When the daybreaks

Here I am, dragged against my will.

"It looks like it's going to rain,"

Na Kang Lim commented as he looked at the sky.

He had blonde hair and red eyes.

He looks like a delinquent, but surprisingly, he’s a nice guy.

And how come the teachers haven't said anything about his blonde hair? Is it natural? Or is he foreign?

Hmmm...

He was wearing a loose black hoodie over a white T-shirt, ripped jeans that looked way too intentional, and a pair of scuffed-up sneakers. On his wrist was a chunky silver watch, and a single black earring dangled from his left ear. Stylish without trying, or maybe trying too hard to look like he’s not trying. You know the type.

He was quite average-looking, though, definitely in the "cool" type, I suppose.

"Yeah..."

The one who said that was Soo Young. He had black hair with orange eyes.

He was...

Wait... I don't even know much about him.

According to my sources (which are the rumors and random gossip), there’s not much information about him.

The only thing I know is that he doesn't speak much and is apparently called

The Solitary Prince. Obviously, he is popular with the girls. There’s even a fan club for him.

But one thing remains mysterious: why did he even join this club?

The answer to this is actually pretty simple, he was simply enchanted by my charms!

Wait... No, this isn't BL!!

Uh... I think he joined because he wanted to overcome his phasmophobia. (If you’re wondering, the girls think of this as cute, making him even more popular.)

"Oh look, even Jinhwan is here."

The klutz who was walking toward us pointed at me.

Hey, I'm not some kind of attraction, you know?

"Un..."

The girl she was carrying on her back spoke.

When the klutz reached us, she put her down. The girl reluctantly came down and sat next to me on the bench.

She had messy pink hair that reached below her shoulders.

Her orange eyes looked drowsy and mostly had an apathetic look.

"Umm... what’s your name?"

Though I only came here by force, it's good to know each other...

Never mind, that seems like a drag.

I'll just pretend I never said that and turn my face away.

"Sorry, but... I'm not... feeling... up to it right now..."

And she hits me with an instant rejection.

Ugh, that’s critical damage.

"We’ve been in the same club for almost a year, and you still don't know our names..."

The klutz commented.

You're right.

In my mind, I'm still calling you a klutz, and I refuse to call you anything else.

"H-her name is Lee Mirae, I think?"

Just as expected from... Kang Lim.

Huh, that’s a poetic name.

While I wait for Prez, might as well...

「My heart flutters,

The bloom,

The silent hush,

or the flicker

of the machine.」

「The beating,

The lamented memory

Of a broken

Heart」

「The future that

withholds me,

my grasp as

Thunder echoes

The dazzling sky

breaks within the

past, the present

Nothing but a sha—」

Ugh... I can't do this anymore.

This is just nonsense!

I mean, if you think that was good, there's something severely wrong with you.

Hmm...

I guess I’ll read a webnovel.

Oh, I found one called The Broken Script, and looking at the reviews:

[Yoon Joon –

This novel is a scam. When you read it, it will show random images, even videos, creepy, uncanny stuff. This is undoubtedly analogue horror, but the author just bluntly states it's a sweet fluff story, which it's clearly not. If read by a weak-hearted person, it will give you a heart attack. Warning: jump scares and random glitches on the site, random audios, some may even make your ears bleed...

I don't know how this hasn't been removed yet. Please don't read, if you don't want your device to have a seizure...]

Huh, sounds interesting.

I read the first chapter.

"Holy shi—!!"

I dropped my phone.

""""".....?!"""""

Everyone looked at me, confused, as if to ask, Did you see a ghost?

"Oh look, President is here!"

I pointed toward her. I could feel my cheeks a bit red.

※※

"So what is this place?"

Kang Lim asked as he looked at the house in front of him.

It was a Western-style building, with a shrine in front.

It was on top of a mountain; the stairs leading to it were cracked or half broken, and the tori gate was rusted.

And I was dying, crumbled up on the ground, my legs sore.

"An old shrine,"

Yu Yi-sak remarked.

Yu Yi-sak... was he in our club? I don't remember...

