An abandoned house where one is trapped, bewitched by a Changwi.
Is anyone there…?
Outside the entrance of the abandoned house, someone called out for a person once again.
This time, it was a low male voice.
“N-no…! Wh-who on earth….”
The Manager covered his mouth and screamed.
Please open the door….
“…….”
“The, the dead person, who is it? Who came? Hieee… L-let’s run! Let’s run away!”
It’s so cold out here.
Hmm.
“I-I definitely won’t answer this ti… Eek??”
I approached the door.
And then, I pulled the doorknob.
“Uaaakh?!”
The figure revealed as the door opened was….
“Wow, I thought I was going to die…. Thank you…….”
A perfectly normal human with a slender build, light hair, and wearing a worn navy blue uniform.
“…!?”
“Manager Lee Byeong-jin, please greet him.”
I nodded politely.
“He is the Sergeant of Security Team 3.”
“……??? …?!”
That’s right.
It was the Sergeant of Security Team 3, who had been sucked into the ghost story with me.
‘His face looks like it’s going to explode.’
Manager Lee Byeong-jin, his face bright red, pointed back and forth between me and the Sergeant, then got startled by his own action, snapped his finger back, and let out a bizarre groan.
“Why… H-how…?!”
Why else would it be?
‘You were the one who told me….’
-That’s how they come to find you every single day, using the voices of dead family, friends, and neighbors…!
You said they only come once a night.
For reference, similar words are explicitly recorded in the <Dark Exploration Record>.
Upon being dragged to an abandoned house, a Changwi comes to the door every night and pleads in the voice of a dead relative, causing the Sacrificial Lamb to suffer from mental anguish and confusion.
‘“Every day” means the cycle is once a day.’
But since I couldn't say, “There is a magical record that supports your statement,” well.
“It’s a hunch.”
“…….”
The Manager took on a somewhat dazed expression.
Anyway, I was right, so just take it as it is.
Meanwhile, after confirming the Sergeant had entered the abandoned house, I immediately closed the door and secured the handle.
Just looking outside gives me the chills.
“Thank you…….”
“It was nothing.”
It was truly shocking how this man managed to avoid being dragged away by the Changwi and safely knocked on the door of this house….
‘Well… he is from the security team.’
The even more surprising point was that the Sergeant was not alone.
He was supporting someone.
“…And that person?”
The Sergeant replied brightly.
“Look, I found the missing person!”
“……This person is the missing person.”
“Ah. I got confused….”
“…….”
Their genders are completely different, though….
I checked the person the Sergeant had plopped down on the floor.
It was a stranger.
She was in a very bedraggled state, and regardless of who was there, she slumped down in the abandoned house and began to wail.
“Uwaaaaa, it’s all over. It’s all over!”
“She kept doing that. Oh, this place is better…. I came to my senses in some place like a shaman’s house…. It’s cold and dark and damp, so I didn’t like it there.”
“Aaaah!”
“…….”
‘It’s a mess.’
I just simply needed a sane colleague….
‘I miss you, the Seniors of D-Group….’
Still, I examined the wailing person. She was wearing a dirty white gown, and a name tag was attached to her chest.
[Go Seon-ha]
‘Huh?’
I immediately pulled out a small business card.
The one that had been tucked between the pages of the old book titled ‘Way of Life.’
Go Seon-ha
Department of History, Jugang University
On the back, it said ‘Leaving tomorrow.’
“By any chance, if you are the owner of this business card, did you test the contents of the book?”
“Ugh….”
The woman nodded.
“Yes…. But, it’s all useless.”
“Eh? Wait! U-useless. What does that mean….”
“It’s exactly what I said.”
The woman pulled something from her bosom with a gloomy face.
“That is,”
“If you go about a hundred steps from here, there’s a shrine just as written in that book… the ‘Divine Shrine’ mentioned in that book is likely there.”
“…….”
“And this is a copy of the wooden plaque there.”
The woman glanced at me with a weary face.
