Ghost Story Club

“Talk?”

Grabbing the ghost by its unusually long neck, I shook it violently.

“Okay, let’s have your talk! What are you? A ghost of someone who died?”

“Yes, yes… You’re right, Mister… you’re right…”

The ghost answered while groaning in pain.

“When and why did you die, and what connection do you have with the Demon King and the ghost story?”

“I, I… I’m just a ghost who committed suicide by hanging myself here a long time ago… This place used to be a mountain area…”

Mountain!

So that’s how a ghost popped out in this apartment, even though no one has ever lived here before.

And the reason why she was walking strangely with narrow strides was because she was truly from the Joseon Dynasty!

“What the f*ck… If ghosts from the past can pop out anywhere and anytime, are there any places on Earth where people didn’t die?”

I grabbed the ghost by the neck again and shook it violently as I asked in disbelief.

“Then why are you suddenly able to talk like a normal person? You were chasing me around to kill me just now!”

“That, that’s something I’m not sure either……”

The ghost looked down at me with a troubled expression, it looked like it was in pain and choking back tears.

Although I asked the ghost to be sure, I already knew the cause of its sudden unusual behaviour.

It must have been because of the cliché ability of the system which I activated.

The terrifying being that was nothing more than a mindless spirit originally, when the system’s ability was activated, it must have given the ghost some kind of personality.

Just like how every time Teacher Jang Hwaeun was possessed by a ghost story, she becomes a completely different person. It seemed not only the reality, even ghost stories could also be transformed into some other situations by the system’s ability.

“Right, the ghost story. The ghost story and the Demon King! Quickly, explain that to me. Hurry!”

“G-ghost story and the Demon King……?”

The ghost twisted its neck and made an expression of bewilderment.

“I’ve never heard of these words before….”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

I grabbed the ghost’s neck strongly and shook it harder.

“I know you guys are the underlings of the Demon King and he’s the boss, don’t keep talking nonsense!!”

“But, but I’m telling the truth, Mister… I don’t know what you are talking about……”

The ghost made a flustered expression, as if asking me to believe it.

At that moment, a message appeared before my eyes.

Paat-

[Special Ability Life Design has activated.]

[Open the door and run out after 8 seconds.]

“…….!”

Suddenly I realized, Sunah outside the door has gone quiet.

I instinctively turned my head toward the window right next to me. To my horror, I found that Sunah was trying to open the door leading to the balcony. ꞦÂꞐŏβĘŠ

“Oh, shit……!”

But, 8 seconds.

Do I even have that much time left?

I resumed my action of grabbing the ghost by the neck and shaking it.

“If you want to achieve enlightenment through a nice and peaceful conversation rather than being beaten up like a dog and being exorcised, wait here and act according to my instructions! Got it?”

“Yes, yes……!”

Actually, I had no strategy. it was just a lie to use the ghost as bait to hand over to Sunah.

After glancing at Sunah, who had already put her foot on the window, I immediately kicked the door open and ran out.

Bang-!

For a moment, I hesitated between my parents’ room and my room, wondering where to escape. But then I thought that if there are two entrances, she might be able to jump into the room through the balcony again like before, so I headed to my room.

“Huff, huff……”

“Mister…..”

I heard the ghost faintly shouting from behind me, but I ignored it and rushed into my room and locked the door.

Bang-

Click.

Just as I was about to feel relieved, I heard a clattering sound. Wondering what it was, I looked around and realized the cause.

The door was in a state where the hinges were almost broken, as the ghost was banging on it earlier with all its might.

The lock worked for now, but it was barely holding onto the door. It would break easily if someone kicked it two or three times.

“F*ck, F*ck.”

Thump, thump, thump-

The sound of Sunah approaching was heard from far away.

I quickly ran to the window of my room. Since I had no other choice, I was thinking of killing myself.

Rattle, rattle-

“Joon? Open the door… Joon….”

“Ugh, uhm….”

She was coming.

A female classmate was chasing me with a boxcutter……

I stepped on the desk and climbed up to open the window. I was trying to push my body through it but I couldn’t.

The net!

F*ck, why wouldn’t the net open!

“S-Silicone?”

Now that I think about it, I remember when I was young, my parents secured the mosquito net using silicone because they were worried I might fall through it if it opened. And since they thought I would probably never need to open it, they made sure it couldn’t be opened at all.

I quickly grabbed a pair of scissors from the desk and struggled to cut through the mosquito net.

In the meantime, Sunah had already burst through the door with a bang and entered the room.

“Joon.”

“Oh, don’t come to me, you piece of shit! If you come near me, I’ll jump out!!”

I barely managed to cut through and create a hole in the mosquito net, then I swung one leg over it.

“… Are you trying to commit suicide like that?”

“Yeah, you asshole!”

