I Became the Hidden Mastermind

011 – 31st Student Ghost Story #1

011 – 31st Student Ghost Story #1

“No, because we heard sounds of a man and a woman fighting! Teacher, please stop! Just stop that! Why are students disappearing these days? Maybe…”

“No, according to what I heard, it’s not fighting, but why is there such talk? Like a man and a woman, just the two!”

Police officers, alerted by reports from neighboring residents, knocked on the door.

So, there are residents who report to the police.

Of course, Teacher Kang Haneul expressed his frustration at the unjust situation.

“No, I really didn’t do anything! And Yeongwon is my student! Why would I do anything to a student…!”

The voices continued to rise.

A female teacher who brought a student home and committed violent acts – such a news article briefly flashed in my mind and disappeared.

If this continues, what will happen to the teacher? Various rumors will circulate, and if luck is bad, she might even end up in prison.

Teacher Kang Haneul seemed to be well aware of this, as her expression gradually turned distressed. Her face resembled that of a fellow female student rather than an adult.

I felt a moral responsibility.

So, with determination, I spoke.

“I did it. While the teacher was briefly away, I drank the alcohol at home. I turned up the TV volume and got drunk, talking nonsense. Residents, police officers, I apologize!”

I bowed to everyone.

“I’m really, really sorry! If you smell my breath, you’ll even detect the scent of alcohol!”

Haaa – I directed a whiskey breath towards the police.

Then, a very young-looking police officer frowned.

“Hey, look at this guy. The scent of alcohol is really coming from his mouth. Senior, there’s even a whiskey bottle here. It seems like he just poured and drank it a moment ago.”

“Oh, really? Anyway, these days, kids… Let’s put that aside. Did you say this is a teacher? Why did you bring a student home at this late hour?”

Swish – The police officer addressed as ‘senior’ looked at the teacher and me with narrow eyes.

“Huh? Oh? That’s because… “

“It’s because of me. I’m being bullied. They call me an orphan without a dad. Teacher, there’s evidence. The teacher was trying to counsel me about the bullying. Teacher, show them the note. Quickly!”

“Huh? Oh… the note…!”

“In Class D, there’s an incident of bullying occurring.”

“It’s a note I wrote.”

The police glanced at the note presented by the teacher and nodded as if they were somehow convinced.

It meant that my lies were working well even against the authorities.

Well, not everything in my lies was false.

Although the ajumma ghost did pour alcohol into my mouth, it was true that I drank it, and the teacher wanted to counsel me about the ‘bullying’ issue.

Lies mixed with truth and the right proportions sometimes become more perplexing than pure truth or lies.

The police, perhaps not wanting to escalate the matter on a Friday night before the weekend, wrapped up the case.

“You drink secretly at the caring teacher’s house, cause trouble, typical behavior. But if you need help from adults outside school for school-related issues, contact us. We are alumni too.”

Swoosh…

The police officer referred to as “senior” wrote down his phone number for me and left.

It was a stormy night in many ways.

“Teacher, I apologize for causing trouble. I’ll go home now. It’s embarrassing. I’m really sorry.”

“…It’s fine. You drank, huh? Where would you go at this hour? Go to your room and get some sleep.”

Teacher Kang Haneul sat at the table, looking at me with a refreshing gaze.

I was accustomed to receiving such gazes from Yang Joo-hee, but an adult woman’s gaze had a different intensity.

“But, teacher, isn’t it scandalous to sleep in the same house as your student?”

“If I kick out a drunk student at this hour, fearing rumors, can I still call myself a teacher? You don’t need to worry about that. How do you feel inside?”

“I feel like I’m going to die.”

To be honest, I felt a bit dizzy.

Was it because the tension suddenly eased that the drunkenness I had been feeling surged all at once?

Is this what it feels like to be drunk?

It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

I felt like throwing up, and my mood was all over the place.

Is this what adults feel like?

What’s so good about this feeling that adults drink alcohol?

Swoosh-.

I went to the bed and lay down.

