Ha Min disappeared.
After seeing Ha-min ask me a question I didn't understand that day and walk away lonely like a cat that got wet in the rain, I couldn't meet him again. If he had simply skipped school and not been able to meet me, I would have just worried and cared about him, but that wasn't the case.
"Okay, now that we're all here, let's start practicing!"
"Huh? Ha-min hasn't come yet."
"Huh? Ha Min? Who is that?"
I'm Chae Bong-gu. I'm 16 years old. For almost a month, I've been experiencing things that are beyond my understanding and have been mentally confused, but I didn't know that at this very moment, I would experience another moment of confusion.
They say that when people are really surprised, they don't make a sound and can't even breathe, but I've been experiencing that a lot lately. It's really driving me nuts.
This time too, I was in a situation that I had never thought of before, so I felt my fingertips getting cold. I thought to myself, I'm going to get Raynaud's disease.
"You know, our youngest, the tallest and most handsome among us. He has slightly downturned eyes and looks like a cat..."
"Isn't that a favor?"
"Bonggu hyung wouldn't be the type of person to tell me I'm handsome. And I'm more of a wolf than a cat!"
"Ugh, Eunho is more like a dog than a wolf."
“…Brother Noah, the tone seems a bit strange. Is it just my imagination?”
"Graham~"
No one remembers Ha Min. It's as if he never existed in the first place, his very existence has been erased. The only evidence that Ha Min was in the band is the memories in my head. Even Ye Jun and Noah, who had known him longer than I did in the band, didn't remember Ha Min at all.
"It's Ha Min. Yoo Ha Min! He's our bassist."
“…Our bassist position is vacant, right?”
"Wait a minute. There should be a picture of us together here-"
The more I tried to have a conversation, the more I felt like I was being looked at as if I was strange, so I turned on my phone and went into the gallery. However, instead of finding evidence, I only felt like I had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.
In a group photo taken with club members
Ha Min wasn't there.
The spot where Ha-min had been was left empty, as if it had been erased with an eraser.
"Uh… huh?"
My hand holding the phone started to shake. Am I possessed by a ghost or something? Actually, I'm probably crazy at this point. No one else remembers but me, so maybe I'm crazy.
It was clear that the world was playing tricks on me. As I continued to feel like all my blood was drained and I was filled with cold air, Yejun grabbed my shoulder in surprise.
“Bonggu, you… your face is pale.”
“….”
"What the heck is going on- why are my hands so cold!"
Eunho came over and placed his palm on top of Noah's trembling hand holding the cell phone, then shouted in surprise. Noah was also flustered and didn't know what to do, so he kept reaching out and putting his hand down, stomping his feet.
Yejun frowned and seemed to be thinking deeply as he picked up my bag and handed it to me.
"This won't work. Go to the infirmary and get some rest. You really look like you're going to collapse."
I nodded, swallowing my breath. I waved my hand in refusal as Eunho offered to take me there, and left the clubroom.
Walking down a quiet hallway with no one around, I feel a little calmer. As I take deep, slow breaths, my tremors subside and my thought circuits start to work again little by little.
“The real world might be a Truman Show set up against me….”
I opened the door to the infirmary with a bang, holding the strap of my guitar bag tightly in my hand. The infirmary teacher must have left for a moment, so all I could see were empty desks and chairs. The bed curtains were all open, and there was no one lying down, so I guess I was the only one in the infirmary-
"uh?"
As I went to the bed inside and put my guitar bag down, I noticed someone by the window. It was a short-haired female student wearing something like a white hanbok.
… . Did our school have a cosplay club? Or a fashion club?
I was looking at the clothes that looked like they were from a black and white photo of modern and contemporary history, not even a school uniform, because I was curious, and then my eyes met with the other person's.
I scratched my head and asked, feeling embarrassed that I had been caught staring at
“…Excuse me, where did the school nurse go?”
The kid looked at me with his eyes wide open as if he had never expected me to talk to him. He blinked his wide-open eyes and looked around, turning his head left and right. Then, in a voice that sounded extremely flustered, he pointed at himself with his index finger and asked me again.
“…. Did you ask me by any chance?”
“Huh? Yeah….”
As soon as I confirmed it, he opened his mouth wide as if he had heard something he shouldn't have heard, and froze in silence with a face like he had seen a ghost.
What the heck, did I ask something I shouldn't have? I frowned and tilted my head, and then something I hadn't seen before caught my eye.
