HFTS 3

Chapter 3

At her grandmother’s booming scolding, Yoo Hae-won hesitated before breaking into a bright smile.

“I just wanted to ask, just in case. I’ll see what I can do starting tomorrow.”

“—Good. You need to put the past behind you. You’ve encountered vengeful spirits and evil spirits, so what are you going to do if you’re afraid of people?”

“Haha…… But, Grandma, you once told me that people are scarier than ghosts.”

“—Even so, the kids there are just brats who have lived about as long as you have. Besides, you have this old woman and your guardian deity protecting you, so there’s nothing in this world you need to fear. Don’t let the children’s teasing get to you. Just keep walking your own path.”

“Yes, Grandma.”

Yoo Hae-won hung up and let out a deep sigh.

“It’s easier said than done……”

Still, as her grandmother had said, Hae-won served a powerful deity. She couldn’t simply turn a blind eye when she saw someone who needed help.

“I…… I can do this, right?”

At the end of her gaze was a faded photograph in a small frame.

In the picture, a handsome man and a beautiful woman stood with a little girl and a young boy who appeared to be her older brother. All four wore happy smiles.

“Have you lived in Ganghwa Island this whole time?”

“You didn’t have even one friend your age?”

It had been a week since Yoo Hae-won transferred to the school.

Her classmates showed no signs of tiring as they continued asking her all sorts of questions.

Clenching her fist, damp with sweat, Hae-won tried to hide her nervousness and answered.

“I had some circumstances, so I left elementary school in the second grade. After that, I was homeschooled.”

“You must’ve been bored as a kid.”

“I guess so, but I met lots of people while following my grandma around, so it was fine. I barely had time to get bored, anyway.”

“Then…… you’ve never had a boyfriend, either?”

“You don’t have one, right?”

The boys’ faces lit up, while the girls scolded them for asking such questions before subtly asking Hae-won about her preferences.

“Well…… I’ve never really thought about my ideal type.”

“But you must have a celebrity you like! Oh, right! Which idol group do you like?”

“Uh……”

Yoo Hae-won was happy that her classmates were approaching her first and talking to her.

But that was only fun for a day or two. After a whole week of it, she was starting to feel a little exhausted.

More than that, a strange anxiety kept creeping up on her. What if they suddenly started treating her coldly? The thought kept her on edge all day long.

I don’t have time for this.

Getting along with her classmates was important, but there was something she needed to take care of as soon as possible.

Yoo Hae-won shifted her gaze toward the front of the classroom.

The spirit clinging to Park Su-ho’s back filled her field of vision.

BANG!

At that moment, a loud noise rang out from the front.

“Can you all shut up? Do you own this classroom or something? If you want to make noise, go outside!”

Park Su-ho turned around with a murderous glare. His complexion was ashen, and dark circles hung beneath his eyes.

Some of the children shrank back under his intimidating presence, but—

“We can’t even talk during break?”

“Why the hell are you suddenly yelling?”

“If you want to study in peace, put on some noise-canceling earphones or something.”

Several students scowled and snapped back at him instead.

“Fuck, it’s not like this has only been going on for a day or two! You’ve been making noise all week, so I’m saying something!”

“Sorry, Su-ho. We didn’t mean to be so loud.”

As the atmosphere grew hostile, Yoo Hae-won was the first to apologize.

“Hae-won, why are you apologizing? Friends can talk during break. Seriously, he thinks he’s so great just because he gets good grades.”

Kang Yu-chan, the boy who had been actively approaching Hae-won and pestering her with questions, seemed unhappy that she had apologized. He snapped at Park Su-ho again.

In response, Park Su-ho curled one corner of his mouth into a crooked smirk and looked Kang Yu-chan up and down with an expression that said he had seen this coming.

“Do you think the transfer student will like you just because you act like that? Does your girlfriend even know you’re hitting on another girl?”

Kang Yu-chan’s face flushed when Park Su-ho hit a nerve.

“You little bastard……!”

“Hey, hey! What are you doing?!”

“Why are you suddenly fighting?!”

“What’s wrong with you lately, Su-ho?!”

Kang Yu-chan grabbed Park Su-ho by the collar first, and Park Su-ho fought back without backing down.

The girls nearby screamed and scattered, while the boys hurried to separate them.

Yoo Hae-won stood frozen, watching the scene unfold.

“Hae-won, come over here.”

“Good grief…… Should we ask the teacher to change your seat?”

“……It’s okay.”

The girls gathered around Hae-won and backed away. As they pulled her along with them, she waved her hands.

Then she turned to face the front again, her expression grave.

The evil energy has grown stronger.

Over the past week, Yoo Hae-won had done what she could to cleanse the area around Park Su-ho. She had also waved her hand, with the bracelet around her wrist, near his neck to drive the spirit away.

The first time she chased it off, the spirit couldn’t approach him for a full day. But the next time, it was only half a day. After that, six hours. The intervals kept getting shorter……

Now it doesn’t even react to my divine power.

