Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work
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I broke out in a cold sweat as I stared at the bracelet.
However, the text that had changed from boarding pass to membership showed no signs of reverting, nor did the strangely glamorous, luxurious material.
Al... alright...
It was an unexpected turn, but my task hadn't changed.
Scan the bracelet at the gate and leave.
'Membership or whatever, I just won't come back.'
"Thank you."
I swallowed hard.
"Um... I'd like to head home now, too."
The blue mascot tilted its head slightly to the side.
I stepped up to the gate machine to scan my bracelet.
But the mascot blocked my way.
'Please.'
Why are you doing this?
I wanted to cry.
"I'm not as good a kid as you think..."
A good kid?
The blue mascot's claw gently, ever so softly, covered my bracelet.
And a voice rang out.
...!!
"Cough."
A cough burst from my mouth.
Blood.
'Wh-what just...'
Could it be... because it changed from boarding pass to membership?
The blue dragon mascot panicked at the sight of me vomiting blood, fidgeting anxiously before pulling something from its bosom and offering it.
It seemed like a snack sold inside this theme park.
"...I'll eat it well."
Yeah. No way I'm touching this.
"But... I'd like to eat it at home."
Play more.
The mascot was firm.
How firm? It shut down the gate machine.
"...!!"
Click. The shutter descended from the now-darkened north exit.
I stared blankly at the scene.
You're going this far?
I couldn't grasp what was happening at all.
But I didn't argue like an idiot.
'I might end up like that researcher.'
Anything but that.
For now... for now... it wasn't like I was in immediate mortal danger inside here. I could look for alternatives.
I backed away from the gate.
The blue mascot watched me sprint away...
"This is driving me insane."
I entered the water park locker room and collapsed onto the floor.
I'm scared to death.
"What the hell is this?"
To sum it up, the mascot suddenly called me a 'good kid,' gave me the membership, and dropped the gate shutter.
In short, I was trapped here.
"......"
Trapped.
No, what even is a 'good kid'?
The researcher was a bad kid, I'm a good kid...
Ah.
'...Because I saved the team members a few times!'
Yeah. That seemed the most plausible reason.
I'd ended up looking after people in emergencies a few times... and now the reward is eternal playtime in this theme park?
'I'm losing my mind...'
This was inside a B-Grade Darkness.
No matter how friendly that mascot seemed and how relatively safe it looked, it meant bizarre dangers could pop up anywhere, anytime.
And besides.
'...There are no exploration records of staying over 24 hours.'
Once 24 hours pass, everyone dies or goes missing.
In the most optimistic view, the boarding pass was a one-day ticket, and as a member, I might be fine—but the key point was I had zero information.
'Damn it.'
I racked my brains, feeling like biting my tongue.
My thoughts were sluggish from the fatigue of the past few hours...
'What can I even do?'
I couldn't beat the mascot in a fight.
I couldn't sneak in and turn the gate machine back on.
'I used up all my coins earlier.'
Seeing Y Squad newbie Jang Heo-woon about to fall, I'd panicked and thrown whatever I could grab—that was my mistake. I pressed my eyelids.
There wasn't even a button to communicate outside, so I couldn't expect help from D Squad.
'The items I have...'
Smile Sticker? Useless when affinity is already too high.
The 2x potion or 0.5x cookie were the same. They needed synergy to matter.
'Is there really nothing?'
The more I thought, the deeper I sank into despair.
That's when it happened.
A light twinkled above my head.
"...!!"
The black memo pad, the goods box.
'Please!'
I tapped it without even breathing.
A rope? No, anything would do. I needed even a tiny hint, anything...
Thud.
The goods dropped.
'...!'
I picked up the transparently wrapped item.
It was small enough to fit in my palm, fluffy.
A stuffed doll.
Ah.
I recalled the board game box text.
-Board the three fantasy attractions the fastest with your team and claim your prize!
The team that boarded three attractions fastest at 'Jolly Theme Park' could take one item from the souvenir shop as a prize.
'Come to think of it, the assistant manager mentioned getting a prize earlier.'
And of course, the theme park souvenir shops in these ghost stories often mixed in bizarre items.
'There were even sorted exploration records of prize lists...'
And this was one of the most famous items among them.
Good Friend
In the original, it was a stuffed doll sized for a child's arms, but as merch, it was reborn as a keychain-sized doll in my hand.
'The usage rights for this merch must be for Jolly Theme Park visitors.'
To non-visitors, it was just a useless stuffed toy, but since I'd used up my boarding pass, I gained the rights.
