GSC: Chapter 155-Seventeenth Ghost Story – The Apocalypse (4)

Thanks a lot to Kedi for helping me with the images!! ❤️❤️

 

“Give… up……?”

The club members looked at me with questioning expressions.

I nodded unhesitantly.

“Give up.”

“……”

“This life is hopeless, that’s what I’m trying to say.”

A brief silence passed in the clubroom.

[2019, May 13th | Monday, 15:23 PM]

[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts – 2]

[Ghost Story Points: 301]

[Causality Rate: 23%]

“…You must be joking, Prez.”

Gyeongwon looked at me with an expression of disbelief.

“Give up, what do you mean by that?”

“Listen closely. I can’t go back to yesterday, and I can’t defeat that thing and move forward either. Then that means there’s only one choice left for us now.”

“What kind of…”

“We run away to somewhere like Siberia or the Himalayas and stay there for three years.”

I declared firmly, looking at them with all seriousness.

“We’re going to have our graduation photo like that and then I’ll commit suicide. Then I’ll be able to go back to the past.”

The death that comes after the bad ending is a complete reset.

I can start everything over again from the starting point, at the entrance ceremony, before the world becomes a mess.

“Haa… haa……”

Gyeongwon’s face soon turned bright red as he clenched his teeth and started trembling.

“Then the current me will disappear!!!”

“It’s okay, because I won’t disappear.”

Even if I return to the entrance ceremony after seeing the ending, my memories will remain as they are.

Unlike the world, which completely resets like an NPCs in a game, only I, as Lee Joon, can continue to exist as the same person.

“Joon, you……”

Soon, Sunah’s expression changed, and she started glaring at me.

I sensed the signs of a rebellion rising among the members and quickly waved my hand.

“~I was just about to add that this is something I would never actually do. So don’t worry, everyone.”

Sunah put the boxcutter she had taken out back into her pocket.

“Look. Let me explain from the beginning. We only have a few options we can take, and we have to find a way to solve the current apocalyptic ghost story first. So that as soon as I turn back time, we can deal with it right away.”

“…That seems like the most reasonable way.”

“No. Even if I turn back time, by then dozens, maybe hundreds of monsters have already descended on earth, so there’s no stopping South Korea from getting destroyed anyway. And look outside.”

I pointed out the window.

Following my gesture, the eight of them turned their heads toward it.

“Does those things look like something we can defeat?”

Outside the window, colossal Buddhas and insane Hindu gods were flying through the forest of buildings in ShinLim Neighborhood, trampling the world beneath them.

“We can’t, even if we try. From S-rank onwards, these ghost stories aren’t meant to be solved or defeated. I think the best option is to go back and stop them from happening altogether.”

The members slowly nodded in agreement.

Even at that moment, a Tower of Babel woven from human flesh was rising, it was clear this situation had no solution.¹[T/N: The Tower of Babel is a story from the Bible (Genesis 11:1–9). This phrase perhaps implies how people were being indiscriminately killed by imaginary gods, leading the number of death toll/corpses rising every moment.]

“Alright, then the second option. Go back and stop it from happening in the first place. But the checkpoint’s messed up, so I can’t go back to yesterday. Then what do we do?”

“……”

“If I can’t go back to yesterday, then I can go back 3 years. That way, we can stop it.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I felt the club members’ expressions rapidly change, so I hurriedly added more.

“But like I said before, this is on hold for now. Because when I go back 3 years, your consciousness will also be reset.”

“…That’s right.”

“And honestly, I’m against losing you guys right now too. The experiences and bonds we’ve built over these two months are really precious to me.”

“…Two months? I thought it was two years.”

Jinhee added with a dumbfounded expression.

“Right. That means our two months were intense.”

I nodded in agreement.

“And starting all over again with you guys through all that would be a huge stress for me as well. I’m not even sure if we could reach this point again with the same process when we meet again.”

“…I agree.”

“So the second option is on hold too. Then what are we left with?”

“…Rewrite the checkpoint and reset it to an earlier point…”

“Is that even possible? If you know how, tell me. I’ll try it right away.”

“……”

Sunah stammered and hesitantly expressed her opinion, but my gaze remained unwavering.

Soon, with an awkward expression, she looked at the other club members.

