An Exorcist Magical Girl!

Early Friday morning, Yang Ji-won led me to the haunted restroom.

 

Yang Ji-won was in class three, and I was in class four, so we were

“next to each other”

in terms of class numbers, but our classrooms weren’t actually next to each other because there was a special room between them.

 

We also had different restrooms, which were used by different students.

 

I walked into the restroom used by class three with the door about 50% open.

 

As soon as I walked in, I saw a ghost hanging upside down from the ceiling just above the sink.

 

It had a long, gnarled arm extending from its gaping mouth, like a snake’s tongue.

 

“Is that it?” “…What do you see?”

Yang Jiwon glanced around anxiously.

 

Oh, it’s not visible to the naked eye.

 

“I don’t know because I’ve never experienced it myself, but according to the students who have, their heads were suddenly yanked back, and a pale face appeared in front of their eyes. They said it had something in its mouth, but it happened so fast they couldn’t see it.”

 

As soon as she finished speaking, the ghost twitched its mouth and extended its tongue, or rather, its arm, toward Yang Ji-won’s hair.

 

It was lucky that the students in Yang Ji-won’s class didn’t see this closely.

 

This was a prank, wasn’t it?

 

I lightly swatted the ghost’s arm away without even glancing in its direction.

“Stay still!” “Huh? What?” “Uh, you almost experienced what you just told me.”

I explained.

 “What? Really?”

Yang Ji-won ran a hand through her hair.

 

The ghost waved its arms wildly in anger at being interrupted.

 

But as I kept getting in the way, the ghost finally decided to move on to a visual attack. It invaded the vision of Yang Ji-won, a civilian.

 

It was an attack I couldn’t stop.

 

“Aaah! It was there!”

 

To Yang Ji-won’s eyes, it must have looked like a ghost had suddenly appeared on the otherwise clean ceiling.

 

It was like a ghost that normally hides itself and then selectively invades the senses to scare people.

 

What a cheap shot.

 

This ghost must have watched a lot of horror movies when it’s alive.

 

If you want to copy that, at least try to run from a distance.

 

Being careful not to let the skill pop out of nowhere, I threw the gourd and captured the ghost as easily as yesterday.

 

Yang Ji-won exclaimed in wonder as the ghost was absorbed by the piece of wood like a vacuum cleaner.

 

The ghost was captured long before the scheduled deadline, so that she could use the restroom earlier in the day.

 

Now I just need to keep the gourdwood safe until the big day.

 

I didn’t want to take it home and then forget it or leave it behind, so I chose to keep it in my locker.

 “I’ll send you a Grapefruit Ade gift card later today, but I’m going to send it through Hanbyul, just in case, is that okay?” “Mmm, okay.”

 

She was determined to leave no trace.

 

“Then I’ll leave first. I’d like to minimize the number of times we’re seen together; in case we raise any suspicions after this blows up.”

 

Like a spy infiltrating a criminal organization, Yang Ji-won is thorough to the end.

 

I stopped her as she started to leave.

 

“Huh? Why?”

 

After confirming that no one was near the restroom, I whispered to Yang Ji-won what I had been wondering since the moment I received the request.

 

“But how are you going to make sure that the teacher won’t freak out?”

 

I realized that she had signed up for this request for the exhilaration of the moment when her revenge was complete, but I wondered how she was going to feel that excitement.

 

Not just one or two, but a whole class of twenty or so?

 

I wouldn’t stop you if you were making some kind of espionage movie, but…

 

For the record, I was going to watch from my classroom.

 

Our classroom window overlooks the parking lot.

 

I could hide behind the blinds and peek out to make sure the job went well.

 

Uh, is she trying to get into our class?

 

I was dying to know, but Yang Ji-won remained secretive until the end.

 “There’s a way.”

 

I wondered what that method was.

 

As if my curiosity was amusing, Yang Ji-won added.

 

“Here’s a hint: we’re not going to keep the fun to ourselves, and you’re going to see it along with us, so all you have to do is get ready before lunchtime next Friday.” “Me too? “Me too?” What, that’s all you’re telling me? Hey! Don’t go! There are two ways to piss someone off, and the first is to say it and then do it!”

 

While I was desperately shouting that it was a criminal offense to just shut up and leave it at that, I could feel the students coming up from downstairs in a flurry of activity.

 

When I checked my phone’s clock, it was already time for school.

 

Yang Ji-won checked the time as well and left without looking back.

 “I don’t want to keep that funny stuff to just our class,”

she said.

 

Is she trying to make it a breaking news?

 

I pushed my curiosity to the side and returned to class, joining a group of students climbing the stairs.

 

***

 

 

After a brief bylaw, we spent the rest of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd periods checking narrative scores in numerical order.

