It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story 035

A haunted abandoned house captivated by a ghost.

Is anyone there…?

Once again, someone called out from outside the entrance of the abandoned house.

This time, it was a low male voice.

“Ah, no…! Wh, who on earth…?”

Manager Lee Byeong-jin covered his mouth and screamed.

Please open the door….

“……”

“W-who is the dead person? Who came? Heeek… let’s run! Let’s get out of here!”

It’s too cold here.

Hmmm.

“T-this time, I absolutely must not respond… huh?”

I approached the door.

And pulled the doorknob.

“Ugh?!”

What appeared when the door opened was…

“Wow, I thought I was going to die… thank you….”

A slender figure with light hair, wearing a worn blue uniform, a perfectly normal human.

“…!?”

“Manager Lee Byeong-jin, please greet him.”

I nodded respectfully.

“He is the Security Team Leader of Group 3.”

“……??? …?!”

That’s right.

He is the Security Team Leader who fell into this horror story along with me.

‘His face looks like it’s going to burst.’

Manager Lee Byeong-jin, with a bright red face, alternated his finger-wagging between me and the Security Team Leader, then bent his finger and let out a strange groan.

“W-why… h-how…?!”

Why, you ask?

‘You told us, didn’t you….’

-That’s how, every day, the voices of the dead family, friends, and neighbors come to visit! …!

Only once a night.

For your reference, a similar statement is openly recorded in Dark Exploration Records.

When drawn into an abandoned house, a ghost comes to the door every night, imploring in the voice of the deceased, causing the victim to suffer from mental pain and confusion.

‘“Every day” means the cycle is one day long.’

But I couldn’t say, ‘There’s a magical record backing up your statement,’ so whatever.

“It’s a warning.”

“…….”

Somehow, Manager Lee Byeong-jin looked a bit dazed.

Anyway, since it was correct, let’s just roll with it.

After confirming that the Security Team Leader had entered the abandoned house, I quickly closed the door and secured the handle.

Just looking outside sent chills down my spine.

“Thank you….”

“It’s nothing.”

How in the world did this person manage to avoid being captured by the ghost and safely knock on this door is truly astonishing, but…

‘Well… he is the Security Team.’

The surprising part was that the Security Team Leader wasn’t alone.

He was supporting someone.

“…Who’s that?”

The Leader replied cheerfully.

“Look, I’ve found a missing person!”

“…The missing person is this person, right?”

“Oh. I got confused….”

“……”

The gender is different, though….

I checked the person that the Security Team Leader had laid down on the floor.

It was a stranger.

In a terribly shabby state, yet she plopped down in the abandoned house and began to wail.

“Heeek, it’s all over. It’s all over!”

“She keeps doing that. Ooh, this is better… I woke up in some shaman’s place… it’s cold and dark and damp there. It’s not nice at all.”

“Aaaah!”

“……”

‘What a mess.’

I just needed a colleague with a sound mind…

‘I miss you, Group D captains….’

Still, I took a look at the wailing person. She was wearing a shabby white gown, with a name tag attached to her chest.

[Ko Seon-ha]

‘Huh?’

I immediately pulled out a small business card.

That was stuck between an old book labeled ‘Hwalro.’

Ko Seon-ha
Department of History, Joo Gang University

On the back, it was written, “I’ll go out tomorrow.”

“If you’re the person on this business card, have you tested the content of the book?”

“Ugh….”

The woman nodded.

“Yes… but it’s all useless.”

“Eh? Wait! U-useless? What do you mean…?”

“I mean it literally.”

With a gloomy face, the woman pulled something out from her pocket.

“That…,”

“And if you go out and walk about a hundred steps, you’ll find a shrine written in the book… that’s probably the ‘shrine’ mentioned in the book.”

“……”

“And this is copied from the wooden plaque over there.”

The woman tiredly glanced at me.

“You seem to have read that book well… Are you studying Korean history? This is written in a style from hundreds of years ago…”

Nope. I just have a monster friend….

“Oh, anyway!! Then, if we just follow what’s written on that plaque, everything should work out, right?! Why are you crying and saying it’s not going to work….”

“It won’t work!!”

“…!”

“Mr., I’m not a fool. I attempted to do what was written on the plaque. I gathered the sorceress’s ingredients and crushed them in a cup, just like it says outside, but… I did everything! Everything but….”

“……”

Ko Seon-ha took a deep breath while looking into the air and presented the back of the paper she had pulled out.

“Please read this.”

Brown cleverly started reading aloud.

-‘Prepare a song for the mountain lord. The more known it is, the better the effect. Write the lyrics and put them in the offering table, sing at full volume, clap every step, and bow every thirty steps.’

“The song for the mountain lord….”

“Yes! That!”

Ko Seon-ha’s eyes sparkled as she asked.

“The mountain lord is a tiger, right? So what comes to mind immediately? A song related to tigers, praising tigers, any children’s song or folk song will do.”

