Ch. 17 - Interlude - Ghost Story Club (1)

“Stop it, please.”

A male student with a sporty haircut, covered in injuries, shouted as he pleaded to me.

“I beg of you…”

I looked around the area I was standing.

A devastated city.

There were collapsed buildings and pulverized asphalt strewn about. The skies were dyed red, as if it were an omen of disaster.

Within the jungle of destroyed buildings, something enormous was standing, motionless. I squinted at it in an attempt to see it more clearly, but the words floating in front of me blocked my vision.

[The Demon King proposes a truce. Will you accept?]

I stared at the one male student. I could see a drop of sweat trickle down his cheek.

As he looked back at me, he began to shake his head.

“Don’t do this. Please.”

“Sorry. I must have always been this kind of a bastard.”

I raised my hands and clicked the message. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

***

Pop.

[2019, March 7th | Thursday, 06:53 AM]

[Lee Joon - Number of Attempts: 2, Progressing in Tutorial]

[Ghost Story Points: 100]

[Causality Rate: 7%]

《Status Window

Manage Club (Locked)

Statistics

Settings》

As I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar ceiling. I was in my bed, in my room.

“……”

As I raised my body and sat on the bed in a daze, I could make out the sounds of Mom making breakfast in the kitchen.

Clack-

Clack-

‘What was that dream just now?’

It was a bit different from the hectic nightmares I usually had.

I tried hard to remember it. However, like all dreams tended to do, as my sleepiness disappeared, my memories of the dream scattered along with it.

“Huuuuu.”

Giving up on remembering the dream, I shook my head and stretched my arms.

‘I have a lot of things I have to do.’

Today was the day that I’d learn the results of my request to create the Ghost Story Club. If I got permission, the Manage Club menu on the Main Screen would most likely be unlocked. I’d have more research ahead of me if that happened.

Also, Ghost Story Points.

[Ghost Story Points: 100]

[You have earned sufficient Ghost Story Points! By spending Ghost Story Points, you can gain special abilities and speed up your growth!]

Last time I gathered one hundred points, I unlocked the passive ability ‘Goddess of Luck’.

‘Status Window.’

Pop.

《STATUS WINDOW

Name: Lee Joon

Age: 17

Title: Main Character

Disposition: [Two-Faced] Click to Expand

Special Ability:

1. (Passive) Goddess of Luck

2. None

3. None

Quirk: Last Second Cramming.》

‘Goddess of Luck. What kind of ability was that, again……?’

Click.

Pop.

《GODDESS OF LUCK

Rank: S-Rank

Trigger Condition: Automatic

Ability: After calculating the entire situation and determining the moment that you would receive the most benefit, a large amount of luck is instantaneously activated. This is a consumable skill that disappears once activated.》

‘Hmmm……’

I thought things over thoroughly, but I didn’t think that there were any moments of incredible luck that happened to me. I supposed the fact that a consumable skill was still visible on the Status Window suggested that it had not yet been triggered.

There were moments while I was chasing off the mother ghost that the timing was great, or the flow of momentum worked in my favor, but there weren’t any messages saying that the skill activated.

‘I wonder how amazing this luck is supposed to be, that it won’t trigger even in a life and death situation?’

In my current situation, where I wasn’t even sure what my first ability did, spending another hundred points on a second ability seemed like a foolish decision.

It felt like there would be a lot more options to spend the Ghost Story Points on once the Manage Club menu was unlocked. I could think more on it then.

I turned off the screen and got out of bed, deciding to save my hundred points for now.

***

I got to the classroom and sat down. Soon, I spotted Sunah entering the classroom in a relaxed manner—and on time.

“Hello, Sunah.”

“Yup! Hello…”

“What happened today? You came in on time.”

Instead of answering, Sunah began to giggle.

‘It looks like she’s in a great mood.’

Sunah smiled at me and continued to her seat.

Usually, Sunah spent most of her time sleeping because she had nothing to do.

Since that messed up her sleep cycle, she was always late to school.

