Ghost Story Club

Chapter 51: Eighth Ghost Story – Doomed Midterm Exam (2)

[2019, April 23 | Tuesday, 09:00]

[Lee Joon – Number of Attempts – 2]

[Ghost Story Point: 202]

[Causality Rate: 11%]

The next day, at 9 o’clock in the morning.

The first day of midterm exams had begun.

Starting from that day, which was Tuesday, I had to take a total of eight exams for three days, which would be continued on Wednesday and Thursday.

‘The first exam is Math.’

My grades in Math weren’t that good.

If it was Science or Korean History, having excellent grades was easier since all I had to do was memorize the key topics a day before and answer accordingly. However, in the case of Math, one needs to have the ability and skill to solve applied problems.

During the homeroom class, our homeroom teacher, Damim, encouraged us as best as he could before the exam started. After a while, the invigilator came with the questions and the exam finally began.

‘Oh, fuck. It’s harder than I thought.’

The thought crossed my mind as I received the question paper and finished solving the problems about halfway through.

I thought since I returned to three years in the past after taking the college entrance examination, I would be able to easily solve the questions of the midterm exam of the first semester of my freshman year.

However, as my eyes skimmed through the question paper, I realized they weren’t that easy.

Holding onto the studies of the three years of my past life as a life-line, I immediately skimmed through all the problems and solved the ones I could solve first.

As I was scribbling down problems that needed application using methods unknown to me, time was up.

“You are not allowed to fill up the OMR sheet after time is up. It’s considered cheating.”

Soon, a student behind me came to collect the OMR sheet. With a heart filled with regret and disappointment, I also handed the sheet over to him.

After the first exam was over, it was time for a break.

Since there wasn’t enough time to prepare for the next test, the students in the class gathered together and began to discuss how the previous test had just gone by.

Me, Sunah, and Dukhun naturally gathered around Gyeongwon’s seat.

“What? Why are you guys suddenly coming to me?”

“Among us, aren’t you the best at studying?”

“How was the test, Gyeongwon? I think the Math test was a bit difficult.”

Gyeongwon nodded at my urgent question as I lamented.

“It’s true that it was difficult. I think the teacher failed to have a balance between the difficulty level of the problems.”

“Huu, as expected.”

Sunah seemed to be relieved hearing Gyeongwon’s hypothesis and patted her chest.

Looking at everyone’s expression, I thought they all had similar opinions.

Hayoon was quietly preparing for the next test, and Jinhee was napping away as usual.

Second test was English.

As the break ended and the bell for the next test rang, the atmosphere in the classroom quieted down again.

In the silence of the students who were quietly preparing for the next test, the classroom door opened and a sonorous voice suddenly rang out.

Slid.

“Hello, students~!”

Teacher Jang Hwaeun.

Unlike the previous invigilator, who came in quietly while paying attention to the students who were likely to be sensitive and nervous due to the exam, the greeting was quite energetic.

Lowering our heads, we all simultaneously pretended to ignore the unexpected happy face as the teacher gave us a quick glance.

“Now is the time for the English test; hope you’re aware that cheating is strictly prohibited!”

As I thought about it, I realized it was my first time meeting Teacher Hwaeun as a teacher outside the club.

Teacher Hwaeun was in charge of English class for higher grades than us. Therefore, she had little interaction with the first years.

‘If it’s about English, hehe.’

My English grades were quite good.

Since It wasn’t a subject that required application like Math, and it was a field where knowledge would inevitably accumulate the more you studied, I had little trouble solving the questions. With leisurely speed, I answered the question paper brimming with confidence. However, an unexpected enemy, called Grammar, ambushed me at the last moment.

I had studied the subject for three more years in the past already, therefore, comprehension of passages was a piece of cake for me. Perhaps it was the reason why I never bothered to pay much attention to the parts that required grammar, such as verbs, nouns and pronouns. Therefore, I couldn’t comprehend how to answer the questions after seeing them for the first time in a long time.

‘Hmm, since the answer to the previous problem, and the one before that were number 5, I guess the correct answer should be number 5 again, right?’

“How was the test? I think English was also quite difficult.”

“Prez, why don’t you stop whining like a child and start preparing for the next test?”

As soon as it was time to take a break, I ran to Gyeongwon with the members, lamenting how hard the test had been. In response, Gyeongwon only gave me a side eye filled with contempt.

“Yes, it was difficult.”

Sunah giggled as she agreed.

The last test of the first day of midterms was, Science.

During the midterm exam period, instead of regular classes, students were usually only responsible for taking tests on about three subjects a day and they could return home before lunch.

As soon as I finish the integrated science test I was taking, I could leave school right away.

‘It’s a piece of cake!’

Tests were important, but I was more thrilled to be able to finish them early.

Slid-

Surprisingly, the science teacher, who was responsible for teaching science to the first years, came in person to supervise the test.

The teacher always had an expressionless face along with blunt speech. He didn’t have much interaction with the students either. His daily period only consisted of just attending classes and leaving.

With a somewhat expressionless mien as usual, the science teacher silently began handing out question papers without even greeting the students.

‘Science will be over in only 10 minutes.’

