"Winner Suite Incheon was only built two years ago, wasn't it?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Before that, there was a run-down motel on that spot. That's why rumors were rampant about ghost sightings. So you're a ghost that formed back then?"
The First Officer snapped his fingers as he spoke.
"You must have been Thai when you were alive, so how did you end up in a Korean motel...."
"Asking why I became a ghost?"
At my words, the prickly voice settled down a notch.
But with those little black-bean eyes and stubby wings propped on its hips, the thing was nowhere near frightening to begin with.
The voice actually suited it, somehow.
"Hey! You're not paying attention—you're thinking about something else!"
"Ah. Ahem."
"Haha, it sounds like this character's actual voice. Suits it perfectly!"
The First Officer called it cute and even had the audacity to start taking photos.
"Anyway, either throw this out or genuinely hand it over to a shrine. Keeping it is your call, but it'd nag at you, wouldn't it~"
"I obviously wouldn't mind throwing it away, but...."
"Then smashing it is the best option. Since it's an earthbound spirit, breaking the figurine will force it back to that hotel."
"อย่าทิ้งฉันนะ!"
Don't throw me away!
The ghost cried out urgently. Regardless, the First Officer's expression showed nothing but amusement.
"For your information, Yuja-cheong has already completed his Cheonsu Airlines ghost story assignment. He identified the possessee and neutralized it before takeoff, and the infirmary separated the possessing ghost. There's no remaining assignment."
"This isn't the first case like this, is it?"
"Of course not. I've heard of ghosts possessing items once or twice, but supposedly nobody's ever seen one again after driving it out."
Ghost or not, when you get down to it, this was nothing more and nothing less than a ghost story I'd already handled.
Just as the First Officer said, dealing with it would wrap things up cleanly and put my mind at ease.
"H-hey, if you help me instead of smashing me, I'll help you too. How about it!"
"You must think we're pushovers. Since when do you get to negotiate?"
The First Officer, always bright and smooth-talking, stripped every trace of humor from his voice.
Then he looked down at the ghost-possessed figurine as though he might destroy it that very second.
In an instant, a chill swept through the small room and everything went silent.
"Want me to break it now?"
"No, that's not what I—!"
The ghost, which had been brazen from the moment of possession, stammered for the first time and hurried its words.
If I said this severe, ice-cold side of the First Officer—one you'd never see when he was hanging around with us—wasn't frightening, I'd obviously be lying.
"When... when you get down to it, I'm the one who brought this ghost here, so I'll handle it...!"
"Handle it? How do you plan to do that?"
"I have another method in mind."
I promptly gripped the figurine tight and answered Jeong Siun's question.
I even forced a smile and declared confidently to the First Officer that he should leave it to me.
"Well, do as you like, Yuja-cheong. I was only offering because I figured it'd be a hassle for you."
"You really are considerate, First Officer."
"Reeeally~?"
Reverting to his usual self in an instant, the First Officer didn't spare the figurine so much as a glance, saying he was going out for a smoke as he left the room.
"I had no idea—the First Officer is seriously terrifying. Talk about a reversal...."
"...It's a sensitive matter. I think that reaction was only natural."
Thank goodness it was directed at a ghost—if it had been aimed at me, honestly, I'd have been miserable all day.
"Are you really going to smash it like the First Officer said?"
"Not exactly.... Hah, what kind of help do you even need?"
I said, staring at the figurine. I'd gripped it so hard my palm was drenched in sweat.
'Let me think. This Thai ghost possessed someone and boarded a plane.'
"Let me say this upfront—I can't take you to Thailand."
"I know. If that's what I wanted, would I have followed you?"
"Then what?"
"Not right away, but let me tag along for a while, and just make it so I can get out of here."
"What?"
I'd braced for some grandiose demand, and it was so modest compared to what I'd expected that it threw me off in an entirely different way.
'Is it mocking me? Or is there some other scheme?'
"Is it messing with you, Cheongho?"
For once, Jeong Siun and I were on the same wavelength.
Unable to lower my suspicion and guard, I glared at it. At that, the ghost continued the conversation in an even gentler tone.
"Stop staring at me like you don't believe me."
"Why did you possess that Thai man? You had an agenda, didn't you."
"Honestly, you know this too. I didn't go in first—they summoned me. And they did every single thing that pisses a ghost off the most."
