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It was supposed to be a rare day off. The trauma team at Hankuk National University Hospital had been given a break—no calls, no emergencies, no trauma cases. Just a few hours to catch their breath. But Cheon Jang-mi, with her infectious energy, quickly turned it into something... else.
“I have the perfect idea for today,” she said with a wicked grin, holding up a flier for The House of Shadows, a notoriously creepy haunted house on the edge of the city. “Let’s go get scared! Trust me, team bonding will never be the same again.”
There was a long silence.
“I’m serious,” Jae-won muttered under his breath. “I can’t even do normal haunted houses. Why are we doing this?”
But Jang-mi’s enthusiasm was contagious, and soon enough, the team found themselves piled into a van heading toward the haunted house, some more reluctant than others.
As they approached the house, its towering silhouette cast an eerie shadow over the group. The fog rolled in thick, and the wind seemed to moan through the trees. Even the air felt wrong—heavy, cold, and unnaturally still.
“Okay, maybe this was a bad idea,” Gyeong-won mumbled, rubbing his arms as though trying to warm up, even though it wasn’t that cold.
“Don’t be a baby, Gyeong-won,” Jang-mi teased, but there was a nervous edge to her voice too. “We’ve seen a lot worse, right?”
“Yeah, like that one time I almost killed a guy in surgery because my hands were shaking,” Jae-won deadpanned, his usual optimism completely gone.
As they stepped inside the house, the door creaked open of its own accord, sending a chill up everyone’s spines.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Jae-won muttered, his voice low, eyes darting around.
“No one’s backing out now, right?” Kang-hyuk said, trying to mask his unease with a nonchalant tone. He adjusted his coat, clearly tense, but doing his best to maintain his usual stoic demeanor.
The group moved forward, cautiously, the heavy silence amplifying the sounds of their footsteps. The house smelled musty and old, and every creak of the floorboards made their nerves crawl. They rounded a corner, and suddenly—
Bang!
A door slammed shut behind them, causing all of them to jump in unison.
“What the hell was that?” Jae-won yelped, his eyes wide. He froze. “That wasn’t part of the act, right?”
“No,” Kang-hyuk said, his voice uncharacteristically shaky, as he looked over his shoulder. “That’s not part of it.”
“Okay, this is just a little much now,” Gyeong-won said, his breath quickening.
But before anyone could say more, they heard something scraping. Slow, deliberate dragging across the floorboards.
Everyone went dead silent.
And then came the screech.
A figure emerged from the shadows—dragging chains. Its skin was pale, rotting, its eyes sunken.
The team froze.
“What the hell is that?” Jae-won gasped, his voice cracking. He whipped around to bolt but slammed into Kang-hyuk’s chest, knocking him backward.
“Move!” Kang-hyuk growled, his voice strained as he pushed past.
Everyone screamed and scattered in different directions, adrenaline kicking in.
They finally regrouped, stumbling into a dimly lit room that was entirely mirrored. The walls reflected their panicked faces back at them, their nervous energy catching in the glass.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m done with this,” Jae-won muttered, his voice shaky. “We’ve seen enough.”
But it was too late.
The lights flickered once. Then twice. A low, whispering laugh echoed from the darkness.
“Is that—?” Gyeong-won started, his voice hitching.
“I don’t know,” Jang-mi said, her confident demeanor cracking just slightly as she instinctively grabbed Gyeong-won’s arm. “But we need to get out of here.”
But as they looked around, something was wrong.
The reflections—they weren’t right.
Kang-hyuk’s reflection was smiling. But it was wrong. His lips stretched unnaturally wide, exposing too many teeth. His eyes gleamed with something sinister.
“That’s not me,” Kang-hyuk whispered, his voice barely audible. He stepped backward, his foot catching on something behind him. “Get out. Get out of here now.”
Jae-won’s voice was a sharp whisper. “What is going on?”
Suddenly, the reflection in front of Gyeong-won wasn’t him at all. It was... someone else. Someone with hollow, dead eyes, their face peeling off in bloody patches.
“I—I can’t do this!” Gyeong-won shouted, his voice breaking. He stumbled backward, knocking over a shelf of old, dusty trinkets.
And then the figure from behind—the one with the chains—lunged.
They scattered again, desperately trying to find a way out, but the door behind them slammed shut with a deafening thud.
Jae-won let out a sharp, terrified breath. “This is too much! This isn’t part of it! This is real!”
The group was breathing heavily, trying to stay calm, but the terror in their eyes was unmistakable.
“Get it together,” Jang-mi said, though even she was struggling to maintain her composure.
Finally, they burst out of the mirror room into a long, dark hallway. The only light came from flickering sconces along the walls. The air felt thick, suffocating.
“Why is it so quiet now?” Jae-won asked, his voice hoarse, his hand still gripping the flashlight as if it could protect him.
Before anyone could answer, the lights flickered and died completely.
A growl reverberated through the walls, deep and guttural, followed by the sound of dragging chains. It was closer now. Too close.
“I can’t breathe,” Gyeong-won whispered, his hand shaking as he grabbed Jang-mi’s arm.
“Keep moving,” Kang-hyuk growled, pushing ahead.
But as they turned a corner, a pair of glowing eyes appeared in the shadows. The chains clanked, dragging along the floor as the figure came closer.
“No, no, no—this is it,” Jae-won gasped. He reached for the door, but it wouldn’t budge. “What the hell? Why won’t it open?”
The figure lunged.
“Everyone—RUN!”
