Even if I fall into a ghost story, I still have to go to work
Chapter 59
The tattoos the ghost stories had carved into me were all scripts.
One was in Latin.
: Socius :
It had been etched into me when the membership card given by the blue dragon—the theme park mascot—burned away. According to Brown, it was a script that granted the authority of a pass, something like a ‘Special Status.’
The other was in Hanja.
: 恩主 :
This tattoo appeared when the contract document from the Lodge Keeper in the serial killer ghost story burned away.
However, since I lacked the actual ‘qualifications,’ it was currently nothing more than a non-functional script.
If I had to choose one of these to ‘enhance’…
‘It has to be this one.’
“I’ll leave it to you.”
The tattooist leaned in to examine the tattoo I pointed out.
: 恩主 :
The reason for this choice was simple.
‘It’s better to increase the variety of my abilities.’
It was almost certain (sadly) that I would continue to encounter various ghost stories in the future.
This meant I wasn’t in a situation where a single superpower could solve everything.
‘Even Section Chief Lizard almost died despite having that kind of power. One trick won’t be enough.’
It was better to increase the number of cards I could play in different situations rather than half-heartedly strengthening a single ability.
‘So, it’s better to make a useless script usable.’
And at Moonlight Tattoo Shop, I didn’t have to worry about ‘stepping on a landmine.’
The shop was very friendly toward humans and rarely gave out harmful abilities. This meant the Lodge Keeper wouldn’t suddenly pop out and take my head off.
Besides…
I glanced at the Latin script.
—Good boy.
…Thinking back to that mascot, with whom I felt a strange emotional bond, ‘covering up’ that tattoo felt like a form of desecration.
‘My alarm bells are ringing.’
My gut as a devoted reader told me it was better to avoid touching that one.
—Ah, it’s finally starting!
With my choice made, the tattooist began to move.
I stopped him as he tried to show me several design drafts.
“Ah, please just do it in whatever way you think is best.”
If I wanted to maximize the effect, I had to leave it to the professional.
I gave a small smirk.
“I trust your skill, Mr. Tattooist.”
“…!”
The shop owner’s eyes seemed to flash for a moment. He then vigorously urged me to lie back comfortably in the chair.
While firmly pressing Brown into my hands.
—He must have mistaken me for some kind of pain-relief doll! What a rude yet amusing misunderstanding!
But there was no pain.
The tattooist put on a pair of sophisticated goggles that looked somewhat steampunk, then began to operate a massive tattoo machine.
‘…Is the machine usually that big?’
Just as I felt a flicker of bewilderment at the sight of a machine as large as surgical medical equipment.
Moonlight settled into the machine.
Whirring—
The light pouring from the LED ceiling was sucked into the machine.
Then, it gathered at a single point.
The tip of the tattoo needle.
Watching the tip, which shone like a radiant gemstone, approach my arm, I closed my eyes as instructed.
“…….”
A strange sensation washed over my left arm.
It wasn’t pain or itching. Nor was it pressure.
It felt like old grime being washed away and my skin being rearranged and assembled perfectly. Just as I thought this refreshing and comfortable sensation would last forever—
Tap, tap.
It was over.
The light before my eyes vanished, and I opened them at the tattooist’s gesture.
“…!”
‘My god.’
The tattoo now had a background.
A full moon hanging in a dark blue night sky was expressed as if painted with a single brushstroke, and the script was etched over it like a moon shadow.
Stars sparkled with a pearly luster, scattered around the characters.
Tap, tap.
The tattooist looked at me with hands on hips, as if asking if I liked it.
“It’s magnificent.”
With a proud expression, the tattooist patted my shoulder and hurried to the counter.
“…?”
When he returned, he held a single pearl in his hand. It looked like one he had unfastened from the necklace I brought.
‘What is he doing?’
The owner brought the pearl to my tattoo.
Then, it sank right in.
“…?!”
—Ho-oh, well now. Hmm….
—Roe Deer-ssi, this is quite interesting. A ‘passage’ has been opened.
A passage?
—Would you like to try rubbing the tattoo gently? You should feel something.
I raised my hand and lightly touched the tattoo, which miraculously had neither swelling nor pain.
“…!”
I felt it.
A ‘gap’ of some sort between the skin and my touch.
“…….”
I carefully ‘inserted’ my hand into it.
When I pulled my hand out, it was holding the pearl the tattooist had just put in….
‘…A space?’
—Indeed. It seems the contract of that pathetic lodge laborer included ‘provision of space’ after all!
—After all, isn’t providing a room for a guest a natural duty for a servant? It seems the artist found a loophole in that contract and forced it to provide you with a small space as well!
Wait a minute.
Does this mean I now have… my own little inventory?
‘This is actually possible?’
My heart raced at this webtoon-style gift I never expected to find in a ghost story.
—Let’s see… I think you can imagine a cube about 2 feet on each side! It seems a space of that size has been ‘connected’ to you!
Two feet would be roughly 60 centimeters.
He used an atrocious unit of measurement, as expected of someone from an American talk show ghost story, but it was truly valuable information.
But then.
‘Then, is this connected to that lodge?’
That mad killer’s lodge should have definitely disappeared.
—Well. As for where it’s connected… who can say?
—Only the one who originally signed the contract would know exactly what kind of space the Lodge Keeper agreed to provide.
“…….”
—This is very intriguing. It would make a fine subject for a bet! What shall we wager for the enjoyment of our lives?
