Approximately fifteen minutes after entering the infirmary.
Minjun, who had been staring blankly at Sion—who had fallen asleep, utterly exhausted—rose from his seat.
‘Suspicious.’
Minjun muttered that to himself and looked around.
The infirmary, its lights off once more.
“…….”
Somehow, this place no longer seemed normal.
‘Gamsija.’
[Why do you call?]
Minjun called out internally, smiling brightly as he made a request.
‘May I ask a favor? Could you watch her for me?’
[This one is also in the midst of class.]
‘She looks like she’ll be out cold.’
[…Speak no nonsense.]
So saying, Gamsija let out a long sigh.
At that, Minjun smiled and rose from his seat.
“Watch her.”
[Understood.]
Appearing before him in the form of black smoke, Gamsija soon seated herself where Minjun had originally been sitting.
[Why has this child dozed off?]
“She must have been very tired, I suppose. I’ll be back, Gamsija.”
[…Tsk.]
Minjun wiped the smile from his face, drew back the curtain, and stepped out of the infirmary.
What he saw was the infirmary, all its lights extinguished.
The school nurse was nowhere to be seen, either.
“…Where did the teacher go?”
Minjun muttered that expressionlessly.
He walked slowly, moving toward the center of the infirmary.
—Crunch.
Then, the sound of something being stepped on.
Minjun lowered his head.
“…Glass?”
What had fallen there was a shard of broken glass.
Not knowing why, Minjun carefully wrapped the glass lying in the middle of the floor in plastic and pocketed it.
“Next.”
Having muttered that, Minjun went to the seat the school nurse should have occupied and sat down.
Closed curtains.
Though there was nothing particularly suspicious, Minjun drew them back anyway.
—Swish!!
“…….”
When he drew the curtains, an ordinary scene outside the window was visible.
Students running about, giggling.
At that, Minjun placed his hand on the curtain to close it again.
“…Nothing special.”
However, in that moment, he noticed something strange.
After all, it was currently class time.
“…Why are they over there not even dressed properly?”
Looking closely, they weren’t wearing gym clothes.
They were acting so naturally, as though it were lunchtime.
Their clothes even looked slightly shabby.
“…Photos.”
—Click!!
Minjun took photos using the camera hidden in his collar.
Not knowing how the photos would turn out, Minjun decided to check them later and took as many as possible.
“…….”
Then he immediately pulled out a USB stick and plugged it into the computer.
But an uneasy feeling didn’t dissipate.
As though someone would appear beyond that door at precisely the wrong moment.
Such an ominous premonition.
“Shall I lock the door first?”
So saying, Minjun slowly rose and locked the infirmary door.
He wouldn’t be able to buy much time, but it was still better than doing nothing.
And so, even the computer with its password easily bypassed.
He clicked away earnestly, searching for information.
“…There’s nothing useful.”
There was no information worth using.
At most, what he could check was the student roster.
For now, Minjun printed it out and copied the students’ reasons for infirmary visits.
“That’s enough of this.”
At the very moment Minjun said that and tried to rise from his seat.
“Heh.”
“…!!”
Above Minjun’s head, a scornful laugh was heard.
“What are you doing?”
The voice of an innocent middle-aged woman.
Slowly, Minjun raised his gaze to the ceiling.
* * *
He’d had a terrible nightmare.
“…Huh?!”
A nightmare in which his past repeated itself.
Such an awful one—fragments of a past he never wanted to return to had brushed past wildly.
He couldn’t recall the exact details.
Only the memory of having been creeped out remained, making me unpleasant upon waking.
“Haa…….”
[You have awakened.]
“Urk…….”
[What do you mean ‘urk’ to a ghost?]
Of course, reality was something I didn’t want to face either.
I still had a woman’s body.
And that body still belonged to a ghost.
The ghost sat beside me, as if to flaunt her presence.
“…How long did I sleep?”
[I do not know.]
“Pardon…?”
[Did you sleep about an hour? No, it seems you did not even sleep that long.]
So saying, Gamsija claimed not to know herself.
Since it seemed best to leave the infirmary for now, I looked around and got up from the bed.
A strangely refreshed feeling.
[This one shall take her leave now.]
“…Yes.”
Gamsija vanished.
Immediately after, I sighed, drew back the curtain, and exited the infirmary.
‘Where did Senior go…….’
I didn’t know where Senior had gone, but it was quiet for now.
Wondering if it was class time, I walked slowly down the hallway.
‘……’
Something like déjà vu began to creep in, but thinking it was nothing, I looked toward the classroom.
“…There’s no one here.”
Hearing giggling sounds from outside.
