It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story 038

The first sensation was dampness.

Clunk.

As I plunged my saltwater-soaked hand into the snake hole, an eerie cold crept over me, like dipping my hand into ink.

And then, I was sucked in.

“…!”

The suction starting from my hand quickly enveloped my entire body.

‘Air, I can’t breathe.’

It felt as if sheets of wet paper were clinging to me, tightening their hold.

In the murky dark, my vision spun and—

“Ugh!”

Thud.

I gasped in the cool air.

I opened my eyes.

Before me lay the night view of a local town, twinkling with neon signs instead of stars.

A fall night in Korea.

‘…I’m alive.’

It was real.

“Phew.”

As I stood shaky on my wobbly legs, I almost fell over.

Beneath my feet, blackish ink was oozing out.

“……”

Following the trail of ink with my gaze, I spotted an old ink painting smeared and faded on a piece of worn hanji paper.

It looked as if, after many years, the painting had completely blown away, only for fresh ink to be poured over it, rendering it unrecognizable…

‘…That must be one of those crazy paintings leading to the mountain from earlier.’

With a chilling sense of dread, I quickly averted my gaze to the people sprawled out on the floor instead.

One, two, three, four… seven. All accounted for.

It seemed like that painting had spat them out right after me.

“Ugh…”

“Are you okay?”

“Ugh… Huh?! O-outside!!”

Manager Lee Byeong-jin screamed while looking into thin air.

“Ha-ha!! I-I’m alive!! I made it!!”

With joy and tears glistening in his eyes, he turned to bow deeply toward me.

“Thank you for saving me…”

“You saved yourself, Manager. You were the one who maintained consciousness.”

“…Haha, how humble… I’m embarrassed. Yes.”

Manager Lee bowed his head, looking oddly moved.

Though it was more flattery than humility, I let him think otherwise.

“U-uh!?”

Next to regain composure were the middle schoolers, and while taking care of the kids, I heard an astonishing story.

“Is this where you’re having your school trip?”

“Yes!!”

Now that I thought about it, this place perfectly matched the description of ‘the pavilion behind our accommodation’ mentioned by them.

‘So we were all spit out here.’

…Fortunately, I hadn’t lost consciousness in that bizarre office in the basement of the company.

I didn’t stop the kids who were hugging each other and crying with relief, and instead warned them to be careful as they planned to rush downhill.

“Watch your step. Once you get down, meet an adult and call your parents, okay?”

But they seemed to be even more frightened.

“Aren’t you coming with us…??”

Uh… maybe not?

Whether being mistaken for a kidnapper or treated as a hero who saved them, the moment we reached the police station, the company likely wouldn’t be too happy about it…

‘As long as the kids get back safely, that’s all that matters.’

I shook my head gently.

“You guys need to go down by yourselves. We’ll take a different path. Don’t look back.”

I didn’t want them to trip.

“…! Yes.”

The kids seemed like they’d made a big decision, courage rekindling in them as they carefully leaned on each other and bravely trekked down the mountain.

‘Good.’

It was just a shallow mountain with well-maintained hiking trails, so it should take about five minutes to get down.

Just as I was watching the kids’ backs safely descend,

Tap tap.

“Excuse me…”

The Security Team Leader, who had managed to get up early, tapped my shoulder.

“Um, take this…”

“Oh.”

The Security Team Leader handed me a green mountain ginseng hanging from a stick.

‘You could’ve just left that behind.’

Anyway, I inadvertently accepted the unconscious ginseng, and the Security Team Leader turned to wobble away.

“…Where are you going?”

“To the company… I’m still on duty…”

Ah.

‘But we’re in Gyeongju, though.’

Aren’t you nearing the end of your shift by now?

Regardless, I followed along. I had to head to Seoul anyway.

Still carrying the sprawled-out graduate student, Ko Seon-ha.

‘Let’s drop her off in front of the police station on the way.’

Then—

“Aah, you two are from the Security Team, so you need to head back quickly! I’ll follow you! Hahaha! The missing persons you were looking for should head out too, right? Let’s go together!”

I glanced back at Manager Lee Byeong-jin.

His hurriedly approaching figure reminded me of a lackey worried about losing face.

Well, we’ve escaped, so… it might be about time to learn the truth.

“And, um, after everything’s settled, I’ll stop by your workplace to greet you again. Hehe, where does the Security Team work…?”

“No, you won’t.”

“…?”

“You won’t be able to meet me even if you come to the Security Team.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m part of the Field Exploration Team.”

A significant silence fell.

