“Then what’s the bet?”
In response, Kim Soleum crossed his arms.
“Who can guess the most letters in the Hangman puzzle.”
“Ah!”
“The person who guesses more letters than me will get the points.”
Is he insane?
“For reference, I’ve only guessed one, so just getting two would meet the threshold.”
“W-Wait!”
Supervisor Park Minseong from D-squad stood up in alarm.
“Roe, why are you making a bet in this situation…?”
“There aren’t many B-class ghost stories that are safe as long as you follow the manual. I thought this could be a good opportunity to see if guessing more correct answers might trigger any special phenomena. Right?”
Kim Soleum spoke seriously, looking around at the employees.
“If the atmosphere gets strange, please stop. I hope it doesn’t become dangerous.”
“Hah.”
Some of the employees exchanged smirks and sneers before one of them spoke up with a sarcastic grin.
“Oh~ so noble. You’re making a bet to add more detail to the manual and make it safer?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Kim Soleum replied without hesitation.
“I want to help make it so that those who come in after us can clear this more safely.”
“…Why?”
“No particular reason. Hmm… I just think it’d be good if someone did it, and I’m in a position to do so.”
The employee who asked fell silent.
For some reason… they felt uneasy.
‘Come to think of it, didn’t this rookie rescue a missing person?’
Another memory surfaced.
‘Last time, I heard he saved all the other employees from some B-class Darkness and got promoted because of it.’
He’d retrieved an unpopular desk worker that no one else cared to find, without pay. He’d risked his life in a high-grade Darkness to save employees he didn’t even know.
‘He’s not normal.’
Normally, these people would’ve laughed at someone like this guy, calling him gullible.
But strangely, for some peculiar reason… they couldn’t.
Tiiing—
A clear, metallic sound seemed to echo in their minds.
It was as if their thoughts were sharpening, seeing things in a clearer, more objective way, detached from their usual habits and inertia.
…And oddly enough.
Those seemingly foolish choices began to look, somehow, impressive.
They spoke without thinking.
“…Alright, let’s do the bet.”
“Oh, thank you!”
Kim Soleum bowed repeatedly, thanking the now-quiet employees, and then began to walk away.
“I’ll see you all when the game is finished.”
He approached Assistant Manager Eun Haje, who had been watching the whole scene with her jaw dropped.
“Assistant Manager.”
Eun Haje felt a throbbing headache.
‘This guy’s problem is that he’s too nice!’
Smart rookie or not, this was his flaw.
‘He’s too sincere.’
The type to burn out or break under the weight of his own ideals.
He’d passionately declared that his items belonged to his coworkers just to try and save them before, and now he was seriously pulling a stunt like this…
“You, you’re seriously…”
Kim Soleum lowered his voice and spoke quickly.
“It’s a bluff.”
Oh.
“I just stirred things up to buy us time.”
For a moment, Eun Haje almost forgot she was about to die, but then she managed to reply.
“…You’re saying you’re stalling for time?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Hah.
“Wait, if you’re planning to try something in that time, don’t. That’s how you get yourself killed…”
“What if I insist on doing it?”
“We’re going to try no matter what. …If you cooperate, our chances of success will be higher.”
This… this stubborn brat!
Eun Haje gritted her teeth.
“Hey. I told you I’ll handle it myself.”
“I don’t believe that. …You’ve already given up. You’re ready to die.”
So quick on the uptake.
‘Ugh.’
“…I won’t say I haven’t thought about trying something.”
Finally, Eun Haje confessed.
Things she hadn’t mentioned to avoid giving her hoobaes false hope.
“You know how this ghost story enforces all sorts of rules on the so-called ‘new teachers’, right? But do you know who the only exception is?”
“…That would be—”
“—The Hangman.”
Eun Haje grinned.
“That’s me.”
The Hangman wasn’t penalized for anything—not for cursing, not for slamming their head against a wall hard enough to break the skull.
“The problem is, even so, moving my body is difficult.”
She gestured with her eyes toward the ropes binding her.
“But… if I put it the other way around, it means I can do whatever I want with my upper body.”
Of course, the chances of anything working were slim to none.
Eun Haje spoke casually, keeping her composure.
“Did you hear that? Only I can keep trying this loophole. Even so, I don’t get penalized. So you penalty targets just sit and—”
Kim Soleum’s eyes glinted.
“I’ll use that loophole to maximize the survival rate.”
“What?”
“Please remember what I’m about to say.”
Kim Soleum explained, clearly, firmly, and concisely, what Eun Haje needed to do.
And after…
“…That’s all.”
Eun Haje suddenly felt like she’d been doused in ice water.
Were they seriously going to do this?
“We’ll head off and start the work. See you in a bit.”
“Hey!”
Wait a second.
“Roe!! Badger!! You damn brats!”
But the two were already walking out of the playroom.
“Hey! Come back here!”
* * *
‘Phew.’
It seemed the stalling tactic had worked.
I was walking down the unnervingly clean, colorful, and quiet kindergarten hallway with Supervisor Park Minseong.
‘Let’s move faster.’
The testimonies from Supervisor Park and Assistant Manager Eun were helping me form a clearer picture. My mind wavered between anxiety and hope.
Even so, the unsettling atmosphere of this ghost story’s setting still made my skin crawl.
But courageous as always, Supervisor Park kept glancing back at me with a worried expression before finally speaking up.
“R-Roe, are you sure about this? Those 2,000 points aren’t a joke… What if someone actually guesses two letters?”
Ah.
That?
“That’ll never happen.”
I grinned.
“With selfish personalities and everyone keeping each other in check, it’s impossible.”
“Huh?”
“They’ll sabotage each other every time someone tries to guess.”
According to the records, each question’s time limit ranged from 7 to 10 minutes, depending on the whims of the ghost story.
Even conservatively, they’d have to cycle through nine rounds of this full time limit.
So, what’s the best method?
“They’ll probably keep sabotaging and fighting until the very last moment. And since they still wouldn’t want to accumulate penalties, someone would begrudgingly propose terms for their guesses.”
And the likelihood of that being the correct answer? Very slim.
“In the end, they’ll all have to take penalties, and the time will drag on.”
Additionally, once contamination starts accumulating, they’ll hesitate to randomly guess letters, slowing things down further.
So…
“It’ll easily take an hour.”
I stated this confidently.
“And since the prize isn’t the 2,000 points themselves but an item you can buy with them, it’s harder to split the reward. They can’t easily form teams to share, and verbal agreements aren’t trustworthy enough.”
‘The only reason they trusted my promise was because of the Silver Heart.’
I had to make sure it wasn’t exposed. I consciously avoided even thinking about the badge in my pocket as I continued.
“So don’t worry about that. Let’s focus on saving the assistant manager first.”
A flicker of emotion crossed Supervisor Park’s face beneath his mask. Realizing there was no time to waste, he quickly suppressed it.
“Alright. Let’s get to it! Oh, we’re here.”
“Yes.”
It was time to begin preparations.
‘Huu.’
I sat down with Supervisor Park, settling on the floor. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
It was the largest space in the kindergarten.
[Playroom]
I tried my best not to look too closely at the scene before me.
In front of us was a colorful ball pit and a stage decorated with flowers and butterflies.
But atop the cheerful stage, two grotesque chunks of flesh stood awkwardly.
A left leg. A right foot.
They were parts of Assistant Manager Eun Haje’s body.
‘Haah.’
A chill ran up my spine, raising the hairs on my neck. Whether it was from fear, dread, or a sense of crisis, I couldn’t tell.
‘The gallows.’
There was only one chance.
I had to seize it here.