Peek-a-boo by Saint U.
According to the middle schoolers' explanation, it was the final group activity album of a famous girl idol who had made a grand comeback a few years ago after a long hiatus.
The addictive, bright, and cheerful pre-release track was said to have stayed on the music charts for a long time.
Now, that song was echoing through the eerie, dark, and misty forest, accompanied by rhythmic clapping.
Clap.
"My piercing gaze captures you at once, but I have no intention of approaching first..."
"I'll wait, pretending I'm not, until you draw near, quite comfortably."
Cuz Predators never move first…. Even the adults joined in, doing their best to sing along, however clumsily.
Clap.
"Right, hurry and get ready. I'm an elegant tiger. The moment you approach—Peek-a-boo!"
The lively and exciting melody continued.
Perhaps because they were singing together, the children's expressions gradually softened, and their voices gained strength.
"Peek-a-boo! Here I come, get nervous! I'm a tiger. Even within the darkness, my eyes sparkle!"
—'Walk along the path as the tune rises, and place the sacrificial lamb to be used as an offering at the very back.'
However, at the very end of the line, instead of a person, a palm-sized purple Mountain Ginseng was dangling and swaying like a bundle.
The Sergeant was following at the rear, resting the stick from which the Mountain Ginseng hung over his shoulder, as if carrying a trash bag.
Go Seon-ha kept glancing at it suspiciously from the side, but the man himself was humming the song quite cheerfully.
"Peek-a-boo! I'll bewitch you and make you lose your mind. Peek-a-boo. Right, get nervous."
Clap.
I signaled for the people to stop with a hand gesture.
'The thirtieth.'
The people hesitated but then bowed deeply as if performing a New Year's greeting before standing back up.
And the song continued.
"Peek-a-boo!"
The trail gradually became flatter and easier to walk.
—'The path ends when the tune ends. When you find a small snake den in a place without grass, put your hand inside, thanking the Sangun for his mercy.'
—'Your hand must be coated with well water mixed with salt.'
By the time they reached the final chorus after the second verse, the surrounding scenery had changed.
The trees that had been so dense they brushed against their faces thinned out, and the grayish-white mist grew thicker.
Instinctively, everyone realized it.
'We're almost there...!'
People's faces were stained with tension, expectation, and alertness.
But they sang the song to the end as calmly as possible.
"Peek-a-boo, right, get nervous..."
Clap.
Until the final line.
"Now, I'm coming for you."
Their footsteps stopped.
"……."
"……."
The path ended.
In front of the blocked trail was a wide-open clearing.
"The, the trees are gone."
People's steps quickened. Through the thick mist, the result of the ritual finally appeared before their eyes.
"Now the snake den...!"
A massive reservoir.
"……."
"……."
'What is this?'
A vast, black body of water from which mist endlessly rolled out.
People stopped, their faces filled with bewilderment and terror.
Faces that didn't understand what was happening.
"Why, why..."
"Wait, a snake den should have appeared, uh..."
What was it?
What went wrong?
I looked at the Mountain Ginseng the Sergeant was holding.
…It was perfectly fine.
'It should have disappeared...?'
Go Seon-ha spoke, her face pale.
"...A water ghost."
"...!"
The words I heard a few hours ago immediately came to mind.
'And... be careful of water. A Changwi was originally something that meant a water ghost a long time ago...'
"It was a trap! The ritual, the ritual itself was a trap!! We were bewitched by a water ghost...!"
"Aaaaaah!!"
"We've all been lured here, to the reservoir...!!"
Section Chief Lee Byeong-jin screamed and tried to run back, only to trip and fall. The children began to sob, screaming and grabbing onto each other.
I also felt a chill run down my spine and almost collapsed.
It felt like I had stepped into a scene from a horror movie where all the characters were about to die.
"……."
'Am I going to die like thi—'
...No.
No!!
At the very least, I had to know why.
No matter how much I thought about it, I hadn't made a mistake within the information given. Even including all the Exploration Records from the <Dark Exploration Record> I had read!
An irrational sense of being unable to accept this dominated my mind more than fear.
The terrified Go Seon-ha's shouting buzzed in my ears.
"Turn, turn around and run. Back to the abandoned house...!"
...Huh?
Wait a minute.
I turned to look at Go Seon-ha.
"...Do you know something?"
