I Returned, and Now I See Strange Things-Chapter 40: Strangeness

Hyesung aimed the camera at Ayun, who—somehow—looked cheerful.

Compared to himself, Ayun was tiny, almost doll-sized, yet composed and unshaken. In fact, she looked downright relaxed. Something about that made Hyesung feel bitter in a corner of his heart.

As Ayun herself had said, judging someone based on appearances wasn’t right—but still. That height difference did create a certain feeling, didn’t it?

Especially since Ayun, though older than Hyesung, looked like a delicate woman, while he was a sturdily built man.

‘...Not an easy person, that much is painfully clear.’

Hyesung felt a phantom ache in his shin.

Shaking his head with a silent sigh, Hyesung turned his gaze to Hyeyeon.

Her face showed a swirl of emotions.

But the two most visible were fear—and curiosity.

And curiosity was clearly winning.

Her eyes, usually dim and smudged-looking, were practically sparkling now.

Wasn’t there a saying that in a village of the one-eyed, it was those with two eyes who were considered strange? Hyesung steadied his growing sense of gloom with that thought and turned back to look at the building approaching fast.

Like the gate and the statue, the school was tangled with ivy vines.

There was nothing especially unique about the building.

It looked just like any other school one might find anywhere in the country.

But with its peeling paint, sections where something had clearly bashed it in, and the stark white webs and dust...

It looked nothing like the school of Hyesung’s own memories.

You couldn’t exactly look at that and feel nostalgic about the good old days.

The moonlight being hidden by clouds certainly didn’t help the mood either.

They were getting closer.

Gulp.

Hyesung swallowed hard.

‘Isn’t this kind of recklessly straightforward? We ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) don’t know what’s in there...’

That sound they’d heard earlier by the statue—now, it was gone.

Had whatever it was noticed them?

Or was it... were the rumors about the moving statues actually true?

There was no way to know.

‘...Either way, statue or not, it’s still a problem.’

Even if there was a moving statue, that’d be bad. But even if not, that didn’t make them safe. There were plenty of other potential dangers, Hyesung thought.

Say the presence they’d sensed earlier belonged to a person.

If it turned out to be some local resident out for a moonlit stroll because they were feeling restless, they could all just laugh it off as a misunderstanding.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is freewebnøvel.coɱ.

But what if... that person had malicious intent?

Hyesung had always believed that people were scarier than ghosts.

That belief had wavered a bit since meeting Ayun—but deep down, it still held strong.

Dark imaginings kept creeping into his thoughts.

‘...If it comes down to it, I’ll have to protect them both, won’t I?’

—Fwoosh!

A sudden gusty sound snapped Hyesung out of his thoughts with a jolt.

“W-What was that all of a sudden?!”

The sound had come from Ayun swinging the baseball bat.

Had she read his anxiety?

She gave it a few more swings, then looked over at him and murmured,

“What are you so scared of? Whatever shows up, I’ll take care of it.”

“I-I’m not scared!”

“...Still acting like a man, huh? Sure, okay.”

Hyesung could feel his face growing hotter.

“I’m muting the mic for a sec.”

Uh-oh, he’s mad!!!

The camera’s been shaking for a while though lol

Didn’t she lose even with bare hands before? You think she can win now? lol

“That’s not it,” he muttered.

After muting, he called out to Hyeyeon.

She’d been walking around, scanning the area, but turned back with a curious look.

“What?”

“You take the camera now. I’ll supervise.”

“...Okay.”

Hyeyeon carefully accepted the smartphone and started filming Ayun.

“Hey, uh, unmute the mic though.”

“Oh—right.”

Sound returned to the previously silent feed.

No sound was actually scarier lol

For real lmao

Feels like the camera’s lower now?

Yeah, we can’t see noona’s crown anymore

Bro wtf, is that what you’re here for?

Yup

(This message has been deleted)

‘I hope nothing happens after all.’

Hyesung smirked at the ridiculous chat messages as the thought crossed his mind.

The group had now reached the abandoned school building.

Standing in front of the glass doors, Ayun slung the bat over her shoulder and muttered as she looked up at the building.

“Where was that sound coming from, again?”

“Dunno? It was too far to tell...”

Ayun grinned.

“Guess we’ll have to check everywhere then.”

“...You’re serious?”

“Well, something has to show up if we’re gonna film anything.”

