Final Preparations and the Festival

A few days before the festival, Seoyeon and her classmates visited the old school building where they would set up their haunted house.

“Wow, with the blackout curtains covering the hallways...”

Class 4's president, Gil Dahyeon, couldn’t help but be impressed with the atmosphere they had created. The windows were covered with blackout curtains, and the walls were lined with white paper splattered with dark red paint to add to the eerie vibe.

It all added up to something quite chilling.

“Honestly, this is kind of scary,” one of the girls said, shivering.

It wasn’t just the setup—it was the building itself. They were using an old school building, long abandoned and left to decay. The neglected structure had a certain eerie atmosphere that seemed to seep into the air.

The windows were foggy and cracked, the wooden floors creaked with every step, and the entire place had a sense of foreboding that was hard to shake.

“Do we really need to use both the first and second floors?”

A few of the girls, already overwhelmed by the atmosphere, murmured nervously.

“What are you talking about? Of course, we need to do it properly!” Dahyeon exclaimed enthusiastically, glancing at Seoyeon, who had been quietly observing the preparations. Seoyeon, who had recently garnered a lot of attention, had volunteered to play the role of a ghost.

“Seoyeon... I mean, Seoyeon-ah, you’ll do a great job with the ghost role, right?”

Dahyeon’s tone was a bit awkward—after all, they had been in the same class for several months now, so there was no reason to be formal anymore.

“...Yeah.”

Seoyeon nodded, feeling a mix of emotions. It wasn’t that she was nervous about the role itself, but...

‘This feels oddly similar to that horror game...’

The old, white building, now darkened by the curtains, reminded her too much of the game she had played. The resemblance was unsettling.

“We’ll give everyone flashlights to carry around on the first floor.”

“Why? Even with the blackout curtains, it’s not dark enough to need flashlights.”

“Ah, you don’t get it. The flashlights add to the atmosphere.”

Even the idea of carrying flashlights was eerily reminiscent of the game. It felt strange.

‘It’s probably nothing.’

Seoyeon nodded to herself, dismissing the thought. There was no reason to worry just because something reminded her of a game. After all, it was just a haunted house put together by high school students—nothing to be afraid of. And she was the one doing the scaring, not being scared herself.

She was playing the role of the monsters that had startled her in the game.

“...”

The more she thought about it, the more fun it seemed.

Even Dahyeon was looking forward to her ghost performance.

‘This might actually help.’

Since she was playing a killer in a thriller movie, she thought that channeling those emotions into her ghost role might be beneficial.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve been focusing too much on Cha Seoa’s human side.’

Seoyeon realized that she had been seeing too much of herself in Cha Seoa, and that might have softened the character’s portrayal.

But Cha Seoa wasn’t meant to be a sympathetic figure. As the villain in a thriller, she was supposed to instill fear in the audience.

‘So far, the only fully filmed parts are the highlight scenes, which were fine for showing Cha Seoa’s character.’

The only parts that had been shot were a few chase scenes in the beginning, some daily life scenes in the middle, and the highlight at the end. The more intense crime scenes in the middle hadn’t been filmed yet.

‘Maybe I should emphasize her more terrifying aspects in the middle scenes.’

If she could practice this during the haunted house, it might help with the film.

“Seoyeon?”

Dahyeon’s voice brought her back to the present. Looking up, Seoyeon noticed the other students watching her.

“We’re about to start practicing. Are you ready?”

They had already practiced a few times in the daylight, but this would be the first time in the dark, so Seoyeon felt a slight nervousness—not because she was scared, of course. Definitely not.

***

Three days before the festival, Seoyeon sat at home, deep in thought.

The day’s commercial shoot had gone well. Director Do Hyungtae had been full of praise, which felt a bit strange to Seoyeon.

Before the shoot, she had heard things like:

“If Do Hyungtae is directing this, it’s going to be tough.”

“Why?”

“I’ve heard he’s really demanding and particular.”

He was known for shooting visually stunning commercials, but his demands on actors were high, and opinions about him among the staff were mixed.

‘But he was practically an easygoing yes-man.’

Seoyeon recalled the shoot. She had simply acted out the script while holding the product, yet everyone had been full of praise.

It made her wonder if that was really all there was to it.

This was the first commercial she had shot since growing up, and it seemed that her improved acting skills had translated well to commercials.

Though she hadn’t seen the final version yet—most of it would be enhanced with CGI—she was curious to see how it would turn out.

‘Anyway.’

Seoyeon thought back to the haunted house practice. It hadn’t gone badly.

There were about ten girls playing the ghosts.

Since they hadn’t applied makeup yet, the performances weren’t fully immersive.

“Graaah!”

“Oh, that’s pretty good. Once you put on a wig and run at them, it’ll be scary.”

“Right?”

The other girls were focusing on jump scares. It was typical of a haunted house.

But Seoyeon’s role was a bit different.

“Seoyeon, you’re the highlight of the second floor. You’ll briefly show your face on the stairs, then appear again at the end for a big scare—like a final boss.”

“Wow, that’s a great idea.”

They didn’t ask much of her—just to show her face on the stairs and then appear dramatically at the end to deliver a final scare.

“An actual actress playing the ghost? That’s going to be terrifying.”

“Just thinking about it gives me chills.”

