Home Ghost Story
Yoo Dahee was waiting for me in front of our house.
I thought I needed to check if her presence was somehow not human-like.
To determine if she’s a ghost or not!
“You can’t suddenly scream or anything! I warned you! If you suddenly scare me or startle me, I’ll really get angry!”
Ghosts are already dead, so their hearts don’t beat.
If I reach out here and check Yoo Dahee’s heartbeat, everything will be clear.
But putting my hand on a high school girl’s chest… in a way, it was more nerve-wracking and frightening than heading to the basement of Gukyo Temple.
Yoo Dahee asked.
“…Why aren’t you checking?”
“No. I can’t do it with you looking at me like that.”
“Okay. Then I’ll cover my eyes.”
*Swish*
Yoo Dahee covered her face with her hands.
Perhaps because Yoo Dahee’s gaze was gone, I felt much more at ease.
“Then I’ll really check. I don’t have any weird intentions. I’m just scared. Please understand.”
I truly just wanted to know if Yoo Dahee was a ghost or not, without any ulterior motives.
So I slowly reached out my hand and gently… placed it on Yoo Dahee’s chest!
And I felt like all the blood in my body would freeze in an instant.
My hair stood on end, and the ground beneath my feet suddenly felt like it would sink.
“The heart…”
…The heart isn’t beating?
Even with my hand on her chest, Yoo Dahee’s heart wasn’t beating!
This could only mean one thing.
“…!”
Oh no.
Ha Youngwon, you stupid bastard!
You fell for such an obvious trap again!
“The heart… isn’t beating!”
What’s going to happen to me now?
Will I be absorbed and disappear, starting with the hand that touched the chest of this high school girl ghost who looks like Yoo Dahee?
As I was thinking, the high school girl Yoo Dahee, who had her face covered with her hands, said,
“…Busted?”
“Eek!”
“Haha. Just kidding. If I were really a ghost, Youngwon would have come looking for me every day. It’s fun to tease you. The heart is more toward the center. Here.”
*Swish*
One of the hands covering her face came down and grabbed my hand.
And she led it more toward the center of her chest and pressed my hand forcefully.
Thanks to that, my hand could feel a softness it had never experienced before.
A high school girl’s uniform vest.
Her shirt.
And underneath, what could be felt…
*Thud*
Just then, the sensor light illuminating the 4th-floor staircase turned off again.
We were blanketed in darkness, and I felt like I was dreaming.
“How is it? Can you feel my heartbeat? It must be beating like crazy right now. This is the first time I’ve felt like this.”
…Actually, I couldn’t really tell.
Perhaps because Yoo Dahee was wearing a school uniform, there were many layers.
Especially since women wear one more layer of underwear than men.
*Press*
But Yoo Dahee’s hand pressing my hand was very warm and soft.
It didn’t feel like a ghost.
*Slide*
I pulled my hand away, somehow feeling embarrassed.
Although I couldn’t feel Yoo Dahee’s heartbeat due to the thick clothes, I thought she was human. Then, I became very embarrassed about what had just happened.
“…Is this a dream too?”
I mumbled to myself as it didn’t feel real.
Then Yoo Dahee spoke.
“What are you saying? A dream.”
The 4th floor was shrouded in darkness, so I couldn’t see Yoo Dahee’s expression.
Fortunately, my flustered face would also not be visible to Yoo Dahee.
“*Ahem* Dahee. I hope you understand that there were no ulterior motives or personal feelings in what just happened. Anyway, let’s not stay here like this and go inside.”
I moved my body this way and that.
The light came back on.
*Beep, beep, beep*
As I was pressing the door lock number, Yoo Dahee, who was standing next to me, stared intently at my hand.
Did she want to hijack the number?
*Ding-a-ling*
When I opened the door and went inside, the interior was pitch dark.
Night had fallen before I knew it.
When I turned on the light, the inside of the house brightened.
“……”
For now, I looked around with the mind of a vigilant sentry.
I wondered if cockroaches might be hiding somewhere.
Looking for cockroaches every time I came home and turned on the lights was my daily routine.
Fortunately, none were visible today.
