[Night – The Mountain Campsite]
By the time we returned from the forest, the valley had transformed. The sun had completely surrendered to the night, leaving behind a sky that was a vast canvas of ink, studded with stars so bright they looked like diamond dust scattered by a giant's hand.
But what truly captured our attention wasn't the sky; it was the smell. The rich, smoky aroma of charcoal and grilling meat permeated the crisp mountain air, teasing our empty stomachs mercilessly. In the center of the clearing, the supervisors and some enthusiastic students had built a massive bonfire. The flames danced wildly, reaching toward the heavens, sending showers of orange sparks flying upward like fireflies returning to the stars.
"I am so hungry I could literally eat my tent," Jin declared, clutching his stomach dramatically as he sprinted toward the food tables.
We found a spot near the warmth of the fire—me, Lina, Jin, and Sarah. The dinner was simple camp fare: grilled sausages with slightly charred skins, baked potatoes wrapped in foil that burned your fingers if you held them too long, and toast that tasted of woodsmoke. Yet, sitting there on the cold logs, surrounded by laughter and the biting cold wind, it tasted better than any five-star banquet I had ever attended.
"Pass the salt," Jin mumbled with his mouth full, looking like a squirrel storing nuts for winter. "Swallow first, you animal," Sarah scolded him, though she handed him the shaker with a small smile.
As the meal ended and stomachs were filled, the atmosphere shifted. The energetic chatter settled into a comfortable, low hum. The air grew colder, biting at our noses and ears, forcing the students to huddle closer together around the roaring fire. The dancing shadows cast by the flames played tricks on the surrounding trees, making them look like silent giants watching over us.
"It's time..." a student from Class 3 shouted, his voice echoing in the valley. "Time for ghost stories!"
This was Jin's moment. He stood up, abandoning his half-eaten potato. He loved the spotlight more than anything. He grabbed his massive flashlight—the "cannon," as he called it—and held it under his chin. The light cast long, distorted shadows across his face, turning his usually goofy features into a skull-like mask.
"Listen closely..." Jin began, dropping his voice to a deep, artificial baritone that commanded attention. "This isn't just a story. This is a documented history... something that happened in these very mountains twenty years ago."
The whispers died down. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath. The girls in the front row pulled their blankets tighter around their shoulders.
"They say a climber got lost in the dense part of the woods, near the 'Silent Ridge'," Jin pointed a finger toward the dark outline of the forest we had just explored. "Search parties looked for him for three days. When they finally found him, he was sitting on a rock, staring at the moon."
Jin paused for dramatic effect, scanning the faces of the audience. "He was alive. He had no injuries. He walked back with them, ate with them, spoke with his family's voice... but his dog wouldn't stop barking at him. And his wife... she noticed something terrifying."
"What?" someone whispered in the silence.
Jin leaned in, the flashlight making his eyes look like hollow pits. "He had no shadow. The local legends say the 'Lord of the Mountain' steals faces. He skins the identity of a human and wears it like a suit, living among us, waiting for the right moment to shed the skin and feed."
A sudden "CRACK!" from a burning log made a girl scream. Jin burst out laughing, breaking his character instantly. "Boo! Got you!"
"You're an idiot!" Sarah, who was sitting closest to him, punched his leg lightly, though her hand was trembling slightly. "That was actually scary for a second. I hate you."
Jin grinned with pride, turning off the flashlight. "That just means I'm an excellent actor. Hollywood, here I come."
While everyone laughed and threw empty chip bags at Jin, I remained silent, staring into the hypnotic dance of the fire. The story of the Face Stealer... for some reason, it didn't feel like a joke to me. A cold shiver, unrelated to the wind, crawled down my spine. I remembered my reflection in the car window yesterday. I remembered the black, smiling silhouette standing on the sea of blood I had seen earlier today. Was it really just imagination? Or was something wearing my face, waiting to take over?
I looked at Lina beside me. The firelight illuminated her face, painting her skin in soft hues of amber and gold. She was smiling, genuinely happy, oblivious to the dark thoughts rotting in my mind. Stop it, I told myself firmly. Don't ruin this. This night is for joy. This night is for being normal.