"Yes?"
"The abandoned house was also a deception."
"……Pardon?"
"Doesn't it seem strange if you think about it?"
I spoke slowly.
About the intended contradictions of this ghost story.
"We entered this space because we were bewitched by a Changwi, yet we were able to regain our senses in an abandoned house with Talismans meant to keep the Changwi out."
"……."
"And in that abandoned house, the ritual to escape this place was kindly written down."
That was why interpretations of this abandoned house were divided even in the comment section of the <Dark Exploration Record> Wiki, but I was almost certain.
'This was a ghost story intended to bleed people dry from the start.'
If so, the intended probability was this.
"They intentionally trap you in the abandoned house for fifteen days, wringing out your mind and body to weaken you."
By giving the hope of a ritual and forcing people to endure in an extreme state, they break down their psychological barriers.
"Then it's easy to lure them out."
Crucially...
"In that state, if they can induce a mistake during the ritual, that's best, but it doesn't matter if they don't."
I looked at the Mountain Ginseng.
"Because in the process of choosing a Sacrificial Lamb, conflict will inevitably arise and there will be stragglers. One Sacrificial Lamb can always be 'taken.'"
"……."
"Of course, the ritual itself must be real. That way, people will cling to it more desperately."
And because this was the <Dark Exploration Record>.
You shouldn't put too many convenient false settings into a story. It breaks immersion and loses tension, so the ritual is definitely real.
That's why I also proceeded with the ritual with almost total certainty, but...
"That makes it even more questionable."
I had read quite a lot of ghost stories.
At least all the ghost stories posted on the <Dark Exploration Record>.
Even the ones that were hard to read became part of my routine at the company, so I read them several times.
In that process, I also learned a few bits of trivia I hadn't known before...
Things like this.
"Peach branches are commonly known to ward off ghosts."
"And?"
"And plums are a fruit that Changwi like. That's probably why these two materials were needed."
"...Ah."
"Lure the Changwi to the shrine, and in the meantime, the person performing the ritual escapes while holding the incense that wards off ghosts."
I raised my head.
"But it just so happens that there is someone here who was uncomfortable with the smell of the burning incense made from peach branches and reacted as if tempted by the plums."
"……."
Among the seven people, the person who insisted on walking next to the Sergeant at the very back.
As if they wanted to walk as far away as possible from the incense made of peach branches.
"Ms. Go Seon-ha."
I stared at the person in question.
"Are you speaking of your own will right now?"
"……What are you—"
Maybe.
Maybe the real Ms. Go Seon-ha failed the ritual at the shrine even before we met her and already...
"Right now, it's not Ms. Go Seon-ha, but a Changwi speaking, isn't it?"
Thud.
Her feet stopped.
"I've been caught."
Go Seon-ha's mouth tore open.
But it's late! Too late!
Her arms grew strangely long and stretched out, trying to grab and pull me...
'Ack!'
I rolled on the ground to dodge the arm.
Behind me, the screams of the Section Chief and the children echoed.
"Aaaaaagh!!"
"A, a ghost!"
Reflexively, I pulled the knife from my front pocket. That thing isn't a complete Changwi! Since it's a human possessed by a Changwi, if I can somehow subdue her...
But I realized.
'I, I can't charge at that thing!'
To use this short-range weapon, I'd have to go right in front of a ghost-possessed person! I feel like I'm about to faint even now!
Still, my burning brain immediately found the right person!
"Sergeant!"
I threw the weapon at the Human Figure standing behind me.
"Please suppress her!"
Whoosh.
The Blood-Sucking Knife sliced through the air.
"...Ah."
The Sergeant snatched the Blood-Sucking Knife I threw, glanced at it once, and immediately charged at the Changwi.
He-he-he-he!!
Go Seon-ha's face and arms twisted, and strange and bizarre forms burst out at random.
The arms, faces, hair, and eyes of countless men and women of all ages looked in all directions.
Hey! Hey!
"Hieeeeek!"
"Step back and close your eyes!"
Lee Byeong-jin retreated toward the mountain path, rolling with the children, and curled his body.
Can you hear me? Someone help!
At that moment, the Sergeant's appearance also began to twist.
A grotesque form.
His skinny-looking Upper Body swelled as if it would explode, growing massive, and his mouth tore long like a snout, with his tongue darting out.