The reason that she was able to wake up on time today might have been because she spent the afternoon playing with me the day before.

I felt great that I was able to help, but at the same time it made me feel a sense of responsibility.

‘It’s not like I can spend every afternoon with her.’

If I continued to spend time with her and get closer to her, I wondered whether Sunah would get too attached and seek only me out.

What would our relationship be like then?

‘……’

Well, that was too far into the future. I needed to think about that when it would happen.

In the seat next to Sunah, her fair skinned partner, Hayoon, was reading a book as usual.

‘She probably applied to a book club.’

[Your understanding of the character In Hayoon has increased by 5.]

Brrrriiing-

“Good morning~”

The homeroom teacher, Damim, came in to start the homeroom with a laugh.

He reminded us that the students who had not received their textbooks had to let the teachers know by the end of the day, that the students who had already modified their uniforms needed to restore them, and other messages along those lines.

“Also, you handed in the club applications yesterday. Those of you who have been contacted by your seniors, please finish joining the club quickly. For those of you who haven’t decided yet, tomorrow is the first club day. Please make your choices by the end of the day. That is all~”

Then, right before he left, the homeroom teacher spoke to me.

“Joon, you should follow me out for a bit~”

“Yes.”

***

“Okay. Have a seat.”

After arriving at the teacher’s lounge, the homeroom teacher shuffled through a pile of papers before picking out a sheet and coming over.

“Hmm… The Ghost Story Club.”

As I thought, he’d called me out about that. It was time for me to hear the decision.

“Hmmm… Hmmmmmmm……”

Damim was needlessly drawing things out.

“……”

“Hmmmmmm…”

I couldn’t wait any longer, and just asked him first.

“Uhh… Did I get permission? “

“Joony Boy, did you think that such a ghostly club would get permission?”

“……”

Damn. It must have been a stretch to think it would work out.

“If you thought that it would, you would be correct.”

“……?”

The homeroom teacher kept staring at the paper in his hands.

If I thought that I would get permission, and I was correct, didn’t that mean…?

“Does that mean I got permission?”

“Yes, your application was accepted.”

“……!”

Damn, Damim! You p*nk! Why were you drawing things out?!

“But, because you were missing a member, it ended up being rejected later. Sorry.”

“……!”

F*ck! I thought that might happen.

When creating a club, you needed at least four members. I had written down myself, Sunah, and Gyeongwon, but I hadn’t been able to find the last member.

I had thought that it would all work out somehow, and just handed in the application……

“This is quite unfortunate. What are you feeling right now?”

“What do you mean, what am I feeling……?”

I was feeling a tiny bit upset, of course.

“Aren’t you angry? Don’t you feel like it’s unfair?”

“Not particularly, no.”

I answered bluntly.

“Haha! What do you mean, ‘no’? I can practically hear the upset bleeding from your tone.”

"……"

“Ohohoho~”

Damim began to chuckle.

F*ck, could he tell?

“You were planning on a fresh start in your first semester of high school, as you made a new club with your friends, but since your plans are getting thwarted from the beginning… Your feelings are a mess, right~? Ohohoho~!”

“……”

“Did you decide on which club you will join?”

“I don’t know.”

I just spat out an answer.

“Why not? I wonder why you haven’t thought of a club to join yet~? There is no way that any of the students would want to join a weird club like that~!”

“……”

The slightly chuckling, rotund, middle-aged homeroom teacher started shaking his shoulders in laughter, as if he could no longer hold it in.

“No way, no way! It couldn’t be that you were a hundred percent certain that your club would be accepted, so you didn’t bother considering what other clubs to join, right?! Uhahaha! The Ghost Story Club, a guaranteed acceptance? What were you thinking?!!”

He began laughing so hard, he almost fell over.

‘… F*ck.’

Now that I was thinking about it, including how he behaved when he mentioned the bathroom ghost story, he might have been the type of person who lived off the enjoyment he got from teasing others.

[Your understanding of the character Park Damim has greatly increased by 40.]