Instead, the spirit had grown larger, almost as if to show off. It clung to Park Su-ho’s arms and shoulders, and that wasn’t all. It had wrapped both legs tightly around his waist, making it look as though it were riding on his back.

Judging by its school uniform and the way it silently mouthed along as Park Su-ho studied, it was probably the ghost of a student who had died with a deep grudge over studying.

She didn’t know who it was, but it was incredibly persistent.

“At this rate, it’s no different from telling him to die……”

“Hm? Hae-won, what did you say?”

Realizing she had muttered aloud without meaning to, Yoo Hae-won was startled by her friend’s question and hurriedly shook her head.

“Oh, n-nothing.”

“Hey! Who’s fighting?!”

Just then, the teacher who was supposed to take the next class entered the room, bringing the fight between Park Su-ho and the other boy to an end, at least for the time being.

Kang Yu-chan warned Park Su-ho that he would get him later. In response, Park Su-ho merely rolled his bloodshot eyes toward Kang Yu-chan.

This was becoming genuinely dangerous. At this rate, it might not even take a full day…… No, the spirit might harm him in less than half a day.

I have to put an end to this somehow today.

Helping someone was already a tremendous act of courage for Yoo Hae-won, especially when that person was not just someone her own age, but a classmate.

The thought of what might happen after she helped him made her head spin, but Hae-won squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to put those distracting thoughts aside.

She made up her mind to follow Park Su-ho as soon as school ended, no matter what.

“That bastard Park Su-ho. I’m settling this with him today……!”

As soon as class ended, Kang Yu-chan jumped to his feet, ready to settle things with Park Su-ho once and for all.

“Hey! Park Su-ho! Get your ass outside right—!”

He tried to call Park Su-ho outside, but—

“What the hell? Where is that bastard?”

Park Su-ho was nowhere to be seen.

“He left a little while ago.”

“Hah……! That coward got scared, huh?”

Kang Yu-chan wore a crooked smile, swelling with a sense of superiority. To begin with, he had never particularly liked Park Su-ho.

Why the hell is a guy so pale and pretty?

Su-ho looked blank and clueless to him, yet quite a few girls secretly liked him, saying he was handsome.

On top of that, he had never lost his first-place ranking in the entire school since entering, earning him a reputation as the perfect son every parent wanted.

Yu-chan also hated how Su-ho acted all high and mighty, as if he were above caring about celebrities or the opposite sex. And the fact that he hadn’t even spared the transfer student a glance was just irritating.

Well, this was perfect. With that annoying bastard gone, he could use this chance to get closer to the transfer student.

“Hae-won. Want to walk home togeth—?”

Kang Yu-chan deliberately spoke in a sweet, flirtatious voice, but then he noticed that the seat behind Park Su-ho’s desk was empty, too. He blinked.

“Hae-won left right away, too. She left at almost the same time as Su-ho.”

“……Argh!”

Convinced that everything was going wrong today because of Park Su-ho, Kang Yu-chan roughly ruffled his hair.

Meanwhile, Yoo Hae-won was following Park Su-ho.

She needed to talk to him, but it would be a problem if any of their classmates or other acquaintances were nearby.

After walking for about ten minutes, Hae-won finally confirmed that there were no other students around. She let out a relieved breath and turned her head.

“Su-ho, can I talk to you for a mo—”

Just as she gathered her courage to call out to him, she noticed Park Su-ho walking toward a crosswalk while muttering to himself as he looked at a vocabulary book.

The traffic light was red.

The spirit clinging to his back giggled as it covered both his ears with its hands.

“Su-ho!”

Yoo Hae-won hurriedly ran toward him and grabbed his arm, yanking him back.

HOOOOONK!

SKREEEECH!

A speeding car narrowly missed Park Su-ho, and Hae-won tumbled onto the sidewalk with him.

“Watch where the hell you’re going!”

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

The driver, who had nearly hit Park Su-ho, rolled down the window and shouted furiously. Hae-won bowed repeatedly and apologized on Su-ho’s behalf.

After the car sped away, Hae-won let out a relieved breath and grabbed Park Su-ho’s shoulders.

“Su-ho, are you okay?”

“What……?”

A little clarity returned to his eyes, which had been filled with dark, blood-red murderous intent since that morning.

It seemed the shock had briefly freed him from the ghost’s influence.

“Can you get up?”

Park Su-ho looked bewildered for a moment, then instinctively took the hand Yoo Hae-won offered him and got to his feet.

“Urgh……!”

He let out a groan. Perhaps he had twisted his ankle when they fell, because it was already swelling badly.

The moment Hae-won saw it, her expression hardened.

“This won’t do. We’re going to the hospital.”

“I’m fine. It’s not that bad……”

“You’re not fine, so hurry up!”

Yoo Hae-won shouted as she stared straight into Park Su-ho’s eyes.

Overwhelmed by her forceful attitude, Park Su-ho pressed his lips together and fell silent.

Just then, a taxi passed nearby. Hae-won flagged it down, and the two of them headed to the hospital.