Chapter 12: White Day Murderer(1)
It was an unreal scene.
Am I dreaming? Yoo Kishin wondered.
A sharp voice snapped him awake.
“Run!”
A voice like rolling jade.
Footsteps faded behind.
“G-Ghost…”
He should’ve followed the sound, but his feet wouldn’t move.
One set of footsteps stopped.
“Why aren’t you coming?!”
A pale hand grabbed him.
Seol Haru’s strength, despite her frail frame, was firm, her blue hair whipping.
– Heeheehee!
The knife-wielding janitor chased, shrieking eerily.
His eyes and twisted expression weren’t the janitor they knew.
Witnessing the paranormal he’d dreamed of, fear trumped excitement.
An inhuman entity, so close to death, was terrifying.
“Huff… huff…!”
Unlike his unathletic self, even sturdy Kim Dodam panted, pale.
Pulled by her soft hand, Yoo Kishin glanced at Haru.
She alone seemed calm.
“Did… did he go…?”
“Shh.”
I raised a finger at Kim Dodam.
He zipped his lips, and a chilling silence swallowed the space beneath the stairs.
We’d fled but couldn’t outrun the janitor, so we hid here.
He likely didn’t see us, but getting caught meant doom.
‘No way out.’
They knew it too, their faces deathly pale.
Soon, inhuman footsteps closed in.
– Where’d you go? Where’d you go? Where’d you go?
The pacing sound faded upstairs.
“Haa…”
“Phew…”
Kim Dodam and Yoo Kishin exhaled deeply.
My childhood friend wiped sweat, venting.
“What’s going on? Did the janitor lose it?”
In a hushed tone, Yoo Kishin replied.
“You know he’s not like that. A madman wouldn’t be patrolling.”
“Then why’s he wielding a knife?”
“Possession.”
“What?”
“An evil spirit. Like Regan in The Exorcist.”
Kim Dodam frowned, incredulous.
“That makes sense?”
“Sense or not, it’s happening. Now you get why the gate wouldn’t open.”
“It was just locked.”
“And your phone?”
“…”
He checked again—still dead.
As Dodam faltered, I felt it.
‘It’s started.’
We’d fallen into a ghost story set in Paradise High.
In Spirit Exorcism, crossing into the hidden realm was called “falling into the other side.”
This was that side.
But it seemed more dangerous than expected.
‘An evil spirit trying to kill so directly?’
Not a common type.
How did this thing show up?
I didn’t recall it.
I clenched and unclenched my small hand.
Trapped in this realm, my spiritual output was sluggish.
Should I observe for now?
“If it’s an evil spirit, what do we do? Can you take it down?”
“Don’t know. I brought protective charms, but no idea if they’ll work…”
Yoo Kishin pulled out a peach branch, salt, and a bowl.
“Won’t work.”
“Seol Haru…?”
“He’s got a knife. Don’t fight—find an escape.”
Think slasher movie.
The janitor had inhuman strength, like a boosted killer.
We were the prey.
Well, they were.
‘I can escape anytime.’
My goal was one: get them out safely while hiding my identity.
“Haru’s right. Fight a guy with a knife? Let’s find a way out.”
Kim Dodam stood, scanning the hall.
His trembling betrayed his usual tough-guy act.
I grabbed his hand.
“…!”
“Don’t shake.”
“W-Who’s shaking?! You’re the one clinging to me!”
“Okay, I will.”
“…Why’s she so fearless…?”
Grumbling, Dodam led us into the hall, Yoo Kishin following.
“Okay, he’s not nearby—”
Thud!
A noise from the stairs.
We looked, seeing two equally shocked faces.
“What the— you guys?”
An odd pair: Pyo Jiseok, the rumored delinquent, and Joo Kihyun, the timid kid who gave me candy.
“…Pyo Jiseok? What’re you doing here?”
“That’s my question. Why’re you all huddled up, sweating?”
“…”
We hesitated, choosing words.
Jiseok took it as pressure.
“Fine, fine, I’ll tell ya. Me and him go way back. Middle school. Just chatting on the roof. Right, Kihyun?”
“Uh? Y-Yeah.”
“Chatting this late…?”
“It happened. He’s kinda gloomy, y’know? Looked like he was repeating old mistakes, so I gave him a talk, now that we’re classmates. Good enough?”
Kihyun stayed silent, head down.
I spoke.
“See anything weird here?”
“Weird?”
“The janitor’s running around with a knife.”
“What?”
I summarized what happened.
Jiseok scoffed.
“New prank? You don’t seem the type. Kids talk about you—super pretty but unapproachable.”
“…?”
“Not so much up close. Wanna hang sometime? Even now’s fine.”
“Hey, Pyo Jiseok.”
Kim Dodam stepped in front.
“Not the time for a fight, so I’ll let it slide. Watch your mouth from now on.”
“Who’re you?”
“Her friend. And I’m not lying. A lunatic’s loose in the school.”
“Hah!”
Jiseok smirked, brushing Dodam’s shoulder as he passed.
“What is this, some 80s urban legend? I’m out—have fun.”
He threw a final warning.
“Kihyun, don’t forget what I said. Mess up again, and…”
Glancing at Kihyun, he headed for the corner.
Behind him, the janitor appeared, mouth torn to a clownish grin.
– Found you. Found you. Found you.
“…?”
And then.
Shunk—!
A glinting knife plunged into Jiseok’s neck.
“Arghhh!!”
– Found you, so I had to do this, kids are perfect, so quiet and good, hopping like frogs—
Jiseok’s eyes went blank as he collapsed, blood spraying.
The janitor stabbed him repeatedly, maniacally.
“Aaah!”
Kihyun screamed, bolting up the stairs.
Dodam and Yoo Kishin, frozen, scrambled after.
“Seol Haru! Hurry!”
Staring at Jiseok’s body, I kicked off.
Hiding in an empty classroom, terrified gasps echoed.
“Someone… someone died.”
What high schooler could stay sane seeing that?
My calm was due to being a ghost.
“Why’s this happening… we’re all gonna die…!”
Kihyun hugged himself, trembling.
I checked my phone.
“Time’s stopped.”
“Time?”
“Look. The numbers aren’t moving.”
“…”
They checked their phones, nodding.
Time was stuck since we entered.
“Why’s time frozen…?”
“Oh, I get it.”
Yoo Kishin’s eyes sparked.
“It’s not just possession.”
“What?”
“You’ve heard school ghost stories, right? Stare at a mirror at night, get pulled in. Or a gate to the afterlife opens at 4:44. This is like that.”
“We’re in the afterlife?”
“Not quite, but not our world. The view outside’s off too. What’s the trigger? White Day? But that alone…”
Muttering to himself, I closed my eyes.
The subtle negative energy and Jiseok’s death.
Partially dropping my mimicry, I realized something.
‘It’s like a dream.’
Like a horror game.
No matter who dies or what happens, clear it, and everything resets.
But exhaust all “coins,” and it becomes real.
Coins here are the living challengers.
‘Normally, I’d be excluded as a ghost.’
My mimicry was too perfect, blending me in.
A small doubt lingered, but anyway.
In this type of realm, the key was simple.
Clear the ghost story.
First.
‘Let’s find out what this thing is.’