Ghost Story Club

[You have come across and survived an A-rank ghost story – Song of Resentment.]

[You have earned 40 Ghost Story Points.]

[You’ve used your wits and tricks to resolve the resentment of the ghost!]

[You’ve earned 200 Ghost Story Points.]

[Each contributing member gets 10% bonus points.]

[Contributing members (all members): Ahn Gyeongwon, Oh Dukhun, Yoon Sunah, Lee Jinhee, In Hayoon, Jang Hwaeun]

[You have a total of 240 points. You’ve earned additional 60% bonus point: 144 points]

[Current Ghost Story Points: 52 +240 + 144]

Ping~

[Current Ghost Story Points: 436]

[You’ve earned enough Ghost Story Points! Use the Ghost Story Points to unlock special abilities for you and your members! You can also expand the functions of the club and upgrade the facilities!]

[2019, March 15 | Sunday, 10:05]

[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts – 2]

[Ghost Story Points: 436]

[Causality Rate: 10%]

 

“Quiet! Quiet! Who’s making a noise?”

The music teacher stopped the piano before shouting.

The students looked around in bewilderment, trying to find out where the sound was coming from.

Oh yeah ♬ Oh yeah ♬

In the quiet music room, I could hear the new popular song of Fourincess blaring from somewhere.

“Who turned on their phone? Turn it off right now!”

When the teacher shouted in a clear voice, a student with an embarrassed look checked his phone in a hurry and turned off the music.

“Phew, why does this school allow cell phones to students?”

After confirming that the room had become quiet, the music teacher began to play the piano again with an annoying sigh.

“Aaaaaa~”

I stared at the message that popped up in front of me, announcing that I had survived an A-rank ghost story and smiled.

‘So it was an A-rank ghost story…’

It was the top ranked ghost story I’ve encountered so far.

Before the A-rank ghost story, the stories that occurred had only happened inside the school premises, or only a few people had encountered it.

Compared to those, the influence of the ghost story of ‘Song of Resentment’ was strong enough to shake the whole country.

And I had to go through quite a lot of trouble to resolve it.

Previously, I could solve the ghost stories just by using some tricks on the spot.

However, this time I had to go directly to the place where the ghost story took place and investigate all the incidents and also the background story related to it to resolve the matter.

When I came back to the past, it was the day before the ghost story of ‘Song of Resentment’ started to spread like wildfire and all hell broke loose. Just as I had planned, I sent a long text in the morning yesterday, shortly after returning to the past, to the number of the youngest member of Fourincess.

[Hello, I’m contacting you after noticing you mouthing an SOS message on a TV show. The reason for the ghostly phenomenon surrounding Fourincess occurred because of the resentment of a trainee idol who had been murdered in your broadcasting studio. If you ask all the members to do a handstand, you’d find out that one of the members of your group is a ghost. If you go to the third waiting room on the fifth floor, you’ll find a body buried in the cement. The murderer is the Chairman of the broadcasting studio. The motive and evidence…]

I didn’t bother to reveal my identity to them directly because it would create unnecessary trouble for me. However, I knew the youngest member would follow my instructions written in the text. She was the only one who noticed one extra member in their group. In that sense, she would actively want to solve the mystery even if others opposed.

I thought she might have reported it to the police after gathering the evidence because news about their broadcasting studio had been circulating around the internet.

There had been a flood of news of the incident on the internet. It spread everywhere so quickly that I was surprised at the efficiency and enthusiasm of the people about the incident.

[A dead body of a supposedly missing trainee idol had been found in a waiting room of a broadcasting studio.]

[The body belonged to a teenage girl and it had been found in the broadcasting studio building in ChungDam neighbourhood.] 

Since the name of the criminal and evidence were all provided, the police’s investigation network caught the man in a day. And today when I was sitting in the music classroom, the system announced the message saying that the ghost story was successfully resolved.

The moment the message suddenly appeared in the music class, I understood that the man had been arrested and taken into custody already.

Getting the body out of the third waiting room and sending the man to prison.

These two must have been the conditions for resolving the resentment related to the song.

It was only a matter of time before the police conducted a DNA test and the criminal would be found guilty.

“Who turned on their phone again? Ah!”

Disrupting my thoughts, the music teacher stopped playing the piano and shouted again.

