Have you ever been completely obsessed with something?
I mean, beyond just thinking 'this is fun'—have you ever been so deeply impressed that you spent extra time and money on it?
There must be something like that, right?
Watching the director's cut of a movie, buying the artbook for a game, paying for early access to a webtoon, going to a singer’s concert...
If you take it a step further, buying related merchandise is another example.
Yeah, I’m talking about what they call merch.
Figures, slogans, badges, dolls...
I can confidently say I’ve never spent money on things like this in my life.
Until now.
This is a department store.
The highly successful pop-up store had already finished distributing waiting tickets the moment the department store opened at 10:00 AM.
And I happened to get one of those tickets.
“The 2:30 PM time slot, we will help you enter now!”
“Ah, finally!”
“Hey, let’s go, hurry.”
The bright-eyed teenagers standing next to me ran toward the staff member with excited faces.
‘2:30 PM... That’s right.’
I stood in line, keeping my hat pulled down as much as possible.
However, I could hear whispering from behind.
“Huh...?”
“Is he a reseller?”
“Isn't he a professional scalper?”
It was incredibly unfair, but I could see why they thought that.
I was the only adult male in this line who looked like an office worker!
‘Sigh...’
I groaned inwardly as I looked at the entrance of the pop-up store.
[Welcome, explorer of the darkness.]
‘This is driving me crazy.’
The theme featured various monster caricatures and occult elements on a black and red background, with the symbols of corporations, religions, and the government intersecting.
It was truly a worldview designed to target the hearts of teenagers.
Even the title was a work of art.
[Prophecy of the Apocalypse: Dark Exploration Records]
Ha...
I barely resisted the urge to cover my eyes with one hand.
‘Why did I have to look at this at the office... <Dark Exploration Record>.’
It was an internet ghost story worldview that had been very hot recently.
You know, those collective intelligence open-source worldviews where people can participate as they please to create stories.
At first, it seemed to be a minor rumor among students derived from a certain famous ghost story, but it was said to have grown at an insane rate after meeting the W-Tube algorithm.
'Records of exploring various anomalous phenomena called <Darkness>.' Ghost stories with this concept.
Eventually, it became an independent Wiki recording hundreds and thousands of stories, which was how it caught my eye.
‘...Since it’s all text, it was so easy to read at the office.’
And they say anything you do at the office is fun as long as it isn't work.
I fell deep into this worldview, reaching the point where I even ended up creating a ghost story and uploading it myself...
Just why did it turn out like this? Is it because my corporate life is so devoid of dopamine?
Furthermore, this <Dark Exploration Record> itself was the same.
‘I didn't think it would grow this big.’
It is now a massive IP reigning on W-Tube, almost like the president of middle schoolers.
Naturally, corporations jumped on it to generate profit.
This pop-up store was a part of that.
‘I mean, even so, this Wiki had a 15-and-up recommendation tag on it.’
Why are there so many kids?
Hearing the whispers behind me made me feel a massive sense of reality check, but...
“He definitely looks like a reseller...”
“Hey, hey, he might be buying it for his nephew or cousin... Let’s not be like that.”
No. I’m going to keep it for myself.
...Actually, I came last week too, but the merchandise I wanted sold out right in front of me, so I visited again...
I even used a day of my annual leave.
‘At least there was a woman around my age back then.’
I happened to get a weekday afternoon slot where the only other adults were parents who had followed their children, and the shame was so great I felt like running away, but I endured.
‘Honestly, I don't even know why I'm trying to endure this...’
At any rate, I entered the store following the staff member's guidance.
My only comfort was that the staff member didn't seem fazed.
“Whoa!”
“Hey, it looks so real.”
Amid the middle schoolers' exclamations, I saw the interior of the pop-up store, which was quite elaborately decorated as if I were in a theme park.
There were even kind classifications for the exhibition themes.
[Daydream Inc.]
[Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau]
[Church of the Luminous Unknown]
In this ghost story worldview, there are three giant factions—corporation, government, and religion—each trying to observe and secure anomalous phenomena... or so the setting goes.
