“Yeah. I’m listening.”
“You’re not listening at all!”
“I am listening. So, it’s true that we eat puma wrapped in kimchi and spam, right?”
“Did not hear that!”
Iarin was furious.
And she decided to punish Yesuhwa, who had dared to disregard her.
“Yikes!”
Utilizing her kneeling position, she attacked Yesuhwa’s belly with her head.
Naturally, Yesuhwa couldn’t help but be startled by the sudden pressure on her abdomen, and her face began to turn increasingly furious.
Especially since she was sensitive about her belly fat enough to be on a diet, her anger was more intense than usual.
But there was nowhere to vent that fury.
Iarin had already bounced up like a rubber ball and was climbing the tree next to the bench.
“Hey, did your abs get a bit soft~?”
After provoking Yesuhwa enough to make her lose her composure, Iarin started to escape using her martial arts skills.
She climbed onto a slender branch using her footwork technique, shifting her weight to make the branch bounce her up.
The scene resembled a beast rather than a person.
Like a leopard or puma darting between the trees.
“You. If I catch you, you won’t get away with it.”
And as always, a hunter follows the beast.
Right here, a hunter had descended.
“Ah~ that was fun~”
Iarin easily shook off Yesuhwa, who was chasing her with a vendetta.
Yesuhwa had lower achievement in martial arts compared to her, especially with Iarin’s beast-like senses added into the mix… it turned a simple game of tag into a madness-inducing endeavor.
‘Today, I should skip my self-training and just head home.’
Thinking of Yesuhwa, who would be frantically searching for her, Iarin chuckled mischievously.
Then she set her phone to automatically send a message saying, ‘I’m going home~’ five minutes later.
In about five minutes, it would be hard to find any trace of Iarin inside the school.
She must have gone home!
‘Gotta remember to bring some low-calorie lemon tarts for tomorrow. Hehe.’
With that thought, Iarin packed her things.
Well, there wasn’t much to pack.
She just needed one bag.
Iarin casually slung her small sling bag over her shoulder and quickly started heading home.
Yes, quickly…
Through a shortcut.
She bolted out the window instead of the door, using her martial arts to climb the walls. She bounced atop the branches of trees planted here and there, and even at the end, she launched herself like a missile towards the school gate using the elasticity of the tree.
It was truly lightning-fast speed.
‘If I jump over the wall, it’ll be even faster.’
Jumping over the school’s fence would mean escaping from the school more quickly, which was her only regret.
However, the seemingly ordinary school fence had a terrifying level of security, and trying to rush over it could lead to getting zapped with an electric shock, trembling under the fence while being discovered, or getting caught and hung like a puppet by an artifact, or even experiencing nitrogen narcosis after being taken by an artifact.
In the worst case, she could end up with a broken bone or injured.
So it was better to just exit through the school gate calmly.
Beep.
As soon as Iarin stepped out of the school gate, a small sound rang out.
The sensor installed at the gate recognized Iarin’s student ID and recorded her exit from the school, and nearby installed CCTVs captured her image.
This was one of the security measures in place to prevent someone from infiltrating the school.
At first, it was hard to adapt, but now… it was just as familiar as the air.
Besides, it was there to keep out strange people from breaking in, so what could she do?
She should take it as a concern for their safety.
In fact, incidents where industrial spies, criminals, perverts, and conspiracy theorists were caught trying to invade the school did happen regularly.
Just recently, a strange conspiracy theorist trying to break in with a sign was stopped…
‘What was written on that sign? Something absurd like misleading the people?’
Iarin didn’t pay much attention to that weirdo, but she clearly recalled that particular conspiracy theorist.
He was a dirty-looking man, as if he had just come from living on the streets, with eyes that seemed possessed by something strange. Grease was trickling down his mouth as if he had eaten something, and flies were buzzing around him, attracted to the muck on his clothes.
He was holding a bizarre sign that looked like it had been rummaged from a trash can, and the writing on it was as messy as the man himself.
『 There are those who mislead and deceive, spreading confusion and false beliefs, causing even the green shoots to become tainted, resulting in the lament of a fallen nation. 』
What Iarin saw was a chaotic mix of characters and Korean script that resembled newspapers from decades ago when Chinese characters were still in use.
For a moment, she felt dizzy just looking at it.
