I Became the Hidden Mastermind

016 – The Shaman Ghost Who Dances and Laughs # 3

016 – The Shaman Ghost Who Dances and Laughs # 3

A ghost!

A ghost has appeared!

While people are watching in astonishment!

“Let’s run! Let’s run!”

I grabbed the nearby woman’s hand and fled!

It’s a strategic retreat!

“My, my daughter! My daughter Ju-hee!”

While hastily descending the stairs, a woman shouted amidst our escape.

Now that I think about it, it seems that the one whose hand I held wasn’t Yang Ju-hee!

“Oh my! Mother-in-law!”

“Mother-in-law!?”

“No! Mom! No, um, not mom! Pastor! I’ll bring Ju-hee back! Run away! Run! Damn it, there’s a real ghost up there! A real ghost! Oh, damn!”

“I… I’ll call people from the church! People!”

As I started going back up the stairs, it felt so unfair and terrifying that tears were about to burst.

From death games to shaman ghosts!

Is it right to meet ghosts twice in a day?

“My life is ruined.”

Although I really didn’t want to go back to Yang Ju-hee’s house, if Ju-hee were to die at the hands of the shaman ghost, she might become a ‘vengeful spirit’ and come after me, which scared me.

Then I really will die!

A vengeful spirit, it’s really, really scary.

“Uh… Ju-hee, over there….”

I slowly entered the house.

My expression involuntarily grimaced because until just a while ago, it had smelled strongly of flowers, making it obvious that it was a high school girl’s home, but now there was a foul odor like garbage.

“Cough, cough.”

“Oh, what’s this smell?”

Slowly entering the house, even though it was already dark, the lights in the dim house suddenly went out.

“Oh, sh*t…”

It was pitch black inside.

I really wanted to turn back immediately, but…

“A peace as strong as a river flows through me. A peace as strong as a river flows through me…”

“This is insane.”

“Mommy!”

I was genuinely surprised.

Even a cat that saw a cucumber while eating wouldn’t be as shocked as I was.

When I shone my phone’s flashlight, I saw Yang Ju-hee standing still in the darkness, drooling something strange from her mouth.

“Hey… Let’s get out of here! Quickly! Yang Ju-hee!”

“Where are you going? This is my house. This is my house. My house. But these bastards never invited me for Chuseok or Seollal, thinking they can make fun of our ancestors and believe in desert spirits.”

Her face and voice were clearly Yang Ju-hee’s, but… she didn’t seem like Yang Ju-hee.

I was really scared and wanted to run away, but I decided to ask.

“Um… I’m really sorry, but… who are you?”

“I’m her grandson. This bastard didn’t even feed me once. Annoying. So, I’m taking her with me. hahahahaha!”

Thump, thump, thump…

Suddenly, Yang Ju-hee went crazy and started dancing.

While dancing, she laughed and made tinkling sounds with her mouth.

“Clang clang clang clang-.”

Goodbye….

Is it a funeral?

Suddenly, I remembered that Yang Ju-hee’s maternal lineage had been a long-standing shaman’s house. It was clear that a real grandmother’s spirit had possessed her!

“Do you know what the scariest ghosts are that even shamans fear? Laughing ghosts! One is a dancing ghost! And what’s scarier than that is a shaman ghost! hahahahaha! So what would you call a shaman ghost who dances while laughing?”

I don’t know, damn it!

How am I supposed to know that!

Why am I even here?

I was both scared and angry.

When people are too scared, they can suddenly go crazy.

Perhaps I would have to deal with various ghosts coming to me.

So, summoning up my courage, I squeezed out the words.

“Um…uh…if you’re a real shaman, can you maybe…communicate with dead spirits and stuff?”

“Sure! hahahahaha!”

“Then…can you summon Hitler too? They say he hid a lot of gold….”

“…Foreigners are a no-go!”

“What about our dad? Can you communicate with our dad’s spirit too?”

“Just wait and see. You brat, Ha Yeong-won! He never listens and just keeps fooling around every day!”

“Dad? Is it really Dad? Sing the military song!”

“…………….”

“Hey, you son of a b*tch, our dad didn’t actually die!”

I never believed in shamans or fortune-telling crap from the beginning.

How can they make my dad, who isn’t even dead, wear straw shoes?

It’s just a complete fake!

