1440 - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 15
When Du-hui showed the photos to the others, they all nodded in agreement with her assessment.
The four of them immediately changed direction. They decided to film how desolate and decrepit the building was, then retool their storytelling to show the transformation—cleaning it up, brightening it, making it presentable.
“So should we just shoot it at night instead? Grab some food and rest first.”
“Yeah. That’s better. Should I pull out the tents?”
The members set up camp with practiced ease. They were people who enjoyed camping together outside of Club activities, and they divided the work among themselves without fuss. The tents went up, supplies were arranged, and everything was ready in no time.
As Han-ung grilled the meat they’d brought, he glanced around. By now it was pitch-dark, and the only light came from the lanterns they’d set up. Everything around them lay silent.
“…But you know, even though we told people we’d be visiting today, no one’s looking out at us—outsiders coming here and making noise, having fun.”
At that, Su-gyun pulled out a bottle and set it on the table, then inexplicably glanced over his shoulder.
“Yeah. …We did get permission, right?”
“Of course. I spoke directly with the Village Chief. He even said it then—the villagers hardly ever go near the school, so we should feel free to look around and enjoy ourselves.”
Jin-hyung finished organizing the tents and stepped out to answer. Since the Club president never did anything carelessly, everyone relaxed and took their seats.
For a while, meat and drinks passed around. Du-hui ate while pulling out her phone to capture candid shots of the members. She took several photos of Jin-hyung and Su-gyun together, and since both had decent faces, they made surprisingly good subjects.
“Huh…?”
As Du-hui examined the photos, confusion crept into her voice, and the other three immediately turned their attention to her.
“What?”
“What is it? Did you take a weird photo of me?!”
Han-ung reached for her phone. Du-hui dodged his hand and stood up, her face troubled as she stared intently at the photo she’d taken.
“No, look at this.”
She glanced between the screen and the background behind Jin-hyung and Su-gyun, then held out her phone to them. Su-gyun took it and checked the photo.
“What? Why is it like this?”
He turned his head to look behind his own back.
In the photo were Jin-hyung and Su-gyun, both smiling with their eyes crinkled shut. But something was wrong with the background. Behind the two of them, the background appeared to have been erased, replaced by something dark and void-like.
The two were sitting with their backs to the small Playground, where jungle gyms and seesaws stood. Yet in the photo, that entire area was swallowed by a large, pitch-black blotch, as if someone had spilled ink across it.
While out-of-focus blurring sometimes happened when the focus missed, this was far too sharp and distinctly black.
Unable to make sense of it, Du-hui flipped her phone over to inspect it. Naturally, the lens showed no damage whatsoever.
“Maybe it’s just because it’s so dark out here,” Han-ung said casually, slicing meat on the grill. It sizzled, and smoke curled upward.
Du-hui wanted to argue that it wasn’t that simple, but since she didn’t know the answer herself, she decided not to dwell on it and fell silent.
The four of them returned to eating. Han-ung deliberately raised his voice to lift the slightly dampened mood, and Su-gyun, who’d been uneasy about the photo, eventually laughed along.
They ate, they drank enough to feel a pleasant buzz, and in the cool night air, the alcohol warmed their bodies and sent a pleasant haze to their heads. Soon they forgot about the photograph entirely and moved on to other conversations.
As they drank and talked on, the time crept closer to midnight.
“Hey, it’s already this late…?! How do we always have this much to talk about, even though we’re always together?”
“Right? I think we’re going to fall asleep soon. Should we head inside and start filming before that?”
Jin-hyung took the cup from Su-gyun and set it on the table as he spoke. Everyone agreed. They decided to leave the campsite for tomorrow and make use of the energy from food and drink to get moving.
Du-hui had drunk very little since she needed to handle the Camera. With steady hands, she gripped it firmly and stood at the back of the group. As she filmed the Club members, they made their way toward the large Main Gate that stood at the center of the school.