“Dahee. But is it okay? If your family reports you missing, won’t it needlessly complicate things?”
Yoo Dahee said she had run away from home.
It means she didn’t leave the house legally.
Didn’t she say her cell phone was confiscated at home?
Who could be at ease if their daughter left on her own without any means to contact them?
If I had a daughter like Yoo Dahee, I would have set her curfew at 4 PM to make her come home early.
The world is a dangerous place.
The boys in Yoo Dahee’s grade were especially wolves, eagerly waiting to get closer to girls.
If I were a dad, I’d really smash them all.
Anyway.
Yoo Dahee said.
“I don’t know.”
…No.
Shouldn’t you be the one who knows?
It seemed like the spoiled tantrum of a rich family’s daughter. Yoo Dahee didn’t seem to think about the disadvantages that the common man Ha Youngwon, who got caught up in her running away, would face.
*Swish*
Yoo Dahee sat on a dining chair.
And she swung her legs and said.
“It’ll probably be fine. There was a time before when I didn’t go home for about a month. My family didn’t look for me then. It’ll probably be the same this time, too.”
“A whole month?”
Is Yoo Dahee more delinquent than she looks?
It’s impressive that she was able to stay out of the house for a month. How did she stay out for a whole month?
“…But Youngwon. I’m hungry. Thirsty.”
That’s right.
Yoo Dahee said she had been waiting for me in front of our house since this morning.
She probably didn’t eat or drink much.
I was hungry, too.
For dinner, we ordered chicken mayo lunchboxes.
It seemed like it was Yoo Dahee’s first time eating chicken mayo.
“It’s delicious.”
I don’t know if it’s just a polite remark or if she meant it.
After eating, Yoo Dahee borrowed our bathroom to wash up.
Thanks to Yang Juhui staying at our house with Jeong Seok before, I was able to prepare clothes for Yoo Dahee to wear.
I should give her the sweatpants I used to wear.
Black Adidas sweatpants.
With that feeling, 30 minutes passed, and Yoo Dahee appeared in the living room wearing my sweatpants and smelling of soap.
Her face had no makeup at all, but perhaps because she had showered with hot water, I was surprised to see a slight flush on her complexion.
Yoo Dahee is really pretty, even without any makeup.
“What?”
“…No. Then shall we go to sleep now? Dahee, you can use my mom’s room.”
“Okay! But I’m so excited. This is my first time sleeping over at a friend’s house.”
It’s her first time sleeping over at a friend’s house.
Then, suddenly, I became curious.
She said she had run away from home for a whole month before.
Where did she sleep then?
Something I felt while being entangled with Yoo Dahee for a few days.
She was a girl who always made me put question marks.
Like an onion, no matter how much you peel, questions keep emerging.
The “wish coupon” would be the way to solve my curiosity.
I’ll have to use this well.
“Dahee. You said you’d grant my wish if we go to the old school building together, right?”
“…Huh? Did I say that? I don’t remember.”
“What?”
“Haha. Just kidding.”
“I see.”
From pretending to be a ghost to scare me.
Yoo Dahee is a friend who likes jokes.
Actually, her jokes weren’t that funny, but maybe because she’s pretty, they somehow made me laugh.
If I were an incredibly handsome guy, I bet girls would have burst into giggles and made a fuss just from me saying “It’s delicious” while eating.
“But Youngwon. I felt this last time I came too, but I don’t think the arrangement of your room is very good. Did you know there’s a geomantically correct way to place furniture?”
“Furniture?”
“Look here. The fan is placed by the head of the bed, right? Turning on the fan and sleeping with it blowing toward your head can be dangerous. It’s better to put it by the feet like this.”
*Swish*
Yoo Dahee moved my fan to the foot of the blanket.
But there was a problem.
“There’s no outlet there, so the fan can’t be plugged in.”
“Really? Then… can’t you at least move this chair?”
“The computer chair? Why?”
“Have you heard that if you sleep with a chair by your head, a ghost will sit on it and look down at you sleeping until morning?”
If you sleep with a chair by your head, a ghost will sit and watch you sleep.
