Chapter 20: The Fifth Ghost Story - The Endless 4th Period (2)
We three slipped quietly out of the club room and stood in the middle of the fifth-floor hallway.
"It's so quiet."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
Our school's layout was simple: first-years on the first floor, second-years on the second, third-years on the third. The fourth floor housed labs like the science room and music room. The fifth had the self-study room, club rooms, and multipurpose spaces. At the start of the semester during the first club activity period, the fifth floor should have been buzzing louder than ever—but it was the exact opposite.
Silence blanketed the hallway.
"Let's check it out."
"...Yeah."
Seon-ah cautiously peeked through the windows of nearby club rooms, while Gyeong-won poked around here and there. As if our earlier spat had never happened, the three of us naturally fell back into teamwork in the face of this bizarre situation.
"Anyone in there?"
I called out toward the dance club room next door, but no response came.
"Doesn't look like anyone's here."
"Let's head downstairs."
We went down to the fourth floor.
"Quiet here too."
"Where'd everyone go?"
Then the third, second floors. Empty. And finally, the first.
"Let's look for the teachers."
The moment we reached the first floor, we pushed open the staff room door.
Creak—
"Anyone here~?"
Gyeong-won wandered around inside, while Seon-ah hesitantly glanced about. Still nothing. Dead quiet.
We regrouped at the staff room entrance.
"Um... should we check our classroom again...?"
"Yeah, let's do that."
No point, probably, but we followed Seon-ah's suggestion and headed to our class.
"If it's empty there too, we'll just grab our stuff and head home."
"...Won't we get called out later for that, President?"
"Everyone's already vanished somewhere. No reason for us to stick around."
"Where could they all have gone...?"
Afternoon sunlight poured into the eerily silent school. A place that should have been alive with high school chaos felt oppressively tense in its stillness.
"Never seen the school this quiet before."
"Yeah... it's scary..."
We huddled close as we made our way to the classroom. And when we reached our class... one girl was sitting there.
"Wh-whoa!"
Not expecting anyone, we all jumped. Calming the others, I took a closer look—it was a familiar face.
Translucent skin. Delicate features, long black hair. The prim, well-mannered type. Seon-ah's deskmate.
In Ha-yoon.
She sat calmly in the empty classroom, reading her book as if oblivious to our arrival.
I poked Seon-ah with my finger.
Your deskmate. Go say hi.
Seon-ah shot me a sweaty, pleading look. A week into the semester and she still hadn't talked to her? I glanced at Gyeong-won, but he avoided my eyes—useless against girls, apparently.
Guess I'm up again.
Afternoon sun bathed the empty classroom. Ha-yoon reading alone exuded an aura too mystical to disturb lightly.
"...Hey."
The girl looked up.
"Ha-yoon, right?"
"Yeah, hi. What's up?"
As if she hadn't been buried in her book, she looked up immediately and answered politely. She'd done this before—friendly, but so instant it felt almost artificial.
"Uh, where's... everyone?"
"It's club time. Probably in their club rooms."
Ha-yoon answered calmly. Didn't she know?
"We just came from there."
"Huh?"
"School's totally empty right now."
Ha-yoon stared blankly at me. Come on—get surprised or come check it out.
"For real."
I nodded emphatically.
"Okay."
Ha-yoon replied nonchalantly.
Fuck. I headed to my desk and started packing my bag. Seon-ah and Gyeong-won followed suit, watching us.
"We're heading home. You?"
Ha-yoon just sat there, watching us. Once we'd grabbed our bags and shoe pouches, the three of us stood at the front.
"Um..."
Before leaving, Seon-ah hesitated, then turned to her deskmate.
"...Come with us."
Ha-yoon tilted her head slightly, finally responding.
"Sure?"
"Yeah..."
Ha-yoon smiled faintly, packed her things, and stood.
"Okay. If my deskmate says so."
And so the four of us awkwardly left the school, bags slung over our shoulders.
"Really? You already started a club room?"
"Yeah, haha. Kinda happened."
"Impressive~"
"Why were you reading alone in class?"
"Tried for the book club. Didn't make it."
Ha-yoon answered casually.
"Really? High competition?"
"Guess so~"
So she'd been left hanging on club day with nowhere to go.
If she's got no place, maybe invite her to Ghost Story Club.
The quiet playground echoed only with Ha-yoon's and my voices. Seon-ah and Gyeong-won trailed awkwardly.
Headache.
I nudged Gyeong-won—say something. He cleared his throat awkwardly, staring into space like he was reading from a book.
"Ahem. Colds aren't caused by cold weather, they say. The Arctic has hardly any cold viruses."
What the fuck? Out of nowhere.
"Really? Didn't know that~"
But Ha-yoon smiled calmly and played along. She even responded to that. Respect.
Gyeong-won cleared his throat again, ears red.
"Most humans are right-handed, but polar bears are mostly left-handed."
"Really? Cool~ Which are you?"
"M-me? Right-handed."
"I'm left-handed~"
"R-right."
Gyeong-won stammered; Ha-yoon responded smoothly with an "Oh?" Relieved I didn't have to carry the awkwardness alone, I approached Seon-ah, who looked grateful for the split dynamic.
