Chapter Text
Those left stayed and poked around the kitchen after the initial scare investigating the scene of the crime for any signs of a way out. The only thing of note besides the massive elephant in the room were these individual portions of soup and rice found inside the fridge. They were apparently prepared in advance by the lodgekeeper. We could tell because the lodgekeeper left a note telling us as much.
Of course, no one ended up touching any of it and resorted to lightly snacking on anything they brought beforehand.
Afterwards, mostly everyone retreated back into their rooms when it was clear that there’s nothing left to gain here. The only ones who decided to stick around were the college kids. Usually once people are in their rooms they tend to stay there. Just to keep an eye out. So I stood alone in the corner of the kitchen fidgeting with my non-responsive phone feigning frustration.
The rabbit bakes in the kitchen
The deer is caught in the backyard
The pigeon is fattened in the bedroom
The lamb is sliced in the living room
Following the order laid out by the poem we just needed to wait for someone unfortunate enough to end up in the backyard.
And so I watched as two students left to go smoke outside. Unlucky. When those two discover the body they left in the shed earlier it’ll give the agent who's also waiting outside the time to preemptively strike and knock them out.
While they did have the numbers advantage he still trusted in the agent's ability to get the job done.
I turned my attention to the last member of the hiking group.
Since the students had been relying on safety of numbers he’ll probably get up to join his friends in the backyard soon. I’m not sure how much time the agent needs but I'll get him some.
I gently shove a random chocolate bar I had in my briefcase in front of the stray student.
“Would you like this? I’m afraid I don’t have much of an appetite…” He stares at it disinterested before shaking his head.
“Nah, I can’t have peanuts. Allergies.”
I look down at the packaging. ‘100% real milk chocolate now with 50% more peanuts’ What an unfortunate coincidence. I stuff it back into my pockets.
“I see. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Appearing dejected, the student took pity on me and indulged me in a small conversation. At the same time it felt like since I was the one who freaked out the most at the body he looked down at me.
I wonder how he’ll react when he realizes I’m one of the main orchestrators.
"I'm not sure if I'm just being paranoid but..." I hesitantly started as soon as the previous topic ran its course.
"but..?"
"Do you think it'll happen again?"
"Huh? You mean the murder?"
I nodded.
"Why, you scared?" he teased.
"A little. I had a private talk with the public servant the night before he um... well y'know...." I fidget with my hands and stare at the general direction of the "accident" and they follow my gaze.
"He seemed like such a kind person. Besides, who wouldn't be scared thinking about the people you know suddenly disappearing."
....
“Haah…talking about this is making me feel nauseous again. I’m going to go rest in my room. Please stay safe, okay?” Have fun chewing on that piece of foreshadowing.
“….’”
Well. I did what I needed to. I retreated to the second floor. However, instead of going straight to my room though I snuck into the room of the student I just conversed with and waited inside his closet.
Is every guest room in this lodge personalized? Unlike the one in my room containing an axe this wardrobe seems to have come with an electric chainsaw.
The thought about jumping out of this closet wielding a chainsaw was amusing enough to be the only thing getting me through waiting in a dark cramped closet.
Presumably this entire time that agent has been using physical force to knock out all the others but I don’t need to do that. I’m not as physically capable after all.
Before we split up for the night he gave me an item that he explained is commonly used to subdue unruly citizens who have either lost their sanity or just refuse to cooperate during rescue. And I'll use it now to take care of the last of the hiking club group.
It was given to me by the agent in case I was in danger and he wasn’t there to help me. I just slip this into their mouths and force them to swallow it and they’ll be knocked out for a good two to seven hours depending on the person's constitution.
Although….
This kinda just looks and sounds like your everyday drug….
Since I keep off-handedly mentioning my interest in the occult I wonder if he played up the supernatural aspect of this item so I won’t feel as bad essentially drugging someone if push came to shove. Unless this is actually just agency equipment I’ve somehow never heard about?
Maybe it was omitted from the original work due to its effects being super similar to Snow White’s Apple? I wonder which item came first in that case. Either way learning new details about the agency that weren’t mentioned in the wiki was kind of fun.
