The beginning of this whole shitshow traces back to when I first reported in for duty with the Site Cleanup Unit.
Up until that point, everything had been going smoothly.
“Alright, time for introductions. This here is our new recruit, Agent Hwagak.”
A middle-aged woman with the air of a kindly scholar introduced me to Jang Heowoon, and we exchanged names as if it were our first time meeting.
“Pardon, um, I go by Grapes… N-Nice to meet you…”
“…?! Hrk—cough—yes…”
For some reason, Jang Heowoon nearly choked once, but things moved along smoothly, and everyone laughed and greeted each other in good spirits.
The team leader of Site Cleanup Unit’s Vermilion Bird Team 2[1], was chatting with Agent Bronze, and I could overhear them mention that I had requested to join their team—likely a nudge from Bronze’s side.
“Haha, our kid’s still a rookie too, so it’d be nice to have someone his age on the team.”
Thank you, Agent Bronze…!
I did my best to look tense, hunching my shoulders like a nervous newbie, even though I was grinning like a fool inside. Jang Heowoon glanced at me and quickly redirected his gaze.
“Alright, today’s site… Yeah, it shouldn’t be too tough, so the two rookies should be just right for the job.”
The team leader gave us each a friendly pat on the shoulder.
“It’s a ghost story the Black Tortoise Team 1 just cleared during a civilian rescue. That team’s under Agent Bronze. Heard of them?”
“Yes…!”
I’ve heard more than enough to feel like I was being forced into that division at one point…
Anyway, Vermilion Bird Team 2’s leader gave us a clean and efficient briefing on today’s supernatural disaster site.
Even covered safety measures.
“If at any point you feel like you can’t handle it, speak up. Agent Grapes’s senior is on standby outside.”
“Thank you…!”
But that won’t be necessary.
I was absolutely going to complete this site cleanup perfectly! And wrap up the documentation just as flawlessly…!
Besides.
‘It’s a ghost story I’m familiar with.’
No, more than familiar. It was practically a friendly face. I didn’t even care whether my popsocket got restored or not.
‘I remember watching people fight all night over how this ghost story should end.’
And because it ended in the way I thought was most logical, I’d shown up to work the next day running on dopamine, so it stuck clearly in my mind.
Sure, it’s the kind of ghost story that scares me the most.
But the ghostly stuff has already passed! No ghosts appear anymore!
And as far as cleanup goes, it’s similar to the taxi case I handled previously. The difference is that no more supernatural beings will jump out. This is literally just cleanup work…!
“Wearing this uniform makes me feel strangely calm.”
Putting on a white hazmat-suit-like uniform provided for cleanup, Jang Heowoon spoke cheerfully.
“It really does…!”
Being covered head to toe like this gave a sense of psychological safety.
I responded with a bright smile, and for some reason, Jang Heowoon’s expression turned a little awkward. Did I come off too friendly…?
“Alright then, Agent Hwagak, give us the field briefing again.”
“Yes!”
Following the team leader’s cue, Jang Heowoon turned to me and spoke crisply,
“The supernatural disaster we’ll be handling today is located in Dobong-gu, and the estimated time for full cleanup is three hours. Its key feature is as follows…”
A clear, concise description followed.
“A public phone booth that tells scary stories.”
A neighborhood in Seoul, with the sky darkening into dusk. Standing alone by the roadside…
Was an old public phone booth.
Something you hardly see in Korea anymore. It had a pale blue roof.
Its appearance is that of a standard public booth manufactured in the 1980s, visibly aged. But if you try calling from it, the line still connects.
The inner walls were plastered with old, peeling phone number ads, stuck there long ago.
Most of the advertisement stickers attached next to the phone are from businesses that are no longer in operation.
However, among them, there is a 12cm x 7cm advertisement sticker finished in dark red and yellow. When the number listed under ‘We Tell Scary Stories’ is dialed, it tells a terrifying story related to the phone booth.
(The number consists of 13 digits and cannot be connected to from outside the booth using other devices.)
Booth users who witnessed the sticker reported feeling a strong urge to make the call.
That’s where the supernatural disaster begins.
And the terrifying story it tells actually takes place within the booth itself.
Earlier this afternoon, a response and rescue team pulled a civilian out of that phone booth after they’d gotten caught up in the ghost story.
So our job now was to clean up that eerie ‘site’ left in the wake of the ghost story…
The current situation:
The inside of the booth was filled with bright red blood, spilling out and pooling onto the ground.
“……”
“……”
Wow.
‘I want to run away.’
But if I screw this up, I’ll be recommended for resignation.
I swallowed hard.
“Let’s go in.”
“Y-Yes…”
Jang Heowoon, who was also weak against blood, looked like he might faint, but like me, he was a spy. There’s no backing down.
So the two of us creaked our way toward the phone booth.
Note/s:
[1] Vermillion Bird (주작) – one of the Four Gods of east Asian mythology, representing the fire element, the directional south and the season of summer. It is a red bird that resembles a pheasant with a fire-colored plumage and is perpetually covered in flames. (source: Wikipedia, NamuWiki)
Read more about it over here en.namu.wiki/w/%EC%A3%BC%EC%9E%91(%EB%8F%84%EA%B5%90) and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermilion_Bird
Backtracking a bit, I’ll be translating ‘현무’ as ‘Black Tortoise’ instead of ‘Turtle-Snake’. I wasn’t sure about the lore and if there was an official way to translate the Four Gods’ names in English >.>
Special shoutout to Tomioka Giyuu for pointing this out! Thanks! ↩