Work Text:
Have you ever encountered the supernatural?
The paranormal where everyone is afraid of. The unknown that is the primal fear of every living being since the beginning of time.
Well, I worked with them on the technical sense. My job is merely investigating these instances happening in real life and figured out what’s the source of them. My day-to-day is something like getting calls or looking up strange phenomena appearing on obscure forums. I then go on site to investigate these things and pray that I somehow end these supernatural things from happening. Usually it goes smoothly, but occasionally I picked up a few items that helped me out. I have to point out that this is a side hustle and not my main job. I still have a day job aside from this.
But why do I choose to do this thing?
It was mainly out of curiosity for the unknown.
At least that’s what I tell myself most of the time.
But really, It all stemmed from an incident from my childhood.
I was caught up in something like this before. Unexplainable phenomena and circumstances made it hard for anyone to believe my story. I was saved by a kind stranger whose name I was never given. I only remembered these words he said.
“This world is full of these ghost stories. Many lived in oblivion, but sometimes our worlds converge. And when that happens, incidents like yours become inevitable. There’s not much we can do about it. We can only live with this knowledge going forward and hope others didnt’t experience what you did today.”
Ever since that day, I tried to warn others but who would believe the words of a kid?
I gotten myself more involved into the supernatural as I grew. I started a blog detailing any incidents I could find and guides on how to avoid these phenomena. I then started this side job of doing these investigations myself after graduating from university.
Other than that, there was the sense of accomplishment that came from ending some of these supernatural events from happening again or saving someone from these disasters. It reminded me og that man who saved me. It also makes me feel like a secret agent of sorts.
And so here I am.
I was technically working on a case.
I was supposed to be in a cold storage, presumed to be a gateway to another dimensional space.
People who have went missing in this cold storage described it as a neverending corridor. No matter how long they continued on walking, they were still in the storage area. Surrounded by metal hooks and cut meat. The stench of blood lingering in the air. Chopping sounds heard. Every chop on the cutting board with force pounding down on the wood. Sometimes they hear people screaming for their lives. Guttural noises after each scream.
I was tasked with finding a missing person in this cold storage. I am now an hour into my exploration of this cold storage.
Had I known there would be blood dripping on me, I would wear an old T shirt.
Trudging through endless slabs of hanging meat with fresh blood dripping from them was not what I have expected. Mostly meat in the cold storage had the blood drain from them before being placed but I have no idea what’s the process for this facility.
After moving several sections of meat, the cold was starting to get to me. I didn’t bring along an jacket and that’s my oversight when preparing for this investigation.
Thud! Thud!
The sounds came from far behind.
Those were probably the footsteps of the entities of this cold storage facility.
I decided to hide within the meat until the sounds disappeared. The sounds shifted closer, getting closer step by step until it’s within my vincity.
I held my breathe as the sounds appeared to be right beside me.
Clank! Cling!
The footsteps then got further with each sound slowly getting quieter until nothing was heard.
I continued my journey.
After a few minutes, a slightly ajar door appeared within my sight.
Thud! Thud!
Oh no, not again.
And so, I ran towards the door, slipped through the tight gap and hid behind it.
I can hear my breathing very loudly and my heartbeat within my eardrums as I anticipate what’s going to happen.
Unfortunately, Lady Luck was not smiling at me.
The door was pushed open, almost closing right onto me as I leaned against the wall.
It was either getting crushed to death or getting chopped alive by those creatures and I didn’t want either.
I dashed out of there for my life and I ran as fast as I could.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
They’re after me!
I dashed through the slabs of hanging meat, praying that I could get them off my back within the sea of red.
I kept running without looking back until I saw a familiar sign.
It was the sign depicting an exit route.
I saw that on my way in.
Sorry, missing person but I have to come back another time to get you. I too valued my own life.
I took a quick look around to see that the coast was clear before running towards the exit door.
I finally got out of the cold storage.
Back into Seoul… I think.
The alleyway was the same as how I went into the cold storage.
The street I walked into was the same.
It was nighttime when I entered the cold storage.
It was now daytime.
I had my watch on and it showed that I was only in there for two hours.
I should note that in my blog later.
When I walked into the main street, the street name was the same as it was on the sign.
The scenery around me didn’t change.
I checked my phone.
The date is right.
I checked my location.
I was at the same location as I was last night. I didn’t teleport.
At least I don’t think so.
But I have the omnious feeling that something is wrong and I can’t tell what.
I continued walking through the streets on the way back to my apartment.
I was waiting by a bus stop when I noticed people’s eyes on me.