“Th-that’s….”

Manager Lee Byeong-jin hesitantly opened his mouth.

“The mountain lord, a hero….”

“On the birthday of the tiger lord! Yes, that! I thought of that too. So I was planning to use that but….”

Ko Seon-ha drooped her head.

“……Already used songs can’t be reused.”

“…!”

“The offering table was already filled with previously used lyrics! Of course, the mountain hero is among them…!”

Oh my god.

“‘The mountain lord is fickle and enjoys songs, so he won’t accept things like before,’ but in folk tales, it says the tiger smokes and dances, but this… this!!”

Ko Seon-ha shouted as if spewing fire into the air, then looked back at us with a desperate expression.

“Any children’s songs, folk songs, instrumental music… apart from the mountain hero song, can’t you think of anything? Anything at all….”

Nothing.

“There’s nothing, right?!”

Ko Seon-ha pulled at her hair in despair.

“I’m not a master of traditional music, and I can’t search it up either, aah….”

“……”

No.

I didn’t know it couldn’t be duplicated either.

In Dark Exploration Records, there are accounts of ceremonies conducted in spaces drawn into horror stories like this, and each time the song was different.

From traditional music to instrumental….

‘I thought it was just a group wisdom wiki that listed various songs for fun, but I didn’t realize such details were hidden.’

Even if I tried to use the songs listed on that wiki, only the titles were written, and I had no clue about the lyrics or melody.

‘Damn it.’

The atmosphere in the abandoned house grew chilly.

“……”

Hoo.

I carefully read through the hanja of the paper that was copied from the shrine with Brown’s help.

And asked.

“Ko Seon-ha.”

“…Yes.”

“I’d like to ask a few things, if that’s okay?”

“What is it?”

“How many days have you been here?”

“……Ten days.”

Ko Seon-ha’s face turned pale.

“But after one or two days, I heard sounds of a mentally ill uncle moving around… so I hid in the attic.”

‘That mentally ill uncle’ looked a bit wronged as he glanced at Ko Seon-ha.

“And a few days later… I even heard children’s voices. I didn’t know what to do, so when today became the full moon, I snuck out when this uncle was napping.”

“And you went to the shrine to perform the ritual.”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

Then I moved on to the next question.

“But it’s strange.”

“Yes?”

“The ritual clearly states that a sacrifice is required. Why did you go alone?”

“……I won’t say I planned to sacrifice myself to save the children.”

Ko Seon-ha clenched her fists tightly, turning her knuckles white.

“For now, I wanted to see how it was done and then decide. But yes, I figured out the situation while I was at it, looking at the records of previous participants.”

“……”

“Today is the full moon. Once today is over, it’s all over! I can’t survive another 15 days until the next full moon. It will definitely… definitely, the ghost will come and open the door,”

“Yes. The ritual needs to be performed before sunrise.”

As I recalled the talisman that was barely hanging on the doorknob, I nodded instinctively.

“But I can’t do it!”

“No.”

I shook my head and stood up.

“I think it’s possible.”

“Yes?”

“The ritual, that is.”

For now, I thought of a possible alternative.

“I’ll prepare.”

“Wait a second! N-no, even if you say that, I still need to find all the materials outside… everything I collected is already used!”

I looked again at the things written on the paper I copied the ritual from.

Materials: 3 plums, salt, ash from burnt peach twigs, one basket of well water

I needed to gather all of this from outside…

In the middle of the night with a ghost wandering around.

But is there a way to safely roam around here alone…?

‘Of course, there is.’

Just for me.

-Should I turn off the lights now, Doe?

“……”

Wow.

Am I really going out alone?

I absentmindedly glanced at the people.

The cowardly heart was screaming that we all should gather together, but the brain was grabbing the collar saying don’t do something stupid.

Ahhh, this is maddening!

In the end, common sense won.

“Everyone, please wait here.”

Actually, I would love it if you came with me.

If anyone would willingly come along… is there anyone?

Surprisingly, Ko Seon-ha raised one hand.

“…I’ve done it before. I can at least guide you to where it is,”

“Oh! Don’t, don’t interfere and sit down, student!”

But Manager Lee Byeong-jin suddenly stood up and pulled Ko Seon-ha back.

“You can’t treat her like someone like us! Huh? She’s not an ordinary person!”

“……”

Well, that’s a bit much.

“Don’t interfere and just mark the location for him. Quickly!”

“Uh….”

Ko Seon-ha had a hesitant expression.

But after looking at me, she soon nodded as if she understood.

‘…!?’

Then she marked on the blank space of the sheet where she had acquired the materials and handed it over.

“Oh! And… be careful around water.”

“……”

“A ghost can be considered a tiger spirit that died due to a tiger, but… in the past, it also meant a water ghost…”

Ko Seon-ha swallowed hard with a pale face.

“A riverbank, the sound of water, a valley, if you see any signs of water, avoid it. Don’t even look, just walk on.”

