An Exorcist Magical Girl!

It’s lunchtime on a Tuesday, a day when no one would bother to visit the audio-visual room unless they were an enthusiastic lead actor like Kwon Yuri.

 

Surprisingly, there was one person who arrived before us: Angela, the head of the theater club.

 

“Oh, come here with Yuri.”

 

Angela greeted us with a tired face as she pulled tools out of the storage room attached to the audio-visual room.

 

The hallway in front of the audiovisual room was already piled high with the club’s luggage, including small lights, costumes, and props.

 

“Jeez, Angela, what’s all this?”

 

Yuri asked, panicking, and Angela sighed and replied.

“We need to unpack.” “Huh?” “I was just about to make an announcement, but they’re moving our club room.” Angela said. “Just like this?” “I can’t believe it, I’m speechless. This school is such an asshole.” “Well, where can we move to?” Yuri asked. “There’s an empty classroom next to the science lab on the fourth floor, we can go there.” 

Angela’s answer made Yuri’s face turn blue.

 “What? It’s not “the classroom” I know, is it?”  “It is “the classroom”.”

Angela replied in a grim voice. Then, with an even grimmer face, she continued.

 

“We’re going to be in that classroom from now on. They won’t let us use the audio-visual room anymore. We’re completely kicked out.” “Oh my God.”

Kwon Yuri looked like her world had fallen apart and muttered that this couldn’t be happening.

 “Hey, what’s all this? What’s “the classroom” and what’s this about being kicked out.” 

I don’t know anything except that the atmosphere is seriously bad.

 

Just as Angela was about to explain something to me, Ha Min-ju, the head of the writing team, who had just returned from moving some boxes to the fourth floor, interrupted.

 

“Shit, it’s Mukgyeong Girls’ High School doing Mukgyeong Girls’ High School again. I knew it was going to be like this since I fucked up with the script, I. Ugh.” “Ha… Lee-kyung is good, but her power is too weak.”

 

As Ha Min-ju pounded her chest in frustration, Angela shook her head and sighed.

 

“Grab whatever you can carry and follow me. I’ll explain as we go.”

 

She said to me, still looking confused.

 

Yuri and I grabbed a couple of boxes scattered across the hallway and followed her.

 

Ha Min-ju was also carrying a lot of luggage in both hands.

 

As we walked up the stairs, Min-ju opened her mouth.

 

“Yuri, you have a general idea of what’s going on, right?” “Yes.” “Here’s what happened, in a nutshell: First, the school didn’t like the topic of the play we were going to put on. Second, they told us to fuck off and change the already written script. Third, when we said we didn’t have time to change everything, so we’d just make some minor changes, they kicked us to another classroom so we couldn’t use the audio-visual room. End of story.”

 

Oh, and now that I think about it, the first day I joined the club, I was told that the writing team was busy revising the script.

 

“The new classroom is the worst part.”

 

Yuri interjected, and Min-ju nodded, listing off the problems.

 

“Aside from the fact that it’s dirty because it hasn’t been used in a long time, it’s cramped. There’s nowhere to put our luggage, and we don’t have enough space to practice. I don’t know how we’re supposed to coordinate stage movements and stuff like that in such a small space. I guess we’re just supposed to fold the play.” “You forgot the most important issue…” “Oh, yeah, that classroom is haunted. We’re screwed. We’re practicing really well, and then the ghost interrupts our flow, and we break out. It’s obvious. I don’t have time for this, I’m so pissed.” “The ghost isn’t just freaking people out and playing games, it’s doing something serious and dangerous. It’s dropping things, breaking fluorescent lights, knocking over desks. That’s why we have an empty classroom.”

 

I almost dropped the box I was holding in disbelief as I realized what the club president was talking about.

 

“So, they didn’t like the drama club, so they just sent us into exile?” “Exactly.” “Wow, I don’t understand how a school can do this.”

 

Ha Min-ju, the head of the writing team, couldn’t contain her boiling anger and stopped in front of the faculty office.

 

She set the box down on the ground for a moment and threw a double take at the staff room window.

 “Min-ju, what if someone sees you. Suck it up.”

 

Yuri shivered and tried to stop her.

 

However, her anger reached its peak after they reached the classroom.

 

The classroom was a mess.

 

The boxes that Ha Min-ju had moved earlier were scattered everywhere and rolling on the floor.

 

“It’s that ghost I told you about.”

 

Yuri whispered to me.

 

I hadn’t opened my account, so I couldn’t see anything right away.

 

But that didn’t mean I didn’t feel the ghost.

 

A cold breeze ruffled my hair even though the windows were all closed, and every now and then I heard the sound of something moving in the corner of an otherwise deserted classroom.

 

It was like a ghost invading every sense but sight.

 

“I see. There are ghosts.”

 

I muttered, and as if in response, a prop on the desk tumbled to the floor.

 

I was about to ask what happened when suddenly Yuri, next to me, clapped her hands and squealed.

 

“Ah!” “What? What’s wrong, Yuri?” “Request!” “Huh?” “Come on, take it.”

 

Yuri tossed the box into the classroom and turned to me with a grim expression.

