episode_0024

The residents of Mugok Village live while possessed by ghosts.

Since Sarah said that, I had an idea. Among the ghost stories I’ve heard so far, there were quite a few stories about ghosts possessing people.

When I came to my senses, I found myself doing something without realizing it, but it turned out to be the work of a ghost.

When I woke up during the night, I found myself in a haunted house, and it turned out that I was possessed by a ghost.

“Are all the village residents possessed by ghosts? Then it makes sense.”

“Right? I thought it was a bit strange ever since you looked into the guest house yesterday. There’s no way the villagers near Chilryong Mountain are living well, right? I don’t even know why people live in such an ugly place in the first place.”

I thought of the lady at the bed and breakfast I met last night. The lady at the bed and breakfast we were talking to at that time didn’t seem to find anything particularly strange. However, since I only saw it briefly during the night, I couldn’t conclude that the woman was fine.

“If you stay here and do something wrong, won’t you be in big trouble?”

“Let’s go out now, Jinwoo. I’d better just pack my bags and leave.”

It was dangerous to continue staying at the guesthouse. A villager possessed by a ghost could have attacked us. We packed our duffel bags and quietly left the annex. Because it was still early, there was no one walking around and it was quiet outside.

“First, let’s secretly search the management office. Rather than just climbing the mountain, it would be better to do some research.”

“You’re sneaking in? If the door was locked, how did you get in?”

“If the window is open, you can go in. If it was locked there, you could break the window and get in.”

“Thinking is hot, isn’t it? After all, he is the son of a detective.”

“Could you please leave out the term “detective’s son”? Because I’m embarrassed.”

No matter how I thought about it, going straight towards the mountain like this was a dangerous move. Judging by the presence of spirits, it meant that something was clearly happening near Chilryongsan Mountain. If I searched the management office, I might be able to find records about the mountain. We immediately set off towards Chilryong Mountain, where the management office will be located.

We came out onto the main street of the village.

At that time, I heard a familiar voice coming from the direction of the guesthouse.

“Students! Where are you going without eating?”

The lady at the bed and breakfast was coming out of the house and calling us.

Standing behind us was the lady from the bed and breakfast we saw last night. The moment I saw the lady, I was a little surprised. It was now 6 am. I didn’t expect that lady to be awake at this early hour.

“Wow… .”

“Uh… .”

First, Sarah and I pretended like nothing was wrong and talked to the lady at the bed and breakfast.

“… I’m taking a moment to look around the village!”

“The scenery of the village is nice. Let’s take a walk.”

We said we were going for a walk, but the lady at the guesthouse didn’t let us go easily.

“Are you two going for a walk? Ouch! Still, let’s eat breakfast at my house. I woke up early in the morning and cooked food for the students.”

“Rice? I don’t think there was any mention of meals being served here.”

“Even if you don’t write it down, you still have a rural spirit. Are we going to just starve our students? The food is all cold, so come in quickly and eat.”

The lady at the guest house smiled warmly and tried to feed us. But we had no desire to eat the food provided by the villagers. I didn’t want to eat food served by someone who might be possessed by a ghost.

“Trigram, it’s okay. Since we ate breakfast, I’ll just go.”

“Why are you in such a hurry? Is something wrong?”

The lady at the bed and breakfast looked at us with a puzzled expression, then clapped her hands as if she suddenly remembered what happened yesterday.

“Ah… ! You said the students were going to the mountain, right? Is there someone looking for you?”

It was the moment when the word ‘mountain’ rang out from the mouth of the woman at the guesthouse.

Then something strange happened.

“Students… Are you going to the mountains?”

The expression of the lady at the bed and breakfast who was having a normal conversation turned strange.

His face became unfocused and hazy, as if he had been drugged.

“Yes, yes! If you’re going to the mountains, you should send it away. I have to send it to you right away.”

“No. We have no intention of going to the mountains right now.”

“Why?”

“It’s dangerous, so I’ll go when it gets brighter.”

“You can go now.”

The lady at the guest house smiled and opened her mouth.

“Acid is not dangerous.”

Mountains are not dangerous. That’s what I heard last night. Those were the words I heard from a ghost that was shaking its neck. However, the words that had been heard from the ghost were now flowing out of the person.

“Acid is not dangerous. It’s not dangerous, so you can go now.”

“It’s not dangerous? Do you know how many people went missing there?”

“Acid is not dangerous. I went there too, but nothing dangerous happened.”

Conversation didn’t work. The lady at the bed and breakfast kept repeating the same thing like a broken radio. The woman’s voice, which grew louder, rang out in all directions. It didn’t end with just a voice ringing out.

━━Squeak!

“Mountain? Who said you were going to the mountains?”

“Who goes to the mountains? This is truly a good thing!”

The village residents who heard the sound came out of their houses one by one. Some residents came out wearing pajamas, as if they had just woken up. The lady at the guest house smiled and told the residents about us.

“Hey, students! I said I was going to the mountains!”

“Students are here?”

“I have to go to the mountain quickly.”

