Ghost Story Club

[2019, April 27 | Saturday, 02:13]

[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts – 2]

[Ghost Story Points: 264]

[Causality Rate: 13%]

‘Wow, the effect is really incredible…’

Before I knew, the night passed, and it was already 2 a.m.

In a dark room where only the source of light was the bluish light emitting from the computer’s screen.

I sat there holding the mouse, playing my night away without feeling even a wink of drowsiness.

‘The new energy drink is crazy.’

Clover’s new product, Ultra Monster energy drink, which I bought during the day for 3,100 won was playing its effect on me.

Judging by my pounding heart and clear head, without a hint of tiredness, the effect was beyond amazing.

Thanks to the energy drink that holds up to its name, even after midnight passed and dawn approached, I couldn’t fall asleep and was diligently playing video games.

‘I must defend the base properly, please.’

Creek-

“Dear son, are you still playing games? Stop playing and go to sleep.”

My mother, who must have woken up for some reason, rubbed her eyes sleepily as she said in a worried voice.

“It’s the weekend after exams. Can I play a little more?”

“Okay, since… You worked hard on your midterms… my son is the best… then, work hard playing games.”

Yawning sleepily, my mother went back to the master bedroom.

Perhaps she woke up to drink water or use the restroom, when she noticed the monitor light leaking through the cracks of the door of my room and came to check on me.

‘This is exactly the reason why I turned the lights off, I thought this might happen. The living room is dark, so the weak light emitting from the monitor is easy to notice.’

For me, the weekend after exams was a special day. It was the day I could play games to my heart’s content, without the hassle of giving excuses to my parents or feeling guilty.

However, if my parents saw me staying up all night and playing games without sleeping, they would probably get worried about my health.

‘Next time, I should put some weather strips in the cracks of the door.’

After the momentary interval, I continued to sweep through the battlefield for another few hours. Eventually, around 4 a. m., l turned off the computer and went to bed.

‘Damn, my heart is still pounding like crazy. Will I be able to sleep at all?’

Zzz

***

When I opened my eyes the next day, the room was filled with bright sunlight along with the chirping of birds coming out the window.

After tossing and turning in bed languidly for a while, I opened the Status Window and checked the time. It was already 2 a.m., well past lunchtime.

“Huaaam.”

I was surprised that I could sleep for 10 hours after having that energy drink. Perhaps because the midterms and two ghost stories that I had to deal with right after the midterms in a row that week took a toll on my body. Even after drinking such a powerful energy drink, I couldn’t overcome the accumulated fatigue.

Getting up from the bed, I stretched my body and headed to the living room. My father, wearing only a tank top and shorts and watching TV on the sofa, was seen in the living room.

“Good morning, Dad.”

“It’s been five hours since your Dad woke up, you punk.”

“Yes, haha.”

Most of the time, my father always had a neat and gentlemanly appearance, like your typical office worker in a suit.

However, on the weekends, he puts all his energy into doing nothing but being lazy, while wearing this stretched-out and old running top and a pair of shorts.

Swoosh… 

After taking a quick shower, I was getting ready to go out when my father lifted his head from where he was lying down and called me.

“You just woke up, where are you going without even eating?”

“I’m going to an internet cafe. Tell Mom I’m going out.”

“Your Mom went to the shrine. Why bother going to an internet cafe when you have a perfectly functioning computer at home?”

“It’s more fun to play at an internet cafe than at home.”

The truth is, I was going to an internet cafe for their advanced gaming PC. Those cafes have better specs with a 144Hz monitor.

To have a change of pace, it was necessary to play games in another place. Moreover, with the advanced gaming PC and exclusive benefits of an internet cafe, I could use various characters which were unavailable in an ordinary computer.

“Oh, man, I’m envious seeing you so engrossed in something.”

Snorting loudly, my dad snickered as if my reasoning was hilarious.

It is said that when people get older, they need strength and mental capacity to indulge in hobbies. But because I’m still a bright high school student, I don’t get tired of sitting down and playing games for 10 hours a day.

“All right then.”

Saying so, my father took his wallet and quickly handed me a ten-thousand won bill.

“Since you’re going out, buy a Babamba brand’s chestnut ice-cream for me.”

“Okay, I will buy one.”

“You can keep the change. You’ve studied hard for your midterms.”

“Haha, thanks Dad, you’re the best.”

Grinning from ear to ear, I quickly accepted the bill with both hands.