They bolted for the exit, but the door slammed shut with such force that it shook the entire house.
They scrambled, pushing against it, their hearts pounding in their chests. The figure was almost on them.
And then—crack—the door burst open. They tumbled out into the night air, gasping for breath.
They finally stumbled out of the haunted house, hearts racing, faces flushed with fear, and adrenaline still pumping through their veins. Gyeong-won was panting heavily, his breath coming in quick, shallow gasps. “I thought we were done for,” he said, his voice shaky.
“That was... terrifying,” Jang-mi admitted, still clinging to Kang-hyuk’s sleeve for support. “I swear, I saw something that wasn’t supposed to be there.”
Baek Kang-hyuk, ever the calm and collected surgeon, gave a short laugh, but it was tight with lingering anxiety. “Well, at least we survived. But who set this up? Who’s behind all this?”
The team exchanged confused glances, but in the midst of the chaos, they hadn’t even realized Yang Jae-won was no longer with them. Just as they thought the nightmare was over, a loud, ear-piercing screech shattered the silence.
The door to the haunted house creaked open again, and a familiar figure in dark robes appeared, dragging chains on the ground with each step.
The group froze, eyes wide in panic as the figure drew closer, its ragged breathing sending a chill down their spines. The air felt heavy, each movement of the figure making the tension thicker.
“Is this... part of the act?” Jang-mi asked nervously, her voice wavering with uncertainty. She took a step back, her hand still clutching Kang-hyuk’s sleeve for support.
The figure continued toward them, face still hidden beneath the shadow of its hood. As it stopped a few feet away, the air around them felt colder. The whole team was rooted to the spot, barely able to breathe, their fight-or-flight instincts kicking in.
Just as the figure moved its hands to reveal its face, the sound of chains rattling filled the air like the final twist of the story.
Then, with an exaggerated motion, the figure yanked its hood off—and there, grinning widely beneath the mask, was none other than Yang Jae-won.
“Surprise!” Jae-won said with a flourish, pulling the mask off as though it were the grand finale. His grin stretched from ear to ear, clearly relishing in the moment.
The team stood there in stunned silence for a heartbeat before the tension broke and they collectively exhaled. A mix of disbelief, shock, and frustration flooded them.
“I can’t believe you!” Jang-mi exclaimed, her voice a mixture of annoyance and relief. She placed a hand over her heart, still feeling the aftershocks of the terror. “You did this? After everything we went through?!”
“Hey, you guys were way too serious about it!” Jae-won protested, clearly proud of himself. “You looked like you were about to die, I had to give it a proper ending!”
Kang-hyuk shook his head, a slow chuckle escaping his lips despite himself. “You really got us good, I’ll give you that. I admit, I’m impressed.”
Gyeong-won let out a breathless laugh, still trying to shake off the adrenaline. “I’m still mad... but I have to admit, that was a killer prank.”
“Well, now that we’ve all survived,” Jang-mi said, brushing off her clothes with a half-smile, “anyone up for coffee and a horror movie marathon? Preferably with no jump scares involved?”
Jae-won looked around at the team, all exhausted but laughing in relief. “I’ll take you up on that—just as long as there's no more scaring involved.”
As the team walked away from the haunted house, they couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing, grateful for the way it had brought them closer—despite the sheer terror of it all. Even in the scariest of moments, they knew they’d be talking about this day for years.
They stood just outside the haunted house, still catching their breath, eyes darting back to the eerie building. Their hearts were still pounding, the adrenaline still lingering in the air.
Jae-won, shaking off his own nerves but wearing a devilish grin, was the first to speak. "See? I told you this wasn’t just your average haunted house.”
The team looked at him, wide-eyed, their minds slowly processing the chaos they’d just survived.
“What do you mean?” Gyeong-won asked, his voice still rattled. “That was... that was real, Jae-won. Right?”
Jae-won chuckled softly, his eyes dancing with mischief. “It wasn’t real—most of it. I might’ve had a little... help with some of those jump scares.”
Jang-mi’s eyes narrowed, her voice a mix of disbelief and frustration. “You rigged the whole thing?”
“Surprised?” Jae-won grinned wider, then pulled a small device out of his pocket. The remote control clicked in his hand, the one responsible for triggering all the chaos they’d just endured.
“Are you kidding me?!” Kang-hyuk exclaimed, his usual calm completely slipping now as frustration and exhaustion took over. “You set us up? After everything we just went through?!”
Jae-won held up his hands in mock surrender, his grin never faltering. “I swear, it was just a prank! I had to get you all somehow. I mean, come on, you were so serious about it.”
Jang-mi let out a shaky laugh, half-annoyed and half-impressed. “I can’t believe you! After all that—you’re the one behind the ‘chains and ghosts’?”
“I had some help,” Jae-won admitted with a sly grin. “A couple of actors—yes, they were real actors, not ghosts—played their part. The animatronics, the creepy sounds? All part of the setup.”
Gyeong-won, now feeling more embarrassed than scared, couldn’t help but let out a relieved laugh. “I can’t believe I fell for this. You nearly gave me a heart attack!”
“We all did,” Jang-mi added, rubbing her temples with a tired smile. “Next time, you better pick a less dangerous prank.”
The rest of the team, still trying to recover from the wild ride, chuckled nervously. Even Kang-hyuk, usually the most stoic, cracked a small smile. “I guess... in hindsight, it was pretty ridiculous.”
They all took one last look at the haunted house as they walked away, hearts still racing but with the kind of laughter only a shared, terrifying experience could bring.