"...Hello."
In the middle of the night, Detective Park Gangwoon woke up and brought his phone to his ear.
On the other end, he could hear a woman's sobbing.
"...?"
He half-opened his drowsy eyes and checked the caller ID on the phone screen again.
[☎︎ Noryangjin Boarding House Owner]
"...Hello!?"
The Detective hastily sat up and picked up the phone with both hands.
[De-Detective… my husband… my husband…]
He immediately got up and grabbed his coat.
Then, using the spare phone he carried outside of work, he quickly sent a text to someone.
[Lee Joon. We've got a case.]
* * *
Just past Exit 3 of Noryangjin Station, turning the corner revealed a five-story boarding house building. In front of it, officers from Dongjak Police Station were already on the scene for an attempted suicide case, and an ambulance carrying the owner was just pulling away, brushing past Detective Park Gangwoon's car.
The Detective parked his third-generation Sorento midsize SUV, which could hold seven people, nearby and hurried toward the building. But the owner's wife was nowhere to be seen, as she had gone with the ambulance that had just left.
In front of the building, only a few police officers stood around chatting while they waited.
Detective Park Gangwoon approached one of them and greeted him, showing his ID.
"Thank you for your hard work. I'm Detective Park Gangwoon from the Seoul Metropolitan Investigation Unit."
"Oh! What brings you here...?"
The officer on standby straightened up, puzzled by the sudden appearance of a detective from the Metropolitan Investigation Unit, but Gangwoon offered a vague explanation.
"I just got a call from the wife of the owner who just attempted suicide and rushed over. I knew them personally."
"Ah, really? But she already left in the ambulance just a moment ago….."
"I know. She asked me to take a look inside the boarding house."
"Inside...? But our people have already—"
"Yes, they are there. Excuse me, but would it be alright if I took a look around with you? I was here checking things out on Monday, so I might be able to notice if anything has changed."
"Ah, well then... as long as you don't touch anything, feel free to take a look around. I'll let them know."
"Thank you."
Detective Park Gangwoon had much more experience and a higher rank in terms of career, but in the end, being from a different jurisdiction just made someone else his superior.
Therefore, he made a polite request, and fortunately, the officers from the Dongjak Police Station granted permission without hesitation.
Gangwoon bowed his large frame in greeting and then stepped into the building.
* * *
Eventually, he got off on the fifth floor, opened the glass front door, and stepped inside.
Right next to him, the counter door was open, so when he peeked inside, he could hear the Dongjak Police Station officers who had arrived earlier quietly chatting among themselves.
And the wall of the counter was covered in the owner's bloodstains.
As he opened the door a little wider and looked inside, he saw the police officers with tired expressions staring at the counter computer amidst the gruesome scene.
When Gangwoon stepped inside saying, "Thanks for having me," the two officers merely nodded in acknowledgement, perhaps because they had already been informed via radio.
American police officers are said to give free donuts if they work at night, but in Korea, they didn't even have that, so they both looked exhausted.
Thanks to that, they didn't pay much attention to Gangwoon coming in and just left him be. Gangwoon casually asked the officers who were absentmindedly looking at the monitor screen.
"Is there anything caught on the footage?"
"No, nothing much... For now, it's definitely a suicide attempt. There's not much, but would you like to take a look?"
They quietly made room for Gangwoon.
To the officers from the local police station, Gangwoon was like a veteran uncle figure.
"Thank you."
One officer stepped back against the wall, making space, and Gangwoon stepped into it.
Then he lowered his head to look closely at the monitor screen.
When he visited before, the general manager was sitting on that spot and showing him the CCTV footage of the moment he said he saw a ghost, but this time, the police officers sat there and showed him the footage of the moment the president attempted suicide.
"First of all, since the counter is where manager works, there are no cameras installed around, so the suicide attempt scene itself wasn't captured here."
"If there were, that would be illegal."
Gangwoon answered, glancing around the counter where bloodstains were splattered on the wall.
The police officer then pointed to the screen and continued his explanation.
"Here, this is the footage taken by the front door camera exactly at midnight. The boss was working at the counter and was just about to go home."
"…Was the boss working alone?"
The Detective asked while watching the footage of the boss coming out of the counter door at midnight.
The police nodded.
"What about the manager? There was a chubby guy here on Monday."
"Park Kibum? That guy ran away."
"When?"
"Was it the day before yesterday….."
The chubby manager he talked about on Monday, the one who said he saw a ghost.
Are they saying he couldn't take it anymore and ran away?
'…I told him to definitely contact me if anything weird happened again.'
However, perhaps the boss felt bad about calling him back, so he insisted on working in his place, and ended up getting into trouble.
Just then, on the screen, the boss, who had just locked the counter door and was heading to the front entrance to go home, suddenly paused in his steps.
