Chapter 142 – Ghost ‘Like’ (1)
In front of the main gate of Korea University, the top university in South Korea.
“Whew… It’s really cold out here…”
Kang Min-hyuk, wearing a thick padded jumper, stood in front of the entrance while blowing warm air into his hands.
It might have been because of the biting winter wind,
Or because it was winter break and there were few students around,
Or perhaps it was the gloomy, dark clouds hanging heavily in the sky.
Whatever the reason, the important thing was…
The overall atmosphere of the Korea University campus looked deeply somber.
It felt like the perfect background for a horror comic.
‘Well, that’s not what’s important right now.’
Shaking off his stray thoughts, Min-hyuk stepped into the campus.
He had come here to meet one specific person.
Hot Tiger — real name Ho Tae-yeon.
Also known as… the Goddess of Terror.
A comic artist who had shown the world the possibilities of early webtoons through her unique “web-only” directing techniques.
Thanks to her, countless new possibilities in webtoons were discovered, and directing styles evolved.
For several years at least, most horror comics serialized on the web were imitations of her style.
In any case, she was an incredibly impactful comic artist.
Kang Min-hyuk was looking for her for a very simple reason.
‘I want to raise the completion level of this new work… as high as possible. With Hot Tiger’s help.’
The new series Min-hyuk was preparing — <Gangryeong>.
He had already incorporated the scroll directing using flash that Hot Tiger had once used, but…
It still didn’t quite satisfy Min-hyuk’s eyes.
Unlike Hot Tiger, who had a strong understanding of programming and could freely manipulate the tools, Min-hyuk was only using the very basic functions he found through internet searches.
Because of that, there were many ideas he couldn’t properly implement…
And until he filled in all those gaps, he didn’t want to show the work to the outside world.
‘Impact is something that only truly appears when you hit as hard as possible in one go.’
If he was going to do it half-heartedly, there was no point in jumping into the webtoon market at this time.
Getting good results with this work and drawing readers’ attention was merely the first prerequisite.
What Min-hyuk truly wanted was this:
For this work to rapidly advance the very concept of webtoon directing, and by doing so, accelerate the growth speed of all comic artists.
That was why he had chosen the horror genre.
Which meant he had to aim for perfection even more.
Rather than struggling through it alone with clumsy efforts…
He had judged that it was right to launch with proper help from a real expert.
Besides…
‘I also owe a debt to Hot Tiger that I need to repay.’
In many ways, working together with Hot Tiger felt like the correct answer.
As he walked, an old red-brick building caught Min-hyuk’s eye.
“So this is the annex building.”
The phone conversation he had with Hot Tiger last night came to mind.
- Ah… You can just come to the annex. Our club members are all gathered there. I’m part of the Occult Research Club, you see.
Hot Tiger had said she would be in the club room even during break because she had things to do.
More than that… being in the Occult Research Club…
It made sense now why she drew such terrifying horror comics.
Min-hyuk entered the hallway.
“Hmm… First floor has the soccer club, reading club, comic club… Second floor is…”
The names of all kinds of clubs were densely written on the floor plan drawn on the wall.
But then—
While Min-hyuk was pointing at it with his finger and scanning each one, he tilted his head in confusion.
‘…There’s no Occult Research Club?’
No matter how carefully he looked, he couldn’t find the words “Occult Research Club” anywhere.
He was definitely told to come to the annex, so why couldn’t he see it?
At that moment, he noticed a few university students sparsely walking down the corridor.
“Excuse me… Do you know where the Occult Research Club is?”
“Occult Research Club? Never heard of it.”
“Ah, thank you.”
He quickly approached and asked, but everyone reacted as if they had no idea what he was talking about.
Instead, because he kept asking the same question…
“What’s with that guy? He looks like a high schooler.”
“…Occult Research Club? Kind of a weird kid, isn’t he?”
“Let’s go.”
He even started getting treated like a strange person.
“Ugh… This is awkward.”
Min-hyuk sighed and tried calling Hot Tiger.
However…
Vrrr! Vrrr!
