Chapter 37: Chapter 37 - When the Ghost Knocks
Yoo Chan squinted first, blinking a few times.
"...what the—" he muttered, rubbing his eyes. "You see that too?"
Kim Jae-ho turned his head, laughing. "Bro, I think we drank too much. I’m seeing two of you standing by the door."
He pointed at Hyun Woo, his grin lazy and half-drunk.
"Hey—who’re you supposed to be? Delivery guy? You bring more booze?"
Neither of them moved from their seats.
One reached for his bottle again, the other kept laughing like it was all a joke.
"Still laughing," Hyun Woo said. "Guess guilt doesn’t last long when daddy buys the cleanup."
Yoo Chan laughed again, waving his hand.
"Yo, chill man, you lost or something? Wrong house."
Hyun Woo tilted his head slightly, the faintest grin under the shadow of his hood.
"Wrong house?" he said, voice low. "No. I came for the right one."
Kim Jae-ho frowned, squinting harder. "The hell’s that supposed to mean?"
He chuckled again, half slurring his words. "Bro, maybe the ’Judge’ finally came to get us."
That made Yoo Chan laugh harder, almost spilling his drink.
"Yeah? Then what, he gonna—what’s the word—’deliver judgment’ or something?"
Hyun Woo stepped closer. One slow step. Then another.
The wooden floor creaked. The sound of his shoe tapping the floor hit sharper than their music.
"You think it’s a joke," Hyun Woo said. "You laughed when he cried. When he begged."
"Let’s make you sober first."
The words came out quiet, flat.
Kim Jae-ho paused mid-drink, looking up. "What did you just say?"
Hyun Woo didn’t answer.
He started walking toward them, slow and steady, and that was enough to make both of them finally look his way.
Hyun Woo stopped a few steps away from them.
His voice dropped lower.
"Judgment Strike."
[ Skill Activated — Judgment Strike ]
A golden light filled the dark room, and chains came out from the floor, flying fast toward Yoo Chan and Kim Jae-ho.
One wrapped around Yoo Chan’s neck, pulling him down to the floor.
The others tied their wrists and legs, pinning them both in place.
Bottles rolled off the table as they hit the floor, their laughter gone in a second.
Yoo Chan choked, trying to pull the chain off his neck, eyes wide like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
"What the—what is this!?" he shouted, voice cracking.
Kim Jae-ho was on the floor too, struggling against the chains. "Hey! Hey! This some kind of trick?!"
He pulled hard, the metal didn’t even move. The glow from it reflected on his face, turning his skin pale.
Both of them were awake now.
The alcohol was gone from their bodies and replaced by fear.
Yoo Chan’s breath came short. "Who the hell are you!? Let me go, damn it!"
He twisted, feet kicking uselessly against the floor.
Hyun Woo didn’t answer.
He just walked closer and stopped a few steps away from them, looking down.
The light from the chains reflected in his eyes.
"You begged that boy to stop too," he said quietly. "Did he get a chance to breathe?"
Yoo Chan’s mouth opened, but no words came out. His face went pale, eyes shaking as if his brain couldn’t catch up with what he was hearing.
Kim Jae-ho stopped moving too, his breath stuck in his throat. For a second, both of them just stared — like idiots who suddenly realized the joke wasn’t funny anymore.
Yoo Chan stammered, "Wh-what are you talking about... we didn’t—"
Hyun Woo tilted his head slightly, almost bored.
"You laughed when he cried," he said. "And laughed again when his case disappeared."
He crouched down a little, voice dropping to a whisper.
"Now laugh again. Let’s see if you can."
The two just stared — eyes wide, breath caught, the sound of the chains still rattling against the floor.
The chains glowing golden and wrapping tight around their arms and legs.
Neither of them moved.
Neither even tried.
Their faces went pale at the same time, like the truth finally hit.
This wasn’t a dream.
This wasn’t a trick.
Yoo Chan’s voice cracked, barely holding together. "W–wait... that story online... you’re—"
Kim Jae-ho’s head shook fast, voice shaking. "The Judge... it’s real...?"
Hyun Woo looked down at them, eyes calm, almost quiet.
"Finally," he said. "You understand."
He took one slow step forward, the chains tightening with the sound of metal grinding against tile.
"But it’s too late."
[ Sin Codex — Judgment Initiated ]
[ Subject: Yoo Chan / Kim Jae-ho ]
[ Crime Type: Cruelty Leading to Death ]
[ Verdict: Pending ]
The golden light flashed too bright and then vanished.
When it cleared, Yoo Chan and Kim Jae-ho were no longer inside the house.
They were on the cold stone floor.
Their bodies were gone, only their souls left now, glowing a little like smoke.
Golden chains were holding them down.
One was around the neck, two on the wrists, and two on the legs.
The chains came straight out from the floor, pulling them hard so they couldn’t move no matter how much they tried.
The whole floor was covered with fog.
It went on forever — you couldn’t even see where it ended.
The fog reached up to their knees, cold and still.
At the far end, up a few steps, Hyun Woo sat on the judge’s seat — high, simple, but cold-looking.
The fog around them started to move and gather together, slowly forming shapes.
It turned into the hallway — lockers, walls, students walking by.
In a few seconds, the Hall of Judgment was gone, and Hyun Woo was standing inside their memory, like a movie being played right in front of him.
It was the hallway of the classroom.
Students were still around — some talking, some laughing, some just packing their bags to go home.
In the middle of all that noise, one boy stood near the locker, holding his bag close, just wanting to go home as soon as possible.
Then Yoo Chan and Kim Jae-ho showed up from behind.
Both grinning, like they already planned something.
"Yo, pretty boy," Yoo Chan said, pushing him hard on the shoulder.
The boy stumbled a little, but didn’t say anything.
Kim Jae-ho lifted his phone and started recording. "Come on, act shy. The girls love that online."