Translator: Nox

Chapter 8

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

Even if you fall into a ghost story, you still have to go to work. Episode 8.

Even if you fall into a ghost story, you still have to go to work. Episode 008.

The ghost stories of <The Guedam Collection> have one thing in common.

The more popular they are, the higher the probability that anomalies will appear in the exploration records.

‘It’s because there are multiple creators.’

When a ghost story is first created, it follows the rules strictly.

But as it gains popularity and everyone starts writing their own exploration records for that story, what happens?

To escape repetition and boredom as the series goes on, exceptions start to appear little by little—within a “reasonable” scope.

The example I desperately recalled just now was one of them.

An exploration record where Field Exploration Team J of <The Guedam Collection> had to endure 12 hours in a closed hospital at night.

However….

※ Special Note:
Exploration ended after 16 hours and 11 minutes.

The exploration ended after an awkward 16 hours and 11 minutes.

It was exactly the “temporal anomaly” I was looking for. However….

‘If anything, it took longer to escape.’

Something had gone wrong during the exploration, leaving them trapped in the ghost story longer than the 12-hour “endurance period.”

‘So… I’m sure it was because of a mistake they made.’

I remembered!

‘They didn’t get the time alarm!’

======================

(03:12) Employee Lee Jae-jin accidentally cuts the counter phone line.

Because of this, the call that was supposed to come to the nurse’s station never arrived.

The shift change call.

As a result, a crazy situation occurred where the doctor, who was supposed to finish his night shift and go home after 12 hours, continued working.

======================

(12:12) Past 7:12 AM, but the sun has not risen.

No matter how much time passed, the night did not end.

The employees, who had set their wristwatches to 7:00 PM as soon as they entered the ghost story, reportedly fell into a panic the moment they realized this fact.

‘I think they even fought over whether to get caught and restart, and one person ended up being tied up.’

Fortunately, a few hours later, another team member reconnected the phone line, allowing the process to proceed normally and enabling their narrow escape.

======================
(16:09) Phone line successfully restored. The phone rings immediately. Wait at least 3m away from the desk.

(16:11) The doctor answers the phone and disappears. Escape attempt successful.

A ghost story that doesn’t end even after the promised time has passed. It was certainly a chilling irregularity.

‘But there’s a hint here.’

Even though that was a case where the time was extended, there was a mechanism to be extracted.

Namely, that there was a trigger announcing the end of the time.

‘In that case, it was the shift change call.’

And if that trigger didn’t activate, the ghost story wouldn’t end.

Thinking in reverse….

‘If the trigger that signals the time just activates, could it end sooner?’

“…….”

What is there in a convenience store that indicates the passage of time?

Thump.

“……!”

Wait.

‘…That sound.’

It’s coming from right above my head.

I instinctively looked up at the ceiling above me.

I was under the convenience store counter.

So, what was above me was….

The POS terminal.

Beep.
Beep-beep-beep-beep-bee-bee-beep-beep-beep.

The ghost was pressing the POS terminal at the checkout.

Following that strange rhythm, a recorded voice echoed through the convenience store.

Calling staff… Calling staff, call-call-calling staff sta-sta-sta-staff calling staff calling staff

“…!!”

I knew it.

This thing knows I’m under here.

It’s playing with me instead of catching me on purpose.

…Even knowing that, cold sweat ran down my back rather than anger.

Wow, this is driving me crazy. It’s enough to make anyone lose their mind.

‘I have to get out.’

I have to get out and run.

But my feet won’t move as easily or lightly as my mind wants. I was no different from an extra in a horror movie who collapses and dies after seeing a ghost.

’No.’

Even if the result of being caught is the same, I can’t let myself learn helplessness.

In the end, I forced myself to squeeze out from under the counter.

At that moment.

Calling staff.

Suddenly, a pale, bloated face was right in front of mine.

Its mouth tore open into a grin.

—Got you.

---

Restart.

“…….”

I took a very slow, deep breath.

My heart was pounding so hard my head throbbed for a moment, but I endured it.

‘It’s over.’

My whole body felt numb.

‘Endure it.’

Instead, I looked out at the dark convenience store.

This time, instead of going to the counter, I ran in the opposite direction of the glowing drink refrigerators.

Toward the convenience store entrance.

“…….”

Outside the glass door was pitch-black darkness.

Still, trying my best to see outside, I spotted something attached next to the outer glass door.

“…!”

An electronic clock.

[12:00⼁04⼁04]

April 4th, 12:00.

Is that the current set date of this ghost story?

My eyes, adjusted to the dark, also distinguished the chime bell attached to the glass door. The moment I grabbed that door, the ghost would hear the bell and come running with those strange footsteps.

