’s wrist and entered my room. He didn’t get to finish saying hello.

—■, ■■■ ■■■.

My older brother, who had the face of Yoo Soo-Ha just a moment ago, tried to follow us into my room. I pushed him away, stopping him from entering the room.

“Don’t come in. I’m warning you.”

—■■■?

“I’ll take care of this kid by myself for the time being, so I don’t need anyone else. Unless he gives you permission, don’t come in or talk to him.”

I closed the door and locked it.

—■■. ■■■?

The specters kept muttering outside the door. I ignored them and prepared the bed for the Constellation Murderer. He stared at me, still carrying the bag he had been holding since school ended.

He asked, “Can you talk like that to your family?”

“It depends on what kind of family it is. To you, they’re your bully’s family.”

“Stop acting like this. It’s strange and unpleasant. I really have no idea what game you’re trying to pull here to go this far.”

“You can think so if you want. Just get some rest.”

“Where will you sleep?”

“Anywhere. Rest. You’ll feel a little better afterward.”

From that day on, I erased this world little by little. I secretly used my brother’s cell phone to talk to Preta.

—Who are you? What? You’re Soo-Ha’s younger brother...? Why would you call me...?

I called Goldencup using the same method.

—

Huh? Aaah

... I heard about you from Soo-Ha. We actually met before. What’s up? Soo-Ha isn’t trying to make you, his younger brother, apologize on behalf of him, is he?

I destroyed Preta and Goldencup with one phone call. Occasionally, Preta and Goldencup appeared on television as idol singers, but I couldn’t see their faces. Only their shadows flickered as if someone had scribbled on them.

Only then did I get a reaction.

[The trauma’s recreation level is low.]

[The data used for the trauma recreation has been damaged.]

[Extracting the new required data from your memory...]

[Failed.]

[The data cannot be recovered.]

I left holes in this world that it couldn’t recover from.

[Extracting the new required data from the original owner...]

[Failed..]

[The data cannot be recovered.]

I moved even faster. The Four Demon Kings and the children from the Infernal Mansion collapsed. I turned the characters of this trauma into specters whenever I ran into them. Every time I did this, the world of this trauma also collapsed little by little.

“

Hmm?

That is new. I didn’t expect to see you here in the teachers’ room, Gong-Ja.”

Homeroom Teacher Viper.

“Oh, M-Mr. Gong-Ja? Why did you invite me to an empty classroom?

Hic

. Teachers and students are not allowed to date. I-I can’t break the school rules...!”

Math Teacher Chemist.

“I heard you asked to see me. Since you’re an unusual student in many ways, I agreed to see you as the school president requested. Do you have something to talk to me about?”

Principal Sword Star.

I met them one by one.

[The trauma’s recreation level is low.]

[The data cannot be recovered.]

About fifteen days later, most students and teachers had become specters. It wasn’t just the school that became strange.

—■■ ■■■■■.

No matter what channel I turned on on television, a specter was in the anchor’s place. In the form of shadow, it only muttered in a quiet voice, so I couldn’t understand anything.

I once tried to take the subway out of the city. The cityscape continued for a while, but at some point, it became pitch-black. When I reached the darkness, the train disappeared.

[The trauma’s recreation level is low.]

[Requesting Zrakua for the new required data...]

[The request has been denied.]

[Failed.]

[The data cannot be recovered.]

The broken world was now just an abomination that had failed.

One day, the Paladin approached me after classes were done. She looked somehow nervous. “Gong-Ja, I have something to discuss with you.”

“What’s up?”

“I can’t talk about it in the classroom. No, actually, I don’t even wanna do it.”

The Paladin turned her head and glanced behind her.

—■■■! ■■ ■■■■.

There, someone who had already turned into a specter was sitting at a desk; it was the Countess. She had talked with me two days before and collapsed into a shadow.

After glancing at her friend a couple of times, the Paladin lowered her voice. “Let’s go out into the hallway.”

We went out into the hallway outside the classroom.

“So what’s going on?”