“Looking at you, it seems you’ve read that book properly as well. …By any chance, do you study Korean history? This was written in a style from hundreds of years ago….”
No. I just have a monster Friend….
“A-anyway!! Then, can’t we just do as written on that, that wooden plaque?! Why are you just crying and saying it’s all impossible….”
“Because it won’t work!!”
“…!”
“Mister, I’m not an idiot, and I tried to do as written on the plaque. Getting three plums, mashing them in a cup, and scattering them outside, I did it all! I did it all, but….”
“…….”
Go Seon-ha caught her breath while looking into the void, then showed me the back of the paper she had pulled out as if thrusting it at me.
“Read that.”
Braun tactfully began to read it for me.
-‘Prepare a tune to offer to the Sangun. The more well-known it is, the better its effect. Write the lyrics and place them in the Incense Altar, then sing at the top of your lungs,
clapping at every step and bowing every thirty steps.’
“A tune to offer to the Sangun….”
“Yes! That!”
Go Seon-ha asked with her eyes wide.
“The Sangun is a tiger! So what immediately comes to mind? A tune related to tigers, praising tigers, whether it’s a children’s song or a folk song.”
“Th-that……”
Manager Lee Byeong-jin opened his mouth stutteringly.
“The king of the moun-tains, the great tiger….”
“On the tiger’s birthday, yes, that! I thought of that too. So I was going to use that, but….”
Go Seon-ha slumped her head.
“……They say you can’t use a tune that’s already been used.”
“…!”
“The space under the Incense Altar was already full of used lyric sheets! ‘The King of the Mountains’ was obviously among them……!”
Good grief.
“‘The Sangun is fickle and enjoys tunes, so he does not accept the same as before.’ No, they say tigers in folktales smoke pipes and dance, but this kind of… this kind of!!”
Go Seon-ha screamed toward the void as if breathing fire, then looked back at us and asked with a desperate expression.
“Tiger children’s songs, folk songs, instrumentals… is there nothing else that comes to mind besides that king of the mountains song? Anything, anything at all….”
There is none.
“There isn’t, of course there isn’t!”
Go Seon-ha tore at her hair.
“It’s not like I’m a traditional music major, and it’s not like I can search for it, ah, ah….”
“…….”
No.
Even I didn’t know that duplicates weren't allowed.
In the <Dark Exploration Record>, there were records of performing the ritual in spaces reached after being bewitched by a Changwi three or four times, and the songs used each time were different.
From some traditional music games to instrumental pieces….
‘I thought they just wrote down different songs for fun because it’s a collective intelligence Wiki.’
I didn't know such a detail was hidden.
Even if I wanted to use the songs written on that Wiki, only the titles are written; the lyrics and melodies are unknown.
‘Damn it.’
The atmosphere in the abandoned house turned cold.
“…….”
Phew.
With Braun's help, I read through the Chinese characters on the paper she said she copied from the wooden plaque of the Divine Shrine.
And then I asked.
“Ms. Go Seon-ha.”
“…Yes.”
“I have a few things I’d like to ask, is that alright?”
“What is it.”
“Have you been here for a few days?”
“……Ten days.”
Go Seon-ha’s face turned pale.
“But after being here for two or three days, I heard the sound of some crazy man wandering around… so I hid in the attic.”
The ‘crazy man’ looked back at Go Seon-ha with a somewhat wronged expression.
“And a few days later…… I even heard the voices of children. I didn't know what to do, so… just today when it became a full moon, while this mister was dozing off, I secretly went outside.”
“And you were planning to go to the Divine Shrine to try and perform the ritual.”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
Then I moved on to the next question.
“But that’s strange.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s written right there that one Sacrificial Lamb is required for the ritual, so why did you go alone?”
“……I won’t say anything like I was going to sacrifice myself to save the children.”
Go Seon-ha clenched her fists so hard her knuckles turned white.
“I was going to see how it’s done first… and then decide. But, yes. While doing it, I realized the situation. I also saw the records of the people who performed it before.”
