Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Gwangju Station Horror
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Is this an event?
I turned on my phone, thinking about checking the gallery, but gave up.
[Service currently under preparation.]
'This damn gallery is always patching something.'
How could they roll out patches twice a month without any consideration for folks like Bill Gates—er, people like me?
I oppose these immoral patches that completely ignore people like me.
Enough complaining. I stepped into the station.
"What the hell. Nothing's changed."
It was exactly the same as the station I'd seen every day until a few days ago, right before the company suggested I resign.
The long bench next to the turnstiles, always occupied by the same familiar faces whenever I came by.
People milling about inside the station.
And the beauty in the black suit.
Even in the midsummer heat, she was wrapped head to toe in black, drawing the eye.
On top of that, she had the looks to match.
Our eyes met as she scanned the area, seemingly searching for someone.
I quickly looked away.
She seemed to be staring my way, but I didn't want any unnecessary misunderstandings.
Since I was already here, I figured I'd at least hop on the subway.
That's what the gallery poster had said happened inside the train.
One perk of being unemployed:
No worries about how today's actions might screw over tomorrow.
The moment I took that step into the station.
An unsettling chill swept over my body.
Like the inexplicable heaviness in the air when you enter some long-abandoned house.
"...Just my imagination."
I need to stop lurking on the gallery.
For now, let's head down to the first basement level.
***
Less than ten minutes after vowing to quit the gallery, I boarded the subway, took a seat, and turned my phone back on.
More importantly.
The poster was full of shit, as expected.
The gallery post I'd seen earlier was gone from the now-loaded feed.
[This post has been deleted.]
Usually meant one thing.
'Delete and dip.'
When someone can't handle their own bullshit post, they delete it and run—the slang for that.
And I'd grandly fallen for that crap and come all the way here.
"...What an idiot."
Might as well transfer at the next stop.
I sighed and scrolled through the gallery again.
Wasted time was wasted time.
Figured I'd kill some more—
"...What?"
A post I'd never seen before popped up.
[Anomalous Tale Gallery Victims Community (+1253)]
[Title: Number increased by 1. Time to onboard a newbie.]
There was a newbie, but.
Poof, gone.
It says anomalous exploration in progress.
ㄴlololol wtf. That's the shortest time yet.
ㄴWhere's that guy at?
ㄴCurrent location... Gwangju, Gyeonggi?
ㄴOh. lololol Yeah, I remember that place. You go in and you're fucked.
ㄴFarewell, newbie.
A chill ran down my spine.
Was someone watching me?
No way.
It must be some old post auto-cached from before.
I forced myself to ignore it and glanced around.
But.
"...!"
The woman in the black suit from the turnstiles earlier was in the next car over.
She'd definitely been at the entrance just minutes ago?
And she wasn't looking at me, but her eyes trembled subtly, her body twisting.
'...Hallucinating from exhaustion.'
I rationalized it away.
Then the announcement played.
[Next stop... Gwangju, Gwangju, Gwangju...]
"...?"
The same phrase repeated three times.
People got off and on like it was nothing.
I brushed the goosebumps from my arms and peered out the window.
The scenery was identical.
Signs, billboards, station name.
All exactly Gwangju Station.
"I need to... transfer..."
I stood up like everyone else naturally exiting at the next stop.
But the digital display still scrolled the same text.
[Next stop is Gwangju, Gwangju Station.]
Suddenly, my phone buzzed.
That weird chat from earlier.
[Anomalous Tale Gallery Victims Community (+1253)]
ㄴWhat? A newbie?.. Was gonna say welcome lol but already trapped
ㄴIsn't that the subway anomaly?
ㄴFrom what I know eyes ^%@# end it
ㄴCan't reply?
ㄴCome back
"...Fuck, what is this."
I opened the comment box to type, but the letters wouldn't input right.
No matter what I tried, the screen just repeated 'Come back.'
[Come back come back come back come back...]
Click-clack, click-clack—
The suit woman from the next car over.
She smiled as she approached.
When did she get so close?
The heel clicks grew nearer.