Each of them seemed to think it over for a moment, but soon let out sighs and shook heads one by one.

“…Prez, your system has a function like settings. Is there no way to manipulate it?”

“No. Nothing related to the checkpoint at all.”

“This is……”

Since they had never handled the system themselves, they must’ve vaguely assumed I could just do something about it.

“What should we do……”

I confidently told the members who were avoiding eye contact.

“So let’s give up, guys.”

“……”

“There’s no hope anymore. It’s the endgame for us.”

“…President, that’s not what ‘endgame’ means..…”

“Really?”

Maybe it’s because I saw a mistranslation in Korean.

But the meaning got across just fine.

‘Endgame’ is often mistranslated as ‘no hope left’, but it actually means that the final stage is starting.

Just as my plan was slowly moving toward the end.

“Let’s give up and all cry together.”

“Shut up….”

Jinhee tossed the words out and then lay down on the sofa.

The other club members glanced at me for a moment, but soon, they all found their seats as if they were exhausted.

“Move out of the way…”

Dukhun pushed past the Vice Class President and Yeseul, then leaned against the sofa where Jinhee was lying.

Gyeongwon also plopped down into his chair, while Sunah leaned against the wall, sliding down to the floor and hugging her knees as she sat down.

All my friends wore sad expressions.

The world was ending, and we were just waiting for it in the clubroom.

“Is this really the end?”

“This is ridiculous……”

Gyeongwon and Dukhun muttered with expressions of disbelief.

Everyone seemed to either have finally given up on the situation or were at a loss for what to do.

‘You all are doing well.’

This is the final stage.

It’ll be completed soon.

A perfect picture to reset the checkpoint.

“…In the end, we couldn’t even learn anything about the Demon King.”

Standing in front of the whiteboard, I muttered that, and Gyeongwon nodded his head with a sullen face.

“Yeah, Prez. I was really curious……”

“I still haven’t figured out the meaning of the 2nd attempt or the Causality Rate that is floating in my Status Window.”

“……”

“I thought the six of us would grow a stronger bond, go to the beach in Busan in the summer, and make a lot of memories, but it ended so vainly.”

“Prez……”

“Our story is pure garbage, it just got cut off here without any of the plot points or foreshadowing being resolved. We never even made it to the climax or resolution.”

“…Joon, why are you talking like that…?”

Sunah looked at me with a hurt expression, still hugging her knees.

Dukhun also murmured a disapproving comment with a gloomy face.

“…Oi, we’re all sitting here because we know the truth. Is there really a need to keep stabbing at it?”

But I didn’t back down and continued saying what I wanted to say.

“In the end, whether it’s a ghost story or an actual ghost, nothing has been clearly revealed. We don’t know what the religious organization Dogma of Void is up to, or what the Clover Corp. is plotting.”

“……”

“If our story were a book, it would’ve been used as firewood by now. And we’d have been cursed to hell as a sh*tty, half-ass*d tale that got cut off mid-crap.”

“Prez!”

Gyeongwon shouted in protest.

“Why are you being so specific! Do you think we’re stupid-”

Then suddenly, he froze, his face brightened with an expression as if he just realized something.

“H-Hey, Prez, by any chance. Are you speaking like that because you have some kind of plan……”

“……”

But soon, his expression slumped again.

“…That can’t be.”

“……”

“That’s impossible. No matter how powerful you are, Prez, you can’t solve this situation right now.”

“……”

“This isn’t about being smart or anything; it’s simply a problem with the system itself. It’s like… in a game, when you overwrite the wrong save file…..”

Gyeongwon mumbled to himself, his shoulders slumped.

“No matter how much I try to think of a solution… it’s a situation where the system can’t be reverted at its core… Even the President can’t do anything about this……”

Since it was someone else’s clubroom, the ordinary people, including Teacher Han Ari and the Vice Class President, were standing still, but they soon let out a sigh and then casually found themselves suitable seats.

The only two still standing and looking at me were the two female students.

Hayoon, with a troubled expression, was staring at me.

And Joo Yeseul was looking at me with dazzling eyes.

‘…What did I even do for her to make that kind of face while looking at me?’

Is she expecting me to somehow fix everything?

Because in this strange situation, I’ve been the one leading everyone, giving speeches up front like I’ve got it all figured out.