“But, oh, your outfit is from the Security Team,”

“I borrowed it…”

“…!?”

At the Security Team Leader’s words, confusion filled Manager Lee Byeong-jin’s face, but soon he seemed to piece together the situation in his mind.

“Ah! Ah! Then, you mean, uh, you don’t look familiar at all… do you not receive administrative support? Aah! Are you part of a special team or something? So that’s why you’re wearing a Security uniform…?”

“I’m a newbie.”

“……?”

“I’m a new employee from Group D.”

“…???”

*

The following events transpired quite quickly.

Manager Lee Byeong-jin yelled “lie” repeatedly until we returned to the company in Gyeongju, but once we confirmed my personnel documents at the office, he went back to a blank stare.

And contrary to expectations, he didn’t change his attitude… at least not yet.

‘Why?’

I expected him to look down on me as the new member of the Field Exploration Team, but surprisingly, he maintained a sense of decorum and continued to gauge my reactions.

He tried to sound casual, but…

“Uh, uh, Sol-eum! Did you hear? About the kids and the graduate student. Apparently, they made it back safe.”

A few days later, he informed us that those who had escaped with us were registered as civilian survivors at Daydream Corporation.

He also hinted that they likely received a pretty decent information reward.

“In a way, it’s ironic to say that your fortunes have turned, right? Huh? Life is like that.”

And that irony found its way to me, too.

“In any case, now you just need to trust me completely, Sol-eum!”

“……Um, yes.”

“Hahaha!”

Manager Lee Byeong-jin swiftly processed the manual review for me.

…Only for me.

‘Is it really okay to show up after missing a week of work like this?’

Well, regardless, it was a good deal for me.

The portal of Mountain Lord’s horror story was promptly collected under Dark Exploration Records by Daydream Corporation, and during that process, my solo escape method was also accepted as a manual.

Furthermore, my pending manual revision request from when I applied for Group A was approved at record speed.

So, the amount printed in my account was…

*
Review Payment: ₩100,000,000

“……”

‘This is insane.’

My hands trembled as I stared at the staggering amount.

The two darknesses that had passed the review turned into amounts I could have never imagined appearing in my banking app.

It felt like I was receiving money in a secondary way, and while it was not formal work allocation, when the amount was like this, my head began to spin.

‘Shouldn’t I try to tackle a lot of new darknesses while the manual reviewer is this favorable…?’

However, the thought of voluntarily encountering various ghosts and monsters made me feel paralyzed.

‘Let’s make sure to spend my 100 million well.’

What would be an appropriate use for it?

Actually, a portion of it was already earmarked for something.

The starting point of all this troubling business.

“Congratulations, Brown.”

-Ohhhh!

Bloodlust Bath – ₩29,999,999

= ₩29,999,999

Ready for purchase.

Fortunately, the alien shop still had the Bloodlust Bath available, and I could keep my promise to the moving stuffed doll.

‘Will the delivery come by mail again this time?’

I recalled the post office package that had suddenly been regurgitated from the air, feeling slightly dazed.

To my knowledge, the Bloodlust Bath was rather sizable, akin to a freestanding tub for a large household.

Its legs were adorned with gold foil, making it quite flashy, but how could that fit in a room-sized staff quarters?

‘…Should I order it from the restroom instead?’

First, I’d need to clear some space by shifting the bed and desk a bit in my room; ordering from the restroom wouldn’t work due to lack of space.

“…Alright. Now I’ll place the order.”

-I’m excited! My heart is racing!

In a room lit only by a flashlight, with a plush doll that had no heartbeat talking, I finally clicked the ‘order’ button.

Swoosh.

The space tore apart like the last few times. A tension filled the air.

However, the torn space was… smaller than I expected?

Thud.

The package was spat out.

The package… is small…?

“…?”

I opened a post office package that was less than a quarter of the anticipated size.

I saw a product box.

[Youngness’ Bath – Foot Massage Edition]

“……”

Somehow, this seems cheap.

Come to think of it, these guys seemed like they came from a home shopping horror story, and various editions and versions were likely recorded…

Except for a few specific ones, there isn’t much meaningful variation, just some fun details.

‘Still, I never thought there’d be a foot bath version.’

It even came with a shiny gold foil sticker and a warranty.

[10 Years Free A/S]

How utterly pointless…

‘Who would even request A/S for this?’

But regardless, I opened it.

As I had no record of accidentally drawing blood from touching the Bloodlust Bath when listed in Dark Exploration Records.

When I unwrapped the angular box like a regular electronic device, I found it covered in expensive packaging typical of high-end brands.

