Chapter 48: When the Spirits Stir
A buzz-cut male student was chatting with his friend.
A typical slice of life.
But their conversation caught my ear.
“Wanna try Bunshinsaba?”
“Bunshinsaba?”
“Yeah, after homeroom…”
Paradise High, steeped in yin energy, was a hotbed for strange occurrences.
Ghost stories were already the top topic among students.
This could be dangerous.
I sought out the Supernatural Research Club members.
“Here’s the situation.”
The three offered their takes.
“We should stop it, right?” Gahee said.
“That’s tough. What authority do we have?” Hwaseo replied.
“Then what?” Kishin asked.
“We observe. Let’s join them,” Hwaseo decided.
So, the four of us approached Buzz-Cut to join.
He looked flustered.
“Bunshinsaba’s still a thing, huh?”
Who knew it was this popular?
After homeroom, five of us gathered in the classroom.
His friend bailed for some reason, leaving Buzz-Cut awkwardly surrounded by four near-strangers, but the game went on.
“Let’s review the rules,” Buzz-Cut said.
1. Never play alone.
Five of us, so no issue.
2. Don’t play for more than 15 minutes.
“I’ve got a watch, so I’ll keep track.”
Smartphones were off-limits, but Gahee and Kishin had watches too.
We’d manage.
3. Limit questions to four.
4. Don’t leave your seat until the game ends.
5. To end, ask permission and get approval.
“That’s the basics. Everyone clear?”
“Yup.”
“Simple enough.”
“Ask now if you’re unsure. This could get serious,” Buzz-Cut said solemnly.
Hwaseo and I stifled laughs.
Gahee and Kishin, seasoned with shocking experiences, found him cute.
“…Guess it’s not real, haha,” Buzz-Cut said, misinterpreting our reactions, scratching his head.
We joined two desks in the classroom’s center, surrounded by five chairs.
A large paper with “O” and “X” sat on the desk.
Kishin and Buzz-Cut held a pen together.
“Need two people. Anyone wanna ask with me?” Buzz-Cut said.
“I’ll do it,” Kishin volunteered.
The chatter stopped.
Everyone sat, having used the bathroom beforehand since standing mid-game was forbidden.
Kishin and Buzz-Cut exchanged glances and began.
“Bunshinsaba, Bunshinsaba, please come.”
“Bunshinsaba, Bunshinsaba, please come.”
They chanted, slowly rotating the pen.
Bunshinsaba’s origins were murky, but it dated back to at least the 1980s—a longstanding ritual.
If summoning spirits was this easy, no wonder it was popular.
Would it really show up?
In my past life, I’d tried it—alone, even, and that infamous hide-and-seek game.
Nothing happened.
Just a lonely adult making a fool of herself.
“Bunshinsaba, Bunshinsaba, please come.”
“Bunshinsaba, Bunshinsaba, please come.”
Minutes passed.
Boredom crept into their faces.
“Bunshinsaba, Bunshinsaba, have you come?”
“Bunshinsaba, Bunshinsaba, have you come?”
The pen kept circling.
Buzz-Cut, fed up, stopped his hand.
“It’s all fake—huh?”
“What’s wrong?” Gahee asked.
“Let’s stop. Waste of time.”
“You have to stop moving first,” Kishin said.
“What? I’m not pushing it!”
Their faces hardened.
The pen was still moving.
Hwaseo’s eyes sharpened.
I pouted.
Why didn’t it work when I tried?
Ignoring my petty grievance, the game was finally underway.
“Bunshinsaba, Bunshinsaba, have you come?”
“Bunshinsaba, Bunshinsaba, have you come?”
The two frowned—an external force was clearly at play.
Buzz-Cut looked terrified.
Kishin took over.
“Where are you from?”
“You can’t ask like that. Yes-or-no questions,” Buzz-Cut corrected.
“…Did you come from far away?”
Scrrrt. The pen moved to “O.”
Kishin nodded.
“Is it possible for the dead to return to the real world?”
Scrrrt. “O” again.
