The days in the Happy Ending Sect's underground bunker were monotonous and strange.
Those who prayed in turns.
A new corpse arriving every day.
And people who passionately argued how the corpses had been good people in life, and thus deserved to meet a happy ending.
People who teared up, smiled, and applauded at their words.
The corpses being stuffed into the black boxes.
The image of a small society gone mad was grotesque, yet peaceful amongst themselves.
'Truly like a cult.'
Cruel and insane acts.
Contrasted by a closed-off comfort.
The cult members were strangely kind, treating each other warmly and intimately, calling themselves family.
In the survival bunker isolated underground.
[Ah, that too is a technique of rule. A sense of solidarity and belonging, and the constraints of daily life are what prevent people from leaving the group.]
Right. Perhaps it can be seen as natural. But...
'…It feels like something is missing in the details.'
[Hmm?]
The details that make this absurd situation possible.
For instance… Usually, when cults conduct such rituals, there are always specific acts shared by everyone.
'Drinking a specific beverage, holding a certain branch, imitating an animal...'
Small symbols shared only amongst themselves.
Something that is somewhat mystical, unique, symbolic, and easy to do, making them feel a sense of religious belonging.
'The same goes for clothing.'
I had expected them to share a unified color, or at least an accessory.
But the people in this underground bunker are all wearing casual clothes. Meaning there's no clear proof of initiation.
Even the uniform worn by the sect officer… Well, it's symbolic in a ghost story, but it doesn't feel out of place even as casual wear.
'It would have been disturbingly impactful if everyone wore uniforms.'
However, since it’s only worn by the official, it feels like neither here nor there.
'I mean, how are they forming a sense of unity?'
How can this inhumane group be maintained solely by the ideology of 'Ireum-nim' and 'Happiness'? It's…baffling.
Is it just, brainwashing with Ireum-nim and killing people?
[Oh, what witty analysis! My Friend, you could even create a cult group of your own and it would be wonderful. The prophet role you played on the train was also very impressive!]
[How about creating a wonderful organization right now? Something interesting, uncanny, and cheerful... And this is a truly unconventional proposal, but I permit the use of this Braun's cotton-filled body as a symbol!]
T-Thank you, but I'll pass for now.
Anyway.
So, to be perfectly honest, hm… those gaps feel almost like blanks.
From the perspective of a wiki.
'It feels like they haven’t filled in the worldbuilding parameters.'
Because they focused only on superficial stimulation and disgust, constructing events and ghost story horror, but lacked realistic details. Yet, It’s those details that provide the foundation that supports the story.
'…The Happy Ending Sect was one of the most recent sects added to the Church of the Luminous Unknown wiki.'
Is that why? I wonder if it would have been different if I had ended up in a sect added in the early days of registration.
'Something like the Quota Worship Sect?'
But I quickly dismissed that thought.
It would probably be better like this—to be in a state where I can only feel disgust, without major disturbance.
'…Better than a visceral, crawling sense of dread, anyway.'
Let's be thankful it's not that.
I just simply sighed at the clumsy balance, trying to get used to the pain in my stomach as I watched cruel and chilling sights.
[Ah, it's certainly a sharp analysis but... Tell me, Mr. Roe Deer.]
[Have you never considered that some cult groups only reveal their true nature once you enter their inner circle?]
So he’s saying that you can only experience the real thing if you join, is that it...
'I’d rather decline.'
At least for the past two days, I wasn't forced to ingest blank scripture fragments to be reborn with the authority of the Church of Luminous Unknown.
The absence of subtle hints or pressure… If it were another cult, this situation would have felt even more chilling.
Because here, it felt intentionally calm.
'Perhaps they're taking the long view, thinking of me not as a contaminated human but a ghost story itself.'
I asked Ho Yuwon, but he only shook his head.
"Ah, no, nothing of that sort."
…Is that so?
"It's hard to say there’s anything worth calling information to look into, right? Still, it's convenient to have an easy chance to talk with you separately, Roe Deer-nim."
