Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work
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Saint You's Peekaboo.
According to the middle schoolers' explanation, it was the final group album from a famous female idol who made a flashy comeback after a few years' hiatus.
The pre-release track, addictive, bright, and upbeat, had lingered on the music charts for a long time, they said.
And now, that very song echoed through the misty, shadowy forest, accompanied by synchronized claps.
Clap.
"My sharp gaze spots you in an instant, but I won't approach first..."
"I'll pretend not to notice until you come closer, nice and comfy."
Cuz Predators never move first... Even the adults were singing along as best they could, with all their might.
Clap.
"Yeah, get ready. I'm an elegant tiger—peekaboo the moment you get close!"
The lively, exciting melody continued.
Perhaps because so many were singing together, the kids' faces gradually relaxed, their voices gaining strength.
"Peekaboo! Here I come, get tense! I'm a tiger. My eyes sparkle even in the dark!"
But at the very end of the line, instead of a person, a palm-sized purple wild ginseng dangled like a bundle on a stick, swaying back and forth.
The security captain carried the stick over his shoulder like a trash bag, following at the rear.
Go Seonha kept glancing at it suspiciously from the side, but the man himself hummed the song quite cheerfully.
"Peekaboo! I'll mesmerize you till you lose your mind. Peekaboo. Yeah, get tense."
Clap.
I gestured for everyone to stop.
‘The thirtieth.’
The group bowed deeply like they were kowtowing and then straightened up awkwardly.
And the song continued.
"Peekaboo!"
The path gradually flattened out, becoming easier to walk.
By the end of the second verse and the final chorus, the surroundings had changed.
The trees, once so dense they blackened faces, had thinned out, and the pale fog had thickened.
Instinctively, everyone realized it.
‘We're almost there...!’
Their faces were streaked with tension, anticipation, and vigilance.
But they sang to the end as calmly as possible.
"Peekaboo, yeah get tense..."
Clap.
Until the very last line.
"Now I'll come closer."
The footsteps halted.
"......"
"......"
The path had ended.
A wide clearing lay ahead of the dead-end trail.
"Th-there are no trees."
The group's pace quickened. Finally, through the thick fog, the result of the ritual appeared before them.
"The snake hole's...!"
A massive reservoir.
"......"
"......"
‘What the hell is this?’
A black, vast waterfront where fog endlessly rolled in.
The group froze in bewilderment and terror.
Faces full of confusion about what had gone wrong.
"Wh-why..."
"A snake hole was supposed to be here, uh uh..."
What?
What went wrong?
I glanced at the wild ginseng the security captain held.
...It was fine.
‘It should have disappeared...?’
Go Seonha's face drained pale as she spoke.
"...Water ghost."
"...!"
Words from hours ago immediately resurfaced.
‘And... be careful of water. Changgwi originally meant water ghost too...’
"It was a trap! The ritual itself was a trap!! Bewitched by the water ghost...!"
"Aaaah!!"
"We're all being dragged here, to the reservoir...!!"
Section Chief Lee Byungjin screamed and tried to flee backward, only to trip and fall. The kids whimpered, then shrieked, clinging to each other.
A chill raced up my spine, nearly buckling my knees.
It felt like stepping into a horror movie scene where all the characters were about to die.
"......"
‘We're gonna die like this...’
...No.
No!!
At least I need to know why.
No matter how I thought about it, we hadn't made any mistakes within the given information. Not even including every exploration log from [Darkness Exploration Records] that I'd read!
Incomprehension overrode the fear, dominating my mind.
Go Seonha's terrified shout buzzed in my ears.
"T-turn back and run! To the abandoned house...!"
...Huh?
Wait a minute.
I turned to Go Seonha.
"Do you know about that?"
"Pardon?"
"The abandoned house is a trick too."
"......Pardon?"
"Think about it. Doesn't it seem off?"
I spoke slowly.
Pointing out the ghost story's intentional contradictions.
"A space entered while possessed by the Window Ghost, and you think you can snap out of it in an abandoned house sealed with talismans that the ghost can't enter."
"......"
"And that house conveniently has the escape ritual written inside."
That's why interpretations differed even in the [Darkness Exploration Records] wiki comments about that house, but I was almost certain.
‘This ghost story is designed to drive people mad from the start.’
If so, the intended logic is this.
"They deliberately trap you in the house for half a month, wearing down your body and mind to weaken you."
Offering the false hope of the ritual, pushing people to their limits until psychological barriers crumble.
"That makes it easy to lure you out."
Decisively...
"Inducing a mistake during the ritual in that state would be ideal, but even if not..."
I looked at the ginseng.
"The victim selection process is bound to cause conflict and create a straggler. One sacrifice is guaranteed to be ‘taken.’"
