Thump, thump, thump!
"Eek, that startled me!"
Just as she overcame the surprise of the bizarre knocking sound, a series of thuds followed from the next room.
Siyoung clutched her startled chest and climbed out of bed.
The thumping sound just now wasn't from the opposite wall, it was the sound of someone next door banging on the wall, complaining about the noise.
"What the hell, it wasn't even me."
A reclusive middle-aged man lived next door to her.
He had been preparing for the civil service exam for much longer than she had, and he was someone even Siyoung, preparing only for five years, had only seen a few times.
She'd heard he had been preparing for the judicial exam, but that was abolished three years ago, yet, for some reason, he showed no intention of leaving.
There were a lot of people like that here.
Even the study group members, like Siyoung, now in her fifth year, and their uncle-aged leader in his eighth, were nothing compared to the monstrous veterans with double-digit years of experience under their belts.
The members of the boarding house's own study group that she belonged to were complete newbies compared to them.
Truly, the most stagnant of stagnant waters.
The most rotten of the rotten, absolute
reclusive masters of the civil service
exam world.
The man in the next room was one of those people.
So, Siyoung simply shot a glance at the wall he had banged on and let it go.
"None of us are studying anyway, what's the point of all the fuss?"
The reclusive man next door, from what Siyoung happened to glimpse accidentally, was the type who even had a console game system set up in his room.
Of course, he could have just opened a book to study for the first time in a long time, like Siyoung, so she didn't think much of it.
Instead, Siyoung changed out of her underwear into trousers and set off to meet the guy in room 8.
Maybe I should go see what's going on.
Siyoung glanced in the mirror, briefly fixing her hair.
Even in Noryangjin,there were certain points that highlighted her unique charm.
A loose-itting T-shirt that subtly revealed her slim frame and collarbones.
A hair style that looked like it was tied up for studying, but actually exposed her neckline.
And slippers that looked comfortable but were actually thin, designed to show off her bare feet.
With that meticulousness of appearing studious while subtly appealing to her charm, Siyoung had successfully managed to fail the civil service exam four times and was now approaching her fifth attempt.
Opening the door, she glanced at the room next to hers, where the reclusive man stayed.
'You just stay in there and grind hard, I'm off to have some fun.'
Muttering to herself, Siyoung passed by the next room, rounded the hallway, and headed toward room 8, Lee Joon's room.
Something strange had happened, but she figured she could just ask him when she saw him.
Just as she arrived at the opposite hallway, Siyoung caught the sight of Jae Subin, the CSAT retaker girl, sneaking out of Lee Joon's room with his wallet in hand.
"What are you doing? Why are you coming out of there...?"
"Uh, sister...!"
Startled, Subin instinctively hid the wallet behind her back.
Siyoung narrowed her eyes.
"...You were just in this room, weren't you?"
"Uh, Sister. It's not like that...."
"You were the one who knocked?"
"...What...?"
"This is ridiculous. Seriously."
Caught red-handed in the act of stealing, Subin was flustered at first, then, at the mention of knocking, her expression shifted to one of genuine confusion.
"Knock....?"
"You kept knocking on the wall."
Siyoung, who had come over dreaming of a bit of romance, started to feel irritated at the thought she was being messed with.
She and Subin weren't on good terms to begin with.
Siyoung, who had come overtly to meet men, and Subin, who subtly flirted with the older men around her, had always been quietly keeping each other in check beneath the surface.
That's why she insisted on bringing up the theft of Subin, which she would have normally just let slide.
"That thing. Behind your back. Hand it over."
"Uh...sister...."
"You stole something again, didn't you? You must be the one sneaking my yogurt too. Come on, hand it over. Let's see what it is."
After fidgeting awkwardly for a moment, Subin soon gave a sheepish smile and handed over the wallet.
"..Sister. There's 200,000 won in here."
"And...?"
"Let's split it between us."
"..What? Are you crazy?"
Siyoung stared at the wallet and put her hands on her hips, utterly dumbfounded.
Although being entangled in the ghost story had severely distorted her already unstable sense of rationality, she had never once considered stealing, either before or after coming here.
Regardless. Subin. whose childhood habit of occasionally swiping her friends' mechanical pencils without them knowing had only grown worse here, just gave a pathetic, giggling smile.
"Or we can split it 3:1. You take 150,000
won, I'll just take 50,000."
"...Hey, you—"
Just as Siyoung was about to point out her reasoning with a dumbfounded expression.
