episode_0004

I hurried into the classroom.

In our class, for some reason, the kids were looking at one place while making a fuss. The area the children were looking at was the space at the back of the classroom.

There, a silver-haired girl I knew was glaring at a boy.

“Do you not know what you did wrong?”

It was Sarah.

Sarah asked in a sharp voice towards the large boy.

The shouting that was suddenly heard earlier was also made by Sera.

“No… So I’m sorry! Have I committed some mortal sin?”

The large boy frowned after hearing Sarah’s words.

The boy was Joo-hyuk, the biggest boy in the class.

Joo-hyuk was also my friend. Because I went to the same kindergarten as that kid named Joo-hyuk. We were close enough that we would sometimes go out and kick a ball together when we were bored.

‘What’s going on?’

I felt strange when I saw Sarah and Joo-hyuk suddenly fighting. When I returned from my investigation at the newspaper department, there was a fight between people I knew. What on earth happened in class during that short lunch break?

First of all, it was my turn to step forward.

“What’s wrong with you both? What happened during lunch time?”

I made my way through the crowd of children and approached Sarah and Joo-hyuk.

Sarah looked at me, crossed her arms, and opened her mouth.

“… Something happened. Because of that boy who looks like a foolish bear.”

“No, Jinwoo, listen to me.”

Joo-hyuk looked at me and explained the situation with an expression of unfairness.

“There’s a desk over there that no one is using. There was candy in the drawer there so I ate it, right? Honestly, I was wrong up to this point. I just ate it without knowing who it was. I did it because I suddenly had a craving for something sweet.”

It turns out that Joo-hyuk ate Sarah’s candy.

It was a candy that Sarah used to put in her unattended desk every day.

“Did you get caught by Sarah after eating candy? That’s it. ”

“That’s how it happened. No, it’s still just candy! Shouldn’t I just buy a bag of candy tomorrow and give it to him? Isn’t it a bit excessive to get angry and scream like this?”

“Ha… ! It’s funny.”

Sarah, who was listening, snorted and glared at Joo-hyuk. Even though Joo-hyuk ate the candy as he pleased, he held his head stiffly in front of Sarah.

Well, I guess it’s because of the boy’s unique pride.

If you bow your head openly in front of a girl, it will be embarrassing.

“Barely? Did you think it was just candy? If it was just candy, I wouldn’t have said anything!”

“Candy is just candy! Did you spread gold on the candy? I understand, so do it in moderation!!”

Sarah and Joohyuk glared at each other with me between them. Joo-hyuk was the biggest in his class, so he never lost to anyone in a fight. I thought I probably wouldn’t be pushed back this time either.

A chilling voice came out of Sarah’s mouth.

A voice as cold as ice.

“You could die by picking up and eating everything you see.”

“… … What?”

“You could die.”

At that moment, there was silence in the classroom. Everyone fell silent, probably because they felt chills from Sarah’s voice. Joo-hyuk, who was holding his head stiffly, also became cautious in his actions.

“Eh, uh, uh… … .”

Joo-hyuk tried to answer, but he couldn’t because he stuttered. Finally, after Sarah’s eerie warning, the bell rang to signal the start of class. The fight that took place at lunchtime that day ended.

‘I don’t feel good.’

I had an ominous feeling even after class started. People who don’t know much might think it’s a normal fight between kids. It’s a fight that breaks out when you mess with someone else’s belongings.

Didn’t I tell you that last time?

The candy in the desk drawer is an offering to ghosts. Without realizing it, Joo-hyuk ate the food that was put in to appease the dead person. It felt like something bad was going to happen.

Eunseo Park.

In this classroom is Park Eun-seo, who died 10 years ago.

“Ah… .”

Joo-hyuk’s condition suddenly became strange.

Joo-hyuk, who was sitting in the front of the classroom, kept turning his arm as if his shoulder was hurting.

I could see Joo-hyuk continuously massaging and rotating his right arm.

“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

“Maw… . My arm hurts”

Joo-hyuk curled up and complained of pain to the point where the kids around him looked at him strangely.

The guy who was usually full of energy became as lethargic as a patient.

“Ah, ahhh… .”

He continued to complain of pain during class, so much so that the teacher asked him in a worried voice.

“Where is Joo-hyuk hurt?”

“My arm hurts so much.”

“Let’s go to the nurse’s office first.”

In the 5th period, Joo-hyuk couldn’t attend class and ended up going to the health room.

At that time, it was I who took Joo Hyuk to the health room. After receiving painkillers from the health teacher, Joo-hyuk rested on a bed in the health room. I left Joo-hyuk in the health room, went back to the classroom, and took class again.

━━Ding dong ding dong

Joo-hyuk did not return to the classroom until after 6th period and the final hour.

I was worried about Joo Hyuk. Even though his personality was a bit rough, he was a kid I had known since kindergarten.

‘Did you just leave the health room early and go home?’

Maybe he didn’t leave school early and was still in the health room.

After the funeral, I visited the health room again.

“Joo Hyuk.”

At that time, the health teacher was absent from the room. When I went inside, I saw a bed in the nurse’s room with curtains drawn. A pitch-black shadow could be seen beyond the curtain, and it looked like Joo-hyuk was lying down.

Joo-hyuk was still in the health room.

“School is over. Does it still hurt?”

“… … .”

