Home Horror Story
Yu Da-hee was waiting for me in front of my house. There was something about her presence that felt almost inhuman, so I decided I needed to check. To determine whether she was a ghost or not!
“You better not suddenly scream or anything! I’m warning you! If you scare me or mess with me out of nowhere, I’m seriously going to get mad!”
They say ghosts don’t have heartbeats because they’re already dead. So if I reached out and checked Yu Da-hee’s pulse, everything would become clear. But placing my hand on a high school girl’s chest… in some ways, that felt even more nerve-wracking and terrifying than heading down to the basement of the Old Building.
Yu Da-hee asked, “...Why aren’t you checking?”
“No, it’s just… I can’t do it while you’re staring at me like that.”
“Here. I’ll cover my eyes then.”
She smoothly raised both hands and covered her face. With her gaze gone, I felt a little more at ease.
“Okay, I’m really going to check now. I don’t have any weird intentions. I’m just a scaredy-cat, so please understand.”
I truly had no ulterior motives. I just wanted to know if Yu Da-hee was a ghost or a human. So I slowly reached out and… gently placed my hand on her chest!
Instantly, I felt as if all the blood in my body had frozen solid. My hair stood on end, and it was like the ground beneath my feet had suddenly dropped away.
“Her heart…”
…wasn’t beating?
Even with my hand on her chest, I couldn’t feel Yu Da-hee’s heartbeat! There was only one thing this could mean.
“……!”
Oh no. Ha Yeong-won, you idiot! You fell for such an obvious trap again!
“Her heart… isn’t beating!”
What’s going to happen to me now? Was this high school girl ghost who looked like Yu Da-hee going to suck me in starting from the hand that had touched her chest and absorb me until I disappeared?
While I was thinking that, the high school girl Yu Da-hee, still covering her face with her hands, spoke.
“...You caught me?”
“Eek!”
“Puhuhu. Just kidding. If I were really a ghost, I would’ve come to see you every day. It’s fun to tease you. Your hand’s in the wrong spot. The heart’s more toward the center. Here.”
One of the hands covering her face slid down and grabbed mine. She guided it a little more toward the center of her chest and pressed down firmly on the back of my hand.
Thanks to that, I felt a softness I had never experienced in my entire life. The high school girl’s uniform vest. The shirt. And beneath that…
Click.
Right then, the motion-sensor light that had been illuminating the fourth-floor stairwell turned off again.
We were wrapped in darkness like a blanket, and I felt as if I were dreaming.
“How is it? Can you feel my heart? It must be pounding like crazy right now. This is the first time I’ve ever felt this fluttery.”
…To be honest, I couldn’t really tell. Maybe because she was wearing her full school uniform, there were too many layers. Especially since girls wear one more type of undergarment than guys.
But the hand pressing down on the back of mine was incredibly warm and soft. It didn’t feel like a ghost at all.
I shyly pulled my hand away. Even though I couldn’t feel her heartbeat through the thick clothes, I was convinced that Yu Da-hee was human. And that made everything that had just happened incredibly embarrassing.
“...Is this a dream too?”
I muttered to myself, feeling disconnected from reality.
Yu Da-hee replied, “What are you talking about? A dream?”
The fourth floor was shrouded in darkness, so I couldn’t see her expression. And thankfully, she probably couldn’t see my mortified face either.
“Ahem. Da-hee, I want you to know that what just happened had absolutely no impure intentions or personal feelings behind it. Anyway, let’s not stand around out here. Come inside.”
I fidgeted awkwardly. The light came back on.
Beep, beep-beep.
As I entered the door lock code, Yu Da-hee, standing beside me, stared intently at my hand. Was she trying to hijack the passcode?
Click.
When I opened the door, the interior was pitch black. It was already evening. I flipped on the lights, and the house brightened up.
“......”
I scanned the surroundings with the vigilance of a sentry on guard duty. I always did this when I came home and turned on the lights—just in case a cockroach was hiding somewhere. It had become part of my daily routine.
