Episode 10: What’s Scarier Than a Ghost
A dark, gloomy evening.
The academy’s back mountain, where the shrine was located, exuded a spooky atmosphere.
Wearing a black tracksuit with three stripes, I arrived at the designated meeting spot.
Most of the group had already gathered, their faces brimming with excitement.
Why are they so hyped?
They just wanted to do this, didn’t they? Like a bunch of kids.
The others were half-jokingly, half-seriously trying to scare each other.
“Hey, there’s a woman in a white dress on your back…!”
“Cut it out, seriously!”
“You’ve still got time to back out.”
“Back out? Yeah, right.”
Watching them, I chuckled quietly.
The shrine ghost story was no different from a typical urban legend.
The usual tales of students sneaking off to the shrine late at night, avoiding the adults’ eyes, and hearing strange noises.
So childish.
Thinking it wasn’t a big deal, I glanced around.
The test of courage involved going to the shrine in pairs and returning.
“Team 1, ready?”
At Jinyoung’s call, the first team reluctantly began walking.
The dark mountain trail was shrouded in pitch-black shadows cast by the jagged trees.
The birds seemed to be asleep already, leaving only the sound of crickets buzzing in our ears.
The atmosphere was insane—like a ghost could appear at any moment.
Then, not long after Team 1 had started climbing toward the shrine, a scream echoed.
“Kyahhh!”
The scream reverberated from the middle of the mountain, loud enough to reach us clearly.
“What the heck?!”
“Stop messing around, seriously!”
The group, now on edge, clung to each other, murmuring nervously.
No way, right?
Soon after, Team 1 returned, their faces pale as if something had actually happened.
“Hey! What’s wrong with you guys?”
“Did you really see a ghost?”
Questions poured out, but Team 1 kept their lips tightly shut and said nothing.
Team 2 and Team 3 returned with similar reactions.
Time passed, and finally, it was my turn with Seo Yuna.
Yuna and I began climbing the mountain path.
Yuna wore tight black leggings with a light crop top and a thin windbreaker over it.
She also had on a baseball cap—a simple outfit, but it showed off her perfectly balanced figure.
A solid B-cup, maybe more…?
I casually struck up a conversation with her.
“Scared?”
Yuna smirked.
“Not at all.”
Surprisingly, she seemed calm.
I glanced at her profile. For someone who claimed not to be scared, she was trembling slightly.
“Really?”
Yuna slowly climbed the dark steps and then spoke.
“Hey… sorry.”
Caught off guard by her unexpected apology, I stopped walking.
“For what?”
After hesitating for a moment, she replied in a subdued voice.
“For making you argue with someone like Choi Kihoon because of me.”
She really does have a surprisingly considerate side. Her constant apologies were starting to feel a bit burdensome.
I replied nonchalantly.
“What, apologizing again? It was nothing.”
“I just feel like I caused you trouble…”
I lightly tapped her on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it. Guys like that pick fights with anyone anyway.”
Yuna finally smiled faintly and nodded.
Before we knew it, we’d arrived at the shrine.
The old shrine looked so dilapidated, it seemed like it could collapse at any moment from lack of upkeep.
The bell hanging by the door was rusted, and cracks ran along the pillars.
According to the others, it was built during the Japanese colonial period and abandoned ever since.
Damn Japanese bastards. Why did they have to build something like this on someone else’s land?
The overgrown weeds on the ground hinted at how long it had been left untouched.
The air was thick with an eerie atmosphere.
But contrary to the rumors, there were no strange sounds or anything like that.
“See? I told you, there’s no such thing as ghosts.” Yuna said, her expression suddenly brimming with confidence.
And then it happened.
“Yaaang… Heeuuung…”
A strange wailing sound came from somewhere.
Was it a woman’s voice? No, it was hard to tell the gender.
“…”
My body froze on the spot.
The sound of the wind? No, it was definitely something different.
A low, drawn-out sound-neither human nor animal-echoed from inside the shrine.
Yuna suddenly grabbed my arm tightly.
Damn, you scared me.
“…What’s that? Is… is it really a ghost’s voice?”
I could feel Yuna’s hand trembling.
Trying to act calm, I looked around.
“It’s probably just the wind.”
I said that, but I was scared out of my mind. Why the hell is there an actual wailing sound?
“Really…?”
Yuna, now shaking from head to toe, naturally clung to my arm.
Her usual confident demeanor was gone, replaced by an unexpectedly fragile appearance.
“…Let’s just check it out.”
I spoke as I cautiously began to approach the shrine.
My legs were trembling. I’m not scared. Not at all. ‘Three thousand miles of blooming Mugunghwa…’
Humming the national anthem under my breath, I arrived at the shrine’s door.
“Yaaang… Heeuuung…”
The strange wailing sound echoed from within the shrine.
Yuna tugged at me, stepping backward.
“Let’s just go back… What if something really is in there?”
Wiping the sweat from my brow, I stared at the shrine door.
This is seriously terrifying.
I was torn. Should I go inside or just head back? Honestly, I desperately wanted to leave.
Run? Or stay?
But then, Jinyoung’s annoying smirk popped into my head.
“Scared?”
“Coward.”
“Pfft, hahaha.”
His unnecessary taunts replayed in my mind, fueling my resolve.
Even if I died here, I wasn’t about to let him have the satisfaction of mocking me again.
Swallowing hard, I grabbed the door handle.
Creak-
The old door opened with a heavy groan.
The sound alone made the atmosphere ten times scarier.