Every direction I looked around, their eyes looked away but the moment they left my sight, I could feel their stare on me again.
I don’t think I carried anything that would draw attention to me.
I looked down to see that I had forgotten his blood stained shirt.
Yeah, I have to take care of this now.
I rushed to the nearest clothing store and came out with a new shirt and my blood stained one in my bag.
Despite having changed, people were still staring at me no matter where I go.
It’s unsettling.
I went back to the same bus stop as before, but this time on top of the stares I’ve been getting, there were whispers amongst the people around me.
Though I didn’t have social anxiety, these things still made me self-conscious.
A girl with short hair then approached me. She wore a smile.
“Hi, sorry to bother you but I love your Kim Soleum cosplay. It’s really realistic. In fact, me and my friend have been thinking of approaching you for a picture in case you don’t mind.”
Wait a minute.
Kim Soleum? That’s my name.
Cosplay? I’m not wearing anything in particular though. I was still wearing my everyday clothes.
Seeing the look of enthusiam in her eyes, I couldn’t refuse. It was just a simple photo. It wouldn’t hurt to take one after all.
“Sure… I don’t mind.”
Her eyes then shone with a bright beam. She then glanced back towards the crowd, excitedly signalling for someone to join her.
“Saheon-ah! He said sure!”
A man with an eyepatch walked out of the crowd. Despite being the same height as me, I could tell he was nervous?
“Don’t mind him. He’s just shy because he’s a big fan of the game.” The girl laughed it off.
“Look here. 3, 2, 1, and cheese!” She turned her phone to selfie mode and took it. I gave an awkward smile and a peace sign.
“Thank you so much! I hope you have a nice day!” I noticed my bus was here just as she thanked me.
“I have to go now. Bye.”
I hurried for my bus.
“Yihak and Heoun are going to be so jealous. Hehe! And you. I don’t see you usually this quiet at all.” I heard the girl teasing him as I got on the bus.
“It’s not everyday I see a cosplay of my 2D crush, ok? And it was a really good cosplay. Almost like it’s the real thing in front of me.”
That’s because I am a real person and have the name Kim Soleum…
Well, obviously this wasn’t the world I’m familiar with.
That girl mentioned something about a game too.
Well, would you look at that?
The first search result that came through is a game named Ghost Story Logs. The main character is a man named Kim Soleum, who worked as a accountant in the day. He also investigates supernatural phenomena that happens in his world which he coined as ‘ghost stories’. It’s an open exploration world with ghost stories inspired by many real life references.
Hey…
This sounded exactly like my life…
I guessed I shouldn’t be too surprised when the supernatural coexists in my world and that the existence of alternate universes exist too…
But how did I managed to get here in the first place??
Maybe this game had something related to it.
I also noted the reviews of this game had been very good. It is immensely popular across various age groups. Guess that explained the stares…
But I had just transmigrated. What about my personal things?
I scurried through my bag. My ID, wallet, and bank cards were still there. Nothing was missing. Speaking of which, I was able to use my transport card just fine with no interruption. It was valid here in this other world.
Wait!
My contacts!
I searched my phone and the contacts of everyone I knew were gone…
I looked up their addresses and they aren’t valid.
They don’t exist in this world…
I’m all alone in this world…
Could I even go back?
[XX XX Stop]
That’s my stop. I then alighted the bus.
Maybe the supernatural is a natural occurance here?
There’s this item I have that I rarely used because I don’t have the source of power to sustain it.
A candle that never melts. The flame that engulfed it when alit, is a Dokkaebi flame.
But the only flame to light this candle is one from a dying candle, a candle stick on its last few millimetres of wax left, mere seconds away from consuming the entire candle. It is at this very exact second that the Dokkaebi candle must be lit for it to be lited. And I don’t have much candles around me to attempt this…
But that’s my only way of knowing whether the supernatural in this world is as prominent as it was in my world.
I know there’s a provisional store near my apartment.
I can get some candles there and attempt to light up the Dokkaebi candle.
I had to take another train back to my place from where I am right now.
While waiting for the train, I caught the attention of more people who recognised the character from the game.
"Oh my god! I'm a big fan of the game!" A man in a police officer attire approached me while on duty. Was he allow to do that while he's visibly busy on the job?
"Hey! Jaekwan-ah! Remember that game we played yesterday! There's a cosplayer here!" He shouted towards the crowd within the station. This caught more attention to us…
Another man in police attire had arrived shortly, seemingly very annoyed at his colleague's antics.
