Chapter 5: Found You

“Quiet down,” I snapped.

That bastard Kim Ji-ho was already acting like a troll. I snapped at him and then scanned the hallway once more.

I was told to find clues, so I had to leave the classroom. But when? Surely they wouldn’t let us wander the hallway forever like this. Should I just wait quietly?

However, the longer you stay in a dark space, the more agitated people become. Seo Yi-han and Yoon Soo-ah might be brave enough to endure it, but Han Bo-bae and Kim Ji-ho wouldn’t be able to.

“Hnng…”

Indeed, a sobbing sound mixed with the clamor of the lesser spirits. It must be Han Bo-bae or Kim Ji-ho. The sound was small, as if they were forcing their mouth shut, but the faint sobs seeping through the gaps were undeniable.

And not only from the hallway, but also from outside the window, a strange thud-squelch sound repeated. As if something sticky was being pressed against the window repeatedly.

…This won’t do.

Those damn lesser spirits… don’t they already know we’re here? Otherwise, why would they make such a racket both in the hallway and around the windows? As if they were determined to scare us.

And I couldn’t ignore Han Bo-bae, even if I could ignore Kim Ji-ho. I couldn’t help but worry.

How many people could keep their wits after nearly having their leg torn off by an eokwi? Besides, the way she mediated earlier to keep me from being embarrassed clearly showed her kind nature.

It’s impossible to hate a kind character. Some people say they care more about villains, but I have typical tastes. So I wanted to take Han Bo-bae under my wing if possible.

If she hadn’t experienced the fear of almost being bitten by an eokwi, she wouldn’t be as cowed as she was in the game’s early stages.

The thought flashed through my mind that once the smacking sounds stopped, I should head straight to the cafeteria. But no sooner had I made that decision than a red window appeared before my eyes.

[Warning! Please proceed in order!]

[After 10 minutes, when the sound stops, start with exploring the surroundings.]

f*ck. This damn system didn’t respond when I asked earlier, but the moment I thought about cutting corners, it popped up a warning. The sheer cheapness made me furious. If it were a phone or computer, I would have hit it, but since it’s a virtual window, there was nothing to touch, which made me even angrier.

Still, since it gave an exact time of 10 minutes, it seems it doesn’t intend to let that ghost procession continue endlessly, as I guessed. If so, it might as well tell me the exact place to explore.

I screamed inwardly, ‘If you don’t want me to clear it quickly, then you should compromise this much,’ but there was no answer.

‘What kind of crap is this?’

Well, it was never kind anyway. Usually, such games show the story and then give quest text like “Find [item] needed for [objective],” but this f*cking game didn’t.

It would show the story and then, as if it had done its job, just drop vague instructions like “Explore the necessary location” or “Find what you need,” with an attitude of “What do you want me to do?”

So I had to infer what I needed to find from the story and then do countless grunt work and legwork.

There were many times when I thought “This is it!” and picked it up, only to find it was a junk item, even after keeping it safe all the way to the boss fight. I cursed while playing, but experiencing it firsthand made me more than just curse.

‘I’ll delete it when I get out.’

A garbage game that didn’t consider user convenience even a speck. Should I be grateful that it at least gave a specific instruction to endure for 10 minutes?

I moved my hand to whisper to Seo Yi-han, who was sticking close to my side. After fumbling a few times, my fingers touched a well-shaped ear.

“Let’s wait here for now, just 10 minutes. Can you see where the others are? Go and whisper to them. Don’t breathe loudly.”

Afraid that even a breath might leak out, I pressed my lips to his ear and whispered. I couldn’t see even Seo Yi-han right next to me, let alone the faint shapes of the others, so it was an unavoidable request.

For some reason, I felt Seo Yi-han’s body stiffen.

‘Is he scared?’

Well, he was a bit flustered at the beginning too.

Besides, the eerie sounds from all directions were enough to scare even the bravest. My own heart was pounding, even though I knew this was a game and had seen many ghosts in my life.

To calm him down, I moved my hand from his ear to pat his back a few times, and I could clearly hear him swallow.

Feeling embarrassed that I might have caused the opposite effect, I took my hand away. Then Seo Yi-han squirmed and moved away from me. He seemed to be crawling on his knees to avoid making footsteps.

