T/N: Two more unlocked chapters. Enjoy!
After a brief moment.
The corner game started again.
Thump.
The light was switched off, the door was shut, and darkness enveloped the clubroom completely.
Tick, tock.
In the silence where only the ticking of the clock resonated, the first runner of the corner game soon began to move slowly.
Peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-
Thump.
The first runner, who started the game, moved slowly and reached the next corner before touching the person there.
Then, the person there began to move to the next corner as the second runner.
Peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-
Thump.
The third runner in line began to move to the third corner after getting touched by the second runner.
Peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-
Thump.
Finally, the last runner was touched by the third runner.
The last runner slowly began to move to the first corner, which had long been emptied.
Peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-
The last runner returned to the corner from where the game first started.
That corner was now empty because the first person who had been staying there had already moved to the next corner.
The last runner slowly approached the corner and hit the empty wall.
Thump.
The game finally reached its end.
Silence stretched for a moment after that.
The participants, who were playing the game just now, had their heads decapitated in the darkness without a sound.
Snap. Snap.
However, the person in the last corner stayed still without panicking even a bit.
Snap.
Soon, everyone, except for the last runner standing still in the corner was beheaded.
The last survivor was still waiting quietly in the darkness.
All of a sudden, a girl’s voice echoed in the pitch black darkness.
“The female ghost with only its head floated in the darkness, giggling at her poor prey. The female ghost with only its head floated in the darkness, giggling at her poor prey.”
A little girl’s voice babbled happily as she sang in a rhythmic way.
Despite those ominous words, the person standing in the dark corner stayed still in their place without moving a little.
“The female ghost with only its head floated in the darkness, giggling at her poor prey. The female ghost with only its head floated in the darkness, giggling at her poor prey.”
Soon, the sound of the last person having his head decapitated was heard in the darkness.
“And she beheaded him.”
Snap-
After a while.
The sound of someone frantically running around the clubroom was heard.
The person ran around everywhere crazily, stumbling into the things that had been pushed into the middle.
The ghostly woman with only her head hovering in the air.
She decapitated the head of the last runner and occupied the headless body.
Using her vocal cords, the ghost finally spoke up.
[Hello, my lovely friends. What kind of games would you like to play today? Anything is fun when you’re with the hula-dancing duck!]
However, what came out through the mechanical voice was an automated self introduction.
At that sound, we, who had been hiding under the desk until now, slowly poked our heads out.
“It’s really working.”
I nodded at Jinhee’s words while fiddling with the remote control next to her. She muttered lowly while holding a baseball bat in her hand.
***
“The most important thing isn’t that we have to catch the female ghost, but everyone has to survive and clear the game.”
After coming back in time and explaining everything that unfolded during the corner game in the previous timeline, we decided to play the game once again. Therefore, while preparing for the spirit communication in the 6th period, we reviewed the plan again.
“It would be a problem if the checkpoint is set to a different timeline. Understood?”
I emphasized that point and slapped the whiteboard loudly as I explained.
The members all nodded.
“If I turn the time back a few times, we might discover a way to catch that ghost somehow. But!”
I slapped the whiteboard loudly once again as I emphasized each information.
“If even one person dies while clearing the game, all our preparation will be for naught. However, everyone dies in silence without even making a sound as soon as the game starts. So we have to come up with a thorough plan before starting the game.”
“I understand, stop hitting the whiteboard, Prez.”
Gyeongwon raised his glasses as he said in an annoyed tone.
Letting out an embarrassed cough, I continued.
“Anyway, we have to think of a thorough plan. We can play the corner game and summon the ghosts with the help of spirit communication as much as we want as I’ve said before. But if all the members participating in the game die…”
“How about someone else playing the game instead of us?”
Sunah offered her opinion with hesitation.
“Someone else playing instead of us…”
If that were to happen, those people would be beheaded by that ghost and die.
I could understand Sunah’s way of thinking, however, I couldn’t act on that.
“Why would someone do such a dangerous thing for us?”
Sunah showed a dispirited look as Dukhun crossed his arms and snorted as he asked.
However, something clicked in my mind at Sunah’s words.
‘Instead… instead.’
