Even if I fall into a ghost story, I still have to go to work
Chapter 42
Thud. Thud.
I am currently walking quietly through an exhibition where people’s eyes are plucked out.
And I’m doing it with a human-trash-tier character from a ghost story world right by my side.
‘I wish Baek Sa-heon would just keep his mouth shut and act like a human totem.’
On the way here, I saw shadows of horrific, crawling figures in the distance several times. Every time I did, I couldn’t be more grateful to have another person with me…
‘Just don’t let your guard down. Don’t let your guard down.’
Brown struck up a conversation, sounding somewhat amused.
-Roe Deer-ssi, this Lee Ja-heon speaks in a very entertaining way. It’s as if he’s a different person.
‘Is it bad?’
-Not at all! It’s quite fascinating. It’s as if he’s created a more exaggerated… persona for the sake of a show.
Hmm. That sounds about right.
-So, is your goal simply to leave this magnificent exhibition as quickly as possible?
Bingo.
And…
‘I’ve already made an escape plan.’
I had confirmed that this place was registered as the seventeenth exploration record in <The Collection of an Anonymous Nobleman>, and I’d structured my escape method based on that case.
I’d also decided which of my items to use.
-Oh!
-But is there really a need to use the word “escape”? I feel like if you just grabbed any staff member and asked them to guide you to the exit, they would kindly let you know!
That’s where the problem starts.
‘In this exhibition, they use machines as guides.’
Specifically, that monster swinging its spider-like legs.
-Hmm. And?
‘And each machine only knows information about the sector it’s in charge of.’
======================
In this exhibition, guides are stationed in each sector for the convenience of our visitors.
Frequent testimonies from past visitors refer to these guides as “monsters,” but they are actually Metryl-Kiosk-type automatic steam dolls.
As vintage models from the Imperial Year 62627, their memory storage is somewhat poor, so they only learn information about their assigned sectors; however, they are historic and meaningful artistic collectibles.
Please refrain from using derogatory expressions for the sake of a healthy viewing experience.
======================
What this means is that if you want to ask about the exit, you have to go to the sector where the exit is located and talk to the staff there.
And if too much time has already passed by then… you’ll be subjected to the horrific fate of having your “fee collected” and being reborn as a human slug.
Besides, figuring out which sector the exit is in is extremely difficult to begin with.
‘But there are hints.’
I stopped walking.
It was because I’d found what I was looking for.
“…An elevator?”
Before Baek Sa-heon and me stood a very antique, modern-style elevator.
In front of the brass-colored elevator, a small lightbulb flickered behind a set of iron bars.
And just like any other elevator, an information board regarding floor numbers and usage was attached to the side wall.
Except for the fact that it was written in a script we couldn’t read at all.
‘One of the things that raises the exploration difficulty.’
The language barrier.
Baek Sa-heon frowned.
“……You’re planning to ride this?”
“Maybe.”
“You can’t even check what floor it is. Are you insane?”
I stared at Baek Sa-heon without a word. He hurriedly averted his gaze.
‘As if I’d just get on.’
But I had a ghost story talk show host who claimed to be fluent in all languages!
‘Brown. Could you read the description for this elevator?’
-It is no difficult task, Friend!
-Ahem.
Brown cleared his throat and explained in a kind voice….
-It says this elevator has a resident guide, and you can enjoy the service of having them press the button for whichever floor you wish to go to. Ho-ho, what a quite classical method….
It meant that to ride the elevator, you would inevitably meet a guide and have your eyes plucked out.
Even though I knew this, I couldn’t help but swallow hard.
‘Is there any mention of an exit?’
-Unfortunately, no! It’s mostly floor numbers and descriptions of the exhibits.
-And the place where Roe Deer-ssi is currently located is the 2nd floor. …Oh, wait a moment. There’s also an explanation about the history of this mansion.
“…!”
This was information that wasn’t in <The Collection of an Anonymous Nobleman>.
‘Keep explaining.’
-Of course, Friend!
-This place is the villa of a noble collector of very high status… and thanks to his charity in wanting to share his art and philosophy, an endless exhibition is being held!
-Furthermore, it says this historic grand mansion consists of 7 floors above ground and 7,221 floors below ground.
“…….”
Wait.
What?
‘Basement… 7,221 floors?’