True to the Village Chief’s word, the gate wasn’t locked. When they pushed it open, boxes and similar objects must have been piled inside, because the door scraped loudly against the floor as it swung inward.
Han-ung, true to his naturally talkative nature, effortlessly set the tone for the exploration.
“Wow, just five years since this Abandoned School was shut down and it’s already like this? Look at this. The paint’s all peeling off the walls. Jesus! The windows are broken too. Must’ve been smashed.”
Han-ung pointed to the broken windows in the 1st Floor Corridor.
Two corridor windows in a row were indeed shattered, and judging from how the glass had broken outward rather than inward, there was almost no glass debris scattered on the corridor floor. Or perhaps the glass had been broken so long ago that all the shards had scattered away. This abandoned school bore plenty of signs that people had passed through it.
“Didn’t you say no one comes here?” Du-hui asked, looking at the floor. Behind her, Jin-hyung walked a step slower, keeping an eye on Su-gyun, and answered.
“Yeah. That’s what the Village Chief said—no one’s come since the school closed.”
Du-hui looked around at the surroundings too. Then he let out a quiet laugh. The Flashlight in his hand, which had been illuminating Su-gyun’s feet, now swung toward the school walls.
Scrawled across various spots on the walls were graffiti marks that must have been made after the school’s closure: “Live live live live live live,” “Jangso-eun Kim-myeong-eun Han-jo yeon came and left,” and countless others.
“See? A place like this is perfect for Courage Training. That’s why we came late, right?”
The comment made sense, so the mood that had stiffened for a moment eased again. The four of them explored every corner of the 1st Floor.
15
There were signs of animals that had lingered here—empty bottles and snack wrappers left behind by others who’d done Courage Training, strewn about casually. Nothing particularly strange. It was the typical appearance of an abandoned building.
The four of them felt a strange mixture of relief and disappointment as they climbed to the 2nd Floor.
“This floor’s a bit cleaner?”
The center of the staircase was swept down as if someone had cleaned it. It felt like the dust and garbage had been pushed to the sides to clear a path.
It wasn’t until they’d reached the middle of the stairs to the 2nd Floor that they realized it. You could assume it was just the work of others who’d played here, but for some reason, their spines tingled.
The four of them carefully examined the floor as they climbed the remaining stairs. The sealed 2nd Floor felt even colder than the 1st Floor with its broken windows.
“Let’s just check the layout and size of the 2nd Floor, then head back down.”
Though the school had a 3rd Floor, no one dared suggest going up there.

―Still, if this is supposed to be a courage training concept video, shouldn’t we check out the science lab or the Art Room?
Han-ung stood in the center of the 2nd Floor, turning his head this way and that. Just then, a sign for the Art Room came into view on the right side of the corridor. Su-gyun let out a short sigh at Han-ung’s words.
―Then let’s decide. Do we walk the entire length of the corridor from end to end and then head down, or do we just go into the Art Room and come back out?
―Hmm……. The layout’s probably similar to the first floor anyway, so I think it’d be better to explore the Art Room in detail! Vice President!
Han-ung, who had answered, turned to look at Du-hui and Jin-hyung as if asking their opinion. After thinking for a moment, the two agreed that his suggestion made sense.
―Yeah, alright. The first floor was nothing special either, so what would the second floor have? Let’s just make some art and get out of here.
Speaking thus, they fully ascended into the 2nd Floor Corridor.
―…….
And then, suddenly struck by the shift in the air, all four of them froze in place. Without having seen anything in particular, they all felt it at once—the same thing, simultaneously, as though they shared a single perception.
A low hum pierced through their ears—a brief ringing that came and went—and Du-hui’s furrowed brow relaxed. In her field of vision, Han-ung’s receding figure walked on with measured steps.
―Hey, where are you going? What’s over there?
The Art Room they were supposed to visit lay in the opposite direction. Yet Han-ung ignored Du-hui’s call, walking instead toward the end of the left corridor. His gait held an oddly mechanical, unwavering rhythm.
―……What’s wrong with him?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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