GSGW c255
Chapter 255
I truly thought it over.
How to make Section Chief Lee Jaheon successfully escape this insane groom class ghost story.
‘I really, really considered every possible method ….’
Ways to slip out through gaps outside the rules.
From confessing that he was already married and thus couldn’t marry again, to persuading them that he had a fatal flaw as a groom.
But when I considered the tendencies in the exploration records, only spine-chilling outcomes came to mind….
‘He’d probably be interrogated by the educational dorm supervisor for lying about being unqualified, then they’d say “we’ll make you qualified” and do something unimaginable before it cuts to being censored….’
To begin with, the thrill of this ghost story’s exploration records lies in how cleverly one matched the “correct answer” of embodying the virtues of a groom, even in unexpected situations.
Or, in how those who failed were brutally killed in absurd ways.
In the end, whether it was failure or disqualification, for those who did not meet the “standards of a groom,” there was an overwhelmingly high chance that only a ghost-story-style eerie and ominous pit of an ending awaited.
Groom class.
A mental and physical labyrinth that drove people mad because it never gave up on its trainees.
In that case….
‘The answer… is a head-on breakthrough.’
And the one who possessed the abilities needed for that ‘head-on breakthrough’ I had in mind was….
Braun.
A being of intense talk shows, the embodiment of entertainment.
An existence within the ghost story that could operate under a different set of rules than ours.
—If Braun becomes a groom candidate, it will definitely help.
‘It’s worth trying.’
That was the conclusion I reached after hearing about the nature of this place, the traits of the supervisors as educators, and the description of the wedding.
The problem was ….
[Mr. Roe Deer, it seems this Braun has received the wrong signal. My goodness, there’s no way my friend would ask me to use a terrorist’s body!]
Yeah.
The problem was that I had to persuade both sides ….
—Braun.
[Of course.]
[If it is my friend’s earnest request, I should grant it. That is the duty of a good friend. One who helps without expecting any reward.]
…His voice came closer.
[But Mr. Roe Deer, oh, it seems a bit precarious how long one who only receives such service can continue to rely on the concept of friendship ….]
……
It was a good thing I didn’t have a body right now.
Otherwise, I would have frozen in fear.
And.
—Wait a second, Braun.
I could say this calmly.
—This isn’t me asking for a service. You’re here too, so I’m inviting you to do it together.
Because.
—This is the most fun way to do it.
[…!]
—I don’t think you’d like those empty endings where things just play out like other exploration cases. You wouldn’t want such a predictable development, right?
—Especially in a situation where you’re involved?
Of course not.
Obviously!
—I figured that if there was a way to take this obvious situation and steer it cleverly on our own, you’d be more than willing.
—Like your show.
[…….]
Braun fell silent for a moment.
But then.
[Mr. Roe Deer, you truly…!]
Along with a somewhat moved voice, I felt a warm weight patting my shoulder—how exactly??—
[You know how to persuade. And….]
The grip on my shoulder grew heavier.
[You also know how to invoke my pride as an entertainer only when it suits you. Sometimes reacting as though wounded by it, even criticizing it.]
My heart nearly dropped.
And then.
[…… Hm. I will allow it this time! That capriciousness is also a quality of a star.]
The weight lifted from my shoulder and disappeared.
[But do not forget that I possess that quality as well.]
[At this rate, the dramatic moment when that quality meets you may come someday….]
……
[Even if not now!]
Whew.
—Of course.
…That had been close.
‘There won’t be a next time.’
From here on, I’d have to be truly careful.
…Still, for now, it was a relief that the persuasion had worked.
‘Good.’
Suppressing a sigh of relief, I spoke to the current owner of the body, who had been silently listening to the entire conversation.
—Section Chief.
—Let’s take a gamble. Just once.
Braun would….
‘Cause chaos.’
***
A dim morning at Saint Anticus Boarding School.
“Mm, hmm.”
The groom candidate stood before the small washbasin mirror, wiping away shaving cream as he finished shaving. Soon, a neatly groomed jawline was revealed.
Then he styled his hair with oil. A low, pleasant hum resonated from his throat, and soon the brush that had skillfully swept back his hair lowered.
Beneath the white hair, fine skin was revealed.
Lee Jaheon.
He wore the same outfit as yesterday. The uniform of Saint Anticus Boarding School.
But somehow, the fit looked different. The way it was worn and how the collar was handled had changed….
“Much better.”