Reflexively, I checked the window.
But—
My reflection in the glass moved 1-2 seconds delayed.
"...!"
The instant I jolted to my feet, every passenger in the train turned their heads in unison.
And mouthed the same words.
"...Come back."
The lights went out.
In the darkness.
An unfamiliar whisper slithered into my ear.
"You know it too. There's... no exit here."
***
I opened my eyes.
"...?"
Everything was bright.
I blinked dumbly.
I was back inside Gwangju Station, right where I'd been standing before.
People moved about as if nothing had happened. A student passing by with earbuds in, a guy carrying bags, office workers glued to their phones.
As if everything from the train had been a dream.
"......"
My heart pounded.
Too vivid for a dream—the cold sweat on my neck, the racing pulse.
A blue window floated before my eyes.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Returning to last save point.]
[Most recent save point: AUTO SAVE 0.]
[ Gwangju Station Horror ]
[ Death Type ]: Burst.
[ Tip ]: Escaping an anomaly requires specific conditions. Why not focus on that?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The woman from before stood in front of me.
Tall black suit, summer-inappropriate outfit.
And that strangely captivating face.
Maybe because she was the last thing I saw before dying.
This time, I didn't look away.
She tilted her head slightly, then approached.
"Could you be the Alpha Agent I was supposed to meet here?"
A strong gut feeling told me denying it would be bad.
My mouth moved on its own.
"Yes."
"Good thing. I thought you'd left already since you were so late. Here, take this first."
She handed me what looked like a single sheet of paper booklet.
[Rulebook]
[ Gwangju Station Horror ]
1. The moment you enter the station, everyone experiences cognitive distortion. Everything that happens inside will seem like perfectly natural, everyday occurrences.
ㄴDuring cognitive distortion, never let on that you're seeing or knowing something different alone. If you do, you will ㅡㅡㅡㅡ.
2. The people by the turnstiles. No further information.
3. TBD
4. TBD
5. TBD.
Mostly blank or empty.
The only info I could grasp was the first line on the page.
"This?"
"The investigator who went ahead before us lost contact, so a lot is blank. This is me restoring what he left behind as best I could. We'll have to fill in the rest ourselves as you and I investigate, Alpha Agent."
I got the gist.
She was the investigator.
And I was like her bodyguard, standing by her side.
Alpha Agent—just the name said it all.
"If we complete the rulebook... what changes?"
"We can safely clear the anomaly. That neutralizes it for a period. Our job is to complete the rulebook so we can suppress it quickly before it reactivates."
"So... it doesn't make the anomaly disappear completely."
"Anomalies are powered by people. Their emotions, bodies, souls. Cut off that supply properly, and it weakens, eventually vanishing entirely."
I got why we made the rulebook.
"Hold on."
I left her standing there and headed for the station exit.
I remembered her suspicious glance during our talk.
From her perspective, an agent should already know that stuff.
I knew drawing more suspicion would be bad.
But I had to check this.
If it worked, I wouldn't need to play agent with her.
Moments after my foot crossed the station threshold, I realized.
The station lived up to its reputation.
I felt every drop of blood in my body boiling.
"Ah. Doesn't work."
"Alpha Agent?"
Ignoring my changed tone, her panicked voice came from behind at my sight.
Soon, my vision went black.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Returning to last save point.]
[Most recent save point: AUTO SAVE 0.]
[ Gwangju Station Horror ]
[ Death Type ]: Burst.
[ Tip ]: Escaping an anomaly requires specific conditions. Why not focus on that?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Everything brightened.
When I opened my eyes again.
I was back in the station space where I'd stood before.
People coming and going, and over there, a woman waiting for someone.
My foolish past mistakes came to mind.
'Lucky I was born in the modern world, not some medieval fantasy.'
'Ugh. How would anyone survive there?'
'My heartfelt condolences. Spin in your grave.'
But.
"...Fuck?.."
This was a 'dark fantasy' world.
One with anomalies and horrors.
And even a foundation to handle them.
...Just send me to the medieval era instead.