Translator: Nox

Chapter 38

Even if you fall into a ghost story, you still have to go to work.

The first thing I felt was dampness.

Splat.

When I dipped my hand, soaked in saltwater, into the snake pit, a bizarre chill took hold—as if I were plunging my hand into liquid ink.

And then, I was sucked in.

“…!”

The suction began at my hand and instantly swallowed my entire body.

‘I—I can’t breathe.’

It felt like wet paper clinging to my skin, tightening its grip.

My vision and senses spun in a world of pitch black until…

“Gasp!”

Thump.

I gasped for air in the cool, open void.

I opened my eyes.

Instead of stars, the night view of a provincial city, sparkling with neon signs, spread out before me.

An autumn night in Korea.

‘…I lived.’

It was reality.

“Phew.”

I tried to stand on trembling legs but nearly collapsed.

Dark red ink was oozing and trickling out from beneath my feet.

“…….”

I followed the trail of ink with my eyes.

There, a single ink wash painting on old hanji paper sat faded and blurred.

It looked as though the original image had vanished over the ages, only for someone to pour fresh ink over it. No discernable shape remained…

‘…That must be one of the many paintings leading to that mad mountain from before.’

A chill ran down my spine, prompting me to look away. Instead, I surveyed the people sprawled across the ground.

One, two, three, four… seven. Everyone was here.

It seemed the painting had spat them out right after me.

“Uuuugh….”

“Are you alright?”

“Ugh… Huh?! The—the outside!!”

Section Chief Lee Byung-jin screamed as he stared into the empty air.

“Haha!! I—I lived!! I survived!!”

Then, with a face full of joy and tears, he looked back at me and bowed his head deeply.

“Th—thank you. For saving me….”

“You saved yourself, Section Chief. You were the one who performed the ritual, weren’t you?”

“…Haha, well, you’re quite humble… and it’s embarrassing. Yes.”

Lee Byung-jin bowed his head again, looking strangely moved.

It wasn’t humility so much as flattery, but I decided to let him keep his favorable misunderstanding.

“Wh—what!?”

The next to wake up were the middle schoolers. As I tended to them, I heard a startling revelation.

“This is your school trip destination?”

“Yes!!”

Come to think of it, this place perfectly matched the description they’d given of the ‘pavilion on the mountain behind the lodgings.’

‘Looks like we were all spat out here.’

…It was a relief not to wake up in that bizarre office gap in the company basement.

The children were crying and hugging each other in relief, ready to bolt down the mountain. I didn’t stop them, only offering a word of caution.

“Watch your step. As soon as you get down, find an adult and call your parents, okay?”

But the kids looked frightened again.

“Aren’t you coming with us…?”

Well… probably not.

Whether I was mistaken for a kidnapper or treated as a hero who saved the children, the company wouldn’t be pleased the moment I stepped into a police station…

‘As long as the kids get back safely, that’s enough.’

I slowly shook my head and spoke.

“We have to go somewhere else. You guys just head straight down from here. And don’t look back.”

Because they might trip.

“…! Yes.”

The children suddenly looked determined and brave. Following my advice, they leaned on each other and worked their way down the mountain.

‘Good.’

It was a low mountain with well-maintained trails; it would only take five minutes to reach the bottom.

I was watching their backs to make sure they got down safely when…

Tap, tap.

“Excuse me….”

The Security Captain, who had staggered to his feet early on, tapped my shoulder.

“Take… this….”

“Ah.”

The Security Captain held out the wooden stick where the bluish wild ginseng was hanging.

‘I mean, you could have just left it there.’

Regardless, I took the unconscious ginseng. The Security Captain turned around and began to trudge away.

“…Where are you going?”

“The company…. I’m still on shift….”

Ah.

‘But we’re in Gyeongju.’

Wouldn’t his shift be over by the time he got back to Seoul anyway?

Still, I followed him. I had to get back to Seoul too.

Carrying the still-unconscious grad student, Go Seon-ha, on my back.

‘I’ll drop her off in front of a police station on the way.’

It was then.

“Ah, since you two are in the Security Team, you must need to get back quickly! I—I’ll follow you! Haha! Shouldn’t the missing person you were looking for go with you? Let’s go together!”

I looked back at Lee Byung-jin.

The way he scrambled to follow us made him look like a sycophant terrified of losing his protection.

Well, we’ve escaped… maybe it’s time he knew the truth.

“And, uh, once things are settled, I’ll stop by your workplace to say hello. Hehe, which department does the Security Team work in…?”

“It’s not like that.”

“…?”

“You won’t find me even if you go to the Security Team.”

“What?”

“Because I’m in the Field Exploration Team.”

