Lately, It's Winter Season.

Chapter 46 - Having nothing... would be messed up.

 

“Um.” North squeezed my hand and continued up the stairs. We reached the third floor. When we reached the first room, the ceiling light turned on automatically, startling us both.

 

“Shiaa, automatic lights!?”

“Oh, I just found out that our building has this type of light.”

 

“…”

They both looked at each other, and then North raised the phone to his mouth:

 

“Hello, Skate, Ikkyu, are you there?”

(Yes, we are searching room number two. How are you guys?)

 

“Um… we just wanted to ask, does our building have automatic lights?”

(Yes! The lights will automatically turn on at night when someone passes by the sensor, so there's no need to panic. Sorry for forgetting to tell you, but it's only in the hallway, not in the room.)

 

“OK, we're going to check the first room.”

(OK, let me know if anything happens.)

 

“Yes.”

 

I easily found the key to the first room, opened the door and as expected, there was nothing. The hallway light was bright enough to cast a dim glow. North and I stepped inside.

 

“I'll check the front, you look behind?”

 

“Uh… Yeah.” North nodded. We let go of each other’s hands. I went to the front area and started searching. Turning over tables and chairs, even bending down to search on the floor. I searched from the front of the room to the middle and found North searching from the back.

 

“Nothing?”

“Um.”

 

"Then go to another room and continue searching."

“OK.”

 

The two of us held hands and ran out of the room, not forgetting to lock the door as Ikkyu had instructed us to do. After that, we continued to inspect each room individually.

 

I reached the sixth room and still found nothing. I was putting the key in the lock of the seventh room when I noticed that North seemed increasingly frightened. This room must have some history; otherwise, he wouldn't have reacted differently from the previous rooms.

 

“North, are you okay? I can go in alone.”

“No, it's fine.” North shook his head, “I'm a grown man.”

 

"Huh?"

“I'm hypnotising myself. I'm an adult, I'm an adult, I'm a man!”

“Fuck…”

 

“Fuck… I remember my fearless friend. How did he do it?”

 

“That guy you told me about?” I asked again. I remembered a friend of North’s named Daotok who had been in a haunted room without any problems. That was really impressive. “It can’t be opened.”

 

“Wrong key?”

“No, the key clearly says 307.”

 

“Or does this key not work?”

“No way, if so, how did the guard open in the morning?”

 

“Let me try.” North took the key and tried it, and it opened immediately, and they both looked at each other. How many times was this tonight?

 

“Why couldn't you open it just now, but I could?”

“Uh… I guess I didn't turn it right. Let's go.”

 

“OK.”

 

The two of them started searching again. But unlike the previous rooms, this room had an indescribably heavy atmosphere. As soon as they entered, they felt uncomfortable. To be honest, they didn’t feel comfortable to begin with, but this room was even worse.

 

“I check the front, you check the back as usual.”

“Um.”

 

I walked to the front of the room, shining the flashlight on the front desk. Seeing nothing, I bent down to look on the floor, but there was nothing. Then I checked the drawers under each desk. While I was searching, North suddenly shouted: “Fuck!!”

 

I jumped up too fast, didn't have time to avoid it and hit my head on the edge of the table. I turned on the light and ran to North. He was sitting there, staring at a table, mouth agape. I knelt down next to him, North turned and hugged me tightly, eyes closed.

 

“Hey! Hey! I… I see…”

 

“See what? Where?” I pointed the flashlight at the table but saw nothing. The storage compartment underneath was empty too.

 

“The head… it looked at me… hic…” North started to sob, tears welling up in his eyes. I was confused, not knowing what to do.

 

“I don't see anything, North. I don't see anything.” I hugged him tightly to comfort him.

 

On the other end of the phone, Skate and Ikkyu kept asking what was going on. I helped North out of the room, telling them it was nothing, afraid they would panic too.

 

“North, it's okay. It's okay.”

