Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Catastrophe Foundation
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-Ding-ring!
A smartphone notification sound rang out.
A finger reached toward the smartphone, then hesitated.
A strange sense of unease crawled up my spine.
In this situation, everything was suspicious.
Even a simple text notification could be the start of another ghost story.
Among the countless ghost stories I'd read, there were many that used smartphones or messages as a medium.
'Wait, calm down.'
I took a deep breath and organized my thoughts.
The 'Ruminative Thought Enhancement Serum' I had injected earlier was taking effect.
Memories were surfacing as neatly organized as a library's catalog.
Ghost stories related to phones...
Midnight calls, video calls from unknown numbers, strange apps being installed, curses delivered by text.
In an instant, all related ghost stories flashed through my mind.
But there was no ghost story related to a simple notification sound.
At least, not that I could remember.
Then, it suddenly occurred to me.
'Ah, right. That's all thanks to that moderator.'
In the past, the Ghost Story Gallery's moderator, 'Bermuda,' was extremely厌恶 toward meta ghost stories using the gallery as a subject.
Solely because they were childish and encouraged gallery clout-chasing.
His theory was that they lowered the gallery's level and prestige.
At the time, many of the gallery's regulars, including myself, cursed him out, saying he was too dogmatic.
"Hah, I'm grateful for that moderator at a time like this."
A bitter laugh escaped me.
The moderator, who used to be called a dictator, now felt like a savior.
Thanks to his stubborn personality back then, I was at least certain that meta ghost stories related to the Ghost Story Gallery did not exist.
Feeling a bit lighter, I picked up my smartphone.
Still, just in case, I kept my thumb on the power button.
As I turned on the screen, there were five comment notifications.
Reactions to the post I had uploaded.
The comments on the screen caught my eye.
[AnalogueLoverⓖ] : Seeing you posting normally, it looks like you survived too lol. Fortunately, I got the Doorbell Graffiti ghost story, so I just holed up at home and survived.
AnalogLover.
A veteran user who liked ghost stories captured on VHS tapes or old film.
He mainly posted analog horror content that dealt with the fear hidden behind technological advancements.
He would often post articles dealing with the unique anxiety and fear of analog media in an era where digital was mainstream.
The Doorbell Graffiti ghost story he mentioned...
It involved strange graffiti being drawn on front doors, and the people who saw it becoming targets of a crime.
Just thinking about it made my skin crawl.
[Cryptidⓖ] : Still, it's a relief something like 'Don't look at the moon' didn't pop up. If one of those showed up, it would really be the end of humanity.
Cryptid.
One of the skilled users of the Ghost Story Gallery.
As his nickname suggested, he specialized in ghost stories related to unidentified creatures.
He was right.
If the Earth-annihilation-level scenario, classified as an S-rank ghost story in the Catastrophe Foundation's documents, had become reality, humanity would be on the verge of extinction by now.
[Chobameobaeonⓧ] : Damn it, damn it, damn it. I can't even watch horror movies, I thought I was going to die when I got the Red Mask ghost story.
Chobameobaeon.
He was a kind veteran user who mainly wrote guidelines for new users.
His masterpiece was the 'Guide for Ghost Story Gallery Beginners.'
He encountered the Red Mask ghost story...
It must have been tough.
That ghost story was notoriously strong in terms of visual horror.
For someone who couldn't even watch horror movies to encounter such a ghost story, I couldn't imagine how shocking it must have been.
[ㅇㅇ(119.243)] : Someone please save me, a crazy monster is chasing m
When I read this comment, my heart sank.
It felt like I was witnessing in real-time someone becoming a victim of a ghost story at this very moment.
Looking at the IP address, it was from the Seoul area.
But there was nothing I could do.
I could only stare at the screen, soaking in my sense of powerlessness.
[Hikikoⓧ] : I asked around, and other people don't even know the Ghost Story Gallery exists. When I show them a capture of the gallery, they only see a white screen... Are all the gallery users the only ones who have been transported to a world where ghost stories are real?
Hikiko's comment especially caught my eye.
His speculation was quite plausible.
A community that isn't even visible to other people and whose existence isn't known.
Considering the reputation of the Ghost Story Gallery I knew, the hypothesis that all its users had been transported to another world where ghost stories had become real was also convincing.
'That could be possible...'
For a moment, I became suspicious and searched for 'Line 2 Subway' on a portal site.
[Line 2 Subway, Operations Halted for a Day Due to Railway Union Strike]
There was only one article published today.
Looking at the screen, a hollow laugh escaped me.
'What the hell, does this make any sense?'
A massive tragedy that occurred on the subway from the morning.
Dozens, perhaps hundreds of passengers were brutally killed, but there isn't even a single line of an internet article, let alone news coverage.
Moreover, they're calmly saying the subway I was just riding has been suspended due to a strike.
My head throbbed.
The boundary between reality and unreality seemed to blur.
Looking out the window, an ordinary daily life was unfolding.