‘At first, there were only ghost stories about the government's Disaster Management Bureau, but then a lot of people got involved and things got exciting, so it turned out like this.’
Anyway, this pop-up store seemed to have gathered only the things that had become hot topics on the internet.
The fact that they just lumped everything together and released only popular characters and ghost story items made it feel like a pop-up store clearly aimed at making money, but the quality was decent nonetheless.
‘Right. When else would I ever come to a place like this...’
I ignored the stares and quickly gathered the items I intended to buy.
Since I had bought almost everything I wanted last week, it was a relief that there weren't many popular items among the things I picked up. The suspicious glares accusing me of being a reseller disappeared.
“Would you like to purchase an L-sized eco-bag to carry your items? It’s 5,000 won.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I successfully finished paying, but I couldn't leave the pop-up store immediately and was hesitating.
I turned my head and looked at the space next to the counter where people were gathered in a line.
[Roulette Event]
: Create your own Dark Exploration Record character.
That.
I had seen it last week too, but I couldn't bring myself to stand in line and participate, so I had gone home...
‘I heard this pop-up ends tomorrow.’
It was a moment of fierce conflict over whether it was okay to trade this for my social dignity.
The staff member who had just finished their shift at the counter saw me, smiled, and spoke.
“The roulette event is only until today! Would you like to participate?”
“...Yes.”
Thank you.
Truly, thank you, Mr. Staff Member...
“Yes! Then you can come this way! Ah, stand here...”
The staff member swiftly led me to the line in front of a giant black roulette, and thanks to that, I could naturally stand at the end of the line.
The line moved faster than I thought.
I soon found myself at the very front and was given a single button that looked like a walkie-talkie.
“Then, we will spin the Lucky Roulette first! Please stop it with the button whenever you like.”
Phiririk.
The roulette board began to spin along with artificial sound effects.
Each slot showed the rank and prize.
There were goods I had already purchased, items for exhibition not for sale, and even random Bluetooth earphones...
Of course, the prize for the largest slot, 7th place, was just something like a small notepad. I’d probably end up with that.
But it was fine. I almost had to leave without even participating, didn't I?
‘Let’s not get our hopes up.’
I thought so even as I carefully pressed the button the staff member had given me.
Drrrrrr... ruk.
However, my black roulette slowed down and... surprisingly, it stopped here.
On a single, thin golden slot.
[1st Place]
: Dark Exploration Record Merch Box
“...!”
“Gasp! Congratulations!”
Is this... for real?
“Whoa, crazy!”
“I’m so jealous, man, I'm so freaking jealous.”
It became noisy as screams, exclamations, and voices mixed with jealousy erupted from behind.
“Wow, a 1st place winner finally appeared on the day before the pop-up ends!”
The staff member seemed even more excited as they ran behind the roulette and returned with a large, plastic-wrapped box.
The black box with a giant symbol engraved in silver foil looked like a fairly well-crafted product in its own right.
I barely managed to take the box without letting my hands shake.
“...Thank you.”
Quickly... I need to leave this place quickly and slap my face. Is this reality?
I tried to leave the pop-up store right then and there, but the staff member caught me.
“Ah! We’re also giving out on-site manufactured merchandise. If you could just give us your name!”
Name? My personal information had long since become a public good anyway after my portal site accounts were hacked. The only thing that mattered was taking this home safely...!
“It’s Kim Soleum.”
“Okay! Soleum, just one moment.”
The staff member operated a black machine that looked like a 3D printer next to the roulette.
Perhaps because it was made for the pop-up store, there was an explanatory sentence attached to it.
[Dark Exploration Record Character Maker]
Ah. Is that what was attached as a subtitle to the roulette event?
...‘Create your own Dark Exploration Record character.’
It really couldn't get any more teenage-focused than this...
“Please enter your name here.”
“......Yes.”
I held the merchandise box tightly with one hand and quickly typed my name into the machine’s pad.
The black machine made a rather noisy and eerie music box sound, performing an elaborate show of turning gears.
Then, it spat out a small object with a thud.
Clack.
I picked up the familiar-looking item.
