Chapter 100

Section Chief Kwak Jegang of the research team.

The mad scientist who had shoved his own subordinates into the Gaiety Theme Park ghost story. He had also served as a consultant for the Mansion of the Blind, where all the employees had nearly been slaughtered.

“I've been meaning to have a proper, lengthy chat with you, Mr. Roe Deer. And finally, here's my chance.”

The deranged ghost-story researcher held out his hand, beaming.

“Your accomplishments have been so extraordinary, I've been dying to hear your thoughts on it all!”

“Thank you.”

Wow. I really did not want to shake this boss's hand.

But I had to. That was corporate life.

“I hear Team D is becoming an Elite Team as soon as the new year begins. Once that happens, you'll be busy working as a whole team again, and we won't even have time for a little chat before you enter a Darkness...”

Kwak Jegang went on with his banter, telling me how difficult it had been to get me here.

“And there's something I'm terribly curious about, too.”

Then, still smiling, he got to the point.

“Just how did you win Section Chief Lee Jaheon over?”

“...!”

“Whenever I tried to call you in alone, he shut me down flat. He's not usually so proactive, you know.”

I screamed inwardly.

'Thank you, Team Leader...!'

But in truth, I hadn't won him over at all.

'All I had to do was say I didn't want to.'

Section Chief Lee Jaheon was a stickler for the rules who had always made a sincere effort to accommodate his team members' requests.

It was just that no one had ever made that request before!

I was the only person at this ghost-story company who would howl that, no matter how sweet the payoff, I'd rather split it however many ways than enter a ghost story alone...

No. Even if there had been others, they must have died or disappeared already.

In any case, even Lee Jaheon seemed to have had trouble blocking this one on his own authority.

Or... perhaps there hadn't been any grounds to do so in the first place.

“Anyway, don't worry. I'm not holding a grudge just because our esteemed Supervisor Roe Deer was so difficult to get hold of.”

Kwak Jegang smiled.

“It's just... isn't it fascinating how there seems to be nothing you can't do?”

“What do you mean by fascinating...?”

“You're good at your job, you're well-spoken, you manage your reputation beautifully... Very impressive. But humans aren't creatures who can excel at everything! Myself included.”

Kwak Jegang tapped himself.

“Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. So...”

Eyes swirling with a passionate mania for exploring Darkness stared at me.

“What on earth is your weakness?”

“...”

“How does that weakness never show itself while you're poking around all those bizarre phenomena...? I'm truly curious!”

Oh, f*cking hell. Seriously...

“If I could tell you, it wouldn't be a weakness.”

“Haha! A wise answer to a foolish question.”

Somebody save me.

'He hasn't guessed I'm a coward and taken a shot in the dark, has he?'

I carefully swallowed, making sure he couldn't see.

Kwak Jegang spread both hands.

“Anyway, I called you here for something good today.”

“By something good, you mean...?”

“Something worth celebrating! By my calculations... Mr. Roe Deer, you've already collected more than half the points you need for a Wish Coupon, haven't you?”

“...!”

This bastard didn't miss a thing.

Yes.

What he'd said... was true.

I recalled my accumulated points as of last week.

[Accumulated Points: 177200p]

Even that alone was a staggering figure.

It was an unimaginable number of points for a rookie who hadn't even been with the company a year, so I had never gone around talking about it.

Even in a department where everyone openly talked about their resignation dates, there were limits.

'When someone's this far outside the norm, people are bound to start getting ideas.'

But who could have known?

That as this week began, my accumulated points would stray even further outside the norm.

[Accumulated Points: 277200p]

I was reaching the point where people might start asking whether the numbers were rigged.

'It's thanks to Segwang Technical High School.'

Consider the base points awarded for each grade.

Grade A: 100000p

I had cleared Segwang Technical High School at Grade A on my own.

True, several of us had entered and cleared it together, but I was the only one with a Grade A clear.

Apparently, the solution had also been concentrated enough to just barely qualify as a solo clear.

With Director Cheong and Director Ho, the Development Department's two towering figures, giving their “enthusiastic” approval, the decision to simply award me the full amount had sailed through.

It was both delightful and unsettling.

'And the points finished processing this morning.'

Just like that, Kim Soleum had officially collected more than half the points needed for a Wish Coupon.

'This is absurdly fast, even compared to what I'd expected...'

Strangely, everything had fallen neatly into place to bring me this far.

At this rate, if I could hold out for just one year on an Elite Team—perhaps even less—I would be able to return to my original world.

