I went night fishing at Goesan Lake and something in the water was calling for me

I wasn't going to post this but it's been months and I still can't sleep right.

So I'm a regular office worker. Fishing is my one hobby. After a brutal stretch of overtime I just needed to disappear for a night, so I drove out to Goesan Lake in Chungbuk. Found a quiet spot some guys on a forum had recommended. Plan was simple. Cast a line. Wait for carp. Be alone.

I killed the headlights and the dark just. Swallowed everything. Took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. Moonlight on the water, mountain ridges in the distance, crickets, the occasional beetle. Genuinely perfect silence. This was exactly what I wanted.

About an hour in, I noticed a light across the lake. Had to be at least 100 meters away on the opposite bank.

"Oh cool, someone else is out here."

Felt kind of nice actually. A fellow night owl. Probably another fisherman.

Except the light was weird.

Normal fishermen only flick their lanterns on for a second to change bait or check their rig. You keep it dark so you don't spook the fish. But this guy's light was just. Locked on one spot. Like a lighthouse. And it wasn't pointed at the water. It was pointed UP into the trees behind him.

I grabbed my high-powered lantern and shined it over. Too far to see clearly but I could make out a black silhouette. Human-shaped. Not moving. Just standing there lighting up the forest.

Okay. Weird. Not my problem though.

I turned back to my rod and then SPLASH. Big splash. Sounded like a decent fish jumping.

Then.

Splash. Splash. Splash.

Even intervals. That's not a fish. That's footsteps. Someone was walking through the water.

I looked back across. The headlamp was off. Just the sound in the dark, steady, and getting closer to the middle of the lake. Goesan Lake is known for being deep btw. And it was cold. Nobody should be in that water.

My whole body went cold. I started packing up.

Then the splashing just. Stopped.

The silence after was SO much worse than before. Heavier. Wrong.

"...did they leave?"

I held my breath and listened. Nothing.

Then:

"Haaa... hukk... kuhekk..."

Like someone who swallowed a lungful of water trying to breathe. Or gargling. Coming from the DEAD CENTER of the lake. My stomach dropped through the floor.

I started shoving gear into my bag like a maniac. Hands shaking so bad I kept dropping stuff. And then it spoke.

"I'm... right... here..."

The words were mushy, waterlogged, but it was Korean. Clear Korean. And it was CLOSER. Way closer than before. It was coming toward me.

I left equipment behind. Expensive stuff. Didn't care. I booked it up the slope toward where I parked, tripped going up the hill, didn't even feel it. Behind me the splashing was speeding up. Following me.

Got to the car, hit the unlock, headlights came on, threw myself in, started the engine. And then, without thinking, I glanced at the rearview mirror.

Something was standing at the bottom of the slope. Right where the path from the lake meets the road.

Soaking wet. Black weeds or water plants stuck all over its head and body in clumps. Couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. Head tilted at this angle that wasn't. Right. Just staring at my car. Not moving. And the eyes in the headlight glare were empty. Like nothing was there.

I screamed and floored it. Didn't stop until I hit the edge of a village with actual people. Heart was going to explode. I was drenched in cold sweat.

I haven't been night fishing since. Haven't been near water at all honestly.

Some nights when I can't sleep I still hear it.

"I'm... right... here..."