The three Thai people who'd performed the séance had violated every taboo they'd been warned about: lifting their fingers off the glass mid-game, damaging that glass, failing to properly close the ritual.
'Honestly, if we're assigning blame, it's 100% those three Thai people's fault.'
"If it had been any ghost other than me, those guys wouldn't have even made it onto the plane—no, it would've ended at the hotel already."
"You're the same, aren't you? Why did you board the plane like that?"
Jeong Siun asked cynically.
"An earthbound spirit like me has no choice but to stay bound to one place. Endlessly, without end. I stayed there through the motel collapsing and that hotel being built. After a full ten years, I finally get a chance to leave that spot—you think I'd pass it up?"
At that single remark from the ghost, Jeong Siun's expression softened somewhat.
But who's to say it isn't rotten to the core.
"Even so, you know Senior Kwon Hoyeong is in the infirmary because of you, right? That happened while trying to pull you off."
"I did say something like 'I'll destroy you.' I'll admit that was wrong. But if I'd wanted to cause real damage, I'd have slammed his head into a wall the second I possessed him, whatever happened to him after."
Then the ghost rattled the still-adorable penguin figurine it inhabited with all its might.
For all the effort, the tiny figurine just wobbled a little and teetered like it might tip over. That was it.
"Like the guy in the sunglasses said earlier, I came in here out of desperation. Into this fat penguin figurine, of all things. That's how badly I don't want to go back to that hotel."
The ghost spoke hesitantly.
"Just... give me a little... freedom."
BANG—
"Guys, food's here! I went down to the first floor and the delivery had already arrived. It's probably gone cold."
The First Officer, who'd thrown the door open with gusto and come in with both hands full of delicious dakbokkeumtang, looked over at us.
Panicking, I snatched the figurine, ducked into the bathroom, and locked the door.
"Hm? Where's Yuja-cheong?"
"Ah, he said he got rained on earlier, so he's washing up."
"Huh? He didn't look that wet to me?"
"He'd have worn makeup for the flight, so being comfortable is better. Cheongho! The towels are in the cabinet, help yourself!"
Jeong Siun shouted, his acting a full-body commitment. Thank goodness for his quick thinking.
"Yes, thank you. Go ahead and start eating without me!"
If he'd seen me yammering at a ghost-possessed figurine, I'd have been thrown out the window on the spot.
SHHHHHHH.
Following Jeong Siun's lead, I turned on the shower.
The sound of the water would keep our conversation from leaking outside.
"...Help me. I want to stay out here longer. If something like me exists, you're bound to run into plenty of other ghosts, right? I'll definitely be useful."
The ghost had lost all its bluster, its voice now reduced to a crawl.
The request was so strange that calling it a lie didn't quite fit either—that was what nagged at me.
"Look, as you already know, I'm fluent in both Korean and Thai, I can see other ghosts and talk to them, and I can move simple objects."
"Move them?"
At my question, the ghost went silent, and then the figurine's body vibrated violently.
CRASH—
The shampoo bottles and bars of soap on the bathroom shelf came clattering down without mercy.
"Cheongho, are you okay?"
"Good grief, did Yuja-cheong fall over?"
"...I slipped."
Honestly, what a state to be in.
I wanted to smack this insolent little figurine right then and there.
"So breaking the pot and the wind blowing earlier—that was you too."
"I just can't leave this thing. Something that light, I can nudge around fine."
The ghost spoke with full confidence.
Honestly, it seemed like this ghost had a point.
The second condition the First Officer had required: clear at least five more ghost stories.
I'd handled the Thai possessee ghost story today, leaving four more. Among those, the chance of encountering ghosts again in Type 1—in reality—was more than plausible.
And if it showed any dangerous behavior, I could just break it.
Being an earthbound spirit, it would return to the hotel immediately.
The terms weren't bad for me at all.
Being able to communicate with a ghost meant detection and identification would be far easier....
It might even be a chance to clear all the ghost stories quickly.
"That's all you've got?"
I asked, working to keep my expression steady.
"What do you expect from a ghost? Those are my specialties, at least. Mm, though if I have to add one more—I can see a ghost's memories, briefly."
"...Like psychometry?"
"Something like that. Still, manipulating objects is way cooler, isn't it?"
If it could see memories, then,
'The only clue in the cold case!'
I might be able to unravel the secret of the paper with the Gospel of Matthew on it.
I tried to steady my faintly trembling hands.
'I still don't know if what the ghost says is true, so I need to verify carefully.'
