Doyeon's eyes slowly dropped from the board, drawn back to the desk.
The notebook.
He reached for it without thinking, fingers brushing against the cover before lifting it. It felt… used. Not old— but handled too many times. Like someone had been coming back to it again and again.
He opened it.
The moment he saw the handwriting— he froze.
"Dakje."
It was unmistakable.
Messy. Rushed. Familiar.
Day 12 of having this app in my phone… and— fuck, I'm dumb. Should've been taking notes from the start. So here. Everything I've got so far.
Doyeon let out a faint breath through his nose.
"Yeah. That sounds like him."
He flipped the page.
Note 1: Ghosts can only wander near their bodies. They can only move freely if their body is cremated… or properly buried.
"Huh…"
Doyeon muttered under his breath, his brows knitting slightly as he processed it.
Then he turned the page.
Note 2: Some ghosts only appear at night— still don't know why. Still investigating. Others can appear day and night. Usually those with strong grudges… or those properly buried but killed— like murder victims… and more… I've searched around the media, web etc and found something, well… people who can see ghosts. Like my friend Doyeon. Usually see some wandering ghost, some whose souls didn't pass on. And there's this thing they said that everywhere there's a goo in the ground lol.
Doyeon's grip on the notebook tightened just slightly.
"That explains…"
His voice trailed off.
He flipped again.
The next page was torn— cleanly, almost deliberately, as if someone had made sure whatever was written there would never be read again.
Doyeon paused, his fingers hovering slightly over the edge of the paper, his brows pulling together as a faint unease settled in his chest.
"Why rip this one?" he muttered under his breath, more to himself than anything else, his voice low in the quiet room.
There was no answer— only silence pressing in around him, heavy and unresponsive. For a brief moment, he just stared at it, as if the missing piece itself might speak back… but it didn't.
And so, exhaling softly, he flipped to the next page and kept going.
Note 4: This app can't be deleted. Tried everything. Should've written this first but—yeah, I'm dumb. Sorry. The app lets you see ghosts… but not all of them. Only specific ones. Man… Doyeon, you'd actually be goated at this if you had it.
Doyeon stared at that line for a second longer than the rest.
"This bastard…"
A quiet chuckle slipped out, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"So that's why you sent it."
His thumb brushed the edge of the page.
Then—
He flipped again.
And again.
And again, but something was wrong.
Page after page flipped beneath his fingers— most of them torn, some only half-missing, others barely readable as if someone had tried to erase them. And some… were burned. The edges curled black, fragile, the words cut off mid-sentence like they hadn't just been destroyed— but deliberately removed.
Doyeon's expression slowly hardened as he took it all in, his grip on the notebook tightening just slightly. "What the hell happened here…?" he muttered under his breath, the unease settling deeper in his chest.
Then—
He reached one that remained.
Note 14 stared back at him like a warning carved into the page itself.
Whatever you do… don't get too close to them. Don't… don't be nice. Don't help too much. Just stay away… don't even think about it…
Doyeon's eyes narrowed slightly as he read, but then— he froze. The handwriting changed midway through. Messier. Heavier. Like the pen had been pressed harder, like whoever wrote it was trying to force the words into the paper.
Desperate.
DOYEON. If you're reading this— or anyone— if you've already saved one ghost… just stick with it. Just one. Or el—
Burned.
The rest was gone.
Silence filled the room.
Doyeon didn't move, a bead of sweat slowly tracing down the side of his face as the weight of the warning settled in. "Dakje…" he muttered quietly, but this time— his voice lacked certainty.
He flipped the page.
And the next one—
Was worse.
The handwriting was broken. Jagged. Repeated over itself like the writer had been losing control mid-sentence.
Run. Help. Run. Run. Help. Help. Run. Run. Help help, Run. Run. Help, help, Run. help, Run. Run. Help, help, Run. help, Run. Run. Help, help, Run. Run. Help, help, Run. Run. Run. Help, help, Run. help, Run. Run.Run. Help, help, Run.
Over and over.
The words overlapped, scratched into the page in uneven pressure, like panic had taken over completely.
Then— near the bottom, barely readable.
Doyeon… don't help too many… don't save too many…
They'll become possessive… They'll do anything to get to you… they'll do anything to get their hands to you.
"What…"
Doyeon's fingers slowly tightened around the notebook, the paper crinkling faintly under his grip. His breathing slowed— not calm— but controlled, like he was forcing himself to stay grounded.
"Dakje… what did you get yourself into…"
He flipped again.
Note 16.
Sorry, Doyeon. Sorry for giving you this cursed fucking app…
Doyeon's eyes lingered on the words a second longer than necessary. The handwriting wasn't frantic. It wasn't breaking apart or pressed too hard into the page.
It was steady.
But heavy.
Like whoever wrote it had already accepted something they couldn't escape.
All the actual important tips, tricks, and guides are on the next page. Sorry… again. Doyeon.
Doyeon didn't hesitate.
He flipped the page immediately— and stopped.
Nothing.
Ripped.
Clean.
Gone.
The silence that followed felt different.
"It's ripped…" he murmured, his voice quieter now, almost as if the room itself was listening. "But not burned…"
His grip on the notebook tightened slightly as his gaze slowly lifted, scanning the space around him with sharper awareness. The desk. The board. The shadows sitting in the corners of the room.
"So it's here. Or Somewhere."
Then the lights flickered.
Once.
A soft stutter.
Twice.
Longer this time.
And suddenly—
Darkness swallowed everything.
Doyeon's head snapped up, his body tensing instinctively as the world around him darkened in an instant.
"!?"
A thunder tore through the silence, loud and violent, shaking the air itself as lightning struck somewhere beyond the walls— And at the same time— His phone buzzed.
Hard.
Violent.
BZZRTZT.
BZZZZT.
BZUTZUT.
Too loud.
Too sharp.
Too sudden.
Doyeon inhaled sharply, immediately raising it, the glow of the screen cutting through the darkness and casting pale light across his face.
For a brief second—
It was normal.
Then—
It wasn't.
The screen twitched.
Glitched.
Distorted— Like something behind it was forcing its way through. Doyeon's brows slowly furrowed, his eyes narrowing as he stared at it.
And then—
It shifted.
Changed.
And displayed was…