For the past few months, since both of us encountered that fake Mom’s ghost story, my dad had been giving me pocket money like this.

He would casually hand me a bill as if he’s ordering me to run an errand, however, he would also tell me to keep the change.

Needless to say, the change would always be more than the cost of the actual products which he sent me to buy.

Before long, I crossed our neighborhood and was walking down the busy area near ShinLim Station.

Probably because it was the weekend, but the already narrow sidewalks on both sides of the streets were crowded with people.

The area of ShinLim Station is known as one of the ‘Top 10’ busiest areas in Seoul, so the crowd was expected. Everything from movie theaters to karaoke, escape rooms, VR stores and internet cafes, there was nothing this area didn’t have. Friends who like to hang around would often gather here to have fun.

‘Wow, man… there are so many elementary school kids.’

Glancing around the newly opened internet cafe with great specs, I realized that they were full with people.

Having no other choice, I also checked the building beside it, however, that place was not only full but also had a long line of people waiting outside.

Inside, I could see many people around my age or younger slamming their keyboards and screaming at the top of their lungs.

‘Where on earth do elementary school kids get their money to come to an expensive internet cafe like this?’

As I lamented to myself, I crossed the street and went up to the internet cafe in the building opposite of where I was standing.

Before I could climb up the stairs, I saw a few couples of people climbing down with frowns on their faces, complaining how all the seats were taken by other kids. Since I knew I wouldn’t find any seats there either, I immediately gave up and turned around.

‘Gaming in an internet cafe should be made illegal for middle school and elementary school students.’

I wandered around the busy streets near the station as I grumbled to myself.

In the end, even after searching for a long while, I couldn’t find any internet cafe with empty seats in the center of the downtown area.

Pondering for a while, I walked towards the outskirts of the area and entered an internet cafe in a slightly unfamiliar location. However, as soon as I stepped inside the threshold, a familiar but huge figure caught my eye.

“….Is it Dukhun?”

“Hmm?”

Dukhun, who was sitting in the waiting lounge at the fully packed internet cafe, idly playing on his phone, looked up at my call.

“President? What are you doing here?”

“To play games in the internet cafe, obviously. But it seems there are no seats here either.”

“Yeah… I think middle school and elementary school students should be banned from entering internet cafes.”

“Can’t agree more.”

Sitting down on the chair beside Dukhun, I also decided to wait with him.

Bang, bang!

An ill-mannered elementary brat slapped on the keyboard as he started swearing loudly.

“Ahhh~! The Malphite destroyed my character. That Yasuo is no good~!”

[T/N: Malphite and Yasuo are two famous characters of League of Legends. Apologize if my information is wrong.]

Bang, bang!

“Ah, what the hell are you going on about, Genji! You can’t do shit!”

“So noisy…”

Suppressing the urge to sigh, I shook my head with an annoyed expression.

“Hey, let’s get the hell out of here… It doesn’t seem like those elementary brats are gonna leave anytime soon.”

“Kuso.”

Even as lunchtime passed, people occupying the computers showed no signs of getting up, as if they were hellbound on playing until dinnertime. The few seats that were empty for a few seconds filled up quickly with the people who had arrived before us and been waiting.

As I left the door of the internet cafe, completely annoyed and wondering what else I should do at this hour if not play games.

Pop.

[C-rank Special Ability: Life Design has triggered.]

[Head to the Leon Internet Cafe within 23 minutes.]

‘Hmm!’

The Leon Internet Cafe was near the neighborhood where I lived. Perhaps there were more empty spots in the local internet cafe than in the downtown area.

“I didn’t want to go to the nearby internet cafe. Their specs are not good.”

“What games do you play that you’re looking for good specs?”

“Me? I play Battlegrounds and LOL. What about you?”

[T/N: PUBG: Battlegrounds (previously known as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) is a battle royale game developed by PUBG Studios and published by Krafton. For more information, click here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PUBG:_Battlegrounds]

“Dungeon and Fighter.”

[T/N: Dungeon & Fighter, sometimes abbreviated to DNF, is a series of video games created by Neople, a subsidiary of Nexon. For more information, click here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeon_%26_Fighter]

Dungeon and Fighter, it’s a game for dedicated gamers!

“I’m surprised to hear there are still people who play it. Then you don’t have to worry about going to an internet cafe with poor specs. It’s an old game anyway.”

“Doesn’t matter where I play. Do you know a place?”

“There’s one in front of my apartment. There should be plenty of seats since the specs aren’t that advanced.”