The touch of a professional.
A being whose very existence was rooted in standing before cameras and presenting itself to the public smiled at the mirror.
And then he stepped lightly out the door.
Creak.
The once silent and ascetic interior of the boarding school was now elegantly decorated with blue candles and white velvet.
Roses, lily of the valley, baby’s breath, and silver ornaments placed beneath patterns of wax melted by blue flames….
Classical, and utterly unremarkable.
“Oh. Good morning.”
Lee Jaheon sat at the breakfast table.
A mask—or rather, an ideal pale body and face crafted with exceptional makeup—was placed upon the chair at the table.
Today’s meal had become simpler. To purify the body before the wedding.
Without touching the single glass of willow sap set before him, Lee Jaheon cheerfully asked,
“Tomorrow is the long-awaited wedding, is it not?”
The educational dorm supervisor nodded affirmatively.
At the same time, they gently pointed out the groom candidate’s manner of speaking. It was overly ornate and flowing, and the accent too striking, making it unsuitable for conveying the solemn image expected of a groom.
Even the pronunciation was excessively New World in nature.
“Oh, I will keep that in mind.”
With one hand, he mimed zipping his lips in a gesture that passed with wit and elegance.
That, too, was not conduct befitting the groom of a pure white bride, but since it was not judged severe enough to warrant ‘failure,’ the supervisor did not assign any penalty.
However, it did affect their judgment.
The educational dorm supervisor, who had raised one eyebrow, looked over those seated around the table and lightly rang a cup with one hand.
Like the toll of a bell marking time.
♩ -
And then it was announced.
Among the candidates, only one.
The name of the most outstanding and complete trainee, the one who would become the ‘groom’ at tomorrow’s wedding.
That candidate was….
……
Not Lee Jaheon.
The alias he had used to enter this place was not called.
Lee Jaheon had failed to become the groom.
Regrettably!
“Hoh.”
However, the supervisor encouraged all the groom candidates, saying that they too would have roles to fulfill at the wedding.
Lee Jaheon had already heard this before.
And with that introduction and preparation, the announcement concluded with the decision that in the afternoon, they would all move together to the ceremony hall.
Ah, additionally, one trial trainee had failed the breakfast evaluation. They had vomited beneath the table.
“No…!”
As a penalty, they were instructed to remove their own stomach through their throat and clean it.
In any case, with that, all training formally came to an end.
Amid anticipation, sorrow, and fear, they underwent bathing and meditation procedures to purify both body and mind.
Lunch was not provided.
Instead, a single glass of white wine was served with salt.
Lee Jaheon experienced all of it with a faint smile.
And then.
♩ - ♩ -
The final bell rang.
Now, the educational dorm supervisor led the trainees toward the place where the wedding would be held.
Downward.
The door leading to the underground of the boarding school opened. The supervisor urged the trainees to go barefoot, and they descended the stairs barefoot, leaving their shoes behind. Candles placed at each corner of the staircase melted, casting flickering light.
The stairs turned to stone and connected to the outside. And there….
Was a dark cave.
"......"
An ancient quartz cave revealed itself, as though touched by human hands since a very distant past.
Going further in, a wide space appeared.
The wedding hall.
On the stone walls, unreadable characters were inscribed, and within that space were prepared seats for guests, decorations, and even an officiant’s platform for the vows.
A strange place where ancient silver ornaments, which ought to have rusted long ago, still gleamed in candlelight due to obsessive maintenance.
The damp air was burned away by blue candle flames, and roses, lily of the valley, and baby’s breath bloomed with an unnatural vividness.
And….
The bride’s place, where white garments were laid out.
This is the place.
The supervisor said.
The groom candidates, with honor, will become important, beautiful, and artistic elements that would illuminate the wedding, and by the end of the ceremony, they will be distributed to the guests as commemorative gifts.
That was what they said.
Were they excited?
“Oh, of course. Works of art! My heart trembles to think what magnificent piece you must be planning.”
Before correcting that insolent tone into one befitting a groom, the supervisor smiled and explained.
From now on, they would ….
Become the wedding cake.
Wasn’t it truly astonishing?
They would take on the important role of decorating the finale of the wedding. An opportunity to become part of the bride’s feast itself. Some of the groom candidates wept in overwhelming emotion.
A trial trainee who screamed and tried to run away seemed unable to accept the disappointment of not being able to become cake.
