“……”
Huu.
I exhaled slowly, then carefully read the Chinese characters on the paper that was said to be copied from the shrine’s woodblock, with Braun’s help.
Then, I asked,
“Go Seonha-ssi.”
“…Yes.”
“I have a few questions for you, if that’s alright.”
“What is it?”
“How many days have you been here?”
“…Ten days.”
Go Seonha’s face turned pale.
“But after a few days, I started hearing the sound of some crazy man wandering around… so I hid in the attic.”
Said ‘crazy man’ looked at Go Seonha with a slightly offended expression.
“And a few days later… I started hearing children’s voices too. I didn’t know what else to do, so when the full moon came tonight, I slipped outside while this guy was dozing off.”
“And then you went to the shrine to try and perform the ritual.”
“Yes.”
I nodded, then moved on to the next question.
“But something doesn’t add up.”
“Excuse me?”
“The ritual explicitly states that a sacrifice is required. Why did you go alone?”
“I’m not going to pretend I was sacrificing myself to save the kids or anything.” fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cm
Go Seonha clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
“I just went to check how it was done… to make a decision. But yes, while I was doing it, I realized what was going on. I read the writings of those who attempted it before.”
“……”
“Tonight is the full moon. Once tonight ends, that’s it! I can’t hold out for another fifteen days until the next full moon. I know… I know the ghost will open the door.”
“Yes. So, the ritual needs to be performed before sunrise.”
Thinking of the single talisman left on the door handle, I nodded to myself.
“But I’m telling you, it’s impossible!”
“No.”
I shook my head and stood up.
“I think it might be possible.”
“Huh?”
“The ritual, I mean.”
An alternative came to mind—a feasible one.
“I’ll start preparing.”
“W-Wait, hold on. No, I mean, uh, e-even if it’s doable, we’d have to gather all the necessary materials from outside again… and I’ve already used everything I found!”
I looked again at the paper with the copied ritual instructions.
Ingredients : Three plums, salt, ashes from a burned peach branch, one bucket of well water.
So all of it needs to be gathered from outside…
In the middle of the night, with the changgwi lurking around.
And a safe way to get around on my own…
‘Of course, there is a way.’
One that only I can use.
– Would you like me to turn off the light for you, Mr. Roe Deer?
“……”
Wow.
Do I really have to go out there alone?
I glanced back at the others instinctively.
My terrified heart was screaming to go as a group, all together, while my brain held me back, firmly warning me not to do anything stupid.
Ugh, this is driving me nuts!
But in the end, reason won out.
“Please wait here.”
Honestly, I’d prefer if someone came with me.
If anyone’s willing to volunteer… someone is, right?
Surprisingly, Go Seonha raised one hand.
“…I’ve done it before, so I could at least guide you to where everything is located—”
“Oho! D-Don’t interfere, sit down, student.”
But Section Chief Lee, alarmed, jumped up and quickly pulled her back.
“This isn’t someone you should be thinking of as just another person like us! He’s not your average guy!”
“……”
Well, that’s a bit much.
“Just mark down the locations and give them to him. Quickly!”
“Oh…”
Go Seonha looked a bit reluctant but, after glancing at me, nodded with a resigned expression.
‘……?!’
She then marked on the blank spaces of the ritual paper where she’d found the materials and handed it to me.
“Oh! And… be careful around water.”
“……”
“The changgwi are ghosts cursed by tigers and bound to serve them, but… historically, the term also referred to water ghosts…”
Go Seonha swallowed nervously, her face pale.
“If you hear water—rivers, streams, any water sounds—just avoid it. Don’t even look, just keep walking.”
“Alright.”
I’m seriously so fucking scared, what the fuck…
Anyway, with everything in place, I stepped toward the door.
The security sergeant spoke up.
“Oh… you’re going out alone?”
“Yes.”
I’d rather not, but here we are.
“If anything happens, please look after everyone here.”
The Security Team’s role isn’t to protect people, but they’re still better than ordinary civilians—especially when it comes to handling supernatural creatures.
The security sergeant just looked at me intently.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“You don’t really seem like a regular employee…”
“……?!”
“Fascinating… Alright. I’ll stay put, then. Don’t exactly have equipment for this…”
Then he plopped down near the door.
“……”
Anyway, it seems like we’re ready to go.
‘Let’s go.’
