Sixth Ghost Story - The College Entrance Exam Banned Song (5)

We tried our best to get some information through the teacher, just as we'd discussed, but Jang Hwa-eun, completely lost in the song, wasn't communicating at all.

"Teacher, focus. Why do you keep singing that song?"

"Tum! Etum!"

"Is that song looping in your head? What are you feeling right now?"

"Oioou~ Eshea~"

"Damn it."

No use talking to her. The teacher just kept flapping her arms in that dance and wiggling her hips.

"Da-da-da, Po~ Lin~ Seu~!"

"This is embarrassing to watch."

An Gyeong-won let out a sigh.

"What do we do, president? Should we really beat the teacher?"

"That'd be kinda immoral..."

"Given the situation, we gotta try something."

"Sigh."

"Ooh yeah~ Ooh yeah~"

I left the teacher stepping away with her vacant eyes and turned helplessly to the club members.

"Anyone wanna slap her cheek? Might snap her out of it—"

Before I could finish, In Ha-yoon strode over, grabbed the teacher's collar, and started slapping her cheeks with full force.

Slap—!

Slap—!

"Kyaaak!"

The teacher screamed. Ha-yoon didn't flinch and swung again, drawing a beautiful arc with her hand before striking once more.

Slap—!

Slap—!

"Kyaaaaak!"

The teacher tumbled to the floor with a crash. Despite her slender frame, Ha-yoon packed a mean slap. Even Lee Jin-hee's eyes widened in surprise, like Damn, she's got it.

Just as the teacher flailed around like she was swimming on the floor—

Huh...!

Clearing a ghost story out of nowhere like this.

Does this set a new checkpoint right now?

I was caught off guard for a moment, but I'd check later.

"Kyak, wh-where am I?"

The teacher, who'd been rolling on the floor, finally came to her senses, clutching her cheek as she sat up.

Ha-yoon answered in her usual calm voice.

"The club room, teacher."

"Cl-club room? Why am I here... and why does my cheek hurt so much..."

We explained everything.

"Oh my. What a mess! Goodness gracious!"

The teacher shouted in her usual clear, ringing voice.

"I remember now. We busted into the broadcasting room and subdued that punk kid pulling the prank. But then chaos broke out from the staff room!"

Her signature high-energy tone. This was the real Jang Hwa-eun.

"The principal stripped naked and did handstands! The student affairs teacher flipped desks while singing and wandering around... I must've gotten infected while escaping and ended up here."

The club room was on the fifth floor, a spot students rarely visited. Tucked away at the end of the hallway, it was hard to find unless you'd been there before. That's why we'd been safe amid the chaos—one guy who'd spotted our light excluded—and only the teacher had made it here properly.

"What should we do now?"

"Huh?"

The teacher looked flustered at my question.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Exactly. A teacher should lead students in tough times. I decided to offload the club president responsibility I'd been dying to ditch onto her.

"D-Do I have to decide?"

"You're the teacher."

I said it like it was obvious. The members nodded slowly.

"R-Right. Yeah, I'm the adult..."

She seemed to accept it, though flustered, furrowing her prettily made-up brows in thought.

"Wait a sec."

"Sure. Take your time."

"Let me think... Hmm."

Phew. I sighed in relief, free from the burden of leading this mess.

This is the way! Life's meant to be lived like this!

Being in charge was exhausting. The members' eyes waiting on my every decision. The vague expectation that the president would come up with something brilliant. And constantly proving yourself to those below you, like with Gyeong-won and me—that's what being a leader meant.

Dumping that weight onto a teacher with far more authority felt like shedding a sandbag.

Teacher, I leave it to you! Heh heh.

Maybe that's why salaried workers envy the boss less than the other way around.

After much deliberation, the teacher sighed deeply.

"Alright, how about we grab some food first?"

"Pardon?"

The members gasped in shock.

"Gotta eat to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠survive, kids."

* * *

What we didn't know was that the main building's fourth floor had a sealed passageway leading to the cafeteria.

As we'd seen the day after the entrance ceremony, the school formed a U-shape: main building, cafeteria, and gym used as an auditorium.

The cafeteria was simple—first floor for freshmen, second for sophomores, third for juniors—just like the main building. Each floor connected via passageways.

Freshmen went from first-floor classes straight to the first-floor cafeteria via the passage, sophomores from second to second, juniors from third to third. No mixing between grades; uniform by floor for convenience.

And the fourth floor...

"The cafeteria's fourth floor is where the cooks prepare food. It was built connected to the main building like the others, but since no students go there, they sealed it off."

The teacher explained patiently. Info we newbies couldn't know—a solution only she could provide.

"We're at the end of the fifth-floor hall, facing the cafeteria direction. Just one quick flight down the stairs next to the club room, open the passage door—short route, safe."

"...Are we really going there for food?"

