Seventh Ghost Story - Psychopath Test (6)
“Eating all that by yourself? Unbelievable.”
“Stand up.”
Is he finally letting me go?! Hwa-eun scrambled to her feet in eager anticipation.
“Sit back down.”
“Stand up.”
“Yes, got it.”
“Sit.”
“Huff, huff.”
“Stand. Sit. Stand. Sit.”
Moonlight cast a bluish glow over the apartment hallway deep into the night. Teacher Jang Hwa-eun began her workout at the student's command.
“Stop. Turn around.”
“Yes.”
“Ten push-ups. Execute.”
“Ex, execute.”
She dropped to the floor and strained desperately, but couldn't manage more than two before going completely still.
“Huff, huff.”
“What’s this? You don’t work out normally?”
“I heard there’s a volleyball club just for teachers to exercise.”
“I, I wasn’t invited...”
Still face-down and grunting, Hwa-eun didn't budge. Lee Joon sighed and hauled her back to her feet.
“Stand up again.”
“Yes.”
“Fifty jumping jacks. Execute.”
“The count should be quiet so you don’t wake the neighbors—no multiples of three. Execute.”
“Ex, execute.”
Hop, hop.
“One, two... four, five... seven, eight...”
“Thirty-one... thirty-three.”
“Wrong. Start over.”
“Ha, one, two...”
Already wrapped head to toe in the barbour coat, Hwa-eun was drenched in sweat like a downpour.
“F, fifty...”
“Good. Turn around.”
“Yes... huff, huff.”
“That should’ve burned off all the chicken you scarfed today.”
No way, Hwa-eun thought.
“From now on, no more nonsense—just head straight home. Execute.”
“Ex... execute!”
Hwa-eun bolted down the emergency stairs. Thud thud thud.
Lee Joon watched her go without a word. He slipped quietly into his apartment, checked the balcony to confirm the teacher fleeing the complex out of breath, then finally let out a sigh.
“Phew.”
C-grade Ghost Story - Survived encounter with Psychopath Test.
Gained 10 Ghost Story Points.
Current Ghost Story Points: 136
Why no message about exorcising it? After all that dog training, was it still possessed? Should he have slapped her like Ha-yoon did? His head throbbed, but having played the psycho in the ghost story himself, his emotions were dulled too. Whatever, I chased it off—that's enough. He shook his head and headed back to his room, collapsing onto the bed without a care.
He forgot that one more person had taken the test from the teacher that day.
* * *
“Seon-ah, someone’s outside... Seon-ah...”
In the dark living room, the grandmother called out for Seon-ah.
“No one’s there, Grandma... Go back to sleep.”
After exhausting herself playing in the club room with Joon after school, Seon-ah had finally gotten a deep sleep. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and stepped out of her room.
“Someone’s outside... Who’s there...”
Her grandmother lay on the electric blanket in the living room, mumbling the same thing over and over. Looking closer, Seon-ah noticed her head wasn't turned toward the front door, but the balcony.
Seon-ah dazedly followed her gaze to the balcony and peered down. Sure enough, just as Grandma said, someone was standing there.
Barbour coat. Hat pulled low. Face masked with stockings like a balaclava. Under the feeble streetlight filtering into the rundown apartment complex, the intruder stood motionless.
Their eyes met, and the figure pointed a finger right at Seon-ah.
They’re counting floors!
Feeling threatened, Seon-ah dashed back to her room and pulled a pink utility knife from her uniform pocket.
After the cult leader stole her parents and broke her grandmother's mind, this had become her quirk: the pink utility knife. Seon-ah always carried it in her pocket.
Like how people fidget with pens or twirl hair to calm down, whenever that inexplicable anxiety hit—that someone was trying to take something from her—Seon-ah would slip her hand in her pocket and toy with it. It soothed her burning heart.
I won’t let them take you away.
Her grandmother might not be all there mentally anymore, but she was Seon-ah's last remaining family. Precious to her.
Thud thud.
The intruder's footsteps echoed from inside the apartment, walking down the hall. In this ancient building with zero soundproofing, it sounded like they were right there.
Seon-ah slowly positioned herself behind the front door, ready to confront them. Then she caught sight of her reflection in the old doorbell.
A baby-faced girl, cheeks flushed red, gripping the knife. ...I hate this.
Compared to her desk mate Ha-yoon's sleek jawline and sharp features, she looked chubby and sloppy somehow.
It wasn't just looks. Compared to normal girls her age, Seon-ah's psyche was twisted in places, warped.
It's not my fault, she thought, eyes blazing. Girls like Ha-yoon must've grown up rich, getting everything they wanted. Spoiled brat. Spoiled. Poor girl. Poor.