Then Sunah’s expression instantly turned cold.

“As expected, I was right. Joony is always trying to escape to another timeline whenever there’s a chance. But today, that won’t happen.”

“Don’t come near me! I’ll really jump out!”

Creak.

Behind Sunah’s approaching back, I could see the ghost sticking its neck out of the living room and glancing inside, as if trying to gauge the situation.

I quickly pointed my finger at the ghost and exclaimed.

“Su, Sunah. Calm down, we need to deal with the ghost first. Then everything will be over.”

“Ghost……?”

“Y-yes, ghost.”

I nodded hurriedly, one of my feet dangling out the window.

“You’re currently caught up in the system’s manipulation and have lost your senses. Deal with the ghost first. Then everything will be resolved.”

“Don’t be fooled, Sister!!!!!”

The ghost, who overheard our conversation, shouted from the living room.

“I will tell you what he wanted to do when Sister was right in the next room. I refused so many times, but that person, Mr. Joony insisted on taking off his clothes and…! Sob sob.”

“Joony, you…..”

Sunah looked at me with her eyes blazing with fury.

“To do something like that in front of me… Even though you knew I was home…… ”

“No! No! That bastard is a ghost! Why do you believe it but not me!!”

Putting my remaining legs on the window sill, I shouted at her, fully intending to kill myself right away.

“F*ck! If you don’t kill the ghost, I’ll kill myself right away! So listen to me!”

“Sister! Don’t be fooled! Joony, that guy is a piece of trash who keeps flirting with other women whenever he gets the chance!”

Sunah’s expression turned colder.

Since I couldn’t persuade her, I would just kill myself.

“But Joon, that’s not a window.”

“What, what……?”

Even while having a conversation, I was grunting and pushing my body into the hole, but at some point, my body got stuck in midair and couldn’t go any further.

“Huff, huff.”

A question mark appeared in my head as I gasped for breath.

The night sky visible beyond the window, if I could just jump from here, everything would be over.

I could start again.

But, my body was just hovering in the air. The midair space outside the window seemed strange. My body couldn’t be pushed out anymore, as if an invisible wall was blocking me.

“What, what is happening?”

I fumbled my hand in the air and touched a wall in the empty space.

No, it was not empty space.

“A picture…..?”

The picture of the night sky dangling in front of me, I grabbed and tore it apart.

Then, a cement wall appeared behind it.

※ Abduction and Confinement Cliché: The escape route you thought could save you at the beginning always ends up being a trap.※

Beyond the window was a cement wall, and a painting of the night sky had been attached on it, pretending to be the outside view all this time.

“T-this is ridiculous…… ”

I fumbled with the cement wall, feeling frustrated.

This is ridiculous… This is ridiculous……

Sunah slowly approached me from behind.

“It’s time to go into your new home, the refrigerator, Joon…”

Then she swung the boxcutter down to my shoulder.

My body dangling outside with one foot on the window sill looked up, staring at her blankly.

In the living room beyond the door, the ghost was peeking inside with a worried expression.

The moment the cold blade of Sunah’s boxcutter touched my skin.

I showed off a desperate look, a move that I had been saving in case I would have no other way.

“Mom.”

Sunah frowned, giving a cold look.

“Mom.”

The cold blade of Sunah’s boxcutter slowly dug into my skin. Ignoring my muttering, she spoke up.

“Joon, you’re using your head to escape again, aren’t you……?”

With a chilling sensation, droplets of blood slowly formed and dropped down.

“It won’t work anymore. Joony can’t escape from here……”

Whether she was listening to me or not, I closed my eyes and quietly mumbled in a trembling voice.

“Mom……”

Sunah slowly drew the boccutter downward.

A line of blood dripped down my skin.

“Mom, look at me. I became a Judge of the Supreme Court.”

“…….?”

Sunah’s hand paused for a moment.

“Aren’t I great? My clothes look so good on me.”

“…….”

“See, I made it… I told you I would.”

Soon, Sunah frowned, showing a puzzled expression.

“Over there, you little punk.”

Following my finger pointing at the ghost, Sunah turned her head back and stared at it.

The ghost stepped back and bowed its head as if greeting her.

“Mom. But… But Mom, I can’t see you anymore.”

“……?”

Sunah tilted her head in confusion as she stared at me blankly.

“Because… I became a Judge of the Supreme Court, you can go to heaven. I’ll judge all the bad guys here.”

“……”

“Mom, you have suffered a lot in the past because of me, haven’t you……”

At that moment, my phone, which had fallen on the floor in the distance, rang loudly, and like what happened earlier in the closet, the speakerphone turned on by itself.

And then my mother’s voice was heard.