-That’s right. Hmm, it seems he’s been collecting items for quite a long time!
I froze.
‘…I knew there were basement floors.’
They weren’t described at first.
The early exploration records of this ghost story, known as <The Collection of an Anonymous Nobleman>, are records of people who were lucky enough to escape from the ground floors or those who died without being able to leave them.
Those records gained popularity among readers.
As they did, the records were updated and lengthened at an insane pace, and the world of the story expanded.
One of the explorers eventually realized it.
======================
The 23rd record is a testimony left by a visitor who entered the basement floors via the elevator.
======================
The existence of the basement floors.
And so, the records of people who couldn’t find a way out on the ground and descended into the basement continued.
The desolate and eerie horror of watching them go down and down, deeper and deeper, in search of an exit.
From that point on, this ghost story was classified as cosmic horror.
Exploration records intended to make the reader feel suffocated and overwhelmed by the sheer scale.
In some records, there were even people who gave up on escaping and went half-mad, continuing to descend further into the basement.
======================
This is the testimony of a visitor who viewed the exhibition area on the 105th basement floor.
Staff 753: The disastrous and horrific things that I cannot see with my ears are truly beautiful. The framework is made of ■■, and the ■■ of a person ■. For this, die.
There are no records after this.
Thank you for your meaningful review. We will strive for exhibition management to provide a more impressive experience.
======================
The further down you go, the more bizarre and unfamiliar the collectibles become—things that humans cannot fathom. At some point, countless words that cannot be left in human language are censored, leaving only a desolate void in that horror….
And beneath that, thousands of unknowns… lie….
Slap.
I slapped myself across the face.
“…?!”
Get a grip.
‘There are multiple exits.’
Even if the location changes every time an exhibition starts, that fact remains the same.
Didn’t I see records of people escaping through exits on different floors during the same session?
‘I can do this.’
No matter how astronomically vast this place is, or how much the space continues beyond human understanding, it doesn’t matter.
An exit might be open nearby.
I have information from over a hundred exploration sessions; I’d be an idiot to despair when I even have the records for this current session.
‘Even if the specific floor isn’t stated, I’ve figured out all the hints.’
I had to move quickly instead of being overwhelmed by the scale of the ghost story.
Don’t be stupid… pull yourself together!
‘…Okay.’
I took a deep breath and moved my feet.
Toward the stairs next to the elevator.
“Wait, so you’re not taking the elevator… Where do you think you’re going when you don’t even know where we are?!”
“The 2nd floor.”
“…?”
“From now on, we’re moving to the 1st basement floor.”
“Basement? There’s a basement… No, this is the 2nd floor? How can you be so sure?”
“Brown told me.”
“…….”
“Aren’t you grateful?”
“…….”
-Don’t mention it!
Surprisingly, Baek Sa-heon didn’t run away this time either.
Hmm. I should keep treating him with this level of intensity from now on.
Even as we descended the stairs, not a single decoration changed; it was the same grand mansion with the same level of illumination.
A landscape of dim, brassy shadows stretched on. It felt like viewing the same floor over and over again.
That was until the stairs disappeared one floor below.
‘…These stairs don’t lead to the basement.’
I decided to look for new stairs or a means of transport on the 1st floor first.
Of course, there was no more small talk with Baek Sa-heon.
It was because the sound of machinery was becoming more frequent nearby.
‘We’re getting closer to the main exhibition hall, where the guides are stationed almost constantly for shift changes.’
While we were moving almost in a crawl with our mouths shut.
I looked up and saw a massive information board that appeared just below the ceiling.
‘Here it is.’
The sign for the main exhibition hall.
Engraved with antique carvings, it was written in very elegant… unknown characters.
-“The Power of Emotion.” What a unique title for an exhibition!
“…!”
It was an exhibition I’d read about in <The Collection of an Anonymous Nobleman>. Just reading the words gave me goosebumps….
‘This is insane.’
I tightly suppressed the urge to turn back immediately.
‘If I’m going to explore and look for the exit, I have to see it at least once anyway.’
When I needed to secure a path, it was foolish to avoid an exhibition just because it wasn’t “safe.”
So, clenching my teeth, I slowly approached….
The moment I peered through the open door, where ornate relief decorations shimmered.
The exhibition space unfolded.
