Spirit Photography

Click.

The sound of a vintage typewriter's metal type striking paper.

"...Did you hear that, Minjun?"

"Yeah. I heard it."

I answered curtly, looking up toward the source of the sound. The fourth floor, swallowed by darkness.

"It's started."

"It almost feels like someone knew we were coming and is welcoming us."

"A bit creepy for a welcome greeting."

We stared at each other in silence.

A cold sweat trickled down my back.

I pulled my smartphone from my pocket ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to turn on the flashlight.

The moment the screen lit up—

"Minhye, check your phone too."

"What? Huh?"

Minhye pulled out her own phone and let out a soft shriek.

What... what is this?

The camera apps on both of our phones had opened on their own.

On the screens, a static-filled noise filter was running, looking exactly like an old VHS videotape.

"This... this was in the scenario..."

"Yeah. It's the signal that the curse has officially begun."

Trying my best to stay calm, I raised my phone and aimed it down the corridor.

Beyond the static on the screen, I saw the dusty, dilapidated hallway of the abandoned hospital.

"What? It looks exactly the same," Minhye peered at my screen from beside me.

"No. Not yet."

Holding my breath, I tapped the white shutter button next to the red record icon.

Click.

The camera shutter sound echoed through the ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lobby.

And the moment I checked the photo we had just taken—

"Ugh...!"

"...Crazy."

A low curse escaped Minhye's lips.

In the photo:

A dilapidated, rusted wheelchair sat abandoned right in the middle of the hallway. Its wheels and handles were drenched in dark, wet blood.

And behind it, deep within the darkness of the reception desk window...

An unidentified black figure, its neck bent at a grotesque, unnatural angle, was staring straight at us.

Goosebumps erupted over our skin, and we hurriedly looked away.

It was a spirit photograph.

Minhye's voice began to tremble with fear.

"It only... it only shows up in the photo, right? Just like in your scenario... it's a spirit photo."

"Yeah. The vengeful spirit is showing us the hospital's 'past.' It's baiting us. Asking if we want to see something more sensational, something scarier. It's telling us that if we follow these photos, it'll lead us to the real 'scoop.'"

I snapped another photo, this time aiming in a different direction.

In the picture, the faint silhouette of a man hanging from the ceiling was captured.

"Aaaahhh!"

Minhye almost dropped her phone, catching it at the last second.

"W-what do we do?"

"Calm down."

"So right now, there's a hanging man behind us and a ghost in a wheelchair in front of us, but we just can't see them with our bare eyes? Is that it?"

"We can't know for sure. Keep your wits about you."

"Ugh..."

I grabbed Minhye firmly by the shoulders.

"Get a grip, Minhye. This is just a show they're putting on. If you get scared, you lose."

I took the trembling phone from her hand and slipped it into my pocket along with mine.

"From now on, we don't use the cameras. There's no need to play along with their little theater."

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Meanwhile, outside the hospital.

Deokhu and Seyeon couldn't tear their eyes away from their laptop screens.

"I'm so nervous..."

"Sigh... Me too," Seyeon replied in a low voice.

On the screen, they watched Minjun calm Minhye down and instruct her to stop using the camera.

"That's Hyung for you. To stay that calm in a situation like that." Deokhu let out a sigh of relief.

"No. He's not calm." Seyeon kept her eyes glued to the screen. "Look closely. His hands are shaking terribly. He's just pretending to be calm to reassure Minhye. Like a true leader."

Just as the two of them watched the screen with bated breath—

"Huh?" Deokhu pulled off one side of his headset and looked out the car window. "Did you hear that?"

Seyeon listened closely.

In the distance, from the opposite side of the hospital, faint human voices were drifting over. And it wasn't just one or two people.

"Wait. Don't tell me..."

Deokhu quickly assembled his high-performance shotgun mic and aimed it toward the sound.

Immediately, loud, boisterous voices came through his headset with crystal clarity.

