I Was Possessed By An Unknown Manga

“You’ve noticed, haven’t you?”

Right after that remark, something began pounding on the firmly locked duty room door like crazy.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Faced with this surreal situation unfolding right in front of me, I was at a loss for words.

Even in a manga world, could ghosts really appear like this?

“Eeeeek…!”

Ms. Mizuki, completely terrified, clung to my forearm.

It wasn’t good if both the Teacher and I got scared in this situation.

I whispered to the Teacher as calmly as I could, telling her to trust me and that everything would be okay.

If what Senior Fuma said was true, then the ‘something’ outside couldn’t enter the duty room without our permission.

And true to those words, the thing outside kept knocking on the door incessantly, unable to come in.

Eventually, it seemed it gave up on opening the door as it became quiet outside.

I stared at the firmly closed iron door and called Senior Fuma again.

[Kim Yu-seong?]

“Yes, Senior Fuma. It’s me.”

[Did you confirm the identity of the security guard?]

“That… It seems the situation has become complicated. Ms. Mizuki was right. It wasn’t the security guard who came to the duty room, but something imitating him.”

[Is that so…?]

“Senior, what should we do now?”

[For now, it’s better to stay inside the duty room. No matter how powerful that thing is, it can’t enter a closed space without the owner’s permission. It’ll probably try all sorts of ways to lure you and the teacher outside. You mustn’t fall for that temptation until 5 a.m.]

“Until 5 in the morning?”

[It’s commonly called the time when the roosters crow. At that time, most of those creatures lose most of their power.]

“I see.”

[Is there a window or something in the duty room?]

“Yes. All we have is a TV, a kotatsu, and an electric kettle.”

[That’s good, then. While I’m not sure about Ms. Mizuki, you, with your strong positive energy, won’t be bewitched by it. As long as you keep your wits about you, you should be able to make it through the night safely.]

“Thank you for the advice, Senior.”

[Don’t mention it. I’m sorry I can’t do more. Or should I come to help you right now?]

I pondered for a moment.

Honestly, if the expert, Senior Fuma, came, it seemed like it would be resolved quickly.

“If you come now, won’t you miss the last subway?”

[That’s not a big problem.]

Ms. Mizuki, who had been listening to our conversation, suddenly interrupted.

“If that’s the case, I’ll drive you there!”

“What?”

[Hmm, not a bad offer.]

While I was looking at Ms. Mizuki in confusion, the conversation between them continued.

[Then I’ll head to the school right away.]

“Yes! Yes! Then, when you arrive, knock on the door six times in short bursts!”

[Understood, Teacher.]

Before I could say anything, Ms. Mizuki, who had made a promise with Senior Fuma, looked somewhat relieved as the call ended.

Well, I was hesitant to call her out here, but since the Teacher offered to drive her, maybe it was okay.

Anyway, since it seemed Senior Fuma would take some time to arrive, I, who had been standing until now, suggested to the Teacher that we should sit down.

Then the Teacher nodded and sat down opposite the kotatsu.

A lot happened in a relatively short time, so I didn’t feel like watching TV again.

About 30 minutes passed as we each quietly looked at our smartphones, doing our own thing.

Suddenly, there was a noise outside the door.

“Teacher, I have arrived.”

It was Senior Fuma’s voice.

The Teacher got up from the kotatsu as if receiving a long-awaited delivery and asked.

“The… the password!”

Then Senior Fuma rhythmically knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

It was exactly as the Teacher and Senior Fuma had agreed earlier.

Although the Teacher seemed to think it was Senior Fuma and started to approach the duty room’s door, I grabbed her wrist and said,

“Senior Fuma, may I ask you just one question?”

“What would that be?”

“What did you take to get here?”

Then Senior Fuma replied, seemingly incredulous.

“Of course, I came by subway.”

“Which line, exactly? You would have had to make several transfers to get to the school.”

“…I forgot because I was in a hurry.”

At this point, I was certain.

“Next time, at least memorize the subway route map. Idiot.”

Then, beyond the door, it became as quiet as if a mouse had died.

Realizing that it had fled again, I looked at Ms. Mizuki, who had acted rashly.

The Teacher seemed like she wanted to burrow into a mouse hole.