The students again looked at each other in bewilderment.

Some people were annoyed as they murmured among themselves, “Who is this idiot to turn on their phone not knowing the atmosphere?”

But the music room was just quiet. Except for the vague murmur of the students, there wasn’t any sound of music or anything of the sort that could be heard.

“Huh?”

The teacher also listened carefully, and soon she tilted her head. As the realization dawned upon her, she found out that the room was silent.

“….I must have heard it wrong. I’m sorry~ Let’s start it again! Aaaa~”

“Aaaaaaa~”

 

* * *

 

After school ended, I took the members of my Ghost Story Club to the fast food restaurant in front of ShinLim Station, exactly where we went after solving the ghost story Dreams Within Dreams.

I had hoped that everyone would tag along and I could treat them to a hamburger.

However, Dukhun plainly rejected, saying that he would like to go home and watch anime. And Jinhee turned down my offer coldly, saying she had work to do.

Also, the teacher said it wasn’t appropriate for her to get a treat from a student. In the end, there were only Gyeongwon, Sunah and Hayoon.

Also me.

The four of us were together once again.

“What did you say? Oh!”

Gyeongwon shouted with his mouth wide open before biting into the double cheese hamburger.

“I can’t believe it! It’s actually the Chairman!”

Sunah also showed a look of astonishment at my story, her eyes wide open.

“How absurd…”

Hayoon was the only one who didn’t seem to show much reaction. She only picked up the french fries with her thin fingers and put them into her mouth.

“I’m telling the truth. As proof, I’ll ask Gyeongwon, the first mobile phone you bought was AMOLED Clover’s feature phone, right?”

At my question, the young master gave me a ridiculous look.

“….Suddenly spouting nonsense, you expect me to believe that?”

Then he shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe it and bit into the hamburger.

Bloody hell, you bespectacled guy.

He said this would be enough to make him believe me.

“No matter what you say Joon… It’s a little…”

Sunah sipped on her coke with a bewildered look on her face.

“What about you, Hayoon? Do you believe me?”

“What?”

When I asked Hayoon, she laughed it off, dipping her french fries in ketchup.

“Why ask me, ahaha.”

“Well, out of all three of you, you are the only one who’s not showing much reaction.”

“Um… Haha. I don’t know what to say.”

Hayoon laughed again, shrugging it off briefly.

“As expected, you don’t believe me either.”

“Huhu.”

Gyeongwon shook his head again, as if he couldn’t believe I was trying to make them believe something that they thought was absurd. Sunah just stared at me with a glass of coke in hand and Hayoon smiled brightly as if the situation had nothing to do with her.

I let out a tired sigh.

“Eat as much as you want. I was the one who sacrificed my life anyway.”

“Then, Prez, I’ll have another shake.”

“Do whatever you want.”

Gyeongwon stood up and went to the counter to place an additional order of milkshake.

Ring~

Suddenly, the phone in my pocket vibrated, announcing that a text message had come. When I pulled my phone out and looked at the screen, I couldn’t help the astonishment that washed over me. The message was from the youngest member of Fourincess.

[Can we talk on the phone please?]

A middle schooler who was a year younger than us. Moreover, it was Dasom, the youngest member of Fourincess.

I replied the message, agreeing on her request. A short moment later, I got a call from the same number.

“Hello?”

When Sunah and Hayoon saw me picking up the phone, they glanced at me with curious eyes, wondering who it could be. As I mouthed ‘Four. In. Ce. Ss’, they opened their eyes wide in surprise.

[I’m really sorry for contacting you all of a sudden. But I couldn’t help but wonder what your message could imply.… But I did what you instructed. Everything worked out well… I called to thank you…]

“That’s a relief.”

[Yes…]

There was a moment of silence over the phone. I had a hunch that she might be curious about my identity and how I got the information over the matter. Just as I had expected, the youngest member opened her mouth again as she asked.

[Your voice… Are you someone younger than me?]

“Well, I’m a high school student.”

[Oh, my. Really?]

Dasom, the youngest member of Fourincess asked with astonishment laced in her voice.