"...."

I'm not going to say anything.

I vowed as I looked around. There was an ominous, eerie feeling about this place.

The air felt a bit suffocating, probably because we were on top of a mountain.

"Its called Sweet Home, and there are no records for this place. The ones who visit come back, normally. No unusual effects. But..."

The President paused and spoke as she walked.

"There is a lingering feeling of..."

We followed behind her.

"Loneliness."

The ghost is lonely, eh.

I looked at Soo Young next to me, whose face was pale, like he was about to pass out.

I patted his shoulder while I, myself, was close to passing out, and consoled him.

"Tough luck, buddy."

We entered the building. The floor was made of wood, stained, and creaked every time someone stepped on it.

The windows were half broken, and the rustling wind made a weird banging sound.

The inside was dark, as if night had enveloped us. The sunlight that passed through the window only reached close to it.

The hallways were dark and suddenly felt huge.

Hmmm...

If some ghost comes and scares me while my guard is down, I’m seriously going to make that ghost see the worst of me.

The Prez (I just realized, "President" is too long) said we just had to note down any unusual activities...

First of all, why are we even doing this?

Because we have to submit our club activities before summer vacation (apparently they’ve been asking for it since the start of the first semester).

"What about the other times we’ve done this 'bonding' experience? What happened to those logs?"

"They were lost..."

To that, Kang Lim answered, looking apologetic.

Now who’s the irresponsible one?

If you say me, then...

Uwa! You are correct!

Now that we are in the middle of this very ominous-looking (possibly) haunted mansion, what would we do?

Of course, split up!

And most naturally, I was paired up with Lee Mirae and Soo Young!

Ugh, what a drag.

Can I just cease to live?

"Hey, Ghost-chan~."

I don’t know your name, so I would be glad if you responded to my calling.

"Take me!!!"

Then, I shouted.

In the end, I was not successful and was begged by Soo Young to stop shouting.

He looked like he was about to cry, so I had to stop.

Lee Mirae was staring into the void, and the void was probably staring back at her.

Mm...

I, too, started staring at the void.

Soo Young gazed at me as if to say Are you going to summon the dark lord?

Nevertheless, he joined us.

Wasn't this supposed to be horror? So why do we look like someone who has lost their soul?

Creak- Creak-

Damn, the wind is longer than my will to live.

Anyways, we ran into the other group, Soelhye (otherwise the klutz), the President, and Min Seoyeon, the club advisor.

The other team was Kang Lim and Yi-sak.

I was scolded by the klutz for standing in the same spot for about an hour.

When they saw us, they were shocked and assumed we were some cult, which is quite a rude thing to say because...

"..."

So after apologizing, we were climbing up the stairs to the second floor.

The stairs made a sound every time someone stepped on them, probably at the point of breaking.

Soo Young looked like he was about to die with every step he took.

Lee Mirae walked without a care in the world.

The hallway on the second floor had nothing much. Every room was in tatters or locked.

At the end of the hallway, there was a bright pink-colored door that was now nothing like its original form.

The nameplate was half broken, with the name In-ha written on it; it was barely visible

I looked at Soo Young, trembling. He nodded.

I opened the door, and the room that came into view broke my heart.

The bed was plain, a study table and a chair, a bookshelf with barely any books on it.

There were stains on the ceiling, a light bulb hung shattered.

At the desk, there was a note.

On the walls, there were notes pasted.

『I am sure tomorrow will be better.』

『Better days will come.』

『Everything will be fine.』

And so the notes got redder, and the handwriting got rougher.

Until there was only a single 『Help me』 all over the room.

At the corner, there was a parchment written in red.

『I am sure, somebody will come to help me.』

Jinhwan walked closer to the table and saw a note at the corner saying:

『Please don't hurt my family.』

Mirae looked solemnly as she walked closer. Soo Young was brought to tears; he forgot fear at that moment.

They felt pity for the girl, but all they could do was stare silently.

"...."

But suddenly Jinhwan's phone rang, and that made him snap out of his daze.