“This may sound strange. No, it

is

strange. But I felt like I needed to consult with you for some reason.”

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The Paladin was very tense as she looked around the hallway where ghosts came and went.

“Something is weird.”

“...”

“If you want to know what I mean by that, truthfully, I can’t tell you exactly, but I’m certain that this isn’t normal. Last weekend, I went out of town with my family. I was going to go. I even prepared a lunch box in the morning. But, in the blink of an eye, it became evening.”

The Paladin’s shoulders were slightly trembling.

“At first, I suspected that I have amnesia. However, the family was chatting at the table, saying that today’s picnic was really good. I don’t and can’t remember anything about the picnic...”

The Paladin raised her head and looked around once again. Except for a handful of students, there was really no one but black, limp specters in the classroom, hallways, and schoolyard.

“...Something is wrong. Very wrong. Maybe it’s me who is the strange one. I’m sorry, Kim Gong-Ja. I’ll just book an appointment with a psychiatrist. I may get better after receiving counseling.”

“The student sitting by the window at the back of the classroom,” I said. “Do you remember him?”

“

Uhm

...?” The Paladin frowned. “Yeah, I do. He’s our classmate. His name is ■■, I think.”

“Do you know that he received these texts?” I took out the Constellation Murderer’s phone and showed it to her.

“...”

“I’m saying this just in case, but I didn’t fabricate them.”

As she read the texts, the Paladin’s face paled in shock. However, it was short-lived, and she soon snapped in anger. “What...? How can they... How can they do something like this! This is outrageous! This is absolutely not something that can be dismissed as a joke!”

“Are you angry?”

“Of course! There are some things you can overlook from students just because of their young age, but this isn’t one of them. A wound is the same whether it is inflicted on an adult or a child. A child having to go through something like this is even worse!”

“What do you plan to do now?”

“You secured physical evidence, so we have to report this to the police immediately! I’m very familiar with this kind of incident. Even if you report it to the school, they’ll take away the evidence and tell you to resolve it amicably among your friends. It wouldn’t be a problem if just the two of us went to the police station, so we should gather as many people as possible...!”

“Yes... that sounds like you,” I muttered.

The Paladin was the type of person who strived to reduce the number of victims, even just by a little.

“If there had been at least one person like you in the classroom, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.”

“What?”

“There is no way you would stand by in this kind of situation. You would have noticed this a long time ago without a doubt, but there wasn’t even a single person like you in that large classroom.” I closed the phone. “So that is why this happened.”

“...”

“It’s okay. Please disappear. I will take care of the rest.”

When I close and open my eyes...

—■■, ■■ ■ ■■■.

...a faceless specter was floating in front of me.

Slowly, I stood in the hallway and looked around.

—■■ ■■■?

—■■ ■. ■■ ■■■.

The students talked as they came and went. They laughed as if they were responding to a joke, even though it wasn’t funny. They were sharing a fleeting moment of their youth. When a teacher passed by, they bowed and said hello.

—■ ■■■■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■ ■ ■■■■ ■■■■■■ ■■ ■■ ■■■■■? ■■ ■ ■■?

—■, ■■?

—■■! ■■■ ■ ■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■!

—■■... ■■ ■■■. ■■■■■ ■ ■■■ ■■■ ■ ■ ■■■

—■■ ■■■■ ■ ■ ■■■■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■■■■ ■! ■■ ■■■■■■■ ■■ ■ ■■! ■■ ■■■■■ ■■.

—■■■ ■■■■■■ ■■. ■■■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■■■ ■■. ■■■■ ■■■ ■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■ ■■■■.

—■ ■■ ■■ ■■. ■■ ■■.

—■■ ■■■ ■■.

Their voices were just noise. Words didn’t get to form sentences; they were only failed attempts at fleshed-out stories.

Bright slogans were hung on the stairs.

—■■■ ■■■♪

—■■■ ■■■♪

—■■■ ■■■■♪

This was the world of the Constellation Murderer.

1. Koreans don’t call someone older than them just by their names. ☜

2. A common snack in Korea. It’s good. ☜