Ghost Story Club

The strange but familiar object I found among the Buddhist scriptures inside the drawer of my Mom’s dresser.

I took it out and held it in my hand.

♠️

The material felt like that of a bead at first.

But it was shaped like a spade, and it felt rather heavy for its size.

I held it in my hand and opened and closed my palm a few times. Then I called out to Sunah, who was looking at a photo of my childhood, where I was bathing naked in a tub.

“Sunah, look at this.”

“Huh…?”

Sunah closed the album and crawled towards me using her knees.

“Doesn’t this look familiar?”

“…Hmm.”

“Ah.”

Sunah also lifted her eyes, examining it closely. As if realization dawned over her, she let out a surprised exclamation with a sound of recognition.

“Totem!”

“That’s right.”

I nodded affirmatively.

About two months ago, during lunchtime, when the Ghost Story Club had just been formed and before the first CA session.

Because of the S-rank ability called the ‘Goddess of Luck’, we had all bumped into each other at the same time and lost consciousness.

At the same moment we lost consciousness, we were all drawn into a dream together.

It was this totem, handed to me by our homeroom teacher, that was the first thing to make me realize that this was a dream.

‘Maybe…’

I tried rolling the sharp point on the floor as a test.

The spade-shaped totem spun around on the floor for a moment, following its weight, but soon lost its balance and fell with a soft thud.

“Since it fell down, it’s not a dream.”

“Why is this here….”

“It was placed together with the Buddhist scriptures from the shrine my mom goes to.”

I shook it a few more times in my hand and pondered.

‘It’s something that exists in reality.’

But what kind of accessory is this, and why is it in our house?

The material and overall vibe do seem like something you’d find in Buddhist items, however, I don’t remember seeing anything like this in an ordinary temple or shrine. ȐαΝỖBЁṤ

Thinking I should ask Gyeongwon, I immediately took out my phone, took a picture, and sent it to him.

Gyeongwon responded right away.

[Ahn Gyeongwon: It’s a totem.]

[Lee Joon: What do you think?]

I quickly typed on the keypad.

[Lee Joon: I found it on the dresser in my parents’ room. And it looks like it belongs to my Mom.]

[Ahn Gyeongwon: And the strangest part is it’s something that exists in reality.]

[Lee Joon: I’m surprised too. Do you have any idea?]

[Ahn Gyeongwon: I think I do.]

“What could it be?”

“What is it…”

Sunah and I were sitting on the floor of my parents’ room, intently looking at our phones.

Soon, another message from Gyeongwon came through on KakaoTalk.

[Ahn Gyeongwon: It might be a bit of a sensitive topic but, does your mother follow a particular religion?]

I sent an affirmative reply.

[Lee Joon: Yeah. She visits the shrine regularly.]

[Ahn Gyeongwon: Is it an ordinary shrine?]

I thought about it carefully and replied that it seemed like it was.

It’s a shrine she has been visiting for a long time, and I’ve also gone a few times on Buddha’s Birthday, where I’ve had bibimbap there.

[T/N: Bibimbap is a popular Korean dish that consists of a bowl of rice topped with a variety of vegetables and usually some kind of protein like beef.]

[Lee Joon: I’m sure it is. It’s a famous and relatively old shrine around this area. It’s not a strange place.]

[Ahn Gyeongwon: In that case, it probably wasn’t from the shrine. I was going to mention it during tomorrow’s CA time presentation, but let me explain it briefly in advance. There’s a suspicious religion spreading within the school. It’s a new religious movement based on Taoism and is called Dogma of Void.]

“Dogma of Void?”

It was a familiar term.

I’ve heard of it a few times in my previous life, but this is the first time I’m hearing about it in this life.

‘The leader of the religious organization rose to prominence after becoming the President, but at this point, he hasn’t risen to the surface yet…..’

Just as I was about to ask Sunah if she had heard of it, I noticed that her face had already gone completely pale.

[Ahn Gyeongwon: I’ll explain the details tomorrow, but for now, it seems like they occasionally use a symbol resembling the ♠️ of spade pattern in the religious centers they’ve established.]

“Spade pattern…”

I looked at the heavy spade-shaped totem I was holding.

[Ahn Gyeongwon: It looks like the symbol of their religion. The pronunciation of ‘spade’ and ‘space’ sound similar. And space can also imply void.]