Then, Teacher Kang Haneul sat close to my bedside and opened his mouth.

“Youngwon, you’re good at lying.”

“Lying?”

“This note wasn’t written by you, was it? The handwriting was different. I saw the handwriting in the poem you submitted as homework. It was different. Youngwon, you write terribly, don’t you? Just like a kindergartner.”

That was a fact.

My handwriting is indeed a mess.

“Teacher liked the poem you wrote because its content and handwriting felt genuinely pure, like that of a very young child. Though you are actually a child.”

“I’m not a child.”

“No. Youngwon, you are still a child. And adults can always tell when children lie. You’re not the type to drink alcohol on your own. There was lipstick on the glass. Who were you with?”

“…….”

I hadn’t noticed the lipstick on the glass.

As I kept my mouth firmly shut, Teacher placed his hand on my forehead with a swoosh-.

“I know you’re lying, but most of the time, I pretend not to know. To avoid any trouble. The teacher did the same earlier. It wasn’t right for the teacher to do that as a teacher. I guess I still have a long way to go to become an adult.”

As my face flushed due to the alcohol, the touch of the teacher’s hand felt surprisingly refreshing, and I felt a sense of relief somewhere.

“When I see you, it reminds me of my older brother. My older brother also faced bullying in high school… suddenly doing things he shouldn’t or drinking…”

Swoosh…

Listening to Kang Haneul’s warm voice, I couldn’t resist the drowsiness that came over me and eventually fell asleep.

# # #

Saturday.

I left Kang Haneul’s house after sobering up.

The teacher also mentioned having a “teacher’s meeting” and said she had to leave early in the morning.

“Take care! It’s a haunted house!”

Remembering the battle with the ajumma ghost, I quickly ran away from the apartment.

That’s how my weekend began.

My weekends were always ordinary, just like this, with homework and games.

“Nasus on the opposing team can’t keep up with farming? Stacks over 500? Easy promotion to Platinum?”

It was just an uneventful day.

Any ordinary high school student would spend their weekend like this.

If I were to point out something special about me, would it be this?

“Status screen.”

『Name: Ha Youngwon Lv.2

Abilities: 《Broken Clock》 《Holding Breath》

Border: None

Funds: 111 Points

Description: Once highly regarded, you now spend your days in a meaningless routine, killing time. However, even a broken clock tends to show the correct time twice a day.

In the strange yet familiar status window, I noticed an unfamiliar section.

Level 2.

I had reached level 2!

“At that time, I was too busy to pay much attention. They said characteristics could change when you level up, right? It doesn’t seem like the existing characteristics have changed…”

Didn’t these words come to mind during the previous level-up?

“The probability of anomalies and observers tracking your existence increases.”

What on earth is this?

I pondered intermittently.

Since I had experienced ‘anomalies’ firsthand, there was no need for a detailed explanation.

Ghosts I encountered in the nightmare corridor.

The ajumma ghost that attacked me in reality.

It probably means that the likelihood of such things coming after me has increased.

“Damn… my life is screwed.”

Am I supposed to go through such terrifying experiences multiple times in the future?

If things continue like this, I’ll either die at the hands of ghosts or, if I’m lucky enough to survive, I’ll end up mentally disturbed.

“Well, let’s assume anomalies are one thing… but what about observers?”

Observers.

Watcher.

When I searched on the internet, it was written as “someone who watches” literally.

In English, it’s translated as “Watcher” or as the eye-monster in the game, “Beholder.”

“I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure it’s not good for me.”

I had many questions, but there was no one to answer them.

Sigh, I should have asked the Ajumma ghost all sorts of things if I had known it would turn out like this.

At least she seemed to give proper answers.

In the end, I didn’t hear anything about the substitute teacher from Teacher Kang Haneul either.

What I learned through all this was Teacher Kang Haneul’s underwear preference, younger taste, and her hysteric tendencies. She was more girlish and good-hearted than I thought.

This might have been helpful information for someone else, but it was meaningless to me.

