■■■ Bank Customer Guidelines (5): Horror Stories Are Terrifying
■■■ Bank Customer Guidelines (5)
Horror stories are terrifying. No matter how many you conquer, they only grow more frightening. That was true for Kang Ye-rin.
Even as a civilian, she'd survived three horrors. Since being scouted by Unique Company, she'd cleared over seventeen more on assignment. And yet, horrors still terrified her. The fear of not knowing when death would strike. The survivors dying right beside you. Holding your breath as their blood soaked you, listening to the crunch of something devouring human flesh. Endure it enough times, and you realize it: In horrors, humans are nothing but fodder. Mere snacks for those anomalies.
This bank horror was no different. Employees with unfocused eyes. Doors leading who-knows-where. Guards clutching bizarre skewer-like things. Concrete reeking of stale blood. It all screamed at her: You're just food in a bowl. You'd dodged it so well until now, but this time, you've ended up served up nice and neat.
...No.
So Kang Ye-rin was afraid. Afraid of her situation—perfectly trapped in the bowl, slowly waiting for death. She'd evaded it a dozen times, but in the end, she was just a terminal case, waiting to be eaten by the anomalies.
And that made her feel unjustly wronged. I followed the rules! I stuck to the rulebook perfectly! I just got a little greedy—that's all! I didn't do anything wrong! The Horror Survivor Gallery said this was right! How is this fair? How do you even clear something like this?! Follow the rules? She had. But in this insane horror, the only ones escaping unscathed were the lunatics who didn't.
But where the hell was one of those lunatics...!
"Probably a survivor vanished, right? Yeah, that's the only possibility. Then my hypothesis holds. There's another rule hidden here."
Right in front of her. The crazy bitch who'd been staring holes through the rulebook from the start. To survive, she knew exactly who to cling to.
Kang Ye-rin crawled across the floor and grabbed Han Yujin's hem.
"Wh-what makes people vanish? I followed the rulebook, the procedures—everything! What's wrong? Why?!"
Han Yujin smirked at the frantic Kang Ye-rin.
"Here's the thing. While you're in a loan, the bank recognizes and protects you as a 'customer.' That's solid. That's why I took out 30 billion first."
"Th-then me? I took a loan too. They'll protect me, right? Right?!"
"Exactly. That's why you didn't die. Even after business hours ended."
Kang Ye-rin recalled the survivors who'd turned to ash piles and blood puddles the moment usage time ended. Damn it.
"But people vanished. They disappeared. What about that? They followed procedures too, probably took loans!"
"Spot on. That's the key to this horror."
Han Yujin clapped like she was praising a star pupil.
"The Horror Survivor Gallery rated this ■■■ Bank horror D-grade. Means most people can escape 'safely' by just following the rules! So why do escapees vanish? That's not safe, right? Did the Gallery screw up?"
"No way! The Gallery's absolute!"
"Eh, I don't buy it, but most survivors swear by it. Anyway, that's why this horror has a trap. But what is it? Think about it."
Kang Ye-rin listened intently.
"If the Gallery's absolute, escaping this horror is safe. Survival's guaranteed. So 'taking a loan' is fine."
"Right."
"Then what's the problem? If loans aren't it."
"Deposits?"
"Ding ding ding."
Han Yujin hummed a cheerful tune. Well, technically not deposits—something else is hidden. But depositors are customers too.
She continued, muttering to herself. "We—no, you just need to solve this one issue."
Han Yujin sharply divided "we" from "you," but Kang Ye-rin didn't catch it.
"...Issue?"
"Deposits. Everyone else's deposits, except mine. Loan counters call you 'customer.' So why do deposit and trading counters say 'user'? Why'd you become 'users'? That's the problem. What do you think?"
Kang Ye-rin was stumped.
"H-how the hell should I know?!"
"Right?"
Han Yujin shrugged. Kang Ye-rin waited for her to continue. But she just stared blankly. Frustration boiled over—Kang Ye-rin bleated like a goat without realizing. We're dying every second here!
"Wh-what do you think?! You're the smart one! Tell me! What do I do to survive?!"
