I’m on the Disaster Management Bureau’s rescue team, huh.
Having to go into a ghost story to save civilians, when I can barely look after myself as it is…
‘Am I dreaming?’
But it was reality.
And I even had to enter a ghost story right this moment to rescue someone.
7:30 PM.
Exactly an hour and thirty minutes had passed since I finished the aptitude test and was appointed.
Yet, here I was, already receiving agent gear at headquarters due to the urgent directive Agent Bronze had received.
And now I was riding a Disaster Management Bureau bicycle, heading toward the site of the ghost story.
Riding a bike in this cold, through the dark, makes me shiver—and so many thoughts run through my head…
“Citizens caught up in a Disaster can request rescue using the number provided on the Bureau’s informational leaflets.”
Yes…
‘And I’m also aware that this number sometimes miraculously works even inside the ghost story.’
Just listening to this impromptu rescue briefing, which was so like the Disaster Management Bureau, was already making my head spin.
I kept pedaling mechanically after the agent.
“When entering a Disaster, traveling by bicycle is actually safer than going by car.”
‘Yes. Since most means of transportation either don’t work inside ghost stories, or else trigger some of the worst mishaps…’
It was a fun worldbuilding tidbit when I was only reading about it, but experiencing it in reality was really cold and grueling.
For reference, the gear I received this time was more extensive than what I had as a temporary agent.
A glass handgun, an iron badge, a notebook, and… a fishing line.
“Whatever you do, don’t lose the fishing line. It’s the tool you’ll need to make an emergency solo escape in this Disaster.”
“…Understood.”
Remembering what happened when I was a temporary agent left me slightly uneasy, though I can’t deny there was a bit of excitement, too.
Which ghost story am I entering right now…!
“The Disaster we’re heading into for this civilian rescue is…”
Disaster?
Noticing my expression, Agent Bronze paused briefly, then spoke in a slightly more reassuring tone.
“…You don’t have to be so nervous. The civilian who called for help isn’t going to die just from listening to the explanation.”
“…Yes, sir.”
His kindness was somewhat misplaced…
“First, let me explain everything.”
“Yes.”
All right, I get it already.
Facing forward again, Agent Bronze pedaled along a deserted neighborhood bike path and spoke.
“Kim Soleum-ssi, do you remember a chain store called Lucky Mart?”
“……”
“They pulled out of Korea eleven years ago, but they’re still well-known in English-speaking countries… Agent?”
“Yes. I’ve heard of them.”
‘Oh God.’
It’s more than just ‘heard of’.
I know it so well, it’s practically a problem.
A giant supermarket chain by the name of Lucky Mart.
It became the motif for a certain ghost story.
Back in the earliest days when the <Dark Exploration Records> had still been archived under the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, this ghost story was the seventh ‘original’ ghost story documented.
People rushing to find a supermarket late at night would stumble on a Lucky Mart branch by chance and go in…
Then, vanish.
========================
[Looky Mart]
: A ghost story featured in <Dark Exploration Records>
: Disaster Management Bureau registration number – 1793PSYA.2001.나31
A bizarre phenomenon mimicking a large-scale shopping mall, trapping those who enter to wander forever, unable to escape.
Associated with at least 300 disappearances over the course of decades, it’s classified by the Bureau as a Fracture-sanctioned Disaster.
A known method to end or seal it does not exist, and proactively preventing disappearances is likewise impossible.
However, informational leaflets assisting individuals in escaping have been placed throughout this ghost-story mart. Using those leaflets, certain citizens managed to return to reality, and their reports formed the basis for the exploration record.
========================
A massive shopping mall.
A setting that feels comfortable and familiar in everyday life, yet also one that magnifies fear with its vast, mechanical repetition—making for a thrilling, chilling story.
That is, when you’re just reading it.
‘It’s Fracture-sanctioned.’
Compared to the Bureau’s classification, it’s two whole tiers above that mountain lodge swarming with a serial killer where I met Agent Bronze.
If this were Daydream Inc. standards, it’d be close to B-grade!
I broke out in a cold sweat as I turned it over in my head.
‘…Have there been many cases where a Disaster Management Bureau agent entered Looky Mart to rescue civilians and brought them out safely?’
Mostly… I think they got out fine.
Sure, there were plenty of special cases in the exploration records where things went wrong. But typically, the wiki focuses in detail on such exceptional situations, so maybe it’s nothing to stress over… Damn.
‘I do want to see it for myself though.’
I have no idea why the item still isn’t repaired.
The Memorial Popsocket!
I recalled my checking item, which still had unset adhesive on it, and let out a silent sigh.
‘That person told me it would definitely be fixed in a month.’
That agent who pretended to be a dokkaebi didn’t seem like he was lying.
‘…It must be one of two things.’
Either because it came out of that merch box, so the repair didn’t go through properly…
…Or because I spent the past month in a ghost story, so it didn’t count as a proper ‘period of time’.
‘In either case, I need a backup plan.’
Looky Mart was such a famous ghost story that I could pretty much remember all its details. In that sense, I guess I should be thankful it’s a named ghost story…
‘But there’ll come a time when this kind of luck won’t cut it.’
Whenever I’d recall that time on the Tamra Express, where I couldn’t remember anything about the owner of the Silver Heart, it would still send chills down my spine.
To avoid another crisis like that, the Memorial Popsocket was absolutely necessary.