EP.1 Descending Dusk (1) 

Thump. Thump.

Spiders began to weave webs in the empty classroom. The shadows of the window frames stretched out, and Mu-ryeong’s face was coloured by the red sunset. In this strange and eerie landscape, where time seemed to have stopped, Mu-ryeong hesitated with an awkward expression.

“So…”

Thump. Thump.

The male student sitting across from him waited for him to speak, his lips tightly closed. The neatly drawn lips somehow created a quiet atmosphere. From the hair covering his eyes to the gloomy gaze and his almost unnaturally white skin.

Thump. Thump.

“You said your shoulders feel heavy, right?”

At the words Mu-ryeong had barely uttered, he showed no reaction at all. He just looked at Mu-ryeong with his dark eyes, as if shooting out ink. His flowing hair hung long on his shoulders.

“Yeah.”

Thump. Thump.

“…….”

Why was it that this one syllable sounded so distinct? It wasn’t even whispered in his ear, yet it felt so close that it made him shiver.

Thump. Thump.

Despite his effort to remain calm, Mu-ryeong lowered his gaze. He read the letters on the name tag, ‘Ki Hwan-young’. But even that was partially hidden behind his tangled hair.

“If your shoulders feel heavy, you should go to the hospital.”

Thump. Thump.

‘What should I do?’

He felt like his throat was dry as a bone. He tightly clenched his hands and released them, but no clear solution came to mind. Even the words he spoke to try and break the silence didn’t elicit any response from Hwan-young, leaving him feeling even more helpless.

Thump. Thump.

“…….”

Mu-ryeong gulped and lifted his head. He didn’t forget to smile with a friendly face so that the ghost wouldn’t become wary. His gaze, which had started wandering, landed precisely on the ghost on his shoulders.

Thump. Thump.

“…….”

Thump. Thump.

“…….”

Thump. Thump.

“…….”

Thump….

“…….”

Thump.

Silence settled between them. Even the ticking sound of the clock sounded like thunder. The dishevelled hair fell past the ghost’s shoulder and spilt onto the desk.

Thump.

“…….”

Their eyes met. It tilted its head slightly and then straightened it again. With a thud, the gaze returned, revealing the bright red and white of its eyes. The dripping drops of blood fell onto its grotesque fingernails, sticking to them in a sticky mess.

Thump.

“…….”

Mu-ryeong slowly calmed his breathing without saying a word. The ghost glanced at him, but he could only clench his fists.

How could he say it?

That a ghost with long hair had been riding on his back and scratching his shoulders since earlier.

* * *

Two days ago, in the new building of Hae-yeon High School.

It was dawn, with hazy moonlight shining through. The hallway at this early hour was so quiet that one could hear the wind blowing from somewhere. Outside, the rustling of leaves could be heard, and the firmly closed windows occasionally made a creaking sound.

A student was crossing the hallway with cautious steps. One step, and then another. The slow movement forward seemed precarious as if it were not entirely by their own will. His gaze was also unfocused and vacant, staring into the void.

“where… can’t…”

It was unclear whether it was a mutter or a groan; his voice was unintelligible. His lips moved continuously, but most of the words were too close to a whisper to understand. Staggering and staggering, like a drunk person, he suddenly stopped walking in front of a window at the end of the hallway.

“Here…”

A size big enough that one could crouch and easily pass through. A window low enough that a tall person could easily climb up by just getting their legs over the sill.

The lock clicked open. There was no need for him to put his hand to it. Humid air rushed in through the open window with a creak.

“Here?”

The hesitation was momentary.

The student quickly and accurately placed his hand on the window frame and lifted his leg as if he had done it countless times before. Then he lifted his other leg and leaned his body outside without hesitation.

The moment his upper body tilted, it felt like slow motion. As the hand gripping the window frame relaxed, a pleasant feeling washed over his dazed gaze. Yes, this was the right place. It was at that moment that the murmuring student slowly closed his eyes.