"That's part of it. This started just before lunch, right? The cafeteria building was empty, so safer than the main building."

"But following the fourth-floor passage takes us straight to the kitchen. No students on 1-3, but the cooks on four..."

"School announcements only play in the main building. The song didn't reach the cafeteria."

"Aha!"

We smacked our knees in realization. If the cooks were there, they'd be fine—or long gone.

Move to the cafeteria!

The club room felt safe for now due to its awkward spot, but it was still in the main building. Lunatics could show up singing anytime. The cafeteria was safer.

And we'd get food too.

It hit around 11, so the cooks were probably mid-prep on delicious meals. We licked our chops.

"Two birds with one stone, right prez?"

"I'm hungry."

"Eat first in a safe spot, then plan. Sounds good, teacher."

"Right? Pretty smart, huh?"

Today's lunch: pork stir-fry. Once inside, 900 servings were ours.

"Everyone ready?"

No good weapons, sadly. Just desks, chairs, whiteboard—heavy stuff hard to carry quietly. Better to move fast and empty-handed for stealth.

"Let's go, kids. Just follow me."

The teacher quietly opened the club room door. Sunlight poured in from the opposite hall, illuminating the dim room.

Having a 34-year-old adult lead us felt surprisingly reassuring. Even I relaxed as I followed her out.

No one in the fifth-floor hall at first.

"This way."

We crept after her whispers toward the stairs. Peeking down before descending—quiet for now.

"Down we go."

Muffling our steps, but someone's slippers squeaked loudly.

Foosh~ Fsssh~

Yoon Seon-ah's worn three-stripe slippers hissed with each step.

"Seon-ah, carry those."

Face red, she slipped them off and tiptoed in socks.

We reached the fourth-floor stairs. Teacher peeked around the corner, flinched, and pulled back. She turned, finger to lips—Shh.

We waited tensely. She peeked again, then beckoned us on.

At the hall's end, a crude wooden barricade with a simple latch door.

That's the passage to the cafeteria.

Weak-looking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠planks—even if locked, we could smash it.

"Follow!"

She whispered again; we six trailed. Faint shouts from below.

At the door, she checked we were all there, then carefully unlatched it.

"Teacher!"

Gyeong-won whispered urgently. We whipped around.

Far down the fourth-floor hall, a male student stood staring.

We froze mid-open. He didn't move, so she resumed.

"Ignore him and go! This way!"

As we filed through one by one, the guy started striding toward us.

Fast.

No issue shutting the door and fleeing, but the flimsy barricade—he'd smash through quick, alerting others.

"Damn."

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stepped in front of the members.

"J-Joon-ah!"

Seon-ah cried worriedly.

I faced the oncoming student, slowly raised my arms.

Flap flap.

Started the dance. Confused stares from behind.

Kept flapping, then added side steps.

The guy finally nodded and turned back.

"He-He's going...!"

I sighed, turning to the members.

"The weird dance possessed people do. Tried it just in case—worked."

"President's the best!"

Gyeong-won grinned, thumbs up.

Through the door, a dusty passage appeared.

"Cough, cough."

Someone coughed. We turned into another wooden door toward the cafeteria.

Clink, clink.

"It's locked?"

Seon-ah muttered worriedly.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Teacher yanked the handle like scolding it.

I quietly pulled a card from my wallet.

"Teacher, use this."

"Aha."

Same latch on the other side—slide the card in, lift.

Creeeak—

"It opened!"

She glanced at me with a slight eye-roll.

"Sneaky one, aren't you?"

"My only talent."

"Hoho. In we go."

Inside the fourth-floor cafeteria, we latched it shut and sealed the ascending passage with an iron door. Totally secure now.

We relaxed, looking around.

"Mmm~ Smells delicious!"

Teacher sniffed, searching.

"Good, no one's here."

Finished dishes sat in huge trays, waiting. Gas off, no mess. Cooks and nutritionists must've fled after watching the chaos.

"Here! Pork stir-fry, kids! Oh man, smell this~"

She opened a massive tray; we rushed with trays.

Over 20L of pork stir-fry.

"Whoa~ Jackpot!"

"Fuck, insane, heh."

"Looks tasty..."

"Wuhyo~! www Super-lucky^DAZE~ 900 servings of pork boss get★da je!"

We piled trays to bursting with rice and sides. Some grabbed extras just for meat.

"Kids, here! Nutritionist's office. Eat inside."

Inside the cafeteria—double soundproofing, safe for chowing down.

We locked ourselves in and dug in.

"Whoa, perfect fat-to-meat ratio..."

"Huuuk, mix with rice—it's to die for."

"Om nom~ Someone scoop more meat in a pot. Hoho."

Late lunch. We laughed and chatted, unwinding with pork.

Haha, hoho.

"That dance you did, president—was it Porinseu's choreography?"

"Hm. Thought the same. Check YouTube later. Muted, obviously."