“…That’s right.”

If it truly is a religious item with symbolic meaning used by that specific group.

‘Why would it be with my Mom, who’s a Buddhist…’

I examined the totem, lifting it up and down in my hand a few times, before turning my head to look at Sunah. It was unknown if she had seen our discussion, but she seemed to have a troubled expression.

“…Sunah. Do you know anything?”

“There. That’s a place where my parents used to go…”

Pop-

[Your understanding of the character Yoon Sunah has increased by 5.]

I nodded in understanding.

“… What about right now? Do they still visit it?”

“No, they both passed away……”

“… I see.”

I had already guessed it from the part about living with her grandmother, but it turns out both of her parents have passed away.

‘Was their death related to their involvement in the organization?’

Not knowing what words of comfort to offer, I quietly shook the totem in my hand a few times before standing up from my place.

“Should we just take a break?”

“Okay….”

Sunah followed me out to the living room with a blank expression on her face.

* * *

We sat on the sofa together, each lost in our own thoughts, unable to focus on the TV at all.

‘So that’s what happened to Sunah’s parents. How should I console her and help her move forward when we inevitably clash with the organization in the future?’

‘In the end, the only thing I found in my parents’ room was the totem. Where did Mom get this, and why did she keep it in the dresser?’

‘Could this totem be related to the ghost that’s currently popping up in our apartment, and related to the Dogma of Void?’

Having eaten a good meal and with the night growing late, I leaned back on the sofa, absentmindedly thinking about this and that, and eventually drifted off to sleep.

* * *

[2019, May 3rd | Friday, 01:12 AM]

[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts – 2]

[Ghost Story Points: 102]

[Causality Rate: 17%]

“Joony, Joony.”

“Huh….?”

When I opened my eyes, I was in the dark living room.

“Go to your room and sleep….”

“Yeah……”

Half-conscious, I followed Sunah’s lead and went into my room, which was dark, and collapsed onto the bed.

Sunah, sitting next to me, looked into the living room through the small gap of the slightly opened door. Her eyes were anxious, as if wary of something. But I, overtaken by sleep, didn’t realize and drifted off again.

※Horror Movie Cliché: Noticing something suspicious but ignoring it.※

* * *

[2019, May 3rd | Friday, 02:44 AM]

[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts – 2]

[Ghost Story Points: 102]

[Causality Rate: 17%]

‘This isn’t right. Why am I just sleeping here when I should be solving the situation with Sunah? We need to handle this first before sleeping.’

I opened my eyes thinking that I had only closed my eyes for a moment, but to my surprise, I realized that actually an hour had already passed.

It was 2:44 a.m. currently.

“… Sunah?”

I suddenly looked around, but there was no one in the dark room beside me.

※Horror Movie Cliché: Instead of staying together, the group always scatters around.※

‘… What, did she go home while I was sleeping because it got too late?’

Inviting a girl to my home, and even asking her about her family affairs, and then falling asleep first. I really was too indifferent.

Scratching my head, I went out to the living room and pressed the switch to turn on the light, but the light didn’t turn on.

Flick- Flick-

“Huh? What’s wrong with the lights?”

※Horror Movie Cliché: The light doesn’t turn on.※

Thinking it was strange, I went over to the shoe rack, and Sunah’s shoes were still there.

“……?”

So she didn’t go home because she got upset that I was sleeping.

‘Where is she?’

I returned to my room, picked up the phone that was on the bed, and turned on the flashlight.

I opened the KakaoTalk app while holding my phone, but there were no new messages.

‘… No, that’s not it.’

It wasn’t that there were no new messages; there were a few from Gyeongwon in the meantime. But the messages were showing read, so the notifications didn’t show up.

‘Did Sunah read them?’

If I hadn’t read them in my sleep, the only person who could have touched my phone was Sunah, who had been with me.

I pictured Sunah in my mind, using my finger while I was asleep to unlock the phone and looking through the message history.

‘I really don’t have anyone to contact other than the club members.’

I could guess why she did that.

Pop-

[Your understanding of the character Yoon Sunah has increased by 5.]

Fortunately, there wasn’t anything that could be considered suspicious and make me look bad. I don’t have any female friends who would contact me either.

‘Except for the one KakaoTalk message I sent to Hayoon that she read and ignored…’

For now, I decided to look for Sunah. Since she hadn’t left, she should be somewhere in the apartment.

