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Out of everything that could have happened to me when I woke up here, this might be the best case scenario.
...
No, really! That's not sarcasm!
If I want to go home, I'll eventually need a wish ticket, and ending up right in the sordid grasp of Daydream Inc. is really, really good for me. I didn't even have to apply to get here!
Not to mention the boon I've been granted by the mysterious floating notepad (that used to be my merchbox) no one else seems to see.
'Ah, really, I don't even have to rack my brain to remember the entries of this darkness...'
This world must like me a lot!
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Dark Exploration Records / Ghost Stories
[Welcome to Abyss Transpo]
: A ghost story featured in <Dark Exploration Records>
: Daydream Inc. identification code – Qterw-D-16
An early-stage D-Class Darkness with overwhelmingly difficult escape requirements. A notoriously insane ghost story. Depicts the endlessly suffering Field Exploration Team.
Exploration Records indicate a total of up to 56 entries.
--------------------
It's not the hardest entrance test darkness Daydream would through their potential employees into; it's only a little complicated.
Of course, the wiki doesn't come with answers, I still have to find them on my own.
And, fortunately, while the trembling and pitiful civilians were trying their luck and kept dying for it, I read up on all of the entries and came up with a solution! Really, it's so helpful that no-name extras are completely dumb.
Although, I did meet one who seems clear headed enough... It would be fun to be coworkers with her in this company.
'Oh, I'm excited already!'
The more-or-less calm woman I'm referring to is currently sitting next to me, sitting quite a distance away from the other passengers. Originally, I was looking for a possible test dummy to throw at a station to see if I could figure out a pattern without the wiki, but I quickly aborted that idea when I heard the woman say this was 'like a ghost story'. What a smart NPC!
A woman with short hair and a calm demeanor muttered to herself, “Ha… this is like some YouTube ghost story.”
'Oh..!'
I perk up instantly, discarding my previous ideas,
“You mentioned a ghost story?”
“Ah,” she nodded slightly, looking a bit flustered, “Yes. I, um, watch ghost stories on YouTube sometimes, and this reminds me of one...!”
We became friendly fast, possibly due to the unconceivable situation unfolding around us.
Eventually, the innocent looking man who had sat next to me in the auditorium came up to us. It seemed like this new hire wasn’t part of any of the other conversations happening around us. He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced between the woman I was talking to and I before settling his gaze on me.
'I guess he figured out which one of us was more reliable.'
He talked like he was sucking up to us (read: me), so I figured he just wanted to live this situation and found the calmest looking people. At first, I thought I had hit the jackpot with my two new dependable lackeys, but then the newcomer said his name.
“My name is Baek Saheon.”
“……!”
I nearly forgot to shake his hand for a moment.
Baek Saheon?
‘He’s a named character.’
--------------------
Dark Exploration Records / Daydream Inc.
/ Characters
Baek Saheon
: An employee of Daydream Inc. in <Dark Exploration Records>
Final rank – Section Chief
Total number of Exploration Records – 106
Of these, 17 are special cases recorded in the wiki.
Nickname : Viper.
--------------------
'Oh! It's this character.'
He was an employee who had appeared multiple times in <Dark Exploration Records>.
I looked up and stared at the man with the somewhat timid-looking curly hair, barely hiding the way my eyes lit up in recognition.
‘This guy is Baek Saheon?’
He doesn’t really match the image in my head.
It felt exciting and a little strange to meet someone in real life who I had only seen as a text-based character in a ghost story universe.
Especially a character I had enjoyed reading about so much.
'Despite his nickname, 'Viper', his personality isn't even that vicious!'
The reason I had enjoyed the entries that starred Baek Saheon so much was purely due to his desperation for survival. In his earlier explorations he hesitated a lot, but he eventually grows into the section chief that will do anything to survive, even if it means sacrificing his teammates!
It's fun, right?
Well, in my opinion the nickname isn't really fitting, but the author on the wiki had argued with me in the comments, claiming it was born from the rumors of Baek Saheon's peers in-world, since there were no living witnesses for how he truly acted in darknesses where he came out alone.
“Given the situation, we might as well introduce ourselves. I’m Go Yeongeun.”