He clapped his hands as if remembering something, then turned around, unlocked the counter door again, and went back inside.
"From the moment he went in here, nothing was captured. Since the camera's filming from the side, not the front."
The counter door was slightly ajar, perhaps he forgot to close it properly.
From the light seeping out through the gap, a person's shadow flickered for quite a while, as if the boss was doing something inside.
And then, all of a sudden.
'Creak.'
The door that was slightly ajar because the boss didn't close it properly when he went inside.
The door suddenly started to close on its own, slowly sliding shut.
'Click.'
Although no sound was actually recorded, the door closing by itself seemed to make that very noise.
The screen remained unchanged like that for quite a while.
By this time, given the timing, the boss probably attempted suicide.
So that's probably why there was no movement.
But then, a very strange scene was caught on camera.
Slid—
The counter door, which closed on its own, slowly opened again this time.
And at the very bottom of the door, the boss slipped his head through the gap and stared directly at the camera.
When he went in, his shoulders were raised and he walked in straight, but when he came out, his head appeared way down low, something that couldn't happen in a normal situation.
He was crawling out with his cheek pressed against the bottom of the door gap.
It seemed like he was not really trying to come out, but just barely peeking, with his face pressed completely against the floor, and only his neck stretched through the gap.
He slowly looked at the camera and suddenly started muttering something with a blank expression.
"..."
"..."
Then, once again, he slowly pulled his head back inside.
Moments later, with a sharp splatter, blood sprayed out through the open crack of the door.
The screen stayed still for quite a while again. Then his wife was seen entering the boarding house to find her husband who wasn't even answering her calls even though it was well past his time to come home.
The police paused the video at that point.
"...It's strange, isn't it?"
"..."
Gangwoon didn't answer, he just gave a single nod.
"Let's watch it again. Just once more."
"Ah, yes. Here..."
At that moment.
Behind them, from the hallway, the door creaked open, and a female exam student wearing thick glasses and a scholarly look poked her head in.
"…Um, excuse me. Sirs, when are you leaving…?"
"Ah, sorry. We're almost done here."
The police officers and the Detective apologize in unison, instinctively, their response shaped by years of dealing with civilians.
Come to think of it, it was the middle of the night.
Dozens of people in this boarding house were already in bed, trying to sleep.
"…I think we should pack up and leave now."
"Can't we watch it just one more time?"
"Well… maybe you could come back and watch it later..."
The police officers stood up, looking troubled but ready to leave.
"Well, there was no sign of anyone coming in, and as you can see from the footage, it was obviously something he did alone inside the counter, so….."
He did show some strange behavior, but it was clearly an attempted suicide that didn't need to be investigated further.
Gangwoon, with no other choice, stood up along with the police officers and stepped out through the glass front door, joining them in the elevator.
Besides, it wasn't like watching the footage one more time would really reveal anything new.
For cases like this, there was someone more suitable.
There was a boy who was much more of an 'expert' than him.
As they got into the elevator on the 5th floor, the Detective asked the police officers.
"But did you find the weapon?"
"Ah, that's a bit questionable. There are plenty of tools here, like scissors and box cutters, but none show signs of being used."
"… Really?"
"But well, the footage is pretty clear, right? And the guy isn't dead. He's still alive for now. Whatever he used to cut his wrist, we can just ask him directly once he wakes up…"
* * *
As he stepped outside the building, he saw a boy waiting for him.
A bright-looking high school boy, wearing just a simple coat hurriedly thrown on.
"Detective."
"… Joon. You came right away."
Nodding, he approached.
Though he looked ordinary, his sharp eyes easily stood out. This boy was a first-year student at Nakseong High School and possessed a unique ability to travel back in time.
"This is the place I came to check out once after receiving a request. Back then, it seemed like nothing more than a misunderstanding, so I left. But now, something like this has happened. I'm really surprised."
"Thank you for calling me."
"Nah, you're the one I should thank for having rushed over even at this late hour."
Detective Park Gangwoon patted Lee Joon's back firmly with his large hand.
Since the boy didn't have a sturdy build, his body shook wildly with each pat from the Detective.
"But what should we do about this? I already looked around a bit, and the boarding house residents were complaining about the noise, so we had to wrap things up. From the police's perspective, it's clearly a suicide attempt, so there's no real reason to investigate further."
"It's on the 5th floor, right?"
Instead of blaming anyone, the boy quietly looked up at the building, seemingly thinking something.
The Detective nodded.
"The entire 5th floor of the boarding house has been having strange things happen for a long time, and today's incident happened inside the counter."
"..."
"And the strange things are stuff like you encounter..."
The Detective explained that all the previous managers had quit and run off, most of them had lost contact entirely, and one had even committed suicide.
