Chapter 8: Second Ghost Story - Laughing Girl (4)
<Violence and slight Gore. Readers Please be Advised.>>
When I came to, I was sitting at my desk.
The morning rays were shining into the ssroom.
The students were quietly sitting.
I was at school.
<em> School.</em>
This.
was school, huh.
I was briefly in a daze, before letting out a big sigh.
Haah
I was alive.
Regardless, I was alive.
<em>I came back.</em>
I was back at that miserable entrance ceremony.
It wasnt even the first time.
My gosh.
?
No, it was a bit off.
The fact that it was morning and a ssroom was still the same.
But something was slightly different.
What is it? Something was different. What was it?
The lights.
In the morning, because the sun was bright, it was difficult to tell if the lights were on or not. Because of that, it took me longer to realize that the lights were <em>on</em>.
During the entrance ceremony, the lights were definitely off because of the ckout.
<em>Whats the date today?</em>
I immediately took out my phone from my pocket and checked the date.
[March 5, Tuesday. 07:59]
At that time, the door opened violently.
Gasp, gasp
It was SunAh.
SunAh, who had barely avoided beingte, roughly sat down at a nearby desk and began to catch her breath.
I had returned to the morning of that same day.
After a brief moment, the balding middle-aged homeroom teacher entered the ssroom, chuckling and announcing the seat distribution method.
Now~ everyone. Starting with those of you in the front,e out and pick out a piece of paper.
The students in the ss slowly stood up and lined up in front of the teachers desk.
I could see SunAh and GyeongWon among the students in the line.
<em>This time, I returned to the same morning.</em>
I wondered what the standard was.
As I was contemting that, I also stood up and got in line.
<strong>Shuffle.</strong>
<em>Which paper did I choosest time? Was it this one?</em>
After opening the sheet I chose, it was, fortunately, 26the same one asst time.
Since I had returned, I had decided to avoid making changes and instead, I was going to maintain the previous flow and slowly discover more about the situation.
When I went to the desk that corresponded with my number, I could see my partner, DukHun, breathing harshly as he organized his belongings in the seat next to mine.
<em>Last time, I was the first to greet him. My understanding of him rose when I discovered that he was an otaku from his speech patterns.</em>
I suddenly wondered if my status window would match with what I knew now, or with what was known at that moment in timebefore I regressed. To test that theory, I opened DukHuns status window first, before greeting him.
<strong>Poof-</strong><blockquote>
Name: Oh DukHun
Age: 17
Disposition: ???
Special Ability: ???
Quirk: ???
Understanding: 15/100</blockquote>
<em>Hmmm .</em>
My understanding of him had already increased.
It seemed like the system transcended, and was unaffected by the regression.
Well. I could have confirmed that through the statistics menu on the main menu screenst night.
Hello, nice to meet you. Lets get along.
Wheeze Nice to meet y-UwU~
And after a bit of light conversation, I asked the same question I had asked before.
DukHun, you know the announcement printout that was distributed and then collected right away, right?
Yeah.
I heard there was some weird stuff written on it, do you remember?
DukHun, who had been watching anime on his phone, took out his earbuds and began to stare off somewhere behind me.
Aaah, are you talking about theughing girl-<em>desuka</em>?
Yeah, thats right. Do you remember?
DukHun began tough as he responded.
When you see theughing girl, you must never act like you can see her-<em>aruyo</em>
You cant act like you see her?
<em>Dame</em>.
Besides that, are there any specific words you remember?
<em>Zenzen</em>.
Dame and Zenzen, what do they mean? Is it Japanese?
DukHun flinched, and then answered.
It means you cant and not at all.
I see. Thanks.
DukHun put his earbuds in again and began to focus hard on his anime.
<em>So those words didnt mean much, after all.</em>
I went to visit SunAhs seat after.
The first thing that I saw was HaYoon, who was exuding the atmosphere of a precious daughter of the upper ss, calmly reading a book.
Next to her was the poor SunAh, who was restless due to meeting her partner for the first time.
When she saw me approach, her face changed to show a weing expression.
She looked like she wanted to greet me quickly, but because of her shy personality, she seemed to hesitate.