‘…Looks like she’s exactly the type to be swayed by the charisma of someone standing on a stage.’

The kind of person who would even pretend to die if a preacher stood in front of her and told her to.

Pop–

[Your understanding of the character Joo Yeseul has increased by 20.]

One way or another, I still couldn’t ignore the eyes of the two girls who were still looking at me, so, slowly, I decided it was time to reveal the solution.

“…That’s how all the trending stories are these days. They just sprinkle a bunch of plot hooks everywhere, but never clearly reveal anything.”

“……”

“They always lay out all this stuff like something big’s about to happen. Build up all the anticipation, and then when it gets out of hand, they just throw their hands up and walk away.”

“……”

“Look at me. A high schooler who lived through three years, saw the Demon King’s resurrection, hit a bad ending, then came back, formed a club according to his Status Window, where they hunt ghost stories together. Do you think that kind of story makes any sense?”

Dukhun slowly lifted his head.

And with a somewhat dazed expression, he looked at me.

“Everyone’s just struggling. Trying to come up with even slightly more original plots and concepts. Because if we don’t, we’ll be in a world where we won’t be able to catch the readers’ eye.”

“……”

“If we throw in something ridiculous to get attention, it’ll be too predictable and no one will watch. The goal is to make people see it, no matter what.”

“……?”

One by one, they slowly lifted their heads.

And they quietly listened, paying close attention to what I was saying.

“For now, the plan is to catch the consumers’ attention, make a quick sale, and see what happens. An unimaginably original plot and concept! The extinction of humanity is near! The end of the world is right around the corner!”

I humorously imitated the promotional phrases of third-rate works.

Jinhee, who had been lying on the sofa, lifted her head and looked over at me.

“In reality, you don’t even have the ability to do any of that.”

I shrugged.

“I’m just setting the stage. Trying to sell it.”

“……”

The club members stared at me with blank expressions.

They couldn’t understand what I was saying, but they could tell that I was trying to do something.

“What happens when you throw in all kinds of random plot hooks and strange concepts, and things start to spiral out of control? They say in book industries, it’s almost a cliché to ruin a story with forced plotlines or to just abandon it and run away when the serialization gets too much to handle.”

“P, Prez……”

“… Hey, you……”

Slowly, one by one, they began to get up from their seats.

Soon, once again, their gazes gathered back on me.

“Sometimes I think all the possible content that can be created has already been done in this world. Whether it’s novels, comics, or games, everything has already been covered. It’s hard to attract readers with novelty anymore.”

“……”

“That’s why remakes are popular these days. Or, they just keep churning out forced sequels to finished works.”

“……”

“What if a situation arises where you actually have to create something new? Then you’ve got to cram all sorts of bizarre elements into it. Demon King, Heroes, time loops, status window, ghost stories, modern-day fantasy, school settings, club members, mixing in first and second seasons, and so on…”

“……”

“Why? Because if you don’t, no one will watch it.”

I smiled at them.

“Seems like all the works that are considered new these days are like that. They try to grab attention by throwing out all sorts of plot hooks that they can’t even wrap up properly, and when they can’t handle it, they just ruin the ending and run away.”

I was looking at Dukhun while saying that.

And I returned exactly what he had said to me once.

“It’s like they have made a promise to ruin it all in the end. Don’t you think so?”

“……”

Dukhun was still staring blankly at me.

When I nodded again to encourage him to answer, he quickly nodded back.

“Y-yeah, that’s right, that’s right… The works that are gaining attention these days, they’re all like that…”

“In the end, you know, when it gets to the end, it turns out all of this was virtual reality! Actually, all of this was a ‘dream’! It’s not just one or two works like that.”

“……!”

The members gasped and made surprised faces.

Then, they quickly started looking around, flustered.

“A, a dream……? You’re saying it’s a dream, Prez…?”

“Yeah. Watch carefully.”

I raised my middle finger and, with all my strength, broke it in front of them.

Crack- crack-!

“Ah, aaahhh…!!”

“P, Prez……!!”

A horrific pain surged through me, skin tearing away, cartilage bursting apart.

But I didn’t yield. Gritting through cold sweat, I forced my middle finger all the way back until it snapped.

Crack, crack-! Snap-

“Huh… Ugh……!!”

