“Okay, okay! I said I’m sorry, jeez!”

“How dare you think you can get away with just an apology?! You should be groveling before me! Grovel! Now!!”

Vivi was currently on her way to school. It would have a completely average trek for her… if it weren’t for the “hallucination” that was walking right beside her, yelling into her ear.

“I mean, it’s just that when you were on about me getting revenge, I thought you were gonna give me powers! Super strength or something! Not just make a few inches taller.” Indeed, the previously 5’0” Vivi was now 5’5”, just as her hallucination was. Vivi held up her hand to the specter walking beside her, and leaned her head away—as if that would stop her from shrieking at her.

“How disrespectful, human! You should be grateful that I, the great Misoon, shared with you even a fraction of my power!” The apparently great Misoon leaned in even closer as she saw Vivi’s attempts to withdraw from her.

She had just called her a human… now that was something that caught Vivi’s attention. More so than the simple height increase, anyways. “Human? What do you mean by that? You’re not human?” Vivi asked genuinely as she lowered her hand. It seemed as if she had put aside any notion of this specter being a simple hallucination, and settled on the possibility that she was possessed or the like. It seemed like this was a result of her intense vendetta against the students at her school… although the apparition’s promise to get back at them now seemed pretty hopeless.

“Hmph, indeed I am not! Maybe you will come to appreciate what you have been given if I explain who I am to you.” It seemed like Misoon had calmed down a bit, but was still clearly in a foul mood. “Are you ready, girl?”

“I feel like you’re gonna explain no matter what I sa—“

“So, girl,” Misoon began, immediately cutting Vivi off and proving her right. “I have merely resurrected my consciousness through you. I originally had my own body, and was first born about 2,700 years ago. I believe to you humans, that would place my date of birth in the 7th century BC. But to me, it was the era of the Gojoseon Kingdom of the Korean peninsula.”

Misoon cracked a smile as she saw that she had caught Vivi’s attention. She continued, “However, I had no parents, or no family at all. It was as if a child had simply emerged from thin air, right in the middle of the kingdom’s capital of Wanggeom. The unexplainable circumstances of my sudden appearance, as well as my being born in the capital… led the capital’s denizens to treat me as divine. To them, it was as if the gods themselves had delivered a gift right to their doorsteps. I was a good omen, a blessing.”

“I was quickly admitted into the royal palace, given my own room, and granted the treatment fitting of a divine child. The respect and reverence I received from others came second only to the royal family themselves—a fact that I was perfectly content with. However, everything changed when I turned eighteen years old.”

“Prior to my turning eighteen, I was a mere 5’0”, similar to how you once were. This was shorter than average, requiring me to look up at the countless palace denizens around me—even the lowly maids! However, the day after my eighteenth birthday, I noticed that something was amiss. I was now looking these maids directly in the eye. Everyone around me saw this as a simple growth spurt—just another addition to the list of things that I can be celebrated over. Even the royal family congratulated and praised me, believing that even if it were just a slight change, the gods had blessed me with a stature more befitting of a divine young woman.”

“The next day, I was looking down at them all.”

This time, Misoon let out a characteristically wicked laugh as Vivi’s eyes widened.

“Wait, girl! It’s just now getting good!” Misoon continued, taking Vivi’s reaction as excitement. Feeling encouraged, it seemed like the specter’s mood had improved. However, just as she began talking again

with a “For you see—” Misoon was abruptly cut off as Vivi harshly shushed her.

“Shut up!!” Vivi said under her breath, as she moved her finger away from her mouth. She hadn’t quite yet made her way onto campus, but she was beginning to converge with an increasing amount of other students who were also on their way to school. “I don’t know if these people can hear you or not!” This concern of Vivi’s is the reason why her eyes had widened as Misoon spoke—she wasn’t really interested in her story at all.

“Of course they cannot hear me! I am bound to you, remember?” Misoon replied honestly. “But more importantly, do not cut me off again! You little… if you had not made me expend my energy earlier, I would beat you senseless!”

