Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Mountain Lord
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Let's sort this out.
I was chasing a missing person when I ran into something bizarre and horrific, and got sucked into somewhere.
The conclusion was simple.
I've gone missing just like that person.
Swallowed by a ghost story.
"P-Police uncle...?"
And probably these kids, too.
There were five or six kids in middle school uniforms, staring at me with faces full of hope and misery.
Seeing their faces somehow washed away the overwhelming dread, and my mind cleared up.
'First things first.'
I need to grasp the situation...!
"I'm not a cop."
I showed them the Daydream Corporation logo pinned to the front of my security uniform.
"I'm an employee of a private security firm."
"Aah..."
They must have mistaken my security uniform for a police uniform.
Resignation and fear started filling the kids' faces. I quickly added,
"But I can still make a report and take security measures. So, calmly explain what's going on here?"
"Ugh, y-yes...!"
The bob-cut girl who'd spoken first swallowed hard, then started talking in a trembling voice.
"W-We... we came on a school trip."
They were first-years from some middle school in Seoul, on a trip to Gyeongju.
The teachers had divided them into groups for easier management, and these kids ended up in Group 3. They seemed like the particularly lively and curious type.
"Th-There was a mountain behind our dorm, and we saw what looked like a pavilion, so we decided to go do a guts test."
They'd snuck out at night to check out that 'pavilion' on their own.
'Whew...'
Normally, they'd either get caught by the teachers and scolded, or just poke around giggling and come back.
But...
"There was a painting in that pavilion."
This is the ghost story world.
"It was a weirdly shaped painting of... like a house..."
The student swallowed hard.
"Someone in that house was staring at us."
"......"
"So, we started daring each other to get closer..."
"You touched it, huh."
"......"
The girl nodded, then started sobbing with hiccups.
"S-Suddenly, voices from the painting saying 'good job, good job' and creepy giggling, then... something weird came out."
And when they came to, they were in this gloomy old mansion.
"Weird noises outside the windows, and even when the sun rises, the fog blocks it... W-We can't get out..."
A cheeky-looking boy behind her was sniffling too. They all seemed on the verge of panic.
'Hah...'
I deliberately asked in a calm tone.
"Was that painting like a scroll, by any chance?"
"Kkhung, a scroll?"
"Like this, rolled up."
"Ah... N-No, it was more like... a traditional painting? You know, painted with a brush..."
"...An ink wash painting?"
"Yes!!"
The middle schooler nodded vigorously.
In that case... that might be the common trigger for getting pulled into this ghost story.
Scroll rods were usually antique items.
'High chance the one the manager had was a traditional ink wash painting too.'
That grotesque dark-red liquid rampaging in the bathroom (urgh) looked like ink, after all.
Putting it together...
A ghost story where a bizarre ink wash painting swallows humans upon contact and sends them to a terrifying place.
'...There seem to be about five or six variants.'
Narrowed it down quite a bit. The problem was that none of the darknesses were easy ones.
'This is a real orthodox ghost story...'
The kind of superstitious horror that chokes the life out of you.
A scary tale with a shamanistic vibe to it.
"......"
This is bad. I'm already weak to ghosts...
'Looks way more serious than the convenience store ghost...'
In a desperate frame of mind, I wanted to tally up headcounts. More people usually means less scary!
Anyone else around?
Come to think of it, where'd the security chief go? He should've gotten dragged in with me, but no sign of him.
If that security guy was here, he'd be some emotional support, but with these... can't rely on kids.
'Driving me nuts.'
Still, without showing it, I asked,
"Must've been scary. How long have you been here?"
"A d-day...? Don't know..."
"Not hungry?"
"We had snacks... ate those."
"I see."
'These kids must be at their limit too.'
Kids fresh out of elementary school locked up alone in a place like this?
They weren't feeling the stamina drain because fear had them hyper-alert, but they'd crash hard like this.
"It's too scary, and phones don't work, so..."
"Got it. Uncle will find a way out, so you stay put and don't touch anything else..."
Hold on.
"So it's just you kids here? No other adults?"
"Adults! There are, but..."
It was then.
...From far away, a scream rang out.
AAACK!
"......"
"H-He just keeps screaming over there... That uncle's scary."
"...Yeah."
I'm scared too...
'But I can't drag you kids along...'
In times like this, having a comforting warm plush toy (alive) might come in handy.
'Brown.'
I called to my good friend in my pocket.
Come to think of it, this guy's been kinda quiet lately.
A slightly deflated voice came out.
He must have felt pretty guilty. I chuckled dryly.
'It's fine. We'll just get out.'
Not fine at all.
But getting mad here wouldn't make a mid-journey dropout possible... I'd just build up resentment with a moving killer plush.
No. Just scared.
So cooperate hard, please.
'Will you help me get out?'
Hmm, at this rate, even without pulling 5,000 won, favor should be fine.
I patted the pocket where Brown promised full cooperation, then stepped deeper into the mansion.
...Toward where the screams were coming from.
"I'll check it out, so wait here a sec?"
"Y-Yes...!"
Of course, I had a 500-won coin loaded for remote hand use anytime.
And a flashlight.
'Lucky it's attached to the uniform.'
I pushed forward, relying on the thin beam of light.
Aaak...! N-No...!
...Save me, save meeeek!
As I got closer, the voice became clearer, words and phrases discernible.
The screams from beyond the dark mansion walls were vivid. Hah...
'H-Hold it together.'
My back prickled with the urge to run.
Forcing myself around the corner.
"This f*cking world! F*cking company...!!"
