The club room was quiet.
Too quiet.
Woo-jin was asleep on a pile of mats, drooling like a puppy. Hye-rin was sketching fists in her notebook. Chun Ma sat cross-legged on a desk, eyes closed, breathing like a monk pretending not to be tired.
That's when the door slammed open.
SLAM.
Lee Hana stood in the doorway.
Books in hand. Ponytail swaying. Glasses reflecting judgment.
"Kim Min-jun," she said. "We need to talk."
Woo-jin sat up, startled. "Oh no. Did someone die?"
Hye-rin put her pen down slowly. "Drama?"
Chun Ma opened one eye. "Ah. The observant one."
She marched in, heels clacking like an interrogation scene was about to start.
"You've been acting weird. You disappeared from class three times last week. You nearly broke a guy's leg behind a tteokbokki stall. And now you've started this… club."
She glanced around the room.
"Which looks like a yoga cult run by broke teenagers."
Chun Ma stood.
"I am simply preparing for the inevitable."
"Inevitable what?"
"The collapse of morality and rise of martial hierarchy."
"...You're insane."
He bowed respectfully.
"Not insane. Enlightened."
She narrowed her eyes. "Are you on something?"
Woo-jin raised a hand. "He's mostly powered by spite and noodles."
Hana stepped closer to Chun Ma.
"You were a quiet nerd. You couldn't run a lap. You used to get nosebleeds from chalk dust."
"And now I do not."
"Exactly. So what changed?"
Chun Ma was silent for a moment.
Then: "I died."
"…What."
"Metaphorically," Woo-jin coughed. "Totally metaphorically."
Chun Ma turned to the window, watching the sunset.
"I was weak. Then I saw the truth."
"What truth?"
"That this world… needs a new path."
A long silence.
Hye-rin nodded. "Honestly, I like this cult vibe."
Woo-jin whispered, "We need matching jackets."
Hana stared at them like they were all contagious.
Then she sighed.
"You know what? Fine. Be weird. Just don't get expelled."
She turned to leave—then paused.
"One more thing," she said. "There's someone waiting outside. Says they want to join."
Chun Ma tilted his head. "Who?"
"You'll see."
A few minutes later, a new student stepped into the room.
Tall. Pale. Hair down to their shoulders. Big coat, thick boots, and a look like they'd seen every ghost in Asia.
"Hello," they said. Voice quiet. Almost musical. "My name is Yoon Seo-jin. I was told this club accepts… unique individuals."
Woo-jin squinted. "You a goth or a ghost?"
"I see spirits," Seo-jin replied calmly. "And one is following you right now. It's clinging to your backpack."
Woo-jin screamed.
"Cool," Hye-rin said. "Welcome to the team."
Chun Ma stepped forward.
"You believe in things unseen?"
Seo-jin nodded. "I don't believe. I experience."
They pulled out a notebook full of odd symbols and drawings of people screaming into mirrors.
"I think the universe is trying to collapse. Slowly. And schools are the source."
Woo-jin whispered, "I take it back. This is the weirdest person here."
"Excellent," Chun Ma said. "You're in."
Club Member #3: Yoon Seo-jin (Haunted, Probably magic, Brings their own tea)
The club was officially full.
But now… it was noticed.
Next Day: Office of the Guidance Counselor
Mr. Park was a man who had seen too much.
He called Chun Ma to his office and offered him a juice box.
"You've been reported," he said calmly. "Something about forming a secret dojo and fighting local gangs."
"We are a peaceful club," Chun Ma replied. "With structured exercise and emotional bonding."
"You put a kid through a bench."
"Through the side of a bench," Chun Ma corrected.
Mr. Park took a deep breath.
"I get it. You're going through something. Teen stuff. Hormones. Possibly hallucinations."
He leaned in.
"Just don't do anything that lands us in the news."
Chun Ma nodded.
"Of course, sir."
As he left the office, the system chimed in.
⎛New Quest Available: Survive 30 Days Without Expulsion⎠
Reward: System Upgrade +1, New Function Unlock⎠
Chun Ma smiled faintly.
"A worthy challenge."
Back in the club room...
The team sat around a cheap foldable table. Chun Ma unwrapped a whiteboard marker like it was a sacred relic.
"Now," he said. "Phase two begins."
Woo-jin raised a hand. "What's phase two?"
"Recruitment. Expansion. Spiritual awakening."
"Also snacks," Hye-rin added.
Chun Ma nodded.
"Yes. And snacks."
He wrote on the board:
"The Path Club - Goals:"
1. Survive school.
2. Train.
3. Build a sect
4. Beat up local evil.
5. Maybe pass exams.
Yoon Seo-jin drew a weird-looking eye in the corner.
"It watches all," they whispered.
Woo-jin took a nervous sip of milk.
"Cool cool cool. Definitely gonna die."