I’ll politely decline….
Still, since this Moonlight Tattoo Shop wouldn’t have manifested the ability in a way that harms me, I shouldn’t let caution stop me from using what I have.
‘In the future, I won’t have to worry about smuggling items.’
That alone was an incredible feat.
“Thank you. It’s truly amazing and wonderful.”
I returned the pearl I had pulled out, and joy and satisfaction sparkled in the tattooist’s eyes as he took it.
“May I leave now?”
A nod.
“Then I’ll be going.”
But just as I was about to head for the exit.
As if realizing something, the tattooist gestured for me to wait a moment.
‘What now?’
He rummaged fiercely under the counter and pulled out some paper. He carefully wrapped it in transparent packaging and held it out to me.
‘……Tattoo designs?’
The moment I took what he offered, I realized what it was.
They were tattoo stickers.
They even featured the exact design I had chosen from his recommendations: the tomato tree.
And there were three of them!
“…!”
Wait a minute.
“By any chance, while I have these on… do I become ‘brave’? Just like if I had received the tattoo.”
The tattooist smiled and nodded.
‘My god.’
It was an unexpected bonus.
“Thank you.”
The owner waved at me with a smile.
It seemed it was finally time to say goodbye.
I tucked the stickers into my pocket—rather, into my newly created ‘space’—and grabbed the door to leave for real this time.
“I hope you have a wonderful day.”
With a polite farewell, the door closed behind me.
Jingle.
And when I turned my head back.
“…….”
The space was vacant.
True to the ghost story, the inside of the glass window, which bore a distorted real estate contact number, was hollow and empty.
‘…I was told it was like this.’
The Moonlight Tattoo Shop could only be entered once through this ‘Vacancy’ ghost story.
‘I’ll have another chance to use a different ghost story next time.’
—Ah, that was a unique and delightful experience.
I agree.
“Roe Deer, was the exploration okay?”
“Yes.”
That day, I finished the ‘Vacancy’ exploration without any other issues and accumulated my points.
The pleasant scent of the aroma massage Brown received lasted for a few days.
However, the cover-up tattoo vanished the next day as if it had been a lie, leaving only the original script on my wrist.
Still, the ability I gained remained.
‘Let’s put it to good use.’
Thinking of the inventory’s potential, I repeated my experiments.
And then, three weeks.
As if it were a lie, this ability never had a chance to shine….
“…….”
Well… usually, this is normal.
When entering a ghost story with a manual, the company already provided the items necessary for clearing it, so there was no need to smuggle anything in.
And cases where we were deployed to ghost stories without manuals had decreased significantly.
‘There wasn’t anything in the Alien Shop that I desperately wanted to carry around that seemed useful either….’
In the end, its utility had been relegated to just carrying existing items more conveniently.
‘At least I found out that food doesn’t rot in there, as if it’s in a vacuum.’
When I put in an analog watch, the second hand stayed the same, but when I put in a digital watch, it drained the battery.
A situation where the laws were incomprehensible.
And a timing where its use wasn’t urgent.
Consequently, time passed as I gathered points reasonably well without the need for intense item or ability usage….
‘It’s a good thing, though.’
“Three weeks left until the regular personnel reshuffle.”
“Phew, phew.”
“You’re staying here, got it, Roe Deer!?”
“Yes. I certainly hope so.”
If the hottest gossip in Team D was whether I could safely remain in this team after the reshuffle, that said it all.
As expected of a ghost story company, injuries and terrifying incidents occurred from time to time, but I had grown quite accustomed to them by now.
I could endure them by clutching my tattoo stickers like talismans.
‘I should save these for a real emergency.’
As I grew familiar with the company, I began to feel relieved working with these decent teammates.
And, of course.
That relief didn’t last long.
Three weeks and two days later.
Monday morning.
“Roe Deer, you’re here?”
“…….”
The atmosphere had changed.
‘…What is this?’
A strange calmness.
The air in the office felt like the moment someone leaves a final message to their family during a disaster.
The peculiar tranquility of people facing the acceptance of a tragedy.
It was definitely not a good sign.
“…Well, I guess we end up doing things like this too.”
“It’ll be fine. Everyone in our team has strong luck against misfortune!”
Assistant Manager Eun Haje didn’t bother responding to Park Min-seong’s words.
It was truly ominous.
“Take a seat, Roe Deer.”
I ended up sitting on the sofa instead of at my desk. Sitting across from me, Deputy Manager Eunhaje placed a tablet PC in front of me with a calm expression.
“This is the darkness we’ll be deployed to in three days.”
“…….”
Three days?
‘Why are they giving us so much time?’
For a schedule three days away, they would usually say something like, ‘You might be going in, so be prepared.’
To speak with such certainty was almost unheard of.
“It’s a darkness where twelve people are deployed… and it’s B-rank.”
“…….”
“Don’t be too shocked. The survival rate is ridiculously high. And the extra points are set generously… you can take home 2,000 points per person.”
“…And?”
A bitter smile, as if saying ‘you quick-witted brat,’ flickered across Eunhaje’s face.
“And, there’s a problem, of course. It’s faster to find a darkness that doesn’t have one… but this darkness is a bit unique.”
“…In what sense is it unique?”
“To put it simply… well.”
Eunhaje crossed her arms.
“It’s a total game of luck.”
“…!?”
“As soon as you enter, one person dies unconditionally. …Completely random. Purely by luck.”
Damn it.
