A ghost story set in a school.
It's a concept with ancient roots, passed down over generations. When hundreds of teenagers are confined to a single building for hours on end, it's only natural that eerie rumors, strange rituals, or ghost stories start circulating. The Seven Wonders, Bunshinsaba rituals…
Of course, having gone through school myself, I always thought those were pretty entertaining.
Isn't it a classic, widely appealing horror narrative?
'That's why I was bold enough to contribute to the exploration records for the first time.'
Luckily, my entry didn't get bombarded with 'Not Recommended' votes, and it stayed up. Encouraged by that, I even ended up crafting and posting an entirely original ghost story…
But now.
'I'm… actually going in there?'
The idea gave me a strange feeling.
Sure, hearing about entering a ghost story was chilling enough to make my spine tingle, but there was also this odd queasiness.
It wasn't like the unease you feel holding a company manual. It was…
Anticipation? Fear?
'I don't even know how to describe it…'
In any case, the manual had already been distributed, and I had to at least attempt to enter.
So, the question became how.
– Perhaps a brief ritual before bedtime is in order? I'd love to know your secret to falling asleep so easily, Mr. Roe Deer!
"It's not that."
I quietly made my bed.
"I'm planning to dream the 'special dream' the company told us about."
– Ah, you're aiming to go to that 'high school,' then?
Exactly.
'Even if it's not this, I'll have to enter some other ghost story anyway.' Since only a select few met the conditions for entry each time, the company assigned higher point values for successful entries into this one.
'Huu.'
In the dead of night at the officetel, I opened the 'specific book' given to me by the company.
– On a full moon night, read a specific book and fall asleep. You may wake up in a school at night.
It was just as Squad Leader Lee Jaheon had explained.
What was unusual was that the "book" was actually a text file.
Within the Shadow of Darkness.txt
This file was rumored to occasionally pop up in the '2000s Horror Classics Compilation', a sketchy collection of novels you could download online (completely disregarding copyright laws).
It looked like it could hold enough content for two books. But when I opened the file…
"It all began on our graduation day."
That single sentence was the entirety of its content.
Then, as I scrolled further, the text broke into gibberish.
₩ub124₩uac00₩u0020₩uc774₩u0020₩uae00₩uc744…
And after a moment.
File cannot be opened.
The file vanished.
"..."
Ha.
Nothing comes easy, huh?
'I'm going to die of a heart attack at this rate…'
Just then, I heard cursing from the room next door.
Baek Saheon was likely preparing to enter this ghost story too. It was open to all employees, after all.
'There's a chance we might run into each other inside.'
Though the odds of Baek Saheon meeting the conditions for entry were slim.
This ghost story's entry conditions changed every time it was accessible.
'But I know the guaranteed entry method mentioned in the mid-to-late exploration records…'
I'd already prepared accordingly.
The critical question was how much information the employees had at this point.
'Even if the records aren't fully compiled, rumors might still circulate given the nature of this ghost story.'
With every employee preparing to enter, this aspect was a bit concerning. Hmm.
'Maybe I should check.'
It seemed like a good time to deter any unnecessary meddling. I walked up to Baek Saheon's door and knocked politely.
Knock, knock.
"W-What the…!"
"I'm coming in."
The door creaked open. Baek Saheon glared at me with a mix of surprise, fear, and irritation before forcing a smile.
"Knocking means waiting for a response like 'Come in'. Isn't that basic courtesy?"
"Oh, is that so?"
I stepped back out and knocked again.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
Knock—
"You little— Aauugh! Just come in already!"
I opened the door and gave him a look of feigned pity.
"The outcome would've been the same either way."
"..."
"You… live a really inefficient life, huh."
Baek Saheon seemed on the verge of bursting with frustration but managed to suppress it successfully. Hmm, it felt like he was finally starting to grasp the basics of social etiquette—what a relief.
"Anyway, I'm really curious about what made you suddenly decide to barge into someone else's room in the middle of the night for the first time…"
As he spoke, it seemed like he simultaneously came to his own conclusion.