That's right.
The Happy Ending Sect had assigned us to living spaces of a sort…living spaces set on equal footing within this underground bunker.
Hemispherical chambers, connected like an ant nest.
{Authority Zone}
Unlike the cramped living quarters for new initiates, packed together, guaranteeing only the bare minimum for survival. This area was slightly separated from that. The area was wider, emptier… and independent. As if a personal territory had been granted.
Strange, sealed rooms, without even CCTV.
[It's just like a lion's den. If these were the living quarters of those who hid underground during the end times, they might look just like this.]
Incidentally, the nearby 'Authority Zones,' excluding our assigned areas, seemed to be empty.
Except for the two people wearing school uniforms.
"Authority Zone... In the Church of the Luminous Unknown, they seem to call Darkness 'Authority'. Isn’t that right?"
That's right.
Come to think of it.
>Question:
>Knowledge about the Church of the Luminous Unknown.
How much does Ho Yuwon know about the Church of the Luminous Unknown?
"I know as much as I need to. I saw the experiment logs mentioned in the Cheerful Research Institute."
Ah.
Derived from prior research, the name of the deity worshipped by a recently flourishing cult was adopted as a subtitle for that research.
…The experiment log that was next to the incubator I woke up in.
It seems Ho Yuwon had found other traces mentioned a few times in the underground Cheerful Research Institute as well.
"I confirmed that it's an extremist religious group that worships Darkness and seeks to become Darkness, and it seems to be rapidly gaining followers. It looked perfect for finding information I couldn't find before. And..."
Ho Yuwon met my gaze.
"In the experiment log that created you, Roe Deer-nim… it stated that the name was taken from this religious group's deity, right?"
…!
"I'm a little curious about what connection you might have to this religious group. Ah, this isn't a question, of course."
...
"Then, I'll ask a question this time, Roe Deer-nim."
The topic that was cut off back in the elevator.
A single question, almost obsessive.
"How do you know about Sekwang Metropolitan City?"
...Huu.
'I can't exactly say I read it on the wiki.'
It couldn't be helped.
>Cannot answer
>Substitute with another question.
"..."
Ho Yuwon's laughter stopped.
For a brief moment, a blank expression on his face, eyes looking straight at me. And then, as if flipping a switch, his smile returned.
"You can't answer… I see."
...
"I'll remember it well, Roe Deer-nim."
There were no follow-up questions.
An unsettling conclusion to the Q&A.
And, that evening.
Just one ordinary routine event returned, detailed enough to feel believable.
It was the Happy Ending Sect's mealtime.
"Let us share happiness."
"The gaze of Ireum-nim."
Here, everyone must attend the morning and evening meals and eat together. There are no exceptions.
This means even those contaminated by ghost stories sit at the same table with the new initiates.
Incidentally, the officials in school uniforms sat across from me...ugh.
'If this continues, they'll probably kill an initiate and say they made them happy.'
I suppressed a groan and kept quiet.
The meal soon began.
I sat still, glancing around at the exposed cement walls and ceilings of the underground bunker, and then looked at the dining table.
Canned rations.
"Can't eat it?"
I turned my head.
One of the uniformed officials looked at me with her chin resting on her hand.
Then she nudged the boy next to her, the one who looked exactly like her.
"Hey, hey, what do dragons usually eat?"
The boy just shrugged. She smacked his back lightly, then smiled brightly at me.
"Ah. I should introduce myself! Introductions are important... Right, I'm Lee Seoyu, and this is Lee Seobin. We're twins, I'm the older sister!"
She beamed.
"Some people call me 'Isseoyu~' in a Chungcheong dialect!" [1]
So cheerful.
Which only made it more awkward.
The ordinary cheerfulness of someone who killed without hesitation, brainwashed through hallucinations and whispers, and tried to kidnap others.
The unsettling casual nature of speaking their real names in a ghost story. And...
'They really were twins.'
