Hwaeun quickly turned right at the
intersection and entered Noryangjin.
As she sped down the road, entering
the neon-lit streets of the night, she saw a swarm of police cars parked on the side of the road, surrounding a building.
A parade of police cars, their lights
alternating between blue and red,
surrounding the entire building as if to
completely seal it off.
Hwaeun hurriedly parked nearby and ran toward the building.
Thud, thud-
"Haa, haa, Detective..!"
"Ah, Teacher. You're here."
Detective Park Gangwoon, who had been standing at the front smoking a cigarette, greeted her.
Catching her breath, Hwaeun grabbed the Detective and asked.
"Wh-what's going on...? In the middle of the night, the kids...."
"So you really didn't know. I had a feeling they wouldn't contact you, so i did."
'Those children...:' the Detective muttered, looking up at the building.
Hwaeun followed the Detective's gaze up to the Noryangjin Tower of Despair.
There, against the dark night sky, multi-colored lights spilled out from a window on the fifth-floor, flashing and shimmering.
Even from a distance, the ominous lights on the fifth floor of the building, against the dark night sky, radiated a distinct and undeniable presence.
"W-what on earth is going on...."
"They say they're performing an exorcism ritual,"
In stark contrast to Hwaeun, who was Stunned, he Detecuve's expression remained impassive.
"There are quite a few missing persons
inside. We're here on standby to retrieve them."
"A-An exorcism ritual? What in the world-"
Hwaeun looked up at the building with a terrified expression.
"I told them to contact me if anything
happened...."
Though no one knows this now, the reason the Detective from the previous time period and the last remaining member, Lee Jinhee, were able to abandon their livelihoods and search for Lee Joon was because Hwaeun remained in her place as a teacher at the school until the very end and supported them financially.
Because Hwaeun cared deeply for her students, she took a cautious step toward the building, her heart filled with anxiety.
But Detective Park Gangwoon immediately raised his hand to stop her.
"You can't go in. Wait here with me."
"....."
Hwaeun turned to him with teary eyes.
"Detective."
"Let's trust them. Don't you think those kids know better than we do?"
"..Really...?"
Hwaeun finally nodded, clasping her hands together with a worried expression.
The fifth floor of the Noryangjin Tower of Despair, from where ominous lights flickered and poured out.
Looking up at that window, Hwaeun prayed.
That her students would return safely....
"....."
**
"On your marks~l~!!!!!!!"
"Uheheheheheheheh..."
"Damn, Puhahahahahaha....?'
The music was still blaring chaotically.
I climbed onto the counter desk, holding the large Evee plushie I had won for Sunah from the claw machine, and began shaking it wildly in every direction.
"Bring out the booze!!!"
"Kyahahahaha..."
"Crazy...."
The club members burst into laughter, collapsing in fits.
Sunah, Hayoon, Jinhee, no one was spared, all getting smacked by my Evee plushie and laughing their heads off.
"Hey, you son of a b*tch, stop hitting us,puhaha...!"
"No matter how much you want to die! Or how hard things get!"
[Fart! Poot! All together!]
Thump thump- thump thump thump-
"Hey, you b*stard! Just sing a song already!"
"Stop, stop, please."
I finished the finale with style and stepped down from the desk, and the club members cheered and applauded.
"Club Prez is the best!"
"Joon, that was so funny...."
The others giggled and laughed, clearly enjoying themselves.
Like a true man, I skipped the scoring and pointed straight at Sunah.
"Alright, let's not kill the vibe and keep it rolling! Sunah, you're up!"
"Let's gooo~!!!"
"Yoon Sunah, let's gooo!!!"
Jinhee giggled like she was dying of laughter and shouted, while Dukhun and Gyeongwon let out high-pitched Whooo~ cheers.
"Pick your song in 5 seconds! 5! 4! 3! 2..."
"Th-then this one.. My grandma used to listen to it a lot..."
Riding the mood but still looking shy, Sunah blushed as she queued up her song.
[16223]
Walker
Geobugi
"Hey~ walker!"
"Whoaa"
"This really brings back memories..."
[T/N: This song is supposed to be a
popular Korean song published by an
indie band. Unfortunately, I searched
far and wide but couldn't find it.]