“Fuck, I don't want to cry... sob... but... but... it's so scary…”

 

“It’s okay! Fuck it, I already clasped my hands and bowed, but if he didn’t have any bad intentions, why did he threaten my friend?” I started to frown, annoyed, “Do you see anything else?”

 

“The head… the head in the drawer, it's smiling too… It must be the person who committed suicide in this room… I've read about it… sob…”

 

“North, stop crying.” I reached out to wipe his tears. Damn, seeing North cry made me even more furious. This guy is usually very strong, in the three years we’ve been friends, I’ve never seen him cry. But now… damn, who is it!?

“I'm starting to get annoyed.”

“Sob… aren't you scared?”

 

“I'm just angry! What if Johan knew you were crying?”

“Fuck… sob… I don't know…”

 

“Stop crying. I'm not scared anymore.” I stood up abruptly.

“Hey, what are you going to do!?”

 

“Wait out here.” I walked back into the room with a burning anger, the fear completely gone. This is North! My friend! How dare you make my friend cry, damn it! I stood in front of the old table, gritting my teeth and whispering:

 

“You know, North isn't one to cry easily, but if anyone makes my friend cry, I won't let them off the hook.” As soon as I finished speaking, a soft female laugh rang out.

 

“Laughing? Is it funny?” I gritted my teeth, “Honestly, if even Johan makes my friend sad, I will beat him up. And who are you? You know, if Johan finds out that you made his wife cry, you’re done for.”

 

Laughter grew louder. Unable to bear it any longer, I kicked the table so hard that it fell over. The other tables fell over as well.

 

“Still laughing!? Where did you die!? Don't even think about reincarnating, damn it! You can't even spare my friend!?”

 

“What? Don't you dare show yourself? Come out and see!”

 

The laughter suddenly stopped. From the corner of the room, a woman's figure gradually appeared. I put down my phone, turned the flashlight forward, grabbed a nearby chair and threw it straight at the figure.

 

“Nao!!” North yelled. I turned to look.

“What are you doing!?”

 

“I kill him!”

“Kill!? Wait! Kill who?!”

 

“I will kill whoever makes my friend cry! Come out here, you bastard!!”

“Calm down! Don't insult people! Besides, if they're dead, can you kill them again!?”

 

“I don't care!!” I grabbed another chair to throw again, but North caught me.

“No! No matter how angry you are, you can't get angry with ghosts!”

 

“No! Come out here, damn it! Is being a ghost so great? So good? When you were alive, you were just like me! Do you have superpowers after death!? X-Men or something!? I’m telling you the truth, I studied electricity and electronics! Your power stuff is ridiculous! Come on, try turning the lights on and off! They and them studied so hard, but you just raised your hand and it was done!? If you can do that, why don’t you help the world? The earth is getting hot!!”

 

“Naoooo…” North groaned, “Nao, don't insult them… The guard said it was nothing, right!? It's nothing!!!”

 

“Don't be a weakling, North!!” I shouted, “If it made me cry, would you be mad!?”

“O-of course I'm angry!”

 

"Right!?"

!!

 

The chair was thrown back. I quickly pulled North aside, but before I could react, the ceiling fan fell. Without thinking, I instinctively jumped to shield North.

 

“Fuck!!”

“Nao! Nao! Fuck! There's blood!” North screamed in panic, “Naoooo!!”

 

“Damn…” I held my head, feeling blood flowing out. My back was also in pain from being hit by the fan.

 

“Cloth! Do you have any cloth!?”

I shook my head. North immediately tore off his sleeve and pressed it against the wound to stop the bleeding.

 

“Fuck… does it have to come to this!?”

“…”

 

“Nao is hot-tempered, but she got mad because you made me cry! If you hadn’t done this in the first place, what would have happened!? We came here to collect materials for tomorrow’s presentation. Why did you have to make such a big deal out of it!?” North yelled, his voice filled with anger, but his hands still shaking with fear, “So what if it’s a ghost!? I won’t let it go if you make my friend like this!!”