That tongue mercilessly grabbed and snapped the Changwi's long arms.
Aaaaaagh!
No, it was a hallucination. The Sergeant looked like a normal human.
No, he really did transform into a monster-like form...
'Wow, this is driving me crazy.'
I barely managed to shift my focus.
The reason the Security Team suppressed ghost stories so well.
The reason why they were not the Field Exploration team despite that.
It was appearing before my eyes.
==========
[Security Team]
: One of the three teams under the Security Department of Daydream Inc., a massive force appearing in the <Dark Exploration Record>.
A team where personnel who have been so eroded by specific Anomalies that they are no longer judged as human are employed.
It is a life-term position, and resignation is impossible.
==========
Did you know?
If you aren't judged as human, the Collector doesn't fill with extract even if you clear a ghost story.
There is no value in Field Exploration.
That's why those who have synchronized with ghost stories and become almost like monsters are assigned to the Security Team.
Especially... those Contaminated by a certain ghost story that is violent and has a strong territorial instinct,
It hurts! It hurts!
To the Security Team.
To be used to suppress major problems with ghost stories managed within the company.
'...And to be a Sergeant there, that man must be the same.'
In short, an employee specialized in confronting monsters within ghost stories.
Kyaaaaaaaaagh!
The Changwi's numerous arms were torn apart by the tongue, claws, and teeth protruding from the Sergeant's snout.
As the Sergeant held the Blood-Sucking Knife in his mouth, strange shapes were still shimmering on his face.
'...A wolf?'
The hallucination of saliva and blood dripping from a snout torn wide to reveal numerous teeth overlapped and then vanished.
Dizziness and nausea surged like a wave, so I hurriedly stared at the ground.
'...It feels like I'm having a nightmare.'
I began to vaguely understand, in a realistic sense, why the Security Team removed all people when they suppressed ghost stories in the <Dark Exploration Record>...
Still, despite taking a gamble, things were proceeding successfully.
"Keep your eyes closed!"
I also silently endured, looking at the ground.
And in the next moment.
—Oh, Mr. Roe Deer. The bizarre guest you brought has won!
The situation had ended.
When I looked up, the Changwi was lying there with the Blood-Sucking Knife pierced into the palm of its right hand.
And I saw the distorted and mutated form of the Sergeant firmly gripping its head...
—Ugh, it looks like trash that's gone as far as it can go. If it had come as a guest on my show, it wouldn't have dared to appear!
There has never been a time when I felt so lucky that only I could hear what Braun was saying.
I squeezed out a desperately nonchalant voice to the Sergeant, who was pressing down hard on Go Seon-ha's head.
"Sergeant, thank you."
"Uuuurgh..."
—He says he's tired. How rude!
You, who can translate that monstrous sound, are scarier...
It was then.
A muffled sound came from beneath the Sergeant's hand.
It was a human voice.
"W-wait..."
"...!"
Before I knew it, a normal-looking Go Seon-ha was desperately groaning and wheezing with a terrified expression.
"P-please save me! S-save m—"
Leave her behind...
"U-uuugh..."
Her eyes rolled back, and the voice of the Changwi was heard.
Let's just you die... hmm? You can die. You killed people. You tried to kill the kids. I know everything, you know? You can die.
Go Seon-ha struggled.
"No, no..."
Leave only her behind. Leave only her behind. Okay? Please?!
"Please save me, please save me!! Aaaaaagh!"
At that moment.
"Right now."
The Sergeant asked in a human voice.
"You're requesting an emergency rescue from <Daydream Inc.>... right?"
His face could not be seen due to the monster's form.
But that clear voice was definitely questioning Go Seon-ha directly.
"This is an official request at a level where a contract would be drawn up... correct?"
……Something felt off.
Go Seon-ha looked up with a dazed face, then answered in a desperate voice as if she had regained her senses.
"Corr—"
Wait.
"No, it's not."
I gritted my teeth and cut in.
"This isn't Darkness owned by the company, and we didn't enter to rescue a civilian. Most importantly, we've provided mutual help to each other."
"Huh...? That's strange..."
The growling voice dropped dangerously low.
"Didn't she try to stop us from leaving...?"
Gasp.
"...It doesn't matter. In the result, it was helpful."
I declared firmly.
"Then this is cooperation."
"……."