After practicing together, the students seemed to have warmed up to Seoyeon. They had higher expectations of her because she was an actress.

And Seoyeon herself was full of enthusiasm.

“Eeeeek!!”

Her first appearance during practice had caused a real scream. When Seoyeon had shown her face on the stairs and then suddenly appeared at the end, the atmosphere had been anything but ordinary.

“No wonder those ghost school horror stories exist.”

“What’s that?”

“A movie that came out before we were born.”

The girls chatted excitedly after Seoyeon’s performance, clearly impressed. Dahyeon, especially, was thrilled.

‘She’s definitely a real actress!’

Dahyeon had been in the room when the scream erupted. The stairs in the middle of the hallway were a must-pass area before heading up to the second floor. The sight of Seoyeon standing at an angle on the stairs, watching them, had been enough to stop them in their tracks.

And the final moment had been perfect. Seoyeon’s quiet appearance on the second floor had been a true highlight. She was in a different league from the other students, who were simply groaning and playing generic ghosts.

‘This will definitely be the most popular booth.’

The location was great, and the actor was even better.

“This is going to be amazing, Seoyeon! Let’s give it our all on the festival day!”

“Uh, yeah.”

Seoyeon nodded at Dahyeon’s cheerful encouragement, but...

‘...Hmm.’

Unlike the others, Seoyeon was lost in thought. Something felt off—different from what she had expected.

***

The day of the Yeonhwa High School festival arrived. Unlike a university festival, no outsiders were allowed in, but it was still a big event for the students.

Each class had set up its own booth, creating a lively and fun atmosphere... or at least, it should have been.

“...It’s raining.”

The rain wasn’t just a drizzle—it was pouring. The downpour forced the classes with outdoor booths to dismantle everything, much to their dismay.

While some rain had been expected, no one had anticipated it would be this heavy.

As a result...

“Well, there are still plenty of indoor booths, right?”

Most of the booths were inside classrooms or hallways, ranging from makeshift cafes to dart games and other simple activities.

But one booth, in particular, was attracting the most attention.

“A haunted house?”

Lee Jiyeon narrowed her eyes.

“I heard Class 4 turned the old school building into a haunted house. It was supposed to open at 10 AM, so it should be open now.”

At the mention of the haunted house, Jiyeon folded her arms.

‘That sounds like something Seoyeon mentioned.’

She felt uneasy. When Seoyeon had first told her about it, she had assumed it would be a typical high school haunted house.

‘I didn’t realize they were going all out with the old school building.’

And then there was something else that bothered her.

“Apparently, she’s playing a ghost in it!”

“Who?”

“Ju Seoyeon—your friend.”

Seoyeon, as a ghost? Jiyeon’s anxiety deepened.

She knew how seriously Seoyeon took anything involving acting. Whether it was in kindergarten, elementary school, or middle school, whenever Seoyeon was in a play, she became completely immersed in her role.

It had happened so often that it was almost an annual event. The only time things had gone smoothly was when Jiyeon had intervened in middle school. But now they were in different classes.

“Let’s go check it out.”

“Huh?”

“Uh, I mean... I’m just curious.”

Jiyeon’s casual words didn’t match the unease gnawing at her.

Seoyeon didn’t usually like scary things, a fact Jiyeon had only recently realized after watching the “Turned on to King” broadcast.

So why was she playing a ghost?

Of course, Jiyeon wasn’t worried about Seoyeon.

Her concern was for the students who might fall victim to Seoyeon’s overzealous performance.

***

“Whoa, this is... pretty cool?”

Two boys stepped into the haunted house, clutching flashlights. They had wandered in after being disappointed by the rain-drenched booths outside.

“The rain really adds to the atmosphere.”

The sound of rain pattered against the windows. The sun was hidden behind dark clouds, casting everything in shadow.

The blackout curtains made the hallway as dark as night.

The walls were painted with dark red paint, mimicking the appearance of blood.

The combination of rain, creaking wooden floors, and the pitch-black corridor sent chills down their spines.

“At least they gave us flashlights.”

“Yeah.”

Without the flashlights, they might have tripped in the darkened areas. But the flickering beams of their flashlights only heightened the eerie atmosphere.

“Ugh! I hate jump scares!”

“I know, but that’s what makes a haunted house.”

“Not if you’ve been to a really good one.”

The taller boy, embarrassed by his earlier reaction, tried to downplay it.

Just then, the smaller boy glanced at the staircase.

At the center of the hallway.

They had to pass by it to complete the mission and get their stamp before heading to the second floor.

But something white caught his eye at the top of the stairs.

‘What’s that?’

At first, he wasn’t sure what it was.

Then he realized it was a hand—someone’s hand holding onto the stairs.

And as his gaze traveled upward, he saw red eyes.

Ssssshhhhh...

Long, black hair flowed down the stairs. It took him a moment to register that this was a person—someone standing on their hands instead of their feet.

And slowly, the figure descended the stairs, upside down, in a white dress.

The boy froze in place as the figure continued its descent, a scene straight out of a horror movie.

Black liquid dripped from her eyes, contrasting sharply with the bright red of her irises.

The boy couldn’t take it anymore.

“Aaaaargh!!!”

Screaming like a little girl, he ran for his life.