“Guide me, master.”

Hmm, if the local internet cafes have crappy computers, I guess I can only play LOL.

Finding no better alternative, I headed back to my neighbourhood with Dukhun on my toes.

We were standing at the crosswalk that leads away from the downtown area and back to the apartment complex where I lived.

While waiting for the green light, a motorcycle suddenly stopped in front of us and a woman, in tight jackets and jeans, greeted us.

“Oi, short time no see.”

The stylish older sister was wearing a helmet and riding clothes.

The leather clothes that clung tightly to her body made us embarrassed to look at her directly.

Poking to Dukhun’s side, I couldn’t help but wonder.

“Do you know her?”

“….? I don’t know…”

“Short time no see, you fucking bastards.”

“….Jinhee?”

The woman whom we thought was a stylish older sister wearing a helmet, just laughed and then quickly took off after receiving the signal.

“…That’s Jinhee.”

“Shit.”

As we kept circling around the town, we ended up meeting all our friends.

‘Riding a motorcycle… This is the signature habit of bullies.’

Leaving the bustling downtown area, we entered the apartment complex where I live.

“The environment is way more comfortable here.”

“Wheeze, wheeze. There were really too many people.”

Entering a narrow alley full of illegal parking, I entered a small, four-story building that didn’t even have an elevator.

After climbing the dark stairs, we arrived at the second floor. Finally, after wandering around for a long time, we found an internet cafe that had some empty spots.

“Oh, there are some empty seats. Just as I thought.”

Since it was a place that was behind the latest trends, and didn’t have advanced gaming computers, there were plenty of empty seats even on a weekend afternoon.

The atmosphere inside the cafe was also a bit more calm than the bustling downtown area full of hyperactive students.

“The specs are pretty bad. But playing here is better because there are no elementary brats screaming at the top of their lungs, trying to break the keyboards.”

People present could only be seen playing Sudden Attack or LOL.

[T/N: Sudden Attack (Korean: 서든어택) is a free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter online game developed by the South Korean company GameHi. For more information, click here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudden_Attack]

Most of the people present were middle-aged men, playing some old games like Starcraft or Go-Stop. The old local internet cafe truly was old.

[T/N: StarCraft is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. For more information, click here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarCraft]

[T/N: Go-Stop, also called Godori (the winning move in the game) is a Korean fishing card game played with a Hwatu (Korean) deck. For more information, click here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go-Stop]

“I’m surprised the seats are taken care of by machines.”

Perhaps it was a way to prevent scams, the money for each computer were calculated while the seats were maintained by advanced machines like in modern internet cafes.

Taking out two one thousand won bills from my wallet, I put them in the machine. I was thinking of playing only two hours before going home.

“Wheeze, wheeze.”

On the other hand, Dukhun seemed to be planning to stay there for a while. Under my surprised eyes, he put inside a ten-thousand won bill.

“Where did you get so much money from? You can play for 11 hours with ten thousand won.”

“I saved up some money by selling some in-game items.”

It seemed Dukhun was not only a much more professional gamer than me, but also someone who earns pocket money by trading items.

After putting our money in, we sat down side by side, I for two hours and Dukhun for eleven hours.

“Where’s the button to turn it on?”

“Is this it…”

Why is it always so hard to find the power button on the computer in an internet cafe?

While the computer was turning on, I opened my phone and checked the group chat to see if anyone had sent any messages.

[Yoon Sunah: Did you all have lunch?]

The KakaoTalk message came when I was wandering around the busy street.

Although the number of people who read the message was almost everyone, no one bothered to reply.

“Guys, really… at least some of you should have replied.”

As expected of our club members, they were a bunch of people who have strong individualistic tendencies and paid little attention to other people’s personal life. They were busy enjoying their weekends in their own way.

Shaking my head inwardly, I left a KakaoTalk message in the group chat, replying to Sunah’s inquiry.

[Lee Joon: Just woke up. Am in an internet cafe with Dukhun, lol]

As if she was waiting for someone to message, Sunah’s reply flew right in.

[Yoon Sunah: Wow, which internet cafe?]

[Lee Joon: Leon Internet Cafe. It’s around the Jugong Apartment complex]

[Yoon Sunah: You two must be having fun….]

Knowing well enough that Sunah was alone at home being bored to death, I took a screenshot of the location and uploaded it to the KakaoTalk chatroom.

