The first ghost encounter all began in the year 2001, three siblings dared to step foot into the already decaying ruins of the abandoned Cheongwha Art Academy.
Once a prestigious faculty, the academy was at least six stories tall, sprawling across over thirty acres of land—an expanse so grand it drew the attention from the public, and they weren't too happy about it. Despite the controversy, the school thrived...until it didn't in 1996. Six years after its grand opening, the academy shut down, sealing away the memory of a harrowing tragedy.
A female teacher who was once praised for her presence, took her own life after cruel rumors about her past as a prostitute. Yet it wasn't her death alone that extinguished the school's burning light. No, it was the events that followed after her death.
The reports of shadowy figures dancing in the corners of an empty classroom, the cries echoing from the bathroom stalls and finally, a report of a scalpel missing from the school's lab only to be discovered later by the principal... beside a freshly severed hand in the male student's bathroom. An analysis proved that the hand belonged to one of the students who spread the rumor.
Now, five years after the closure, the Lee siblings infiltrated the building, armed with tools to help in their investigation which was only just a flashlight and scraps of self-confidence—to face whichever horror awaited them.
Joon-Seo, the eldest son of the Lee family at the age of eighteen tested his picklocking skills at the entrance. The sudden click of success rang out, followed by his proud proclamation, "And we are finally in!" His voice echoed through all the floors like a ghost itself.
"Sshhh, quiet dude," Hyun-Woo hissed, being the sixteen-year-old middle child who was still more careful than the rest. "You're making a lot of noise."
Joon-Seo snickered, brushing off his brother's caution with arrogance. "Come on, dude. Don't be such a pussy."
"Guys, please.... stop fighting," the fourteen-year-old Ha-Eun who was the youngest whimpered, her small frame trembling. The fear in her voice was clear as frost.
Seeing the terror and concern in their sister's eyes, both brothers fell silent.
"Whatever," said Joon-Seo.
Their flashlights carved thin lines through the darkness as they faced the path ahead, illuminating broken windows sealed with decaying wooden boards. The walls, ceiling and floors were smeared with dirt, mold and what seemed like the foul remains of dead animals and critters.
Joon-Seo stepped forward—being the leader of the trio, but the stench struck him like a hammer, forcing him to stagger back, hand clutched to his nose.
His younger siblings watched him in silence.
"What is it? Joon-Seo" Ha-Eun asked, worried, flitting through his voice.
Joon-Seo turned to them, voice firm. "The smell here is unbearable, lets split up and get this done as soon as possible. Ha-Eun, you take the floors below. Hyun-Woo, the two above her and of course, I'll take the rest."
Hyun-Woo's brow is knitted. This logic of Joon-Seo made no sense at all. Worse, he'd seen enough horror movies to know what came next when characters split up. "Dude, are you sure?"
Joon-Seo scowled. "Did I mention anything about being unsure?," he said, annoyed by his brother's obvious questions, "Get your eyes off from those horror movies, this is real life"
Hyun-Woo, voice tinged with sarcasm, replied with a befitting message, "Right. Let a bunch of inexperienced teenagers split up in an abandoned school. Way to go genius."
Joon-Seo grabbed him by the collar, rage flaring in him. "You trying to be sarcastic with me, punk?!"
"Sure am" Hyun-Woo responded.
"Please, you guys, stop already" Ha-Eun cried—but her plea fell on deaf ears, drowned by the argument spiraling between her brothers.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The sudden sounds of bones cracking echoed behind them as a shadow darted past them—too fast to be seen clearly. The siblings turned to face whatever that could be. Nothing was there.
"What was that?!" Joon-Seo barked, shaken by this.
"I... I don't know." Hyun-Woo replied as his collar was released. Fear clung to them all, but Ha-Eun's was worse, her face turning pale.
"Do... Do you think it was a ghost?" she asked, voice trembling.
Joon-Seo scoffed as he heard those ridiculous words. "A ghost? Seriously? Even from the movies you've watched, do you think ghosts just appear out of nowhere."
Hyun-Woo frowned. "Didn't you say this is real life minutes ago?"
"Duhh...it happens on both sides, fictional or non-fictional," Joon-Seo said with a smug grin.
As the brothers spoke, the sound of shattering glass exploded from the floor above them. The three of them flinched as Ha-Eun clutched her chest while the other brothers stood frozen.
"Looks like the ghost could be at the upper-floor," said Hyun-Woo, still adamant about the ghost thing.
Joon-Seo rolled his eyes, "Come on, is probably some cat or some other wild animal," he said coolly, "Come on, we're splitting up no matter what, let's go"
After saying this, Joon-Seo darted upstairs despite his younger brother's protest to stay together. But no one usually listens to the horror movie fanatic who brought the idea of staying together.
Hyun-Woo sighed at his brother's recklessness, he then turned to Ha-Eun, "Hey.... are you okay being alone? Or do you want to follow me, we can look around much faster together?"