“Sunah, Sunah?”

In the dark house, I scanned the surroundings, shining the flashlight back and forth.

At that moment, I heard a rustling sound coming from my parents’ room.

“Sunah?”

I approached the half-open door.

And listened to the sound more closely.

Slid…. Sliid…. Sliiiiid….

The sound of something brushing against the floor, as if walking with extremely narrow steps.

If it was in the movies, hearing a suspicious sound like this, if I, the character approached while calling out, ‘Su, Sunah? Sunah…?’ I would definitely end up getting killed.

But unless I’m an idiot, I could tell it was obviously a ghost.

I was about to turn around right away, but at that moment, I was overcome by an inexplicable, uncontrollable curiosity to find out the source of the sound.

※Horror Movie Cliché: Approaching someone by calling their name even though they clearly aren’t your friend.※

Slid…. Sliid…. Sliiiiid….

I approached the door while calling Sunah’s name.

“Su, Sunah…? Sunah…?”

There was even a strange sense of excitement in my chest, as if I was happy that I was following the cliché.

Creak-

[Don’t open the door, Joon!!!!!!!!!! Don’t come in!!!!!!!]

At that moment, I heard Sunah shouting from inside the room, along with a loud thumping sound. And then the noise of someone stomping their feet was also heard.

“Su, Sunah!?”

Sunah must have been hiding in the room to avoid the ghost, but now she was trying to sacrifice herself because I approached the ghost!!

Having made that judgment, I quickly kicked the door open, only to come face-to-face with the woman with disheveled hair, her long neck stretched out as she leaned forward.

[Don’t open the door, Joon!!!!!!!!! Don’t come in!!!!!!!]

The female ghost with a long neck, with her grotesque jaw creaking and only her upper teeth showing, imitated Sunah’s voice as its lower jaw fell out. Then, it stomped its feet, making a loud noise.

Boom.

After frantically stomping her feet on the floor, the ghost suddenly stopped and then snapped her jaw open again with a sharp crack.

[Don’t open the door, Joon!!!!!!!!! Don’t come in!!!!!!!]

“Joon, run away!!”

At that moment, Sunah, whose voice sounded from exactly the opposite direction of mine, burst through the door of my Dad’s study, grabbed me, and began to drag me towards my room.

[Don’t open the door, Joon!!!!!!!!! Don’t come in!!!!!!!]

The ghost let out a chilling scream that would make even a ghost shudder as she chased after me, running out from my parents’ room to catch me.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

We soon arrived at the front door.

However, the door was locked, and before I knew it, the key was already in my pocket.

Just as I was about to take the key out, it slipped from my hand, and at that moment, the ghost grabbed Sunah and opened her mouth wide as if to bite her head off.

The key that dropped from my hand had already turned into a bunch of keys.

I hurriedly inserted the key in the keyhole, but none of them fit.

One, two, three, four, five.

Although none of the keys fit, when I turned the key again, the door finally opened.

“Sunah, hurry…!”

I turned around in a hurry, but Sunah was already gone, her head had been ripped off from the nose up. The ghost, with her neck so long that the head was pressed against the ceiling, grinned with rows of sharp teeth showing and looked down at me.

“Oh, crazy…”

As I trembled in fear, the ghost approached me, dragging her head that was touching the ceiling.

Slid. Slid.

Her steps were narrow, like the delicate strides of a courtesan from the Joseon Dynasty.

Slid. Slid.

While still trembling, I pointed at the ghost with my index finger.

“You… Fuck you… When the next time we meet, I’ll make sure you’re……”

[Beep you beep can’t run beep beep your life beep belong beep beep beep.]

[T/N: This part said by the ghost is hard to translate. The Korean text is completely incomprehensible. For better understanding, I’m inserting the original text below: 듕그 익 의 달아문짜와로서 로사맛디 아니 할싸이 이 런전챠로어 린바익 성 이]

Screeeeeech-

The ghost, opening its mouth wide with its jaw almost touching the floor, charged toward me.

I squeezed my eyes shut and promised myself to deal with it in the next time period.

Ahh… Aahhh!

Soon, overwhelmed by an excruciating pain and a sense of my upper body disappearing, I lost consciousness.

[You are dead.]

[Restarting from the previous checkpoint.]

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