Ayun shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Hyesung replied with a slight tremble in his voice.

“...What if it’s not a ghost, but a person?”

Ayun tilted her head.

“What’s the difference?”

“...Huh?”

“Ghost or human—what does it matter? If they attack, I’ll handle it.”

“...You’re not planning to smash a person like you would a statue, right?”

Ayun blinked, as if to say “Why not?”

And something about her attitude put Hyesung on edge.

Was it because the target was a person this time? Her utter indifference didn’t sit right with him.

‘...What exactly was she, before?’

Still unable to resolve that mystery, Hyesung opened his mouth again.

“...Even if they come at us first, if you smash someone’s head with a bat, we’re the ones who’ll be in trouble.”

“Oh really? Even if they make the first move with bad intentions?”

Ayun’s eyes went wide in genuine surprise.

‘...Good thing I told her in advance.’

If someone did come out, who knew what might happen. But having Ayun bash someone with that bat, even accidentally, would be a nightmare.

...It felt a little unfair, but the law didn’t care about that.

“Yeah. It’s hard to claim self-defense unless it’s super clear-cut.”

“I see...”

Ayun furrowed her brow.

To be fair, that wasn’t something you’d know without looking into it.

But... planning to split a guy’s head just because he popped out unexpectedly—was that normal?

‘...Her ID was legit, wasn’t it?’

A new thought flashed through his mind—Maybe she lived abroad or something?

Her appearance was a little unusual for someone from around here.

But that ID had definitely been Korean. And she spoke fluently—no awkwardness at all.

Hyesung’s body tensed.

...Or was she in some gang or crime ring and now she’s gone clean? Maybe that’s why she’s broke and obsessed with money... Can’t adjust to normal life...?

No way, right?

If someone like her had done anything criminal, it would’ve gone viral by now.

That whole “hot criminal with a fan cafe” urban legend, right?

“Anyway, let’s head inside before it gets any later.”

“...Yeah.”

Ayun’s voice cut through his spiraling thoughts.

Once he responded, Ayun marched forward without hesitation.

Creeeak—

The glass door opened, and Ayun entered first, followed by Hyeyeon and Hyesung.

Then it shut behind them—clunk, wheeze, creeeak—

A gust blew in, kicking up dust in every direction.

The interior was, at first glance, ordinary.

Stairs leading up to the second floor. Hallways stretching out to the left and right.

The floor had that standard texture all school buildings seemed to have.

A beaten-up grandfather clock had toppled and lay shattered on the ground.

It must’ve been broken during the fall—it looked beyond repair.

Ayun gave it a tap-tap with her bat, then turned back and said,

“Let’s start by checking the first floor. I really hope something shows up this time.”

Hyeyeon nodded, while Hyesung gave a somewhat uneasy look.

Ayun, unconcerned, dragged her bat across the floor and headed down the left hallway.

Ting. Ting... scrrrape—

The sound of the bat scraping echoed loudly.

It was as if she were deliberately trying to attract something.

Hyesung, face pale, asked,

“...Why the baseball bat all of a sudden?”

“This?”

Ayun glanced back, casually.

“Intimidation. If there is someone in here like you said... I figured a noise like this would keep them from coming closer.”

It made sense.

Sure, if someone had bad intentions, it might backfire—but if someone like that had been lurking around, there probably would’ve been rumors.

“I guess that’s true...”

...But do most women think that far ahead?

As Hyesung’s unease deepened, the group moved deeper into the building.

“If you see anything through the windows, let me know right away.”

“Yes.”

“Okaay.”

Being short made it hard for Ayun to peek through the windows.

Cursing her transformed body in her head, she glanced ahead—

And saw it.

A dark red liquid.

Hyesung and Hyeyeon hadn’t noticed yet, walking just behind her.

Ayun quickly scanned the area.

Then her eyes landed on it.

A bird. Its neck grotesquely twisted, in a position that couldn’t possibly be natural.

Judging by the still-wet blood, it had died not long ago.

“Kyah!?”

“Ugh!? W-What is that?!”

With their screams ringing out behind her, Ayun scanned the surroundings again.

And found more signs.

Other animals—birds, small mammals.

All of them had necks twisted the same unnatural way.

‘...No signs of feeding.’

So it wasn’t hunting for food.

Suddenly—

Thump.

The sound of something—like a stone—rolling across the floor.