Chapter 2
The boy’s school uniform was soaked.
“It didn’t even rain today.”
His muddy pants made it look as if he had been running through a rainstorm. I glanced briefly at his filthy white sneakers and quickly turned my gaze away.
“Let’s just… not look at him.”
With that build, he was at least an upperclassman. Maybe even a ghost senior who had died on a rainy day. He wouldn’t actually pick a fight with a living underclassman just for not greeting him… right?
“You…”
The boy seemed about to speak again, but I pretended not to notice and headed straight for the entrance.
Beyond the transparent glass door lay a dim, unlit staircase, and above it, an elevator.
“Chohae’s supposed to be here?”
She’s usually bold, sure, but also careful — not the type to wander into strange places.
“…I’ve come this far already, I can’t just go back. I’ll have to go in.”
If my sister really was possessed by something — ghost or not — there wasn’t a second to waste. She’d said not to tell anyone else, so going to the police wasn’t an option anyway.
“Phew!”
I took a deep breath as if to psych myself up and grabbed the red door handle.
Thud!
At that exact moment, the boy grabbed my wrist.
His touch was chilling — unbelievably soft in a way that was almost revolting. His large hand gripped my wrist like a snake wrapping around its prey.
“Ugh!” My heart nearly leapt out of my chest — it was the same wrist I’d tied my hair with earlier. I almost yelled, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
“You… can actually see this handle?”
So now ghosts pick fights like this? Seriously?
“Ugh… ghost or human, please just go away…”
His cold hand sent shivers crawling up my arm. But I couldn’t react — what if I provoked the ghost?
I risked a glance at his face. Surprisingly, he wasn’t scary-looking. In fact, aside from his dark aura, he was… handsome.
“Oops. Even if he’s a ghost, staring too much is rude.”
I’d been gawking. Forcing my pounding heart to calm, I opened the door. Even then, the boy hesitated but didn’t let go of my wrist.
Creak—
The rusty hinges groaned through the quiet corridor. Despite it being daytime, the first floor remained pitch dark; even when I stepped inside, no lights came on.
I rubbed my arms, trying to shake off the eerie chill.
“It really opened…”
So this ghost not only looked normal — he even talked to himself a lot. I mentally nicknamed him the chatty ghost and glanced around.
There was only an old tricycle in the corner by the entrance — nothing unusual otherwise.
A barred metal gate led down to what seemed like a basement storage room, a rusty padlock securing it. Inside the bars, stacks of boxes were piled high.
“What is this place?”
An icy sensation washed over me from beyond the bars, like something sinister was lurking there. Probably just my imagination — hopefully.
“Hey.”
Now that I was here, I had no idea where to start looking for my sister.
“Hey!”
No response. Maybe no one actually lived here.
“…Is she deaf or something?”
The boy’s rude tone matched his behavior. He was so arrogant I wanted to flick him right between his perfect eyebrows.
“Peanut, get out of here. Now.”
Peanut? He was definitely talking to me.
“Should I hit him? It’s not like assault laws apply to ghosts.”
As I debated it, the chatty ghost lifted my wrist again.
“Whoever told you about this place — didn’t they warn you not to talk to the first thing that speaks to you here?”
How did he know that?
A chill ran down my spine as I looked at him. His eyes weren’t on me — they were fixed outside.
Following his gaze, I froze.
Across the street, beyond the glass door, stood someone I recognized.
“No way…”
A little boy, maybe five years old, in red overalls. The same child who had bumped into me earlier and apologized.
I’d already broken the rule.
“Ah, shit.”
“So you can talk after all.”
That kid — I should’ve been careful around him. I hadn’t noticed before, but now I could see his bluish lips and the way his pupils were far too large.
He definitely wasn’t human. He just stood there, staring right at us, expressionless.
The realization that he had followed me here made my skin crawl.
“If I had gone home or back to the dorm without realizing…”
He would’ve followed me there, too.
My body went cold. I finally turned to the boy beside me.
“So, now you feel like talking?” he said. “You thought I was a ghost, didn’t you?”
