Chapter 9
In an instant, the school descended into chaos.
A student had fallen.
Of course, it was pandemonium. Whether it was an accident or something he did himself, it was serious.
An ambulance arrived, and the teachers struggled to hold back the students who were trying to get a look.
Between the crowd and the paramedics, I caught a glimpse of Jang Hyun-woo’s pale face as he was loaded onto a stretcher and carried to the ambulance.
‘He’s not dead… right? If he were, they would’ve covered his face with a white sheet.’
I tried to calm my nerves, but my hands were trembling uncontrollably.
‘Why? What happened?’
Jang Hyun-woo hadn’t jumped on his own.
Because, for a brief moment—when he was falling and our eyes met—
he had a terrified expression, like he was silently begging me to save him.
‘Then… was he pushed?’
I didn’t know.
Above the floor with the third-year classrooms, there was only the rooftop.
But I couldn’t see what had happened up there.
All I could do was hope he wasn’t too badly hurt.
Naturally, no proper classes could continue after that.
“Everyone, quiet down. Stop gossiping and just self-study!”
The teachers eventually gave up trying to teach and focused only on calming us down.
Hours passed.
Our homeroom teacher came in, sighing as he approached Hyun-woo’s desk.
“This is Hyun-woo’s bag, right?”
“Yes, that’s his.”
A white backpack with a black keyring.
When the teacher lifted it, Yoo Chae-song asked,
“Why are you taking that, sir?”
“I’m bringing it to the hospital. Miraculously, he only fractured his leg and he’s otherwise fine.”
“What a relief!”
“Phew…”
“Seriously, that guy—always scaring people half to death!”
Our classmates all expressed their relief in their own ways.
I, too, sighed with relief and turned to Chae-song.
“Thank goodness, really…”
Since the three of us had been relatively close to Hyun-woo, I wanted to share the joy—
“Teacher, can I bring the bag to him instead?”
Her eyes never left the bag in the teacher’s hands.
“I was worried too. I wanted to visit and see how he’s doing.”
She sounded calm, but I could tell.
‘That look… that’s not concern.’
There wasn’t a hint of worry on her face—only nervousness and unease.
Her blank eyes didn’t even seem to focus properly on the teacher.
A chill ran down my spine. Normally, Yoo Chae-song would’ve been the happiest of us all to hear that Hyun-woo was safe.
But now, she was acting… strange. As if something had taken hold of her.
“Only family can visit today, Chae-song. You should head home.”
“But—”
“When Hyun-woo gets better, I’ll make sure to tell him you were worried.”
The teacher ended the conversation and left with the bag.
Chae-song just slumped forward onto her desk with a sullen expression.
She stayed like that through class and break time alike.
“Chae-song, it’s lunchtime. Let’s go eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
She didn’t move. She just lay there, not lifting her head.
I hesitated for a moment, then quietly slipped out of the classroom.
‘Something’s off.’
She had seemed fixated on Hyun-woo’s bag—especially the keyring attached to it.
No matter how I thought about it, it was suspicious. I decided I’d try talking to her again.
Since everyone else had already gone to the cafeteria, she’d be alone now.
If I wanted to talk privately, this was the perfect time.
The hallway was eerily silent. I turned back toward the classroom—
‘Wh… what the hell is that?’
I nearly fainted from shock.
Someone—something—was grabbing Yoo Chae-song’s leg as she lay on her desk.
It was crouched under Jang Hyun-woo’s desk, right in front of hers.
Long hair hung down, completely covering its face.
Its arms and legs were pitch black and covered in scars.
Its blackened skin looked almost burned… or painted over.
‘I— I should call her!’
Maybe that was why she hadn’t been able to stand up all this time.
My heart pounded violently. Maybe I could go in, pretend not to notice anything, and quietly get her out?
The ghost’s hand slid from her ankle to her calf. The motion was so ominous that I finally opened my mouth to shout—
“Chae-song—!”
“Shh.”
A large hand suddenly covered my eyes.
“Just walk. Act like you didn’t see anything.”
It was Dan Seo-hyuk’s voice.
Why was he here—he was supposed to be in Class 1!
I tried to push his hand away with my trembling fingers, but he wouldn’t let me.