It was... an employee ID card.
[Daydream Inc.]
Employee Kim Soleum
Field Exploration team
“Wow! It’s Daydream Inc. It’s one of the three most famous factions in our <Dark Exploration Record>!”
“......”
Yes. I know.
Roughly speaking, it’s that big corporation cliché that does business using anomalous phenomena.
And among them, the Field Exploration team is...
‘A department that’s basically a death squad.’
It’s like being a Red Shirt from a certain sci-fi drama. They're the ones who get ground up as soon as they go in under the guise of exploring an anomalous phenomenon.
Of course, thanks to that, it seemed like there were many named characters belonging to the Field Exploration team as well.
“Wow! It’s a Field Exploration team employee ID card. I’m really looking forward to seeing what kind of activities Employee Kim Soleum will perform in the world of <Dark Exploration Record>!”
“Yes, thank you...”
I felt like my hands and feet were curling up in cringe, but I endured it.
‘It’s better than having an employee ID card for a government agency or a pseudo-religious group.’
Having a company ID card was actually a relief.
It was a bit embarrassing, but the staff member was composed, like a worker in a capitalist society who had gained immunity after saying it so many times.
At any rate, the roulette event seemed to have ended with me receiving this employee ID card.
“Thank you.”
I groaned as I looked at the employee ID card with my name printed on it.
‘This... I should tuck this away somewhere out of sight.’
No matter how hard I tried, it seemed my cringe-tolerance couldn't hold out any longer.
In the meantime, the staff member excitedly asked me a question.
“Do you like it? You’ll cherish it, right?”
“Yes.”
“Liar.”
......?
I looked up, thinking I had misheard.
Grin.
The staff member was suddenly looking at me with their lips curled into a wide, tearing smile.
The mouth was unnaturally elongated, as if it would reach their ears...
“...?”
At that moment.
Dizziness suddenly washed over my head.
“...!”
The noise of the pop-up store vanished.
My vision surged dizzily as if covered in black paint, flickering in red and blue.
And when the dizziness finally subsided.
I never even dreamed... that the world would have completely changed.
[Welcome to Daydream Inc. everyone!]
“...!?”
Before I knew it, I was looking at the center stage from the corner of a large lecture hall.
And.
Whoaaaaa!!
Along with the cheers, a firework effect exploded on the large beam projector PPT on the stage.
[New Employee Orientation]
While the young professionals in suits sent polite applause and cheers, the person who appeared to be the host flipped through the PPT with a beaming smile.
By all appearances, it was a new employee orientation event for a large corporation.
Their faces, filled with the happiness of finally breaking through the gates of employment, were brimming with pride and tension.
“......”
What is this?
I hesitated and tried to step back.
But I realized that I was currently sitting in a chair.
I was dressed in a suit. It was the outfit I had worn for a meeting with a client in the evening, but coincidentally, it was similar to the 'new employees' filling this lecture hall.
In the meantime, the merchandise box I had received from the roulette event was sitting quietly on my lap.
“Um, excuse me, where did you get that? Is the company giving them out?”
“......”
I couldn't even respond to the question from the new employee sitting next to me.
[You are the chosen successful candidates!]
[Actually, among the people recruited through this new employee announcement, we have brought only very special people here to Lecture Hall A to conduct this orientation!]
[Congratulations! You have passed the aptitude test and have been assigned to the special team, the <Field Exploration team>.]
“We've been assigned already?”
“Field Exploration team? Is there such a place in Daydream Inc.?”
“Field exploration in a pharmaceutical company...?”
“Uh, for some reason, it sounds like a place you get exiled to? Is it a branch office instead of the headquarters? They're just trying to lure us with sweet words...”
Whispers hiding from the host could be heard from all directions, but I didn't even have the leisure to focus on them.
This was because I had recognized the familiar company name and team name.
Daydream Inc.
Field Exploration team.
......Like a bolt from the blue, a page from the Wiki came to mind.
-------------------------
[Field Exploration team] (Daydream Inc.)
: One of the five teams under the development department of Daydream Inc., a giant faction appearing in the <Dark Exploration Record>.