The Sergeant stared at me.
Then he looked at Go Seon-ha and...
"Ah... is that so..."
"……."
"I guess that could be right..."
Sshhh.
The strength left the Sergeant's voice, and his tone returned to its usual 'everything is a bother' style.
'Whew.'
I cut in because something felt strange, and as expected, this seemed right.
'It's best not to get involved with Daydream Inc. at all...'
Especially being in debt to that company? No matter how I thought about it, I had a very bad feeling.
"Hmm... then what should we do..."
"Just a moment."
I approached Section Chief Lee Byeong-jin, who was holding the children and crouching back with his eyes closed.
The Section Chief was startled by my footsteps.
"Hieeeeek! Are you going to use me instead—!"
"The incense burner."
"Huh...?"
"Give it to me."
I snatched the incense burner Lee Byeong-jin was still holding.
The incense made from peach branches had already burned out, but the ash remained completely inside the burner.
'She hated the peach branches.'
In that case...
I poured that incense burner directly near Go Seon-ha's shoulder.
Kyaaaaaaaaagh!!
Sizzle.
It clearly shouldn't have been that hot, but the smell of burning and salt rose from her shoulder.
I'm not going! I'm not going! I'll just cling to her again! I'll just cling again... Aaaaaagh!
I poured it all over her head.
The body possessed by the Changwi convulsed, thrashing wildly, and then...
"Gasp,"
Her eyes snapped open.
Eyes filled with clarity and relief.
It was Go Seon-ha.
"I, I'm okay! I think I'm okay now..."
"No, you aren't."
"Pardon?"
"This is a space you entered because you were bewitched by a Changwi in the first place, so it could come back at any time."
"T-then..."
"So, for now, let's make it so you can't come in at all, Ms. Go Seon-ha."
"...?"
I had brought one more pouch of apple juice.
I held out the sealed pack to Go Seon-ha.
"U-uh, uh..."
"Just swallow it all."
When I insisted, Go Seon-ha had a look like she didn't understand, but eventually, while being pinned down, she began to gulp down the apple juice.
And a moment later.
Thump.
She fell into a deep sleep, just like the Mountain Ginseng.
Phew.
'For now, it's settled...'
"You can take your hand off now."
"……."
The Sergeant obediently took his hand off and then asked in a subtle voice.
"By any chance, a department change..."
"I won't."
Please, stop.
Anyway, after thanking the Sergeant again, who had returned well to a human form, I took care of Section Chief Lee Byeong-jin and the kids, who still had their eyes tightly shut.
"You can open your eyes now."
"Ah...!"
Relief flashed across Lee Byeong-jin's face.
But soon, looking at the children, he whispered to me with a desperate expression.
"B-but what do we do now?? How on earth will we find the way out...!"
"……."
"It looks like the sun is about to rise!"
I looked at the sky.
Beyond the grayish mist, a dim light seemed to be shining from somewhere...
...The night of the full moon was ending.
'There is no time to perform the ritual again.'
However...
"It will be alright."
"...Yes?"
"Probably half of the ritual was a success."
I recalled how the path changed every time we walked while singing and how the incense burned properly.
'Everything we prepared was correct.'
Strictly speaking, this ritual has two purposes.
Avoiding the Changwi.
Beseeching the Sangun to find an escape route.
"And I'm saying that the latter of the two seems to have been done properly."
Because someone possessed by a Changwi was mixed among us, the former failed, leading us right to the edge of the water, but...
"Perhaps, the exit is also near here."
"...!"
We Help stuck together in the thick fog and began to scour the clearing near the mountain, a short distance away from the water.
Around the point where the forest path walked during the ritual ended.
-‘If you find a small snake hole in a place without grass, give thanks for Sangun’s mercy and put your hand inside. Your hand must be coated with salted well water.’
‘A place without grass…, a place without grass.’
And a short while later.
“I-I found it!”
“…!!”
One of the middle schoolers discovered a small hole beneath a tree.
The moonlight was shining down upon it, as if piercing through the fog.
A hole so pitch-black it looked as if ink had pooled inside.
“…….”
A snake hole.
I made the people quickly dip their hands into the salt water. Driven by urgency, they moved before fear could take hold.
‘Hurry, hurry.’
And so, just before the sun rose.
We Help put our hands into the snake hole.
Discussion