Fury boiling, Seon-ah glared through the door at the intruder pretending to borrow the bathroom. Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
“Sorry, I really gotta pee, can I use your bathroom...?”
Thwack.
* * *
“Teacher.”
A moment later, Hwa-eun, collapsed in the rundown apartment hallway, blinked in confusion as she got up.
“Why are you here?”
Head spinning from hitting the door, the teacher racked her brain. She'd covered everything—how'd she know again?
“You're not the teacher.”
“Liar.”
Seon-ah sneered coldly.
“Ah... this afternoon... in the club room... just you and Joon...”
“What did you talk about?”
That's what she's curious about now? Even as Hwa-eun eyed a chance to counterattack, she couldn't help blurting in disbelief.
“Why do you wanna know?”
“Tell me, quick...”
Seon-ah slowly brought the utility knife up under Hwa-eun's chin. Cold sweat trickled down the teacher's forehead.
Got me again.
Why? She was supposed to toy with victims like playthings as the psychopath. Yet here she was, overpowered by kids again.
“Tell me quick...”
Seon-ah prodded her Adam's apple threateningly.
“S, Seon-ah? Calm down, put the knife down first.”
Seon-ah's blade jabbed lightly again. Just a bit more pressure and it'd pierce skin.
“O, okay. I'll tell you... We were just doing that psych test... The same one I did to you.”
“...Why'd you suddenly do that?”
“I was proctoring study hall. Took it from some chatting kids. There? I told you everything. So...”
Only then did Seon-ah slowly withdraw the blade. But she flashed a sinister smile and asked again.
“Then why'd you meet Joon in the middle of the night...?”
“Wh, what?”
Hwa-eun floundered, demanding what she meant.
“I smell Joon on your clothes...”
You crazy bitch! Hwa-eun frantically scanned the hall for escape. Left was a dead end. Right to the middle emergency stairs.
“R, right. Well, nice seeing you, Seon-ah. Bye.”
She lunged right—but tripped over her barbour coat as Seon-ah yanked the collar, crashing down.
Thud crash.
“Answer me, teacher... What'd you do meeting Joon at night?”
Hwa-eun felt rage bubbling inside. Why! Why were these damn kids resisting today of all days! Unable to contain her fury at being beaten again, she made a fatal mistake.
“Are you nuts? Can't you grasp the situation—me with a knife in the dead of night at your door? Why ask something like that?”
“Fine. I'll answer.”
Hwa-eun grinned wickedly with the wrong response.
“What do a guy and girl do meeting at night? Stuff a brat like you could never do. I gave Joon plenty of gifts.”
Seon-ah's lips slowly curled up.
And then she uttered one word.
Giggle.
“Teacher... You need a lesson from me...”
* * *
Your club member displayed astonishing prowess and repelled the psychopath instead!
Gained 50 Ghost Story Points.
+10% bonus Ghost Story Points per participating club member.
Participating Member: Yoon Seon-ah
Total 60 points + 10% bonus of 6 points.
Current Ghost Story Points: 202
As dawn broke, the possession lifted. Hwa-eun awoke amid trash piles, memory blank as usual.
“Ugh, where am I?”
In the corner of the apartment complex where residents dumped trash secretly. Clutching her pounding head, she slowly stood.
“Barbour coat? What...”
Looking around at the unfamiliar neighborhood, Hwa-eun freaked out.
“Shit, how much did I drink yesterday?”
Her last memory: two chickens with beer, Netflix on, cackling away. She figured she'd blacked out from too much booze.
But she vaguely recalled a nightmare of fleeing all night from some terrifying entity.
“Damn, hot.”
She ditched the weird barbour coat and peeled off the stocking mask—then froze in shock.
Maybe from the scary dream, but her pants were soaked. She'd thought sweat, but the stench rising after ditching the coat said otherwise.
She hurriedly covered up and glanced around—no one in sight, luckily.
A teacher gets drunk, sleeps rough... No wonder I'm still single.
Hwa-eun threw the barbour coat back on, buttoned it tight, and vanished into the morning sun before anyone spotted her state—rushing home.
* * *
Your club member displayed astonishing prowess and repelled the psychopath instead!
Gained 50 Ghost Story Points.
+10% bonus Ghost Story Points per participating club member.
Participating Member: Yoon Seon-ah
What the hell. Waking up in the morning, there was a message that Seon-ah had exorcised a ghost story.
No way.
After I chewed her out that bad, did she still go after Seon-ah? Come to think of it, Seon-ah had taken the test too—not just me.
“...My god. Seon-ah's the real deal.”
Unlike us just mimicking in the ghost story, Seon-ah was...
I could only pray the teacher hadn't gotten hurt too bad.
Either way, the psychopaths' untimely midnight gymnastics came to an end.
Ghost Story Club