Even if I fall into a ghost story, I still have to go to work
Chapter 95
Water came pouring into the laundromat.
Gurgle, gurgle.
I stepped back, avoiding the water seeping through the gaps in the glass door.
However, there was no place to run in an unmanned laundromat. There were only a few washing machines spinning on all sides.
‘Damn it.’
“This way!”
I immediately stepped up onto a washing machine. Simultaneously, Section Chief Lee Ja-heon stood on the machine next to mine.
But that was it.
‘Where do we go from here?’
I scanned the small, high glass window on the left wall. It had bars, but if it were Section Chief Lee Ja-heon, he might be able to rip them out….
♩♪♬♬~♩♬♬~♩♪♪
“…….”
The sound echoed as the water surged.
A faint, flamboyant instrumental piece rang in my ears.
A melody I’d heard before.
The theme song of Joyful Theme Park.
♩♪♬♬~♩♬♬~♩♪♪
The water filling the laundromat coalesced, transforming into a large mass of liquid.
A dragon in the costume of the theme park mascot.
Found you.
A voice suddenly emerged from the mass of water that had seemed devoid of intelligence.
It sounded like a voice coming from the other side of a telephone.
It vibrated, using the water as a medium….
Found you.
Breaking into a cold sweat, I stared at the black streams and masses of water occupying the laundromat….
‘How did it recognize me?’
I’d taken off the mask, and I was even wearing a hat and a face mask….
Kidnapper.
‘…It recognized Section Chief Lee Ja-heon!’
The black mass of water raised a forepaw and pointed at the Lizard standing on the washing machine next to me.
“No.”
Kidnapper.
“No.”
This is going to go on forever…!
No, actually, that would be a relief. In fact, it wouldn’t be strange if that mass of water exercised some spine-chilling supernatural ability right now!
I still hadn’t forgotten the flash flood that had erupted from the telephone and devoured the alleyways like a mad beast.
‘…Since it’s water, I’m not even sure if physical exorcism would work.’
“…….”
Sigh.
Fine, at least if we’re in a situation where communication is possible.
Bad…
“He is not a kidnapper.”
I took off my face mask and put on my own mask.
Then I rolled up my sleeve and showed the tattoo.
: Socius :
In that state, with the most relaxed face I could muster, I looked the watery dragon in the eye.
“Mr. Mascot. Were you looking for me, by any chance?”
The water’s form wavered.
And then….
Good child!
The voice became clear.
“Yes, it’s good to see you too….”
I gestured to Section Chief Lee Ja-heon not to come down, then slowly stepped down from the washing machine.
‘Ugh.’
Water splashed beneath my feet, but there were no other insane symptoms aside from the theme park’s music becoming slightly clearer.
‘Good.’
I can do this.
I approached the mass of water….
Let’s go.
I felt a vibration from the tattoo.
It felt like it was resonating with the form in front of me.
The dragon’s forepaw approached….
Play more.
I took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry.”
And I gently pushed the forepaw away.
“I’m not a child anymore, so I can’t stay at the theme park forever. I have to work.”
Silence.
‘This is terrifying.’
But I endured it, speaking calmly while looking into the dragon’s face.
“But when I want to play, when I want to spend time at a fun water park, I’ll be sure to visit.”
I raised my wrist to show the tattoo.
“You gave me this for that reason, didn’t you? So I can come whenever I want.”
The water mass nodded slowly.
“Thank you. …Um, but, it seems I don’t quite know how to get to Joyful Theme Park.”
The way to enter Joyful Theme Park from the company was through a board game, and each game led to a theme park with a different structure.
‘If I can prevent that part, it might actually be safer.’
Since a place I’ve already been would be better.
“I’m worried I might accidentally go to a different theme park where you aren’t there, Mr. Mascot. Is there a way to prevent that?”
It’s okay.
“…You’re saying it’s okay if I go to another theme park?”
It’s okay.
“…….”
It was strange.
‘…Will something change if I play that board game again?’
Well, if that’s the case.
Promise me.
Whew.
I hid my trembling and reached out my hand to the mass of water.
“Yes. I promise.”
And I hooked my pinky with its.
The squelchy sensation of the water made my skin crawl, but nothing went wrong….
…
…
.
After releasing the pinky, the water mass pressed its claw against my tattoo.
It seemed to be checking if it was still well-attached, and soon, seemingly satisfied, it withdrew its paw.
It was then.
Whoosh.
The laundromat door swung open under water pressure, and something flew in, landing on top of the water mass’s forepaw.
A square, black object.
My broken smartphone.
Yours.
“…….”
I took my smartphone with trembling hands.
“…Thank you. I was worried because I thought I’d lost it.”
Good child.
The watery form began to collapse.
Promise me.
The waves subsided.
Then, like a video being rewound, the water was sucked out through the gaps of the laundromat….
Slurp.
The current swept back through the alley.
Before long, the alley became silent, with no trace of the water left behind.
And inside the laundromat that had been filled with black water, a few chocolate bars with my likeness printed on them remained like gold dust.
“…….”
I lived.
“Phew….”
I slumped down where I stood.
—My goodness, Friend! Did you really promise to go play at that insignificant theme park again?
‘Yeah.’
No matter how much I thought about it, I had no idea what would have happened if I’d said something like, “I don’t really want to make a promise.”
‘I might have had my guts scooped out and ended up working at the theme park as Blue Dragon Mascot ver.2.’
I was glad to have avoided that, at least….
As long as I had the membership, I would be treated as a guest there. That was better than being dragged away blindly or accepting unknown variables.
My mind raced.
‘…Should I talk to the company and set a schedule for the board game?’
Judging by the interval… I should probably go within six months.
‘Let’s prepare items and equipment in the meantime.’
Good.