And as I peeled away the packaging, it finally revealed itself.

‘…Youngness’ Bath.’

Otherwise known as the Bloodlust Bath.

It was a black and white checked tub that seemingly shone with a hint of glaze, made of radiant ceramics.

The tub had graceful curves, supported easily by golden cat-like paws on all sides.

It looked quite impressive.

‘…Only excluding the fact that it’s a foot bath.’

However, someone with a perfectly fitting size for the tub seemed to be having quite the excitement.

-Doe! Please put me in there! With the bath additives…

Wait, does the Bloodlust Bath require…

“…You want my blood?”

-Yes! Very perceptive of you, Doe.

This lunatic.

For a moment, I contemplated persuasion and escape, but—

-Haha! Just kidding, Good Friend!

“…….”

-There’s no audience or camera, so why would I make unreasonable requests to my Friend?

But what about when there is an audience and camera?

Though I didn’t voice my thoughts. Normally, the one feeling regret should keep quiet.

Still, I couldn’t help but blurt out a single line.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t make those jokes. They aren’t funny and are quite scary.”

-Oh dear, understood. Humor is heavily influenced by culture, so I should always treat it carefully!

Is this really how you treat something carefully…?

-Anyhow, to get back to the point… wouldn’t there be something much more fitting to use as bath additives in this space?

-Oh, let’s see if our Doe can guess correctly!

Is there something like that in the staff quarters?

I turned my head.

‘Could it be the Baek Sa-heon next door…?’

No way. It couldn’t be.

Let’s exclude that and think about other possibilities… something caught my eye.

With a hesitant expression, I pointed to what had occupied one corner of my desk for several days.

“…This mountain ginseng?”

-Excellent!

Yes.

‘That cursed purple mountain ginseng that I inadvertently pilfered from the Mountain Lord horror story.’

‘Was it something like essence? Certainly felt like some blood-like substance was flowing from it.’

But this mountain ginseng had remained like ordinary ginseng for days despite its color being purple.

If it awoke, I was planning to throw all of it into a blender and then feed it back; if it couldn’t handle it, I would just donate it to the company. Surprisingly, it hadn’t awakened yet.

‘It felt foolish to have been so tense that morning when the sun rose…’

Brown had also commented on that being the case.

-You likely won’t wake up anytime soon. A weak beast will often play dead when sensing danger, right?

Was that possibly the spirit’s burial ground or something that dragged it from the realm of reality?

-Anyhow, Good Friend. If you’re concerned, I’ll keep an eye on it for you.

And nothing had gone wrong so far.

So, that means they want me to use this mountain ginseng.

‘Well, that might be worth a shot.’

If I didn’t hear any ghosts, it would just be processing juicy ginseng.

Besides… I honestly wanted to see how this Bloodlust Bath would operate.

‘It’s intriguing, after all.’

I was quite curious about it myself. That’s why I had been looking at the horror story wiki during breaks at work…

There weren’t many horror stories I could interact with even from images.

I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, where it’d function with juice instead of blood.

-Ohhhh!

I grabbed some rubber gloves and scissors from the kitchen.

A low, excited voice came from the monster plush doll under the bed.

-Now, please put me in the bathtub!

“Hold up.”

I had something to say before that.

“This bathtub is supposed to have effects on rejuvenation, but do you actually need rejuvenation? Hmm… you seem quite youthful already.”

I wanted to question whether such a concept even mattered to the doll, but I held back.

However, the plush doll burst out laughing. It was a smooth sound like the recorded effects of a show.

-Hahaha! You’re seeing rejuvenation too narrowly, my Friend! No worries. I’m here as an excellent understanding partner and conversationalist!

-‘Rejuvenation’ means… that’s right. In the cultural context of Hanja, it means ‘spring returns.’ So, in strict terms, it signifies ‘regaining the skill of one’s prime.’

-Interestingly, feeling heavy and being unable to maintain balance at this moment is precisely the effect I need!

Well… but you’re just a stuffed doll.

Moreover, the manual mentions it’s beneficial for ‘wound healing, fatigue recovery, arthritis treatment, skin beauty,’ etc.

‘…I don’t know.’

If you’re pushing that much…

The cases where you’re kind to stuffed dolls in a kind friend horror story typically don’t exist in the record of Dark Exploration Records.

Disasters had happened before when I ignored proper decorum.

I made a decision to stop thinking any deeper before I allowed my fear to take over.

Instead, I slipped on the rubber gloves, holding scissors in one hand and the mountain ginseng in the other.

‘Let’s give this a shot.’

And then I reached for the Bloodlust Bath.