horror story: the choir that wouldn't stop singing after school

okay I wasn't going to post this but it's been years and I still think about it.

I went to an arts middle school in Haeundae, Busan. heavy on music and fine arts, way more than a regular school. I majored in classical voice, so I basically lived in the music room.

it was second semester of 7th grade, right after midterms. classes ended early so I stayed behind to practice. the music room was at the very end of the 5th floor in the oldest building on campus. always smelled damp. rows of beat-up old pianos. most people had gone home.

just me.

around 5pm the sun started going down and the room got dark slowly. I could see my reflection in the window getting less and less clear. and then.

'aaah—'

choir sounds. coming from somewhere.

I figured it was the choral room next door, people practicing late. whatever. but the sound was WRONG. too low, too worn out, like it was coming through an old recorder. the pitch kept slipping. unstable. 'do—mi—sol—do…' but slightly off every single time.

I went to check. the choral room door was closed. lights off. but the sound was definitely coming from inside.

I thought okay, someone's messing with me. grabbed the handle and opened the door.

nothing. empty. no sheet music, no bags, no people.

just an old cassette tape sitting on top of the piano. labeled '1998 Graduation Concert.'

I went and borrowed a tape player from the teachers office. played it.

the audio was rough and scratchy but it was THE SAME CHOIR. the exact same sound I'd just heard coming from an empty room.

and then it kept happening.

every time I stayed alone in the music room after that, the sound would come back. always when the sun started setting. always from the last window. 'do—mi—sol—do…' slightly off. a few friends said they heard it too but nobody ever stayed to listen for long.

I finally asked my music teacher about it. she hesitated for a long time before she told me.

in 1998, during graduation concert rehearsals, there was an accident in the music room. a student got crushed by a piano. badly. died in the hospital a few days later. no video, no recording was kept from that performance. the choral room was shut down for a while after.

the cassette I found disappeared after that day. just gone.

and apparently whenever someone practices in the music room and hits a wrong note, the sound follows. there are rumors that multiple faces show up reflected in the window glass sometimes.

if you're ever alone in a music room practicing...

don't go looking for where the sound is coming from.

it might not just be a sound.