Now that I was here, I recognized them... The twins from the Happy Ending Sect who appeared in several Church of the Luminous Unknowns ghost stories.
I'd seen their faces on WeTube thumbnails a few times.
Though this is the first time I'm hearing their actual names.
"Do you eat weird things, perhaps? Like human brains, you know. Or livers?"
However, looking at them like this, they really just seemed like high school students.
So, after some hesitation, I finally asked.
>Reason for clothing choice
"Ah, my school uniform?"
Her head drooped.
"Are you curious?"
And it rolled across the table.
Her long hair, tied with a red ribbon, wriggled on the tablecloth.
"Are you reallyreallyreallyreallyreally curious? CuriouswhyIwearthis? Reallyreally? Reallyreally? Really?"
No.
I think I’m good...
>Polite remark for table manners
"I see! I see!"
'Just drop the subject, please...'
Maybe because they're crazy, there’s never any warning.
I'll get mentally exhausted before I even find a way to return to a human shape.
Everything was just tiring and a bit overwhelming...
Then.
Thump.
"Aigoo..."
To my right.
The old woman, who was sitting next to Ho Yuwon, bumped into his arm and spilled her water cup.
His clothes got wet.
"Oh no, are you alright?"
However, instead of looking at the water on his sleeve, Ho Yuwon immediately moved to help the old woman up. He tidied the table in front of her and wiped her clothes.
…Ho Yuwon is going this far?
"What a good person."
"A good person.”
…I felt eyes on us.
From every table, I could hear murmurs as people watched Ho Yuwon's actions.
'...'
That evening, Ho Yuwon seemed to be softly chatting with the old woman and before long, he went so far as to invite her to his 'quarters.'
"I'll tell you an interesting story."
No one stopped him.
[Oh. I can feel the audience's anticipation.]
Right.
Anticipation.
One of the officials of the Happy Ending Sect, the one who introduced herself as Lee Seoyu, whispered to us as we turned to leave.
"If you want to make Grandma Kim Bokja happy, be sure to see me in the morning. We have to hold the ceremony for her!"
...
My stomach churned.
But I didn't stop Ho Yuwon.
'It must be for information.'
If things go wrong, I would step in myself.
And so, I slowly followed the old woman, whom Ho Yuwon was supporting, into his quarters...
And we entered.
Thump.
But the moment I closed the door and leaned against it.
Ho Yuwon released his hand supporting the old woman and stepped back.
And the old woman straightened her back up without difficulty, standing tall.
'…!'
She spat out a round, glass-like bead she’d been holding in her mouth. Then immediately, her form began to shift and harden...
A cold and tired look.
Sharp, hawk-like eyes.
A pale face, short blue hair.
Someone I knew.
'…!!'
Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
'Wait a minute.'
What is this situation?
For a moment, my mind froze, unable to process the situation.
And then, like lightning, realization struck.
'No wonder he helped the old woman.'
Assistant Manager Eun Haje had infiltrated this Happy Ending Sect facility disguised as an old woman…!
And there was only one person who could have arranged that.
Ho Yuwon!
"So you sent someone in, and then you came in yourself too?"
"No, it's a coincidence. I didn't expect to run into you like this either."
"Yes, yes. Of course."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje slumped into a seat with a wet splat.
And then, she made a face as if she wanted to punch Ho Yuwon, but then her eyes gleamed as she noticed the bruise on his face.
"Director, you got injured?"
"Ah. This person was a bit rough with their hands..."
[How despicable.]
Exactly.
As Ho Yuwon pointed at me, Assistant Manager Eun Haje’s gaze naturally landed on me as well.
She nearly went pale, but took a breath and calmly asked.
"…Isn’t this a Security Team member?"
"That's right. And actually, Falcon-nim also knows this person."
"..."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje's eyes darkened.
As if recalling the list of various Field Exploration Team employees she had worked with and encountered…and their fates.
But before that thought process could finish, Ho Yuwon spoke first.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? This is Roe Deer-nim."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje froze.