 

This time, it was North’s turn to go berserk. He started destroying everything in the room – desks, chairs, furniture, all of them were thrown to the ground. The whiteboard in front of the classroom was shattered, and the window glass was cracked. I was injured and couldn’t move much, so I could only watch him wreak havoc without being too surprised. North gasped for breath from exhaustion and then suddenly… he started to pull down his zipper.

 

“What are you doing!?”

“I piss here!”

 

“Wait! Don't do that! Stop it! Fuck, it's so dirty!!”

“Arthit taught me that peeing on people is the most humiliating way to humiliate them.”

 

“Really?” I frowned, “Arthit is your boyfriend's best friend?”

“Yes, my big brother.”

 

“I think it's better not to do that. This ghost doesn't look like it's… uh—GULP!!”

 

Suddenly, I felt a terrible weight on my shoulders. North stared at me with wide eyes, but his gaze gradually moved upward. Wait… is it standing on my shoulder? It seems so.

 

North quickly grabbed a piece of wood and rushed towards me. Heavy? If it has weight, it means it can be touched.

 

I raised my hand, grabbed what I assumed was my ankle, and slammed it into the ground with all my might. A female figure in a blood-stained uniform hit the floor face down. She screamed miserably and disappeared. North stopped right in front of me.

 

“It's much easier to deal with once you catch them.”

“Are you okay, Nao?”

 

“Okay. Great.”

“Well, I never thought I'd have to fight a ghost.”

 

“Me too.” North helped me up, “You messed around the room and still can't find the cloth bag, so it probably isn't there.”

 

“Yeah. So let's find another room now, right?”

“Yes,” I replied.

 

“But I'm still very angry.”

"What's spicy?"

 

“It made your head bleed, and then it disappeared with just one hit.”

“Yeah, it's annoying.”

 

“Fuck.”

“Are you not scared anymore? You were shivering just now.” I teased.

 

“Seeing you bleed makes me crazy,” North muttered, “But shouldn't we bandage it first?”

 

“The bleeding has stopped. It's not too late to go home and bandage it after you've found it.”

 

“Okay. But the ghost in room 307, I will definitely come back to deal with it.” North raised two index fingers to his eyes and pointed towards the room, as if to say: Wait. “I will tell Tiger.”

 

“…Are you serious?”

“I have to say it. You're bleeding like this.”

 

“Then I'll tell Johan that you cried.”

“Yeah, tell! I won't hold back!” North replied seriously, but just then, his phone rang.

 

“Huh? Fuck, when did I accidentally hang up on Skate?” He quickly pressed answer, “Hello, what’s wrong? Sorry, I accidentally hung up.”

 

(We found the cloth bag. The documents are still intact. Let's go home.)

North and I looked at each other and stopped simultaneously.

 

“Okay.”

North helped me out of the room, not forgetting to lock the door to room 307. Before leaving, he angrily kicked the door hard.

**************

 

“Huh… we were just looking for a cloth bag, why did you two come back in such a mess?” Ikkyu asked, worried and confused.

 

We told them everything. The other two frowned so hard they were almost glued together.

 

“Fuck… that much? We had no problem finding stuff.”

 

“What about room 313? Nothing? That room has a scary history, too?” North asked.

 

“Hmm, nothing.” Skate shook his head, “And why did that room ghost attack you guys?”

 

“Yes. Why?”

“So that ghost is done for, right? Oh no, it’s dead.” Ikkyu muttered, “Damn it, I shouldn’t have separated you two. And you two are so hot-tempered, did you make a mess of the room?”

 

"YES."

“So are you going to report it to the security guard? Oh no, report it to the department? There are cameras in the hallway.”

 

“I don't know,” North grumbled. “My big brother Ger can handle it.”

 

“Yeah, Ger must have a way to handle it.” Skate nodded, “Now that we have the documents, should we go home? But Nao, I'm really worried about you.”

“Then let's sleep in Nao's room tonight,” Ikkyu suggested, and the other three agreed.

***************

 

When I got back to my room, it was Ikkyu who helped me treat the wound on my head. My back was covered in red bruises that would probably turn purple soon. It was only natural, since the ceiling fan had fallen on me.

