People often talk about ghosts, spirits, curses, or bad karma clinging to people. Stories like that have existed for as long as anyone can remember. Old folklore, urban legends, and whispered tales shared between friends late at night after the lights are turned off. Most people treat them as entertainment or stories to scare children, or just material for horror movies.
Because in the modern world, things like that are not supposed to exist.
At least, that is what I used to think.
We live in an age of technology and science. Satellites orbit the Earth, phones connect people across the world in seconds, and doctors can replace organs as if it were routine surgery. In a world like this, the supernatural should have remained nothing more than fiction.
Unfortunately, there was one small problem with that belief.
I could see such things.
And it all started when I was ten years old.
Back then, I was just a normal kid living in a quiet suburban neighborhood in Gyeongju, South Korea. My name is Gyeom Wook. I had kind parents, good friends, and a peaceful life. Everything about my childhood was completely ordinary.
Until one summer night.
*****
Inside one of the quiet houses in that suburban neighborhood, a small blue night lamp glowed softly inside a child's bedroom. The room was dim, with the faint light of the lamp mixing with the glow of a digital clock on the nightstand.
On the bed, a young boy lay on his stomach reading a novel.
It was nothing special. Just your typical webnovel about a cheesy high school romantic comedy filled with awkward confessions, misunderstandings, and dramatic love triangles.
Still, the boy seemed entertained.
A faint smirk rested on his face as his dark eyes moved slowly across the page. And at the moment, I was losing a battle against sleep. My eyelids drooped and my vision blurred as the words on the page began to lose focus.
"Yaaawn…"
I stretched my arms lazily before glancing at the digital clock beside the bed.
10:00 PM.
"Ah… it's already late."
I rubbed my eyes slowly.
I should go to sleep.
The novel was interesting, but if I kept reading I would probably fall asleep with the lights on again. If that happened, my parents would definitely scold me in the morning.
With a small sigh, I closed the book and placed it on the nightstand.
Just as I pulled the blanket up, I suddenly paused.
"...Ah."
I remembered something important.
I needed to go to the bathroom.
It was part of my nightly routine to use the bathroom before going to sleep so I would not wake up in the middle of the night.
More importantly, I absolutely did not want to accidentally wet the bed like a little kid.
Still half asleep, I slowly climbed out of bed.
To be honest, I never liked leaving my room late at night. Even though I did not believe in ghosts or anything supernatural, the darkness always made my imagination wander.
The hallway outside my room felt darker than usual. Then I heard the sound of a television downstairs with two familiar voices followed soon after.
My parents were still awake. The television was playing some late night drama while they talked casually in the living room.
Hearing their voices made me relax.
Good. At least the house was not completely silent.
I hated silence at night.
Feeling slightly reassured, I stepped out of my room and walked toward the bathroom on the second floor. My footsteps were quiet against the wooden floor.
The hallway lights were turned off, leaving only a faint glow coming from the stairs.
Eventually I reached the bathroom door and pushed it open.
The moment I stepped inside, a chill ran down my spine.
"…?"
I frowned slightly.
Something about the bathroom felt wrong.
Without thinking too much about it, I quickly flipped the light switch.
Click.
Bright white light filled the room instantly. Everything looked completely normal. The sink, the mirror, the bathtub, and the tiled floor were exactly the same as always.
Still, the uneasy feeling did not disappear.
"…Why did it feel so creepy just now?"
I scratched my head awkwardly.
I was probably just scaring myself.
Trying to ignore the strange feeling, I walked toward the toilet and started doing my business. The bathroom remained silent except for the faint sound of running water.
To distract myself, I began thinking about random things. Maybe I could play games with my friends tomorrow. Anything positive so my imagination would not start running wild.
After a minute, I finished and walked toward the sink to wash my hands. Cold water flowed from the faucet and splashed across my fingers. As I looked up and saw the mirror to check up on my face. What stared back at me was something no ten year old should ever see.
My eyes were completely black. Not shadowed by the lighting. Pitch black, as if the pupils had swallowed everything.
That alone would have been terrifying. But it was not the worst part. My face looked like it was melting. The skin sagged and twisted like soft wax sliding downward. My features distorted slowly, like a reflection rippling across the surface of water.
For a few seconds, my brain refused to process what I was seeing.
Then reality finally caught up with me.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
The scream that burst from my throat sounded sharp enough to shatter glass. It was the terrified scream of a child who had just seen something impossible. Moments later, everything went black.
I fainted.
Downstairs, my parents heard the scream immediately.
"Did you hear that?"
"That was Wook!"
Both of them rushed upstairs in panic and pushed the bathroom door open. They froze the moment they saw me lying on the floor. My eyes had rolled back and my body was completely unconscious.
"Wook!"
My father quickly lifted me into his arms.
"Wook, wake up! What happened?"
My mother ran back toward the living room in panic.
"I'm calling an ambulance!"
*****
When I opened my eyes again, the ceiling above me was unfamiliar. Bright white lights shone down from above while the quiet sound of machines filled the room with the air smelled sterile.
I blinked slowly.
"…Where am I…?"
Two faces quickly leaned closer. It was my parents. Both of them looked extremely worried.
"Wook! You're awake!"
My father let out a long sigh of relief.
"You scared us. We heard you screaming and found you passed out in the bathroom."
My mother nodded quickly.
"We were so worried. What happened? Did you slip? Did you hit your head?"
I blinked again as my mind slowly cleared.
What happened?
As seconds passed by the memory returned. His reflection in the mirror, his black eyes, and his melting face. My body stiffened as I remembered what had happened. Just as I was about to say something, my gaze drifted toward the waiting benches near the hospital wall.
An old woman was sitting there. But she didn't look human at all. Her skin was dark and shriveled like rotting flesh. Her eyes were sunken deep into her skull, leaving only hollow pits behind.
Her head tilted slowly. She was staring directly at me. For a brief moment, our eyes met.
And then my vision spun again.
And I fainted for the second time that night...
Looking back now, it almost feels funny because thanks to the countless novels I had read, I eventually understood what was happening. I could see the supernatural. Ghosts, resentment, karma, things that should not exist in the modern world.
The real problem was that I was only ten years old. And when you are ten years old, seeing something like that is not exciting. It is terrifying. One question kept repeating inside my head. What happens if they notice me? What if those ghosts wandering around suddenly realize that I can see them? Will they kill me? Possess me? Follow me forever?
The fear was suffocating
So I learned something very quickly. No matter what I saw, I had to pretend that I could not see it. Even if a rotten face appeared inches away from mine. Even if the smell of decay filled the air. Even if something whispered right beside my ear. I forced myself not to react. Not even a small flinch.
That was also the reason I buried myself deeper into novels. Stories became my escape, a way to distract myself from the nightmare surrounding me
But even then, the fear never truly disappeared. Sometimes the anxiety became so overwhelming that I felt like breaking down. Sometimes I wondered if it would be easier if everything simply ended.
After all, who could I tell? Who would ever believe something like this?
I thought I was completely alone. At least, that was what I believed. Until the day I found the thing that saved me.