Lee Dohyun, the study group's uncle-aged leader, who had been eavesdropping at the door instead of studying all this time, suddenly swung pthe door open and rushed out.
"Hey, what's going on, what's going on? Why are you just standing there like that?"
He had already overheard everything but pretended not to know as he approached them.
Siyoung, now furious, pointed to the wallet in Subin's hand and complained.
"Brother, look at this. Subin just stole a wallet from here."
"What?"
Lee Dohyun stepped forward decisively.
Then, letting out a sharp snort, he issued a stern warning.
"Subin, I didn't think you were like that. What are you doing? This won't do."
"Senior... hehe."
Subin smiled sheepishly, like a kid caught in a naughty prank.
She knew well enough that Dohyun's anger wasn't genuine.
He was just pretending to be tough, having found a reason to tease her.
"You're smiling, huh? Did you just smile?"
"Aww, just pretend you didn't see it"
Dohyun throwing a warning, Subin blinking her eyes playfully, and Siyoung watching, utterly dumbfounded.
And so, Dohyun, feeling he had found a good opportunity, was in the midst of pondering how to leverage this into an opportunity to develop their relationship.
But the moment he saw the wallet in question, his expression completely changed.
"...Hey, wait a minute. That's mine."
"?"
Subin, still acting cute, suddenly looked puzzled.
"Uh...?"
"Hand it over. Let me see."
"Eek!"
Dohyun roughly reached out and snatched his wallet.
Then, opening it up, he pulled out his ID from the deepest inner pocket.
"Here! Construction Safety Training Certificate! Look, here, the name! See! It's mine!"
"Oh my!"
Dohyun waved his ID card, his construction basic safety training certificate for manual labor.
Displayed proudly were his photo and three letters of his full name, Lee Dohyun.
Subin and Siyoung's expressions also
changed, and gradually, people along the hallway began opening their doors one by one, drawn by the commotion.
But unlike yesterday when they told Lee Joon's group to keep it down, no one tried to calm thing now. Because the noise from Lee Joon's group was just everyday living sounds, whereas this was an outright fight.
Instead, the test-takers opened their doors one by one, watching with fascination as if they finally had something interesting to watch.
Riding the mood, Dohyun deliberately acted even angrier, putting on a show.
Being directly involved made the situation work more in his favor.
"Hey, Jae Subin! When did you steal my wallet, huh? Do you really want to try going to the police?"
"S-senior. I don't know anything about that! If it was stolen, the guy in room 8 would've stolen it, right? I only carried it out of here—"
"Why do you keep lying, huh! Was our
relationship really that insignificant!"
Dohyun continued to threaten.
Since this wallet was his, he was actually in an even better position.
As the direct victim, he could pressure Subin even more!
'All that's left now is to meet her quietly later, tell her I'll forgive her, and coax her into getting closer heh heh..:.'
It was a despicable thought only possible for a man in his thirties who had neither charm nor ability.
" I-I just picked up what was here and took it—!"
"This room! Huh!? The guy in this room just moved in yesterday, when would he have even seen me to steal my wallet?! I've been in my room this whole time since yesterday! Huh?!"
" i don't know, I-"
"Jae Subin, you must have stolen it ages age and just been holding onto it until now, and now you got caught! What are you going to do? How are you going to compensate me!"
"N-no, senior, that's not it..."
In truth, Subin was a 22-year-old taking the civil service exam for the fourth time.
But she, who had been pretending to be 20 and the youngest in the boarding house, to flirt and play games with the older men, now wore a genuinely flustered expression for the first time.
Suddenly, she shoved the wallet into
Siyoung's hands and tried to run, feigning innocence.
"I-I don't know anything. Sister, here,
take this. I'll be going now. Goodbye!"
"Hey, where are you going? Hey!"
As Subin tried to escape, Dohyun roughly grabbed her arm.
"You really wanna go to the cops! Huh! Is that what you want?!"
"L-let go of me! Sister, help me! Sister!"
"...."
Siyoung, the civil service examinee,stuffed the wallet back into Subin's clothes and looked down at her with cold eyes.
"You dont know anything? You figure it out with brother here."
"S, sister!"
In this place, Noryangjin, there were no true friends.
Only people who met out of necessity, just to ease their own loneliness.
Just as Lee Joon's club had been merciless in abandoning each other since becoming entangled in the ghost story, the people here were also merciless in cutting ties with each
other based on their needs and desires.
