‘It’s been a productive day.’
Forty million won in additional income—truly an excellent decision.
‘It feels like I’ve set up a discreet but regular side hustle.’
Various ideas on how to spend today’s forty million won floated through my mind, especially considering the newly opened areas in the company following my promotion.
And, of course, the plush doll who had keenly noticed my gains was subtly making its own desires known.
– Phew, after all these outings, I feel so stiff. I’d like a bath…
Not happening. I can’t exactly swipe a blood pack from a hospital, can I?
– Of course, I can endure it. I’m a very good friend, after all…
Hmm, while a blood bath might be impossible, maybe I could at least hand-wash the plushie, I guess.
That was the kind of idle chatter I planned to engage in with Braun to pass the evening—until someone burst into my room.
“You!!”
“……!”
It’s Baek Saheon.
Wait, the guy who never even left his own room had just barged into mine without so much as a knock?
Before I could even call him out on his rudeness, I realized something.
He was practically in a state of panic.
“What does this mean…! What kind of mess have you dragged me into?”
In his hand was his smartphone, and on the screen was my message.
[Kim Soleum: watch out for serial killers]
I had sent it earlier today as a warning.
But seriously—
“I didn’t drag you into anything.”
“……”
“You must have made the wrong choice.”
– Mr. Roe Deer, your ‘work colleague’ picked up an item, and now he’s going to die in a brutal way!
Baek Saheon’s face turned pale.
‘Looks like something just went down, coinciding with my message.’
He’s not dead yet, so he could contact the company and handle it himself, right?
As I started to head outside, not wanting to get dragged into this mess—
– Oh dear, can you hear that?
– It seems your coworker’s time is almost up, Mr. Roe Deer.
“……”
What?
Hmm, hmm-hmm, hmmmm, hmm-hmm-hmm.
A soft humming began to fill the air.
Its source was unmistakably Baek Saheon.
But his lips weren’t moving at all.
…Which could only mean one thing.
“You’ve picked up something you shouldn’t have, didn’t you?”
“……”
Pale-faced, Baek Saheon reached into his pocket and pulled something out.
A cassette player.
Its aged, ivory body was grimy, and traces of a label hastily scratched off with a pen were visible.
Hmm, hmm-hmm, hmmmm, hmm-hmm-hmm.
The humming grew louder, emanating from the tape.
An unmistakable, ominous… signal.
– The time has come.
Time to run.
I immediately stood up and bolted out of the dorm.
The problem was that Baek Saheon scrambled to follow me!
“Throw away the tape first!”
“I already threw it! Out the window!”
Then stop following me!
– It’s too late.
– Oh dear, Mr. Roe Deer… You’ve seen the item too. You’re part of the story now. You’ve become part of the sacrifice selection process.
– But as a talented and entertaining guest, you were bound to be involved sooner or later!
Hah.
‘Why can’t this idiot take care of his own mess without dragging me into it…!’
I even gave him several warnings! Isn’t he supposed to be a named employee in a ghost story company?!
Frustration boiled in my chest, but there wasn’t time to vent. I just ran faster.
‘First, let’s put some physical distance between us.’
As long as I hadn’t fully fallen into the creepypasta’s grasp, creating some space might help.
I sprinted as far from the company dorm as I could, heading toward the bus stop.
As soon as a bus arrived, I hopped on.
Beep.
The sound of my transportation card being scanned was followed by another beep from behind me.
Baek Saheon.
‘Why is this lunatic following me?’
Doesn’t he have even a shred of conscience to let the person who warned him avoid being dragged into this?
Actually, no. He’s a complete sociopath.
Anyway, the bus doors closed, and we departed without incident.
“Ha.”
“Ha…”
The humming was no longer audible.
I moved to the very back of the bus and sat next to the emergency hammer for breaking the window—just in case.
Baek Saheon hesitated before sitting nearby.
“……”
“……”
It wasn’t rush hour, nor was it lunchtime, so there were only a few passengers—two or three seated at the front.
After glancing around nervously, Baek Saheon lowered his voice and asked, clearly unsettled,
“Hey, you… how did you even know to send those messages—”
“’You’?”
“…We agreed to drop formaliti… No, I mean… Right, Supervisor. How on earth did you know, sir?”
“How I know isn’t the issue here.”
Holding back my frustration, I replied while watching Baek Saheon’s nervous expression.
“What matters is how you ended up with that thing.”
“……”
If he kept his mouth shut, I was planning to get off at the next stop, grab a taxi, and ditch him. Maybe even throw him out of the cab to make sure he couldn’t follow me.
But as if he could sense my irritation, Baek Saheon finally opened his mouth.
“…It was something I had at home.”
At home?
“It was passed down from a relative. They told me to use it if I ever wanted to reverse a dire situation, so I’ve been carrying it around…”
– Ah, a classic trick! An heirloom thought to symbolize protection turns out to be a cursed item… Truly a horror movie cliché, isn’t it?
Exactly.
I wasn’t even trying to criticize him—just genuinely curious.
“You work at a company that assigns grades to ghost stories, and it never crossed your mind to have it inspected?”
“…If the company found it useful, they might take it and not give it back! I did think it through, sir.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“……”
“Next time, think before you act, why don’t you.”
“…Ah, yes, sir.”
Baek Saheon’s face turned red, and his lips twitched into a forced smile, barely suppressing his frustration.
This guy was an open book—acting like a sociopath one moment, then flipping into desperate politeness when scared.
I sighed and tried to make sense of the situation.
This was a textbook example of how people get caught up in ghost stories.
“For now, let’s ride to the last stop and contact the company’s Security Team from there—”
“……”
“……”
“…W-Why are you looking at me like that, Supervisor?”
Something felt off.
City bus stops are usually no more than three minutes apart.
But this bus…
Why was it still driving nonstop?
– Goodness, it’s caught up to us.