How to Stop Hiccups
Just like the hide-and-seek, the game of tag had begun without either of them consenting to it.
An arm shot out from one of the shattered mirror shards the moment the truth behind the noise from the cabinets revealed itself.
"What the—! What IS that! Kyaaah!"
Yeoncheong darted around the grasping hand, hauling along the dead weight of chattering luggage trailing behind her.
"Hey! Try dodging them yourself, would you!"
In an emergency like this, awkwardness was a luxury neither of them could afford. Even at how quickly the distance between them had shrunk, Siyeon did nothing but sniffle.
Yeoncheong herself was scared out of her mind, but the only person beside her was in this state. Half-dragging the girl along, she forced herself to keep her wits and dodged the ghost's hands.
Hahahaha!
The laughter that tore through her ears made Yeoncheong flinch, and Siyeon, clinging to her back, swallowed a ragged breath.
The problem was the mirror shards the girl-ghost had shattered during their game of hide-and-seek. There must have been mirrors tucked away everywhere in the storeroom, because large and small fragments littered the floor in every direction.
Anywhere a shard was big enough for an arm, an arm could come bursting out.
Yeoncheong hauled Siyeon along, working her feet like a tap dancer—busy dodging the hands herself while keeping the frozen girl in tow.
Haha! You look like you're dancing. Can you move any faster?
Apparently entertained by the sight, the girl-ghost now swung both arms. Dozens of mouths, reflected and multiplied between mirror and mirror, sent her laughter echoing through the room.
Just as the reverberating cackles rattled Yeoncheong's brain and the hands grazing past her by hair-thin margins began wearing her down, the voice she'd been waiting so desperately for sounded from outside.
"Yeoncheong! Siyeon! I got the keys. I'll open it right up!"
It was the familiar voice of the twins—and Siyeon reacted fastest of all.
"Baek Suyeon, you awful girl! Open it, hurry!"
Key by key, she tried them in the lock, over and over. Then, with a cheerful click, one slid home.
"Oh, that's the one... huh? Why won't it open? Seobin, go get a teacher for me."
The lock turned with a clack, but the door only rattled in its frame. It wouldn't open.
Play with me forever!
Leaping aside to dodge a hand scraping along the floor, Yeoncheong shouted back.
"Get lost! We said no!"
"Huh? What did you say?"
Judging by Suyeon answering from outside, the ghost's voice couldn't be heard beyond the door.
Which shard would a hand spring from next? As Yeoncheong scanned her surroundings, her gaze landed on a uselessly large mirror.
A mirror reflecting the storeroom's door. And on that door—which looked newer than the one in front of her now—there was an additional lock, rusted and long out of use.
"Siyeon."
Maybe it was the ghost's cackling, but Siyeon didn't hear her. Only after raising her voice a notch did Yeoncheong get a reply.
"What?"
"Do you see that lock inside that mirror over there?"
Squinting, Siyeon spotted what Yeoncheong had seen.
"No."
Catching on immediately, Siyeon shook her head hard. But Yeoncheong had already made up her mind.
"That's gotta be why the door won't open."
"I told you, I'm not doing it. What if a hand comes out of there?"
"Then I'll do it. We're both going to run out of strength at this rate and get caught anyway. Just buy me some time."
"Uuugh..."
Siyean let out a low groan, then narrowed her eyes again.
"You just need to hold out for a minute, right?"
"Yeah."
The moment the words left her mouth, Siyeon tore away from Yeoncheong's side.
"Hey! Ghost! You can't even do hide-and-seek OR tag properly!"
Why, you—!!!
"Kyaaah! Crazy! Crazy! CRAZY!"
Just as the enraged girl-ghost's hands went chasing after Siyeon, Yeoncheong drove her fist toward the lock inside the mirror.
The ghost, arm stretched far out of the glass as it lunged for the slower Siyeon, let out a shriek.
No! Not there!
"Hoooh..."
A deep breath. Grimacing, Yeoncheong plunged her hand into the mirror. An indescribable sensation rolled through her—fighting back a wave of nausea, she shoved her arm in deep, and her fingers closed around the lock.
With a click—
BANG.
The world inside the mirror and the real world's door swung open at the same time.
The door flew open without warning. The cackling laughter and the girl-ghost's hands vanished without a trace. Yeoncheong was flung back from the mirror and rolled across the floor, while Siyeon's legs gave out and she crumpled where she stood.