[Lee Joon: [Attached photo]]

[Lee Joon: We’re going to be here for a while. If you’re bored, you can come over]

[Yoon Sunah: I’m coming]

While I was chatting with Sunah, Dukhun went and bought a cup of ramen and a bottle of water before taking the seat beside me.

As the delicious smell of ramen wafted over my nose, the realization that I was hungry dawned over me. Therefore, I also got up and went to the counter to buy some food.

“Even other internet cafes have grilled pork belly these days. But this place is still in the old times.”

The menu was extremely limited.

Seeing no other choice, I bought some quail eggs, bread, and a drink and headed back to my seat.

By the time I returned, Dukhun was already slurping down the ramen at his seat.

“Huuu… this internet cafe is really living under the rock.”

Muttering to myself, I opened the paper bag and took out the bread.

‘Brings back memories.’

This local internet cafe had a calm atmosphere, it made people who were staying there forget the flow of time.

Playing in the internet cafe with the headset on, I almost forgot what time it was or how old I was.

Because I was concentrating too hard on the game, I had to suddenly take off my headset as I asked myself, ‘Um. Where am I?’

‘What was I doing before coming here?’

As I pondered to myself, I took a bite of the quail egg and the bread, savoring the taste of bread and egg as I once again concentrated playing LoL, forgetting my existence once again.

In the slightly dark local internet cafe, along with the sound effects of various games that softly echoed around and drifted to my ears, I started to immerse myself in the game.

[Don’t let complacency blind you!]

“Ah~ If you could just hold out a little longer, I could handle it all, so why are you getting pushed back? Don’t you know that fighting near the turret evens the numbers without me? Just hold out for two more minutes, please.”

As I was too engrossed playing games, I suddenly felt the presence of someone peeking from behind me.

‘Who is bothering me while I’m playing?’

When I looked back, it was Sunah standing behind with an anxious look on her face.

“Oh, Sunah. Sit down, sit down!”

“Yeah.”

Sunah sat down on the empty seat to my left as she looked at the monitor curiously.

The game soon ended as I played with full concentration.

Only after finishing my game did I stretch my arms before turning my chair to greet Sunah

“Hello… Sunah, glad to see you.”

“Yeah, me too…”

Sunah, who was wearing a pink T-shirt, smiled and greeted me back as I yawned loudly.

“Have you had lunch?”

“Yeah.”

“I was so bored waiting for you. Would you mind playing a game with me?”

Sunah agreed with a nod and slight smile.

I put two more notes of 2,000 won in the slot and got Sunah the computer beside me.

The game we chose to play together was KartRider.

[T/N: Crazyracing KartRider is an online multiplayer racing game developed by Nexon. For more information, click here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazyracing_Kartrider]

“No, you’re blocking my path!”

“Oh, hahaha…. Sorry….”

Since Sunah didn’t have any computer at home and never played any video games before, she didn’t know how to play games.

The game we were playing, KartRider, was a game I often enjoyed playing in the past.

But since my preference changed over time and my interest tilted towards RPG games, I got bored after playing it for about an hour. The next hour I just taught Sunah how to play Overwatch.

[T/N: Overwatch was a 2016 team-based multiplayer first-person shooter game by Blizzard Entertainment. For more information, click here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overwatch_(video_game)]

“You have to move the mouse like this.”

“Joon, it’s so hard…”

“But a lot of girls play this. Here, if you click this, a shield will appear.”

“Uhm…”

In my previous life, during the year of 2022, the sequels to Overwatch were mostly played by youngsters. However, perhaps it was just the first version of the game in 2019, there were many things missing.

I made Sunah choose Reinhardt and instructed her to stand still while holding a shield, and then I chose the character Genji and ran around while throwing spears at the enemy. While I was doing so, Dukhun stopped playing and looked at me with a look of interest.

“It seems like you’re the only one having fun.”

Eventually, seeing Sunah unable to play at all, I told her to turn on KartRider again and started playing with her. Just at that moment, a sudden message appeared in front of me.

Pop.

[The Ghost Story Acquisition Skill has activated.]

[Starting the collection of B-rank ghost stories…]

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T/N: Herobrine is an urban legend and creepypasta from the video game Minecraft, originating from an anonymous post on the imageboard website 4chan in 2010. He is depicted as a version of the Minecraft character Steve, but with solid white eyes that lack pupils. For more information, click here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herobrine

I apologize if any of the information related to games is wrong. I don’t play video games so I may be lacking in that aspect. Please feel free to point out any mistakes that fall in your eyes. Thank you ❤️

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