Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
⟨Chapter 70⟩
⟨Book of ghost names⟩
The relative of the Prince of Seopyeong, Lord Han Jun-gyeom, was known for his ability to summon ghosts. When he took out a book and called out the ghosts’ names for their examination, the ghosts would swarm, line up, and kowtow, expressing their obedience. As such, he would find the ghosts, who caused harm in the human world, and punish them. He said that the marvelous book he had in his possession was originally inherited from an old monk he met in the mountain temple, and it’s the name list with which he can summon ghosts as he likes.
『Record on the Edges of Heaven』
The late-night subway was almost empty.
For a moment now, Yu Dan was observing a young woman opposite of him. The woman was too drunk, and finally, unable to keep herself steady, she collapsed in the seat and fell asleep. With her arms and legs clearly revealed, she looked very defenseless. However, that was not why he was looking at her.
After a while, it appeared again.
A black hand wriggled, and caressed the woman’s back. Each time it brushed her back, it left a pitch-black hand print.
Yu Dan stood up.
He was concerned about the female students in the seats opposite of him. They seemed to pay him no mind, as they were busy listening to music on shared headphones, but he paid attention to them, as he shifted towards the woman as naturally as possible.
The problem was what now.
If he gets caught, his life could be so abysmally ruined that it wouldn’t compare to things like absence without leave. 「Daring highschooler harasses drunk woman on a subway. 」The news article seemed to flash before his eyes. The excuses like ‘I saw a pitch-black hand’, would be useless. He would be dragged to the mental hospital instead.
Even so, he had to catch it.
While looking in front of him, he stealthily stretched out his hand towards the woman. He waited for the thing that entered the dyed long hair to come out again, and then — he quickly snatched it.
His heart raced.
He pushed it into his pocket and stood in front of the subway door. The woman was asleep just like before. The female students were listening to music just like before.
Lucky.
The moment the door opened, he got out. After just a few people disappeared, he sat on a bench in the darkness and took it out.
It wasn’t a yokai. Nor was it a ghost. Rather than those, it seemed closer to some sort of phenomenon. Like when he saw one leg of a kid from his class grow dark, and not long after the kid ended in a cast because of a car incident. An omen that something bad was about to happen. Perhaps he could call it ‘bad luck’? That woman might have suffered a bad event when she was returning home drunk, because of the misfortune stuck to her.
Anyway, that wasn’t important.
After Yu Dan took out the dokkaebi’s horn, he held the wriggling bad luck tight and brought it slightly closer. The moment the sharp tip touched it, the thing was instantly sucked into the horn.
Whatever it was, it seemed like he blocked and erased it, no?
He held up the horn and examined it closely.
He wanted to investigate it even more, but he couldn’t find anything at all. Yu Dan simply left the subway station.
There was truth in the words that even dog feces can’t be found when needed for medicine. On the other hand, it was really absurd. To think the day would come when he was searching for supernatural.
He walked the night street illuminated by the neon signs for a while, and then halted in his tracks.
It was very late. This world was a very dangerous maze. You never know what will appear when you turn around a corner. Among everything the fox yokai said, he kept those words in mind specifically.
Yu Dan instantly turned around. But even after he returned home, washed and laid in bed, the thought didn’t leave his head.
What else is wicked?
After tossing around, he stood up and turned on the computer. He opened a site that he often used when trying to find game information.
Didn’t it have something like a horror board?
As expected, there was. He quickly clicked it. Posts like [Ghost story], [True story], [Mystery], etc. came up. He chose only [True story] and skimmed it.
Freakish crime. Sleep paralysis experience. Story of a ghost seen in the army. The woman who entered the toilet, but even after they waited for a while, she didn’t come out, so they tried to knock, but there was no one there. A strange customer store entered a convenience store, when they turned to look at CCTV later, they found nothing. On a penniless trip, they entered a haunted house, and fled with their heart in their mouth upon seeing a ghost…
He realized anew. For him that was a day as any, but here they were, mysterious events that received hundreds of likes. Of course, not all of them were real stories. There were many that he guessed ‘that’s made-up’ at glance.
Yu Dan skimmed the board without knowing how much time has passed. Then, a certain title drew his eyes.
「Horror book」
He clicked on the post.
This is a story my private tutor-nim told me.
The library he used to visit when preparing for exams last year was a very old place. He said it was some school during Japanese occupation? In any case, it was over hundred years old…
There was such a place? He searched it, and there really was. Confirming the background, he got a bit more trust in it.
…. the friend, who visited with him, on a particular day said he was very bored, as if something came over him. He said he was going to borrow some martial art novel, but a little later he returned with a certain book. It was a bright red book, it didn’t have a title or the library stamp, so even at a glance, it was strange.