He was right — I couldn’t even deny it. Only now did I realize that his hand, which had felt so cold before, was actually warm.
“Get out now. Burn your hair somewhere crowded — that thing follows the smell of burnt hair.”
What was he, to know something like that?
“And move naturally. Don’t run. If you blend in with the crowd, it won’t find you so easily.”
His expression was blank, but his tone carried concern. I hesitated.
“But… I came here to find my sister.”
“Your sister?”
“She went missing in Eden-dong. Someone said she’d be here.”
“The person who told you that…” He gestured toward my wrist. I nodded cautiously.
“Huh. So it wasn’t a total lie, then.”
He frowned, muttering to himself — speaking like someone far older than he looked. After a moment’s thought, he said,
“Tell me your sister’s name, then go. I’ll find her.”
“What?”
“It’s dangerous for you to stay. Go home.”
“But—!”
“There’s nothing you can do here. This place isn’t normal—”
[5th floor.]
The sudden elevator announcement echoed through the quiet building.
We both turned toward the elevator.
“It’s broken?”
The red indicator showed it was on the first floor.
“No…”
The boy’s pale face grew even whiter.
“You! If you can still see the handle, open the door! We have to get out, now!”
What? His panic made me panic even more.
I spun toward the door — but the red handle was gone.
“…The handle’s missing.”
“Damn it!”
He threw his whole body against the glass door, but it didn’t budge. The handle that had definitely been there before was gone, and even his large frame couldn’t shake the door.
Something was very wrong.
“Why is this happening?”
[4th floor.]
I glanced back. The elevator’s display still read 1, but something had changed — the doors were slightly open.
“…Oh my god.”
A pale hand with blackened fingernails reached out through the gap.
“Hey… that hand— do you see it too?”
I was trembling, but the boy gritted his teeth and said,
“I thought this time would be different. Damn it. If I’d known, I would’ve never let you in!”
“What are you talking about?”
“You can’t come here unprepared.”
He sounded like he’d expected this to happen.
“What’s going on?”
[3rd floor.]
The display still showed 1, but the doors opened wider.
Bang!
Several hands now pried at the opening, forcing it wider.
Pale arms, joints bending at grotesque angles.
Like him, I rammed the door with my body.
“Hello?! If anyone’s outside — please open the door!!”
The little boy ghost in the alley took a step closer.
No— not you, damn it!
“It’s useless,” the boy beside me said, face grim with resignation.
Why does he sound like he knows how this ends?
I didn’t understand any of it, but one thing was clear — whatever was inside that elevator, it was dangerous. When the voice announced ‘First floor,’ it would be here.
“The exit’s blocked… then maybe up?”
[2nd floor.]
The elevator doors opened wider, though nothing had emerged yet — only more hands.
If there was any good news, it was that the intervals between floor announcements were slowing.
“Hey, you said we shouldn’t come in unprepared, right?”
“What?”
“What kind of preparation do you mean?”
He hesitated before answering.
“You need something that makes a lot of noise — something to draw its attention away from us.”
“Got it.”
I grabbed the old tricycle in the corner.
“What are you—!”
Ignoring him, I yanked his wrist and bolted upstairs. Our hurried footsteps echoed through the empty building.
“Even if we go up, there’s nowhere to run!”
“If you’re not going to help, shut up!”
I was panting hard already.
“Whatever that thing is, I’m not dying until I find my sister!”
I couldn’t see his expression, but he didn’t argue.
We reached the third floor, gasping for breath.
[1st floor.]
The announcement echoed faintly even here. I stopped and peered down the stairwell —
Something was there. Staring right back at us.
I instinctively held my breath.
Tap.
We were standing still, but something was climbing the stairs.
Thud—
I dropped the tricycle into the gap.
Clang! Thud!
It slammed against the railings, each crash louder than our breathing.
Clatter!
The footsteps below stopped.
Still, the noise continued —
Thud! Bang! Rattle—!
The training wheels broke off, the metal frame tumbling and crashing toward the first floor.
CRASH!
A loud shatter — the tricycle hit the ground below and broke apart.
“Did it work…?”
I swallowed hard, my throat dry.