To the peace of twenty-first-century Korea, where ghost stories weren't real!

All of this flashed through my mind in an instant, but my expression hadn't... probably hadn't slipped.

'Don't give him an opening...!'

“Would having more than half the points change anything?”

Instead, I deliberately gave an ambiguous response, with just the slightest frown.

So he couldn't tell whether I felt exposed because I had collected that much, or offended because I hadn't.

“Rather than changing anything... it presents an opportunity.”

Kwak Jegang smiled as he spoke.

“Haven't you heard of the Wish Coupon simulator?”

Simulator?

... Oh!

From that point onward, Qterw-D-718 is offered as a simulator to promising employees likely to earn a Wish Coupon.

'There was a ghost-story entry like that.'

I remembered.

I compulsively dredged up the wiki, which had begun to grow a little hazy in my memory.

At the same time, Kwak Jegang's chatter rang in my ears.

“The company gives employees who seem close to earning a Wish Coupon a chance to check their wishes. To make sure the wish comes true in an ‘appropriate’ way.”

Had the threshold for those “promising employees” been 250,000 points...?

Or perhaps they'd worked backward from the time remaining until the employee could claim a Wish Coupon.

Either way, it seemed my chance to try the simulator had arrived.

... If entering a ghost story could be called a chance!

“You could do it another time, of course. But if you miss this chance, Soleum, you'll get pushed back in line, and who knows when your next turn will be? I called you in because I thought it'd be good to get it done now.”

“...”

I thought it over.

An entry into Darkness arranged by Kwak Jegang?

'There's definitely a trap.'

But I couldn't simply refuse, either.

He seemed like the sort who would relentlessly demand a reason.

“You're no coward. Why would you avoid it? Right? Hahaha!”

Eek.

“Well, there are other reasons one might avoid it.”

I sighed and stood up.

Let's end this conversation already.

'If every road leads to a ghost story anyway, I should at least avoid giving him ammunition.'

“Understood, in any case. When should I enter?”

Kwak Jegang chuckled.

“Mr. Roe Deer.”

“...”

“Your attitude's changed quite a bit. You've shed that rookie air now, haven't you?”

Wait.

“No, I mean that in a good way! Now you finally feel like an employee here. More approachable. Cut the pointless chatter and get to the heart of things—you already sound like you're on an Elite Team.”

Kwak Jegang smiled, his eyes curving.

“Then let's do something befitting an employee of this company!”

He placed a document on the table.

'This is...'

It was the profile of an employee.

Someone I knew.

[Employee: Jang Heoun]

I looked at the ID photo of a long-haired employee about my age, with a gloomy expression.

“Ah, you know him, don't you? You entered Gaiety Theme Park together. That fellow from the Cleanup Team.”

“He shouldn't be on the Cleanup Team anymore. I'm sure he was reassigned to Team F...”

“Ah, yes. The transfer order did go through. ... But officially, he still belongs to the Cleanup Team.”

“...!”

“He's effectively on assignment to a regular team. His affiliation won't officially change until next year, will it?”

Kwak Jegang tapped the document.

“So... he still belongs to a team that makes him perfectly suitable for this sort of work.”

“...”

This sort of work?

An ominous chill crept up my spine.

“What do you mean by that?”

“It's simple. Once you're done with your business inside the Darkness, call that employee into the elevator that's left, then just leave him there and come out.”

“...!”

This crazy bastard.

No, stay calm. I couldn't let my agitation show here.

“Hmm. Does this Darkness require at least two people to enter... or does it need a sacrifice?”

“Haha... Finding that out is precisely why we researchers exist! All you have to do is follow instructions, Mr. Roe Deer. Simple, isn't it?”

TAP.

Kwak Jegang tossed another document onto the table.

The Darkness assigned to me this time.

“In the elevator ghost story, that is.”

* * *

-I'm counting on you, then, Mr. Roe Deer! Call the Cleanup Team rookie when you leave and take him along.

“...”

I read through the manual I'd already memorized one more time, then put it back in my pocket.

What had I done?

[“Heoun, I'll be entering around five, so please get some rest.”]

[“Oh, yes! Understood!”]

I wasn't taking him in.

And I knew.

'This is grounds for disciplinary action.'

Whatever excuse I came up with... this would probably cause trouble.

As a salaried employee, this wasn't something I could get waved off as exercising a little discretion.

But unless I stopped it at the source like this, there was no point.

'There's a good chance Kwak Jegang has done something to Jang Heoun himself.'