“Uhaha, uha, uha, huuu.”

Damim laughed his fill and began to rub his belly.

“Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve laughed that hard.”

“Can I go now?”

Then, Damim began to stare at my grimacing face.

“How could you put in an application with a missing person, Joony Boy? If you do that, wouldn’t I have no choice but to slip in one person, who had not put any club on their application?”

“……?”

“A female student named Jinhee did not write down any clubs on her application, and when I asked her about it, she stated she didn’t want to attend any clubs. So, I secretly sneaked her into the Ghost Story Club.”

Damim once again began to look at me with a kind face and nodded.

“I was just playing around with you. The Ghost Story Club was already given the green light.”

“… Really?”

“Of course I was lying! Why would I do such a troublesome thing for you? Since we’re done here, please go back to your classroom.”

‘F*ck!’

As I quickly stood up, clearly annoyed, Damim began to explode in laughter again.

“Look at his reactions, his reactions! Uhaha, stop being so funny please! Uhahahahaha!”

He began to laugh crazily, clutching his stomach, the paper in his hand waving about.

At the top of the sheet of paper, I could see the words ‘Club Application Approval Form’ printed out.

He was lying about lying.

“Heuk! Heuk! I’m dying! So funny! Heuk! Ack! Stop! Please stop! Keuk……”

Damim was so out of breath from laughing that he fell over backwards entirely this time, grabbing his chest.

“Damn it! Stop laughing! If the application was approved, it was approved! Why are you making fun of me so much?”

He replied from his position on the floor.

“This is my happiness.”

“……”

He had to be crazy.

“Uha, uhaha! Thanks so much, Joony Boy! Thanks to you, it feels like I just laughed enough for a lifetime! Here, this is the club approval form. This time I’m not joking around~”

The homeroom teacher handed over the paper in his hand as he continued to chuckle.

It was an official document that acknowledged the Ghost Story Club as an official club of Nakseong High School.

I was listed as the club president, and the other members were the three people: Yoon Sunah, Ahn Gyeongwon, and Lee Jinhee.

On the line that said club teacher, an unfamiliar name—Jang Hwaeun—was written down.

Suddenly, I could see and hear music, fireworks, and confetti made of 16bit graphics.

Poof.

『You have checked out the list of clubs within the school, but there were no clubs that caught your interest. You have decided that, since it came to this, you would make your own club. 』

《QUEST - TUTORIAL

Make a Ghost Story Club.

Reward: Manage Club Menu unlocked, 10 Ghost Story Points, Clubroom.》

[You have cleared the quest.]

Bam, Babam, Bambambam, Bambabababam~~~~~~~♬

[Congratulations! You are now the Club President of the Ghost Story Club.]

[The Manage Club menu has been unlocked. Spend Ghost Story Points to nurture your club.]

[You have earned 10 Ghost Story Points.]

[You have earned a clubroom for your quest reward! The clubroom has been added to the school automatically.]

In addition to the confetti, several messages continuously popped up in front of me.

‘Finally, finally!’

I finally created the Ghost Story Club!

Afterwards, another very long message popped up.

『This is the end of the tutorial. Once again, congratulations on your acceptance at Nakseong High School, the school of secrets and mysteries. Uncover the secrets hidden within the school, and fight against the legends and ghost stories of the campus in order to earn points to unlock special abilities. Additionally, you must gather comrades to prevent the resurrection of the Demon King before graduation. The world is in your hands. 』

[2019, March 7th | Thursday, 08:42 AM]

[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts - 2]

[Ghost Story Points: 110]

[Causality Rate: 8%]

As I was reading the message in delight, the homeroom teacher spoke up again.

“And this really is a special privilege, but even though your club was just formed, the school unexpectedly decided to provide you with a clubroom.”

“……!”

Although I knew it would happen because of the system, I didn’t think it would happen so quickly.

I was getting curious about the connection between the system and reality, so I tried asking a question to get more details.

“Uh, did you mean a clubroom? For us?”

