I Returned, and Now I See Strange Things-Chapter 56: The Face I Couldn’t Forget

The reflection of the woman in the mirror vanished in the blink of an eye.

But the image had already burned itself into Ayun’s eyes.

No—more accurately, it had already been burned into her.

‘There’s no way I would’ve forgotten.’

Because it was the face of the woman presumed to have made Ayun’s body the way it was now.

As the blurry face resurfaced in her mind, the hardships she’d endured since returning came rushing back all at once.

Crack.

A gruesome sound came from Ayun’s teeth.

Then, she realized there was a smartphone in her hand.

‘Ah, I’m streaming right now.’

Mouth twitching, Ayun adjusted her expression, slightly relaxing the tight grip on her hand as she lifted the smartphone.

What just happened??

I'm scared!!!

Ayun looked at the frantic chat window and smiled as if it were nothing, then opened her mouth.

“...Gotcha, didn’t I?”

Ah f*ck, that scared me

How fun must it be to laugh that wickedly?

(Message deleted)

For a hastily made excuse, it seemed to go over surprisingly well.

“I guess rock-paper-scissors doesn’t really mean anything after all.”

But that aside—

‘Why... was that face reflected in the mirror?’

Recalling that face again, Ayun barely managed to hold her downward-tugging lips in place as she slowly stepped out of the bathroom.

It didn’t seem like she could continue the stream any longer.

Taking a seat at the table and setting her smartphone down, Ayun looked at the screen and said,

“Mm... thanks for coming even though it was such a sudden stream.”

That’s it already?

Let’s go do the elevator game

Ayun looked at the barrage of disappointed messages flooding the chat and felt a strange mix of emotions.

But given her current state, she figured she’d just keep thinking about that face if she kept going.

“I don’t think I can keep streaming with my phone like this anymore.”

Just as she said that and reached for her phone—

(User: AyunSnacksThief has donated 10,000 won)

Kinda sus how this feels like a bait for donations;

(User: JustLetMeEatRamen has donated 10,000 won)

Lowkey mad you didn’t let me eat ramen... but I’ll let it slide this time.

With a loud sound effect, donations started pouring in.

There could’ve been all sorts of reasons—

But most likely, it was because Ayun’s room looked like some haunted house on the stream.

...Not that they were wrong.

“Ah, no, it’s not like that!” Ayun said, unable to suppress the smile creeping up on her lips.

Only after she read through the wave of donations was Ayun finally able to end the stream.

Her face, which had been twisted into a grimace after seeing the face of the woman suspected of doing this to her—

Was already glowing with light.

Yeah. So what if she saw a familiar face in the mirror?

It wasn’t like the real thing had shown up in front of her—there was no reason to let it get to her.

‘The present’s what matters, right?’

It was probably best to forget someone she wouldn’t ever see again anyway.

Having completed her monetary therapy, Ayun hummed a tune as she requested her donation payout.

It wouldn’t arrive immediately, but just seeing the accumulated amount made her feel good.

[Are you that happy?]

“Of course I am.”

Reality still called for frugality, but if things stayed on track... she could probably turn this into a proper job.

‘Not like I started it because I had any other options anyway.’

And just then—

Her smartphone vibrated.

She picked it up carefully to check the caller. The name displayed was Hyeyeon.

When she pressed the answer button, a tired voice came through.

“Unni?”

“Ah, yeah. Hey, Hyeyeon.”

Ayun still wasn’t quite used to being called unni, but... at the very least, she didn’t forget ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) that it was meant for her.

Hyeyeon’s voice was full of worry.

“You’re really okay, right?”

Apparently, she’d gotten worried after seeing Ayun’s strange expression midway through the stream.

“I’m fine. Nothing really happened.”

“Really?” ƒreewebɳovel.com

It didn’t sound too convincing, but Hyeyeon didn’t press further.

She might act irrationally sometimes, but she wasn’t the type to lie.

“By the way, I think you really need a new phone. That crack from before, and now the video quality’s gotten pretty bad too.”

“...I did request the payout just now.”

She’d escaped a life of starving and sleeping outside, but the money still wasn’t nearly enough to buy new gear.

“That won’t be enough, right? You should shoot more videos and get monetized on YouTube too—”

There was life creeping back into Hyeyeon’s previously exhausted voice.

She seemed genuinely excited at the thought of having another occult experience while filming new content.

‘...She looks totally normal though.’

She wasn’t a bad person, but Ayun couldn’t help thinking there was something just a little strange about her.