 

“Get rid of the ghosts in here. I’ll buy you a grapefruit Kool-Aid!”  

***

 

 

To make a long story short, of course I accepted. I curiously declared that I would exorcize the ghost before the extra practice this Friday.

 

So, I am now…

 【Talent: Exorcist (Aspiring)】【Status: Utilized】【Link Open: ▾■■■■■■■□□□ …70% ■■■■□□□□ …40% □□□□□□□□ …0%】 

As a preliminary investigation, I stopped by the classroom on the fourth floor during fifth period recess to get a good look at the haunted room.

 

The account wouldn’t open.

 

Or to be more precise, it opens and then closes again.

 

“What the hell is going on?”

 

Is it because I’m trying to open the account without gestures? I was able to do it a few times yesterday when I was in class with Senior Shin, but did I lose my touch after just one day?

 

I couldn’t help myself and chose to open the account with a gesture as I had been doing.

 

I tried to use what I had learned in my spare time, but I didn’t have enough practice to use it in real time.

 

Thinking so, I made a motion as if to remove the invisible cloth in front of my eyes, and I couldn’t help but despair.

 【Talent: Exorcist (Aspiring)】【Status: Utilized】【Link Open: ▾■■■■■■■□□□ …70% ■■■■□□□□ …40% □□□□□□□□ …0%】 

The account was closed again.

 

A cold wind whistled through the air, kicking up dust.

 

To make matters worse, the bell rang just in time for the start of class, so I had to trudge back to the classroom in a fruitless attempt to get to work.

 

Luckily, I managed to get to my seat before the teacher entered the classroom.

 

But once the class started, I couldn’t hear the teacher’s words.

 

As soon as it opened, it closed unceremoniously.

 

This has never happened to me before.

 

It didn’t even happen on the first day of the exorcism, when I was thrown into the evaluation room without knowing anything.

 

Was this some kind of trick by the person who gave me this gift?

 

A chill ran down my spine.

 

If they’d go so far as to threaten to delete my talent, it would be easy enough to sabotage it so I couldn’t use it properly.

 

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

 

I was about to start thinking negative thoughts again when I wasn’t even sure yet.

 

I took a deep breath and tried to open the account again. I gesture to the class, small enough to not disturb them,

 

【Talent: Exorcist (Aspiring)】【Status: Utilized】【Link Open: ▾■■■■■■■□□□ …80% 】

 

The account opened without incident.

 

And no matter how much time passed, it wouldn’t close.

 

Huh? What?

 

I closed it of my own volition, then opened it again, this time without a gesture.

 【Talent: Exorcist (Aspiring)】【Status: Utilized】【Link Open: ▾■■■■■■■□□□ …70% 】 

Unlike before, who automatically closed the account after less than 10 seconds of opening it, the account remained open for several minutes.

 

What the hell? What was the problem?

 

I need to clarify whether it was the situation or me.

 

Just then, Seo Jun spoke quietly.

 

“Baek Iri, what’s wrong with your face?”

 

Apparently, I was making a bad expression.

 

I loosened my expression and turned to Seo Jun.

 

“Help me just once.” 

Last time, Seo Jun had told me that she still owed me something for letting her pick our assignments.

 

I tried to play it cool and say it was all over, but sometimes a woman has to change her mind.

 

It wouldn’t hurt to clear the air now.

 

 

***

 

“You want me to open my account?” “Yes, here and now.” 

I dragged Seo Jun to the classroom in question during the next recess.

 

“Is that all I’m going to help you with?” “Uh-huh, just open it.”

 

Seo Jun tilted her head slightly with a sour expression.

 

It was a habit of Seo Jun’s whenever she opened her account without gesturing.

 

I remembered her telling me one day that it was easier to give a cue than to just open the account with my mind.

 

Hmm, maybe I should create a habit like that.

 

“I opened the account, huh?”

 

Seo Jun stopped talking and frowned.

 “It closed.”

 

This made it clear that the situation was the problem, not me.

 

All the while, an unoccupied chair creaked. I couldn’t see it, but the image of the ghost’s face laughing at us spontaneously formed in my head, and I felt my skin crawl.

 

I actually had a theory.

 

Ghosts open closed systems and invade human senses.

 

That’s how they reveal themselves to the public.

 

So, what if a ghost doesn’t want to show itself?

 

Couldn’t it close an account that was already open?

 

If there are ghosts that selectively invade the senses, such as the ghost of the girl statue, I doubt that there are any ghosts that deliberately close the account.

 

Seo Jun nods in agreement with my hypothesis.

 

“I’ve heard of them before, but this is the first time I’ve seen one.”

 

If you can’t see the ghost, you can’t see the core.

 

Then the exorcism can’t proceed.

 

I couldn’t afford to lose the job over a lead.

 

There’s nothing I can do but throw my skills around wildly, hoping to hit the core by accident.

 

But I don’t think it’s going to do much good if the account is not properly opened.

 

The degree to which the link is open is the degree to which one can influence the ghost, so if the link is closed, one won’t be able to exert any significant influence.

 

For a moment, I wondered if I should look up the theory, but then I realized that I didn’t need to.

 

This is a power struggle.

 

I just need to push and push and push.