Chapter 24: Fifth Ghost Story - The Endless 4th Period (6)
“Puuup— Puuuuup— Puup—”
“Buup… Buup… Buuup……”
In the quiet fast food joint, Seon-ah was struggling with a single straw, puffing air into me with all her might.
“Buup… Buup… Buuup……”
“Puuuuuup_”
Her face beet red, cheeks puffed out as she blew air into me.
“Puup—!”
I couldn't hold it in anymore and ended up spitting it out.
“Puhahaha……”
Seon-ah stared at me, face flushed, as I spat out the straw, looking utterly baffled.
“Joon-ah, why……?”
“Oh, uh… no. If I say her face was hilarious, she might get mad.”
I picked up the fallen straw.
“This thing… it's way too small. Not good for blowing air through.”
“Yeah……”
Seon-ah nodded in agreement, panting heavily. But unlike the earlier dream, the place was bustling with busy staff zipping around, so we couldn't use the gas pipes.
“No super-sealed spots nearby where we can't breathe… something bigger…… something we can use to blow air into each other……”
“Joon-ah, what about this paper cup……?”
Seon-ah pointed to a paper cup on the table.
“Let's see……”
I picked it up and examined it from every angle.
Regular size cup.
Too short. We might end up kissing by accident.
“Wonder if there's a large one somewhere?”
“In the trash……”
“Hold up. I'll grab a fresh one.”
I stopped Seon-ah from digging through the trash and headed down to the first-floor counter. Gotta get a new one if it's going in our mouths.
“Excuse me, sorry, could I get a large drink cup?”
A part-timer noona, swamped with deliveries, slammed a cup down irritably.
What a bitch.
I grabbed the large paper cup and headed back up to the second floor.
“Poke a hole in the bottom. Then blow air into me.”
This way, the passage was wider and safer than the straw.
“Puuup—”
“…Huup!”
“Puuup—”
“…Uup!”
I tried my best not to look at Seon-ah as she puffed her cheeks full and blew.
“Puuup— Pfft! *Cough*! *Cough*……”
She must've choked while blowing into me, suddenly coughing into the cup.
“*Cough*, *cough*……”
I pulled the cup away and wiped the spit that had splattered on my lips.
“…You okay?”
“Hek… hek, this is hard.”
Seon-ah wiped sweat from her flushed face. I was the one who should be out of breath, so why was the one blowing air exhausted?
I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and explained again.
“Got it? You breathe outside air and exhale into the cup. That's it. No reason it should be tough.”
“Mm……”
The key was for her to keep blowing CO2 into me until I passed out.
“Alright, again.”
“Okay……”
We pressed our lips to opposite ends of the cup again. I could feel nearby customers glancing our way.
“Buup… Buup… Buuup……”
Seon-ah had a tougher side than she seemed; she exhaled mercilessly. I nearly coughed several times from the sudden pressure flooding my lungs.
Ugh… Urk…… *Gasp*—!
“*Cough*! *Cough*……”
This time, I choked. She'd blown too hard.
“*Cough*, *cough*……”
“J-Joon-ah……”
Seon-ah fidgeted apologetically. Ha-yoon had done it so delicately. My head throbbed like it might split as coughs wracked me.
“*Cough*, *cough*… A bit gentler……”
“S-Sorry……”
Seon-ah looked at me guiltily. Right then—
“Excuse me? Sir?”
As I caught my breath and glanced sideways, the irritable part-timer noona from before was standing there.
“Are you okay?”
Customers murmured, staring at our flushed faces. Fair enough—who wouldn't notice a high school boy and girl in uniforms shoving their faces into a paper cup?
“Sir?”
Seon-ah tensed up, eyeing the worker. I waved her off and stood.
“*Cough*… Yeah, we're fine. Go on.”
“Sorry, but you'll need to leave the store.”
The worker looked troubled.