A tragic team also known as the so-called death squad. But thanks to that, it’s fun for the people writing ghost stories.
-------------------------
‘Wait a minute.’
...This is from the original ghost story of the pop-up store I just participated in.
If so, what happens next is…
-------------------------
A crazy department that filters out permanent employees by making them play a death survival game right from the entrance orientation.
It is also a consistently popular subject for Wiki entries because it reminds people what happens when ordinary people perform darkness exploration.
-------------------------
“......!”
“Uh, wha- what are you...”
I immediately kicked back my chair and stood up.
Regardless of figuring out the situation or whatever, I intended to run outside.
But it was already too late.
[However, there is a short probationary period before formal employment, but it won't be long! It will be conducted as an absolute evaluation to judge only your practical aptitude.]
[Of course, in order for each individual's evaluation to be conducted properly, active participation is essential, right? Any free-riders will be caught!]
Bang, bang bang bang.
The doors of the lecture hall closed one after another.
‘Damn it!’
In the midst of this, the naive new employees who thought <Daydream Inc.> was just a large pharmaceutical corporation still hadn't grasped the situation.
And so, while a hundred or so new employees listened intently to the host’s words, the host shouted brightly and vigorously.
[Now, we begin!]
Along with that upbeat voice.
The lights in the lecture hall went out.
“...?”
“Huh?”
Thinking they were preparing to show a video or something, the new employees were only slightly puzzled.
And for good reason.
‘They couldn't have expected that such a crazy thing would suddenly happen just because they got a job.’
For example.
That their surroundings would suddenly change into the inside of a desolate subway train.
[Passengers, thank you for using the Abyss Transpo today.... Our train does not stop.]
[For a comfortable journey to your final destination, please listen carefully to the announcement.]
Or that an announcement would play with a strange name they had never heard in their lives.
“......!?”
“Wha- what is this!?”
The new employees, who had been sitting in a row on the subway seats in their suits as if the lecture hall had been moved intact, jumped to their feet.
It was only natural to be panicked.
“Excuse me?”
“Is this like VR? Did we actually move?”
Still, it seemed that many of the people who were in the lecture hall earlier remained. Perhaps because of that, they felt somewhat relieved, and complacent reactions were the mainstream.
They peered around the subway train looking for traces of the company, or looked for people who seemed like the event host or company employees.
And they soon made their own sense of the situation.
“There are other people in the front car! The door... uh, the door won't open, though?”
“Is it some kind of new technology?”
I closed my eyes tight and then opened them, feeling like I was about to break into a cold sweat.
It was because I had already realized which ghost story this was.
-------------------------
[Welcome to the Abyss Transpo]
: A ghost story appearing in the <Dark Exploration Record>.
A crazy ghost story that boasts an overwhelmingly high escape difficulty among the Grade D Darkness entries written in the early days. And the Field Exploration team that suffers endlessly.
Exploration record indicates a total of ■■ entries.
-------------------------
<Welcome to the Abyss Transpo>.
As anyone could tell just by looking, it was a ghost story using the Korean subway as its subject.
—You fall asleep and wake up inside a subway train. It feels like the way home from work, but strange station names start to be heard...
An introduction like this.
Since the prey of the ghost story was the broad criterion of 'people who have commuted by subway,' it applied to most office workers, which had the effect of making it even creepier for the readers.
“......”
‘And this ghost story... is Darkness under the jurisdiction of Daydream Inc.’
It seemed that Daydream Inc. intended to 'filter out' the new employees with this ghost story.
......Dammit!
“Is it like an escape room?”
“I mean, why would a pharmaceutical company that makes hair loss pills give an escape room to new sales recruits...”
It was then.
[This stop is Sorrow, Sorrow Station.]
“...!”
“Sor...row?”
The first announcement came out.
I held my breath and turned my head.
[The doors to exit are on the right….]
Clunk.
The Train stops.
[The platform screen doors are opening.]
The doors open.
It feels like any other ordinary day, but.
[The doors will close in 30 seconds. There is no turning back.]
