Ten Ghosts Night Parade (9): Tangled in Terror
Nothing was visible, but the sound of footsteps rushing toward me echoed clearly through the hall. I mentally scolded myself for briefly suspecting that Kim Eat-Chil might betray me and not help.
The emergency light flickered back on. At the same time, I heard a classroom door creak open. Then, hair slithered out from the gap. Now, where would it head? I'd come down the right staircase first and thrown the baseball right after, staying put ever since. As planned, Kim Eat-Chil had run only as far as the central stairs upon hearing the ball drop and stopped there.
If the yokai couldn't judge by sight, sound was the first thing to suspect. That's why we'd planned for Kim Eat-Chil to leave a noisy trail. But if the hair yokai used smell or some other sense, tracking humans first like the cat yokai, we were out of luck. The Gallery admin Chieon Nak-si-kkun had said the odds were low, but if it happened, I'd just chalk it up to rotten luck.
The fourth floor had always delivered negative outcomes against my hopes, but this time, it seemed to make up for the torment—the hair unmistakably headed toward Kim Eat-Chil. With the emergency light on, I couldn't move, so I cheered silently inside. On to the next phase.
It wasn't over yet. The moment the hallway plunged into darkness again, I lightly touched the left wall and darted to the door of Class 4. Like the proverb about pulling out the iron horns while they're hot, I planned to take out the threat with this first chance. Sneaking up slowly risked the hair suddenly turning my way.
Combining Kim Eat-Chil's info that the hair didn't move in the dark with Chieon Nak-si-kkun's assurance it wasn't that tricky, I'd devised this bold plan. The only variable left was the completely random timing of the fourth floor's emergency lights. Please stay off as long as possible, I prayed desperately.
The ideal was to slam and lock the door regardless of the hair. But life never goes as planned, right? Just as I reached Class 4's door, the light flickered—a signal it'd turn on soon. I lunged, grabbed the door, and slammed it shut.
Drag—bang! I'd blown it. The door was closed, but the hair yokai had definitely noticed me now. I summoned every ounce of strength to brace it shut. The second I gave even an inch, I'd die—not to the yokai, but to the hallway rules.
Click. Resistance hit from inside. Something was pulling the door open. It wasn't all that strong, at least—it couldn't push me back. Just hold like this. I prayed for the lights to go out fast.
Maybe deciding it couldn't win by force, the resistance vanished. But now the hair already in the hallway started moving. Even if no more could emerge from the classroom, what was out could still slither. The scattered strands crept slowly toward me.
The emergency light, which should've gone out by now, showed no sign of dying. The hair reached my shoes. I didn't budge. It climbed my shoes, slipping into my pants. The moment it touched my skin, every hair on my body stood on end. My body trembled slightly, but apparently that didn't count as breaking the rules.
The hair began crawling up my lower body. Emergency light. Emergency light. When the hell is it turning off? Even accounting for time dragging in agony, it'd been on far longer than usual. If some yokai controlled it, it was definitely savoring this.
The hair reached my chest. I bit my lip lightly to suppress the chills. Focus. Analyze. The hair lacked real physical force. If it had strength, it'd just yank my legs and topple me. So this was purely to torment me.
But it picked the wrong target. I could stay calm even with a cockroach on me. The chills were just physiological, unavoidable.
Soon the hair crested my neck, poking out from my uniform collar. No more calm analysis—just a flood of inner curses. I'd read somewhere that swearing dulled pain. Not sure if it eased my mental torment, though.
The hair climbed my neck, prying at my lips, trying to force its way in. Nausea surged, but I held it down. The instant it breached my mouth, touching my gums—
The hallway light went out. Never thought I'd welcome darkness over light. The moment that longed-for blackout hit, the hair's wriggling stopped dead.
I desperately wanted to rip it all off, but that wasn't priority one. I spat out the strands in my mouth—ptui—and immediately locked Class 4's door. Confirming it was secure, I freaked out and started yanking the hair from my clothes.
"Need a hand?" Kim Eat-Chil had approached without me noticing.
"Help already instead of asking."
"Want me to use my judgment?"
I paused. He was helping, but he was still a yokai. Communication was smooth, so my guard had slipped, but... Was this a warning? If so, why tell me?
"...Nah. Just pull out the hair."
"Got it."
I half-hoped a yokai would have some fancy trick. But Kim Eat-Chil just grabbed and yanked like I was doing. The sensation of it sliding off my skin was still creepy. The moment we'd cleared it all, the light flickered again—about to turn on.
Staying put would undo everything. I didn't want that nightmare again. I rolled away from the hair, shouting our prearranged code word:
"Big noise!"
Kim Eat-Chil stomped hard the instant he heard it. Thud—a massive impact shook the floor as the light snapped on. Kim Eat-Chil was stuck to the ceiling.
...Stuck to the ceiling? It could do that?
With the light on, the hair swept the spot where Kim Eat-Chil had been. But nothing was there anymore. He'd ceiling-crawled away. Finding zilch, the hair spread wider. Luckily, the light died again just before it reached me.
I wanted out. On the quick march to the right stairs, passing Class 5, I checked its lock—secure. No delays here. Kim Eat-Chil could see in the dark, so he'd keep up. I bolted down the right stairs, escaping the fourth floor.
An experience I never wanted to repeat. Just recalling it made me shudder.
Before tackling the second floor, I needed a break. Door checks could wait till shift's end anyway. I left Kim Eat-Chil by the guard room and headed to the break room. After a quick Gallery update, I crashed on the bed.
The soft mattress eased my body, but my mind was a mess—thanks to the second floor. A place I hated even without yokai, and now two greeted me.
"Haaaah..."
I sighed deeply. Didn't want to go, but after nailing the third and fourth floors, I couldn't bail on the second out of fear. I'd have to eventually. I lay for ten minutes, then got up. Felt like I rested, but didn't feel rested.
Heading out, my eye caught the rule book on the shelf: Annex Rule Book. Come to think of it, I'd gotten it from Soonbaek-i but never opened it.
...Maybe just a peek.
"Not going?" Kim Eat-Chil called from outside the guard room, snapping me back.
"I am."
"Scared?"
"...Nope."
I was dying to read the annex rules, but no need now. It'd just unsettle me more. Empty my mind. The second floor was burden enough. Reframe it: a reward. Read after locking down the second floor. It wouldn't feel good, but whatever.
I glanced at the CCTV. Nothing in the second-floor hall. Guess you had to face it firsthand. Shoving the rule book aside, I left the guard room.