‘And the door probably won’t even open anyway….’

Since the place I have to endure was set as a convenience store. There must be a restriction.

I looked away from the glass door and partially hid myself behind a nearby display shelf.

Leaning my back against the wall, I kept my eyes on the store and continued my thoughts.

The cold sweat trickling down my temple felt freezing.

‘The duration I have to endure is three days.’

Then a trigger that could tell me the time near my completion point… what could it be?

What happens in this convenience store three days from now…?

‘Logistics?’

I glanced at the boxes stacked near the glass door.

The time when new stock arrives.

‘Somehow check the items scheduled to arrive three days from now. Then somehow disguise myself as those items and put them in early to give a temporal hint….’

No. That’s too unintuitive.

There’s no way such a complex and trivial series of processing steps would work.

<The Guedam Collection> is an internet ghost story.

‘And internet ghost stories are intuitive.’

The more petty conditions and forced logic there are, the less impact it has, so it can’t gain popularity.

‘It has to feel simpler and more fitting.’

In that case….

What is the item that makes it easiest to feel the passage of time in a convenience store?

“…!”

That’s it.

I looked at the display shelf closest to the entrance. It looked different from the drink refrigerators, but it was a shelf emitting cold air.

Strangely, however, there were only a few items displayed there.

A few dairy drinks or coffees, and… lunch boxes and triangular kimbap.

Perishable food items.

‘…The expiration date!’

I immediately headed to the shelf and began picking up lunch boxes and kimbap to check them.

‘Usually, triangular kimbap has an expiration date of 36 to 48 hours.’

The lunch boxes would probably be similar.

But strangely, quite a few lunch boxes and kimbap had expiration dates longer than three days, or the markings were messily erased.

With patience, I carefully checked the back and front of the items, making as little noise as possible.

And finally….

‘Found it.’

The current time in this ghost story is April 4th, 12:00.

A product whose expiration date ends at 12:00 on April 7th.

[Hamburger Steak with Gravy Lunch Box]

I picked up that lunch box.

Then I crossed the store and approached the POS terminal.

‘Ugh.’

The afterimage of the ghost standing at the checkout, frantically pressing the call button, flickered in my mind.

But it was just my imagination. It hadn’t appeared here yet….

‘Stay calm.’

After pressing the device settings on the POS terminal, I selected ‘Change Date and Time’… There, it’s there! I held back a sigh of relief as I stared at the screen.

‘The set time is….’

Exactly two days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes after the starting point of midnight, April 4th.

[April 7th, 11:59 PM]

‘Please!’

I prayed with an anxious heart.

I pressed the change button, and when I hit confirm…….

[Change Complete]

“…!!”

It worked!

‘In many cases, you can’t change these settings, so this is a stroke of luck—no, it’s a godsend.’

My hands shook with joy and anxiety, but I steadied them.

I was almost there.

Now I just had to take the food I brought and register it as nearing expiration….

Beep-beep-beep-beep!

“…….”

[Expiration Alarm]
[There are products nearing their expiration date!]

The POS terminal shouted in a cheerful tone.

In the dark convenience store, that recorded guidance voice echoed alone.

Beep-beep-beep-beep! Beep-beep-beep-beep!

“…….”

I turned my head, frozen.

From far away, our eyes met.

It was running toward me.

“You…!”

Don’t look at it, look at the screen. Only the screen!

Please, please! Hurry!

Beep.

After three fumbled attempts, my hand finally scanned the barcode.

[Would you like to register?]

I hammered the ‘Yes’ button….

The footsteps drew closer far too quickly.

The strange t-t-t-t-t-t sound kept getting closer, but I endured it, keeping my hands moving….

[Expiration registered.]

The moment I felt the vibration of the ghost’s feet reaching right in front of the counter as it ran with its insanely strange gait.

[Completed]

It disappeared.

“…….”

Flick.

The lights turned on.

Inside the convenience store, now painfully bright, the POS screen showed a simple and clear explanation.

[Registration Complete]

Whirrr, the closing receipt printed out.

In that white noise, it sank in.

‘I did it.’

That I had succeeded.

“Phew.”

I leaned against the counter and lowered my head. My legs were shaking.

‘I can’t breathe….’

Humans really do depend on light!

Still, just the fact that it had become bright brought peace to my mind and body.

’Now I just have to go out the door….’

Clack!

The cash drawer under the POS terminal opened automatically.

‘Huh?’

Inside was a thick brown envelope.

“This is….”

I picked up the envelope and opened it.

I saw four bundles of thick, crisp golden bills.