Already in a foul mood from thinking she'd been tricked by the knocking earlier, Siyoung took a step back and said coldly.
"Just sleep with Brother once, and I'm sure things will be over. Fight it."
"Sister, sister!"
As Dohyun gripped her arm tightly, Subin struggled to escape, and Siyoung stepped back without a second thought.
Subin had certainly enjoyed the subtle attention she got from the older guys, but unlike Siyoung, it hadn't come from a place of lust.
The flirting had been nothing more than a way to soothe her diminished self-esteem for her exam prep. That's why, even if she'd been caught stealing, the thought of being blackmailed by that scruffy, uncle-aged senior was Worse than death.
Subin gritted her teeth and shoved Dohyun's arm away.
"L-let go of me, damn it... Stop touching me.."
"You're trying to run away right now! We need to talk about this wallet!"
"Don't, don't mess with me... Don't mess with me. you pig b*stard...!"
Unable to hold back any Ionger, Subin finally snapped and revealed her true self to Dohyun as he continued gripping her arm roughly.
The fragile girl who used to lean sweetly on the older men's shoulders was gone, her face twisted like a vengeful spirit, eyes burning with hatred and disgust.
"W-who would ever want to get closer with someone like you...! Do you think you've found my weakness just because you discovered this? Don't be ridiculous, you idiot..! Even if I were caught for murder, I'd never associate with someone like you...! You're so old, act your age, you shameless pig!"
"The heeeck! The actual heeeeeck!!!"
Dohyun was enraged.
"You thief, you dare look down on me,
you f*cking dare look down on me
right now?!"
"Don't touch me! I said don't touch
me!"
"Ahhh Who the hell looks down on me! You're f*cking disrespecting me because I'm a civil service exam taker! You damn b*stards! What the hell are you all looking at! Get the hell back in and study, you f*cking losers!"
"If I stole it, then it's all mine! Don't touch me! Ahhh—"
"You f*cking rotten society, just go to hell! Everyone die! This country should just go to hell"
"If I stole it, it's mine. Stop touching me,
stop clinging on-"
They scratched, hit, and grabbed at each other, blood spraying as they fought.
The nearby boarding house residents, and even Siyoung, who had been stepping back coldly, watched them with bloodshot eyes, grinning wickedly.
"Stay here! Don't run!"
"You idiot, you broke pig...."
These were civil service exam takers.
These were Noryangjin civil service exam takers.
**
"They're fighting. They're fighting."
"Hey, otaku, sit down. I can't see."
"When's Prez coming? This is the best part."
"Shouldn't someone stop them...? This
is getting bad..."
"Don't worry, Yoon Sunah. If Prez told
us to stay put, there must be a reason.
Let's trust him and wait."
"Wow, did you see that guy just now? He blocked the way so no one could escape!"
[2019, May 26th | Sunday, 7:30 PM]
[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts - 2]
[Ghost Story Points: 580]
[Causality Rate: 32%]
Click-
I stepped into the seminar room where the members were whispering.
"How's it going? Is everything on track?"
As I closed the door and greeted them, the members warmly turned to me.
"Ah, Prez. Welcome. We were just about to reach the climax. Hurry and sit down,"
"Joon... these people are fighting..."
The members, who had been watching the CCTV footage from the 5th floor, murmured.
I set down the envelope of money I had brought from school and started unpacking.
"Oh~ our President is here."
Jinhee laughed mischievously, lying sprawled between the chairs.
Then, she pointed at the screen with her foot, smirking.
"Hey, how is it that everything's happening exactly like you said, not a single bit off? Those b*stards are literally grabbing each other's arms and fighting right now. It's f*cking hilarious, haha."
"Really?"
I also chuckled and turned my head to look at the screen.
On the screen, live footage from the 5th-floor CCTV was being streamed here through Gyeongwon's laptop.
'They're fighting pretty hard.'
In a way, they were victims of the ghost story too.
Seeing them go crazy and clash like that, I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for them.
But there was no other way.
There was no helping it if I wanted to get them out of here.
I pulled up a chair next to Hayoon, who was sitting in the front row covering her mouth as she laughed, and smiled.
"Is it funny, In Hayoon?"
"Ah."
Hayoon covered her mouth and lowered her head.
Then, she slightly turned her head and looked at me with smiling eyes.
"I was a bit surprised at how intense it got, Joon."
"They're the ones going overboard. I just set the stage."