Moreover, some of the letters seemed to wriggle, and with her enhanced vision, she realized that it wasn’t just an illusion but insects crawling around—
“Ugh.”
…A truly nauseating sight when she thought back on it.
Moreover, this person wasn’t just dirty in appearance and sign.
[ Let go! I must reveal the truth to these students! ]
[ The Maitreya has shown me the truth! I must step forward to ensure these students grow correctly! ]
[ If left alone, the sprouts will rot, and the nation will walk the path of destruction! The Republic of Korea will vanish without a trace and all Koreans will be integrated into China! The majority of the unfortunate will suffer under the invasion of foreigners! This should not happen! I must enlighten these sprouts and dedicate myself to the country! ]
Every word seemed to embody madness itself.
Anyone could see he was a severe patient who had escaped from a mental hospital…
The impact left by this conspiracy theorist was quite strong.
Compared to the various weirdos often found, he had a unique character that was more than enough to invoke curiosity and stir the emotions of students who loved exploring and making noise.
Thus, the story of the dirty homeless man who broke in while holding the sign spread rapidly through the school and became a delightful snack for students during their break.
It seemed as if he would soon be forgotten, but…
At that moment, people started showing interest in him.
Those curious about urban legends and mysteries.
『 I heard that guy used to escape from a mental hospital? 』
『 Where’s the mental hospital nearby? They caused a stir saying they wouldn’t allow him to come into our neighborhood due to the fall in housing prices. The nearest one is at least a two-hour drive away! 』
『 He could have come from that two-hour distance, right? 』
『 That’s possible, but… isn’t it more likely he was staying in a nearby abandoned house or building? 』
『 That seems more plausible. 』
They became interested in the conspiracy theorist who had suddenly burst in, wanting to know where he came from.
But how much could students actually investigate, and how accurate would it even be?
『 I heard he came from that dilapidated thatched house on the mountain? That place is apparently one where shamans visit; they say there’s a spirit there, and he went mad after being possessed. 』
『 No, he lived in that empty place they’re planning to redevelop. I heard he lost his family in an accident and went mad living alone. They say he broke into our school because of that. 』
『 No way~ it’s a cult, clearly! You can tell just by looking! He devoted all his savings to some cult, and now that he’s useless, he’s been sent by the cult leader to invade our school. His actions and writings are pure cult behavior~ 』
Countless tales began circulating, and the rumors continued to develop.
Eventually, it intertwined with the ‘7 Wonders’ that the school had been discussing.
Yes.
That was the reason.
The reason Iarin remembered the conspiracy theorist.
『 Hey, they said that the place where that homeless man was is that creepy building in Seoul. The one where evil spirit worshippers entered… 』
『 Hey hey, haven’t you heard the news? That’s all a lie. 』
『 Huh? What do you mean? 』
『 That building wasn’t evil spirit worshippers; a shaman lives there. The young shaman who appeared on TV recently. Plus, they say he’s the older brother of that warrior girl from our school who’s been seen all over! 』
『 Oh really? Then what I heard must have been a rumor…』
Unbelievably, the building where Park Jinseong stayed had become part of urban legend.
According to students, there were rumors he was attempting to summon a great evil spirit or that he’d go mad if one were to visit there at midnight. They even said it was a lair of evil spirits and that there was a secret organization underground ready to bring about the world’s end.
Moreover, the eerie appearance of the building did nothing but amplify these rumors, and later, it even became included in the ‘7 Wonders’ discussion.
Until Park Jinseong appeared on TV.
After he appeared on TV, all stories regarding the building disappeared completely, replaced instead with the fame of ‘Young Shaman Park Jinseong,’ gaining as much recognition as those wonders within the school. In a way, you could say it became a blessing in disguise.
Unbeknownst to and ignoring all of this…
However, given the nature of urban legends, they could never completely disappear; they would persist in some form.
Especially for students who paid no attention to the news or rumors.
Because of that, stories of the dirty homeless man who intruded into the school became linked to the building where Jinseong stayed, quickly evolving. Thanks to this transformation, the rumors of that building drifted further from being mere urban legends and were now seen as the ‘place where the shaman who appeared on TV lives,’ gaining even more fame.
Students had begun visiting intentionally to meet Jinseong, and due to his popularity, the site was even used as a meeting spot, increasing foot traffic compared to before…
His building was slowly evolving into a landmark.
‘Hmm… now that I think about it, should I visit?’