A heavy silence fell.

“But your, your clothes are Security Team—”

“I borrowed them….”

“…!?”

At the Security Captain’s words, Lee Byung-jin’s face filled with confusion, though he soon seemed to piece the situation together in his head.

“Ah! Ah! I see, I see. Huh? But I don’t recognize your face at all… Do you not receive administrative support? Ah! Are you perhaps a Special Team or something? That’s why the security uniform….”

“I’m a recruit.”

“……?”

“I’m a new hire for Team D.”

“…???”

---

Things were handled quite quickly after that.

Lee Byung-jin kept shouting “Lie!” all the way from Gyeongju back to the company, but after arriving and confirming my personnel files, his face went blank again.

And then, he didn’t naturally switch stances… or so I thought.

‘Why?’

I expected him to look down on me immediately as a Field Exploration Team rookie, but surprisingly, he acted civilly and continued to watch my reaction.

Though he did try to act all boisterous and started speaking casually to me.

“Oh, Sol-eum, did you hear? About, you know, the kids and the grad student. Apparently, they got back safe and sound.”

A few days later, the Section Chief informed me that the people who escaped with us had been registered as civilian survivors.

He also hinted that they’d received a fairly decent amount in information fees.

“In a sense, you could say their luck with wealth really opened up. Isn’t it ironic? Life, I mean.”

And that irony found its way to me as well.

“Anyway, now you just have to trust me, Sol-eum!”

“……Um, yes.”

“Hahaha!”

Section Chief Lee Byung-jin processed my manual review with lightning speed.

…Only mine.

‘Is it okay for him to act like that after being AWOL for a week?’

Regardless, it was good for me.

The scroll painting, the gateway to the ‘San-gun’ ghost story, was quickly collected by the darkness under the mountain, and in the process, my solo escape method was accepted as a manual.

Furthermore, the manual revision review for my application to Team A, which had been pending, was fast-tracked.

And so, the amount deposited into my bank account was…

Review Payment ₩100,000,000

“…….”

‘This is insane.’

The amount on the screen made my hands shake.

With two types of darkness passing review, an unimaginable sum appeared on my banking app.

It felt like I was receiving money as a secondary reward because points aren’t awarded for non-assigned tasks, but with this much cash, anyone’s head would spin.

‘Shouldn’t I try to conquer as many new darknesses as possible while the manual review manager is this friendly…?’

But I couldn’t bring myself to voluntarily go out and meet all sorts of ghosts and monsters alone, so for now….

‘I should spend this 100 million well.’

Where could I spend it to say it was well-used?

Then again, thirty percent of it already had a destination.

The starting point of this entire ordeal.

“Congratulations, Brown.”

-Ooooh!

Blood Bath Tub - ₩29,999,999

=

₩29,999,999

Ready for purchase.

Fortunately, the Blood Bath Tub was still available in the Alien Shop, and I was able to keep my promise to the moving stuffed doll.

‘I wonder if it’ll come by courier this time too.’

I felt a bit dazed remembering the Post Office parcel boxes that had suddenly been spat out of thin air.

From what I knew, the Blood Bath Tub was… a four-legged tub about the size of an installed bathtub in a large house.

The legs were even decorated with gold leaf, making it quite flashy. And that was going to drop into this studio-sized company dormitory room?

‘…Should I order it in the bathroom?’

I decided to push the bed and desk aside to clear some space and press the order button here. There was simply no room in the bathroom.

“…Alright. Ordering now.”

-I am looking forward to it! My heart is pounding.

In a room lit only by a flashlight, talking to a stuffed doll that didn’t even have a heart to pound, I finally clicked the ‘Order’ button.

Tear.

Just like the last few times, space tore open. Tension rose.

But the tear in space was… smaller than expected?

Thud.

It spat out a parcel.

The parcel was… small too…?

“…?”

I opened the Post Office box, which was less than a quarter of the size I’d anticipated.

I saw the product box.

[Bathtub of Youth – Foot Massage Edition]

“…….”

No wonder it was cheap.

Come to think of it, since these things originated from the Home Shopping Ghost Story, all sorts of editions and versions were probably in the records….

Though usually there wasn’t a significant difference except for a few specific cases—just some minor details for fun.

‘I never dreamed there’d be a foot bath version, though.’

Whether it was a special edition or not, it even came with a shiny gold sticker and a certificate of authenticity.

[10-Year Free A/S]

Truly meaningless….

‘As if anyone would apply for A/S.’

Regardless, I opened it.

There were no records of anyone having their blood automatically drained just by touching a Blood Bath Tub.

When I opened the angular box, which looked like typical electronic packaging, I saw the item covered in expensive wrapping material, much like luxury brands do.