I took a deep, quiet breath, then gripped the door handle and pulled.
Creeeeak.
With a chilling creak of the hinges, the outside came into view.
The darkness was thick with fog.
Dead silent.
“……”
Creak, thud.
The door closed behind me.
Even though it was supposed to be a full moon, the fog was so dense it completely blocked out the moonlight.
Branches swayed in the breeze, their shadows stretching and blending into the pale hints of deep darkness.
I managed to take my first step.
Crunch, crunch.
– Friend, from now on, I’ll dim your light. You’ll disappear into the blind spots of cameras, fade into the shadows behind the stage…
With every step, a dark, shadowy heaviness seemed to press down on me.
‘It’s still such a strange feeling, no matter how often I experience it…’
Slowly, I faded into the misty forest, dim and shadowy.
– Phew. Feels a little lighter here!
Of course, the fear was still overwhelming. My heart felt like it was going to explode.
[Walk straight up to the left from the abandoned house, and you’ll see a large tree with a golden rope tied around it.]
Go Seonha’s rough map, with arrows and notes, lingered in my mind, guiding each step I took.
I could barely tell front from back, so it was incredible how Go Seonha had managed to gather the ritual materials.
‘Left and up.’
After what felt like an hour, though only a few minutes had passed—
– Ah, Mr. Roe Deer. I see something up ahead.
Just as Braun said, something started to emerge through the fog.
It was… a giant tree, shrouded in mist.
A faint, sweet scent drifted from it whenever its branches swayed.
…Peach.
‘There aren’t any fruits, so where’s the scent coming from?’
It was sweet, yet somehow unsettling…
A golden rope hung from the tree, stretched between two thick branches. Beyond it, I could see a small field.
– Oh, is that farmland? A small garden in the mountains—aesthetic, but not quite my taste!
Braun’s tone was cheerful, but my mind was far from light-hearted.
The book I’d read earlier had called this place [Sangun-nim’s Burial Ground], hadn’t it?
And it’s also where the materials for the ritual are located?
‘This must be a supernatural area.’
I moved carefully, inching forward while gathering the materials around the area.
‘Got the plums…’
[Face the left with the big tree on your right, and you’ll see smaller trees—plum trees.]
I picked up fallen fruit beneath the plum trees and some dried branches near the enormous peach tree.
Of course, I didn’t dare pick fruit directly or break off any branches.
‘Not gonna risk that.’
Standing alone in a forest at midnight is frightening enough, but imagine being trapped here, cursed by spirits.
And to top it off, I had a mission to complete?
You’d naturally become as cautious as possible.
‘…Alright.’
Finally, I collected salt from a worn stone pagoda, where it seemed to have been scattered as a warding charm.
…Honestly, I nearly screamed earlier while drawing water from the well when I heard the bucket knocking against… something… inside.
‘But I managed to get everything.’
The surroundings were still quiet.
I let out the tiniest sigh of relief.
‘Now, if I return to the peach tree and retrace my steps, I should get back to the abandoned house…’
As I started retracing my path, something I hadn’t noticed before caught my eye.
At the end of the golden rope on the peach tree, a piece of clean silk was tied.
‘Huh?’
There was writing on it.
You who lack the right, turn back.
Wow.
‘Yeah, definitely not touching that.’
Maintaining a safe one-meter distance, I nodded cautiously.
– You look tense, Mr. Roe Deer.
‘Ah. It seems like you need a ‘right’ to cross this line.’
– Hmm.
‘Given that I’m here because of a ghostly curse, there’s no way I’d have…’
– But you do have the right!
‘…What?’
– Take a look at your wrist.
I raised my hand to check the inside of my wrist.
Where the theme park wristband had been.
: Socius :
The tattoo that had been left there from the burnt-out membership band now shimmered faintly.
“……!!”
‘Socius… wasn’t that the word?’
The Latin term for ‘companion’, ‘member’, ‘kinsman’.
– Oh, it seems the mark has broader applications than expected!
– Whether the mascot’s connections are wide or it has a part-time job elsewhere, who can say?
“……”
– So, Friend, will you use your membership?
I stepped up to the golden rope and slowly reached out my hand.
The shimmering rope parted, passing gently around my arm as if it were nothing.
“……!”
– As expected.
Carefully, I stepped forward.
Into the garden, where entry was now permitted.