[2019, May 25th | Saturday, 9:20 PM]
[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts - 2]
[Ghost Story Points: 781]
[Causality Rate: 32%]
"Ugh, phew…"
I spread the blanket I had bought on the bed in my room and plopped down on it.
By now, my friends were probably in the room across the hall, each changing clothes and washing up.
'It feels like we're on a retreat.'
The first sleepover of Ghost Story Club.
We haven't done anything yet, but it was already fun.
We didn't come here just to have fun, but still, the idea of sleeping over somewhere with friends was enough to make me excited.
Even the haunted boarding house, where someone almost died, couldn't suppress the excitement of adolescence.
'Should we order some chicken later while taking night watch shifts together?'
As these thoughts drifted through my mind, my gaze suddenly turned to the window.
The small window above the door that looked out into the hallway.
Sunah and Hayoon were in the room across the hall beyond that window.
Changing clothes, unpacking their bags, going into the shower room to wash up...
"..."
If the wall weren't there, would they be just five meters away?
Both of them undressing like that?
"...…"
I decided not to think about it too deeply.
Fantasizing about the club members would only make things awkward when I met them face to face later.
But the excitement of guys and girls staying together somewhere just made my heart race.
I got up from the bed, wondering about the unexpected.
'Okay, I should start washing up too.'
Swish—
I pulled back the shower curtain and stepped inside.
The shower room was a narrow space just big enough for one person to stand in, but it had proper bathroom tiles, a sink, a mirror, a showerhead, and even a drain. It was basically a miniature version of the bathroom at home.
I took off my clothes and threw them into the room, then turned on the shower and savored the water flowing over my entire body.
Shhhhhhh—
The warm water came out quickly, it was actually pretty decent.
And just as I tore open the disposable shampoo I had bought at Daiso and started squeezing it into my hand…..
Knock.
"...?"
As I was about to put it in my hair, I lifted my head.
"..."
"..."
...It felt like someone had just knocked on the wall.
I waited for a moment, but it stayed quiet, so I went back to washing my hair under the flowing water.
Shhhhhhh—
Thud!
"...!"
Suddenly, I heard a loud thump from the wall right next to me.
I quickly turned off the tap.
"..."
"..."
What the f*ck.
Why the hell was someone banging while I was in the middle of a shower?
With shampoo still rinsing down my face, I squinted and stared at the wall.
Since I had turned off the shower, there was no more knocking.
...Could they have knocked because the water sound was too loud?
'That guy's crazy.'
There was a shower room inside the room for a reason, why would they bang on the wall for that?
For a moment, I glared at the wall where the sound had come from, at the shiny tiles of the shower room.
Then, I quietly turned the faucet back on.
Shhhhh….. Whooosh.....
"..."
A stream of water trickled down softly.
As I stayed like that for a moment, only then did the person next door become quiet.
'... Crazy. I can't even turn on the water the way I want.'
I washed myself with a weak stream, feeling extremely upset.
* * *
"Whoo."
I pushed aside the shower curtain that prevented water from splashing into the room, stepped inside, and grabbed the towel I had laid out beforehand.
Then I slowly dried my dripping body.
'Hmm, if I can even wash up like this inside, there really wouldn't be any reason to go outside.'
There was even a mini fridge along with a shower room.
Maybe some people even just pee in the shower room.
'Unless they're going to the bathroom down the hall to take a dump, there must be people who just stay cooped up in their rooms 24/7.'
There must be people like that, right?
'I think I've seen it a few times on the news.'
The owner or manager once entered the room of a boarding house resident who had skipped rent for months and ran away, only to find trash piled up to waist height.
They even stored their own feces in plastic bags.
There really are all kinds of people in this world.
'It's not just boarding houses. Terms like shut-in and hikikomori. Those are well-known for a reason.'
Why don't they leave their rooms?
For someone like me, who always has friends and parents to welcome them outside, and places to go and things to do, it was incomprehensible.
Is there some other reason for them to stay cooped up in their rooms like that?
"..."
After drying myself off and changing into my pajamas, I collapsed onto the bed.
