I'm Not a Ghost Story!
From the day my appearance first changed, six months had passed.
"At least I turn back to normal once the sun rises."
Thinking back to that day half a year ago still left me dazed, but with time, I'd managed to sort out the changes in my body to some degree.
1. When the sun sets and night falls, my appearance changes.
2. Black hair, snow-white skin, and pitch-black eyes.
3. Black mist or aura-like energy appears around me at random → controllable.
4. When the sun rises and morning comes, I return to my normal self.
"Still, it's a relief I can control the black energy to some extent so it doesn't leak out."
If I couldn't even do that, I'd be a forced hikikomori for real. Without the black energy, I at least looked human enough to go out at night. People didn't venture out much anymore because of the ghost stories, anyway.
Clunk.
"Phew, made it home just in time without being late."
Checking the time as I entered the house: 6:47 PM. The moment the sun set and night began.
Shaaaa—
I felt something inside me slowly shifting.
"Ha, I still can't get used to this."
It was like ice shards floating through my veins. My skin grew colder and colder, my whole body stiffening with a chill. My black hair spread like waves. It wasn't fading color—it was an alien discoloration, like ink bleeding through. My eyes dyed themselves in an unfathomable darkness. Not ordinary black eyes, but an endless abyss settling in, pure void itself.
"Haa..."
Exhaling softly, faint black energy rose. Reaching out, the shadows rippled like living creatures.
"Phantom... huh."
Turning into a transforming robot was shocking enough, and now I even had a Pokémon-like nickname. A few months ago, rumors started swirling about this entity called Phantom.
It all began at the convenience store near my house a few months back.
Three months ago. I'd pulled my hat low, masked my face, and headed to the convenience store for a late-night snack when the ghost story hit.
[The Watching Woman]
A ghost story that appears only in specific places. It doesn't physically harm you—it just stares. That's all it takes to drive people into maddening terror. And like in the novels, the Watching Woman didn't provide any rules. Everyone trapped inside had fallen into panic.
"Hic, huuuh...! M-Mommy...!"
"A-Ahh... What the hell is that thing...! What is it!!"
People collapsed on the floor, sobbing. Employees huddled in fear, countless hands pounding the entrance doors trying to escape. But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get out.
[Rule: If you enter the Watching Woman's line of sight, you can never escape.]
A vicious rule forcing them to endure hours of terror until the ghost story was satisfied and left. Oblivious to the shitshow inside, I'd strode right in.
"Tonight's midnight snack is gonna be spicy beef noodle cup ramen, let's gooo!"
Ding-a-ling.
The door chime rang, and the scene before me made me grimace involuntarily.
'Ah, fuck, what a jumpscare!!'
Seeing everyone sprawled out screaming, black energy burst out of me before I knew it. Not like I was scared enough to fart—it was embarrassing in hindsight.
'What's up with these people? Why's everyone crying?'
As I lifted my head to figure it out—
Kkiiigiiiik—
Far off, something with a distorted form unnaturally twisted its head into view.
'Ugh, gross pic.'
A creepy woman emitting ominous static from her bizarre mouth. The moment our eyes met—
[Kkiiiaaaaaak—!!!]
She let out a piercing shriek and vanished like smoke.
"...???"
What the fuck? She looked way scarier, so why'd she run from my face? Ridiculous.
'Looks like the "Watching Woman" ghost story...'
Ah, so that's why everyone was bawling on the floor. Well, whatever—she was gone now, so they'd snap out of it, right?
But—
"A-Ahh...!"
"H-Huuuh...! Mommy......"
The people just kept staring between me and their surroundings with eyes full of fear.
'Tsk... don't tell me?'
They must've mistaken me for some ghost story-like thing because of the black energy swirling around. Right?
"Shouldn't have come out at night... guh."
"A-Ahh, s-sorry... Forgive me..."
"D-Dying... Hic! D-Dyi... dy...!"
...Yeah, definitely mistaken.
'Haa...'
The situation was so sudden I couldn't even rein in the black energy.
"......"
Standing there blankly for a while, I approached a high school girl collapsed in front of me, tears streaming endlessly.
'She looks the worst off. Maybe comforting her will help?'
Swoosh— I bent down to meet her eyes, and her body started trembling violently.
"S-Save...! Hic!"
Damn, couldn't do shit. Words probably wouldn't work, so I just wiped her tears roughly.
"Ah...?"
The girl reacted with confusion, like she couldn't process it. I wasn't gonna hurt you. Hell, I'm not even a ghost story—I'm human?
'Sigh. My fate.'
Whatever I did, it'd just cause misunderstandings, so better bail quick.
"Be more careful next time."
I gave her a simple warning and hurried out of the store.
'Shouldn't have gone to the convenience store...! No, shouldn't have gone out at night at all......!'