‘As expected of the protagonist.’

So reliable. He follows orders well, and judging by his smooth movements, his night vision is good.

I especially liked that he had good night vision. In this pitch-black school, I’d have to rely on the faint light of a phone at minimum brightness or go by naked eyes, so someone like him is essential.

Feeling proud for no reason, I looked with satisfied eyes in the direction where Seo Yi-han had moved, even though I couldn’t see anything, when suddenly a bright light flared up.

At the source of the light, Kim Ji-ho’s two perfectly clear lenses were glittering.

Thanks to the white screen of Kim Ji-ho’s phone illuminating the classroom, I could see Seo Yi-han near Kim Ji-ho, and Yoon Soo-ah and Han Bo-bae holding each other’s hands tightly a little distance away.

And then,

“Aaaaaagh!”

Kim Ji-ho, who had been in the corner of the classroom by the window and took out his phone, saw the countless handprints on the window and screamed at the top of his lungs, throwing the phone away.

The phone flew through the air, still casting bright light around. Naturally, I, Seo Yi-han, Yoon Soo-ah, and Han Bo-bae all fixed our eyes on the window smeared with cloudy handprints.

As if someone had moistened a greasy hand and pressed it hard, even the palm lines were clearly imprinted. Of course, they were made from outside the window.

Some were not cloudy but bright red blood handprints. Moreover, the blood had dripped down in streaks, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

“Hic…”

Han Bo-bae covered her mouth and stepped back. Yoon Soo-ah also stared in shock, unable to look away from the window, as she slowly backed away with Han Bo-bae.

Seo Yi-han ran over to me in one breath and grabbed my wrist. His grip was tight, showing he was pretty startled too.

As if to mock us, handprints continued to pile up on the window from outside. Moreover, a pale hand stretched out, and its index finger began to write something on the window with a scratching sound.

-Found you.

Yeah, we’re screwed.

Now that Kim Ji-ho’s scream, the bright phone light, and even our breathing had all leaked out, it was only a matter of time before the ghosts in the hallway also came rushing.

“Don’t breathe and get out into the hallway!”

I pulled Seo Yi-han’s hand off and instead grabbed his forearm, shouting to everyone.

At the same time, the back door of the classroom, which I hadn’t even touched, burst open violently. The windows also began to shake as if they would shatter.

“I-I-I f-f-found youuu…”

Through the back door, a man with a mangled jaw poked his head in, dragging a long dangling arm. His pronunciation was slurred because his jaw was loose.

I had thought the irritating noise from the hallway was the sound of dragging feet, but it seems it was the sound of that long, dangling arm being dragged.

At the same time, the system window that had disappeared reappeared, announcing the start of the real boss battle.

[First boss discovered! Begin exploration.]

As soon as I saw it, I grabbed Seo Yi-han and bolted out the front door.

As soon as we got into the hallway, the lesser spirits were circling the classroom, spewing nonsense about having a favor to ask, begging us to listen, among them some evil spirits making f*cking requests.

“S-students…! Could you lend me your body just once? I have something to do.”

“Give me just one finger, and I’ll let you go nicely, okay? Where did you bastards disappear to?”

As soon as I and Seo Yi-han stopped breathing, the lesser spirits only sensed that we had been in the classroom and couldn’t leave the vicinity.

“Jae… hup.”

Yoon Soo-ah rushed out with Han Bo-bae and the completely useless Kim Ji-ho on both arms. Then she tried to call me, but Seo Yi-han covered her mouth.

The eokwi followed behind at a slower pace than I thought, perhaps because its dangling arm kept getting caught on its legs.

After exchanging a glance with Seo Yi-han, we shut our mouths and ran like crazy out of the building. Until we were completely outside, the sounds of smacking lips and eerie cries played like background music from behind.

***

Having all held our breath and sprinted at full speed, we were busy gasping for air as soon as we got outside.

The playground, without a single streetlight, was utterly silent. Not even a sliver of crescent moon hung in the sky, and complete darkness descended. A fine drizzle was falling on top of that.

‘A new moon and rain, of all times…’

Needless to say, ghosts like water, and a moonless night has the strongest yin energy. In other words, it’s the perfect day for ghosts to roam freely as if they own the world.

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