It was a name I’d never heard before. And if I didn't know a character’s real name, it means one of two things. Either she left early after handling the ghost stories relatively easily…
Or, she died right away.
Sometimes, named employees only appear with nicknames or code names, but in those cases, their personalities are so distinct that you can identify them immediately.
'I already wanted to get off the train with her, but now I'm really interested in this smart seeming NPC.'
I lightly shook my head, hiding the smile that was unintentionally growing on my face and pushed that unreasonable thought from my head.
"I'm Kim Soleum." I nod in greeting.
The handshakes were brief, and we naturally sat down in the subway seats to continue our conversation.
In the meantime, it felt like the people around us had started to split into groups.
“Ah, those people… it looks like they’re trying to communicate with the front car somehow?”
“Seems so.” I reply, disinterestedly.
In this ghost story, moving between subway cars is prohibited.
'Shouldn't they know that from the fact there's no sound whatsoever coming from either car...? Seriously.'
As expected, they soon gave up trying to communicate and returned, using hand gestures to signal their failure.
“What should we do? We can’t communicate with the front car at all. And it looks like there’s a fight breaking out up there…”
As the tension and anxiety among the passengers grew, another station announcement played.
[This stop is Euphoria, Euphoria Station.]
“Huh?”
The murmuring crowd suddenly fell silent.
“Euphoria?”
“Doesn’t ‘euphoria’ sound kind of… positive? Maybe…”
Ugh, no.
‘You can’t make such a simple judgment here!’
I know they're just unnamed extras, but they can't seriously be this dumb, can they?
In this ghost story, the station names change every time it appears.
That’s why it’s impossible to find a specific phrase or station like ‘get off at this station’ or ‘this station is the answer’ in the previous cases to guarantee an escape.
‘But you can identify trends.’
Like this.
--------------------
Dark Exploration Records / Ghost Story
/ Welcome to Abyss Transpo
3.2 Exploration Records (up to 56 entries)
1- Stations named after colors. (ex: red, yellow, blue,)
: Two-person escape success (Attempt : Blue Station)
2- Stations named after body parts. (ex: left arm, cornea, heart,)
: No recorded escape success (Attempt : Cochlea Station)
3- Stations named after serial killers. (ex: ■■, ■■■■, ■■■,)
: Twelve-person escape success (Attempt : ■■■■ Station)
4- Stations named after years. (ex: 2008, 2012, 2016,)
: No recorded escape success (Attempt : 2024 Station)
5- Stations named after illnesses. (ex: asthma, stroke, glaucoma,)
: Three-person escape success (Attempt : Cold Station)
[Read More]
--------------------
See?
Even after 56 cases, there’s no connection between the station’s positive name and the likelihood of escape.
'Well, these people don't have the wiki, but still...'
[The doors are on your left…]
The scenery of the platform that greeted us was reassuring and pleasant; it looked clean and radiant, like a brand-new station in a newly developed city.
Woah!
'It kind of makes me want to get off here too, haha!'
People start speaking up, hopeful,
“Ah…!”
“Sh-Should we get off and look for help? This place actually looks fine…”
The excited crowd started to gather near the doors, peeking out.
'Just get off already, don't try to drag us with you.'
I scoff in my head, turning to my two companions who both had conflicted faces--
Suddenly, Go Yeongeun jumped up and blocked the doors with her body.
“……!”
Ah, seriously, she was this kind of person?
Sighing, I stood up from the seat and deliberately stood in Go Yeongeun's line of sight, making it seem as if I was encouraging her.
“W-what’s going on?”
[The doors are opening.]
“Please wait,” she pleads, “Are you certain?”
“What…?”
“Are you sure? I mean, are you sure this place is safe?” She turns her gaze across the crowd of shell-shocked civilians, "Haven't you seen what happened to the other people who got off at all the stations before us? How can you be so sure...!"
"Ugh-- Those stations all had negative sounding names, r-right? This one is positive, so..." A timid looking woman in a pristine suit argues weakly, avoiding eye contact with everyone.
A man from the other side of the crowd speaks up and steps forward, "Right! Why are you trying to stop us...? How can you be sure, yourself? If you don't want to get off that's fine, but we all want to live!"
'Tsk...'