Seobin, who had just returned with Teacher Jisu and the security guard, murmured under her breath.
"Oh... it's open."
The storeroom was a wreck, mirror shards strewn across the floor. Suyeon rushed inside and wrapped Siyeon in her arms. Behind her, Seoha—who no one had noticed arrive—stepped slowly in as well.
"Siyeon! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? I'm so sorry. I never dreamed something like this would happen, I swear."
Worry dripped from every word, apologies pouring out like rapid fire. Suyeon ran her hands over Siyeon's body, checking her for injuries.
Siyeon, who had only just recovered her composure, lost it all over again in an entirely different way. Under the knowing looks of the adults and friends watching the two of them, her face steadily turned red.
"Ah... get off me. Get OFF!"
Peeling Suyeon away, Siyeon brushed down her skirt and stood up.
"...I'm leaving now. Seobin, let's go."
"Oh, uh? Yes, okay."
With Seobin in tow, Siyeon passed the teacher and the security guard and headed upstairs.
Watching her climb at a rather brisk pace, Yeoncheong thought to herself.
Judging by how fast she's walking... I guess it wasn't THAT urgent.
Yeoncheong knew exactly where Siyeon was headed.
The security guard and Teacher Jisu entered the storeroom slowly and looked around.
"What on earth happened here? It's a complete disaster."
"I know. Suyeon, how did this happen?"
Suyeon, surveying the room herself, wore a bewildered expression.
"Well... it wasn't anywhere near this bad when we went in..."
"Yeoncheong, are you okay?"
Seoha, who had found Yeoncheong deeper inside, came over. Suyeon and the two adults turned toward her as well.
"Hikkip!"
At the strange sound, everyone glanced around—then quickly realized who it had come from.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Yeoncheong, who had been holding her breath to its very limit, alive and well—but the lopsided breathing she'd built up in the meantime resurfaced as hiccups.
"Oh dear! Yeoncheong!"
Teacher Jisu rushed over to Yeoncheong, who lay sprawled on a floor carpeted with small shards. Yeoncheong kept on hiccupping, both hands pressed over her face.
"There now, hold still. Take my hand and get up."
Yeoncheong took her hand and rose to her feet. As they stepped aside, the security guard cocked his head.
"How did it end up like this? Say, kids—this cloth that was covering the mirror. Did you girls pull it off?"
"No, sir. It was already like this when we came in."
"Really? Must've been the wind, then."
Hearing Suyeon's answer, the guard found the large cloth nearby and draped it back over the mirror.
Could it be... that mirror was the cause of it all?
Yeoncheong formed a plausible hypothesis—one she had absolutely no desire to prove.
Teacher Jisu circled around her, checking her over for injuries.
"Phew. Well, you don't look hurt anywhere. Does anything hurt?"
"No. Hikkip. I'm fine, Teacher."
Only then did her homeroom teacher exhale in relief and turn to apologize to the guard.
"I'm so sorry about this. We'll have the students clean it up later."
"Ah, don't worry about it. Most of it was slated for disposal anyway. What matters is that none of the students got hurt."
While Teacher Jisu spoke with the security guard, Yeoncheong was led outside by the hand by Seoha. Suyeon had gone off to find a towel to brush the shards from her back and hair.
"Yeoncheong, don't move your head around carelessly. There could be shards in your hair too."
"I kn... hikkip. Know."
Climbing the stairs with a stiff posture, holding Seoha's hand, Yeoncheong asked,
"By the way... hikkip. Seoha, when did you get here?"
"I ran into Suyeon coming out of the teachers' office. And stop talking so much. You'll tire yourself out."
"Okay. Hikkip. Thanks."
The two of them waited upstairs for Suyeon, and all the while Yeoncheong hiccupped away diligently. She tried holding her breath, but the hiccups refused to stop.
Watching her quietly for a moment, Seoha moved.
"Yeoncheong, want me to help?"
"Huh?"
"Breathe in as much as you can."
Yeoncheong dutifully breathed in. Seoha brought her index finger up to Yeoncheong's lips. And then—
"Now hold it."
She pressed her thumb firmly against Yeoncheong's lips.
Faintly, from below, came the murmur of Teacher Jisu and the security guard talking. The sounds of other clubs drifted from the classrooms.
The world was full of noise, big and small—and yet the space around Yeoncheong and Seoha alone was utterly still.