Fortunately, I didn’t see any today.
“Da-hee, is this really okay? If your family files a missing person report, won’t things get complicated?”
She had said she ran away from home. That meant she hadn’t left legally. She’d also mentioned that her phone had been confiscated by her family. If their daughter had disappeared without any way to contact them, who could stay calm?
If I had a daughter like Yu Da-hee, I would’ve set her curfew at 4 p.m. and made sure she came home early. The world is a dangerous place. Especially boys her age—they’re all wolves constantly looking for chances to get closer to girls.
If I were her dad, I would’ve smashed every single one of their heads. Anyway.
Yu Da-hee said, “I don’t know.”
…No, shouldn’t you be the one who knows?
Was this the naive whining of a rich girl? It seemed like she hadn’t considered what kind of trouble a commoner like me might face because of her running away.
She sat down at the dining table and swung her legs back and forth.
“It’ll probably be fine. There was a time before when I didn’t come home for about a month. My family didn’t even look for me. It’ll probably be the same this time.”
“A whole month?”
Was Yu Da-hee more of a delinquent than she looked? Running away for a month was impressive. How had she managed to stay out for that long?
“...Hey, Yeong-won. I’m hungry. And thirsty.”
Right. She had been waiting in front of my house since this morning. She probably hadn’t eaten or drunk anything properly. I was hungry too.
# # #
For dinner, we ordered chicken mayo lunch boxes. Yu Da-hee looked like she was eating chicken mayo for the first time in her life.
“It’s good.”
I couldn’t tell if she was being polite or sincere.
After we ate, Yu Da-hee borrowed our bathroom to shower. Thanks to the time Yang Ju-hui had stayed over with Jeong Seok, I had some clothes ready that she could wear. I figured I could just give her my old tracksuit.
Black Samdidas tracksuit. About thirty minutes later, Yu Da-hee emerged into the living room wearing my tracksuit and smelling like soap.
Her face was completely bare of makeup, but because she had showered with hot water, there was a slight flush on her cheeks that caught me off guard. So Yu Da-hee was insanely pretty even without any makeup.
“What?”
“...Nothing. So, should we sleep now? You can use my mom’s room, Da-hee.”
“Okay! But I’m really excited. This is my first time sleeping over at a friend’s house.”
First time sleeping at a friend’s house, huh.
Then I suddenly became curious. She said she had run away for a month before. Where had she slept then?
After getting tangled up with Yu Da-hee for a few days, I realized one thing: she was the kind of person who always left me with question marks. Like an onion—peel one layer and there’s another mystery underneath.
The only way to resolve all that curiosity was probably with a Wish Ticket. I’d have to use it carefully.
“Da-hee, you said that if I go to the Old Building with you, you’d grant me a wish, right?”
“...Huh? Did I say that? I don’t remember.”
“What?”
“Puhuhu. Just kidding.”
“I see.”
Whether it was pretending to be a ghost to scare me or this, Yu Da-hee really liked jokes. They weren’t even that funny, but because she was so pretty, they somehow made me laugh anyway.
If I were an incredibly handsome guy, just saying “It’s good” while eating would probably make girls squeal and go crazy.
“By the way, Yeong-won. I noticed it last time I was here too, but the room layout isn’t very good. Did you know there are feng shui rules for placing furniture?”
“Furniture?”
“Look. The fan is right next to the head of the bed. They say it’s dangerous to sleep with a fan blowing toward your head. It’s better to put it at the foot of the bed like this.”
She moved my fan to the foot of the bed. But there was a problem.
“There’s no outlet there, so I can’t plug it in.”
“Really? Then… can we move this chair at least?”
“The computer chair? Why?”
“Haven’t you heard? If you sleep with a chair next to your head, a ghost will sit in it and stare at the sleeping person’s head until morning.”
A ghost sitting in a chair by the head of the bed, watching me sleep. I had never heard that one before. But it gave me a bad feeling.