At this point, anger surpassed fear.

“Hey, you bastards! If you’re real ancestors, at least tell us the lottery numbers thinking about your descendants! You try to kill people just because they didn’t perform a ritual?”

“Ddallang-ddallang-ddallang-.”

“Those who really read the blessings of the ancestors go on overseas trips during Chuseok and Seollal! You weren’t a real ancestor from the start! If everyone becomes a ghost just because they die, then Tyrannosaurus rex is a ghost too!”

“….”

Yang Joo-hee subtly averted her eyes.

I yelled loudly at Yang Joo-hee.

“If real people become ghosts after they die, then the ghost of Tyrannosaurus rex, which died first, must have eaten them all! Tyrannosaurus rex! Allosaurus! Velociraptor! Pteranodon!”

I vividly imagined dinosaur ghosts.

Then, from somewhere, it really seemed like I heard the cries of dinosaurs, and Yang Joo-hee screamed.

“Hi-i! W-what’s this! What’s this! A nightmare!”

Thunk-.

Yang Joo-hee’s body collapsed to the ground like a cut marionette.

Soon, letters appeared before my eyes.

『Congratulations! You have won against the ‘Placebo Effect’!』

『The settlement for the shares of three survivors is beginning.』

“I have obtained 300P.”

Placebo effect.

Even if it’s fake, if you believe in it sincerely, it means you can get real results.

It seemed like the stories about ancestral spirits from Yang Ju-hee’s mother, Gwon Sa-nim Kim Yeok, were so convincing that they manifested like a placebo effect.

…Wow, I’ve been through a lot.

I feel like real tears might come out.

# # #

“Hey, are you okay?”

If it’s this much, I’ll forgive the debt I left in the hallway.

Yang Ju-hee collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath. Her heart raced, and her long white legs stretched out from under her school uniform skirt.

At least I chased away the placebo ghost.

Seeing her unable to regain her composure, I suddenly became scared.

“Hey, get up.”

Tap, tap-.

I poked Yang Ju-hee’s thigh with my finger.

Even though she gained weight, her muscles were tight and her legs were firm.

Maybe it’s because she learned taekwondo when she was young.

“Ah, my head.”

As my touch seemed to have an effect, Yang Ju-hee grabbed her head and stood up.

Soon, Yang Ju-hee looked around and furrowed her brows.

“What’s wrong? What happened? What about Mom?”

“Your mother went to church. Do you remember what happened until just now? Where is the last moment you remember?”

“……”

Yang Ju-hee frowned, as if suffering from a hangover.

After a long hesitation, Yang Ju-hee slowly opened her mouth.

“I don’t know. I remember up until when Mom shouted. I had a really scary dream… Someone was shouting and suddenly a dinosaur appeared, it was so funny… a scary… dream.”

I see.

She doesn’t remember anything from the part where Minister Kwon shouted before the frame broke.

“Minister! I’m here! Over here!”

“Minister Kwon, oh my goodness, Minister Kwon. Just a moment… Phew, out of breath-“

At that moment, Minister Kwon and a stranger entered through the front door.

The man was holding a Bible in his hand, wearing glasses, and looked like a priest.

He seemed to be the person that Minister Kwon had called to the church.

“A shaman ghost has attached itself to my daughter, Ju-hee! My daughter, Ju-hee! Minister!”

“…It doesn’t seem like much, does it?”

Unlike the flustered Minister Kwon, the pastor of Glory Church calmly observed Yang Ju-hee. Of course, Minister Kwon was in a state of disarray.

“She said a ghost has attached itself! Trying to take my daughter away! Ancestor ghosts have attached themselves! Not satisfied with taking Do-hee, now they’re trying to take Ju-hee too! Ahh!”

This is really getting out of hand.

While I was thinking about what I could do here, something soft grabbed my hand.

It was Yang Ju-hee.

“Hayoungwon, let’s get out of here! Quickly!”

“What?”

Behind us, Pastor Jeondo and Deacon Kwon shouted, but Yang Ju-hee, as if indifferent, grabbed my hand and led me down the apartment stairs.

I wish she’d tell me where we’re going.

Yang Ju-hee, walking ahead, remained silent.

After walking for a while, Yang Ju-hee stopped at the playground within the apartment complex. It was a rusty playground with peeling paint, its last repaint long forgotten.

