Ranker Who Lives Twice

"Where do we have to go?" Sesha didn't ponder for too long. After the "day of the beginning," there were many people on Earth with pitiful situations, and Sesha always stood on the frontlines listening to their stories. If there was anything she learned, it was that those people shouldn't be neglected just because you were busy.

Moreover, the cause behind this phenomenon was someone who was around Sesha's age. Her heart went out to the ghost. But strangely, Laplace was grinning widely, as if he was proud of her.

"…What? Why are you smiling so pervertedly again?"

『Perverted? I'm smiling because I'm veeeeery proud of your pity.』

"Being complimented by you doesn't make me happy at all."

『Huhuhu! So shy.』

"I'm not!"

『Huhuhu!』

"Hey!" Sesha only became angrier after hearing the laughter of the pervert bunny.

Of course, Laplace didn't seem affected at all.『These friends will guide us. Please wait a moment.』He smiled and began to whisper something to the skeleton and dolls. It was a language Sesha didn't understand.

However, the skeleton and dolls seemed to have understood, because they all made surprised faces―the skeleton just widened its jaw―and waved at Sesha.

Rattle, rattle!

『They say this is the first time someone's been so nice, and that they're grateful someone so generous is their friend. Huhuhu.』

"…I get it. Just tell them to lead the way."

『So very shy.』

"Haa."

『Then friends, please begin.』

Rattle, rattle! The skeleton nodded first and stepped forward. The statues of King Sejong and Yi Sun-sin followed him.

'Hm? They're all coming?' Didn't the ghost stay hidden even though it had a lot of friends? Wasn't it staying hidden because it didn't like being around too many people? Was it okay to go in a horde like this? Wouldn't it just hide deeper? All kinds of thoughts filled Sesha's head. However, she had no choice but to follow them as they pulled her along. The dolls around her legs looked at her expectantly with sparkling eyes, urging her to move.

Sesha smiled wryly. Moving statues and a skeleton that was alive was something straight out of a mystery horror story, but with these cute dolls, she was reminded of Toy Story.

The ghost kid, a victim of school bullying, would probably be nice if these dolls were its friends.

'No. This is probably Night at the Museum, not Toy Story…?'

While Sesha followed her train of thought, the skeleton walked forward confidently. They climbed several flights of stairs and passed through hallways to arrive at the third floor, which was mostly used by the second-years.

'Was the ghost a second-year?' Sesha was able to glean more information from Laplace about the ghost as they continued forward.

『According to our friends here, the ghost has a very pure soul.』

『Her name is Min Chae-young.』

『Our friends say their standards for beauty are different from humans so they can't tell, but according to what the other humans said, she was very pretty too. Of course, it was nothing compared to her inner beauty.』

When the school bell rang at midnight, the ghost always appeared at the same place and moved to a specific classroom. She stayed inside the classroom and only came out when it was six in the morning. It had been several months since she started this routine.

This was probably the reason why there were so many witnesses. But the horror stories hadn't been spread too far because it had been summer vacation and school only started back up recently. However, the statues and dolls agreed that the rumors would become more widespread at this rate.

『Our ghost friend was apparently a student who attended this school. But she was always gloomy, so she didn't have many friends. And the few friends she had were kids who had other intentions in mind. After the bullying started, she practically had no one… none of the teachers stepped up despite knowing. Even her parents were trash. Her mom remarried, but then she ran away, so Chae-young was left with her step-father… I suppose it was very hard for her in many aspects.』

Sesha's eyes darkened as Laplace continued. 'We're in the twenty-first century too!' Sesha didn't usually get mad and could care less about what happened in the world, but everything about Chae-young's story frustrated her. Chae-young had no one on her side and no one to depend on. The entire world must've seemed like a cage to her.

Sesha knew too well what that was like. However, at the very least, she had a family. She had her mother and grandfather, to whom she was very grateful, and her dependable father and uncle. Her grandmother too… They were all the fences who kept her safe. Sesha had been hurt so many times when she was young, but she was able to stand tall again thanks to her family. That was what a family was. A place where you could always come back to rest after being torn and shredded by rough waves and winds.

But if your family was the cause of the pain, what were you supposed to do then? That was Min Chae-young's situation. She probably felt like she was alone in the world without anywhere to depend on. She likely felt like she was pushed toward the edge of a psychological cliff. And in the end, she wasn't able to take it anymore…

A part of Sesha wondered if it was okay for her to be listening to this. This might be a part of Chae-young's past that she didn't want to reveal. No, it definitely was. Sesha hadn't told Park Yoo-min about her past either. Someday… If a time came when she and Park Yoo-min could share everything, she would do it then. Right now, she couldn't muster the courage to do so. After all, she didn't like expressing herself.

However, Laplace was very firm in response to Sesha's question, which was out of character for him.『No. You must know. Even if you end up forgetting, you need to know a part of it.』

"Why?"

