Chapter 13 It’s Still on My Mind Part 2

Chapter 13

It's Still on My Mind Part 2

"Ugh!!!" I cried out as her hands tightened around my throat.

"Don't mess with Khun Ran!" As soon as she shouted, she rushed in and shoved Kan, sending her rolling onto the brick floor. She quickly ran over to check on me.

Cough!! I choked on my own spit for a moment before struggling to get back on my feet.

"Stay out of this!"

The ghost quickly got up and stood between me and Kan. She raised her fists like she was ready to box, but it looked so clumsy and unreliable, clearly showing she wasn't a fighter.

"I knew it! That's why Ran never came to me... because of you!! You stole Ran from me!! Ran should've been with me since that day!" Kan yelled, but the words clearly weren't her own.

"Have you even asked Ran if she wants to be with you?" The ghost tried to shout back, but her soft voice sounded far from threatening.

"Ran is mine!! Ugh! Stay still!" Kan hit herself, growling at her own body, clearly furious.

It seemed like… whatever was controlling her couldn't completely take over Kan's body. Both of them were fighting for control in the same body. I quickly got up and stayed cautious while the ghost stood protectively in front of me.

"Ran! There's a sacred amulet in my car!" The real owner of the body yelled before she punched herself hard in the chest, allowing the possession to fully take hold again. It laughed maniacally and cursed Kan.

"Stay out of this and shut up!"

I rushed to open the car door, just like Kan told me, but of course, it didn't go as planned—the door was still locked! It seemed like the keys were in Kan's bag, which was still hanging on her body.

Damn it... I almost died just from being choked earlier. How on earth am I going to grab that bag?

"I'll hold her down!" Without hesitation, the ghost lunged at Kan, holding her still while shouting for me to grab the bag before she couldn't handle it any longer.

As expected, the target didn't cooperate easily. Kan struggled for a while, managing to slip free a few times, but the ghost was quick to lock her arms again. Finally, the bag slid off Kan's shoulder and hit the ground.

Seizing the moment, I darted in, grabbed the bag, and ran back to unlock the car. Luckily, the sacred amulet Kan had mentioned was hanging right from the rearview mirror.

With shaky hands, I grabbed the amulet and rushed back to loop it around Kan's neck, just as the ghost closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself.

A piercing scream filled the air, echoing and then slowly fading as Kan's body went limp and collapsed onto the ground. The ghost, now exhausted, slumped down beside her.

I sighed with relief as I took in the scene. "Is it over?"

"Looks like it," she replied, panting. "Ugh... She's way too strong. I almost couldn't hold her."

I stepped closer to her, feeling a bit shy as I said softly, "Thank you... for helping me."

"Glad to help," she replied with a bright smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Ugh... what...?"

"Kan! Are you okay?" I rushed over to her, lifting her up into a sitting position as she slowly opened her eyes. She glanced around, clearly confused. Her face looked pale and exhausted, completely different from just moments ago.

"Not really... I feel awful... like I was dying, Ran."

I knew exactly what she meant...

"Ran, could you grab some holy water from the car? It's in the door pocket on the driver's side..."

Holy water? ...Not the time to question it!

"Yeah, sure," I nodded and quickly went to get the water. My eyes caught on the bottle—it looked just like the one Kan had given me to drink before. Was it... holy water?

Questions swirled in my mind, but I hurried back to give it to her anyway.

Kan gulped down the entire bottle in one go. For me, finishing that much water would take nearly an hour.

"Ah... I actually feel better," Kan mumbled to herself with her eyes still closed.

"Kan... was that the same water you gave me before?"

It was strange to have holy water in her car… Do people carry holy water around now?

"...Yeah, don't worry, it's a different bottle."

It's not like I was worried about hygiene...

"Why is it holy water? Is drinking it a trend now?"

Kan chuckled at my question for a moment. "This is holy water blessed by the monk from the temple near my home. I haven't been feeling well lately, so I've been drinking it regularly. But... who is this girl, Ran?"

