I Returned as a High School Girl

Chapter 169: There’s Something There (1)

There was a saying in the music industry that ghost sightings during an album recording meant that album would become a huge hit. This not only applied to albums, but dramas and films as well. Horror films in particular occasionally had eyewitnesses of ghosts.

‘Yeah, I was wondering why there wasn’t any for our film.’

Kang Ra-Eun had also expected it somewhat. Rather, it was probably normal for there to be a ghost sighting in such a desolate and dreary set. However, the situation seemed to be much more serious than what Ra-Eun had expected.

- There were a total of three staff members who had seen the ghost on set, and they’ve all been hospitalized and are receiving psychiatric care. They must have been extremely shocked.

“It was that bad?”

It was far more serious than a simple scare.

“Was the ghost captured on camera?”

- Yeah. The eyewitnesses saw the ghost while the cameras were rolling, so the director and the other staff members rolled back the video, and they could apparently see some strange phenomenon on it.

“...”

Ra-Eun’s face stiffened as hard as a rock. She practically had zero tolerance to horror. She couldn’t even watch horror films on her own, so hearing stories like this was enough to give her goosebumps.

“When will the shoot resume, then?”

- I’m not sure about that either. The other staff members are pretty shaken about this too. They were saying it would resume after things calm down a bit.

Ra-Eun had never expected something so serious to occur. She sighed deeply without realizing it while on call. As soon as she did, Shin Yu-Bin asked her a question to feel her out.

- Are you scared too, Ra-Eun?

Ra-Eun was an excessively prideful woman. She reacted extremely sensitively to a simple comment.

“N-No, not in the slightest. I’m just a little bothered because the shoot schedule has been messed up. I’m not scared at all, so please don’t make such preposterous speculations.”

- My, my, look at you, reacting so sensitively to a simple joke.

Ra-Eun was considered the definition of girl crush. No one would ever expect that Kang Ra-Eun, who could kill a giant cockroach with just her hands, was actually a chicken when it came to horror.

- In any case, I’ll call you again when the shoot is rescheduled, so just stay put until then. Okay?

“Okay, I will.”

Ra-Eun squeezed her temple as soon as she hung up. The people involved in the film’s production were probably thinking this was a sign that the film would be a hit. And of course, it will be. Ra-Eun was certain of it since she had already witnessed the success of Shuttered?in the future.

‘I know it very well, but there’s no need for a ghost to appear because of it, dammit.’

She was getting extremely annoyed for some reason.

***

Several news media quickly covered the news that shoots of the film Shuttered?had been put on hold due to real ghost sightings at the film’s hospital set. There was no story that pumped up the public more than a story like this for a horror film.

Not just that, the fact that the shoots had been put on hold had more than signified the severity of the situation. It had even become a fuss among Ra-Eun’s close acquaintances because Shuttered?had garnered such high interest among the public.

Seo Yi-Jun, who had come to Ra-Eun’s house to bring a few of Seo Yi-Seo’s things as an errand, asked, “I saw the article, noona. Did a ghost seriously appear on the film set?”

Ra-Eun’s eyebrow violently twitched.

“Don’t bring that up when the shoot is today, you son of a bitch.”

“Oh, the shoot resumes today?”

Yi-Jun had no idea since he was not involved with the film’s production, but it did not change the fact that the timing of his question had been extremely bad.

“Have you seen the ghost too, noona?” he asked.

“No, dammit. I wasn’t even there when it occurred.”

“Oh, really? I’ve never been able to experience anything like that, even if I want to. I thought I’d ask you all kinds of questions about it. What a shame.”

Yi-Jun had a very high tolerance for horror, unlike Ra-Eun. He was what one would call a ‘horror fanatic.’ To him, watching a horror film alone was nothing, which made Ra-Eun even angrier. She found it irrational that he was fine with it when she wasn’t.

“Could you tell me what it feels like to see a ghost if you do, noona?”

“Are you insane? That’s never gonna happen, so don’t get your hopes up.”

If Ra-Eun actually came face to face with a ghost, she would most likely faint before even having the time to feel anything.

***

Ra-Eun frequently felt under the weather on mornings of days that Shuttered?shoots were scheduled, and the same went for today while she was on the way to the set. It was due to the need to maintain a poker face in such a terrifying environment, and it was especially bad today.

