Ghost Story (2)
*Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong*
The bell sound was getting closer and closer.
*Thud, thud-thud, thud-thud*
The sound of the head jumping around to find its body also followed me.
“If you tell ghost stories in a cemetery, ghosts will come. If you tell ghost stories in a cemetery, ghosts will come.”
The voice that sounded like it would drive me insane was also close behind me.
I really felt like I was going crazy.
Why do these things keep happening only to me!
What did I do wrong!
I decided to hole up in the library bathroom and think of a way to resolve the situation.
Fortunately, I had what could be called a Status Window!
“Advice!”
Please tell me the right answer to get through this situation!
Advice from[Broken Clock]:
There is a proper cause and effect for everything.
There is a proper cause and effect for everything!
It made sense.
There must be some reason why I experience terrible things every day!
Since when did these things start happening?
Come to think of it, my daily life started overflowing with creepiness after I used 100 Points to open the shop and pressed the “Unlock Old School Building” button.
That was the problem!
*Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong*
The bell sound was getting closer and closer.
Was it really trying to come into the men’s restroom at the library?
No.
I realized that the sound wasn’t coming from outside the bathroom.
The sound was coming from… right above me… right above where I was trembling in the bathroom stall.
“……”
*Creak-. Creak, creak*
*Ding-Dong*
Along with some unknown creepy sound, the bell rang above my head.
If I lifted my head here, I’d be able to see what was above my head.
But… if I did that, I was sure I’d die.
I’m going to die!
It felt like all the blood drained from my body.
The feeling of blood sinking to my toes and turning cold.
My body temperature must have dropped by 2 degrees in an instant.
“…Oh, shit.”
*Shwoop*
Careful not to lift my head, I slowly got up in a low posture.
Very quietly and slowly, like a snail sticking out its tentacles, I reached out and… unlocked the bathroom lock.
*Click*
Good.
Now, if I just push this open and go out…
*Tug*
That’s when something grabbed my shoulder.
Through my clothes, I felt an icy chill to the bone.
“Eekkkk! Fuck! Aaahhhh! Aaaahhhh! Aaaaaaahhh!”
When a person gets really startled, they’re supposed to have a seizure.
That was exactly me right now, and I screamed and trembled as if I was about to piss myself.
“Are you okay?”
“…What?”
“Are you okay?”
“……”
…What?
I wanted to ask what was going on.
When I came to my senses, the bell sound, the bathroom, and the chilling touch were all gone.
Instead, a woman wearing a red blouse and black slacks with her hair tied back was looking at me with a frown.
She was a sophisticated and pretty woman.
The scent of some unknown perfume wafted strongly.
“…Ms. Hong Miri?”
“Yes.”
The woman was my English teacher who I had a crush on for a while. She was very young at 27, very sensible and pretty, so she was hugely popular among the students too.
“Why were you so startled? Were you having a nightmare while napping at the desk?”
“Ah.”
“They say many people have nightmares or see things because the school grounds are on a large vein of water. Since it’s time to close the library, get out now. Wipe your drool.”
*Click-. Clack-. Clack-.*
Clicking her high heels on the solid floor, the English teacher disappeared into the distance.
I got up from the library desk, shaking off my dazed feeling.
In front of me, books like “Ghost Encounter Records” and “Creepy Ghost Stories from Back Alleys” were scattered haphazardly.
Drool was also dripping from the corner of my mouth, so I must have been sleeping mindlessly.
“A dream…?”
Was everything that happened until now a dream?
Where did the dream begin, and where did it end?
“……”
It was already 8 p.m.
I didn’t even know when I fell asleep, but it was well past evening.
“Ah, shit, no wonder I had a nightmare reading this kind of books.”
I roughly gathered the scattered books and put them in my bag.
That’s when a book titled “Easy Guide to Feng Shui” fell out from among my things.
A post-it with “Yoo Dahee” written on it was attached.
“Why feng shui?”
I brought it close to my nose and sniffed, and it smelled pretty good.
“Was it a dream that Yoo Dahee gave this to me? Did she recommend it because I mentioned I like feng shui?”
*Brrrr*
That’s when my body shivered.
I had to pee.
No joke, my bladder was about to burst.
What if I had woken up peeing my pants… How much would Ms. Hong Miri have despised me? I might have had to drop out of school.
Shaking off such silly thoughts and the goosebumps that had risen on my body, I headed towards the bathroom.
“……”
For some reason, I felt dirty about using the library bathroom.
Was it because of the nightmare I had?
“…I’ll do it at home.”
*Shwoop*
I turned around and headed home.
*Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong*
The bell began to sound behind me again.
“Oh fuck, what is this?”
This time, it wasn’t a dream.
*Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong*
The bell kept ringing.
I also felt like something was chasing me.
I really wanted to cry.
Nevertheless, the reason I didn’t go crazy was because I still had about 620 unused Points.
Even if it’s unfair to me, I have to keep my sanity until I use it all up!
*Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong*
The bell sound kept ringing.
“Where… Where… Where… Where…”
If I listened closely, I could hear a voice that was either whimpering or wailing.
I really felt like I was going to go insane.
The dark back alleys of Cheonmun-dong were as empty as ever today.
I said I liked Gaeryong City a while ago, but I take that back.
This place was a damned neighborhood.