Office workers on their way to work were hurrying their steps, and students going to school were walking in groups, laughing.
People were walking peacefully on the streets, and cars were driving orderly on the road.
It was as if the horrific events that had occurred on the subway just a little while ago were all a lie.
I decided to give up on going to school.
Being outside in this situation was no different from suicide.
The fact that everything looked normal was even more unsettling.
On the way back to my one-room apartment, my head was filled with complicated thoughts.
Every time I took a step, my nerves were on edge as I guarded against my surroundings.
The shadows in alleys that I would normally just walk past, the movements of passersby, everything felt like a threat.
One week later.
My room was filled with a musty smell.
I had left the window open, but it was hard to completely get rid of the smell created by the cup noodle containers and delivery food wrappers that had piled up over the past week.
Empty cans and PET bottles were scattered all over the floor, so much so that it was embarrassing.
While holed up, I combed through the community.
I alternated between my smartphone and laptop, checking all the posts on every community.
And I discovered one chilling fact.
'Some huge group is covering up this situation.'
In any community other than the Ghost Story Gallery, posts that mentioned the existence of ghost stories were immediately deleted or the accounts were suspended.
It was as if someone was monitoring them 24/7.
I scratched my head and let out a sigh.
On my desk, sleeping pills and empty containers of Uhwangcheongsimhwan were scattered about.
I looked at the one remaining sleeping pill and shook my head.
I knew it wasn't good to rely on medication, but for the past week, I couldn't have slept without them.
Every time I fell asleep, I had nightmares of the scenes I saw on the subway.
When I woke up, my blankets were drenched in sweat, and my heart was pounding as if it were about to burst.
"What am I going to do now..."
If I had remained ignorant, it might have been different, but now that I've realized that the ghost stories where countless people die are real, I can't just go on living my life as usual.
For now, I've given myself a week off from school because of the trauma, but I'm starting to worry about my grades and need to think about getting a job...
Ding-dong-
The sudden sound of the doorbell made my heart leap.
My whole body froze as if ice water had been poured over it.
St0pG4m3Over
I cautiously approached the front door, trying to make as little noise as possible.
Because there were ghost stories that reacted to sound.
"Is this Mr. Baek Jeong-woo's residence?"
It was a woman's voice.
A soft, polite, and completely normal voice.
Looking through the peephole, I saw a woman who looked to be in her early twenties.
Dressed in a neat business suit with straight black hair.
She looked like a job seeker here for an interview.
A completely normal appearance.
'This doesn't seem like a ghost story...'
I mobilized my serum-enhanced memory to its fullest.
Many ghost stories flashed by, but there was no ghost story with this appearance.
Of course, there was a possibility that a new ghost story I didn't know about had been created...
"Who are you?"
I asked in a voice that didn't hide my wariness.
"I heard you went through a major incident on the subway a week ago. I came out regarding that."
In an instant, memories of the subway flashed by like a flashbang.
The knives of the dwarves, the people being brutally killed, the metallic smell of blood that pierced my nose...
Just that memory made my stomach churn.
It felt like I could taste the metallic flavor in my mouth again.
Cold sweat trickled down.
The palms of my hands were damp.
"Wait a moment."
I opened the door with a trembling hand, judging that it probably wasn't a ghost story.
However, I still didn't let my guard down.
I left the front door wide open, just in case.
The woman naturally entered the room.
She was nonchalant even after seeing the room filled with week-old cup noodle bowls and delivery food containers, and scattered sleeping pills and Uhwangcheongsimhwan.
Rather, she had an expression that seemed to say, 'Of course.'
It was as if she had seen this sight countless times.
"Can I get you something to drink?"
I offered a formal greeting.
In truth, the only thing to drink was a single can of cola left in the refrigerator.
"I'm fine."
The woman sat in front of the table, and I sat opposite her.
Cold sweat ran down my spine.
Who on earth is this woman, and how did she find me?
More importantly, how did she know about what I experienced?
"A week ago, you had a dream on the subway. A dream where dwarves appeared and brutally murdered people."
My heart was pounding.
Her tone of voice suggested she knew everything.
I couldn't answer easily.
What if she belonged to a group hostile to ghost story phenomena, like the 'Anomaly Cleaners'?
They might try to kill me on the spot for having contacted a ghost story.
As if she had read my concerns, the woman smiled and continued.
"We usually refer to these phenomena as 'ghost stories'."
The fact that she called them ghost stories meant she probably wasn't from the Anomaly Cleaners.
Thank goodness.
"'We'...?"
My voice trembled.
"Ah, I'm late with the introduction. We are a company that secures, isolates, and researches ghost stories, called the Catastrophe Foundation. Externally, we are known as the Siegfried Group, but are you familiar with our company?"
A shiver ran through my entire body.
The Catastrophe Foundation.
It was a name I had seen countless times on the Ghost Story Gallery.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
I answered without thinking.
"I know."
Very well, indeed.