He picked it up, and moments later,

"Eh."

He gasped, his complexion grew paler.

"Ah... Y-yes! I-I-I am coming...!"

He ran off. There were slight tears in his eyes.

Soo Young tried to chase after him, but stopped.

Mirae looked at the table. There was a diary, it was stained with blood, roughed up, and in tatters.

She flipped the page. Some of the text was ripped off.

【In-ha's】

Only the first name remained.

『If you're reading this, I'm probably dead.』

「I'm sorry I'm not naïve. I would know what others would do; I could tell by their eyes what they were.」

「My real parents were killed by some serial killers. I know it, because I saw them dragging their bodies into the basement...」

「I hate being hurt. I don't want to experience pain. Eating scraps hurts my stomach. They gave me some meat, and my uncle was gone. The meat reeked of an odor. I didn't know what it was. But as soon as I saw it, I threw up. My stomach churned every time I thought about it.」

「Please don't hurt me anymore. Can you, someone, please help me...」

「The serial killers have been gone for a while. I don't know what it was... But—」

Another cut of text.

「I went to the basement. There was no one there...」

「I woke up... only to see my father acting like a different person.」

「My mother started acting weird too...」

The writing became hard to read.

「I am scared...」

※※

At last, Mirae reached the last page of the diary.

「Every human has a breaking point, and once you reach that breaking point... you will break.

Hey. Even if everything was painful and it hurts so much, in the end, I couldn't do anything. So the only thing I could do is watch and watch and live and live and suffer and survive watch and watch and live and live and suffer and survive watch and watch and live and live and suffer and survive watch and watch and live and live and suffer and survive watch and watch and live and live and suffer and survive watch and watch and live and live and suffer and survive watch and watch and live and live and suffer and survive watch and watch and live and live and suffer and survive watch and watch and live and live and suffer and survive....」

The text got rougher and more jumbled until it was just scribbles tainted with blood.

「All I can do is whisper to myself 'Everything will be fine,' but I am all alone. No one is there for me, no one to listen to me, no one to cry to. I wanna be hugged, be healed, there's no one, no one to laugh or play, no one to comfort me...

『I'm just too tired.』

If you find me, please bury my body next to my family.」

Thunder sounds-

Mirae looked outside. It had started to drizzle. The sky was covered with dark clouds. The moisture in the air was carried by the wind, making a warm breeze of summer.

The wind was loud, but only loud enough for In-ha to hear it.

The rain dripped on a lone cherry blossom that had died out, and under that tree were two rocks with 'mom' and 'dad' written on them.

Mirae had her eyes swollen and her body trembling.

Soo Young was weeping; he forgot about fear, and all he felt was despair.

※※

Mirae and Soo Young met up with the other groups. Though a bit hesitant, they told everything.

Hearing that, they carried a sorrowful look. Kang Lim even cried, while Seolhye's eyes reddened from weeping.

Seoyeon mourned quietly; Yi-sak carried a solemn expression.

Han Eunha (President) decided it was best to not write any of this, and after finding out, told them that people had investigated this twenty years ago, but decided to leave it.

"They found In-ha's body and buried it next to her family. If you go to the back of the shrine, there is a cherry blossom tree. Under that tree lies the resting place of the family."

They walked to the back. After a few moments of silence, Soo Young walked closer to the ground where In-ha is buried and started talking to her, while carrying a bitter smile on his face.

Even though his hands were trembling, he spoke enthusiastically about his life.

Seeing this, the others joined.

It was truly a warm moment. If In-ha were to see this many people be there for her, she would be the happiest girl in the world.

The whole Ghost Story Club was here, together, except for Jinhwan, whose existence was momentarily forgotten.

Later, when Seoyeon asked where he was.

"He suddenly got a call and ran off to somewhere. His face was pale. Before, I was too scared to notice, but when I think about it, it was the first time I saw Jinhwan stumble over his words."

Soo Young mumbled.

※※※

Jinhwan was running through the corridor.

His legs swayed; for a moment, he forgot to breathe.