The club members applauded and
responded enthusiastically, and just
as she let her guard down, the song
started right away without an intro.
Caught off guard, Sunah hurriedly
grabbed the mic and started singing
immediately.
"When I was small in my memories... I
was riding a walker..."
"Weee~ the walker!!!"
As Sunah shyly stood up and sang, I
pretended to ride a baby walker next to her, dashing wildly around the room, and the club members burst into laughter and fell over again.
"Hey, you crazy b*stard.. were you always like this?"
"Prez, seriously, stop being so funny..pfft hahaha.."
Gyeongwon laughed with tears in his eyes, and Hayoon, her face flushed red, lowered her head and covered her mouth.
Today, I was ready to make a fool of myself as much as it took for the sake of the club members.
Jinhee giggled while wildly hitting the person next to her, and Dukhun, though not laughing too much, was swaying along cheerfully and cheering Woohoo, clearly enjoying the vibe.
[When I was young, I dreamed...riding a walker....]
Sunah's singing skills were barely above mumbling the lyrics, but thanks to the massively amplified sound, the karaoke echoed around, and with the song's upbeat tempo, the atmosphere fortunately stayed energetic and lively.
"Turtleman! Hey, Turtleman part! Someone grab it. quick!"
The rap part was coming up soon, so I handed the spare mic to Dukhun, whose voice was the deepest, but he smiled, waved his hand saying he didn't know the song, and handed it back to me.
While the rap part continued, Sunah stood awkwardly, swaying her hips gently as if dancing to the rhythm.
Just then, Jinhee swifly snatched the spare mic that had been drifting among the members and immediately lowered her voice as she jumped into the rap part.
[I used to be such a rebel with my friends ]
[Troublemaker... like a turtle on a babywalker....]
[Let's get off now~ cause I'm ready~♪]
"Yo~ that's awesome!"
"So cool, whee~!"
Sunah was singing softly and gently, as if moving to the rhythm, while Jinhee was rapping and showing off her intense swagger.
And while we were noisily and boisterously hanging out like that, the boarding house residents outside slowly quieted down.
"Stop, stop it, please...."
"Open the door~ Open the damn door, I said~ F*ck!"
"We will sue you! Definitely!"
We just kept loudly and happily enjoying our songs, pretending not to hear.
'If you don't like it, you can just leave~'
[I, riding the walker... I cried because I wanted to follow you.]
"Wheeeek~!"
"Yoon Sunah, you're doing great!"
"Waaah~
Clap clap clap clap clap...
At last, the song ended, and Sunah pointed to the person next to her, Jinhee, as the next singer.
"Okay~!"
Without hesitation, Jinhee immediately picked a song.
True to her fun-loving nature, she kept
the mood going by choosing an upbeat track.
[Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Regrets~♪ go flying into the sky~ ♪ Hey! Yoon Sunah, where do you think you're going!]
As Sunah tried to quietly slip back to her seat, Jinhee gralbbed her shoulder again and started bouncing around excitedly.
[Ha ha ha ha ha, my friend... Give me a bright smile~♪ Hey! Run! Let's become
best friends for a moment!]
Following Jinhee's command as she
gripped her shoulders, Sunah ran alongside her, panting with a strained expression.
[Scream it out~!!!!]
"Waaahhh~!!!!"
"Uwaaahhh"
[Not loud enough! Is that all you've got?!]
"Uaaaahhh~"
[This Lee Jinhee is disappointed in all of you! Boys, hoo! Girls, ha!]
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"
[Boys, hoo! Girls, ha!]
"Hooo! Hooo! Hooo! Hooo!"
[Why aren't the girls doing it! You're dead! Yoon Sunah, shout! Scream~!!!]
Before long, Jinhee, completely pumped, presses the mic against Sunah's cheek.
[Scream it ouuuut~!!!!!!]
[Kkeeeeeeeek!]
Sunah's strained, high-pitched scream rang out, her face flushed red, sending the room into laughter all over again.
"Puhahaha.."
"You can do it, Sunah~!"
And so, Sunah was held in that difficult
position, while Jinhee, holding onto her, was bouncing around with excitement.
In that loud, joyful moment when everyone was laughing and having fun.
