"Haha, you're asking who I am...."
The Detective smiled awkwardly and raised both hands.
"What are you talking about, Joon...You've been with me from the start. Don't you remember?"
"That's what I thought. But now I don't know."
I aimed at the Detective's chest and
continued speaking.
"Answer me. Why was the gun you gave me loaded with live rounds from the very first shot?"
"....."
Seeing how serious I was, the Detective wiped the smile off his face.
He quietly looked at me with both hands raised before finally opening his mouth.
"I have no idea at all."
"..."
"Why it was live rounds from the first shot. I really don't know. But maybe."
The Detective pointed his finger of his raised arms to the edge of the rooftop.
"But maybe it was a blank and that detective might have pretended to be hit."
"....."
"There's something called a gun serial
number. My gun isn't some stolen gun. But since it's dark here, and that person must have pretended to be hit by a blank and fell to his death. That would explain it."
"Wait."
I pointed the gun at the Detective as if warning him, and slowly approached the edge of the rooftop.
Then, with the other hand, I took out my phone and shone the flashlight on the spot where the fallen Detective had been standing.
There, a small amount of bloodstain that the Detective had left behind remained.
And then the sound of an ambulance came from below.
"...."
I kept the gun pointed on the Detective so he wouldn't suddenly rush at me, then quickly glanced down over the edge of the rooftop
Then, far below on the ground, I could see people bustling about and the flashing lights of sirens.
That Detective from earlier was definitely dead.
But the ghost story extermination message did not appear.
Therefore, the Detective standing on the rooftop was a fake.
I had actually shot the real Detective
Park Gangwoon.
I turned my head again and looked at the fake detective.
"I'm sure. It was a live round. See?"
The fake Detective Park Gangwoon stared expressionlessly at the bloodstains I pointed with my foot.
I gripped the gun with both hands and aimed at the Detective, as if I was in a game.
In case the situation went wrong, I also placed my foot on the edge of the rooftop so that I could jump off at any time.
"Setting aside whose gun was stolen, one thing's certain. On Monday morning, the gun carried by the person who entered the clubroom, a locked room, and shot me was loaded with live rounds from the very first round. And that gun was yours."
"....."
"You really were the one who shot me. And that room, just as you said, was a place no person could have entered."
I slightly closed one eye while aiming precisely at the Detective's leg.
"How did you get into that room that no one could enter, why did you kill me, and what did you mean by telling me to come find you?"
"....."
"Answer me!"
I shouted aggressively while aiming at the Detective, but he just stood there
expressionlessly with his hands raised.
"I don't know. Nothing at all."
"....."
"Even if you shout like that, I still don't know anything, Joony."
At the moment when my heart almost wavered at the lonely voice calling me
Joony'.
Suddenly, the phone in my pocket rang.
♪♪♪
"....."
"....."
Without taking my eyes off the Detective, I fumbled in my pocket and pulled out my phone.
Then, when I looked at the screen, a familiar name was displayed.
[Yoon Sunah].
"....?"
It was already 1 AM.
Why would Sunah call at this hour, at this timing?
"...."
I glared at the Detective in front of me for a moment, then answered the phone.
Click-
"..Hello."
[Because that person had the courage to accept the truth.]
"...!?"
The voice coming from Sunah's number was a man's.
And not just any man's voice, but a thin, youthful tone, like that of a boy my age, someone who had just barely come out of puberty.
Was there anyone I knew who had a voice like this?
[That person was able to accept it. The fact that he was fake.]
I hear a sounds From the other end of the phone, the wail of an ambulance siren could be heard.
I quickly turned my head and looked down from the rooftop.
It was the roof of a roughly 20-story apartment building, but in reality, the
distance was only about 50 meters.
Behind Detective Park Gangwoon, whose body was twisted and lying collapsed on the ground, I could clearly see paramedics rushing back and forth, and bystanders watching the scene unfold.
Under the streetlight, a boy and girl were tallking on the phone.
[But in your case, no matter how much I think about it, you don't seem like you'd admit it. You know. From the very beginning, you weren't doing this for some noble purpose.]
"....."
[You were just gritting your teeth to survive. Isn't that right?]
Under the streetlight, the boy speaking on the phone had lowered his head slightly, so his face couldn't be seen. Next to him, sensing someone's gaze on her, the girl slowly looked up.
Even from a distance, I could faintly
make out the short bob haircut.
It was Sunah.
Then who was the guy next to her,
speaking to me through Sunah's
phone?
It was a voice I was hearing for the first time.
[It sounds strange hearing your own
voice from outside, doesn't it? I thought the same thing when I heard mine through a wiretap.]
[We're not going to keep giving you
chances to realize and accept it. Do it
now, and once you go back, do it once
more, that's the end of it.]
"....."