<<The person you are calling is currently unavailable. You will be forwarded to voicemail.>>
No matter how many times he called, no one picked up.
The situation was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
At this point, a sense of unease began to creep in.
‘Did… I get tricked?’
Right then—
“Excuse me, student.”
Hearing a voice from behind, Kang Min-hyuk turned around.
A middle-aged woman who clearly gave off the vibe of a cleaning lady was standing there.
“What brings you here? You’re not a student at our school, are you?”
“Ah, yes, hello. Um… I came here because I had an appointment with a student. She told me to come to the club room…”
“Which club?”
“It’s called the Occult Research Club. I came to get some help with drawing comics…”
The cleaning lady stroked her chin.
“Occult Research Club… Occult Research Club. Was there a club like that?”
A sigh escaped from deep inside Kang Min-hyuk.
Just as he was starting to feel dejected, thinking ‘Did I really get tricked?’, the lady looked at his discouraged face and asked again.
“By any chance, what’s the name of the student you’re looking for?”
“Hot Tiger… I mean, Ho Tae-yeon.”
At that moment, the cleaning lady’s eyes widened.
“Tae-yeon? Ahhh, Tae-yeon… Now that you mention it, I think she did say something about occult whatever.”
“Ah, you know her?”
“Yeah, yeah, I know her well. I’ll take you there, so follow me.”
“Th-thank you!”
Min-hyuk nodded and followed the cleaning lady down the stairs.
When they reached the first floor, she said,
“This way.”
“…Huh?”
The lady walked past the lobby and headed down to the basement.
‘Usually… aren’t club rooms on the upper floors?’
As they descended into the basement, a dark, damp chill rushed up toward them.
The smell of mold pricked at his nose.
“Geez, that kid turned off all the lights again.”
Click!
When the cleaning lady turned on the lights after reaching the basement, all sorts of junk and materials were scattered everywhere.
“This place used to be where they stored unused scrap materials.”
“Ah… I see…”
An eerie feeling crept over him for no reason.
He followed the lady toward a corner of the basement.
‘This isn’t… some kind of human trafficking thing, right?’
His legs trembled slightly from the unnecessary worry, and the hair on his entire body stood on end.
After walking for a while,
“There it is.”
“Uh… yes?”
“The Occult something-or-other. It’s over there.”
In one corner of the basement, a makeshift partition wall had been set up, and in front of it…
Crudely written letters in oil-based marker were visible on the door.
[Occult Research Club]
— ‘Knock without fail’ when entering —
‘…It’s real?’
But seriously, do club rooms usually look like this…?
While Min-hyuk was blinking in bewilderment,
Bang!
“Come in.”
Completely ignoring the “Knock without fail” instruction, the cleaning lady opened the door and walked right inside.
Then…
“Wow…”
A room was revealed.
Desks that looked at least 10, if not 20 years old, a sofa, and bookshelves.
All over the place were suspicious-looking occult items, books, computers, and such…
Energy drink cans and empty cup ramen containers were rolling around on the floor.
The lighting was a reddish-orange hue, so even if someone died in here, it probably wouldn’t feel out of place at all.
It was the perfect visual for a club called the Occult Research Club.
No, it might actually be a bit too on the nose.
“But… there’s no one here?”
“No, she’s right here.”
“Huh?”
“Come over here.”
The cleaning lady walked toward the sofa.
Then, she kicked the bottom part of the sofa and said,
“Wake up, Tae-yeon. Get up.”
Suddenly…
“Uwaaaaaaah!”
Along with a scream-like yell, a white sheet shot upward.
“Eek!”
Min-hyuk let out a startled yelp at the sudden noise.
“Uuuuugh… What is it, ma’am…”
A human voice came from behind the white sheet.
Looking closely, it was just a blanket…
Apparently, someone had been sleeping on the sofa.
The cleaning lady let out a deep sigh and said,
“I told you not to sleep here. And you should keep the room clean. What is all this? I gave you the space, but if you keep doing this, I’ll be the one in trouble.”