The sound of terrified screaming interrupted my little session of musing. Shortly after I could hear the door burst open and slam shut. The college student's heartbeat was so loud I could hear it and his voice that violently shook as he uttered empty reassurances to himself from within the wardrobe.
Well. He’ll feel better when he see his friends again soon.
Will it scare him more if I jump out immediately or if I slowly open the wardrobe door? Either way it sounds like he’s not gonna go down without a struggle…
“I think seeing the death of his friends set him off. He pulled out a pocket knife and started threatening me.” My eyes darted around the room as I recounted the situation. “I had to use the item you gave me to get out of the situation.” I effortlessly lied while thinking about a horror game I saw a week ago creating a genuine look of terror on my face.
The agent has repeatedly asked me not to act on my own and to leave all the heavy work to him. However, we only have three days to pull everything off and we need to be as efficient with our time as possible.
Especially since what we’re attempting is an undocumented method.
So it’s only natural for me to get heavily involved since I have the most knowledge of the situation.
“In our struggle he ended up scrathcing me on my side. Fortunately it’s not that serious of a wound.” I lift up my shirt slightly showing off my miniscule battle scar.
His eyes soften and he pats me on my shoulder. “I see. You’ve worked hard.” Despite the warm praise he seems a bit disappointed.
“Yes…”
He sits me down and takes a knee in front of me pulling out a small medical kit. It's a bit excessive for such a small wound but I appreciate the gesture nonetheless.
In that short one minute medical check up I counted at least three compliments and five words of reassurance from the agent's mouth.
Did I actually appear that shaken by the event or is the agent just an unreasonably kind person?
The atmosphere was warm as long as you were willing to ignore the person tied up behind us and all of the bloody human remains scattered around the basement.
“Oh, it’s a bit late but I’m realizing I never got your name.”
“Please, call me Agent Bronze. As you can likely tell, it’s a code name.”
“Agent Bronze. Wow! Did you pick it yourself?”
“Ah yes. It’s a bit of a long story.” His ears prickled a slight red hearing his code name come from my mouth.
“I see, well I’m Kim Soleum. I’m glad to be working with you.”
“Likewise.” Agent Bronze affectionately smiled at me.
We passed the time talking and planning the next set of casualties in accordance to the script provided by the lodge itself.
And eventually the student woke back up.
Gagged and bound to the chair he frantically shook his head and yelled either unintelligible pleads or curses at us.
I shrugged off my suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of my white button up. I held out my hand behind me and like a good assistant the Agent handed me my weapon of choice for the night.
A bloodied axe.
I tapped the man on the shoulder with said axe. The sharp edge of its blade rested against his neck and his eyes practically bulged out of his skull as he eyed the weapon.
“And would you look at that, he suddenly stopped moving! Hey agent, I think this guy finally realized what kind of situation he’s in.” I smirked at Agent Bronze who met my gaze. While he’s not the strongest actor the agent matched my energy by simply leaning against the wall with his butcher's knife and staring blankly at me tormenting this guy.
“Y’know, I always hate it when they scream and fight back. The ending’s gonna be the same anyways.” I sighed and tightened my grip on my axe and raised it above my head. The poor guy flinches and shuts his eyes tight with tears endlessly pouring from them like a faucet.
“What a waste of time for everyone involved.”
The axe makes a solid thunk noise as it cuts into the wall behind the victim but it was the final blow scaring the man into back unconsciousness.
Clang!
I dropped the heavy blade to the floor and my body immediately sagged exhausted from stress, lack of sleep, and from this unusual work out. When he told me about how fear is a necessary element for the situation it led to me roping him into this strange roleplay. I hope he doesn’t take it the wrong way. I promise I’m not usually like this…
Far from it, I'm just an ordinary guy!
I weakly cough into my hand trying to fall back into my overly innocent civilian persona. Am I coming on too strong? Maybe. But it seems to work on him.
I glance over to Agent Bronze since he’s supposed to be the expert here but he seems to still be troubled. There must be a lot of things on his mind seeing how he’s still conflicted over involving me in the situation. He seems to have a lot to say but for now he settles on:
“You’re a good actor…”
“It’s thanks to an acting class I took during college.” I shamelessly lied.
