☆23. the other one
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[ACT. 2]
« You can't escape anymore. »
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THE NURSE WAS ABOUT TO ENTER the infirmary but the door swung open, giving way to Rachel who strolled furiously down the corridor, followed by Nana.
The last thing she could have imagined was to have forgotten a step in the ritual.
Sunghoon's successful transformation had so disturbed and distracted her that she hadn't even paid attention enough.
"I can't fucking believe it... It's a nightmare."
Rachel murmured, biting her fingers.
"Wait!"
The protagonist tried to take her hand, but she suddenly turned away, face contorted in despair. "Listen, I'm truly sorry."
"No. No! Your apologies aren't going to change anything, you don't know what you've just gotten us into."
She froze, shocked.
"Us?"
She wanted to fix her mistake, but despite the immensity of dark magic, no spell could turn back time. "Yeah... I should've told you the truth and been more careful—"
"When you're playing with black magic, the least you can do is respect the rules. That's all you had to do!"
The president ran a hand through her hair and sighed, eyes moist like she kept herself from bursting into tears.
Nana was even more confused and anxious, looking down at her wound where the blood was already forming a crust.
"Too late, it's over. Don't even think about adding salt on it."
"So what can I do now? And what's happening to me?"
"The salt step was the most important one."
She glared at her, "It was supposed to prevent evil spirits released by the invocation from entering your body."
"Please... Be brief, what's happened?"
"I think I shouldn't tell you this."
"You have to."
She had said in a trembling voice.
"You're possessed."
At that moment, it was as if everything went silent. Nana could hear nothing but a dull thud that engulfed her even more in fear.
Her body grew heavy and she felt as if she were falling into a void. Everything explained itself, her attitude, her anger.
She was possessed by something, an evil spirit.
It had taken advantage of her negligence to take hold of her and was now feeding on her negative emotions mainly anger, turning it into inordinate hatred.
"It's happened again... It's fucking over this time."
Rachel pressed her hands against her face then bursted into tears.
"...What do you mean by that?"
The heroine was confused.
In a flash, Rachel ignored her friend and took off almost running towards the school exit. The young woman had quickly grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn around again.
"Hey? Did you—"
Suddenly, she fell silent for a moment and thought.
Her life was definitely taking an increasingly dangerous and unthinkable course. However, the ritual and forgetting the salt was a mistake that concerned Nana and her alone.
Why did the president seem so concerned about it?
"Did you do the ritual too?"
Rachel was quiet, dumbfounded. Her face turned slowly to Nana's, brows furrowed.
"Nadeshiko, I'm here!"
She let go of Rachel's arm, who took the opportunity to walk away as Mrs. Suzuki got out of the car and walked towards her daughter, who widened her eyes.
"Mom..?"
"Oh."
She stroked her head, "Mr. Lee called me, you've fainted haven't you? I was so worried that I hurried over."
The protagonist looked over her mother's shoulder and noticed that Rachel had disappeared completely.
"I'm okay, I swear."
"You must still be feverish. Let's go home."
During the short drive, Nana did nothing but think about what she was experiencing.
This new enemy she now called that thing, evil spirit, invader or quite simply: the other one.
She didn't know what to do, and the hunt for Sunghoon's killer was already taking up enough of her time. She had to get rid of the other one as quickly as possible.
In the end, the ritual was good for Sunghoon but only added yet another problem. So that he wouldn't feel guilty, she decided not to tell him.
Arriving in her room, the girl rushed to her bed and grabbed the computer.
Hour after hour, she engrossed herself in the most twisted websites, talking about occultism and evil spirits.
"Fuck..."
She weakened suddenly as she felt her usual headache. "Not that again."
The heroine knew what was happening to her now, maybe there was something she could do to get the other one to leave her alone.
"Ouch!"
Annoyed, Nana punched herself, but it only got worse, "The fuck is wrong with me?"
The door knocked and she straightened, very embarrassed then coughed as she saw her mother enter, a tray of food in her hands.
"Here, your meal and some medicine."
"T-Thanks!"
Mrs. Suzuki settled down next to her daughter who hurriedly swallowed the meds, hoping the pain would stop.
"Maybe I should cancel my trip..."
