* * *
What happened afterward was handled fairly quickly.
All the way from Gyeongju back to the company, Section Chief Lee kept muttering ‘lies’ under his breath. However, when he reached the office and verified my personnel records, he was left in stunned silence.
But surprisingly, he didn’t immediately change his demeanor.
‘Why not though?’
I thought he’d immediately dismiss me as a newbie in the lowly Field Exploration Team, but instead, he continued to behave respectfully, although he did make some effort to act more casually, dropping a bit of the formality.
“Uhh, Soleum-ssi, did you hear? The, uh, kids and the university student—you know, they got home safely.”
A few days later, he informed me that the survivors from our escape had been registered as civilian survivors at <Daydream Inc.>.
“They probably received a decent amount as compensation for their information too.”
“In a way, it’s ironic how it really turned out to be a stroke of fortune for them. Yeah? Life can be funny, right?”
And ironically, it was good fortune for me as well.
“So anyway, Soleum-ssi, from now on, you can just count on me!”
“…Um. Yes, sir.”
“Hahaha!”
Section Chief Lee quickly pushed through my manual evaluation process.
…Only for me, though.
‘Is it really okay for him to act like this after taking an unauthorized week off?’
Well, it was a good outcome for me.
The scroll that served as a portal for the ‘Sangun-nim’ ghost story was swiftly collected by <Daydream Inc.> as a Darkness under its jurisdiction, and my unique method of escape was officially accepted as a new procedure in the manual.
Even my previously pending application under A-squad for a manual revision was quickly approved.
The balance in my bank account now read:
Manual Revision Bonus — ₩100,000,000
“……”
‘Insane.’
It was a staggering amount, enough to make my hands tremble. Now that two manual revisions had been approved, this unexpected sum appeared in my banking app.
Even though it was a cash payment rather than the standard points allocation, this amount was certainly enough to make anyone do a double take.
‘Maybe I should take advantage of this friendly manual evaluator and tackle as many new Darknesses as possible…?’
But venturing out alone to encounter various ghosts and monsters was a daunting thought, so for now…
‘I should put this one hundred million to good use.’
Where would be the best place to spend it?
I already knew where a portion of it was going—about 30% had been allocated to the source of this whole ordeal.
“Congratulations, Braun.”
– Ooooh!
Bloodbathtub – ₩29,999,999
= ₩29,999,999
Purchase complete.
Fortunately, the Bloodbathtub was still available in the Alien Shop, so I could fulfill the promise I made to my animated plush friend.
‘I wonder if it’ll come by rocket delivery this time too?’
I recalled the postal service box that had mysteriously materialized in midair last time.
As far as I knew, the Bloodbathtub was a large, four-legged tub, about the size of a typical household bathtub, with decorative gold legs that gave it an elegant look. But imagining it landing in my small studio unit…
‘Maybe I should order it from the bathroom?’
In any case, I decided to push my bed and desk aside to clear space, then press the order button right here. There just wasn’t enough room in the bathroom.
“…Alright. Time to place the order.”
– Exciting! My heart is pounding with anticipation.
In the dimly lit room, with only a flashlight as illumination, I finally clicked the [Order] button, carrying on a conversation with a small little plushie that, of course, had no heart to pound with excitement.
Ssshhhk.
Just like the previous times, the space seemed to tear open, and my anticipation grew.
But… the tear was smaller than expected?
With a soft plop, a package fell out.
It was also… small?
“……?”
I opened the postal box, which was barely a quarter of the size I expected, and found the product packaging inside.
[Bathtub of Youth – Foot Massage Edition]
“……”
So that’s why it was so cheap.
Come to think of it, since it was a ghost story item from a home shopping creepypasta, it probably had a variety of editions and versions…
Although, as far as I knew, most versions were just fun variations with little functional difference—except for a few rare ones.
‘I never thought they’d make a footbath version, though.’
It came with a gold-embossed sticker and a warranty certificate, hinting that it was some sort of ‘special edition’.
[10-Year Free A/S Warranty]
Utterly pointless.
‘Who’s going to request customer service on something like this?’
But I decided to open it anyway. There were no records in the <Dark Exploration Records> of anyone touching a “Bloodbathtub” and having their blood involuntarily drained, after all.
Inside, packed in a box as elegantly wrapped as a luxury item, lay the object itself.
‘…The Bathtub of Youth.’
Also known as the Bloodbathtub.