[Do you understand? Do you know why?]
The boy slowly lifted his head and looked at me.
And then, like a death sentence echoing through the air, the final words rang out.
[Because I have to take my final exams. Starting Monday.]
Thud-
The moment our eyes met.
Something suddenly dropped heavily into my chest, as if it had sunk all the way down with a dull thud.
Startled, I quickly touched near my heart, but I was fine.
Rather, the one who collapsed was the guy I had been talking with him.
[Thud-]
I heard the sound of him collapsing on the other end of the phone.
Sunah supported the guy crumbling to the floor, then ended the call for him.
Beep-
And then Sunah looked up at me, as if
she were angry.
At that sight, I staggered back,
retreating from the edge of the rooftop.
"..What... why..."
At the same time, a message appeared in front of my eyes.
Pop-
[You are dead.]
[You'll start again from the previous
checkpoint.]
[Loading...]
"What.. why is this showing up..."
I staggered backward in confusion, and then I heard the Detective's voice.
"Hey. What's the matter?"
"...!"
Startled, I quickly raised my aim again, but the Detective had been waiting the whole time with both hands already raised, never having lowered them since the beginning.
"Who were you talking to? Did something happen?"
"Haa, haa.."
"Tell me. What is it?"
His calm demeanor, as if he were trying to avoid panicking me.
It wasn't an act of pretending to be genuine; it was exactly the Detective Park Gangwoon I had always known.
Careful, reliable, and rational.
And the same went for me.
I wasn't pretending either, I was the real Lee Joon.
"He.... he told me I'm the fake one! That
b*stard-!"
"Who."
"Th-that.. I don't know."
I gasped for breath, my eyes darting back and forth between the Detective in front of me and the ground far below the rooftop.
"....W-what nonsense is that. He suddenly showed up out of nowhere and started spouting nonsense..."
Rumble- rumble-
As I muttered that, the sound of thunder echoed through the dry night sky.
Startled, both the Detective and I looked up.
Rumble- rumble-
"...."
"...."
Clouds drifted rapidly across the sky, and a deep, booming sound rolled through the air.
Had it always been like this.
Unlike me, who was panicking in confusion, the Detective simply looked up at the sky with a calm expression.
And then, he murmured something
unexpected.
"Looks like tonight, the real ones all died, and only us fakes are left."
"..W-what are you talking about!"
I pointed my gun at the Detective and shouted at him.
"D-don't talk nonsense! Stop saying weird things-"
Rumble- rumble-
In an instant, lightning flashed across the sky, and the Detective looked at me with a bitter expression.
"There was a reason I couldn't tell you,
after all. "
"No! That's not it! No-! I said no-"
Flash-
***
[2019, June 28th | Friday, 2:30 PM
[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts - 2]
[Ghost Story Points: 333]
[Causality Rate: 36%]
"...."
When I came to my senses, I sprang up from my seat.
A quiet clubroom, and members looking at me while studying.
I trembled for a moment, then slammed my fist down on the desk with a heavy thud.
"Hey, hey, damn it, I was right!!"
".....?"
"Look here! I was right! I came back! If I came back, then I'm the real one!"
I slammed the desk again with a loud bang, then let out a long breath and buried my face in my hands.
"I, who are you trying to scam... you scared the hell out of me, you b*stard. I almost had a heart attack."
"Joon...?"
"Trying to trick me like this... Wow~ I got confused for a moment! I alnmost fell for it! I was really confused for a second! Wow- seriously~"
[No.]
"...!!"
Suddenly, at the voice that sounded like the Grim Reaper himself, I was so startled that I fell backwards with a loud thud.
I hastily stumbled back to my feet and looked for the source of the voice, only to see that Gyeongwon had put his phone on speaker.
[This is your last chance.]
"...H-huh, huff... huff...
[Admit it and disappear.]
Gyeongwon expressionlessly held out his phone toward me.
For a moment, I stood frozen like that, my arms started trembling violently, then I slammed the desk again with a bang.
"D-Don't make me laugh, you b*stard!!"
[....]
"I'm the real one! I've come back! A
Status Window shows up for me!"
I started screaming at the top of my
lungs.
Overcome again by uncontrollable
anger, I suddenly reached out,
snatched Gyeongwon's phone, and
screamed hysterically.
"Who do you think you are! What are
you! What, you say you're the real one? Huh? You're the real one?"
[.....]
"You think you can act like the real one just because you installeda bug a few days earlier and did some prep work! If I had found you first, I would've done the same thing! I would've done the same thing too!!"
[....]
"What kind of nonsense is this!! What kind of nonsense do you think you're pulling, huh!?"
Having poured all that out, I paused to catch my breath and compose myself, then in a slightly calmer voice, I switched the phone to my other hand.