The friend really liked horror novels with ghosts, so he took it home. But the next day’s morning, he didn’t come even when it was time they always met. Teacher-nim kept waiting, but after thinking it was very strange, he went looking for his friend in his rented room. Do you know how people’s eyes roll to show whites? He was said to be in such a state, trembling like a leaf. “That book! We have to bring it back right now! Don’t open it! Absolutely don’t open it!”, he was saying such things. Because teacher-nim thought he may have seizure at any moment, he did as he was told.
Teacher-nim’s friend packed and went to his hometown straight away, and about half a month later, he came back, and they never talked about it again. It was like he completely forgot about it. Teacher-nim also said he forgot about it after that, but he suddenly remembered it when he saw my diary, and told me about. My diary has a bright red cover.
That strange book may still be there. If someone is curious, can you go take a look and give a review?
The post ended there.
Yu Dan scrolled to the top and read it again. His face turned serious.
‘Horror book’. Was that a real story?
Something stirred in his mind. Should he say his instincts woke up? It especially bothered him that the people involved in the incident completely forgot about it after. He checked the comments, and the original poster at first responded to every comment, but at some point left them alone as if they forgot.
Oblivion. That was one of the important characteristics of supernatural. Perhaps he had fished something out from among the numerous posts on this board.
Yu Dan took out the horn, and looked down at it for a moment. He felt like he would be able to sleep now. He turned off the computer and lights, and laid down in bed.
Hating to think wasn’t only a weakness. Rather, in exchange, he had the strength of being quick to act. At last, that was what Yu Dan believed.
Next day, after the school ended, he found that library right away. Didn’t he visit a library twice this year? Wasn’t that too often? While thinking like that, he climbed the uphill road, and entered the modern building with a lot of history.
He heard the faint sound of a radio from somewhere, and saw shadows of the soldiers running up the stairs. The traces of the past soon dispersed like a fog. His eye saw even such things, so if there really was a strange book here, he was certain to find it.
Yu Dan entered the repository.
He became certain the moment he entered. In the stillness, so quiet it was strange, something rang in his head. As expected, there was something supernatural.
He skimmed the bookshelf, and abruptly came to a stop.
Between various novels, a book in a red hardcover was stuck. That book was very strongly pulling Yu Dan towards itself, as if it was waiting.
Here it was, huh?
Yu Dan picked up the book and left the library.
The theft prevention device at the entrance didn’t ring. He was able to leave, holding it confidently.
Now, he discovered a supernatural thing, so he should go to the Banwoldang, but…
Yu Dan looked down at the red book.
Was this book really that scary? The horror novel with ghosts? With a sudden new interest, he felt like it would be good to just roughly check if it was scary and what it was.
So he headed home.
He first took out the ancient dokkaebi’s horn, put it close, so he could grab it right away if something happened, and opened the book.
He was reading for the first time in a long time.
Many pages in the book were blank. He kept turning them, and at last, a story appeared. The title was 「Video Ghost」.
Yeong-su was playing a game in his room like any day, when suddenly his phone rang. His friend sent him a web address. ‘Death video’.
“Hee? Really?”
He quickly clicked it and on the screen filled with noise, a pedestrian pass appeared. It seemed to be a CCTV video taken from above it.
“What? Is it an outdoor video?”
At that moment, a woman appeared. Her hair hung loose, her whole body rotting, and she was holding a kitchen knife. She was slowly crossing the pedestrian pass, getting closer to him.
“Wh-what is that!”
Yeong-su tried to close the video, but it didn’t pause. At some point, the woman reached the end of the pedestrian pass. The sky behind the window was pitch-black, but something was reflected in the window. Closet. Bed. And Yeong-su sitting in front of the computer.
“Aack! What!?”
Yeong-su realized that the window was his monitor. He screamed like crazy and tried to turn off the computer, but it was useless. The woman’s head popped out of the monitor. She glared at Yeong-su, and brandished her knife.
Yeong-su screamed.
Yu Dan turned the page with an expressionless face. There was nothing.
“What? That’s the end?”
He couldn’t believe it. They’re shoving it down as a ghost story now? He could clearly see the ending by just reading the first line, but surprisingly, it didn’t deviate even a little. Were they kidding?
After turning the pages for a while, he found the next story. This time it was a 「Doll Ghost」.
Yeong-jin entered a vintage store with his younger sister. His little sister looked around and was suddenly surprised.
“Oppa! Look over there! It’s exactly the same as that doll! The doll we had at our house when we were young!”
Seeing a clown doll with red hair, Yeong-jin was terrified. The deeply buried memory was uncovered. It was the doll from a long time ago. The one that killed his father.
“Don’t buy it!”
But his little sister was already hugging the clown doll. The shopkeeper spoke with a smirk, while calculating the payment.
“You absolutely can’t be alone with this doll.”
Yeong-jin was so worried he couldn’t endure it. He protected his little sister for the entire weekend, waiting for a chance, and finally his sister fell asleep. Yeong-jin hastily grabbed the clown doll and left. The moment he rode the elevator with a racing heart, the doll opened its mouth.
“Are we alone?”
“What!?”