I picked back up the axe and this time propped it up on the wall “I can’t believe you agent’s have to do this everytime.” I marveled.
“This isn’t typically part of the manual…”
“I see…” I put my hand on my chest. “It was still scary but I gave it my all. I hope they forgive me after all of this…” I casted a downhearted look at the victim and Agent Bronze moved to unbind him from the chair.
I slung my suit jacket over my shoulder before ascending the staircase to wash up leaving Agent Bronze to deal with the aftermath. I’m not sure where he places the others while the time passes but I hope he takes good care of them.
I grimaced at the terrible feeling of sticky blood on my skin as I slowly navigated to the communal bathroom in the dark. Luckily I only got blood on my hands when I wielded the already blood covered axe. The little dots of red on my shirt can be covered with my suit and scrubbed out later.
Yesterday, when carrying the preserved remains around to create our crime scenes earlier I ended up wearing the black rain coat originally owned by Agent Bronze. He brought it to avoid getting blood on his clothes originally. But, he doesn’t really need it anymore since he was the first to die. That means he can get as bloody as he wants now.
Is that what it means to get used to dealing with ghost stories? Honestly, what an unpleasant idea.
I need to get back to my world as soon as possible.
I thoroughly scrubbed my hands raw under the hot water even catching the specs caught underneath my finger nails.
But then I heard a creak from the floor boards.
The lodge itself was old so that alone wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. The problem is that the sounds have completely ceased from behind the bathroom door.
Someone was waiting outside.
Considering the atmosphere we created no sane person should be out at night. The likelihood of someone coming here just to use the bathroom was near zero.
I glanced around the bathroom for a random weapon lying around but to my horror there was nothing suitable for self defense.
Taking a second to calm my heart my hand hovered above the door knob. I took a deep breath and opened it.
Sorry Agent, it looks like we have to speed up our schedule.
Immediately I jumped back feeling the sharp slice of wind from the cleave in front of me. The two handed axe missed its target and got lodged into the door frame with the momentum of the swing bringing its wielder forward. I tackle them to the side. They tried to grab at my arm as I attempted to run past them but I somehow managed to push them back and I began literally running for my life.
I guess the whole acting like a harmless civilian thing got interpreted both ways. Someone to protect and someone easy to kill!
As I turned the corner I threw my suit jacket onto the floor. It was barely noticeable due it blending in with the dark and they briefly tripped on the loose fabric but quickly recovered. However it bought me just enough time to practically dive down into the basement where my saving grace awaited. The agent caught me as I practically tumbled down the staircase.
He was about to ask if I was alright and what was going on but I put a finger against his lips making a shushing motion and shoved him against the wall back into the dark. I felt the Agent tense as he heard the man who chased me slowly descended into the basement trying to hunt down his prey.
It hasn’t even been long since we parted but here I was again with the agent. I'm so glad I'm not doing this alone...
From here I can finally get a good look at my attacker. It was the guy with the eyepatch.
Fuck. This guy again?
Understanding the situation the agent pushes me behind him shielding me with his body. Then from the corner of my eye I watched him equip the glass hand gun. I cover my mouth with my hands. Specialized equipment from the bureau! A compact pistol that uses glass beads as ammo and aids in subduing the supernatural. For that reason it seems to only be making its appearance for intimidation purposes. Silently he steps out from the shadows to confront the eyepatched man.
His eye widened. “Disaster Management Bureau? So you were alive this whole time.”
He steps back in surprise. Then his gaze hardens once more silently understanding his current predicament.
Now that he knows about our secret operation we can’t just let him leave quietly.
“Correct. Drop your weapon. You’re obstructing official duties.”
“Official..? You fucking hypocritical bastards. Going on about saving citizens only to turn around and slaughter them without blinking when the need arises.” He spat out venom in a hushed voice. Agent Bronze especially seemed taken aback by the comment. It seemed to have hit him where it hurts.
We were effectively locked in a stalemate. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife.
It looks like the only way to try and defuse the situation was through words as fighting in such a cramped room would surely bring the attention of others.
I came out and stood next to the agent and he gave me a look of ‘what the hell do you think you're doing?’ that I desperately tried to ignore.