“We should send it to you.”

The villagers who came out all had dazed expressions. Her focus was blurred and her speech was unstable, just like the lady at the bed and breakfast. In an instant, as many as six villagers approached us. It was approaching with unsteady movements, like a sleepwalker.

Sarah frowned and muttered.

“Everyone is fascinated.”

The villagers were clearly out of their minds. If I stayed like this, I could be caught by the locals and forced to go to the mountain. We tried to escape through the crowd of residents. But the moment I tried to run, something completely unexpected happened.

“Don’t touch those kids over there!”

A man’s voice rang loudly among the residents.

The villagers who were approaching us stopped.

A middle-aged man appeared among the village residents.

“Even if you take me to the mountains, I will take you with me! You guys don’t touch it!”

At first, I thought it was a villager possessed by a ghost.

However, unlike other residents, the middle-aged man’s expression and gait were fine. He appeared to be the only normal person among the villagers, who all seemed to be drugged.

“Ah… Nam Hong, are you here?”

“Nam Hong, you are going to take the students yourself?”

“Yes, old man! Because I know the mountain trails best in the village.”

Nam Hong.

It was a name I heard from the lady at the guest house yesterday. It is said that in this village there is a mountain keeper named Baek Nam-hong. He was a person who ran a management office near Chilryongsan Mountain. He was a person who knew more about Chilryong Mountain than anyone else.

Nam Hong walked up to us and spoke to us.

“Let’s go quickly. Guys.”

“Where?”

“Let’s go to the management office.”

We had no choice but to stop trying to run away and think for a moment. I didn’t know whether to trust or doubt the person named Nam Hong who appeared out of nowhere. Even though he seemed to be more normal than other residents on the outside, he could actually be possessed by a ghost.

“What should I do?”

“Hmm… .”

I couldn’t trust Nam Hong yet.

However, we were planning to visit the management office of Chilryongsan Mountain anyway.

There would be no harm if Nam Hong took us directly to the management office.

“Let’s go to the management office first. You can’t just go to the mountains.”

We ended up following Nam Hong.

While preparing to take out the military sword at any time.

*

To conclude, there was no need for us to swing our military swords at Nam Hong.

After some time, we arrived at the management office of Chilryongsan Mountain.

As soon as he entered the office building, Nam Hong closed the window and drew the curtains.

Nam Hong spoke to us without being able to see the inside from the outside.

“What are your names?”

“This is Jinwoo.”

“Count.”

“Jinwoo and Sarah. This guy advises, you guys should go home right away. Climbing Seven Dragon Mountain is dangerous. I don’t know if you knew, but people are going missing on that mountain.”

I heard that climbing Chilryongsan Mountain is dangerous. It was an obvious statement, but it couldn’t help but sound welcome to me. Because all the other villagers were saying strange things. Surprisingly, Uncle Nam Hong was speaking normal words alone in this strange village.

“It’s dangerous? Earlier, other people said that it was safe to climb the mountain.”

“That’s… .”

Nam Hong thought for a moment and then continued.

“It’s a bit awkward to say this, but. The villagers here are crazy. Everyone turns strange when they hear the word mountain. When outsiders come to the village, they do everything they can to send them up the mountain.”

“Why is Mr. Namhong okay?”

“There were times when I, too, felt crazy. But when I prayed to God, I gradually came to my senses.”

Nam Hong opened a desk drawer in his office and carefully took out a rosary. It was a tool used when praying at church. A cross was attached to the end of a long rosary made of string.

“When I held the cross and prayed every day, my mind became clear.”

Only then did we realize why Nam Hong was maintaining his sanity alone in Mugok Village. Believers who had devout religious beliefs were not easily possessed by ghosts. Uncle Nam Hong seemed to have gotten rid of the ghost through faith.

I was able to trust Nam Hong to some extent.

He was the only person in the village possessed by a ghost with whom he could have a normal conversation.

“Anyway, go back home! I’ll send you out of town. It was a lie when I said I would take you to the mountain earlier.”

“I can’t just go. I have something to ask you.”

“What are you curious about?”

There were two things I wanted to ask Nam Hong. I wanted to ask if he had seen a ghost that resembled his father and what was happening on Chilryongsan Mountain. After wondering which of the two to ask first, I chose the latter. Because what was happening on the mountain could have put us in danger right now.

“Why are people going missing in the mountains? I heard that once upon a time, a shaman was found dead here.”

“You want to know why strange accidents happen?”

“Yes.”

Nam Hong looked at Sarah and me and frowned.

“I saw something on the mountain. But even if I tell you what I saw, you won’t believe me… .”

“I will believe it, so tell me. The only one who knows much about Chilryongsan Mountain is you.”

“Umm… .”

Nam Hong finally opened his mouth cautiously towards us.

“… It may be hard to believe, but There is a monster living in Chilryongsan Mountain. I have seen it myself.”

“A monster?”

“I saw a pure white beast! A white beast that looked like a tiger was eating people.”

Nam Hong’s story continued.

It was a story about a pure white beast.