A familiar face came into view.
"...Manual reviewer manager?"
A 40-something office worker was thrashing in front of a wooden panel plastered with talismans.
He spotted me and his eyes went wide.
It was the missing Section Chief Lee Byung-jin.
"S-Security team...??
Oh right.
I'm in the security uniform.
"M-My god! You're a security team employee?!
The guy lit up and came crawling over, trembling.
"You came to find me!!"
No, I got caught too.
'Why's he so subservient?'
Ah, the security team misunderstanding.
This was the first time company employees here had groveled like this after getting dropped in.
I glanced down at the borrowed security uniform.
'...Office staff tend to look down on Field Exploration Team grunts...'
Specifically, low-tenure regular employees. Since they could die anytime anywhere, they got treated roughly, ignored.
I recalled the admin who'd slyly changed attitude upon learning I nearly joined the elite team.
And Section Chief Lee Byung-jin here, sweating bullets, eyes darting, forcing a smile.
Hmm.
Let's exploit this a bit.
I clasped my hands behind my back and spoke like a proper security guy.
"We got a missing person report internally and were searching."
"I-Is that so. Haha! H-Hahaha...! See!! The company didn't abandon me...!!"
It did.
"S-So, uh, you'll smash this darkness, right? Yeah?? Since you're security..."
I said flatly on purpose.
"Security isn't the department that smashes darkness."
"......!"
"We're the team that suppresses disturbances."
"R-Right... yes, haha... I, uh, don't have much field exploration experience, see."
Okay. Got the vibe set.
"Explain the situation."
"Pardon??"
"Please describe your experiences after going missing, in chronological order."
Need to cross-reference with the kids' story to figure out what this ghost story is!
"A-Ah, y-yes!"
The guy scrambled to his feet and started babbling.
"I-I found this really precious-looking scroll rod at a souvenir shop near Jirisan..."
Pretty much matched what I'd heard in the office.
The shop owner hinted it 'grants wishes,' so he bought the suspicious scroll rod, and his wealth luck visibly improved.
"Said to keep it near water and not touch it... I really hit the lotto!! Second prize!!"
But...
"Strange whispers started..."
Section Chief Lee Byung-jin's eyes twitched, and he started clawing at his hands, spitting as he spoke.
"'Wish granted, so repay like a proper gentleman,' that kinda whisper, every night, night after night, water sounds, crying, beast howls approaching from afar!!"
Eek.
"C-Couldn't take it anymore! So..."
"...So,"
I recalled it.
The scroll rod in the blood-soaked bathroom, center ripped to shreds.
"You tried to tear it up?"
"......Yes."
So he went to a place that was daytime, not his home, no witnesses, but could blend into crowds right after tearing. Like...
'The company's unused bathroom.'
He headed there and tore the scroll rod.
"I tried, but..."
"Got dragged here."
"......Gasp! Yes..."
Section Chief Lee Byung-jin heaved roughly.
I rubbed the back of my neck.
'...What to even say.'
He'd done every single thing a ghost story victim does before dying...
And going to a Daydream Corporation basement bathroom for 'no witnesses' was almost praiseworthy.
'Honestly, at this point, he'd have no grounds to complain if he died.'
I held back a sigh and looked up.
In front of where he'd been rolling was a talisman-covered wall.
Especially many torn ones here.
'Why make a fuss right in front of this?'
I shone the flashlight on the wall.
And realized why.
"...A door?"
A handle peeked through gaps in the peeled talismans.
And with a lock on the handle...
'Leads outside?'
"It comes here!"
"Huh?"
"The ghost! Comes every day!"
Section Chief Lee Byung-jin crawled over with bloodshot eyes and clung to my pant leg, mumbling.
"C-comes to eat. To eat me... T-Talismans! Falling every day!"
"That's..."
"I-It'll come today too..."
Knock knock.
"......"
"......"
Knock knock knock.
From the door,
the sound came.
Knock knock knock knock.
"It's here agai—"
I clamped Section Chief Lee Byung-jin's mouth shut.
"......"
"......"
Uncle, don't you remember me? Jeong Na-eun, the seven-year-old from next door in Soman Apartments...
A child's sobbing, whimpering voice came from beyond the door.
A strange pathos seeped through, the kind that made you forget fear and feel pure pity...
Dazed, a trembling voice beside me said,
"N-Na-eun-ah."
Talismans on the door started burning away.
The sobs mixed with a hint of laughter.
"...!"
"N-No!! Ack!! No! I didn't answer!! Get lost! Get lost!!"
The manager snapped out of it and freaked.
But.
"Eeeek!"
Bang.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang
The door started shaking like it would break.
Burning talismans fell.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang
Talismans rained down.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang
I barely managed to move my arm.
Bang.
Threw a coin into the air to summon the hand.
Bang.
And from the countless talismans on the floor, somehow grabbed the intact ones...
Bang.
And plastered them over the door handle.
Bang.
The talismans rained down again.
"Hoo."
However...
.
.
The door sounds stopped.
Of the talismans I'd pasted on the handle, only one remained.
"......"
"......"
Chills ran up my nape.
Footsteps, trudging away slowly from beyond the door...
"Gasp, haaaah..."
Section Chief Lee Byung-jin collapsed to the floor.
I clenched and unclenched my sweaty fist.
'Insane.'
Almost passed out from the knocking.
I hid my trembling hand behind my back.
A ghost story that traps prey.
Shamanistic atmosphere, talismans, devours, temptation, calling voice, terror...
'......'
I got it.
This is a Jangsan Tiger-type ghost story.