Heo Gunpil Center - Chapter 125



Only Krnovel

Episode 125. Summer: Friends (4)

“The ghosts you have exorcised so far are ghosts that remain on this earth with regret and longing even after death.”

Geonpil, sitting cross-legged on the table, poured makgeolli into his mouth and spoke.

“Me, me! If you bring that up now, it means there are other reasons too?!”

Rose Mi, who was sitting on the floor, raised her hands above her head. She knelt down because Pi Ju-hee was sitting like that and she felt she had to do the same.

“Is there any reason to remain in this world other than regret or resentment?”

Kim Min-soo raised his hand low and asked. There was definitely something about this in the video recorded on the camcorder under the name Heo Geon-pil TV. And in that video, Heo Geon-pil didn’t mention any other reasons besides Han and Mi-ryun.

“You both got it wrong. It’s not Han or Mi-ryun.”

“… … Even after death. That’s the part.”

Pi Ju-hee, who had been chewing on her words for a long time, opened her mouth.

“Is the response rate good these days?”

When Heo Geon-pil nodded as if it was the right answer, she smiled proudly and wrote down today’s schedule in her notebook. Jang Mi-mi looked at her as if she found it creepy.

“It’s just as Joohee said. Although it’s very rare, there are cases where the soul leaves the body and wanders around this world even though one is not dead.”

Now that I’ve told you this, can you guess the reason?

Yes, at this point, Kim Min-soo and Jang Mi-mi could also guess the reason.

“Like a coma… a state of unconsciousness.”

“Yeah. That’s it.”

The soul leaves the body in a coma.

It wasn’t that surprising, since it’s a material that’s often used in movies and dramas. However, questions follow.

“I guess that could be true, but it’s different from dying and becoming a ghost. Like other ghosts, they have a body and a possession.”

“They call it a ghost, but unlike other ghosts, it doesn’t maintain its physical form. It’s weak.”

“Huh?! Then how does it exist?”

“If you saw it for yourself, you would have thought, ‘This is it.’ So, it’s buried in the ghost… It looks like a lump of black resentment… … .”

ah!

With a snap of his fingers, Gunpil pointed to the shadows of the three employees.

“Shadow. Like a shadow. I told you it’s weak, right? That’s why it has a habit of following people behind. Unlike ghosts that unilaterally attach themselves to someone, they attach themselves to someone and hide inside. Most of them are family members or acquaintances who come to visit them.”

“aha…….”

“Now, now, set the stars. These ghosts are weak enough not to be classified as heavenly stems, but they are a very tricky and troublesome type.”

The three employees each held their own notebooks and diaries. Each had their own unique handwriting and organizing style.

“First of all, if the soul leaves the body, it cannot escape the coma state. But the bigger problem is if the body dies in that state.”

“It’s the same ghost?”

“Ah, it’s different. Is it the same as leaving after being told that the house will be torn down, or running away and coming back to find the house to have collapsed? No.”

“… … .”

Geonpil put down his glass of makgeolli and leaned forward towards the three employees.

“When the body dies, the ghost starts to grow stronger rapidly. So, if you see it emerging from the body, you must quickly exorcise it. In order to exorcise these teeth―”

“Hey, are you a lord?”

Kim Min-soo let out a drop of sweat from the side of his nose.

“Isn’t that killing, killing?”

“No, oppa! When we exorcise a ghost, the ghost doesn’t go to the afterlife. It returns to the state it was in before it became evil! Just like that, when we exorcise it, it doesn’t return to its original body… … Pijuhee, since it’s me, lower the Dharma.”

Pi Ju-hee put down the sword that she was about to pull out from its scabbard.

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t think you were capable of intelligent thinking.”

Chong! Chong!

Kim Min-soo asked a question while listening to the sound of Pi Ju-hee and Jang Mi’s magic energy clashing.

“So how do you conquer it?”

“You’ve adapted… No, anyway. To exorcise a ghost, you need a ghost item. But this case is a little different.”

“Hmm… … Correct answer! No need for a ghost?!”

“It’s right and wrong. The ghost is―”

* * *

“You see… it?”