[My son… You did nothing wrong… Everything… It’s this poor mother’s fault…… ]

“Mom! Mom…… ”

[Mom was wrong… I’m sorry. I’m sorry… My son… I love you]

“Mom! Mom, Mom……”

[I love you…… ]

“…….”

Sunah made an expression that showed her bewilderment. She seemed like she couldn’t comprehend the situation right now.

For Sunah, it was understandable.

She was one of those poor people who didn’t even have the luxury of going to the movies.

But it didn’t matter, I couldn’t care less if she could comprehend the situation or not.

I knew the system’s ability worked beyond human cognition.

So I pushed her into another new situation once again.

“Esung.”

“……?”

“Even if Dad can’t go with you… You can go alone on your own, right, Esung?”

Then, when the ghost approached, Sunah made a face as if she didn’t know what to say, so I replied in a baby voice on my own.

“Yeah. Dad, I can go on my own, you know? I got perfect scores on all the subjects, so I’ll definitely come to meet you. So, Dad, don’t worry about me. Dad! Merry Christmas.”

[T/N: These lines seem to belong to a Korean drama “My Mister” from 2018.]

Then switched my voice to an adult male voice and spoke up again.

“Esung, Merry Christmas……! Goodbye.”

“……..”

“Dad, what’s wrong……? Dad……”

The ghost and Sunah stood unmoving, staring blankly at my one-man show.

I raised my hands in the air and began crying.

“Please save me! Please save me! I was wrong, please save me… Don’t cry, Esung… Dad… Dad… I’m sorry… I was wrong… I’m sorry!! I was wrong… I was wrong…”

Sunah’s expression turned more bewildered, as if I was speaking in a foreign language.

But regardless, I kept pushing the narrative.

Because, that was exactly how ‘Korean’ movies are.

※Korean Movie Cliché: Rising action followed by melodrama. Once the melodrama appears, it means the ending is near, so you can relax.※

Whether the audience followed or not, whether they understood or not, the actors kept acting and crying until the end.

And when the characters are howling and forcing back tears, that’s when you can finally relax.

Because that’s when the movie ends.

I was busy imitating all the melodramatic clichés of the Korean movies I’ve seen.

“Mom, I’m scared, Mom… … “

[Oh my, Jaehyuk! My son……]

My mother spoke on the other side of the phone, crying and clutching her chest.

“Mom… I couldn’t keep the promise I made to make you live comfortably… I really tried to take good care of you, but really……”

[My Jaehyuk is so pitiful! Oh my son…… ]

The expression on Sunah’s face, who had been silently listening, slowly started to change.

“… Huh? Why… ”

Sunah made a bewildered expression.

Her eyes slowly become moist.

Yeah!

Cry!

Cry!

Cry!

Aren’t you going to cry even after this?

Look at this, it’s so sad. Cry quickly.

Tonight, an inspiring true story that will move the whole world, is going to appear!

This is it, this is where the melodrama starts!

You must shed some tears!

‘Are you watching this, you punks!’

This is a deep emotion unique to Korea, something that cannot be compared to the superficial emotions of the Westerners—Han (恨)!

[T/N: “恨” (Han) is a Korean term that refers to a deep, complex emotion, often described as a mixture of grief, resentment, regret, and longing. This emotion is considered deeply embedded in Korean culture and history.]

I will make you say ‘Korea’ until you cry.

“Mom… What’s so wrong with wanting to live with you? What did I do wrong? I really don’t want to die like this… It’s so scary… It’s so scary, Mom… Mommmyy……”

[Oh my son. Our Jaehyuk….]

With a bewildered expression, Sunah shook her head, her eyes welling up.

“Huh? What…? What..…”

I quickly skipped to the last scene of the movie.

“Oh, that? My mom always used to put minari instead of spinach because she said it was good for the blood.”

[Minari is good for cleansing the blood, that’s why it’s healthy. How much does our Sangman need to grow before he can go grocery shopping with Mom, holding my hand?]

Sunah slowly raised her head.

A tear ran down her cheek.

“Oh, oh… This is strange… Why am I crying……”

Sunah wiped her tears in bewilderment.

“This is strange… Why…”

Eeeeeeeeeee!!

Long live the melodrama of the Republic of Korea!!

What? You thought it was boring? You think it was a forced plot?

Oh~ You cried along when you were watching~ hehe now you’re pretending to be all cool!

And if you curse this, you’re a traitor Aeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh, long live the Republic of Korea, eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The ending is gloriously adorned with patriotic pride!

I raised my shoulders, which were still bleeding, and shouted three cheers.

“Long live the Republic of Korea! Long live!”

Once you see the patriotic cheers, you’ve watched the entire movie, so now you can go pee!

“Hip hip Hooray! Hip hip Hooraaaayyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The three patriotic cheers, leaving my mouth as I shouted at the top of my lungs, resonated in the house.

Whoo……

All right, then.