Creeeak-
Knock, knock.
Maybe the creaking of the bed bothered them again, so the person in the next room knocked on the wall once again.
My hand instantly pointed in that direction.
'What, huh? What's your problem?'
I can't even sit on the bed however I want in my room, or turn the water pressure up in the shower?
Can't I even sigh freely in my room?
I silently glared at the wall, cursing under my breath.
'Some people are just too sensitive.'
Even if it really bothered them that much, they should blame the boarding house owner who built the place like this, not someone else.
Why were they making a fuss over the perfectly sane person next door?
'Did you go crazy from studying too much or something.....'
Suddenly, a news report about noise between floors in modern apartments came to mind.
While apartment residents are busy fighting, killing, and suing each other over floor noise, the construction company responsible for the shoddy construction that caused the noise in the first place is happily pocketing the money.
'Haa. Guess I just gotta endure it.'
I would be leaving this place in just two days anyway.
'What time is it?'
I opened the Status Window to check. It was 9:35.
There were 25 minutes left until we had to regroup.
I thought the girls would need extra time after showering, drying their hair and all that, so I generously set the meeting time for 10, but it turned out I have more time left than I expected.
I stepped out of the room to take a look around the boarding house and grab some water from the kitchen while I was at it.
The kitchen was a space with a small dining table, various cooking utensils, and one large communal refrigerator.
'Is this where the former manager who ran away saw the ghost?'
I stood there, drinking water from the communal cup at the dispenser.
Sure enough, at this time of night, the window acted like a mirror, clearly reflecting what was behind me.
'They said they saw a woman here.'
Not just the previous manager, but all the managers before him consistently said the same thing.
I saw a strange woman.
'...They say no woman has ever died in this boarding house, so why would something like that appear?'
Of course, like Bang Chunja, the long-necked ghost that once appeared in our house.
If it's someone who died before this boarding house even existed, it might be possible.
After finishing my drink while thinking deeply, I walked back to my room.
But I noticed something strange and suddenly stopped in my tracks.
'…The lights are off?'
The room next door.
The person next door who had been making noise with knocking and banging for a while.
The lights there were off.
'... Hmm.'
A question suddenly occurred to me.
Of course, it's not unusual for the lights to be off.
The person could have just been sleeping and knocking on the wall on my side because they were disturbed by the noise.
But the problem is, could that be possible inside a room with the lights off?
A boarding house room with no light source at all except for a small window facing the hallway.
Inside that room, the person was precisely banging on the wall facing the shower area where I was.
If the room layout was the same as mine, then moving from the position of a person lying on the bed to bang on the shower wall I heard about would require moving completely diagonally from one end to the other.
Given the narrow size of the boarding house, there were also chairs and desks in between, so it would be quite difficult to move through.
'So they just crawled out in the darkness like that just to knock with all their might?'
There was no need to think about it any further.
I decided to ask the person myself.
'I was curious about who exactly it was, anyway.'
I quietly knocked on the next door.
Knock, knock.
"...Is anyone there?"
Of course, if someone had lived here for a long time and was familiar with the layout, it might be possible for them to suddenly jump up in the dark and knock on the wall midair.
Even these seemingly trivial things could be connected to strange phenomena.
'It's better if you check on things that bother you in a timely manner and feel at ease.'
When the door opened, I could ask if it was noisy earlier and apologize, saying I'm new here and didn't know.
I knocked on the door once more.
Knock, knock.
"... Anyone there?"
Suddenly, the door behind me opened.
Creak—
I turned around to see a boarding house resident with a thick beard glaring at me.
I guess the knocking noise was bothering him too.
I gave a quick bow to apologize, then pointed to the door of the next room to indicate that I had business with the person inside.
The student frowned and opened his mouth.
"No one lives there."
"…Huh?"
He made a clearly annoyed expression.
"No one lives there. It's empty."
"…Ah, yes. Sorry."
The resident gave me one last glare, then shut his door.
Left alone again in the hallway, I quietly stared at the door of the room next to mine.
I gently pulled the doorknob, but of course, the room was locked.