Her gaze, which had been meeting Ho Yuwon's, shifted entirely to me.
Her mouth opened.
"Roe Deer?"
...
>Yes, Assistant Manager.
I formed letters with smoke.
'It's fine.'
Actually, I was in a better state than when I met the Security Team members.
I was in a state where I could think clearly again, and I was freer than when I was in the isolation cell.
And to match Assistant Manager Eun Haje, who was sitting on the floor, I also carefully sat down by the door.
I forced myself to use the speech pattern I’d used before.
>I made a mistake and it caused a problem, which is why I ended up like this, but it will be fine.
>I am looking for a way to recover.
"..."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje stared at the floor. Her face, hidden by her hair, was not visible for a moment...
Then
"Right. Roe."
She looked back at me, her face now showing only composure, completely devoid of agitation.
"Of course, you can recover. Hey, you have to experience absurd side effects from darkness to truly become a Daydream employee."
And she patted my arm, which was in Black Smoke.
"You're a smart kid, so there will be another way. Think about what you want to do once you recover."
...
>Thank you.
"What are you thanking me for? Hey. Whenever I want to smoke, I can just stand next to you."
That doesn't seem quite right, but...
Anyway, I was able to talk a bit more about what had happened, with Assistant Manager Eun Haje grumbling about how she can't smoke while disguised like that.
It was a short but quite pleasant time.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje's face showed a faint smile when she heard about me working with Supervisor Park Minseong.
Of course, it disappeared again when we returned to the main topic.
"Falcon-nim. My calling you here was not with the intention of having you enjoy casual conversation with Roe Deer-nim."
"I apologize."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje apologized immediately, but a 'What are you going to do about it, you bastard?' kind of expression remained on her face.
Hmm, it seems they've become quite accustomed to each other, more than I thought...
'I was worried because that scumbag controlled Assistant Manager Eun Haje's body last time.'
It's a relief to see Assistant Manager Eun Haje behaving in character.
'Still, I should check on her later.'
For now, this first.
>Assistant Manager, were you sent here on Director Ho's orders?
"Yes. It's a death sentence. Having to retrieve corpses and all…"
Assistant Manager Eun Haje grumbled, saying she had only infiltrated cults a couple of times back when she was a reporter.
"Isn’t this place worshipping darkness in an underground shelter and killing people? Happy Ending, huh? If they want happy endings, why not give it to themselves, instead of imposing it on innocent people?"
Every word she says is absolutely right...
>And this seems to be a place where they gather people for initiation, so won't it be difficult to obtain any special information?
"No. It's at the initiation ceremony that you can really dig up things."
Huh?
"Usually, cults reveal their true colors once they've drawn someone in."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje grinned.
"And to do that, they must have prepared something, right? There must be something somewhere in this facility. So then—"
"All that is fine, Falcon-nim. But please don't forget the purpose for which you came here."
Ho Yuwon cut in.
"Did you find out about Sekwang Metropolitan City?"
"No, wait, you’re just going to say that in front of him…? Well, whatever. Anyway, to find that information here, you first have to find out what exactly they're up to, and then use that as a base to approach… Huu."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje said, sounding utterly fed up.
"Wait a moment. Didn't you send me here because you confirmed that I would know about Sekwang Metropolitan City in the future?"
...!
'Future?'
A memory flashed in my mind.
The words Assistant Manager Eun Haje urgently said to me in my room at the company housing just before I boarded the Tamra train.
—“On January 2nd, you will be marked as deceased.”
—“I confirmed it… in a Darkness that shows the future.”
If that was something Ho Yuwon learned through activities related to his project.
'Then his actions so far make sense.'
Ho Yuwon had already confirmed the future.
That 'Assistant Manager Eun Haje would discover something about Sekwang Metropolitan City from the Church of the Luminous Unknown'… a future like that.
Realizations came one after another.
'Wait, so did he personally get recruited on purpose to infiltrate the sect?'