It was true.

Compared to Math, which could only be solved with skill no matter how much you know the concept, Science tends to lean somewhat more towards memorizing.

Even in my past life, I had always ranked top in Science. Therefore, I began to solve the problems with more confidence than I had in English.

2nd, 4th, 1st, 3rd… .

‘Good. With this pace, I can solve all the problems early and even sleep for 30 minutes.’

As my head suddenly turned sideways, I saw that Jinhee was already sleeping.

It certainly wasn’t because she was better than me in Science. She just loved to sleep.

‘3rd, 2nd, 4th, 5th…’

As I quickly filled out the OMR sheet, I already reached the last problem.

‘Good. Excellent speed!’

Raising my pen, I glanced at the last question.

[36]

If you remember this problem until the age of 20, you will receive a sudden phone call at the year you turn 20 and be asked for the answer to the question.

A blind man was stranded on a deserted island with his wife.

At the brink of starvation, the man’s wife managed to catch a seagull and feed it to her husband. After that, the two waited for rescue.

Before long, a rescue ship arrived a few days later. However, the man’s wife unfortunately died of starvation.

As the man grieved alone, he was rescued from the island. Stepping into civilization, he remembered the meat of the seagull his wife had cooked for him and visited a seagull restaurant to reminisce about the memory of their last moment.

However, just after taking a bite of the meat, the man committed suicide by stabbing himself in the neck with the fork in hand.

Why did the man suddenly commit suicide?

What is this?

For a moment, I thought I had seen something wrong. Rubbing my eyes, I read the problem again.

[36. If you remember this problem until the age of 20…]

I didn’t see anything wrong.

At the end of the question paper, instead of a question related to science, an unusual ghost story was written on it.

There wasn’t even an OMR circle to fill it.

Feeling confused, I quietly looked around.

Some students who have completed their exams were seen comparing their question papers to their OMR sheet back and forth, checking them again from the beginning to see if they had made any mistakes or skipped any questions.

There was no student who had his head tilted with a confused expression like me.

“…Teacher, here.”

I cautiously raised my hand and called the teacher.

Noticing me, the teacher slowly sauntered over.

Nodding his head, he asked what was wrong.

When I pointed to the last problem on the test question with my hand, the teacher glanced at it briefly before responding.

“Leave it blank.”

After spatting out this simple command, he turned around and walked away.

What the hell was going on?

Was it printed incorrectly?

‘That can’t be possible.’

As something clicked in my mind, I chuckled to myself.

‘It’s been a month. Quite a long time passed.’

Ding~ dong~ Dang~ dong ♬

The first day of midterm exam had finally come to its end.

I submitted my OMR sheet to the teacher as the bell rang. As soon as the teacher left, I quickly went to Gyeongwon’s seat.

Soon, Sunah and Dukhun also followed.

Hayoon, who had been busy preparing for the test, decided to join us this time. It seemed she wanted to discuss the tests and compare grades along with us.

For the first time in a while, Jinhee wasn’t sleeping. But she had a melancholy expression on her face as she blankly stared ahead sitting in the back.

“Guys, there was a strange question on my question paper. What about yours?”

“Strange question?”

The members tilted their heads at the sudden inquiry.

I quickly snatched the question paper that Sunah was holding and compared it with my question paper.

Her question paper was as usual.

When I checked the others’, their question paper also seemed to be perfectly normal.

The last question describing a ghost story of a man committing suicide, was only written on my question paper.

“Hey guys, would you like to take a look at my question paper?”

“What’s wrong?”

The members gathered around to look at my question paper. But soon, their expressions fell.

“This is….”

“So many wrong answers.”

“Joon didn’t study.”

“It’s incredible how many wrong answers there are.”

I jumped in embarrassment.

“No, not the answers! Look at the last question! Last question!”

“Let’s see, 36th number question? All of our question papers have 35 questions. Hmm. If you remember this problem until the age of 20, you will receive a sudden phone call at the year you turn 20 and be asked for the answer to the question…”

Gyeongwon suddenly stopped reading and tilted his head before opening his mouth.

“It seems like a ghost story.”

Ghost story.

The members murmured around me.

“Ghost story?”

“What kind of ghost story is it?”

“Does anything come to your mind?”

As everyone began to ask each other about similar ghost stories, Dukhun stepped in and interrupted.

“That’s a Japanese ghost story. It originated from Japan.”

“Japanese ghost story?”

“The ghost story named ‘Dolphin Legs’ is a Japanese ghost story which is a bit like this: if you remember the word ‘Dolphin Legs’ until the age of 20, you will receive a sudden phone call at the age you turn 20 and asked a question ‘Do dolphins have legs?’ If you answer incorrectly, you will die.”

“Ghost story…”

As I murmured, Gyeongwon also nodded beside me.

“I remember that too. There is also another ghost story similar to this called ‘Purple Mirror.’”

“Purple mirror?”

“It’s similar to the ‘Dolphin Legs’ from before. The story is like this: if you remember the word ‘Purple Mirror’ until you become an adult, you will become as gloomy as the colour purple. However, I remember that it was a type of ghost story that took advantage of the psychology of a person remembering the word in more detail the more one tries to forget it.”