'…No one lives here? Really?'
Then who was banging on the wall?
* * *
I returned to my room.
Facing the room next door where the sound had come from, I quietly knocked.
Knock, knock.
The knocking returned immediately.
Knock, knock.
"..."
"..."
I stared at the wall, thinking.
'Who's knocking?'
Hmm.
That exam taker definitely said the room was empty.
Still, I knocked once more.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"..."
"..."
This time, the sound didn't return.
Even after knocking several more times, there was no response.
I opened the door briefly and poked my head out, but sure enough, the room was still dark.
'... This is weird.'
I returned to my bed, shivering.
My gaze slowly shifted from the ceiling down to the floor.
'Nothing there, right?'
The space was small, so there wasn't much to look around.
There's no way something could suddenly pop up somewhere I hadn't checked.
I muttered quietly to check the time and calm myself down.
"…Status window."
Paat-
[2019, May 25th | Saturday, 9:46 PM]
[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts - 2]
[Ghost Story Points: 781]
[Causality Rate: 32%]
"Lee Joon's Status Window."
Pop-
"STATUS WINDOW
Name: Lee Joon
Age: 17
Title: Main Character
Disposition: [Two-faced]
Special Ability:
1. Lip Reading [B-rank]
2. Life Design [C-rank]
3. Banality Manifestation [A-rank]
Quirk: Last-second Cramming"
'I guess it's about time to get a new special ability.'
Muttering as I looked at the three filled slots in my special ability section.
I pressed on that item once.
Then a message appeared before my eyes.
Pop-
[You may unlock a new ability by spending 200 points.]
[All three ability slots are currently full, so any new ability you acquire will be replaced with an existing one.]
[Replaced abilities are all stored in the clubroom. You can enter the clubroom to switch and equip abilities again.]
[Please click on the slot you want to replace with the new ability by tapping the existing slot.]
After the Apocalypse ghost story, I had acquired over 700 points.
I've been so busy preparing for the competition these past few days that I haven't had time to think about how or where to use it.
The reward for the quest I would be receiving once Gyeongwon's understanding reached 100, Education Competency ability. I just saved them vaguely, planning to use them for that, and left them untouched.
But after witnessing the strange phenomenon just now, my thoughts shifted a bit.
'…Still, it's 700 points, I guess I can use a little, right?'
The mysterious knocking from the next room.
I was definitely on the verge of encountering a ghost story.
At this point, gaining a new ability wouldn't be a bad idea.
'But if I have to replace one here...'
If I clicked on a special ability slot to spin the roulette, the existing ability would be removed and stored in the clubroom.
'If this were the clubroom, I'd have messed around freely, switching them back and forth.'
But of all times, I was outside right now.
I thought I should have done it at school during the day, but there wasn't any urgent situation, and I've been really busy all week.
But after what just happened, I felt like there was a ghost story here about to attack me, so maybe I should try it out.
I have a lot of miscellaneous skills, but none that are actually useful in battle, so I've been feeling frustrated until now.
'...And it's also fun.'
It was like opening a random box in an RPG game.
Having a supernatural power that works in reality for free was definitely thrilling.
'Alright, let's do this!'
Pop—
〈Special Abilities〉
1. Lip Reading [B-rank]
2. Life Design [C-rank]
3. Banality Manifestation [A-rank]
'If I have to replace one here, of course, it makes sense to change the useless Life Design, right?'
Lip Reading seemed like it would be useful in many ways, especially since we were in a boarding house where we couldn't make loud noises.
The Banality Manifestation is not only powerful but also the minimal safety net that can undo the twists of the checkpoint.
So naturally, the one left was the Life Design ability with the lowest rank.
'Honestly, I've benefited from this, but looking back, I can't say it was all that helpful.'
The advice it gave was just stuff like picking up the 100 won my classmate dropped and buying the drink I wanted, or dodging the punch from Dukhun who woke up suddenly.
'During the Eunjung incident, the counselor drugged me and tried to manipulate me, so it warned me beforehand to kill myself…..'