At Kang Ye-rin's desperate cry, Han Yujin beamed. It looked demonic.
"Oh, that? No clue."
"What?"
"I'm not depositing anything. Pay back the loan, and I'm out. Even if I don't, they'll protect me anyway. Why should I tell you?"
Kang Ye-rin was speechless. It was logical. In horrors, no one owed anyone their life. She'd always used newbies and idiots as bait, shoving them into danger without a second thought.
As she slumped in despair, Han Yujin added, "Of course, if you listen well, I might help figure out why this horror's such bullshit."
"......What? You said you don't care."
"It's fucking annoying. Know the two types I hate most?"
How the fuck should I know, bitch?! ...She barely managed a headshake instead.
"One: voice phishing scum. They think I'm some dumbass. If you're gonna scam, put in the effort. What the hell—impersonate prosecutors and it's all good?"
Voice phishing. Yeah, Kang Ye-rin hated that too. But what did it have to do now? She couldn't snap at the one holding her lifeline, so she hurriedly probed. "Second one? What's the second?"
"People who fall for voice phishing. Pathetic. Blinded by greed. They get hooked because they're full of avarice."
"Those people are victims...!"
Kang Ye-rin shut her mouth. She got it.
I've been hooked. By the anomalies.
Han Yujin grinned. "Since you're already hooked, get hooked by me too."
"...What?"
"Be my pawn. Do whatever I say."
Kang Ye-rin realized there was no choice. To live, she'd do anything.
"...What do I do?"
Han Yujin flashed a long, wicked grin at the murmuring Kang Ye-rin.
The chime signaling the bank's opening rang out. Cold air. Mechanical employee voices. The stench of blood. Kang Ye-rin swallowed her urge to sob and walked alone to the counter. Every sense sharpened like a blade.
A tiny Bluetooth earpiece from Han Yujin was plugged into her ear.
Han Yujin's lazy voice echoed in her ear.
"Wh-where... do I go?"
Kang Ye-rin took trembling steps. The same-faced employee from yesterday greeted her with a mechanical smile. Her heart plummeted.
Yeah! You damn bitch! She'd planned that since plugging in the earpiece!
Instead of yelling, she meekly replied. "...Got it."
Somehow, she felt Han Yujin smirking through the earpiece.
"What, you crazy bitch?!"
Kang Ye-rin muttered a curse without thinking. Han Yujin's reply was icy.
Kang Ye-rin gritted her teeth. She took a deep breath, then leaned boldly on the counter.
"Excuse me. Something's off with this contract."
Instantly, the employee's smile vanished. Glassy, emotionless eyes fixed on her. The gaze alone froze her solid, bile rising.
Fuck, fuck, fuck...!I'm insane! Complaining to a horror entity?! Maybe vanishing quietly is better!
But the earpiece went further.
"Like that'll work, you psycho!"
Silence. Then Kang Ye-rin realized she'd shouted it aloud.
—Kkiiieeeek
Every employee's head snapped toward her. Simultaneously—
—Splaaat!
A watermelon exploded, gore spraying. Kang Ye-rin blinked blankly. Not her blood. The employee had reached out, shielding her from something. Her hand exploded into minced meat and bone.
—Thud
A chunk twitched on the desk. Bone and flesh like a human's. A finger.
Kang Ye-rin barely calmed her churning gut—until Han Yujin's voice.
"Urk!"
Kang Ye-rin finally vomited. The employee spoke regardless.
"Our bank prioritizes customer safety until loan repayment. You are now bank assets. How may I assist? Partial repayment is available."
"You do it, fuck... Urk! You bitch. You're toying with me. If you're testing, come out yourself. Begging. To. Save. Me. Properly."
"Apologies, customer. Our bank offers no 'you do it, fuck' service. We are exerting maximum effort to ensure your survival."
"No, I wasn't talking to you..."
Han Yujin's laugh from the earpiece. Demon. She's a demon.
Kang Ye-rin whispered tiny, just for the earpiece.
"Tell me. What to do. I've played along with your fucked game enough. Help properly."
Tch. Han Yujin clicked her tongue, paused, then spoke.
"...What? Demand what?"
[Bank User Terms of Service]