When he reached the ICU room that his dad was in.

He found his mom, and his sister, Min-yuri, comforting her while weeping herself.

His aunt and uncle sat on the bench.

When they saw Min-yuri crying like a kid, it was almost as if Jinhwan was the older one.

He quietly patted his older sister, offering a bitter smile.

"It will be alright,"

He said softly.

"Dad is not that weak, ya know?"

This was what Jinhwan said, but after a few hours, the doctor came out with a sorrowful expression, filled with horror.

"Seo Hyun-ssi’s lungs were burned. His whole body was incinerated... Even his bones were a wreck..."

All Jinhwan could hear was the doctor apologizing for not saving his dead father.

Jinhwan felt an inexplicable anger toward the doctor, but deep down he knew it wasn't the doctor's fault. They tried their hardest.

He saw his sister lash out at the doctor.

He put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

Looking at the crying Jinhwan, she stopped and hugged him.

Soon, Jinhwan walked away, home.

His mom tried to stop him, but he walked away like a broken doll.

In his room, he was helplessly weeping, hugging his knees to his chest.

Snuggled up in the corner of his room,

He repeatedly muttered to himself.

"Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine... Everything will be fine..."

He didn't stop. He just kept mumbling again and again and again and... again.

His eyes had gone blank.

A week later, Jinhwan was back to normal, as if nothing had happened.

His club members, hearing of the death of Jinhwan's father, invited him to a beach house.

※※※

"Hah."

I sighed as I looked outside at the passing scenery through the window of the speeding car heading towards a beach.

There were six seats in this car.

At the back, I was sitting by the window. Beside me was a rather familiar sick girl, and she joined the club while I was absent... Why?

When asked, she joked around saying, "Maybe I'll meet a ghost or so."

And I've been calling her a sick girl all this time, I still don't know her name.

Yeah, I'm going to call you Yuutsu-chan!

Next to Yuutsu-chan, there was Mirae, who was spoiling Yuutsu-chan(?).

And Yuutsu-chan was looking at me, asking for help.

Eh, the last time I saw her, she was more desolated.

I'm the only one left, huh.

In front of me was Soo Young, in the middle was Kang Lim, and at last was Yi-sak.

At the very front were Min Seoyeon driving, the klutz, and the Prez.

It feels like a part of me is lost, something inside me has left me.

Hey, so called goddess, you know what, I'm going to call you Hoshi-kun.

Hey Hoshi-kun, can I...

"Mister, are you okay?"

I heard a voice next to me.

"Mmm..."

I nodded.

She opened her mouth to say something.

Before she could—

"AhAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream reverberated from Kang Lim.

He was burning, alive.

"....!?"

Eh.

Min Seoyeon pushed the brake, causing the car to suddenly halt.

Kang Lim screamed, as his flesh was burning.

Mirae hugged Yuutsu-chan, both of their eyes were filled with dread.

"H-help me! Somebody save... me! I-I... don't want to die!!"

His shouts were mixed with pain and screams.

Soo Young tried to help him, but as a result, his hands were burned.

Everyone got out of the car.

Yi-sak acted like it was a joke, but once he touched him, he jumped back. Watching his friend burn alive made him faint.

The prez called an ambulance.

And the klutz fell over from the shock; all strength left her body.

Seoyeon was trying to be composed, being the only adult here, but she couldn't help but be perplexed.

I, on the other hand, was just blankly staring.

His screams were muffled, distant, like he was not here anymore.

Should I cry? Should I panic? Should I deny reality? Should I laugh?

I walked closer to him.

I knelt beside him.

He looked up, half of his face was burned to the tissues.

"It hurts, right?"

He nodded.

The sparks, the smell, it was all gone for a moment.

"Just close your eyes, the pain will go away. Everything will be fine, you know?"

I warmly smiled.

He closed what was left of his eyes, and lay back.

I stumbled back, my mind swaying.

Soo Young supported me. I gave him a bitter smile.

※※

The ambulance soon came, but Kang Lim's body was already half burned.