“Other customers are uncomfortable……”
“Yeah, yeah, we'll grab our stuff and go. You can leave.”
I snapped irritably.
Damn, this dream is too realistic.
The worker scowled and headed downstairs.
“Seon-ah, let's try the bathroom.”
“Okay.”
The bathroom was in the corner of the second floor. I briefly debated men's or women's before heading ahead; Seon-ah scurried after me.
No reason to pick the women's at this point, right?
I opened the door and slipped into a stall. Seon-ah glanced around cautiously before entering the men's room.
“Into the stall.”
We crammed in, and I locked the door.
“Good. No interruptions now.”
“Mm.”
I locked eyes with hesitant Seon-ah, urging focus, and began explaining.
“You know how you get sleepy staying too long in a sealed space?”
“…Yeah.”
“That's from oxygen deprivation. We're recreating it. No tight sealed spot nearby that burns oxygen fast, so we're blocking airways with the cup to fake it. But since the cup's smaller than a breath, you're on the other end.”
We huddled in the tiny stall, less than a ping.
“Let's go.”
We pressed the cup together and started breathing again.
“…Huup—!”
“…Huup.”
“…Huub—!”
“…Huup.”
Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Seon-ah's rhythm was steadier now. This could work.
“…Huub—!”
“…Huup.”
“…Huup—!”
“…Huup.”
My consciousness faded gradually—
Bang!
Suddenly, the men's room door flew open amid commotion.
“Those kids went in here. Boy and girl together.”
“Hey, sir! You in there? Sir!”
The worker burst in with other staff. They stopped at our locked stall.
“Open up! What are you doing in there? Come out!”
They pounded. Other workers murmured, entering adjacent stalls. Panicked, Seon-ah breathed faster into me.
“…Huup—! Huup—!”
“…Huup. …Huup.”
My mind grew hazy, consciousness blurring.
“…Huup—! Huup—! Huup—!”
“…Huup. …Huup. …Huup.”
Workers banged on our door.
“Hey! Come out! I said come out!”
Bang! Bang bang!
A male worker climbed the adjacent toilet.
“Hup! I'll go over!”
“…Huup—! Huup—! Huup—!”
“…Huup. …Huup. …Huup.”
“Hey! You kids!”
The man peered over from the next stall.
“Doing something weird together! Get out now!”
Coins jiggled the lock.
Click— Click—
“…Huup—! Huub—! Huup—! Huup—! Huup—! Huup—! Huup—!”
“…Huup. …Huup. …Huup. …Huup. …Huup. …Huup. …Huup. …Huup.”
“Out! Hey!”
“Uup— Uuup—”
Workers yanked the door open, grabbing Seon-ah's shoulders, pulling and shoving. Amid her desperate resistance to keep breathing into me—
I took one final breath, and my vision went black.
Thump. Thump.
I opened my eyes.
Or tried to. They wouldn't open.
Thump. Thump.
No strength in my eyelids.
What was this feeling? And where was I?
Incredibly comfortable. My body floated weightlessly.
Thump. Thump.
Mom's voice. It echoed around me.
Could this be… inside Mom's womb?
My foggy mind started connecting dots. These dreams weren't random. They were in reverse order of my nightmares, chronologically.
Started with all four of us in class during history lesson—that nightmare was set today.
Ha-yoon stayed behind; the three of us moved to the fast food joint next—after meeting the smiling woman, the next day's nightmare. So, further back in time.
Then with Seon-ah at the entrance ceremony—three years of exploding heads haunting me.
Now, leaping even further back—twenty years to Mom's womb.
Did recent traumas equate to rebirth-level stress? Skipping ahead to the first stress, first nightmare: fetal stage.
Thump. Thump.
…This world is full of stress. But here… it's so peaceful. Just floating… absorbing Mom's nutrients. No thoughts, just blank… comfortable… drifting.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Suddenly, Seon-ah's face flashed. Probably fretting over my sleeping self in the fast food bathroom.