[I had thought you were some kind of legendary and experienced old exorcist! Well, I thought you have some kind of extraordinary vision… That’s why I did everything you instructed…]

“Haha. Exorcist.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Come to think of it, my job was definitely similar to those exorcists. I mean, just like the exorcists, I also had to deal with ghosts on a daily basis and resolve the ghost stories to save my life as well as others’.

“Well, my job is something similar. I’m glad it worked out well anyway.”

[After reading your instructions, I was wondering how I could convince the members to listen to me. We were practising our dance steps at that time so all of us were together.]

The youngest member of Fourincess, Dasom said that according to my instructions, she requested her group members to do a handstand, as one of the additional dance moves in their original choreography.

And just as I said, she found out that one of the member’s face couldn’t be turned upside down as if it was stuck in that position. When the ghost got caught, just like what happened in the dressing room back then, the ghost of the girl disappeared, letting go of her grudges and attachment to this world.

She said that the incident shocked the members so much that she had a hard time explaining the whole incident, who was that girl and what happened to her, also about the dead body buried in the third waiting room of the broadcasting studio. Which was the reason it took a day to pursue the members of Fourincess to report the matter to the police.

Of course, the police wouldn’t just take someone into custody without concrete evidence. So they hit upon a plan and said to the police that they had witnessed the murder. They made up the testimony and reported the location of the dead body to the police. When the people from the police came and dug the floor of third waiting room, they found the dead body without much problems. After checking out the surveillance camera and other things, they concluded that the murderer was most likely the Chairman of the broadcasting studio.

[Well, I’m a bit curious…]

After saying the whole matter, she asked in a cautious voice.

[Do you live in Seoul by any chance?]

“Yes, I live in ShinLim neighbourhood.”

[Oh! That’s quite close. Our program will start at 6pm. We’ll get you a front seat in the program. So if you’re free, you can come and watch our performance.]

“Really?”

Come to think of it, before I turned back time, the live performance wasn’t able to be aired because the song caused chaos in the whole country.

Even if it was for a short moment!

“Thank you so much!”

I can’t believe we can see the performance of a famous girl group in person!

Even though I didn’t have the hobby to chase around idols, I would still appreciate a front seat at the concert given for free!

[Yes, our schedule is packed for today so we wouldn’t be able to meet with you. This small favour is the only thing we can do for you… but next time, I’ll surely treat you to a meal!]

“No, no, no, you don’t have to treat me to a meal. You must be busy…”

I leaned forward on the table and signalled at my phone to the two girls sitting opposite me who didn’t know what I was talking about.

Sunah, who was munching on her burger stopped chewing and looked at me with questioning eyes.

[Then I’ll meet you for sure next time!]

“Yes, good luck!”

The two girls, who saw me hanging up the phone with a faint smile, stared at me in bewilderment.

Soon, Gyeongwon came back with his milkshake and sat down with a sigh.

“I’ve been thinking about it, Prez. Although what you said was ridiculous enough to not believe, but I can’t help but believe. The phone was released as a limited edition, but it broke down the day after I bought it. So I exchanged it for a different model.”

“Huhu.”

“No matter how much I think about it, there’s no way Prez could figure it out on his own… It could only be known to you if I tell you.”

Gyeongwon bit the straw as he sipped his milkshake and shook his head.

“How can this happen… My god.”

“Things happen I guess, haha.”

Sunah and Hayoon also nodded their heads as I laughed.

Both of them must have believed me as they saw me talking with the youngest member of Fourincess earlier. It was impossible for me to have the number of a recently famous idol if she hadn’t given it to me on her own accord. Not to mention, Gyeongwon’s words that it was also impossible for me to know what kind of phone he had bought for the first time. It could only be possible if I had turn back time after knowing the information from their own selves in the future.

Dukhun, Jinhee, and Teacher Hwaeun also worked hard with us. However…

I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you guys yet.

It was hard to convince even the three of them, who had already experienced ghost stories together with me once. But the others’ had no idea that the ghost stories existed or was coming to existence. Therefore, if I try to explain everything to them, they would definitely think I had some sort of mental illness.

“Are you sure you guys don’t want to go with me? I heard Fourincess are the most popular girl group nowadays and they’re offering us front seats for free.”

“Nah. I have to go to the cram school.”

“Sunah, what about you?”

“It would be noisy… I don’t like it…”

“Oh, I see.”

As expected, all the members of Ghost Story Club were ‘introvert’.