For now, staying in any longer would make them suspicious....
"We'll finish this conversation later. Stay quiet."
"I know that much. What am I, an idiot?"
"...."
I quickly washed off my face makeup, splashed some water on my hair, and came out of the bathroom.
"The food's gone cold~ Let's microwave it."
"Sure, sounds good."
"By the way, what did you do with the figurine?"
"This is Siun's room, so I'll deal with it after I leave. I stuffed it in my carry-on."
"Bwahahaha! Nicely done!"
In reality I'd left it on the bathroom shelf and would have to retrieve it secretly later.
The First Officer had gone so far as to offer to write my Special Task Force recommendation letter and help me....
Over a single lie like this, it felt as though holes were being punched through my heart.
After finishing dinner, the First Officer and I headed out of the dorm to catch the bus. I'd texted Jeong Siun that I'd fill him in on the situation later.
SHHHHHH.
Outside, the rain had weakened considerably from before but was still falling, leaving the air chilly and cold.
"Yuja-cheong."
"Yes, First Officer."
"I understand you're in a hurry."
The First Officer patted my shoulder as he spoke.
"But don't let the other employees find out."
....
"...What?"
"Always take care of yourself~"
Then he said he had somewhere to be and left ahead of me.
'This is....'
While patting my shoulder, the First Officer had naturally slipped something into my hand.
The tiny scrap of paper was densely covered in flamboyant, soaring handwriting.
[If the ghost makes a new request out there, absolutely do not grant it. If anything happens, don't smash it—burn it. Its soul will be annihilated too.]
'...So he knew everything after all.'
I could only bite my lip hard out of guilt.
"First Officer!"
He'd already descended the dorm hillside, and I broke into a run toward his distant back.
Given that he'd even provided a contingency plan in the note, he clearly meant for me to handle it properly on my own or accept the consequences—but.
No matter how impatient I was, this didn't sit right.
'In a way, this is ignoring the First Officer's warning.'
"Hm?"
"Honestly, I was tempted by the abilities the ghost mentioned. The terms aren't bad for me."
At my words, the First Officer stopped mid-stride and burst out laughing. Then he lowered the sunglasses he'd been wearing.
My eyes flew open at the sight of the sunglasses he hadn't removed even once—not during the Osaka first flight, not even during the Moving Walkway Ghost Story before that.
"If it were me, I'd have kept my mouth shut, and you're spilling everything the second you get the note?"
The First Officer's bare face was that of a strikingly handsome man with clean, bold features—at a glance, he could pass for someone of mixed heritage.
His eyes, a lighter brown than his hair, gave off an air of something mysterious.
Between the high-end shoes and the First Officer's uniform he wore so well, his claim about being popular didn't sound like a lie at all.
"If I use the ghost's abilities, handling ghost stories would be easier, and I thought I might unravel at least a bit of that case."
"I like the honesty. So you don't want to smash it right away, then?"
"Yes...."
"Take it back out."
I pulled the ghost-possessed penguin figurine back out of the front pocket of my carry-on.
Perhaps because of my earlier order to stay still, it said nothing at all, exactly like an ordinary toy figurine.
RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE—
The First Officer gripped the figurine tight and shook it with all his strength.
"S-stop, stop! STOOOOOP!"
Being shaken like it was in a blender, the ghost that had been staying quiet finally screamed.
I was taken aback myself by the astonishing approach.
'The First Officer shows no mercy to ghosts.'
"What is it you really want?"
"I said there's nothing! Just take me around with you! That's all! Freedom from the hotel is the whole point!"
The ghost hollered indignantly, begging to be believed.
"Then starting tomorrow, go 'prove your worth' with Yuja-cheong."
"Yuja-cheong is that guy's name?"
"That's none of your concern."
The First Officer said, handing the ghost back to me.
"Take this along and prove it's not a threat."
"Prove its worth, sir?"
"If you do, it can be officially recognized, the same way we receive briefing reports when we get help from a ghost story. It becomes an Official Cheonsu Airlines Ghost Story."
'Officially...!'
"Yes, understood."
"Plenty of people will hate it, of course. Hoyeong, who got possessed by it, and Doyeong."
"Naviq would hate it too, wouldn't he?"
"Not so much hate—more like worry."
"And if it's called proving its worth, that means a ghost story, naturally."
"Correct."
The First Officer snapped his fingers as he spoke.