I called Joo-hyuk through the curtain, but there was no answer.

Are you sleeping?

I opened the curtain and saw Joo-hyuk lying on the bed.

Joo-hyuk was asleep with his eyes closed.

However, there was something strange about the way he was sleeping.

“Hmm… .”

Joo-hyuk moved his body on the bed as if he was dancing. While shaking one arm violently. The sight of his body shaking while lying down was extremely bizarre.

“Uuuu… … ”

Joo-hyuk’s face, with his eyes closed, was distorted in pain.

“Joohyuk! Wake up!”

I think something will happen if I leave it like this.

I quickly shook Joo-hyuk and woke him up. As I shook his body hard while holding his shoulders, Joo-hyuk managed to open his eyes.

“Aaaa… !!”

Joohyuk woke up screaming and looked at me.

Joo-hyuk woke up from a dream and his body shook. I spoke to Joo-hyuk, who was shaking.

“Joohyuk! It’s me!”

“Uuuuu… . Yes.”

“What’s so scary? Did you have a bad dream?”

Joo-hyuk nodded his head vigorously at my question.

“Ugh, ugh. Because I took painkillers earlier, the pain went away. I fell asleep while lying down. But a strange girl appeared in my dream.”

“Strange girl?”

“Pa, a girl whose limbs are bent at strange angles. The eyes are empty… .”

In Joo-hyuk’s dream, a girl with a terrible appearance, almost like a corpse, appeared. Joo-hyuk, who was explaining it, was so horrified that he started to gag. Still, he continued talking to me.

“The girl suddenly grabbed my arm tightly. When I held it and shook it like crazy, my body went limp and shook. I could still hear his voice. Let’s play together… Let’s play together… continue… .”

━━Let’s play together

The girl in the dream grabbed Joo-hyuk’s arm and shook it wildly.

When I heard the dream story, I couldn’t help but get goosebumps. The image of Joo-hyuk, who was shivering alone on the bed just a moment ago, came to mind. It wasn’t a dance, it was Joo Hyuk being tormented by the girl in his dream.

It somehow felt like a balloon swaying in the wind.

“… … If I keep doing that, the dream is over thanks to you.”

“It’s a good thing you came to the health room.”

“Huhhh… ”

Joo-hyuk was crying and asked me a favor.

“I want to go home quickly! Jinwoo, please come home with me! huh? It still feels like someone is holding my arm. I miss my mom.”

Joo-hyuk, who was frightened, desperately searched for his mother.

I was afraid to be alone, so I decided to take Joo-hyuk home.

“Okay, let’s go together.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

I packed my bag and left the health room with Joo-hyuk.

We left the school and arrived at the crosswalk right in front of the main gate.

A long crosswalk, a red light in the distance, cars driving on the road.

The moment I saw the scenery, something just popped into my head.

It was an article by Park Eun-seo that I saw in the newspaper department today.

A triple collision that occurred 10 years ago at a crosswalk.

A 10-year-old girl who died a miserable death in the middle of it all.

‘Is it an object?’

The spirit of a person who died unjustly outside the house or in a foreign place is called a ghost.

It could be said that Eunseo also became an object. A ghost who keeps telling the children to play together.

But how can they play together when the children are alive and the other is dead?

‘How can a guest play with a person?’

When I thought about it carefully, I realized there was one way.

It was a method of killing living children and turning them into ghosts.

If there was a child who also became an object, it would be like having a friend for Eunseo.

“No way… .”

The moment I thought about it, a chill suddenly ran through my body.

I turned my head and looked at Joo-hyuk, who was standing right next to me.

For some reason, Joo-hyuk was extending his right arm forward and pointing toward the crosswalk.

It was right then.

“Aaaahhh… !”

Joo-hyuk walked forward while screaming. He raised his right arm forward and moved his body as if he was being dragged by something.

Right next to me, a large 1-ton truck drove toward the crosswalk.

━━Baaa

The truck came right in front of Joo-hyuk. Every scene seemed vivid to my eyes. Joo-hyuk screaming on the crosswalk, a truck man honking his horn in surprise, and a truck running at a speed that would be enough to kill a child.

“Joohyuk!!!”

I ran out at lightning speed and grabbed Joohyuk’s right arm.

If I hadn’t been nervous in advance, something big would have happened. It was truly a fleeting moment. The moment I grabbed his arm, a truck passed right in front of me.

“Heo Eok… ! Huh… !”

“Trigram, are you okay?”

“Uh, uhh!”

My friend almost died before my eyes.

After barely saving Joo-hyuk, I felt a chill in my stomach. It was the first time I felt the strong wind blowing as the truck passed by so vividly.

“Hey, guys! Are you not hurt?”

A man got out of the truck and approached us with a surprised expression. Fortunately, there were no injuries, so the man sighed in relief when he saw us.

“You cannot cross the crosswalk when the light is red! Be careful from now on!”

The man preached and then drove off in his truck.

I returned to the sidewalk with Joo-hyuk.

At that time, Sarah, who was coming out of school, walked near us.

Sarah must have seen from afar how we almost got hit by a truck.

“I just saw it all. Joo Hyuk almost died.”

“I almost died.”

“If we continue like this, dangerous things will continue to happen.”

Sarah said while looking at me.

Bright blue eyes were looking at me.

“I wrote this to your friend, Gaekwi.”