 

"Why would you use your body to help?"

 

“I don’t know either.” I answered honestly, “My body just reacted automatically, the feeling of having to protect North… It’s hard to explain.”

 

“Thank you. And sorry too.”

“It's okay, don't worry.” I patted his shoulder.

 

The four of them sat and talked about the recent events for a while, then turned to helping North practice her presentation. While she was practising, the door to the room suddenly opened. Tiger stood outside the door, looking in with a puzzled look.

 

“Why are you guys here?”

“Ger!!” North immediately turned around and rushed to Tiger, “I have something to say!”

 

“What?” Tiger turned to me, his eyes glanced at the bandage on my head and froze, then immediately approached.

 

“…what's wrong with you? Who did it?”

 

“This is the story I wanted to tell.” North sat down next to me. Tiger listened silently from beginning to end. After listening, he was silent for a moment and then spoke coldly.

 

"Really?"

"Real."

 

“You mean that ghost hurt Nao!?” Tiger shouted so loudly that we all jumped, “Are you kidding me, North!?”

 

“I'm telling the truth!” North replied, his voice trembling.

 

“Tell me, who did it!?” Tiger gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with anger. I unconsciously held my breath because of fear. Tiger was so scary right now. He clenched his fist and slammed it down on the coffee table. Crack! The table broke in half.

 

“Ger, calm down!” I quickly said, stepping forward to hug him. No, he was so angry that he was losing control, “Please, listen to me.”

 

“…”

“What North said is completely true. I know it's hard to believe, especially for someone like you who doesn't believe in these things. But I can assure you, everything we experienced was real.”

 

“…”

I could feel him shaking, trying to control his anger. I gently removed his hand from my grip, intertwining my fingers with his.

 

“Sorry for not telling you in advance, I didn’t want to bother you when you were busy. Besides, who would have thought that just looking for documents would lead to this? But when North cried, I went crazy. You know I get angry easily, especially when it comes to friends.”

 

“Yeah, I get it.” Tiger said softly, “I believe you.”

“Yes.” I loosened my embrace.

 

“Does Johan know about this?” Tiger turned to North and asked. North shook his head. “Do you believe this?”

 

“Actually, he doesn’t really believe in ghosts. But his best friend is someone who often sees ghosts, so this kind of thing isn’t completely strange to him. He probably believes it.”

 

"Then you call and report immediately."

“Ah, um, but he's working…”

 

“North,” Tiger said in a low voice.

“Okay, okay!” North hurriedly took out his phone and made a call. As soon as he hung up, Tiger’s phone rang. He stepped out onto the balcony to answer it. The three of us breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“Fuck, so scary.” Skate hugged his chest, “This is the first time I've seen him so angry. His soul flew out of his body.”

“North, are you okay?”

 

“Humph.” North shook his head, “Johan was angry when I told him. I wonder what they’ll do after they discuss it.”

 

He leaned close to me, whispering so Skate and Ikkyu couldn't hear.

“But Ger is really scary when he's angry. My heart almost fell out. He's a real mafia; he's always been a trainee mafia.”

“Hey, what are you two whispering about?” Skate asked.

“It's nothing,” I replied.

 

A moment later, Tiger returned to the room. Everyone immediately looked at him, waiting to see what he and Johan would do next. Tiger sat down next to me and checked the wound again.

 

“Johan asked me to thank you for protecting North. He will definitely repay you.”

“Oh, what reward? It's okay.”

 

“So… how did you two end up talking?” North asked curiously.

 

“Well…” Tiger sighed softly, “Johan and I both believe ghosts did it. But that’s why it’s difficult to deal with. How can you kill someone already dead?”

 

The room was silent.

“But we also have a plan.”

 

“Call an exorcist?” North asked.

“No.” Tiger shook his head slightly, “I don't know because I don't really want to do it that way.”

 

“So what are you going to do?”

“We’ll know tomorrow night. Let’s rest first.” Tiger patted my head gently, “Sorry for not being there when it happened.”

