Chapter 8
After leaving the café and parting ways with Taeheon, Iseo tilted her head slightly and wondered.
He should have felt more comfortable, so why did he sigh at the end?
As she thought carefully about Taeheon’s incomprehensible behavior, she soon realized the answer.
Well, his legs would still feel heavy.
The things clinging to his legs were also the nastiest ones.
I have to remove them all tomorrow.
Iseo clenched both hands and made up her mind. Then she decided that she absolutely had to buy two more chocolates on her way home.
As she walked while organizing her thoughts, she soon arrived in front of the classroom where her morning class was held.
When she opened the front door and entered the classroom, Daeun and Dongjin, who had already taken seats around the middle, waved at her to come over.
“How come you’re later than us today, Iseo? You always come at least ten minutes early.”
“I had something to take care of. Oh, right. Here.”
Iseo took chocolates out of her bag and held them out to Daeun and Dongjin.
They were exactly the same ones she had given Taeheon earlier.
“Oh, thanks. I bought one with chocolate balls inside.”
“I got one with chocolate-covered snacks.”
Daeun and Dongjin also took out a small box each and gave them to Iseo.
The three single friends happily exchanged snacks, saying that it was fun.
“I didn’t eat breakfast, so I was getting hungry. Great. I’m going to eat it right away.”
Daeun opened the boxes Dongjin and Iseo had given her and took out the contents.
Then she picked up the empty box and stood up.
“Where are you suddenly going with that?”
“Where else? I’m going to throw it in the trash. I only need what’s inside. I don’t need the box.”
“Ah……”
A sudden realization struck Iseo like lightning.
Am I stupid? Why didn’t I think even once that she would throw away the box?
Who would bother keeping an empty box after eating everything inside?
“No……”
My talisman……
Iseo grabbed her hair in despair.
“Why are you like that? Are you really that upset about throwing away the box?”
“Yes. Don’t throw it away. Please keep it for the rest of your life.”
At Iseo’s desperate plea, Daeun smiled prettily and teased her by pretending to put the box into the trash can.
Dongjin went one step further and handed Daeun his empty box too, asking her to throw his away as well.
“Sniff, sniff. Fine. Throw them all away. Throw them away.”
“Should I?”
Daeun cheerfully threw away Dongjin’s box too and returned to her seat.
Taeheon must have thrown his away too, right?
I knew things were going too smoothly……
Then where am I supposed to put the talisman tomorrow?
Because of her disappointment, her mind felt completely blank, and she could not think of anything.
So she tightly grabbed Daeun’s arm, who was sitting beside her.
“Daeun, what is something you can keep carrying around when someone gives it to you as a present? Something you wouldn’t take off your body.”
“Something you keep with you all the time? ……A watch? There are also rings, bracelets, and necklaces.”
Those were good answers, but there was nowhere to put the talisman inside the things Daeun mentioned.
“Th-that’s right. But other than those, is there anything a little bigger, something that could have enough space to put something inside?”
“Hmm…… I don’t know……”
This time, even Daeun seemed unable to think of anything and tilted her head.
Just then.
“How about one of those keychain dolls? These days, there are dolls with zippers where you can put coins and things inside.”
Dongjin, who had been quietly listening while opening his chocolate snack, lightly poked the duck doll hanging from Daeun’s bag as he spoke.
Iseo’s eyes lit up the moment she saw it.
“That’s it! A doll!”
A doll that could be hung on a bag!
Whenever she went to school, she always carried her bag, so she could keep it close to her every day. Even at home, there was a high chance that her bag would be somewhere nearby. On top of that, she could put the talisman inside it.
It was perfect!
“Dongjin, you really are a genius! Where can I buy dolls like that these days? I want to get one right away.”
“Come to think of it, our Iseo’s bag does look a little empty. All right. Let’s go buy a keychain after class today! I’ll specially pick one that looks like you and buy it for you. Dongjin, I’ll specially buy one for you too.”
“Thank you! Daeun, Dongjin, thank you both so much.”
“For what?”
In the short time they spent talking, Dongjin had already eaten almost all the chocolate Iseo had given him.
“Hey, fatty. Eat slowly. You’ll get diabetes!”