Yi-sak, who touched his body, soon burned too. While he was burning, Kang Lim's body stopped burning. However, Kang Lim was already dead.

The tragedies didn't stop there. The whole world started having these phenomena.

Humans started spontaneously combusting.

They constantly started burning alive. When they touched others, they transferred the fire to them, making their flames extinguish, but the next victim suffered even more pain.

The ghost story club was still in deep shock, losing two of their members.

Eunha decided it was best if everyone went home.

So they went home, except Jinhwan, who went to the beach.

Yuutsu-chan followed him, making Mirae come too.

※※

When Soo Young was walking home in the middle of the night,

he felt a summer breeze brushing against his skin.

The twilight was shining. It was a full moon.

He was walking alone, still not over the shock. He went to a park and sat alone.

He felt scared, but not as terrified as when watching his two friends burn alive.

He still felt a lingering sorrow in his heart, as tears fell out of his eyes.

He was living alone. His parents had died early; the one taking care of him was his grandpa.

He did not want to make his grandpa worried about him, so he decided to sort out his emotions first.

He remembered how Jinhwan comforted Kang Lim.

Kang Lim was a kind-hearted person. He helped everyone, or at least the best he could.

He started as a delinquent, but after some time, he started helping people.

He was forced to be a delinquent because all of his friends were out of his reach. They had transformed into completely new people.

So Kang Lim, afraid of being left alone, did bad things, even though it pained him more than anything.

After some time, he was left alone after all.

When he met Soo Young, he hated him at first, but later that hate turned into friendship.

So then, they met Yi-sak, who had a crush on someone. He wanted to confess before he graduated.

Jinhwan's eyes had no emotions; he carried a sorrowful expression.

"But still, was Jinhwan..."

Soo Young realized that he barely knew anything about him.

Most of the time, he stayed quiet.

When he talked, he avoided talking about himself.

In the end, they were just strangers who ended up together, but in the end, separated.

Soo Young felt a spark on his body.

Distressed, his heart started beating faster, his breathing got faster.

He shook his head, denying it.

He wanted to hope, but soon,

"AH."

His body combusted, and he started burning alive.

"I-I don't w-wa-want to die!!"

His hands burned.

"N-N-NO!"

He screamed in agony, but soon his vocal cords were burned. He couldn't scream anymore.

His vision got darker.

His skin felt like it was being melted off.

His nose bled. His ears heard no sound, no more.

He couldn't smell his burning flesh anymore.

He couldn't see anymore.

He couldn't feel his touch anymore.

At the end, he couldn't feel pain anymore.

His mind had gone numb.

He muttered in his mind:

"I don't want to die alone..."

Soo Young was alone all the time, and yet he died alone in the park late at night.

The body was turned into dust, not even bones remained.

And so the Solitary Prince, Soo Young, died in isolation.

※※※

Standing on the sand, in front of the ocean, as the waves splash on my legs.

"So the supernatural started happening..."

The last thing I would expect would be humans suddenly spontaneously combusting.

For some reason, I kept recalling the conversation (nonsense) with the scarlet-king-frantic-chuuni-very-delusional-dramatic boy.

『When day breaks』, eh.

Kang Lim died the same way my father died, meaning it's the same phenomenon.

Its cause is unknown, but after thinking about it for a week—

I might probably know what it is.

But first.

I tilted my head and looked back at Yuutsu-chan.

"So, why did you run away from the hospital?"

Behind her was Mirae.

She looked like she was about to crumble at any moment.

"..."

She tried to open her mouth to say something, but stayed silent.

"Hah..."

I sighed as I looked forward. The wind was cool like a winter breeze, yet warm like summer.

"If I'm correct, Soo Young is dead by now."

Mirae looked a bit bewildered, along with Yuutsu-chan, who gasped.

"You know, I should be grieving right now, or at least be shocked. But what can I do? I have no attachment to them. I already knew they were going to die someday, so why would I be attached to them? If everyone is just going to die in the end, there's no point in forming any bonds or relationships. Attachments are useless. Of course, humans can't live alone."

"Your... being... hypocritical."