Suddenly, a message popped up before my eyes.
I thought it was already a message informing the eradication of the ghost story, but unfortunately, it wasn't.
Pop-
[Congratulations ! With the recent event as a trigger, the Level 2 Mentor Event for the member Yoon Sunah has been completed!]
[The character Yoon Sunah has gained the special ability 'Clear and Precise Pronunciation'!]
"....."
I, who had been excitedly clapping and jumping up and down suddenly paused.
'Yoon Sunah's Level Up Event!'
The message that appeared when I levelled up the members after the Minecraft incident.
It said that an event would occur where each member would be visited by a mentor appropriate for their role, and that after the event, each member would gain a special ability according to their role.
It seemed that only now, after quite a long time had passed, that event had finally been completed.
[Kyaaah.. Huff, huff....]
"Hey, Yoon Sunah, you look exhausted~"
[Then you four-eyed nerdy Gyeongwon should've noticed and stepped up! Come on, switch!]
This time, Jinhee dragged Gyeongwon
Over, and the two of them jumped around under the spotlight with their arms around each other's shoulders.
Sunah, utterly exhausted, returned to
her seat with a worn-out expression.
As she wobbled while trying to sit down, Hayoon gently supported her with a smile.
At that moment, the message appeared once more.
Pop-
[Congratulations! With the recent event as a trigger, the Level 2 Mentor Event for member In Hayoon has been completed!]
[The character In Hayoon has gained the special ability 'Affinity'!]
I was dancing and swaying along with the other members, but my eyes were intently staring at the message window.
Soon, Jinhee's song came to an end, and Gyeongwon, who was next to her, grabbed the microphone.
"Hey~ Ahn Gyeongwon, pick a song!"
14515
Emergency Room
-IzI
"Oi oi- are you kidding me~ Why a ballad all of a sudden~"
[♪ I'm.. regretting it... that da-ay we fouuught.....♪]
"Ooooh What's with this ballad~"
"oooh"
[Because~ of my foolish pride... I pushed you away.. from my life...]
The club members booed Gyeongwon, who cluelessly started singing a ballad out of nowhere.
In response, he stopped singing for moment and pushed up his glasses.
"...This is the only song I know."
"How many years ago was that song, Oooooh....."
"..It was number one on the popularity chart, you know."
True to his old-fashioned and out-of-touch personality, Gyeongwon sang "Emergency Room', a timeless karaoke classic and former number one on the popularity songlist.
Strangely, the lyrics sounded like they were speaking directly to me.
[Please come back to me~ I hope...you'd save me~ Several times a day~♪]
"Hey~ this b*stard seriously plans to sing the whole thing~"
"Oi, President. You okay with him singing a ballad~"
"Whatever, it doesn't matter. As long as it's loud,"
We shifted uncomfortably, fidgeting in
our seats as the calm ballad continued.
Oblivious to us, Gyeongwon sang with
his eyes gently closed, lost in his own
emotions.
[Can you... forgive me? Yeeea~ I can't live without you, ooo... Ah, even now, my heart... you don't understand it at aaall.. Aah-ah... Aaa-uhk..]
He suddenly started crying mid-song.
But none of us were paying attention to the singing anymore, our eyes were blankly fixed solely on the karaoke music video playing behind him.
I saw the lyrics every time I went to karaoke, but not once have I ever seen how that music video ends.
Lim Changjun, playing a gangster role, meets an ordinary woman through a minor car accident and tries to make things work with her. Only to later see her returning home with another man. He tries to walk away, but when the guy picks a fight, he can't hold back and ends up brawling-
[Come back so we can love again... ugh, ughhh... The end.]
"Ah! Don't end it there!"
An angry Jinhee threw Sunah's Evee plushie at him.
"We didn't get to see the ending again!"
"What can I even do..."
Gyeongwon, acting like he couldn't care less, just went back to his seat.
Eventually, the mic naturally made its way to Hayoon, the last in line.
She hesitated for a moment, but soon composed herself with a calm expression and queued up her song.
153
Purple Fragrance
- Kang Sujin
"153? With a number like that, isn't it more like a folksong or something?"
"'A song from the Joseon Dynasty. A
song from the Stone Age."