Along with a sound that crashed in like waves.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaa
I saw countless shouting human mouths.
To be precise, teeth and tongues.
Beautiful Baroque frames containing human mouths were packed tightly, covering one entire massive wall.
As if they had artificial vocal cords attached, each recited poetry in its own voice and its own language.
Those hundreds and thousands of frames harmonized to create a startlingly strange chord and scale.
And….
Slugs writhing on the floor beneath them.
Heuuuuuu, heuuuuuk.
People who had become unable to speak human language were writhing, with lightless buttons fixed in their eye sockets.
These were people who had had their fees collected multiple times and had almost lost their human appearance.
Contrasted with the oral cavities in frames displayed in such neat and beautiful forms, it was more… more….
‘Ah.’
I felt like throwing up.
It was so chilling that my head spun, so I looked at the ground.
Calm down, I have to calm down.
‘They aren’t even company employees.’
They must be people who were caught up in this days ago.
Those poor… No, I shouldn’t think about them right now. I have to let it pass through my mind as much as possible….
Creak, creak, creak.
Before long, the shadow of a guide machine approached from afar.
Baek Sa-heon and I held our breath and crawled into a nearby vent.
The shadow of the guide machine moved among the slugs.
It seemed to be searching for corpses that had stopped moving to pick them up and move them….
The sound of a corpse being dragged and the mechanical sounds alternated.
“…….”
“…….”
After several suffocating minutes passed.
“Hey.”
“…….”
“It took the corpse. Corpses have value too, right? As a fee?”
What is wrong with this guy?
“They probably left them alone until they died because they had no value as a fee. Without collecting anything.”
“Ah, I see.”
Do I have to listen to this kind of crazy talk even in this situation? Fatigue surged within me.
On top of that, I had to make up a lie.
‘To be perfectly honest… they probably do have value. Of course they do!’
Since they treat us as “visitors,” it seemed they only collected parts that weren’t life-threatening, like eyes, noses, and mouths, while the person was alive!
I suspected they would judge things like the brain or spinal cord to be valuable as well. I thought there were floors where such things were displayed.
But I couldn’t tell this guy that. He’s the type who would carry those people’s corpses around and try to pay them as a fee if given the chance.
So I was keeping my mouth shut.
“…!”
The guide machines disappeared, leaving the main exhibition hall on the 1st floor empty.
Here and there, people who had been hiding in the shadows under corner tables quickly emerged, whispered among themselves, and then scattered and began to run.
While wearing masks.
‘Employees…!’
The mask types and the suits—it was certain.
They were the field exploration staff from our company who had been deployed together. It seemed they were hiding in areas off the main path and narrowly avoiding the machines.
“Hey.”
What.
“If you see a rookie among them, let’s bring them along. It’s better to have one or two more people.”
“Why?”
Baek Sa-heon looked at me as if asking why I was questioning something so obvious.
“We need bait to use if we run into a monster.”
Ugh, this guy, seriously.
I deliberately tilted my head as if puzzled.
“We already have some.”
“What?”
“You.”
Baek Sa-heon’s face hardened and then relaxed again.
“Right. I’m also planning to bring a human to use as bait.”
“Good. Tell them you’re going to use them as bait.”
“…….”
“I told you, didn’t I? I should at least be that kind.”
Baek Sa-heon went silent again with a fed-up look on his face.
I’m the one who’s fed up. This exhausting jerk….
‘I miss you, Lizard Team Leader.’
I missed that man of few words.
However, the moment I saw a figure emerge from behind a sofa outside the exhibition hall and run, I was startled.
“…!”
It was an employee I knew.
“…….”
“…! What are you doing…”
After some thought, I came out of the vent.
When I waved at the person, they also looked startled upon seeing me, then quickly lowered their voice.
“…! Sol… No, Roe Deer-ssi? Is that what I should call you?”
“Yes. Roe Deer-ssi.”
Go Young-eun.
The rookie employee who had fully supported my words back in the subway was standing there. Had she said she was a medical school dropout?
“Have you been deployed too, Roe Deer-ssi? No, first of all, I’m glad you’re safe.”
“…Thank you.”
Anyway, Go Young-eun, who was wearing the Sheep Mask given to her, looked much deeper and more composed than when I’d first met her.
Though there were some bloodshot streaks in her eyes.