"Hey, stop talking nonsense. You're just a ghost story anyway. Aren'tI the one who's been living a normal school life and staying at home all along the real one? Huh? The suspicious one is you, who suddenly crawled in from outside, right?"
[.....]
"Who do you think you are, pulling off these cheap tricks? And, huh? And how can you guys fall for something like this?"
I took the phone away from my ear and looked around at the club members.
But despite me being this angry, they just stared at me silently, their expressions unchanged.
I flinched for a moment, but to keep from losing my momentum, I purposely raised my voice even higher.
"What the, seriously guys? Since when have you been fooled into going along with this kind of thing? Huh?"
"....."
"Hey, and Ahn Gyeongwon. The fact that you're answering that call right now and playing it over speaker for me means you're clearly on his side, right? Huh?"
"...."
"Since when? Since when did you get fooled and start conspiring like this?"
I glared at him, gritting my teeth, but
Gyeongwon just stared back at me
expressionlessly.
Frustrated by his lack of reaction, I slammed my hand down again on the desk with a bang.
"Since when, you stupid bastard!!"
"Stupid bastard'? That's a bit harsh, Prez."
Gyeongwon finally pushed his glasses up and let out a faint smile.
"You think I'm not cursing you back because I can't?"
"Then why!!"
I slammed the desk again, bang.
"Tell me why!!"
"....."
Gyeongwon dropped his irritating smirk and quietly looked at me.
After a moment, he silently muttered something, just low enough for me alone to hear.
[Special ability Lip Reading has activated.]
['Ah, you damn thick-skinned
b*stard.....].
"...!?"
I flinched and lifted my head.
He just cursed.
I stood there motionless with my eyes wide open like that, and only then did I notice the stares of the club members. Sunah was looking at me with cold eyes.
Dukhun with an indifferent gaze.
Jinhee looked at me as if I was pathetic.
Hayoon with a condescending glare.
I flinched again, trembling as I stepped backward.
"YOU guys... now can you guys do this to me..."
"...."
"...Why? Why are you acting like this? At the very least, shouldn't we hear each other out about who the real one is..? I... I've been so good to you guys....huh?"
"You?"
Jinhee asked nonchalantly, propping her chin on her hand. I quickly nodded.
"Th-that's right. I've been good to you, haven't I? Huh?"
"....."
"I-i even gave you money... and helped you guys level up..."
Jinhee let out a snicker.
Then, as if it was not even worth listening to, she turned her gaze away from me.
With trembling arms, I suddenly pointed sharply at Jinhee.
"Why are you laughing? Why are you turning your head away?"
"....."
"Answer me. Quickly."
"What?"
Jinhee looked at me indifferently, resting her chin on her hand.
"Now is even laughing offensive to you?"
"You b*stards."
I kept stepping back, staring at everyone around me.
"I treated you guys so well.... I treated you so well...."
In a fluster, I looked at Dukhun, who seemed like an easy target.
"Oh, isn't that right, Dukhun..? We even went to play together in the internet café... didn't we..."
"Internet café is somewhere you can go with anyone."
Dukhun replied with his usual indifferent expression.
A face with no emotional fluctuation.
I swallowed hard and checked the door for an exit.
"Hey... why are you saying something like that... huh?"
"....."
"I bought you a PlayStation... don't you
remember? You played games to your heart's content with it... because of me..."
"Hey. Even if you're fake, speak properly. That's my share for working my life away here. It's a fair reward."
"....."
"Other than that, there's nothing that has been exchanged between you and me. Do you understand?"
The guy pointed his finger at me with a firm expression.
With a bitter smile, I fumbled around checking the door.
Ready to bolt if things went south.
"Why? What wasn't enough? How much better am I supposed to treat you people than this?"
"I don't know, Prez."
Gyeongwon let out a sly grin.
"Isn't that something you should figure out yourself?"
"You... you b*stard..."
I slowly turned my head toward Hayoon.
"Ha... Hayoon, you-"
"Sorry. I have nothing to say."
A cold expression.
It was not the expression she usually showed when looking at me, but the one she wore when looking at a complete stranger, someone entirely outside her interest.
I checked the door behind me and
looked at Sunah.
"Su, Sunah... you.. you trust me, right..?"
"....."
"You... hey, don't you like me? Huh? Can't you tell just by looking...? I'm the real one..."
Sunah gave me a glare, narrowing her eyes.
Then she snapped her head away and rather stared at the phone.
Finally, the other me's voice flowed again from Gyeongwon's phone.
[Catch him.]
Crash-! Bang-!
The moment the club members sprang from their seats and rushed toward me,
I threw open the door and ran out.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
Don't be ridiculous, don't be ridiculous...
I'm the real one, I'm the real one...
'How can they do this to me, how can they do this to me...'
Haa... haa... haa... haa...