“No!”

A blue flame flickered and burst forth. The flickering flame clung to the student’s hands, feet, and bag. The body, which seemed to be about to fall at any moment, suddenly stopped midair.

Then,

“…!”

A strong hand grabbed him by the collar and pulled him roughly. Then another arm wrapped around his waist. His body, held tightly, collapsed inside the building instead of outside the window.

Bang! With a loud sound, the student collapsed onto the hallway floor. More precisely, he lightly landed on someone else’s body, using it as a cushion. The person who grabbed and pulled the student made a groaning sound as he lifted them up.

“Ah… It hurts.”

“……”

“Uh… Is there a stone in the bag?”

Flames floated. They turned into two, then three, and then started hovering above their heads as if they were worried about them. The student just stared blankly into space, but the reaction to the situation came from behind. 

“It’s okay. I just hit my elbow.”

The overly kind voice was gone and instead gave off an immature feel. The voice, somewhere in between a boy and a young adult, gently dissipated the tense air. He let out a sigh and spoke to the student beside him.

“Excuse me, are you okay? Get a hold of yourself.”

“……”

Their gazes met. The student’s pupils didn’t show any sign of surprise or displeasure. He furrowed his brows with a troubled expression as he looked at the student.

“Ah, He’s completely possessed.”

There was no sign of life on the student’s face. Even if his skin was originally pale, it didn’t make sense for him to look this lethargic. In addition, his unfocused gaze was a concern, as was the fact that he didn’t say anything about being in pain, even though he had fallen down like this. 

With a small sigh, Mu-ryeong covered the student’s eyes with his hand.

“Don’t torment this innocent student; come out.”

“……”

With a twitch, the student’s cheeks convulsed. Even though his eyes were covered, Mu-ryeong thought the student felt unfairly treated. Why was he acting like this? As he asked himself, the student’s dry lips slowly opened.

“Here… I can’t find it.”

“……”

“My…”

Mu-ryeong kept his hand over the student’s eyes and leaned his ear closer to the student’s lips. Finally, the whispered words flowed out as a complete sentence. The student spoke in a breathless voice.

“I don’t know where my classroom is.”

“It should be here. It was here.”

“I can’t find it.”

“…….”

With his mouth shut, Mu-ryeong quietly lowered his gaze. There was no need to ask what it meant. There was only one reason behind the student’s continued murmurs of discontent.

“What grade and class are you?”

“Huh…?”

The floating flames began to flicker fiercely, as if rebelling against Mu-ryeong’s question. Mu-ryeong raised his hand without covering the student’s eyes and showed his index finger as if to ask the student to look at him once.

“Can you tell me your grade and class? I’ll take you to your classroom.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I’m a student here.”

“Okay, okay…”

“But you have to get up from here. Okay?”

“…….”

The student’s cheeks kept moving, as if he were hesitant. Instead of urging him, Mu-ryeong searched through the bag the student was carrying. It had more than five volumes of workbooks inside it, which explained the weight.

“I don’t know how to get out.”

“Sorry?”

“I can’t do things like that.”

The hesitant words were blatant lies. The flames that floated around Mu-ryeong started to go around in circles as if to confirm this. Mu-ryeong briefly paused before offering an alternative in a gentle tone of voice.

“Then let’s go like this.”

“…….”

“Just close your eyes until we arrive. Okay?”

There was no answer, but that was just another sign of affirmation. Mu-ryeong carefully took his hand off and confirmed that the student indeed had his eyes closed. When Mu-ryeong grabbed the student’s arm, the student got up with Mu-ryeong.

“So what grade and class are you going to?”

“…3rd grade.”

“And the class?”

“Class 1…”

“Ah, 3rd grade, class 1.”

A relieved smile spread across Mu-ryeong’s face. The closed eyes looked infinitely warm. He slung the bag over his shoulder and squinted at the floating flames in the air.

“Good.”

3-1. This was the same place that was written in the workbook.