When I saw SunAh acting in that manner, I couldnt help but feel a bit affectionate.
Was it because just before this, we had spent time together running for our lives?
Or was it because I could start our friendship over, without the burdensome incident that urred before?
Hello. I saw you were almostte today.
My grandmother woke me upte
Do you just live with your grandmother?
Yeah
How about your partner? Did you greet her yet?
Not yet
HaYoon briefly peeked in our direction before returning to reading.
I then greeted her.
Hello, Im Lee Joon.
In response, HaYoon greeted me brightly, as if to suggest she had never put on a stoic expression.
Yes, hello. Im In HaYoon.
Do you happen to remember the announcement sheet that they distributed and took back yesterday?
Yes, why?
I heard there was a weird warning on it, do you happen to remember it?
I remember. Are you curious?
Yes, Im curious. Will you tell me about it?
HaYoon put her finger to her lips, making a gesture that suggested she was thinking.
White and smooth hands, slender fingers, tidy and trimmed fingernails.
I think it was If you discover a girlughing in an unusual manner at school, pretend you didnt see her and just act naturally until she passes by.
Its very creepy.
It was here that I had suggested to SunAh that we should go to the school store because she was feeling a bit nervous the first time.
<em>Lets avoid the school store.</em>
Thinking that, I faced SunAh as I finished the sentence.
Right? You also think it''s creepy, right?
SunAh flinched, but then she started smiling, as if she was relieved.
Yeah, its weird.
And so, the three of us spend the rest of break chatting about what middle school we graduated from and other typical topics like that.
The next ss was English, but because it was the first lesson, the ss was simplespeaking your name and introducing yourself in English.
The next break arrived.
Instead of visiting the school store, I entered the hallway and observed the store through the window.
<em>Where did that girle from?</em>
After waiting a bit, I saw something white pop out on the other side of the school walls, along the boundaries. It was at the wall, right next to the school store.
The pale white face of the brightlyughing girl popped up.
Theughing girl was standing on the other side of the wall.
She climbed up the wall and onto the school stores roof, then slowly crawled across the roof. Once there, she plopped herself right at the store entrance.
<em>So that was why she appeared at the entrance so suddenly, even though there was such a big crowd.</em>
As I watched the situation unfold, sweating, GyeongWon came up next to me and started to speak.
Hello. Its our first time speaking since we saw each other yesterday. What are you looking at?
Umm, uh GyeongWon.
When GyeongWon saw how startled I was, he followed my gaze out of the window. When he discovered the woman, he frowned.
What is that person doing?
GyeongWon, you see
I hesitated a bit before resolving myself to speak up.
GyeongWon, I think thatdy may be theughing girl that was mentioned on the announcement sheet yesterday.
What?
DukHun and HaYoon did think that the warning that said to beware of theughing girl was weird, but they did not know much beyond that.
However, the person who had realized that the announcement was a manual ghost story was GyeongWon, and only him.
If it was him, he might have known something more.
At the same time, the murmurs of the students near the school store could be heard.
Wow, that scared me
Who are you, olddy? Dont block the path and move aside.
Fuck, stop blocking the pa
It wouldnt be long before thedy would make her move.
I hurriedly asked him a question.
GyeongWon, this might be weird, but answer me right away. What do you have to do if you want to survive a manual ghost story?
GyeongWon tilted his head and looked at me.
Answer me. How does the main character in the manual story survive?
Main character?
He seemed really flustered.
Quickly! Whateveres to mind!
That is I think I told you yesterday that technically, there is no main character in that story. There is no introduction, development, turn, or conclusion.
Suddenly he stared at me in a way that suggested he was looking down on me.
Did you perhaps not get it yet? Its a simple concept.
However, I didnt give in. Instead, I pushed back.
I fucking understood, so just tell me, how do the people who see her survive? Thats what I want to hear!
Despite his high pride, it seemed he had no resistance to cursing. He seemed to flinch at the pressure I applied.
After a brief thought, he answered with what he remembered.
Probably, uh since it''s a manual ghost story, you just have to follow the manual? Since it''s in the form of a warning and all.
!
