Chapter 51: The Eighth Ghost Story - The Cursed Midterms (2)
[April 23, 2019, Tuesday, 09:00]
[Lee Joon - 2nd Round]
[Ghost Story Points: 202]
[Causal Rate: 11%]
The next day, 9 a.m. The first day of midterms had begun. From today through Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday—three days total, eight subjects to tackle.
First period is math, huh.
Math wasn't his strong suit. Unlike science or Korean history, where cramming the night before could pull decent scores, math demanded real skill for those application problems.
The homeroom teacher gave a half-hearted pep talk, morning homeroom wrapped up, and soon the proctor entered.
Ah, fuck. This is tougher than I thought.
He felt it halfway through the test paper. After three years of exam hell and regression, he'd figured a first-semester freshman midterm would be a breeze. But no, it wasn't that easy.
He skimmed the problems, knocking out the straightforward ones first. For the trickier applications, he scribbled away with whatever wild methods he could muster—until the bell rang.
"No touching that computer pen right now. That's cheating."
Soon a kid from the back came to collect the OMR sheets. Lee Joon handed his over, hiding his regret.
Break time. Time that should have gone to prepping for the next test, but half the class clustered up, chattering about how the math had gone.
Lee Joon, Seon-ah, and Deok-hoon naturally gravitated to Gyeong-won's desk.
"What's this? Why's everyone piling onto me all of a sudden?"
"You're the best at studying, right능?"
"How was it, Gyeong-won? That math felt brutal."
Gyeong-won nodded at Lee Joon's urgent question, adjusting his glasses.
"It was tough, yes. The teacher must have botched the difficulty balance."
"Phew, told ya."
Seon-ah sighed in relief too, patting her chest. Everyone must have felt the same.
Ha-yoon quietly prepped for the next one. Jin-hee dozed off silently.
Second period: English. Break ended, bell rang, mood sank back into focus. Amid the students silently gearing up, the classroom door slid open—and a bright voice rang out.
Dr-r-rk.
"Hi, kids~!"
Jang Hwa-eun. Unlike the last proctor, who'd slunk in quietly to avoid spooking the tense students, her greeting boomed with energy.
We poked our heads up at the unexpected friendly face, waving. She winked back.
"English this time~! Mess it up and you're in for it!"
This was probably the first time seeing her outside club stuff. She taught upperclassmen English, so no overlap with freshmen.
English? Piece of cake. Heh.
English was one he aced. No real application needed—just steady study built knowledge. He breezed through, but grammar threw him a curveball. Passage reading was easy after his extra three years, but verbs and such? Hadn't paid close attention back then, so it tripped him up now.
Hmm, previous was 5, one before that too. Probably not 5 again, right?
"How'd it go? English seemed rough."
"President, maybe quit bouncing around and prep for next period?"
Break hit, and as he dashed to the clubmates, Gyeong-won scolded him.
"Yeah, it was tough," Seon-ah chimed in with a giggle.
Last period of the first midterm day: science. Midterms meant three subjects a day instead of classes, early lunch dismissal. Finish integrated science, and straight home.
Sweet!
Test mattered, but early freedom? Bliss.
Dr-r-rk—surprisingly, their own freshman science teacher stepped in as proctor. The usual stoic type: blank face, minimal student chat, just teaches and leaves. True to his creepy vibe, no greeting—he silently passed out papers.
Science? Ten minutes, tops.
True. Unlike math's skill walls, science leaned on memory. He'd always topped it pre-regression, so he powered through confidently.
2, 4, 1, 3...
Nice. This pace? Thirty minutes easy.
Glancing over, Jin-hee was already out. Not 'cause she studied harder.
3, 2, 4, 5... Zipping through OMR marks, last problem.
Good speed!
Pen up, eyes on it.
What the hell? He rubbed his eyes, reread.
[36. If you remember this problem until...]
No mistake. Last page: no science, just a weird ghost story. No options for OMR either.
Glanced around. A few finished kids flipped papers, double-checking. No one else puzzled like him.
"...Teacher."
He raised a hand cautiously. Teacher approached slowly.
Head tilt: What's up?