“Yes, for you youngsters. This morning, a student who was cleaning discovered that there was a room remaining on the fifth floor. It might be a bit cramped, but it would be perfect to use as a clubroom.”

Then homeroom teacher let out a sigh.

“Actually, I don’t really understand… I have been working in this school for the past ten years, but I never knew there was a room like that on the fifth floor… It was as if it suddenly appeared this morning……”

Seeing how serious he was without a hint of laughter, it couldn’t be a joke.

‘When he mentioned that he must have laughed enough for a lifetime, it might not have been a joke.’

“Anyway! It was decided that, with such a timing, the newly discovered room should be given to a newly formed club. The teacher somehow decided to give the new clubroom to the Ghost Story Club. Congratulations.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

“I was a little envious that a new student would get such a great privilege, so I tried playing a few tricks on you. Please don’t take it to heart~ Ohoho~!”

That was true. Even if his tricks were a bit harsh, at the end of the day we were able to create our club because the homeroom teacher snuck in the last member of our club. The homeroom teacher saved our club.

“It’s alright. Haha. Good things are good, after all. Right? And laughter is great for your health.”

As I seemed to have forgiven him, the homeroom teacher began to nod his head.

“How kind of you. I like it. Ohoho.”

***

After finishing my conversation with the homeroom teacher, I made my way down the hallway to return to my classroom.

However, I saw Sunah and Gyeongwon waiting for me up ahead.

“Lee Joon!”

“Joon!”

The two of them rushed over to me and asked me about what happened.

“What happened?”

“Umm, did you get permission?”

Sunah and Gyeongwon were looking at me with expectant eyes, reminding me of chicks waiting for the food the mommy bird would bring to the nest.

‘… Damn it. Damim, you b*stard! So this was what you felt like when you spoke to me!’

It was this feeling of being the only one to know of great news, as others waited to hear the news with high expectations.

It was a bit too much of a waste to let them know of the good news immediately.

The desire to play a trick began to sprout. I wanted to try stalling and twisting my words around!

“Uh, um. Joon?”

Sunah looked at me in worry, as I was silently staring at the ground.

Gyeongwon began to speak with a worried expression.

“… No way…”

I silently nodded my head, and then spoke in a sad manner.

“You’re right. I’m sorry… The club application was approved…”

“Haah… so it was as I expected. Even though I did think it was a bit too much of a stretch for a new student to be able to make one, I was looking forward to it quite a bit……”

Gyeongwon scrunched his brows as he let out a sigh.

Sunah also hung her head.

“……”

“……”

“……”

And like that, silence fell over us three. Suddenly, Gyeongwon looked confused.

“Wait… What did you just say?”

“Sorry. The club application was approved. You guys will be stuck with me for the next three years!”

I started to smile slightly as I repeated what I said.

“Not to mention, we obtained a clubroom on the fifth floor for free from the very start!”

“……!”

“Joon……!”

Their expressions changed drastically.

Gyeongwon adjusted his glasses and began to shake his head.

“Damn it, you b*stard! I was tricked by your tone!”

Even as he said it, Gyeongwon couldn't help the smile beginning to form on his face.

“Joon! Is it true? We’ll be together from now on forev……”

Sunah suddenly stopped there, and then happily asked a different question.

“We’ll be together from now on, for the next three years?”

“Ah, of course! Now we will be moving around and working together in ‘cohort’ for the next three years, looking for ghost stories!”

“You idiot, President!”

Gyeongwon adjusted his glasses again as his smile grew.

“Stop acting cool by using weird words! You mean ‘in concert’!”

“Hahaha! Was it ‘in concert’? Ha! Haha, haha!”

“Puhahaha!”

“Aha, hahahahahahahaha!”

And just like that, the Ghost Story Club members stood in the hallways before the first period began, laughing away like crazy people.

Except for one person. The only exception was the scary girl sleeping in the back row, who didn’t even know that she was now associated with our club.

“Hahaha.”

“Puhaha.”

“Ahaha.”

“……”

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