It was a photo of a gloomy, long-haired peer from the company.
“You’ve met before, haven’t you? You went to the Cheerful Theme Park together. He’s part of the Round-Off Team.”
“He’s not part of the Round-Off Team anymore, though. I believe he was reassigned to F-squad…”
“Oh, right, he got transferred. But he’s still officially listed as someone from the Round-Off Team.”
“……!”
“It’s just a temporary dispatch to a general team. His formal reassignment won’t be finalized until next year, don’t you think?”
Kwak Jaekang tapped the file.
“So… he’s still eligible to be deployed for tasks like this.”
“……”
A chilling sense of foreboding ran down my spine.
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
“It’s simple. Once you’re done with your business in the ghost story, call that employee to the elevator and leave him there.”
“……!”
This insane bastard.
No, stay calm. I couldn’t show any signs of distress.
“Is this Darkness only accessible with two participants… or is a sacrifice required?”
“Haha… figuring that out is the whole point of our research, isn’t it? Just follow the instructions. It’s a straightforward task, yes?”
Thump.
Kwak Jaekang tossed another file onto the table.
The ghost story assigned to me.
“It’s the elevator ghost story I told you about.”
– Well, I’ll leave it to you, Mr. Roe Deer! Don’t forget to call the Round-Off Team rookie when it’s time.
“……”
I reread the manual I’d already memorized, then tucked it back into my pocket.
What did I plan to do?
[Heo-un-ssi, we’re set to enter around 5 PM. Take it easy until then.]
[Ahh, okay! Got it!]
I wasn’t going to bring him along.
And I knew what this meant.
‘This could land me in serious trouble.’
No matter how good my excuse was, this would cause an issue.
This wasn’t some flexible rule I could bend and expect to get away with.
But if I didn’t block this entirely, it’d be meaningless.
‘Kwak Jaekang has likely set something up involving Jang Heo-un.’
I had to ensure he wouldn’t come in the first place.
Even if it meant risking disciplinary action, I had a potential benefit in mind—one to address after the exploration.
For now, the pressing matter was this.
……I had to ride a haunted elevator alone.
“Huu.”
This was the first time I had entered a haunted place alone, after being given time to prepare myself.
‘Maybe… it was better when I went in blindly, without knowing anything beforehand.’
My hands trembled with fear.
And I had left Braun behind.
‘The elevator in this ghost story is for one person only anyway.’
I didn’t want Braun near the elevator. Who knew what could happen?
I had asked Section Chief Lee Jaheon to check on Braun periodically, so it should be fine.
‘…Let’s go.’
I entered the building designated by the company as the confirmed entry site for Qterw-D-718.
It was a decrepit rental apartment building, with the water supply cut off long ago, though the company had temporarily restored electricity.
A cold, stale odor of neglect hung in the dimly lit interior.
The shadowed corridor stretched endlessly ahead of me.
And there it was, the lone operating device.
[5F]
The elevator door on the first floor.
“……”
I swallowed hard and walked down the hallway.
The emergency exit signs and dim bulbs flickered as the elevator came into view.
— Under Maintenance —
We will fix it as soon as possible.
Happiness Land Apartment Security Office
Despite the message, the yellowed slip of paper was barely hanging on by worn-out tape.
This phenomenon commonly arises in buildings equipped with a single elevator, particularly when the elevator is frequently out of order or displays a maintenance sign.
This was it.
With trembling hands, I pressed the elevator button.
The elevator slowly descended.
5, F, 3, 2…
[Ding.]
I took a deep breath.
The doors slid open, revealing a dim, rusted interior.
The floor was smeared with soot, as if it hadn’t been cleaned in ages.
Still, I stepped forward.
Inside, I noticed something on either side: dirty mirrors smudged with handprints.
‘…Huu.’
========================
Dark Exploration Records / Ghost Story
[Don’t Look in the Mirror]
: A ghost story featured in < Dark Exploration Records>
: Daydream Inc. identification code – Qterw-D-718
One of the ritual-based ghost stories circulating online in the 2000s.
They say if you play rock-paper-scissors with your reflection in the elevator mirror and win, it will answer any question truthfully.
The ghost story entry includes a gamebook-style guide on how to handle various phenomena.
========================
[The doors are closing.]
I pressed myself against the wall without a mirror and watched the doors close with a growing sense of dread.
My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst.
The doors shut completely, and darkness and silence enveloped me.
There I stood, alone, in the stalled elevator’s eerie interior…
…with the mirrors.
“……”
The seconds stretched endlessly.
I had to endure it. If I endured—
[Going up.]
Ding.
The elevator began to move, despite me not pressing any buttons.
…It had been summoned somewhere.
All the floor buttons lit up red, casting an ominous glow throughout the cabin.
It had begun.
Upon entering the elevator, refrain from pressing any buttons.
If the elevator begins moving on its own, you have successfully entered the ghost story.
1- Play rock-paper-scissors with your reflection in the mirror until the elevator reaches the top floor.
If you win at least once : Proceed to 3.
If you don’t win at all : Proceed to 13.
“……”
I swallowed hard and cautiously turned my head to look at the left mirror.
There, in the mirror, stood my pale reflection in the elevator.
Countless versions of me.
My front and back reflections repeated infinitely between the left and right mirrors, shrinking until they became indistinguishable points.
Each reflection grew smaller, blurrier…
“……”
I wiped my sweaty left hand on my shirt and slowly raised it.
Then I muttered softly,
“…Rock, paper, scissors.”
Scissors.
Every one of my reflections in the mirrors was showing scissors, front and back, endlessly.
“Rock, paper, scissors.”
This time, all my reflections showed fists.
I repeated it several more times.
Rock, paper, scissors.
Rock, paper, scissors.
Rock, paper, scissors…
“Rock, paper, scissors.”
On the fifth round, I chose a fist again.
That’s when I noticed something strange among my countless reflections.
…One of them opened its hand.
Amid all the fists, a single reflection with an outstretched palm appeared in the farthest mirror.
“……”
I froze with my hand still raised.
Then, from deep within the mirrors, that distant reflection of me slowly turned its head—
—and smiled.
A wide, chilling smile.
T/N: Wahoo! Chapter 100~! Thank you all for sticking with me and our beloved roe deer this far~
I haven’t had a single break since I started working on this novel ahah~ It’s been a very fun and fulfilling ride, but I’m in severe need of some breathing room~
It won’t go into a complete hiatus tho! Temporarily, there will just be one scheduled unlock per day for 8 days, meaning only one part of a chapter per day will be released for everyone to read.
This goblin will be using that time to sleep 7 days straight, then 1 day to stock up on future chapters so that we don’t run out of updates~ lol
(Advanced chapters will still be posted sporadically whenever I have time!)
Thank you all~!