“J, Joon……!”

Sunah approached me in surprise.

But I waved her off as if I was fine, then shakily raised my hand to show it to them.

“…Okay, look, did you see……? R, RC check… My fingers are bent all the way back. This is a, a dream, a dream……”

“P, Prez……”

The club members were left speechless, their faces frozen.

I wiped the cold sweat off my face and lowered my trembling finger, then continued speaking.

“…These days, there are no writers like that. The kind of writer who makes a promise to the readers and fulfills it to the end, relieving their expectations. Since reactions come every other day and if there’s no incident in today’s episode, a rebellion breaks out in the market, that’s why everyone’s afraid of dragging out and writing long stories. In this industry, many have become like mayflies chasing after money, that’s what I’m saying.”

“Joo, Joon……”

I nodded at them while forcing a smile.

“Unraveling a plot like this is logically impossible. I guess this is the ending for the Ghost Story Club. It was fun while it lasted.”

“……!”

For a moment, their faces look stunned.

But this was the only possible way.

As much as I would like to conveniently write it off as a dream, unfortunately, there’s no such cliché in the subculture.

A cliché where things return comfortably to a dream after such a massive incident, this doesn’t exist in the genre world.

However, when an incident of this scale breaks out and the plot becomes unmanageable, writers who slap on a dream ending and run away are so common in the market that it’s become a cliché.

That is why I did not give them hope and gave up everything here.

‘Because as long as there’s hope, the story will continue.’

However, since everyone gave up, the Ghost Story Club ended.

“……”

In the meantime, Dukhun thought about something deeply and nodded.

“…Oi, President. It was fun being together all this time.”

“……”

“If there is a next time, I hope we meet again.”

“Me too.”

Soon, the club members glanced back and forth between me and Dukhun with confused expressions.

I gave them an encouraging look and nodded, urging them to do what they needed to do.

After a moment of deep thought, Sunah approached me and offered her farewell with a hesitant expression.

“…Joon. If it weren’t for you, I probably would’ve…. kept on living each day only spacing out……”

“……”

“…Thank you. You became the goal that allowed me to take one step forward…..”

“……”

I nodded with a solemn expression.

Next, Gyeongwon came up to me.

He adjusted his glasses, wearing a flustered expression.

“…This is, well, I don’t know what to say…”

“……”

“I’m not used to expressing my feelings like this……”

“… It’s okay. Just say whatever comes to your mind.”

“… Okay.”

I encouraged him while holding my broken finger.

Gyeongwon, with a somewhat awkward expression, looked at me for a moment before offering his farewell.

“…Honestly, at first, I wondered what the hell I was doing. Joining this strange club during school years when I should’ve been focusing on my studies… I had no idea what I was getting into…”

“……”

“…But, President. I realized something while watching you.”

Suddenly, he looked at me seriously, locking eyes.

“That you are the protagonist of this world.”

“…Gyeongwon.”

“No matter how many people soar and excel in this world, in the end, the President, chosen by the system, is the center of this world. And me, the person next to you, becomes the second most important person in the world.”

“…Gyeongwon.”

“That’s it, President. I was so proud to be next to the most important person in the world. Well then, goodbye.”

Gyeongwon quickly retreated to the side, looking embarrassed.

Now, only Jinhee and Hayoon remained.

Jinhee hesitated for a moment, looking at Hayoon, but seeing that she didn’t move, she let out a sigh and stepped forward to me first.

“…Hey.”

“Mm.”

“……”

“……”

Jinhee hesitated as she looked at me.

She quickly scratched her nose, then turned her head, her face slightly reddened.

“…Good job. Take care.”

“Yes.”

She said that without even looking at me, then quickly walked away and stood next to Hayoon.

I still don’t know why Jinhee’s cheeks were red.

“Joon.”

“Hayoon.”

Finally, Hayoon approached me with a faint smile.

She looked dazzlingly beautiful as she came to say goodbye with her black hair fluttering.

“Joon, I love you.”

“……!!!!!!!!!!”

With that, she turned around and walked away smiling.

For a moment, I almost got flustered, but thankfully, I kept my composure and swallowed it down without showing any signs.

“Huu.”

I let out a deep sigh, then turned around and began writing on the whiteboard.