Thinking back, that was after I had already taken the medication she gave me.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized I could have gotten through it on my own even without the ability.
So I boldly pressed down on slot number 2, the one with the Life Design ability.
Pop-
[You may unlock a new ability by spending 200 points.]
[The newly acquired ability will be replaced with the 'Life Design - C-rank' ability slot.]
[Unlock Ability (200) / Go Back]
'Click!'
[Spending 200 Ghost Story Points to unlock a new ability in the second slot.]
[Current Ghost Story Points: 781 - 200 = 581]
Soon, a 16-bit cheerful melody began to play, and words began flashing by on the second slots swiftly.
♪ Tada Tan Dada Tan~ ♬
[…y – Life Design – Identity Forgery – Lip Reading – Joint Regression –…]
Swish—
[…ty Forgery – Lip Reading – Joint Regression – Fast Walking – …]
"Hooo… Hoooo… Hoooo…"
The roulette began spinning.
Words with various abilities written on them.
I felt my breath quicken.
What. What is this feeling?
Swish.
[…Lip Reading – Joint Regression – Fast Walking – Detachment – …]
"Oh… Oh… Ohooh..."
Aaaaaah...
What. What's happening to me.
I couldn't take my eyes off the roulette. It was electrifying. My heart was pounding. I'm so excited.
Filled with euphoria, I watched with sweaty palms, letting out a strange groaning sound alone.
A lightning-like thrill, the kind you feel when gambling, surged through my body.
Spin, spin, spin, spin, spin, spin, spin–
[…sion – Fast Walking – Detachment – Goddess of Luck – Speed Eating – …]
Spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin–
"Uwaaaaah… Uwaaaah… Shiiiiiit….."
The roulette seemed to be spinning even more wildly than usual today.
Watching it made my head a complete mess too.
Spin, spiiiin, shiiiiiit...!!
The roulette spins, the world spins, life spins...!!
Spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin—
Woooow... Woooow... Oh my god...
Was gambling always this thrilling!
Flash—flash—flash—
Spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin—
[…king – Detachment – Goddess of Luck – Speed Eating – Perfect Student – …]
Flash—flash—flash—flash—flash—
Spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin–
[…achment – Goddess of Luck – Speed Eating – Perfect Student – Li…]
Weird~ So weird~!!!
I feel like I'm going insane. I'm going crazy!
I feel like I'm losing my mind, like I'm going crazy, I feel like I'm losing my mind, like I'm going crazy, I feel like I'm losing my mind, like I'm going crazy, I feel like I'm losing my mind, like I'm going crazy…..!!
I suddenly screamed at the top of my lungs as I watched the roulette spinning wildly.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
"Let's goooooooo ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Rumble—
A thunderous roar burst forth from deep within my core!
In the deathly quiet room of the boarding house where I couldn't even breath, an ecstatic voice filled with the thrill of gambling, echoed thunderously!
"AAAAAAAH LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Flaaaaaaaash—
♪ Ding-ding-ding!!!! ♬
Pop…!!
[You have acquired the Special Ability - The Perfect Student.]
"Hah. Hah. Hah. Hah. Hah. Huff. Huff. Huff. Huu. Huu. Uh~ Phew. Hoo. Hoo. Hoo. Hoo."
"THE PERFECT STUDENT
Rank: A-rank
Trigger Condition: Passive
Ability: This ability can be activated when facing a random situation. If the probability is 10% or higher, success is guaranteed."
"Oh, oh… oh…."
Eh, A-rank~! An A-rank has appeared~~!!
Bang, bang, bang!!
Fellow boarding house residents immediately rushed to my door and started banging on it.
They even started cursing at me from beyond the door.
"Are you crazy!?"
"Shut the hell up!!!"
I trembled as I pressed the third slot.
Ha, ha. Let's do it, let's do it again.
It was just too, too thrilling!
Pop—
〈Special Abilities〉
1. Lip Reading [B-rank]
2. The Perfect Student [A-rank]
3. Banality Manifestation [A-rank]
[You may use 100 points to unlock a new ability.]