Underneath the white skirt, becoming increasingly translucent… . Legless… .
"…. ah?"
What? Why are there no legs? I looked back and forth between the empty legs and the girl's face with my shaking eyes.
I didn't look in the mirror, but I could tell that my face had turned pale.
I was pointing at the girl with my shaking fingertips and fumbling around… .
"Ghost, ghosteeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!"
You didn't see the face of a ghost, so you were a ghost yourself!
I ran towards the door screaming. No, I tried to run out.
My foot got twisted once and I almost fell, but I didn't fall and was desperately trying to head towards the infirmary door.
"Hey, wait a minute!"
"Kkiyaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
I fell backwards in shock at the sight of the girl's face suddenly appearing before my eyes.
And then the lights went out.
*
"Hey! Come to your senses!"
"Huh, huh! Virgin ghost!"
"Who are you calling a virgin ghost? I was married a long time ago!"
As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw the face of the ghost from before and I was startled once again and stepped back. The ghost, who looked to be my age, couldn't even get up and just moved its legs quickly, raising both hands as it looked at me in fear.
"I won't hurt you. I told you I'm not such a bad ghost."
As I held my pounding heart and took a deep breath, the ghost must have thought I had calmed down a bit because it put both hands on my waist and smiled.
"You're not really going to hurt me, are you? Like lock me in the school or make me your companion on the way to the afterlife? You're not going to do anything like that, are you?"
"Do I look like a demon to you? I don't think so."
“It looks normal, except that I can’t see the legs….”
No, to begin with, not being able to see my legs is out of the ordinary. I swallowed hard and slowly got up from my seat without letting my guard down. My legs were shaking so much that I was worried I would collapse again, but I was able to get up without any problems.
"Sorry to startle you. I didn't know there would be anyone else who could see me, so I just barged in."
"Hey, there's another person who can see ghosts?"
"Yeah, a really tall guy. I think his name was Ha Min?"
"What? Ha Min? Yu Ha Min?"
I was so surprised to hear Ha Min's story that I forgot how nervous I was and asked back.
"Do you know Ha-min? Is Ha-min a ghost too? I haven't seen him for the past few days. Do you know where he is? Did he attain Buddhahood and disappear!?"
"Wait, wait. Ask them one by one, slowly!"
The ghost seemed startled when the child who had been afraid of him suddenly changed and started asking him questions one after another, so he reached out his hand as if telling him to calm down. The ghost seemed to think about it for a moment, then gestured for him to come over and headed towards the sofa.
"Please sit down and calm down."
He sat on the sofa and pointed to the opposite side. I nodded and sat across from the ghost, taking a slow breath.
"Okay, let's start by introducing ourselves. What's your name?"
“Uh… Bonggu. Chaebonggu.”
"What a nice name! I'm Chun-ok. Kim Chun-ok."
I was a bit surprised because there were almost no people who complimented my name by saying it was a good name, but when I heard the other person's name, it seemed like they were from a very old time. My name is not common in modern times, but the other person is a ghost.
"How old are you?"
“Grade 2…. Eighteen.”
"Aha, you're younger than me! I died when I was nineteen!"
Isn't that something you can say with a smile? I asked with an ambiguous expression, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Excuse me, how old are you?"
"Me? I think I was born in '32."
“…Could it be 1932?”
"huh."
“Oh, so that’s what happened….”
No, then I would be a grandchild no matter how old I am. I may not be an ancestor, but I am a generation older than him. I was born in 2002, so the age difference is 70. Because of the Confucian instinct that runs through my bones, I unconsciously straightened my posture and raised my voice.
Chun-ok, or rather, grandmother, noticed my thoughts and smiled and waved her hand.
"Why are you raising your voice? Just speak normally. I'm not that picky."
“No, but still, how can I tell my grandmother….”
"It's true that we're related by age, but it feels a bit strange to be called grandma. Just call me whatever you want."
"But-"
"Oh my."
“Yes, Chun-ok… Sister.”
“…. Yeah, if that’s convenient.”
Her face was slightly relaxed, as if she had given up on being spoken to informally. Her body, which had been tense, had relaxed and she felt comfortable, perhaps because she had been having a pointless conversation. Perhaps because she thought I had calmed down, Chun-ok placed her palm on the sofa and leaned back against it as she spoke.
"Okay, ask me one question each. I'll answer everything I know."