The Earless Girl's Relentless Chase

Even in the midst of panic and terror, could there really be true threats and fakes? All the things I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thought were scary up until now. The horrors and fears I'd felt since arriving at this school. The annex? The second-floor hallway? The principal's office? None of them could actually harm me.

Kim Eat-Chil? I'd never directly faced his aggression. If I'd encountered him after that nightmare, maybe it would've been different, but my ignorance had actually been an advantage. Still, I thought scary things were scary, period. Even knowing that movies or novels can't directly hurt you doesn't make the fear any less real.

I'd been resisting the terror—or getting used to it—and thought I was holding up pretty well in this place. Up until just a few moments ago.

"I... I'm... the security guard! Student!"

The girl had no ears. So she couldn't hear me anyway.

"Ah... uwaa..."

The youkai was getting closer. Rather than freezing up, my body chose ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flight. I hurried down the stairs to the fourth floor. No way was I staying here. The moment I went to head down to the third floor—

Flicker. The emergency lights in the fourth-floor hallway came on. Like a conditioned reflex, my body locked up.

Clack, clack. The high school girl youkai was slowly descending the stairs. But the emergency lights showed no sign of turning off.

Should I break the rule? What happens if I do? Getting caught and dying, or breaking the rule and dying—same difference. I kept cursing under my breath.

One stupid mistake—wanting to check the fifth-floor rules—and now I was stuck in this shitshow. The girl's empty eye sockets were drawing nearer. I felt like I was dying just looking at them. I didn't want to see. But if I didn't look, I couldn't gauge the distance.

Damn emergency lights. Turn off already, please. Two footsteps away. I decided to break the rule and moved.

That instant, the emergency lights went out. I immediately threw myself down the stairs, leaping half a flight in one go and landing on the floor below.

"Agh!"

Jumping from too high strained my legs, sending pain shooting through them. But I couldn't stop. Limping, I kept descending the stairs. Third floor. I slowed to a walk for a moment, then picked up speed as I hit the stairs again. Second floor. No time to glance out the windows. First floor. I didn't care if it was past midnight or not. No intention of looking back to check the youkai's distance anymore.

I just ran to reach the guard room as fast as possible. Crash! Something shattered behind me. Must've been past midnight.

"Where are you?"

Hallucinations from behind now, too. This was truly fucked.

"WHERE ARE YOOOOOUUUUUU????"

"SHUT UUUUP!!!!!!!!!!"

I reached the central entrance. I bolted straight into the guard room and locked the door.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

I'd really survived. It was the first time I'd felt the terror of death firsthand. But my ragged breathing wouldn't calm. Hyperventilation. Plastic bag. I needed one to control my breathing, but of course there wasn't one here.

I had no choice but to collapse to the floor and force myself to stay calm. Slow inhale through the nose, hold, slow exhale through the mouth. I repeated it consciously. Fortunately, it started to settle soon enough. I'd really survived.

Clack.

"Gah!"

Hyperventilation nearly kicked in again. Indoor shoes echoed from the hallway. Stay calm. This is a safe place. I kept repeating it to myself. Clack. Was it really safe? Why hadn't that youkai stopped chasing even after leaving the fifth floor? Were the rules not absolute? Did that mean even here could be dangerous?

Slap! I smacked my own cheek. Shock therapy was perfect for shutting down those negative, crazy thoughts. Fortunately, I had robot-like rationality for self-treatment.

Clack. The indoor shoe sounds grew louder. The youkai was definitely heading my way. I believed it was safe. No different from the second-floor hallway then. Clack. The footsteps stopped. I didn't think it'd left. It was probably watching me. I'd only been through a day or two, but their patterns were predictable. This time, no way was I looking. No giving it the reaction it wanted.

I sat with my back to the guard room entrance for a solid 30 minutes, but no more sounds came. I stood to head into the break room. Knowing the youkai was probably staring from behind, I didn't turn around. At least the rule keeping it out of the guard room seemed real.

"Ow..."

My ankle was sprained. A sharp pain stabbed my right ankle. What now? What could I even do here? Nothing. I vaguely hoped my body would heal itself quickly.

Opening the Gallery finally made it sink in that I'd really survived. I immediately reported what had just happened.

I hoped for concern or comfort, but nothing heartwarming happened.

Honestly, I had nothing to say. My actions were basically rule-testing. Sure, I had the excuse of trying to figure out the threats coming my way. You know the saying: Know your enemy and know yourself, and you'll win every battle. No intent to test limits, but that's how it turned out.

The admin's words were at least some comfort. But I played it off with a cheeky, ungrateful attitude for fun.

No comfort, but this felt stabilizing in its own way. Like returning to normal life. Sure, this was a goddamn otherworld, but still. No plans to go out again tonight. Just Gallery until morning. Oh, right—there was something I wanted to ask about. The counseling room.

The worrying part was that topics like this always got blocked. I posted with low expectations, but surprisingly, it went through.

As expected, the admin reacted right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠away to this topic.

I explained what happened in the broadcasting room. The admin reacted like that was impossible.

It was the first question I'd had when finding the tape in the broadcasting room. A school with 66 predecessors, and no records left behind. In short, the admin explained it as a reset. No matter what mess a predecessor made, the next one faces a clean slate like nothing happened. So the tape's authenticity was questionable. But since no prior guards had mentioned it, it might be real. Everyone starts under the same conditions—except me, which was suspicious. I figured the counseling room held the key to the answer.

But contrary to my hopes, even the admin didn't know how to enter. Probably a banned topic, he said. The predecessor's recording implied entry was possible, but no Gallery threads on it. Nothing resolved. Just more questions piling up. The Gallery only helped with basics—core info sharing was impossible. In the end, I had to figure it out myself. But without the Gallery, maintaining my mental health would've been brutal. I spent until morning on it, trying to recover from tonight's shock.

Day 3 arrived. As usual, I woke from nightmares drenched in cold sweat and showered. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Guess the Gallery hadn't fully recovered me. Stepping out of the break room, daylight still lingered. I tensed, wondering if that youkai was still waiting, but of course, no one was there. My ankle still throbbed sharply. A peek showed it swollen. I'd be limping all shift. Hoping for no incidents, I opened the duty log file.

But the log brutally betrayed my hopes.

Kim Eat-Chil must've missed me again. I didn't miss him. Yesterday's nightmare resurfaced pointlessly. But that wasn't me. I'd gotten past it fine. No need to worry. Or so I hypnotized myself. I really didn't want to work today. I'd heard on the Gallery you get two skips before penalties, but the penalties scared me.

"Haaa..."

"What's with the sigh?"

The sudden voice made me turn. There was Song Ha-yeon. Dressed like yesterday, as if clocking out. Meaning night was coming again soon.