As I was sighing with a bitter face, Hayoon asked me.

“Joon, did you forget to ask me?”

“Uh, yeah. That’s right.”

I don’t know why, but I felt awkward to ask Hayoon. Even the thought of being alone with her was awkward to me.

“So… Will you go with me?”

“Haha.”

At my humble request, Hayoon covered her mouth and laughed.

“Are you asking me out? But I’m sorry. I’m busy today.”

After parting with the members in front of ShinLim Station, I took a bus to the broadcasting station in ChungDam neighbourhood instead of going home.

It was a little late when I arrived. I was barely able to enter the broadcasting studio after pushing through all the fans of Fourincess.

“Wow~ Wow~”

Finally, I reached the large hall where the concert would be taking place.

The crowd of people passed each other, swinging their LED sticks and banners before heading towards their designated seats.

“Ugh! You stepped on my foot!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

The crowd had a lot of people, so it was inevitable if someone got stepped on their foot.

Just as the youngest member Dasom had said, an empty seat was seen at the front.

Before the performance began, the official music video of the Fourincess began to play on the big screen. People present began to shout and cheer even though it wasn’t the main performance.

‘Haa. It’s crazy. I should just watch the performance of Fourincess’ new song and go home. Fuck it.’

When I managed to finally sit down after pushing through the wave of crowd, the host of the show stepped on the stage and announced the start of the program. Shortly after the host left, the four girls of Fourincess took their appearance on the stage.

As the song began, the flashing of the stage lights, flying coloured papers and banners, and the sound of the cheer of the people, all enveloped the small place instantly.

“Wow! Cha Jiwon! Cha Jiwon!”

“Dasom! Dasom!”

Fans shouted the name of their favourite idols among the group.

The large amplifier that resonated on the stage made me feel as if my ears were going to bleed. The wave of the sound was not only hitting my eardrums but shaking me to the bone.

I felt like I was going to go deaf if I continued to stay there for a long time.

I didn’t have the tolerance of such a high decibel, so I tried to cover my ears for a moment. But realizing that I was basically in a concert where I should listen to the song, and it would look disrespectful if I cover my ears, I removed my hands and tried to endure the sound of the performance.

People began to scream louder when the first part of the song went by and the music of the upbeat hook part began.

Then everyone shouted in a chorus.

“Everybody! Four! In! Cess!”

“Oh yeah~ Oh yeah~”

The ghostly lyrics that made the song a living virus disappeared forever. The lyrics right now were just ordinary sentences. It was exactly how I remembered the song to be in my previous life, the life where I finished my highschool and the Demon King was revived.

When the chorus of the hook part started again after the first part, the youngest member of the group, Dasom, suddenly jumped out to the front and began dancing excitedly, surprising everyone.

“Wow! Wow!”

“Dasom! Dasom!”

The fans cheered loudly, not caring if her steps were right or not.

However, I could see some fans showing a puzzled look. Perhaps they were thinking why did the youngest member suddenly jump forward and begin to dance even though it wasn’t her turn and the steps weren’t recorded in the original choreography.

The other members of Fourincess also seemed surprised. But soon they masked their surprises and began to dance around Dasom, regrouping again.

The way Dasom was dancing seemed a bit bizarre. Her body was twisting and turning like a snake, as if there weren’t any bones in her body. But when combined with the exciting song, it only seemed like excellent choreography.

As she brushed her hair, a few drops of sweat splashed through her short brown hair, glistening on her skin at the reflecting light of the stage.

She danced with the rhythm, while looking around as if she was looking for someone in the crowd.

Stopping right in front of me, she smiled broadly and waved toward me, as if she had found a long lost friend. Then her lips moved, not syncing with the lyrics.

[Thank]

 

[You]

 

[So]

 

[Much]

 

When the leader, Cha Jiwon quickly approached her and hit her on the shoulder as if it was a dance step, the youngest member looked back at her in surprise before rejoining the group.

Even though I knew she couldn’t see me, I nodded my head.

Then I got up and left the concert hall slowly.

People clapped and cheered loudly behind me as the performance was coming to its end.

As I left the place with a smile, I couldn’t help but think how unfit I was in such a crowded place. I guess crowded places just don’t suit me.

 

 

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Rebirth

 

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