[Ghost Story Club]

[Thank you for loving me so far]

This was a gamble for me too.

If the ending recognized by the system truly meant the world coming to an end, that would be quite problematic.

But one way or another, I was already dead meat.

I also gave a farewell to the remaining ordinary people in the corner.

“Take care, everyone.”

Chaerin, watching me with her cat-like eyes, and the exhausted Teacher Han Ari, worn out from the ongoing incidents.

Yeseul, who had been looking at me with teary eyes, fumbled awkwardly but still waved her hand at me.

“We’ll definitely be friends in the next life too!”

“Yeah! We definitely will……!!”

“Of course, Prez!”

“Hey! If I ever lose my memories, you better come find me! Got it!”

“This is seriously so damn embarrassing.”

“See you again, Joon.”

Amid the cheerful laughter and warm atmosphere, we brought our hands together.

Then, all at once, we swung our joined hands up and down in a big gesture to mark the end.

“Fighting, fighting, Ghost Story Club, fighting!!”

— The End —

Ghost Story Club

Thank you for loving it so far

Ending Note

Hello, this is the author, OnlyForFun.

First, I want to apologize for bringing you to a somewhat early ending.

The Ghost Story Club was a concept I had longed for and imagined ever since middle school, a story I wished truly existed.

Back then, I was really into scary stories, completely hooked on shows like ‘Ghost Stories’ on Tooniverse and ‘I Love Scary Things!’.

Because ‘I Love Scary Things!’ had so many volumes, I used to go from friend to friend like I was hunting for Dragon Balls, borrowing each book one by one. I also used to play Francesca Flash, known as the scariest game in the world, in the English study room.

I also remember vividly the night when no one was home and I was watching a school horror story, so scared that I couldn’t move and just froze in the living room until my mom came home.

But above all, the best memory was the feeling of enjoying fear together with others, not alone. 🙂

When I was young, I went to a Taekwondo training camp, and the instructor played a horror movie, The Grudge, for us.

The feeling of dozens of us huddled together on mats, watching a horror movie, it’s something I still can’t forget.

I also remember how I wanted to hug my Taekwondo classmates, whom I usually don’t like, during moments like that.

I believe that fear isn’t just about being scared; it also plays a role in connecting people who share that emotion, creating a bond between them.

Like the feeling of going to the bathroom with my older sister, whom I usually fought with, after hearing a scary story from my grandmother in the countryside.

I think the reason I’ve always longed for a story where teenagers gather together to solve scary incidents is probably because of that feeling of shared fear and connection.

The Ghost Story Club is about six people of the same age, who had no connections to each other, coming together in the face of fear, growing stronger as they overcome their inner traumas.

Since this is a work I truly care about, I’m putting extra effort into crafting a story where the beginning and the end fit perfectly together, striving for a high level of completeness. Even though the content might seem slow at certain points, The Ghost Story Club is meant to be savored, so I hope you’ll stick with it. When it’s ready to be shown, I promise it will definitely deliver some☐thing?§ unforgettable!■

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[You have come across and survived an S-rank ghost story – The Apocalypse.]

[Everything that happened today is replaced by a dream.]

[The Causality Rate has increased as a result of excessive use of reality manipulation.]

[Causality Rate: 23% -> 30%]

Ghost Story Club

Chapter 137

Sixteenth Ghost Story – The Mysterious 4th Period (1)

[Brother, this guy is smiling?]

[Leave him be. He’s probably having a good dream or something.]

The sound of someone talking drifted to my ears.

I came to my senses and opened my eyes.

“……”

Where is this place…?

I just lay there, staring at the ceiling and listening intently.

“Honey, turn off the TV! Joon went to bed early today!”

“They say raising a child is useless… I can’t even watch TV freely because of Joon.”

“Watching TV at this hour in the first place is strange. If someone saw you, they would think you have no work tomorrow…”

“Fine, fine……”

The voices of my parents grumbling as they entered the master bedroom together.

I slowly lifted my torso and sat up.

My room.

This was my room.

“… Status Window.”

Pop–

[2019, May 12th | Monday, 23:59 AM]

[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts – 2]

[Ghost Story Points: 173]

[Causality Rate: 30%]

“……”

I’m back.

Exactly one day ago.