“What a hassle. This mission is in a far province.”
“Yes, but the company is providing generous travel expenses.”
That’s right.
This C-grade creepypasta required us to travel all the way to Mokpo to deal with it.
(T/N: Mokpo is all the way down south of Korea in Jeollanam-do, a couple cities away from Gwangju. It’s about 3 hours via KTX and one train transfer.)
‘Finally, an out-of-town mission.’
Creepypastas tended to emerge in densely populated areas, so the fact that most of our missions had been confined to Seoul and its surrounding areas wasn’t entirely illogical within the company’s worldview.
‘Still, it’s strange that we’ve almost never been sent beyond the metropolitan area before.’
Regardless, I obediently followed the two elite sunbaes out of the office and onto the road, keeping a close eye on their mood.
“You haven’t moved upstairs yet? You’ll get your own private office soon, right? It’s great for privacy and focus!”
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it, ma’am.”
“Oh, you can speak informally with me! We’re the same rank, after all.”
“Well, you’re my sunbae, and there’s a lot I don’t know yet. I wouldn’t want to be disrespectful. I’ll continue speaking formally, if you don’t mind.”
“Wow. You’re really polite!”
Supervisor Dolphin gave me a thumbs-up, and I felt a bit of tension melt away.
Yeah, she seemed like a genuinely nice person.
‘Let’s try some small talk.’
I smiled warmly and brought up a topic that I thought was safe—someone I had seen sitting next to Dolphin during a previous encounter, during that terrifying creepypasta involving the backhand clapping incident.
“How’s Assistant Manager Leopard doing?”
“Oh, he’s dead.”
“……”
“He mistreated a Round-Off Team member and got what was coming to him. Serves him right, but it’s a bit of a waste of points!”
“I see. My condolences to the deceased.”
This person clearly did not have a normal sense of empathy.
‘Someone, save me.’
Thankfully, we arrived at the high-speed train station.
Trying to remain composed, I sat next to Dolphin on the train, maintaining perfect decorum.
From this point forward, I intended to give my utmost respect to the elite team sunbae seated next to me.
‘I must not act overly familiar or casual, even if we share the same rank.’
Avoiding any possibility of being seen as rude was my top priority.
Meanwhile, seated in front of us was Assistant Manager Jin Nasol…
“I’m going to sleep, so don’t talk to me.”
“…Understood.”
Honestly, I was grateful for that.
– Oh, what a group of striking companions you have!
Yeah, no kidding.
And the significance of this situation?
‘The two most competent non-executive employees in the entire company have been assigned to accompany me.’
In other words, the two most efficient and capable employees were here to witness everything I did.
‘Assistant Manager Eun, how am I supposed to avoid entering the Darkness and sneak away with these two around?!’
I broke into a cold sweat as I realized how full of holes my plan had become.
‘I didn’t expect them to assign two elite team members.’
I had been more prepared for the possibility of getting paired with useless coworkers.
Desperately maintaining my composure, I scrambled to come up with a Plan B.
‘In the worst-case scenario…’
I could excuse myself to the restroom and make my escape.
It would be humiliating, sure, but survival mattered more.
Later, I could return and claim that I had accidentally gotten caught up in another Darkness, which delayed me.
‘If I can find a suitable creepypasta from the wiki, one with an appropriate difficulty level, and clear it while collecting the necessary dream essence, it’ll be believable.’
Being on an out-of-town business trip made this plan feasible.
‘A-Alright.’
I think I can come up with something.
I quietly sighed in relief, satisfied with the plausibility of my revised plan, and finally glanced at the destination displayed on the train’s electronic board.
Bound for Mokpo
Come to think of it, I’d rarely been to Mokpo befo…
Bound for Mokpo
……
Huh?
The destination displayed on the flickering screen changed.
Bound for Tamra
“……!!”
I jumped to my feet.
“Huh? What’s wrong, Supervisor? Oh, the board?”
“Yes. We need to get off immediately—”
……
No.
No, I already knew.
‘It’s too late.’
This was the kind of situation where, once you boarded the train and the destination changed, it was over.
From that point on, there was no getting off.
“……”
Memories surfaced.
– This was recorded as the longest entry under the Human Error incidents in the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau’s records. It even became the basis for a short story in the wiki.
I knew exactly what this was.
– The train disaster caused by Silver Heart. Just once.
I knew this creepypasta all too well.
========================
[Tamra Express Disaster]
This document is a recorded case of anomaly ID ‘8008PSYA.2002.아88’, involving numerous fatalities.
Due to the shocking nature of the event, we advise readers to evaluate their psychological readiness before proceeding.
Reading this material may induce severe mental distress or trauma, so it is recommended to read it only when in a stable condition.
– Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau
Notice from the Records Office
========================
The infamous high-speed train incident from which only one survivor returned, the one who’s from Daydream Inc.
‘…Ah.’
That’s when I realized.
Today, January 2nd, the day marked for my death.
‘The C-grade Darkness wasn’t the real problem.’
The threat prepared for me wasn’t the company-assigned, fully documented rural mission Darkness.
‘It was this train.’
The train, which was supposed to be nothing more than a means of transportation, was the threat itself.
“……”
I looked out the window.
Instead of the outside view, the reflection of the destination display flickered back at me.
Bound for Tamra
Departing
With a deafening roar, the train began to move.