"Here on my paper—" He pointed. Teacher peered.
"Leave it blank."
That curt, then walked off.
What? Misprint?
Nah.
He chuckled alone.
Been a month. Long time no see.
Ding~ dong~ dang~ dong~ ♬
First midterm day done. OMRs in, teacher out—Lee Joon bolted to Gyeong-won's desk. Seon-ah and Deok-hoon followed. Ha-yoon joined too, ditching prep for grading. Jin-hee awake but sulking in back.
"Guys, weird question on my paper. Yours?"
"Weird question?"
He snatched Seon-ah's paper, compared. Fine. Others too. The suicide story? Only his.
"Guys, check mine?"
"What the...?"
They crowded, peering.
"Th-this..."
"Full of wrongs."
"Joon sucks at studying."
"Amazing ability."
He yelled.
"No! The last one! Last problem!"
"Lemme see, 36? Ours end at 35. Hmm. If you remember this till 20, a call comes asking... " Gyeong-won trailed, tilting head.
"Sounds like a ghost story."
Ghost story. Club buzzed.
"Ghost story?"
"What one?"
"Ring any bells?"
Deok-hoon jumped in.
"That's a Japanese one. Japan."
"Japanese ghost story?"
"The 'Dolphin Bridge' one. Remember till adulthood, on your 20th birthday, call asks 'Do dolphins have legs?' Wrong answer, you die능."
"Ghost story..." Gyeong-won nodded.
"Yeah, rings a bell. 'Purple Mirror' too."
"Purple Mirror?"
"Same vibe as Dolphin Bridge. Remember till adulthood, bad luck hits. Plays on how trying to forget makes it stick more."
Why on his paper? He shook head. No big shock. Past month too chill—that's all. Ghost stories hitting at weird times? Par for course.
Gyeong-won and Deok-hoon grinned, smug at syncing explanations.
"Heh, Deok-hoon, you know ghost stories too?"
"Ah, Japan-related? Plenty. Knowledge."
Japan import, got it.
"So, what's the answer?"
"Why the man suicided."
Silence.
"Kinda remember seeing it, but..." Gyeong-won shrugged.
Dr-r-rk—
"Answer key out~!"
Class rep—broad-shouldered hunk—entered with sheet, scrawling answers on board. Kids clamored, checking papers. Then—a phone wailed eerily.
Movie-ring like music box, ominous melody. Orgel dread, straight out of One Missed Call.
Whose?
His pocket.
"What."
Phone off all test—why ring? And wrong ringtone.
Pulled it out, screen:
[Caller ID Restricted]
[… ♬… .]
Melody swelled, chilling.
"Guys."
Gyeong-won clocked his face.
"What now, prez? Pick up?"
Seon-ah tense. Grading chaos, his phone's dirge cutting through. Kids glared, annoyed.
"Gonna take it. Stay with me."
Club nodded, obvious.
[… ♬… .]
Beep. Tapped accept, ear to phone.
Silence.
Modulated machine voice. Waited—no more. Silence, then:
[Five]
[Four]
[Three]
[Two]
[One]
Countdown. Felt like he had to answer—glanced at club.
"It's asking for the answer?"
Gyeong-won whipped out phone, searching. Seon-ah opened mouth—
Throb! Chest squeezed, heart slammed.
He clutched it, eyes bulging, collapsed.
Seon-ah and Gyeong-won caught him, panicked.
"Joon! Joon!"
"Prez! What's wrong?!"
Club chaos faded as consciousness slipped.
"Prez! Prez..."
"Joon... ahh..."
[Restarting from Checkpoint.]
[Loading...]
Nakseong High, 5th floor. Club room. Lazy lunchtime.
Jin-hee sprawled across four chairs pushed into a corner bed, snoring.
"Huff, huff."
Deok-hoon lugged chairs stolen from study hall down the hall.
"Hold up, Deok-hoon. Coming through."
Ha-yoon passed with toiletries.
And.
"Joon, studying going well?"
Seon-ah approached the frozen Lee Joon.
He stared blankly. She blinked.
He looked around.
"Guys."
Club looked up.
"I just died, you know..."
Ghost Story Club.