For now, the important thing was that I had survived this moment. I stood up on shaky legs and held back a sigh.
‘If it was going to be like this, I shouldn’t have run away earlier…!’
But honestly, in that situation, would there be any crazy person who wouldn’t run away and instead stay to resolve it calmly through conversation?
‘I’d bet a gold bar that there are “none"….’
Whew.
Just then, Lee Ja-heon hopped down from the washing machine as if nothing had happened.
I asked him reflexively.
“Team Leader. If I hadn’t stepped forward earlier, would you have tried to smash… I mean, eliminate that mass of water?”
“Yes.”
“…….”
As expected.
The timing was just right this time, but if we had stood blankly in that stationery store, things would have gone to hell in many ways.
‘So running away then was the right call.’
I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh….
But I had to get my head in the game.
‘We’re still trapped in this alley.’
The only silver lining was that I’d thought of a way to try and get out of here.
“Team Leader.”
I dusted off the hem of my suit and stood in front of the laundromat’s glass door.
“I’ve thought of an escape method. …If a few conditions are met, I think we can try it even here in Death End Alley.”
“I see.”
“Yes. And the first condition is….”
I looked around at the shops in the alley.
The item the shopkeeper had used for communication in the stationery store that had put us in such a predicament earlier.
“A telephone.”
A short while later.
Tinkle—
In the alley where darkness had settled, we opened the door and entered a shop that cast a fairly cozy light through its window.
Coincidentally, it was the very shop where my colleagues had enjoyed shopping earlier.
True to the advertising slogan ‘Handmade Knitting,’ cozy-looking sweaters, socks, and mufflers were on display, but occasionally, there were strangely tattered and damp fibers….
‘Ugh.’
I ignored them as much as possible and turned my attention further toward the shop’s layout.
And after ducking into numerous shops in this alley while avoiding the voice of the angry stationery store owner for the past few hours, I finally found what I was looking for.
‘…There it is!’
Another door.
There was a main door on the wall opposite the one I’d entered through.
It was larger than the door we’d just come through. That meant….
‘That’s the front entrance.’
And beyond that would be an unknown street, not the back alley of Death End Alley….
The kind of place often described in Dark Exploration Records as ‘Processed as missing thereafter.’
Main doors leading away from the alley are sometimes found in the shops of Death End Alley. It is advised not to exit through them as much as possible.
※ No records of return to date.
It was a fear similar to what one feels when the only answer to the question ‘Where does the explorer who deviated from the path go?’ is ‘Unknown.’
The fear of vanishing.
‘Whew.’
I quickly averted my eyes to avoid seeing the neon signs reflecting behind that opaque glass door.
Then, I picked up one of the socks that Section Chief Lizard had been eyeing—one that had been verified as safe—and headed to the counter.
“Hello.”
The owner, who was knitting with six arms, looked at me over a pair of primitive spectacles.
I kept my gaze slightly lowered this time as well, looking only at the owner’s sweater.
And as I held out the socks, I spoke naturally.
“I’d like to pay for these. Oh, and would it be alright if I used the phone for just one call?”
I didn’t stop at words; I casually placed a few more coins on the counter.
…….
The owner of Death End Alley, who had the face of an elderly person, …….
Click.
They picked up the phone and handed it to me.
“……Thank you.”
Whew.
‘With this, all the conditions are secured.’
- A telephone.
- A main door leading in a direction other than the alley.
And…. - A means of transport.
I looked at the dial of the classic telephone.
Naturally, dialing a real-world number on a phone in Death End Alley wouldn’t necessarily connect.
There were records of connections seemingly being made occasionally, but they were all strangely distorted, as is typical of ghost stories.
Someone would pretend to be a relative, only to hang up cackling the moment they were caught, or the time would be warped, connecting you to family members who were currently holding your own funeral.
‘It was horrific.’
So, what I was doing wasn’t a request for rescue.
‘Maybe… it’s the opposite.’
I raised my finger and, somewhat clumsily, turned the dial to punch in the numbers.
666666 4444 8282
Originally, it was a number with a format so nonsensical that a dial tone shouldn’t even occur, but….
Ring…. Click.
Miraculously, the call connected.
[…….]
I tried my best not to be conscious of the person’s breathing on the other end, and spoke as calmly as possible.
“Hello. This is the call taxi company, right? I’d like to call a taxi.”
[…Location confirmed.]
A husky voice was heard.
Polite, but with a low, arrogant tone that sounded strangely mocking.
[Please state the time you wish to use the service.]
“I’d like you to come right now.”
[Please state your destination.]
“…Seoul Station, Exit 1.”
[Confirmed. Assigning a driver….]
I deliberately pulled the phone away from my ear for a moment.
And a few seconds later.
[Assigned. Have a pleasant journey.]
Click, beep, beep, beep….
The call disconnected automatically.
“…Thank you.”
I politely returned the phone to the shop owner, took the bag with the wrapped socks, and handed it to Section Chief Lee Ja-heon.
It was to hide the fact that my hands were shaking.
‘Whew.’
It’s done.
As you might have guessed, that wasn’t a normal call taxi.
A suspicious call taxi number that travels through time and space at will.
‘It’s a ghost story…!’
======================
Dark Exploration Record / Ghost Story
[Hellish Fare Taxi]
: A ghost story appearing in , identification code Qterw-C-8282 by Daydream Co., Ltd.
A taxi ghost story that appears when calling a taxi using a specific number late at night.
Anyone who takes this taxi is cursed without fail.
======================
I could no longer find a normal way out to reality from Death End Alley.
If that’s the case.
‘I’ll get out even if it’s by using a ghost story.’
And a few seconds later.
From beyond the shop’s main door, a small honking sound was heard.
Beep, beep.
“…….”
The taxi had arrived.
