The Pilgrimage of the Mad

There are plenty of lunatics in this world, and when they gather in one place, accidents are bound to happen.

Like drinking until dawn when you have to go to work the next day.

Or blowing your entire paycheck on random loot boxes.

Or grabbing your car keys and bolting out the door at 3:00 AM because a streamer told you to head to Taebaek, Gangwon-do.

Any person with a shred of common sense would regain their reason and crawl back under their blankets in this situation.

But sadly, those who watch Kang Jinwoo’s streams are far removed from common sense.

They are the denizens of the holy land of South Korean occultism, a gathering place for perverts who indulge in the unknown terror.

To the Ghost Gallery users, Kang Jinwoo’s command was not just simple streaming content.

It was a flare signal summoning the Ghost Hunters.

Of course, there were some among them who still had their reason intact.

Pure newbies who had just joined yesterday and hadn't yet tasted the 'abyss' of the gallery.

To their eyes, the situation unfolding was nothing short of collective madness.

Invading someone’s place of business at 4:00 AM?

At a shaman’s house, no less?

This was clear obstruction of business and trespassing.

'Are they all insane? Are they actually going? It must be a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠joke, right?'

One sane newbie typed on his keyboard with trembling hands, feeling a sense of duty to stop the runaway train.

It was a perfectly normal post. Reasonable, rational, and the kind of advice a citizen of a law-abiding country should give.

But unfortunately, the place the newbie posted was the Ghost Gallery.

A lawless zone where reason fails to overcome emotion, and madness sits above the law.

The newbie’s plea was instantly reduced to mockery by the veterans.

"Wow, these guys are insane."

The newbie stared at the monitor, mouth agape. There was no reasoning with them. To his eyes, the gallery users were an 8-ton truck with broken brakes, hurtling down a steep hill.

And then, a decisive event occurred that strapped a rocket engine to that truck.

With the Admin’s financial support, the Ghost Gallery turned into a festival. The spark of reason the newbie had tried to light vanished like ash in the wind before the Admin’s money shower.

The power of capital made even the hesitant move.

Thus, the Ghost Hunters from all over the country began their march toward Mt. Taebaek.

A luxury apartment complex in Gangnam, Seoul. A bedroom in a penthouse overlooking the Han River.

"Mmm..."

The woman sleeping soundly on the king-sized bed furrowed her brows. Her name was Lee Mina. She was an ordinary housewife and a generous soul who tolerated her husband’s bizarre hobbies. Or rather, she had simply given up.

"Honey, wake up. Quickly."

"What time is it...?" Lee Mina mumbled without opening her eyes.

"4:20 AM."

"It's way too early for work. Why are you waking me up..."

"I'm not going to work. I'm taking a leave of absence."

At her husband’s firm tone, Lee Mina finally lifted her eyelids. "?"

Her husband stood by the bed, fully equipped in a tracksuit and hiking boots. His eyes were sparkling like a boy on his way to meet his first love.

"Where are you going dressed like that?"

"Taebaek."

"Taebaek? Mt. Taebaek in Gangwon-do? At this hour?"

"Yeah. I have to go now. If I'm late, I might miss it."

Lee ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mina stared blankly at her husband. Kim Hyungseok. Her husband was what you’d call a success story. He had jumped into the crypto market early, amassed tens of billions in assets, and now lived leisurely, investing in stocks as a hobby. Money, honor, a happy family. The perfect husband who had everything. But he had one fatal flaw.

"Don't tell me you're going to a haunted house again?"

He was an occult otaku. Kim Hyungseok nodded with a solemn face.

"Mina, this time it's for real."

"You said that last time, too. And you just ended up cooking ramen and coming back."

"That was staged by third-rate YouTubers! This time, the Gallery Lord called. Kang Jinwoo called!"

"Ugh, I don't know! Don't wake me up!"

Lee Mina pulled the blanket over her head. It was escapism. "Go by yourself."

"No. You have to come with me."

Then, the blanket was ripped away. Her husband had no intention of allowing her to escape reality.

"Ugh, seriously, why are you like this!"

"Honey, what was my lifelong wish?"

Lee Mina answered in an annoyed voice. "To see a transparent dragon."

"No, not that."

"...To see a real ghost."

"Exactly! That's it!"

Kim Hyungseok jumped onto the bed and started bouncing. "Today is the day! The day I've waited 10 years for! It's my only chance to witness a spiritual entity with physical substance with my own eyes!"

"Haa..."

Lee Mina felt a headache coming on. She had known since before they were married. That this man, despite his normal appearance, was a strange human who watched reruns every night and searched for abandoned schools as date spots. She thought he had calmed down after they got married, but...

"Honey, I'm serious. If I don't go this time, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. I might even become a vengeful spirit that can't close its eyes in death, wandering the world and appearing in your dreams every night."

"Are you threatening me right now?"

"I'm begging you. I'm scared to go alone."

"...What?"

Lee Mina let out a hollow laugh. He wanted to see a ghost, but he was scared to go alone? What kind of contradictory nonsense was that? But in a capitalist society, there are almost no problems that money can't solve. If there were, it was only because there wasn't enough money.

"Just this once. Okay? If you go with me, I'll buy you that bag you wanted. No, I'll buy you the entire brand store."

As Kim Hyungseok grabbed her hands with desperate eyes, Lee Mina’s ears perked up. "...The store?"

"Well, maybe not the store. But I'll buy you all the new arrivals. I promise."

"This is the last time, really."

"I love you! Mina, I really love you!"

Thinking about the new arrivals, Lee Mina didn't feel too bad anymore. "Get ready quickly! We have to leave in 5 minutes!"

"Okay, okay. Let me just wash up."

"There's no time to wash! Do you think the ghost is going to wait for us? Just put on a hat and come out!"

A moment later, in the underground parking lot.

Vroom-!

The sleek, red Ferrari growled like a beast. It was Kim Hyungseok’s prized possession, but today, it was merely the fastest way to get to Taebaek.

"Hold on tight. I'm stepping on it."

"Hey, hey! Slow down! We're going to become ghosts ourselves before we even see one!"

"Don't worry! The Gallery Lord will protect us!"

"Who is this Gallery Lord that you keep saying will protect us!"

Screech-!

With the smell of burning rubber, the red Ferrari sped out of the parking lot.

"Wait for me, Brass Bowl Granny."

Kim Hyungseok muttered, gripping the steering wheel tight. "I'm going to go there and teach you a lesson with my money."

Unlike him, Lee Mina in the passenger seat looked out the window with resignation. "I can't believe I married a man like this."

Despite her words, her hand was already turning on the tablet PC her husband had handed her.

"So, is this the person called the Gallery Lord?"

"Yeah. He only finished elementary school, but he talks well."

"...Elementary school?"

Lee Mina shook her head, but her eyes remained fixed on Kang Jinwoo on the screen. She was starting to get a little curious about what kind of person he was to make her and her husband drive to a mountain valley in Gangwon-do at this hour.

'As if ghosts exist.'

She had no idea what she was about to face.