I’ve never heard of that before.
But somehow, it made me feel uneasy.
When I get this uneasy feeling, it always means a real ghost appeared.
After much deliberation, I could come up with a way to eliminate both the fan and desk by my head at once!
It was for me to turn my head to the opposite side and sleep!
“Can I put my head this way and sleep?”
“No. You can’t do that! This is the north side. They say you shouldn’t sleep with your head to the north. The north has a lot of yin energy, so you might have nightmares or sleep paralysis!”
“…Really?”
Then what should I do?
When I felt perplexed, Yoo Dahee said.
“…Was I being too fussy? My grandfather is sensitive about these things, so I must have taken after him.”
“Your grandfather… the school chairman?”
I heard it briefly when teacher Hong Miri was scolding Yoo Dahee.
Something about the school chairman.
In other words, Yoo Dahee’s grandfather is currently the chairman of the Yeongji High School Foundation.
*Ding*
Just then, my cell phone rang.
Joo Chanmi: Hey Youngwon, it's your church unnie. It was nice to see you today.
“……”
What?
It was Joo Chanmi unnie, the high school teacher at Yeongkwang Church.
How did she find out my number?
I didn’t write it down.
“Who is it?”
Yoo Dahee was curious.
I… answered briefly!
“Church unnie.”
“Church? Youngwon, you went to church?”
“…Why? Do you not like people who go to church?”
Should I stop going next week?
As I was thinking that, Yoo Dahee said.
“No. It’s just. My grandfather used to go to church too. We have a prayer room at home.”
Yoo Dahee’s grandfather is the person who called a shaman when building the school, right?
The person who called a shaman also went to church.
It reminded me of politicians who go to temples, churches, and even get fortunes told by shamans during election season.
Well… that kind of feeling, I guess.
*Ding*
Joo Chanmi: Do you remember me? I got your contact info from Pastor Cheon Aesu, haha.
What?
Is she very interested in me?
Is this a green light?
Joo Chanmi: I heard from the pastor that you're a PC, Youngwon? A pastor's child. There's a spot open in our advanced Bible study group. Would you like to join? The time is Monday evening service time.
Sheesh. This was an invitation to attend a church service.
And Monday service.
Shouldn’t it be called a prayer meeting or prayer gathering on Mondays, not a service?
Come to think of it, Yang Juhui’s mom, Deaconess Kim Yeook, also said she was attending Monday service.
That time, she was possessed by a shaman ghost, and I defeated it.
Anyway, how passionate must this church be to have services even on Mondays…?
If I get caught up here, it’ll really be big trouble.
I’ll have to participate in all the high school, college activities, and do things like serve as a church officer, elementary Sunday school teacher, lead praise, and volunteer - dedicate my whole life to church.
And without pay!
Joo Chanmi: I'll contact you tomorrow! Let's have dinner together if you're free in the evening!
…Damn it.
How can I not be happy when the church unnie I had a crush on for a short time asks me to have dinner together!
I’ll have to think of some excuse to get out of it somehow.
“Youngwon is popular. Keeps getting messages too. Well then, Youngwon. Good night.”
Yoo Dahee went into my mom’s room.
After that, I fell asleep in such a daze that I didn’t know when, but I felt terribly cold, so when I turned my head, the fan by my head was on.
“What, when did it turn on.”
*Click*
When I pressed the stop button, text popped up.
Congratulations!
You have triumphed over the ‘Fan Ghost Story’!
Starting settlement for the survivors’ (1 person) share.
50P acquired
Funds: 538P
“What, damn it. Is it a point duplication event?”
So freaking funny.
The time now is midnight.
I felt like I was forgetting something, so I thought hard and could barely remember.
“Ah. Today’s the day to enter the corridor. Status window.”
I manipulated the status window.
Chapter 1. Nightmare Corridor
Please select players from the list below.
You can select up to 4 people.
To the Nightmare Corridor… Let’s go!
But first, shall I look at the player sheet?
“There’s something new.”
There were letters saying “NEW” on the player sheet.
It was a newly acquired item by Yang Juhui.
- Princess Magic Wand (New!)