Without wasting any time, I told the members what I had just planned.
“How about we use a doll, or a robot to do it for us?”
“Doll?”
The members tilted their heads in puzzlement.
“There are toys or dolls that walk on two feet and can be controlled by a remote control. We can buy four of those and put them in the corners so that they can move from corner to corner instead of us…”
I explained with wide eyes while gesturing excitedly with my hands.
The idea was amusing to the members, so a few of them burst into laughter.
“Using dolls… hilarious…”
“But, didn’t you say we can’t have electronic devices? That’s why you took all the cell phones away earlier.”
“That’s not necessarily true.”
When Jinhee raised a question, Gyeongwon quietly folded his arms before answering.
“It’s true that the general rule for rituals to summon ghosts, which is commonly known as spirit communication, is to not have any electronic devices, including cell phones, around.”
“Is there a reason for that?”
“…Well, there are many reasons, but the biggest one is that it hampers the creation of an atmosphere of fear.”
“So creating an atmosphere of fear is important for spirit communication?”
“Of course.”
I expressed my doubts to Gyeongwon who was firmly nodding.
“But why are dolls and toys an exception? They not only walk on two feet, but they also run on batteries. They should be considered electronic devices, too.”
“Well, the reason is a bit ambiguous… a ghost story related to that is coming to mind right now.”
“What is the ghost story about?”
“Has anyone heard of ‘HANS’?”
“HANS?”
[T/N: HANS is the abbreviated form of Hide and Never Seek, a Korean horror drama about a girl who goes missing while playing a ghostly game of hide-and-never-seek, and a horror junkie who searches for the truth while livestreaming to his fans. The drama is based on the ghost story, hide-and-never-seek.]
I raised my hand as the members tilted their heads in confusion.
“I think I’ve read about it. Isn’t it about playing hide-and-seek alone?”
“That’s right, Prez. I guess you’ve been studying a bit lately.”
“A little.”
“To be precise, it’s an abbreviated form of hide-and-never-seek. HANS. This is also a kind of spirit communication. If you’re curious about the content, search it on the Internet or ask me later. For now, I’ll just get to the conclusion since the solution is urgent.”
Gyeongwon shone his glasses as he spoke.
“Dolls are an exception in spirit communication. Since dolls are often used in spirit communication or various curse rituals. I think that’s why even if they have a little electronic equipment, it won’t have a big effect on summoning ghosts.”
“…Really?”
“The ghost story we encountered just now. The science teacher tried to kill Prez using a curse but he used an electronic device, which is a phone, to do that. Even in those curse-related ghost stories, dolls sometimes appear. I think this is because dolls are probably an exception.”
After listening to Gyeongwon’s words and thinking about it carefully, I felt it was definitely true.
If you think of curses, the image that usually comes to mind is.
The picture of someone hammering nails into a straw doll.
“That’s right. Come to think of it, there seem to be a lot of ghost stories featuring dolls as cursed objects.”
“Right?”
Everyone nodded with an expression of understanding.
“But where can we buy such dolls in this situation…”
“I can just use the system store.”
Quickly opening the Shop window, I went to the ‘Sports/ Toys’ category.
“Let’s see. Moving dolls, moving dolls…”
[Clover Enterprise’s Reliable and Safe Toddler Toys – Automated Animal Doll Hula-Dancing Duck – 2 points]
“Wow, it’s cheap.”
2 points with a free remote control.
The toy not only can move around but you can also make it dance using the remote control.
‘…Clover. There’s nothing these people don’t make.’
“Okay. Let’s buy it!”
Without hesitation, I ordered four toy ducks using a total of 8 points. Soon, we heard the sound of something falling down in the hallway.
“Let’s go and pick them up quickly.”
Squeak-squeak-squeak-squeak-squeak-
[The end of the human era has arrived~]
“Good. It works perfectly fine.”
In front of my eyes, duck-shaped dolls the size of my knees were running around the clubroom, each making a squeaking sound while delivering previously recorded messages.
“They’re cute.”
Sunah smiled as she tried to pat the head of one of the ducks, but it quickly ran away.
