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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: It Wasn't On Purpose
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Nobody wanted to pair up with Ho-jin.
The girls who avoided pairing with him felt relieved no matter who they ended up with.
And they pitied A-jin for having to pair with him.
But A-jin didn't care about being paired with Ho-jin.
She was just scared of the current situation.
She had thought that even if it was frightening with everyone climbing up together in a group, it wouldn't be too bad.
But when she heard there were kids in ghost costumes and that only two people had to move at a time, she got really terrified.
Sweat beaded on her palms from the tension.
Her body trembled faintly, as if chills were running through her.
She couldn't even smell Ho-jin.
At the teacher's starting signal, she widened her eyes and moistened her dry lips by sticking out her tongue just a bit.
She puffed out her chest for a deep breath and placed her clasped hands on top like she was praying.
She looked utterly determined.
Ho-jin glanced at her, then turned his head back to shine the lantern on the path ahead.
The air was colder than at the base of the mountain, and the wind picked up speed, making the tree branches clash and rub together.
The eerie sounds, straight out of a horror movie, made her face even paler.
Trying to overcome her fear in her own way, A-jin started babbling nonsense.
“Haha... Why do we even do this stuff? If you think a ghost's gonna show up, tell me ahead of time. Gotta prepare to fight back or something. Weather's so chilly. What's on the breakfast menu tomorrow? You like bugs? Nobody likes bugs, right? I really hate them. That's why I don't like mountains. Thought it'd just be the ocean in Jeju. Didn't expect mountains. This course is so long. Where's the end? Has one shown up? You gotta tell me. Want me to hold the lantern? Heavy?”
A tiny lantern that fit perfectly in her palm, and she was calling it heavy with her nonsense— a faint smile flickered at the corner of Ho-jin's mouth and vanished.
“Um...”
“Should've worn my black sneakers if I knew. These are gonna get ruined.”
“Um...”
“Where do you buy your sneakers? I used a coupon last time and...”
Not hearing his timid voice, A-jin just kept talking nonstop.
Ho-jin raised his voice a bit more and called her name.
“A-jin.”
“Huh?”
Only then did she hear him and open her eyes wide in response.
“Think a ghost's coming.”
“What? Eek!”
She should've heard that sooner.
Right as he spoke, a zombie with arms spread wide charged at her.
Startled out of her wits, A-jin hid behind Ho-jin's back and gripped his T-shirt tightly with both hands.
She spun around to dodge the zombie.
A-jin was completely shielded by Ho-jin's large frame, and Ho-jin let himself be pulled along without resisting.
Worried she'd get hurt if he braced himself, he matched her steps and spun around with her.
In the midst of it, he even held out the paper to the zombie.
“Stamp here, please.”
The zombie finally stopped, stamped it, and went back to its hiding spot.
“It's gone.”
At his words, A-jin halted and peeked out cautiously from behind his back.
Suspicious it might be a lie, she scanned the surroundings carefully before finally stepping out.
‘Ah... It hurts.’
When she unclenched her hand, she saw dark nail marks imprinted on her palm.
It hurt quite a bit from how hard she'd gripped.
“I hate this so much.”
There were still two more ghosts ahead.
A-jin let out a long sigh in a daze.
Ho-jin edged a little farther away from her side.
She wondered if he was doing it because she smelled or something.
“Where you going?”
As he pulled away, A-jin grabbed him with a worried look.
“Worried I smell.”
“No. Stay right next to me. I'm scared.”
A-jin tugged at his T-shirt with pleading eyes.
Ho-jin looked embarrassed.
A faint red tint colored his dark skin.
He shone the lantern back on the path, and the two moved on to the next section.
* * *
“Argh, damn it. What the hell am I doing!”
Jun-woo fiddled irritably with the wig he was wearing and scowled.
He'd debated a thousand times whether to take it off, ignore the ghost role entirely, and just head down.
“That damn Choi Jong-min!”
Out of all the ghosts, why'd he have to pick the virgin ghost?
He was pissed at Jong-min for handing him the wig.
With the long hair dangling limply, fiddling with the stamp and waiting for the next pair to come up, a familiar voice grew closer.
“You draw webtoons?”
A-jin was coming up while chatting with Ho-jin.
“Yeah.”
“Got time to draw?”
“Late to school every day 'cause I draw till dawn.”
“Wow, so passionate. How long you been drawing?”
“Since middle school.”
“That's amazing. What's your pen name? I wanna check it out.”
“It's embarrassing...”
“What's embarrassing? Actually, I do it too.”
“What?”
Standing on tiptoes, A-jin cupped her hand by her mouth like she was sharing a secret and whispered.
“I'm a blogger too.”
Hiding and eavesdropping, Jun-woo strained to hear, but the whisper didn't carry.
“What'd she say?”
The two seemed to be hitting it off.
He'd worried she'd struggle with his smell, but it was needless concern.
They were stuck so close together, all chummy.
She always grumbled at him, but she was so sweet to another guy.