Seon-ah, seriously. It's just a dream.
Thump.
Gyeong-won… even higher up… munching fries, waiting for me.
Thump.
Ha-yoon… hope she's dodging monsters okay. Something weird happened with her… what was it? Eh, too lazy to remember.
Thump.
Consciousness drifted long. Unease crept in at the edge of my mind.
Am I resting too long? A bit's fine, but a day? Month? Year? Ten years in this dream?
Could the others hold out?
Thump. Thump.
Ah, got it. This ghost story traps you in dreams, erodes your sanity… until you die.
Thump.
But how do I pass out again alone? One more time should do it.
Thump. Thump.
Coil the umbilical cord around my neck. In my daze, I wriggled slowly, swimming through amniotic fluid.
Searched for something to snag, circling endlessly.
Felt the cord, kept spinning until it looped my neck.
Thump. Thump.
Good. Air cutting off. Controlled just enough not to suffocate fully.
Stuffiness persisted. Waiting, consciousness flew off again.
Mom's womb, already a fetus. Further back? Where to now?
Thump. Thump.
Consciousness sucked away.
Shwoooosh—!
“Why”
“Such”
“……I'll allow this part, so it's fine.”
“Hahh!”
I awoke in the fast food bathroom. Seon-ah gazed worriedly. Staff bustled, calling 119.
“J-Joon-ah… you okay?”
“Hah, hah.”
What was that? Who'd I meet? Memories fuzzy. Just a sense of reuniting with someone joyful, hearing something crucial.
Need to remember. But as I woke, mind clearing, the dream faded.
Yes. I was waking up.
“Seon-ah.”
“Yeah?”
Nerves twitched in my head. Dormant consciousness stirred. Like surfacing from water, a strange feeling of rising to the surface surged up.
I grabbed Seon-ah's hand and yelled.
“Seon-ah, let's go back!”
“Okay!”
Seon-ah nodded vigorously. The floor crumbled.
“President!!”
Back in the fast food joint—but smack in the middle of the first floor.
“Ugh… Gyeong-won-ah.”
As I clutched my forehead and sat up, Gyeong-won rushed over.
“Did it work?”
“Yeah… we did it.”
Seon-ah woke groggily beside me, looking around dazed.
Gyeong-won relaxed at my confirmation.
“While waiting, I pondered deeply. I remembered what we four were doing in reality when we all fell asleep at once.”
“For real? What?”
I yelped in surprise.
Right! There was that! What state were we in reality? What had we been doing to conk out together?
Gyeong-won pushed up his glasses with a smirk.
“You won't believe it even if I tell you now. Check when you wake up.”
“Huh? Tell me! I'm dying to know!”
He chuckled, shaking his head.
“Don't worry, nothing bad. Just… pretty absurd. Very.”
Seon-ah shuffled over, rubbing her head blankly. Gyeong-won turned to her and nodded.
“Good work. Yoon Seon-ah.”
“Heehee.”
The store shook violently; the ceiling collapsed.
“I told you Mom wanted to go to church, but you just— ”
“Ugh……”
I rubbed my forehead, sitting up slowly in our empty, quiet classroom. No students. Faint complaints mimicking Mom echoed from the distant hall.
“Aigoo, my head.”
Gyeong-won and Seon-ah sat up beside me, clutching their heads. No Ha-yoon—probably hidden well somewhere.
The world shook, crumbling again. My consciousness surged upward.
A sudden anxious thought spilled out.
“Hey, Gyeong-won-ah, Seon-ah. What if… this is just my dream? And you guys are all figments I imagined?”
What if I'd been solo this whole time?
Dread washed over me. Amid falling debris, Gyeong-won adjusted his glasses.
“Hope not, President.”
Seon-ah smiled quietly at me.
“We'll see soon, Joon-ah……”
The ceiling crashed down. My consciousness fully awoke.
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