Afterwards, GyeongWonughed as he looked out the window again.
Youre uselessly serious. Did you see that olddy and think about that? Thats just an insane woma
I AAAAAMMMMM NNNNNOOOOOOOOTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The woman let out a piercing scream and threw something in our direction.
The industrial grade box cutter.
It flew in a straight line at the hallway window, and
<strong>Crash!</strong>
It broke through the ss and pierced GyeongWons forehead.
Ugh
The young master couldnt even scream before his head was forced back.
The boxcutter had been thrown with such force that it had forced GyeongWon a long way backwards.
<strong>Plop.</strong>
* * *
* * *
His body stopped only once it hit the wall.
His head hung down and his body leaned against the wall.
It had only been a day since I had made friends with that prideful guy.
Ahn GyeongWon.
It happened way too suddenly.
Except for the few students who had been in the hallway, nobody had noticed.
Because the ce where GyeongWon had copsed was not visible from the outside, it seemed like the people at the school store did not realize what had happened.
I quickly rushed back into the ssroom.
<em> Follow the manual? Pretend I didnt see her?</em>
Fucking was that something that a human could do?
An insane, brightlyughing girl was ughtering people in front of your eyes, and you were supposed to act naturally?
Even if an actor were toe, he wouldnt be able to act like that.
<em>Fuck, fuck</em>
I didnt know what to do.
I wasnt the hero-type, who went out of his way to solve difficult problems.
At the end of the day, it was just onedy.
Whether it was the police or the military, they could figure the fucking situation out.
For now, with thoughts of escape, I grabbed my shoe bag from my locker and was about to run out when I suddenly saw SunAh.
She was sitting next to her indifferent partner, being conscious of others without knowing what was going on.
I quickly walked over to SunAhs seat.
Hey, SunAh?
Yeah?
She turned around to face me with a weing expression.
That is
What should I do?
I was originally thinking of running away.
I would rather not survive by myself, it would have been lonely.
If SunAh and I escaped the school and all the way to the subway station during the time that the girl was rampaging, wouldnt it work out?
As for the rest we could think about itter.
As I was in a panic, I could only think about how I could slip out of this situation.
SunAh, uh you want to take a stroll around the courtyard with me?
SunAh stared at me with round eyes.
Break time will end soon
Break time was extended due to some school situation.
At those words, HaYoon, who was one seat over, peeked over in my direction.
I ignored her and continued to say whatever came to mind.
It was extended another twenty minutes. Maybe because its the day after the entrance ceremony, the schedule got screwed up. Lets go on a walk.
Uh, sure. Lets go, then
As SunAh reluctantly stood up, I rushed her out of the ssroom quickly.
Kyaaa!
Uaaahh! Save me!
You could slowly start to hear screamsing from the direction of the school store.
Huh? Over there
Lets go, quickly.
As we were passing through the hallway, SunAh was about to look out of the window. However, when I rushed her she just followed me out.
We were in the main building, and the school store was in the back. The courtyard was in front of the main building.
It seemed like it would take time for the chaos that was urring at the school store to spread through the main building and to the courtyard, so it was still quite peaceful there.
There were upperssmen determined to y ser, despite the short time, and female students out on a walk while giggling amongst themselves.
This way.
Sure
SunAh and I joined the people who were taking a stroll around the circumference of the courtyard and began to walk.
Our destination was the front gates.
Because I was in a hurry I didnt notice, but SunAh had an awkward expression because I had suddenly dragged her out.
I was striding about, and SunAh was hesitant to follow me.
In that manner, we walked silently.
Soon, we reached the front gate.
Luckily, because an ingredients delivery truck wasing in, the gates were open.
We could see that the security guard had stopped the truck and was chatting about the weather with the driver.
I was on silent standby at the basketball court near the front gate.
SunAh was calmly standing next to me.
Kyaaaa!
Uaaah, Aaaackkk!
At some point, screams could be hearding from the main building.
Even though the front gates were on the opposite side of the courtyard from the main building and quite far away, we could already start hearing the pandemonium within.
The students who had been strolling in the courtyard stopped and started to shade their eyes from the sun to see what was happening in the main building.