We stayed up late. We sang ridiculous school songs that were out of tune. We drank hot chocolate that burned our tongues but warmed our souls. It was a perfect night. The kind of night you wish you could bottle up and keep on a shelf, to open and relive when life gets hard.
[Bedtime]
Eventually, the fire died down, transforming from a roaring beast into a pile of glowing, breathing embers. The supervisors shooed us away. "Lights out! Everyone to your tents!"
"Goodnight, guys," Lina whispered, waving at us before disappearing into her tent with Sarah.
Jin and I crawled into ours. The tent was small, smelling of nylon and earth. Jin threw himself into his sleeping bag and let out a long, satisfied sigh. "What a trip, Ray... We have to do this every year. It's a tradition now."
"Definitely," I replied, zipping up my own sleeping bag. "Every year."
I lay on my back, staring at the dark fabric of the tent roof. Outside, the wind rustled the pine needles, creating a soothing white noise. Beside me, Jin's breathing quickly slowed into a rhythmic snore. For the first time in a week, my mind was quiet. I didn't think about the countdown. I didn't think about the bloody sea. I didn't think about the glitch. I felt safe. Wrapped in the warmth of friendship and the naivety of youth, I drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep. It was the most peaceful rest I had had in a long time.
[The Next Morning – The Return]
We woke up to the sound of chirping birds and the cold, pale sunlight filtering through the tent canvas. The morning was brisk and active. "Ugh, my back," Jin groaned as he crawled out, stretching like an old man. "The ground was harder than diamond. I think I aged ten years last night."
"You were already an old man at heart," Sarah laughed as she walked past him carrying a bag of trash. "Stop whining and help pack the tent."
We dismantled the camp, leaving nothing but footprints behind. We boarded the yellow buses again. The ride back was much quieter than the journey there. The adrenaline had faded, replaced by a pleasant exhaustion. Most students were asleep, their heads leaning against windows or on each other's shoulders.
I rested my head against the cool glass, watching the scenery change in reverse. The dense, majestic pine trees began to thin out. The towering mountains receded into the distance, becoming purple silhouettes. Slowly, the gray started to take over. Concrete buildings. Factories puffing smoke. Bridges. Traffic lights. We were back in the city. Back in the system.
I checked my phone. No strange messages. No missed calls. Everything is normal, I thought with relief. Nothing bad happened. I was just stressed.
The bus pulled into the school courtyard. We disembarked, the noise of the city rushing back into our ears. "Ray!" Jin called out to me before heading toward the subway station. "See you at the sports club tonight? Don't be late; the coach said he wants to test our vertical jump again."
"I'll be there," I waved at him. "7:00 PM sharp."
Lina walked beside me for a block before our paths diverged. "Thanks for the trip, Ray," she said, her voice soft, a shy smile playing on her lips. "It was... special." "See you tomorrow at school," I replied, feeling a warmth in my chest that had nothing to do with the weather.
I walked the rest of the way home alone. The familiar streets. The neighbor walking his dog. The smell of the bakery on the corner. Everything felt so incredibly safe. So mundane. I put the key in the lock and turned it. Click.
"I'm back!"
My mom greeted me with a hug that smelled of laundry detergent, and my dad looked up from his papers with a smile. "How was the wild?" Dad joked. "Did you wrestle any bears?" "No... just wrestled a mosquito and Jin's terrible ghost stories," I laughed, taking off my shoes.
"Go wash up, dinner will be ready in an hour," Mom said, patting my cheek.
I went up to my room and tossed my heavy backpack onto the floor. I flopped onto my bed, sinking into the familiar mattress. The ceiling fan spun lazily above me. "The trip ended safely..." I closed my eyes, deciding to take a quick nap before the club appointment.
I didn't know. I didn't know that I had returned from the "Pine Mountains" only to step into the "Mountains of Hell." I didn't know that the appointment at the club tonight... would be the last appointment I would ever make as "Ray," the student. The countdown in the dark wasn't gone. It had simply reached Zero.