Whenever I got this kind of uneasy feeling, a real ghost always showed up.
After thinking it over in multiple ways, I came up with a solution that could eliminate both the fan and the desk at the head of the bed at once!
I would just turn around and sleep with my head at the other end!
“What if I put my head over here?”
“No, that won’t work! That side is north. You’re not supposed to sleep with your head facing north. There’s too much yin energy in the north, so you might have nightmares or get sleep paralysis!”
“...Is that so?”
Then what the hell was I supposed to do?
When I looked troubled, Yu Da-hee said, “...Was I being too picky? My grandfather is really sensitive about these things, so I guess I picked it up from him.”
“Your grandfather… you mean the school chairman?”
I had overheard it once when Teacher Hong Mi-ri was scolding her. Something about the school chairman. So Yu Da-hee’s grandfather was the chairman of the Yeongji Foundation.
Beep.
Right then, my phone buzzed.
Yeong-won, it was nice meeting you at church today, big sis here~
“......”
What the… It was Joo Chan-mi, the high school youth leader from Yeonggwang Church. How did she get my number? I never gave it to her.
“Who is it?” Yu Da-hee asked curiously.
I answered simply. “A noona from church.”
“Church? You go to church, Yeong-won?”
“...Why? Is it weird that I go to church?”
Maybe I should stop going starting next week. While I was thinking that, Yu Da-hee said, “No, it’s just… my grandfather used to go to church too. We even have a prayer room at home.”
Her grandfather was the one who had called a shaman when the school was being built, right? A guy who called shamans also went to church. It reminded me of politicians who visit temples, churches, and get fortune-tellings during election season.
Yeah… something like that.
Beep.
You remember me, right? I got your contact from Pastor Cheon Ae-soo lol
What? Was she interested in me? Was this a green light?
Pastor told me you’re a PK, Yeong-won? Pastor’s kid. There’s an open spot in our advanced Bible study class. Want to join? It’s Monday evenings during the Monday worship service.
Damn it. This was just an invitation to attend church service. And Monday worship? Shouldn’t they call it a prayer meeting or prayer gathering on Mondays?
Come to think of it, Yang Ju-hui’s mom, Elder Kim Yeo-ok, used to say she was going to Monday worship too. That was when the shaman ghost possessed her and I had to beat it back as a T-rex.
Anyway, what kind of church holds services on Monday too…? If I get dragged into a place like this, I’m screwed. I’d have to attend high school and young adult group activities without missing a single one, become a church officer, teach Sunday school, lead praise, do volunteer work… basically pour my entire life into the church. And all for free!
I’ll contact you tomorrow! If you have time in the evening, let’s have dinner together!
…Damn it. The church noona I had a crush on for a short time is asking me to eat dinner with her, and I can’t even feel happy about it! I need to come up with an excuse to get out of this.
“You’re pretty popular, Yeong-won. Messages keep coming. Well then, good night.”
Yu Da-hee went into my mom’s room. After that, I fell asleep so deeply I don’t even remember when, but I woke up feeling extremely cold. When I turned my head, the fan was running right next to my head.
“What the… when did this turn on?”
Click.
When I pressed the stop button, text appeared.
Congratulations! You have triumphed over the ‘Fan Ghost Story’!
Calculating reward for 1 survivor.
50P acquired
Current balance: 538P
“What the hell. Is this a point duplication event or something?”
This is fucking hilarious.
It was currently midnight. I had the feeling I was forgetting something and thought hard until I finally remembered.
“Oh right. Today’s the day I enter the Corridor. Status window.”
I opened the status window.
Chapter 1. The Nightmare Corridor is now beginning.
Please select players from the list below.
You may select up to 4 players.
To the Nightmare Corridor…. Let’s go!
But first, let me check the player sheets.
“There’s something new.”
There was a ‘NEW’ tag on the player sheet. It was a new item Yang Ju-hui had acquired.