Did something happen?
Over there, look over there.
Through the windows of one of the ssrooms on the middle floor, we could see students running around, screaming.
In between some of the waving curtains, we could see some of the students falling over.
Soon, some of the students stuck their heads out of the windows in the direction of the courtyard and shouted.
Help us! Help us! Call the police! Police!
Save me! Save me!
Some of the students even tried to escape through the windows by bncing on the ledge and sliding over to the side.
All of the students in the courtyard began to murmur about what was happening.
Even the security guard, who was standing by the front gates, and the truck driver, who leaned out of his window, began to look towards the main building.
Whats dat?
Hmmm .
It was a male student, who had climbed out of the window and tried to cross over to the next ssroom using the pipe.
From the window that the student just came out of, thedy pushed her head out and began to shake her fingers at the boy as she began tough like crazy.
KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
The student, who was dangerously trying to cross over using the pipe, was startled and lost his footing when he heard herughter behind him, leading to his fall.
Uaaaaaahhhhhhh
<strong>St-</strong>
KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Kyaaaa!
A person fell!
The students in the courtyard began to panic.
SunAh was nervously looking towards the main building.
SunAh.
Yeah?
I grabbed SunAh and slowly began to exin.
SunAh, listen closely. Right now, someone has infiltrated the school and is swinging a weapon around. Since its dangerous, lets wait outside of the school until the situation is settled.
SunAh stared at me with round eyes, before reluctantly nodding her head.
In order to do that, we need to pass through the front gate without the security guard knowing. Crouch down quietly and follow me. Okay?
Nod, nod.
Bringing SunAh along, I avoided the security guard, who was distracted watching the chaos urring at the main building. I ducked behind the truck and headed towards the gates.
Kyaaaa!
Uaaaaaaahhhhh!
Suddenly, I could hear shouts from the back of the courtyard.
What happened?
Did that girl already get to the courtyard?
After passing a few steps through the front gate, I looked back to check the situation.
A pale white girl, who wasughing brightly, was creating a dust storm in the courtyard.
<strong>Pat pat pat pat pat pat pat pat pat</strong>
She was running towards me.
DDDDOOOOOOONNNNNNNTTTTTTT LLLLLLLLEEEEEAAAAVVVVEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As if she was in fast forward, the girl was dashing towards us, swinging her arms all willy nilly. She quickly jumped over the truck.
The pale, brightlyughing face was rapidly getting closer.
<strong>Whoosh-</strong>
<em>Fuck.</em>
As my head was blown into the air, I could see my headless body and theughing girl miserably ughtering SunAh before I cked out.<blockquote>
[You are dead.]
[You will restart at your previous checkpoint.]
[Loading]</blockquote>
***
<strong>Slide - ck.</strong>
Gasp, gasp
SunAh, who had barely avoided beingte, sat down roughly at a nearby desk and began to catch her breath.
<em></em>
I had returned to the ssroom.
If I met her I would die, and when I attempted to run away, I still died.
<em>What am I supposed to do? Fuck.</em>
I considered GyeongWons hint: since it''s a manual ghost story, follow the manual.
[If you discover a girlughing in an unusual manner at school, pretend you dont see her and just act naturally until she passes by.]
Act naturally in front of the girl, utilizing superhuman acting abilities.
Was that the only method?
<em>Thats insane, how do you do that?</em>
Pretending you didnt see her was simply looking away or closing ones eyes.
I had seen that a lot of the victims had turned to run away or closed their eyes, but were still murdered.
Pretending you didnt see her involved acting like she was actually not there.
It meant behaving totally normally when you saw the girl.
<em>This is driving me crazy</em>
Was that even possible?
At least look a little less scary!
A middle-ageddy in pale white makeup with an eerie smileughing crazily while swinging around a box cutter
Fuck, I would have been thankful if I managed to not piss myself in fear.
<em>But I have no option other than attempting it</em>
In a situation where there is no one else around.
Other people would surely start murmuring about her and only serve to instigate her.
The only possible method was that, before the girl climbed over the wall and onto the store roof, I needed to climb over the wall and face her one-on-one. Then, I would have to do what the manual said.