Ha-Eun hesitated. She had been the one begging to tag along on this spooky journey in the first place. Though she wanted to accept, the thought of Joon-Seo's disappointment flooded her small mind as she had always seen him as a role model—ignoring the one who cared for her most.
Hyun-Woo.
"I... I'm fine. You can go on," she replied firmly.
"Are you sure?" Hyun-Woo asked. "You don't have to follow Joon-Seo's orders if you don't want to."
"I said, I'm fine," she snapped, a sharpness in her voice that stung.
Hyun-Woo flinched, his expression falling. "Alright, fine."
He turned away, climbing the stairs with a bitter sigh.
Now on the second floor of the building, Joon-Seo moved through the classrooms, probably searching for anything he could sell on the black market and earn illegally.
'Bunch of overgrown pussies," he muttered. "Once they slow me down, I'm ditching them. At Least I can do this with, or without them."
Though, he was confident in what he was doing—each room he searched offered nothing but dust and disappointment. No ghosts, no bodies, not even a flicker of mystery.
"Gosh," he sighed, chest heaving. "This hall's no good."
But something caught his eye—the bathroom door, slightly ajar.
"Oh, I almost forgot," he chuckled and walked in.
Making his way to the bathroom, something loomed from afar—making their way downstairs to the ground floor.
---
As for Ha-Eun, she had no choice as she wandered the ground floor with dread eating at her like a parasite.
Atleast her's was simple as the ground floor offered nothing but old lockers and two bathroom stalls for different genders, Even at that, she wanted to leave this scary place.
After minutes of looking through lockers, she turned her attention to the male bathroom. Stepping inside, peaking around to see if there was any sign of paranormal activities before she cautiously entered.
One by one, she opened each stall. Her flashlight swept across cracked tiles and blackened grime. The stench was unbearable and almost made her gag.
'Disgusting..' she said inwardly, covering her nose and mouth.
She finally reached the final stall, her hand trembling as she opened the door. The stall inside was pristine—unnaturally clean. The floor glistened almost like it had been newly wiped.
Facing the toilet that had been closed by its lid, she slowly but cautiously opened it.
Taking a hard look inside, she was relieved to see that there was nothing inside.
"Phew—"
Ha-Eun could breathe properly now, all that fear and anxiety gone in an instant, only to be brought back by footsteps.
Heavy. Unnatural.
The sound of groaning followed, Ha-Eun shook as her flashlight began to flicker.
"W-Who.. is there?" Ha-Eun whispered.
Panic gripped her. Something about this strange visitor slowly walking to the bathroom filled her with anxiety.
She bolted into the last stall, closing the seat as she climbed on top of it. Through the crack beneath the stall doors, she could make out two pale, crooked feet shuffle inside.
A sick groan, slow and guttural, echoed.
Ha-Eun watched in horror as the woman stopped... right at her stall.
"Who's....there?" the voice asked, broken and crooked. It sounded like she knew Ha-Eun was inside.
Ha-Eun covered her mouth. She didn't move. She didn't breathe.
She could feel her panties being soaked by her urine as the fear was too much for her.
One minute. Two. A silence so loud it screamed.
Then, slowly, as if the almighty answered her internal prayers... the woman stepped back. Leaving the stall.
Ha-Eun gasped quietly, relief flooding her. She had survived, though at the cost of wetting herself, it didn't matter. As long as she was still alive.
She looked around, her legs that had been burning from the stress of crouching were released as she sat on the seat.
Thoughts of home flooded her. Of her mother and father who could be looking for her if they found out.
Drip.
Suddenly something wet splashed on Ha-Eun's shoulder in the form of a single cold drop. Ha-Eun turned to her left, looking at a black slimy substance resting on her shoulder.
In that moment, something truly terrifying echoed in the form of a broken and crooked voice, "I....found you," the voice said.
At that moment, it was like the ground should do the honors of swallowing her up. She slowly turned her head, the flashlight in her hand following her gaze.
Latched on the ceiling, their body barely covered by the bandages around their pale figure was a woman, her eyes as blank as paper, with long black hair falling as her neck was twisted in a way she could see the young girl.
"Did you.....," the ghostly woman said, her throat shifting as her bones cracked, "Spread the rumors?"
Ha-Eun began to shake, more urine pouring out of her private area, coming out more than usual. She screamed loudly, her voice echoing throughout the school.
Hyun-Woo who was closer to her, rushed down as fast as he could, making his way to the bathroom stall, "Ha-Eun, where are you?," he called out desperately.
Glancing at the last stall, he noticed Ha-Eun's flashlight flickering inside. Slowly making his way there, he faced the stall, only for the stall to show him something truly horrifying.
"Ha-Eun?" Hyun-Woo called out to his sister, but she couldn't answer anymore.