“He’s not the only one. Everyone else you met in this lodge is still alive as well.”
He laughs in my face.
“Ha! Do you think I’d believe that?”
No, of course not. With the unspoken idea of a murderer being spread around it’s only natural, the logical thing even to doubt everyone around you. If I didn’t know any better I’d be locked in my room cowering for my life.
“Besides. I saw it. You were the last person seen with that one guy and now he’s missing. How can you explain that?”
Whoops. So that’s what this is about? Killing the murderer before they strike you next?
First, let’s address the previous problem.
“Yes, it was an unavoidable situation due to the nature of this ghost story. I know it seems hard to believe but please look around first.” I quickly explained trying to deescalate the situation.
“The number of fresh body parts here… it’s a huge difference from the current number of people dead in the lodge. Furthermore, do you remember? Every single body we’ve discovered, not a single one was fully intact.”
“Everything you've witnessed till now was on purpose to create a false narrative to make it look like people truly have died."
And…
And the moment he hesitates, the moment he even stops to think, the moment he even lowered his guard, his weapon, for a split second…
“..shit!”
With the speed of someone who’s done this many times before Agent Bronze quickly pushes the person to the floor and disarms him. Even going as far as shoving a nearby bloody rag into his mouth.
Without thinking I grab the fallen axe from the floor and toss it far out of the man’s reach.
He puts up a fierce struggle but eventually Agent Bronze comes out on top and separates him from his belongings after tying him up.
And among them was something that immediately caught the attention of the agent.
“That damn company again…” I heard Agent Bronze mutter very visibly irritated.
Could it be?
“...”
I felt my own Daydream Inc ID burning a hole in my pocket and a drop of sweat roll down my forehead when he cursed them out.
I mean. Technically I’m not an employee but it still clearly has my name and picture printed on it. And it would be even weirder to explain how it’s not real and is just a fun keepsake.
He can never know…
The bureau and Daydream have always been at odds with each other due to their conflicting interest with the supernatural. One seeked to be rid of them and the other wanted to profit off their existence.
To have an encounter with a Daydream employee in this ghost story…well considering their reputation of personalities isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility.
Not only am I stuck in a ghost story but I was also just in the middle of a feud between the two enemy factions. In any other situation I would be gladly reading about this scenario while just munching on some popcorn.
But what was even more fascinating was the name printed on the ID card.
Baek Saheon.
A familiar name, not because I know him personally but because it was a name that showed up many times within the Dark Exploration Records.
A named character.
I’ve read all about him. Affectionately nicknamed by the community and text as “Viper” thanks to his cruel and cunning nature. A character who would do anything to come out on top even if it meant trampling on the lives of others.
And I just had to get locked in a building with the guy.
Although…
‘He looks a bit different from what I imagined…’
“...”
I could feel him glare at me as if he could sense I was judging him.
Sorry…
Anyways, as long as survival continues to be his number one goal then we can probably convince him to cooperate with us.
As soon as we explained our terms again and got a nod from Baek Saheon for both his understanding and his word that he would not make a sound when we ungagged him he immediately asks, in a serious hushed tone:
“What’s in it for me?”
I could almost hear Agent Bronze pop a vein behind me. Please stay calm Agent!
“We can give you second priority in the cassette tape exchange. As you might remember many of the items in this lodge have a very high monetary value. I estimate over a hundred million won from just the antiques in the living room alone.”
“...I have no interest in money. I’m already well compensated from my job.”
Are you kidding me?
“Also second priority? How do I know you’re not just going to take everything when you make your exchange first?”
Because it’s not real. It’s all money that won’t exist in the future when I go back to my world.
And there’s something worth more than all the money in this lodge that I can get with the cassette tapes.
“Because I also have no interest in money. What I want to do is end this ghost story.”
From the corner of my eye I could see Agent Bronze tense up. He must be surprised given I’ve never brought this up before. After all, many attempts have been made to try and gain some semblance of control over the disaster in the past with each ending in subsequent failure.
“What we’ve been working for all this time wasn’t just about saving the lives in this lodge right now but saving those who might’ve come here in the future.”
It’s something I thought about recently after consulting the previous exploration logs in place of sleeping. What do they mean when they say you can exchange your tapes for anything in the lodge?