I’ve done everything I needed to do.

However, despite my efforts that should set anyone’s soul on fire, Sunah merely wiped her tears and lifted her head again.

“Are you done, Joon……?”

“…….”

“You should have been given a gold medal for your effort, well done… Then I’ll finish what I’ve been doing. I won’t let Joon escape anymore……”

Sunah sniffled, swallowed her tears, and slowly applied pressure to the boxcutter.

“I won’t let you escape anymore… You can’t run away. No one can take you away from me anymore……”

The sharp blame slowly dug into my skin.

Damn, is it over?

I couldn’t think of anything else anymore.

Ahhh……

I don’t want to die like this, I……

“Sunah.”

“……?”

At that moment, the ghost behind her slowly approached, calling Sunah’s name.

“Sunah.”

Sunah wiped her tears and turned around.

There, the ghost whose appearance had changed into the form of a woman whom I didn’t know was standing.

A woman who looked quite a lot like Sunah, exuding a somewhat pure but sorrowful atmosphere.

“It must have been hard, Sunah.”

“Mom……?”

Sunah’s face turned bewildered again, as if she couldn’t understand.

She wiped her tears and shook her head.

“No, no, no… This is strange……”

“I’m sorry, your Mommy… I left my dear daughter alone in this world. I’m sorry……”

“No, no, no……”

She stepped backward, trying to to turn away from the approaching woman. But soon she couldn’t hold it in anymore and started to cry. Her face turned blue as if she was choking on her tears.

“No, no, no. No……”

“My Sunah, even though you seemed to be doing well on your own… Mommy was always with you. You really went through a lot. It must have been so hard, wasn’t it…..? Taking care of Grandma all by yourself… Mom was watching over you the whole time. You’ve grown up so well, my little girl… You’ve grown up so well……”

“Uhm… Aah…..”

Clang.

Sunah finally dropped the knife.

She wiped away her overflowing tears with both hands, and before she knew it, she began to sob uncontrollably.

Then, the woman with somewhat similar eyes to Sunah approached her and hugged her gently.

“Mom… Mom……”

“I’m sorry Mom can’t come home… I’m sorry I couldn’t make you delicious food… I’m sorry I couldn’t buy you chicken when you wanted it….”

“Hick… hick……”

“I’m sorry for not listening when you told me not to follow that religion. I’m sorry I wasn’t by your side when you were sick. I’m sorry I left you home alone. I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you had nightmares. It’s all my fault, your Mom’s fault. I’m sorry, I’m sorry…..”

“Mom… Mom……”

The figure of the woman was gently comforting Sunah.

Sunah sobbed silently, clinging to the woman’s arms.

“Mom… Can you stay here……? I miss you so much… I’m so lonely……”

Then the woman’s expression turned gloomy at those words.

“The place where Mom is… is somewhere I can’t leave right now, Sunah. But I’ll come again next time. I promise.”

The woman’s figure slowly faded away.

Sunah sobbed harder and clung to her arms.

“Mom! Don’t go! Don’t go, Mom… Don’t go……”

“Until we meet again, make sure to eat well, and don’t do anything bad to your friend….”

“Mom… Mom……”

“Be a good person… Okay? You’re a good girl, Sunah. You’re my good daughter…”

“Mom, Mom……”

Soon, the woman with similar eyes like Sunah muttered to me with her lips.

[“I’ve done my best, Mister.”]

I nodded, feeling relieved.

[“Poor child. Please take good care of her always.”]

I nodded again.

The woman gently stroked Sunah’s hair as she cried in her embrace, and slowly, her figure began to fade away.

When the woman completely disappeared, Sunah collapsed on the desk, probably exhausted from crying so much.

Paat-

Director – Demon King

Screenwriter – Lee Joon

Association – System

— CAST —

Lee Joon – Lee Joon’s character

Yoon Sunah – Yoon Sunah’s character

Ghost – Byung Chunja

Police 1 – Lee Eungjun (side character)

Police 2 – Han Gyeodong (side character)

[You have come across and survived a B-rank ghost story – The Haunted House.]

[You have earned 15 Ghost Story Points.]

[You have successfully used your wits and cliché ability to impose a melodramatic ending on the ghost, making it achieve its enlightenment!]

[You have earned 70 Ghost Story Points.]

[You will receive an additional 10% bonus points for each contributing member.]

[Contributing Member (1 member): Yoon Sunah]

[You have received an additional 10% bonus points on the total 85 points, 8 points]

[Current Ghost Story Points: 102+85+8]

Ding〜

[Current Ghost Story Points: 195]

Paat-

[Due to the use of reality manipulation ability of the system, the Causality Rate has increased.]

[Causality Rate: 17% -> 19%]

[Your understanding of the character Yoon Sunah has increased by 5]

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