 

“It's okay, if you want to blame someone, blame that ghost.”

“Um… from now on, I won’t let you go anywhere alone anymore.” At first, I wanted to object, but when I saw his worried eyes, I could only nod, “I love you so much, so don’t let anything happen again.”

 

“Um, I'll be more careful.”

“Still hurts a lot?”

 

“Not really, it's just normal.”

“Good job.” Tiger smiled slightly. My friends teased him, saying that he was like two different people from before—just now he was banging the table angrily, but now he was extremely gentle.

 

Soon after, Johan came to pick up North. Ikkyu and Skate also took the opportunity to go home. That night, Tiger hugged me tighter than usual.

*********************

 

I woke up in the middle of the night thirsty. When I opened my eyes, I saw Tiger still awake and looking at me intently.

 

“Why aren't you sleeping?” I asked.

“Can't sleep.”

 

“Still worried?” I reached out and gently touched its cheek.

“I wish I could take the pain for you.”

 

“Huh? No way.” I laughed, “I want to tell you not to worry, but I'm really fine.”

“Yeah, I know. You're strong.” Tiger pulled my hand back and kissed the back of my hand.

 

“Now do you understand how I feel?”

“Hmm?”

 

“When you see the person you love hurt and can't do anything about it.”

“Are you getting back at me?” Tiger frowned.

 

“No. I just want you to know that every time you come back from injury, your condition is much worse than mine. So no matter how much you worry about me, I worry about you ten times more.”

 

“Ten times more, I would probably die of shock.”

“So do you want me to take care of you?”

 

"Are not."

“Well, I don't want you to worry about me either.”

 

"…YES."

“But it can't be forbidden, right? Because of love.”

 

“Yes, because of love.”

“Hehe, go to sleep. We have work to do tomorrow, right?”

 

“What are you doing up?”

“Ah, I'm so thirsty.”

 

“Let me get it.”

“Um.”

 

The next day, my group's presentation went smoothly. Everyone got high marks as expected. After school, I found Tiger waiting for me, and Johan came to pick up North. Around midnight, Tiger drove me to Building B.

 

“Tell me what you're going to do?”

“You will know later.”

 

"… Alright."

 

When I arrived at the parking lot, I saw that several other cars were already parked there. Among them were Johan and North's. Tiger led me to one of the cars, where one of his men opened the door.

 

North and I were surprised to see a middle-aged couple and a middle-schooler sitting inside. The three of them got out of the car looking frightened. The three of them looked at each other worriedly before bowing their heads in apology to me and North.

 

“S-sorry for my daughter harming you two.” Just that one sentence was enough for us to understand everything. This was the ghost’s family. “She passed away a long time ago, so I thought she had reincarnated, but I didn’t expect her to be still wandering around here… and even harming other people.”

 

I glanced at all three, relieved to see that they were uninjured.

 

“So everyone knows everything, right?” I asked.

"Yes."

 

“It was your daughter who started teasing my friend first. She was a coward, so I got angry and fought back. That’s how things turned out. Actually…” I hesitated, feeling a little guilty. “When she was standing on my shoulder, I also slammed her to the ground.” Thinking back, maybe that could be considered revenge… if ghosts could feel pain.

 

“N-no…” The woman—probably the girl’s mother—said in a choked voice, seemingly on the verge of tears. “Anyway, Net… my daughter was the one who was wrong first, and she should apologise to you two. Also, we want to talk to her… so she can move on.”

 

“Uh… yeah.” I nodded, turning to look at North for his approval. He nodded in agreement.

 

We went up to Building B together. The group consisted of me, North, the girl's family, and six of Tiger's subordinates.

 

North moved closer to me and whispered.

“Nao.”

"What?"

 

“I didn’t expect them to drag the person’s whole family along. It’s really mafia-style, like in the movies. When they can’t get revenge on someone, they take their family hostage.”

 

“Yeah, that's right.”

“But luckily your lover didn't lay a hand on them.”

 

“I think so too.” I replied and quickly walked closer to Tiger, “You didn’t do anything to them, right?”