I had to keep him from coming at all.

There was also one outcome I was aiming for that made it worth risking disciplinary action... but I'd think about that again once the exploration was over.

Here was the important part.

... I now had to ride a haunted elevator alone.

“Whew.”

This was my first time entering a haunted place alone with time to mentally prepare beforehand...

'Maybe... it was better when I got thrown in without knowing anything.'

My hands shook with fear.

And I'd left Braun at my desk, too.

'The elevator in this ghost story is for one person anyway.'

I didn't want to leave Braun outside the elevator while I got in. ... There was no telling what might happen.

I'd asked Section Chief Lee Jaheon to check on him now and then to make sure he was safe, so he should be fine.

'... Let's go.'

I entered the confirmed entry building for Qterw-D-718, which the company had located and isolated.

It was a very old rental apartment building. Its water had already been cut off, but the company was supplying electricity on its own.

The dark interior smelled cold and stale from neglect.

The shadowy hallway seemed to stretch endlessly ahead of me.

And there was one machine still operating.

[5F]

The elevator doors on the first floor.

“...”

Swallowing, I walked down the hallway.

By the emergency exit signs and dim overhead lights, I could see the elevator.

-Under Repair-

We'll have it fixed promptly.

Happy Land Apartments Security Office

Despite its message, the thoroughly tattered scrap of paper dangled from yellow packing tape.

This phenomenon occurs primarily in buildings with only one elevator. Exercise particular caution around elevators that frequently malfunction or have an “Under Repair” sign posted.

Yes. This was it.

With a trembling hand, I called the elevator.

The elevator slowly descended.

5, F, 3, 2...

[DING]

I took a deep breath.

Through the opening doors, I could see its rusty, dim interior.

The floor was dirty with soot, as though it hadn't been properly cleaned.

Still, I moved forward.

One step into the elevator, and you could see them facing each other on the right and left...

Dirty mirrors covered in handprints.

'... Whew.'

* * *

Records of Dark Exploration / Ghost Stories

[Do Not Look in the Mirror]

: A ghost story appearing in <Records of Dark Exploration>. Its Daydream Inc. identification code is Qterw-D-718.

One of the ritual-based ghost stories circulated online around 200X.

It is said that if you beat your reflection at rock-paper-scissors in an elevator, it will truthfully answer any question.

Written in a gamebook style, with numbered instructions explaining how to respond to the supernatural phenomena that occur.

* * *

[Doors closing.]

With my back pressed firmly against the only wall without a mirror, I watched the doors close with a faint sense of despair.

My heart was pounding so hard it felt ready to burst out of my chest.

Soon, the elevator closed completely, and darkness and silence descended.

I stood alone and motionless inside the dark, stationary elevator...

With the mirrors.

“...”

A few seconds passed, each an eternity.

I had to endure it. If I just held on...

[Going up.]

DING.

Although I hadn't pressed a button, the elevator began moving.

... It had been called somewhere.

Every floor button lit up red as though it had been pressed, casting an eerie crimson glow over the interior.

It was beginning.

After boarding the elevator, wait without pressing any buttons.

If the elevator begins moving on its own, you have successfully entered the ghost story.

1. From now until you reach the top floor, play rock-paper-scissors with your reflection.

If you win at least once: Go to 3.

If you do not win even once: Go to 13.

“...”

I swallowed and barely managed to move my head... to look at the mirror on my left.

A pale version of me stood in the elevator within it.

Countless versions.

Reflected again in the right-hand mirror behind me, front and back views of me repeated infinitely until they dwindled to a dot.

My image grew smaller and smaller, less and less distinct...

“...”

After wiping the sweat from my trembling left hand on my shirt several times, I finally managed to raise it.

Then I murmured quietly.

“... Rock, paper, scissors.”

Scissors.

Countless versions of me in the mirrors held up scissors.

Front and back, side by side, stretching on and on...

“Rock, paper, scissors.”

Countless reflections of me held up a fist.

I repeated it a few more times.

Rock, paper, scissors.

Rock, paper, scissors.

Rock, paper, scissors...

“Rock, paper, scissors.”

It happened the moment I threw rock on the fifth round.

Something out of place appeared among my repeating reflections.

... One of them flicked its hand open.

Among all the images of me holding a fist, a single back view with its hand spread wide appeared deep within the mirror.

“...”

I froze with my hand still raised.

Far away inside the mirror, the Kim Soleum holding up an open palm slowly turned his head...

And looked back at me with a smile.

A great, wide smile.