“Unfortunately, I don’t have anything else to offer you right now beyond those reassurances. At the very least if not your cooperation I’d like to ask for your silence. For just a little bit longer.”
The idea of collaborating with those who put him in his current situation appeared to have left a bitter taste in Saheon’s mouth but his current wish to escape his binds first and foremost left him without much choice.
I knew he would eventually agree but even if he didn’t we could always just proceed as usual and continue to have him locked up until the third day while faking his untimely death.
With now a third of the people of this lodge acting on the scheme together and only three people left, things should be much faster and more efficient.
“You owe me after everything’s over.” he quietly complains as if he has any rights to make demands at the moment while rubbing at his once harshly tied wrists.
“Right. Of course.”
He’s treating me like I’m Agent Bronze’s superior rather than just some random guy. Does he think I also work for the bureau? This entire time?
Well. There’s no use correcting him. In any case let's continue with our original plans.
“You. Help me bring the body upstairs.” I commanded Baek Saheon but as soon as I turned to leave…
“No.” Agent Bronze stopped us. I turn back around confused and I’m met with his stern gaze.
“I’ll go with him instead. You need to return to your room and rest.”
Eh?
“I can’t really sleep after everything that has happened anyways. If anything, sir, you seem more tired than I am.” I deflected. Counting sheep, listening to lullabies or calming ambience, just sitting in the dark waiting for the lull of sleep to claim me. Trust me it’s all impossible… Being in the midst of the action is unfortunately much more preferable than being left alone with my thoughts.
“I appreciate your concern but I’m used to working under such conditions.
“Still. I can keep going…”
Agent Bronze however seems to disagree. “It’s dangerous to continue working your body to the point of exhaustion. You’ve done enough for today. Please leave it to the professionals.”
No matter how I tried to frame the current situation this seemed to be the one matter he's not willing to budge on. It got even worse when I tried to argue for total efficiency at one point to the morally upstanding agent. He even looked offended when I suggested as much.
Am I being pushed to the side now that he has a new assistant? I felt strangely disappointed. I thought our bond was stronger than this Agent…
Minutes after Agent Bronze confirmed that Kim Soleum had (dejectedly) left the basement for his room he hoists the headless body over his shoulder and motions for Baek Saheon to take the lead. He follows the Daydream employee from behind with his eyes focused solely on his back.
Out the basement, up to the second floor, to the left to the closest bedroom. An intense silence took over them that even the most clueless person would have picked up on.
Literally anyone else’s company would’ve been preferred right now.
It was obvious from the way Agent Bronze was treating the man. He wasn’t actually required here to assist in the operation. He was only paired with him to be surveyed.
Even when it came to tempering with the body all Baek Saheon was allowed to do was stand in the corner with his arms crossed as he watched the civil servant silently brutalize the corpse with an intense focus.
Neither of them so much as flinched when Agent Bronze slashed vertically into the torso with the effect of creating natural large splatters of blood on the floor. It’s just business after all.
Though, if Baek Saheon wasn’t already informed of their plan he would’ve thought the Agent was trying to unsubtly send him a message. Regardless, he already had zero intentions to interfere with the current escape method since he’s already been met with such hostile opposition for trying to before and it’s been proven there’s nothing to gain for doing so. If the agent doesn’t want his help then he won’t even lift a finger for him.
But for some reason…
He still felt like at least getting a word in.
They quietly and meaninglessly argue in circles for a good minute but of course they get the job done in the end and quickly split up to rest for the night after Saheon once again reassured the agent he wasn’t going to do anything beyond sleeping.
So he returned alone to the basement to finish preparations for the final day. But for some reason his mind kept drifting back to that person.
HIs heart panged as he was reminded about Kim Soleum’s situation. In a single day he had been attacked. Twice. And Agent Bronze wasn’t stupid enough to send him away out of sight with one of his attackers, much less someone from that company.
Even though in the end he’ll have to erase Kim Soleum’s memories he still feels a crushing guilt for having inadvertently put him through such terrifying situations.
For Kim Soleum’s sake he hopes they never meet again.
But selfishly, if possible, he still hopes to be able to talk to the man in the future.