“Hey… Are you sure this is okay?”
Yuna whispered softly, clinging to my arm.
“It’s fine.” I said, pretending to be calm as I stepped inside.
The interior was darker than I expected.
The faint moonlight filtering through the cracks in the windows illuminated the dust-covered floor.
In one corner, I spotted a broken altar.
There were old, shabby decorations and worn-out talismans scattered around.
See? It’s nothing.
Just as I was trying to reassure myself-
Rustle-
I saw something moving in my field of vision.
“…What’s that?”
I held my breath and cautiously focused on the figure.
In the darkness, a pair of eyes gleamed.
A black silhouette slowly turned its body.
“Yaaang… Heeuuung…”
Hearing that sound, Yuna clung to my arm even tighter.
“Hey….”
I tilted my head to get a better look.
In the darkness, a small furry lump was wriggling.
Its cute little pink paw pads shimmered in the moonlight.
What the—it’s just a cat? I thought it was going to be an actual ghost.
So it’s nothing after all?
Realizing the situation, I deliberately let out a loud sigh.
“See? There’s nothing here. It’s just a cat with a weird cry.”
Feigning confidence, I looked over at Yuna.
“What? A cat?”
Yuna let out a sigh of relief.
I walked out of the shrine, feeling triumphant.
But then—
“Ahhh!”
Yuna let out a sudden scream from behind me.
Startled, I spun around.
From somewhere, three white, human-sized figures appeared, rushing toward us.
What the hell?!
My body froze.
I knew I had to move, but my feet wouldn’t budge.
G-ghosts?! How did they fix their coordinates in the terrestrial plane?
Yuna, panicked, stumbled backward and tripped over something, falling with a loud thud.
Meanwhile, the white figures kept getting closer and closer to us.
At that moment—
“Puhahaha!”
A familiar laugh rang out.
The white figures revealed their faces.
It was three boys who had been left out of the draw earlier.
They threw off the white sheets they had been wearing and burst out laughing.
“Dude, their reactions are hilarious. Seriously.”
“Wow, even Seo Yuna fell over. Didn’t see that coming.”
“But man, Kim Dohyun, as expected, didn’t even flinch. Is he fearless or what?”
Huh? I was just so scared I couldn’t move, that’s all.
So this is what they were planning? Cute little punks. I nearly peed my pants.
But this wasn’t a situation anyone could just laugh off.
Yuna was sitting on the ground, her face pale as a sheet.
“Hey! Do you want to die? What the hell were you thinking?!”
Her eyes were brimming with tears.
The boys, realizing things had gone too far, fidgeted awkwardly.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I rushed over to Yuna.
She answered in a trembling voice.
“My… my ankle. I think I twisted it.”
I inspected Yuna’s ankle. It was red and swollen.
Oof. That must hurt.
“It looks like you’ve twisted it.” I said.
Yuna gritted her teeth and tried to stand, but she couldn’t even stay upright.
“Ow….”
Even walking seemed too much for her.
After a brief moment of deliberation, I made my decision.
“Get on.”
“What?”
Yuna looked up at me in surprise.
“Get on my back. If we keep this up, we’ll be here all night.”
“I’m fine. I can walk on my own.”
But despite her words, Yuna let out small gasps of pain with every step she took.
I sighed and crouched down in front of her, offering my back.
“Just get on already.”
Yuna’s face turned red, and she hung her head low.
“…I’m really fine.”
“Enough. Don’t waste time.”
In the end, Yuna reluctantly climbed onto my back.
See? You have to be firm with women sometimes.
At that moment—
Squish.
Something soft brushed against my back.
…This is it. This is the infamous C. My instincts told me so.
I instinctively adjusted my posture and turned my head slightly.
“I’m… I’m not heavy, right?” Yuna asked cautiously from over my shoulder.
I kept my composure and replied, “Nope, you’re light.”
She really wasn’t heavy, but that wasn’t the issue.
The soft sensation pressing against my back was sending all my nerves into overdrive.
Stay calm. Think of the national anthem.
I began reciting the national anthem in my head to stay focused.
‘Mugunghwa samcheolli hwarye gangsan…’
“Hey… go slower.” Yuna whispered softly.
“Uh, sure.”
I deepened my voice to sound steady and kept walking.
Yuna rested her head lightly on my shoulder and suddenly murmured,
“…Sorry.”
“For what now?”
“For causing you trouble… again. I feel like I’m just being a burden.”
“There you go again. I told you, it’s not a big deal.”
Yuna lowered her head again, holding on to me tightly.
The warmth of her breath on my back tickled.
Ah, damn it. This is killing me.
I intensified the anthem playing in my head.
‘Daehan saram Daehan-euro giri bojeonhase…!’
Taking a deep breath, I carefully descended the steep slope.
Yuna stayed silent, but the sensation of her cheek brushing against my neck made my shoulders twitch involuntarily.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you sweat. Am I really that heavy?”
Yuna’s concerned voice broke the silence.
“It’s not because of your weight.”
“Then what?”
“You don’t need to know.”
She lightly tapped my neck and let out a small laugh.
If I could just get down this hill quickly, everything would be over.
Yuna, leaning quietly against me, didn’t seem the least bit tense.
No, the only one tense here was me.
Carrying Yuna on my back, I hurried down the steep slope.
Even so, the sensation against my back and the warm breath grazing my neck were incredibly distracting.
That’s when it hit me.
What’s scarier than ghosts… is temptation.