[The newly acquired ability will be replaced with the 'Banality Manifestation – A-rank' ability slot.]
[Unlock Ability (200) / Go Back]
"If, if the checkpoint gets messed up, I can just go back to the clubroom and change it….!"
"Have you gone crazy! Come out here, you b*stard!"
Thump, thump, thump—
The other boarding house residents were furious at me for shouting in my room.
But I ignored them and focused entirely on the gamble.
'Cliché ability, if the checkpoint's messed up anyway, I can just go back to the starting point and change it~! Then there's no reason for me to carry this around all the time!'
It's not even a skill I use regularly, and it's just a backup for emergencies. Carrying it around all the time is a waste of an ability slot!
"S-So let's do it one more time, just one more..…"
"He's in here, here! I'm telling you, some crazy b*stard keeps screaming!"
"Excuse me, can you come out? Hello?"
People were gathering in front of my room, murmuring and restless.
But I was completely consumed by the gamble.
It was just so thrilling~! I had no idea something like this existed in the world!
Just as I was about to press the unlock ability option again with a spark in my eyes.
Clunk, creak—
"Joon…..?"
The door of my room creaked open, and Sunah peeked her head in.
Only then could I finally snap back to reality.
"Hah, hah, hah…"
"Joon....."
Sunah looked at me with a worried expression.
It seemed like she must have grabbed the master key from the counter and opened the door to come in.
Behind her, a few other residents from nearby rooms were frowning and glaring at me.
"Haa, haa, haa... Sunah..."
"..."
After a brief hesitation, Sunah turned around and, facing the people glaring from behind, apologized on my behalf.
"We're sorry, we're really sorry..."
"..."
Still, people kept glaring, so Sunah quietly closed the door and entered the room.
I calmed my breathing and wiped the drool that had dripped around my mouth.
Before I knew it, I was sweating, and my whole body was still shivering from the aftereffects of the gambling-induced catharsis. My heart was racing, the blood pumping fast through my veins.
The strange, tingling sensation that lingered in my fingertips felt almost surreal.
Sunah sat down next to me, her face filled with concern, water still dripping from her hair.
"Are you okay, Joon…?"
"…S-Sunah, hoo, hoo."
I raised my palm, as if to ask her to wait for a moment, and focused on calming my breath.
Once I regained a bit of my composure, I looked around the room, nodding slowly to myself.
"Uh, I-I'm fine. I'm fine."
"You were shouting loudly..…"
"I-I'm sorry. There was definitely a ghost story here. I was just affected."
I stared at the message still floating before my eyes.
[You may use 100 points to unlock a new ability.]
[The newly acquired ability will be replaced with the 'Banality Manifestation – A-rank' ability slot.]
"…Go back, go back."
I quickly canceled it, and my current Status Window appeared before me.
[2019, May 25th | Saturday, 9:52 PM]
[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts - 2]
[Ghost Story Points: 781]
[Causality Rate: 32%]
〈Special Abilities〉
1. Lip Reading [B-rank]
2. The Perfect Student [A-rank]
3. Banality Manifestation [A-rank]
I nodded again, as if trying to fully come back to my senses.
"Thank you, Sunah. Thank you for coming."
"..."
Sunah quietly scooted over closer to me and sat beside me on the bed without saying a word.
I let out a deep sigh once more.
The thrill had been so intense that I could still feel my heart thumping in my chest.
"Ah, that was close. I almost got in trouble."
"..."
"Thank goodness you came at that moment….."
But for some reason, Sunah remained silent.
I turned my head to look at her.
"... Sunah?"
"....Yeah."
Sunah sat quietly beside me, her cheeks flushed.
The fresh scent of shampoo still lingered in her slightly damp hair.
Her eyes glanced briefly at the floor of the boarding house like a baby-bird, then shifted subtly toward the door as she pursed her lips.
"...…"
"..."
Alone on the bed with this adorable girl I just want to hold in my arms.
What is this. That weird feeling was creeping back again.
A strange feeling washed over me, one completely different from the rush of gambling earlier.
Uh—uh—uh—uh—uhhhhhh—