Both the ghost and I looked around, trying to figure out who Kan was talking about, until she pointed directly at the ghost.

"Huh? Me? You can actually see me?" The ghost asked, sounding a bit confused but also a little excited.

"...Yes, I can really see you."

"Really...?"

"Ran, stop lying," Kan said in a calm, flat voice.

Oh no... This means Kan can see ghosts. I've been hiding this from her for so long. Maybe I can keep up the lie...

There's still a chance I can get away with it, right?

"Who are you talking about, Kan? There's no one here. You're not looking too good; maybe we should head to the health center ," I tried to sound casual.

"Stop covering it up, Ran. I've known since I was possessed. I saw you two talking."

"Ugh... Thought I could play it off," I laughed awkwardly, trying to hide my guilt, and sighed. "I don't really know who she is either, but right now, she's just a ghost maid at my house."

"Ghost maid?" Kan looked confused by my answer.

Of course she'd look like that. Even I, who's been seeing ghosts my whole life, still don't fully understand what this one is all about or why she's so powerful.

"Wow, you can really see me... Nice to meet you! Just call me Ghost, that's what Ran always calls me," she said playfully with a wide grin.

"Thanks, Ghost, for helping me out," Kan said.

"No problem! Aren't you scared, though? I'm a ghost, you know! Boo!" The ghost stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes in a way that was more funny than scary.

"You're ridiculous. What are you doing?"

"Don't insult me!"

"Well, you are being ridiculous," I teased.

Immediately, she pouted, "Hmph!"

Out of nowhere, Kan started laughing, which made both the ghost and me look at her in confusion, not understanding why.

"Ghosts really aren't that scary, huh? So, Ran, you really can see them after all."

"...Yeah. Sorry for hiding it from you."

"It's fine. You probably had your reasons."

I wasn't sure if there was a deeper meaning behind her words, but oh well...

"Thanks for understanding."

"...But in exchange for keeping this secret, I want you to help me with something I've asked you before." Her tone and expression suddenly shifted to a serious one, making me frown.

There it is... Is she trying to blackmail me?

But Kan was always well-spoken, articulate, and persuasive. She had a strong influence over our classmates, likely due to her cheerful personality, which was the complete opposite of me.

If Kan wanted to accuse me of something, people would definitely believe her...

"No need to look so serious."

"Tell me what it's about first."

I said that to protect myself. I mean, what just happened was already giving me a headache.

Kan's face turned thoughtful as if she was carefully choosing her words, and then she began to speak seriously.

"I don't know what I did, but lately I've been having terrifying nightmares almost every night. I keep dreaming about a man standing at the foot of my bed, staring at me with a look of pure anger. When I ask him what he wants, he says something, but I can never understand what it is. Sometimes, I'm not even sure if it's a dream or reality."

Wait... Could it be that man I saw in the car? That was terrifying.

"Have you thought about going to see a shaman or someone like that?"

"I've tried, but it didn't work. I just ended up getting scammed by people who only wanted money. I've been searching for help until I've run out of options." Kan sighed deeply.

I could totally relate. This country is full of fake shamans...

"What about the monk who blessed the holy water?"

"Why not try getting help from an exorcist or something?"

"I've tried that already, but it didn't work. Just ran into scammers who wanted to take my money. I've seriously tried everything at this point." She let out a big sigh.

I get it. This country's full of fake exorcists...

"And what about the monks? The one who blessed the holy water?"

"He said he couldn't interfere in these matters. The most he could do was bless the holy water. He mentioned something about karmic ties, but I've never done anything to them…"

"Wait a minute. What can I do now? Even those people couldn't help."

"Well, if you can see them, Ran, doesn't that mean you can communicate with them? I want to know what they really want. Why are they haunting me like this? I've already made merit for them."

"And... that guy, is he the one with glass shards stuck in his face?"

'Bang!'