It irked him; he wanted to mess with her more.
Jun-woo hid his face with the hair and waited for A-jin to get closer.
“So what's your pen name? Tell me.”
Oblivious to her impending doom, A-jin focused only on Ho-jin.
“Only if you promise to keep it secret. It's...”
As Ho-jin scratched his neck bashfully and opened his mouth,
The virgin ghost appeared right in front of her.
A-jin turned pale and screamed “Kyaa!” at the ghost charging full speed at her.
“Kyaa!”
Her hand shot out reflexively.
Thud. Thump. Roll roll roll.
“Argh!!”
A chaotic racket passed, and the aftermath was disastrous.
A-jin and Ho-jin stared at the scene before them in shock and confusion.
Neither knew what to do.
About 3 meters down the slope, Jun-woo lay sprawled out.
He'd charged at her the moment she approached, only to get shoved backward by her outstretched hand.
Unable to see with the hair in his face, he'd lost balance and slipped on the incline, tumbling down.
It hurt, and it was humiliating.
“What do we do... You okay?”
Peering down at Jun-woo, A-jin flailed in apology.
“Hey!!”
Jun-woo snapped in irritation as he tried to get up and brush off the dried leaves clinging to him.
But intense pain twisted his face.
He couldn't move his right arm.
“Ugh.”
“What's wrong?”
A-jin started down the slope toward him.
“I'll come down.”
Ho-jin stopped her and went instead.
The two didn't come right back up; they talked.
A-jin stomped anxiously, wondering what they were saying.
Soon after, Ho-jin helped Jun-woo back up the slope.
His movements looked labored the whole way, his expression pained.
He seemed badly hurt.
“What happened? You hurt?”
A-jin asked frantically.
“Looks broken.”
Jun-woo couldn't speak through the pain, so Ho-jin explained for him.
“What?”
Shocked, she covered her mouth with both hands.
‘Kang A-jin, you really screwed up today.’
* * *
Occasional screams echoed from the mountain.
Whether the homeroom teachers knew about the situation up top or not, they were just chatting happily amid the kids' shrieks.
“Cho-hee hurt bad?”
“Just a sprain, I think. She's fine now.”
“It's fun hearing the kids freak out, but hope nobody gets hurt and drags us into it.”
“What could go wrong with a few kids in costumes scaring them?”
Jin Mi shook her head, insisting it was impossible.
Then, three people appeared before them.
Jun-woo, supported by Ho-jin, clutched his right arm with dirty clothes and limped along. A-jin trailed behind, on the verge of tears.
The two teachers gasped at the sight.
“What happened?”
“Where are you hurt?”
Teachers were the students' guardians.
Their plan had backfired with kids getting hurt—they couldn't dodge responsibility.
Especially since it was top-of-the-class Park Jun-woo.
The homeroom teachers' faces grew more serious than ever.
“How'd this happen?”
“Is it bad?”
Kyung-hee touched Jun-woo's right arm to check the injury.
“Ugh.”
He winced in pain.
Seeing him hurt made A-jin even more miserable.
“Who did this?”
Jin Mi looked for someone to blame.
“M-Me...”
At Jin Mi's question, A-jin answered in a tiny voice.
She had no excuse, even with ten mouths.
“How'd you hurt his arm so bad he can't even touch it?”
“I got scared and pushed him.”
“Seriously, what kind of girl is so careless!!”
Jin Mi scolded A-jin, blaming her for escalating things.
“I'm sorry.”
She felt sorry and upset that Jun-woo was hurt.
It made her feel guiltier that there was nothing she could do.
A-jin hung her head like a criminal.
Tears finally fell like chickpea drops.
Seeing her like that didn't sit right with Jun-woo.
If he hadn't charged at her to mess around, she never would've pushed.
Taking the blame, Jun-woo told the teachers.
“I tripped. While scaring them.”
“She said she pushed.”
“I fell first.”
“Sigh... Be more careful.”
“A-jin, Ho-jin—you two okay?”
Jin Mi fretted only about getting chewed out by higher-ups, but Kyung-hee was just heartbroken over the hurt students.
“Yeah.”
“Jun-woo, you go to the ER with me. You two, head inside.”
“Teacher, can I go too?”
A-jin stepped forward at Kyung-hee's words.
She'd only relax if she went along.
“You two go inside. Teacher's enough.”
Jun-woo looked at A-jin.
She looked more pained than him, tears streaming down her face. It tugged at him.
It hurt so bad he couldn't move, but he forced a casual tone with Kyung-hee.
“Teacher, I'm fine. Just watch till tomorrow...”
“Watch what? Can't even move it. Right arm too—how you gonna study? You two go inside already. You're distracting.”
Jin Mi fussed about rushing to the hospital and shoved A-jin and Ho-jin toward the dorms.
In the end, Jun-woo and Kyung-hee took a cab to the hospital, while A-jin lingered anxiously in the lobby for a while before heading to her room.