Yeon-woo kept regretting her actions inwardly. Late at night, stressed from exams and craving something sweet, stopping by the nearby convenience store had been a mistake.
Kkiiigiiiik—
"Hngh...?!"
The moment she entered, Yeon-woo's eyes met a woman's—tall and grotesquely twisted face. The woman's features were like a mannequin assembled wrong: eyes hollow as deep pits, lips torn forcibly to the ears in a horrific grin.
[......]
It didn't speak. Didn't even breathe. Just watched.
Shiver— A chill crept up her spine. As it slowly tilted its head, a horrifying sound echoed.
Kkiiigiiiik— Like snapping twigs. Bone-crunching friction.
"A-Ahh..."
Yeon-woo instinctively knew: this wasn't reality anymore. She tried to turn and leave, but the door wouldn't budge.
"Haa...! Hnngh...!"
Her hands shook, head spun. Breath came short. Heart raced, mind fracturing. Her legs gave out, dumping her on the floor. Miserable tears poured from her eyes.
"A... Waa... Am I... gonna die...?"
Yeon-woo, who'd never encountered a ghost story before, felt crushed by the sheer terror.
'Should've listened to Mom and Dad... Sorry...'
As she gave up everything and teetered toward unconsciousness—
Ding-a-ling.
The door opened, and a man slowly walked in, shrouded in eerie black energy. No one would mistake him for human.
[......?]
The ghost story, watching the people grotesquely, turned toward the door—then—
[Kkiiiaaaaaak—!!!]
Twisted unnaturally, shrieked hideously, and vanished.
"Ah...?"
Yeon-woo couldn't comprehend.
'The ghost story screamed and fled the moment it saw this man.'
Ghost stories don't fear humans. They hunt and torment them. For one to flee in fear from this black-energy man...?
She'd heard ghost stories had danger ranks. Meaning power differences among them.
'Then this man is...'
Clearly something even more dangerous.
Shiver shiver.
"A... Aaaahh..."
Realizing that, Yeon-woo plunged into deeper despair. Was this the backlash of her luck avoiding ghost stories till now? Misfortune crashed down all at once, without even a glimmer of hope.
[......]
A black man staring right at her, very close. He bent down to meet her eyes. Human-shaped, but those eyes—not human. An endless abyss, pure darkness dwelling within.
"S-Save... Hic!"
She was sure she'd die now; her voice barely came out.
'Ah... I'm... gonna die now...?'
As the girl steeled for death in her mind—
Swoosh— Contrary to expectations, the black man gently wiped her tears with his fingertip.
"Ah...?"
Yeon-woo felt an incomprehensible emotion. A being radiating black energy, impossible to see as human.
And now...
'He's... wiping my tears...?'
The black man calmly dried her tears, then spoke in a low, quiet voice.
【Be more careful next time.】
He turned and left gracefully.
"Wh-What...?"
"The ghost story... just left with people right there...?"
"H-Hey, student! You okay?!"
Everyone was dumbfounded. A rule-less ghost story always demanded sacrifices. Thousands had died just uncovering one rule.
Yet no one died or got hurt?
Like a miracle.
Yeon-woo touched her wiped cheek, a possibility dawning.
'A... kind... ghost story...?'
After the convenience store incident, whenever I went out at night, I kept running into ghost stories weirdly often. For some reason, they'd flee or even dissipate upon seeing my changed form. Unintentionally, it looked like I was saving people.
And so, people started calling me 'Phantom'.
"Not a Pokémon, so what's a Phantom? Pfft."
▪︎ A being that confronts ghost stories and dismantles them.
▪︎ True nature unknown, but not hostile to humans.
▪︎ Appears only at 'night'.
That's the gist of the info spreading about me.
"I'm not confronting or dismantling them on purpose."
But even I had to admit my 'night form' didn't look like an ordinary human, so I'd mostly resigned myself to it. Now, the Monster Countermeasure Headquarters and guilds formed by awakeners to dismantle ghost stories had started hunting for 'Phantom'.
"They must've figured I can drive off ghost stories. Problem is... do they see it as good, or as a threat?"
No answer came no matter how deep I thought, so I dropped it. Flopping onto my bed, I opened my usual gallery.
The infamous 'Ghost Story Gallery'. Mostly bullshit posts, but occasionally useful info, so I checked it often.
"They're doing the Bosingak bell-ringing? For real?"
Today was December 31st. Communities and news were hyping the New Year's event at Bosingak Plaza big time.
Doing an event during prime ghost story hours might seem stupid. But I got it—after daily life crumbled, people were desperate to reclaim normalcy.
'Not that I'm going.'
My house was close enough to hear the bells from my room anyway. And in this form? I'd get spotted by elite agents and turned into 'freshly roasted Phantom' on the spot.
"Can't go myself, but hope the event goes off without a hitch."
What could possibly go wrong?