New mascot?
‘What kind of crazy nonsense is this now.’
I immediately recoiled from the desk. But nothing changed.
Congratulations on your appointment as the new mascot of Flower Golden Resort!
The message didn’t change.
And in the ruined manager’s office of Flower Golden Resort, I was the only one there.
Wearing a suit that made me look like a monster.
“……”
Don’t tell me… Did they judge my disguised self as a ghost story resident and just straight-up hired me as a mascot for Cheerful Theme Park…?
‘This place was always meant for beings that aren’t human, anyway.’
Even if it’s a ghost story, there’s usually some internal logic. Assigning me as the mascot out of nowhere, as if I were being targeted, feels odd. There must be some reason…
Ah.
I recalled what I’d done the last time I entered this theme park.
The already-ruined yellow zone.
I was the one who activated the gate to that place.
So, strictly speaking, I… had ‘reopened’ this resort.
‘……’
This is driving me nuts.
I swallowed hard.
‘So I became the mascot? Me?’
I hurriedly checked my appearance, but it was still that combat suit with the monstrous look.
‘Another hint.’
I inspected the desk again, where the card with the message had been placed.
Next to the card was an ink bottle.
And an old-fashioned quill pen stuck into it.
“……”
Did they use this pen to write the congratulatory message?
Thinking of the various ghost story gimmicks, I sat in front of the desk. Maybe if I politely wrote something like ‘I respectfully decline’ on the document with that pen, I could get out of this situation.
But the moment I grabbed the pen.
‘…?!’
…My hand started moving on its own, writing a message.
Requirements to begin resort operations
Employees : 3
This is insane.
My hand kept scribbling. The sentences continued.
The employment contracts should be in the desk drawer.
And, as it happens, there are visitors outside right now. If any of them are suitable, why not politely scout them?
It was utter madness. But then…
…‘Visitors outside’?
Just then.
“This place…?”
“It’s not even a real resort, is it?”
Voices came from outside the door.
A chill ran down my spine as I looked at the closed door.
The employees from Daydream Inc. who had drawn the ‘yellow piece’ with me had ended up here too…!
‘Damn it.’
I immediately got up and opened the door.
Bang.
As soon as the door opened and our eyes met, the employees started and stiffened, frozen in place.
“Huhk…!”
“Uhh…”
The only reason they didn’t scream must have been their experience with explorations into the Darkness.
The two employees, eyes wide with tension and fear behind their masks, hesitantly backed up against the wall and looked up at me.
At least Jang Heowoon’s face had turned pale, but he didn’t press himself against the wall as obviously. Maybe Director Ho had told him who I was.
Either way, my head throbbed.
Inside the theme park, I couldn’t get too far away from these people.
‘…Last time, the people who drew the same piece were also transported nearby.’
If you went further than a set distance, a rope would appear, put a noose around your neck, and you’d be strangled.
‘For now, we have to stick together.’
And the escape method was obvious.
Be the first team to ride all three fantasy attractions with your teammates and win spectacular prizes!
Just ride three attractions and get a stamp from the mascot.
The problem was, it seemed the mascot was me.
“Um.”
Jang Heowoon spoke to me.
“It doesn’t look like there are any attractions to ride here… Should we try moving to another area to ride something?”
I looked back at Jang Heowoon.
“Hiek!”
For some reason, the other employees let out a sharp breath.
‘But I agree!’
I just nodded slowly, and Jang Heowoon—face still pale—nodded back.
“Then let’s move…”
Phew.
We stepped outside.
The place we’d been was like a corner of the lobby attached to the largest building.
We walked straight through the gloomy ruins of the resort, heading outdoors toward the gate.
I took the lead. Toward the very gate I’d escaped from last time.
“Uh, y-you know the way, don’t you?”
“Shut up.”
Luckily, the gate I’d used last time… was still in operation. The lights were flickering and looked unstable, but at least part of the gate was lit.
…Just as I’d left it.
[◎ Welcome ◎ ]
And from the resort, just an entrance ticket for three attractions was enough to enter the theme park…
But.
“……”
I stopped in front of the gate.
‘I can’t leave…!’
– The theme park mascots cannot leave their own zone.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
An overwhelming pressure pinned down my limbs.
I can’t interfere with other zones. That would be a horrific violation threatening my very existence. I can’t. I can’t…
My bizarre identity, now defined as the mascot, was strangling me.
‘But if I can’t leave this place, I can’t ride any attractions!’
There are no attractions in this ruined Golden Resort.
Because it’s a ruin!
I looked at the gate that could lead to Blue Dream Waterpark.
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
‘…Even if I died and became a corpse, I don’t think it would work.’
Of course, just imagining my corpse being dragged around by the others and going on rides in the blue zone gave me chills up to my scalp.
But this isn’t just a matter of whether I’m willing to accept such a miserable death.
‘I can’t even be sure you can drag a dead mascot into another zone.’
No, I have no idea what would even happen in this zone if the mascot died…
Not for those people, either.
‘……’
In that case.
I looked at the company employees.
“Hiek!”
The harvest mouse-masked employee’s mouth was covered by the ladybug-masked employee to keep him from screaming.
Ignoring the sight with polite indifference, I blocked the path in front of the gate.
“Uh…?”
And then pointed in one direction with my finger.
Back to the room we started in.
“Um, are you… not supposed to leave? Do we have to go back?”
Nod.
“I-If we go back, is there another way?”
Nod.
“…!”
The employees’ faces turned pale as a sheet.
“N-No way…”
“Hahaha, s-so we just have to follow you, right? Is that it?”
The ladybug-masked employee, holding back the harvest mouse-masked one, looked at me as they awkwardly shuffled backward.
‘Damn.’
Still, I was relieved they listened.
Suppressing a sigh, I headed back inside the building where we’d regained consciousness.
And opened the office door I’d come out of.
“Ah…!”
I stopped Jang Heowoon, who was about to follow me in, and pointed at the worn-out door sign.
[Administrator Area]
Rule violation.
No matter how I thought about it, letting them in was a bad idea.
Bang.
I slammed the door on purpose and went inside, shutting my eyes tight.
Wow…
‘This is seriously driving me insane.’
…For a moment, I even thought, what if I just take off this suit and get judged as human again? Maybe I’d lose my mascot qualifications.
But on the other hand, being ‘modified by the ghost story’ to fit the role could lead to a truly horrific ending.
No, in creepypastas, that’s the more standard outcome.
‘Ha.’
In the end… judging from the hints so far—
The only way for the group who drew the yellow piece to escape from Cheerful Theme Park is this.
‘…To get the resort operating and make it possible to use three attractions.’
And what’s needed is…