And when I peeled back the wrapping, it finally revealed itself.

‘…The Bathtub of Youth.’

Alias: the Blood Bath Tub.

It was a glossy black-and-white checkered tub that looked as if it were made of polished ceramic.

The entire tub was elegantly curved, supported firmly by four golden cat-paw-shaped legs.

It was quite a handsome sight.

‘…Except for the fact that it’s a foot bath.’

However, someone who was the perfect size for the tub seemed extremely excited.

-Roe Deer-ssi! Please put me in there! Along with the bath salts….

Wait, if it’s bath salts for a Blood Bath Tub….

“…You want my blood?”

-That is correct! You have excellent comprehension, Roe Deer-ssi.

This crazy thing.

For a moment, I debated between persuasion and flight, but—

-Haha! Just a joke, Friend!

“…….”

-In a place with no audience and no cameras, why would I make such an unreasonable demand of a Friend!

Then what about when there are an audience and cameras?

I didn’t say it out loud, though. The one in the weaker position has to swallow their words.

But I couldn’t resist saying one thing.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t make jokes like that. It’s not funny, it’s scary.”

-Dear me, I understand. Humor is an element heavily influenced by culture, so it must always be handled with care!

Was that handled with care…?

-Anyway, back to the main point…… Is there not already something more suitable to use as bath salts in this space?

-Oh, shall we see if our Roe Deer-ssi can guess what it is!

There’s something like that in the dorm?

I turned my head.

‘He’s not talking about Baek Sa-heon next door, is he…?’

No. It better not be.

Excluding that for now… one thing did catch my eye.

With a reluctant look, I pointed to something that had occupied a corner of my dorm desk for the past few days.

“…This wild ginseng?”

-Excellent!

Indeed.

That corrupted purple wild ginseng-like thing I’d accidentally poached from the ‘San-gun’ ghost story.

‘I thought I saw something like sap or blood flowing through it.’

However, this ginseng had remained just like normal ginseng for days, only its color was purple.

I’d planned to feed it a whole bag of apple juice the moment it woke up, or hand it over to the company if I couldn’t handle it, but surprisingly, it hadn’t woken.

‘To the point where I felt like a fool for being so tense when I woke up at sunrise that day….’

Brown had even commented on it like this:

-It seems it will not wake up in the future either. Is it not the nature of a weak beast to play dead when it feels threatened?

I’ll interpret it as a result of being dragged into the real world from that Window Ghost’s space, the ‘San-gun’s Burial Ground.’

-In any case, Friend. If you are worried, I shall keep a constant eye on it from now on.

And so far, nothing had happened.

Anyway, so he wants me to use this ginseng.

‘Well, that might be worth a try.’

As long as it’s not possessed, it’s just handling a juicy piece of ginseng.

Besides… honestly, I was a bit curious to see the Blood Bath Tub in action.

‘It is fascinating, after all.’

I had curiosity too. That’s probably why I spent my spare time at work looking through the Ghost Story Wiki….

There aren’t many ghost stories I can actually observe safely even through images.

I wanted to take this chance to see it operate on plant sap instead of blood.

-Ooooh!

I brought rubber gloves and scissors from the kitchen.

A low, excited voice came from the monster stuffed doll under the bed.

-Now, please put me in the tub!

“Wait a second.”

There’s something I need to say first.

“This tub is supposed to have a rejuvenating effect, but do you even need rejuvenation? You look… young enough.”

I wanted to point out whether such a concept even applied to a doll, but I held back.

However, the stuffed doll laughed heartily. It was a clean sound, like a recorded sound effect for a show.

-Hahaha! You have a rather narrow view of the concept of rejuvenation, my Friend! That is quite alright. You have me, a great sympathizer and storyteller, here with you!

-The word ‘rejuvenation’… I see. In the Sinitic cultural sphere, it means ‘the return of spring.’ So, strictly speaking, it means ‘regaining the prowess of one’s prime.’

-For some reason, my body feels heavy and it is difficult to keep my balance these days. It is exactly the effect I need!

…But you’re a stuffed doll.

Besides, the manual said it was effective for ‘healing wounds, fatigue recovery, treating arthritis, skin beautification, etc.’

‘…I don’t know.’

If he says so.

There were no cases in the records where someone was harmed after being kind to the doll and giving it power in the Good Friend ghost story.

The catastrophes happened when people treated it poorly.

I decided to stop thinking before it got too deep. It was needlessly scary.

Instead, I put on the rubber gloves, held the scissors in one hand, and grabbed the ginseng with the other.

‘Let’s try this.’

I reached toward the Blood Bath Tub.