"......"
"Of course, the ritual is probably real. That's what makes people cling desperately."
And this being [Darkness Exploration Records].
You can't stuff too many contrived lies into the story. It breaks immersion and tension, so the ritual is surely genuine.
That's why I performed it with near certainty...
"Which makes it even more suspicious."
I'd read quite a few ghost stories.
All the ones posted on [Darkness Exploration Records], at least.
The tougher ones became company routine, so I read them multiple times.
In that process, I picked up some trivia I hadn't known...
Like this.
"Peach tree branches are commonly known to repel ghosts."
"So?"
"And plums are fruit the Window Ghost loves. That's probably why those two items were needed."
"...Ah."
"Lure the Window Ghost to the shrine with them, while the ritual participants flee holding ghost-repelling incense made from peach branches."
I looked up.
"And wouldn't you know, someone here found the scent of that peach-branch incense uncomfortable and reacted hungrily to the plums."
"......"
Out of seven people, someone walking right next to the security captain at the rear.
As if trying to stay as far as possible from the peach-branch incense.
"Go Seonha."
I stared at her.
"Are you speaking of your own free will right now?"
"...What do you,"
Maybe, just maybe.
The real Go Seonha had failed the ritual at the shrine before even meeting us and was already...
"You're not Go Seonha right now. It's the Window Ghost speaking, isn't it."
She froze.
"Busted."
Go Seonha's mouth tore open.
But too late! Too late!
Her arms grotesquely elongated, stretching toward me to grab and pull...
‘Eek!’
I rolled across the ground to dodge the arms.
Screams from the section chief and kids echoed behind me.
"Aaaah!!"
"Gh-ghost!"
Reflexively, I drew the knife from my front pocket. It wasn't fully the Window Ghost yet! If I could just subdue the possessed human...
But I realized.
‘I-I can't charge that thing!’
With this short-range weapon, I'd have to get right up in its face! I'm already on the verge of passing out!
Still, my racing mind instantly found the perfect candidate!
"Captain!"
I threw the weapon to the figure behind me.
"Subdue it, please!"
Whoosh.
The bloodsucking knife sliced through the air.
"...Ah."
The security captain snatched the knife I threw, gave it a quick glance, and charged straight at the Window Ghost.
Hiiik!!
Go Seonha's face and arms twisted, grotesque and bizarre shapes bursting out wildly.
Arms, faces, hair, eyes of countless men, women, and children peering everywhere.
"Hiiik!"
"Fall back and close your eyes!"
Section Chief Lee Byungjin rolled back down the mountain path with the kids, huddling together.
At that moment, the security captain's form began to warp too.
A grotesque shape.
His slender upper body swelled massively like it would burst, his mouth ripping long like a muzzle with a tongue lolling out.
That tongue mercilessly seized and snapped the Window Ghost's elongated arm.
Aaaah!!
No, it was a hallucination. The security captain looked like a normal human.
No, he was transforming into a monstrous form...
‘Whoa, this is insane.’
I barely shifted my gaze's focus.
The reason the security team subdued ghost stories so well.
And why they weren't part of the Field Exploration Team.
It was unfolding before my eyes.
You know that, right?
If you're no longer human, even clearing a ghost story won't fill the collector with pure essence.
No value in field exploration.
So people who assimilate with ghost stories, becoming near-monsters, get assigned to security.
Especially those contaminated by a certain violent, territorial horror...
Become security team.
Used to suppress major incidents in company-managed ghost stories.
‘...And to rise to captain means he's the same.’
In short, employees specialized in confronting monsters within ghost stories.
Kya aaak!
The Window Ghost's myriad arms exploded against the security captain's protruding tongue, claws, and teeth.
His face, with the bloodsucking knife in its mouth, still flickered with unnatural shapes.
‘...Wolf?’
Hallucinations of a muzzle ripped wide with countless teeth overlaid, drool and blood dripping, flickering in and out.
Dizziness and nausea washed over me like waves, so I hurriedly stared at the ground.
‘...Feels like a nightmare.’
I was starting to vaguely understand, realistically, why [Darkness Exploration Records] cleared the area of people when the security team subdued ghost stories...
Still, my gamble had paid off; things were progressing successfully.
"Keep your eyes closed!"
I endured silently, staring at the ground.
And the next moment.
The situation ended.
Lifting my head, I saw the Window Ghost lying there, the bloodsucking knife embedded in its right hand.
And the security captain's distorted, mutated form gripping its head tight...
There was no greater relief than Brown's voice being audible only to me.
I desperately feigned calm as I addressed the security captain pressing down on Go Seonha's head.
"Captain, thank you."
"Uuuugh..."
You're the scary one for translating that monster growl...
