The First Ghost Story - Announcement Broadcast (2)

[This is a reminder. Due to a power outage in the school, there's no electricity. TV broadcasting is unavailable, so all freshmen, please gather at the playground.]

The students who'd planned to kill time on their phones during the entrance ceremony groaned in annoyance and stood up from their seats. I didn't budge. I just sat there, lost in thought.

If I headed out to the corridor for the ceremony like this, would the same horrors repeat? Everything was unfolding exactly the same. The power outage announcement calling everyone to the playground, the irritated students shuffling out...

If I obediently went to the playground for the ceremony, would my head explode again, killing me?

What the fuck... I sat in the classroom, sighing so deeply it felt like the floor might cave in.

By now, most students had left, leaving the room quiet. Only a few lingered, scraping their chairs. One girl, one boy. And another girl slumped over at the very back.

Excluding me, three students remained. I stayed glued to my seat, paralyzed, unable to decide.

Moments later, a young female teacher passing by in the hallway spotted us and stopped.

"Why aren't you kids out there?"

I had no choice but to grab my shoes and stand. The three others, who'd been pretending not to notice, finally gathered their things and headed out.

"Ahh, my beloved freshmen of Nakseong ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠High School, welcome. We sincerely welcome you to our school. I am the principal of this school..."

With those words, the principal's head exploded.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck...

I spat out the curse and bolted straight for the school gate at full speed.

The other students were just murmuring in confusion or staring at the staggering principal, screaming—but no one else was running like me.

I'm in the lead!

This time, I was out front. Then, starting with those near the principal, heads began exploding one by one. As the playground filled with screams, students finally started fleeing.

Huff, huff...

I'd bolted first, but my athleticism was shit to begin with, so I could feel the sports kids catching up fast.

Tat-tat-tat-tat—

Huff, huff... Fuck...

I had no guarantee that running would save me. Even if I escaped the school like last time, my head might still blow.

But for now, just get as far ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from here as possible.

Far off, I saw ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the security guard blocking students, yelling his lungs out.

Huff, huff... Come on, please...

I cursed inwardly. Last time, the chaos of students piling up at the gate had worked in my favor—I'd slipped through the gap.

But now I was leading the pack. With my weak-ass reflexes, I'd be the guard's prime target and get nabbed. Being first was a disadvantage.

What do I do, fuck, huff, huff... What do I do?

Desperation sharpened my mind before death, and one idea hit me.

Incite the students!

I slowed my pace gradually and shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.

"The school gate's closed!"

I bellowed until my throat burned.

"The school gate's closed! The guard has the keyyy!"

"Uwaaaaaah!"

"Mister! Open the gate! Hurry!"

"Open it now— Aaaah!"

With heads exploding everywhere, the students had lost all reason. Pure survival instinct drove them, so I screamed to stoke the fire: deal with the guard first.

"The guard has the keyyy! Take him down first!"

Normally, they'd ignore the guard in their blind panic and scramble over the gate. But by planting the idea that "the gate's closed," I'd turned it into a dead end in their minds.

"Security prick! Open the gateee!"

"Fuck! Open it! Open the fucking gate, you psycho!"

The front-runners with me swarmed the guard. He was strong for his age, smacking kids away and roaring, but numbers overwhelmed him.

"What the hell are you crazy shits doing?! Barging like this—what a mess! Get a teacher, a teacher!"

"Guard asshole, open the doooor!"

Fuck! Open it! Open it, you madman!

I seized the fresh chaos between the guard and students to slip over the gate after the sports kids. Careful not to snag my pants on the decorative bars, I glanced back: the explosions had reached about half the playground. Girls clawing the guard's face wildly too.

Escaped way faster than last time!

No need to look more—I turned and leaped out of school.

Ahead, sports kids reached the main road, gasping and grabbing passersby. I pushed my limits, overtaking them toward farther safety.

Passing the avenue and a few buildings, near a subway station bustling with people, I finally grabbed a passerby, panting.

"Police... call the police... po-lice..."

"What happened? Kid, you okay? Snap out of it!"

"Police... pol... ice..."

As I collapsed, I saw some guy whipping out his phone to call the cops, passersby crowding around, murmuring.