Seoul, with lots of people, is the best after all!
My heart is soft~~
Like a clear stream~~
Stream, stream, stream~~
I made a call while paying attention to the creepy presence coming from behind me.
“Yang Juhui. Pick up. Pick up. Pick up.”
Maybe if I’m with my teammate Yang Juhui, I can somehow get through this ordeal!
The identity of the bell sound was probably a shaman ghost.
And Yang Juhui’s family had been shamans for generations, so maybe people with the souls of shamans could either have a showdown or a conversation!
With such creative and groundless thoughts, I called Yang Juhui, trying to grasp at straws, but Yang Juhui didn’t answer my call.
Is she sleeping? Taking a shower?
“This sucks….”
*Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong*
The bell sound was getting closer and closer.
Thankfully, the speed wasn’t very fast, and I could sufficiently outpace it with my pace.
But I didn’t know how long this sound would follow me.
As a human, I had to sleep, and if the bell lady caught up to me, then… I didn’t even want to imagine what would happen.
It might be my loss if it came to a fight.
Rather than that… wouldn’t it be right for me to find the answer and figure it out first?
The Broken Clock’s advice said, “There is a proper cause and effect for everything.”
If I found out the cause or background of how the shaman ghost came to be, there might be information that would help me get rid of it.
And that information… would probably be in the school library.
“…Go there again?”
8 p.m.
The thought of going to the dark school library alone was really scary.
It would have been nice if Yang Juhui had been there, but she still wasn’t answering the phone.
“Would you come to the school library? I’m so scared!”
Just in case, I left a message.
The 1 hadn’t disappeared, but… she’ll check it someday!
Then, a contact caught my eye.
“Jeong Sojin”.
Should I call Jeong Sojin?
Jeong Sojin has the trait called “Attentive.”
If that applies in reality too, she might be able to effectively find the book I’m looking for in the library.
“No. I can’t.”
I changed my train of thought.
Jeong Sojin is only useful as a colleague when her own safety is guaranteed.
If this ghost was visible to Jeong Sojin too… she would definitely throw me as bait and run away!
“Ha, shit….”
Life without friends is so hard.
Then, a brilliant idea occurred to me.
I’ll use Jeong Sojin.
Jeong Sojin must have an “Emergency Contact List for Class”!
*Beep beep beep beep*
It was a typical and boring dial tone.
When it rang about five times, someone answered the phone.
Hello.
“Hey. Vice president. It’s me, Ha Youngwon. You have to help me a bit. Remember when I helped you? When you were getting hit by Bong Jiyeon. I helped you, didn’t I? You help me too.”
My phone number is....
“I asked Jeong Sojin! That’s not important right now! Help me out a little! A shaman ghost is chasing me! You know! It’ll sound like nonsense! Anyway, help me a bit! Please! A shaman ghost is chasing me! Please….”
......
“Really, help me out! Come on! You really want to help me die! Huh?”
......
“If I die today, it’s because of you! Dude! Bro! Please! Come on!”
I used both pleading and threats at the same time.
Given the situation, it wasn’t the time to be picky about this and that method.
“If this gets resolved well, I’ll give you 100,000 won! 100,000 won! Come to the front of the school library!”
I was almost screaming.
*Phew….*
I heard a pretty deep sigh, and then a blunt boy’s voice was heard.
Okay. Wait. It'll take about 10 minutes.
Oh, shit…!
Got it! Yes!
I turned my steps towards the school.
Just as they say that facing hardships together is better than facing them alone, I felt much better thinking that I could somehow overcome this damn situation with someone else. This is why humans can’t live alone.
From now on, I won’t leave those who advocate for a single life alone.
Community life! Helping each other!
This is the true human way of life!
“Ha Youngwon. What the hell is it?”
When I went to the front of the library, a rather surly-looking boy was standing there. I was so happy that I really wanted to hug him tightly.
“Jeong Seok. From now on, find all the books related to the history of our school in the library. All. Of. Them!”
“……”
Jeong Seok frowned.
He was a stubborn-looking guy.
“Why? What’s the reason? If you don’t do this, you die?”
“Ghost! There’s a ghost! A shaman ghost! A shaman ghost is chasing me! You know! It’ll sound like nonsense! Anyway, help me a bit! Please….”
*Ding-dong, ding-dong*
I made a sincere appeal, trying hard to ignore the bell sound that was getting closer.
Then Jeong Seok frowned even more as if he was in a bad mood.
“Are you playing around now? Ghost? Are you making fun of me now? Even playing a bell sound?”
…Bell?
I didn’t tell Jeong Seok anything about a bell.
I was about to think it was strange.
Jeong Seok’s expression, which had been frowning, slowly changed in a subtle way.
It seemed like he saw something over my shoulder.
“…Hey. That shaman ghost… what does it look like? There’s something standing on the road where cars pass by… Something is standing there and coming this way…?”
“Skinny legs in traditional Korean socks. Loose hanbok-like clothes, with breasts bigger than you’d expect. And a terrifying face.”
Jeong Seok was smart enough to rank 5th in the school on midterms.
With my explanation, the guy seemed to quickly understand the situation with his clever mind.
“Oh, Ha Youngwon, you son of a bitch.”
“You saw it too. You saw it too! You’re my teammate now! My teammate!”
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