“As expected…”

『In the end, you will reach an astonishing secret and a bizarre taboo….』

“I guess I have no choice but to go back to the corridor.”

I explored the nightmare corridor in more detail.

I made it my first principle.

There was no doubt that Voruga would be there to answer my questions about why I got the status window and various curiosities all at once.

But the process didn’t sit well with me.

Am I crazy to go to a place full of ghosts and where I might die?

It was chilling to see Yang Ju-hee, who had been alive in classroom “1-4,” processed as deceased.

There’s still something in the corridor that I don’t know.

Why do I have to suffer like this just because a status window appeared?

This was nothing short of a curse.

“Advice.”

As if it were a habit, I spent some points to seek advice.

『Advice from the “Broken Clock”: Try unlocking the “Bank” in the lock category! You can exchange funds for cash at the bank. Current exchange rate: 1P = ₩10,000』

“Sh*t…!?”

One point is worth ten thousand won?

It felt like my temples were throbbing, my hair standing on end, and ants crawling all over my body.

“I’m rich now…!!!”

The status window was truly a blessing!

I could earn a ton of points, escape this cursed villa, become a landlord!

“Just by entering the corridor, I earn points. And obtaining items is bonus points, right? The flashlight that Yang Joo-hee obtained was worth 100P… one million won!?”

I also liked the idea of earning 100 points per person in survival.

It’s better to stay alive than to die inside.

How can I increase my survival rate?

“…If I think calmly, there’s no way someone other than me would know about the escape method. I didn’t know it then, but there must be a correct escape method in the corridor.”

The escape method was like a “bug” that happens in games.

Based on my prediction, there must be a strategy or method to escape the “Nightmare Corridor” correctly.

“To earn more money… I need reliable comrades to survive. Trustworthy companions.”

I looked at the finished figure I had put on the desk.

Generally, the female characters were provocatively dressed, but there were also male comrades like a swordsman wielding a sword or a cook generating flames from his legs.

Comrades. Adventure.

These two things still made my young heart flutter.

A friend who would be my comrade.

Would there be one?

All the students in Class D were trash.

No, maybe there was one if I had to pick.

There was. Definitely! If it’s him!

“Who are you?”

The school I hated so much suddenly seemed appealing.

I spent my time eagerly awaiting only Monday to come-.

“Did you stack up 800 on Nasus? With this, we can break the enemy Nexus, right?”

Finally, Monday arrived.

A classroom in chaos for various reasons.

When the kids were making noise about what happened over the weekend, Kim Geon-ho came to me.

“Hey, Hayeongwon. So, did you do the homework I gave you? I told you to find out who wrote the note in the staff room. Did you find out?”

“No. But I think I can find out today. I’m really curious too.”

“Disturbance is occurring in Class D.”

The bastard who caused trouble by writing a note.

Although I didn’t know who wrote it, this could be seen as someone on my side.

At least he has a semblance of conscience.

Thwack-.

Kim Geon-ho slapped the back of my head with his palm.

“Hey. Didn’t I tell you last week that if you can’t find out who wrote the note, I’d consider it written by you? What’s gotten into you lately?”

What? Did this guy just hit me?

In an instant, my temples throbbed with heat.

Should I give Kim Geon-ho another tour of the hallway?

…No, that could actually kill him.

It was wrong for Kim Geon-ho to bully me, but it wasn’t something that warranted death.

I could easily subdue him using the quirks he’s developed, without going to such extremes.

Rustle-!

“Hey! Yang Joo-hee is at school! She’s in the teacher’s office right now! Go check it out! It’s amazing! Amazing!”

The arrival of the superstar, who had been the hot topic among students over Friday and the weekend, caused them to swarm out. Kim Geon-ho was among them.

Lucky guy.

I watched their backs and thought.

“Find out who wrote the note by today…”

…By the end of this week, I’ll take down Class D’s Kim Geon-ho!

I can do it.

With the way I am now!

I had two surefire plans in mind!

To be precise, there was a way to solve both at once!