Ghost Story Club

[2019, May 4th | Saturday, 12:15 PM]

[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts – 2]

[Ghost Story Points: 195]

[Causality Rate: 19%]Nôv(el)B\\jnn

On a bustling Saturday noon, I arrived at ShinLim Station and took the subway.

I squeezed my way through the crowd, standing all the way until I reached Sadang Station.

I got off for a moment, transferred to Line 4, and then traveled for about 20 more minutes before arriving at Seoul Subway Station.

After getting off the subway with the bustling crowd, I followed the crowd up the stairs and came out to the surface.

Right in front of me was the train station, Seoul Station to be precise, a building made entirely of blue glass.

‘When I came here before, it was filled with people running away to avoid Kim Eunjung.’

Now, there were only people coming and going peacefully, laughing and chatting among themselves, enjoying the weekend.

* * *

“One ticket of the KTX to Busan.”

“Is the 12:30 train okay with you?”

“Yes.”

“It will be 59,800 won.”

I took out the cash I had prepared in advance from my wallet and handed it to the staff.

‘That’s really expensive.’

Half of all the savings from my New Year’s money disappeared in an instant.

‘It’s good that I decided to solve the money problem right now.’

As I would be engaging in various activities in the future, I never know where or how I would need money.

It was completely foolish as well as wasteful to use points to cover all of that.

It’s like buying something with cash when it can be purchased with in-game currency.

‘Points should be used in places where they can be used as points only.’

The cash in the garlic field was definitely the best choice to use as the blind money that only I can manage without needing anyone to be involved.

‘Jinhee talked with Kim Eunjung at the McDonald’s over there. We all had a meal together at the food court up there after finishing the case…’

While thinking about miscellaneous things, I went down the stairs to the platform to catch the train.

As I rode the escalator down, seeing almost everyone carrying loads of luggage, I couldn’t help but wonder where everyone was going in a hurry.

‘I wonder what the members are doing right now.’

This was the first time I was riding the train alone, and it was also the first time I was leaving Seoul on my own.

If I just had money, there wouldn’t be a problem, but still, leaving alone felt lonely.

For no reason, I began feeling a bit melancholy and kept opening the group chat, even though there was no response as everyone was resting.

[Oh Dukhun: Masatoki’s new work has come out, it’s called Man in the Window.]

[T/N: Masatoki is the screen name of a Japanese author. Man in the Window is a novel written by this author.]

Dukhun was talking about some comics or something all by himself, even though no one was responding.

Soon, the train arrived on the tracks with a loud noise, and as soon as the doors opened, I stepped inside.

After greeting the attendant in return, I passed through the narrow aisle and searched for my seat according to the ticket.

Since I planned to buy a bag after reaching Busan, I was empty-handed at the moment.

I passed by a passenger putting their luggage in the overhead compartment and plopped down into my seat.

Then I leaned against the window and quietly stared outside.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t had time to organize my thoughts alone lately.’

Always at school, fighting with ghost stories, and running around with the members, causing a ruckus.

It felt like two years have passed since I entered school, not two months.

‘Let’s think of this as a solo trip.’

Thinking like that, I decided to consider this journey as going on a solo trip during the holiday.

Soon, the train started moving, and I quietly gazed out the window before slowly falling asleep.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, the train was still in the middle of its journey across South Korea.

Outside the window, the peaceful rural scenery of midday quickly flashed by.

[Next Stop is Gimcheon-Gumi Station. Gimcheon-Gumi Station.]

[T/N: Gimcheon-Gumi refers to two cities in South Korea, located in the North Gyeongsang Province. They are often mentioned together because they are neighboring cities.]

The train had now traveled about halfway, and I must have been asleep for almost an hour.

‘People live in places like this too.’

There were no subways, and no supermarkets in sight.

As expected for a country like South Korea, where 70% of the land is mountains, the scenery outside the train was mostly just mountains, but occasionally, small complexes or apartments could be seen strewn about.

There was no subway, and no supermarkets in sight.

It was quite amazing to see apartment complexes unexpectedly appear in the distance outside the window, places that seemed like they should only have mountains nearby.

‘There are so many landscapes I don’t know.’

As I stared blankly outside for a while, the train finally entered Ulsan, and only then did the feeling of being in a city started to set in.