“Yeah, behind you.”

Whoosh, Park Han-byeol instinctively turned around. Naturally, she couldn’t see anything about her.

“You saw me at the hospital?! How did you see me? I, I was wearing a mask… and a hat…!”

“As you can see, I’m a bit strong.”

Rosemi grabbed a disposable plastic straw and stretched it. Before the straw could stretch at all, it tore like a piece of paper.

“Don’t you need to go to the hospital?”

“Oh, how did you… No! Then how did you know?!”

“I told you, I can see it.”

“I’m not joking!”

Park Han-byeol screamed loudly. She was taller than Jang Mi-mi, but her already dwarfed body was hunched over even more, and the wind made her look smaller than her original size. It was questionable how she had the courage to scream.

“so do i.”

“… … !”

However, after yelling loudly enough to feel like a scapegoat, Jang Mi’s face when she met him was so serious. It was hard to believe it was fake.

“What I’m about to say is going to be hard to believe.”

“… … You… What the… … .”

“But still, trust me. I will—”

Taat!

That was the moment.

“… … Pijuhee?!”

The place where Jang Mi-mi and Park Han-byeol were currently located was not the first floor, but the second floor, hidden by partitions and curtains. This was because Park Han-byeol had wanted it that way.

“come out.”

Jang Mi-mi had never expected Pi Ju-hee to come to such a place.

Pi Ju-hee didn’t look out of breath, but judging from her disheveled hair, she had clearly come running. He grabbed Jang Mi-mi’s wrist.

“What? Why are you here?!”

Jang Mi-mi glanced at Park Han-byeol and asked.

“Come out. Let’s go out and talk.”

“Why did you come here after going out? First, put this down… … .”

“Go out and talk!”

Pi Joo-hee grabbed Jang Mi’s wrist and pulled her more firmly. It wasn’t for her, but if it was someone else, it wouldn’t have been strange for her wrist to crack.

“Ugh, you told me to put this down first?!”

“Come out!”

“Let go of this first!”

“out-”

“Ah, let go―!!”

Phew!

After a fierce encounter, Jang Mi-mi jumped up and hit Pi Ju-hee’s chin with her head. It was a mild blow, but in reality, it was no different from an uppercut that properly landed a punch.

Park Han-byeol covers her mouth.

“Even the boss doesn’t hold me like this, so who are you to hold me like this!”

Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft.

Jang Mi continued to bang Pi Joo Hee’s head against the wall as she leaned against it.

“Hey, Senior Joohee…?”

Park Han-byeol stood up and muttered. Jang Mi-mi realized it too late. The person she had hit on was one of the three most famous students in her middle school, the idol of all the boys and the first love of all the girls, senior Mo Pi-ju-hee.

“You, you idiot…!”

“I’ll go talk to you for a bit! Just a moment!”

“Uh, uh uh… ?!”

Park Han-byeol, who was left alone, reached out, but they had already left their seats a long time ago.

* * *

In the secluded hallway of the building where the cafe was located, Jang Mi avoided Pi Ju Hee’s fierce gaze at me. They were standing with their backs against the walls on either side of the hallway.

“So, how did I find it? Why did I find it?”

Jang Mi-mi, who was tapping her fingers, asked carefully.

“As soon as I got off school, I searched the cafes around my old friend’s house.”

Pi Joo-hee took off her glasses. Her eyes became more distinct under her long eyelashes.

“That guy a little while ago.”

“huh.”

“Don’t hang out with him. That’s what I came here to tell you.”

Following this, Jang Mi’s expression also changed. Pi Ju-hee raised her chin.

“You know why I say this. You must have heard it too.”

“Hey, are you doing this because you heard the rumors?”

Rosemi, who had fallen from the wall, came close to him on the opposite wall. She grabbed his collar as if she was grabbing his collar.

“Do you also avoid friends just because of rumors?”

“Friend? When did you last see me? Friend…!”

Pi Ju-hee was cynical. But the meaning behind that smile was far from simple ridicule.

“I don’t think the boss taught you that?! In all the time I’ve been learning with you, I’ve never been taught that way!”

“… … Talking about teaching?!”

widely!

