The next morning, Yui woke up with a mild headache, a faint echo of ghost-screams in her ears, and the undeniable urge to drop out of school and join the circus.
Unfortunately, she still had attendance to fake.
She slipped into her uniform, shoved a protein bar in her mouth, and stomped to class — half-human, half-caffeinated corpse. Seoul High School for the Barely Functioning.
"Yui," her best friend Hana whispered, leaning over her desk. "You look like you wrestled a demon in your sleep."
"I did," Yui muttered, unwrapping the bar with the grace of a raccoon. "And it bit me."
"Is this a metaphor?"
"No. Pretty literal."
Before Hana could respond with more concerned friendship noises, the teacher walked in and announced something far more terrifying than ghosts: group project presentations.
The groans were universal.
"Your groups were assigned last week," the teacher droned. "Today, you'll meet in pairs and begin your research."
Yui opened the list.
Her partner:Ryu Min-jun.
The school's golden boy.Perfect grades. Perfect hair. Probably made a deal with a fairy at birth.
She sighed. Great. Just what she needed — to fail in front of someone who probably alphabetizes his shampoo bottles.
She looked up. Min-jun was already walking toward her.
"Hi," he said with a polite bow. "Let's work well together."
Yui nodded. "Sure. I'm definitely not cursed or anything."
"…Sorry?"
"Nothing."
They began researching in the library — Yui half-focused, half-scanning for ghosts. Ever since her deal with Baek Woo-jin, she could feel them more clearly. The air changed when they were close. Thicker. Quieter.
Min-jun leaned in. "Are you okay?"
Yui blinked. "Yeah, sorry. Just—uh—trying to find a spirit. I mean... source. A source for our project. On famine. You know. The starving kind."
"…Right."
Suddenly, the lights in the library flickered.
Yui stiffened.
There it was again. That pressure in her chest. That metallic taste in the air.
Something was here.
She stood up.
Min-jun raised an eyebrow. "Going somewhere?"
"To the bathroom."
"With your backpack?"
"I have bladder trust issues."
Before he could ask more questions, she slipped out — darting into the dark hallway.
And there it was.
A boy. Standing alone. Pale. Still. His face was wrong. Not wrong like ugly — wrong like it wasn't finished. His features were blurred, like an unfinished sketch. His head twitched sharply left and right like a broken camera.
Yui froze.
Then she whispered into the air, "Uh… Baek? Grim Hoodie? Murder Umbrella Man? Little help?"
Baek Woo-jin materialized behind her like a glitch in the hallway light. "You sense it."
"No, I just love horror movie vibes in school corridors," she hissed. "What is it?"
"A mimic spirit. They wear the faces of people who died suddenly. They confuse humans — sometimes even reapers."
The ghost twitched again. Then slowly turned toward them.
Yui took a step back. "And what's our plan?"
"I distract. You trap it."
"…Trap it how?!"
Baek handed her a small silver pendant. "Spirit tag. Press it to its chest."
Yui looked at it. Then at the ghost.
Then back at Baek.
"Cool. Just assault a faceless demon. Love that for me."
Baek didn't smile. "You volunteered."
"I was manipulated."
He charged forward — fast and silent, like a gust of wind wearing leather.
Yui gripped the pendant and followed.
The mimic screamed — high and distorted — and lunged at Baek.
Yui ducked under its outstretched arms, slid on her knees like a budget K-drama heroine, and slammed the tag onto its chest.
There was a pulse of light — and the mimic exploded into a burst of blue-gray smoke, sucked into the pendant like a reverse firework.
Silence.
Baek picked up the charm. "Not bad."
Yui collapsed against a locker. "I hate this school."
Baek offered her a hand. "There's another spirit nearby. Want to go?"
She looked at him.
Then at the hallway.
Then back toward the library where Min-jun was probably wondering if she'd been abducted.
"…Let's go."
Because if she was going to be haunted anyway, she might as well punch some ghosts in the face while she was at it.
END OF CHAPTER THREE