“Don’t talk. Move. That thing is trying to recognize you.”
Recognize me? And if it did—what then? Would it come after me?
I was terrified. I wanted to help Chae-song, but just imagining that thing grabbing me…
“It’s okay,” he said firmly, his voice oddly reassuring.
I let him guide me, step by step.
Even though I couldn’t see, the fear began to fade a little.
I just knew Dan Seo-hyuk would lead me somewhere safe.
“There are stairs—be careful.”
He guided me down the stairs, through another hallway, and down again.
He kept one hand lightly on my shoulder the entire time, steady and protective.
By the time I heard other students talking again, he finally let go.
I blinked and looked around—it was the first floor.
“Why do you keep getting caught up in this kind of thing?”
At his words, my eyes suddenly welled up.
Not because he was scolding me—but because I was terrified.
Because I was worried for Chae-song, still up there with that ghost.
“Seo-hyuk, what do we do?”
“That thing… was it what you mentioned before?”
“No. It appeared out of nowhere.”
Ever since Hyun-woo’s accident, strange things had started happening…
Could it be related?
He listened quietly, then said in his calm voice,
“It might’ve been the ghost attached to that keyring.”
My vision was still blurry, so I turned toward where his voice came from.
“Then who—or what—was that thing grabbing Chae-song?”
“I don’t know. But she was weirdly obsessed with that keyring, and she stayed like that all morning… I didn’t know something had her.”
“The target must’ve shifted,” Seo-hyuk muttered under his breath.
As my vision cleared, I glanced over his shoulder—
—and froze.
“Ah—!”
I clamped both hands over my mouth to stifle the scream.
“What is it?”
On the staircase leading up to the second floor—
the ghost that had grabbed Chae-song’s legs was there, staring down at me.
It lay flat against the floor, yet somehow lifted its head—revealing its face.
It grinned.
Its skin wasn’t dark from burns.
It was covered—completely covered—in unrecognizable black letters scrawled all over its flesh.
I must have fainted right after that.
The last thing I saw was Seo-hyuk’s shocked face, his hand reaching toward me—then darkness.
‘What happened to the ghost…?’
That was my first thought when I woke up.
My palms were slick with cold sweat. I wiped them on my clothes and looked around anxiously.
The memory of that thing’s face was burned into my mind.
‘I’m scared.’
This was nothing like the red-haired spirit I’d met before—the one that still looked somewhat human, even childish.
No… this one was far worse.
Even compared to the twisted arms I’d seen at Eden Villa, this was different.
The ghost in Eden Villa felt like a threat to my life.
But this one—this spirit in the doll—it was different.
‘It’s not just threatening… it’s revolting. Like even being involved with it is terrifying.’
Everything about it was black. Even where the whites of its eyes should’ve been.
‘And those pupils… a dull, cloudy gray.’
Like the eyes of someone blind—but with a completely different kind of horror.
Its torn lips were crudely stapled back together.
But what I couldn’t forget most of all—was its expression when it saw me.
That twisted grin of delight.
It knew I was afraid—and it enjoyed that.
That malice chilled me to the bone.
“Are you okay?”
I flinched at the voice and looked around. I was lying in a bed, curtains drawn around me. The nurse’s office.
A moment later, someone pulled the curtain aside—Dan Seo-hyuk.
“You’re here too…”
Oddly enough, seeing his face calmed me.
He dragged a chair over and sat down beside me.
“So… you saw something?”
“Yeah. It was behind you, but I was so scared I—”
“So it did notice you,” he sighed.
“When a ghost realizes someone can see it, it gets curious—it clings even harder. Next time, just look away. Act natural.”
“I didn’t know…”
“Of course you didn’t. It’s not your fault.”
His comfort was blunt, but somehow not cold. I’d expected him to scold me for being stupid again.
“For now, it seems focused on another target. You’re safe.”
He must’ve meant Yoo Chae-song.
I splashed my face with some water. My hands and skin felt rough and dry—probably from all the stress lately.
“When it’s done with her… you’ll be next.”
“……”
Did he not see how disturbed I was by that?
For a moment, I couldn’t tell what was worse—his words, or the truth behind them.