“Ah, I’m sorry… I had something urgent I had to finish, so I ended up pulling an all-nighter.”
“Whew… Fine. First, put away that blanket. You have a guest.”
Whoosh!
As the cleaning lady pulled the blanket away,
“Kyaaaaah!”
Min-hyuk let out another loud scream.
‘I thought she was a ghost for a second.’
From beneath the white sheet appeared a face with eerie, gloomy eyes and heavy dark circles.
Unfocused pupils.
Long, wildly messy hair.
A girl who looked like she had just stepped out of a horror comic stood right in front of him.
“Why do you keep screaming? My ears hurt.”
“S-sorry…”
“Whew… Tae-yeon, this friend here was looking for you. You had an appointment, right?”
The other person’s name is…”
Hot Tiger—no, Ho Tae-yeon—stared at him with a face full of wariness.
She had the exact vibe of a ghost from a horror movie.
‘S-scary.’
Min-hyuk forced an awkward smile and answered desperately.
“Um… My name is Kang Min-hyuk.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“K-Kang Min-hyuk. The comic artist Kang Min-hyuk… I left a comment on your blog and called you… Don’t you remember?”
Right after he said that, Ho Tae-yeon’s face twisted.
It looked like a malevolent spirit about to devour its prey.
‘W-what’s wrong with her? Why is she acting like this?’
Overwhelmed by her expression, Min-hyuk took a step back.
“Kyaaaaah!”
Hot Tiger suddenly spread her arms wide and charged at him.
‘W-what the—!’
Just as a startled Min-hyuk tried to run away,
Whoosh!
Ho Tae-yeon wrapped both arms around him in a tight hug and let out a ghostly wail that echoed through the basement.
“Faaaaan! David artist-nimmmmm! Brave Kiiiiing! I read it sooo enjoyablyyyyy!”
As if trying to prove her fandom, she shook him more and more violently.
After some time passed like that,
Thud.
Feeling something suddenly grow heavy, Ho Tae-yeon shifted her gaze and looked at Min-hyuk.
There,
“Uuuuuuuugh…”
Kang Min-hyuk, still held in her arms, had rolled his eyes back and was foaming at the mouth.
“Oh dear, he’s gone… He’s out cold…”
The cleaning lady standing beside them pressed her forehead with a troubled expression.
“Artist-niiiim! Wake up!”
Ho Tae-yeon wailed once again.
***
A short while later, on a bench in front of the vending machine in the lounge area.
“I-I’m really sorry, artist-nim.”
“No, it’s okay… I’m just a bit timid, so don’t worry about it.”
Hot Tiger kept bowing repeatedly as she apologized to Min-hyuk.
Kang Min-hyuk waved his hands, repeatedly saying it was fine.
Sipping on the adlay tea he had bought from the vending machine helped calm his pounding heart a little.
Of course…
‘I really felt like I went halfway to the afterlife…’
It was true that his heart had nearly stopped in that basement.
But thanks to this, he now clearly understood one thing.
Why Ho Tae-yeon—Hot Tiger—had reigned as the Goddess of Terror in the webtoon industry.
Where that overwhelming atmosphere and the feeling that she somehow wanted to mess with the readers came from.
‘This is talent. An overwhelming talent she was born with.’
Min-hyuk looked at Hot Tiger—no, Ho Tae-yeon.
Now that she was standing in a normal place under proper sunlight…
She actually looked like a neat, ordinary female college student.
“Hehe…”
When she scratched the back of her head and lifted the corners of her mouth into a smile,
‘S-scary…’
That signature demonic expression appeared again, and the dark circles under her eyes seemed to deepen.
He didn’t understand why dark circles appeared when someone smiled, but… that was just how it was.
Once the atmosphere had finally settled down,
Ho Tae-yeon scratched her head and asked,
“Um… so, Min-hyuk artist-nim. What did you want to meet me for?”
“…I’m working on a new comic series. I wanted to get some help from you, Ho Tae-yeon artist-nim.”
“Huh?”
A puzzled look appeared on Ho Tae-yeon’s face.
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