In the middle of the night, the school hallways were unrealistically quiet.
Even the sound of the wind had stopped, as if someone were deliberately trying to hide it. The cold winter air seeping through the old, peeling window frames enveloped the hallway in a layer of ominous silence.
I walked slowly.
If I hadn't been wearing sneakers, the creaking sound of the floor might have woken someone. I shone the flashlight of my phone ahead, and approached what had been an ordinary classroom just a few hours ago.
“Really… I never thought I’d be back at school at this hour.”
He muttered so low that only his own ears could hear.
But when the sound bounced off the wall, it sounded like an unfamiliar, distorted echo.
In other words, it wasn't my voice.
I stopped walking and looked around.
There is nothing.
Of course, no one was there. It was 1:12 AM. Who else would be at school besides me?
A message from a friend a few minutes ago was displayed on my phone screen.
"Hey… You saw that post too, right? Our class, classroom 3… Please check if that's true. You're close to school."
I felt wronged that I was being forced into this situation just because I was close to him, but I knew I'd be treated like a "scared-out kid" at school the next day if I ignored him, so I figured it was better to just come. Above all, the rumors were so absurd that I couldn't just ignore them.
The gist of the rumor was this:
It is said that around 7 o'clock this evening, a post was uploaded to the school bulletin board by an unknown account.
"Class 3, Grade 3, someone must return before midnight tonight. If you don't, I'll go in your place."
It may seem like a clickbait post, but the problem is that it was deleted exactly 5 minutes after it was posted.
And all the kids who saw that post said they had the same dream.
“Even so… it’s a bit creepy that even dreams come true.”
I muttered to myself and walked towards the third grade classroom.
In front of the classroom in question
When I got to the door, I realized I was more nervous than I thought.
My fingers were shaking slightly.
There was a cold, clammy sweat on his palms.
“Ha… I hope nothing really happens?”
I grabbed the doorknob and turned it slowly.
I expected to hear a thud—the door locking, but it opened without any force.
I push it gently and it opens smoothly, as if someone had opened it from the inside.
The classroom was dark.
The entire school building was dark, and the emergency lights were only blinking dimly.
I stepped forward with the flash on.
I felt the cold air, along with the smell of dust, dig into my lungs.
however.
"…what?"
There was something written on the blackboard.
It was clearly a blackboard that the teacher had wiped clean before leaving work.
“You’re here.”
The moment the flashlight hit it, the letters slowly shimmered.
Not like hand-written chalk marks, but like the shadow of a candle, swaying.
I felt my heart sink and go down my esophagus.
“Who… who’s there?!”
My voice was scattered and scattered through the air.
That was when.
At the back of the classroom,
The paper rustled—moved.
Soon after, a sound like wind was heard between the desks.
A steady footstep, as if someone was walking around the classroom.
“Don’t joke around… seriously.”