Today was the first shoot after the ghost incident. If it had simply been a rumor among the production team, Ra-Eun would have thought that Director Choi Yong-Woon was doing this just to help the actors immerse themselves more into their roles.

Director Choi was the kind of director that didn’t let the actors know of the jumpscare timings, so it was more than likely that he would spread false rumors of real ghost sightings. However, considering the shoot had been delayed for several days, that seemed highly unlikely.

The filming period for Shuttered?was far shorter than what it had been for One of a Kind of Girl, because it needed to be released by summer no matter what. Hence, they needed to shoot, edit and release the finished product as fast as possible. Delaying the shoot in a situation where time was of the essence was the epitome of biting off more than one could chew.

‘And considering Director Choi’s personality, he’ll try to meet the deadline no matter what it takes.’

Director Yoon Tae-Yoon of One of a Kind of Girl prioritized the film’s quality over the deadline, but Director Choi Yong-Woon was the opposite. The deadline was more important than anything to him, which was why Ra-Eun was able to tell that this ghost incident had not been planned by him.

‘If only it was.’

Ra-Eun would be far less scared than she was right now if it had been planned. However, she couldn’t afford to ruin things when the shoot had just barely managed to resume.

‘Even if there really is a ghost, I’ve gotta do my job.’

This was the mindset of a true professional.

Meanwhile, Shin Yu-Bin asked Ra-Eun worryingly while looking at her through the rear view mirror, “Are you okay, Ra-Eun? You don’t look too good today either.”

“I’m fine. You know me. I’m only like this in the morning, and I do my part perfectly when the cameras start rolling.”

“That’s true, but...”

Yu-Bin always found this side of Ra-Eun fascinating. Ra-Eun frequently looked under the weather on the mornings of days that Shuttered?shoots were scheduled, especially when the shoot was held at the shuttered hospital set. Yu-Bin wondered if Ra-Eun was acting like this because of the ghost incident.

“Don’t be too worried. I’m sure everything will be fine,” she reassured.

Ra-Eun sincerely wished for the same.

.

***

Ra-Eun was frowning heavily without realizing it once she had arrived at the set. It was the same shuttered hospital as always, but it felt more unsettling than usual.

‘It only feels like this because of the ghost incident.’

The filming team received a new guideline due to the recent incident; whenever one had to go somewhere, they needed to go in groups of two. This applied even when going to the bathroom, and also included the actors.

Ra-Eun was rather glad that such a rule had been placed, since her concern that she had never been able to tell anyone had been resolved. Ra-Eun had never gone to the bathroom by herself during late outdoor shoots. There was only one reason; because she was scared. However, she would come off as a coward if she asked anyone to come with her.

‘I guess this is what it means when they say a crisis can be an opportunity.’

Ra-Eun went to go get her make-up done. Jin Seo-Yeong, the actress who Ra-Eun would be working with today, sat next to her.

“Hello, sunbae.”

“Hello. Did you just get here?”

“No. I arrived about an hour ago. By the way, the set is a bit unsettled today.”

“Really?”

Ra-Eun had only just arrived, so she had not had the time to feel the mood around the set.

“You were there during the ghost incident, weren’t you, Seo-Yeong?” Ra-Eun asked.

“Yes. I didn’t see it for myself, but... the staff members who did see it were screaming like crazy. I almost thought Director Choi was doing this to fool us actors.”

Seo-Yeong had the same thought as Ra-Eun, but she had apparently realized that it was not a joke when ambulances had arrived on the set.

“Urgh. Thinking about that day... it still gives me goosebumps.”

Seo-Yeong was not as weak to horror as Ra-Eun. She had average tolerance for horror, but having experienced something like that was enough to scare anyone.

“Sunbae. Umm...” Seo-Yeong asked as their make-up was almost done. “C-Could you come with me to the bathroom?”

“Sure.”

Ra-Eun had answered as if she was being generous, but she had also been holding it in for a while now. She had drunk too much water on the car ride here.

The portable toilet was quite a distance away from the set. Two other female staff members also just happened to be heading there. As the four of them were walking, a bush next to them suddenly shook violently. The women stopped in their tracks from the rustling sound.

“What was that?”

“I-It must be the wind, right?”

There was no way that the ghost would appear again. Ra-Eun wanted to believe that while flinching, but...

‘That’s not... I-It can’t be, right?’

She ended up seeing something inside the bushes.