“…….”
“Today is the full moon. Once today is over, it’s all over! I can’t last another 15 days until the full moon comes again. Surely… surely, the ghost will open the door,”
“Yes. It means the ritual must be performed before the sun rises.”
Recalling the single Talisman barely remaining on the doorknob, I couldn't help but nod.
“But I said I can’t do it!”
“No.”
I shook my head and stood up.
“I think it’s possible.”
“Pardon?”
“The ritual, I mean.”
For now, I thought of it.
A decent alternative.
“I will prepare for it.”
“W-wait a minute. No, uh, even if something is possible, you have to find all the supplies outside and prepare them… everything I found has already been used!”
I looked again at what was written on the paper that copied the ritual.
Ingredients: 3 plums, salt, ashes from burning a peach tree branch, a bucket of well water.
That means all of this must be obtained from outside….
In the middle of this night when the Changwi are wandering about.
But a way to safely wander around here alone….
‘Coincidentally, there is one.’
Only for me.
-Shall I turn off the lighting now, Mr. Roe Deer?
“…….”
Wow.
Do I really have to go out alone?
I instinctively looked back at the people.
My coward’s heart was screaming for us to please all stick together, but my brain grabbed me by the collar and told me not to do something stupid.
Aaaah, this is driving me crazy!
In the end, reason won.
“Everyone, please wait here.”
Actually, I’d like you to come with me.
If there’s anyone who would consider volunteering to come with me…… there is someone, right?
Surprisingly, Go Seon-ha raised a hand.
“…Because I’ve tried it before. I can at least guide you to the location,”
“Ahem! D-don’t interfere and just sit down, student.”
However, Manager Lee Byeong-jin stood up in surprise and dissuaded Go Seon-ha.
“He’s not someone you should think of as being like us! Eh? I’m telling you, he’s not an ordinary person!”
“…….”
No, that’s a bit much.
“Don’t interfere and just mark the locations for him. Quickly!”
“Uh….”
Go Seon-ha had a dubious look on her face.
But after looking back at me, she soon nodded as if she understood for some reason.
‘…!?’
Then, in the blank space of the paper where the ritual was written, she marked the locations where she had obtained the supplies and handed it to me.
“Ah! And… be careful of the water.”
“…….”
“A Changwi is a ghost that died by tiger affliction and became a servant to the tiger. … But in the past, it also meant a water ghost….”
Go Seon-ha swallowed hard, her face pale.
“Riversides, the sound of water, valleys, whatever it is, if you see an omen of water, avoid it. Don't even look, just walk.”
“Yes.”
This is really scary, damn it…….
In any case, the time had come, and I stood before the door.
The Sergeant said a word.
“Oh…… you’re going out alone?”
“Yes.”
It brings tears to my eyes, but that’s how it turned out.
“If any problem arises, please take care of the people.”
The security team isn't a department for protecting people, but it's much better than a civilian. Especially if the opponent is a monster within a ghost story.
But the Sergeant just stared at me.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes.”
“You really don’t seem like an employee of our company……”
“…?!”
“It’s fascinating…. Alright. I’ll just sit here then…. I don’t have any equipment anyway…….”
And then he sprawled out near the door.
“…….”
Anyway, things are settled, right?
‘…Let’s go.’
After taking a silent deep breath, I pulled the doorknob.
Creeeeeak.
Along with the eerie sound of hinges, the outside came into view.
Within the darkness where fog was thick.
It was deathly silent.
“…….”
Creak, thud.
The door closed behind me.
It was definitely supposed to be a full moon, but because the fog was so thick, not a single beam of moonlight shone through.
Deep darkness where greyish things could be glimpsed occasionally, tree branches swaying in the wind, and shadows of trees and bushes.
I barely managed to take a step.
Thud, thud.
-Friend, I will now turn off your lighting. Disappear… into the blind spot of the camera, behind the stage….