Creak, creak…

Yang Ju-hee sat on the swing, swinging her long legs back and forth, soaring towards the sky and then sinking down.

“You saw it too. Our mom is completely obsessed with the church. She goes there every day of the week. It wasn’t like this before. It got worse after losing my sister.”

“Sister? Why?”

“At first, we thought she just ran away. Now we don’t know if she’s alive or dead. Our family used to live better.”

No, why are so many people disappearing in this damn city?

Yang Ju-hee continued talking.

“Mom spent money, sold the house, and went crazy looking for my sister. She went to every big church in Seoul, begging the pastors to find her sister. Mom thinks my sister was taken by a ghost.”

Yang Ju-hee spoke as if it were an unbelievable story, but to me, it didn’t sound like a joke.

No, if it were just a few days ago, I might have treated it as a joke.

However, in the world, amidst the mysteries and oddities inexplicable by the reasoning of high school boys and girls, I was also present.

It’s too elaborate to be a coincidence.

“I might transfer soon. Following my dad. He got a job in Seoul and asked us to come. Honestly, I don’t think I can find my sister anymore. She’s probably dead.”

“…Why do you think that way?”

“I don’t know if it’s a dream or reality. Unnie, it seems like I saw a ghost. You were standing in a dark corridor.”

A dark corridor.

It was a story that begged for more details.

“Can you tell me more about that story?”

“I don’t know. I’m going to Seoul now. It’s just the end with this weird dragon. I’m fed up now. I hate Mom, I hate the apartment infested with ants. I hate those church people taking advantage of our mom.”

Seoul.

Seoul isn’t such a great place either.

No, in fact, Yang Ju-hee just wants to leave this place, whether it’s Seoul or anywhere else.

There was a slight resemblance between Yang Ju-hee and me.

That commonality softened my guard against Yang Ju-hee a bit.

“Ju-hee, if what you saw in the corridor about your sister is true, you might meet her again.”

“Young-won, it’s nice that you’re trying to comfort me, but don’t say such things lightly.”

“No. I mean it seriously.”

I was at a crossroads.

Honestly, the burden I carried was too heavy to bear alone.

It would be good to have a reliable companion.

“Yang Ju-hee, take my hand. If you hold my hand, you might be able to meet your sister again. In return, you’ll go through something so terrifying that you can’t even imagine.”

“What is this, an April Fools’ Day extended confession?”

“It’s not a joke. So please, just hold my hand.”

Yang Ju-hee stared at the hand I offered her for quite some time.

About thirty seconds, maybe.

“…So, who is this eternal ex-girlfriend you’re talking about?”

…Is she still talking about that?

I looked up at the sky.

Stars shone above the worn-out playground.

I really liked this dilapidated city.

It had a certain charm, like it would embrace me even if I lived a messy life.

For someone like me, who was a mess, the city was the perfect escape.

Likewise, I thought Yang Ju-hee and I, both unconventional and twisted, would make good partners.

Like a leaning backrest and a master.

Swoosh-.

A gentle touch reached my hand. It was a small and delicate touch that I had felt before.

Afraid that the warmth would disappear, I held onto it tightly.

“Oh, geez. Are you trying to hold my hand like a pervert because you think I’m a nerd?”

“How do you know it’s like holding a pervert’s hand? Have you held hands with a pervert before?”

“I have. Right now.”

Whether it was Yang Ju-hee or me, one of us started laughing, and we burst into laughter together.

After that, we rode the seesaw and the swing at the playground, even the old slide.

It was a night that seemed more like a lie than the corridors of ghosts or the school playground.

“I was playing with Yang Ju-hee at the playground. The sun is going to rise from the west.”

On the way back home.

Ugh-.

My phone rang.

“Yang Ju-hee: So how can we meet our sister?”

I had just added Yang Ju-hee as a friend on the chat app, and she was already reaching out to me.

I decided to reply appropriately.

“Let’s meet in a dream tonight lol. Don’t be surprised if you see me in your dream. I’ll explain everything then.”

“Yang Ju-hee: Ah, goosebumps lol.”

Today is the day to enter the second round of the corridor.

Unlike last time when I knew nothing and had no colleagues, today I will extract some “hints.”

I can do it. With my current self!