Even if I don't particularly agree with Go Yeongeun's decision, it's annoying that these idiots are convinced their decision is correct when listening to Go Yeongeun would save their uninteresting lives.
[The doors will close in 30 seconds. Once closed, they will never open again.]
Go Yeongeun's face twists into something depressing, before she slowly drops her arms back to her sides and drops her head as she steps out of the way.
[Passengers whose destination is Euphoria Station should disembark according to the announcement.]
The scared and unthinking people file out of the train leaving only a few trembling stragglers.
‘I wasn't planning to escape together with them, anyway.’
In fact, I'm kind of excited at what kind of excruciating death they'll end up having for refusing to listen to Go Yeongeun's sound advice.
[The doors are closing…]
The doors closed behind them, damning them to their choice.
Go Yeongeun's face was still towards the floor, refusing to look out the window.
'......!'
The platform floor began to boil with a yellow hue under the crowd's feet, and they started sinking into the ground as if melting.
Screams of pain from being boiled alive sounded through the now mostly empty train car.
One of the few remaining extras made a gagging noise and mumbled under her breath,
“G-Gold…?”
It was a bizarre sight, as if their lower bodies were turning into gold and fusing with the floor.
They screamed and struggled to run, but their movements grew slower and slower…
Until finally, their bodies collapsed, leaving only their upper halves, which tumbled forward at the base of the stairs.
Even those were turning into shining gold.
The easiest way to experience happiness.
"Heh."
Oh, oops.
I quickly cover my mouth and look around me, but it seems luck is once again on my side, as no one seemed to hear the laugh that slipped out of my mouth.
'Ugh, this is their fault, seriously... Please go melt some more.'
The stench of bile wafts through the train car. I guess the woman who gagged before actually threw up.
'Gross.'
[The train is now departing from Euphoria Station.]
Inside the departing train car, only the sounds of dry heaving and sobbing filled the air.
I shrug lightly and approach Go Yeongeun,
"...You know that's not your fault, right?"
Her head snaps up, and I notice tears falling off her cheeks.
'...Seriously???'
"Ah, um, yes, thank you, Soleum-ssi..." She sniffs and hastily wipes her face, before giving me an unsteady smile
"......"
"Well, I just..." her eyes wandered to something behind me, "I couldn't let those people die without at least trying, but I guess I'm bad at convincing people."
"Not everyone got off, you saved some people. Don't beat yourself up about something like this..." I close my eyes and rub at my neck, "There was probably no convincing those people, really. They were far too scared to be reasoned with and there wasn't enough evidence to prove them wrong. You did what you could."
Go Yeongeun nods her head and lightly bows to me, "I... I probably would have given up halfway through if you hadn't encouraged me, so, thank you. And you're right, at least I saved some people..."
I smile back and lead her back to where Baek Saheon was still seated.
Just as Go Yeongeun sits down Baek Saheon looks at her and speaks up,
"What you did was..." he pauses, "admirable, Teacher."
"Huh, 'Teacher'?" Go Yeongeun flushes.
“Oh, I tend to call people ‘Teacher’ when I meet them.” He awkwardly smiled and added, “There aren’t many people like you these days. You know, people who want to save everyone instead of just themselves..."
'Oh, did this punk decide to switch who he was buttering up just because she happened to get one thing right? Hah,'
"......"
"I really hope we can all get out of here together. You were right about that station, so I'm sure your instincts are good!"
Wait.
I had missed something while being annoyed at those idiots.
‘If there’s a record of Baek Saheon working as an employee in <Dark Exploration Records>, that means he passed this entrance exam, right?’
Why is he acting so submissive right now? I mean, shouldn't he perhaps have an idea of what station to get off at?
'Oh, maybe he used Go Yeongeun then too?'
The three of us continue a mindless, casual conversation to lighten the mood and pass the time, before...
Ding, ding.
[Attention passengers, this is an announcement from Abyss Transpo to ensure a pleasant journey. Please pay attention.]
The announcement started again.
Baek Saheon, who was in the middle of his sentence, abruptly stops to listen to the announcement.
[The train is about to pass through a curved section, which may cause noise and shaking.]
[Please be seated to prevent accidents.]
