Chapter 2: The pale Hand

The voice outside the door didn't stop crying. "Please, Se-yeon... Min-ah... open up! It's getting closer to me!"

Min-ah shrunk back into the corner, clenching her teeth to prevent herself from screaming. She kept switching her gaze between the door and the real Hana sitting right beside her. The real Hana was frozen, staring at the shattered glass panel of the door with terror.

Suddenly, the sobbing stopped. The entire hallway fell deathly quiet.

Then, a sickening wet sound echoed through the silence. Squish... splat...

Through the broken glass panel of the door, a long, bone-white hand slowly slid inside. The skin looked swollen and gray, dripping with cold, slimy black water. The fingers had sharp, dirty nails that scratched wildly against the inner wooden surface of the door, searching blindly for the lock handle.

Scratch... scratch... scratch...

"It's going to open it!" Ji-woo whispered, her voice trembling as she looked around for a weapon. She grabbed a heavy wooden chair from the front desk. "If that thing gets in, we are dead."

"Wait!" Se-yeon pulled Ji-woo's arm, her eyes fixed on her phone screen which was vibrating again. Another text message had just popped up from the unknown number.

'Rule #2: The Mok-so-ri (The Mimic) cannot tolerate bright light. The main light switchboard is right next to the classroom door.'

Se-yeon looked at the switchboard. It was barely two inches away from where the terrifying, pale hand was currently swinging and scratching the wall. To turn on the lights, someone had to run right into the danger zone.

"I'll distract it," Ji-woo said, her grip tightening around the wooden chair. "Se-yeon, the moment I hit it, you flip the switch."

Before anyone could stop her, Ji-woo rushed forward and slammed the heavy chair directly onto the pale, wet hand.

CRASH!

A horrific, inhuman shriek pierced through the classroom. The hand twisted at an impossible angle, but instead of pulling back, the fingers suddenly lunged forward and tightly wrapped around Ji-woo's wrist!

"Ji-woo!" Hana and Min-ah screamed in unison.

The entity outside began pulling Ji-woo toward the broken glass panel. Ji-woo struggled with all her might, her shoes sliding against the dusty classroom floor.

Se-yeon didn't waste a single second. She lunged forward, dodging the snapping fingers of the monster, and slammed her palm against the main light switch.

Click.

The bright fluorescent tube lights of Classroom 4-B flickered twice and burst into a blinding white glow.

The monster outside let out another deafening scream. The pale hand immediately released Ji-woo and snapped backward through the broken glass, disappearing into the dark corridor.

Ji-woo collapsed onto the floor, coughing and holding her bruised wrist. The classroom was now brightly lit, but the girls knew they couldn't relax.

Hana’s phone buzzed once more. It was a picture message this time.

With shaking hands, Hana opened the image. It was a live photo of the back of their own heads, taken from the high ceiling corners of Classroom 4-B. Attached to the photo was a short text:

'Rule #3: The lights will only stay on for 5 minutes. The game has just entered Phase 2. Find the hidden key before the darkness returns.'

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