“Yes.”

Truly terrifying as hell…….

Anyway, the time had come, and I stood in front of the door.

The Security Team Leader uttered a word.

“Oh… are you going alone?”

“Yes.”

Tears are flowing but that’s how it turned out.

“If any problems arise, please look after the others.”

Although being in the security department isn’t exactly the same as helping civilians, it’s definitely better than nothing. Especially if it’s a monster in a horror story.

Yet the Security Team Leader just stared at me.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes.”

“You really don’t look like one of our company staff…”

“…?!”

“How interesting…. understood. Just sit down… no equipment, after all…”

And he collapsed near the door.

“……”

Anyway, is this all settled?

‘…Let’s go.’

I inhaled deeply in silence and pulled the doorknob.

Creeeak.

With a chilling creaking sound, the outside became visible.

Dense fog shrouded in darkness.

It was deathly silent.

“…….”

Creeeak, bang.

The door closed behind me.

It was supposedly the full moon, yet the thick fog obscured any moonlight.

The dim shadows of deep darkness and tree branches rustling in the wind, trees, and thickets.

I took a tentative step forward.

Plod, plod.

–Friend, I will now turn off your light. Into the camera’s blind spot, behind the stage, you will disappear…

Every step pressed down on me like a heavy, dark shadow.

‘This is a bizarre feeling that doesn’t change even after experiencing it again….’

I am now faint and dark, quietly melting into the foggy forest.

-Hah. It feels a bit lighter here!

Of course, the fear still remained. My heart felt like it might stop at any moment.

[If you walk straight left from the abandoned house, a very large tree will be visible. A protective line is drawn.]

But still, in my mind, Ko Seon-ha’s rough map and arrows, and text floated, guiding my steps.

I couldn’t even tell front from back, but I revered how she managed to gather the items for the ritual.

‘Towards the upper left.’

Just like that, how long had it been, maybe an hour or just a few minutes?

-Oh, Doe. Over there, something is visible.

As Brown said, something started to come into view.

It was… a massive tree densely shrouded in fog.

Whoosh.

With every sway of its branches, I detected a sweet scent.

…Peach.

‘Why is it smelling when there are no fruits?’

It was definitely sweet yet felt slightly unsettling…

The tree had a protective line tied around it, hanging loosely between two thick branches.

And beyond it, a small plot of land was visible.

-Ooh, a field? A small garden in the mountains? The aesthetics are nice enough. But it’s not really my taste!

Brown cheerfully remarked, but my mind wasn’t that jovial.

Didn’t the book earlier refer to this area as “the mountain lord’s burial site”?

Are there indeed ritual materials?

‘It’s definitely a supernatural area.’

I cautiously approached, collecting materials from the vicinity.

‘Found the plums….’

[With the massive tree to my right, looking left reveals small trees. A plum tree.]

I picked up fallen fruits beneath the plum tree and also gathered dry twigs near the giant peach tree.

Just for reference, I never directly picked fruits or broke branches.

‘Why would I want to get in trouble?’

Standing alone in the mountains at midnight is frightful enough, and imagine being alone in a haunted mountain while having to complete a mission?

Naturally, I’d become a safety-first person.

‘…Alright.’

Lastly, I gathered salt scattered like a protective barrier atop an old stone tower.

…To be honest, I nearly screamed when I heard a thud coming from below while drawing water from the well earlier.

‘But I’ve collected everything.’

The surroundings remained silent.

I let out a very thin sigh of relief.

‘Now to return to the peach tree, and if I go the other way, I should find the abandoned house….’

Just as I was moving backward to ensure I navigated correctly.

Something I hadn’t noticed earlier caught my eye.

At the end of the protective line on the peach tree were neatly tied pieces of silk.

‘Huh?’

It had writing on it.

You unworthy being
Turn back

Wow.

‘I definitely shouldn’t touch it.’

I maintained a 1m safety distance and nodded my head.

-You seem tense, Doe.

‘Ah. It seems like a qualification is required to pass this line.’

-Hmm.

‘No matter how I think about it, there’s no way a person drawn into a ghost story could have any qualifications….’

-And yet you do have qualifications!

‘…….’

What?

-Look at your wrist!

I raised my hand and inspected my wrist.

The place where a theme park’s admission bracelet had been.

: Socius :

The tattoo that remained after the membership burned had a strangely radiant quality.

“…!!”

‘Was it the word Sokios?’

It means companion, member, kin in Latin.

-Hoh, to think it’s a sign that has a broader applicability than you expected!

-Though I wonder if being a theme park mascot means they’ve other part-time jobs as well.

“……”

-So, friend, will you use your membership?

I stepped closer to the protective line and slowly reached my hand out.

The quivering protective line gracefully passed through my arm, as if it were a lie.

“…!”

-Just as I thought.

Cautiously, I placed a foot forward.

Into the allowed farming area.