Daeun nagged him, asking if he could not see how much his double chin had grown, while Dongjin proudly declared that he loved even his double chin. The two of them bickered as usual.
Since this happened so often, Iseo watched them with a smile before quietly lowering her gaze.
More precisely, toward Dongjin’s legs.
“……”
He’s so cute today too.
Dongjin always had a cream-colored Golden Retriever ghost following him around.
To be precise, it was not that he took the Golden Retriever with him. The Golden Retriever simply followed Dongjin wherever he went.
Pant, pant.
Even though she could not hear the sound, Iseo could feel the puppy panting as it looked up at Dongjin.
The puppy that stayed by Dongjin’s side all day and followed him everywhere was incredibly lovable and cute.
It was so big and cute that she could truly understand what people meant when they said, “The bigger they are, the cuter they are.”
Sadly…… it was not alive, so she could not pet it.
Strange.
Could it be because it had no evil energy?
Normally, even when Iseo saw ghosts, she could not see their appearance in detail.
They usually appeared only as vague, dark, black shapes.
So she judged whether they were just wandering spirits or vicious evil spirits capable of hurting people by the foul smell and atmosphere they gave off, the damp humidity, or the drop in temperature around them.
But she could clearly see this puppy’s appearance.
It had no foul smell or eerie atmosphere, and it was so lively that it looked almost alive.
It was just a little more transparent than an ordinary puppy.
“Why? Is there something on my leg?”
Dongjin casually asked when he noticed Iseo staring.
“Huh? Oh, no. I thought there was a bug crawling on the floor.”
Unable to tell him that she could see the puppy ghost clinging to his legs, Iseo made up an excuse.
“What?”
Ha Dongjin, who had been eating chocolate snacks, was horrified and lifted his legs onto his chair.
“Hey, Kim Daeun! Can you see the bug? Catch it! Quickly!”
“Oh, seriously. Isn’t it ridiculous that someone as huge as you is scared of bugs?”
Daeun scoffed, but she lowered her upper body and looked around the floor as if she intended to catch it for him.
They had apparently been childhood friends, and it seemed perfectly natural for Daeun to catch bugs for him.
“Size has nothing to do with bugs! Did you catch it? Did you?”
“No…… I guess it went somewhere else. I can’t see it.”
“Phew.”
Only then did Dongjin lower his legs and reach for the snacks he had left.
“I told you to stop eating so many snacks in the classroom. It came because you keep dropping crumbs.”
Daeun smacked Dongjin on the back and took away his snacks. Dongjin waved his hands, demanding that she give them back, and one of the chocolates fell onto the floor.
“You can’t eat chocolate.”
Iseo urgently shouted at the puppy that was pressing its nose against the fallen chocolate and sniffing it, then quickly picked up the chocolate.
“Huh? ……Ah, even though I love eating, I don’t eat things that have fallen on the floor.”
Dongjin awkwardly argued back at Iseo.
“Oh? Oh, right.”
Iseo smiled awkwardly, embarrassed by her slip of the tongue.
“Hmm, my stomach hurts from eating only chocolate. Is there anything else to eat?”
“You ate three pieces of bread this morning. Can you stop eating so much?”
“But I’m hungry……”
Dongjin rubbed his stomach and complained sadly.
Maybe it takes after its owner.
Looking at the puppy sniffing the floor and looking disappointed, Iseo thought about what they could eat for dinner.
“Let’s go eat chicken after class. It’s been a while! Grilled chicken. How about it?”
At Iseo’s words, Dongjin’s small eyes widened and lit up.
“All the oil is drained out, so the inside is juicy and the outside is crispy. And if you have it with beer, it’s perfect!”
Dongjin swallowed repeatedly, already drooling just from imagining it.
The puppy was doing exactly the same thing, drooling heavily.
They really do have exactly the same appetite.
Iseo looked at the puppy and smiled.
I’ll cut up some chicken breast later and secretly give it to him.
They could not actually eat it, but apparently ghosts could all savor the energy and taste of food and even feel the care put into making it.
That was also the reason food was prepared during ancestral rites.
“All right, quiet down. I’ll take attendance first, and then we’ll start class.”
Iseo did her best to ignore the expectant puppy and Dongjin’s intense gaze and focused on the class for now.