Then.
A muffled human voice emerged from under the security captain's hand.
"W-wait a sec..."
"...!"
Go Seonha's face, now normal again, groaned desperately in terror.
"P-please spare me! S-save..."
"Uh, uuuuh..."
Her eyes rolled back, and the Window Ghost's voice emerged.
Go Seonha thrashed.
"No, no..."
"Spare me, please spare me!! Aaaah!"
At that moment.
"Now."
The security captain spoke in a human voice.
"You requested emergency rescue from [Daydream Corporation], right...?"
His face was hidden by the monstrous form.
But that clear voice was directly questioning Go Seonha.
"This counts as a formal request warranting a contract..., right...?"
......Something felt off.
Go Seonha looked up blankly, then desperately replied as if snapping back.
"Yes..."
Wait.
"No."
I clenched my teeth and interjected.
"This isn't company-owned Darkness, we didn't enter for civilian rescue, and above all, we've mutually helped each other."
"Huh...? That's weird..."
The growling voice dropped dangerously low.
"But didn't she try to stop us from leaving...?"
Gasp.
"...Doesn't matter. She ended up helping in the end."
I declared firmly.
"This was cooperation."
"......"
The security captain stared at me intently.
Then glanced at Go Seonha...
"Ah... Is that so..."
"......"
"Kinda makes sense..."
Shlrk.
The strength drained from the security captain's voice, returning to his usual everything's-a-hassle tone.
‘Phew.’
Something felt wrong, so I interjected, and sure enough, this was right.
‘Best not to get tangled with Daydream Corporation...’
Owing that company a debt? My gut screamed bad idea no matter how I sliced it.
"Hmm... So what now..."
"Hold on."
I approached Section Chief Lee Byungjin, who was huddled with the kids, eyes still shut.
He freaked at my footsteps.
"Hiiik! Don't tell me you're sacrificing me instead...!"
"The censer."
"Wha...?"
"Hand it over."
I snatched the censer Section Chief Lee Byungjin still held.
The peach-branch incense had burned out, but its ashes remained intact inside.
‘She hated peach branches.’
If so...
I dumped the censer right onto Go Seonha's shoulder area.
Kyaaaah!!
Sizzle.
Not even that hot, yet the smell of scorched flesh and salty brine rose from her shoulder.
I poured the rest on her head.
The possessed body convulsed, flailing madly...
"Hah,"
Her eyes snapped open.
Eyes sharp with vitality and relief.
It was Go Seonha.
"I-I'm okay! I think I'm fine now..."
"No."
"Pardon?"
"This space was entered while possessed by the Window Ghost, so it could come back anytime."
"Th-then..."
"So let's make sure it can't enter you at all."
"...?"
I had an extra pack of apple juice.
I handed the sealed pack to Go Seonha.
"Uh, uhhh..."
"Drink it all down."
Despite her confused expression, she gulped it down while pinned.
And shortly after.
Thud.
She fell asleep like the ginseng.
Phew.
‘Crisis averted for now...’
"You can let go now."
"......"
The security captain obediently released his grip and asked slyly.
"Any chance of a department transfer...?"
"No."
Please.
I thanked the now fully human-shaped security captain once more, then gathered Section Chief Lee Byungjin and the kids, still eyes shut tight.
"You can open your eyes now."
"Ah...!"
Relief washed over Section Chief Lee Byungjin's face.
But he soon glanced at the kids and desperately whispered to me.
"B-but what now?? How the hell do we find a way out...!"
"......"
"The sun's about to rise!"
I looked at the sky.
Beyond the thick fog, a hazy light seemed to filter through somewhere...
...The full moon night was ending.
‘No time to redo the ritual.’
But...
"We'll be fine."
"...Pardon?"
"Half the ritual probably succeeded."
I recalled how the path changed with each verse sung, and how the incense burned properly.
‘Everything prepared was correct.’
Strictly speaking, this ritual had two purposes.
Escaping the Window Ghost.
Begging the Mountain God for an escape route.
"And the latter seems to have worked properly."
The former failed because a possessed person was among us, bringing us right to the water's edge...
"The exit might be nearby."
"...!"
We stuck together in the thick fog, searching the clearing near the mountainside, away from the water.
The area where the ritual path had ended.
‘Bare spot... bare spot.’
And shortly after.
"F-found it!"
"...!!"
One of the middle schoolers spotted a small hole at the base of a tree.
Moonlight pierced the fog, shining down on it.
A pitch-black hole, like ink pooled inside.
"......"
Snake hole.
I quickly had everyone dip their hands in the saltwater. Urgency overrode fear; we moved first.
‘Quick, quick.’
Just before sunrise.
We reached into the snake hole.