The Dancing and Laughing Shaman Ghost
Ghost! A ghost appeared! And three people saw it with their own eyes!
“Run! We have to run!” I grabbed the nearest woman’s hand and bolted. Strategic retreat!
“My—my daughter! My daughter, Ju-hui!” While we were scrambling down the stairs, the woman suddenly screamed. Only then did I realize the hand I was holding didn’t belong to Yang Ju-hui.
“Aigoo! Mother-in-law!”
“Mother-in-law!?”
“No! Mom! Wait, that’s not—! Deaconess! I’ll bring Ju-hui! Run! Run, damn it—there’s a real ghost up there! A real ghost! Aigoo, shit!”
“I—I’ll go get people from the church! People!”
I started climbing the stairs again, tears welling up from sheer terror and frustration. From a death game straight to a shaman ghost—did I really have to meet ghosts twice in one day?
“My life is fucked.”
Going back into Yang Ju-hui’s house was the last thing I wanted, but if she died to that shaman ghost and turned into some “delinquent ghost,” she might come after me. That would be the end of me for real. A delinquent ghost sounded way too terrifying.
“H-hey, Ju-hui….”
I stepped slowly into the house. My face twisted the moment I entered. The place that had smelled like flowers just hours ago now reeked of garbage.
“Cough, cough.”
God, what was that smell? As I moved deeper inside, the already dim lights suddenly cut out.
“Oh, shit….”
Complete darkness. I wanted nothing more than to turn around and leave, but—
“Like a river of peace to my soul. Like a river of peace to my soul. Like a river of peace overflowing….”
“What the hell.”
“Mom!”
I nearly jumped out of my skin. Even a cat spotting a cucumber while eating would’ve been less shocked. When I shone my phone light, I saw Yang Ju-hui standing motionless in the dark, strange drool dripping from her mouth.
“Hey…! Let’s get out of here! Right now, Yang Ju-hui!”
“Where would I go? This is my house. This is my home. My home. But those bastards never once invited us over for Chuseok or New Year’s. They look down on their ancestors just because they believe in some desert ghost. Those fucking bastards.”
The face and voice were Yang Ju-hui’s, but it didn’t feel like her at all. I was terrified and wanted to run, but I forced myself to ask.
“Um… sorry, but who are you?”
“I’m her grandmother. This little shit never once offered me ancestral rice. So disrespectful. That’s why I’m taking her with me. Kekekekeke!”
Yang Ju-hui suddenly started dancing wildly. She laughed while dancing, making jingling bell sounds with her mouth.
“Jingle-jingle-jingle-jingle—.”
A shamanic ritual… Was she performing a gut? I suddenly remembered that Yang Ju-hui’s maternal line had been shrine shamans for generations. This was definitely her grandmother’s ghost possessing her!
“Do you know the two scariest ghosts even shamans avoid? Laughing ghosts! And dancing ghosts! The scariest of all is a shaman ghost! Kekeke! So what about a shaman ghost that dances while laughing?”
How the hell would I know?! Why was I even here? Fear and anger mixed together. When people get too scared, they sometimes snap. Maybe facing all these ghosts had given me some kind of courage.
I squeezed out what little bravery I had left.
“Um… if you’re really a shaman, can you even summon dead ghosts and possess people with them?”
“Of course! Kekekekeke!”
“Then… could you summon Hitler? I heard he hid a ton of gold….”
“…Foreigners don’t count!”
“What about my dad? Can you summon my dad’s ghost?”
“Wait right there. Ha Yeong-won, you little punk! Ignoring your father and slacking off every day!”
“Dad? Is that really you? Sing a military song!”
“………….”
“You crazy bitch, my dad isn’t even dead!”
I’d never believed in shamans or fortune-telling. How could she possess someone who wasn’t even dead? This was obviously fake! My fear was quickly being replaced by anger.
“You crazy bastards! If you’re really our ancestors, at least give us lottery numbers for your descendants! You’re trying to kill someone just because they skipped a few ancestral rites?”
“Jingle-jingle-jingle—.”
“People who actually get blessings from their ancestors go on overseas trips during Chuseok and New Year’s! You’re not even a real ancestor to begin with! If everyone who died became a ghost, then tyrannosaurus—!”
“……”
Yang Ju-hui’s eyes flicked sideways. I shouted at her even louder.
“If people really turned into ghosts when they died, the tyrannosaurus ghosts would’ve eaten everyone first! Tyrannosaurus! Allosaurus! Velociraptor! Pteranodon!”
I vividly imagined dinosaur ghosts. From somewhere, it almost sounded like real dinosaur roars echoed, and Yang Ju-hui screamed.
“Hiii! W-what is this?! What is this?! Kyaaak!”
Thud—
Yang Ju-hui’s body collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut. Then text appeared before my eyes.
Congratulations! You have triumphed over the 'Placebo Effect'!
Beginning settlement for 3 survivors.
You have acquired 300P.
Placebo Effect. So if you believed something fake with enough conviction, it could produce real effects. Deaconess Kim Yeo-ok had spoken so vividly about ancestral ghosts that it manifested like a placebo.
…What a day. I really felt like crying.
# # #
“Hey. You okay?”
After all that, I figured we were even for the debt. Yang Ju-hui lay sprawled on the floor, breathing heavily. Her chest rose and fell, and her long white legs stretched out beneath her school skirt. I’d driven out the placebo ghost, but seeing her still unresponsive made me nervous.
“Hey. Get up.”
Tap tap—
I poked Yang Ju-hui’s thigh with my finger. It was firm, well-muscled. Maybe from learning taekwondo as a kid.
“Agh, my head….”
My touch seemed to work. Yang Ju-hui clutched her head and sat up. She looked around, frowning.