He shook his head slightly and sighed. "Sunbae... How many times have I told you not to shout like that in public places?"
"What? Your favourite character is right here. See! Kim Soleum in the flash!" He had a cheeky grin from ear to ear. It seemed like Jaekwan here had withstand this too many times.
"Even so. People are going to think something is going on when nothing is. Especially when we are both wearing the uniform, Sunbae."
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Got too excited. Heh!"
"Um... Can I help you with anything?" I finally cut into the conversation.
"Don't worry, Citizen. We are very surprised by your cosplay. That's all. It's not everyday you see someone in cosplay especially when there was no conventions nearby today."
That made a lot of sense.
"Yeah, right..."
"But can we get a photo with you. And also your account handle afterwards?"
"Oh, I don't have a cosplay account."
"Such a shame. You would have blown up in popularity for sure. We would have probably follow you too. Anyways, we should get back to what we're doing. It was great getting to see a cosplayer of Kim Soleum. Bye!"
Before I could say another word, the sunbae between them took a quick selfie which caught me off guard. Since when did they get into place for a photo? Both men then disappeared into the crowd as if they weren't just here talking to me a while ago.
Damn. That was a strange encounter…
Nevermind that. The train was able to arrive.
A train…
It always reminded me of the first ghost story I got into.
The one from my childhood.
I don’t know what else to call it other than "Train from Hell”.
I was only a kid and boarded a train without my parents accompanying me. I was nine, and thought I was a big boy then, old enough to take the train alone to get home from my grandparent’s house which was a few stations away. I had taken it so many times so I thought I made it home easily.
I was so wrong.
I boarded the train and didn’t realise I was the only one in the carriage.
Then the annoucements came.
Going on about train stations I have never heard before.
I was so scared that I thought I had died and entered a purgatory for naughty kids.
Knowing that none of the names were the ones I was familiar with, I stay put in the carriage, silently crying about what happened to me.
I didn’t know exactly how long I was in the carriage.
After what seemed like eternity, there was finally someone else who boarded the train.
An adult.
I immediately cried out and clinged onto him for my dear life.
I was no longer alone.
That man who boarded was the man who had saved me from that train.
In the middle of reminiscense, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
I looked over to a blonde man with a hand held camera in his hand.
“Hello! My chat noticed you in the background of my stream and wanted me to ask if you don’t mind appearing for a while?”
The blonde man spoke very fluent Korean and that was what surprised me the most.
“Who are you?”
I blinked at the man in front of me.
“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Braun, an upcoming entertainer to the industry, ready to show this world just how amazing the industry can be and as a host, I will make sure that the audience will be pleased with my programmes.”
“Nice to meet you… I don’t mind being on the stream for a while…”
“No, thank you for gracing my stream with your presence.”
Braun then faced the camera towards me.
“Um.. Hi? I don’t know what to say honestly. This is my first time being on a stream.” I said whatever that was on my mind, panicked and unsure of myself in front of the camera.
“You’re doing fine for your first time. Some people just stuttered the whole time. You’re a natural, Mr…?” Braun dragged the end of “Mister” longer than he should.
“Kim. Mr Kim. Just like the character that your audience must have told you about.”
“You’re right.” Braun feigned surprise. “They noticed you bear an identical resemblance to the character, Kim Soleum, from the popular game Ghost Story Logs. Are you secretly the model they used to reference for the character?”
“No. I’m just a cosplayer.” I joked.
“Wow, I could hardly tell that you’re wearing a wig or have makeup on. Maybe I should hire you to be on my makeup team.”
“It’s fine. I love my current job.”
[XX Stop]
“Oh. That’s my stop. It was nice meeting you.” I hurried off the train.
“The pleasure is ours. I have a feeling we will meet again, Mr Kim.” Braun bidded his farewells as I got off the train.
I lied.
This was not my stop.
I didn’t want Braun to continue pushing personal questions on me before it’s revealed that my life is very similar to the one in the game and before they connect any dots.
I took the next train, got off and bought the candles I need from the provisional store.
I got to my place.
The same address.
It appeared as the same as it did in my world.
I entered my password and the door unlocked.
Inside the apartment, everything was just as I would have left in my world.
It was as if I had never left.
I settled my stuff down.
I took out the candles.
After many attempts, I finally got a spark of blue light on the Dokkaebi Candle but it didn’t stay lit.
I tried again.
The same result.
And again.
Still the same result.
I guess this was it.
The answer to my question.
This world has no ghost stories.
I didn’t know how or where to start looking for a way home.