[A rolling stone gathers no moss~]
[T/N: ‘A rolling stone gathers no moss’, is an idiom which means someone or something that does not know how settle down or stay in one place.]
“Perfect. Now that I’ve got the dolls.”
The club members gathered around the desk again and sat down.
“Is there anything else we need to prepare?”
“First, I think we need to decide who will stay.”
“Huh?”
“Even if we use the dolls to play the game, there has to be someone who will have to stay to operate the dolls and catch the ghosts.”
“Hmm…”
Who would be better off staying?
Since the ghost story was quite dangerous itself, I would definitely have to stay but it would be better to have one or two people, who are courageous and can stay with me to help.
“First of all, as the president, I will have to stay without any question. I don’t want you guys to be dragged into the mess but it will be really helpful if someone else volunteers to participate…”
As my words trailed off, my eyes landed at Jinhee.
“What?”
The three ghosts we were about to face.
A ghost that can imitate the ticking sound of a clock, the ghost of a little girl that relays the situation, and the most dangerous ghost with only a head.
Since we only have fragmentary information, it was impossible to come up with a thorough plan.
For now, we just thought of catching them.
Since we were fighting against a dangerous entity, who would be better other than Jinhee?
“But even if we put the dolls in each corner, where will the people, who will be operating the dolls and monitoring the situation, hide?”
When I voiced out a possible problem that could hinder us, Gyeongwon answered as a matter of fact.
“In the middle.”
“What if our presence in the middle affects the ritual?”
“In the ghost story where mountain hikers got lost and one of them died, they put the dead body in the middle. And in the Rothstein Corridor, the word corridor means hallway. Which means they performed the ritual in an open space, not in an enclosed room. Therefore, I believe your presence in the middle wouldn’t affect the ritual.”
“Then that’s fortunate.”
I nodded in satisfaction before looking at Jinhee.
“Jinhee, do you wanna beat up some ghosts?”
“…I have to stay?”
Soon, Jinhee and I packed our things and crawled under the desk together.
Since the ghost with only its head floated in the air, I concluded it wouldn’t bother peeping under the desk.
“Would only a baseball bat work? How about a chainsaw or a flamethrower…”
“I don’t know how to use them.”
While I and Jinhee were preparing our equipment, the club members left the clubroom one by one, not before giving us, who were hiding under the desk, words of encouragement.
“Joon, be careful…”
“Thank you, Sunah.”
“Fighting, both of you.”
“Thank you, Dukhun.”
“Good luck.”
“Yeah, Hayoon.”
“I don’t know what you are thinking and what will happen, but please shout for our help if any problem arises, okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
Gyeongwon was the last to leave. But before leaving, he left more advice for us while pushing his glasses.
“I have one more thing to tell you. Ghosts usually take the appearance of the moment they died. Therefore, even if a ghost looks young, it could actually be a vengeful spirit from decades ago. For now, the only dangerous one seemed to be the ghost with its head floating around. However, don’t let your guard down around that little ghost girl.”
“Thanks for the advice. Please switch the light off when you leave.”
“Okay. Hope I’ll see you again alive and well.”
Click.
Turning off the light, Gyeongwon gave us one last look before leaving and closing the door. As soon as the door closed, the clubroom was completely enshrouded in darkness.
Tick, tock.
“….it has started.”
“Uh-huh.”
In the silence, where there should be no sound, the sound of a clock ticking loudly resonated in the whole clubroom. Without wasting any time, I started operating the remote control to move the duck dolls that were placed in the four corners. As I pushed the levers on the remote control, one duck toy in one of the corners began to move unsteadily.
Peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-peep-
* * *
[Hello, my lovely friends. What kind of games would you like to play today? Anything is fun when you’re with the hula-dancing duck!]
The female ghost occupied the body of the toy duck but ended up introducing itself in a mechanical voice while beeping in the dark.
Hearing such a funny introduction from a ghost, Jinhee, who was kneeling beside me, burst out laughing.
“How funny. And we thought it was gonna be extremely dangerous.”
“Here, a glow stick.”
While looking for a tool that could be used as a substitute for an electronic device to emit light, I got a glow stick from the Shop.
I handed it to Jinhee who was kneeling beside me.
