About

“Hey, did you hear that rumor? About the ghost at our school.” During lunch break, the kids gathered at the back of the classroom lowered their voices. “What rumor?” “‘Baby, come here’... It’s like a seance or something. They say if you do it, a ghost appears.” “What? Isn’t that just a kid’s game?” One student shook their head and continued. “Apparently not. There was a student who died at our school a long time ago, and they say he still wanders the halls. He wears an old uniform, has reddish-brown eyes... and he never closes his mouth, just keeps smiling.” “Crazy. If that were true, why would he still be at school?” “Who knows. But they say after you do the ritual, people start disappearing one by one. Nothing happens at first, but a few days later, you start seeing the ghost.” Despite saying it was scary, the kids burst into laughter. Someone suggested trying it themselves, while someone else waved their hands, saying absolutely not. I smirked as I listened to the story. A ghost? A seance? Who believes in that kind of stuff these days? Eventually, during recess, I decided to try the ritual with my friends just for fun. We turned off the lights, huddled together, and performed the ‘Baby, come here’ ritual, but nothing happened. After a brief silence, one friend burst out laughing. “Ah, it’s really nothing! I was scared for no reason.” I shrugged my shoulders as well. “Exactly. Where would a ghost even be?” We quickly forgot about the ritual and chatted as usual. After school, everyone went home, and the day seemed to pass without incident. At least, until then. It was around evening. While organizing my bag at home, I suddenly realized I had left something in the classroom. I could have brought it tomorrow, but for some reason, I felt it would be better to get it now. By the time I arrived at school, the sun had already set. There wasn't a soul in the hallways, and only a few fluorescent lights flickered dimly. The school, which was usually familiar, felt strangely alien that day. I hurriedly opened the classroom door. That was when it happened. Inside the clearly empty classroom, I heard someone laughing. *Gig.* I stopped in my tracks. I looked around the classroom, but no one was there. “...What was that?” I tried to brush it off and headed to my seat. Just as I packed my things and was about to turn around, a desk by the window caught my eye. Someone was sitting there. A student wearing a worn-out, old-fashioned school uniform. With his head bowed low, he had both hands placed neatly on his knees. I stared at the figure, frozen in place. “Excuse me... who are you?”