The two began discussing their next filming location.

***

A few days had passed since the woman had appeared in the mirror.

Ayun checked the mirror again.

It was the kind commonly seen in old buildings—smeared with water stains, mounted above a restroom sink.

After splashing cold water with the shower head, she stood in front of it, seeing her changed appearance reflected.

She tried doing rock-paper-scissors at the mirror again, wondering if the image would reappear, but there was no response afterward.

‘Did she say she’d grant a wish?’

If so, was her wish to see that face again?

...She might beat her to a pulp if they met, but honestly, it wasn’t like she wanted to see her again.

She hadn’t even made a wish while playing rock-paper-scissors, so maybe it was just a ghost playing tricks.

“Whew...”

She told herself not to think about it—

But how could she not?

She tried covering one eye and focusing her energy, but if the ghost or whatever it was had already left, the mirror didn’t seem to hold anything anymore.

[Still thinking about it?]

“No.”

[You’re not very good at lying.]

She gave Ignis, still in her pocket, a firm squeeze, then used the bathroom as an opportunity to straighten her clothes.

She had a stream to do.

Closing the softly swinging door behind her, she stepped outside.

The street beyond was quiet and scattered with fallen leaves.

It felt like looking at her own rootless self, and her emotions grew unsteady.

Maybe it was because things had settled down a bit lately—she’d been having a lot more sentimental thoughts.

But just as she sighed at herself for being so pathetic—

A familiar sound came from far away.

Along with the noise came a vehicle she recognized.

It stopped in front of her like it had been planned.

A smile tugged at her lips as she opened the passenger door, and there it was—the face she hadn’t expected to see.

As she waved in greeting, the guy let out a sigh heavy enough to collapse the earth.

“Sighing like that makes you lose luck, you know.”

“...Who even says stuff like that these days?”

Right—it was Hyesung, who’d sworn he’d never come along again.

Looking to the back seat, she saw Hyeyeon waving enthusiastically.

Ayun fastened her seatbelt in the passenger seat and asked, her tone mischievous,

“I thought you weren’t coming back.”

At that, Hyesung turned toward Hyeyeon with a tragic expression.

“She said she’d drive. How am I supposed to sleep at night if she crashes the car?”

“...Is Hyeyeon that bad at driving?”

Hyesung answered with rare seriousness.

“It’s not a driver’s license—it’s a license to kill.”

“Hey! I’ve never hit anyone, okay?”

“I’m still amazed you passed the driving test. How’d you do it?”

...From their bickering, Ayun could guess what Hyeyeon’s driving skills were like.

No wonder she always avoided eye contact when licenses were mentioned.

For Hyesung, who ran from ghosts, to follow her back out here—he must’ve been really worried.

‘Hopefully we won’t have to do this again.’

She didn’t want to go ghost-hunting just to end up as a ghost herself.

And yet... watching the two argue made her smile for some reason.

Maybe it was because it felt like there were people who worried for her, people who needed her.

When she smiled, the two who’d been arguing awkwardly stopped.

“Hrm hrm...”

“...We’re heading out now.”

“Okay.”

The car pulled out smoothly.

As expected, Hyesung was a good driver.

Anyway.

This time, they were headed to a national highway out in the countryside.

It was a location chosen because filming in the city had to be put on hold.

Since a car was essential, Ayun had been agonizing over it—until Hyeyeon said she had a license.

Thinking it was perfect, Ayun had asked Hyesung if she could borrow his car.

‘Wait, Hyeyeon’s going to drive?’

The tone in his voice, like he’d just heard something that should never be said, was hilarious.

Still—she was grateful to be able to count on his help.

Now on the expressway, Ayun noticed Hyesung seemed more relaxed and cautiously asked,

“Still having weird dreams lately?”

His expression turned surprised.

“Thanks to you, no.”

“Then you could totally tag along again, right?”

“...No thanks.”

“You said last time was the last too.”

“...Should I turn the car around?”

She shook her head at his growl.

...If Hyeyeon said she’d drive again, he’d probably show up anyway.

‘Then again, he’d probably just refuse to lend her the car.’

Felt like this was a one-time exception.

He’d only come because she’d already committed to the content.

...In the end, it meant Arin needed to get her license soon, and Ayun had to earn enough to pay her.

‘...I can do it.’

She’d heard the monetization for YouTube would be approved soon.

Yeah—it would all work out.

She had people helping her, after all.

Somewhere deep down, a voice asked if she wasn’t being too optimistic—

But she just... wanted to believe.