“What? What happened? Where’s Mom?”
“Your mom went to the church. Do you remember anything that just happened? What’s the last thing you remember?”
“……”
Yang Ju-hui frowned like she had a hangover. After thinking for a while, she spoke hesitantly.
“I don’t know. I remember Mom screaming… It felt like I had a really scary dream. Someone was shouting… and then suddenly dinosaurs appeared, and it was so funny… the dream. It was scary but also funny….”
Right. Her memory cut off right after Deaconess Kwon started screaming like she was having a seizure, before the picture frame broke.
“Deacon! Over here! Here!”
“Deaconess. Aigoo, Deaconess. Just a moment… huff, I’m out of breath—.”
Deaconess Kwon and a stranger entered through the front door. The man held a Bible, wore glasses, and looked like a typical bookish type. Probably someone the deaconess had brought from the church.
“A shaman ghost possessed my daughter Ju-hui! My daughter Ju-hui! Deacon!”
“…She doesn’t look possessed to me.”
Unlike the frantic deaconess, the deacon from Yeonggwang Church examined Yang Ju-hui calmly. Of course, Deaconess Kwon wasn’t having it.
“She’s possessed! They’re trying to take my daughter! Ancestral ghosts are after her! Those shaman bitches already took Do-hui, and now they want Ju-hui too! Aaaah!”
This was getting ridiculous. While I was wondering what I could even do here, something soft grabbed my hand. Yang Ju-hui.
“Ha Yeong-won, let’s get out of here! Now!”
“Huh?”
The deacon and deaconess shouted something behind us, but Yang Ju-hui didn’t care. She pulled me down the apartment stairs. I wished she’d at least tell me where we were going.
Yang Ju-hui walked ahead in silence. After a while, she stopped at the playground inside the apartment complex. The equipment was rusted and paint-peeled beyond recognition.
Creak, creak—
Yang Ju-hui sat on the swing. She swung her long legs back and forth, soaring toward the sky before sinking back down.
“You saw it too. My mom’s completely obsessed with church. She goes every single day. She wasn’t this bad before. It got way worse after we lost my sister.”
“Sister? What happened to her?”
“My sister… At first we thought she just ran away, but now we don’t even know if she’s alive or dead. We used to be better off.”
Why did so many people disappear in this city? Yang Ju-hui kept talking.
“Mom went crazy trying to find her. She donated money, sold the house, everything. She went to every big church in Seoul begging pastors to find her. Mom thinks a ghost took her.”
Yang Ju-hui spoke like it was nonsense, but it didn’t sound like a joke to me. A few days ago, I would’ve laughed it off. But this world was full of secrets and horrors beyond what a high school boy and girl could understand—and I was right in the middle of it. Too elaborate to be coincidence.
“I might transfer schools soon. Following my dad. He got a job in Seoul and told us to come. Honestly, I don’t think we’ll ever find my sister. She’s probably dead.”
“…Why do you think that?”
“I’m not sure if it was a dream or real, but I think I saw my sister’s ghost. She was standing in some dark hallway.”
A dark hallway. I wanted to hear more.
“Can you tell me more about that?”
“I don’t know. I’m leaving for Seoul anyway. I’m done with this Gaeryong place. I hate everything. I hate Mom, I hate this ant-infested apartment, and I hate those church bastards who take advantage of her.”
Seoul, huh. Seoul wasn’t exactly great either. But really, Yang Ju-hui just wanted to escape this place, wherever she ended up. We had a few things in common. That common ground chipped away at my wariness toward her.
“Ju-hui, if what you saw in that hallway was real, you might be able to meet your sister again.”
“Yeong-won, it’s nice that you’re trying to comfort me, but don’t say things like that so casually.”
“No. I mean it.”
I stood at a crossroads. Honestly, the burden I was carrying was too heavy to bear alone. Having a reliable ally would be good.
“Yang Ju-hui. Take this hand. If you take it, you might be able to meet your sister. But in exchange, you’ll face things more terrifying than you can imagine.”
“What, is this some extension of that April Fools’ fake confession?”
“It’s not a joke. So please, take my hand.”
Yang Ju-hui stared at my outstretched hand for a long time. Maybe thirty seconds passed.
“…So who was that ex-girlfriend who dumped you again?”
…Still on about that. I looked up at the sky. Stars shone above the old playground. I actually liked this city of Gaeryong. It was shabby enough to feel welcoming, like it would embrace even someone as messed up as me. Gaeryong was the perfect escape for people like me. I figured someone as sharp and twisted as Yang Ju-hui would make a good partner. Like a cripple and a blind man leaning on each other.
Swish—
A soft hand touched mine. It was the same small, delicate touch I’d felt before. I gripped it tightly, afraid the warmth might slip away.
“Ah, shit. Yeong-won, you really are a loser—holding hands like a pervert.”
“How would you know what a pervert’s hand-holding feels like? Have you held hands with a pervert before?”
“Yeah. Right now.”
Whether it was Yang Ju-hui or me, one of us laughed first, and then we both burst out laughing. After that, we played on the seesaw, the swings, and the old slide. It was a night more unreal than ghosts or the old school building corridors.
“Me playing at the playground with Yang Ju-hui. The sun must be rising in the west.”
On the way home, my phone buzzed.
「Yang Ju-hui: So how do I meet my sister?」
We’d exchanged numbers earlier, and she was already messaging me. I decided to give a vague reply.
「See you in your dreams tonight lol Don’t be surprised if you see me in your dream I’ll explain everything then」
「Yang Ju-hui: Ugh, goosebumps lol ew lol」
Tonight was my second run through the corridor. Unlike last time when I knew nothing and had no allies, tonight I’d at least get some hints. I could do this. With who I was now!