Yu Dan shouted.
How didn’t it deviate even a little from his expectations? Isn’t it a story that was milked dry for over dozens of years? Was he supposed to be scared after reading it?
Annoyed, he flipped the pages of the book, and at last came across the next story. 「Rice Grain Ghost」.
“Let’s see if it’s basic-of-basics this time too.”
He started to read the ghost story.
Mi-yeong looked around the apartment with a satisfied face.
She moved abruptly, but thanks to good luck, she obtained a good house for cheap. But a few days after moving, her daughter started to suffer from a persistent disease, and even after she was brought to hospital, she didn’t get better. Later, her husband also fell sick. One day, she was trying to put her whining daughter to sleep, she found her pockets full of rice.
“What is it? Were you playing with rice!?”
“No. I didn’t play with rice.”
The daughter insistently shook her head. And thinking about it, her young daughter couldn’t open the rice box. Something was strange. Mi-yeong couldn’t sleep and was tossing around. Then, she heard a weird sound from somewhere.
Pour! Pour! Pour!
The sound of something scattering on the floor.
“What?”
Mi-yeong stepped out. Someone was in the dark kitchen.
“Who are You?”
It wasn’t her husband. It was some grandma sitting with her back turned to her, doing something. As Mi-yeong approached closer, and was terrified.
Pour! Pour! Pour!
The grandma took out Mi-yeong, her husband and her daughter’s clothes, and was scattering rice grains on them. While mumbling curses.
“Aack!”
Mi-yeong screamed and fainted.
The next day, she sold the house. After moving, her husband and daughter got better as if the curse was washed away.
“As expected, it’s good that we moved.”
Mi-yeong looked around the apartment with a satisfied face.
That night, Mi-yeong woke up from her dream with a dry throat. Just then, she heard a strange sound from somewhere.
Pour! Pour! Pour!
Yu Dan almost closed the book and threw it.
“Even I could write it better!”
Why the hell did that private tutor’s friend or something make such a fuss after seeing this book? Could his heart be so weak? Whether it was supernatural or not, he wanted to throw it all out.
Even so, he already started, so he should finish it.
The last story was the 「Gap Ghost」.
I’m a beautiful woman. Wherever I go, I feel the gazes looking at me. I pretend to be aloof, but in fact those gazes are the happiness of my life. But since some point, I feel a gaze even when I’m alone. When I go to the bathroom. When I’m showering. One day, I was changing clothes in the store changing room, when I saw someone’s eye through a door gap.
“Found you!”
I opened the door with a bang, but there was no one there.
How strange. There was clearly an eye. Window gap. Curtain gap. Closet gap. Wherever there was a gap, an eye was observing me from within it. However, if I opened it, there was no one.
I hate the gazes now. I feel like I’m on the verge of going crazy. I hate eyes. I hate that disgusting look of eyelashes wrapping around it like worms.
I looked into the mirror. A pair of eyes was stuck to my skeleton face. I couldn’t stand it. I raised my nails and dug out one eye. Blood flowed, but rather than pain, I felt relieved. I tried to dig out another one, but the moment I looked into the mirror, I froze.
The hole created after getting rid of the eyeball. That too was a gap. And another eye appeared in it. The pupil of that thing.
I screamed.
Yu Dan finally ended up throwing the book.
He was fooled. That fact was more terrifying than the ghost stories of this book. He was caught and fooled. Shouldn’t he be compensated for the time he had to spend going to the library and reading the book?
The moment he raised his head grumbling.
His face hardened.
The computer, that was surely turned off, was turned on. From the pitch-black monitor a woman with disheveled hair and in mourning clothes stuck out her head and was crawling out.
He heard ‘Pour! Pour! Pour!’ sound from the bedroom corner. A hunched grandma was sitting with her back turned and scattering rice.
In the opposite corner, a clown doll with red hair was sitting blankly.
And in the gap of a slightly opened door he saw an eye watching him.
“What is that!?”
Yu Dan shouted flustered.
Was it some kind of gift package?
Soon he realized. If it was a normal, there was no way they would roll their eyes to whites after reading those basic-of-basics ghosts stories. The ghost stories weren’t all of it. Once you read the story, the ghosts from the story would leave the book pages.
But what about that?
“What are you doing? Don’t you know that I see ghosts a few times a day? And what kind of ghosts lack creativity so much!? Are you even a little scary?”
He yelled, but as if they didn’t hear him, they just continued doing their things.
The woman in mourning clothes at last got out of the monitor and was approaching with a kitchen knife in hand. The grandma was diligently scattering rice. The clown was just sitting emitting a dark aura. The eye just kept observing through the gap.
“What the hell is that?”
Yu Dan frowned and fell into thoughts.
But he soon gave up. There was no way that an answer would come after working his head hard to think.
*~*~*
Translator’s note: The true terror begins. Yu Dan read a book out of curiosity.
Book of Ghost Names story is four chapters long.
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