 

The group movie nights on the classroom TV during these ambiguous free periods were the same as they had been in middle school and high school.

 

One of the things that hasn’t changed is that we spend the most time choosing the movie.

 

We spent half of the first period picking out movies.

 

“Let’s see Harry Potter!” “Oh, I’ve seen that one too many times.” “How about a horror movie? Let’s see Conjuring!” “What about the students who can’t see scary things?” “Then they should have dropped out. If they can’t watch that, how are they supposed to do school?”

 

Initially, the usual suspects like famous franchises and horror movies were discussed.

 

However, after a while, opinions began to emerge based on personal desires.

 

“Hey, how about a pair of X’s?” “Ugh, that’s a blue-ball movie, guys.” “Oooh, who was that you just voted against?” “That was the teacher.” “I’m sorry.” “If you’re going to do this, just play the movie in the theater.’ “Otaku comments are automatically dismissed. Next.”

 

After much debate, the movie chosen was Harry Potter.

 

We’re back to square one.

 

The anti-Harry Potter crowd, tired of the never-ending movie choices, laid down to sleep.

 

When the third period ended, the Harry Potter movie was in its final 15 minutes.

 

“What’s fourth period?” “PE.” “Can’t we still watch it in the gym?”

 

But P.E. wasn’t a midterm exam, and the P.E. teacher dismissed our request to watch the movie, saying he had other things to do.

 

“The sports fest is next Monday! You need to get ready for it!”

 

She plugged a USB into the classroom computer and moved a video to the desktop.

 

“Didn’t I tell you that we have to dance as a sophomore group at the pep rally?”

 

Well, I don’t remember, so she must have told me before I transferred.

 

“Memorize it in your spare time. We’re going to be practicing this in gym class before the competition, and we’re going to be practicing each event.”

 

With that, she played the video on the TV.

 

─Campaign for Tobacco-Free Schools

 

The title of the video fades off the screen with a popping transition effect, and soon the entirety of a bouncy campaign song begins to play.

 

Two students, one male and one female, neatly dressed in their uniforms, begin to dance to the tune in a colorfully decorated studio.

 

“You want us to report on this?” “Do other grades do this?” “I don’t think so.” “I was like, “Oh, no, we’re going to do The X.” I was like, “Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.”.” “No, this is better than the original choreography.” “Well, at least they had a choice. I’m sure they chose to be tickled.” “I don’t like being tickled, so I’ll just do something less annoying.”

 

The teacher casually ignored their grumbling and slid her desk back and forth to make room for the dance.

 

The kids who were still lazy reluctantly got up from their seats when the teacher took action.

 

─No cigarettes~ Protect your clean lungs~.

 

The intuitive lyrics and precise diction that hit the eardrums like a campaign were impressive.

 

We spent the next 30 minutes memorizing the dance moves, and the next 20 minutes picking out the athletes for each of the games’ events, including the relay run.

 

Seo Jun and I signed up for the tug of war.

 

It was a quick decision, as it was the only event we didn’t have to practice and didn’t have to take the time to memorize.

 

The other kids fussed until the end of fourth period, unable to finalize their choices because of the ambiguity of the number of people in each event, trying to figure out whose group to split up.

 

Once the hustle and bustle subsided, the gym teacher quickly brought the class back to attention.

 

“Okay, class, we’re going to have sophomore team practices this Friday and next Friday during lunch, so everyone eats early and is expected to be on the field in groups by 12:40! Okay? That’s only two practices, and I’ve cut it way down, so I need you all to cooperate, even if it’s annoying!”

 

A random group practice declaration.

 

“If it’s this Friday, why not just do it today?” “No, I want to do it as soon as the exam is over.” 

There were complaints here and there, but there was nothing they could do about it.

 

The P.E. teacher wrote the practice schedule on the board and once again nailed the class president, Min Jiyoon.

 “Jiyoon is the president of class four, right? I want you to line up your classmates in two rows. Okay?”

 

It seems like the president’s job is a tough one.

 

***

 

Lunchtime.

 

About 200 students from first through ninth grade spilled out onto the field.

 

Their faces were crumpled with annoyance.

 

“It’s spaghetti day, today!” they said. “We’re not even halfway through our meal.” “Why is our class so small?” “Who’s who, the smart kids.”

 

The gym teacher shrugged off the complaints and gave instructions like, “Class Two, a little further to the right! Class Eighth, more space in front of you! Fourth and fifth classes, a little closer together!

 

I glanced around as I moved slightly to the right.

 

My eyes locked with Yang Ji-won, who was standing nearby.

 

She smiled and pointed to a spot with a finger that only I could see.

 

I rolled my eyes in that direction.

 

The right corner of the parking lot, overlooking the playground.

 

I saw a teacher, who looked to be in her mid-30s, lighting a cigarette she had just taken out.