Everyone who was left in their car was already sitting, minus that one woman who had gotten sick earlier. She was curled up on the ground, unconscious.
Go Yeongeun looks at her worriedly but ends up not saying anything.
[Entering the curved section…]
The lights went out.
“……!”
In the Darkness, the train began to shake violently with a loud rumble.
And amidst the rumbling, a sharp noise rang out.
Screams from the other car.
"Aaaaaah!!"
"Agh, ah, ahhh…"
The sound of something wet bursting.
Like squeezing a ripe grape too hard.
A loud popping sound erupts from the side of the car the woman who was laying on the floor was.
"......"
I can feel Go Yeongeun shaking next to me.
'Why did she have to die in her sleep after making the entire car smell like puke? Has my luck ran out?'
The rest of the people in this car held their breath, trembling faintly, trying to stay silent.
Then the lights came back on.
I could see, everyone in the car was deliberately avoiding looking at the corner the woman used to be in.
'......'
I move my body slightly, blocking the view from Go Yeongeun and Baek Saheon if they decide to look in this direction.
"O-oh, thanks..." Baek Saheon nodded slightly, though his eyes still avoided looking towards me.
[You may now stand up safely. Thank you for your cooperation.]
"Hiic..!" Go Yeongeun suddenly let out a wet sound, pressing her face into her palms.
"......!"
"Ugh, I-I'm sorry. I just..."
I lightly pat her back,
"It's fine, Yeongeun-ssi. Anyone would cry in this situation." I pause, "Actually, it's impressive you've gone this long without crying."
"Yea...!" Baek Saheon adds, "You shouldn't apologize for crying in such a weird situation..."
Go Yeongeun stays quiet as she gets up and goes to sit by herself.
"Ah... I guess it would still be embarrassing to cry in front of other people..." Baek Saheon mutters to himself.
[Attention passengers, this is an announcement from Abyss Transpo to ensure a pleasant journey. Please pay attention.]
Another announcement.
Baek Saheon flinches, “What? Again?”
[There is a lost item.]
Wait a second.
I looked up sharply.
[If you’ve found the lost item, please disembark at the next station and hand it over to the station staff.]
I knew this scenario.
‘…A rare escape case!’
--------------------
Dark Exploration Records / Ghost Story /
/ Welcome to Abyss Transpo
3.4 Miscellaneous Records (Escape)
A document recording irregular survival cases where the individual successfully escaped by getting off at a station.
Several methods were repeatedly observed. (The most frequent cases involved ‘temporary stops for train intervals’ and ‘lost item announcements’.)
--------------------
A guaranteed escape ticket.
As long as you had the announced lost item, you could safely get out.
But…
‘Only one person can escape.’
It's kind of boring, too.
And then…
[The lost item is the left eye of a type-A male in his twenties.]
'Well, for a ghost story that's not that shocking. Haha, it matches me too!'
But, for some reason...
"......!"
Baek Saheon seems shocked.
'......?'
Oh, now that I'm looking, me and Baek Saheon are the only men left in this car...?
Not that there's that many women, either.
'There's only five people here, wow!'
...
Actually.
He must've escaped like this in the first place.
I turn to Baek Saheon and speak to him in a hushed voice,
“Type-A must be referring to… blood type, right?”
He flinches,
"Oh, yes! Probably."
"......"
"......"
"You match the description, right?"
"......!"
"Hey, you should go."
"W-What?"
Let's lie.
"I don't match that, so it must be you, right?" Actually, that's not even how this event works, and it does match me, "And, even though I have a slight idea as to what the solution might be, I'm not completely confident." I already know exactly what the answer is, it's just that a station that fits the criteria hasn't shown up yet, "I think at least one person deserves to get off."
[This stop is Anger, Anger Station.]
"Wait, you..." He looks at me seriously, "What's the solution? I mean, what do you think?"
I purse my lips slightly,
"Have you noticed the announcements?"
"Uh..."
"No, I mean, have you noticed how they're so literal?"
"......!"
"It tells you to sit, and if you don't you die. We must need to get off at something we either 'want' or something we 'don't have'."
"Oh! That... sounds like it could be correct!"
"Right, but... still. If I'm wrong, you should get off. Someone should live."