With every step, something like a thick shadow pressed down darkly over me.
‘It’s a bizarre sensation even experiencing it again….’
I had now become faint and dark, quietly melting into the foggy forest.
-Phew. It happens quite easily here!
Of course, the fear remained the same. I felt like I might die of a heart attack.
[If you walk straight up to the left from the abandoned house, you’ll see a very large tree. A Sacred Rope is hanging on it.]
Still, the clumsy sketch, arrows, and words Ms. Go Seon-ha had drawn came to mind, guiding the direction of my steps.
It was at a point where I couldn't distinguish front from back, so it was admirable how she had managed to gather the ritual supplies.
‘Top left.’
How many minutes had passed like that, feeling like an hour?
-Ah, Mr. Roe Deer. I see something over there.
Just as Braun said, something began to appear.
It was… a giant tree heavily draped in fog.
Whoosh.
Every time the branches swayed, a somewhat sweet smell drifted.
…It was peaches.
‘Why does it smell when there are no fruits?’
Even though it was clearly sweet, it felt ominous for some reason….
A Sacred Rope was hanging on the tree, and it also hung loosely between two thick branches.
And beyond that, a small field could be seen.
-Ho, is it farmland? A small vegetable garden in the mountains, the aesthetic is quite nice. Still, it’s not to my taste!
Braun spoke quite cheerfully, but my mind was not cheerful at all.
Was this neighborhood called the ‘Sangun’s Burial Site’ in the book I read earlier?
Even the locations where the ingredients for the ritual are?
‘It’s definitely a supernatural area.’
Being extremely cautious, I slowly approached that side and gathered the ingredients while circling the vicinity.
‘Plums… found them.’
[If you keep the large tree to your right and look left, you’ll see small trees. Plum trees.]
I picked up the fruits that had fallen under the plum trees, and I also picked up parched branches near the giant peach tree.
For the record, I absolutely did not pick the fruits directly or break the branches.
‘Who knows what would happen to me.’
It would be scary enough standing alone in the mountains in the middle of the night, but imagine standing alone in the mountains where you’re trapped, bewitched by a ghost.
And you even have to complete a mission?
You would naturally become a safety-first person.
‘…Good.’
Lastly, I gathered the salt that had been scattered like a Warding off misfortune Talisman on top of an old stone pagoda into a piece of paper.
…To be honest, I almost screamed earlier while drawing water from the well when I heard the sound of the bucket hitting something inside.
‘But I gathered it all.’
The surroundings were still silent.
I let out a very thin sigh of relief.
‘Now, if I go back to the peach tree and go in reverse, the abandoned house should appear….’
It was when I was retracing my steps to move accurately.
Something I hadn't seen before caught my eye.
At the end of the peach tree’s Sacred Rope, a clean silk end was tied.
‘Eh?’
Words were written there.
You who are unqualified
Turn back
Wow.
‘I must never even touch it.’
I nodded my head while maintaining a safety distance of 1m.
-You look nervous, Mr. Roe Deer.
‘Ah. It seems like a qualification is needed to cross this rope.’
-Hmm.
‘No matter how I think about it, there’s no way a person bewitched by a ghost and brought here would have the qualification….’
-And you have the qualification!
‘…….’
What?
-Will you look at your wrist?
I raised my hand and looked at the inside.
The place where the theme park’s entry band had been.
: Socius :
The tattoo that remained in the place where the Membership Pass had burned was shimmering mysteriously.
“…!!”
‘Was the word… Socius.’
A Latin word meaning companion, member, or kin.
-Ho, I didn't expect it to be a mark with such a wide range of common use!
-I don’t know if he has many connections despite being a theme park Mascot, or if he has another part-time job.
“…….”
-Then Friend, will you use the Membership Pass?
I approached right in front of the Sacred Rope and slowly reached out my hand.
The swaying Sacred Rope passed smoothly through my arm like a lie.
“…!”
-As expected.
I carefully took a step forward.
Into the plantation where entry was permitted.
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