Misoon was referring to when Vivi had “provoked” into her knocking her out back at her house, by calling her increased height lame. The hasty Misoon had attacked Vivi in a fit of anger… but then realized that she now had to get this unconscious girl to school, which is the place she would set her plan in motion. As such, Misoon had temporarily took control of Vivi’s unconscious body, and got her dressed, as well as equipping her with her school gear. This is why Vivi was talking towards her school with her uniform and backpack, even though she didn’t remember getting ready at all.

This uniform consisted of a basic, white button-up shirt, with sleeves that stopped just before the girl’s elbows. This shirt was coupled with a basic blue skirt that fell down to a typical wearer’s knees. However, Vivi tended to wear this skirt in a high-waisted manner, which drew it up a bit higher in her legs. The skirt’s blue matched the color of the uniform’s tie, which fell down to just below Vivi’s chest. Right now, Vivi was donning a basic black backpack, and as for her shoes… she was wearing a pair of worn-out, faded converse—the same pair she had been wearing for ages. It seemed as if she was forced back to this pair after her brand new shoes were completely ruined yesterday…

Of course, the apparition of Misoon had managed to completely copy Vivi’s shirt, skirt, tie, backpack, and shoes. The whole ordeal of taking control of Vivi’s body and getting her ready for school greatly wore Misoon out—she wouldn’t be able to take control of her again for a good amount of time. These were both facts that Misoon told Vivi, in hopes of making the girl feel sorry for her actions. Of course, Vivi felt anything but.

“Okay, b-but still, stop talking to me!” Vivi replied to Misoon. “I don’t want people thinking that I’m talking to myself!”

“Bah! Who cares what these humans think?! And besides… I believe that you’re doing a rather poor job of that so far!” With a smirk, Misoon pointed at a group of about four or five students, who were side-eyeing Vivi from a distance. It seemed like a few of them were laughing… a now blushing Vivi quickly shielded her face with her hands, and picked up her walking speed to distance herself from this group.

Misoon laughed cruelly at Vivi’s clear embarrassment. However, just as quickly as she had started her laughter… she immediately ceased. It seemed like something had caught her eye….

“Halt, girl.” Misoon held her arm out in front of Vivi, stopping them both in their tracks. “Who is that?” As she spoke, she pointed at a student who was walking by himself, on the opposite side of the street.

“…Dunno, just some guy.” Vivi shrugged her shoulders as she glanced at the person Misoon was referring to. “He’s—“

“He’s perfect!” Misoon shouted far too loudly, jolting Vivi from her casual stride. But as she took a closer look at the seemingly normal student, she couldn’t figure out what Misoon considered to be “perfect” about him. He looked exceptionally… lame. Like the common, textbook example of a “nerd.” He was a white kid who’s pale face was framed by thick-rimmed, black glasses. His brown hair was messy and slightly matted, and fell down over his eyes. He wore the typical male variant of the school uniform—the same white shirt and blue tie that Vivi wore, but with brown khakis instead. And as for his shoes… he was wearing old Nikes. To top it all off, he was obviously slouching, his back bent forward a couple of degrees as he gazed down at his phone. Overall, not a single shred of confidence was emitted from the boy.

That last bit is exactly what Misoon told Vivi, as excitedly as a child with a new toy.

“I mean, yeah, I agree. But what does that matter? That just means I don’t wanna go near him.” Vivi spoke back to Misoon. It seemed like she had relapsed into talking aloud to her Doppelgänger, and was eliciting more stares from surrounding students.

“You wish to become even more powerful, yes? To shine more brightly?! That student is the key! And for precisely those very reasons!” Misoon’s gaze become notably more serious and her smile became more sinister. “Child… you must always target the weakest links first!”

A chill ran down Vivi’s spine. She really didn’t like the sound of that… “What do you mean? You gonna kill him?!” She asked nervously.

“Don’t be a fool, girl. His death would defeat his purpose.” Misoon’s voice suddenly came deathly serious as she continued to speak. “Just make sure that you keep track of him throughout the entire day! After the school day ends… that is when we will make our move!”