“…!?”

Bundles of 50,000-won notes!

‘Is it… four bundles of a hundred each?’

Then it was twenty million won in total.

It was the first time I had ever touched such a large amount of cash. But why was this in the convenience store cash drawer….

Ah.

‘The prize!’

======================
Darkness Exploration Record / Guedam
/ Choose for Me
Extra Note:
Upon clearing, it actually gives you money.

Then isn’t it just a Good Friend who likes to scare people?

Oh.

---

“How long do you think it’ll take?”

“I think he should be able to come out as soon as he hits three days.”

“Succeeding on the first try? Wow, that’s a generous evaluation. Very generous.”

Field Exploration Team D of Baekilmong Corporation.

The two employees had stepped up to the rooftop via the stairs next to the warehouse to smoke for a bit.

They had just sent the new recruit into the darkness and seen him off.

Pushing a rookie into a paranormal phenomenon wasn’t something you ever really got used to.

Still, usually, this particular darkness called <Choose for Me> is hardcore the shorter the set time is, and more relaxed the longer it is. So the rookie, who got three days, wouldn’t have it too rough.

‘It’ll probably be at the level of a three-day, two-night test of courage.’

Of course, it was harsh. It wasn’t that it wasn’t harsh.

However, a common premise existed in the minds of the two employees.

—If you can’t even handle this, you’ll die soon anyway.

If so, they’d rather he just quit.

In fact, quite a few rookies had left because of this initiation, and Team D often felt the pressure from the HR executives, but they were still managing to smooth things over somehow.

Watching a colleague, especially a rookie in the same team, die right next to you was truly detrimental to one’s mental health….

However, this time, the feeling was a bit different.

A strange sense of anticipation.

“About this rookie.”

“Yeah.”

“He wasn’t ordinary.”

“He definitely wasn’t ordinary.”

The top-tier new recruit newly assigned to Team D, Kim Sol-eum.

“I’ve never seen a kid act like that on his first day.”

Usually, new recruits are terrified or lose their minds the moment they realize that being constantly deployed into the very paranormal phenomena they almost died in is their ‘job.’ That was only natural.

But in Kim Sol-eum’s case… he was strangely calm.

“He didn’t even seem that nervous.”

“Yeah. He didn’t seem surprised. He even drank his coffee well.”

Not for a single moment did he lose his composure, lock himself in the bathroom to cry, or try to run away.

Of course, Kim Sol-eum had simply spoiled everything for himself and finished his mental preparations after giving up on everything for the next three days.

To an outsider’s eyes, however, he just looked like a rookie with an insane mental state!

“Looks like Deputy Manager, you took a liking to him.”

“Yeah. He’s quite good.”

A strong heart was always welcome.

This was a department that had to face all sorts of gruesome, bizarre, or eerie urban legends. A coward would be a problem.

‘Well, a coward wouldn’t have passed that death survival in the first place….’

He did!

Of course, the superiors, who had no way of knowing, were just nodding and repeating, “This rookie is pretty good.”

However, there was one slightly disappointing point.

“But the kid doesn’t seem like the type to cut corners, so why doesn’t he take notes?”

“It’s his first job, so he might not know. We just have to tell him.”

In a profession where lives are on the line, information and manuals are essential, they agreed, nodding to each other.

“When we tell him something, he should write it down. That way he can read it again and actually know it.”

“Exactly. It’s not like he already knew everything beforehand.”

He did know beforehand!

The two, still having no clue, continued their conversation typical of a team that had just received a rookie, before wrapping things up to return to work.

“We should write the situation report.”

“Ha, those reports that no one even looks at, every single time….”

The rookie would come out in three days at the earliest anyway.

Since it was a ghost story with food and a place to sleep inside, he’d be fine even if it turned into a long-term struggle.

The two nodded and picked up the pad that contained the internet post that had sucked the rookie in.

“Now, shall we go look at the paperwork—?!”

Click.

At that moment, the pad spat out a person.

The rookie who was supposed to come out three days later.

“…!?”

The rookie, Kim Sol-eum, stood up from the floor, dusting off his clean suit, looking no different than he had an hour and a half ago.

And in one hand, he held something up.

It was a Dream Collector, its gauge completely full.

“I’ve filled it up.”

“…!?!?”

Time elapsed until clear: 1 hour and 24 minutes.

The rookie, who had achieved an unbelievable feat, was just looking at his superiors with a nonchalant attitude.

‘I thought I was going to die of a heart attack.’

Of course, it was just that the coward—who had been desperate enough to break through the walls of a haunted house that didn’t allow mid-way exits—was now completely drained!