The Strange Record of Lee Hwan
Jinsu sprinted with panic-stricken speed down the overgrown path. Yongha, startled, immediately called out to join him and chased after without hesitation, while Yeonji exhaled a weary sigh and trailed behind at a sluggish pace. Finally, they reached a slightly inclined fork in the road. Ahead lay the familiar iron-barred entrance to the abandoned school, little changed from the daytime view. The gate stood wide open, and a broken sign dangled loosely to one side. Beyond it stretched nothing but pure darkness—nothing visible at all. Only the faint silhouette of the building could be discerned when the flashlight beam cut through the gloom. It was almost as if the atmosphere itself had shifted into an entirely different dimension from the daylight. Whether it was because of the expected Jinsu or the combined presence of Yongha, Yeonji, and Sumin, an eerie, overwhelming sensation gripped them all in an instant, leaving them momentarily speechless. The only sound was the occasional dry swallow of someone’s throat. “Creepier than I thought? Hahaha… hahaha…” Jinsu said in a somewhat awkward voice. He was trying to play it cool, but it was clear he was terrified. So why didn’t he move forward? He simply shone the flashlight around the building, unmoving. Five minutes passed. “W-well… let’s just go inside first.” Jinsu still couldn’t bring himself to turn back, so he forced himself to steel his courage and stepped ahead. Following him, Yongha and Yeonji advanced with hesitant expressions, while Sumin—now in full despair—had no choice but to cautiously follow her friends from behind. /////// She swallowed hard. Why did her mouth feel so dry? The four of them halted once more right in front of the entrance to the derelict building. How strangely quiet everything was around here. Not a single sound could be heard. Perhaps that was why the dry swallow sounded unnaturally loud, and even each person’s heartbeat thumped so vividly in their ears. Though they had already found the place eerie during the day, at night it felt several times more unsettling. That was why Jinsu seemed reluctant to enter. Since Jinsu felt that way, so did Yongha and Yeonji. Above all, Sumin’s face was already twisted with terror, pale as death, squirming and unable to stay still. Jinsu swept the flashlight beam across the building’s exterior, noting that the rusted patches looked eerily like blood dripping from the walls. The sharp, protruding rebar where the outer wall had crumbled only amplified the creepy atmosphere. Jinsu pulled a camera from his bag and fiddled with it before turning it on. The screen stayed dark in the dim light, with almost nothing captured. “Ah… I guess there’s a separate way to turn on the lights.” Jinsu muttered while struggling to operate the camera. Soon, a burst of light burst from the hole beside the lens. Only then did the screen slowly reveal the surroundings. With a relieved sigh, he smiled sheepishly at his tense friends. Of course, Jinsu’s face was even more rigid than usual. “Shall we go in?” “W-wait… do we really have to?” Yeonji asked anxiously in return, and Jinsu replied in a teasing tone. “What’s wrong? We’re already here… are you seriously scared?” “No! Who said I was scared? I-I just don’t want to go into this dirty place… ugh… it feels dangerous.” Yeonji grumbled while sweeping the flashlight around the quiet abandoned building. Following her gaze, the beam revealed spiderwebs and thick layers of pale dust wherever it touched. It was indeed frightening, but Yeonji hated the idea of entering such a filthy place even more. “Well, we’ve already come this far… we can’t just turn back, right? At least we should go inside. Instead, let’s agree to go up to the third floor and come right back down. How about that?” “Damn it! We’re just supposed to look around and come back!” Jinsu’s words made Yeonji sigh, and Yongha chuckled beside her. Finally, Jinsu, the bravest, stepped toward the entrance first. Yongha followed suit, while Yeonji reluctantly trailed after him. At that moment, she noticed Sumin gripping her sleeve tightly. Sumin was already trembling with fear, and she felt an unbearable pity for her friend. It was truly pathetic. “Sumin-ah, stay right beside me, okay?” “W-what about us… why can’t we just wait here? Just until the others return…” “Ugh… but leaving after coming this far feels like a waste, and I don’t want to get teased by Jinsu for the rest of my life.” “But…” Sumin really didn’t want to. She couldn’t shake off the strange sense of dread that had been growing stronger the closer they got to the building. It wasn’t just simple fear. Hard to explain, but the feeling that she should never go inside was impossible to dismiss. “It’s just a bad feeling…” “Hah! It’s fine! We’ll just take pictures of the third floor quickly and come back! Here, I’ll hold your hand! Let’s go!” However, Yeonji ignored Sumin’s words. “What are you doing? Not coming in?” A voice called out from inside—none other than Yongha’s. There was no choice. Everyone was waiting. Sumin bit her lower lip and ultimately followed Yeonji toward the building she wanted to avoid even in death. Her legs felt unusually heavy and difficult to move. /////// The interior of the haunted house was thick with stale air. It reeked of musty mold and an unpleasant damp odor, with the unmistakable stench of animal waste. The place was pitch black inside. Nothing like the daytime. Was it as if they had stepped into another world? Every so often something stirred in the darkness, and when Jinsu hurriedly shone the flashlight, it was just nothing. Blowing wind scattered the wet cardboard’s edges, or perhaps something that looked like a rat twitched and vanished in a flash. Each time her heart seemed to plummet. Sumin was already at her breaking point with terror. She could barely breathe. She had to stop and take deep breaths repeatedly. The saving grace was Yeonji staying by her side, allowing her to endure. If she had been alone, she would never have been able to make it. Sumin gripped Yeonji’s hand even tighter. Meanwhile, Jinsu and Yongha continued leading the way, exploring the first floor. Once, the first floor had been a lobby with a reception desk and stairs leading up. But the path was blocked by a pile of trash someone had thrown away. Of course, one could force one’s way through, but Yongha had no desire to do so. As it was, the first floor was already crammed with garbage—ordinary trash and wet cardboard boxes thrown haphazardly. Beneath them lay shattered glass, broken wall fragments, and even ceiling tiles that had fallen and smashed. “Why are there all these things here?” Yeonji muttered irritably while kicking something on the ground with her foot. It was a doll’s face, one eye gouged out. It created a deeply unsettling atmosphere, as if someone had deliberately placed it to heighten the horror. It rolled across the floor and slammed into the wall, stopping there. There were plenty of trash items here that didn’t belong—the kind that screamed someone had boiled instant ramen. Ramen packets and empty butane gas cans littered the area. Seeing it, Sumin thought it was a blessing. She had no intention of eating anything in this place. Anyway, the central lobby with the reception desk opened into corridors on either side that resembled garbage dumps. Several rooms with sliding doors lined the hallways, like classrooms, though their original purpose remained unknown. The interiors were already completely empty, floors covered in trash. Jinsu was already struggling to open a slightly ajar door. Eventually, Yongha helped, and with a loud creak, one door was forced open. It seemed something was caught in the frame, making it hard to move. Jinsu swept the flashlight inside. The room wasn’t large at all. “A diagnostic room?” Yongha asked quietly. Jinsu shrugged. “From the YouTube videos I watched, this place was apparently used as a diagnostic facility. But I’m not sure. Also, the shaman said something about a sinister aura here too. Maybe he wants an afflicted soul diagnosed?” “Here?”