[Passengers whose final destination is Sorrow Station should disembark according to the announcements.]
A familiar voice kindly speaks, mixing strange words and phrases into the announcement.
But people are bound to rationalize, searching for any reason to feel at ease.
“Look outside! It’s just a subway station!”
It was exactly as they said.
The view of the platform was clearly visible through the train doors. It looked a bit dark and damp, but it seemed like a normal subway station nonetheless.
Relieved, two or three people headed toward the door.
Ah, damn it.
“It might be better if you don’t go out.”
“Pardon?”
This is driving me crazy. I suppressed a sigh and spoke quickly.
“You heard it call this place Sorrow Station just now. Where would a station like that be in Korea? Anyone can tell it’s strange.”
“Ah…”
“I… I think he’s right. Maybe we should wait and see the situation a bit more…”
One quick-witted person agreed with me. It was the new recruit who had been sitting next to me.
Perhaps because of that, the people who were about to leave hesitated even more.
“Still…”
“Hey, the doors are closing!”
However, at the sound of the doors closing, a few people who had grown impatient impulsively dashed outside…
We’re screwed.
[The doors are closing.]
“Ah!”
“I didn't make it out. Oh, f*ck.”
Watching the ‘people who got off’ waving from the station, those who couldn't disembark sighed in regret.
Some even glanced at me and muttered curses under their breath.
I can understand. In a strange and bizarre situation, they probably just wanted to stop thinking and run away.
But the thing is.
“Wait, what?”
“That…”
A grotesque sight unfolded.
As the people who had gone out onto the platform turned to move, countless silver droplets suddenly sprouted from the station's ceiling and pillars and poured down onto their heads.
Drip, drop, patter.
It looked like giant tears.
However, those countless silver droplets poured onto the human bodies like molten metal, creating a horrific tearing sound.
Screams. Shrieks. Convulsions.
Silence.
Blood mixed with silver liquid splashed against the glass window.
[The train is departing from Sorrow Station.]
The last thing seen through the window.
“……”
In front of the platform screen doors drenched in filth and blood, only the mangled remains of the new recruits were left behind.
Twitching.
“Aaaaah!”
“Ugh!”
It was the end for those who gave the wrong answer.
[Please listen to the announcements for a pleasant journey to your destination.]
Among the people shriveled with fear, screams and shouts finally began to stain the air.
‘It’s started.’
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I’m inside a ghost story?
I don’t know how the hell I ended up like this, but I’ve definitely become a new recruit on a company team within a ghost story.
And a team with an incredibly high mortality rate at that.
‘Is this for real?’
Right. To be honest, I’m probably in a more advantageous position than the other new recruits.
After all, haven't I read this entire ghost story Wiki?
-------------------------
3.2 Exploration Records (Recorded up to No. ■■)
-------------------------
This means I remember it quite clearly, down to this level of detail.
And looking just this far, I seem like a typical OP protagonist.
Should I imagine myself looking cool, escaping this situation by utilizing the absolute advantage of information after being possessed into a world I like?
Should I feel a bit confident at the thought of monopolizing fated opportunities and Items?
I could.
But there’s one problem.
A very critical problem.
‘……I f*cking can’t handle scary things!’
That’s right.
The thing is… I’m a total coward.
Text is fine. I can read it with interest.
But the moment it becomes an image, I’m a coward who can’t stand it.
And not just any coward—I'm a coward who gets teased like a dog among my friends!
-Is it true Kim Soleum turned down a girl he liked because he was too scared to watch the horror movie she wanted to see?
-LMAO
-F*ck, Soleum, your name means 'goosebumps,' but you can't even watch horror movies? ROFL
-Man, even the girl who came over would run away lol
lol-
wanna die?-
-sorry
-sry
Even when reading ghost stories at the office in broad daylight, if a scary background or BGM plays, I’m the kind of coward who turns off his data and only reads the text!
A coward who couldn’t even put a single image in the ghost stories I posted!
A long-term resident of the shelter for scaredy-cats, that’s me!
“……”
I covered my face with both hands.
I. Am. So. Screwed.
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