[T/N: Ulsan is a major city located in the southeastern part of South Korea, known for its industrial significance, beautiful natural landscapes, and cultural heritage.]

I could see many franchise stores here and there, similar to those I saw in Seoul.

‘Ulsan feels a bit like the place I used to live… but for some reason, it also seems like a ghost city.’

Compared to Seoul of course, I muttered to myself.

Seoul was truly packed with people everywhere you go.

Even at ShinLim Station, where I live, the sidewalks were so crowded that it was hard to get on the subway.

It was a place where, when the traffic light on the 4-lane or 5-lane crosswalk changed, hundreds of people would rush across.

Compared to places like that, even though the buildings here seem to be about the same height, an inexplicable sense of emptiness somehow gripped over me.

Being alone in a journey just made me feel lonlier amidst such isolated places.

Even though I would be just packing some money in a bag and heading back tomorrow, it felt more like I was leaving for some distant place from where I might never return.

‘…..It’ll be even worse when I go to serve in the military.’

Even going on a one-day trip made me miss my home terribly, just the thought of having to go away for two years and be kicked around felt overwhelming.

‘I’m not going, f*ck it.’

If the Demon King is resurrected and the Earth is destroyed, then so be it; I have no intention of going to the military even if I die.

‘I’ll just figure out a way to avoid serving in the military by deceiving the system a little…..’

As I looked out the window, lost in such thoughts, I suddenly became hungry.

‘Where is the snack corner? There should be one around.’

I got up from my seat and walked out into the aisle.

After walking a few steps, I spotted a snack vending machine in the middle of the aisle.

I put 1,000 won into the machine, grabbed a simple chocolate bar before sitting back down.

‘Good thing I have about 150,000 won in my wallet.’

I broke open my piggy bank and withdrew all the New Year’s money from my bank account, gathering all of my wealth, it was 150,000 won.

Once I arrived in Busan, I was planning to buy a big bag to put the money in, along with a shovel.

‘And if I add that up to the transportation costs for taking the subway and bus again……’

It should probably be enough.

As long as I reach my destination, money would be buried there waiting for me to unearth them.

I could just take a few extra bundles from them and use them for the train fare on the way back home.

* * *

While I was watching a video of a cat responding to questions by mewing on YouTube, the train arrived at Busan Station.

[T/N: Although it sounds weird but when I searched on YouTube there were some silly videos where cats responded to a question by mewing. Here is one of such videos: https://youtu.be/RamG_GlS2Ps]

A few passengers who had been dozing in front and behind me also got up and started to pack their belongings.

‘It looks like everyone is getting off here.’

Soon, the doors opened, and I got off at Busan Station, following the crowd of people.

I naturally followed the crowd and took the escalator up.

‘Come to think of it, isn’t the setting for the zombie movie Train to Busan here?’

I heard that it had 10 million viewers, so my family went to see it too. But because of the time loop and regression, for me, it’s been over 6 years since I’ve seen the movie, so I couldn’t remember the details very well.

Soon, I crossed the large platform made of marbles of the Busan Station, took the escalator down again, and arrived at the exit.

‘What time is it? Status Window.’

Pop-

[2019, May 4th | Saturday, 15:20 PM]

[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts – 2]

[Ghost Story Points: 195]

[Causality Rate: 19%]

‘KTX is really fast.’

It only took less than three hours to travel from one end of South Korea to the other and arrive.

‘If I had known before, I would have helped my parents with cleaning up and left a little more leisurely.’

Since this was my first time travelling on a train, I thought it would take about half a day to travel from Seoul to Busan.

“Let

For now, I used the map’s route search function to check the route from my current location again.

“From here, take the Subway Line 1 and get off at Hadan Station, then transfer to the Gangseo District 9-1 Village Bus…”

Let’s start walking.

* * *

When I came out to the entrance of Busan Station, it was under construction.

It seemed like they were building a new platform, and unfortunately for me, who wanted to see how it would turn out, the timing was bad.

‘Still, there are many homeless people, it’s the same here as there.’

After walking for about a minute, the subway entrance appeared right in front of me.

I went down the stairs, tapped my transportation card, and after riding the subway for a while, I got off at a station named Hadan.