"Trip? You have a trip?"
"For work. It's pretty important, but I don't feel like leaving you alone for a few days."
To be honest, Nana couldn't see herself being left alone when a dark shadow was able to appear in her room.
It was terrifying, but she didn't want her mother to worry even more and potentially be in danger.
"I can take care of myself. Besides, I'm sure I'll feel better tomorrow."
"I hope so. Are you sure you're going to be okay?"
The teen smiled as she nodded, but that was to reassure Mrs. Suzuki.
In reality, she wasn't sure of anything, even with all the research she'd started. The future was still hazy and nothing had changed.
What would happen if she couldn't find a solution? What will happen when she's home alone with the other one?
Her health wasn't better but the protagonist was back at school the next day. She wandered the corridors, ignoring the bell that had announced the start of classes.
She'd been looking for the president for several minutes, but nothing. Neither in the classroom, nor in the club, she was nowhere to be found.
It was annoying, but it confirmed what she had thought: she had lied to her too, and did the ritual.
Perhaps she'd made the same mistake? If so, she had a solution.
Nana rubbed her eyes, exhausted by what was happening to her. Sometimes, she wondered what her life would be like if she didn't have the ability to see the ghost.
As she opened her locker, her gaze fell on a young man walking in her direction, it was Jungwon. She felt as if she hadn't seen him in a while.
"Hi."
The girl abruptly closed the locker and smiled.
"Hello..."
Just as he was about to walk again, she intercepted him.
Seeing him at such a complicated moment was like a ray of hope for her.
Rachel was far from the only one with knowledge and she was nowhere to be found, so only Jungwon could help her.
"Sorry, hm... I just wanted to know how you've been."
"I'm fine, thanks for asking. How about you? You look exhausted... A bit?"
Her pale skin tone and dark circles no longer went unnoticed. The young woman shook her head negatively, trying to appear normal when in reality she was really tired.
"No... I'm good too!"
He wasn't convinced, but pretended to believe her.
"If you say so."
The boy was about to leave again, but Nana stopped him once more, taking his hand firmly.
"Wait. I need to tell you something."
"Is that important? I have maths lessons."
"It is, actually."
After all, he was the former head of the occult club, so he must know something.
What sets him apart from Rachel is the fact that he's not the type to talk openly about ghosts, possession and ritual.
Compared to his classmate, he seemed much more discreet and cautious. Probably because he knows the scary and unknown side of dark magic.
Nana closed the door to the empty room and sat down on the desk, right in front of her friend who was patiently waiting for her request.
For a moment, only the sound of the clock on the wall could be heard. She still didn't dare speak, not knowing where to start.
She was afraid Jungwon would hate her for lying to him, but if she wanted to get rid of the other one, she had to try.
"So?"
He looked at his watch and sighed. "What do you have to tell me?"
She felt her spine tense and her throat knot. Suddenly, it was harder to tell.
"I did something wrong and I need your help."
The boy had become even more serious all of a sudden, as if he were preparing for the worst, but he wasn't out of surprises.
"Tell me everything. Quickly if possible."
He tapped his foot nervously, which made his friend even more nervous.
"Do you remember the book I borrowed last time at the club?"
"Mh."
"Actually, I didn't just read it."
His previously bored expression suddenly changed. The young man seemed confused and was staring at something out of the corner of his eye.
He winced as he noticed something about the girl. Nana stopped, not understanding this reaction.
"Jungwon, what's wrong?"
"What is this..?"
She fell silent immediately, rather confused by this remark, his eyebrows furrowed and his gaze horrified by something that seemed to be on her.
"What do you mean?"
"Your skin."
Incomprehension quickly turned to concern when Jungwon looked so terrified that he gradually backed away from the teen. "What did you do..?"
She examined her skin in horror and noticed that her hands, arms and legs were covered in purple veins.
Jungwon tensed as a shrill cry escaped from her mouth.
Nana got down from the desk and walked in his direction, looking at her hands, which were becoming more and more marked.
She was sure of one thing: it was the other one. It was beginning to take up more and more space, so it had to be stopped.
Despite this nightmare scenario, the girl had the courage to look Jungwon in the eye before confessing everything.