『Because then, you'll be able to understand.』

"Understand…?"

『Do you remember what I said? About how horror stories come to be.』

"You said peoples' vestiges come together."

『Vestiges are toxic poisons. If they aren't detoxified, they'll just result in innocent victims. That's why I'm saying you need to understand. Vestiges are created when hate and resentment continue to stack up without being vented anywhere.』

"…"

『It might be hypocritical, but those people probably just want to hear kind words and receive warm embraces. Genuine words.』

"…That's true."

『Of course, even if you step up now, you won't be able to satisfy her grudges. She might even be angry that you know her embarrassing past. Still, you need to hug her. Most people like her are people who wanted to receive help but can't bring themselves to ask for it.』Laplace's words were deep and made Sesha think. She nodded and looked at Laplace strangely, which made Laplace chuckle.『Huhuhu. Why are you looking at me like that?』

"Just cause. This is the first time you said something normal."

『What are you talking about? You won't find a more normal cute and adorable bunny like me.』

"You mean perverted bunny."

『Haa, haa, haa.』

"…" Sesha erased the brownie points she had given Laplace.

『Oh right, there's something you must beware of when meeting our ghost friend.』

"What?"

『There are two, in fact. First, they say she's scared of thunder and lightning.』

Sesha nodded but didn't ask why. The ghost probably had some trauma related to it. "And the other?"

『They say it's as if she's waiting for someone.』

"Who?"

『Our friends don't know. She just sits in the dark room alone, looking outside. She looks like she's longing for something or waiting for someone to come find her, according to our friends.』

Sesha nodded silently. She thought the ghost was probably waiting for a friend. The ghost had made the school into a playground because she wanted friends in the first place. It was possible she was waiting for that friend to come back so they could hang out together. 'I wonder who it is?'

Just then, the skeleton stopped walking. It was class six of the second-years. Rattle, rattle! The creature shook its hands and feet as if it wanted to say something.

Fortunately, Laplace interpreted for the skeleton.『It says it can't go in from here.』

"Why?"

『She doesn't mind when our friends wander around near here, but she hides when they try to meet her. Huhuhu. She must be a shy friend like you.』

Sesha ignored Laplace because nothing good would come out of refuting him anyway. Instead, she approached the classroom and stood on her toes to peek through the windows of the class. 'There she is.'

There really was a student wearing a school uniform inside the class. She was a short and lithe child. Her hair was covered with messy short hair that obscured her face. And like Laplace said, she was looking out the window, as if she was waiting for someone.

'She looks like any other high schooler. I don't feel anything from her in particular.' Sesha thought this ghost might have something special about it since it had managed to hide from Laplace, but she looked just like any other human being. Her paranormal energy was normal too. Rather, she seemed like she would easily be blown away by the wind.

Sesha looked at her for a while like that, and the ghost turned to her, feeling her gaze. Sesha flinched in surprise, but she didn't hide. She wanted to observe the ghost a while longer. However, the ghost uncomfortably tried to get up and disappear.

Sesha couldn't lose the ghost. She quickly opened the door and shouted, "Wait!"

Flinch. The ghost trembled in surprise and looked at Sesha with shaking eyes. She slowly crept behind the desks.

'She's scared of me…' Sesha realized why the ghost disappeared when statues and dolls approached her. She was scared. She thought the creatures might try to hurt her.

Sesha bit her lower lip. The ghost was a grade higher than her, but she was so thin. It was hard to fathom everything she had been through. "I'm not going to hurt you. Really."

…

"There's just something I want to ask you." Sesha attempted to take a few steps forward, but she stopped when she saw the ghost slowly inching back. Instead, she tried to persuade her. "I heard you come here every night. Can I ask why?"

…

"I understand it might be hard for you to talk to me since you've never seen me before, but I want to help."

…

The ghost was silent for a moment. She just looked at Sesha, ready to escape at a moment's notice.

Sesha just thought it was a relief that the ghost wasn't escaping. It was their first time meeting anyway. It was more important to slowly close the distance.

Plop! Sesha sat down on the floor, surprising the ghost. Sesha grinned. "I'm just gonna sit here, so pretend I'm not here and do your thing. Tell me when you want to talk. Okay?"

…

"Then I'll take it, you're okay with this. Thanks."

They had all the time in the world anyway. Sesha intended on staying here the entire night until the ghost opened her mouth. If not today, then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after that. One month, one year… If she continued to come to find her like this every day, the ghost would gradually open up. The goodwill of other people was probably foreign to the ghost anyway. Her heart was frozen even to the adorable dolls. To melt, it would require a lot of time.

'Good thing I have that spell I learned from Grandpa last time. I can spend time researching that.' Sesha drew a magic circle in the air and began to fiddle with it.

The ghost… Min Chae-young stared at Sesha. Sesha reminded her of someone who used to come to school at six in the morning and say hi to her.