A deserted platform with only a few people walking around.

At first glance, the interior design was somewhat similar to the Seoul subway, but the number of people passing by was small, and the atmosphere was very calm and peaceful.

[102 Hadan Station (下端釋)]

‘Hadan Station… ‘Ha’ means ‘below’, and ‘dan’ means ‘end’.

So this place literally means~ it means ‘down below’, right?

Sure enough, looking at the map, there was nothing below it even on the map.

It was the southernmost point of South Korea, where only the sea was spread out in the distance. Far across the sea, there was only Tsushima Island and Japan depicted in the map.

‘I’ve really come all the way from one end of South Korea to the other.’

Hehe.

* * *

As I came up to the surface from the subway station below, a large shopping mall called Art Malling appeared in front of me.

“The biggest one, just something big and cheap will do.”

“If you’re looking for something like that, how about this hiking backpack here?”

I bought a large black backpack and a flashlight from there, and then purchased a three-section folding shovel from a nearby hardware store and put it in the bag.

I still had 50,000 won left.

‘Since the place I’m heading to is completely farmland, I need to buy food here.’

Of course, I could eat here, but it was already 5 p.m. now, I couldn’t afford to be late.

I needed to arrive at the destination and check the location before the sun set.

Just then, I searched on the map and found that there was a Lotte Food nearby, so I looked for it and went in.

Creak-

‘It’s quiet here too.’

If it were Seoul, I would have had to wait in line at any fast food place, but here, even though it’s a weekend afternoon, it was relatively quiet and peaceful.

I was thinking about which menu to choose at the kiosk, and then decided to go for the most expensive item.

‘I have 50,000 won in my wallet, and even after deducting the transportation cost to get there, I will still have a lot of money left over.’

There was no need to save money.

I chose the Hanwoo burger set, something I would normally never dare to even think about.

‘Hmm… Should I get one more?’

When I arrive at the destination, I would have to dig for a long time and collect money, so one set might not be enough to give me sufficient energy.

I added one Wagyu burger as an additional item to the Hanwoo burger set I chose earlier and placed the order.

[T/N: A Hanwoo burger is a burger made with Hanwoo beef, a rare and expensive breed of beef from Korea known for its rich flavor and tenderness. Wagyu is a breed of Japanese cow, so Wagyu burger is a burger made with Wagyu beef.]

And while holding the number ticket and waiting for the food, I checked the group chat once again.

[Oh Dukhun: What is everyone doing?]

[Lee Jinhee: Shut up]

‘Everyone is doing well.’

It seemed like nothing special was happening.

‘I wonder if Sunah is… resting well.’

Even after all that chaos, we still haven’t had a chance to talk properly.

It was as if we had implicitly promised to avoid asking each other about what happened that day.

‘…She really shouldn’t overthink this stuff. ‘

I wasn’t in the mood to date anyone right now.

I had heard the story of my cousin, who got screwed over after a CC(Campus Romance), so many times at drinking parties right after I turned 20 in my previous life that it had become exhausting.

‘Joon! Don’t you ever dare to CC… That bitch cheated on me but made me an asshole instead… I should have cheated on her first… I should have been the one to do it, sob sob…..’

They were so crazy about each other to the point that they couldn’t live without each other, but when they broke up, they ended up competing to spread rumors about who was the most asshole.

Of course, if it were Sunah and I who dated and broke up, I don’t think Sunah would spread any rumors about me or anything like that.

However, it would be uncomfortable in many ways if personal feelings started to interfere with the three years we were supposed to spend together.

‘And if it’s Sunah, she won’t just bury me with rumors; she will literally bury me.’

I wondered if she’s doing well.

‘She must be doing well.’

She should be doing well.

[Oh Dukhun: Oi- Gyeongwon, you f*cking shit, answer me.]

[Ahn Gyeongwon: Ah, sorry. Someone started a fight with me in a comment section online because. I was. stating. facts.]

[Lee Jinhee: F*ck~]

These guys probably have no idea that I was all alone in a place far away from Seoul right now.

‘Next time, I hope we all come to Busan together instead of alone.’

We can go to Haeundae beach to play and swim in the water, and then visit a meat restaurant to eat grilled meat.