Kan slammed the table and stood up. "Yes!! You saw him, Ran?!"

Kan's sudden reaction startled both me and the ghost girl sitting beside me. "Calm down, Kan. Sit down first."

"Sorry, sorry."

"I saw him when I went to drop you off that day. He was staring at you the whole time."

"…Wait a minute. Even now?"

"Huh?" When she asked me that, I had to turn and take a look.

Yup, still sitting there. But he's not looking at Kan. He's staring straight ahead like there's something to see.

"Yeah, still here. Not looking too great either. Are you sure you didn't do something, Kan? You didn't hit him with your car, did you?"

"Of course not! I don't want trouble with the living, let alone ghosts!" Kan replied confidently.

Since she was so sure, all I could do was exchange confused glances with the others. Then, a thought popped into my head, and I decided to ask the ghost girl.

"Isn't it possible he's following Kan, just like you're following me?"

"I don't think so... But I can try asking him if you'd like."

"Are you sure, ghost girl?"

She nodded and walked straight to Kan's car, starting to talk to the male ghost, who was just sitting there, paying attention only to the windshield.

"And Kan, why can't you see the male ghost, even though you can see the ghost girl now? That's pretty strange…"

"No idea…" Kan squinted at her car, frowning so hard her eyebrows almost touched.

"Hmm? It's like I can sort of see her talking to a faint black smoke or something. Before this, I couldn't see anything at all—just had a bad feeling."

Seeing something? Could this be connected? If Kan has to see things like this for the rest of her life, it's probably my fault for dragging her into this mess…

"Why the long face, Ran?"

"I'm just thinking it might be my fault that you can see ghosts now, Kan..."

"Stop overthinking it. I'm not scared! It's just... something new," Kan chuckled.

Well, she's calm because she's not seeing the gruesome stuff like I am. It's probably a good thing she only sees vague smoke. Even I, who consider myself mentally strong, couldn't handle those sights and smells for long.

But what's strangest is the ghost girl. Why can Kan see her so clearly? This only adds to the mystery I have about her...

Who are you, ghost girl?

"By the way, why do you have a cute ghost following you, Ran? She doesn't even look like a ghost! And she seems nice too. Is she some kind of karmic debt?"

Kan's question made me laugh without thinking, causing her to look at me with a puzzled expression. "Ran... you're pretty cute when you smile."

The moment she said that, I stopped smiling immediately, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden.

"What's this? Come on, smile, Ran!"

"No thanks... And about the ghost girl, I'm just as curious as you are. One day, I was sitting in class, minding my own business, and she just came up and started talking to me. Normally, I don't talk to random people, but that day... I let my guard down. Next thing I know, I'm her maid in some weird ghost house. Ugh."

"Huh... Did she give you trouble? Is that why you sighed so hard?"

"No, it's not that... Ever since she's been around, things have gotten easier in many ways. But the thing is, I don't know anything about her. She's an amnesiac ghost. It's like something out of a soap opera," I said with a light-hearted laugh as I glanced at her still chatting away.

"That's... odd. Does that kind of thing actually happen? But you know, Ran, when you talk to her, you seem happy. Not like when you talk to me. I wish you'd talk to me like that."

"What? I do! I'm totally normal."

Kan shrugged, clearly not buying it. "Not even close, Ran."

I'm not sure if it's just me, but Kan's tone sounded a bit... hurt. Though I could be imagining things. She's not even my friend, so why would she be upset?

"By the way, do you always have to see stuff like this, Ran?"

"Yeah. If I could choose, I wouldn't want to see them. The ones who know I can see them... they just keep bothering me. Like the one attached to you. I'm really sorry for dragging you into this…"

"Don't look so down. It's not your fault."

Suddenly, Kan reached out and held my hand, like she was offering comfort or something. But then, I felt a sharp stare coming from the ghost girl, who had just returned.

She was staring at Kan's hand, still holding mine on the table, with a blank expression.

What's with that look…?