Ah, shoulda called 119 instead of police... Nah, with heads already blown, paramedics wouldn't help... Guess panic makes you dwell on dumb shit.

That was my last thought before blacking out.

I woke to a white ceiling and people in scrubs bustling about. A hospital.

Mom and Dad sat there, haggard, bursting into tears and hugs when they saw me stir.

"Oh my poor baby... Ohhh..."

"We thought you'd never wake... How's your body feeling?"

"Mom, Dad... Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Oh, you fool. Who cares about that now! You collapsed..."

The doctor soon explained: I'd passed out from severe mental shock, but my body was fine.

...I survived?

Then the horrific memories flooded back. Trying to stammer to my parents about "people's heads exploding," they cut in—they already knew. The news was blowing up; government officials would visit soon.

While recovering in my room, I turned on the TV. The situation was clear.

...300.

The freshman class was just over 300. Almost all dead?

Every channel blared the same. While I was out, the whole country must've been in uproar.

Anchors delivered somber scripts with grave faces.

Other channels showed cops carting bodies on stretchers live. Talk shows featured experts spouting theories.

I spent months isolated in the hospital. Parasite tests, blood, urine, stool, endoscopy, MRI... Every scan imaginable. Then repeated interviews with a bearish detective. Only then discharge.

Questions focused on event timeline, anything suspicious. From the vibe, even the government had no clue about this absurd mass death.

Three years later. Graduation looming, I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling.

Government never cracked the case. Sinrim-dong sealed off over virus fears. We fled without packing properly.

They hooked us up with a new apartment across the Han River, tons of support.

Movies paint governments as useless in crises. Surprisingly efficient with relocation and transfer—kinda touching.

Hospital stay nearly cost me a year, but Education Office had it sorted; smooth transfer to new school.

Aside from nightmares of family heads exploding, gore spraying—I focused, got into a decent college.

And now, graduation eve. I pulled up that message from that day for the first time in ages.

Lying there, I waved my hand through the floating text in the air, pondering.

...So what the hell was this message?

I could summon or dismiss ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it at will. I'd ignored it to forget that nightmare day.

But now, eve of graduation, it felt bittersweet.

New school: made some friends, joined book club. But quest progress stayed at 0/3.

What was it really? Lost in thoughts, I drifted off.

Beep. Mid-sleep in the dead of night, my phone's disaster alert jolted me awake.

The screen blinked with calm text. What? Earthquake? Heart pounding.

These alerts hit during disasters sometimes, but never this dire.

Phone in hand, I fired up the internet app. Top real-time searches:

1. Unidentified Monster in Seoul

2. Monster Sighting in Seoul

3. Unconfirmed Creature in Seoul

Deep night. Dark, quiet house. Tense silence, but internet exploded with emergency posts.

Panicking, I checked my usual SNS.

Netizens in frenzy. Reading more, my breaths grew ragged.

"Hoo, hoo... What the hell's happening? Wake parents? Shit, what do I do..."

Murmurs rose—no need to wake them; apartment stirred with awareness.

Dad emerged, roused by the noise.

"Joon-ah, what's going on?"

"Dunno. Just woke up too."

Family headed to balcony to check. Late hour, but lights flicked on everywhere.

People poking heads out, murmuring. I opened the window—only dark Han River waves visible.

"Young man! Th-there, across the river!"

Neighbor lady yelled urgently. Not just her—upper, lower floors, most residents gawking in horror from balconies. Some screamed in terror.

"Oh my god..."

"What the hell is that...?"

What? I followed her point across the Han to the skyline.

Undulating black waves on the river, glittering neon towers beyond. Between them: a massive shadow moving.

Bipedal, but reverse lighting hid details. Just a huge black silhouette against city lights.

Enormous. Truly enormous. The unidentified behemoth lumbered slowly.

Sudden realization: that's where. Distance fuzzy across river, but direction unmistakable. Gut confirmed.

The colossal creature stood at Nakseong High School, my old school from three years ago.

And I met death in an incomprehensible way.

Spotting the monster right before graduation, death struck. Eyes opened to a familiar message and a place I'd rather forget: school.

Back in Nakseong High classroom, waiting for entrance ceremony—three years prior, that day again.

Static—

Ghost Story Club