Chapter 35: Notes in the Dark, Shadows in the Flame

Since the mirror ghost incident, I occasionally chatted with Pyo Jiseok.

We’d helped each other once, so we’d progressed to greeting each other casually.

“How’d you do on the last test?” I asked.

“Huh? There was a test?” Jiseok replied.

How he even made it to high school was a mystery.

Kim Dodam laughed at him.

“Pfft! Dude, what’s this score?”

“You’re one to talk,” Jiseok shot back.

How their combined scores couldn’t even match half of mine was beyond me.

They were living proof that jocks flunk academics.

“Hm?”

Feeling a gaze, I turned, but no one was there.

A mistake?

When I reached into my desk drawer, a paper I didn’t recognize caught my hand.

Keep your distance from Pyo Jiseok.

No clue what it meant.

Someone worried about me because of his delinquent vibe?

Honestly, it was annoying.

I tossed it in the trash.

Days later, another note appeared on the same paper.

Don’t get close to Pyo Jiseok.

More blatant this time, almost childish.

One thing was clear: someone was watching me.

“What’s that, a love letter?” Dodam teased, trying to peek.

“Nope.”

Dodging him, I approached Jiseok.

“Whoa, it’s our class’s queen,” one of his rough friends jeered.

“Jiseok’s screwed now,” another laughed.

“Hey, delinquent,” I said.

“Who you calling a delinquent?!” Jiseok protested.

“Need to talk.”

“Huh? Just us?”

I nodded. He cleared his throat, muttering, “This damn popularity…”

“Cut the crap.”

In the hallway, I showed him the note.

“What’s this? Who sent it?” Jiseok frowned.

“No idea. Any guesses?”

“Nope.”

“Anyone hold a grudge against you?”

“Don’t think so, but you never know.”

“Told you to stop picking fights.”

“You think I’m some thug beating people up?”

I got what he meant.

His delinquent image was a problem.

Even if he didn’t directly bully anyone, plenty could resent him.

“This pisses me off. Who’s pulling this shady crap? If I catch them, they’re done,” Jiseok fumed.

“You said you don’t beat people up.”

I calmed him down. “Chill. For now, let’s act chummy.”

“Chummy?”

“They’re probably watching. Ignoring their intent on purpose might tick them off.”

“Ooh, how?” His eyes lit up.

I smiled softly. “Start by laughing.”

“…Huh?”

Moments later, his booming laughter echoed through the hall.

“Hahaha!”

“Louder.”

“Hahahahaha!”

“More.”

“Pyo-hahahahahahaha!”

I kept a subtle smile while he went all out.

He later shot me a look like, Why am I doing this alone? Too late.

Lunchtime.

A soft arm wrapped around my neck as I read a new note.

“Lu-chan~ Let’s eat together… Hm?” Gahee grinned at the paper.

“What’s that? A confession? Lu-chan’s popular!”

Since crying in front of me, she’d shown her true self more.

Like any teenage girl, she was open about her interest in romance.

Her misunderstanding wasn’t surprising.

Come to the rooftop at lunch.

To an outsider, it could pass for a love letter, but my gut screamed it was the same person.

“Ugh, what’s this lunch?” Gahee grimaced at the cafeteria food.

Eggplant stir-fry, codfish nuggets, mushroom sauté, seaweed stems—a lineup prompting groans everywhere.

“Lu-chan, let’s hit the canteen.”

But my eyes sparkled.

This healthy spread wasn’t an everyday treat, especially the cod nuggets—people who didn’t know their taste were missing out.

When I said I’d eat it, Gahee debated going to the canteen alone but sat beside me, picking up her spoon.

“Endure, Gahee. Lu-chan’s my bestie.”

“…That’s not really relevant.”

Surviving the ordeal, she headed to the canteen for a palate cleanser while I went to the rooftop.

Creak—

A familiar figure stood there.

“Joo Kihyun?”

I’d braced for some creep, but it was just him—a scrawny, shaggy-haired boy, alone.

“You wrote these?” I asked, showing the note.

“Yeah,” he admitted readily.

“Why?”

“Jiseok’s dangerous. A total jerk. A good girl like you shouldn’t hang with him.”

“What makes him a jerk?”

“…He’s tall, strong, a delinquent. He bullied me… and back in middle school…”

His rambling was incoherent.

I cut him off. “He’s not like that.”

“What?”

“And stop sending these.”

“You’re defending him?” Kihyun looked incredulous, oblivious to how shady his actions were.

“I’m leaving.”

“Wait! Jiseok did this to me—”

“Act like this, and anyone would dislike you.”

I recalled Jiseok’s offhand comment about Kihyun doing something bad in middle school.

I’d brushed it off, but now it seemed plausible.

“You’ll see soon enough,” Kihyun warned.

I ignored his lame threat.

No need to talk to him again.

That night, a commotion woke me.

Noisy clattering came from the living room.

“Ugh…”

Half-asleep, I glanced around.

The clown doll was gone.

Was it causing trouble?

It’d been docile since its revenge, but maybe that was temporary.

Determined to discipline it, I opened the door and froze at the bizarre sight.

– Eek-eek-eek!

– Grrraaah!

The clown doll and a voodoo doll with a scarred face grappled fiercely.

Their small, toddling forms belied monstrous strength, denting the floor and breaking objects.

– Graah… Huh?

My eyes snapped open.

Both dolls froze, spotting me.

“Both of you, attention.”

– Hup!

– …?

“Why aren’t you complying? Attention.”

The confused voodoo doll followed the clown’s lead.

“Sit down.”

– Hup!

– …?

“Why aren’t you sitting? Sit.”

With a baffled look, it sat beside the clown.

Like a mom scolding kids, I lectured them.

“Making a racket this late? What about the neighbors?”

“Look at this mess! You gonna clean it up?”

The clown hung its head, but the voodoo doll stiffened defiantly.

It sprang up, seemingly snapping to its senses.

– Graaah!

It charged me.

I deflected its tiny hands, flipping it over my shoulder in a judo throw.

– Urk!

It didn’t quit, but each counterattack was met with my own.

Deciding it needed an edge, it grabbed a kitchen knife.

“Same trick as someone else.”

Thinking it had the upper hand, it cackled and rushed me.

I pointed a finger.

Float—

The knife slipped from its grasp.

– …

It opened and closed its empty hands, tilting its head.

The knife flew back, piercing its heart.

Thud.

It collapsed.

I used poltergeist powers to restore the trashed living room.

“What happened?”

– Eek-eek-eek.

From its body language, the voodoo doll barged in, and the clown fought back.

The clown should’ve ascended by now.

Staying meant it was here to help me.

“Good job.”

I patted its head, and it grinned—not creepy anymore.

Grabbing the knife’s handle, the voodoo doll dangled.

It glared, flailing wildly.

Swish—swish—

No chance of reaching me.

I swung the handle like a fishing rod, making it dizzy.

“Why’d you come here?”

It wouldn’t—or couldn’t—talk, just cackling mockingly.

Forcing psychometry on its head yielded little: a scene of robed figures performing a ritual, likely its creation, but nothing tied to me.

Its cruel nature didn’t bother hiding its murderous aura.

Guess there’s no choice.

“Gotta get rid of you.”

In the bathroom, I set up a makeshift pyre and tossed the resisting doll in.

My spiritual flames consumed it.

– Aaaaah!

It burned with a wretched scream.

The fire died only when it turned to ash.

– Eek…

Maybe because I’d threatened to burn the clown before, it shivered.