◇ AUDIO FEED — BJ STREAM ◇
● LIVE
"Whoa, this place is insane! Guys, how's the feed looking? See the static on the screen? I don't even have a filter on!"
"Bro! Thanks for the donation! 100 Star Balloons! I'll eat, run, and fight hard until I hit 100kg!"
"Look at the hype from our 'Ghost Hunter' viewers! Alright, if we don't catch a ghost here ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠today, I'm changing my name!"
Seyeon and Deokhu's faces contorted.
Internet streamers.
"What do we do?" A low curse escaped Seyeon's lips. "This is the absolute worst-case variable."
The flashlights of the streamer crew danced wildly across the hospital's outer walls.
Giggling and laughing, they climbed over a broken section of the wall—different from the one Minjun and Minhye had used—and entered the hospital.
◇ AUDIO FEED — BJ STREAM ◇
● LIVE
"Huh? Yo, my phone camera is acting weird! There's something showing up!"
"Holy crap, no way! Bro, me too! Whoa, viewers, look at this! This place is the real deal! There's a wheelchair in the hallway!"
Without a shred of fear, they began snapping photos of their surroundings with their phones, passing through the first-floor lobby and heading toward the stairs.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before they crossed paths with Minjun and Minhye.
No, even before that, they were bound to become victims of the curse.
"What do we do, Noona?" Deokhu asked urgently.
Without hesitation, Seyeon grabbed her phone. She speed-dialed number 1.
After only a couple of rings, a tense voice answered.
◇ INCOMING CALL — MINJUN ◇
● LIVE
"What is it? What happened?"
"We have a major problem! Other people just entered the hospital! They're BJs!"
Deokhu chimed in apologetically. "We couldn't stop them ourselves..."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Seyeon's urgent voice pierced through my in-ear monitor.
I froze, mid-action, as I was trying to mount an old camera flash onto a window frame in the corner of the second-floor hallway.
"Damn it..."
A low curse slipped out. This was the worst possible variable. Uncontrolled civilians.
And foolish BJs at that, who would risk their lives just for sensational content.
◇ IN-EAR COMMS — DEOKHU ◇
● LIVE
"Hyung! What do we do? Those guys are excited and heading straight up to the fourth floor! Shouldn't we stop them?"
But showing ourselves now would be the worst move.
They would mistake us for rival streamers or people trying to ruin their broadcast. There was no telling what they would do to create even more dramatic situations.
I pulled another flash from my backpack, handed it to Minhye, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and spoke into my mic as calmly as possible.
"It's fine. Don't panic. You two just focus on your mission."
◇ IN-EAR COMMS — DEOKHU ◇
● LIVE
"Uh... okay!"
"Deokhu, Seyeon. Keep an eye on the perimeter and report any information I ask for immediately. That's your job right now."
I turned my gaze to Minhye. Her eyes were filled with immense anxiety.
Securing the last flash firmly onto the railing of the stairs leading to the third floor, I said, "Before they reach Room 404, we have to neutralize the vengeful spirit of the curse. We can't let innocent people get hurt."
"Okay, I understand."
"Let's go. We have to stay one step ahead."
Listening to the sounds of the BJs ascending the central staircase, we moved quickly toward the dark emergency exit stairs on the opposite side.
Passing the third floor, we reached the final flight of stairs leading to the fourth.
The moment we stepped onto it, the sharp clacking of the typewriter pierced our ears.
Click, clack, click, clack...
And then:

Y-O-O-M-I-N-H-Y-E-N-I-N-E-Y-E-A-R-S-O-L-D-L-E-T-G-O-O-F-M-O-M-S-H-A-N-D
"……!"
Minhye's eyes filled with sheer terror.
"Minjun... that just now...?"
"It's nothing. It's just a sound."
I grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.
But the typewriter sound relentlessly dug into her mind.

Y-O-O-M-I-N-H-Y-E-N-I-N-E-Y-E-A-R-S-O-L-D-L-E-T-G-O-O-F-M-O-M-S-H-A-N-D-Y-O-O-M-I-N-H-Y-E-N-I-N-E-Y-E-A-R-S-O-L-D-L-E-T-G-O-O-F-M-O-M-S-H-A-N-D-Y-O-O-M-I-N-H-Y-E-N-I-N-E-Y-E-A-R-S-O-L-D-L-E-T-G-O-O-F-M-O-M-S-H-A-N-D
This was Minhye's deepest, most buried trauma—the one she wanted to forget more than anything.
"Minhye, don't let it trick you! This is just the content of my scenario! Keep your head straight!"
Minhye's breathing grew rapid and shallow.
Then, she muttered, "It's... it's raining too hard..."
"What? Minhye...?"
I grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard, trying to snap her out of it, but her eyes went vacant as she continued to whisper.
"Mom... Mom, your hand... I can't let go..."
Her voice trembled like that of a nine-year-old child.
"There are too many people... The light is green... We have to cross..."
Minhye reached out desperately into the empty air, as if trying to grab someone who was slipping away.
"Mom! Mom, where are you going? I'm right here! Mom!"
Her scream.
It was as if her most horrific memory was playing out vividly right before her eyes. The terror of that day when she had let go of her mother's hand and become lost.
Eventually, Minhye collapsed to her knees.
She covered her ears with both hands, shaking her head in agony.
This is dangerous.
Before she was completely consumed by the curse, I had to break the flow.
I stepped in front of the collapsed Minhye, crouching down to shield her, and shouted into my mic.
"Deokhu! We have to do it now. Plan A, initiate the flash barrage!"
◇ IN-EAR COMMS — DEOKHU ◇
● LIVE
"Y-Yes, Hyung! Just a second! I'm syncing them up right now!"
Over the comms, I heard Deokhu frantically tapping on his keyboard, accompanied by the sound of wire clips being snapped onto something.
There was a slight delay between sending the signal and the twenty old receivers catching it to trigger the flashes.
Please, hurry!
The typewriter sound was digging into Minhye's mind with increasing malice.
From the lower floors, the faint, giggling voices of the BJs climbing the stairs drifted up.
One second, two seconds... time felt like an eternity.
◇ IN-EAR COMMS — DEOKHU ◇
● LIVE
"Hyung! It's going live now!"
With Deokhu's shout, everything exploded.
Flash!
A silent explosion.
The secondhand flashes installed on the second floor, the third floor, and all along this corridor went off simultaneously, flooding the entire space with blinding white light.
The world turned completely white.
The typewriter sound cut off abruptly, like a strangled scream.
"Gasp... huff... gasp..."
Minhye barely regained her senses, panting heavily.
"Minhye, it's okay now."
Right then, shouts erupted from the BJs on the stairs below.
"What the hell! Who set off a flash? Ah, my eyes!"
"Is there someone else here besides us?"
Startled by the sudden burst of light, they scrambled in confusion, throwing blame at one another.

1,819 words

3 views

PreviousPrev

NextNext

COMMENTS

Join the conversation! Sign in to leave a comment.

Spirit Photography

COMMENTS000

COMMENTS