It was a glossy, black-and-white checkered tub that appeared to be made of shimmering ceramic. Its elegant curves were supported by golden, feline-shaped legs, giving it a refined look.
It’s quite impressive.
‘…If you ignore the fact that it was a footbath.’
Someone with just the right size to fit in it, however, was evidently thrilled.
– Mr. Roe Deer! Please put me in there! With some bath salts…
Wait, if it’s a blood bath, then—
“…You mean you want my blood as the bath salt?”
– Precisely! How perceptive of you, Mr. Roe Deer.
This crazy little…
For a brief moment, I wavered between reasoning with him or bolting out the door.
– Haha! I’m joking, Friend!
“……”
– With no audience or cameras here, I’d never make such a demanding request of a friend!
But what about if there was an audience and cameras?
I kept that thought to myself. Desperate people have to bite their tongue sometimes. Still, I couldn’t resist saying one thing.
“Please, no more jokes like that. They’re not funny—they’re terrifying.”
– My, I understand! Humor is a cultural delicacy, and it’s always important to handle it carefully!
This is what ‘carefully handled’ looks like?
– Anyway, back to the main point… there’s already a perfectly suitable alternative for bath salts in this space, isn’t there?
– Let’s see if our Mr. Roe Deer can figure out what it is!
Something in my place? I glanced around.
‘He couldn’t possibly mean Baek Saheon, the guy in the next room…’
No no, let’s not even consider that.
I tried to think of other options… Then, my eyes landed on something that had been sitting on the corner of my desk for the past few days.
Reluctantly, I pointed at it.
“…This wild ginseng?”
– Excellent!
Yes. It was the corrupted, purple wild ginseng I had unknowingly taken from the Sangun-nim ghost story.
‘I guess you could call it sap… or maybe something more like blood did seem to flow through it.’
But, for days now, it had just looked like a regular wild ginseng with an odd purple hue. My plan was to feed it more apple juice if it ever woke up, and if that didn’t work, just donate it to the company. But surprisingly, it hadn’t stirred at all.
‘All that tension waiting for it to wake up at sunrise that day was pretty pointless…’
Braun had even commented,
– I doubt it will ever wake up again. After all, weaker creatures tend to play dead when they sense danger, do they not?
Maybe getting pulled into the real world from the changgwi’s ‘Sangun-nim’s Burial Grounds’ had traumatized it.
– Anyways, Friend, if it concerns you, I’ll keep an eye on it.
And so far, there hadn’t been a single problem.
So… was he suggesting I use this ginseng?
‘Mm, that could work.’
Without any supernatural possession, it was just a juicy piece of ginseng.
Besides… I was genuinely curious to see the Bloodbathtub in action.
‘It’s kind of fascinating, isn’t it?’
I had some curiosity of my own, which is probably why I sometimes snuck peeks at the creepypasta wiki during work breaks…
There aren’t many creepypastas I can safely observe, even if just in images.
Using ginseng juice instead of blood could be a unique opportunity.
– Ooooh!
I grabbed a pair of rubber gloves and scissors from the kitchen.
The plush monster beneath my bed spoke in a low, excited voice.
– Now, place me in the bath please!
“Wait.”
There was something I needed to clarify.
“This bath is for rejuvenation… do you really need to be rejuvenated? I mean… you look young enough.”
I wanted to point out the absurdity of a plushie needing such a concept, but held back.
Braun, however, let out a hearty laugh, crisp as if it were a prerecorded sound effect.
– Hahaha! You’re seeing the concept of ‘rejuvenation’ too narrowly, my friend! Don’t worry, you’ve got a fine conversationalist here to explain!
– In fact, ‘rejuvenation’ means ‘the return of spring’ in Hanja. In other words, it means ‘to regain the prowess of one’s prime’.
– For some reason, I’m feeling rather heavy and unbalanced these days, so this bath is exactly what I need!
…But you’re a stuffed toy.
And the tub’s description clearly said it was good for ‘healing wounds, recovering energy, treating arthritis, and enhancing skin health’.
‘…I dunno anymore.’
If he insists this much…
In the creepypastas I’ve read, there wasn’t really a case where a plush doll with a friendly spirit would turn on you after being treated well. The disasters always happened when they were mistreated.
I decided to stop overthinking it. It was unnecessarily scary.
With rubber gloves on, I held scissors in one hand and the wild ginseng in the other.
‘Let’s try it out.’
And with that, I reached for the Bloodbathtub.