It was a refreshing shock to us, having
never seen a song with a four-digit number, let alone a three-digit number.
Regardless of our reactions, Hayoon simply started singing, as if she was doing it just because she had to, lightly leaning her head against the wall. The song had a pure, almost old-fashioned charm, marked by a classic emotional vibe.
[Your figure- like the color purple-Gently approached me-]
Hayoon wasn't as vocally powerful as Jinhee, but her voice was naturally pure and clear.
Because of that, even when she sang as casually as she spoke, it still felt really meaningful.
[Walking down the street, passing by-
among many people- You came to me-]
'I guess singing is all about vocal tone.'
Just like that, every song the club members sang today had clearly shown off their own unique color.
[The person who gave me- a smile-]
"Wooow~"
"Clap clap clap"
If she had sung it in the exciting atmosphere of the beginning, it might have been a bit of a miss. Fortunately, Gyeongwon, who had already sung a ballad before, took the blame for the previous song, so Hayoon's innocent
melody was actually well-received.
"You've got the vibe, you've got the vibe~ Totally like a princess~"
"Phewwww~"
Jinhee, the karaoke enthusiast, showered her with enthusiastic praise, while Dukhun acted like a full-on fan club.
Soon after, Hayoon set the mic down and canceled the screen before the score could appear.
The members tried clapping and whistling to liven up the mood, but somehow, a feeling that things were quietly coming to an end lingered among us.
It was the feeling of satisfaction that comes after having a good time, as if we have finally become close.
"Ah~ It was fun."
"Should we do more? We've only done a few songs."
"Well, I mean, everyone's done at least one song, so...."
The moment I said that, I suddenly noticed how quiet it had gotten around us.
Come to think of it, at some point, the
commotion outside, the banging on the door, had quieted down.
"..Guys. Hold on a second."
I stopped the club members and listened carefully.
"..It's too quiet?"
"yeah..."
"Hmm?"
"....."
A sudden silence.
The club members, having just let out their excitement, tensed up again.
The silence that followed the commotion felt somehow ominous.
"..Was it defeated, Prez?"
"No. The message didn't show up yet."
"I think we should check just to be Sure..."
Sunah looked toward the door with an uneasy expression, but I shook my
head.
"We can just check it out on the CCTV
without going out. Gyeongwon, switch
the monitor display."
"Okay."
Gyeongwon fiddled with the buttons
under the monitor and switched the transmitted image from the karaoke display to the CCTV Screen.
Then, several boarding house residents could be seen in front of the door, crouched down and waiting with knives in hand.
"These b*stards still haven't come to their senses. Guys, let's go for the second round!..."
What do you mean ending!
These shut-in test takers, today, we're gonna blow their eardrums to pieces!
"Yeeaah! Charging 50,000 won!"
"Uooooh! You are out of your mind!!"
Luckily, Dukhun picked up on the vibe and responded with an excited reaction right away, and the club members rallied together again, boosting each other's energy.
"Yiaaaaah!! Let's gooo!!"
"Leeeet's gooo!!"
The hype that was about to fizzle out came back to life, thanks to those b*stard exam takers trying to pull some crap!
"Hey! Let's really teach those b*stards a lesson today! Make them pay for all the fuss they kicked up about us being noisy!"
"Puhahaha, Prez, you look like you've got a lot bottled up!"
"Plenty, plenty! Come on, everyone, pick, pick! Choose anything! Ill go first for this time!"
"Puhahahah.."
"Kkakkakkakkak.."
The loud backing track blared once again.
I cupped the microphone's head with both hands into a fist, pressed it to my mouth like blowing a horn, and let out a foghorn blast.
Fwooo--
"Aaaargh-how long is this gonna go On—"
"Just hold on a bit longer! Those little
b*stards are about to lose their voices!"
"I think you said that earlier, too!"
"Come out, come out... I'll kill you"
[Puhahha...]
[Kyahaha, Joon.]
The karaoke mirror ball was spinning
wildly as people outside started shouting again and pounded on the door.
In the cramped room, thick with heat.
Amid the swirling, colorful lights, everyone stood up, laughing, shouting, dancing, joking, singing, connecting and loving.
It was a moment where we were making a memory to carry for life.