Tak.
The moment she bent the stick, the chemicals inside the glow stick burst and began to emit a bluish light.
“A glow stick is shining, a glow stick is shining.”
Even the small movement was relayed by the little ghost girl.
Tick, tock.
Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock.
Besides the voice of the little ghost girl, the sound of a clock ticking and a duck doll moving around frantically was also heard in the darkness.
“Oh, man, it’s so noisy.”
Although it was pitch black, a lot of commotion was happening around the clubroom.
Grumbling to herself, Jinhee waved the glow stick around.
“….There’s a total of three of them.”
There were three ghosts in the enclosed clubroom.
The first ghost we saw was of the little girl who had been relaying the situation.
She didn’t seem much older, perhaps the age of around elementary school children.
A yellowish short-sleeved T-shirt with some English words written in the middle adorned her small frame. Her eyes looking at us glowed with excitement as if she was glad to see us.
Fortunately, she didn’t look as scary as we thought. Rather, with a little bit of baby fat on her face, she looked quite cute, except for the fact that her clothes looked a little old and worn out.
“…What kind of clothes are those? They look strange.”
As I asked while looking closely at the clothes worn by the little girl, Jinhee answered coolly.
“It’s a baseball uniform.”
The clothes must have belonged to the little girl and it was also the cloth she had while dying. But perhaps she had been dead for a long time, the color seemed to have faded and looked worn out.
“We can’t judge the little girl based on her appearance. Just as Gyeongwon said, they may look young on the outside, but actually be quite vicious. We should be careful.”
“Hmm.”
“Move it to the left. Shine the glow stick in the direction where the ticking sound of a clock is coming from.”
Following my order, Jinhee extended the glow stick to the left.
There, we saw a little boy standing there who looked younger than the little ghost girl.
He seemed to be about the age to enter kindergarten.
When we shined the light on the little boy, he closed his mouth tightly and stared at us expressionlessly for a while. But soon, he pursed his lips and began to make the ticking sound of a clock.
Tick, tock.
“Wow, it sounds so freaking similar.”
Jinhee exclaimed in admiration.
“Jinhee, shine it on the back this time. This is where the female ghost should be.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t shine directly on it, that thing is scary. Slowly…”
“Shut up, idiot.”
Although she called me an idiot, Jinhee still listened to my order and shined the glow stick behind us. There, the decapitated female ghost, which was our main target, was revealed.
Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak.
A duck doll about the size of a person’s knee.
On top of the doll’s neck, instead of a duck’s head, a woman’s head with disheveled hair was attached.
Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak.
The duck doll was facing the wall and couldn’t turn around without the help of the remote control. So it was just standing still, making a squeaking sound.
“Hey. Turn it around with the remote. Let me see its face.”
Even though so many days have passed and we had been interacting with each other quite well, Jinhee still called me with ‘hey’ and ‘you’ rather than my name.
“Wait a minute.”
Quickly picking up the remote control, I pushed the levers and began to operate it. The duck doll slowly began to turn around, and the face of the female ghost with only its head, slowly began to appear.
“Oh, the face is freaking scary…”
Disheveled hair, swollen face, white eyes.
And a mouth that had been split open all the way to the ears in a happy smile.
[Be careful of my laser eyes! Shooting laser light!]
The LED flashlights on the doll’s body turned on with a click, and the ghost’s white eyes shone with red light, as if shooting us with lasers.
[This is a mischievous hula-dancing duck!]
Every time the head of the ghost moved its lips, the recorded automated dialogues on the doll were played instead, adding to the bizarreness.
I tried reading the movements of the ghost’s lips with the Lip Reading ability, but all I got was meaningless mutterings about cutting off someone’s neck and occupying the body.
The grotesque ghost with only its head attached to a toy duck’s body began to walk toward us, moving its flippers in a clumsy manner.
Waddle, waddle.
[I want to play with my friends!]
Jinhee smiled darkly, not seemingly scared of the bizarre appearance of the duck, and lifted the baseball bat over her shoulder.
“Stop talking nonsense and dance your hula.”
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T/N: If you like my work, consider supporting me on Kofi.
That’s such a funny solution.