Ranker Who Lives Twice

It was late at night. All the students had left to go home, and the school was quiet. Amid the busily moving staff members, Shin Sung-chan saw Cha So-yeong from far away. She was drinking warm tea given to her by some staff member. The hazy face behind the white steam from the tea was beautiful. Shin Sung-chan felt his back straighten. He was being pathetic.

The small demon inside Shin Sung-chan that always gave him courage began to shout in his ear. So-yeong is here to see you, you fool! So get yourself together, Shin Sung-chan! Straighten your shoulders and walk confidently!

'Yeah! So-yeong is here to see me! So act manly and confident! Muster the courage and go talk to her…!' Sung-chan quickly recalled a phrase, saying that only the brave got the beautiful women.

Sesha would've looked at him more icily if she knew what he was thinking―she hated it when people she didn't even like pushed themselves at her.

Shin Sung-chan slapped himself on the cheeks. Thwak! Thwak! His manager looked at him with a "what's wrong with him now?" expression. Shin Sung-chan was fine in all aspects, but a fault of his was that he often counted his chickens before they hatched, and he ended up digging his own grave. The manager always had to keep a close eye on him.

Shin Sung-chan strided toward where Sesha was. In his head, he repeated to himself "be natural" again and again. He intended on walking toward her naturally and nonchalantly starting up a conversation. However, contrary to his wishes, he was acting noticeably nervous. His movements were jerky like a broken robot.

The first to notice Shin Sung-chan were Sesha and Park Yoo-min, who had been chatting with each other. Park Yoo-min narrowed her eyes at the sweating Shin Sung-chan. She could easily tell why he had come here and what he was thinking.

'So many fun things happen with So-yeong around!' Park Yoo-min enjoyed observing who broke down and stuttered in front of Sesha. It was also fun to watch Sesha's indifferent attitude toward them even though Sesha disapproved of Yoo-min's cruel hobby.

"Oh, Sung-chan. Hi."

"U-Uh yeah… H-Hi?" Sung-chan jerked his hand in a wave. His eyes weren't focused on Yoo-min, who greeted him, but he kept peeking at Sesha.

Sesha continued to sip her tea with an indifferent expression. She hadn't drank tea in a long time, and it was nice and warm.

"S-So-young."

"Hm?"

"H-Hi."

"Yeah. Hi."

"…"

"…"

Sesha continued to drink her tea again, and Sung-chan's expression turned glum. The conversation starters he'd thought about before walking over had all left his head, and he couldn't come up with anything. His mind turned blank in front of Sesha. The only thought that came to mind was 'she looks pretty drinking tea too.'

"…" Shin Sung-chan turned to ice, and Sesha was uncaring.

Tsk, tsk. Park Yoo-min internally clicked her tongue. At this rate, they'd just be wasting time. She decided to help Sung-chan a bit for her own amusement. "Hey, what about the thing I asked for last time?"

"Huh…? What thing?"

Park Yoo-min wrinkled her forehead. "Hm? You didn't forget, did you? I asked you to get me Jin-ho oppa's signature!"

"Oh, that? Of course. How many do you need?"

"I don't want signatures that were written like they're factory-made. My name's on there too, right?"

"O-Of course…" Shin Sung-chan nodded frantically. How could he not listen to Yoo-min's request when she was the best friend of his crush? If he couldn't get to Sesha, Sung-chan needed to gain the hearts of the people around her.

Thanks to Yoo-min, Sung-chan was able to start a conversation about a member in his group, and Sesha occasionally joined in.

Sung-chan clenched his fists. Tonight, he'd show an impressive side of himself and score points that way! Although he didn't know if things would go the way he wanted…

* * *

"Wow, it's been a long time since I've remained at school for this long."

"You're sure it's not your first time?"

"I'll seem like a slacker if I say that."

With Producer Kim's signal, the cameras began to roll. It was only for a short moment, but Sung-chan's face was filled with happiness at having spoken to Sesha. Thanks to this, Sung-chan's speech throughout the recording was very smooth and natural.

"I like him because he's so simple-minded."

"What?" Sesha tilted her head at Yoo-min.

"Nothing. It's just something little kids wouldn't know."

"…?" Sesha furrowed her eyebrows at what her demon-like friend was scheming this time, but Yoo-min just smiled. 'How smart of me to think she'll tell me.'

Sesha turned back to the shadows. 'Hey, pervert bunny.'

「Haa haa! Please continue to hurt me like that! I love it so much! From Master to you…! The Cha family is inviting me to a world of endorphins and adrenaline with all the pain! Haa, haa, haa.」

Sesha realized she made a mistake. It was best to quickly change the subject during times like this. 'It's not you, is it?'

「Huhuhuhu! It's true I'm a pervert, and I did consider antagonizing the school, but I've never left your shadow. If Master catches me, he will erase me immediately.」Laplace was saying he wouldn't be idle in his duties to protect Sesha since it was Yeon-woo's command.