“That… I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologize. It was a situation anyone could be fooled by. Just make sure not to repeat the same mistake in the future.”

The thing lurking outside, waiting for a chance, was not an ordinary being.

It was quick to imitate Senior Fuma.

Had it not been too soon for someone who came by subway, I might not have noticed.

Considering it knew all about the conversation between me and the Teacher inside, it was quite cunning.

Anyway, I have mostly figured out its tactics by now.

It was 11:30 now, so I just needed to hold out for another 5 hours and 30 minutes.

Just as I was about to lift the mood by asking the Teacher to teach me some exam studies,

“Ryu-chan, it’s too cold here.”

Rika’s voice came from outside the door.

“…….”

Having failed to tempt the Teacher, it seemed to be targeting me now.

“Please open the door. I’m scared.”

I didn’t bother to respond.

Honestly, I didn’t feel it was worth confronting.

Then, as if changing tactics, it mimicked Karen’s voice.

“Kim Yu-seong, let’s go to my house right now. I wish you could teach me like last time.”

It teasingly imitated the voices of people I knew, one after the other.

“Ohohoho! Kim Yu-seong! I, the Student Council President, have come. What are you doing not coming out?”

“Kim Yu-seong, come outside. Your father wants to see you.”

“Yu-seong? Why are you at school after saying you were going to a friend’s house? Let’s go home with mom.”

“…….”

The temptations became more persistent.

With a feeling of doubt, I called Senior Fuma.

Then the ringing sounded, and Senior Fuma answered the call.

[Ah, Kim Yu-seong. I’m on my way now. I’ll be at the school soon, so bring the Teacher down to the first floor.]

It was the same voice as before.

But instinctively, I knew.

That the person who answered wasn’t Senior Fuma.

I spoke to the ‘something’ on the other side of the phone.

“This is your last warning. If you disappear now, I won’t do anything. But if you continue these pranks, I will find you and definitely kill you.”

[…….]

Then, without any warning, the call was disconnected.

The Teacher looked at me with an anxious face.

“Kim Yu-seong?”

I glanced at the Teacher and said,

“Teacher, are you okay?”

“Oh, yes. I’m fine. It’s just that you don’t look so good.”

Hearing that, I touched my own face.

Tensed muscles.

I must have been looking very serious.

Even though I tried to brush it off, I didn’t like how it was mimicking the voices of those around me.

I felt the yang qi within me stirring with anger.

I hadn’t even been aware of its existence before, but after consistent training with the Mirror of True Essence that Senior Fuma had given me, I could now control it to some extent.

Of course, there was hardly any need to use qi in everyday life, so I had never actually used it.

I looked at the clock.

It was already well past midnight.

Considering Senior Fuma, who said she was coming, still hadn’t arrived, the one who had spoken with the Teacher might have been an imitation too.

Should I endure another 5 hours like this or escape the school at night with the Teacher?

I pondered for a long time.

Then…

A new voice came from outside the door.

“Brother?”

I flinched when I heard that voice.

And for a good reason.

Everything that had been heard until now was in Japanese, but this voice was in Korean.

And it was a voice I missed dearly.

It was the voice of my younger sister from before I possessed Kim Yu-seong’s body, or, in other words, from my previous life.

And in my sister’s cheeky voice, it said to me,

“Are you there? Why are you hiding here? Did you commit a crime or something? Open the door. I have something to say after I see your face.”

“…….”

I had endured everything else.

I remembered Senior Fuma’s advice and Ms. Mizuki was right beside me.

But this was something I couldn’t just let pass.

“Teacher.”

“Yes?”

“Please play anything from the Heart Sutra or a hymn on a video submission site on a loop.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

Confused at first, the Teacher then nodded and hurriedly played a hymn on her smartphone.

Listening to the hymn, I stood in front of the firmly closed duty room door and took a deep breath.

Then, without hesitation, I opened the door.

Thud!

“Brother, you finally opened it.”

Floating in front of the duty room’s door was a ‘white mask’.

Floating in the darkness, it mimicked the voice of my younger sister, whom I could no longer meet, as if to mock me.

I clenched my right fist tightly.

“Ah, I’ve come to keep my promise.”

Then, emitting orange yang qi from my entire body, I said,

“I will definitely kill you.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I threw a straight punch at the white mask floating in the air.