‘Has she gotten used to the work…?’
I was almost moved by the fact that a rational conversation was possible even in this insane situation.
Go Young-eun looked around sensitively and spoke in a whisper, her voice kept very low.
“Um, I was about to try opening a boarded-up window nearby. Did you happen to see anything like a crowbar on your way here? I didn’t think I should use the exhibits….”
“You can’t.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re trying to go out through the window, aren’t you?”
“…Is that not allowed?”
It wasn’t.
In the exploration records of this ghost story, windows are mentioned exactly once. Do you know what it says?
======================
The 19th record is a testimony left by a visitor who attempted to pass outside through a window, but it will be omitted at our discretion due to credibility issues.
This is because there are no windows in this exhibition.
======================
It’s a landmine.
I squeezed out an appropriate reason.
“I feel like if you go out through a window, you’ll physically end up outside the mansion. …Not back in the original world.”
“……Ha.”
Go Young-eun’s face turned pale.
“You’re right. This isn’t reality… It’s right to look for a door recognized as an exit.”
“I think so too.”
“But since I don’t even know what floor this is….”
“I checked, and it’s the 1st floor.”
“…! How… No, wait. The 1st floor?”
A light of hope flickered in Go Young-eun’s eyes.
“Then there’s a high probability that a door is nearby! Usually, exhibition entrance doors are on the 1st floor, so if we search carefully….”
I forced my mouth open, though it didn’t want to move.
“……The reason entrance doors are usually on the 1st floor is that we live our lives treading on the ground.”
“That’s,”
“Do you think the original visitors of this ghost story were the same?”
“…….”
Go Young-eun shut her mouth tight.
She seemed to understand what I meant immediately.
‘How can you be sure a monster would put a door on the 1st floor?’
And soon, a sense of helplessness cast a deep shadow over her face. Just like me a few minutes ago.
“Then… w-what should we do? Was it really the right answer to ask that monster machine earlier? B-but, I can’t meet the machines anymore. I don’t have any more… chances….”
“What do you mean, no more chances…?”
“…….”
Go Young-eun hesitated, then lightly brushed her hair back.
In the place where an earlobe should have been for the hair to catch on….
There were only stitch marks.
“It, it took my ear.”
“…….”
“It kept gesturing, ‘Ear instead of eye, ear instead of eye!’… and it listened to that? It didn’t even hurt. It was really strange….”
Go Young-eun trembled slightly.
“And I think it put something strange inside… B-but I can hear? Uh, I don’t know what kind of principle it is… An artificial cochlea or eardrum?”
Ah, dammit.
“I’ll be okay, right? I mean, uh, they sell Regeneration Potions at the employee mall… things like that….”
“You’ll be fine.”
I immediately asserted.
“You’ll be fine. Let’s just focus on getting out.”
“…Yes.”
Go Young-eun’s breathing became calm again. For someone who had suddenly lost an ear, she had superhuman mental strength.
Honestly, I respected her a little.
But it seemed someone else didn’t.
“Shall we get moving? Let’s not waste too much time.”
“…! Baek Sa-heon-ssi.”
The moment Baek Sa-heon, wearing the Goat Mask, emerged from the vent, Go Young-eun’s eyes filled with sharp alertness.
“Wait a minute, are you traveling with that person?”
“It just happened that way, yes.”
“…I see.”
Go Young-eun stared at Baek Sa-heon in his Goat Mask as if monitoring him, but she didn’t cut me off and continued to accompany us.
‘Thank you….’
I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve had a normal companion.
After experiencing everything from psychopaths to people possessed by ghosts, tears almost came to my eyes.
However, Go Young-eun did mutter quietly.
“That person, he even picked a mask that’s just like him… Do you know that goats are symbols of the devil in Western culture?”
“Wow, do you know that sheep are symbols of scapegoats?”
“They’re more helpful to humanity than devils.”
Baek Sa-heon looked at Go Young-eun with a scoff, as if he didn’t buy it at all, and Go Young-eun ignored him.
-Is this a comedic interlude? It’s like a skit.
Yeah.
But the problem is it’s a real situation, not a skit….
‘The party synergy seems ruined.’
But we were steadily nearing our destination.
‘…!’
Found it.
The stairs leading to the basement appeared at the end of that hallway.