Gahee whispered, “What’s he asking?”
“No clue,” I replied.
We’d joined to keep Buzz-Cut safe.
But Kishin was seizing the moment, firing off questions with bloodshot eyes.
“Is someone close to me nearby, like you?”
His eyes widened, staring at the pen on “O.”
Lips trembling, he asked his final question.
“How can I meet them—”
Whoosh!
The paper jolted.
Objects floated as if weightless.
A chair crashed nearby, and I shouted.
“Stop! We need to end the game!”
Rules were human-made.
Spirits could act unpredictably.
“Can we stop the game?” Kishin gritted out.
The pen swung to “X.”
Everyone grimaced.
As if mocking us, the pen scribbled wildly.
Buzz-Cut lost his grip and tumbled from his chair.
“He’s out of his seat!” Gahee cried.
A malevolent force surged toward him.
A cinnamon talisman blocked it.
Hwaseo glanced back.
“Stay put. It’s dangerous.”
Her voice and aura were commanding—unlike her usual self.
“Wow~” Gahee gushed.
Kishin looked stunned.
Buzz-Cut was a mess of confusion.
“W-What? Hwaseo?”
The fight between ghost and psychic was brief.
Hwaseo sighed in relief.
“It fled. Probably just trying to scare us.”
She erased Buzz-Cut’s memory.
The lingering fear would keep him from trying Bunshinsaba again.
“Recent sighting reports are flooding in~”
“Do ghosts have peak activity seasons?”
“Of course. Yin energy varies by region and season, so they have busy times too.”
“Like a mass migration during holidays?”
“Exactly!”
“Hahaha—”
I was watching Horror Mania on TV when the clown doll waddled to my knees, flapping its arms.
“What?”
–Eek.
It waved one arm, beckoning me.
I soon saw why.
Ring, ring—
The phone.
I patted the doll’s head.
“Good job.”
–Eek!
It grinned, pleased.
I eyed the ringing phone.
Who could it be?
The house phone was rarely used.
“Hello?”
No voice, just a faint hum like a dead speaker.
Click.
“Wrong number, I guess.”
Back to the TV.
Then—
Ring, ring—
“Who’s this?”
Cold silence again.
As I started to get annoyed, a young voice spoke.
“I’m Mary. I’m in the trash can.”
Click.
It rang again.
“I’m Mary. I’m by the telephone pole.”
Click.
“I’m Mary. I’m in the corner of the convenience store.”
Click.
There was a convenience store a minute’s walk away.
“I’m Mary. I’m in front of your house.”
Click.
Well, that was fast.
No doorbell rang, and no one was at the door.
Then the phone rang again.
A chilling message.
“I’m behind you…”
Normally, that’d be terrifying.
I whipped around.
A blonde girl with porcelain skin stood there, like a Western doll.
A piercing scream rang out.
–Kyaaa!
Not from me, of course.
Seeing me, she bolted for the door.
“She comes to me and she’s the one scared?”
Unfair.
But I couldn’t let her escape—an obvious evil spirit.
“I’ll be back. Watch the house.”
–Eek!
“You wanna come?”
–Eek!
“Hm… sure, why not.”
With the clown doll in my arms, I chased her.
She moved like she was teleporting—door, pole, trash can, appearing and vanishing like Hong Gildong.
But she couldn’t outrun my spiritual form.
“Go!”
I tossed the doll like a Pokémon.
It clung to her skirt.
–Kyaaa…
It was easy from there.
Subdued, Mary was exorcised effortlessly.
Her scattered energy absorbed into my hairpin.
“Didn’t expect her to show up at my house.”
First the voodoo doll, now this.
Come to think of it, that was Juhyeon’s doing too.
I sensed spiritual energy nearby.
About to turn, I hid my presence.
“Spiritual energy detected nearby.”
“So many lately. Is this the Ghost Gate’s power? Split up and search.”
They leaped meters in a single bound—psychics.
They passed, unable to sense my disguise.
I stared at their trail.
“Ghost Gate, huh.”
It’s that time, isn’t it?