[T/N: Haeundae is one of the most famous beaches in South Korea, located in the city of Busan.]

“Customer number 762, your order is ready~”

“Yes, thank you.”

I picked up the paper bag containing the hamburger set and left the store.

Although solving ghost stories were necessary, if I want to go on a trip with my friends and do other things, it’s definitely better to solve the money problem here and now.

‘I’m also doing well.’

I took the village bus, which arrived soon, and left the city center, crossing the Nakdong River via the large bridge, and heading towards the outskirts of the city.

* * *

[Noksan Middle School stop has arrived, Noksan Middle School.]

When I arrived and got off, I was amazed.

‘There’s a school in a place like this?’

That’s also not some sort of rural experience school, but a school where they really compete for college entrance exams?

‘That’s impressive. Where do all the students who go here live?’

Although there were paved roads and only a few buildings nearby, they were all meaningless buildings like clothing retail shops.

Most of them even had ‘For Rent’ attached on them.

There weren’t even any convenience stores or any of the typical restaurants you could see anywhere, it was just a road that was wide enough for cars to pass through.

‘Wow… let’s stop being surprised now.’

I looked like a country bumpkin from Seoul.

I decided to quickly head towards my destination.

I left the main road where the buses run and walked along a narrow cement road.

‘This way.’

Between the temporary buildings that looked like warehouses, fields were already starting to appear.

Buildings scattered here and there, standing tall among the fields.

The buildings, if you could call them that, were just slightly larger than shipment container boxes. When I looked closer to see their purpose, most of them had signs like ‘o o Machinery’ or ‘o o Food’.”

‘What kind of factory… No, maybe they are more like warehouses?’

After walking for a while, I reached a point where the cement road ended, and just then, an empty wasteland unfolded before me.

I stepped off the path, and walked on the dirt, making my way towards the Nakdong River in the distance.

‘This is it.’

It was an…. ambiguous place to call it a riverside road.

A narrow road stretched along the river, barely wide enough for trucks to pass.

The structure of ‘the empty fields → narrow road → endlessly stretching Nakdong River.’

Except for the temporary buildings visible in the distance, all around me were fields.

‘…And that collapsed tile-roofed house, my source of worry.’

I wondered if people lived there. so I walked closer along the road. But seeing that half of the house had collapsed, it seemed to be an abandoned house.

And the flooded section of the road nearby.

‘They’ll be bringing forklifts and other equipment tomorrow to repair that road.’

If the road is flooded and cut off like this, cars wouldn’t be able to come through.

Standing on the collapsed road, I glanced around the empty fields.

‘Over there.’

Among the vast fields, there was one area where it seemed like it hadn’t been maintained for a long time, and weeds were growing haphazardly.

This was probably the garlic field in question.

The reason it wasn’t maintained properly was because the owner was in prison for running an illegal gambling site.

‘They said it was a garlic field, but I don’t see any garlic.’

Maybe they were originally grown as a cover, but since no one took care of them, they all died.

Standing there, where only weeds were growing sparsely, I quickly glanced around again to see if anyone was watching.

The temporary buildings visible in the distance, the endlessly stretching fields, and the quietly flowing river.

And the blowing wind.

The road had collapsed, so there would be no cars passing by, and the temporary buildings over there gave off a feeling like they were completely uninhabited warehouses.

The only thing that bothered me was the almost collapsing tile-roofed house.

‘…There’s no time to worry now.’

As long as I’m careful about using a flashlight when it gets dark later, no one will be able to see what I’m doing.

I checked the location by stomping on the dirt where the cash was hidden once more to confirm, then sat down near the collapsed road to begin my meal.

‘Let’s dig in.’

I opened the paper bag, took out the hamburger, poured the fries on top of the bag, and squeezed some ketchup on the side.

Then I unwrapped the package and took a big bite of the Hanwoo beef burger.

‘Delicious.’

It was really delicious, but I had never thought of buying it because it was a thousand won more expensive than regular burgers.

Suddenly, a cool breeze from the river blew over.

I stared at the scenery of the Nakdong River while chewing on my burger.

As it was getting a bit darker, the buildings of Busan across the river began to light up.

The fries had cooled down and become soggy.

I took a sip of cola.

Delicious.