In one word, Pi Joo-hee pulled Jang Mi-mi’s wrist away. The tie that Heo Geon-pil had tied so well fell apart.

“Jang Mi-mi, that woman did that too!”

“……you.”

“Yeah, I still don’t know exactly! But I know, I know vaguely! At least I know it was something similar!”

Rosemi closed her mouth. Of course, what could she say now?

“Do you think she did that because she couldn’t do anything else? No! She was young, and her limbs were intact. Both the man and the woman had the opportunity to do something else. But they didn’t?! They didn’t get away!”

“… … .”

“You know very well how I lived under those kinds of people! If I were to go back in time without the boss…!”

“Pi Joo-hee.”

“I’m going to die right now—”

“Okay, I got it!”

“Don’t talk about dying in front of me!”

Rosemi shouted as if spitting out words that had stopped at the tip of her throat.

“… … I hate you, don’t get involved.”

Only then did Pi Ju-hee take a breath.

“You are part of the center too. If you hang out with the wrong people, I have a duty to stop you.”

“But Pijuhee.”

But it’s too early to feel relieved. Rosemi always clashed with him. She clashed with him.

“You can’t distinguish right from wrong like that. That person, those people clearly knew it, but they didn’t get away. But…!”

That friend’s name is Park Han-byeol, and I haven’t heard the story yet!

“You saw it too. The true nature of a ghost hidden within a ghost’s body!”

“… … .”

“If the rumors are true, I have to tell you! I might not get another chance! I have to help you! I might not be able to escape!”

Pi Joo-hee clenched her fist so hard that her hand began to tremble. Jang Mi-mi released her fingers from her fist. She clapped her hands together so hard that her hand began to ache.

“What is the mission of a sorcerer?”

I know. I knew.

Because I learned it directly from Heo Geon-pil. Because I learned it together.

“……together.”

Finally, Pi Ju-hee said.

“It’s a condition for going together.”

Rosemi also said that. I think she smiled faintly.

“I’m good!”

* * *

“Uh, uh, uh, so… … Two, two people, no. Senior Joohee and you know each other… … .”

Park Han-byeol gestured to Pi Joo-hee and Jang Mi-mi, who were sitting across from her, and spoke. She stuttered even more excessively, as if there was an error in the output from her head to her mouth.

“Yeah! We’re coworkers. But you know, her fan club is a bit extreme, right? That’s why I pretend not to know her!”

“Fan club? What are you talking about?”

“Not knowing is good for your mental health.”

Jang Mi-i stuffed the last remaining piece of cake into Pi Ju-hee’s mouth.

“That, and… … and… … Senior Joohee and you… … ”

gulp.

Park Han-byeol swallowed the saliva in her dry throat. After moving around for a while, she opened her mouth, which was creaking.

“You’re saying that you see… ghosts… .”

Jang Mi-mi smiled brightly and agreed.

“huh!”

“What, what the heck… … .”

At that sight, Park Han-byeol curled up even more like a patient with a nervous breakdown.

If things continued like this, it would take a long time just to convey the message. Finally, Pi Joo-hee sighed and opened her mouth.

“My shoulders are heavy and hunched, and my back is also bent.”

“… … !”

“It may not be powerful enough to cause any harm, but it will be enough to do that much.”

Park Han-byeol opened her mouth as if asking how she knew.

Recently, her shoulders felt heavy as if a boulder had been placed on them. This was the reason why her already timid body was hunched over even more.

“Your friend fell into a coma, and his soul left his body.”

Pi Joo-hee pointed precisely behind Park Han-byeol.

“And it stuck to you.”

“Oh, you’re talking to me?!”

Huh…!

She was so startled that she covered her mouth.

Clearly, the two people’s words were nothing more than a far-fetched story that could only be seen in a drama. But now, they had accurately matched their own condition and situation. It was like evidence that even the students who were spreading rumors about them were unaware of.

“Trust me.”

… … But why is that?

“I will help you.”

More than that evidence, the reason why this one sentence is trustworthy is:

“… … It was last summer.”

Park Han-byeol spat out the name behind her as if possessed.