[The doors are on your right.]
Baek Saheon furrows his eyebrows and looks at me with a complicated expression.
'Did he like that? I'm glad'
[The doors are opening.]
He huffs out what must be a laugh and bows lightly as he passes me to exit the train with a carefree smile on his face.
Baek Saheon stands there for a while, perhaps waiting to see the train off, completely confident in this decision.
[The doors are closing.]
Go Yeongeun, who just noticed Baek Saheon had left the car, hurries up to me,
"Why is he off the train...?"
"He matches the lost item, so he decided to go."
The doors slide shut, and I press myself up against the window, making sure to prepare a shocked expression in advance.
[The train is now departing from Anger Station.]
The train began to move.
I smile lightly and wave to Baek Saheon, who nods back.
As the train moves I see sharp mechanical arms coming down from the ceiling and holding him in place, before aiming for his left eye.
I make sure he sees my shocked expression before neither of us can see the other.
Faintly, in the distance of the departing platform, I could hear the agonized screams of Baek Saheon enduring a strange kind of pain.
[The lost item has been successfully handed over to the station staff.]
One person had escaped the ghost story.
But, they did so with an eye gouged out.
"A-Ah..." Go Yeongeun stutters out, worriedly.
"I'm confident he's fine. I mean... maybe that was just," I pause, scrunching my face in faux-disgust, "him... returning the lost item."
"...Right."
* * *
I ended up clearing the darkness with Go Yeongeun (and, sequentially, the other two women from the car) in tow.
In the end Baek Saheon, Go Yeongeun, and I were the only survivors of our train car.
In total, only 12 people were hired.
'I was the top rookie too! I didn't know I would get something extra for it, but I'm glad I did.'
I also found out my family and friends didn't really exist in this world so...
I'm moving into the company housing.
It was quick!
In less than an hour after inquiring at the front desk, I was assigned a room number, given a key, and even an address. The location wasn’t bad, either.
Of course, it wasn’t out of the goodness of their hearts to make things convenient for employees.
‘If they want to exploit me around the clock, it makes sense to keep the wage slaves nearby…’
Still, the building looked like a decent officetel. It was clean, recently remodeled, and had solid security.
Considering ‘company housing’ is usually a perk for working in remote areas, this was absurdly generous.
‘Since I have nowhere else to stay, why not move in?’
When I bumped into Go Yeongeun outside the officetel, she told me,
“Did you hear? Seven of us got company housing.”
“……?”
That’s over half of us.
It seemed like Go Yeongeun had also come here to move in. They gave me a sheepish look, noticing my stare.
“It’s a bit scary, but since we’re already hired… turning down a free place near the subway would be hard to justify…”
“…Right.”
Exactly. In capitalism, money is the scariest thing.
“It seems like those who came from outside the city got notified about the housing and signed up as soon as they were hired.”
“That makes sense.”
Now I understand. The new hires had already celebrated and accepted the housing, making it hard for them to back out.
I had wondered how they arranged my room so quickly, but now it made sense.
‘The room I’m getting must have belonged to one of the new hires who didn’t survive the death game…’
I had to fight to keep the smirk off my face.
Anyway, after exchanging a few more words with Go Yeongeun, I headed up to the 12th floor, where my room was located.
'Oh, there's a second room. I get a roommate!'
As I slide my shoes off in the entrance, I see him.
'...This world really does love me, huh?'
Baek Saheon was sitting in the living room.
A smile spreads across my face as he turns to face me, having heard the door close behind me.
He's wearing a white medical eyepatch.
'A dopamine rush every single time I see my roommates face...'
Careful, I might end up crushing on you...
"Oh, hey."
He nods in response to my greeting and says,
"...I'm kind of glad you ended up my roommate."
What?
"Um..."
"Oh, I just mean..." his face turns red, "It's only because of you that I'm alive and, well, rooming with a stranger or... being alone is a little..." he trails off.
Unwittingly, a laugh escapes my mouth,
"I understand. I would be scared to live alone in this officetel too."
Baek Saheon, still red in the face, turns his head away,
"Ah, I'm glad," he pauses, "Oh, and, I don't... blame you for my eye. If you were worried about that."
...
I wonder what kind of face he's making.