Beyond the index finger, Seoha's faint smile. Just as Yeoncheong wondered if that was enough and moved to exhale—
"Not yet. Just a little longer."
The thumb pressed down a touch more firmly against her lips. Seoha had taken control of Yeoncheong's breath.
She wasn't pinching her nose, and the thumb sealing her lips wasn't pressing hard enough to truly block the air. And yet, for a long moment, Yeoncheong simply forgot how to breathe on her own.
"You can do it, Yeoncheong."
Red eyes gazing into blue ones, as if refusing to let go. The moment Yeoncheong so much as tried to look away—toward the blue ribbon tie spilling over her chest, toward the silky black hair sliding slowly down the collar of her uniform—
"Look here."
Seoha whispered, as if the words were meant for her alone.
Even in the light streaming through the window, Seoha never blinked. As though she couldn't afford to miss a single instant.
At every unbearable peak, Yeoncheong squeezed her eyes shut, and each time Seoha repeated the words just a little longer. And then, somehow, Yeoncheong's eyes would flutter open—as if oxygen had sprung into existence somewhere—and she'd endure a little more.
She held her breath until her face turned scarlet. At last, Seoha spoke the words she'd been waiting for.
"You can breathe now."
"PUHOOOH..."
Yeoncheong, finally remembering how lungs worked, exhaled in one great rush.
"Good job."
As Seoha lowered her index finger, the corners of her mouth and eyes curled into something soft.
"There—feel better?"
After a few more careful breaths, Yeoncheong nodded, wide-eyed.
"Y-yeah. Thanks, Seoha."
"I should be thanking you."
Yeoncheong tilted her head at the cryptic reply, but there was no time to ask—Suyeon came back with the towel in hand, and the guard and Teacher Jisu climbed up from below.
Teacher Jisu relayed what she'd discussed with the guard.
"Turns out most of it was junk bound for the trash anyway. You won't have to pay for damages. You girls are on cleanup duty later, though. No complaints?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Suyeon and Yeoncheong answered in unison. Their teacher let out a light sigh, then added,
"Still, I'm glad none of you got hurt. Make sure you brush each other off properly. I'm heading back to the office."
Once the teacher left, the three of them stepped out of the annex. Suyeon handed one of the towels to Seoha and said,
"Yeoncheong, I'll brush you off. Hold still."
Seoha took her hair and back, while Suyeon carefully swept behind her skirt and down her legs—a job that lasted until voices came calling for Seoha, the student council president, from her underclassmen.
Seoha went off, and by the time the two of them returned to the club room, Siyeon's and Seobin's bags had already vanished. When asked what on earth had happened, Yeoncheong gave as objective an account as she could manage.
"Pfft... don't lie."
"I'm TELLING you it's true!"
Suyeon's reaction on her return was, in a way, only natural.
It wasn't as if she could demonstrate it live. Frustrated, Yeoncheong thumped her own chest.
Watching her friend react that dramatically, Suyeon gave it some genuine thought.
"Hmm... I'll admit, there's no reason you and Siyeon would've smashed all those mirrors just to set a mood like that."
Yeoncheong wasn't thrilled with the shape her understanding was taking, but she let it slide for now.
"Then shall we go back and check?"
"Did you actually hear a single word I just said?"
Suyeon nodded. She pulled a notebook out of her bag and summarized everything she'd heard so far.
"And that from what you saw, that mirror seems to be the girl-ghost's main body, right?"
"You KNOW that and you still want to go? No. I'm not going. Absolutely not."
"Then I'll just have to go alone."
Yeoncheong hastily grabbed Suyeon as she closed the notebook and moved to stand.
"You said ALONE?"
"Which is exactly why I have to stop you."
Suyeon showed no sign of backing down easily. After a brief internal struggle, Yeoncheong flopped back into her seat.
"What are you doing?"
"No means no. See? I'm begging you like this, so please don't go."
Yeoncheong was practically throwing a tantrum. Faced with a sight she'd never seen before, Suyeon wavered.
"Fine. I won't go alone, so get up now."
"You promise?"
"Yes, I promise."
Only then did Yeoncheong rise, brushing off her uniform. The way she grew embarrassed only afterward made it clear she hadn't been faking it.
Later, the two of them submitted an activity report based on Yeoncheong's account—only to have it rejected outright, along with Teacher Jisu's assessment that it was a rather fine piece of fiction.