"…Hey, wait. Don't you have to enter the Darkness according to the company's instructions, too? You know, that high school?"
"Yeah."
"Ah, I figured. So you're preparing for it right now?"
Baek Saheon's eyes darted greedily toward my open door, scanning the area near my bed's pillow with focused determination.
He was obviously trying to squeeze out any hints.
'Wow.'
I didn't bother closing the door, smirking openly.
"Yeah. That's right."
"Really? I heard you don't know if you'll actually enter until you fall asleep… But you seem so confident. Got some kind of secret method, huh?"
"You sure have a lot of questions."
"Well, you came all the way to my room, so I figured I should return the favor by listening."
I casually threw out,
"Need a hint?"
"…Well, if you're willing to share?"
"Why should I?"
"..."
Baek Saheon ground his teeth and forced a smile.
"…How about three days' salary transferred to you as a bribe?"
"I don't need money. But I do want to know something."
"...!"
"You want to enter, right? Why?"
A brief but intense conflict flickered across Baek Saheon's face. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer. It was that he was calculating if giving me the reason could somehow benefit him further. Eventually, he came to a decision, speaking with an air of nonchalance.
"…I mean, there's this rumor going around the company."
A rumor?
"Apparently, whatever items you obtain in that ghost story can be brought back into the real world… So, it's a no-brainer to go in and come out with something, right?"
"..."
"They say it's nearly impossible to die in there, too."
Hmm.
So that's how the employees currently perceive it.
A ghost story labeled as 'profitable to enter'.
"To be honest, the hints you're offering probably aren't worth much. But hey, as your roommate and coworker, I figured I'd share this intel as a goodwill gesture," Baek Saheon said.
Wow. He's really trying to undersell me while posturing as helpful. I purposely put on a serious face as I nodded.
"You're right. My hints probably aren't worth much."
"...!"
"So you don't need them, right? Let's just forget about it. I've learned a lot from what you shared."
"...!! Hey, this fu—"
I looked at Baek Saheon calmly. He swallowed his curse, then quickly plastered on a strained smile.
"…Mr. Supervisor, if an employee living in the same dorm is caught extorting a poor junior staffer's salary and personal information, wouldn't a complaint to HR be in order?"
Good grief.
I gave him a look of pity.
"You really think this company cares about that?"
"..."
"Well, belief is a personal choice."
"..."
Baek Saheon seemed trapped between frustration and despair. I suppose this was a good place to draw the line.
"Fine. I'll give you something."
His eyes lit up as I finally spoke up.
"Put a photo of yourself from high school under your pillow."
"...?!"
"On the back, write your grade and class, and maybe add a short profile. Like a yearbook entry."
I kindly grabbed a post-it from his desk and even wrote out an example.
Name:
Message to your friends:
"Then, see what happens."
"..."
Baek Saheon looked skeptical and asked if I'd put a photo of my high school self under my pillow.
Without hesitation, I went back to my room and returned with the photo from under my pillow.
It was one of my high school pictures, printed from a saved image on my smartphone.
"..."
Baek Saheon stared at it, his disbelief turning into silence.
"You thought I was lying, didn't you?"
"I mean, usually! You speak so smoothly all the time, so you give off that impression, Supervisor."
"Really? I've never lied in my whole entire life."
"..."
"Think about it."
Baek Saheon looked stunned, so I took the opportunity to usher him out.
"Anyway, I need to finish preparing with Braun, so you can go now."
– Best of luck with your entry, Mr. Normal Coworker!
Baek Saheon retreated, looking either exasperated or unsettled, and quickly returned to his own room.
Bang—
'Done.'
Having to keep him in check every time was exhausting, but it couldn't be helped.
Consider the new addition to the D-squad. Workplace survival is all about these little battles.
"Huu."
I returned to my bed and approached the pillow.
First of all, the tip I gave Baek Saheon was true.