"But the reason I thought it was just a misunderstanding when I checked it out before was because, in the footage the manager showed me, the window where he claimed to have seen the ghost. There was a faint shadow cast on the floor tiles opposite that window. So I figured it was just someone standing behind, and the manager got spooked by their reflection in the glass."
Haa, the Detective let out a sigh.
"I might've been wrong."
"We'll only know once we look into it. That was then, and this is now—might be two different things."
The boy pulled his coat tighter and gazed up at the boarding house for a moment, then asked.
"What do you think, Detective? Does it feel like just a ghost story to you?"
"…I'm about 80% sure. Especially the boss's last actions were really off."
Just then, maybe because it was a Friday night, a few heavily drunk students from the boarding house stumbled by, so the Detective and Lee Joon stepped aside for a moment.
Lee Joon soon began to think deeply about something as he stepped back, then opened his mouth.
"I can bring my club members and stay here to investigate. We have something to prepare for a competition on Monday anyway."
"… Really?"
"We were planning to spend the whole weekend together preparing for the competition, so I think it'd be fine for us to stay here. It'd be like a training camp, while looking into things. What do you think, Detective?"
At that, the Detective gave a firm nod and patted Lee Joon on the shoulder, his hand landing with a reassuring thump, thump.
"If you're willing to do that, I'd really appreciate it."
Despite his young age and the strange things he'd experienced, he was someone who clearly understood what his priorities and mission were.
Aside from being a bit clumsy at times, he was someone you could truly trust to handle the strange things that were happening in this uncanny world.
The Detective patted his back again, nodding several times to himself.
"If you can do that, I'll be grateful, really grateful."
* * *
[2019, May 25th | Saturday, 09:30 AM]
[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts - 2]
[Ghost Story Points: 781]
[Causality Rate: 32%]
"I'm sorry~ I'm sorry~ I! Said! I'm! Sorry!"
I motioned for Jinhee to cut it out as she rolled and bounced around on the sofa.
"It's fine, it's fine. If you couldn't find a substitute, then it can't be helped."
"Aren't you being way too carefree! We all agreed right away!"
"Ugh, I saaaid I'm sorryyy~! I'm soooorrryyy!"
As Jinhee, still sprawled on the sofa, began furiously tossing the cushions, the other club members hurriedly scrambled out of the way.
"Ugh, okay, okay, so just stop already…"
"Seriously, stop it, Jinhee."
Gyeongwon and Hayoon grumbled, clearly annoyed by Jinhee's antics.
Even Hayoon, usually calm, was brushing dust off her clothes with an irritated look.
"Alright, alright, let's all calm down…"
After things settled down, the club members sat neatly in a line.
I stood in front of the whiteboard and continued the explanation.
[Ghost Story Club Weekend Training Camp]
"Last night, Detective Park Gangwoon suddenly called me, so I rushed to him in a hurry. There was an incident at a boarding house in Noryangjin. You could call it a series of suicides, or perhaps a string of disappearances."
All the managers who claimed to have seen ghosts ended up losing contact, going missing, or committing suicide.
Finally, even the owner, who started working as the manager, attempted suicide after showing strange behavior.
"Well, the incidents already happened, but what the Detective is really worried about are the students still living inside that boarding house."
So far, only the managers have had problems, but no one knows how far the damage might spread in the end.
"Why not just kick them all out? Shut the place down."
Jinhee spoke, wanting to close someone else's business on a whim.
I shook my head.
"No, we can't. More than 30 people live there, and even if they leave immediately, most of them came from rural areas and don't have a proper place to stay. And the boarding house itself was started by a couple who borrowed money, so shutting down the business because of ghosts is out of the question."
"Even after such an incident happened, the place is still operating..."
"For now, it's not even a crime, just the owner's suicide attempt alone. And the previous managers didn't have incidents inside the boarding house; from the outside, it just looks like they ran away."
Besides, it was not even a restaurant or anything like that, it was officially a lodging that rented out rooms for people to live in. So shutting it down and kicking everyone out overnight was practically impossible.
"Oh, but the good thing is that the owner's life is not in danger. But the hospital says he hasn't regained consciousness yet."
"That sounds serious..…"
Sunah muttered quietly.
"So originally, I planned to gather you guys in the clubroom all weekend to prepare for the competition, but then I thought, how about turning it into a training camp instead? That's what I've been saying so far. What do you think? Isn't the timing just right?"
"But if it's a boarding house, it will be really quiet, right, Prez? We need a space where we can all gather, make noise, and practice our presentations for the competition."
"That's okay. Right below there is a study lounge."
"What's a study lounge?"
"It's similar to a book café, but it's just a space you rent specifically to study. As long as it's not too noisy inside, you can do things like practice presentations there."
Jinhee nodded, perhaps understanding what I meant when I said book café.
At night, we would take turns keeping watch in the boarding house to monitor any strange occurrences, and during the day, we would prepare for the competition in the study lounge downstairs.