 

“No.” Tiger replied softly, “Luckily, they are easy to talk to. Even if you wanted to do it, I don't think you would want to.”

 

“Well, if it's your job, I understand. But this is my business, so I don't want innocent people to get hurt.”

 

“I know.” Tiger smiled, “Because you're kind.”

 

We arrived at room 307. When the door opened, the inside was just as messy as it had been the night before. The girl's family began calling her name, desperately begging her to appear. Soon, a girl in a bloody student uniform appeared, her eyes glaring at us with hatred.

 

“Why did you bring my parents and my sister here?!” Her voice shrilled.

“You dare challenge me?! I will kill you all!!”

 

With that, she rushed straight towards me. Bang! The gun went off. Tiger fired a shot that hit the girl's father's leg just a few centimetres away. The ghost named Net immediately stopped.

 

“Do you want your dad to come down and stay with you?” Tiger held the gun, his voice cold, then slowly raised the barrel and pointed it straight at the man's temple. Index finger on the trigger. His eyes were unwavering, not showing any signs of an empty threat. If Net made the slightest move, Tiger would definitely pull the trigger immediately. The mother and younger brother rushed to beg.

 

“Mr Tiger, please don't shoot! Hic… Net, stop! I'm begging you!”

“Sister Net… please stop…” The younger brother also choked up and begged. The girl's ghost gradually calmed down. Seeing this, Tiger lowered his gun.

 

“Can we talk now?”

Net bowed his head.

 

“What do you want?” Tiger turned to me and asked.

“Huh? Ah… um…” I fumbled, pulling North closer to discuss, “What do you think?”

 

“I think just saying sorry is enough.”

“Right?” I nodded and turned to Tiger, “Just apologise.”

 

“Is that all?”

“Um.”

 

Hearing that, Net knelt.

"Sorry."

 

“Ah… yes. I'm also sorry for pulling your leg and making you fall flat on your face.” I clasped my hands together and bowed my head slightly. She said nothing but nodded slightly. Everything was settled. We left the room, giving the family some privacy. After a while, they came out too.

 

“Net is gone.” The mother said, crying, “I’m sorry again. It may sound strange, but if it weren’t for everyone, we wouldn’t have known she was still around. It’s a blessing to have talked to her one last time before she left.”

 

“I’m sorry too.” Tiger spoke up, looking at his father, “I’m sorry for scaring you. But if I hadn’t done that, your daughter wouldn’t have stopped, and the one in danger would have been my lover.”

 

The man was visibly embarrassed when he heard Tiger's apology.

“Ah… ah… It's okay. I understand.”

 

Tiger ordered his men to bring their families back safely. I talked to North a little more, and then everyone went home.

 

“Are you okay?”

“Ah… um, it's fine. Luckily, you didn't do anything too drastic. I almost had a heart attack when you opened fire.”

 

“If you don't do that, the ghost won't stop.”

“Um… I understand.” I smiled lightly, “If I don’t bring her family, Net won’t listen. Sigh, you’re really good, you can even handle ghosts.”

 

Tiger chuckled softly: "No one will hurt you."

“Even ghosts?”

 

“Yeah.” Tiger nodded firmly, “You have to tell me when you’re going somewhere or doing something. I’m still mad about you going to school in the middle of the night without telling me.”

 

“But you were working at that time.”

Tiger was silent for a moment, then said softly: “Actually… you should think about yourself first. You can quit your job, and I can take care of everything.”

 

"What kind of worry?"

“Let your group present another day.”

 

“What if I lose the presentation file?”

“I will find it again.”

 

“What if the file gets corrupted?”

“There's still backup data, right?”

 

“… Okay, I give up.” I raised my hands in surrender, “Who would have thought we would encounter such a terrible ghost? Ikkyu and Skate didn’t encounter anything, and their presentation went smoothly, and they even found their old notes. It must be because we were unlucky to be together.”

 

“And both of them are hot-tempered.”

“Exactly!” I laughed.