Exploration Record #15
Utilizing the explorer's high school graduation photo, all three members of K-squad successfully entered Sekwang Technical High School. Validity confirmed.
Once entry was guaranteed, the next priority was obvious: what to bring. Only items placed under the pillow before falling asleep could be carried into the dream world of Sekwang Technical High School. Given the limited size of what could fit under a pillow, careful selection was necessary.
'If I store it in my wrist tattoo and it doesn't activate in the dream, I'm doomed.'
Considering that ghost stories often altered appearances, I couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.
Ultimately, I carefully calculated the space and placed essential items under the pillow, like a game of Tetris.
Lastly, I positioned Braun in the coziest corner under the pillow. Of course, Braun ended up in a rather… awkward position.
– ...
'Sorry. Is it too cramped for you?'
– Hmm, tolerable! Were this a studio, I might have called some of the staff. Haha!
'R-Right. Thanks.'
In other words, he was definitely uncomfortable.
I shouldn't push my luck with Braun, who once incinerated entities with a mere snap of his fingers…!
Carefully, I laid my head on the pillow, making sure not to squish Braun, and willed myself to sleep.
'This pillow is kind of lumpy…'
"..."
And yet, my eyes grew heavy.
For someone who had been suffering from insomnia, it was astonishing how quickly drowsiness overcame me despite the discomfort. As slumber quickly took over…
Mist.
Shadows.
And then…
[Ding- dong- daeng- dong-]
…A school.
[Ding- dong- daeng- dong-]
I opened my eyes.
What greeted me was a dimly lit classroom with not a single light turned on.
Looking down at my clothes, I realized I was wearing a school uniform.
[■■ High School]
The uniform resembled the one from my old school, but the school's name had been scratched off, as if with a needle.
While I couldn't check directly, I already knew.
My appearance had reverted to how I looked in high school. And then—
"W-What is this??"
Remember the characteristic of this ghost story I mentioned earlier?
'You don't know if you've entered until you fall asleep…'
In other words, this meant it wasn't just company employees who could enter.
"Huh? Huuh? Why am I in a school uniform…?"
"Oh my gosh!"
"Excuse me, do you know where we are?"
In the dim, shadowy classroom, people began to stir one by one from their desks. They looked around in confusion, some screaming as they saw each other.
They were civilians who had been dragged into this place by chance.
"Is this some kind of event? Huh."
"Wait, why am I wearing a uniform…? Oh, no—why do I look like a high schooler?!"
"This has to be a dream."
"Hey, did you look outside? This looks like the second floor…"
'Feels like being back in that subway ghost story.'
Watching them waver between panic, fear, curiosity, and amusement, I felt a tightness in my chest.
And… an overwhelming sense of tension.
"Huh?"
One of the wandering individuals noticed something in the corner of the room.
It was a student, sitting completely still.
"Why isn't this person moving?"
The sight was eerie.
In the dim classroom, where people in various uniforms were noisily moving about, one figure sat frozen as if carved from stone. He didn't even blink.
The boy, who resembled an intricately crafted wax figure, wore a name tag that was perfectly intact.
[Sekwang Technical High School]
"Is this a mannequin? Eh, let's see."
Poke, poke.
"Ack!"
The person who poked him flinched and withdrew their hand.
"He's warm??"
"Holy crap, seriously?"
I got up from my seat.
Without taking my eyes off him, I slowly approached the classroom door.
'I need to open the door in advance.'
Thud, thud.
As I moved nervously, something nearly fell out of the front pocket of my uniform—a small plush keychain.
Startled, I caught it just in time.
Whew.
'That was a close call, Braun.'
Silence.
"…Braun?"
I held up the plush doll.
It hung limply.
"...!"
Panicked, I pressed its belly.
The Silver Serpent Coin, the item I used for summoning my 'Good Friend', was…
Gone.
"..."
This was just a plush doll.
My good friend hadn't followed me into my dream.
"..."
"Out the window… u, uuuhh, AAAAHHHHH!!!"
I'm fucking screwed.