1440 - Chapter 30

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 30
“……Why? What’s wrong all of a sudden? Are you unwell?”
At Yeon-su’s question, the man stepped back two paces further. His heel caught slightly on the doorframe and he stumbled, but before Yeon-su could reach out to steady him, he righted himself. Then he shook his head—a clear signal not to enter—and shut the door firmly behind him.
“What?”
Rejected without warning, Yeon-su stood before the closed door in confusion. She waited for a while and knocked several times, but the man never relented and invited her inside.
“What was that……?”
With no choice but to return to her Second Floor Room, Yeon-su removed her jacket and only then did the meaning of his behavior dawn on her.
A sweet, flowery perfume scent wafted from the discarded jacket. So-yeon’s perfume.
“……Could it be?”
Could he really have reacted that way just because of a woman’s perfume? No, of course not—surely not—but if he did, if he really did……
How endearing would that be……!
Jealousy. The man had been jealous! This wasn’t her overthinking it; there was no other way to interpret such an obvious display of jealousy.
Disgusted by a woman’s perfume and sulking about it? What clearer expression of jealousy could there possibly be?!
At twenty-four, Yeon-su felt a thrill beginning to bloom, and she had to fight to keep from making a fool of herself. Unable to contain the surge of emotion, she clenched her fists and trembled slightly.
Because of this, she was supposed to use the talisman to find the direction of the spirit, but for a long time she couldn’t focus. Every time she closed her eyes, his face appeared—a face she’d never seen on him before.
The way he’d come out of the room so cheerfully at first, his small frame as he’d rushed toward her. That stern expression as he’d shielded his face and shaken his head—she found all of it beautiful.
And when he hung his head, looking flustered or bewildered—even that backward stumble, even the firmly shut door seemed endearing.
It wasn’t until she’d taken a cold shower that she could finally concentrate on finding the spirit.
***
Hye-rin arrived at the Bus Stop near her home after midnight, having just finished theater practice. The moment she stepped off the bus, she called Mi-na, who had become her closest friend.
Her Rented Room was located at the top of a neighborhood with poor security. On top of that, it was a very old semi-basement unit, so she only felt at ease entering late at night if she was on the phone with someone.
“Hey. Did you hear? So-yeon changed the casting schedule for this week.”
A malicious smile played at the corners of Hye-rin’s mouth as she spoke. Her eyes gleamed with an unsavory light as she pulled her lips into a grin, as if delighted by the news.
“I mean, I’d be scared to go on stage too. When the stage lighting fell the second time, I got chills. If your senior hadn’t stumbled to the side, that light would’ve crushed her skull, right? Probably caved in half her upper body…….”
[Ugh, Hye-rin, stop. That’s gross.]
At Mi-na’s protest, Hye-rin let out a derisive snort.
“Gross? Then who made that gross thing happen?”
[God, I didn’t think it would actually work. But where is that fortune teller’s place anyway? Should I go get a spirit reading or something?]
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“I don’t know either. I only did this because Eun-young told me about it. Want me to ask her where it is?”
Mi-na’s response came back affirmative. She absolutely wanted to get a spirit reading, she said. She wanted to confirm whether she’d be able to step into So-yeon’s role.
“Haha, you sure dream big.”
[Dreams should always be big, right? Wouldn’t you say, spirit?]
“Please watch over how well Mi-na does from now on, spirit——”
Hye-rin drew out the last syllable and mimicked Mi-na’s tone with an exaggerated nasal quality, then broke into giggles. After a moment, she exhaled as if disappointed.
“That housekeeper woman won’t pick up my calls. Did she get cold feet and quit or something……? I haven’t even heard that anything happened to my senior. What kind of failure is this? If you’re taking money, you’re supposed to do the job right, aren’t you?”
As Hye-rin’s voice grew more heated, Mi-na chimed in agreement.
[We can’t even report her to the police for theft, it’s ridiculous.]
“Exactly. I mean, you can’t go to the police and say, ‘I hired someone to put a curse on somebody, and now they’ve run off with my money,’ can you?”
Even as she said it, Hye-rin let out a stifled, bitter laugh.
Just a few more stairs and she’d be home. They were steep and narrow—the kind where, if it snowed, you’d slide down like you were sledding.
Hye-rin gripped the banister tightly with one hand and began climbing slowly, watching the dark stairs ahead of her.
[So what are you planning to do now? There’s more, isn’t there?]
“Yeah, there is. But I’m kind of scared about this one…….”
Hye-rin recalled the Curse Method that Eun-young had given her. And what its result would be.
The thought crossed her mind that if she went through with it, So-yeon might actually die. There was a flicker of concern about that, too. But most of all, gathering the materials seemed impossibly difficult. She couldn’t bring herself to attempt something she’d been treating as a lark until now—not anymore.
She didn’t yet realize how far she’d already gone, too far to still call it a game.
As Hye-rin whispered to Mi-na about the sinister materials, she climbed the remaining stairs. When there were only about five steps left, something caught her eye—pale, thin feet in Black High Heels.
Beneath the Street Lamp directly in front of Hye-rin’s building, a woman in an outdated Trench Coat stood rigidly, her gaze fixed ahead as if waiting for someone.
The sight of her made Hye-rin’s lips curl inwardly with contempt.
‘Who wears those anymore? So tacky.’
Both the shoes and the coat looked like designs from at least ten years ago. Hye-rin clucked her tongue, thinking it shameful that someone would wear such things without embarrassment.
That’s when it happened. The woman, who had been leaning against the wall and facing forward, suddenly turned her head sharply toward Hye-rin.
“Eek! Ah, you scared me…….”
Startled, Hye-rin gasped, and Mi-na’s voice crackled through the phone speaker.
[What’s wrong?]
“Nothing……, it’s just there’s some woman standing out front with a weird outfit……. Is she staring at me? Or not?”
Hye-rin whispered urgently to Mi-na, not daring to lift her eyes to meet the woman’s gaze. She kept her vision lowered—it was safer not to get tangled up with someone who might be unstable.
But to get inside, she’d have to pass under that Street Lamp and turn into the Alley. This was very problematic.
“God, and she has to be standing right in front of the Alley entrance to my building……. She can’t be watching me, right? Why would she know anything about me.”
[That’s right.]
“What?”
Hye-rin, mid-step on the final stair, froze. Static crackled through the phone.
[You’re seeing this right now
so lift your head and look straight at me.]

“……What? What are you— Hey, don’t mess with me!”
It was definitely Mi-na’s voice. Yet the sound coming through the handset felt as though she were standing right in front of her, speaking into her ear.
Hye-rin checked the call screen while standing awkwardly on the final step, one foot only half-raised.
The name on the display was unmistakably Mi-na. The call timer had just crossed twelve minutes and fifty-nine seconds.
Tap.
Tap, tap.
Hye-rin lifted her head slightly. The unmistakable sound of high heels echoing—yet the woman before her stood motionless, both feet still facing the opposite wall.
What? Where is that sound coming from?
Startled, Hye-rin’s head whipped around as she scanned the stairwell. That was when she felt it—a cold touch against her hand, the one gripping the railing. It was the hand of another person, frigid as if it had been standing in the freezing night air for hours, stiff and numb with cold.
“…….”
She had no choice but to look up. Hye-rin’s eyes found another hand being placed over hers.
A woman’s hand, so pale it was nearly translucent—you could see the blue veins through the skin—with what looked like dried blood crusted between the fingernails.
The moment she saw the black crust lodged beneath those nails, something clicked into place.
Ah—those shoes aren’t black. They’re soaked through with blood.
“I’m right here so what are you even looking at I told you to look straight at me.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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