Mirae said.

"Yep~."

I nodded and said.

"There is meaning to bonds and relationships, whether it be familial or not, but at the end, isn't it just you being too weak to survive alone, that you need to rely on someone else?"

"B-but it makes you strong. I-I mean... You have the courage to form those relationships in the first place."

Well said, Yuutsu-chan.

"Exactly~."

I nodded again.

"Let me tell you something,"

It's rather a strange thing.

"Life is like a flame that keeps burning..."

Mirae's eyes widened, as if she somehow understood what I was saying.

"It continues to burn and burn until it can't burn anymore, and at last, it disappears. The time it burns, there are times it gets bigger, wanting to burn more, it has a desire to keep burning...and that desire will..."

I turned my face and looked at them.

"Eventually consumes others, or itself, whether it's a friend, a family, or anyone..."

"Ah."

Yuutsu-chan gasped.

"You see, people are like that too. They are blinded by their desires, which makes them irrational. Just like that, their souls, which contain that desire, end up revealing themselves."

"Then... you are saying... Soo Young is dead because..."

Mirae mumbled, and I nodded.

"When I talked to Kang Lim, unlike behaving irrationally, he wore a calm smile. His expression was not that of pain for long. Later, it was a smile of pure happiness..."

But the strange thing is, that smile was a bitter, sour smile.

"I-I don't understand what you are saying."

Yuutsu-chan, you don't need to. It's just what I think it is.

I am trying my best to comprehend it, but all I can count on is uncertainty.

"To put it simply, he was experiencing an emotional outburst, or rather, he accepted his desires and his soul ignited. At the cost of severe pain, his consciousness was trapped—I think that's what it is—to a world full of his desires......"

He didn't accept his desires, or that's what it seemed like, but the only thing I can say is...

"Whatever that was, it's not complete. More and more people will fall victim to it. And one thing is sure..."

My voice got a bit weary.

"The world is ending."

I smiled bitterly.

"How... can you... be so... sure?"

Mirae stepped forward, looking at me with a blank expression.

How can I be so sure?

I'm not sure, but...

"I'm just hoping for the best."

The world ending is the best outcome.

"Be happy that you can at least die as a human..."

Mirae shuddered at my words.

At this point, I'm just saying nonsense.

I looked at Yuutsu-chan, and I could see blood seeping through her mouth.

I pointed my finger at it.

"....?"

She looked confused but realized what I was pointing at and wiped off the blood.

"Time left?"

Yuutsu-chan, understanding my question, answered.

"At best, until summer break is over...."

"Un..."

I nodded.

Mirae let out a sigh.

"I don't know your name, and I won't ask for you to tell me."

I looked at the sky. The moon is beautiful.

'Attachments are nothing but a hindrance.' I'm just a coward who runs away from connections, 'cause I don't wanna get hurt.

I'm just some kind of pathetic loser who is just afraid of getting hurt.

But.

"I never loved anyone..."

Towards the prez, I only felt respect. I admired her because she saved me.

The only one I feel a bit of affection for is someone, but that is not love.

"So for the rest of the summer break,"

If it will hurt, then I'm ready to get hurt.

I'm really trying my best not to run away.

I just feel like walking away, but I know if I do that, I will regret it.

I already know that you are going to die soon, Yuutsu-chan.

So I won't feel that much pain.

And this way I can...

My heart is beating fast.

I can feel my face getting hot.

"I will try to love you."

I smiled as I looked at Yuutsu-chan.

""Eh?!?!?!?!?!""

Both of them gasped as if that was the last thing they expected me to say.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A Korean honorific used in formal but polite speech. It follows a person’s full name or just their given name and is similar in tone to “Mr.” or “Ms.” in English. It’s respectful but not overly formal.

A Japanese honorific used to express endearment, familiarity, or cuteness. It's typically used for children, close friends, lovers, pets, or anything considered cute. It can sometimes carry a slightly patronizing tone if used improperly.

Yuutsu (憂鬱) is a Japanese word that means melancholy, gloom, or depression.