And this stuffed doll's ability was:
This.
"......"
Normally, I'd deliberate endlessly, rigging every safety measure before trying.
'Invite someone from the other side'? Perfect creepy ghost story opener.
But I had no time or leisure now.
'Let's do it.'
I desperately needed advice from someone who knew the ghost story's inner workings.
I pulled out my smartphone with the Memorial GripTok attached for the first time in ages and opened the 'Good Friend' tab in [Darkness Exploration Records].
Required materials:
· Matches (or lighter)
· Water 100ml
· Salt one spoonful
· Coin (clean one)
· Item related to the friend
And a quiet space.
'This locker room works.'
Outside was noisy with water and music sounds—this was the best spot.
Lighter, water, salt—I could probably scrounge those inside the theme park. Steal from a shop or ask.
The problem was the next two.
Coin (clean one)
Item related to the friend
No coins left.
And item related to the friend... honestly, it was for ghost story fun. Put in a fairy tale book, get a monster from that tale.
'What would be safest?'
No, offering something from this theme park as a friend item felt ominous.
This place was already the ghost story.
"......"
In the end, after agonizing, I settled on two substitutes.
Praying desperately they'd work.
And shortly after.
"Hoo."
I set the procured torch and salt down in the farthest corner of the locker room floor.
'That was creepy.'
All from the snack truck. Saw 'marshmallow roast' menu and hoped—both were there.
'...Saw the membership and gave them free.'
Far from glad, it felt more ominous.
I wiped my mouth, then opened my smartphone again.
Had to start now.
1. Dip finger in water and draw the enclosed hexagram pattern on a smooth floor.
2. Place 'Good Friend' in the center of the hexagram.
3. Place coin on 'Good Friend's' belly. Fingers must be dry—no water residue.
4. Hold salt in mouth, burn the friend-related item with fire.
5. When 'Good Friend' speaks, swallow salt and greet warmly!
If coin vanishes: Success! You've gained a reliable friend. Cherish them always!
※If salt won't go down, tastes weird, turns to ash, or blood appears—RUN.
"Hoo."
I first drew the exact hexagram on the locker room's marble floor from the image.
A bit complex, but not hard.
'...Unnaturally brilliant.'
Yet the finished hexagram gleamed excessively smooth, without a single splash mark.
I thoroughly dried my fingers on my clothes, then with trembling hands placed the 'Good Friend' keychain in the central space.
'Of all things, a rabbit doll.'
Felt iffy, but remembering I'd bought it at the popup store thinking it was cute helped a bit.
And the coin...
'This.'
I placed my item, Silver Coin Serpent, on top.
'This counts as a coin... right?'
Better than scavenging one here—I figured the alien shop item from reality was safer.
Considering its price, it had high value; might even give bonus effects, I rationalized.
Mouth full of salt, then last:
'Friend-related item.'
This had to be not from this ghost story, too.
It was... me.
"......"
I undid and held up my necktie.
'My own item definitely isn't from here.'
A friend related to my necktie? Better than a kitchen knife, whoever it was.
I lit the torch.
Held it to the necktie end.
Whoosh.
The flames roared fiercely, casting shadows over the stuffed doll atop the hexagram.
The shadow wavers.
Wavers.
Wavers.
Before I knew it, surroundings darkened.
All I see: flames devouring my necktie, the reflecting hexagram, and the doll at center.
Wavers.
Wavers.
My dazed mind doesn't melt.
Instead, salt dissolves bitterly in my mouth, numbing my tongue.
And amid it.
Wavers.
Wavers.
The 'Good Friend' doll, clutching the coin, opened its mouth.
...!!
Too big.
My head shakes like jelly.
Want to plug my ears, but no hands free. Holding necktie and torch!
What is this?
The doll convulses at hexagram center.
Silver round thing in middle burns away.
'Silver Coin Serpent.'
Wrong coin?
Head hurts too much, too...
I looked up.
"......"
The wavering slows.
Necktie fully burns, flames die.
The coin atop the convulsing rabbit doll had vanished.
The water from the hexagram, too.
"......"
Silence.
I swallowed the salt, staring at the motionless 'Good Friend'.
But no sound came.
'No way.'
"Failure..."
"...!!"
A cheerful, pleasant voice rang out.
But...
A familiar voice.
I unwittingly opened my mouth.
"...Host?"
Tuesday Quiz Show.
The voice of the TV head host from that live broadcast ghost story was coming from the doll.