The supervisors decided to offer encouragement and assistance by using them as practice cakes before the ceremony. Of course, they would not be served.
This was because it could provoke the displeasure of the True Bride of the Great White Hand, residing in Agae Geshi of the Land of Consequence.
They could not use substandard trial trainees who had not even qualified to become groom candidates.
Becoming part of the wedding was a privilege that should be granted to those who were grateful to have been trained as the bride’s groom.
Those who did not meet the standards would have to be satisfied with merely attending.
“Hm.”
And even among the wedding cake, there was a most honorable portion.
The very top tier.
“What an honor that must be.”
The honor of becoming the bride’s portion.
Because the top tier would be cut and served as the cake offered to the white bride, gaining the joy of being presented upon the officiant’s platform.
“I see.”
And so, the educational dorm supervisor announced the candidate who would receive that joyful position….
You.
“Me?”
That’s right.
Among them, your face was the most pleasing, and it would become the piece offered to the white bride.
The tongue that had most failed to meet the standards of a groom would be cleanly cut away, and the inside would be filled with rose cream.
"......"
The groom candidates seized Lee Jaheon. Those who would become wedding cake together smiled with joy and a sense of camaraderie.
They were already dead.
Those who had once been buried alive and captured by some strange and powerful being that had awakened beneath the earth long ago were about to begin, once more, the ritual of a ghostly wedding.
“That’s quite something ….”
The entertainment-entity smiled brightly.
“How classical.”
Huh?
“A White Bride! Oh, calling human sacrifice by the name of marriage is truly classic. A kind of metaphor, you see. Classical, easy to understand, simple.”
Words poured out.
“It seems you’ve made quite the effort to interpret a relationship with an incomprehensible and overwhelming entity through the framework of human civilization!”
Clap, clap, clap….
“Now, don’t misunderstand. This is not criticism, but pity. Preserving tradition is very important… but it’s a shame when it amounts to nothing more than useless formalities!”
At some point, he had taken out gloves from his pocket and smoothly put them on, adjusting his attire once more.
Then he asked,
“Has anyone recently discovered what the White Bride prefers?”
Silence.
“As expected. You all seem utterly lacking in a sense of adventure.”
“How many times have you repeated this? The bride must be bored out of her mind by now. You keep pushing in offerings—no, ‘grooms’—that merely suit her tastes and are just tolerable!”
“At the very least, shouldn’t the ceremony be entertaining enough for her to bother sitting through it? And yet—wedding cake? Invited guests? Return gifts? It’s unbearably cliché.”
A barrage of words that pierced straight through the chest.
Those standing there, frozen, listened stiffly to that voice.
But one person alone restrained the urge to clench his fists in exhilaration.
‘This is it.’
Nice one, Braun!
That was Kim Soleum, currently residing within Lee Jaheon’s mind.
Having anxiously watched what Braun was doing through Lee Jaheon, he was finally letting out a sigh of relief.
‘It really works….’
This was the frontal breakthrough.
Namely….
‘Ruin the wedding!’
Cause such utter chaos that the boarding school itself mentally collapsed, released all the candidates, and postponed the ceremony.
Of course, that required pulling off the insane combination of not dying in the process, not facing retaliation, and successfully persuading the ghost story….
Amazingly, the one capable of all that—no, the entity capable of it—was attached to their minds.
A talk show host.
A legendary entertainer.
And since the essence of this boarding school was a ghost story centered around an event, it could not escape that overwhelming influence….
Just look at this scene.
‘Not having to draw blood anymore is a bonus.’
Good.
“Now then, do you know what we must do next?”
Within my field of vision, Braun—using Lee Jaheon’s body—raised one hand high.
Right, now he’d tell them to rethink the next wedding properly and dismiss everything here….
“Survival!”
……
Huh?
“A refined yet brutal battle, carried out until only a single groom candidate remains alive!”
Wait a second.
***
Clink.
Eun Haje dropped the spoon she had been holding in her mouth.
Having only just been released the day before yesterday by the Disaster Management Bureau with a “Resigned from Daydream Inc., no charges” ruling, this employee had returned to her My Sweet Officetel….
“…What the hell is this?”
She saw it.
On the late-night TV she had left on in her officetel, some insane broadcast was playing.
[Your Perfect Groom:
Win the Bride’s Choice]
On a screen styled like an early 20th-century black-and-white television, complete with old effects, a matchmaking program was airing.
And the host looked familiar.
“Section Chief?”
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