It seemed the class was probably having PE.
Thinking that made sense, I continued walking forward.
And so I arrived at our class.
[Class 1-3]
—Creak!
Opening the door and entering the classroom.
No one was in sight.
Only a single sentence was written on the blackboard.
[12th period is PE. Proceed to the playground]
“…?”
12th period?
A unit I’d never heard of before.
Puzzled, I headed to my seat for now.
The PE uniform provided by the Management Bureau should be there.
Hurrying toward my seat.
A voice rang out.
“I Sion.”
“…!!”
It was Senior Minjun’s voice.
The voice came from directly behind me.
I turned around.
“Found you. Toy.”
“…!?”
“Heh.”
Standing there was Senior, with no eyeballs.
“Se…nior…?”
“…….”
Senior said nothing.
He hung limply, like a doll without will.
And then, that familiar song.
“…!!”
A spine-chilling piano sound, completely out of tune.
It began to play again.
“Ah…….”
“To…y.”
Black liquid began to flow from Senior’s empty eye sockets.
Then, it soon transformed into a familiar form.
A squirming, sloshing liquid.
That’s right—it was the same liquid that had devoured Senior Yeonu.
“…Gamsija.”
I urgently called for Gamsija.
At that, Gamsija appeared beside me.
[…!!]
“…I—I’m not seeing things right now, am I?”
[…….]
“That…that’s Senior Minjun, isn’t it…? Then all these desks and chairs here too…!!”
[…….]
Gamsija gave no answer.
I took that as confirmation.
* * *
Feeling a spine-chilling sensation creeping up his back, Minjun involuntarily raised his gaze.
What he saw was the school nurse stuck fast to the ceiling.
He had been suspicious.
But he hadn’t noticed it.
“…Krrk…!!”
The school nurse fell downward.
—Crash!!!!
Though the sound of shattering objects was heard, he had no capacity to care.
Since he too was rolling across the floor.
“Toy. So you’ve appeared?”
So saying, Minjun aimed his gun.
—Crack.
Watching him, the health teacher balanced on all fours and swiveled her neck.
The sound of bones stimulated Minjun’s psyche.
“This is going to be fun to play with.”
So saying, Minjun giggled.
Here, his Toy No. 2 had to step in.
He needed a ghost to handle close combat for him.
And so Minjun ran.
Toward the two drawn curtains.
He distinctly remembered the spot where Sion had been sleeping.
Minjun quickly threw his body forward and pulled the curtains aside.
What came into view was.
“…!!!”
The upper body of the woman who had collapsed in the bathroom earlier.
An upper body vomiting blood in heaves.
Just as it seemed to be trying to say something, as if alive.
‘Killing intent…!!’
Sensing the killing intent from behind, Minjun rolled across the floor once more.
“Ah, too easy.”
“…….”
The ghost—the homeroom teacher—drooled, lamenting how easy it had been.
Seeing such a ghost, Minjun didn’t break into a cold sweat—he smiled.
“Did you know?”
“…….”
“Everyone else joins the Management Bureau talking about revenge.”
So saying, Minjun reloaded his pistol.
The moment the reload was complete, a smile spread across Minjun’s lips.
“But me… I just have so much fucking fun tormenting bastards like you.”
—Bang!!!
“Kieeeek!!!!”
The ghost’s scream echoed bizarrely.
And as if on cue, a song began to play.
As though the entire school was reacting to this single ghost.
“Chief. I’ve found the ghost.”
Minjun spoke simultaneously into the camera and the radio.
His excited voice echoed once again.
“I’m going to…!! catch that thing now!!”
—Bang!!!
—Bang!!!
Two gunshots rang out.
For whatever reason, Sion, who should have woken up, remained asleep.
‘I don’t know what it did, but this is fun.’
Thinking so, Minjun kicked the door open and dashed into the hallway.
Students and teachers who had begun to be entranced by the song came into view.
People beginning to attack one another.
Minjun weaved among such people, recording everything.
People fought, bled, and collapsed.
They would pin one person down and torment them together.
It was as if they were revealing the ugly true nature of humans.
‘The broadcast room…!! First, the broadcast room.’
Minjun quickly turned and ran toward the broadcast room.
Behind Minjun, the sound of a ghost sprinting like mad could be heard.
Sticky noises and thunderous sounds.
At those dreadful sounds, Minjun laughed even louder.
As expected, this suited him perfectly.
Just as he thought that.
“Hello.”
“…!?”
In front of the broadcast room he had just reached.
There, the health teacher stood smiling brightly, twirling a key.
“Too bad.”
Footsteps approaching from behind.
That was the final record.