As I brushed my clothes and spoke casually, Hayoon flicked her hair once and straightened her outfit as well.
Soon, Sunah slid over from beside me.
"Joon...."
"Ah, come here, come here. Let's watch together in the front row."
Sunah was short, after all.
"Yeah..."
[1 hour ago]
"We need to move quickly. If I remember correctly, these people are all going out drinking together tonight. Once they go out, they won't be back until dawn. We have to make them fight so they can't go out before then."
I gathered the club members in thenstudy lounge on the fourth floor, right below the boarding house, and briefed them on the strategy plan.
During the day, this seminar room was used for preparing for the science exhibition.
Now it had been transformed into a war strategy center, with the building blueprints taped to the walls, while the screen displayed a live CCTV footage from the fifth floor.
"If we provoke them into fighting and make their relationships sour, they'll just hole up quietly in their rooms with no reason to go out together. Then it'll be up to us when to strike,"
Just as the ghost stories had pitted us
against each other and caused division, this time we sowed discord among them and broke them apart.
I drew relationship diagrams of each character on the whiteboard and explained them to the others.
"Alright, these are the key characters."
Civil service exam candidate, Gong Siyoung: Likes men
Repeat exam student, Jae Subin: Good
at stealing things
Leader Lee Dohyun: A pervert who presses his ear against the door
"Of course, there are more people entangled in the ghost story. Many have become so deeply entrenched that even I haven't seen them. Especially the long-haired manager,
who seems to be the original source. Even when I was bewitched, I only caught a glimpse of him that one and only time."
"Is there a way to lure him out...?"
The club members asked with worried
faces.
The human ghost of the boarding
house.
Was there a way to summon him back to reality?
"...There is, but I'm explaining something else now, so wait a moment. First, I'l leave my door half-open and come out. And you'll wait for me by the opposite room across from mine for Jae Subin, that girl, until she comes into my room to steal something."
"Why on earth will she do that....."
The members looked at me in disbelief.
"Are you really giving a 100% guarantee that she'll steal, Prez?"
"100% guaranteed."
I nodded firmly in response, and Hayoon, the victim, gave a small nod as well.
"Here on the 4th floor, we'll keep watching the CCTV footage until that girl goes into my room. And the moment she goes in, we'll do this."
I displayed an image of a rubber hammer on the screen.
"Use this rubber hammer to knock on the wall near my room from the 4th floor so that it resonates. If the sound isn't loud enough, you can even hit it with a real hammer."
"...Knock from below?"
"Yeah."
I nodded.
"The noise doesn't always come from the direction you're hearing it. It can travel diagonally, along walls or pillars, and sometimes the sound from the floor below can weirdly echo from the ceiling. It depends."
"....."
"In other words, just by knocking from down here, we can manipulate the people upstairs to suspect each other and act on edge. And by doing that...."
I drew an arrow pointing from the name of the study group's leader, Lee Dohyun, to Jae Subin.
"The moment it looks like that girl is stealing something, start making loud noises, enough to get others to witness the scene. Especially that Lee Dohyun, as we've seen a few times during night watch, he's insanely sensitive to noise when he's awake. If I remember correctly, he has a perverted habit of putting his ear to the door instead of
studying."
"...That sounds more than perversion."
Dukhun, who was only interested in 2D girls, made an uncomfortable face.
"From that point on, everything will unfold smoothly. That leader guy will try to use the theft as an excuse to catch her and somehow coax her into his favor, while the girl will deny it tooth and nail."
"..You sound really confident about this, Prez."
"I am indeed."
I nodded.
'We lived together for years, after all.'
Until Jinhee and the Detective finally found me.
"Alright then, let's head upstairs and get everything ready. There's something I want to shoW you guys, too. Follow me."
"Okay."
"Yup."
I led the members and we streamed out of the seminar room.
Then, leaving the 4th-floor study lounge behind, we headed toward the 5th-floor boarding house.
(Noryangjin Tower of Despair)
5th floor Noryangjin Boarding House
Ghost Story Club
4th floor Yulgong Study Lounge - Yoon
Sunah
3rd floor Ijoha Internet Cafe - Oh
Dukhun
2nd flor Exciting Coin Karaoke - Lee
Jinhee
1st floor Kim Gun Billiards Club - Ahn
Gyeongwon
B1 floor 24-hour Comic Cafe - In
Hayoon
B2 floor Play Again Bowling Alley - Lee
Joon