If it’s the title of director, then it wouldn't be strange if he had noticed something amiss and taken some measures the day of or the day before.
No wonder the Happy Ending Sect official had infiltrated the company's Main Building basement so smoothly, without raising more alarms.
It seems he must have employed some trick to minimize confrontation, perhaps by drawing away the security personnel that day.
To be able to enter without suspicion.
And of course, I don't feel good about being caught up in that planned act… but more than that.
'…Through what kind of Darkness did he see the future?'
That accuracy.
Darkness is a paranormal phenomenon, and the more dangerous and unfathomable the more powerful they tend to be.
What is Ho Yuwon using?
>Question: Darkness that confirms the future
“…Did you ask me a question? That's strange. I'm sure the Q&A stopped at my turn to ask."
Damn it.
"Roe Deer-nim, it seems you don't have the right to ask questions until it's my turn."
The gas-masked me and the smiling Ho Yuwon stared at each other for a moment.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje watched this mess unfold with a 'what is going on' look, then shrugged and spoke.
"In any case, since we’ve got more people now, it’ll be easier. If both of you joined the search, Roe and Director."
"Search?"
"Yes. I was thinking of looking into this facility itself… hmm."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje shrugged again.
"Even if this bunker itself is a Darkness, there must be an entrance somewhere, right? One that leads to the surface."
That… would certainly be the case.
'Usually, Spatial Ghost Stories have an escape route to reality.'
The fact that we entered means there is a way out.
Even if it's a ghost story of the Church of the Luminous Unknown, they wouldn't break that basic condition.
Though this underground bunker may not be fixed in one location, at any given time it must connect somewhere.
The initiates might not know, as they wake up here after losing consciousness, but perhaps those with deeper involvement would know.
For instance, the Twins.
"And maybe it’s worth noting, but those twins in school uniforms, the key figures here. I never saw them in the dining hall during lunchtime."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje added that they seemed to be doing something 'other than managing initiates.'
Anyway, to cut to the chase, she said it would be good to find a hint about the entrance.
That would allow us to trace back to the center.
"Usually, in cults, the most valuable things are placed furthest from the entrance, deep inside. Of course, it also allows for escape if necessary."
"Aha."
Ho Yuwon did not object.
And I, after a moment of thought, replied.
>I think there might be a device near that area that can check outside.
"Oh, that's possible."
In fact, this is a certainty.
There were several descriptions in the wiki records related to this Final Ritual Chamber that seemed to describe checking the outside from within.
"Well, it wouldn't be in places where clueless initiates are, would it? Showing them the outside would reduce the educational effect."
Away from the living quarters of the initiates.
A place with higher elevation.
A place convenient for insiders to check.
But that would be…
'Here.'
{Authority Zone}
It had an anthill-like structure with a high ceiling, and thus a larger area closer to the surface.
In the end, we decided to explore this zone very carefully, making sure not to encounter the Twins.
"Good. If the two of you go together, it will be easier for this grandmother to move around too."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje swallowed the glass bead again.
And a moment later.
"Here it is."
We found it.
At the very end of the Authority Zone. An empty section.
There, if you open a small, round cover near the ceiling…
"It's glass."
A fixed facility, like a small telescope, made for peeking outside.
"Hey Roe, want to check?"
I gladly did so.
I lightly rose up, covered in smoke, and placed my eye against the round opening where the cover had been lifted…
The view through the opaque glass telescope, about a handspan wide.
...
...!!
"Roe?"
I looked again.
But the scenery didn’t change. Old houses, mountains, utility poles, unpaved roads, traditional Korean houses.
That's…
Jisan Village.
The ritual site of this Church of the Luminous Unknown was located underground in Baek Saheon's hometown village.
TL Notes: -
[1] People of Chungcheong speak in a friendlier manner. Basically, they soften their words, sentences ending with ‘-yo’ tend to be changed to ‘-yu’. Lee Seoyu is pronounced as ‘Iseoyu’ which also sounds like ‘It’s here’ or ‘here’. ↩
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