"We'll stay overnight at the boarding house where the strange phenomena are happening, keeping watch at night as the Detective requested, but we won't miss out on preparing for the competition during the day. We'll take turns keeping watch for the strange happenings at the boarding house overnight, and as soon as we wake up in the morning, everyone will head down to the study lounge together to prepare for the competition. That's how we're gonna do it."
"We don't have to stay there during the weekdays too, right?"
Gyeongwon asked with a somewhat worried expression.
"If it's for the competition, we can probably get permission to stay out over the weekend, but staying until Monday might be a bit….."
"Me too… I have my grandmother at home, so I can't stay there too long…"
"It's okay. I won't stretch it out past next week."
I made sure to firmly tell them that I understood that part.
Of course, I made them promise last time during the wiggle wiggle incident when I handed out money.
In exchange for me taking responsibility for their lives, they would be forced to come out on weekdays to do club activities whenever necessary.
'But I don't think it's that much of an emergency.'
I could do it if I had to, but I didn't want to cause family conflicts by pushing the members too hard.
"My current goal is to solve as much as possible today and tomorrow, especially over the weekend. If we can't fix it by then, well... we'll figure it out later. And about the rooms we'll be staying in."
Detective Park Gangwoon has already settled things with the owner's wife of the boarding house and secured a room for the six of us to stay in.
Of course, on the surface, he introduced it as a shaman he knew who would go and help out, which was why we needed a person to be our face, Teacher Jang Hwaeun.
"But where is she?"
"Don't know."
"..."
I felt dumbfounded, so I immediately called her, and Teacher Jang Hwaeun's flustered voice, sounding like she had just woken up, echoed loudly through the room on speakerphone.
[Oh no, guys~ I'm soooorrry~~~ Since it's the weekend, I overslept~~~~]
"Oh, yes… It's okay..."
[What should I do~~~]
Her voice rang out so loudly it made our ears sting.
The club members pointed at the phone, silently pleading to lower the volume.
"Then just take it easy for now, and later in the evening, you can just come by to see us after we move into the boarding house. We're planning to stay there for the weekend."
[Group stay~~?]
"Yes, they say it's haunted, so we're gonna do a training camp to prepare for the competition and also catch some ghost stories."
[Okay~ Okay~~~~ See you later~~~~]
After hanging up the phone with the teacher who was talking loudly in a high-pitched voice, I looked around at the club members.
"So, we'll stay there tonight, Saturday night, and tomorrow night, Sunday, too. Then on Monday morning, we'll all leave the boarding house together and head to school for the competition. How's that? No one has any issues with that, right?"
"Ah, there is! Lee Jinhee!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you damn son of a pig! How many times do I have to say I'm sorry! F*ck, f*ck!!"
Jinhee immediately rushed over and started beating him.
I figured he went overboard, so he deserved to get hit, I should have held him back.
Jinhee worked a night shift part-time job on weekdays, and since Sunday night counts as a weekday night, she actually worked Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights.
'She still hasn't found a replacement for that Sunday night shift.'
So, in the end, Jinhee could only stay with us tonight, but she has to go to work tomorrow night and wouldn't be able to stay with us then.
But after hearing Jinhee's side, it's understandable. She wanted to skip, too, but the night shift mainly involved cleaning the machines, which was quite different from the day shift, and there weren't many people who knew how to do it.
That's why she was so frustrated when she tried to find a replacement the day before.
"It's alright, if you can't find a substitute, there's nothing we can do. It's not like we can tell you to quit your job today or anything."
"Hey, just so you know, if you want to support me financially, you better tell me quickly."
Jinhee put Dukhun in a headlock and looked at me.
"Even if you tell me to quit later and I do, it still takes a month to hire someone and hand over the work. If you're going to do it, say it in advance."
"Um… I'll think about it."
I had previously subtly suggested to Jinhee that she consider quitting her part-time job because I could give her living expenses.
Until now, Jinhee's part-time job and club activities had never overlapped, so I had just let it be, but this time, they overlapped for the first time.
'Wait, isn't it like I'm raising Jinhee?'
Saying it like that sounds kinda weird.
Like I was actually taking care of her.
'Of course, if I give her living expenses, I'm technically raising her…'
Operation Raising the Delinquent Girl!
"Ahem, ahem. Let's get back to what we were doing. We'll keep preparing for the competition here until the afternoon, then everyone can go home, eat dinner, and pack things like towels or a change of clothes. We'll meet again at the boarding house at 8. Got it? 8 p.m., Noryangjin Station, Exit 3. Okay then, Gyeongwon, let's finish what we were working on."
"Yup."
Adjusting his glasses, Gyeongwon took the baton from me.
He pulled his laptop out of his bag.
"Starting from today, we'll start making the PPT in earnest, and we all have to prepare for the presentation together. If you look here…"