'You don't feel anything out of the ordinary?'

「Actually, I looked around carefully after what you said.」

'And?'

「Nada. It's verrrrry clean.」

'…Really?' Sesha thought that the news was just rumors then. It was likely there was no such thing as a mystery if Laplace hadn't been able to find anything either. Laplace always acted dumb in front of Sesha, but he was one of the eight beings who ruled over the Night. With all the otherworld gods bound to Yeon-woo, there was nothing in this world that could hide from his senses.

「That's why it's strange.」

Sesha felt like she was splashed with cold water at Laplace's next words. 'What? What do you mean? You said it's clean.'

「Huhuhuhu. So innocent and naive. Like I said, it's clean… As if someone's cleaned it up intentionally.」

'…!'

「It's impossible for something to be that clean. Even if there aren't any dungeons, mana still flows everywhere, and peoples' vestiges remain. Do you think it makes sense that there's nothing left behind in a place where hundreds of students spend half of their lives?」

'…'

「The vestiges that humans release tend to clump together. The positive emotions like happiness and love combine, and the negative emotions like rage or depression combine. They all become a 'seed.' Of those, we eat the negative emotions.」Laplace added.「Before the 'day of the beginning,' each school had similar yet different horror stories, didn't they? 」

'…Yeah.'

「Those were probably all real. The vestiges of students tend to be very intense. And considering the Korean education system… It's even more intense.」

Sesha almost spent no time studying, so she couldn't relate, but there were definitely many flaws in South Korea's educational system. The gray concrete buildings, forced uniforms and strict rules, systems that made it difficult for students to be free… After-school study sessions that kept students at school until night. The college admissions process. Entrance exams. Studying. Stress.

There were sometimes school violence cases that resulted from hierarchy among students. Strength and grades, or socioeconomic status, with ranks being divided according to these standards.

It was fun hanging out with friends the same age, but that was a joy barely found beneath all the pressure. Everything else was dark and cold.

The vestiges released in such an atmosphere couldn't be positive. Anxiety, confusion, depression, rage, fury, sadness… All these negative emotions combined to become a negative vestige. The heavier vestiges weren't able to ascend and continued to sink. They built up at the bottom and spread throughout entire schools. That was how school horror stories came to be. The resentment and anger students weren't able to release were projected onto their schools.

「What do you think of when you picture preschools or daycares? Happy and fun images. But what about school?」

'The opposite.'

「Exactly. There are reasons why all these horror stories are made. The problem is that the stories don't just end as that, and when students start to believe they're real…」

'They become faiths?'

「Yes! That's it. Faiths start from a tiiiiiny place like that. Of course, most faiths like that quickly disappear, but if that faith continues to grow and becomes holy…」Laplace's voice trailed off and he giggled.

Shivers ran down Sesha's back. It felt as if she had taken a peek into the wickedness inside of Laplace. Sesha's shadow transformed into a bunny that revealed its sharp and gruesome teeth.

「The subject of the story will obtain an ego, and that's when they start acting out.」

Fortunately, the bunny shadow that scared Sesha quickly returned to normal.

'But it doesn't make sense that it could hide from you.'

「Right. That's the issue. Hmmm.」Laplace thought for a moment.「A newly born story… I mean, a monster is controlled by instinct rather than intellect. I would know even if it ran away after seeing it. It's impossible that it can hide its presence perfectly.」

'So you're saying what's here might not be a horror story?'

「There are two possibilities. A monster made from someplace else might've come here for the vestiges, or something could've happened to a young monster that was made here…」Laplace's voice turned sharp.「And it could've evolved.」

'Evolved? How?'

「I don't know. I wouldn't know. That's what we're here to find out, isn't it?」

Sesha nodded. Laplace was correct. She was here to confirm the news, so she needed to see for herself. A part of her was also relieved that she wasn't here at this time for nothing.

However, it was impossible to know what this monster's purpose was. If there were some traces of the monster left behind, they could guess what it was, but there wasn't anything here, so it was difficult to prepare.

「Huhuhu. Still, don't worry. Even if it's a special guy, it won't be able to hurt you. You can just believe in this cute and adorable bunny.」

'You mean weird and perverted bunny.'

「Haa, haa, haa, haa! Again! Please say the same thing one more time in that cold voice!」

'…No.'

「Pleeeeease! Hm? Hm? Hmmmmm?」

Sesha couldn't focus on the school because of the panting sounds in her ear. Her only thought was that she was going to ask her grandfather or dad to get rid of Laplace after this was over.

Ding, ding, ding. Just then, the bell signaling it struck midnight began to ring. Click! And…the lights near the music room suddenly switched on.

Sesha, Shin Sung-chan, and the rest of the staff who were filming turned in that direction.

????

It was very faint, but the sound of a piano could be heard. It was Für Elise.