"Seon-ah, what do you think about the empty school?"
"Um..."
Seon-ah furrowed her brows thoughtfully.
"Did everyone else clock out early and leave us...?"
"Haha! That'd be nice."
Her innocent answer made me laugh. We'd reached the school gate by then. The guard booth was empty too.
"Guess we split here."
The four of us faced each other at the gate. Way too early for dismissal. Even the streets were quiet.
"Super weird, but we should head home anyway."
"Yeah..."
Seon-ah mumbled agreement. Gyeong-won analyzed:
"No idea what happened, but going home's our only option."
"Weird as hell."
Seon-ah stared at the ground. I could chill at home with games and TV, but Seon-ah probably had nothing to do this early. I decided.
"Hey, Seon-ah."
"Y-yeah...?"
"Me and you—"
I was about to suggest hanging out when—
WEE-OO-WEE-OO-WEE-OO-WEE-OO—
Sirens blared from all directions.
"What the—?"
"Huh?"
We four whipped around in shock. Then a roar louder than the sirens streaked past us.
VROOOOM—
A plane.
"Fighter jets!"
Gyeong-won yelled. They looked different from usual passenger planes. Five in tight formation, trailing smoke, buzzed right over us.
"Why so low?!"
Gyeong-won shouted amid the sirens and jet roar.
"No clue! What's going on?!"
I plugged my ears and yelled back. From here, buildings blocked our view.
"Rooftop! Let's check from the roof!"
"Y-yeah!"
Right then, distant explosions rumbled.
BOOM. RUMBLE.
More jets screamed overhead.
SCREEE— WEE-OO-WEE-OO—
Sirens, jets, and far-off blasts deafened us. Dazed by the chaos, we scanned for a nearby building to climb.
WHOOSH—
Wind whipped fiercely. Blast effect? Nearby doors were locked.
"Back to school!"
"School?"
"Our club room! View's great from there!"
"Got it!"
Gyeong-won bellowed.
BOOM. RUMBLE.
More blasts afar. Hot wind gusted from the source, flinging trash and dust that stung our eyes. Seon-ah and Ha-yoon's hair flew wildly; they clutched skirts and hair, slowing down. Gyeong-won and I shoved them from behind to barely make it inside.
Bang!
"Huff... huff."
"Pant... pant."
Inside, the noise and wind dulled.
"You okay?"
Sweat beaded on Ha-yoon's soft forehead.
"Cough... cough."
Seon-ah dry-heaved, gasping.
"Come on, up we go."
We steadied each other and climbed. Explosions and jets echoed nonstop on the way to the fifth floor.
Bang, pop.
And a new sound mixed in—a deep, guttural roar.
GROOOOARRR.
"Huff... huff."
"Pant... pant."
BOOM. RUMBLE. SCREE— Bang, pop. GROOOOARRR.
We rushed to the fifth floor. No one encountered. Without a word, we flung open the club room door and clustered at the window.
Dry afternoon sun. Clear blue sky, endless jets streaking by. Skyscrapers in the distance.
And between them...
"What... the hell is that...?"
Something enormous stood on two legs. Huge. Bigger than apartments. Mountains.
"...Insane."
Gyeong-won trembled, cursing.
"J-Joon-ah..."
Seon-ah shook, sidling to my side. I silently took her hand.
More jets roared past, firing missiles that streaked toward the demon king.
RUMBLE.
A blinding flash—massive explosion. Unlike before, the sky turned red as a mushroom cloud bloomed slowly.
A nuke, straight to the demon king.
White curtains whipped wildly. Shockwave rolled in. Smoke clouds toppled buildings toward us.
The ground quaked.
"J-Joon-ah!"
Seon-ah gripped my hand tight. Gyeong-won backpedaled, gasping. Ha-yoon stared blankly, hair flying.
"Joon-ah! Joon-ah!!"
The blast wave closed in; Seon-ah screamed. I squeezed back.
"Jooon-ah!"
KABOOOOOM— CRASHHH—
Buildings crumbled and flew. Our bodies disintegrated rapidly.
I slowly opened my eyes.
"And those Japanese bastards drove stakes everywhere to sap our land's energy..."
The history teacher in hanbok spat excitedly at the mention of Japan. Through the classroom door's window, kids from early-dismissing classes dashed to the cafeteria, brows furrowed.
Next to me, Deok-hoon smirked creepily, doodling weird characters in his textbook.
And turning to the next row—Seon-ah stared at me with huge round eyes.
Huh.
I faced forward. Front-row Gyeong-won sweated bullets, staring back.
We three exchanged wide-eyed glances, avoiding direct stares. Ha-yoon gazed blankly ahead too.
Ding-dong~ Dang-dong~ ♬
At the bell, impatient boys bolted out to join the cafeteria rush. The teacher looked miffed—he had more to say—but food trumped history for the kids. As the class emptied...
We four stayed behind.
"Um..."
Surprisingly, Seon-ah spoke first. I nodded.
"Yeah."
Gyeong-won bowed his head, mumbling.
"How... how did this...?"
We'd all regressed together to 4th period that day.
Ghost Story Club