Hearing them mentioning the ghost stories, I wanted to ask why such a creepy story was written on my question paper, but soon I shook my head.

No, it wasn’t exactly a question.

Perhaps because the past month went by like a breeze, it took me a moment to realize that I had been attacked by another ghost story. It was also no surprise that ghost stories attacked me at such a strange time since it had been awhile.

Gyeongwon and Dukhun, who explained the situation to some extent, looked at each other proudly, as if they had done something extraordinary.

“Huhu, by the way, Dukhun, I didn’t know you also know ghost stories?”

“Ah, if it’s related to Japan then– I. Know. Everything.”

A ghost story which originated from Japan.

“So what do you guys think the answer to this problem is?”

“The reason why the man committed suicide.”

As I asked expectantly, the two suddenly closed their mouths.

“Although I have heard about the story once before, I can’t quite remember the answer.”

Gyeongwon tilted his head as he pondered.

Slid.

“The answer sheet is out~”

As we were busy chatting, the representative of our class, a handsome guy with broad shoulders, entered the classroom holding the answer sheet and began writing the answers in large letters on the blackboard.

As soon as the answers were written, students around began noisily comparing their worksheets with each other.

Just amidst the bustling environment, someone’s mobile phone rang eerily.

[··· ♬… .]

Just like in the movie Call Me, where an ominous melody rings from a music box, the ringtone rang loudly among the chattering students as if holding a devastating omen.

[T/N: Call Me is a 1988 American erotic thriller film about a woman who strikes up a relationship with a stranger over the phone, and in the process becomes entangled in a murder. Source: Wikipedia]

Whose phone was ringing?

[ ….. ♬… .]

When I looked around carefully, I realized that the sound was coming from my pocket.

“What?”

I had my phone turned off the whole time because of the exam.

Why was it ringing?

Not to mention, the ringtone wasn’t even my original caller tune.

Shakily, I took the phone out of my pocket and quietly looked at the LCD screen.

[Restricted Caller ID]

[ … ♬… .]

The eerie melody gradually grew louder as time passed.

“… Guys.”

The first one to notice my unusual expression was Gyeongwon.

“What are you going to do, Prez? Are you going to pick up the call?”

Sunah also looked at me with a nervous expression.

Amidst the noisy classroom, where students were busy correcting their answers, an eerie melody rang ominously.

Perhaps the ringtone was distracting them, some students looked at me with annoyed eyes, as if asking why I wasn’t answering the call quickly.

“I’ll answer the call. Please stay with me.”

The members nodded simultaneously, as if it was obvious.

[ …… ♬… .]

Dud.

Placing my shaking fingers on the reception button on my phone’s screen, I clicked on it gently.

And then slowly put the phone to my ear.

For a moment, only silence greeted me from the other side.

[Why did the man commit suicide?]

Before I could comprehend what was going on, a strangely modulated voice turned into a mechanical sound came from the other end of the phone.

I waited for a while, however, the man didn’t say anything else.

And, amidst the eerie silence.

[One]

[Two]

[Three]

[Four]

[Five]

The mechanical sound suddenly started counting.

I hurriedly looked at the members, finally realizing that I needed to give an answer immediately.

“Does anyone know the correct answer?”

Perhaps noticing my pale and anxious face, others comprehended how serious the matter was as their faces also turned anxious. Gyeongwon hurriedly turned his phone on and searched on the Internet. At that moment, Sunah also opened her mouth to say something.

[Time’s up.]

Hick-!

Just as the voice finished speaking, I felt a tremor running through my whole body and my throat being constricted. It was as if my chest was being squeezed hard. And then, I felt a strong shock pulsing in my heart.

Huu.

I collapsed on the floor, clenching my eyes shut and clutching my chest.

Sunah and Gyeongwon were surprised as they supported me.

“Joon! Joon!”

“Prez! What’s going on!”

As my consciousness slowly disappeared, I could only make the scene of my members creating a hassle with pale faces.

“Prez! Prez…”

“Joon… Ah…”

[You are dead.]

[Restarting from the previous checkpoint.]

[Loading…]

***

5th floor of Nakseong High School. Clubroom of Ghost Story Club.

It was a lazy afternoon.

“Zzz.”

Jinhee, lining up four chairs side by side in the corner of the clubroom, made a makeshift bed and was taking a nap.

“Wheeze, wheeze.”

Dukhun, who just stole two chairs from the hallway, entered the clubroom dragging the chairs with both hands while wheezing along the way.

“Wait a minute, Dukhun. Let me enter.”

Hayoon entered the clubroom, passing by Dukhun, who was dragging two chairs behind.

And.

“Joon, how is your preparation for the exam going?”

Sunah asked me, who was watching everything with wide eyes and stiff body.

Instead of answering, I just looked at Sunah blankly while standing there dumbly.

A moment later, I opened my mouth while looking around.

“Hey, guys.”

All the members of the Ghost Story Club quietly raised their heads.

“Just now, I died…”

T/N: I may not be able to post any new chapters in the upcoming month because of my exams. Check out my Buymeacoffe page for advance /angrybird